Alfred F. Jones hated being an Omega.
The name itself evoked a grimace upon his face when it was used to identify him. To him, being an Omega was the worst thing he could imagine. Before he had known what he really was, he had played sports and ran and did all kinds of athletic things with his friends. He was even on the football team and baseball team, and he could lift weights like nobody's business.
But then puberty had came like a sudden, awakening blow, and the male had entered his first heat at the end of his freshman year.
From that point on, he was looked at differently. Alfred wasn't allowed to do sports anymore and was forced to do things more befitting his nature. Alfred wasn't considered equal to Alphas or Betas, and it frustrated him to no end. He was seen as weak and grouped with the other Omegas. He didn't really mind the others necessarily, but their gossiping and swooning over Alphas was unsettling to him.
This wasn't the kind of life he had wanted or dreamt of. The man had aspired for bigger things like joining a university, getting a degree, and becoming a scientist. However, now that the information of his nature had been stamped upon him, that wasn't possible. Omegas just didn't get jobs — at least as easily — like Alphas. They stayed at home and took care of the house and children.
But one trait of Alfred's was his stubbornness, and, somehow, the male had actually managed to get a job. It was more of a way to say "fuck you" to his parents and society than anything, but he did enjoy the pay. It wasn't anything special — just a job at a cafe. He was still in high school, so there wasn't really any better job that he could get. But it was still something, he remarked.
However, this job of his was kept with difficulty. Being harassed was something not uncommon with working Omegas. Albeit, at such a small cafe there wasn't as many of the worse cases of harassment, but Alfred could attest that didn't mean much. The male would never be able to count the many times he had received cat calls, had sneering insults and accusing slurs thrown at him, and had customers try to touch him in very uncomfortable places.
However, as previously stated, Alfred was very stubborn, and he intended to keep this job no matter what he faced.
It had been a rather ordinary day for the Omega. The male had gotten out of an easy day of school, though he was still horribly exhausted.
'Thank God it's Friday,' Alfred thought, rubbing his eyes and getting inside his car. 'This week has been so packed! I'm so ready for school to get out!'
The blond shut the door of his silver truck with a sigh and threw his backpack to the back of the car. He was about to start the car when he caught sight of his appearance in the mirror. The man grimaced at the dark circles underneath his bright blue eyes and his ruffled hair. God, he looked as if he had been hit by a train! He seriously had some catching up on sleep to do.
'After my job,' the Omega remarked internally, 'I'm going to hibernate until school is finally over.'
Alfred started the car and drove with a sort of dread in his heart. God, he hoped desperately he wouldn't have to deal with any assholes today. He was too tired, and there wasn't a likely chance he would be able to keep his composure if insulted. He knew that if he was approached in such a way today, Alfred would snap and start yelling obscenities that would get him fired right then and there.
Luckily, though, after arriving at the cafe, the customers inside didn't pay him much mind. This took a bit of a weight off his shoulders once he put on his uniform in the bathroom and exchanged a few words with his Beta coworkers. Indeed, the first hour or two of working proved to be quite uneventful.
The bell on the door rang as a tall man stepped inside the cafe. The man was a bit gangly-looking, and he had unpleasant stubble framing his jawline. His hair was an ugly, greasy shade of brown and was almost straw-like, and a pair of scrutinizing brown eyes peaked out from cheap, wire-framed glasses.
The Omega hummed and walked towards the newcomer with a notepad and pen in hand as the other male sat down. "Is there anything I can get you, sir?" Alfred asked.
The man — an Alpha, Alfred could now tell by his scent — frowned at him before bluntly saying, "I didn't know this place hired Omegas. I thought this was a decent place."
Alfred tightened his hand on the pen he was holding, and it took all his strength to keep his smile on his face. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir," Alfred said sarcastically, "but I do work here, so please tell me your order."
The Alpha frowned at him. "Omegas never worked when I was growing up," he said before continuing with a smirk, "I bet what you need is a good fucking from an Alpha to put you in your place."
The Alpha's hand shot out and took the Omega's wrist. Alfred let out startled sound, and his eyes widened as he was about to be tugged forward.
However, instead of being brought close to the male, he heard the sound of newspaper being thrown then angry stomping.
Suddenly, the Alpha's hand was removed from his wrist.
Alfred, a bit dazed, blinked at the now soaking wet man before him. Beside the offender was another Alpha who had poured his tea on top of the man's head and ripped the other Alpha's hand away.
The rest of the café went quiet.
"You are sick!" the new green-eyed Alpha exclaimed, his voice laced with an accent. "Omegas have just as much power as you do, so keep your disgusting mitts to yourself!"
The wet Alpha stood up abruptly, nearly knocking his chair down. "How dare you, you insolent brat!" he growled dangerously. "Your parents should have told you to not interfere in an Alpha's business with an Omega!"
"And your parents should have told you that mindlessly fucking people to prove a point and reigning your place in society like a tyrant makes you no better then the gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe! You make me sick! Don't you understand that Omegas are people too?!" the other Alpha yelled, gesturing to the blond man who he had helped. "He got a job here, and he works hard at it. Just because he was born with a different puberty cycle doesn't mean you can just treat him like trash, heathen! This is the reason why people are raped, murdered, and why wars happen! You sick twat, if you can't accept the fact of how little power you actually have in this world and decide to take it out on people who try just as hard if not harder than you at life, then you need to leave."
The wet man's nostrils flared in anger, and he reached a hand out to grab the other's collar. "You stupid child, if you would like to keep your skin intact, you would be wise to shut your damn mouth," he growled. "This is how it works. Alphas are the one with the power, and the Omegas are the ones who care for their Alphas. Omegas are the ones who take care of the household, not... not the ones who get jobs, as if they were an Alpha! This is how the world works, you brat! Get that into your head!"
"Why can't you see that Omegas have just as much power as you do? And that, if they wanted to, they could stop this twisted society all together! Anything an Alpha can do, an Omega can also do!" the green-eyed Alpha growled back and grabbed the other's hand, with less strength but a much better reason. "Just because that's how the history has been before doesn't mean that that is how it is and should be now. Do you see this man?" He gestured to Alfred again. "He is capable of more than you could ever do. He is more built that you will ever be, and I am certain by the fact that he could keep a smile and try to endure the things you've said that he is smarter than you will ever be as well."
Alfred was caught off-guard by this new Alpha talking about him. It was so odd to hear about an Alpha defending an Omega to this point, but going as far as to say that he held just as much power and was better than the angry Alpha... that was almost unheard of.
The still wet Alpha growled and tightened his hold on the other's collar. "You brat, I should beat you where you stand and teach you a lesson!" he snapped. "Instead, however, I'll let you off with a warning. Stay out of my way or you'll regret it." With that, the Alpha spat at the other male, relinquished his hold on the man's collar, and stormed out of the cafe.
Rendered speechless, Alfred stared at his savior's proud smile as the brown-haired Alpha stormed off. The man tried to fix the collar of his shirt and looked around to all the people who were still watching him. The Omega caught a spark of anger in his eyes — probably for the fact that they had done nothing during the entire fight.
Instead of yelling at everyone in the café like Alfred had expected, however, the wheat-haired Alpha instead turned to look back at him.
"I hope that he didn't hurt you at all or humiliate you... I am very sorry about that," the other man said with a very quiet voice.
The cafe still silent with shock, Alfred couldn't help but continue to stare, disbelieving of all that had occurred. "No... I'm fine," Alfred finally said. "I get that kind of thing a lot. It's just never gotten to this point before." The Omega allowed his body to relax, knowing he was safe from that violent Alpha now. "Thank you... Just... Thank you," he said softly.
The man let the smile flow back to his face, even though it appeared bittersweet at the comment of the situation happening a lot. "It shouldn't happen a lot; it is just sick how put down you are in public. Don't thank me. I am doing my job that any bystander should," he said and looked over the people in the café. He nodded a little, and Alfred sensed that he was embarrassed under all the attention.
Turning on his heels and about to walk away, the man spoke one more time. "Erm... Tell me if anything like it comes up again; I'm right down the block in that bookstore... I am sorry once again." He sighed quietly and stepped out.
Alfred blinked as the male walked out with the promise of help should he need it. The Omega didn't even have the time to say goodbye, he remarked. He stood still before ducking his head to avoid the stares and going back to work. The reigning silence unnerved him, and he didn't want his boss to catch him not working. As an Omega, he knew that one wrong move could cause him to be fired. And after all this, he didn't want to lose his job today.
Thankfully, after a few minutes, the tension had melted away from the café, and things had returned to normal. Alfred served customers as per normal, and the Alpha from earlier had not returned thus far. He let out a sigh as he pulled out a chair and sat down.
Thank God for lunch breaks, he thought. The male wouldn't be able to survive the job without them.
He was about to get started on some school homework he had yet to do — he was so thankful he was finally in his senior year — when he heard the café door open and saw the Alpha that had saved him enter. The Omega flashed the other a grin and waved. "Hey!"
The Alpha smiled a little and wave back, stepping closer to Alfred's table. "Hello. Nothing bad happened while I was gone, I presume?" he asked.
Alfred nodded. "Yep! Everything calmed down a while after you left," he said with a smile. The Omega held out his hand towards the other male. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself before, but I'm Alfred F. Jones. I really appreciate the way you helped me."
The Alpha smiled with more pride and took his hand without hesitation. "I said before, don't thank me. It's nothing, really. As a bystander, anyone should have done that for you, Alfred. And it is nice to meet you, I am Arthur Kirkland," he responded and shook the other's hand politely and firmly.
"Still. Not many actually of the guts to do it. It's nice to meet you, Arthur," Alfred said, smiling and retracting his hand. "Do you want me to get you something? I'm on break, but it's the least I can do."
Arthur waved the question off. "No, no. You enjoy your break, and it looks like you have other work to finish as well... I'm sorry to disturb you," he said with a little sigh and looked around for a place to sit.
Alfred couldn't help but snicker when Arthur went to search for another table. It was lunch hour, so all the tables were taken. He wondered with amusement when the green-eyed man would realize that.
Just as Alfred was about to start his homework again, Arthur walked back to the other side of the small table Alfred sat at. "I am sorry again to ask, but would you mind if I sat here? There's no other place to sit, it seems."
"Oh, yeah! You're welcome to sit here. This homework is frustrating me, anyway," Alfred said with a smile, gesturing to the free seat. He slid some of his papers that were near Arthur's side towards himself. "I'm in my senior year," the Omega explained as he began to put his homework into his backpack, "so the teachers are packing a ton of work of me since it's the end of the year."
Arthur thanked the other silently then say down, chuckling a bit at the Omega's words. "I understand. I was in school just three years ago. I am trying to raise money to get into college now... " he said.
Arthur managed to get a waiter from the café to come over and ask Arthur what he wanted, to which he replied that he'd like a small sandwich and tea.
Alfred inwardly snickered at the Alpha's request for tea. 'How British!' he thought with some amusement.
"Did you eat already, or do you want something?"
The Omega was brought out of his thoughts abruptly by Arthur's question, and he blinked a bit, surprised. Was the Englishman really offering him food? That was strangely nice, but... he knew he shouldn't accept the offer.
"Ah, I usually don't eat lunch when I'm working. It's better this way," Alfred answered with an awkward smile, "so I'm fine... Thanks for the offer, though."
"Really? But you're a growing child, you should eat something," Arthur somewhat questioned, a little frown on his face, before declaring, "I'm going to buy you something to eat."
Alfred blinked again in surprise before shaking his head. "No, really... I'm fine. You don't need to buy me anything," he said, still smiling awkwardly.
"Well, I am," Arthur stubbornly let out and handed Alfred the small menu. "Pick something," he said with no room for argument.
Alfred shifted in his seat slightly. He guessed he really couldn't fight against Arthur. "No, I have the menu memorized since I work here," he said. "I'll just have one of the coffee cakes, I guess," the man said quietly after a while.
Arthur smiled finally at his victory, looking up at the waiter and asking for what he wanted with the addition of the new order. "Thank you. You need your nutrition to keep going. Though, I'm not sure if a coffee cake counts as 'nutrition', but I suppose that it's better than nothing."
"I guess," Alfred said with a shrug. "I just don't want it to seem like I'm asking them to do work for me. It's a miracle that I have a job here, so I don't want to risk it. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but... I don't know."
Arthur raised a bushy eyebrow. "You're worried about them firing you for eating here? But you're giving the place money and supporting this place... If they are going to fire you for that, then that is a big violation of worker's rights, love..."
Alfred stared at Arthur for a moment when the male called him 'love', but he forced himself to talk again. "I know. I know. I'm paranoid. It's just... I have to be careful, you know? Piss off the wrong person somehow, and I'll be gone in the blink of an eye."
"I am sorry about that..." Arthur whispered. "A man like you should really have a nicer job, you clearly are smart and confident. And... If you ever do get fired — I know that it might not be a very exciting job — but if you needed another job someday, I would be able to talk with my boss and get you a job where I work... He is a very reasonable man who feels about the same I do."
Alfred smiled at the offer. "It's okay, dude. This job is more a 'fuck you' to my parents than anything — to show them I can do all these other things. They don't think me wanting to be a scientist is a good thing," he explained. "But seriously, thanks for the offer. I might take you up on it someday."
The Alpha laughed lightly. "That is a great idea. You should be a scientist. I imagine you will come up with something amazing, and prove to everyone that Omegas are strong and can do just anything that the rest can do," he said and took his tea as the waiter came back with their orders.
Alfred felt touched by all the compliments he was receiving. But another part of him, however, was unsure about the situation, since this was technically only the second time he had talked to Arthur.
"Thanks, dude," the Omega said with a chuckle. "Though, you've never met me before, so I might not be as great as you think. But thank you. Seriously."
"I mostly think that you are very strong, smart, and brave due to the fact that you got a job in this society. Things like that happened this morning are not rare for working Omegas, and I feel very bad that you have to experience that often... I'm sorry. As a person, you're quite interesting too..." Arthur replied, taking a long sip of his tea.
"It's all right. I mean, it is what it is, right?" Alfred shrugged slightly. "Besides, it usually never gets as bad as it was this morning. I've learned to put up with it after a while. The worst I usually get is cat calls or the like, but no one else really does anything more than that."
"That's good, but it is pathetic that you have anything like the display earlier or cat calls happening at all. This society is disgusting. But yet again, I will help you if you ever need it... I'm down the block seventeen hours a day except Sunday."
The Omega couldn't help but chuckle as the other hid a small — and dare he say it cute — smile behind his cup. Aww! That was so cute!
"I agree. Hopefully if more Omegas get jobs, we'll actually be able to change everything," Alfred replied, however, with a sigh, then smiled softly. "And okay. I'll keep that in mind."
Alfred blinked when a plate with the little coffee cake on it was pushed towards him by Arthur. Oh. Right. He had to eat. Dammit, he was hoping Arthur would forget. He really didn't want to make the others mad at him... But he did it anyway, knowing Arthur wouldn't let it go, and began eating the small cake.
"Thank you. I would hate to always worry about you for a reason..." Arthur said softly when the other male had taken the cake and begun eating.
The Omega raised an eyebrow and had a slight frown. He wasn't sure how to feel about someone caring so much for his welfare. Especially by a person he barely knew at all. "Ah, thanks... There's really no reason to worry about me, though."
Arthur snorted and crossed his arms. "Of course I'll worry about you; you support everything I've been saying for years now. I've always hated the way that the government makes Omegas look like weaklings. It makes no sense!"
"So I'm proof, is that it?" Alfred said with a small chuckle. A part of him was upset that that was the only reason, but he tried to shake it off. After all, what other reason could there be?
"You're pretty nice, too... To see you hurt or anything like it would be very saddening."
Watching as Arthur diverted his eyes to look at the tea, Alfred couldn't help but blush at the statement. His cheeks burning, the male looked away and crossed his own arms. Wow, that statement sounded seriously flirty. "I, uh..." He paused a moment before looking back at Arthur. "...Thanks," he said a bit softer.
Upon hearing the words, Arthur peered up at Alfred from behind his teacup. The Englishman smiled a little softly back, as well as kindly. "You don't have to thank me."
Having finished his food, Alfred stood up. "I'll have to get goin'. My break is over. I'll see you later, Arthur," the Omega said with a smile.
Arthur smiled back and watched him. "Okay. Don't forget that you can come tell me anything or ask me for help or such at anytime; I'm right down the street," the Alpha said and directed his focus back on his food.
Alfred nodded, waved, then went back to work. He couldn't seem to wipe his bright smile off his face.
Arthur was such a nice guy, he remarked internally.