Ethan tapped his fingers against the meteorite watch on his wrist, listening to the ticking of the second hand.
The door creaked open, and a shadow in gray-blue approached. "Not busy today?"
"No, not really. What brings you here?" Ethan took the lunchbox Noah handed him. "Is it cold?"
Noah's warm hands pressed gently against Ethan's cold cheeks, then circled his wrist slightly, rubbing softly.
"It's fine." Noah allowed Ethan to touch him, like a cat being petted.
"I still need to go to the hospital later this afternoon."
Ethan pinched Noah's smooth face a couple of times, a faint smile curling his lips. "Now, it's warm."
"Is it for your help at the hospital?" Ethan arranged the chairs side by side and pulled Noah to sit next to him.
"Mm, they need your pheromones to assist with induction."
As soon as Noah heard the mention of pheromones, he recalled that he had wanted to confirm what his scent really was—was it really the smell of oranges? He hadn't expected it to be confirmed in this way.
Seeing that Noah seemed like he wanted to ask more, Ethan unscrewed the lunchbox. "I'm free this afternoon. As your lover, your Alpha, of course, I'll accompany you."
Noah's heart skipped a beat at the words. My lover, my Alpha, such a wonderful Ethan is mine.
"Did you sometimes skip meals before, as Sam said?"
"Today, I only told my secretary not to prepare lunch because you were coming. Who would have thought that it got spread around and turned into me skipping lunch today?"
Ethan chuckled softly, understanding that they were just concerned about him.
"What about before we were together?"
Noah felt a sudden curiosity about Ethan, someone he hadn't known before.
"Occasionally, when I was too busy, I'd be so focused that I didn't even feel hungry. By the time I finished working, I was already past the hunger."
Ethan tilted his head slightly, as if reminiscing. "Of course, society didn't think much of alpha inhibitors back then. They believed only weaker omegas needed them."
Alpha inhibitors were drugs developed for the alpha susceptibility period, later renamed "susceptibility agents" to distinguish them.
"I didn't agree with that. The alpha susceptibility period makes them impulsive and violent, displaying behavior completely opposite to their true nature. Since there were no laws to control it, what I could do was research related drugs and promote them widely."
"When omegas go into heat, their pheromones can cause social unrest—it's a crime. But when an alpha marks an omega during their susceptibility period, they aren't punished. On the contrary, the omega becomes dependent on the alpha's temporary mark."
"It starts out as coercion, but under the influence of physiology, it turns into a ridiculous 'mutual affection.' Who knows, it might even become a so-called 'romantic tale.'"
Although Noah was also an omega, as a lower-grade omega, he subconsciously resisted anything related to being omega.
He often thought that, aside from the blood proving he was an omega, most people would likely mistake him for a beta.
No developed glands, no pheromones or heat cycles, and he was bigger than most omegas.
Listening to Ethan's words, Noah finally understood why there were so many omegas in Ethan's company.
As a benefiting alpha, Ethan used his own gender as a starting point, thinking practically and selflessly for omegas, working for their well-being.
Noah stood up and pulled Ethan's head to his chest. "You've worked hard all these years."
Opening an unknown path, only those who blazed the trail knew the hardship and suffering involved. Constantly refining and adjusting, all to make that path smooth and wide.
"Thank you." Noah, as an omega, expressed his heartfelt gratitude.
Ethan didn't respond with words; he just tightened his arms around him.
There were still two hours before work started.
"Where do you usually nap?" Noah asked.
They couldn't just keep hugging like this, could they?
Ethan pointed to the closed door. "There's a resting room over there. Why don't you go in and rest? We'll head to the hospital together when the time comes."
He seemed to suddenly remember something. "Send me Emma's address, and we'll pick him up together."
"He has something to take care of, so it'll just be the two of us this afternoon."
Ethan, of course, didn't like having a third wheel. Immersed in the joy of the two of them together, he hadn't noticed the slight awkwardness in Noah's tone.
"Then go rest. The sheets are changed every day."
Noah glanced at the large bed inside. It was big enough for two.
He also noticed the sofa outside—there was no way it could fit Ethan, who was 6.2 feet tall.
Noah poked his head out from the resting room. "How about we sleep together?"
The moment he said it, Noah wished he could swallow the ambiguous words back.
"The bed is really big, and the sofa out there is really small."
Ethan immediately understood what Noah meant and didn't think anything else of it.
"Are you concerned about me sleeping on the sofa?"
Noah really was concerned. If the place they slept wasn't comfortable, how could it be called rest?
"Mm, I don't want you to make yourself uncomfortable."
The soft voice felt like a heavy blow, striking Ethan's most vulnerable spot in his heart.
"Then let's sleep together."
Noah was a good sleeper, lying flat in the bed, with only his head sticking out from the covers.
At first, he pretended to be asleep, but his shallow breathing couldn't fool Ethan.
Later, Noah must have been too tense in the morning or the blanket was just too comfortable, because it didn't take long before he actually fell asleep.
Ethan couldn't sleep, though. Even though they were just lying in bed, chatting, it was still a kind of shared intimacy.
He watched Noah, unable to get enough of him.
From his messy hair, full forehead, delicate eyebrows, the crescent-shaped double eyelid marks on his eyelids, to his thick lashes like raven feathers, high nose bridge, rounded nose, rose-pink lips, and delicate chin—he examined every detail.
Again and again, he looked at him, as if trying to carve every little detail into his heart.
When the alarm rang, Ethan quickly pretended to be asleep as he saw Noah's eyelashes tremble.
The sound was quickly interrupted, and Ethan could clearly feel that Noah had gotten up.
Then, as if he'd been woken up, Noah slowly opened his eyes. His clear gaze looked nothing like someone just waking up.
"You're awake. Let's pack up and head to the hospital."
Ethan naturally had the documents for the afternoon sorted out. After they dealt with the hospital matter, they'd take them back to the office to work late.
At the hospital office…
"Long time no see, Dr. Will."
Dr. Will affectionately patted Ethan's shoulder. "I didn't expect your alpha partner to be you. Your pheromone purity is much higher than what we have in the database."
Noah didn't expect them to know each other.
"Yes, I still need to trouble Dr. Will with my boyfriend's situation."
Dr. Will waved his hand. "Now that I know it's you, I feel more at ease. It shouldn't be a big problem, but we'll need to verify with facts. Come on, let's head to the omega examination room."
Noah and Ethan followed the older man.
"You seem to know Dr. Will quite well?"
"Do you remember what I told you at lunch?"
Noah nodded. Of course, he remembered.
"Our company's research lab invited Dr. Will as a theoretical advisor and technical consultant. Everyone knows he's an expert in omega pheromone secretion."
"In reality, he also specializes in human pheromone secretion, and he's very knowledgeable and authoritative in the study of alphas. He supported my research a lot back then. We've become good friends over the years."