He ran.
No dramatic anime freeze-frame, no slow-motion music. Just pure, unfiltered panic.
His feet pounded the pavement, heart threatening to burst out of his chest as he darted down narrow streets and turned sharp corners without looking back. His lungs screamed. His legs burned. His brain was on a 30-second delay, still trying to process what had just happened.
That guy… looked exactly like one of his comic villains.
The jawline. The deadpan eyes. The "I-will-kill-you-if-you-breathe-wrong" aura.
Yuji had drawn that face. Months ago. He even named the character Nikolai, because it sounded sexy and terrifying at the same time.
And now?
Now he was being chased by a real-life version of him. He thought.
"NOO." Yuji gasped, bursting through the main gate of his apartment complex. "I DID NOT ASK FOR THIS CROSSOVER."
He stumbled up the stairs, skipped the elevator, slammed into his door, and shakily locked it behind him. Every lock. Every chain. He even pushed a chair against the knob for extra psychological security.
His body slumped to the floor.
Sweaty. Trembling. Alive.
Just barely.
___
An hour later, after showering off the trauma and stuffing his face with leftover rice balls, Yuji tried to convince himself it was all a misunderstanding.
A hallucination.
"Maybe I've just been working too much," he mumbled, lying upside-down on his futon, phone in hand. "Yeah. Sleep deprivation. Classic. Totally explains why a six-foot-tall alpha with silver hair and a gun decided to crash into my life."
He checked the front door again.
Still locked.
He wasn't in heat. He had scent blockers. He was fine.
Totally fine.
...Except for the fact that his scent patch was starting to itch.
A sign it was wearing off.
Yuji rolled over and groaned into his pillow. "I need to stop buying the cheap ones on sale..."
He checked the time. Too late to buy replacements.
"Whatever," he muttered. "I'll stay inside. No one will notice. Everything's fine."
Right?
___
It wasn't.
Around midnight, Yuji noticed something strange.
The air felt heavier. Warmer.
His skin prickled. His instincts buzzed with unease.
And then-
Knock knock.
Yuji froze.
No one ever visited him. Especially not at this hour.
He tiptoed to the door, peered through the peephole-
Silver eyes.
Tall frame.
Black coat.
His soul almost left his body.
"No. No no no no-"
Another knock. Calm. Measured. Like the guy wasn't even in a rush.
Yuji backed away.
"Hell noo. This is NOT happening-"
Click.
The door unlocked.
By itself.
EXCUSE ME??
Yuji screamed, ran to the kitchen, and grabbed the deadliest thing within reach.
...A metal spatula.
He stood near the fridge, wielding it like a blade, heart pounding so loud it drowned out every other sound.
Then the door creaked open.
Slow. Silent. Inevitable.
And there he was.
Nikolai.
He stepped inside casually, like he owned the place. He wasn't even carrying a weapon this time. Just those glacial eyes and that unnerving stillness.
Yuji pointed the spatula. "I swear to god, if you take one more step, I will flip you into another dimension."
Nikolai blinked once. "That's... a spatula."
"I know what it is."
Silence.
Then Nikolai spoke again, voice deep and calm:
"I've to make sure of something"
Yuji blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You smell different."
"I SHOWERED!"
"Not bad different," Nikolai said, tilting his head like he was trying to get a better angle of Yuji's scent. "Better. Calmer. Sharper."
"...Okay that's creepy. Ten out of ten for execution. But can we not do this in my house??"
"You ran," Nikolai added.
"BECAUSE YOU SHOOT PEOPLE, DAMN IT!!"
Nikolai didn't deny it. Instead, he looked around Yuji's apartment, like he was examining his living space for hidden dangers.
"Do you live alone?" he asked.
Yuji squinted. "Are you trying to sound like a kidnapper?"
"Just assessing safety."
"For me, or for you?"
Nikolai didn't answer.
Yuji's scent patch was definitely fading now. He could feel the subtle haze starting to cloud his thoughts, making him more reactive. More aware. Every breath Nikolai took felt louder. More invasive.
"I came here because of your scent," Nikolai said, like it was a perfectly normal sentence.
Yuji made a face. "That's not comforting. That's stalker behavior."
"It's not like the others."
Yuji paused.
Other alphas had said that before. Commented on his scent being "mild" or "unusual" or "unnerving." Whatever that meant.
But none of them broke into his apartment in the middle of the night like it was some kind of heat-hunting mission.
Yuji adjusted his grip on the spatula. "So what? You just follow random omegas home because they smell good?"
"No."
"...So why me?"
Nikolai looked directly at him.
"Are you… my destined partner?"
Yuji blinked. "HUH?!"
Before he could protest, Nikolai leaned in.
Closer. Too close.
And then-
He sniffed him.
Right at the side of his neck.
Yuji jumped like he'd been electrocuted. "WHAT—WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
"I want to make sure."
"MAKE SURE OF WHAT, THAT I'M NOT A WALKING AIR FRESHENER?!"
Nikolai didn't even flinch. He just stared, as if Yuji's panic was an irrelevant side effect of a scientific process.
Yuji's brain was melting.
"You can't just break into someone's house and smell them!"
"It's not illegal."
"IT SHOULD BE!"
Nikolai took one last glance around Yuji's apartment before stepping back toward the door.
"I'll leave for now."
"THANK YOU?"
"But I'll be back."
The door closed behind him.
Yuji stood frozen, heart thumping, brain fried, still gripping his spatula like it was the only thing keeping him grounded.
"… Great," he whispered, eyes wide. "I'm being stalked and chased by a stranger with a fate complex and no concept of personal space."
"God..Help me."