"Young master!" called a boy who ran up to another boy who looked a little older than him who had just come home from school.
"Mike!" Daren ran up to little Mike and hugged him. "Were you waiting for me to come home?" he asked excitedly.
Mike nodded his head. "Yes, Mike is waiting for young master to come home from school! It feels so lonely without you, young master!" he replied.
"Then let's play! I'll ask my dad to buy us both a new toy!" said Daren excitedly.
Meanwhile, his older brother chuckled at the sight of the two of them, feeling like he had two younger brothers at once.
"Play carefully, don't fall like yesterday. I'll ask the maid to bring caramel pudding and cold chocolate milk for both of you," Aldrich said as he gently rubbed Daren and Mike's heads.
The two boys smiled brightly and started to play.
Flashback End
Daren's hand stopped as he was scooping his ice cream and his gaze stayed on Mike and Louis. He didn't know what was going through his mind at the time, but something seemed to be bothering him as he watched his best friend smile at someone other than himself.
'I know Mike is very friendly, Louis must have seemed happy to talk to him. Moreover, he will be the omega for Mike, I hope he won't hurt Mike's feelings someday,' he thought.
"Hey!" called Victor as he flicked his lover on the forehead.
Flick!
"Ouch, why did you do that?" asked Daren irritably.
"You've been quiet and daydreaming all day. What were you thinking, huh? Looking at the two of them, are you feeling jealous?"
"Jealous? Why would I feel jealous of those two?"
He rolled his eyes in annoyance, saying it was all too obvious on Daren's face that he was jealous of Mike being with Louis. Knowing that, he let out a long sigh.
"I don't know, I was just thinking that after Mike gets an omega. He'll definitely spend more time with his omega," Daren replied.
"But that's your life now, stupid. You think he didn't feel the same way when you were with me?"
Daren knew what his boyfriend was saying was true. Mike must have felt the same way. Felt the same loneliness when he was with Victor.
But still, he was only jealous as Mike's best friend because Mike had only been with him.
Instead of watching his jealous boyfriend, Victor invited him to go outside the cafe for a while. At least they could get some fresh air instead of keeping an eye on two people who knew each other.
Daren agreed, and they went outside for a while. They walked around the café, looking at other shops not far from the café. Daren finally spotted a pastry shop five shops away from the previous café.
"I want to buy some pastry, it smells so good. Let's go buy something!" he invited.
"We're watching the situation, not dating, you idiot. What if something happens?"
"Just for a little while, it won't take too long. Some pastries won't take much time!" Daren pulled Victor's hand to enter the pastry shop.
Resignedly, he could only follow his omega as he pulled his hand and went inside. But he had time to look around first before finally going inside.
Inside the pastry shop, Daren looked at the pastries displayed in the storefront with a hungry gaze. It was as if he could buy all the pastries and no one could stop him.
"The chocolate one looks good, the strawberry one too... Oh this lemon one smells good!" he said.
"So which one do you want to buy? There are so many here to choose from," Victor asked.
"That's it! There are so many, I can't decide!" replied Daren, making Victor roll his eyes.
On the other hand, Mike who was chatting with Louis felt so comfortable and happy. He then turned to the table where Daren and Victor were supposed to be, but they were no longer there. The table seemed to be occupied by another couple which made him feel confused.
'Huh? Where are they?' he thought in confusion while looking around him.
However, the two men were still nowhere around the cafe. Of course, this made Mike a bit worried that they were bored and had left him there alone.
It made him feel so bad that he sighed heavily. Louis, who noticed this, thought that Mike was bored with their conversation.
"I'm sorry, I'm not good at talking to people. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," Louis said.
"Huh? N-no, I enjoyed it. I'm not bored at all, really!"
"Then why do you look so lethargic?"
Fearing a misunderstanding, Mike said that he had come with two other friends and the two men had sat a little apart to keep an eye on them. But now they were both gone from their table. He was just worried about boring his friends.
Louis nodded in understanding and he was relieved that Mike was comfortable with their conversation. He felt the same way too.
"I-if you don't mind, maybe we can go for a second date," Louis said with a flushed face.
Mike who knew that immediately smiled and nodded.
"Alright, we'll go on a second date. Can I get your number?" he asked.
A smile appeared on Louis' face and they exchanged cell phones to give each other numbers. Louis enjoyed his strawberry cake happily, and so did Mike because everything went well.
But he was still worried if Aiden showed up, and he showed up at a bad time like when he was with Louis.
'What would Louis say if Aiden showed up and I couldn't even protect him against Aiden's pheromones? He'll definitely leave me because I'm a weak alpha for him,' Mike thought as he clenched his hands on his knees.
After almost two hours at the café, the two decided to call it a day and go somewhere else for their second date.
"Thank you for today. I look forward to our second date," said the omega with a cheerful face.
"Sure, I'll see you then, Louis," Mike said and watched the man leave in front of the café.
He was relieved that it wasn't as bad as he thought.
Not until he again heard the same voice coming from behind him, right in his left ear.
"Who let you go on a date? You are mine."