Lucian and Eugene finally finished their lunch with a warm air of closeness surrounding them.
"Since we're done working out right now, would you like to come with me?" Eugene spoke as he wore his black coat.
Lucian tilted his head in wonder. "To where?"
"You're curious where I got the secret files, right? I'll bring you there."
"Oh, we're going to the 'underground market'?" Lucian whispered, as if it was a top-secret information. Maybe it was.
Eugene nodded with a gentle smile etched on his pink and thin lips. "It's fine too if you just want to stay here," he added while fixing his cufflinks.
"I'm coming with you!" Lucian hurriedly grabbed his own long, brown coat before grabbing some extra money. "I might come to find something interesting while venturing into the market, so let's go."
"Well then. Hold my hand later so you won't get lost, yeah?"
Lucian grinned at Eugene. "Aren't you just taking advantage of me at this point? I can walk off on my own, Eugene," he teased as he pulled open the door.
"Why, I can't baby you now?" Eugene replied with a soft laugh, his blue eyes sparkling brightly as he also went out of the room. He then turned back to the door to lock it with their room key.
After making sure that it was locked thoroughly, they immediately went downstairs. As usual, they greeted the receptionist, who was finally back, before riding the public carriage.
Eugene said that the underground market was located near the city plaza, so it was not really far from the drop-off station. It's just that public transportation will always be the enemy of those who end up in the same carriage as the two alphas.
Their long legs would sometimes cramp the little space between the passengers in front of them. Lucian found it awkward, but he couldn't find a way to shrink his legs, so he could only pretend that he knew nothing.
Eugene saw all of this and was on the verge of laughing. He tried to hold it back by clearing his throat and worming his arm around Lucian's waist.
Lucian turned his head and glared at the owner of the shameless arm. He didn't complain before because he wasn't sure about Eugene's romantic intentions for him, but now he's starting to be alert to the sly fox that's sneaking its way into his body.
"What?" Eugene gave an innocent look to Eugene, though his skillful fingers did otherwise. He even dared to pinch Lucian's waist.
Lucian clicked his tongue and looked away. 'Let's just play ignorant for now. I'll smack him later.'
The carriage soon stopped near the border's plaza. Lucian waited for Eugene to come out first before he followed. As expected, Eugene made the gentlemanly gesture of reaching out his hand for him. Lucian accepted it before he swiftly moved his fingers to pinch the man's wrist.
"Ah! What was that for?" Eugene grimaced as he rubbed the reddish spot where Lucian pinched him.
Lucian smirked. "For being so naughty."
Eugene blinked before he smiled. "But you didn't mind it before, though?"
"I mind it now. So keep your hands off, Alpha," Lucian answered, tapping the older man's chest using the back of his hand. "Let's go."
Eugene sighed. "Lucian, the more you try to keep me off of you, the more I want to be closer to you. You should know how sexy you looked when you said that." He defeatedly fixed his hat before they started walking together.
"Pervert," the bronze-skinned man murmured, darting a glare at the blonde alpha.
Eugene smiled. "Only to you."
"Still a pervert."
"I'm sorry, then."
...
Their footsteps halted in front of a candy shop.
"Are you serious? This is where..." Lucian dramatically paused. He then looked dumbfoundedly at Eugene.
Eugene removed his hat and placed it on top of Lucian's head. He did not speak until he finally fixed it in place. "Yes, this is where the underground market is. Wear this hat properly; we don't want them to remember your beautiful face," he whispered softly, tucking Lucian's stray hair to his ear.
Lucian swatted Lucian's hand away. "Stop overreacting. It's not like I'm famous or anything," he murmured before they walked inside the shop.
"If you insist, but you've been on a newspaper when I came to the Grand Duchy of Le Riche last month, so I thought you might be a distinguished person," Eugene teased.
"Shut your mouth."
They stopped in front of the counter, where the cashier was. The woman, who was about the same age as them, gawked at the two alphas. Both were so beautiful and handsome that she almost thought she was just hallucinating.
"Good afternoon, Madame. We would like to inquire about the candy 'Soutterain'," Eugene said with a meaningful smile.
The cashier snapped out of her wild imaginations after hearing the word 'Soutterain'. She hurriedly fixed her face and looked cautiously at them. "May I know what's your name, sir?"
"I'm Johanne," Eugene replied.
"And this kind, sir, is...?" The lady shifted her gaze on the bronze-skinned gentleman.
Lucian raised his hat a little bit to show his golden eyes. "The name's Logan, Madame," he said with a small nod.
The cashier nodded before gently skimming over something behind the counter. 'It was probably a log book,' Lucian guessed as he observed the woman's every move.
His posture slightly shifted as he smelled an unfamiliar scent. It was so sweet and flowery. He unconsciously sniffed the air with squinting eyes.
Lucian was almost close to finding the source of it when he suddenly felt an elbow nudging his waist. He turned his head towards Eugene, his eyebrows raised in confusion.
"She's an omega," Eugene mouthed without a sound.
Lucian could read what Eugene's lips said, so he quickly averted his gaze from the woman. An unmarried alpha like him should behave well, right?
However, the sudden shift from Lucian's curious face into a civilized, calm alpha somehow made Eugene's lips twitch. "If you're thinking of hitting on her just because she's an omega, then you better stop. I'm a jealous lover, Lucian," he whispered in a low voice, just enough for the two of them to hear.
"Yeah? And what would a jealous lover like you do?" Lucian challenged with a charming smile. 'What? You'll cockblock me?' he added in his head.
Eugene shrugged with a grin. "I don't know. Why? Do you want to try?"
"No, thank you."
Meanwhile, the cashier finally spoke after finding Eugene's name on the list. "Please proceed to the third door from the left," she said as she pointed towards a door with a label for men's bathrooms.
"Thank you." Eugene politely nodded at her before leaving together with Lucian.
After seeing them enter the door, the woman's face turned red as she giggled in excitement. "Blimey! An alpha-alpha relationship in the flesh!" she exclaimed while cupping her face. "They looked so good together." She sighed in fascination.
All the while, the two alphas, who apparently looked good together, were bantering with each other as they traveled through the long and narrow corridor.
"Eugene, stop holding my waist. I can walk on my own!" Lucian reprimanded, swatting Eugene's hand away. Although it's not like he feels disgusted by Eugene's touch, it's more like he feels hot every time Eugene does it. If this goes on, he will be a hot tomato by the time they reach the underground market.
Eugene also knew of this and used this timing to tease the younger alpha more. "My, my, Lucian. You keep on rejecting me, but your face is so red and hot. Is it because the corridor is narrow, hmm?" He lovingly caressed Lucian's face, wiping away the sweat trickling down his cheek using his thumb.
Lucian felt such extreme embarrassment at Eugene's teasing that he couldn't retaliate anymore. He simply pursed his lips and looked away, trying to busy himself by walking on the path with utmost attention.
Eugene seemed to gain back his mercy, as he soon stopped teasing Lucian. His hand, though, was still placed on Lucian's back, just in case the man would suddenly trip or something. Or maybe it was him taking advantage of the relaxed Lucian.
To Eugene's dismay, they arrived at the underground market earlier than expected. Perhaps it was because Lucian was diligently walking fast, so they reached the place without any hitch.
In front of them were a bustle of people and a number of stalls in different alleys. Like a public market, but underground and illegal. In some way.
Lucian narrowed his eyes to see what people were selling. Some were marketing jewelry, medicines, which were probably illegal and had not been approved by the government, and some weapons. It seems like the information merchants were hiding somewhere far from the entrance.
Eugene removed his hand from Lucian's back to fix Lucian's hat before guiding his waist towards the left alleyway. "Did you find something interesting?" he asked casually as they walked through the alley.
Lucian looked from left to right before shaking his head.
Eugene chuckled at that. "It's fine. Maybe something will catch your eyes later on. These stalls are just the surface of the market, after all."
"Does that mean there are more interesting things at the end of this alley?"
"Yes. Things like formulas on how to create a serum that could alter your gender and such," Eugene answered, pulling Lucian closer to him as the number of people increased the deeper they went. "Be careful. Some people are good at snatching wallets," he warned softly.
"Oh, okay." Lucian nodded as he initiated to scoot closer to Eugene; he was now technically in the man's embrace. "About the formula... do you mean, like, an omega can be an alpha?"
"There's a possibility of that, but we also can't ignore the other possibility of failure since the authorities haven't tested it yet."
Lucian thoughtfully looked up. Even though this world seemed like a Victorian-era setting, some systems are actually quite advanced, and some words from the modern Earth would appear.
He was still wondering how people developed formulas for altering gender while the transportation evolution is still far behind. There must be a reason why.
Lucian had to investigate this too, but not now. He had to focus on the border's problems first.
"An underground market on the border... does this mean an underground market also exists in our duchy?" Lucian asked after thinking deeper about it.
Eugene shook his head. "There's only an underground market here because it's near the territory of the Northern Islands, which are flocked with merchants, and another reason is that there's no nobles here." He pulled Lucian's waist inside an orange tent. "This is where I bought the files."
"Huh, a fortune-telling booth?" Lucian chuckled in amusement. He walked towards the woman wearing a black robe and a black long hat. There was a crystal ball on top of the table and a stack of cards.
The woman mysteriously stared at him, not saying anything.
Lucian wanted to give it a try. It's not like whatever the fortune-teller says will actually happen.
"I want my fortune told, Madame. How much is it?" Lucian asked as he sat down on the chair in front of the fortune-teller.
Eugene stared at Lucian in confusion. "What are you doing? You really want to do this?"
Lucian grinned at him. "Just for fun, Eugene." He grabbed the man's arm closer to him. "Come, come. I'll pay for you."
"I'm not a fan of mystical stuff, Lucian," Eugene said with pursed lips. His eyebrows were drawn tight, and his blue eyes were a darker shade. "There's no fun in knowing your future."
"Oh, Eugene... It's not like it's real!" Lucian laughed, but his thumb gently rubbed on Eugene's wrist. "But if you don't want to do it, then it's fine. You can just stay and watch beside me. If you're uncomfortable, you can also wait outside," he whispered sincerely, his golden eyes glowing in the dim light inside the tent.
Eugene felt his heart flutter at the younger alpha's careful consideration, especially the contact between their skins. He exhaled slowly. "Then I'll stay with you," he murmured in a low voice.
Lucian nodded his head before turning to the fortune teller. "How much?" he asked the same question again since the woman had not answered him earlier.
"One pound."
Eugene grimaced. "It's too expensive, Lucian. How about we go somewhere else?" he tried to convince the wealthy Lucian.
As expected, the business tycoon was unfazed by the price. He even placed a pound casually, like throwing rocks in the pond for entertainment. 'I feel rich today, so I'll act like one,' Lucian thought smugly.
"How would you like me to divine your future? Through tarot card reading, crystallomancy, or astromancy?" The woman's voice was quite eerie. Maybe it was meant to be like that, to add more to the fortune-telling atmosphere.
Lucian pointed at the crystal ball. "This one."
"Well, then." The woman looked at him with sharp eyes, drifting her gaze onto the crystal ball. Her hands hovered over it while gazing at it intently, as if trying to find something.
Lucian also watched the whole thing. He was in awe as the crystal ball turned blurry and colored. He raised his gaze only to see the woman's eyes reflecting the crystal ball's color.
Some minutes passed before the woman snapped out of her fortune-telling. She took a deep breath before seriously looking at Lucian.
"I saw three things."
"What are they?" Lucian asked with feigned interest. Eugene, on the other hand, reflexively frowned. 'It better be a good one,' Eugene thought with a look of threat on his face.
The woman opened her mouth to say solemnly, "The first ones I saw were birds, lots of them."
"And what does it mean?" Eugene spoke with a hint of hostility. Lucian had to hold his hand to calm him down. He even heard Lucian coax him into retracting his alpha pheromones. His blue eyes considerably softened at that.
"There are surprises that await you in the future," the fortune-teller answered calmly. "Good or bad, time can only tell," she added as if sensing Eugene's follow-up question.
Lucian hummed. "If so, then what's the next thing you saw?"
"Yellow clouds. The answers to your questions will appear soon."
"Oh, isn't this a good thing, Eugene?" Lucian said with a smile directed to the blonde man. "We might finish sooner, hmm?" he whispered, his fingers playing with Eugene's own.
Eugene licked his lower lip. "Not all answers are good answers, Lucian. Don't be complacent," he reprimanded in a soft voice. It was obviously like that because he liked the way Lucian was touching him at the moment.
Lucian nodded. "I thought so too." He then looked back at the robed woman. "What about the last one, madame?"
"A heart together with an image of balance," she said slowly. "True love, justice, and a reward will come to you."
Eugene's face finally relaxed. "I'm probably that true love," he stated while staring at Lucian's beautiful face. He almost laughed when he saw Lucian pouting. "Just kidding."
Lucian was fine with the results either way, so he immediately stood up and thanked the fortune-teller. Eugene, on the other hand, spoke to the woman. He was asking about someone named 'Naek' but she only shook her head, indicating that he wasn't around.
"Too bad he's not here. Anyway, we can roam around the market once more. I feel like spending more money today," Lucian said as they walked out of the tent.
Eugene chuckled. "As long as it doesn't hurt your pocket, I guess."
"It'll hurt tomorrow, I bet. Let's just spend it while I'm still in the mood. I can be really stingy with money, sometimes." Lucian smiled as his eyes darted around, looking for anything interesting. They stopped in front of a stall selling trinkets. "How much is this, sir?" he asked as he picked up a necklace with a crystal-blue pendant. There were carved patterns on it that he couldn't understand; nonetheless, it looked beautiful.
"That's about 3 pounds, sir. I found it from a wrecked ship's treasure chest, together with the other ornaments. It's pure crystal!" The merchant pitched in his product as soon as he noticed their grand clothes and noble posture.
Lucian absentmindedly fiddled with it as he turned his head to look at Eugene. "What do you think?"
Eugene took this as Lucian's way of asking for his opinion. He instantly felt recognized and validated, so he immediately nodded. "I think it would look good on you." He then took it from Lucian's hand to hold it in front of his face, the crystal-blue pendant dangling near his own crystal-blue eyes. "It's the same color as my eyes, too," he added with a joyful smile. It reached his eyes, sparkling just as beautifully as the jewelry he held.
Lucian smiled back. "We'll buy this and some trinkets too," he said, paying 6 pounds for the necklace, the ruby earrings that he bought for Charlotte, the charm bracelet for Sebastian (just to bring good luck for his exams), and the golden anklet with green pendant for Elijah. He was satisfied with his purchases.
Eugene was still holding the crystal necklace when he was suddenly dragged by Lucian away from the stall. They stopped at a dark corner of the alleyway where no one could clearly see them. "Why are we here?" Eugene uttered in confusion.
Lucian tilted his head with a grin on his face. "Aren't you supposed to help me wear that necklace, dear jealous lover?" he teased, his golden eyes glinting mischievously in the dark.
"Lucian," Eugene called out with a gasp as he buried himself in the alpha's neck, his arms wrapped around Lucian's waist. "I like you." He was really touched after realizing that Lucian actually initiated letting him help with the necklace.
Lucian chuckled softly, his hands caressing the man's back. "I know."
"I like you so much."
"Mmm... You're doing this again?"
"I feel like I should say it three times right now."
"Go on, then."
"I like you, Lucian."
'I can't wait to love you,' Eugene thought with hope and affection, which is only for Lucian. 'I can't wait to know you more.'
"You don't love me yet?" Lucian asked casually, his fingers drawing circles on Eugene's spine so that he would sometimes shiver at the sensation.
Eugene hugged him tighter. "If I told you that I love you this early, you probably wouldn't believe me," he whispered, his breath tickling Lucian's sensitive neck.
Lucian nodded in understanding. Eugene was right. He would definitely feel skeptical if Eugene suddenly shouted "I love you" at him despite knowing each other for just a week. It was better to take things slow, although their body language says otherwise. But still, it was better if they didn't force things just yet.
Eugene sniffed Lucian's scent first, and after having breathed enough of Lucian, he slowly pulled away from the hug. Instead, his arms snaked their way up to Lucian's nape. His fingers deftly removed the patch there, pressing on the skin slightly after the "barrier" was gone. The dormant glands pulsed as if responding to Eugene's touch.
Lucian's breath hitched as he felt Eugene's fingers gently rubbing the place where his glands were. "Eugene," he called out with bated breath, as if waiting for something to happen. Something magical.
And he wasn't disappointed.
Eugene's lips were now pressed on his nape as he gently licked the protruding skin where the gland was. Lucian shivered, his fingers clutching tight to Eugene's coat.
He was then distracted when a cold sensation touched his bronze skin. It surrounded his neck like a snake soaked in ice water. Soon enough, a blue crystal sparkled in the middle of his chest, glowing slightly in the dark.
It was the necklace they bought.
Eugene moved his face away from Lucian's neck and gazed tenderly at the necklace laying on the beautiful bronze skin. "You always looked beautiful, but this time, you're especially breathless," he whispered, his voice so soft that Lucian almost couldn't hear him.
"Thank you..."
Lucian caressed the crystal-blue pendant on the necklace; a smile escaped his lips as he raised his golden eyes to meet another crystal-blue jewel—it was Eugene's eyes.
He whispered, "Thank you, Eugene."
"You're always welcome, Lucian."