Chapter XIV – G for Gathering

"Ve?"

Feliciano blinked at his grandfather as the man stared down at him with his usual amber-golden eyes, a cheery smile on his face. But he was far from happy.

"Nonno …? You want me to …"

"You heard me, Feliciano. I'm going to use that opportunity for you to find a suitable Omega partner along with Lovino. You are both turning seventeen soon and it's time that you boys found yourselves someone suitable! Once you turn eighteen, we can then think about marriage."

Marriage?

Someone suitable?

But why him too?

"Are you done with your stupid speech? I told you I won't marry anyone just because you think they're suitable!" Lovino growled as he wrestled with his neck tie.

Without a word, Feliciano walked up to help him and arranged his brother's appearance. Julio Romulus Vargas huffed at his grandson's answer. He was a tall and elegant man, resembled his grandsons a lot and you could guess where the twins got their good-looks from. He looked young (mid-forties) when he's in fact approaching his late 60s. In a way, his nonno reminded Feliciano of Arthur's grandfather Merwin.

"Someone suitable to wear the Vargas name is bound to be someone you will like, Lovi!"

"And why is Stupido coming too this time?"

Feliciano's hands froze as he was now arranging his own tuxedo. It had been a long time since the last time he wore one of those. Since his grandfather had given up on him becoming anything close to a suitable heir, he only took Lovino to meet other families and partners in those social high-class parties.

"Well, I just thought that my little Feli will need a partner too! I figured, if Lovi inherits the business, then Feliciano can provide an heir if anything were to happen to you, Lovi!"

"What?! So he's just a back-up plan?! Is that how you see him!?" Lovino yelled in rage.

Feliciano only smiled sadly as he checked himself out in the mirror. He wasn't expecting anything less from his nonno. A back-up plan. That sounds just like the kind of plan he would pull. A smart strategist his nonno is, he would never throw away a useful pawn. Even a freak pawn like Feliciano. And when it comes to business, family is always secondary.

Ignoring the argument between his grandfather and his brother, Feliciano went to wait outside by the car, breathing in the fresh air of the night to cool down. Checking the time on his phone, he noticed a text he had missed earlier. It's from Arthur. Grinning like a school-girl in love, the Italian eagerly read the message. It was short and to the point. Definitely sounded like Arthur.

Kill me now.

Going to that party at Kiku's place.

KILL. ME. NOW.

Feliciano blinked a few times.

Kiku's place? Kiku had organised a party and not told him about it? And why was Arthur so reluctant to go there? This was … odd.

Unsure what to answer, the Italian decided to ignore the text. He'd ask Arthur about this tomorrow at school. Besides … he'll need an awful lot of focus and concentration to not mess up at the Wangs tonight. Or he'll be getting an earful from nonno.

Arthur glared for the nth time at another Alfa jerk that thought it wise to try his shot at the famously known Kirkland Omega. He was sent packing in three seconds flat. What a wimp!

Surveying the ballroom from afar, a glass of Champagne in hand, wearing his tuxedo perfectly and even his usually messy blonde hair had been combed neatly to the side in an elegant manner. Arthur was the perfect example of an English gentleman. So long as you didn't try to approach him. Hushed whispers and excited gossips infested the room and the obvious topic on everyone's lips was obviously, Arthur and his family. It was actually only his grandfather, his mother and Alistair that came along with him. Usually, only the three of them would suffice but the Wangs' invitation had been very specific in inviting Arthur. Guess they didn't get it the last time Arthur came to visit.

The blonde sighed heavily. He hated those parties for rich people. It was suffocating and he always ended up the centre of attention. Plus, having all those stupid Alfas coming on to him, hoping to earn his favours, was really pissing him off beyond belief! If only he had been born an Alfa, none of this would happen! He'd be home, eating his father's cooking, arguing with Patrick and William, and taking care of Peter! But he's an Omega. And everyone wants to have a go at him.

"Kill me now." He mumbled before gulping down the rest of his drink.

He was promptly interrupted in his musing by the sudden loud laugh of a certain familiar American Alfa. Could this night get any worse?!

"Yo, Artie! So you came to this party too?" Alfred grinned seductively at the grumpy blonde. The advantage he had over other Alfas was that he was already familiar with Arthur and could deal with his strange Alfaness. Plus, Arthur was just too cute!

"What do you want, Alfred?" The Omega glared acid greens at the laughing blues of the Alfa.

"Just keeping you company! You look lonely!"

"I'm not. And your company is not requested. Please leave."

"Oh, come on, man! I'm just trying to be nice! Hey, have you tried the buffet? The food is amazing!"

"Alfred … you have five seconds left to leave." Arthur spoke calmly, as his eyes caught sight of something.

The American frowned, clicking his tongue in irritation. He really liked Arthur but the guy was just so hard to approach! Was being nice just not enough? What did he want?!

"Hey, I'm trying to be nice and you can't think of anything else to say? Don't be too arrogant just because you're a Kirkland. You're still just an Omega!"

"Aye, and what exactly do you want with my Omega, brat?" the sudden cold voice of Alistair rang behind Alfred. Arthur hardly looked surprised as he had seen his brother approaching from afar, but Alfred jumped and suddenly positioned himself defensively as he felt threatened by Alistair's Alfa dominant aura. A real Kirkland Alfa. Much more impressive than Arthur's aura.

"W-Who are you, dude?" The American squared his shoulders, trying to seem unimpressed but Alistair noticed the way his knees shook nervously.

The scarlet haired man smirked and averted his eyes away to look at his younger brother, completely ignoring Alfred.

"Oi brat, don't go around flirting with jerks. You know the rule."

"I wasn't flirting, I was being pissed off. Besides, if you didn't like it, then don't just leave me standing there alone."

"Well what was I supposed to do? Drag you along like a dog?"

Alfred frowned at the odd familiarity between the two. He especially didn't like the way that red-hair had called Arthur his Omega. Was he Arthur's mate or something?

"Oi, brat. What're you staring at?" Alistair's gaze suddenly narrowed on Alfred and the younger Alfa felt his blood chill.

"Are you … Arthur's mate?"

The two Kirklands blinked before both burst out laughing, confusing and embarrassing Alfred. The American blushed red in anger at being laughed at but he knew better than to act rashly. Especially since he could feel he was no match to either of these two.

"It's always funny how people just keep asking that! I thought it would get boring eventually with time, but it's always as hilarious as ever!" Alistair spoke in between his laughter.

"Alfred, do we really look like mates to you? He's my brother and my future Head Alfa." Arthur explained, his amused smile still gracing his lips and catching all of Alfred's attention.

"But he called you his Omega!"

"Well, he is my Omega! He's my little Omega brother! What do you think he is otherwise, wanker?" Alistair rolled his eyes. Arthur being the only Kirkland Omega, it was normal for them to treat him and call him as such. After all, he is their Omega.

"Al, don't start …" Arthur sighed as he already felt his brother's dominance rise slowly and threateningly.

"He's too weak and a jerk. I don't like him." The crimson haired declared as if concluding the conversion. And in a way he did since all Arthur could do was nod in agreement.

"I know. I'm not interested in him. Can we please leave now?"

"I'd love to, sweetheart, but you still haven't greeted our host."

"That's why you came to find me?"

"That and because you looked about to punch the poor lad." Alistair shot a smirk at the American before pulling his brother away and the two melted into the crowd, leaving behind a stunned Alfred.

Yao couldn't stop glaring at his father. Of all the ridiculous ideas he could have … there is no way Arthur would be inclined to accept such a blatant invitation! And the Chinese heir was angry of being used in order to reach the Kirklands. He felt sick of the hypocrisy of his parents. If only he could just leave this family …

Yao froze when he felt a hand land on his shoulder and a familiar coldness invade the air. Great. His father had even invited … them?

"Yao yao! I am so glad to see you again!" The sweet and innocent voice spoke. You'd feel enchanted by the childish sound of it and indeed by the cute expression of the tall silver haired teen.

He was handsome no doubt, and his child-like smile would give him an odd cuteness, as if this grown man could in fact be a 5 year old kid. If only his purple eyes weren't so cold and merciless. It caused the grin on his face to feel uncomfortable and the atmosphere around him always seemed to chill suddenly. His long scarf trailing down on the floor despite being many times wrapped around his neck, looked the same as when he wore it as a child. Yao gulped as he forced himself to smile and greet his old acquaintance.

"Ivan! My! You've grown! You look like a fine gentleman now!"

The one called Ivan Braginski giggled childishly before hugging the smaller Asian, making Yao feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Yao yao! I missed you! Did you know? The other day, I saw something really amazing!"

"Aru? Really? Great!" Yao tried to keep up his smile even as he felt his bones get crushed by the other's strength. Ivan still hadn't learn how to hold back and he had gotten stronger. Yao could understand that his father was really fond of their partnership with the Braginski family, known for their connections to the World government, and Yao didn't really hate Ivan. In fact, he had been a cute boy that Yao used to babysit a lot when they were young. Now, Ivan looked … well, from the innocent boy he was then and now … it looks like a different person. Yao used to be fond of Ivan but now, he almost feared him. He feared that childishness and the cold killing intent behind it.

"Da! I saw a cute monster! And I asked him to be my mate but he said I was too weak! So I need to get strong!"

"A-a cute … monster, aru?"

This was odd. Ivan isn't one to get impressed easily. The only monster that ever scared Ivan was what the Russian used to call: General Winter. He used to fear the howls of the wind in a cold blizzard storm at night. But he never used the term Monster for anything else. And what could he mean by a cute monster?

"Master Yao? The Kirkland heir wishes to offer his greetings." Kiku suddenly showed up out of nowhere and bowed at the Chinese.

"Ah! Of course!" Yao sighed almost in relief as he jumped on this opportunity to no longer care for Ivan. But the Russian didn't leave his side and instead, eagerly watched as two men approached.

"Ah! Yao yao! That's my cute monster! His name is Arthur!" Ivan nearly squeaked as he pointed at the beautiful blonde arguing with an older scarlet-haired man. The two had that family air and Yao could tell they were brothers. Recognising Arthur, the Asian frowned in confusion. Since when did Ivan become interested in finding a mate? The guy's only obsession is violence! Pretty much like everyone in his insane family aside from Ivan's older Omega sister. To think that the Russian had fallen for Arthur … somehow, Yao felt irritated by the eager look in Ivan's eyes as he watched the blonde.

The two Britons were slowly approaching, eyes following them as people hushed and gossiped. Arthur ignored the talks. He was used to it. Besides, with his brother around, nothing could happen. And nobody would bother him. He'll just greet Yao and hopefully just leave.

"Ve! S-Sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!"

Panic surged in the room in the form of a crying panicking Italian running for his life from … a cat. A weird ugly cat that looked like one of those Hello Kitty dolls. The Italian ran around the room, bumping into people and earning disapproving glares, until he suddenly felt someone grab hold of his arm. He tripped and fell and was caught, dragging with him the person he fell on. There were loud whispers rising around them and Feliciano knew he had done something bad again. Oh dear … who did he insult this time? He knew it was a bad idea for him to try and flirt with those omegas! He wasn't even surprised by the prank they played on him. But why would they send such a weird doll after him?

"Ve! I-I-I'm sorry! I ..." Blinking his amber eyes, Feliciano recognised the beautiful greens of the other.

"Honestly … Be careful, Feli, you'll hurt yourself, Idiot!" Arthur frowned scolding at his friend before patting his head gently.

The English blonde helped his friend up on his feet, while Alistair only rolled his eyes in exasperation. Every eye was settled on them as the two teens started arguing. Well, no, it was more like Arthur scolding a pleading Feliciano. Kiku chuckled in amusement, a knowing glint in his eyes as he quickly hid his remote controlling device. That Hello Kitty doll was a complete success. Getting those Omegas to cooperate had been easy. He'd have to apologise to Feliciano next time but for now, he's just glad to have gotten his friends together. Call him devious but the Japanese found the pair of them so cute, he couldn't allow others to mess them around. He was determined in getting Arthur and Feliciano together! As a good friend … or maybe because he just wants inspiration for his next manga! The clicking sound of a camera made him aware of Elisaveta's presence nearby.

"A-A-Arturo?! B-But I thought you were going to see Kiku!"

"I am, silly. Didn't you know? Kiku is Yao's personal servant. So obviously he's around. The only reason I agreed to this ridiculous invitation was so that Kiku wouldn't get in trouble. In fact … I still haven't seen him …" Arthur looked around with an irritated frown, his aura growing as dark and threatening as his mood and making people step a few feet back.

But Feliciano was all smiles. A few minutes earlier he had been crying and screaming, while now, his chatty mouth couldn't stop smiling and talking to his friend. He didn't even care if Arthur listened or not, he was just feeling so happy. It was like a weight had lifted itself from his shoulders … but why? Had he been bothered that much by Arthur's text earlier? Well … he really didn't want someone else to become too important for Arthur. He didn't want to be separated from Arthur. It was selfish but he wanted Arthur all to himself … even if he could never have him as a lover.

"Oi! Fratello! What the hell do you think you're doing! If nonno sees …" Lovino quietened suddenly as he froze in place not far from Arthur and Alistair. Antonio appeared following Lovino and the Spaniard frowned deadly daggers at Feliciano, refraining a dark possessive growl. He particularly didn't like the clinging arms of Feliciano around Arthur's neck. Gilbert and Ludwig were discussing with another teen with dark brown hair and a formal black performance suit, wearing glasses in front of serious violet eyes. Both German brothers tuned out of their conversation with their Austrian cousin, Roderich Edelstein, to keep watch over Arthur and the commotion that had started to gather. Alfred was making his way, probably trying to get back at Arthur for ignoring him. Ivan and Yao were still watching, neither really sure of what should be done.

Alistair groaned in irritation. This is going to be a long night.