This Isn't My Genre!!

"I'm bored," he with an oversized silk robe with not a single deadline in sight announced dramatically to no one in particular. Fin, as always, remained unsupportive.

He kicked his feet on the plush and sighed. Even if Nikolai's absurd penthouse had every amenity imaginable, Yuji still felt like a hermit. An expensive, well-fed hermit with questionable morals.

It had been a few days since the Talk. The one where Nikolai explained that Yuji was likely entering his first heat, that he needed to prepare, and that, essentially, his body was now an unpredictable hormonal time bomb.

Yuji had responded by sleeping for twelve hours, then refusing to leave the couch for another day.

But even he couldn't stay still forever.

Which is why, on a sunny afternoon, Yuji found himself pulling on a cap and sunglasses, wearing an omega collar, stuffing Nikolai's ridiculously shiny credit card into his hoodie pocket, and whispering, "If I get arrested for reckless shopping, it's your fault, Nico."

___

The mall was as extra as Yuji expected.

Digital mannequins greeted him at store entrances. The escalators had scent diffusers. Some boutiques even offered changing rooms with mood lighting options.

Yuji stared at a pair of boots that cost more than a month of his old rent.

"Absolutely not," he muttered, before walking right past and grabbing three pairs of socks he didn't need.

This was retail therapy, not bankruptcy.

After two hours of wandering, Yuji ended up in a cinema. The scent of buttered popcorn hit him like a truck.

He bought a small ticket, a large popcorn, and snuck into the back row of a mildly-rated action movie.

The film was halfway through. He didn't care.

Halfway into a badly delivered villain monologue, Yuji muttered, "Even my villains have better dialogue than this."

The guy two seats over gave him a weird look.

Yuji stuffed popcorn into his mouth and focused on the screen. He could almost relax, pretend things were normal—until someone walked past the row in a tailored suit, a discreet comm in their ear.

His shoulders tensed.

Was that... one of Nikolai's people?

Yuji squinted, but the man disappeared around the corner.

"Don't be paranoid," he muttered. "Rich people probably have guards everywhere."

But the illusion of freedom cracked. A little.

He left before the movie ended.

___

Back in the penthouse, Yuji dropped his shopping bags and flopped onto the couch like a dying starfish.

"I saw the sun today, Fin. I even paid for a movie and left before the final act. I'm thriving."

The fridge hummed.

He pulled out a bottle of imported milk tea and sipped it slowly.

"You know what's worse than being pregnant? Realizing you have no close friends to tell about it."

He stared at his phone. The only person he could possibly talk to was...

From: Jun [Editor-san]

YUJI WHERE IS CHAPTER 10. YOU CAN'T ESCAPE YOUR CONTRACT FOREVER.

Yuji sighed.

"Even Jun's just after my work. No one asks how I'm doing. Or why I have a nesting room now."

The door creaked.

Yuji turned.

It was Nikolai.

Of course it was.

Nikolai raised an eyebrow at the bags.

"You went shopping?"

Yuji blinked at him. "I touched grass."

Nikolai stepped into the room slowly, removing his gloves. "Any problems?"

Yuji hesitated. "Your men were at the cinema, weren't they?"

Nikolai didn't bother denying it.

"We agreed on protection, Yuji. Not surveillance during popcorn breaks."

Yuji threw a cushion at him. "There's a difference!"

"Your definition of difference includes sneaking off without telling anyone."

"It was mall therapy, not a jailbreak!"

Nikolai's expression didn't change. "Your safety is my concern."

Yuji flopped back onto the couch. "You say that like I'm not basically your hormonal hostage."

Nikolai's eyes didn't soften, but he didn't argue either.

"Dinner will be ready in ten," he said instead.

Yuji grumbled but followed.

As they walked side-by-side into the dining hall, Yuji muttered under his breath, "One day, I'll sneak out and you won't catch me."

"Impossible," Nikolai replied without looking.

Yuji rolled his eyes. "Challenge accepted, Nico."

The nickname still made Nikolai twitch.

Which was reason enough to keep using it.

___

(Flashback at the mall)

Yuji did not get arrested.

Which was, in his opinion, a miracle.

He'd spent the day walking around the mall like someone had handed him a golden ticket to a life he didn't understand. And maybe they had except the golden ticket was actually platinum, and the life came with hormone spikes and unsettling smells.

People stared. Not because he was famous. Not because he was weird-looking (he hoped). But because of the omega collar around his neck. It wasn't cheap or basic. This was the kind of collar that screamed designer, glinting under the mall's fluorescent lights like it came with a property deed.

Yuji tugged his cap lower.

He wasn't trying to make a statement. He was just trying to survive.

Well, survive and maybe buy a new hoodie. The one he wore now still smelled like panic sweat and mango juice.

The card worked everywhere. Too well.

Yuji started small: socks. Normal, non-threatening socks. Then a hoodie. Then another hoodie. Then sweatpants. Then he accidentally wandered into a boutique and walked out with something called "aromatherapy heat wraps" that promised to "regulate omega discomfort" and smelled like lavender anxiety.

He didn't even know what half of these things were. But the cashier said, "Have a smooth cycle, sweetheart," and he was too stunned to do anything but nod.

Eventually, Yuji sat down in the food court, surrounded by shopping bags, and stared at a tray of overpriced takoyaki.

He took a bite.

But hey...

The takoyaki was still really good.

"Okay," he mumbled between bites, "maybe this isn't completely a dystopian nightmare."

___

Back at the penthouse, Nikolai received a message.

Status update: Omega active. Location: Westview Mall. Behavior: Spending.

He smirked.

Yuji was adapting faster than anticipated.

He leaned back in his chair, reviewing the surveillance footage. Nothing invasive just enough to ensure safety. The collar tracker fed location pings, and his security team kept a respectful (but ready) distance.

He noticed something interesting in the way Yuji interacted with shopkeepers. A mix of sarcasm and uncertainty, like someone pretending they belonged in a game they hadn't read the rulebook for.

Charming.

Nikolai's eyes narrowed when a stranger brushed too close to Yuji outside the bookstore.

He flagged the timestamp.

Later, he'd have a word with that man.

But for now, he returned to his reports.

The omega was adjusting. That was what mattered.

He didn't need Yuji to fall in love. He didn't even need Yuji to like him.

He just needed him fertile, healthy, and on schedule.

Nothing more.

Probably.