Scents

"You're WHAT?" Mean stared at his bestfriend in disbelief.

Saint paused in eating the cookies Mean brought for him and sighed. "How many times do you want me to repeat this?"

"Until it makes sense!" Mean exclaimed, throwing his hand up in disbelief. 

When Saint called him and requested him to go over his house with sugared cookies, he thought nothing of it because Saint has the appetite of a five year old and he practically lives on sweets and pastries. 

Mean wasn't expecting Saint to just grab the paperbag the moment he saw it as if he'd been starving for days and it was the first food he saw in a long time. 

So he made a joke. He asked Saint if he was craving stuff because he's pregnant.

And the idiot looked at him and said "Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm pregnant." Then he walked away casually to the kitchen like he didn't just drop a big fucking bomb.

Mean, on the other hand, was left reeling because WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!

Saint placed down the sugar cookies he was eating on the the plate he got for it, glared at Mean because his sugar-cookies-eating time was getting interrupted, and said "Mean, I had sex and now I'm pregnant. What part about that doesn't make sense?"

"Okay you're not getting out of this. Who the hell is the father of that baby?"

Saint avoided Mean's gaze. "It doesn't matter."

"Saint, of course it matters. You can't make a baby on your own. You both should share responsibility for this."

Saint sighed. "Look, it was a one time thing and I don't want him to feel obligated to be with me just because he knocked me up. Heck, I'm not even sure I want to keep this baby."

Mean raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at Saint's hand that was resting on his stomach subconsciously. "Who are you trying to fool? You love kids. You said the only good thing about being an omega was that you have a higher chance of having kids."

"Well, yes. And okay the truth is that I am thinking of going through this pregnancy. Just the thought of holding my baby in my arms..." He could feel the tears building up but he blames it all on pregnancy hormones.

Mean's Alpha instincts was flaring up at the sight of a distressed omega - a distressed PREGNANT omega - so even though he would very much like to yell at his bestfriend for being so stubborn, he settled with calmly speaking. "Saint, you need an Alpha to get you through this. Otherwise, it can get very difficult for you."

"I know. 70% of omega pregnancies without the presence of a bond leads to miscarriages, with a lot of those ending in the omega's demise. I did my research, Mean. But Perth's still so young and I-"

"Wait, stop. Perth?!" Mean interrupted. "Perth is the baby's father?"

Saint looked at him sheepishly and then looked at his stomach. "This is your fault, Peanut. You're making me dumb." But his voice was gentle and fond.

'Not sure if he's keeping the baby, my ass.' Mean thought as he looked at Saint talking to his unborn child. "Saint, you need to tell Perth. You owe it to your baby. And it isn't fair to Perth if you'll keep him in the dark."

"But a bond is irreversible, Mean. If he bonds with me, he can never bond with a different omega. What if he falls in love with someone else after he bonds with me? What if he resents me and the baby?"

Mean sighed. "Then what are you going to do? You go to the same university as him. In a few weeks, it'll be difficult for you to hide your pregnancy. Besides, even now, I can smell the change in your scent if I pay attention."

"I...don't know," Saint admitted. "We're on different colleges, maybe I won't even run into him."

Unfortunately, it was as if fate was playing tricks on Saint because a few days after that, he saw Perth at the car park, getting out of his black BMW.

"P'Saint!" Perth exclaimed. He was smiling one of those smiles that Saint adores the most, the one where he's smiling so much that his eyes squint and almost disappear.

'I hope you get your Dad's smile, Peanut.'  

"Hi Per-" Saint started but was interrupted by an omega stepping out from the passenger seat of Perth's car.

"Hey Perth, you forgot your bag you idiot!" The omega smacked the black bag against the alpha's chest.

Saint couldn't help but frown at the omega's actions. He was getting irritated at how comfortable the omega was to his alpha.

'Not your alpha, Saint. Stop it.'

"Oh thanks P'Gun," Perth said, holding the bag and then slipping the sling on his shoulder.

"You really should stop being so scatterbrained. What will you do without us?" The omega shook his head, his vibrant turquoise hair swaying and catching attention.

"Probably die in a ditch somewhere," Perth joked. He then turned to Saint. "P'Saint, this is my friend P'Gun. P'Gun, this is P'Saint."

"Oh. He's the one who-"

"P'Gun, Mark's class is almost over," Perth said hurriedly, grabbing Gun's shoulders and turning him towards the direction of the buildings. "You better hurry up if you want to catch him."

"Fine, fine, stop pushing me, you alpha brute." Gun shrugged off Perth's hands and waved goodbye at Saint. "Nice to meet you, Khun Saint. Sorry I gotta run. Don't let Perth's Strong Alpha act fool you, he's whipped as fuck for you."

"P'Gun!" Perth shouted after Gun who was laughing as he ran away. He was blushing as he turned to Saint. "Sorry about that."

"No, it's okay," Saint replied. "He seems pretty close with you."

"Yeah. All my friends enjoy teasing me, apparently." Perth rubbed the back of his neck, self-conscious.

The attention to his neck reminded Saint of the bonding issue and he unconsciously wet his lips, a habit he does when he's nervous.

Perth's eyes tracked the movement, just watching Saint's lips move without hearing the words.

"Perth?"

"Huh?" The alpha asked, finally snapping out of the trance Saint's lips put him in.

"I asked why you parked here. This is far from your college."

Perth slightly shook his head in order to clear his thoughts from the road it was in earlier before answering Saint. "All the parking spots in my college is filled up. Thankfully I found one here."

"Oh, okay. I shouldn't be keeping you then, you might get late to your class." As Saint was saying that, he suddenly felt nauseous. 'Oh no, not now.'

"P'Saint, are you okay?"

Saint shook his head and rushed to the side and vomitted. Perth was beside him and was rubbing his back the whole time. Embarassed, Saint turned his head away from the alpha but Perth just gently turned his head back and wiped the omega's mouth with his handkerchief.

"I'm sorry. Don't worry about me Perth. You'll be late for your class."

"There is no way I'm leaving you in this state. Come on, I'll bring you to the clinic."

"No!" At Perth's surprised look, Saint lowered his voice. "No, I'm fine. I just need to rest."

"Are you sure?" Perth's asked. He was still supporting Saint's back with one hand and cradling Saint's face with the other.

Saint knew he really should step back because in this position, they were almost embracing and it was getting more difficult for the omega to remember why it's not a good idea to blurt out that he's pregnant with Perth's child.

'Just a few seconds more.' Saint inhaled, enjoying Perth's scent that was colored with worry for the omega in his arms, and then finally stepped back. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Just humor me then. Let's just say I'm the one that's not okay," and with that, Perth gently but firmly grabbed Saint's hand and led him towards his car.

"Hey, where are we going?"

Perth opened the door to his car's passenger seat - still holding Saint's hand - and then motioned for Saint to get in.

Saint just gave him a confused look. "Perth, I asked where we're going."

Perth shrugged. "I'm taking you home. You said you needed to rest."

"You don't even know where I live."

"Tell me then," Perth insisted.

"Perth, you just got here. What about your classes?"

Perth gave him a stern look. "I won't fail with missing a few classes. You're more important. Now, get in the car, P'Saint."

Perth might be calling him 'Phi' but his Alpha Voice was coming through and Saint will never admit it but the omega in him was practically rolling over in submission. He settled with quietly getting in the car.

Perth carefully closed the door and then walked to the other side to get in the car seat.

Saint could smell a different omega's scent in the passenger's seat. It was faint, but there. Annoyed, he rolled up his sleeves and deliberately rubbed his bare arm against the seat.

Perth must have noticed Saint rolling up his sleeves because he asked, "Want me to turn up the AC?" He smirked however when he caught Saint rubbing his arm against the seat. "You're scent marking the seat huh?"

Saint immediately stopped, blushing, and crossed his arms defensively. "No, I'm not."

Perth laughed. "It's fine. I love your scent the most, anyway."

Saint was sure his face was an unattractive red right then because he was both shy and incredibly pleased that his alpha loves his scent.

'Again Saint, not your Alpha. Calm your hyperactive hormones.'

He turned away so Perth wouldn't see his smile.