"Hello," Alfred greeted Arthur with a big smile on his lips as they stood on Arthur's front doorstep, Arthur ushering Alfred in after the short introduction.

The house looked just as cozy as before, though now Arthur's brothers were in the kitchen chatting and Alfred felt his heart rate pick up at the thought of having them overhear their conversation. Had Arthur already talked to them about his nature?

"So Artie, I was wondering about this whole nature situation that you've got going on," Alfred blurted out before they'd even settled into studying. He wanted Arthur to know what he was thinking right away before Arthur sidetracked him again.

Maybe it wasn't the most tactful thing to do—Alfred knew that people could be really guarded or protective of their nature—but he tried his best to phrase the question appropriately and to give Arthur an opportunity to say he didn't wanna talk about it if that was what he wanted. After all, Alfred wasn't looking to agitate Arthur again with sticking his nose where it didn't belong.

Upon first seeing that textbook spread out on his floor, Alfred had just assumed that Arthur was a theta-alpha or whatever it was because, well, it kinda made sense. Arthur was always tougher than he was nurturing and preferred to carry himself more like a sturdy wall than a fragile person (a stigma associated a lot with omegas).

Or maybe Alfred was just overanalyzing things. After all, he'd only known known Arthur for a few days and maybe Arthur had just been marking the page for another assignment or something. He could be a completely normal omega (even if all the evidence from the other day was enough by itself to justify that he wasn't).

It took Alfred a moment to tune back into reality and focus on the smirk that graced Arthur's lips. Arthur'd put his arms akimbo, shaking his head at Alfred like he'd stolen from the cookie jar. "You really couldn't help asking right off the bat, hmm?" he asked. "You really are tactless. Though I have to give it to you for being straightforward," he noted.

Alfred also noticed that all conversation going on in the other room had ceased and he quickly glanced over at the brothers. They were giving off a really strong scent that was telling him to leave them—and their brother—alone.

"Actually, could we talk about this in private?" Alfred asked, and Arthur nodded his head.

"We can talk upstairs," he said, giving the three siblings a pointed glare as he led Alfred up the stairs and to his room upstairs.

Arthur's room smelled earthy, mixed with touches of sharp citrus and herby scents, like a forest after rainfall. Posters and books decorated the room, with two hulking bookshelves lining the nearest wall. A desk sat in front of the window with Arthur's homework and a cup of pens settled on the side. His room was cleaner than Alfred expected (minus the half-closed door of his closet, which was obviously spilling a little with old laundry), with more storage resting underneath Arthur's plaid-laden bed. Alfred settled himself into Arthur's little spinning desk chair as Arthur leaned against his raised bed, crossing his arms and looking at Alfred.

"Before we start talking about my nature could you explain to me how you found out?" Arthur asked.

"It was only a hunch; I'd seen the pages about thetas and the marks that you'd made to the page in the textbook that you lent to me," Alfred explained.

Arthur's cheeks turned a little pink, but he nodded his head. "I didn't expect anyone to find out."

"Obviously."

Arthur grimaced at that like he'd just smelt something gross and Alfred blushed. "Anyway, the full truth is that I'm a theta-alpha. It means that I wasn't born as an alpha but identify as one. It's kind of like being transgender, but for natures. I've also had my brothers ask before about how to address me… I like to be called an alpha. You don't have to mention the theta part."

Alfred leaned against the back of Arthur's office chair and swiveled a little back and forth. "So you're coming out of the closet right now," he said, and Arthur grimaced, though his face was becoming pinker.

"I suppose you could call it that," he mumbled. "I thought you would be a good confidant to start with since I haven't told anyone except few close relatives."

"Really?" Alfred asked, dubious. He didn't think that Arthur had really trusted him all that much. Expecting one another to work on their science project on a regular basis had been a different kind of agreement, not like promising to keep someone's identity a secret (or at least keeping it limited to a few people).

"Yes! What, is there something hard to understand about that?" Arthur snapped, his face red, and Alfred took a breath.

"No, that's… it's… thanks," Alfred said with a light laugh. "Out of everyone at school who you could've told you chose me," he said.

Arthur scoffed. "You didn't give me much choice, seeing as how you blabbed to Francis about it already. Knowing him, half the school will hear about it by tomorrow and then word will spread and by next week everyone else will have caught on that I'm an unnatural phenomenon and—" Arthur dropped his arms in defeat. "Given the circumstances, you were a natural choice."

Alfred shifted in his seat, trying to avoid the awkward tension that fell over his shoulders like a quilted blanket, only more hot and less comfortable. "So why didn't you tell anyone before?" he asked.

What had been scoffing before was now a cynical laugh, bitter like his tea. "I did. You may not remember but there was a time when I was very much trying to say something, but other peers targeted me because of it and many more thought I was just confused or stupid." He rolled his eyes, back slumping as he mumbled something under his breath. It sounded a lot like "as if I don't know what natures are."

"I'm really sorry that I didn't realize before Artie," Alfred said, but Arthur just waved the concern away.

"It wasn't your problem to deal with," he said. "it makes sense that you wouldn't stop to consider it."

"Soo… you said everyone else is gonna find out. What's gonna happen next?" Alfred asked.

Arthur didn't look very happy at that question, and Alfred was itching to say something about it being okay, but he was sure it wouldn't be well-received by someone who seemed too stubborn for even a "thanks."

"I'm going to carry on my life as usual. We still have coursework to do and deadlines to meet despite what drama circulates among the other students. Surely you know that—" a pointed look, "—but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to, ahm, to…" Arthur's face was turning pink again, and this time Alfred stretched his knees and elbows to cup his face in his hand, smiling warmly. "See a little more of one another around the school. Only so we have more time to work on our science project together, considering we've already wasted enough time."

Alfred's lips split into a grin. "Yeah, doesn't sound too bad to me," he mused, leaning back in the chair now. "Are you really sure this science project is what we should be doing now, though? People are going to get thoughts in their mind when they see us together, working on this," he observed.

Arthur huffed. "That's the point! It's all about debunking the stigmas and myths that have circled this topic for so long. There's still so much that we haven't covered with it and there's so much research to be done—you brought your textbooks with you, right?"

And effortlessly, like LeBron James dunking a basketball, Arthur had switched into work mode, and any hopes of Alfred diving more into Arthur's nature were pushed aside.

Alfred sighed as he pulled the textbook out of his backpack and flipped to the behavioral chapter that they'd been looking at, Arthur shuffling over with a folding chair he'd pulled from his black hole of a closet.

"So we've already debunked that it's not a genetic thing," Arthur said, all the while rolling his eyes like yeah we know that, "and I really don't think it's a chemical construction that changes a person's behavior like that. Both females and males have testosterone and estrogen and progesterone serve to help with sexual characteristics. I highly doubt they contribute that much to making all omegas act…" Arthur's sentence trailed off, Arthur biting the inside of his cheek.

Alfred sighed. "This would be a lot easier if there were any data to go by for this kind of stuff, but I couldn't find anything!"

Arthur turned to him, his eyes bright with excitement. "There's nothing stopping us from doing our own research experiment, maybe like a survey, to collect some data for this experiment."

"I mean, it's a good idea, but a survey might be pushing it—we'd need a lot of people to fill it out for the numbers to really matter."

"You're the quarterback. Everyone loves you. I have no doubt that we can get enough responses if you encourage people to complete it," he said.

"Everyone?" Alfred teased, wiggling his eyebrows, and Arthur blushed as he shook his head in embarrassment.

"Let's get going then," Arthur goaded, and Alfred huffed.

"Okay… but can we do it later? I know you said we were supposed to meet tonight so I could help you out and everything but I've still got a lot of questions and I really wanna get to know you better."

Arthur raised an eyebrow at that. "Alfred, I have a maths test this Friday. Your questions might be able to wait but my homework's not going to."

Alfred frowned, sulking into Arthur's chair. "Okay, then I'll just help you with your homework," he said, even if he was a little dejected at least he could still spend some time with Arthur.

The evening went smoothly as Alfred guided Arthur through the few questions he had on his homework, though he didn't need a lot of help because, well, he was obviously super smart.

Alfred yawned as he reclined in his chair, taking a glance at his watch as Arthur scribbled on his paper. Nine already? Man, Alfred would have to go home soon.

"Artie, it's getting kinda late. You should probably rest," he suggested, and Arthur sighed as he dropped his pencil and leaned back in his chair.

"Alright," he conceded, leaning back to prop his feet on his desk, pushing his chair back. Arthur's hands rested against his head then slid over his eyes as he yawned. When his hands pulled away, Alfred grinned at the ruffled hair he left in his wake.

"You look really tired," Alfred observed. "Are you doing okay?" he asked.

Arthur nodded his head. "Yes, though sometimes I'm a tad weaker than usual. I'd take that over having a heat any day." Arthur flashed a small smile. "Alright, well I think that's enough for tonight. Did you want me to walk you out?" he asked.

Alfred had to go home eventually, unfortunately. "Okay," he caved, rising from his comfortable seat as Arthur ushered him out of his room and down the stairs.

"Can I just ask one more question?" Alfred asked as he hopped down the stairs and he heard Arthur's sigh trailing behind him.

"If you must."

"So, um…" Alfred walked to the door then stopped short of opening it, turning around to Arthur. "I noticed your neck is all bandaged up—are you mated?"

Arthur's lips turned into that heart-dropping smile as he shook his head. "No lad, sorry to say," he said with an exaggerated roll at the end.

"So you're available," Alfred cut in with a grin, and Arthur leaned forward to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"I only agreed to one more question, twat," he teased, though his face was a bright red that made Alfred feel a whole lot less bad about the red that flared in his own face.

"But Arthur," Alfred whined, but Arthur was urging him out the door now. "I really wanna hang out with you more! Will you at least consider it?" Alfred asked, stepping out onto the porch as Arthur nudged him through.

Arthur raised his arm and rested it against the doorframe, smirking at Alfred as he answered. "I'll think about it," he hummed, then waved a goodbye to Alfred as he closed the door, and Alfred felt butterflies released into his stomach.

"I'm having a party at my place tonight, and you're going." Alfred scribbled on the margins of his worksheet as Gilbert whispered into his ear from the desk behind him. He glanced back to raise an eyebrow at Gilbert, who was giving him a huge grin.

"Text me the deets," he whispered, then turned away.

The floor vibrated with music drumming through the house, voices melting into the energetic melody. Alfred took another sip of the sizzling Coke in his hand and strolled over to Gilbert, clapping him on the back.

"Hey dude! This is an awesome party!" he cheered, and Gilbert turned to give him a fist punch. "Maybe not as awesome as me, but Hell yeah!" he cheered.

Gilbert took a quick glance around the room of people then leaned in close and whispered in Alfred's ear, "Didja run into Arthur yet?"

Alfred felt his cheeks heat at the question, whether out of embarrassment or surprise, he wasn't sure, but the smile that spread on his lips told him it couldn't matter that much. Just the fact that he was here was enough to make him happy. "Where?" he asked.

Gilbert shrugged. "Hell if I know, I just know he's around. Though from what I've heard, you've got a thing for him," he shoved Alfred roughly in the ribs and Alfred nudged him off with a goofy smile on his face.

"It's not like that dude, I just like him," he huffed, and Gilbert raised an eyebrow as he slipped by, blending back into the throng of people.

The scents and music flowed into Alfred's veins like blood, and he melted into the energy, allowing it to excite and invigorate him, making it easy for the smile on his face to stretch even wider at the thought of seeing Arthur.

He was fine with dancing to the colorful mix of pop music and other genres blended into a playlist with a lot of Drake and old 2000s artists. Alfred bumped into plenty of people as he danced, but into the third or fourth song he hit someone a little too hard with his forearm and heard the repercussions.

"Ah, bloody Hell," the familiar, strongly-laced British accent cursed, and Alfred immediately backed smiled as he turned to greet Arthur.

He felt his mind spontaneously combust at the sight of Arthur, all dressed up in the tightest, blackest pair of leather jeans he'd ever seen. Arthur's hair was more ruffled than usual and, seeing through a gap on the Sex Pistols t-shirt Arthur wore, Alfred saw the Greek letter for Alpha stamped right where his neck met his right shoulder, a place usually reserved for mate markings. Arthur'd put a piercing into his left ear and though there was no nose ring or lip ring Alfred could easily imagine him attaching that to his look.

Suddenly, there was a lump in Alfred's throat that he couldn't dispel, and his lips remained gaping open as he stared at Arthur, who naturally looked a little peeved at the gaping.

"You sure know how to talk to people, don't you?" Arthur harassed, and Alfred tugged at the hem of his shirt hoping that it would dispel some of the heat rising to his face.

"I knew you were at this party and everything, but holy damn I wasn't expecting you to look—" Alfred cleared his throat. "You look cool. It's cool."

Arthur didn't look convinced—instead, he looked a little amused but choosing not to mention that Alfred was practically melting into his shoes. "You look like you're about to bloody combust into flames. Maybe you should douse the fire, hm?" he suggested, with only raised eyebrows to suggest that he'd been joking, while Alfred really did want to dunk himself into a pool.

"Have you had time to think about my question?" he asked, clearing his throat.

It was Arthur's time to blush now, though he was still smiling cooly. Dick. Arthur even rested his hands on his (slender) hips as he responded. "Yes, I have. I suppose dating you wouldn't be the worst decision that I've ever made."

Alfred huffed, though he couldn't help the smile that grew on his lips. "Would you wanna hang out with me a bit tonight?" he asked.

Arthur looked to be considering his options, his face screwed up into a look of concentration at the thought of having Alfred in his immediate vicinity for the whole night. Then, Arthur shrugged his shoulders and said, "Just behave yourself."

Music was still jamming long into the night, and while Alfred loved the music itself he liked getting to talk over it as he carried conversations with Arthur, with the volume growing fainter as more people left the dance floor.

After going to school with Arthur for so many years it was surprising that they hadn't gotten together to talk about their school experiences earlier, but Alfred supposed there had never been much of a reason to, what with him being the stereotypical high school jock and Arthur being... well, anything but that.

As the night dwindled on, more people went home, and the music faded along with the people until there was very little of both. A couple laying on the couch was making out—it looked to be a female alpha/male omega couple, judging by the way the girl was all over her mate, and while it was none of Alfred's business, there were better places for PDA like that.

Alfred headed outside to take a breather, sitting out in one of Gilbert's old rickety plastic lawn chair and sipping the last of his third can of Coke. He felt kinda dizzy from all the music and lights and scents that had invaded his senses for the past few hours, leaving him more disoriented than he'd expected. He was probably drunk off people's phenomes or something, if that was even possible. There had been a lot of people there, after all.

It didn't help that Arthur was there because he was, well, him. It really had been a little uncomfortable talking to him since he'd had to yell over the stereo and was the small conversation really worth nearly blowing out Arthur's eardrums? It didn't look like he'd been all that interested in any of it anyway.

Speak of the devil, Arthur opened the sliding glass door and stepped onto the lawn where Alfred lounged in his chair. Alfred felt a hand push against the back of the chair's mesh as Arthur asked, "Are you doing okay?" and Alfred leaned against the touch, smiling a little goofily again as he looked back at Arthur and nodded his head.

"Yeah, I just think I got a bit of a headache. There's a lot goin' on, y'know? Like, everyone's scents and their hormones have been bothering me all night," he confessed. "Do you... notice stuff like that?" He asked and turned around to look at Arthur, folding his knees against his body and gazing up at Arthur.

Arthur shrugged his shoulders. "A tad, it doesn't bother me as much though."

Alfred wanted to delve more into that line of questioning, to maybe ask him about how he'd felt around all those people, but Alfred closed his jaw just as quickly as he opened it, blushing lightly at his changed decision.

"Are you feeling well?" Arthur asked confusedly.

"Yeah, well, duh," Alfred insisted, not wanting Arthur to worry about him. It wasn't like he needed a mother to look after him, after all, but Arthur didn't look convinced.

"My house is just down the street... it might be good for you to spend some time away from the party," Arthur suggested, and oh effing Hell yes please, Alfred nodded his head, rising from his chair and following alongside Arthur as they walked to his house.

"So you've been friends with Gilbert for years! It makes more sense considering he was your neighbor," Alfred noted.

"Aye, we've been pals for over a decade," Arthur said as they walked under the warm yellow pools of lamp post lights. Alfred mentally noted to ask Gilbert what Arthur liked the next time they talked.

From the driveway, Arthur raised his head to check that the lights upstairs were out. It was at least midnight by now so whoever was home was probably asleep as the whole house looked like a black shadow.

Arthur walked up the familiar path and his house key clicked into the lock to the front door. He ushered Alfred in, turning on the lights as he trailed from the familiar living room to the kitchen, swiping a cup from the cabinet to fill with water.

Alfred took a seat on the couch and wrinkled his nose up as the vanilla scent returned to sober him up. Arthur returned from the kitchen and Alfred accepted the cup of water that was shoved into his face. Even if the crazy scents were gone Arthur's hot outfit did not and Arthur cackled at Alfred's fire hydrant face like he was a prepubescent boy in middle school.

"Could you... change out of that?" Alfred asked, and turned away, his face beet red as he took a sip of the water.

Arthur smirked and arched an eyebrow. "Sure," he stated and left the room to go upstairs, casting one glance back into the living room as he closed the door to his bedroom.

Alfred took a moment to question whether Gilbert had slipped Viagra into his drink when he wasn't looking or if he was just acting like a normal crush would to someone they liked. Only Arthur wasn't a crush anymore, they were kinda sorta like an item, and it wasn't like Alfred was all that embarrassed around Arthur before, even though the duo still obviously knew that they had a thing for each other. Or at least Alfred knew. Arthur was a lot better at keeping Alfred guessing on that front, he guessed.

Arthur returned from upstairs with an oversized green sweater and a pair of navy sweatpants, relaxing into the seat next to Alfred as he sipped his wet beverage.

"Are you getting into a rut or something?" Arthur asked, and Alfred shook his head.

"No, they don't feel like this," he informed. "Do you, um, get..." Alfred made gestures and Arthur scoffed.

"No," he said. "I take suppressants."

Alfred nodded his head in understanding. "Is that all you do? to be a theta, I mean. There's not like a… surgery or anything for it?" he asked.

Arthur blushed at the question and shifted in his seat, propping his elbow against the back of the couch and turning to look at Alfred. "You don't need a surgery to authenticate your transition, or at least I don't think you do, but I take heat and scent suppressants. I also take shots and there are contraceptives out there that help. I know there are surgeries to permanently prevent childbirth, but I don't believe there are any associated with changing someone's scent or permanently preventing someone from marking an omega-turned-alpha or beta."

Alfred sighed. "So you don't really have a scent," he said, dejected.

Arthur smiled. "What, feel like you've missed out?" he teased. "You're not missing much, Alfred. Sure, it might be more difficult for you to know what my needs are because you can't rely on that but that's just part of the baggage you carry."

"I don't really care about that part," he admitted, picking up on the narrowing of Arthur's eyes. "What I mean is, 'course other people care about that sort of stuff when looking for a mate but I just want someone who understands me, y'know? And I'm just sad that I missed out on getting to smell your scent."

Arthur looked a little less offended now. "I still have one, you numpty, it's just diluted," he said, and Alfred snorted so hard he felt his ribcage strain against his muscles. Then he leaned back and laughed, while Arthur shoved against his shoulder to quiet him.

"My family's sleeping upstairs, you git," he whispered, and Alfred wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

"You've got a scent? Can I smell it?" he asked, and Arthur hesitated, then held out his wrist. Gingerly bringing the porcelain skin to his nose, Alfred smelled sweetness, like chocolate. Arthur's skin felt cold to the touch, just as creamy and smooth as chocolate itself, and with each new sniff the aroma of the rich sophisticated substance melted through his mind and turned his brain to mush. He smelled a faint touch of that same citrusy flavor as before, but Alfred imagined it only made Arthur's scent more delectable.

Arthur pulled his wrist away and Alfred gazed up at Arthur through half-lidded eyes, leaning forward and reaching to close his hand around Arthur's wrist. "Can I kiss you?" he asked.

Alfred laughed lightly then leaned forward, and Alfred shuttered when their lips touched and Alfred coiled his arms around his frame, pulling him closer and nearly collapsing into the couch on impact. Everything about Arthur felt soft—his shirt, his lips, even his usually electric-green eyes looked gentle.

He could have kissed Arthur forever, feeling as Arthur's warm body rested between his arms and his nimble fingers came up to brush Alfred's hair away from his forehead. Through half-lidded eyes, Alfred peered at Arthur, whose eyes crinkled at the corners out of joy and his lips awkwardly mashed against Alfred's as he smiled.

"Ar— Ohhh," Alfred sighed, diverting from words again as Arthur's hands snaked around his sturdy hips and he felt Arthur Frenching him so hard he felt like he was losing his mind. Arthur was pushing against him now, pressing until Alfred gave in and collapsed into the cushioning of the couch, humming encouragement as Arthur peppered his cherry-red cheeks with kisses.

"Oh wow," Alfred gasped as Arthur sat up, straddling his hips. "You're hot and you make me so hot," he huffed, almost jealously, puffing out his cheeks at Arthur.

"Ask and you shall receive," Arthur chimed, shuffling off Alfred and helping him sit back up when he stubbornly tried to get up by himself.

"I think it's kinda cool that you're not an omega," Alfred muttered, avoiding Arthur's puzzled tilt of his head as he turned to poking his fingers through the holes on his jeans.

"And why's that?" Arthur asked, and Alfred looked back up to stick his tongue out at Arthur.

"I dunno, it just is. It's like, brave but also you're more fun as yourself, not when you're pretending to be someone you're not."

"You're a pretty good alpha yourself," Arthur agreed and laughed when Alfred shot him the finger guns at him.

Alfred collapsed back against the couch, yawning and stretching his arms out. "I think I should head home," he muttered, despite Arthur's frown.

"I can drive you; we'll take my brother's car," he offered, and Alfred readily accepted.

Riding the whole way back home Alfred couldn't suppress the grin that plastered his face, and as Arthur rolled up to Alfred's house and he gave Alfred a chaste goodnight kiss on the cheek, Alfred was sure that he still hadn't returned from his volcanic meltdown that night.