"Phone's ringing," Omega says, tapping furiously on his controller, eyes glued to the screen. "Babe, your phone."
"So get it," Alpha replies absentmindedly, just as entranced by his own efforts in the game, thumbs dancing out pure poetry on his controller's buttons.
"It's your phone," Omega points out.
"They'll call back, it's fine!" And then Alpha dies a gory death two seconds later. "Son of a bitch!" He snatches up his still ringing phone, and swipes to answer the unknown number. "What!" he snaps.
There's a pause on the other line. "Considering I'm calling with good news, I can only hope your mood is about to improve significantly," Terzo says, a laugh in his voice. "If you'd like to yell a while longer, I won't stop you. Let it all out, Alpha. I can take it."
All the fight drains right out of Alpha at just the sound of Terzo's cool voice, and he relaxes with a sigh, slumping against Omega, who puts an arm around him. "Terzo. How'd you get my number?"
"I told you I'd call," Terzo says, and Alpha can recognize a non-answer when he hears one. "I have good news. I spoke with the owner of your fine establishment, a lovely lady by the name of Yolanda. I explained your situation, and luckily, she's a romantic. She agreed to personally see to it that your schedule lines up with Omega's from now on."
"Dude, really? That's amazing! You're fucking incredible, Terzo." Alpha grabs at Omega, giving him an excited little shake, grinning wildly. While Omega can't hear the whole conversation, he can guess what Terzo just told Alpha, and it's like a weight slides off his shoulders. They've both been struggling the last few weeks, and just being able to work together will help so much.
"I...I'm just doing my job. I'm here to solve your issues, and get you what you want, that's all." Terzo may be brushing the compliment aside, but Alpha can hear the uncertain, shy pleasure in his voice, and it's making the instinct in Alpha clamor to heap Terzo with praise, to fill him up with knowledge of how good he is until the doubt in his voice disappears completely.
"You did great this time around. This is exactly what I wanted. Thank you for working so hard for me."
"Yes, of course," Terzo murmurs, a little dazedly. "Let me know if you need anything else."
Alpha wonders how long it's been since anybody gave him any positive reinforcement. If Terzo can slip into the pleasant, warm haze of happiness-coded fog with just a few compliments, he must be starved for approval. Poor guy.
For as quickly as Terzo had gone under, he's just as quick to surface from his dazed moments, clearing his throat a few times. "I have an appointment I'm going to be late for if I don't go now. I'll see you soon. When you have your transcripts."
"Yeah, man. For sure. I'll see you in a few days. Later." Alpha ends the call after Terzo's stilted goodbye, and sits for a second, just processing what happened. The idea of Terzo being starved for contact with a person doesn't fit with the cool, unruffled image he always projects. It's only now that Alpha is starting to see the holes in that persona. Something's up, and Alpha isn't quite sure what it is. But all his instincts are screaming at him to give Terzo the approval and care he deserves, and Alpha isn't inclined to disagree.
"You good?" Omega's worried voice snaps Alpha out of his thoughts. "You're just kinda staring blankly at the wall and if you're having a stroke, I probably should get you to the hospital."
"I'm good, Megs, I'm all good." Alpha tugs the controller out of Omega's grasp and puts it aside, pulling Omega's other arm around him until they're curled up together on the couch. "It's just...Do you ever think there might be something to all those old stories about scent bonds, and fate, and true soulmates? About how true soulmates are different, they complete each other, need each other, in a way other people just...don't. You believe that shit?"
"Well, yeah." Omega looks at him incredulously. "Of course I do. Alpha, I literally bonded to you the second I realized what the little butterflies were in my stomach when we were together. It took me a while to realize that's what it was, but I never wanted anyone half as much as I wanted you. I could tell it was the same for you."
"What? What do you mean?"
"Dude, come on. The way we've always been together, always had each other's backs? We've always been stronger together, better together. Filled out each other's missing pieces. What else could that be but true mates? It's fucking science. And you never even looked at anyone else after I confessed."
Alpha slips his hands under Omega's shirt, just to feel his skin, soothing himself with Omega's familiar warmth. "Until Terzo."
"Until Terzo," Omega confirms. "He's different. He's been different since the beginning. It's like...since I met him that first time, I saw something, some other piece that's still missing."
"And he's got it," Alpha finishes, knowing exactly what Omega's talking about. It had been the same for him, once he'd started paying attention, that day in the office. The second he'd gotten a good look of Terzo's pure, cool personality, something in him had responded. Somehow, he'd known, before he really knew. Now, it was just a matter of finding out if Terzo felt it, too.
