The omega cried aloud as the punch was thrown at him, the fist connecting with his jaw so hard he saw whole galaxies.
Arthur's vision blackened and he staggered back, his fists clenching at his sides. Arms thrashed around frantically as he attempted to soften the landing, but the omega hit the floor with a dull thump and rolled to the side with a dry cough.
Arthur felt numb. Hot tears pricked the corners of his eyes. His surroundings were spinning at a thousand miles a second, and though the omega prided himself on being strong, he found his cheeks dampening at a rather fast rate.
Other students, teachers and parents walked by, just staring at them in disbelief. It wasn't often that omegas got into fights after school, but it wasn't that rare either. The school was quite used to seeing omegas tear at each other's throats over alphas. You'd think that something that violent would be banned, but the town government didn't care for the fights. They thought it was alright for an omega to beat and bruise another to keep their mate. Not all the omegas fought, but with an alpha like the one Arthur had managed to snag…
He found himself battered every day. As soon as the bell rang to dismiss, the omega would find himself trying to run toward the parking lot as fast as he could to try to avoid it.
Arthur whimpered, a foot kicking at his side, knocking the air right out of his lungs.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five…
The bitch must've thought Arthur was knocked out because she'd began to laugh. A loud, disgusting laugh from a face looking so innocent. She was crouching down now, saying things that made Arthur want to scream. Things that pumped adrenaline into the omega's system.
Six, seven, eight, nine…
Ten.
Arthur's nails dug into the girl's arm with a battle cry, bringing the supple skin to his face where he sunk into the skin with his sharp canines.
The other omega's lips parted in a blood-curdling scream and Arthur pulled away at that, falling onto his back with a trickle of crimson liquid dribbling from his lips.
"Run you fucking bitch," Arthur screamed, his words taking on a foreign, guttural sound punctuated by the scuffle of shoes on concrete and cries of pain in the air. The little blonde omega found himself grinning. A carnal, almost predatory grin with pearly white teeth tinted pink.
"You're afreak, Arthur Kirkland." The girl shrieked, clutching her arm as she hobbled away from him, a wild look in her eyes. "I don't know what hesees in you!"
Arthur smiled, the expression sickeningly sweet and surprisingly painful to make, "Obviously something you don't have… but there's quite a long list, love, do you have a minute? Grab a chair."
"That's it you little fuck-"
Arthur winced and averted his eyes in anticipation of the hit. He could take it, that was for sure. In fact, he could take a whole other round and beat that little excuse for an omega down to pulp-
But she stopped, her eyes widening for a bit before she giggled, brushing her hair back coquettishly, looking as pretty as she could with her bruises and swollen bite marks. "Alfred! Hi!"
Arthur glanced up at that, gazing at the alpha through the hair plastered to the blood on his face. He tried to smile, or frown, or something at least, but found that the tears came sliding down his face faster.
Alfred stared back, lips parted in shock and clear sapphire eyes wide and round, "Arthur!"
He pushed past the girl, rushing to Arthur's side and dropping to his knees, fingers hesitantly coming to caress the side of his boyfriend's blood-stained face.
"Alfred-" The omega had meant the name to come out reassuringly but found that it came out as a shaky whimper. Arthur winced as his boyfriend's rough fingertips brushed against his cheekbone.
Alfred looked positively mad. His face flushed a dark red and those blue eyes were stony behind his glasses. The alpha grit his teeth and scooped Arthur up into his arms, standing up with a grunt and cradling the omega to his chest. Arthur smiled to himself, letting his head loll on his boyfriend's chest, fingertips resting against Alfred's bicep.
"Did she do this to you?"
Alfred was glaring at the girl and the look on her face was enough to take the edge off Arthur's pain.
"Let her go, Al." The omega mumbled, burying his nose in the collar of Alfred's jacket, "I won anyways."
And the other omega was gone. Just like that. Like a roach in the light, she skittered away.
Arthur wanted to laugh but his lungs hurt. His chest hurt. His heart hurt. Everything hurt.
"Alf-"
Arthur awoke to a stinging sensation.
The omega cried out, sitting up straight in bed and snatching his arm from Alfred's hold. Arthur clutched his head and moaned, "Ow."
"Damn right," Alfred grumbled, dabbing at Arthur's forehead with what smelled like a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol. "It's gonna hurt if you keep going on like this."
Arthur scowled, crossing his arms only to feel no fabric restrictions on his torso. The omega glanced down and bit his lip. There was a rather sizable bruise on his side.
"I mean seriously, Artie, even if you lost that stupid fight, did you think I'd just up and leave you for her?
Arthur sniffed, "Did I pass out?"
Alfred stopped pacing at that.
The alpha clenched his fists with a hard, steely look in his eyes. "Answer my question, Arthur. And I swear if this is about alpha-omega equality or something- okay, so yeah alphas fight, and I'm not saying omegas can't, but do you see me brawlin' just 'cause I can?!"
"Stop treating me like a child," Arthur said with a pout, "And don't assume you know my reasons."
The omega pulled the bedsheets up to his shoulders and sunk down with a pained sigh. The area behind his eyes hurt.
"I'm not treating you like a child," Alfred said, this time sounding softer. It wasn't very often that Alfred took this role in their relationship. Arthur would usually be the one chiding Alfred, but when the omega had to go and get himself hurt, Alfred slipped into the shoes and fit them well. "I'm trying to tell you not to get into trouble-"
"You think I can't fend for myself."
"No, I-"
Arthur moistened his lips, "If I go and break a rib, my family won't be able to pay for my medical bill."
The omega wasn't the wealthiest one on the block. His parents would much rather marry him off to some rich old guy and have him pay for all of Arthur's needs. The only thing keeping the omega in high school was the fact that he'd somehow managed to catch the eye of Alfred Jones, alpha extraordinaire.
In the beginning, it was really about the money, but Arthur couldn't stay away from that famed Jones charm for long. He'd fallen hard.
Almost as hard as he did earlier that day.
Arthur touched his ribs and winced.
"Don't touch it." Alfred pressed, "It's not broken… and if it was, you know I'd sell my own kidney to pay for it."
Arthur blushed at the statement, fiddling with the bedsheet, "Shut up, you tit. You wouldn't need to sell a body part, you're filthy rich."
"For romantic purposes, let's say I'm not," Alfred said with a wink, "Now tell me. What are your reasons, hm?"
The alpha sat next to Arthur, taking the Brit's small, limp hand into his own. The bed dipped slightly to the side with the added weight and Arthur felt his head teetering towards the side, coming suspiciously close to his boyfriend's broad shoulders.
Arthur leaned against the warm alpha next to him and pursed his lips, letting his exhale come out slow and shaky.
"Do you love me?"
Alfred furrowed his brows, "What kind of question is that? Why else have I been dating you since the beginning of the month?"
"We never do anything in public. Or meet up in the hallways… it's almost like you're embarrassed of me. Like I'm just a toy or something- and it's fine if I am, I never cared anyway."
Arthur spat out the last part, sitting upright with a wince and attempting to abandon all emotion when the pink tinge of hurt was clear on his face. He crossed his arms stiffly with a huff.
"Did someone tell you that?" Alfred said, looking down and frowning at the absence of Arthur's hand in his. The alpha curled his fingers slowly, "Is that what people think?"
Arthur shrugged, ashamed to feel his eyes pricking with tears.
The alpha stood up abruptly, brushing off his clothes and offering Arthur a hand with a gentle smile.
"Get your clothes on and come with me."
"What are we doing here?"
Arthur yelped as he was practically dragged out of Alfred's car, "Hold on you oaf, I'm still injured!"
"Sorry," Alfred said with a smile, slowing down and letting his fingers intertwine with the omega's long, cold ones. "This is where a lot of omegas eat, right?"
Arthur scowled, glancing up at the restaurant sign, "Only the prissy ones."
"Good." The alpha said with a grin, "Now I was thinking… we go sit right in front of them and act so sweet we rot their teeth. Let them all know just how serious I am about us."
He punctuated his declaration with a squeeze of the omega's hand.
It took a moment for Arthur to understand what Alfred meant and that scowl softened into a smile, "You savage."
"Come on," Alfred whispered, tugging his boyfriend along behind him as the alpha stomped toward the eatery. Alfred pushed through the doors and held them open for Arthur with a chivalrous bow. The omega rolled his eyes with a smile.
"Don't overdo it, idiot."
"Are they watching?"
Arthur glanced to the side to find that the girl from earlier was indeed watching them. She sat at her table with a group of other omegas, all of them out for Arthur's blood. The omega felt fear grip his nervous system like steel when one of them began to snarl. The others contorted their faces to match the leader.
But he knew he was safe. They wouldn't do anything to him if Alfred was here.
"They're glaring," Arthur muttered, finding it hard to tear his gaze away from the feral omegas.
"You look a little cold, babe," Alfred said, a little louder. With a finger crooked under Arthur's chin, the alpha guided his boyfriend's stare back onto him and ducked his head down to give Arthur that look. The one that made the omega's knees give away underneath him. "Want my jacket?"
What a sod. Arthur pretended he wasn't blushing when the alpha shrugged off his jacket and placed it on Arthur's shoulders, "Fries sound good to ya, babe?"
The omega nodded but found that his grip on Alfred's forearm stayed strong even as his boyfriend tried to leave to place their order.
"Arthur…?" The alpha pried Arthur's fingers off with a grin, "Dude it's okay, I'll be right over there. I'll keep my eyes on you- but I have no other choice anyways, I can't take my eyes off."
Arthur rolled his eyes and bit back a smile, "Cut the crap, Jones, they can't hear you anyways."
"I'm not saying it so they can hear me."
Saying so, the alpha went to the counter leaving a flustered Arthur in his wake. The omega sat at the closest table and chewed the inside of his cheek, legs swinging freely under the table and green eyes darting toward Alfred every three seconds. Alfred would always be looking right back at him with a little wave and a sunny smile.
The insufferable git.
Arthur blushed, attempting to stare at the table top instead. Though the dirty, polished wood was nothing compared to his boyfriend, the thought of Alfred thinking he was needy hurt far worse.
"Woah, look at these fries, man! They're so golden brown-"
Alfred bounced back to their table and scooched next to him. Arthur found himself glancing back at the omega table. They were muttering amongst themselves now, looking back at Arthur with scowls and rude gestures. Arthur smiled back, a light bulb flickering on in his mind.
"Alfred- would you feed them to me? My hands hurt…"
He glanced down at his hands, ragged and rough from the cuts and callouses, before looking back up with a pitiful look on his face.
It was Alfred's turn to grin. The alpha dipped the fry in ketchup and held it up to his boyfriend's lips, "Careful babe, it's hot."
"I've handled hotter things in my mouth," Arthur said coquettishly before taking a bite.
That seemed to do the trick.
Five seething omegas stood up from their place and stormed out the door. Arthur almost burst out laughing at it, but was mindful of his bruised ribs. Alfred however, had no inhibitions.
The alpha chuckled, taking what was left of the fry and popping it into his mouth. Arthur chewed slowly and used the silence as an excuse to clutch Alfred's arm, wrapping his arms around the appendage and hugging it, pretending his boyfriend didn't notice.
"Did I do good?" The alpha said, pressing a long, warm kiss against the omega's forehead. Arthur melted a little.
"That was quite the act you put on there, Alfred."
Alfred pursed his lips, attempting a nervous smile, "Does it have to be an act?"
Arthur stared down at the plate and pretended he couldn't hear the alpha. He couldn't, however, hold back the smile when Alfred's foot rubbed against his. The omega nudged Alfred away and picked at the fries.
"I didn't know you were one for displays of affection." The alpha said, bringing his boyfriend's knuckles up to his lips, "If I knew… boy, things would be different."
Alfred punctuated the sentence with a laugh and a kiss to Arthur's cheek.
The omega scowled half-heartedly, the blush spreading to his neck.
"So what do you say? Let's head back to my place. I'll get some ice on your bruises and pamper you with kisses and massages."
Arthur met Alfred's eager gaze and rolled his eyes, a small smile fighting its way onto the omega's face.
"That sounds amazing."