Chapter Text
He feels hot. Not his usual extremely high body temperature, but hot, almost as if he was shoved into the desert in the middle of a heatwave. If he wasn't with his best friend, he'd be running to the shower in an attempt to cool off, but alas.
Jaden and him were in the middle of eating cookies that they made all by themselves. Mane wasn't home, out with his crush—blehhh—Lomedy doing who knows what, and Minute was too busy taking care of his boyfriend's—also blehhh—younger brother. It left Jaden and him to wreck chaos on the kitchen.
In his defense, neither of them knew how to actually bake cookies. Jaden had found one of his family's old recipes, something written in Aquan about… what did he say… seaweed? But they didn't have any of that, so they settled on chocolate chips.
And, in all honesty, it was really good. Maybe it was because it was Jaden who did all the work, and the siren is the best ever, but that could also just be a bias. That's what Mane always said whenever Flame complimented Jaden on, well, anything his friend did.
"Flame? Are you feeling well?"
The back of a hand is placed against his forehead, and for some strange reason, Flame leans into it with a low whine. He's so overheated, feels almost close to panting as he meets Jaden's eyes.
They're so pretty… almost hypnotizing, and a purr rumbles out of his throat before he realizes it. It's not anything unusually, not between them, and with the way Jaden's eyes soften at it, he knows it was the right thing to do.
The pleasing thing to do.
He blinks at that before he leans away with a huff and waves Jaden's hand off his face. "'m fine bro, don't worry. Probably just some sickness or something bro, I'll be fine."
"You sure? I can message your brother and lea-"
"No! No, don't leave, what the heck bro." Flame hates the breathlessness in his voice, the whimper that threatened to leave his throat if he didn't take a bite of the delicious cookie. "Rude. That's like, bro that's like betrayal."
"Me messaging your brother?"
"No dumbass, you leaving." He rolls his eyes, thankful for the blindfold that Mane had recently gifted him. His eyes were getting more and more sensitive to light, and even if he begged his older brother for sunglasses, the alpha wouldn't give in. "We still gotta clean the kitchen bro. And, uh, it's a sleep over!"
"It- it is?" Surprise colors Jaden's face before he looks away, almost… embarrased? Why would Jaden be embarrassed? Did Flame say something wrong? "Since when?"
"Since now! Can't leave now if you gotta stay the night!"
"I- yeah, yeah okay Flame. Let's go clean the kitchen?"
Flame nods excitedly and inhales the last bit of his cookie. he pushes his chair away from the table, hops off, and extends his hand out for Jaden to grab. "For you, your highness."
The words are mocking, teasing in a way that only Flame can get away with—he feels dizzy at the thought—that has Jaden laughing softly. It's the rich boy, or rich siren one that Flame really likes, and sue him for trying to get more of it out of his friend.
But Jaden takes the hand, and the touch feels near electric. He doesn't understand why, considering this is the first time in ever it's ever felt like this, but maybe it's why he feels so hot. They had to be connected, but Flame couldn't figure out how.
He shrugs it away.
He's fine.
Probably.
They walk hand-in-hand to the kitchen and make quick work of it. By quick, Flame means destroying it more. They struggled to find the stool they previously used for… about 15 minutes, and in that time, they managed to flip the island—whoops—and drop multiple plastic cups on the ground.
In their defense, those cups shouldn't have been there in the first place. It's not their fault they happened to knock… six cups on the ground, a few plates, and dropped the cookie pan. No cookies were harmed, thank the sea, but still!
"Hey Flame?" Flame hums in response, busying himself with picking up the scattered cups and plates. "How are we going to reach the sink?"
"Uh," he blinks and turns to face him, arms filled with everything. "Carry me?"
"Carry you?" Jaden sounds flustered, but it only has Flame tilting his head in confusion. "Are you sure?"
"'Course I am, who do you take me as?"
"You're right," and he gives that laugh Flame adores so much. "Alright, come here, I got you."
Flame easily collapses into Jaden's arms, giggling at the way the siren huffs at his dead weight. No one could blame him, of course, it's not everyday Flame can be in the arms of his best friend and carried to the sink. Not every day he can drop all the dishes in there, run water over them, and decide it's something his brother can deal with.
But they get a lot of the kitchen done like this, with Jaden carrying Flame easily around to clean off the stove, pick up the baking sheet, and put the leftover cookies in the never used before cookie jar. It's all so easy, and for some reason, it makes Flame burn hotter.
He doesn't know how Jaden doesn't drop him from the heat. No matter what the answer is, though, Flame's thankful he doesn't. Especially with his vision beginning to swim, and his head is dizzy, and all he wants is to stay close to someone.
Preferably Jaden.
Definitely Jaden.
The other, despite being younger, had presented before him, and his ocean mixed with wet rocks scent buries itself in his sinuses. He's never been able to smell it before now, and it's… soothing in a way nothing else has been. He wants to shove his nose in Jaden's neck and stay there forever.
He doesn't understand why.
When Jaden settles him back on his feet, Flame doesn't move. If anything, he turns around, wraps his arms around Jaden's neck, and jumps to wrap his legs around his waist. He blatanly ignores the small 'oof' that falls from Jaden's mouth as he his arms come to rest on Flame's back.
The closeness feels heavenly.
"Flame? Is- do you smell that?"
He can't smell anything but the refreshing scent of Jaden, Jaden, Jaden. It's so good, he wants-
"Flame! Bro! Stop that, don't lick me!" He startles and leans back, not enough to escape the hold but enough to meet Jaden's eyes. They're so pretty, Flame wants to drown in them. "Especially not there, don't you know how special that is?"
Flame shakes and tilts his head, his ears pinned to his head, and not at all aware of what Jaden's talking about. Did he do something wrong? He was just trying to get a good taste of his friend's wonderful scent…
"You're burning up, bro," Jaden—an alpha? He told Flame he was a beta—sighs before he readjusts his grip on Flame with ease. "Let's get you to your room."
It's all a blur as they travel up the stairs and down the hall, the door to his room opening with ease. He's dazed as Jaden sets him gently down in the bed and tries to pull away, but Flame clings to him with a desperate little whine.
He wants to cry.
"N-no, no, stay, Jade stay-" Flame sniffles as tears prick his eyes and he whines again. He sits up and drags Jaden into bed with him, refusing to let him get too far. "Don't leave me."
His voice is watery, breathless, almost small as he looks up at Jaden with pleading eyes the alpha can't see. He wants him to see, wants reassurance he won't leave and he'll stay and his friend will give him the closeness he desire.
He wants it so bad.
Flame sniffles again.
"Flame? Bro? You okay?" But Flame can't do anything but whine in response. He grabs at Jaden, pulls him in close and buries his nose in his neck without a care in the world. "Flame we can't-"
He whimpers and curls closer. He couldn't bare to hear Jaden say anything in disagreement, but he doesn't understand why. All he knows is he feels sick, and overheated, and the thought of Jaden not being here makes him feel worse.
"Stay, please?" It's the smallest his voice has ever been, other than maybe when he begs Mane for a sweet treat from the local bakery.
"But I'm an alpha-"
"Don't care," he huffs and pulls him closer. He can't lose Jaden, not his best friend who smells so perfect and he should be here and Flame only knows that in some weird instinctual way. The temperaure inside him spikes as he licks at Jaden's gland, ignoring the shiver from the other.
"O-okay, fine, yeah, I'll stay the night. Sleepover, yeah?"
Flame nods in response and, despite his apparent instincts saying otherwise, curls up tighter. Only so he can move his face away from his friend's neck—he's sick, after all, doesn't want him sick too—and bury it in his chest.
The fabric is so soft.
It would be perfect in a nest.
A nest… that sounds so good right now… pile the blankets high so it would cover both him and Jaden… It would keep Jaden here with him, and maybe even Mane and Lomedy can join them, all safe and bundled up in his nest.
A dream come true, he'd get all his favorite people in one place.
He purrs happily, his ears twitching at Jaden's soft, near breathless laugh as his hands massage his back gently. But then he stops, and Flame hums softly at the noise Jaden gives.
"Flame are you… presenting?"
Oh.
That… would explain it.
But he's not going to admit anything to Jaden. It's only fair! His friend kept the fact that he was an alpha from him, this is well deserved. Extremely so, actually, even more with the fact that he feels utterly on fire from how hot everything is.
The only thing keeping him alive is Jaden's cold hands on his back, and the way his friend's chest rumbles, an alpha's version of a purr that starts to lull him to sleep.
It's peaceful, in that soft in-between of wakefulness and sleep. All he has to do is listen to Jaden's soft words—"You're doing amazing, Flame. I'm here, I got you, I'll take you to the tub soon okay?"—and purr in response.
Life couldn't get better than this.
It could, he finds, get worse.
Loud footsteps echo through the house, and it makes Flame curl closer to Jaden with a whine. Not even a moment later does the door swing open, thudding loudly against the wall before Jaden is ripped out of his arms.
Flame bites back a wail at that, and instead gives an utterly pathetic whimper. He makes grabby hands for his friend, cracking his eyes open to see a very, very upset Mane holding Jaden by the scruff of his neck.
He looks like a fish out of water.
If Flame wasn't do distressed, he'd laugh at the shock and defeat in his face, but all he can do is whine again. Alas, making grabby hands at Jaden is all he can get his body to do as Mane growls loud enough to make Flame flinch back.
"Nooo," he slurs it as he tries to reach for Jaden again, only for Mane to begin moving the two of them to the door. "Don't take him bro, pleaseee."
"No, Flame," Mane growls and sets Jaden down… gently enough. Not enough to be considered a toss, but Jaden does stumble and looks… extremely out of it by the scruffing. "He can't be trusted."
"But I-"
"Get out, Jaden, before I throw you out a window."
The siren, still so dazed, casts one last look at Flame, who whines softly and tries once more to reach for him. Jaden whimpers, but leaves, the scent of hurt and pain following.
Mane takes his place with ease, smoothing out Flame's hair and scents him. He wraps his arms around Flame, brings him into his lap with a soft rumble, and licks at the place where a pack bond should go.
Will go.
Flame whimpers, then sniffles, then tears up more as his blindfold grows wet. "Why- he was only- he's my friend…"
"He's not trustworthy, cub. After all, he's not your brother. He's an alpha, Flame, he's not one like me. He wouldn't keep you safe, not like me, not like Lomedy can." He coos softly in Flame's ear, before he moves Flame's nose to rest in his neck.
Rain and apricot is a nice combination, and he does smell nice. It settles him, but not like Jaden's scent did.
"But Jaden-"
"At least with me, you're safe. Just… trust me, I'm concerned, that's all. It's-" Mane's voice is soft, soothing, the one he'd use to read Flame bedtime stories when he was much younger. "He isn't one to be trusted."
"Bro I-"
"Shh, it's okay. I got you now, okay? Relax, big brother is here to save the day, because I, for one, would never hurt you. You can trust my words, cub, I'd never lead you astray."
Something small, hidden behind the new instincts forming and the scent of ocean and wet rocks still in his nose, pings him to look deeper into those words. But he's a little too far deep, and all he wants is to be cuddled inside a nest.
"Rest now, bro-bro, I'll take care of you for the week, okay? You deserve better than Jaden."after all, he's not your brother. He's an alpha, Flame, he's not one like me. He wouldn't keep you safe, not like me, not like Lomedy can."