“Damon over here.”

Damon saw Dylan waving and walked over to their table in the crowded restaurant.

“Sorry I’m late,” Damon said.

“What else is new?” Dylan said, smiling as he patted his shoulder in greeting.

Damon nodded to everyone as they greeted him back. Every two months, he and his college friends from medical school met up for dinner. Their group consisted of him, Dylan and Louise who were both Betas and general practitioners at a local hospital, and Melissa and Cam who were Alphas and surgeons. It wasn’t rare for Betas and Alphas to mix in medical school but it didn’t happen often. Which is why the group tried to keep in touch as much as possible. They even helped each other out by giving advice and second opinions on tough cases. There was a bond of trust between them despite their genders that Damon wished existed on the base. But according to Flynn who was still spending a lot of time with Kit, maybe those bonds were getting better in recent weeks.

“Where’s Flynn?” Melissa asked politely.

“He’s coming. He drove and is parking the car.”

“We really missed him,” Cam commented. “He didn’t show up to our last gathering.”

Damon recalled that their last meeting was when he was away and Flynn was in heat, alone. Damon smiled awkwardly, “Yeah he was really swamped with work. He said he texted you guys.”

“Yeah,” Melissa replied. “We just wanted to make sure he didn’t feel awkward about coming without you. We think of him as part of the group too. He kinda went through med school with us since he was always with you.”

Dylan chuckled, “You kidding? Like Flynn would ever feel shy or awkward.”

Melissa looked down into her glass and smiled softly, “He’s more shy than you think.”

Damon assessed Melissa as the waitress brought him a menu. It wasn’t the first time Melissa had shown some interest and insight into Flynn. As Alphas went, especially female Alphas, she was the kindest and most understanding one Damon knew. She clearly cared about Flynn and treated him gently. The only question was, how much did she care?

“I’m here!” Flynn announced as he got to the table and sat at it’s head between Damon and Melissa.

Everyone greeted Flynn cheerfully, causing Damon to smile resignedly when he thought how lackluster their greetings were when he arrived. Everyone loved Flynn. It was only natural and Damon never felt bad about it. He knew with his home life the way it was, Flynn deserved a lot of affection from the people around him.

“Hey, Melissa,” Flynn greeted the Alpha. “Did you get a chance to try that bakery I told you about?”

“No, I haven’t,” she winced when Flynn lifted his eyebrows then laughed. “I know I know. Same excuse. But it has been crazy lately.”

“When is it not crazy?” Cam drawled.

“Guess I’ll just have to make you go then. When’s your next day off? I’ll take you otherwise you’ll never go and you’ll miss out.”

“I’m free on Tuesday,” Melissa replied.

Flynn smiled broadly, “Great. It’s a date then. I’ll come pick you up at six once I’m done with work.”

Damon absently took a sip of his drink while the conversations around him flowed, smiling at his friends and trying to ignore that nagging voice in the back of his head.

“I’m stuffed,” Flynn said as he flopped in the passenger seat.

“You did eat more than usual,” Damon replied fondly as he got into the driver’s seat and started the car.

“It’s because Cam dared me to finish that lava cake after I finished that ginormous plate of pasta.”

“Was it good?”

Flynn sighed blissfully, recalling the sweet taste of the chocolate as it melted in his mouth. “Heavenly.”

Damon chuckled and Flynn grinned at him, relaxing in his seat and sighing in contentment. He missed this. Damon’s schedule had been crazier than usual with the virus outbreak in Corna almost two months ago. And lately there’s been a bug going around the base, which even took down the powerful Kit AKA, Flynn’s new bestie.

“How’s Kit doing?” Flynn asked. 

“He still has a fever,” Damon replied. “But it’s getting better. We’re still keeping all the infected people in the quarantine wing though just as a precaution.”

“Must be driving Michael crazy.”

“You have no idea. Security keeps catching him trying to sneak in to visit him. They caught him again yesterday with an audiobook he thought Kit might like.”

Flynn chuckled, “It’s pretty sweet though. I’m glad those two have gotten so close. They make a good pair.”

“You mean as soldiers or as an Alpha and Omega?”

Flynn felt a stab of annoyance at Damon’s words and shifted in his seat, “What, just because they’re an Alpha and Omega you think they should mate? Bond? Not everyone wants that. That’s not why Kit’s here, I'll tell you that. He’s a soldier. That’s what he wants.”

Damon sighed, “I know, I’m sorry. I know you and Kit talk a lot about his life and like you he’s trying to get away from his family and their expectations. I just meant they make good partners as soldiers. And if, after they leave the force, they decide to mate, well...what’s the harm in that?”

Flynn pouted as he stared out the window. He knew Damon was right but he didn’t like the thought of Kit being bonded and marked, chained to an Alpha who may mistreat him down the line. Michael was the nicest and sweetest Alpha he ever met, but Flynn’s resentment of the Alpha and Omega bond was too strong for him to even consider the possibility of his one true Omega friend being chained to an Alpha, even a sweet one. He had enough self awareness to know it was his own issue and had to do with his family's obsession with mating and lineage. He just couldn’t help it.

“If he decides it’ll be his own choice,” Flynn said fairly, and begrudgingly. “No one else’s.”

“Of course. No one can force anyone to do anything they don’t want to do.”

Flynn turned his head on the headrest to look at Damon, “The way you did when you decided to be a doctor.”

“My parents always knew I wasn’t cut out to be a servant. They didn’t object too much.”

“But they were disappointed?” Flynn asked. He’d never really talked to Damon about this properly before. He’d supported him and encouraged him but never asked about the more conflicted feelings he no doubt experienced about his decision to destroy his decades long family tradition. How he felt breaking the news to his parents and if he still felt any guilt. 

 At the time Flynn thought just being supportive was what Damon needed from him, but now he wondered if Damon actually needed to talk it out. In his effort not to be pushy and respect his friends privacy, had he inadvertently made Damon feel he can’t open up to him? Or give him the push he needed to express himself? 

The sudden doubts made Flynn feel like a complete tool. As his best friend, Damon was always there for him, and Flynn hated the idea that he may have cut corners with the only person who ever cared about him.

“Actually,” Damon said carefully, “They didn’t seem to care one way or the other. Their expressions never changed but they did offer to pay for medical school and everything. I was worried about how they would react but they were pretty supportive.”

Flynn tried to imagine the austere Carter smiling warmly as he encouraged his son and couldn’t imagine it. Whenever he recalled sitting in his closet and crying, it was always Damon who came to him and gave him sweets and wiped away his tears. 

“Well I’m glad. It’s good to know that they supported you and didn’t hold a grudge.”

“Hmm. So you’re meeting Melissa to go to the bakery?”

“Yup. I texted her about it two weeks ago but she didn’t go. She’s the only one I know with a sweet tooth so we text a lot about cakes and stuff. It’ll be fun to go with her.”

Flynn saw Damon nod absently and wondered how Damon felt about his relationship with the female Alpha. Damon only had positive things to say about Melissa, calling her the only Alpha he fully trusted. Which was why when Flynn first met her during their third year of university, he’d warmed up to her immediately. Since then, she and Flynn texted each other and went to bakeries together. But Damon had never commented on their friendship. As an Alpha she’d be the perfect mate for Flynn and he kept expecting Damon to say something about that, but he never did. Which just confused Flynn even more. 

Sometimes, he loved how awkward Damon was, other times he wished the Beta would just say how he felt, instead of making Flynn try and guess all the time. Another personality trait Flynn could attribute to Damon’s influence. Growing up, Flynn always had to analyze Damon to understand what he really thought and felt, which aided him in working with people, especially on the base where soldiers of all ranks tried to conceal their true selves and mental health.

“Mind if I sleep over at your place?” Flynn asked casually.

“Sure. We have tomorrow off. We can finish watching that movie we started last week.”

“Think you can stay awake through it this time?”

Damon chuckled and Flynn’s heart warmed. This was a Damon he could figure out.

“I’ll try my best.”

“Good. And I’ll kick you if you so much as yawn.”

“I don’t doubt you will.”