Book of One-Sh!ts

[Alhaitham x Kaveh] But...I'm a beta?

"It's said that once you fall in love with your destined one, you will learn to smell their special scent and become fated lovers," Kaveh read the book out loud in the tavern. "Do you believe this shit? What is the use of fairy tales like this if you don't fall in love at first sight?" 

"Well, what if you meet your destined lover but they turned out to be someone horrible? Maybe it's to give you a chance to find someone else," Tighnari offered. "It's a more hopeful story than the other fated mate tales." 

"If they were your destined lover and you don't like them, how are they your destined lover?" Kaveh asked. 

"People change over time. Perhaps they have yet to become your destined lover which is why you cannot smell them," Alhaitham offered. 

"I didn't expect you to believe in this," Kaveh frowned, tapping the book. 

"I'm offering another opinion to keep the discussion going. I didn't say whether I believed it or not," Alhaitham replied. 

"I guess it doesn't matter if it's true or not. All of this fated mate fairy tale nonsense only applies to alphas and omegas, right?" Kaveh sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I'm a beta so I guess I'm destined to die alone." 

"This book says nothing about alphas and omegas," Alhaitham picked it up to skim through. "Even if it did," Alhaitham closed the book shut, "you're relying too heavily on fairy tales to find someone you care for. Shouldn't you start first by not holding yourself up all night working?" 

"Enough with the nagging," Kaveh groaned. "What about this then... what do you hope your fated lover smells like?" he asked, grinning. 

"Hm," Tighnari crossed his arms as his ear twitched. "I think I would want them to smell like something comforting or familiar. Maybe like the forest after a heavy rain?" 

"That's very abstract," Cyno noted. "I don't think it would matter to me what they smell like. I don't pay attention to things like that." 

"Hm," Alhaitham grabbed his chin, "as for me, mine smells like the sun. No, I suppose that isn't a smell but a feeling. A warm stone to take a nap on, something like that," he tried to explain. 

"I guess that makes sense," Kaveh nodded. "Wait a minute!" he slammed his hand down on the table. "You said 'smells' you clearly said 'smells'! You have a destined lover? Who is it? I've never seen you with anyone!" Kaveh grabbed his collar and pulled his face close, glaring at him in hopes of getting information. 

"In my case, it's unrequited." 

"But, you're destined," Kaveh's eyes welled up with tears. "It's destiny! What's the point of the stories if it's unrequited?!" 

"It may be just a situation where the other party is dense to their feelings," Tighnari offered and gave Cyno a look. 

"Yes, unfortunately, that is the case," Cyno sighed. He wasn't talking about Alhaitham's situation though. 

"Who is it? Who do I need to beat some sense into?" Kaveh huffed. 

"I think I've had enough of this for one night," Alhaitham stood up. "I'll go pay for my tab." Kaveh tried to grab his arm to make him stay but he swiftly moved his hand out of the way. 

"Wait, Alhaitham! I want to know! Who is it!" 

...

"Alhaitham?" Kaveh knocked on the door. He always had a habit of holding himself up in the room with books every time he went into rut. "I made you some tea and I brought the suppressants. Do you want me to bring them in for you?" He was a beta so it shouldn't matter if he saw an alpha in rut, right? Kaveh wasn't sure about the particulars but he did know Alhaitham always liked to be left alone. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have tried something like this but ever since that conversation... Kaveh's felt bad about Alhaitham's unrequited love. 

Kaveh opened the door to see Alhaitham leaning up against a bookcase. He was sweating terribly. 

"Do you want some tea?" Kaveh stepped closer and put the tray down. Alhaitham picked up the cup but his eyes were too out of focus and his hand shook. The tea spilled all over the place. 

"I'll help," Kaveh grabbed the cup, unaware of the fact he placed his hands over Alhaitham's. He took the cup to Alhaitham's lips, shocked to feel how warm he was. "You're burning up! Is it always like this?" Kaveh held his hand to Alhaitham's forehead. 

"Just as I thought," Alhaitham muttered, closing his eyes, "it's a feeling." He leaned into Kaveh and collapsed on the ground. He shifted to rest his head on Kaveh's lap. "Let me nap a while..." 

"I thought alphas were supposed to go crazy and pounce on everything when in heat," Kaveh stared at Alhaitham sleeping soundly. He played with his hair since he didn't have anything else to do. "Do I not count because I'm a beta? If I were an omega, would I be able to help ease your pain?" 

"Alhaitham, I know I shouldn't, especially since you already have a destined lover," Kaveh leaned down to kiss his forehead. "But, it's really hard to force myself to hate you all the time," he blushed. "Geez," he sighed, resting his forehead against Alhaitham's, "how many books did you try to read while in this state? You smell like antique..." Kaveh looked around. That couldn't be right. Just a few days ago Alhaitham moved all the old books into another room for research he was doing. 

"Wait!" he gasped, covering his mouth. "Does that mean I've spent the past few years complaining about book smell when really..." 

...

"Are you feeling better?" Kaveh asked while making tea. 

"Mhm," Alhaitham replied. "It ended a day or so ago but I'm groggy." 

"I'm sorry," Kaveh handed him a cup of tea. "If your fated mate was an omega your life would be a bit easier, wouldn't it?" His ears turned red as he said this. 

"Alpha, beta, omega, it's all nonsense," Alhaitham took a sip. "If two people care for each other, what does it matter?" 

"I'm sorry," he apologized again, covering his mouth with his fingers on his cheeks to hide some of the blush. 

"What is it this time?" Alhaitham sighed. 

"I've been complaining about how many books you own and how much they smell but it wasn't the books..." Kaveh glanced at Alhaitham's face. "I'm sorry that I thought your scent was annoying...I'm a beta so I'm dense to things like pheromone smells." 

"You... can smell my scent?" Alhaitham placed the cup down. He ran his hand down his face and sighed deeply. "But, you hate it. I should've known," he looked at the floor, "you hate being in love with me."   

"No! No, no, no, that's not it!" Kaveh grabbed Alhaitham's arms before he could walk away. He clutched them tightly. "In fact, now that I know it's your smell, it changed! That feeling thing you were talking about, I get it now! It's, uhm, it's like..." His eyes darted around trying to find the right word. "Home!" 

"Stop panicking," Alhaitham moved his hand to Kaveh's hair, brushing it back behind his ear. "It's okay. Whether you like my scent or not, some part of you loves me, right?" 

"All of me!" Kaveh insisted. "I love you, Alhaitham!" he closed his eyes tightly as he said it because he didn't want to see Alhaitham's reaction. 

"Likewise," Alhaitham replied. "All of me loves you, Kaveh," he said, giving him a kiss.