Sweet Orange

"Axel! Have you still not decided on your partner for the party?" The doors to Axel's room suddenly burst open, and Mrs. Chandler marched in without so much as a knock. "It's tomorrow, remember?"

Axel held back a sigh, not bothering to lift his eyes from the ties. In the end, he settled on a navy one with light blue stripes, closed the drawer, and moved on to the mirror, lifting his collar to put it on.

Time sure flew fast… He was so busy that he hadn't even realized when three weeks had already passed. Of course, he by no means forgot about the party… He just persistently avoided the topic, not wanting to ask any of the Omegas recommended by his mother out.

Would that stop Mrs. Chandler though? Of course not!

She let out a loud, exasperated sigh, as she shook her head. "Well, it's alright. I have anticipated this situation, so I asked both Young Master Nasir and Miss Celeste for their outfit samples and designs. There are two new suits ready, so whomever you decide to invite, we can still coordinate your looks well!"

"Mum," Axel closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I am not going to come to the party with a partner."

"But-"

"I'm sorry, mum, but it's already late. I need to go, if I don't want to be stuck in the traffic!" Axel quickly excused himself, and rushed out of the room. There was still a lot of time left, actually… But any excuse to get himself out of the situation was good!

"Wait, Axel," Mrs. Chandler called after her son, "Your tie-!"

However, Axel was already downstairs, putting on his shoes. "Come on, Ollie, let's go!" He grabbed the boy by the hand, and was already out of the door by the time Mrs. Chandler clicking heels reached the bottom of the staircase.

Only once he got in the car, did he breathe out with relief.

Really, his mother was getting more and more persistent… As if Axel starting his job was some magical turning point that meant he needed to 'settle down' as soon as possible. When so far, he had only one short romantic experience!

He was still a bit distracted, grumbling in his mind about his situation, when he reached the coffee shop, ordering his usual…

"Your tie is crooked again."

Axel lifted his head, his lips unconsciously curving in a smile as he spotted Elias stepping out from the back of the shop.

"A-ah, is it?" he stuttered, glancing down, and chuckling with embarrassment when he noticed the sorry state of his tie. "It really is…"

"Still hasn't learned it?" Elias grabbed a takeaway cup, and started on Axel's order, taking it over from his employee who had been on the register just a moment ago.

"Ah, well… I guess I'm not too good with my hands…"

A weird expression flashed through Elias' face, as he recalled a distant memory, but it was gone before Axel could notice it. Elias finished the coffee and packed the pastry, and then glanced again at Axel's tie.

"Come here," he sighed, as he stepped from behind the bar. "I'll fix it for you."

"Ah, o-okay…" Axel's cheeks flushed, but he still did as he was told.

He could hardly breathe right, standing so close to the Beta, his fingers flexing on his sides. Next to Axel, Elias seemed even shorter and more delicate, barely reaching to his chin. His hands were also so small and pale, they looked so soft, and smelled of sweet orange…

Wait, sweet orange?

Axel instantly lifted his hand to his nape.

It wasn't Elias' scent, but rather his own! Axel started unconsciously releasing his pheromones!

And it wasn't only that, he also started feeling intense desire to just pounce on the man and pin him down… And while he was undoubtedly attracted to 'River', he had no intention on denying it or downplaying the man's cuteness… Axel wasn't more of a shy type when it came to his romantic approach! He would want to hold hands first, then move to kissing, before he'd think about having sex! He wasn't some horny bastard!

Except that now, with his rut, he was. Such was the nature of the Alphas.

Axel bit on his lip, trying to suppress his urges, and glanced down at Elias. Luckily, 'River' was a Beta, so he wasn't affected by the pheromones… He just finished tying Axel's tie and smiled politely, taking a step back. 

"There, should be fine now."

"Thank you very much!" Axel quickly bowed, and without even so much as a glance at his tie, he grabbed his order, and practically bolted out of the shop. 'River' might not have been affected, but Axel needed his suppressants, NOW!

What a terrible timing, though. For his rut to start the day before the party… Where there would be plenty of Omegas… He'd be able to make it through on enough suppressants, of course, but it was uncomfortable nonetheless!

He rushed into the office, going straight to the kitchenette, and scrambled through the cupboards looking for suppressants. There were quite a lot of Alphas working in the building, so fortunately, they always had some in stock! Axel swallowed two pills with a bit of water, and a few minutes later, finally started calming down.

It was a good thing that he was only an ordinary Alpha, and not a Dominant one! Otherwise, his reaction would have been so much more intense… And being so close to his crush, he could end up making a terrible mistake, like trying to kiss the Beta or something, when he didn't even know how 'River' felt about him yet!

And Axel didn't want to be one of those scummy Alphas who always claimed that 'my rut made me do it' and thought it excused their actions!

Axel sighed, brushing back his hair and fixing his tie, getting ready to go to the office. But his cheeks flushed again as he touched the tie, remembering Elias' fingers skillfully tying it up.

And the knot was very nicely done. Clearly very well practiced.

Something twisted in Axel's stomach. Was it because 'River' wore ties at some point in the past - but he was so young, at most Axel's age - or… was he used to helping someone else…?

Axel really… didn't like that thought.