“Princess Emeline will be staying for the next few weeks.” Scott announced, he was sitting at the head of the class, looking relaxed occupying the generic office chair that their tutor usually sat in.
Robbie was beside Allen, looking as bored as he usually did when they were having lessons, carefully doodling little flowers on the corner of his handout about the history of Othebia. For the past few weeks that he’s known the Omega, he’d never once seen Robbie truly pay attention to any of the subjects they were being taught, not that it mattered so much. This wasn’t any true education, there were no tests or finals to being paying attention for.
“Foreign affairs are incredibly important for any kingdom, and though Othebia is in good standing with Lockmere’s royal family, there is always room for improvement. This is a good time to show off any social skills- I expect my mate to be able to handle themselves gracefully and appropriately…” Scott continued on, but Allen was distracted by Robbie sliding his notes over to him.
‘I’m bored. Wanna go on a walk later?’ Was scrawled across the top in purple, sparkly pen.
Allen huffed, like he was exasperated (except he wasn’t because Robbie is actually really cute), but still reached across to reply. ‘Aren’t we a little too old to be passing notes in class?’
Robbie smiled, his eyes crinkling like he somehow knew that he wasn’t actually annoyed. ‘Maybe YOU are. Now answer the question.’
‘We could go swimming? There’s a pool on the first floor.’ He wrote back.
Robbie drew a little smiley face as a response, which Allen assumed meant yes. When he looked up again, he found King Scott staring at them. He was still speaking, still talking about the importance of understanding subtle social cues, but his eyes were sharp, assessing the two of them. Robbie was blissfully unaware, now drawing what might have been a cat in the margins.
Allen half expected the King to say something when he dismissed everyone, perhaps ask them to stay back like a true teacher, but they filed out of the room without any interruptions.
══════✮❁•°♛°•❁✮ ══════
It became a routine to hang out together after lessons. It wasn’t anything agreed upon, at least not out loud, but Robbie seemed to stick to him like a magnet, and Allen didn’t dislike the company like he usually would have. The Omega didn’t seem to have any ulterior motives, there were no coy smiles when he teased Allen, no blatant flirting like he was so used to coming from Omega. Robbie actually wanted to hang out with him, which was a little strange, but pleasant change from the norm.
They wound up in the library a lot. Robbie seemed to like it there, and there were lots of cushions and nooks for long stays. Sometimes they talked, well Robbie rambled about things he was interested in and Allen listened, but often they just read. Allen pretended he didn’t notice the romance novels Robbie read, and in turn Robbie ignored the science fiction that Allen was obsessed with. The system worked well, and Robbie was relaxing to be around.
“Hey, Allen?” He asked, breaking the comfortable silence between them. Allen glanced up, taking in the way that Robbie’s fingers tapped against the book that lay open in his lap, eyes resolutely trained on the pages despite that he’d just spoken to him.
“Yes?” He hummed, pretending to be engrossed in his novel because surely it wouldn’t help the Omega’s nervousness if he were staring at him.
“Remember when you comforted me the other week? I…I’m kind of interested in uhm, scenting…” Robbie trailed off, and Allen bit his tongue to keep from smiling. He really was cute, cheeks flushed and brows furrowed.
“Interested how?” He responded, turning to the next page even though he hadn’t comprehended the last four paragraphs, “Like you want to know about it? Or you want to be scented?”
“I want to be scented.” The Omega whispered. And well, Allen could certainly help with that, wanted to help with that, but there were a few issues. The glaring ones were that Robbie was an Omega, and while scenting wasn’t always romantic, but it was still taboo between Alphas and Omegas that were just friends, and also that technically they were both being courted by the King. A quick glance around the library proved they were alone though, and they wouldn’t immediately be seen if someone walked in.
“Is this your attempt at hitting on me?” He tried to joke, but it pretty much immediately backfired as Robbie visibly flinched, tripping over his words as he loudly tried to deny the accusation.
“N-no! I wouldn’t hit on you- I don’t mean that in a bad way! Or anything, it’s just that you’re really nice and I think of you as a friend, I hope you consider me your friend too, but it’s okay if you don’t! That’s not really my point though, I’m just really inexperienced with all of this and it seems like you’re not, so I just- if you’re uncomfortable we don’t have to obviously! I’m sorry if you are uncomfortable I-“
“Robbie.” Allen cut him off, and Robbie looked like he might pass out from embarrassment. He patted the seat beside him, beckoning him over. “Come here.”
Robbie stuck a bookmark in his book before standing and walking over, eyeing him warily. This close Allen could smell the anxiety in his scent, the slightly sour tinge to the normal sweet berries. The younger sat down stiffly, as though he was afraid Allen might scold him. “I’m not upset or uncomfortable, you just caught me off guard,” He assured, “What do you know about scenting, Robbie?”
“I know that it’s for like, comfort, or bonding between people who are close. Omegas tend to like it a lot because it makes them feel safe. Not that I know a lot about how that feels, because my family always said they didn’t want to “indulge my Omegean urges”. Uhmmm, I know it’s not really normal for Omegas and Alphas to scent, unless they’re like, courting or mated, but I promise I wasn’t hitting on you or anything. You just made me feel really calm the other week…”
This wasn’t a good idea. Like at all. Still, Allen found himself saying, “Okay… but just know that scenting with an Alpha can be kind of overwhelming, okay? Especially if you’re not used to it. So, I’m going to let you scent me first, and if you’re still up for it, I’ll scent you, sound good?”
Robbie was looking at him now, unfiltered curiosity present as he eyed his neck, and he nodded in confirmation. So, Allen tilted his head to the side, exposing his scent gland. It felt inherently wrong to have his throat on display, even if he and Robbie were alone and the likelihood of the Omega ripping his trachea out was slim. Still, he ignored his instincts putting him on edge, forcing himself to relax as Robbie put a hand on his shoulder to keep himself steady. The angle was awkward since Robbie was beside him, he had to get up on his knees to reach properly and it probably would have been easier if the Omega was in his lap. That would be way too intimate then, and he needed to keep the fine line between platonic and romantic scenting in his head.
Then Robbie was nosing into his scent gland, hesitant and tentative, and he felt himself relaxing immediately. There was a lot of science behind scenting, different feel-good chemicals were released into the brain during the act, Allen remembered from health class. The actual names of those chemicals Allen couldn’t recall right now, not that it mattered. What did matter though, was that he was being scented now. He wrapped his arm around Robbie’s waist, instinctively pulling him closer. Not into his lap though, no, lap sitting was the line into romantic ideas and possibly feelings and that just wasn’t something Allen could deal with.
He pulled away shortly after, and Robbie whined in protest, eyes opening and blinking dazedly. “You feeling okay?” Allen cupped Robbie’s cheek with his hand, which the Omega leaned into, eyes fluttering shut again.
“Y-yeah… that was- I like your scent.” He mumbled unabashedly, and Allen ignored the fluttering in his stomach at the compliment.
“Still want me to scent you?” Robbie was baring his neck before Allen had even finished his question, humming affirmatively.
Scenting Robbie was much more difficult than the other way around, he decided as he nuzzled into the Omega’s scent gland, inhaling his saccharine scent. It was so sweet and syrupy, like honey, and it was a wonder that Alphas hadn’t been lining up to court him based on his scent alone. The thought had his chest burning, a possessive growl trying to force its way up his throat that he desperately stamped down. Robbie was just a friend, not a potential mate, just a friend. He repeated the phrase until an appropriate amount of time has passed, then he pulled back again.
Robbie was clearly out of it, and honestly, his mind was pretty clouded too. It’d been a while since he’d scented with anyone, and he didn’t really have fond memories of the last person he’d done it with. Robbie was blinking up at him, sitting down fully again, but he was still pressed up against Allen, and he just looked so sweet and innocent, and there were little freckles on his nose, fuck-
Allen wanted nothing more than to run away, go to his room or maybe the gardens and smoke, but he couldn’t just leave Robbie here. The Omega was clearly in a soft headspace at the moment, and the last thing that he needed was being left alone. So, he forced himself to sit still despite the clawing feeling in his chest, forced himself to make small talk to help ease him out of his vulnerable mental state.
They eventually separated when a maid entered the library, and it was getting late so they decided to retire to their rooms before dinner. Before they parted though, Robbie hugged him and whispered a shy, “Thank you” and Allen pretended like his heart wasn’t trying to beat out of his chest as he watched the Omega disappear into his room.
Comments (10)
See all