Chapter X – F for Family
"YOU ARE FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" All three of Arthur's older brothers roared in fury at their grandfather. And thus started the real Clan meeting! The one with the arguing, fighting, disagreeing, punching, kicking, and plain stubbornness.
Lovely family!
"Oh! So you boys have a better idea, do you?" Merwin asked, gulping down another glass of rum and frowning at his now empty bottle.
"You cannot be serious about this, grandpa! The last time Arthur got close to an Alfa …" The ginger haired boy spoke harshly before suddenly silencing and glaring at the Italian, remembering that there were non-family members present in the room.
"Patrick, shut up! That's not even the point! Since when do you let random Alfas get close to our omegas without testing them first?" The brown haired one spoke next.
"Now, now, William, you know that Arthur is technically our only Omega and I'm not sure he enjoys being babysat."
"Then don't pin him an Alfa on his back! Especially not this one! Do you have any idea how pathetic he is?!" Alistair growled, lifting his hands up in the air in exasperation. He sharply turned to the Italian, making Feliciano jump, but his stare was not threatening.
"No offense, but you're too weak to protect my brother. I won't allow just anyone to be his mate!"
"V-V-Ve!" Feliciano felt a sudden blush invade his face as he didn't know how to respond. Since when did they ever mention mating?! Arthur and him … together?! That would be just too odd! Wouldn't it?
"For the love of …! Alistair! I am not planning to have him as my mate! He's just my friend!"
"Well he better be because if it ever gets further than that, you have to report to me, understood?!"
"Just because you're next in line for Head-Alfa doesn't give you the right to decide who my future partner will be!"
"Sorry to break your little dream but it does give me the right to do so, sweetheart! Now quit whining or we'll end up with the same fuck up as last time! Do you want me to come and save your sorry arse again?!"
Arthur gritted his teeth and bit back his snapping reply. He and Alistair glared at each other as they usually do whenever they start talking to each other. Somehow, they just can't stop themselves from arguing. Maybe it's because Arthur is an Omega and Alistair his future Head-Alfa. Or maybe it's just because Arthur is the younger brother and Alistair is older. Or it could simply be because they both have a terrible temper and are equally stubborn.
"Past issues aside … I would like to explain my point to all of you before you start rioting my decision." Merwin coughed as he brought back attention to himself. He had gone to fetch another bottle of alcohol in the meantime. The old man turned to Alistair and Arthur, forcing them to stop glaring at each other and to listen to their Head-Alfa.
"Arthur … I was curious on how you perceived this friend of yours. Interestingly, you spoke his name in each answer you gave to my questions. From that, I understand that you are quite close to him. If I believe he is no harm to you, I will not stop you from befriending him. Now, from what I witnessed, he is harmless and seems to care about you enough to challenge my word. That is quite interesting."
Feliciano paled as he remembered the way he had shouted and contested Merwin's decision earlier.
"Ve! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you angry! I just really want to stay friends with Arturo! I promise I won't hurt Arturo! And I am not going to mate with him either because I think Arturo should get a better mate than me anyway! Ve! I promise I won't tell my grandpa so please don't make me stop be friends with Arturo!" The Italian broke into sobs under the confused sets of emeralds.
Seriously … that's an Alfa?
Arthur sighed but a smile curled his lips as he went to pat his friend's shoulder and whispered in his ears, successfully calming the crying Italian. He then looked back at his grandfather, waiting for him to continue.
"His Omega behaviour aside, I think he seems like a nice enough lad! So I'm fine with it. The only rule is: if you ever think of going beyond the stage of friends, you will have to follow Alistair's decision. You know that, don't you Arthur?"
"Of course I do! I told you I'm not …"
"Then everything's fine! Now, I'm out of rum! Fiona, be a dear and go get me another bottle?"
"Get it yourself, old man!" The ginger haired girl snapped with arms crossed and a pouting face.
"Dad, you're not going to get yourself wasted this early in the day." Arthur's mum frowned at the old man scoldingly then her eyes turned to the quiet blonde in the corner.
"James, be a dear and get your grandfather out and away from the rum!"
"Oi! Bridget! I'm Head-Alfa! You should listen to my orders! Listen to your daddy!"
"Grandpa, let's go out for a walk and clear that rum out of your system."
"I don't fucking need a walk! I'm not a senile bastard, you little git!"
"Yes, yes, we know dad! Now go!" Arthur's mum barked, effectively scaring everyone and even Merwin that he would hurriedly skip to the door accompanied by a smirking James.
The woman sighed but as soon as her father was out of the house, all of her children (counting Arthur out) turned to her and started to contest Merwin's decision. Arthur rolled his eyes as he saw even his younger sister Fiona join in. Great … just what he needs.
"Mum! You can't agree with Grandpa!"
"The old man doesn't know what he's saying!"
"Arty could get in trouble again!"
"If we let one Alfa in, others will come along!"
"I'm right here you know …" Arthur hissed in his breath. He hated the way his family had a tendency to talk about him as if he's not here even when he's in the room with them. Bloody Alfas think they can rule his bloody life! News flash: Ain't gonna happen!
"ENOUGH!" Bridget howled and silenced everyone, making Feliciano jump and coward behind Arthur. She noticed this and smiled apologetically to the Italian, walking towards him and her blonde son.
"I'm sorry for scaring you, dear! You seem like such a good lad … I'll let you befriend my son but …"
Her smirk turned suddenly evil and Feliciano swore he would not have been surprised to see her eyes glow.
"But if you hurt him in anyway, it will be hell to pay~."
The Italian gulped, feeling he might faint any minute. The overwhelming Alfa auras of all the Kirklands was just on the brink of driving him insane. How can such monsters exist?
"Oi, mum, guys, stop scaring him." Arthur spoke and instantly, the threatening aura of the room dropped back down, allowing Feliciano to breathe again.
"Oh! Sorry pumpkin! I didn't mean to scare your friend … much!" Bridget smirked maliciously, she hardly looked sorry at all.
"Now, how about we introduce ourselves to Arthur's new friend! I'm Arthur's mother, Bridget Kirkland! Pleasure to meet you Feli-dear!"
"V-ve … pleasure …" Feliciano squeaked but hid back behind Arthur instantly making the woman chuckle. It was cute to see omegas act so shy and innocent … even if this guy is actually an Alfa. Sometimes she wishes her little Arthur would also act a bit more Omega from time to time. Guess being brought up in this household makes it impossible.
"No need to be shy, sweetie! I know! Let's have some tea! I'll go make some, in the meantime, you boys play nice with our guest!"
Feliciano heard the long and tensed silence that followed for god knows how long. He didn't dare look despite his curiosity and kept his face hidden in Arthur's back. Suddenly, he heard a loud heavy sigh and saw Alistair drop himself in a seat.
"Have it your way, brat! Don't come whining to me later!"
"That won't happen." Arthur spoke back coldly but for some reason he was smiling broadly.
The others seem to take that as the end of the discussion and all had to accept more or less the fact that Arthur would be friends with an Alfa called Feliciano Vargas. Feliciano screamed like a girl when he suddenly got surprised by Fiona's face looking around behind Arthur at him. She grinned maliciously and started to laugh at his reaction.
"You're right! He's really weird! Hiya! I'm Fiona! I'm still in middle school, 14 years old. If you make my big brother sad, I'll rip your balls off and feed them to this guy's dragon pet!" She pointed at the brown haired boy, her innocent grin and cheery tone did not match her words at all. Wait, what … a dragon?!
"I'm William. And it won't be just your balls that'll be fed to my pet if I hear my little brother got hurt." He spoke in a passive tone, his eyes calm and distant as he sat down too and put on his earphones.
"Don't take them too seriously! I'm Patrick, by the way, the oldest!" A laughing voice and a friendly hand patted Feliciano's shoulder. Turning around, the Italian saw the ginger haired brother.
"They're just teasing you! We wouldn't do that if you betrayed our trust and threatened our brother's happiness." His smile was honest and slightly calmed down the Italian … not for long. "We'd do a lot worse!"
Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt Feliciano shiver and sob in his shirt, clenching it for dear life. Great … his family is really the worse when it comes to social interactions. Finally, Alistair looked up and caught eye with the Italian. Feliciano gulped as he almost felt the other's intense green gaze bore a hole in him but there was no hatred in his eyes. The pride and dominance in his manner was so evident that it was no surprise that this man was the next Head Alfa in line, despite his young age.
"I'm Alistair. Second brother after Patrick. Heir to Head-Alfa. And Arthur's guardian after Grandpa. You understand what I'm saying?"
Feliciano stopped crying and nodded. Oh yes. He understood very well. If he were to be afraid of someone besides the Head-Alfa grandfather, that would be the next in line: who happens to be Arthur's over-protective brother. Yippee!
Alistair nodded then allowed a warm smile on his lips as he motioned the last two standing people in the room to take a seat. Arthur nodded back and guided Feliciano to the seat next to him. The watchful stares of the emeralds seemed to not be threatening anymore but filled with curiosity and excitement. For them, Feliciano was like a polar opposite version of Arthur and it was ironic that the two would get along so well!
"So Pasta boy! What do you want? Tea? Coffee?"
"V-ve! Um Coffee p-please?"
"Fiona, go get him coffee!"
"Patrick, be useful for once, go get the coffee!"
"William, you fetch the damn coffee!"
"Alistair, if you want coffee, try getting it yourself."
"I don't! He bloody wants the fucking coffee! So one of you bastards get it!"
"Why? Because big scary Head-Alfa can't move his lazy arse?"
"If we're talking about lazy arses, Will here holds the record!"
"Patrick, being the oldest doesn't give you the right to disobey the Head."
"Right, because everyone here bloody listens to the damn Head!"
"Oi! Sure, the old man is a fucked up drunken bastard but he's still …"
"Aye what?"
"Nah, forget it. Even I can't think of a good reason to respect him anymore."
"Oi, boys, what about the coffee?"
"If you're so worried go get it, Fiona! You're a girl, right?"
"You want to be a eunuch?"
"If I hear something break, I'm killing all of you!" Bridget's voice called from the kitchen.
"Mum! Bring some coffee too!" All children spoke in unison only to be answered by the shouts of the woman.
"I'm not a damn maid, I'm your bloody mother! Show more respect! And if you want coffee come and make your bloody coffee!"
Arthur rolled his eyes at the typical scene his siblings were causing. And now his mother had joined in. Soon he even heard James and Grandpa Merwin walk back in and of course someone was smart enough to slip a mean (but true) insult at the old man and got him all worked up again. James came to sit quietly next to Arthur and Feliciano. He was a beta so he didn't need to join on those family bonding moments. Although, truth be told he often joined anyway, and usually Arthur is among the ones to start the bloody fight.
"Hi. I'm James. I'm a beta, unlike the others. I'm Arthur's cousin from Australia. Nice to meet you, mate." He smiled at the Italian who felt like there was at least one sane person in this clan.
"Ve! Nice to meet you too! I've got another beta friend! He's Japanese and called Kiku! And … Arturo!"
The Italian's attention suddenly switched to the exasperated blonde.
"Yes, Feliciano?"
"Your family is scary."
"Yeah, they are … sorry about that."
"It's ok! Now I know why Arturo is so scary too!"
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"Ve … yes?"
Arthur chuckled at his friend's cluelessness and ruffled the Italian's hair like he always does. It's just the usual gesture but … this time, Feliciano blushed slight pink at the touch and he felt his heart beat faster. Why? Why was he suddenly feeling nervous to look Arthur in the eye?
Reluctant as he was … he had to wonder … why had Arthur not found a mate yet? Usually at this age, it was unusual for people to not have mates or at least a girlfriend or boyfriend. He never had one but … had Arthur? Had he had a relationship before?
Why did Feliciano's heart feel so unsettled suddenly?