Hey guys! This one was suppose to be done like three days ago, but oh god so much came up in between writing! It felt like some outside force was trying to prevent it! either way... New chapter! enjoy!

Matthew was so completely freaked out at the thought of the surgery Arthur wanted him to have, so when his weekly appointment rolled around, he decided to discuss it with the doctor. Apparently, along with being considered… unsightly… there were other reasons for the removal of a male omegas 'unnecessary' nether parts. For one, like the tonsils or an appendix It was an organ in an omega's body that could cause problems later in life. It could develop cancer. Another was that It made childbirth a little more awkward. Not having them there would make everything more sanitary when the time came. It could also be a source of pain, and many male Omega tended to thrash during a heat and could end up hurting themselves. Matthew was glad to have some medical reasoning behind removing this part of himself… but he still felt a twist in his gut at the thought of going under a knife.

The appointment was made, although it was going to take four months. During the waiting period Matthew was left to fret and feel anxious. His doctor, , and a few of the staff members made sure to remind him he still had to eat. Losing more weight was not going to help him, so he forced himself to do that at least.

"So… they're cutting part of you off?" Gilbert asked, his eyes wide and his voice a little too loud for both the topic and the library.

"Shh!" Matthew hushed with panic in his voice, "Not so loud!" He ducked his head behind a book.

"Sorry…" said Gilbert, a little more quietly, "But really?! And you're just letting them?!" The words were hissed out.

"It's not like I have a choice!" Matthew replied with a frown before blushing bright red and looking down, "Besides… that part can cause issues for me when I'm older or something…" He muttered.

Gilbert leaned back in his chair, frowning as well. "I don't know… I don't like it. If anyone tried that shit with me, I'd be throwing a fit!"

Matthew raised an eyebrow looking at him "Yeah… that worked well for yo last time, didn't it?"

"Shut up" Gilbert grumbled, pouting. "When are they doing it anyway?"

"Two more months. January fourteenth…" Matthew sighed and leaned forward to rest his chin on his arms folded on the tabletop.

"Dude, not cool… four days before my birthday!"

Matthew snorted. "So sorry I'm going to be a downer on your big day?" Gilbert had the good grace to blush slightly, at least.

"That's not…" He started, looking away with his arms crossed. "I just thought.. ya know… It's gonna be boring sitting by your bed all day…"

"Well, you don't have to stay with me if there's something else you wanna go have fun doing." Matthew said with a shrug. They weren't actually joined at the hip like people liked to joke.

"And who the hell else would I hang out with? No one else is nearly awesome enough…"

Matthew blushed but smirked. "So I'm 'awesome' then?"

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "It's a good word okay? And yeah… you're okay… not as awesome as me." He said smirking back.

"Uh-huh… just be careful not to wear the word out…" Matthew said with a smile.

Gilbert scoffed. "As if I'd ever be that lame"

The next visit happened only weeks before Christmas, and Matthew wasn't sure if he was looking forward to it. Usually he loved when came, but this time… He was just so nervous about next month's events he was worried it would show.

But the visit wasn't today. No.. today was… well... nothing. The teachers had gone for winter break leaving only Omega's and the caretaking staff in the Haven. Matthew was sitting on his bed, looking at a book he'd read six times and sighing every few breaths. It was earning him dirty looks from the older Omega in the bed next to his, but he didn't care.

Gilbert had a doctors appointment and It was taking forever. It felt like he had been waiting hours for his friend to get out and he was so bored. He snapped the book closed with a huff, giving up on it. It wasn't getting him anywhere. He'd probably scanned the same page six times now. He rolled onto his back staring at the ceiling with a hand threaded in his hair.

Is this what it was going to be like after he turned eighteen? If he was lucky he'd be stuck in a house. If he was unlucky he'd be stuck in a single room. At that, what if Gilbert was right? What if Alfred only came to see him during heats? He was going to die of boredom if he had to sit alone day after day!

Great… now he felt crappy. Only eight years and there would be no Gilbert, possibly no Alfred except for once every three months, Mr. Kirkland probably wouldn't even visit him anymore. He frowned and stared at the ceiling miserably. That's what all these lessons are for right? Give you something to do while you pop out kids. At least, if Mr. Kirkland was any indication, there would be plenty of books.

It was half an hour of pessimism later that he felt a weight drop down next to him on the bed. Matthew looked over to see Gilbert, smirking down at him. "They're taking me off the pills." Matthew grinned at the news, shifting to lean back on his elbows.

"That's great Gil!" he said brightly, and maybe a little too loud… The Omega next to him made a sound of irritation, gathering her stuff and storming out of the room. "Oops?" He said with a shrug after the door slammed behind her.

"Whatever, she's always crabby." Gil rushed, waving his hand in the direction of the door, " But that's not important! The awesome me is free!" he paused "well… free.. ish…" The smirk was starting to settle into a glare..

Matthew tried to push it off. "What did they say about it though? Is that what took so long?"

Gilbert shrugged, frown still in place "They had this whole spiel about me showing 'Marked improvement in attitude' and made sure to repeat about twenty times that they'd put me back on if i caused trouble…" Any excitement he had had from being pill free was quickly being crushed by the memory that he was still very much stuck.

Matthew gave a sympathetic frown. He felt bad for his friend. Really, he did. Gilbert was still fairly new to the haven and the restrictive lifestyle it forced on them. He completely understood why Gilbert had that look like someone took away his puppy… but really, by that point Matthew had had just about enough moping for the day, and he didn't think Sad Gil was the best way to celebrate the news. Experimentally he poked Gilbert's side. The Albino jerked away, "Ah! What the hell!?"

Matthew snickered, "You're ticklish."

Gilbert's eyes went wide. "No… Matthew no- Ahhaha!" Gilbert squirmed as Matthew started his attack, fingers brushing over the others side. "No~!" Gilbert laughed loudly, then growled. "Alright! That's it!" He cried before launching himself to Matthew, pinning him and tickling back just as good with a huge grin. Soon both Omegas filled the room with sounds of laughter and pleas to 'stop I can't breathe'.

"And what the hell did you think you were doing?!" Matthew sunk further down and flinched as Arthur scolded him.

The tickle fight, while being fun… had turned just a little dangerous. Matthew had tried to uproot Gilbert, who wound up tipping off the bed and dragging Matthew with him. Matthew had hit his head on the corner of the dresser, while landing on top of Gilbert. Luckily, the white haired Omega only wound up with a bruise on his hip, and with no benefactor yet… he had no Alpha to yell at him. Unlike Matthew…

"What if you had done worse than you did?! You're lucky to have got out of it with a bump, a few stitches and a night of observation!"

"I'm sorry.." Matthew half whispered, shaking under the smell of aggression and disapproval that was flooding the room. "It was an accident…"

"Damn straight, you're sorry!" Arthur growled and Matthew whimpered, tears escaping his eyes and dribbling down his cheeks. "I get a bloody call in the middle of a meeting, telling me my Omega is getting stitches because he was horse playing and he was the one to initiate it!"

If Matthew had thought was ever mad at him before this, he now understood how wrong h'ed been…

"And not only did you damage yourself, you marked up another Omega just in time for his viewing!" Arthur spat before walking to the counter. He poured a cup of tea and muttered more to himself than to Matthew. "It's a damn good thing he wasn't claimed yet, that would have been a disaster."

Matthew felt horrible. The pair had, of course, been lectured. Lucky for them, Matthew's decision to take the blame prevented Gilbert from having to go back onto the pills.. but it landed him in this room two days later with his ticked off Alpha benefactor growling at him. And then of course there was his sore head...

"In the future I expect you to use a shred of sense!" Matthew flinched as Arthur set his tea down and circled the table towards him, his green eyes narrowed and authoritative.

"Yes, sir."

Arthur sighed, irritation evident in his tone as he retrieved his tea and sat at the table. He picked up the cup and sipped. When he spoke again there was subtle acid in his voice. "I just hope, Matthew, that you can start behaving. I would hate to think Alfred got an Omega who was good for nothing but causing trouble."

Matthew felt the sting of those words so more then the scolding. Tears flowing silently, but constantly now. He was a bad Omega. He couldn't even follow the few simple rules to keep happy. He was failing.

Matthew redoubled his efforts following the meeting. The tension had not eased the entire two hours Arthur was there. It had started out in despair, but Matthew came out of it determined to do his best, be his best. The whole next month was a blur as he worked to be a perfect Omega. He finished every bite of food at every meal, went to bed on the dot, walked slower than ever down the stairs, and started working on two new songs he thought would enjoy.

It was a bit draining, working to make sure he followed every rule to the T, but luckily, he had Gilbert beside him as he went. The two Omegas didn't have anymore potentially deadly tickle fights, but they did continue their usual not so dangerous activities. Playing cards, practicing on the piccolo and flute and generally just talking and joking with each other.

Gilbert changed a little once the medication was out of his system. He seemed more animated and, frankly, louder. It scared some of the other Omega, but not Matthew. He was already so used to Gilbert. The volume and energy increase only served to keep him in good enough spirits to get through his days. It was hard not to feel energetic and determined with that cocky smirk practically daring him to keep going.

By the time January 13th rolled around, Matthew had managed to maintain his weight. He'd even added an extra pound. His head was completely healed, (as was Gilbert's bruise). He also managed to perfect one of the two songs he had started on both his flute, and with his voice. However that night he was not thinking of his accomplishments, or how proud he was of hitting that high note so sweetly. He had other things to consider.

In the morning the van would be taking him away from the haven and down to a nearby hospital. Mr. Kirkland would meet him there before everything got started. His stomach twisted into knots. Surgery, and the possibility of a disappointed look on his benefactors face. It was almost too much.

Gilbert stuck even closer to him that day, arm tossed around Matthew's shoulders whenever he needed it, jokes being told in rapid fire, playing Matthew's favourite card game. Behind all the smiles and cheering he was doing the white haired Omega looked like he was stressed too. It wasn't a surprise, Gilbert had snuck in little comments about his disapproval of the whole thing since day one… but he looked almost as worried as Matthew.

The pair laid out across Matthew's bed after everyone had given up on trying to get Matthew to eat dinner that night. Matthew was on his stomach, looking over the edge of the bed at the floor with a nervous frown. Gilbert next to him laying on his back, his head hanging off the bed taking in the world at an upside down perspective.

"You nervous?" Gilbert asked, as he stared off at bed next to Matthew's.

"Yup." Matthew answered unblinkingly.

"I'm sure it'll be okay.. It's a simple procedure right?" Gilbert's face was tight as he spoke. It mirrored Matthew's throat. He couldn't make a sound, so he just nodded.

Gilbert rolled his head to the side, and made eye contact with his friend. The blonde Omega sniffled, unable to keep it back anymore. He dropped his face into his hands and cried. There was a shuffling sound, and Matthew felt himself being pulled up to sit. He didn't resist, even as arms wrapped around him. He could only cling to his friend and cried into his shoulder. "Shhh… it's gonna be okay." Gilbert soothed. "You're gonna come out just fine, because the awesome me says so." Matthew hiccuped out a small laugh through his sobs holding onto the other Omega tighter.