Chapter Text
The edge of the bar digs almost painfully into Charles’ back as he stands leaned against it, looking out on the rest of the locale. It had grown crowded in the last hour or so and the back of the room which had previously been empty apart from a vacant DJ-booth, was now packed with people jumping around to loud, pounding music.
He lets his eyes roam the crowd, looking for nothing in particular as he waits for the bartender to finish making his drink. In hindsight, ordering another drink had not been a good idea, he was already feeling lightheaded and almost dizzy with intoxication, but then again, that had in fact been the point of the entire evening, the only reason he had decided to come out at all.
Pierre had begged him, claiming that his friends were dying to meet him, which Charles had highly doubted, they likely couldn’t care less about him, but Charles had vehemently refused, until his friend had rightly pointed out that going out would be good for him. Charles couldn’t argue with that, it was probably good for him to get out, leave his apartment for a night and socialize with someone other than Pierre, and so he had agreed.
Excitedly, Pierre had clapped his shoulder, a big grin spreading across his face as he did.
“Yes”, he exclaimed, “we`ll go out, have fun, take your mind off things, maybe you could get it on with someone, you know”, he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, “flirt with a few Alphas or take a cute Beta home, or-“, Charles interrupted him.
“Pierre”, he said warningly, feeling his stomach clench with anxiety at Pierre’s suggestion. Pierre instantly threw his hands up in surrender.
“-or not, you know, it`s your choice, Loulou”, Charles nodded wordlessly and after a few beats of silence, Pierre changed the topic, “either way it`ll be fun to finally introduce you to my friends”.
Pierre had been right about this, it had been fun to meet his friends, more fun than Charles had had in a while. He`d moved to the city only a couple of weeks ago and had barely even had time to unpack his apartment, whereas Pierre had moved just after Christmas.
Before, Charles hadn’t thought the six months difference in their arrivals would make much of a difference networking vice, having assumed that for the most part it`d still be just the two of them, but within a few months Pierre had acquired a large and seemingly very tightknit group of friends.
As he`d slowly packed down his old apartment and gone through the motions of quitting his job, Charles had been constantly bombarded with videos of dinner parties, movie nights and bar crawls. He knew that there was no malice behind the oversharing, Pierre had been overtly clear in his phone calls and texts that this would be Charles’ friend group as well, that he wouldn`t abandon him and leave him alone, but still, Charles couldn’t help that he was just that – alone.
Sitting on his couch in his almost empty apartment chewing on a cold slice of pizza, Charles watched Pierre swerve around a paddle court with a massive grin on his face, and felt the loneliness settle around him like a heavy blanket. Still, it didn’t make him feel sad, if anything it just made him cold, numb, strangely empty and deep down it comforted him as well. There was a safety in loneliness as well, having no one around but himself meant that there`d be no one to hurt him and a part of Charles couldn’t help but think that that was more important.
However, Charles could still recognize the importance of having somewhat of a network around himself, and so in the hopes of making a good impression on Pierre’s friends, he`d made Pierre arrive at the club earlier than the others. He hadn’t wanted to be the last to arrive, forcing him to awkwardly greet everyone at once and likely forgetting all their names the second they`d introduced themselves, he`d figured that if he met them all consecutively as they arrived, he`d have more time to properly introduce himself.
He`d convinced Pierre to leave an hour early and factoring in Pierre’s notorious lateness, meant they`d arrived twenty minutes early.
“Don’t be nervous”, Pierre said as they stepped out of their shared cab, cigarette already dangling from his lips. Charles didn’t answer at first, instead wordlessly reaching for the pack, which Pierre tossed over with a roll of his eyes.
“I`m not”, he answered offendedly after having lit his cigarette, breathing in deeply and feeling the calmness of the nicotine somewhat settling his nerves. Pierre rolled his eyes in reply, shaking his head at him and reminding Charles why hanging out with Pierre could be so annoying. The other man knew him too well, making any attempt at hiding his emotions or playing it cool, completely moot, he could see right through him.
“They will love you, because I love you”, Pierre said with an almost mischievous smile on his face, continuing, “and because you are the cutest, little Omega I have ever laid my eyes on”, his hand shot out to tussle his hair and Charles instinctively jumped out of the way, shoving him playfully in the chest as Pierre barked out a laugh.
“Fuck off”, he said lowly, but without any real anger in his voice as Pierre just continued laughing at his own joke.
Pierre was the only one he didn’t take offence to making such comments, because he knew without a shadow of a doubt that it really was just a joke. His friend had never truly looked down upon him for being an Omega or made him feel like it was something to be ashamed off, and Charles knew that he never would either.
Apart from his family, Pierre was the only person who`d known him long enough to have been with him through the many years that Charles had struggled with his designation. He`d sat through hours of Charles crying and screaming at how unfair he thought his life was, knew how he`d felt so emasculated and weak, and seen him resist and oppose everything that could be deemed to be even remotely Omega-like.
Pierre was a Beta himself, as well, and so Charles also knew that he could understand some of what he was feeling. As a man, presenting as anything other than an Alpha was considered somewhat disappointing, no matter how “progressive” the world had become.
Omegas were no longer considered an Alphas property, and could vote, own land, work a job and do anything else an Alpha could do, and had been able to do so for over a hundred years. But still, certain old-fashioned attitudes lingered.
The golden standard for men was to be an Alpha, big, tall and strong, natural leaders driven by ambition with an inherent need to protect his family, while women should be Omegas, dainty and beautiful with round hips to bear children and an even temper suited for the home. Consequently, male Omegas were, to some, considered wrong – their bodies weren’t as fit to bear children as a women’s, their masculinity not compatible with the caring and affectionate nature that was expected of an Omega.
In some peoples’ opinion a good Omega should want nothing more than to stay at home with the children and wait for their Alpha with dinner on the table and a slick hole ready to be knotted.
Charles wasn’t a good Omega, he`d never been, and would never become, a good Omega, and in his teenage years after coming to the conclusion that an Alpha would never want someone like him, he`d decided that there was no point in trying to conform to the societal expectations that were pushed upon him. Thusly, he`d been a very bad Omega, enjoying his youth for all it was worth and it had worked for a while.
When he`d met Peter, he had almost started to doubt this, wondered if an Alpha could want him after all, that he could be good enough, but it had turned out that he`d been right all along. No Alpha would ever want him, it wasn’t in the cards for Charles to live his life happily mated, he was destined for other things.
“Charles”, Pierre said, and Charles shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts, to rid himself of Peter`s face that seemed frozen in his mind and hurried over to follow Pierre through the door.
“Who`s coming”, Charles asked as they had sat down inside, two drinks on the table in front of them. He had opted to sit next to Pierre, instead of across from him, wanting the comfort of his presence and familiar scent next to him. Pierre hadn’t commented on it and only scooted in further to leave him enough space to slide into the booth next to him.
“Mick couldn’t make it”, Pierre answers, taking a sip of his beer, “so, it`s only Yuki, Lewis, Carlos and Lando”, Charles had hears the names several times before, but they still didn’t mean anything to him, so he simply nodded in reply and sipped his drink. Four names meant four people; he could handle four people.
Lewis had been the first to arrive, showing up five minutes early with an easy smile on his lips as he leaned across the table to hug Pierre in greeting.
“Hey man”, he said as he pulled away, turning towards Charles with a warm smile and reaching out to shake his hand, “it`s so nice to meet you, I`m Lewis”, Charles smiled and took his offered hand in his.
“Charles”, he answered with a smile he hoped was more friendly than stiff and gave his hand a firm shake before sitting down again.
Pierre had met Lewis through work and told the story of their first meeting as Lewis sat leaned back in his seat and listened attentively. Lewis was calm, there was no other way to describe him, a seemingly cool aura hanging around him, so relaxing that it somehow seemed to soothe even Charles’ frazzled nerves.
As Pierre finished his story, Lewis chuckled lightly and Charles felt some of the tenseness in his shoulders ease slightly, letting himself relax in his seat as he turned his attention to Lewis who had started telling him about himself. The other man was halfway through a story about his dog when Charles was suddenly hit with a scent more delicious than anything he`d ever smelled before.
Involuntarily his eyes snapped away from Lewis, instinctively searching for the source amongst the people surrounding them, but being unable to locate it before Pierre suddenly spoke up next to him.
“Lando”, Pierre exclaimed happily, raising his hand to wave over his head. Charles dragged his eyes way from the crows and followed Pierre’s gaze, seeing a sweet-looking Omega with deep dimples and small moles covering his neck and face moving towards them with a bright smile on his face.
“Hey guys”, the guy, Lando, said as he reached them, leaning down to wrap Pierre up in a one-armed hug, before turning to Charles with an almost mischievous smile playing on his lips. Charles felt his heartbeat with trepidation and internally reminded himself that this was just Pierre’s friend, no need to be nervous.
“Charles, right?”, Lando said, and Charles nodded with a small smile.
“Yes, that`s me”, Charles answered with a smile, taking Lando’s offered hand in his and giving it a firm shake, “Lando, yes?”, Lando nodded in agreement, smiling at him again before sliding into the seat next to Lewis who gave him a friendly clap on the shoulder in greeting.
“Did you lose Carlos somewhere along the way, or has he ditched us in favor of his mistress?”, Pierre asked as Lando had settled in his seat, leaning over to whisper in Charles’ ear that his mistress was “his job”.
“Nah, I`d say that`s not his mistress anymore, wife is more like it”, Lando shot in his direction with a roll of his eyes before turning back to Pierre, “and no, he`s here, we saw you from the door”, he nodded in the direction of the entrance, “so I sent him to get the beers”, he finished with a smirk.
Pierre rolled his eyes and huffed out a small laugh, “he is too good to you”, he said humorously, and Lewis instantly nodded in agreement.
“Way too good”, he agreed and Lando threw a hand up, touching it to his heart in mock offence.
“Fuck you”, he muttered underneath his breath, shaking his head as if shocked at their betrayal, “I can assure you that he is more than well enough compensated for his troubles”, he eyed each of them, “if you only knew the things I do for that guy”, he raised his eyebrows suggestively and Lewis instantly groaned.
“As a fellow Omega”, Lando continued, turning to Charles who was slightly surprised to be so suddenly addressed, “please back me up on how annoying Alphas can be”, Charles almost snorted in dark amusement, he knew precisely how annoying an Alpha could be, but he was quite certain that Lando was speaking about something very different.
Nevertheless, he instantly agreed, conspiratorially muttering a small “tell me about it”, to which Lando loudly exclaims a “thank you”, before turning back to the others. Glad to be out of the spotlight, Charles leaned back in his seat and tried to push down his annoyance.
Pierre hadn’t mentioned that two of his friends were dating, that Lando and Carlos were a couple, and Charles could feel his pulse quickening with annoyance and his stomach tightening with dread at the thought of having to sit across from a couple, and particularly an Alpha Omega one.
He internally groaned to himself, before casting another look in Lando’s direction and observing that he didn`t have a mating bite on his neck, and breathing in he couldn’t detect any deeper notes to Lando’s light, Omega scent, meaning that they likely weren’t mated. Silver linings, he thought indignantly to himself.
The sound of glass clinking as it hit the table snapped Charles out of his own thoughts, and he looked up to greet the new arrival, when found that all oxygen had seemingly vacated his body.
In front of him stood the most gorgeous man he had ever met, and perhaps ever seen in his 24 years on this earth. Charles let his eyes shamelessly roam his form, trailing from his broad shoulders to his bulging biceps and even further to where he had rolled his sleeves up to reveal strong, tanned forearms covered in dark hair.
Tearing his eyes away, Charles looked back up towards the man’s face, noticing a light stubble covering his cheeks and jaw, as well as a strong, pointed nose, before he was almost magnetically drawn to his eyes, feeling his mouth falling open as he took in his dark, brown irises that were framed by long, thick lashes.
As if from far away, he could hear Pierre speaking next to him, and then the man’s eyes snapped to his, meeting them in a steady gaze that made Charles’ heart stutter in his chest. A second passed before Charles realized that the man was speaking to him, but he couldn`t hear him over the incessant voice in his head, chanting I want him, I want him, I want him, I want him.
The feeling of a sharp elbow being jammed into his ribs seemed to finally shake him out of his trance, and after internally shaking his head, he looked down to see that the man was holding his hand out towards him. Hurryingly, Charles reached out and took his hand and gave it a firm shake, noticing the man’s eyes snapping to their hands, before meeting his again, but being too disoriented to notice what he might have reacted to.
“I don`t know if you heard me before”, the man said then, meeting his eyes again, his voice so delicious Charles had to will himself not to close his eyes and savor it, “I`m Carlos”.
“Charles”, he replied breathlessly, surprised to find that his voice was still working, and Carlos smiled at him before sitting down next to Lando.
Pierre spoke up next to him again, and as if suddenly regaining the ability to breath, Charles sucked in a shallow breath of air, and felt his eyes widen as he realized that the scent from before was back. Gulping down another mouthful of air, he looked up from where his eyes had been resting on the table, feeling his heart stilling in his chest as he realized who it was coming from.
Carlos seemed to be sitting comfortably in his seat, a gentle smile playing on his lips and his posture relaxed, one arm draped over the back of the booth behind Lando’s head. That’s why I smelled it before, Charles thought to himself, looking at Carlos again, because he had arrived with Lando. Lando.
His eyes snapped back to Carlos’ arm over the back of the booth, right behind Lando’s head, Lando whom he had arrived with, whom he had bought a beer for. A cold feeling spreads across Charles’ chest and he feels his throat closing up. Carlos had arrived here with Lando, his boyfriend, his Omega.
The words were almost painful to him, burning inside his brain and making his mouth dry, and he internally shook his head at himself in annoyance. He didn’t even know the man, there was no reason for him to be upset.
Still, the rational parts of his brain were completely drowned out by his instincts going completely haywire, filling him with the urge to offer himself up to Carlos this instant, before he had the chance to mate with Lando. He hated it, hated the feeling of losing control of himself and his own body betraying him to such primal and animalistic instincts. As if his only aspirations in life should be to find a good Alpha, as if he had no value on his own.
Besides, he didn’t want an Alpha, never again, not even someone as attractive as Carlos. It was just going to be him, alone. It would be better that way.
Leaning back in his seat, he let Carlos’ scent surround him, and taking a deep breath figured he could at least enjoy it while it lasted. There was nothing wrong with smelling the flowers, even if he couldn’t pick them. Still, barely a minute passed, before it started to feel more like a cruel punishment, more so than something to be enjoyed. As if he was parched and forced to listen to the sound of a running tap.
“Are you alright?”, he suddenly heard Pierre whispers into his ear, one of his hands wrapping around his forearm to gain his attention. The others were engaged in lively conversation and didn’t seem to notice them talking.
“Yes”, he whispered back obliviously, his brows furrowing in question, “why?”, Pierre leaned in further.
“You smell like you`re upset”, Pierre said quietly and Charles’ eyes instantly snapped to the others as if to check if they had noticed, but Pierre squeezed his arm again to regain his attention, “it`s not that noticeable, don`t worry”, he said hurriedly, as if he could read Charles’ mind, continuing softly, “I just know your scent so well”, Charles breathed a small sigh of relief.
“I`m okay”, he quietly assured Pierre again, who after giving him another calculating stare nodded and pulled away, before taking a few calming breaths, willing his thoughts away from the man in front of him and his stupidly delicious scent.
“I`m going to get another drink”, Charles announces after a few beats of stillness, keeping his tone light and cheerful, “does anybody want anything?”, he stands up from his seat and looks around the table.
“I`ll have another if you`re paying, Loulou”, Pierre said with a smirk, all the previous worry gone from his face and Charles rolled his eyes at him, feeling an internal gratitude towards his friends for not making his discomfort known to the others.
The others declined, and Charles carefully made his way over to the bar where he thoughtlessly ordered three shots in addition to the two drinks for him and Pierre and downed them all as he waited for the drinks to be prepared. The night drastically improved from that point onwards.
As if softening all his sharp and raw edges, the alcohol helped ease any lingering discomforts and Charles let himself relax and enjoy another few drink as well as several additional shots, courtesy of Lewis who appeared to be overly fond of them. Before he knew it he was beyond tipsy and encased in a shell of intoxication that shielded of all things that had previously bothered him.
The final member of the group, Yuki, arrived almost two hours late, seeming quite uninterested with the entire evening and claiming that he`d had “more important things to do”, although neglecting to explain what these things had been. Pierre seemed thrill none the less, having instantly stood up from his seat at his arrival.
“Mon petit chou”, he exclaimed loudly and threw his arms out in greeting. Charles managed to quickly shake his hand, and feeling comfortable enough, he even decided to give up his spot next to Pierre and let Yuki slide into the spot between them. It wasn’t until he`d sat back down and rearranged his belongings that he realized he was sitting right across from Carlos, feeling the warmth radiating from his legs only centimeters from his own.
Adjusting his legs he accidentally brushed them against his and Carlos’ eyes snapped up to meet his, lips twitching up into a half-smile before he repeated the touch, bumping his knee into his. Charles felt his heart skip in his chest as if he was a fourteen year old schoolgirl with a crush, and internally shook his head at himself, pushing the feeling down and reminding himself that Carlos was unavailable.
Looking to Carlos’ arm he observed that it was still draped across the back of the booth behind Lando’s head, having remained in the same spot he`d placed it as he sat down. The sour feeling of envy bounced off his shield of intoxication and he even sent a silent thanks to whatever higher powers ruled the universe that they hadn’t kissed each other yet or even held hands. Maybe someone up there took pity on him, he thought in silent amusement.
His eyes remained on Carlos’ arm for another few seconds, appreciating the clear muscle there as well as his golden, tanned skin which was greatly complimented by the green shirt he was wearing, and as his impulse control seemed to fail him, he found himself suddenly speaking up.
“So how long have you been together?”, he heard himself ask as if from far away and felt everyone’s eyes instantly moving to him. Both Carlos and Lando met his eyes and looked at him dumbfoundedly as if they didn’t understand whether he was speaking to them or someone else.
“-how long we`ve been living together?”, Lando asked unsurely, brows furrowed in confusion. The table fell silent.
“Yes, or- “, Charles shrugged, “you know, how long have you been dating?”, everyone remained silent for a few seconds, before Lewis burst out laughing and had to slap a hand over his face. The look of confusion that fell over Charles’ face mirrored the one on Carlos’. Lando shook his head and stared at Charles for second before his expression suddenly morphed into one of deep offence and he pointed an accusatory finger in Pierre’s direction.
“Did he tell you we were dating?”
Pierre threw his hands up in instant surrender, lips quivering as he tried to keep the amusement from his face, biting down on his lip as an involuntary noise escaped his lips and a grin spread across his face.
“No, no”, he exclaimed as Lando continued staring at him, “I swear Lando, I didn’t-“, he was interrupted halfway through by Yuki who mused from his side, “he must`ve just picked up on your massive hard-on for Carlos”, to which Pierre finally burst into full blown laughter and had to cover his face with his hands.
Charles’ face grew into a frown as he sat frozen in his seat, clueless as to what the joke was and his confusion only growing as Carlos suddenly erupted into a soft chuckle as well.
“Ah, Lando, mi amor, I suppose it`s no use in hiding it anymore”, he said as his face cracked into a massive grin, eyes twinkling with amusement as he took Lando’s hand in his and pressed it lovingly to his chest, right above his heart.
Lando let out an annoyed sigh and muttered a grumbling “piss off”, as he jerked his hand back, which only seemed to amuse Carlos even further as he continued laughing. Lando turned his body away from the other man and absentmindedly fought off his continued attempts to reclaim his hand as he leaned over the table towards Charles.
“We”, he gestured between himself and Carlos, “are not dating”, Carlos stopped his attempt, but continued chuckling, “do you think this git could pull me?”, Lando shook his head as Carlos gasped in mock offence.
“Lando, what do you mean”, Carlos turned in his seat, “mi amor, mi vida, do you not love me anymore?”, Lando huffed and shoved his shoulder into Carlos’ chest, although it didn’t make the other man move a single inch as he simply continued laughing.
“But aren’t you living together?”, Charles asked, still confused as he turned towards Lewis, “you said Carlos was too good for him”, Lewis laughed as Lando shot daggers at him with his eyes.
“No, he`s too good to him”, Lewis said in a clarifying tone between laughs, but Charles’ confusion only grew as Carlos turned to Lando and said ““ah, I am too good to you cabrón”, to which Lando punched him in the shoulder.
“Shut the fuck up, Carlos”, Lando grumbled, “your life would be miserable without me”, he turned back towards Charles, “we are living together, but he`s not anything-“, he interrupted himself, “we`re not together, like romantically or sexually or anything like that, this”, he gestured between himself and Carlos again, “is strictly platonic, like with a capital P”, Charles’ eyes widened, and before he could stop himself words started tumbling out of his mouth.
“You can`t live with an Alpha while you`re unmated, what if something happens, what if he- “, as his brain finally seemed to catch up with his mouth, he cut himself off mid-sentence, slamming his mouth together so hard that he could hear his teeth collide with an audible click.
The table grew silent, and he felt their eyes on him, searching and probing, as if he had suddenly been undressed and was sitting there naked. This wasn’t something he wanted to show, a part of himself he wanted them to see.
“I mean”, he redirects hurriedly, scratching across his brow, “how does that work logistically, with you know, your heats”, he coughed slightly, “and like, having his scent near you all the time”, his eyes widened as he realized what he`d said and he instantly turned to Carlos.
“I mean, not that you have a bad scent, just, I mean”, he realized he was rambling, “I was just thinking about the general scent of an Alpha, because it`s so strong and when you`re not mated it can be a lot for an Omega, you know with everything, and-“, Carlos held up a hand to interrupt him and Charles gratefully slammed his mouth shut again.
“It`s okay”, he said softly, meeting Charles’ eyes in a warm, comforting gaze that made Charles’ chest feel tight, “I know what you meant”, he smiled, seemingly amused by Charles’ ramblings and Charles hesitantly smiled back.
“I understand why you would think that, many Alphas they`re”, he shook his head in silent anger, “they could and would take advantage of a situation like this, believe me I know, but-“, Lando interrupted him before he could finish, slapping a hand down on his thigh.
“But Carlos would never do that, he`s harmless”, Carlos snorted, but smiled at Lando all the same, “which is lucky for me, my wallet and my stomach”, Lando clapped a hand over his stomach and the others laughed as Carlos simply continued smiling at Lando. Charles felt his chest tighten again, although in a different way and let out a sigh of relief as Pierre stood from his seat.
“Speaking of stomachs, mine need another drink”, he announced loudly, and the night moved along.
Charles became even more drunk, and eventually people started to leave, Lewis being the first and then Yuki excusing himself a moment later. Pierre seemed to want to walk Yuki home, and so Charles convinced him to leave, assuring him that he was just going to have one more drink.
It`d been a bad idea to get another drink, Charles realizes, but seeing as it was already paid for, he figures he might as well drink it, but as he looks out onto the dancefloor, he suddenly feels very alone, and can`t help but think that he should`ve left with Pierre as he`d originally planned.
He had noticed what looked like Lando`s orange cap head towards the exit a couple of minutes after Pierre had ducked out, and assuming Carlos had left with him, it meant he was the last one standing. Still, he takes no joy in the knowledge, and if anything, it puts him slightly on edge.
A tap on his shoulder makes him turn around to face the bartender again, “here you go man”, the man says, and Charles gives him a nod in thanks, before grabbing the drink and making to move towards the dancefloor.
“Hey”, the bartender calls after him, and Charles turns to see him pointing to a sign nailed to the wall behind the bar, “no drinks on the dance floor after 2, you have to finish that here”, he nods his head towards one of the empty barstools and Charles lets out an internal groan but obeys none the less.
Sliding into the seat he sits in silence for a few minutes, quietly sipping his drink and almost laughing at the pathetic image he must make; drunk and alone in a bar at 3 am, no friends in sight. Just him, he thinks to himself with a bitter laugh, wasn’t that just the story of his fucking life.
“Wow, look at you”, a voice suddenly sounds from behind him, interrupting his thoughts, and he turns in his seat, coming almost face to face with a tall Alpha. The man is quite intoxicated, and speaks with a drooly American accent, that sends chills creeping up his spine. Turning back to face the bar again, Charles decides that ignoring him is the best option and quietly hopes that he will lose interest and move on to someone else.
“I didn’t know there were Omegas as pretty as you here”, the man continues, seemingly undeterred by Charles’ clear dismissal and moves to sit in the empty chair beside him. Charles shuffles to the other edge of his seat, trying to get as far away from him as possible.
“Can I buy you a drink, sweetheart?” he asks next in spite of Charles’ continued silence, his face so close to his now, that Charles could smell his scent, a heavy, nauseating musk, that reminded him of an old, expired perfume. There was an underlying smell of arousal there as well and knowing it`s cause sent another chill down his spine.
“I think this is my last one, unfortunately, but thank you for offering”, he answers politely, only glancing quickly in the man’s direction to send him a tight smile, before looking away again.
“What a sexy accent you have”, the man answers, blatantly ignoring Charles’s dismissal, “where is that from? Italy? France?”.
“I am Monegasque”, Charles answers shortly, keeping his eyes trained on the bottles behind the bar and refusing to look in the man`s direction.
“A foreigner, how sexy”, the man answers after almost a minute of silence, likely due to the fact that he didn’t seem to know what “Monegasque” meant, and leans over to place a clammy hand on Charles’ thigh, “now, how about I take you home and knot you up real good, and you can speak a little, um”, he hiccups, “foreign to me”.
Every instinct in Charles body is screaming danger, danger, and he feels the distressed pheromones streaming out of his pores.
“No, thank you”, he says, his voice sounding weaker than he would like, and tries to scoot slightly away, but the man quickly tightens his grip on his leg, his grip surprisingly strong for the state of intoxication he was in.
“Now, calm down darling”, he grits out, squeezing down on his thigh again to keep him still, “Look, it wasn’t really a question, more so informing you how this is going to go. The only question here is how we are going to do this, specifically if you`re going to be a good Omega and come nicely, or if I`m going to have to take you by the neck”. His words make Charles physically recoil away from the man, and the force of the movement seems to startle him enough to let Charles pull free from his grip and stumble onto his feet.
Without thinking, he turns on his heel, and makes a beeline onto the dance floor, the only thought in his mind being that he needed to get away from the man. However, he quickly realizes that he should perhaps have thought about where he should go as there is nowhere to escape to, and he can smell the man moving towards him.
His eyes wildly scan the room, landing on the sign that leads to the toilets, and hoping that he`ll bump into another Omega that can perhaps help him, quickly start to make his way over.
The toilets are down a flight of stairs, and taking them two at a time, Charles sprints down, already trying to figure out how he can explain the situation quickly enough to someone, when he collides with a hard chest. The impact throws him slightly off balance, the other person grabbing his elbow to steady him. Charles immediately starts to pull away when his name makes him stop in his tracks.
“Charles, what are you-“, Charles looks up and into Carlos’s brown eyes, interrupting him before he can finish his question.
“Carlos, thank god, I- “, he can`t finish his sentence before Carlos clearly notices the distress and fear oozing out of his every pore, and interrupts him by tightening his grip on his elbow and pulling him closer to himself.
“What`s going on?”. Charles opens his mouth to answer, unsure of what to say, when he is interrupted by someone speaking up from behind him.
“There you are, I was wondering if I`d lost you”, he hears the man say, his voice sending shivers down his spine. He doesn’t have time to turn around, before Carlos has swiftly maneuvered him behind his back, shielding him from the man with his body.
“Is there a problem here?”, Carlos asks, his voice so drastically different from the one he had used just seconds ago, that Charles eyes snap up to stare at the side of his face. Carlos’s jaw is clenched, and he can see that his eyes have darkened, even his scent is different, exuding authority.
“I`m sorry if my boyfriend is bothering you, he`s just very drunk and likes to make up stories”, the man explains, his voice apologetic. Charles shrinks into Carlos’s back, the irrational fear that Carlos might believe him making his hard pound hard in his chest. It seems like Carlos notices and reaches a hand around to gently pull him closer to him.
“This is not your boyfriend”, Carlos states coldly, “he is my friend, and you are upsetting him, so I think you should leave”.
“Look man, I saw him first, get your own Omega”, the man says, seemingly getting agitated and taking a step towards them. Charles feels a small whimper escape from his mouth at that, the man`s words from before still ringing in his head; I`m going to have to take you by the neck. Carlos on the other hand, seems unaffected by the man moving towards them, and simply squares his shoulders back.
“I will not ask you again, I have no problem with reporting you to the staff for harassing an Omega”, he says, his voice sounding indifferent, as if he`s bored with the situation.
His words seem to resonate with the man. Peeking over Carlos’s shoulder, Charles can see the man`s eyes red with anger flicker between him and Carlos, before apparently deciding it`s not worth it and turning around with a huff, before making his way back up the stairs again.