There were two things Remington Baker prayed for as a child. One—he wanted his older brother, Reed, to disappear without a trace, and two, he wanted to be a pilot like his father.

Lucky for him, only one of his prayers were answered. After he’d served his time in the military, he applied for Unity Airlines and got the call a week later that he'd been accepted. It was one of the happiest days of his life. Not only because his dream had come true, but because Remy knew his father, were he still alive, would have been proud of him.

Ten years later, and Remy had done quite well for himself. He was the second most senior first officer based in New York, and he had a good reputation for being both efficient and thorough. His plan was to make Captain by forty, and as long as he kept his nose clean, and stayed off the radar, he would be ready to upgrade in a few months.

“Take my suitcase to the car, Henry,” Remy told the bellmen, struggling with his tie in the atrium mirror. “I’ll be down momentarily.”

“Yes, Sir.” Henry nodded and grabbed the handle of Remy’s luggage. He was just about to leave when he looked back and said, “Will Mr. Erin be needing any more assistance moving in, Sir?”

For the past week, Remy, Henry, and Erin spent hours moving the Omega into his condo. Considering Erin’s age, and caste, Remy had anticipated a good amount of stuff, but Remy had not anticipated that Erin would have the wardrobe of a minor gentry.

There were boxes and boxes of clothes, shoes, and accessories. And just when Remy thought there couldn’t possibly be another box, Erin came down from his apartment with several more.

To Erin’s credit, the Omega was surprisingly organized. He had them sorted and marked so that the job of unpacking was relatively easy. However, halfway through unloading, it became apparent that all of Erin’s belongings would not fit in the guest room. It was these circumstances that compelled Remy to offer him the Princess suite adjoining his own.

             “Are you sure it’s okay?” Erin asked worriedly."I don't want to inconvenience you."

             “Why would it be an inconvenience?” Remy had answered without concern.       

             “I'll be gone half the month, so you'll have the privacy you need. The bathroom separates us, and there's a lock from both sides. I only ask that you keep the television and music down in your room.”

             “Of course.”  Erin nodded eagerly. “You won’t even know I’m here.”

And that was that. No frill. No fuss. Never mind the fact that the Master and Princess suite were designed for a mated pair, or that Remy hadn’t used the lock on the bathroom door since he bought the condo. Both he and Erin had agreed to a trial run of one month, and if something did go wrong during that time, Remy was resigned to let Erin go.

“I believe so,” Remy answered to Henry’s question. “I can’t imagine that he’d have much more, but I’ll be sure to ask him before I leave.”

“Sounds good, Sir.” The bellman shut the door behind him, leaving Remy to finish preparing. He’d already double checked his briefcase for his wallet, keys, and ID. Now all that was left was to leave instructions for Erin, and of course, fix his damn tie.

“Annalee! Erin! Come down here, please!” he bellowed up the stairs. He’d instructed his daughter to fetch Erin ten minutes ago, and they still hadn’t returned.

“Coming, Papa!”

A moment later and he heard thundering footsteps above him. Annalee and Erin laughed as they rushed down the stairs, running to meet Remy at the door.

“I won!” Erin said out of breath.

“Unh, unh! I won!” Annalee shouted back through her laughter.

“Okay, okay— you won!” Erin chuckled and pointed to her. “But next time I won’t go easy on you. You’ve met your match, Ms. Annalee Baker!” he said dramatically. The two bursts into infectious giggles, completely oblivious to Remy’s disapproving glare.

“Are you two quite finished?” Remy asked as he yanked the knot out of his tie and started over.

“Yes, sir,” Erin mocked Remy’s formal tone. “We are…” his words trailed when he caught sight of Remy fixing his tie in the mirror. “Quite…finished…” Erin said breathlessly.

“Did you finish unpacking everything?” Erin didn’t answer right away, prompting Remy to turn toward him. “Erin?”

“Hmm?” Erin answered with a drowsy hum.

“I asked if you finished unpacking.”

“Oh!” Erin stared at him, seemingly surprised by the question. “Oh yes. I did.”

“Good.” Remy nodded once. “We have a facility on the ground level of the building. If you need to store anything else, just let me know and I’ll take care of it when I come back.”

“I think I should be okay…” Erin mumbled, picking at the ends of his hair nervously. “The closet is more than big enough.”

Remy abandoned his tie and frowned at Erin’s flushed cheeks and lowered head. He’d sunk his shoulders in to make himself smaller and his eyes were downcast, examining the tops of his tennis shoes. He looked like—and Remy hated to even think this—but he looked like an Omega submitting to his Alpha…

Remy stepped toward Erin, his freshly polished shoes clacking on the hardwood. He raised the back of his hand to Erin’s forehead, and then to his flushed cheeks.

“Remy…” Erin’s voice trembled as he spoke. “What are you doing?”

“Checking you for fever. Your face is all red and sweaty.”

“I’m fine!” Erin ducked out of Remy’s grasp. “I’m just sweaty from unpacking is all!”

“Are you sure? It would be bad if you got Annalee sick for her first week of school.”

“I’m sure.” Erin rolled his eyes, banishing any trace of submission Remy thought he’d perceived. Outwardly, Erin looked the same as ever. He wore his hair in a high ponytail, pulling his bangs back with those same ridiculous clips. His style of dress remained the same as well. Today he was wearing a pair of pink overalls over a short-sleeved checkered dress shirt.

Yes, Erin looked perfectly healthy…so why did Remy feel so distressed and agitated?

“I can take off work if you’re feeling unwell, Erin. It’s no trouble.”

“I appreciate the offer, but there’s no need to call off work.” Erin stepped toward him and grabbed the two ends of the tie. Remy stiffened, immediately, wondering whether Erin would hug him again. Instead, Erin leveled the fabric evenly around his neck and tied it into a perfect windsor knot.

“Trust me…” Remy stared down at the top of Erin's blond head and watched his delicate fingers, trickling down the length of his tie.

“Annalee and I will be just fine.” Erin took a step back as if to admire his work and patted the stripes on Remy’s shoulders.

“All right then,” Remy sighed, fighting a strange urge to pull Erin into the crook of his arm. “I’ll text you when I land tonight. Annalee should be asleep, so I’ll call in the morning before she goes to school.”

“Right.” Erin nodded firmly. “I’ll make sure she’s in bed on time.”

“Annalee.” As Remy walked toward the door, Erin and Annalee trailed behind him like a pair of baby chicks. “I want you on your best behavior.”

“Yes, Papa.”

“Listen to Erin.”

“Yes, Papa.”

“And make sure you practice your piano every day.”

“Yes, Papa.”

“Erin, you make sure she practices too.”

“Yes, Papa,” Erin mimicked Annalee’s obedient tone. Remy paused in his step and turned toward Erin.

“Cute,” he uttered dryly.

Erin grinned innocently and folded his hands in front of him, pursing his lips to suppress another giggle. “We’ll both be on our best behavior.”

“I trust that you will.” Remy fixed his hat on his head and opened the door to leave.

“Annalee, make sure you tell Papa goodbye!”

“Bye, Papa!” she waved excitedly. “See you soon!”

“Fly safe, Remy!” Erin echoed Annalee’s farewell. Remy stared at them both, and a powerful sense of deja vu overcame him.

“Annalee, say bye, bye to Papa!”  She would say, holding his then, infant, daughter in her hands. “Fly safe, Remy!”

The words reverberated in the chamber Remy kept his memories of her. He would never be able to forget her, but he could subdue the pain her memory caused him.

“Lock the door behind me,” Remy murmured, turning his back toward them both. Then he closed the door behind him and left without another word.