A/N: Hello, everyone!
This story is a collab between me and mayumisatosan tumblr. We also have it posted on ao3.
Just a few notes:
This story is written as a RP between the two of us, but we polished it up before posting.
The chapter tittles will be all based on children's literature.
Neither of us has English as a mother tongue so if you see grammar mystakes or typos, let us know so we can fix and avoid them in the future!
And also, this story contains omegaverse, MPREG and past America/Spain and Prussia/England.
We hope you enjoy the story and if you do, please leave a review! They are always welcome!
Chapter 01: The Giving Tree
November 03, 2017
"Hey, Em! How are things going over there? Did you guys eat your dinner? The vegetables too? Oh, wow! Well done! What was dinner anyway?"
Despite the promise Alfred had made to himself that that night would be about himself and his wish to finally get a date after so many years avoiding romance, he couldn't resist making a quick call just to check on his kids while he was at the dinner party.
After all, his kids, science, documentaries about aliens, games, cartoons and animes had been Alfred's only interests for many, many years. Well, some things never change.
Although he had made an effort into looking hella attractive at that dinner party, and even put some pants that highlighted all the good stuff he had on the lower part of his body, he was still a huge nerd and a doting parent inside. After some time mingling with a bunch of people but not having any particular interest for a single one of them, he felt his seductive persona starting to break and his thoughts about romance becoming more and more distant and less meaningful in his life.
Meanwhile, sitting alone at a table near a wall, Arthur was questioning himself about having gone to that dinner party to begin with.
He placed a hand on his belly absentmindedly, a habit he'd acquired the previous month, and watched the people around him. Some were sitting, chatting happily to one another, while others were standing, dancing to the soft music playing in the background. He watched all those people and thought about the fact that they were all there because their mates had died.
And that thought made him look down at his table, at himself, and he felt his eyes getting wet again. He sighed, noticing he needed to go to the restroom again. As he got up he thought that it was the third time he was going there since he had arrived an hour ago, because his bladder seemed to have shrunken ridiculously the past two months.
In the restroom, after washing his hands, he sighed to his reflection in the mirror, trying not to worry too much about all his worries. The baby. Gilbert.
Gilbert...
He washed his face with warm water, took a deep breath, and returned to his table.
Sipping a little of his water, he looked around again, telling himself that he should get up and go talk to someone. After all, he had accepted Francis' recommendation of going to that party just because he wanted to talk to someone, anyone, who understood what he was going through, someone who could help him find strength, someone who, maybe, he could befriend, even.
But he just... he couldn't do it. He could not muster up the heart to get up and approach a group of people and smile and tell them his mate had died and that he needed help to deal with it.
He just... couldn't. Going to that party had been a mistake, he concluded. But he couldn't leave either. He did not want to go home yet and deal with the nothingness that awaited him there.
Yep, that wasn't your average single's meeting.
That one was specifically made for widows. For people who had lost their mates, their partners. Maybe they went to such a party to share their experiences about grief, to make a new friend who could understand what they went through. Or maybe, just like Alfred, they went there because they wanted a new love in their lives but were too scared that other people wouldn't understand the consequences that losing a mate had on a person's life.
Alfred wanted to move on. It had been four years since Antonio died and Alfred was still young. He was tired of being alone. He really, really longed for companionship.
However, despite wishing for something new, Alfred would always remember his mate. He was the father of his children. It's not like Alfred could pretend that that person didn't have a huge impact in his life.
Wanting to move on didn't mean that the scar left in his heart by his grief had vanished. It was still there, just a little harder to see. He could remember very well his worst days, the days that followed Antonio's death. There were times in which he had no motivation left in his body, not even to eat or to take a shower, and all the light, all the life had simply escaped from his eyes.
He had the same eyes, the same painful expression of a certain omega sitting at a table far across the room, seeming absolutely defeated by fate and confused about his own reasons to be at that place.
After a while, Alfred noticed said omega. Even if there were a lot of different people there, that omega caught his attention because he went to the restroom all the time, was a bit isolated from the crowd and Alfred could imagine his feelings just by looking at him.
What was that omega doing in this party?, Alfred asked himself and, moved by a mix of curiosity and empathy, decided to talk to him.
And Arthur, too buried in himself and not seeing what his eyes were showing him, only noticed that there was an alpha approaching him when his scent flooded Arthur's nostrils.
He blinked, as if awakened from a trance, and looked in the alpha's direction. All that Arthur noticed at the time was that he had beautiful blue eyes, and then he tightened his arms around himself anxiously, offering a bland and polite smile.
To have someone else close to him made him feel like he was doing something wrong, like he should not be there, not alone; like he should be there chatting with the others and enjoying the evening.
"Hey, no need to be nervous!" Alfred said, quickly offering a handshake to try to appease the clear distrust of the omega in front of him. "My name is Alfred! It's your first time at this kind of event, right?"
The omega frowned at his guess and did not take his hand, so Alfred added with a genuine smile.
"To be honest, it's my first time here too!"
Arthur still gave another suspicious look towards the alpha before finally taking his hand briefly.
"Name's Arthur." he said.
Then he looked at his table once more. Rationally he knew he needed to say something more if he wanted to have a conversation, but he didn't know what to say. Rather, he didn't know how to say it. He wanted to ask if Alfred's mate had died recently as well, but... but he knew it was a tricky subject. He swallowed, "... a friend recommended these parties to me..." he pointed to the people talking and dancing across the room with his chin, "...They seem to be having a good time."
"You, on the other hand, seem pretty unconfortable here…" Alfred shrugged with a small, pitiful smile. "Are you bad with crowds?" he asked, despite knowing that there was more to it than social anxiety.
"That, too" Arthur replied with a small, sad smile, calmly reaching up to the mark on his neck. His fingers were cold and the mark was warm. He tried to keep his smile as he spoke, "... I, uh... I'm just not used to... this." he said vaguely.
For the last month Arthur had barely spoken to anyone, with a few exceptions at work, and now it felt like... like he didn't remember what it was like to talk to people about things that did not involve hospitals and death and emptiness.
Without knowing his history, Alfred could still see that that omega's loss was definitely recent.
"I... I know how it is..." Alfred began, playing with the napkin holder on the table to distract his eyes. "I mean even though I should be taking advantage of the situation to meet new people and have fun by myself, I'm still thinking about my kids all the time. Maybe… Maybe we get used to things like that over time."
"That's what they told me," Arthur said, nodding. "So you have children? How old are they? Oh, uh... you... you can have a seat, you know. If you want."
Alfred gladly accepted that invitation to sit because, god, standing for so long or walking around a small, full place was such a pain on the legs. He took the chair in front of Arthur so they would be sit at a respectful distance while still seeing each other directly.
"I have two kids. My eldest daughter is called Emily. She is an alpha, nine years old and her dream is to become an archaeologist. She loves dinosaurs. My youngest is called Bill. He is six years old, a beta and, basically, he likes naps and songs about colors and numbers." Alfred answered with fondness and proudness. He had a deep appreciation for his children.
Arthur smiled a little at that.
"They seem like lovely children..." he commented, resting one of his hands on his belly, "I... I'll have one in a few months..."
Alfred hadn't noticed until that point that the omega was expecting a child because there was so many strong smells around that it was easy to miss something so specific communicated by his scent. This news came as a cold breath in Alfred's skin. If that was a widow's meeting and that omega was pregnant… He probably had no one by his side to take care of him and the child he was expecting. What a depressing situation.
"Uh… Hm… Cool? How far are you in the pregnancy?"
"Three months." Arthur answered, looking at the table to avoid the look on Alfred's face. Maybe, he thought, he should not have mentioned it, because Alfred looked uncomfortable. People always did. Arthur shrugged. "I ... I don't know anything about babies." He scoffed at himself, "I came here looking for tips and things like that, but..." he looked up at the people gathered on the other side of the room, "Everyone is having so much fun that I, you know, I don't want to depress anyone." He scoffed again, holding on to his sweater's sleeves "Actually... you should go to them too. It looks nicer there."
"Well, when I lost my mate, my youngest child was only a baby. I think I know how you must be feeling now." Alfred sighed, taking the menu over the table and flipping its pages, pretending to be distracted by that. He understood Arthur's hint that he should leave but he wanted to try to stay just a little bit more. "I can give you some advice if you want to."
"Oh," Arthur muttered. So Alfred's mate had died a long time ago. Arthur had not thought of that until then, "I would like that." He almost smiled then, a bit embarrassed, "There is so much that I don't know... I should know, being an omega, but I never cared for those things. I never really thought about having a baby."
An accidental pregnancy? Dang, what a sad story that omega was living.
Alfred really wanted to help that guy somehow. As a person with an old appreciation for superhero stories, Alfred knew the huge effect that small kind actions could have on the world.
"How about we order for some food and eat while I answer your doubts about babies?". Alfred suggested with a smile.
Arthur nodded, offering Alfred a much weaker version of his smile. He looked at the menu and even placed his hand on it, but quickly drew it back.
"You can order. I don't want anything. I have my morning sickness at night" he explained.
"Oh, yeah. You're still on the first months." Alfred remembered how much his mate complained of sickness in the first months in both pregnancies. "In that case, I will just order a drink so you won't be sick at the smell of my dinner. A vanilla milkshake would bother you too much?"
"No, I'll be fine." Arthur nodded in response, raising his hand to call a waiter for Alfred.
Hours passed and through the night, some of the dinner party guests made their own groups, some were talking to a special person worth of all their attention and most of them simply left the place. Meanwhile, Alfred and Arthur stayed together, alone on their table, talking about Alfred's kids and about the cares children demanded.
"As soon as the baby is born, test its type! Making a good environment based on its type's biological needs is important so you both can have some peace. The omega room we made for Bill was too hot for him. My husband was certain he would be an omega but he ended being a beta so we had to adapt things quick."
"I see." Arthur said, "To take care of betas is easier, isn't it? I've heard so... and also that omegas are the most troublesome? I hope my baby is a beta..." Arthur commented as he lightly touched his belly, "My mate, he... he wanted an alpha. But I think a beta would be better."
"I, personally, think betas are more hard work but maybe that's my opinion because I raised my beta son in a bad period of my life." Alfred took a deep breath, showing a slightly painful smile. "You're an omega. You will probably understand another's omega physical needs in terms of ideal temperature and comfort better."
"Perhaps. But omegas are also more expensive, right?" Arthur sighed. He didn't think he could afford an omega baby, he'd hardly be able to afford a baby at all, and he just... he didn't want to think about it, not now. "It must have been difficult... to raise two children by yourself..." he remarked, "But from what you said about your kids, they seem to be great kids... you must have done a great job."
"I feel like I should have given them more attention in the past. I had to leave them with my brother or with a babysitter so many times while they still were pretty young just so I could work." Alfred admitted with an unhappy face. "Bill is kinda shy and frightened by everything. Sometimes I wonder if that's my fault, you know?"
"It may be just his personality." Arthur assured Alfred, "I was like that when I was a child, and I had both my parents around." He said with a shrug. His eyes shifted to the other people in the restaurant, very few now, laughing and talking and looking genuinely happy.
Arthur felt his chest tightening and aching. He'd like to be one of these people. He'd like to not have as much worries as he did, to the point he could barely sleep sometimes. He'd like to be able to laugh and make jokes and... Most of all, he'd like to not carry that pain. He'd like if Gilbert was alive and with him.
Alfred, too, noticed how the room, compared to earlier that evening, was almost deserted now, and he started to worry about how late it was. He checked his phone and to his surprise, it was already ten-fifteen p.m. Alfred promised himself that he would leave that place half past nine… Time went so fast while he was talking to Arthur.
"Look, I have to go now." he informed Arthur, standing up from his chair and putting money over the table to pay for his milkshake. "I think that many of your doubts about children are answered in a book I have somewhere in my house about how to take care of your first child. Say what? If you come to one of these meetings again, I can lend it to you! Do you follow the event's facebook page?"
"Oh... no, I don't, but I can... I can check." Arthur replied, confused, "And well, you could just tell me the name of the book too. I can look it up. I mean, thank you. You just, you know, you don't have to bother with that..."
"I don't know, man. It's pretty old. It would be hard for you to find it somewhere. I bought it a looooooong time ago in a flea market." Alfred retorted, giving Arthur a friendly tap over his hand. "Don't hesitate so much in accepting people's help in difficult times. If you feel guilty about this, just think about it as a debt that you can pay with the universe, doing the same for someone else someday!"
Arthur nodded, as much as he still didn't feel so good about it. It was just that, lately, he felt that all he did was to bother people and to give them more things to worry about. And he hated it. "You're right, I guess... thank you. I will borrow your book." He said.
"Hey." Alfred added, noticing Arthur's bitter expression. "Things are hard now but they will get better, okay? Believe me. I know they will."
Arthur's eyes widened at that, staring at Alfred but not really seeing him.
Alfred's words reminded him of Gilbert. Gilbert, lying in a hospital bed, surrounded by machines and wires and tubes, a smile on his thin, chapped lips.
"Hey, don't make that face. Things are complicated now, but I'm strong. I'll get out of this. Things will get better, Art, believe me, I know everything will work out."
And at that memory Arthur's eyes filled with tears, so many and so intense that he couldn't stop them. The tears came down his cheeks and Arthur looked up, turning his face to the side and wiping the tears as they came.
He sobbed and sniffed,
"Nothing's gonna get any better." he murmured, staring at the floor, "My... my mate kept saying that. He wanted a baby so we had a baby because he said... things were fine and he would be there... so he got sick... and... and he said exactly the same thing you said, you know, the day before he died... I just... I don't believe it." Arthur shook his head, sobbing and feeling his shoulders trembling as he cried, "Nothing is going... nothing is going to get better..."
Alfred really had no idea of how to help Arthur. That was a very awkward situation. He wanted to help but damn, that was some heavy shit. Now, he had no idea about how comfortable Arthur felt with his presence but he did know that being stared while feeling vulnerable was an awful feeling. After thinking for awhile about how to protect Arthur from people's judgmental stare, he took off the big grey coat he was wearing and put it around Arthur's shoulders to disguise his emotional body language. Maybe the coat's warmth would be good for Arthur too. It was a bit chilly that night.
"Your mate wasn't necessarily saying that things would get great or that everything would be fixed in no time." Alfred answered very bluntly "Just try to believe that things will work out, okay? I know that everything seems awful now but… give it time."
"Just... what should I do? He's not here anymore. He left me, and I'm all alone." Arthur cried in response, because he just... he was so lost. He was so... there was so much in his head, so much he had to worry about, so much to do, too much... Arthur could not handle it all, not alone. When Gilbert was there, they would always find a way. They had each other. But now... now he was alone...
As if waking from a trance and noticing what he was doing, noticing he was crying in front of a stranger, with several other strangers around him... Arthur sniffed and did everything he could to stop his tears. He wanted to get out of there."I... I'd better go now, I..." He stood up and, noticing Alfred's coat on his shoulders, Arthur took it off and handed it back, "Thank you, I... and I'm sorry..."
"No worries." Alfred quickly said, trying to make Arthur feel a bit more relaxed. "I will bring the book on the next widow's dinner party. If you come, I will let you borrow it." Alfred waved to Arthur, walking towards the exit while still keeping their eyes locked. "Take care, dude. Remember that there's a lot of cool people in this world to help you at bad times."
"Bye." Arthur muttered, waving to Alfred as he walked away.
Then, avoiding to look at the other people, who were watching him as if he was an animal in a zoo, Arthur left as well.
He thought of Alfred while in the bus back home and of what he had said. Yes, there were people willing to help him. But they would not solve all of his problems. They would only help to some extent. With kind words and advice, mostly. And Arthur was grateful for that, but that would just help him to some extent as well and that extent wasn't nearly enough. Arthur was alone with his problems. Alone.
When he got home, he laid on his bed, on the bed he shared with Gilbert in the past and with the memories of Gilbert in the present. Wearing Gilbert's pajamas, Arthur touched his belly and tried to remember that he was not alone. There was the baby. It was one of his problems as well, but it was the only thing Arthur had. So Arthur needed to learn how to care of it. That's why he needed that book. That's why he needed to go to the next dinner party.
On the next day, as soon as he arrived at his work at the lab, Alfred's best friend and coworker, Honda Kiku, suddenly appeared right in front of him, with very huge and inquisitive eyes.
"How was yesterday's dinner party, Alfred?"
"Oh, damn, Kiku! You scared the bejeebers out of me! Did you just materialize here or something?" Alfred complained with one hand on his chest while the other reached out for the protection goggles at a table next to the entrance.
"Alfred, please, I know you're weak against jumpscares but this reaction is just too much."
Coat on, goggles on, gloves on, friend messing around close, Alfred was ready for a new day at his work.
His job? Testing and improving medicines. It was a job he took inspired by the idea that if someday a zombie apocalypse was to happen, he would be one of the few people with the skills to develop a cure. Also, helping saving people's lives in small ways was pretty neat.
Thank goodness he liked his work, though, because he had to be there from nine a.m to six p.m, every Monday to Friday.
"So Alfred, you still didn't answer me. How was the widow's party?" Kiku asked again once they got to their tables and started to work another day, side by side.
"Oh, well, it was…"
Truth to be told, the only thing Alfred could think about that night was the sad, lonely omega he talked to for a couple of hours.
"It was kinda depressing, to be honest." Alfred ended up answering.
During his lunch break, Arthur felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. He hooked it up and sighed at the name on the screen.
"Hi, Francis." He said as he answered, putting his lunch aside. He had eaten all the vegetables and half of the chicken even if he wasn't hungry. So it was a victory.
"Hello! How was it yesterday? I told you to call me about it." Francis said, and Arthur could feel the smile in his words.
"It was..." Arthur shrugged. "Alright? An alpha came to talk to me, and he said he'll lend me a book about babies. He tried not to look too uncomfortable about me, which was nice of him." Arthur said. He decided not to tell about the part in which he had cried, though.
"Oh, I'm glad to hear that, Arthur. I hope this book is helpful. I'll see if I can find some of these for you as well."
"Yeah, thanks."
"If you need anything, just give me a call. We're here for you, you know." Francis assured him.
"I know. Have a good day, Francis." Arthur replied.
"You too. Take care, Arthur."
Arthur sighed once the call was over, placing his phone on the table and staring at the picture in his lockscreen. He and Gilbert, hugging each other and smiling, with Gilbert kissing his cheek.
His chest tightened and he tried not to think about it. He also tried not to think about how much Francis was struggling to give support when he had a thousand other things to do. Francis was arranging things for his wedding. Arthur remembered when he had come to invite Gilbert to be his godfather, and how much Gilbert had been happy about it. They were such good friends... Arthur wondered if Francis would still care so much about Arthur if there wasn't a baby. So he tried not to think about anything else and get back to work.
To Alfred's surprise, despite being so depressed on the last meeting, Arthur did go to the next dinner party. Actually, it seemed he was even searching for Alfred specifically, considering that he immediately came in his direction as soon as their eyes met.
Only one week had passed since they had last saw each other and Arthur's mood didn't appear to be very different from before but at least he seemed determined, focused on some new goal instead of just being apathetic and tired.
"You look good in a green sweater. It really brings out your eyes." Alfred pointed out smiling after Arthur reached him. "I haven't forgot to bring your book! Since you're here, don't you wanna sit and take a look at it?"
"Yes please!" Arthur replied at once, and then added, holding on to the sleeves of his sweater. "And thank you."
Arthur chose a table a little further away from the rest and sat down, moving his feet impatiently, waiting for Alfred to show him the book. He'd been researching such books that week, though the ones with more positive ratings cost more than Arthur could afford at the moment.
Alfred took the suitcase he brought from home to his job and from his job to that restaurant and put it over the table. He took out of it a book that looked a bit worn from its use but still relatively well preserved.
With a warm smile, Alfred then handed it to Arthur.
"There you go. This helped me a lot in the past. I hope you can use it well too!"
"Thank you." Arthur replied, bringing the book closer to him and carefully running his fingers over the cover as he read the information contained there. Then he opened the book and flipped over to the index, where he was amazed at the amount of sections and chapters, "Oh. There's a whole section on cramps... I didn't even know babies had cramps..."
"Yep, they do." Alfred laughed, remembering the first time he had to deal with that, spending hours giving Emily massages so she would stop crying after being fed. "A baby's digestive system is still getting used to receiving food so if something like that happens to yours, it's totally normal."
"Oh... and what are you supposed to do? Give it some medicine?" Arthur asked, flipping through the opening chapters and pausing to read about the symptoms of pregnancy.
"No, no! You can't give babies medicine without a good reason! You have to massage them when they feel pain! That's how you deal with it!"
"But... what if you use too much strength? I mean, what if I end up hurting it? How will I know how much pressure to add?" Arthur asked confusedly.
"Don't sweat it. The book explain it super-well. It even has illustrations for an easier understanding!" Alfred said, moving his wrist up and down, making a hand gesture that basically meant 'chill, dude'. "Also, if you feel like it's not enough for you, you can always enroll in one of those courses for new parents or something".
"Oh, um..." Arthur muttered. No, he could not. Those courses were expensive and he could not afford something like that. He had other priorities and obligations, "Well... I'll have some time to study all this, at least..."
"Yep. I mean, people would frown if they saw you using a parking spot for pregnant people, dude. That's how early in your pregnancy you are! You still got plenty of time." Alfred joked.
Arthur nodded and smiled briefly, looking at Alfred for a moment and then going back to looking at the book, "You're not going to eat anything today?" He asked casually.
"Oh, well... " Alfred started to rub the back of his neck, looking away awkwardly. "I thought maybe you just came for the book, so... I didn't want to keep you here just because of me… That's why I didn't order anything."
"Oh..." Arthur murmured, staring at the book. Well, yes, he had come just for the book, but he didn't want to go home just yet. The restaurant had a pleasant temperature and no too strong smells, and... and Alfred was kind. Arthur didn't mind his presence. "Well... I intend to stay here for a while, so... you can order something? I mean, you can go and talk to other people as well if you'd like. I'll understand."
"You don't mind staying here with me?" Alfred asked legitimately surprised. "Even if I talk about my kids all the time?"
Arthur shook his head,
"I like your company... and you always get overjoyed talking about your kids. It's cute, actually, and they seem like great kids." He shrugged, "I think I can learn a lot about taking care of kids with you. I mean... if you want to teach me."
"People get annoyed when I talk about my children too much." Alfred laughed, shaking his head, surprised but pleased to see that he had at least a bit of Arthur's approval. "That's why I will take this chance to brag about them as if I would never get a chance to do it again! By the way, don't you wanna order a drink so you can have something while we talk? It can be juice or tea since you're preggo."
"Can you tell me about what it's like to bathe babies? And how to teach them to use the restroom?" Arthur asked first, then shook his head. "I don't want to be running to the restroom every two minutes, so I'd rather not drink anything."
"Okaaay! I will just drink some soda alone then!"
The two of them talked for hours about kids and about the adventures of domestic life with them. Arthur had many questions about that particular topic and Alfred definitively had fun providing him with the answers he needed. As a whole, that was a great night with less thought about how Arthur was in a precarious position being a single father and more about how children could be a source of happiness in someone's life.
Even though Alfred's initial intention was to meet a new romantic partner, he was kinda glad he met Arthur instead. Maybe a new friend would be a better choice for him, he thought. That's why, by the end of the night, he informed Arthur that he would come to the next dinner party and that it would be nice if they happened to hang out again.
Arthur liked to talk to Alfred.
He was fun, kind and friendly. Arthur was learning a lot about children with him, and frankly it was nice to talk to someone who was not commenting on how hard it must be for Arthur to be alone and pregnant. Because Arthur knew that, he knew how hard it was, and he didn't want people constantly reminding him of it.
Arthur missed having casual conversations with people, and Alfred... provided that. And he was fun too, even if Arthur still couldn't really laugh at his jokes. Alfred was a good person. And that was why Arthur decided to go to the next meeting. To talk to Alfred about children, about how to care for them, about how they could be lovely and even funny. Despite everything, Arthur honestly wanted to try and see things under a more positive light.
Their third meeting was, again, pretty neat. Arthur, by that point, already knew enough about Alfred's little treasures to make specific questions about them, like "is Bill still going to your room in the middle of the night?" and "how was that presentation that Emily had to do for school?". Two weeks made some difference to Arthur. He still seemed pretty down but now there was a slight, discreet layer of liveliness in his face. Alfred probably wasn't the true responsible for that improvement, yet he was glad to keep Arthur on that mood while they talked for hours into the night.
Alfred did cheer Arthur up, even if he didn't realize it and even if Arthur wouldn't say it out loud.
He was a nice person and the sweet, gentle tone he used to talk about his children always inspired Arthur; it made Arthur look to his uncertain future and think, "I'd like to get where Alfred is, I'd like to be so positive someday". And even if he was not going to tell Alfred that, Arthur kept going to the parties to ask about his children, to hear him talking about them with affection and showing pictures and drawings they had made.
"I hope I can be a great father like you are someday..." he ended up saying during a party.
Hearing such a genuine and spontaneous compliment made Alfred blush. He averted his gaze and practically sank his face into his glass of soda to disguise his timid reaction. He was an alpha and it would be totally uncool to be seem flustered with so little.
"Come on, dude. You probably are going to be better than me. I'm giving you all the 'good dad' cheat codes that I got so you don't go through the same problem as me, having to figure them out on your own." he answered after a while.
Arthur shook his head,
"You learned all this by yourself and you were great at it. I would never get this far on my own... I would probably use water too hot for the baths and try to feed it with solid food in the first weeks..." Arthur said.
Antonio had helped Alfred with Emily, though. Alfred didn't had to face all that completely alone. He only had to deal by himself with the discoveries of parenthood when Bill was an one year old baby and Emily was four. His and Arthur's situation were quite different. However, he wouldn't say that to Arthur just to rub salt on his wounds. Geez. He had a little more of sense than that.
"Calm down, man. Taking care of a baby always bring a bunch of surprises for parents. It's totally normal to be scared right now." Alfred tried to comfort Arthur the best he could. "You seem like a responsible dude so I doubt you wouldn't check somewhere else how to take care of a baby if I haven't appeared in your life."
"Thank you... I hope the baby will be healthy and won't get sick..." he said thoughtfully. "Babies take vaccines when they are born so they don't get sick, right? Also, if I leave it at home all the time, it won't get sick, right?"
"Oh, god, please tell me that you are not one of those anti-vax." Alfred grunted, putting his chin over the table, tired just with the mere thought of that. "Don't let humanity be ripped out of the planet because of diseases from the freaking middle ages. Give your child their vaccines!"
"Wait, there's people who don't vaccinate their babies?" Arthur asked, arching his eyebrows in surprise. "Doesn't that make babies get sick easily? Wow... I'll want to give all the possible vaccines for mine, because I don't want it to get sick and..." die, he thought, but he couldn't voice that word. So instead he just sighed, "Don't worry, I'm going to give my baby all the vaccines it needs."
"Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Alfred crossed his arms over his chest with a approving smile and proud posture. "I know that my opinion must look biased since I work for the pharmaceutical industry, but seriously. I get so angry when I see people listening to urban legends instead of scientific facts."
"Oh, really? Says the guy who believes zombies can happen." Arthur replied with skeptical arched eyebrows.
"HEY. There's plenty of things in sci-fi that became real over time!"
"Uhum, right." Arthur replied, and Alfred seemed so offended and yet so determined that Arthur ended up smiling a little.
Not convinced that Arthur was buying what he said, Alfred decided to bring him some clarity about the subject by talking about his theories about a future zombie apocalypse for a loong time. He didn't even notice the time passing. He was astonished when he realized that it was already 10:40 pm. Time flew by!
"Good night, Alfred." Arthur said as Alfred started to gather his belongings to leave, "Wish Emily good luck with her handwriting homework for me." He added, uncertain if he should be getting back home or if he could stay a few more minutes, watching the few people left in the restaurant from afar.
"Arthur! Wait!" Alfred grabbed his arm, just before he could leave. "Do you know about today?"
"Know... what?" Arthur asked.
"Today is the last day of this event for the rest of the semester. The next one will be in like half a year." Alfred hesitantly told Arthur about that, unsure if he had knowledge of that information or not. Maybe he did know about it and was quiet about it to not make their "goodbye" sentimental. "Do you… Do you wanna, I don't know, keep in touch with me out of these parties?"
"Oh..." Arthur murmured downcast, looking around. He had enjoyed those dinner parties. It was a great distraction and something to look forward to; something to strive to reach Fridays. No matter how silly and simple it was, it was one of the few things that had been keeping Arthur going, "I would like that." He answered Alfred, looking at him only for a moment. Arthur didn't want to lose Alfred's company. He was a good guy and Arthur honestly enjoyed hearing him talk. Arthur liked to be in his presence, and besides, there was still so much he wanted to ask...
Hearing that, Alfred sighed with a relieved smile. He knew that his relationship with Arthur wasn't and probably wouldn't ever be a romantic one. There was no chances of that. Unlike him, Arthur was a recent widow. A recent widow expecting a baby from his deceased mate. Alfred wasn't keeping touch with him to date him. He just wanted a new friend and the chance to help someone who looked like they really needed it.
"This is my number" he said, writing it in a napkin and giving it to Arthur across the table "When you have more questions about kids, just call me and we can schedule something! Just warn me a few days in advance. Like, three days is enough for me!"
Arthur accepted Alfred's number with a nod and held it firmly in his hand.
After Alfred left, he saved the number on his phone and spent several days pondering whether to call or send a message, but... As much as Arthur loved Alfred's company and wanted more of it, he didn't want to call so soon and get misunderstood. Arthur didn't want to sound like he wanted anything with Alfred, anything romantic or sexual, that is, because he really did not. He wasn't in a place to care for neither of those things and he didn't want Alfred to think so.
So he waited.
The following Friday, Arthur found himself sitting on the couch in his living room, facing the wall and wondering what he should do.
Should he finally call Alfred? Or should he just try and keep pretending he didn't care about the emptiness he was feeling, staring at that wall and thinking over every detail of every bad thing that had happened in his life?
Eventually, he pressed the call button on his phone, even if he didn't even know what to say and...
Well, part of him was hoping Alfred wasn't going to answer, that the phone would just ring and ring, but...
"Hello?" Alfred's voice said and Arthur held his breath on instinct. "Uh, hello?" Alfred repeated so Arthur, still holding his breath, ended the call as fast as he could, then buried his face in a cushion. Ugh... He shouldn't... he didn't know what to say. He shouldn't have called. Oh, god. He really shouldn't have called... He shouldn't have...!
Arthur was startled when his phone began to ring, Alfred's name on his screen. Nervously, he gasped and covered the device with a cushion, his face all red and heart pounding.
No, no, no, he didn't want to talk to Alfred...
But... but Alfred would find all of that odd and creepy, wouldn't he? Someone calling but not saying anything... If Arthur didn't answer that call, he could never get in touch with Alfred again, because he surely would save that number as Creep or something...
It was better to answer and make up some excuse.
"... Hello?" He said as he finally answered, trying to sound casual and not like someone who was about to have his heart come out of his mouth.
"Arthur? Is that you?" Alfred asked in a kinda hesitant but also amused voice. "Did you call me?"
"No!" Arthur said at once, his face getting warmer and then he was forced to correct, "I mean, yes, it's me, Arthur... but I didn't, I didn't call... Not on purpose, I mean... it was an accident. I was, uh..." He thought for a moment, "Checking my e-mail? Or something... I don't know how I ended up calling you, I'm sorry..."
"Oh. Did you just call by accident then? I guessed so since you were all silent during the call. Anyway! Hey, how are you doing?"
"Oh... I'm fine... Only now I'm getting my sickness in the afternoon, too. Hn, how about you, and the kids? I... I was going to call you, you know... And ask if you have any free time next week?" Arthur asked, hugging a cushion as he held the phone with a sweaty hand.
"So you DID call me on purpose?" Alfred laughed a bit, he couldn't let that one pass.
"No! I just… I thought about calling… but I didn't… not on purpose, as I said…" Arthur was quick to mumble.
"Well, it's good that you called me by accident." Alfred's smile was so noticeable in his voice. "I have some free time next week. Do you wanna go to a ice-cream store? I think you wouldn't get nauseous in a ice-cream store since you can barely smell the food."
"Oh... well, yes, I would like that. I still have some questions I'd like to ask you. I'm almost finished reading the book. Maybe I'll have finished it by next week."
"No hurries! You can read it as slow as you want! My kids are already in another stage of development and you need a book about how to deal with babies way more than I do!"
"Really?" Arthur wanted to check. It would be great to have that book for a little longer, so he could learn some more things, "Thank you, Alfred." He murmured, and before they could fall into an uncomfortable silence, Arthur asked, "And... How are your children, by the way?"
"They're doing great, thanks! They are very happy to know they don't have to spend the Fridays nights with a babysitter anymore. Haha. Going to regular events is nice but it's a bit of pain to spare time every week for it."
"I can imagine... and what are your plans for tonight? It's the first Friday after some time you'll spend together, isn't it?" Arthur asked. In the background, he could hear children talking and laughing.
"Well, since the kids can do their homework on the weekend, today we are going to order a pizza and watch cartoons! I think we all deserve it!"
Arthur heard the children laughing and vibrating in the background, which made him smile a little and put his hand on his belly. His smile fell though as he ran his icy fingers through his sweater, staring up at the ceiling. The paint was peeling off, he noticed.
"Yes, I agree. You always talk about how much they always do their homework on time and behave, and you must be tired too. Hm... well... I'd better let you guys enjoy the night, then. I... I talk to you later?"
"Definitely! By the way, can I save your number?"
"Yeah, sure. You… you can call me whenever you want. When you want to go to that ice cream place, I mean." Arthur said.
"How about… hm… this Sunday?"
"Sunday? But... Wouldn't you rather spend the time with your kids? I think they deserve your time more than I do." Arthur said uncertainly.
"Nah, they are two traitors. They are going to an amusement park with my brother this Sunday. Can you believe they accepted his invitation without even telling me about it? I had to hear it from my bro!" Alfred said in an intentionally overdramatic voice to make his children, who were in the same room as him, aware that he was just joking around.
"Oh, I see. It does sounds fun. I would go too if I were them." Arthur replied, feeling a soft smile on his lips, "Okay. Sunday sounds good. Can you send me the address later, then?"
"Sure! If it is too far from your house, tell me, okay?"
"Okay." Arthur said and after a few seconds of silence he added, "Uh, well… bye, Alfred. Good night. Have fun with the kids!"
Alfred hang up the phone with a big smile in his face that got stuck there during all the time he spent selecting cartoons episodes to watch with the kids.
Arthur was a nice omega and Alfred had to admit to himself that he felt pretty good being the hero for a good person dealing with bad stuff. It was nice to know that he was bringing happiness to a stranger and getting to make a new friend. Not to mention, he felt like he was paying a debt to the universe for all the help he received when he lost his mate and got in a similar situation to Arthur's, having to take care of a baby without the help of a mate.
For all these reasons, Alfred decided that romances could wait. Alfred was young and maybe it would come naturally to him in a better moment if he waited. For now, he would keep focusing on his children, on his job and on his friends in his main time and getting to know and help Arthur on his free time. Yeah, that seemed like a nice idea.