For ricochetingbullets; surprise wedding date

[starless_sky]

 
continued from here

Normally weddings were boring for Noctis. Too many people. Too much attention. He wasn't the target audience for weddings. He was a great dancer but he didn't like to show it in public, he didn't like schmoozing with people he barely knew, didn't like being held hostage by someone's grandma asking when he's getting married. This time he'd have to vehemently insist he may not ever get married. After this whole thing with Mr.Poindexter, Noct was pretty sure he never wanted to marry at all.

He'd told his friends after they noticed his paranoia. It had been horrible explaining it and they tried to support him but it just wasn't adding up. In the eyes of society Dex did nothing wrong. Noct tried to explain that is exactly the point, that Dex was acting in a way that seemed innocent to make him sound crazy. Who breaks into someone's apartment to steal things only to return them later? And not only return them but to talk to him and stay over and fuck him? Noctis couldn't even call it rape out loud. He always submitted. In those moments with Dex he wanted it the same as he wanted it at the hotel. He never went to the police or a doctor after... though he started birth control. 

He started birth control! For the guy raping him! For his stalker! He said it was for himself but... he just... wasn't ready for that and if anything happened. If he got pregnant, Dex would never leave. 

His friends found all this charming. What a dashing guy! What a rogue! 'He must really love you Noct! He must be smitten! We're so jealous!'

No matter how he tried to explain it was messed up to break into someone's house, because he never gave Dex his address let alone a key, his friends didn't see it as weird. It was just how alphas were when they wanted someone. So many omegas would give anything to be pursued like that. Isn't he grateful? Doesn't he see how LUCKY he is?? Noct tried to tell them this wasn't a fairytale but it fell on deaf ears. 

"When are you going to bring him around? When are we gonna meet this guy?"

"My stalker? Never hopefully."

"UGH. Noct. You do NOT have a stalker. You have a boyfriend. Stop being disrespectful."

"Disrespectful??"

"How do you think he'd feel if he knew you were calling him that behind his back? Alphas value respect from their omegas. You're new to this so maybe you don't know but you have to learn how to talk about and around him. It could get you in trouble." 

 

It was concluded that Noct was simply new to dating and given his general aloofness, he was not adapting well to having a partner. So they gave him grace about it. Grace! They gave HIM grace! They gave him advice about 'how to talk to alphas' and how alphas expect a certain deference from their partners and 'how to be an empowered omega while also being a trad wife omega'. It was gross. He felt gross. He needed better friends. 

But his friends were good people... they wouldn't ALL think that, right? 

 

So he was anxious about getting through today without being asked why he didn't bring a plus one. He was here at the venue all dolled up in his suit and his hair gelled just so. He looked good and he was loitering the grounds trying to find a place to be alone. It was gorgeous. This wedding was held at the botanical gardens with the main building rented out for the reception. It had luxurious lounge rooms, a dining hall, a kitchen, and a second floor where the bridal party were cloistered. Outside people were milling about, drinking already. The weather was perfect for a wedding so people were chatty.

Relatives and friends were arriving in greater abundance. More and more people were shuffling about, bored, looking for conversation. Noct ducked around a corner before he could be spotted and pretended to be admiring some climbing roses. He just had to make it to the ceremony and no one would talk to him and then he could feign intoxication until it was polite to leave. 

And hopefully Dex wasn't in his apartment right now re-appropriating his stuff. 

Comments

[ricochetingbullets]

"The same way you clean anything else. Get some cleaning products that can cut through all the built-up grime and go to work. Just gotta make sure to clean it all up with water afterwards so that your oven doesn't explode or reek of chemicals the next time you turn it one," Dex said patiently. He doubted he'd ever get Noctis up to his standards of cleanliness but he could turn him down the right path.

"Something big and flashy and full of spectacle. Maybe something done on the beach?" Dex said, spitballing ideas out loud. He'd never thought much about his own wedding up until now but all sorts of ideas were starting to filter into his brain. "Maybe a destination wedding? Somewhere warm and tropical? That might mean less guests come but it also means we could splurge more on what the actual event will look like."

Dex wrapped his arms around Noctis, holding him close. "You do?" Dex said, sounding pleased. He'd heard the same thing, that the natural smell of an Alpha/Omega pairing smelling good was a good sign for any future kits they might have. One of his hands came up, stroking through Noctis's hair slowly and rhythmically for a while, feeling his body relax into his.

[starless_sky]

Dex is certainly wise in that regard. Noct's never gonna be at his level but the fact he cleans at all again and he even has a dedicated storage for different cleaners now... he's improving?

"Ah... yeah. Right." he can't respond other than to sound like a dope. He feels like a dope. He is one. He should be a real adult who cleans but alas, he has his psychopath stalker cleaning his oven for him. What the fuck even is his life right now?

"The beach? Why not The Foundry or Le Chateau or something? Or St. Patrick's Cathedral?" of course not. He sighed. This is new to Dex, it was fun for him for some damn reason. Weren't Alphas supposed to not care about this?

"You want it to be the wedding no one can top, you're gonna have to rent out some building here and it'll make us look like assholes." and for one of them that was true!

"If you want a destination wedding why not Paris? You want to go to France, right?" he may as well play along both for his safety and he didn't know how he would get out of this yet. He would. Probably. Somehow. He went back and forth.

"Mmhmm." Noct murmured as they snuggled. Dex smelled good and he even slept with the linens Dex had touched when he left. On nights Dex didn't come by, Noct was liable to curl up with a sheet or the pillow he had laid on.

Noct's own scent was mostly citrus; orange and bergamot, a bit of floral, notes of rose and lily of the valley, underlined with musk. Only because he was male or he'd be fruit and floral all the way down like female Omegas.

Noct sighed in stress relief as Dex pet him. This was the key to soothing him. That and anytime Dex put his hand on the back of his neck.

"I might have gotten over you stealing my clothes because when you return them they smell like you. So we just trade now." he thought about Dex, about what he wanted. "But if you marry me you won't have to do that anymore, you'll be here all the time." every day... forever... oh god...

[ricochetingbullets]

Dex immediately latched onto the subject of weddings with a shocking amount of enthusiasm. That single-minded thinking that had led Dex to stalk Noctis to begin with was now leading him to obsess over his wedding day. "I haven't decided on a single idea yet. But I am open to suggestions." Which meant he was already thinking quite a bit about the ones that Noctis was throwing out, seeing if he liked the way he pictured things going in his head if they were at one of the various locations.

"Paris? You're right, I have always wanted to go..." He pictured that location in his mind. He liked what he saw. "The city of love. Sounds like the perfect place to get married." He sighed in a happy fashion. "I think I'd like a wedding there a lot." Pinning down Dex's emotional state was always difficult given half the time even he didn't know how he truly felt about things but he thought planning their wedding destination as France was a wonderful idea.

Dex leaned in, sniffing Noct heavily, loving that natural scent that wafted off of him. He could never get enough of it, which was one of the main reasons he'd become a kleptomaniac when it came to Noctis's clothes.

As for Dex's Alpha scent, he smelled like old books, leather, gunpowder, fresh grass, and oddly something calming in the mix there like lavender. The lavender scent was most prominent when he was in rut as a sort of natural relaxant when Omegas smelled it to calm them down and get them ready for mating.

He nudged Noct gently as he continued to pet him. "It's cute you somehow think marrying you will somehow lessen my desire to have your scent around me all the time."

[starless_sky]

How bizarre. They were going to have a wedding Pinterest board or its equivalent soon weren't they? Here he was asking himself what happened to the Noctis who promised to get out of this yesterday? Who threatened Dex with a blade the night they met? Or.... no he had to be honest with himself. Dex was a predator and he was in control the moment he grabbed Noct.

How was he going to get out of this? Especially given he liked Dex's scent and they'd had enough heat sex that it endeared him to it. Thank you Oxytocin. It was harder for him to say no when his body said yes. Plus he didn't have any faith in fighting anymore, it hadn't gotten him anywhere so far.

"You'll get tired of me eventually, Dex. What then? Abandonment?" he doubted it. Dex didn't like to lose. If he got tired of Noctis would he kill him? Hopefully. The alternatives were beyond his imagination but they'd be horrible. Torture in some basement until he died?

He liked being pet, he closed his eyes wanting to disappear into a nap. It was not meant to be. His phone rang and he groaned, looking at it he sighed. Grandma. He looked up to Dex, holding one finger over his lip before he answered. Of course, at this distance Dex would hear Eleanor on the other line.

"Hey, Grandma."

Hi, Sweetie. Is this a bad time?

Noct and his grandma exchanged pleasantries and Noct looked bored. He started doodling with his finger on Dex's chest. Grandma got to the point eventually.

Sweetheart. I was thinking about you this morning. You looked very nice yesterday. Your aunt mentioned something to me, and I didn’t much care for the way it sounded. It didn't sound like the grandson I know but I thought I’d hear it from you, just the same.

"Uhh... okay. What did she say?" he looked at Dex. This was his fault. People knew.

Nothing that needs to be repeated in polite conversation. Just the sort of thing people say when they think they've seen more than they have. I would rather hear the truth from you.

Ice bled through his veins. They knew. Somehow Julia knew and now everyone was getting inundated with rumors he fucked his boyfriend at the wedding. This was bad, Julia was like a dog with a bone when it came to juicy gossip. Yet. Grandma was the matriarch of this family and if she believed it was a lie she would silence the entire family and re-write the truth. Noctis had this one chance to change things in his favor. In Dex's favor too. He had to help Dex get away with rape this time.

"She said that?" Noctis gasped, genuinely horrified.

Oh, sweetheart. Don't be upset. You know your aunt has a way of... coloring things. I didn't give it any weight, I know you.

And yet she is calling to prove or disprove the rumor. Noct steeled himself. Grandma wanted to believe he was her precious innocent boy. She wanted to believe and she may be willing to swallow a good lie for this.

"It's embarrassing. All that dancing got me nauseous and Dex took me to the bathroom and I got sick. I made a mess, it's why I took so long. It's why we left after that, I felt terrible."

Grandma's voice changed from nervous to relaxed and bright.

Darling, you poor thing. No wonder you looked pale. Well, that is quite different from what was implied. I am glad you had someone looking out for you.

"Is everybody... talking about this? Do they believe her?"

...They know you, Noctis. As I know you. I will have a talk with your aunt this afternoon about this.

"Grandma, don't punish her, please." this was going to have the reverse effect.

Noctis, I know you. I know how you were raised. Nothing she said was going to change my mind. I wish she would keep such ideas to herself.

And he knew his grandma was on the war path now. She cared about her family's propriety above most things.

I've got to go, dear. Do bring your young man over to the house some time. I didn't get much chance to talk to him at the wedding. Love you!

"Sure, bye Grandma." he sighed. Well. Snuggling is ruined. "Don't take that as a sign that it's okay to force yourself on me." as if it mattered to Dex?

[ricochetingbullets]

Dex twitched a little when Noctis asked him what would happen when and if Dex got tired with him. He was a little worried about that truth be told. It had happened with other people before in Dex's life. Once they stopped making him curious or were no longer interesting to him, he simply dropped them from his life and moved on. But Noctis was different. "You don't know that. Maybe I never will. He'd never been this way with an Omega before, particularly one that he now wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He couldn't imagine a day coming where he suddenly tired of Noctis and just cut him loose to go back to his old life.

Dex squinted a little in curiosity when Noctis silently told him to remain quiet while he spoke on the phone with his grandma. For a while, he just listened, feeling as bored as Noctis did. He focused on Noct's fingers on his chest. Then his grandmother got to the point of the conversation. Suddenly, Dex was trying very hard not to laugh, certain that Noctis would be able to feel the vibrations going through his body that he refused to let escape his mouth. If Noctis's grandmother was alerted to his presence on the other end of the line, he could lose all the goodwill he'd built up with his family the night before. The best laid plans could end up being waylaid by one simple mistake.

He listened as Noctis spun a lie so smooth that even Dex wouldn't have been able to tell it wasn't the truth if he hadn't already known it himself. Once Noct hung up, Dex finally let out a burst of laughter. It was far more genuine then the controlled laughs that Dex had in public interacting with other people as the 'perfect Alpha.' This was much louder and messy than that. Finally, he stopped.

He reached over and pet Noctis gently again before kissing him on the top of the head. "We both know I'll do what I want and when I want to." Unfortunately, in this one area, Dex had absolutely no regards for what Noctis wanted.

[starless_sky]

It may be that Dex sets him free when he gets bored. Noct would have to figure out what sort of lie to tell when that day came and his family asked about Dex. Aunt Julia would be so happy if his marriage failed. Little does she know.

"Maybe but maybe we should talk about it." and maybe it would happen sooner than he thought if he was boring enough. Somehow he knew Dex wouldn't leave until it was too late and too early. If he left.

He didn't expect the laughter and he narrowed his eyes at Dex as he was on the phone. Oh. Oh he finds it funny Noct's covering for him? Wow. Motherfucker. He had a lovely laugh but it was so annoying.

"Go ahead, laugh it up. Next time I'll tell her the truth." he frowned. This felt gross. It was disgusting and he can't even take pride in standing up for himself. He'd helped Dex and he thought it was so funny. It was. Dex deserved to laugh at him, he was enabling this miserable life.

Dex's scent was doing things to him so his gross emotions weren't as sharp as they ought to be. Being pet helped soothe him and even the kiss, it ought to make him mad but today he was so tired. So hung over. Far too wrung out to really fight it. He just took it. The kiss, the reminder that Dex acted with impunity.

He sighed and twisted around so his back was to Dex. He fished for his TV remote. He needs to get out of this mindset and out of that awkward call.

"I can't believe she called to ask me that." he huffed. He is watching TV now and dissociating into the numbing commercials for spray cleaners, pet vaccines, trucks, online university, denim at Macy's. It was slop he'd normally mute but he was unresponsive for a while until the ads stopped and the news came on. It was a spot about the police and the AVTF. Something about Daredevil and the latest tragic deaths in New York.

Plenty of talking heads came on and Noct wanted to change the channel. He held his remote out but paused as a certain face appeared on screen. A rather plain looking middle-aged man. Brown hair, dead eyes, but all professional. Noct froze.

"Why is he there?" his voice was soft, his heart vulnerable. "It's... that's him." he swallowed. "Dex. That's... he killed my father." he watched until Titus Drautos was off-screen and then turned the TV off. He twisted around again and buried his face in Dex's chest. Abusive or no, he needed to not be alone right now and this Alpha would do nicely.

[ricochetingbullets]

"I don't want to talk about it," Dex said childishly and in a very stubborn tone. He made it clear that the idea of leaving Noctis someday was no longer up for discussion. Dex didn't like talking about someone leaving his life in any sense, always afraid that this would end up turning into some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy.

"No, you won't." Dex said the words confidently, certain that Noctis wouldn't want to end up being the family embarrassment and having to reveal just exactly what the relationship between he and Dex was truly like. Besides, deep down, he liked to think that he was growing on Noctis. If nothing else, his body kept reacting positively to Dex, making him think that this was all working out just the way that he wanted.

Dex noticed Noct checked out for a bit when he turned on the TV. He continued to pet Noctis, curling his body up around his mate like he could help fix whatever Noctis felt was going wrong with him. Of course, it never occurred to Dex that he was the reason for Noctis's miseries to begin with.

Dex suddenly sat up straight, his arms tightening around Noctis in an instinctual desire to protect him as Noct turned to him for comfort. "What?!" He said with something close to a snarl in his voice. Then his eyes darkened. "I'm going to kill him," he said in a tone burning with pure fury. That was a definitive statement, not a promise. Water was wet, the sky was blue, and Dex was going to kill the man who had murdered Noctis's father.

[starless_sky]

Noctis flinched at the hard tone. Dex was like an overgrown child and in so many ways he was. Yet an adult sized child was terrifying where a toddler was not. Still, Noct grit his teeth. He wanted to clap back but he knew it was worthless. Like talking to a wall.

Then Dex hit him with another blow, devastating only because it was true. He'd never tell his grandma what happened. The shame of it, the horror of having to say it out loud would gut him. Let alone inflicting that on her and knowing it would change their relationship forever. He knew he could never. He just wanted to pretend he had an edge over Dex. Any edge at all.

Dex was a lot of Noct's problems but not all of them. He had a hard time putting himself out there for one. He was enough of a homebody and a recluse that Dex literally snatching him up was the most effective way to get him into a relationship. He was messy, he was lazy at times, he didn't apply himself. In a lot of ways Dex made him try harder, if only to keep his mind off the horrors. Plus his grief over his father had a tight hold on him. Enough so he went from wanting to discuss the end of their relationship to suddenly needing Dex to hold him.

"No!" he hissed. "Don't go. Please." he forced his voice through gritted teeth, through sobs he was forcing back. Dex's scary voice didn't even cut through it. He knew distantly he should be afraid but it didn't affect him. Nothing did in this moment. That bastard was alive and doing well for himself. His dad was dead and that piece of shit was smiling on camera.

"...Don't leave me right now. Please?"