a/b/o but make betas more relevant

[sunspotted]

"Jean."

That's Marco wrinkling his nose a little for the second time in ten minutes, looking at the other boy in exasperation. He knows it can't be easy for Jean to just sit here while Marco scents him and tries to smother it, but he could stop squirming so much. Marco needs to get a read on his scent if he's going to try to cover it up with his own!

That's what Instructor Shadis has entrusted (or outlawed, to hear Jean put it) to them today - scent training. More specifically, for Marco's ability as a Beta to suppress Omega and Alpha hormones if they were getting too out of control. Jean just had the unfortunate luck of having recently presented as an Omega and gone through his heat a few weeks ago.

Marco was still getting used to his own ability - out in Jinae, Betas hadn't been anything to really make note of, and he'd been a little disappointed when his notably calm, even demeanor did belie the noted calm, even demeanor of many Betas. Shadis had insisted differently in their training classes. In a group like the Survey Corps, the Betas ability to smother things like Alpha and Omega heats until they were back within the walls was worth its value in horses, to hear him explain it.

(And, well, he'd heard enough schoolyard talk from others about how they could do the opposite. How a Beta could drive an Alpha or Omega straight into a pseudo heat if they messed with their pheromones enough.)

He could recognize the scent coming off Jean now - something akin to boredom irritation annoyance - and leaned back a little further, putting out his own soothing scent, urging Jean's irritation to smooth out. "Do you wanna take a break?"

Comments

[sunspotted]

Marco almost asks Jean if he's been smelling a lot of ballsacks - the wry twist to his lips says it all, really - but he refrains from voicing it. He just calmed Jean down, after all, he doesn't need to set him off again.

Marco does mean a country summer; it's not the most pleasant smell depending on area, but he thinks of lush, green fields with spots of yellow in them, the smell of loam and cut grass and the baking scent of earth.

"You do," Marco confirms, and this time Jean takes his hand. Marco's distinctly aware of him doing so, and his scent flares slightly with something like interest before he tamps it down. He still curls his fingers against Jean's though.

"Well.. we technically did what they wanted us to. We could report back... or pad it a little while."

[notvaljean]

Being accused of smelling ballsacks would definitely set Jean off. He's been informed he doesn't stink, which is good, but he's still sensitive about being perceived as a loose omega. This could turn very quickly from two best friends hanging out to Jean launching himself at Marco with both fists flying.

Jean catches the hint of interest that flares in Marco's scent, but he doesn't recognise it for what it is. He's very rarely had that particular scent directed at him, and thinks it's just some random blip going through Marco's scent pattern.

"Pffft, I'm not going back yet." Jean flops backwards onto the mat, still holding Marco's hand. "They banished me for the day, so they're just going to have to live without me for now." A few moments later, he shoots Marco a look out of the corner of his eyes. "I also want to know this works. Can we try again?"

He wouldn't be this vulnerable with anyone but Marco. He wants every memory of him being omega stamped out of everyone's minds, drowned with Marco's clean, inoffensive scent.

i know about you and your hand kink

[sunspotted]

Their actual physical fights are comparatively much rarer than Eren and Jean's, but even they are not without them. Even if it usually ends with Marco putting Jean in a headlock, Jean's a spry grappler and it's no small feat to pin him down.

"Fair enough," Marco laughs when Jean says they have to live without him for the day, giving a reassuring squeeze to his hand. Jean's suggestion, though tied into his vulnerability, is a good one; they should get some more practice.

"Sure. Uh - don't worry about getting up." Marco has an idea - the scent glands are strongest on the neck, but it's considered very intimate to go huffing around there if you aren't a child or a mate. They also exist, in a smaller form, in other parts of the body - which includes the hands and wrist.

So, instead of making Jean sit back up, Marco lifts their entwined hands, shifting so that the inside of Jean's wrist is available enough for him to lean down and take a deep inhale. Without meaning to, his nose brushes the skin of the gland before he lifts up a little bit. It's easier to catch that hint of chai in Jean's scent this time, and he starts trying to cover it with his own.

called out!

[notvaljean]

Jean might not have grown up with siblings, but he scrapped plenty with the other kids in the neighbourhood. You learn to defend yourself when you're the chubby mama's boy of the street.

Jean lets Marco lift his hand without protest, but draws in a startled breath when Marco's nose brushes his scent gland. That had... that had been a lot more intense than it usually is. He and Marco grab each other's wrists all the time, and while the scent glands have always been there, it's never felt like a lightning bolt up Jean's arm when Marco touches it.

Jean watches Marco through his eyelashes as he toys with his wrist, and yes, there's chai in Jean's scent, but something else is starting to bubble up. Just as the muscles in Jean's abdomen are suddenly feeling hot, too full of blood, his scent isn't cooperating this time. It's meeting Marco's and pushing back.

[sunspotted]

Marco and Jean have been noted to be an unusually affectionate pair. There's only so much you can excuse to a beta's blind nose when they're all taught the same manners. Even with a weaker scent, it's not uncommon for Marco to nudge his wrist against the back of Jean's shoulders as he moves a hand to rest on his shoulder. And the thing is - Jean lets him. He's never stopped him the way he snarled at Eren the one time he tried it mockingly.

But it's still unusual that the newly presented secondary scent suddenly makes Marco's mouth water, filling with saliva. He tries to subtly swallow the spit back as he looks over to Jean, shooting him what he hopes is a shaming look. He thinks Jean is trying to push back against him on purpose.

So Marco pushes harder, with his scent. Flaring out that clean laundry linen scent, more insistent against the spicy chai. (Why does Marco think of sharing tea while there's laundry on the line? It's such a specific thought.)

[notvaljean]

Snarling is a nice way to put it. Jean had been ready to rip Eren's throat out. Bertholdt had fortunately gotten between them and stopped it, but it had been a tense few minutes. Eren, to his credit, never tried that again.

"What?" Jean is genuinely baffled by the look Marco shoots him. "I'm not doing anything!"

His scent has other plans. While Jean might not be doing anything purposefully, his scent is practically billowing now, so strong even Jean can smell it. It reminds him of the winter holidays, and curling up under a warm, clean quilt.

[sunspotted]

"You're doing something!" Marco insists, voice low, not quite a hiss. He's not really angry, and more concerned that Jean says he's not doing something. Also the fact that his mouth won't stop watering, to the point Marco slurs the s of the last word a little before he swallows again.

Okay, calm down Bott. Maybe it's just reacting bad to being suppressed. This is where a little knowledge damns him. He's done the suppression one way, and he knows he can do it the opposite way as well, to make it stronger.

But in his concern, he thinks maybe Jean's body is upset that he's trying to cover out the scent. So he eases back a little, which isn't the mistake he makes.

The mistake is trying to convince it he's done enough by trying to match that scent. In the course of sending out it's fine with his pheromones, there's no way to really differentiate between it's fine, heat now with his inexperience. It's especially a bad idea when Jean's hit a heat so recently.

Marco doesn't know any of that, though.

[notvaljean]

"I'm not!" Jean has no idea what Marco is talking about! He keeps going on and on about Jean doing something with his scent, and he hasn't done a thing! He's just sitting here!

Sitting here getting progressively more uncomfortable, with cramps filling his gut, and Jean whines softly and rolls over, hiding his face against Marco's thigh. He curls in on himself, holding his abdomen, and tries to ignore how warm and muscular Marco's leg is. How strong it is, and how much it carries that clean laundry smell. When did clean linen ever smell this good?

"I'm getting cramps. Whatever you're doing, it's not working." Or it's working exactly as intended, and Jean, as inexperienced as Marco is, doesn't recognise the signs of an imminent heat. His scent, on the other hand, is reacting joyously to Marco's. The spicy tea aroma is flaring up, practically dancing in the air between them. It's fine? Really, it's fine? It's fine for heat now? THEN HEAT NOW.

[sunspotted]

Marco groans in frustration and drops the attempt with his pheromones to encourage it. But it's too late; it's a hormonal runaway of mounting proportions. His body's reacting the way a beta of sufficient age would to an omega pouring out these hormones - priming the need to take the role of an alpha.

It won't magically make him one. But his body has the capacity to knot just like one, with the right trigger.

He raises a hand to wipe at his mouth - seriously, why is he nearly drooling so much all of a sudden? and speaks again.

"... I stopped. Why aren't you stopping too?"

This isn't accusatory at all. Now he sounds worried, especially with how Jean is curled in on himself and hiding his face in Marco's thigh. He mentioned something that Marco almost missed in his panic. Cramps?

Oh. Oh no, cramps.

Marco timidly reaches down to brush some of Jean's hair back, and though he knows it's risky he remembers what they taught him - how to check if a gland is swollen. The instant his fingers brush one of Jean's, on the side of his jaw exposed to Marco, he knows.

[notvaljean]

Jean practically leaps out of his skin when Marco touches the gland in his neck, yelping plaintively when he does. "What the fuck!"

What the fuck, indeed. The realisation of what's happening hits Jean like a fifteen meter titan; mere seconds after Marco touched his gland, Jean feels a veritable gush in his pants. That happened last time too, a sudden deluge of liquid from his ass, intending to ease the way for an alpha. And now Jean has gone and done it in front of Marco, who is just trying to help, and he's gone and made an absolute embarrassment of himself.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck..." Jean curls in on himself, tucking into a little ball with his arms around his head so Marco can't touch his glands again. "Marco, I'm... I'm sorry. I'm heating. Fuck!"

The cramps are ripping through him now, agonising in their intensity, and Jean knows he's in for a rough night. There's nothing to do except bear down and get through them.

"Can you... can you go tell the nurse?" Jean is panting now, shivering in a ball on the floor. "Tell her I need... ow, shit, ow ow OW... I need to be left alone... for like twelve hours." He looks up then, his bangs hanging in his face, wet with sweat. "Should be over by then."

[sunspotted]

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry -"

Marco scoots a little bit away when Jean curls up, feeling his heart plummet into his stomach as Jean covers his neck with his arms. The scent his brain interprets as chai goes absolutely molten in the air. He knows this is his fault. It's way too early for Jean's next heat to arrive, and so suddenly.

He shakes his head when Jean apologizes, but he has trouble finding his voice. Anytime he opens his mouth its like those pheromones pour down the back of his tongue. He starts sweating, the drool is really happening now, and there's a deep ache in his own gut.

"I-"

When Jean looks up at him from the floor, still curled in a ball, Marco means to say Okay, I'll go tell her, and I'll lock the door. Instead, what spills out is "I can help?"

He freezes a little bit, hands hovering out in front of him, because he was half reaching for Jean already. He pulls them back, curling them into fists and resting them on his knees.

"I think - It's my fault." Which implies it's his responsibility, but Marco knows it's not that. He knows he wouldn't just offer because he made a mistake. He doesn't offer to suck Bertholdt's dick if he accidentally bruises him during training, after all.

"But I'm - I'm a presented beta now. I should be able to help." He swallows the excess of saliva again. He won't go crazy and feral like an omega or alpha, but he knows he can at least give Jean what he wants enough to belay the heat, which is knotting him. Then he lowers his voice, and it's clear by the dilation of his eyes he means this.

"You smell ... really good, Jean."

[notvaljean]

Reiner would probably punch Marco if he offered to suck Bertholdt's dick.

Jean peeks out from between his arms when Marco offers to help. He'd be lying through his teeth if he said he hadn't considered this possibility, after he presented as an omega. He'd carefully considered most of the other cadets, wondering what they'd present as, and if he'd consider fucking them during a heat. But really, he'd thought about Marco most of all. He trusts Marco--always has--and that alone pushes him to the front of the list. The fact that he smells great and is offering to help--not getting all enthusiastic about getting to pound a weak, simpering omega, but offering to help--is just a bonus.

"Really?" Jean unfolds his arms and sits up, wincing as the motion puts pressure on his guts. "You don't have to, it's not your fault this happened."

It's Jean's. It's his stupid body and its ideas about what it should do and when. Marco didn't do anything wrong here, and Jean wants that very clear. The only thing worse than suffering through another heat alone would be knowing Marco was with him out of some twisted sense of duty and not because he wants to be with Jean.

"But... if you want to?" It's a fine distinction, maybe, but it's one Jean needs to make. He has to stop himself from plunging right against Marco and burying his face in his chest. "If you... if I really smell that good?"

[sunspotted]

Marco might argue this point - he's pretty sure he did something wrong here! - but he doesn't try to right now. No, he knows enough about Jean to appreciate the fine distinction he's asking for.

He wants Marco to want him, not do it out of an obligation. Marco knows he's not, so he has to tell him that.

"I want to," he tells Jean when he sits up. He, very slowly, so Jean can pull away if he wants to, reaches out to rest a hand on Jean's arm and squeezes, his cheeks flushing a bright red.

"I wanted to offer last time, but I couldn't." No, Jean had been whisked away too fast, and Marco was just barely blooming into being a beta at that time. He's not sure he would have had any idea what to do, and they probably would have ended up frustrated.

... Not that he has a plethora of ideas available now, but he at least understands, thanks to their classes, what Jean needs.

His last words are quieter, tucking his own chin into his chest - a sign of submission to Jean. "You always smell good. I was happy we got to practice today."

[notvaljean]

This is why they're such good friends. Jean can be vague and indistinct about what he wants or needs, and Marco can see right through his bullshit and get to the heart of the issue. Sometimes, Jean has no idea why Marco continues to put up with him, but he's forever grateful that he does.

"You did?" This is news to Jean, and he sits up. He makes no move to push Marco's hand off his arm--if anything, he's repressing the urge to duck under Marco's arm and curl up against his side--and looks Marco in the face, trying to detect any kind of lie there. Not that he thinks Marco would lie to him, but he still wants to be sure.

As usual, there's no trace of a lie on Marco's guileless face, and Jean inches closer. His scent is strong enough now that even he can smell it, and Marco's right; it does smell like tea.

"Then, we can... try it?" When Marco tucks his chin like that, it sends fizzy little bubbles up and down Jean's spine. He leans in, and very gently noses at the underside of Marco's jaw, along his scent gland. Jean didn't think he'd find anyone to help him with his heats any time soon; he was just assuming he was in for months, if not years, of suffering through them. The fact that it's Marco, his best friend who he loves, feels weirdly right and fitting.

[sunspotted]

They work off each other and make each other better. Marco's learned how to put his foot down a little more and assert himself. He'll never be as outspoken as Jean about it, but he emulates his best friend. And Jean has always been good about getting to the heart of Marco's fears, as well.

He lets Jean examine him, hoping he passes muster for whatever Jean is looking for. Jean seems to find it acceptable, with his offer to try it and then nosing under Marco's jaw, where his gland is. It's not swollen like Jean's, but nosing it does release more of his scent, and the burning curl of arousal as well as Marco hisses softly.

"Yeah," he agrees softly, untucking his chin so Jean can nose at him if he wants. Marco turns his head a little, bringing his hands up to cup Jean's jaw. He's much more gentle this time, his fingers brushing over swollen glands softly.

"Can I kiss you?"

took us nearly forty comments to get to the smooching

[notvaljean]

When Marco lifts his chin, Jean gets the full force of his scent, right in the face. It should be awkward. It's not. It's exhilarating, and Jean breathes deep, sucking Marco's smell down into his lungs, letting it fill him. For a few seconds, it even makes the cramps taper off.

"Yeah." Jean has to resist the urge to just bury his face in Marco's neck and breathe that scent in; when he turns his head so he's looking at Marco, his pupils have blown wide, almost drugged. Marco's touch on his glands feels like relief now instead of pain, and Jean skooches closer, nearly depositing himself in Marco's lap. "Yeah, kiss me."

look we know we like setup

[sunspotted]

Jean looks like he got the good shot from the nurse's office, and Marco thinks to himself almost smugly - he did that. Letting Jean scent him got him feeling that good. He doesn't linger on it overlong, though - he has Jean right in front of him, eagerly consenting to the kiss.

It's not Marco's first kiss, but it's the first one that's mattered. He's gentle when he keeps cupping Jean's head, leaning in and tilting his own head to press his lips against Jean's, a little chapped but not at all dry courtesy of his reaction to Jean's pheremones.

Since Jean is already practically in his lap, he drops one hand to wrap around his waist, and tugs him into Marco's lap.

[notvaljean]

Jean feels like he got a shot of the good stuff from the nurse; he's relaxed and eager at the same time, both content and excited all at once. When Marco tugs at his waist, Jean doesn't hesitate and crawls immediately into his lap, straddling Marco's hips with one leg on either side.

He leans into Marco's kiss, his arms snaking up and looping around Marco's neck. Jean has shared a few harried, decidedly unsexy kisses behind the sheds like most of the other cadets, but Marco is right: this is the first kiss that matters. Marco's lips are soft and warm under Jean's, and Jean is pretty sure he could melt right into Marco's chest and just stay there forever. The kiss even banishes his cramps, sending them skittering away.

serious question: accidental not accidental bonding y/n

[sunspotted]

Marco gives a little groan into the kiss as Jean straddles his hips. He's been trying not to react to the scent, but now that he has that permission to, it's clear it smells very, very good, if the boner he's sporting is any indication.

That's not what Marco wants to focus on, though. No, he's more interested in the press of Jean's lips against his, a movement he is, with previous kisses, familiar with. He wants to deepen the kiss though, so he opens his mouth against Jean's, letting his tongue trace the seam of his lips.

He keeps his arm wrapped around Jean's waist, and his hand slips down to rest against the side of Jean's neck - a very polite 'ten and two' for holding the omega in his arms.

almost bonding by accident a bunch of times during and then doing it on purpose at the end?

[notvaljean]

From this position, Jean can lean against Marco and let him take most of his weight, which he does almost immediately and with no guilt whatsoever. Marco has always been wider and stronger than Jean is, he can take the weight of Jean's scrawny ass leaning on him! In doing so, Jean flops directly against Marco's erection, and it sends a shiver up his spine, along with another gush of liquid in his pants. He may have never done this before, but his body knows damn well where that's going to end up and is getting ready for it.

Marco's tongue against his lips gives Jean pause, though. This is something very new, and there's no immediate reaction from his body to guide him. Hesitantly, he opens his mouth a little wider, to let Marco explore.

oh that's so cute, please an order of that.

[sunspotted]

He gladly lets Jean drop his weight onto him, having to fight back the urge to laugh into the kiss. He's used to that, Jean often does so after meals if he's tired, complaining that training has worn his muscles out and trying to get Bertholdt to give him a massage since Reiner says he's the best at it.

(It has yet to work, but hope springs eternal).

Jean pausing has Marco worried he's done something wrong, but then Jean opens his mouth and Marco realizes he's probably never kissed like this before. He shifts the hand on his neck to cup his head, helping Jean tilt his head a little as Marco slides his tongue into his mouth. He presses it against Jean's, trying to encourage him to move the organ against Marco's own.

only the cutest shit for our rp

[notvaljean]

Someday, Marco. Mark his words: someday he'll convince Bertholdt to make with the massaging. It's not fair for Reiner to hog it all to himself.

Jean hasn't ever kissed like this before, and he's really, really glad when Marco picks up on that fact and takes the lead. That saves him a tiny fraction of embarrassing explaining on a day when he's already had his fill of embarrassing nonsense. He moves his tongue shyly against Marco's, and thank goodness Marco's mouth is so wet, because Jean's is dry with nerves and excitement.

[sunspotted]

Let Marco be your kissing guide, Jean. Apparently he's been kissing a few people more deeply than you have! Still, he's gentle in how he guides Jean. The oddly over productive nature of Marco's mouth today is working out in his favor. He keeps pressing his tongue against Jean's, encouraging movement and even swirling his tongue around Jean's, until the lack of air has him pulling back just slightly, panting a little more.

There's a string of saliva connecting them, Marco having the dizzying thought that it's stickier than normal before he closes his lips and swallows, finally breaking it.

"Okay?" he asks, feeling a little nervous and wanting to check in with Jean.

[notvaljean]

Jean lets himself get lost in Marco's kisses, following his lead and even trying a few moves of his own--they're very shy moves, but they're moves nonetheless--before Marco pulls back. Jean realises that he's out of breath too, panting softly, and it's suddenly really had to make his eyes completely focus.

He does notice that strand of drool though, and snickers quietly about it.

"Gross." But then he's immediately back in Marco's face, taking the initiative this time and kissing him first, his arms wrapping tighter around his neck. It's also starting to feel like Jean's core muscles are giving up on him, and he starts sliding down Marco's front, trying to pull him to the mat on the floor.

[sunspotted]

Marco's brain can only come up with You're gross as a response to that, which he knows isn't quite right. He doesn't have to think about replying, though - Jean is kissing him back again, and Marco groans slightly.

Jean starts going down and Marco goes with him, going to the mat on the floor. He ends up kneeling above Jean, one hand planted on the mat and the other still touching his jaw; one knee between Jean's legs, and the other outside on his right.

Marco pulls back from the kiss again, but this time he has other intentions than checking in. He presses a kiss to Jean's jaw, nuzzling it, and then goes further down, dragging his tongue along one of Jean's scent glands.