"I can meet her before we have to leave for dinner if I bring this to her now. Besides… she explicitly said she's wearing it tonight, so I have to give it to her earlier anyway."
After recharging his emotional battery with a massive bowl of ice cream, Arthur took a deep, centering breath. He glanced at himself in the mirror, once, then twice to fix a rogue strand of hair, before taking small, agonizingly nervous steps out of his room.
He peered cautiously into the living room and the kitchen, checking the perimeter.
He absolutely did not want to hand this over with Auntie Kelly and Uncle Kevin hovering around, turning it into a massive family spectacle.
She's not out here. Then… she must be in her room.
Arthur felt his stomach twist in that familiar, chaotic way again. Before he could stop it, a helpless grin stretched across his face. He wasn't even going to question whether he was being a weirdo anymore. He was a weirdo. Weirdly excited just to knock on a door; weird for the way his pulse hammered against his ribs at the mere thought of her opening it.
Don't get your hopes up, Arthur. What if she doesn't even like it?
He stared down at the small velvet pouch he had been holding tightly against his chest. A soft, persistent fear began to creep into his mind. No, stop. Even if she doesn't love it… she promised to accept it. Don't whine. Just go.
Giving himself one final, internal pep talk, he raised his hand and gently knocked on her door, so softly it was as if he were worried the wood might bruise.
Then, he waited. Each second stretched into an eternity, his heartbeat echoing loudly in his ears.
"Arthur?"
Arthur practically leaped out of his skin, a sharp squeak escaping him as Aunt Kelly's voice materialized from directly behind him.
Turning around, pale and trembling with nerves, he frantically shoved his hands behind his back to hide the pouch.
But it was a completely useless effort; he was standing flush against Natalia's doorframe. Anyone with half a brain could deduce exactly why he was lurking there. He was obviously there for her.
"A-Auntie…" Arthur stammered, his brain scrambling at terminal velocity for a plausible excuse.
But to his absolute horror and surprise, Aunt Kelly didn't ask for one. Instead, a massive, knowing grin spread from ear to ear across her face.
She gave him a dramatic, enthusiastic thumbs-up, turned on her heel, and practically sprinted back down the hallway, leaving a trail of delighted giggles in her wake.
Arthur stood frozen, utterly stunned, staring at the empty hallway where his foster mother had just completely sold him out. Before he could process the betrayal-
"What exactly are you looking at?"
He flinched, his shoulders hiking up as he spun back around.
Natalia was standing in the open doorway. One sharp eyebrow was raised, her arms were crossed loosely over her chest, and a familiar, teasing smile was tugging at the corners of her lips.
"Ah… nothing! Nothing at all." Arthur managed a sheepish, strained smile, silently praying that Aunt Kelly hadn't just totally blown his cover. It wasn't like anyone actually suspected he had a crush on Natalia anyway. At least… he desperately hoped not.
"I-I came to give you this," he murmured, carefully bringing his hands around and extending the velvet pouch toward her like a peace offering.
Natalia's gaze drifted from his face down to his trembling fingers, tracking the slight shake of his hand before locking back onto his eyes. Arthur immediately dropped his chin, biting his lower lip to keep from vibrating into another dimension.
She didn't take it.
The silence stretched between them, heavy and completely unreadable, and Arthur's internal panic button slammed down.
"I-I did my best…" his voice cracked slightly, a sudden, heavy wave of disappointment burning the back of his throat. He had poured so much of himself into those beads. Why did he always have to feel so incredibly foolish around her? "Do you... do you not like it?"
Natalia blinked, caught off guard by the raw vulnerability in his tone. That wasn't what she had intended at all. She hadn't meant to intimidate him. God, seeing the sudden, disheartened slump of his shoulders hit her with an unexpected pang of discomfort.
"Sigh… Take it out of the bag, Arthur," she said, her voice dropping into a gentle, grounding register. "How am I supposed to evaluate it if you're hiding it inside the pouch?"
Arthur's eyes instantly illuminated with a fierce flicker of hope. He quickly unclasped the velvet, pulling the necklace out and holding the slender black cord carefully between his fingertips.
Natalia just watched him. Really watched him.
The hallway light caught the sharp angles of his face, and from this proximity, her eyes involuntarily dropped. Am I approaching a pre-rut? she wondered, her throat suddenly feeling incredibly dry. His lips look... remarkably plush. Plump. I shouldn't be staring at his mouth right now. Definitely not.
Natalia forcefully tore her gaze away the exact moment Arthur looked up, refocusing her attention entirely on the geometric obsidian triangle dangling from his hands.
"Why are you just holding it there?" she murmured, her lips curling back into a slow smirk that made Arthur's heart skip a beat. "Put it on me."
Arthur's mouth fell half-open, pure, unadulterated shock washing over his face.
Natalia could feel the electric tension spark in the air between them as he hesitated, his hands trembling violently now, his eyes wide and round.
"P-Put it on you?"
"Why? Were you planning on putting it on someone else?" she teased, tilting her head. "It's supposed to be mine, isn't it?"
"Y-Yeah." Arthur's voice was barely a whisper.
Steeling his nerves, he took a hesitant, shaking step forward, crossing the threshold of her room. He was so close now that the ambient heat radiating from her skin enveloped him, and that intoxicating, clean scent of cedar and crisp rain flooded his senses.
Too close. Way too close.
Not that his inner omega was complaining in the slightest. But who on earth could have predicted he would get the chance to manually fasten jewelry around her neck? Certainly not him.
Arthur was a frantic cocktail of dizzying excitement and paralyzing nerves. His fingers fumbled blindly behind her neck, the sleek magnetic clasp stubbornly refusing to align as his hands shook.
It was in this exact moment of agonizing struggle that he realized he was a complete idiot. He should have asked her to turn around. That would have made this a five-second task. But his brain had completely short-circuited; he had forgotten basic mechanics.
So now, Arthur remained trapped in her personal space, his breath shallow and hitched. He stood precariously on his tiptoes, stretching his arms around her neck while desperately trying to maintain a respectable distance between their faces.
He was failing. Catastrophically.
His knees were physically shaking, his grip completely unsteady. And just when he thought he couldn't possibly endure any more embarrassment, he accidentally glanced up-
Only to find Natalia staring directly, intently at his lips.
Arthur froze. His focus shattered.
And his foot slipped.
His balance gave out entirely, his gravity shifting backward. But before he could collide with the floorboards, Natalia's reflexes fired.
Her strong arms shot out, wrapping securely around his waist and pulling him flush against her chest to break his fall.
Arthur's breath caught violently in his throat. He genuinely believed he might just pass out and die right there in her arms.
And Natalia didn't let him go.
Instead, her arms tightened, anchoring him firmly against her body as her dark eyes scanned every micro-expression on his face. The proximity was suffocating.
He could feel the steady rise and fall of her chest, the warmth of her breath hitting his cheek, the sudden, subtle amplification of her Alpha pheromones. He could feel her everything.
Then, as if the universe decided the moment wasn't dramatic enough, a soft clink echoed from the floor.
He had dropped the necklace.
"Ah!" Arthur looked down, his heart sinking into his stomach. Crushed. The beautiful onyx piece was resting uselessly on the hardwood, never even having made it to her skin. I ruined it. I completely ruined it before she could even try it on.
A profound wave of sadness washed over him, and he couldn't even find the residual willpower to pull away, remaining cradled helplessly against her frame.
If he hadn't been so entirely consumed by his own perceived stupidity, he might have noticed the frantic, heavy thudding beneath Natalia's ribs. Her heart was beating just as violently as his.
"Arthur..."
Arthur looked up, his consciousness snapping back to reality as he realized he was basically draped all over her.
But the primal, honest part of his soul didn't want to move away. And looking at her eyes, she didn't want him to either.
Her voice had been so soft. Barely a rough whisper, but it sent an electric chill racing straight across his skin.
He felt it then, the sudden, undeniable surge of raw desire.
Arthur stared at her, his fingers instinctively clutching the crisp cotton of her shirt, his knuckles turning stark white as he held on.
"Y-Yeah...?" his voice came out hoarse, desperate, laced with a heavy, instinctive need he didn't fully comprehend. It had never, ever been this intense with anyone else.
At the sound of his breathless reply, Natalia's breath hitched. She felt a sudden, distinct twitch in his frame as the sweet, unmistakable fragrance of his omega pheromones blossomed into the air, filling the small gap between them.
Arthur had never been permitted this close to an Alpha before, had never felt this dizzy with an intoxicating mix of security and sheer desperation. But now, his biology was responding in loud, definitive terms.
He wanted her. And his scent was giving him away, clear as a bell.
Natalia exhaled a shaky breath, her ironclad self-control slipping away like sand through her fingers. She should have known.
Since the moment she saw him standing in the hallway yesterday, the hyper-fixated attention she paid to him hadn't just been passing interest or amusement.
Her heart was being methodically, effortlessly stolen by him.
It had been years since she felt this entirely comfortable letting an omega into her personal space, let alone engaging in conversation or initiating touch.
It made the moment feel monumental. She had spent years dealing with omegas who aggressively craved her status, her attention, her wealth.
But this was the first time she felt a thrilling, reciprocal rush, flooded by the sweet fragrance of an omega who wanted her, the person, not the title.
And she should have known his blushing wasn't just random shyness.
He actually wishes for me, she realized, her inner Alpha roaring to life.
Natalia's pheromones flared responsively, the rich scent of cedar darkening into something warm and possessive as the realization settled in.
Gently, her large hand traveled up to brush the back of Arthur's neck, her thumb trailing lightly over his sensitive nape.
She leaned down, their foreheads sliding together, their breaths mingling in the tiny space between them as both of their faces flushed a deep, beautiful red.
"Can I kiss you, Arthur?" Natalia whispered against his lips.
The question entirely undid him. Every lingering doubt, every trace of insecurity, every bit of nervousness about his past or his worth, gone. Vanished into thin air.
All he could do was offer a small, breathless nod. He wasn't even surprised by the suddenness of it all; he was simply too happy to care.
Because this gesture meant she accepted him. Exactly as he was. Just as much as he wanted, liked, and loved her.
God... Arthur thought as her face tilted closer, this has to be a dream. Everything is happening so incredibly fast.