No One's POV:

Arthur curled in on himself, sobbing. He couldn't hear himself anymore. There was nothing where he was.

He felt so alone. It was so dark.

"Arthur."

The voice cut through the silence like a knife.

Arthur looked up, trying to find out where it came from.

"Arthur!"

'Alfred?' The omega mouthed.

"Arthur hey wake up!"

Alfred kept shaking Arthur.

There were tears running down the smaller male's face which really worried him.

"Arthur wake up!"

Arthur gasped and shot up, panting. Tears were still streaming from his eyes.

"Whoa hey, Arthur are you okay? What happened?"

Alfred gently cupped the other male's face and turned it so they could look at each other.

Arthur sniffled and pulled himself closer to Alfred, hiccups escaping his mouth.

Alfred held him close, moving his partner's face so that his nose was right by his neck, trying to send a calming scent.

Arthur breathed it in and his body slowly relaxed.

"There you go. Just calm down. You're okay." Alfred whispered.

Arthur swallowed and nodded, pressing himself closer to the alpha.

They stayed like there for a few minutes until Arthur was completely calmed down.

Alfred kissed his cheek, making Arthur smile a bit.

"You sure you're okay? Don't want to write about it or anything? Writing might help." Alfred suggested. Arthur smiled and shook his head.

"You're fine?" Alfred pressed their foreheads together, looking into Arthur's eyes.

"Mhm." Arthur hummed. Alfred smiled.

It seemed like every day they spent together, Arthur was more comfortable with Alfred. Maybe one day he'd talk.

Alfred moved away and kissed Arthur's cheek again before pulling back.

"Do you want to go back to sleep?" Alfred suggested.

Arthur nodded, covering his mouth as he yawned. Fatigue rolled off his scent in small but noticeable waves.

"Okay, let's go back to sleep."

Alfred turned off the light and put his glasses on the desk. He laid down and Arthur climbed on top of him, literally. He was on Alfred.

Alfred chuckled as Arthur settled with his head on the alpha's shoulder and wrapped his arms around the man underneath. Alfred loosely wrapped his arm around Arthur, leaning down to give him a final kiss on the head.

"Good night Arthur."

"Good night Alfred." A voice spoke in the dark, then everything was quiet again.

Alfred looked down at Arthur, but he was already knocked out.

"Holy shit."

Arthur blinked his eyes open, yawning.

His bed moved underneath him, making him look down and see Alfred's face very close to him.

Arthur blushed and hid his face in Alfred's neck.

Then he remembered what he did and jumped up, accidentally falling off the bed.

The crash woke Alfred, who looked on his chest to find Arthur gone. He sat up and looked down on the floor, seeing Arthur who was busy rubbing his backside.

"Artie you okay?!" He quickly jumped out of the bed and next to the omega, looking at him with concern.

Arthur nodded, wincing a bit as he changed his seating position.

"You sure? I can take you to the nurse's office." Alfred offered softly, cupping the omega's cheek.

Arthur blushed and looked down, nodding his head again.

Alfred smiled at him and leaned in, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Arthur smiled, looking back at Alfred.

Alfred leaned in again but stopped an inch away.

"Uh, can I kiss you?" Alfred asked.

Arthur raised an eyebrow as Alfred began to blurt out more words.

"I-I mean I totally get it if you don't wanna kiss me again! I'd be pretty disappointed because our last kiss was pretty great—amazing actually, a-and it was kinda my first kiss—Oh moon was it yours too?! Did I steal your first kiss without meaning to?! Stars Artie I-"

Arthur silenced him with a kiss. The alpha would have kept rambling if he didn't and he felt bad that the poor guy was embarrassing himself.

Alfred seemed to enjoy the kiss, wrapping his arm around him and bringing Arthur to his chest. Arthur wrapped his arms around Alfred's neck, bringing them that much closer.

They don't remember how they got there, but Arthur was suddenly sprawled on his back, arms still around Alfred's neck and his legs were now wrapped around the other's hips. Alfred was on top of him with his arms on either side of Arthur, hands running up and down the omega's body.

Arthur moaned when Alfred began to rub circles on his hips and Alfred growled. He liked the sound he made, and he made it because of Alfred. They pulled away from their kiss and Alfred looked down at Arthur, swallowing the want to bite him and mark his neck. It wasn't easy since Arthur bared his neck, face turned away while he panted, trying to regain his breath.

Then he felt Alfred move. Alfred rubbed his face in Arthur's neck, moving down. He lifted Arthur's shirt and rubbed his scent all over the omega.

He was scenting him.

Arthur sat up when Alfred finished, looking at him confused. Did Alfred...did Alfred scent him? Only people who were mated or courting did that.

Alfred looked at Arthur's confused face and swallowed. "I, Gods this is all messed up huh? I should have asked you first, asked your parents too. But, damn Arthur I, I really like you. Like, a lot. Can I court you? Am I allowed to? Do I have to ask anyone because I will, hell I'd get on my knees and beg for you, I'd do whatever I have to do—I'd build you your own temple so more people could worship you."

Arthur blushed, turning his face. Alfred leaned down again and kissed Arthur's cheek, feeling the warmth of the omega's cheek on his lips.

"Whatever I gotta do Artie, I'll do it for you."

Arthur borrowed more of Alfred's clothes to wear on his way to school. Al's smallest t-shirt and a pair of his smallest sweats, but they still didn't fit Arthur that well. At least Arthur could tie the sweats' strings so they would tighten up a bit.

"You can just change into some of your clothes when you get back to your room." Alfred chuckled nervously. He didn't like thinking about Arthur not wearing his clothes, especially since he looks so cute in them, but Arthur couldn't walk around his campus like that.

Arthur nodded.

They were already in Alfred's car driving to his school. "Is all your stuff in here? Like all the mall bags and arcade ones?"

Arthur nodded again, smiling reassuringly at Alfred. He looked like such a worry-wart.

"I'll help you carry everything to your room so don't worry."

Arthur motioned toward himself then touched the side of his forehead with the tips of the fingers on his right hand, holding it in a flat shape. 'I know.'

Alfred didn't seem to understand that one, but he still nodded. "Okay."

They parked inside the car park, Arthur flashing a student ID to the omega at the gate so in case they were looking for him they knew he was back at school. It happened once to one of the alpha students when she left campus without telling anyone and her little sibling made an uproar since he couldn't find her. Now all students check in at their dorm building just before lights out so staff knows who's here and who may be late.

"Oh, Arthur. Welcome back. Your siblings were looking for you earlier." The gatekeeper smiled.

Arthur winced. He guessed he was in a lot of trouble.

Alfred saw and grabbed his hand, rubbing it with his thumb to comfort him.

They parked and left the parking lot, bags in their arms. Alfred walked close to Arthur, which he found amusing. Alfred looked like a little puppy dog that was following him home. Cute.

They reached his room in no time and the omega opened it, finding the surprise of his life.

His siblings (minus Peter), Lovino, Feliciano, Gilbert, Lilo, and Keabetswe were all gathered in his room, looking pretty pissed. He was not sure how they all managed to cram in there but they did.

"Arthur, you have some explaining to do." Gilbert frowned. Then he sniffed. "And who is that with you?"

Haha, cliffhangers suck. Anyways, hey guys! Sorry it's short, the holiday season has kept me busy and such ya know.

The nightmares Artie has are sorta PTSD nightmares? It's not very well portrayed but basically, Arthur is reliving something from his innocent childhood (the meadow) and it's being destroyed by the trauma he experienced (watching his mother die). This is also why Arthur had a hard time talking in the dream. Subconsciously, he knows about his promise to his mother that he would not speak because she is not there, but it does not recognize the dream version of his mother, rendering him mute somewhere he could also freely talk. I'm not any type of expert in dreams or mental disorders, I'm mainly going off research and personal experiences/other people's experiences. So I apologize if some of this information I use portrays different things negatively or wrongly.

I mentioned scenting in the chapter! Scenting is when two people share scents. They basically rub their scents all over each other. The best way to do that is skin to skin contact. Parents scent their children before leaving somewhere, newborn babies are scented by parents so it can begin getting used to their smells, couples scent each other so other people know they're taken, the list for people scenting others goes on and on. It's not just mated or courting people who do it. This does not work well for Betas since they do not have scents or smell them. They find other ways though: bracelets, clothes, rings, so many things.

*insert 'Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.' meme here*

So Alfred is going to start courting Arthur in the future chapters. Some things will come up about that accident Alfred had a few book years earlier (the one about why he no longer shares his room with anyone) and it may be a trigger? Just an early announcement so you can brace yourself. That comes later though. This chapter felt like a filler and also not. I try to keep all my chapters in line with the book plot but sometimes they feel like I'm just filling in time. Sigh.

Just a small note before we go: I am not trying to romanticize any disability in this book. Every mental disorder, physical disability, none of that. Usually when I write books, I keep the meaning underneath its skin. You really need to dig deep and pay attention to the lesson I try to portray. It may come off as romanticizing of something serious but that is not what I'm trying to do. Just something I want you to keep in mind while you read.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and happy holidays to everyone who celebrates! I'll see you all next year! ;D