They ran across the bridge — the last artery still tying them to the city.Behind them, the neon signs of Eon Systems burned in torn, flickering bursts — a farewell and a mockery in one.The sky was the color of dried blood; through smoke and rising steam, fractured neon bled down into the rain, turning every drop into a crimson streak.
The drone hum shifted into a piercing shriek — they'd been found, traced by residual heat signatures.
An explosion.A blinding flash — sound torn apart by light and shrapnel.The air split open with heat and steel, and the dying alarm wail in the distance merged with the dull rumble of impact.
Jisong fell first, deafened by the shockwave.He tasted iron — the bitter, metallic tang of blood and smoke on his tongue.
Ryon reacted without thought — pure instinct.He threw himself over Jisong, covering him completely, pressing down with his full weight to shield him from the fiery rain.Sparks and burning fragments rained over his back, searing through the fabric of his jumpsuit and branding his skin, but he didn't move — not until the roar faded and silence, trembling and heavy, filled the space.
The blast had destroyed what remained of Ryon's suppressors — unleashing a flood of pheromones in a powerful, uncontrolled wave.Warm. Thick. The scent of an Omega in shock and gratitude.
Min-Ki's voice tore through the comm, panicked:"Ryon, move! He'll catch your signal — your suppressors are gone!"
But Ryon didn't hear him.He pressed his palm against Jisong's shoulder so tightly that his fingers left dark bruises on the damp skin, checking if he was still breathing.The world had narrowed to just the two of them — bodies fused together in a fragile embrace of pain and survival.
***
When the chaos subsided, Jisong came to.Ryon's weight was still over him — hot, trembling, heavy — his breath sharp and uneven against Jisong's chest.He could feel every curve, every taut muscle in Ryon's back and thighs. It wasn't tenderness — it was survival — but that only made it burn hotter.
Jisong inhaled deeply — pulling the warm, raw scent of Omega through smoke and ash. His Alpha physiology roared awake, primitive and fierce — it screamed to mark, to claim, to protect.
Ryon pulled back slowly, painfully. His face was pale beneath the soot.His fingers didn't just check Jisong's pulse — they moved gently across his chest, tracing over his collarbones, verifying his wholeness.
— Why did you... — Jisong's voice came out rough, dry.— Because you would've done the same, — Ryon whispered, hot against his ear — a breath that knocked the air out of him.
Jisong's hand moved to the back of Ryon's neck, pulling him closer until their foreheads met.It was a deep, instinctive kiss without lips — filled with comfort, grounding, and absolute acknowledgment.
Ryon pressed into him, the tremor of shock slowly replaced by the steady warmth of Alpha's presence.Jisong reasserted his protective, dominant scent over Ryon's body — the scent of ownership blending into Ryon's burned clothes and damp skin.
For the first time, Ryon's scent felt right — mixed with Jisong's, no longer separate, but one complete signal.There was no fear between them now — only biology, raw and undeniable, binding them together.
***
— We have to move, — Ryon rasped, pulling away, though his body still remembered every contour of Jisong's.— Let's go, — Jisong said, rising to his feet. His movements were unsteady, but his focus razor-sharp. He helped Ryon up, holding him firmly by the waist.
Min-Ki's voice came again, no longer shouting — quieter now, tinged with bitter sorrow:"You've erased your traces… but you've left yourself, Ryon. And now he carries your integrity."
Ryon didn't answer.The burns on his back throbbed, but the heat of Jisong's hand on his waist eclipsed the pain entirely.
They walked onward across the bridge, leaving behind the city drowning in neon fire and falling sparks.Their merged scent hung in the wet air — sharp Alpha and sweet Omega — their only flag, their only proof of existence.