2017.
It was summer between their ninth and tenth grades at Westbrook Heights Middle School, and Saliou was sitting at the bench waiting for Milou to finish his swimming lessons. Sensing that it was his only opportunity to be alone with Saliou, Wren gathered the courage to come up to him and confess his feelings to the other.
He seated himself on the edge of the bench, twisting his cap in his hands, cheeks flushed red as he began to stammer out his confession.
"Saliou, I think I have feelings for you. Actually... I think I'm falling in love with you. If I see you go out with another guy, my heart will be broken, and I don't think I can handle that." Wren said this almost breathlessly, as if he was running out of time. He expected to be received with a gale of ridicule or god forbid, evoke a look of utter disgust from the other.
But Saliou's initial shock was quickly replaced by a soft expression, his lips curving in a slight smile. He moved closer to Wren until their knees touched. Then he grabbed Wren's hand.
At first, Wren wasn't sure what was happening, and it confused him immensely. Saliou was so close to him that they could feel each other's breaths. But the feel of Saliou's hand in his felt right. It was perfect. He caressed his fingertips with his own.
Milou was nowhere in sight so this rare display of affection felt... necessary. Saliou held Wren even closer to him, taking in the natural and distinctive scent of his skin, which reminded him of cinnamon, notes of cedarwood, and a hint of citrus. It was calming and somehow sensual.
Hand still holding Wren's, Saliou leaned in to whisper in the other's ear. "I have feelings for you too," he admitted. Again he smiled faintly, then his expression turned glum as his eyes darted toward the pool where Milou was. "But... there's no way I can act on them. You know Milou likes you very much just as I do." He shrugged helplessly. "I don't want to hurt him."
Wren grunted with frustration. "But it's you I like. I mean I like Milou too, but it's not the kind of 'like' I feel towards you. I just... see him as a friend." He placed his hands over Saliou's arms and gave them a gentle tug. "Come on, you were always willing to give up anything – even the things you're fond of – just to please Milou. Did you actually think I didn't know that? It's about time you do something for your own personal happiness, Saliou."
Wren was right. Over the years, Saliou learned to be so in-tune with making Milou happy that he forgot to keep his own needs and emotions in check. But this time, he found something – someone – he just could not give up on.
For once, he wanted this for himself. His alone.
Saliou dropped his gaze and bit his bottom lip. "I don't want Milou to find out. At least not yet. Telling him now would only break his heart. I don't want that. I'd hate myself for it..."
"But delaying the inevitable won't make it any less painful," Wren argued. "I want us to date properly. No secrets. No hiding behind someone's back."
Saliou shook his head, avoiding the other's gaze. "That's my term, Wren," he replied resolutely. "If you don't agree with it, then let's just forget this conversation ever happened – "
"Saliou." Wren took on a firm, almost pleading tone when he said the other's name. "Please don't disregard my feelings just like that." He gave a sharp sigh which elaborated his frustration. And then, he took Saliou's hand in his again. "Alright. If that's what you want, then I'm fine with it. But sooner or later, you'll have to tell Milou about us."
Saliou hesitated, but held captive by the thrall of Wren's gaze, he nodded weakly. "Thank you for choosing me, Wren. You have no idea how happy I am right now," he said with a coy smile.
"What are you talking about?" Wren said, laughing softly. "It was never a competition between you and your brother. Besides, even if you reject me now, I'd still keep on trying until you learn to like me back." His palm cupped Saliou's cheek. "See? I must love you very much. I'm determined to win you over."
Saliou drew his face closer to the other's palm. "Just... promise me you won't tell Milou. Let me do it. I need to find the right time to tell him."
"You need to do it sooner than later, Saliou. The longer we hide it from Milou, the more it'll hurt him. It's understandable for him to get upset. But soon enough he'll get over it. Time heals all wounds, remember?"
"I know. Just... don't make any drastic moves. I'll tell him myself. And then..."
Wren raised an eyebrow, his thumb brushing over Saliou's cheek. "And then?"
Saliou drove his fingers through Wren's and pressed it lightly. He couldn't have escaped, even if he wanted to.
"And then, we'll see..."
2019.
Saliou and Wren have been dating for almost a couple of years now. More than ever, the young Alpha had become Saliou's safe haven, providing comfort and stability during difficult times. More often than not, these difficult times would involve having to clean up after Milou's mess and momentary whims.
But while things continued to change, there was one constant in the young couple's life: Milou was still being kept in the dark about their relationship.
At this point, Wren had been willing to put up with a lot, but he was beginning to grow impatient. He was starting to regret not giving Saliou an ultimatum.
Either Saliou had to tell his brother soon or he will be forced to make the first move.
The twins were expected to enter college with the beginning of the next school year. With cram school eating up most of their time, meeting up with Wren was becoming more and more difficult. Final exams were also looming close so they would limit their times together to prepare for exams.
Meanwhile, Wren would always stay on call. When the twins were finally free to enjoy a peaceful time away from studies, they would meet up at the public library. Their usual spot would be the long table at the far-left corner of the Modern Literature Section.
One day, Wren arrived a few minutes later than the twins. Even from a distance, he could tell that the two were not in good terms. Milou was not his usual chatty, energetic self; while Saliou, ever so serious, was busy reading something on his phone, his body tilted away from Milou.
It was Milou who saw Wren walk through the door. His face instantly lit up, breaking into a wide grin as he waved to Wren. Meanwhile, Saliou was so immersed in what he was doing that he barely even noticed Wren's arrival.
Milou quickly moved over and sat in the next empty chair, offering the other to Wren so he could sit between him and Saliou.
Wren sighed as he placed his bag on the table, hung his school blazer on the back of the chair, and sat down. "What is it this time, Milou?" he asked wearily as he leaned forward, turning to the older twin with a hand pressed against his cheek.
Milou gave him an appalled, what-makes-you-think-it's-my-fault kind of look. He glanced over Wren's shoulder and shot his twin brother a fretful look. But Saliou was still too fixated on his phone that he didn't even bother to look up.
"I... missed cram school," Milou mumbled, voice barely audible. "But I didn't mean to. Aiden and his pals invited me to play pachinko for a bit, but I –" He cast his eyes downward. " – I lost track of time..."
Another heavy sigh from Wren.
"I didn't mean to, okay?" Milou said tartly as he raised his head to glare at Saliou. "And I'm sorry. But you didn't have to run your mouth like that in front of my friends. You embarrassed me. You need to apologize to me, too."
Finally, Saliou looked up at the other, his forehead creasing into a frown. "Apology not accepted. And no, I will not apologize to you." He quickly turned his attention back to his phone. "You've been skipping cram school and we all know this won't be the last. One more absence, Milou. Just one more and the school will notify Mom and Dad. I'm tired of having to cover up for you all the time. Yet your main concern is what your stupid friends would think of you?" Saliou let out a humorless scoff. "Very fucking classic, Milou."
Wren held his hands up, sensing the rising tension between the twins. "Now, now... Let's all cool our heads and take a deep breath."
Milou breathed sharply as he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed across his chest. "He started it."
"Of course it's my fault. It's always someone else's fault," Saliou snapped sarcastically, eyes still fixed on his phone.
"Well." Wren chuckled uncomfortably. "Your brother has a point, Milou. You need to take cram school seriously. You guys want to get into the best business school in the State, right? Entrance exam's going to be pretty tough, you know."
"I know that," replied Milou in a stubborn tone. "It was just a one-time thing."
Saliou rolled his eyes at this. "Yup. Because you're going to come up with a different excuse next time," he muttered.
Wren ruffled Milou's hair lightly before he could make any retorts. "Alright. Time-out, you guys. Let's take our pride down a notch and just apologize to each other, shall we?"
Neither of them responded. Milou just sat there in his seat, staring out in space, as if waiting for the other to apologize first. But Saliou did not budge.
"Uhm... Earth to Saliou?" Wren finally noticed that Saliou had been too engrossed with something on his phone. "What's keeping you busy, Sal? Care to share it with us?"
"Oh, it's nothing. It's just..."
Wren leaned over and peered at the screen of Saliou's phone. He was reading an Internet news article, and Wren was close enough to have read the news headline:
21-year old Omega woman gang-raped by Alpha lover, his friends in Fort Vizesmolou village
The phone's screen went black before Wren could read the rest.
Saliou looked up at him, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. "Uhm, sorry," he said, feeling a little uneasy, "you were saying...?"
For some reason, Wren couldn't meet Saliou's eyes with his own. He reached into his bag and folded out a piece of paper, hesitating before he held it out to Saliou.
"What's this?" Saliou took it from him.
"I got my official allele testing result today."
"You did?" Milou cut in as he leaned over Wren, eyes gleaming as he snatched the paper from Saliou's hand. "So it's that time of the year, huh? You get to know whether you're recessive or dominant." He glanced up at Wren before turning his attention back to the paper in his hands. "Well, it's not like we don't already know you're dominant." He tossed the paper back to Saliou, then leaned back on his chair. "So, now that you're an officially registered citizen of the State, you're legally allowed to bond and have a mate!"
"Milou!" Saliou hissed.
"Tell us, Wren," Milou continued, pretending not to hear his brother, "what would you do if you were to meet your mate? Do you believe in Fated Pairs?"
Wren kept glancing at Saliou, not sure if he should answer the question at all.
Milou leaned close to the young Alpha, eyes filled with anticipation as he waited for the other's response. "So...?"
"Well..." Wren said reluctantly, "I'm not sure about Fated Pairs. I mean, you see some of them on TV – couples claiming to have been brought together by fate. But... do you remember that Russian athlete couple, Evgenia Povalov and Igor Turgenev? They claimed to be fated mates, but barely a couple of years into their marriage, they ended up divorcing."
Saliou huffed and crossed his arms. "That's because Fated Pairing is just a myth – nothing but an artificial concept concocted by the government. It's just one of their lame ways to try and get citizens to subconsciously discriminate – to try and follow some silly concept instead of relying on logic and reason. 'One Alpha to One Omega'? Ha! How silly."
A half-smile formed in Wren's lips but deep inside, he felt a twinge of disappointment as he listened to Saliou.
"The chance to meet your 'fated mate' is close to zero. Okay? Just think about it. How can you choose each other out of billions of people? And even if you do, how sure are you that the relationship will work in the long run? Would you even like each other automatically?"
Both Milou and Wren were silent throughout his monologue.
"Well, here's a fact they've been hiding from you for the longest time: You are the captain of your own fate," Saliou said with finality. "So when you choose your mate, you create your own destiny. Simple as that!"
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