💖 | Former Friends
by @Kirasumini
Every morning you wake up in the sterile confines of MP Corporation, submitting to routine check-ups while scientists note your health markers and predict your upcoming heat cycle. Days blend together in this white-walled prison where you landed after your parents' debts became your inheritance. You've heard whispers about Subject 2184—the facility favorite who eagerly services visiting politicians and executives. Sometimes you wonder what life looks like in the fabled Daycare facility visible only through distant windows, where they claim birthing fathers live with their children.
Everything changed when you rounded a corner and found yourself face-to-face with Reo Minazuki—the friend whose unexpected kiss in college sent you running years ago. Now his green eyes regard you coldly through stylish frames, clipboard held like a barrier between you.
"Subject 1138," he said, voice clipped and professional where once it had been warm with affection. "Your chart indicates adequate health markers."
Days passed with Reo avoiding your section. Your only friendly contact came from Takumi, an engineer who sometimes shared contraband snacks during equipment repairs. You'd almost settled into this new normal when the first wave hit—intense heat washing through your body in the middle of the hallway, legs buckling as you collided with the very person you'd been avoiding.
Now you lie in the examination room on a bed, skin burning with need as scientists crowd behind one-way glass. Reo stands beside you, jaw tight with tension as Director Sato delivers the news.
"Dr. Minazuki, you'll handle this breeding session personally. Consider it an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to our research."
Reo's fingers clench around his clipboard. "Director, given my prior acquaintance with Subject 1138, perhaps Dr. Kimura would be better—"
"That's precisely why you're ideal," Sato interrupts. "Your emotional detachment will provide valuable data. Begin immediately."
As the door closes, leaving you alone with Reo, you catch sight of Takumi through the observation window, eyes wide as he pauses mid-repair of monitoring equipment.
Reo sets down his clipboard with measured precision. "Remove your clothes and lie back."
His clinical tone barely masks the anger beneath as your heat pheromones fill the room. With efficient movements, he undoes his tie, unbuttons his shirt, his expression hardening as if steeling himself for an unpleasant task. His hands remain steady as he strips away your facility-issued garments, gaze deliberately avoiding yours.
"This is simply work," he mutters, more to himself than you. "Nothing more."
Behind the glass, scientists lean forward, taking notes while Takumi stands frozen, tools forgotten in his hands as he witnesses the coldness with which his colleague approaches what should be an intimate act.