Chapter Text
Kylo was walking down the corridor trying to reign in his impulses and keep his breathing steady. He always had trouble with his temper but it wouldn't be long now before he really lost control of himself. He had to reach the nesting room before it started, and then lock himself up for the next week to be able to spend his rut undisturbed and be sure he wouldn't attack the few other Alphas around, or worse… try to mate with the only Omega on the base.
As he made the last turn leading to the nesting room, he spotted the one person he absolutely wanted to avoid walking at the other end of the corridor, coming in his direction. He hurried up, hoping to reach for the door handle before getting a sniff of his disgusting pheromones; he stunk like all Omegas, something the Alpha inside him didn't care for sadly, always getting worked up anyway. Unfortunately, his nemesis also upped his pace and they both reached the door at the exact same time.
“I got here first, Hux. Kriff off.”
“You get lost, Ren! I'm an Omega, this place was designed for me first and foremost! You can just lock yourself in your room and pray your stupid Alpha doesn't break free!”
A droid opened the door then, coming out of the room, and the auto lock engaged behind it.
“The nesting room is now in use for the next seven days, by Alpha Phasma. Please find other accommodations elsewhere.”
Why the fuck did they only have one nesting room on the whole Starkiller base???
***
Rey was sweating profusely. It had only been two months since she'd joined the Resistance so she didn't want to tell anyone she fell sick and suddenly get kicked out. But things had been getting worse since this morning and even Rose, who was scrapping the TIE-fighter with her, started noticing something.
“Rey, are you sure you're alright?”
Of course she wasn't. She could already feel her underwear dampening and soon she would feel faint and craving. Till she ends up writhing in pain on the floor, begging for someone to ease her pain, knowing full well no one ever could. Back when she still lived on Jakku she always hid away in her little sanctuary for a few days till her mysterious illness subsided – it never lasted more than a few days, a week usually – but now she didn't know what to do. She didn't even have a room to herself.
“I'm alright… I'm just feeling a bit feverish, probably a cold.”
Rose looked at her in silence for a minute, then sniffed the air audibly.
“Are you sure it's not your heat that's starting? Your pheromones have been getting wild since yesterday…”
The young scavenger paused what she was doing and looked at her friend with a baffled expression. Heat? What was that? Something seemed to click in her partner's head because her expression changed completely, from vague concern to profound panic.
“Rey… you do know you're an Omega, right? Like me?”
“What's an Omeka?”
“Druk, Rey! You're not serious?!”
Rose put down everything she was currently working on and got up precipitately, then caught her arm and pulled her to follow.
“Of course I doubt there are any Alphas or Omegas on Jakku. That place is such a dump. We're gonna find Poe. He'll be able to help you. He usually helps me when my heat happens.”
“You mean… you know what illness it is that makes me in such pain every few months? It's something… common?”
“Of course, Rey. It's not an illness at all. You never wondered why you had those special glands on your body? Never found anyone that smelled really good?”
“You smell good. Well, like machine oil but I love the smell. Poe smells horrendous though…”
Rose chuckled.
“Yes, Omegas always smell good to each other. Machine oil, wow. That's… peculiar. I think you smell like blueblossom flowers.”
Rey had never seen flowers, and the icy desertic base she now worked on wasn't about to change that, so it was hard to imagine the kind of smell they had. But surely it was something nice to Rose considering her broad smile. She followed her friend to the pilot hangar where Poe was checking on his x-wing, BB-8 assisting him.
Poe turned toward them before they even got in talking range, pupils dilated and nostrils flaring in a strange way. Rey felt as if she was breaking in a cold sweat suddenly, an uncanny sensation of fear spreading along her spine. Poe smelled worse than usual, he wasn’t the person meant to help her and her guts were churning at the idea he would try…
“Kriff, what timing is this!” he exclaimed as they neared him.
“Poe you have to help out, there are no other Alphas I trust on this base and Rey–”
“I know, I know. But I just got assigned for a very important mission…”
Rey was too dizzy all of a sudden and felt her knees weakening. She was caught just in time by Poe and Rose, both of their faces painted with intense concern.
“It’s okay, don’t worry about me. I never even knew anyone could help me… I’ll just find a place to huddle down for a few days and–”
Poe paled at her voice, his instincts revolted by the revelation.
“You mean you’ve never had anyone… take care of you during a heat?”
To be honest Rey had absolutely no idea what he or Rose had been talking about till now. She’d just understood that those Alphas – Oh the word had a nice ring now that she thought about it – were meant to help her somehow, even if clearly, by the smell of it, she wasn't convinced. And how they were meant to do this though… it was beyond her. As she was pondering on this, she heard through her increasingly hazing mind Poe talking to BB-8 and Rose.
“... A Kaminoan nesting outpost not far from here. I could drop her there and make sure she gets professional assistance for her first time. And then I’ll go on with my mission…”
Rey fainted before being able to ask for an explanation.
***
“I just want a secure room to spend my rut alone!” gritted Kylo between his teeth to the Kaminoan at the reception.
Hux had had this stellar idea that they would both come to the nearest nesting outpost to find accommodations for their respective situation. But the cloning specialists here had other ways of functioning than just providing empty and secure nesting rooms. They took your DNA and processed it with their database of clients to find the best possible match for you to spend your heat or rut with. And then they made a one use clone for the occasion, imbued with all the knowledge that was needed to be the best possible partner.
Hux was already gone with another attendant but Kylo didn't want any of this. He'd never needed a partner before today and wasn't about to start now. Besides, there was a wait time of about 24 hours for the clone to grow and his rut was about to start now. He just wanted to get a room!
“But Sir, we happen to have the perfect match for you. A brand new addition to our DNA catalog, she was scanned just an hour ago in this very same fa…”
“I don't give a Kriff. I don’t want any partner!”
“Alright. But can you sign the following consent form so we use your DNA for her clo–”
Kylo might have been there kind of incognito, there were limits to how complacent he was. His lightsaber powered before the Hostess could deign end her sentence, the burning plasma blade stopping less than an inch away from her throat.
“You are not keeping even a trace of my blood in your database.” he commented calmly with an ire filled voice. “Now, can I have access to that room or do I need to burn down this whole facility to let my Alpha's aggressiveness steam off?”
The hostess gave him the Kaminoan equivalent of a calming smile
“Of course, Sir. We will destroy any sample we took. No need to resort to any violence here.”
He didn’t trust her words. At all. Honestly, if the First Order was to accidentally destroy just one of their outposts for good measures, surely it wouldn’t be too much trouble. He would deal with it later. Once he was done with his rut.
The Kaminoan tapped on her datapad for half a minute and then a beautiful human clone attendant came to pick him up and lead him to the room reserved for him.
As he walked through the corridors he crossed paths with few people: a disgustingly smelling Omega Twi'lek that purred while following his strides for a moment hoping to attract his attention, a couple of green skin Mirialans that were obviously just done with their visit considering the strong lingering sex aroma, and one Alpha human that didn’t seem to be here for any good reason, so maybe he’d just been accompanying someone.
He didn’t care for anyone truly. But as he turned another corner, following his guide, he caught a smell that made him stop immediately on his tracks.
It smelled of… the Force? No, more exactly, it smelled like those Uneti blossoms that still grew in the half-destroyed Jedi temple of Coruscant, mixed with the scent of incense Luke Skywalker used to burn during meditation time when he was but a young boy. Something he really associated with the Ashla, the light side of the Force, and that should have brought forth terrible memories but was actually insanely enticing. And not only that. As he walked closer to the origins of the smell, completely ignoring his guide, he started breathing notes of the desert flowers of Tatooine he’d once seen displayed on the market when visiting his grandfather's home world, as well as the heady sweet aroma of a sun-drenched meadow of Naboo on a hot summer day. A scent designed to make his instincts flare with want and need. Already he could feel his heartbeat accelerating and his Alpha mind was one step away from taking over his residual self control.
“Sir, you can’t enter this room. Another guest is already using it.”
Kylo growled at the clone that had been following him. Of course someone else was already using it. His Omega was in there, his destined mate, there was no doubt about that. He’d never met an Omega that smelled remotely good and this was a revelation as to why.
But right now she was all alone, on the other side of the door, and he could perceive in the flow of pheromones – or was it the Force? – how she was in pain right now, waiting for him, calling for him, needing him. His Alpha side grumbled in desperation and rage because he wasn't yet inside to make her his right this moment.
He tried forcing the door, forgetting any logic and that it was a door specifically made to withstand being pried open as a way to keep its occupant safe while they were at their most vulnerable.
“Sir! Only the clone designed for this guest can get inside once it's in use. Please refrain from–”
Something ticked in his feral mind and he turned around, uncharacteristically calm, to face his guide.
“It's me, I'm the clone for this guest.” His voice was filled with power, the Force easily able to shamble a mere clone’s mind. “Open this door for me.”
His companion blinked twice, the time needed for the information to really anchor itself in his weak brain, then picked up his datapad.
“You're the clone for this guest. Let me open the door for you.”
***
Poe stopped after turning the corner and swiftly looked back behind him. Unquestionably, despite the few changes made to it to give him some kind of anonymity, that man was wearing a First Order officer's uniform. And even if he wasn't wearing any insignia, the quality of the fabric and specific cut made it obvious he was a high graded one. What the heck was he doing here? Of course, by the smell of it he was about to rut so maybe it wasn't so surprising but, he'd never met anything more than bantha fodder in those kinds of facilities.
He leaned on the wall, passing a hand in his hair, bothered about the best course of action. He was already so late because of his detour here. He was supposed to meet with a runaway Stormtrooper to prepare for his next big mission: going undercover on the Starkiller base to gather intel. But… while following orders was important it was also essential to seize the moment when an opportunity arose. The capture of a high level officer would give the Resistance even more precious information than anything he could gather as a low level grunt, and it was much less risky too, especially in such a place.
He walked along the corridor, trying himself at the different door handles, hoping to find an open and empty room. He just had to capture a clone, change clothes and check in their datapad in which room the man was located. Then he'd wait for him to be busy knotting his partner to get inside and incapacitate him… Quick and efficient. He should probably also call reinforcements once he found a place to hide, just to be safe.
The last door he'd just try to force suddenly opened and an angry voice rose from behind it.
“This better be my suppressant! How do you expect me to wait a day for a clone without it? It's been more than half an hour alread–”
The ginger man stopped while looking at Poe, dumbfounded. And… Poe found himself doing the same.
It was General Hux!
One of the First Order top leaders!
His face – amazingly handsome face let's be honest – was placated on every priority target resistance board so there was no way Poe wouldn't recognize him right away. And he was just there. In front of him. Wearing nothing but a slightly undone bathrobe. His silky red hair and slender neck covered in a fine layer of perspiration. And what was that amazing smell?
“Oh by the Supreme Leader… you people are just so efficient!”
Poe didn't even have time to speak, Hux caught his arm and pulled him in the room. The smell inside was even stronger: comforting and freeing, like a walk in a forest of Massassi trees after a drizzle. He inhaled it deeply, stirring the Alpha inside him.
“I can't believe you were so quick with that clone. I wish my men were so competent.” Hux was rambling as he locked the door behind him.
Before Poe could do anything, the general pushed him against the wall and kissed him. At this any logic and plans he had for the Resistance vanished...