After Saliou's intemperate speech, a dead silence ensued, broken only by Milou's irritated grunt. "You don't have a single romantic bone in your body, do you? You're always such a buzzkill."
"I'm just telling you the truth."
Wren cleared his throat. "Despite that... I'd still like to believe in the existence of Fated Pairs, though," he declared, which pleased Milou, but surprised Saliou.
"I knew it!" Milou trilled as he wound his hands around Wren's arm.
Saliou lowered his head, feeling a little ashamed and remorseful about what he said.
"I mean, what was the Imprinting for, right?" Milou pushed on, resting his head on Wren's shoulder. "One way or another, you're bound to any one of us."
Saliou put a hand against his forehead. He could not help but feel embarrassed on his brother's behalf. "And that's according to our parents. Wren, you can't possibly think it's – "
Milou's irate voice cut him off mid-sentence. "What if I'm your Omega?"
"W-What?" Wren chuckled nervously, glancing over at Saliou, whose eyes were wide with shock.
"Milou Matisse, you have no shame!" the younger twin snarled.
"What?" roared Milou. "It's just a what-if question. Right, Wren?"
The young Dumont was feeling even more awkward now. Yet he was ready to indulge the other. After all, it wouldn't hurt to be honest in his own way.
"Well..." Wren started as he looked at Saliou, smiled at him softly and reassuringly before turning back to Milou, "If I were to meet my fated mate, I'll make sure to treat them like royalty; that they'll live the good life. I'll give them the best things they can have. I'll laugh and celebrate with them when they're happy, cry and give them comfort when they're sad, take care of them, and let them know that I love them with all my heart."
Both twins blushed with Wren's unrestrained and passionate words.
"Wren, I think I've fallen in love with you even more now," Milou declared without so much as a stutter. "I really, really love you!"
Both Wren and Saliou knew that Milou can be quite forthright with his words, but this was the first time he's ever expressed his feelings toward the young Dumont. But this was especially upsetting for the younger twin, who has not yet voiced out his feelings clearly to Wren.
"I'm telling you now, Wren Dumont, my ultimate dream is to become the best spouse and mother," Milou proclaimed, looking at Wren with determined eyes. "I'm going to marry and have a kid. No. Kids! We're going to become one, big, happy family and –"
At last, Saliou could no longer stand his brother's ramblings. With clenched fists, he said, "Are you for real right now? You expect me to sacrifice four years of my life at a college that you chose, only for me to see you married off and producing babies?" Every word he said was laced with bitterness. "I know happiness can mean many different things to people, but is getting married and bearing children your only definition of 'happiness'?"
Milou's mouth hung open for a moment, then he scoffed. "W-What's up with you all of a sudden? Stop being so melodramatic."
"Come on, Milou, give yourself more credit. You're so much more than that."
"'So much more than what?"
"A fucking babymaker!"
Saliou caught Milou off guard, but the humiliation he felt quickly turned to anger. Milou's light-brown eyes nearly bored holes into his younger brother. "What's so wrong about wanting to have kids?!"
Wren broke into a cold sweat, sensing the beginning of a heated argument. But before he could attempt to pacify the situation, they heard the sound of stiletto heels clicking along the marble floor, growing louder as they approached their table. That was when the librarian came up and scolded them.
"Be quiet or leave the premises," the librarian warned them sternly.
Saliou was quick to apologize on behalf of everyone and promised to not make any more ruckus. With a little convincing, the librarian let them off and allowed them to stay.
When the librarian finally left, Wren slumped back into his chair and let out a huge sigh of relief. "Phew! I thought we were done for."
Lips tightly pursed, Milou bolted from his chair and furiously gathered up his textbooks from the table.
"What's up, Milou?" Wren wondered.
"I'm going home," Milou replied acidly as he shoved the books inside his bag. Again, he glowered at Saliou. "Don't you dare follow me."
The younger twin snorted and shot him a sideways glance. "What makes you think I will?"
"Guys, come on," Wren groaned, "it doesn't have to end this way."
"Well it already did," Milou retorted as he slung his bag over his shoulder. He fixed his eyes again on Wren. "Come on, Wren, let's go."
"Uhm... Would you rather just stay here with us a bit longer?" Wren's voice was hesitant.
Milou's lips pursed in such a way that Wren knew he was disappointed. "Fine. Stay here with Mr. Buzzkill, then." He turned and walked away; Wren and Saliou hearing his heavy footsteps as he went.
"Saliou, aren't you gonna' go after him?" Wren asked in concern.
"No," Saliou answered as he leaned forward over the table and rested his head on crossed arms. "I'm too tired to be dealing with Milou's bullshit right now. Don't worry about him, he'll cool down and come to his senses before he could even reach home."
Wren let out a slow breath as he bent forward and clasped his hands together between his knees. "Sal, I don't want to have to keep reminding you, but... this is one of those things we could've easily avoided if Milou already knew about us dating..."
It was Saliou's turn to sigh. "I know," he said, remorsefully. "It's just that... I still couldn't find the perfect timing."
"Sal... At this point, any time can be the perfect timing. It's been almost two years." He looked at the other searchingly, before adding, "Would you like to know how I feel about our current situation?"
Saliou stared at him and nodded. "Of course."
"I don't want you and Milou to be arguing, right in front of me. Earlier, you guys put me in a really tight spot. It's almost unbearable. I really hate to be the cause of a sibling quarrel..."
"I'm so sorry... It's my fault. But Milou and I were already quarreling even before you arrived. It's just that... he kept adding fuel to the fire." He ran his hand over his face and turned towards Wren fully. "And I'm so sorry about all those shit he'd been spouting. It's almost embarrassing, hearing him say those words."
"What, you mean the part where he confessed to me?" Wren asked jokingly. "I thought it was flattering."
Saliou's brown eyes filled with sparks as he glared at the other, unable to hide his jealousy.
"Hey now, I'm just kidding." Wren put his hand on Saliou's back, rubbing in a circular motion. "Well, it was kind of cute, but... sometimes I wish you're just as vocal as your brother. I always want to know what's going on in that pretty head of yours. I want to know what you're thinking, what you're feeling..."
Saliou groaned silently as he rested his hand on his cheek, gazing down at Wren's face. "Alright, then. To be perfectly honest, I was... jealous," he grumbled, his voice shaky. "Milou got to say it to you before I did. Seemed kind of unfair."
Wren's eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Huh? Say what?"
Saliou averted his eyes and nervously moved his hand to one ear, as if trying to tuck a strand of hair behind it. His hand fluttered, and then he dropped it into his lap. Wren realized he was nervous, his cheeks flushed bright red. "You know... he told you he loves you."
The expression on his face was so vulnerable and full of yearning that it made Wren's heart skip a beat. "Silly Saliou." He chuckled and took the other's hand in his. "It's never too late. You have all the time in the world to say it."
Saliou buried his head in his arms, on the table, and moaned. "Now I'm embarrassed."
Wren raised his head gingerly and looked around to see if they were alone. The nearest person from them was three tables away. For the time being, that part of the library was, other than them, empty.
Wren moved his chair closer to Saliou, leaned his head back on the table, and motioned the other to do the same. Saliou gave him a quizzical look but did as he was told; scooted closer to Wren. Their faces were buried behind the piles of textbooks on their table.
For Wren, there was no beating around the bush. He leaned his face close to Saliou's, put a hand on his face and found his lips.
It was a soft, open-mouth kiss, and Wren slid his hand to the back of Saliou's neck, not forcing to continue if the other didn't want to.
At first, Saliou was startled having been taken completely by surprise, but he soon started to melt against Wren and found himself kissing him back.
"A gentle reminder, Saliou Matisse," Wren whispered as their lips parted for the merest moment, "that you're the only one I love."
Saliou laughed softly. "I... I love you, too," he said as he caught Wren for another kiss.
One short kiss became another, and then another. Wren felt a surge of excitement when he felt Saliou's timid response to his kisses become more passionate. His tongue moved slowly against Saliou's, tasting him, kissing him all the deeper.
Both were so lost in each other, so lost in the moment, that they forgot where they were. They filled each other with a yearning they couldn't quell. The kiss deepened until their breaths became ragged.
Saliou had to break the kiss to draw in a breath.
Meanwhile, Wren's gaze roved him languorously. "God... You finally said it," he muttered, his breathing unsteady.
Saliou shrugged. "I suppose I did," he said, beaming.
For a moment, they just stared at each other, smiling. But then, quite unexpectedly, Saliou found Wren leaning even closer, his nose snuggling into his hair. "Wren?" He threaded his fingers through the young Dumont's hair; soft and silken and smelled of old spice shampoo. Yet he also smelled smoky and dark and quite honestly like a treat – the familiar, distinctive scent of an Alpha.
Saliou gave a small gasp as Wren drew his nose along his neck, taking in his scent. They sat there for several seconds, longer than ten, maybe twenty. Saliou wasn't counting, but he knew they had to break away from each other's need for physical intimacy.
Wren came up for air and straightened in his seat, his face flushed, eyes bright. He stared down at Saliou intently. "Sal, I'm not sure if you're aware of it but, recently, you're giving off this... slightly different scent."
"W-What? Is it bad?" Saliou pulled back and sniffed himself, feeling highly embarrassed.
"No, no, that's not what I meant," Wren said as he shook his head and chortled. "On the contrary, you smell nice. Like, really nice. But, I can smell something different on you. Kind of strong... a little overpowering."
Saliou blushed deeply. "What do I smell like?"
"Well..." Wren closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, as if soaking up as much of the other's scent as possible. "... it's kind of like jasmine... mixed with peach and orange blossom... I'm not sure how to put it but, you have an irresistible smell." He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows, teasing at the implication of his words.
"You mean to say I'm like a walking flower garden?" Saliou said brokenly. He didn't even want to joke about this touchy subject, but he didn't wish to ruin the mood.
Saliou always thought he had a good sense of smell, but some say it's harder to sense one's own scent. He wondered why he'd come off stronger to Wren. Nobody has ever come up to him and remarked about his scent – not until Wren did.
Could it be that he's the only one who can recognize my scent? Saliou wondered. But why?
Wren crossed his arms on the table and rested his chin on them. "You know, sometimes I can smell your scent from a distance. It makes it easy to tell you're nearby. Somehow, it reminded me of something they taught us in health class. About... About scent glands and... bonding."
Saliou sensed Wren's hesitation and wished he knew what he really wanted to say. "I hope you're not talking about Fated Pairs, because I don't want to have to argue with you about it, too."
"But how can you explain the reason that maybe, just maybe, I'm the only one who recognizes your scent?"
But before Saliou could reply, the alarm on his phone went off. The sudden noise startled Wren and Saliou went for his backpack as he quickly fumbled for his phone, cursing himself for forgetting to put it on silent mode. He flicked his finger on the screen, scrolling to see what made the alarm go off.
There was a long pause, and Saliou's expression changed from one of irritation to one of stress.
"Sal?"
Saliou let out a worried sigh and laid his phone down hard on the table. "The alarm on the heat tracker went off," he said. "My heat cycle starts next week."
"Oh... Isn't it your second cycle this year?"
Saliou nodded as he pressed his fingers to his forehead, anxiety clear on his face. "I'll have to go and ask my doctor to refill my prescription for the heat suppressors." He turned and gave Wren an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I guess next week's date will be postponed."
"Don't worry about it," said Wren as he reached for Saliou's hand and squeezed it gently. "If anything, I'm just a call and video chat away. Okay?"
Saliou smiled as he leaned over to give Wren a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, and I'm sorry."
Wren and Saliou, now sixteen and seventeen respectively, must admit that they have now reached the age when a line must be set between an unbonded Alpha and Omega.
The pheromones of an Omega in heat could drive Alphas and some Betas mad with lust, especially when it goes unsuppressed. And it could be much more dangerous for unmarked Omegas who inadvertently tempt Alphas and Betas with their natural pheromones.
But while Betas are the farthest away from giving in to their primordial impulses, Alphas are an entirely different story. They are more inclined to their primal instincts, some of which are to claim and breed. Omegas who go unchecked when in heat are only seeking trouble...
As the years went by, the young couple eventually learned to adjust around these changes. Be that as it may, their life and their relationship continued without significant events for the next few years.
In fact, everything went so well that they failed to foresee the troubles that lie ahead...
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