GABRIEL #9
Blue nods. "I agree with that assessment.
Getting that kind of result in two months is…
quite surprising." He suddenly looks at me, like he has some unexpected conclusion or maybe a suspicion, but then he bites his lip and turns his gaze to Marlow again, adding, "That’s the one and only reason I decided to tell you about it at all.
Despite the risks, it might be worth it. "
I rub my temples, feeling a slight pulsing in them, this is all very crazy for me.
"Marlow, I know I’ve been a terrible brother this past year, I—"
"Gabriel, stop." Marlow lets out a breath. "You’re about to be a father. Of course you were building your life. I have to fight for my own life now. And I’m accepting Blue’s offer."
Silence settles over the room. I look at him. Even under the hospital blanket, I can see how thin he is, almost gaunt. His face is hollow, his eyes look bigger somehow, and there’s something desperate in them.
I let out a breath and nod.
"You’re right. We all have to fight for our own path.
If you feel ready to take that risk, I’m not going to stand in your way.
But this… what you did," I make a meaningful gesture toward the machines around him, "it was too much, Marlow. Our parents are elderly, they suffered greatly… You could’ve come to us and told us what you were going through instead of doing something like this, breaking their hearts… "
Marlow squeezes his eyes shut, and tears slip out from beneath his lashes.
"No one knows what it feels like unless they’re inside my head.
No one seemed to understand… like, what do you mean?
You’re an alpha, why don’t you just stay one?
That’s your nature. Dad always got really tense whenever I even brought it up.
He dreams about grandkids, he wants me to find an omega and start a family… "
"Dad’s kind of obsessed with that, don’t worry about it. He’s always like, ‘so when do I get to spoil my grandkids?’ but life doesn’t always go the way we want."
"Maybe now, when your baby is born, some of that pressure will come off me… and I do get it, I really do. I want a child too. Just not as an alpha. As an omega."
There’s a moment of silence. I notice Blue unconsciously touching his stomach, that small swell that hints at something new in our lives, and I feel a flicker of excitement.
To be honest… I secretly share what my dad always talked about too, that desire for a family, for having kids, for grandchildren, for being surrounded by people I could love and help find their place in the world.
I sigh and force myself to look away from Blue.
"The important thing is that you’re alive, Marlow. Please, before you ever do something like that again, talk to Blue. He always finds a solution."
Blue glances at me with a hint of amusement.
"I appreciate your faith in me, Gabriel…
" He gives me a small smile, then glances at Marlow. "I’ll try to arrange access to that program as soon as possible. I know one of the doctors there, Dr. Lee. He used to work at that unfortunate facility, the same one where Fenn Drax was employed. The new director, Mr. Gomez, wanted charges brought against him, but I handled it so we parted on good terms. Nothing damaging went on his record, and he was very grateful. I think he’ll help us get you into the program. "
"Thank you," Marlow says, almost under his breath.
"But first, give yourself at least two weeks to recover, because you look like hell, and I assume you’ll want to make a decent impression if there’s going to be, you know, a pairing with someone…"
I mutter it with a grimace.
When we say goodbye and leave Marlow’s room, I feel a wave of relief, even though I’m still worried about him.
But my attention shifts to Blue. He looks exhausted, and every now and then he yawns.
My parents come over to us again to thank Blue, and my dad can’t help but ask about the pregnancy, how it’s going, how Blue is feeling.
I can see he’s desperate to hear something good after a night like this, and Blue gives him that, assuring him that thanks to our TM Bond, the pregnancy is progressing exactly as it should.
Later, a limousine with Gerard pulls up outside the hospital. We get in and head out, and during the drive I notice Blue’s eyes starting to close.
In a final burst of effort, he murmurs,
"You know what? I just texted Dimitri. He knew Director Flanegin better than we did. He replied that he’s heard from another contact of his that Flanegin is now working for… wait for it… Welrun Corporation!"
"Oh really? Do you think his spying on you was… corporate espionage? Like they were paying him to monitor what you were doing?"
"Who knows. The fact that their Alpha Activation program turned out to be so explosively fast, as they went straight into the testing phase, might suggest something like that. I’ll look into it when I have a moment…"
I sigh but don’t comment. I’m fairly certain this isn’t the first time someone has tried to steal Blue’s ideas, but now isn’t the time to talk about it.
I can see the sleepiness creeping over him, getting deeper with every second.
By the time we reach Blue’s tower, he’s barely holding on. I lift him into my arms and carry him to the elevator, and he slips into a deep sleep.
I walk into the penthouse and lay Blue down on the bed, then pull the covers over him, and right then I hear the sound of a text message.
I glance at the screen. It’s from Veyron.
"Hey man, what’s going on with Marlow? I’ve been worried about you guys."
Veyron always liked Marlow, even though Marlow kept him at a distance like he did with everyone, so I know the concern is real.
I text back quickly.
"He’s okay. Blue used a specialized treatment and pulled him through, but it got really bad for a while…"
"Man, that’s a huge relief. It sucks it got that far, but you never really know what people are dealing with, and he’s super secretive. Listen, I’m actually two streets away from Blue’s place. I picked up something during a big summer sale and I want to drop it off."
That catches me off guard, but why not.
"Sure. Blue’s asleep, but I’m up. You can come by."
Ten minutes later, Veyron steps out of the elevator carrying… a massive plastic-wrapped package.
I stare at it, stunned.
Through the wrapping I can see an overwhelming amount of deep sapphire color.
Grinning, Veyron walks into the bedroom.
His energy hits me right away. He seems unusually excited, his copper curls practically glowing, his bright eyes almost lit from within.
"Don’t tell me that’s what I think it is… a nesting set!?"
"Sure it is!"
"You do realize Blue doesn’t nest? He never went through that phase, you know, growing up…"
Veyron stops mid-step, but still sets the package down on the floor.
"Man, I didn’t know about any of that, sorry.
But when I saw that color, I just had to get it.
It was like something grabbed me by the back of the neck and dragged me straight to the checkout," he says with a light laugh, like he’s not bothered by the awkwardness at all, which is honestly so very much like him.
I sigh.
"Yeah, okay, fine. I’ll figure out some way to explain it to him. You know, like a clumsy joke, an awkward gift… from an undereducated relative." I force out a dry smile, because I genuinely have no clue how I’m supposed to explain this to Blue.
But Veyron already seems checked out of the conversation. He walks around the giant sapphire-colored package and heads toward the couches.
"I’m seriously glad everything turned out okay with Marlow," he says, scratching the back of his neck lightly.
"Doing something like that, damn… I’ll admit I had some rough days too, especially last year.
Only now am I finally crawling out of that hole.
But even back then, something that… extreme never crossed my mind.
Thankfully a lot has changed lately," he mutters with a strange expression, one corner of his mouth twitching like he’s about to smile.
And at this point I already know he wants me to pry, and I let out a huff.
"Alright, spit it out. What changed? Don’t tell me this is romance-related stuff."
"Well, how do I even put it…"
Veyron’s youthful face spreads into a wide, helpless grin.
He has that kind of beauty that makes him look like some young Apollo, with those curls, that bright energy around him, that easygoing aura that always made people instantly comfortable around him. Omegas especially were drawn to him, which I envied hard.
"Come on, talk. If I remember correctly, during college it was Josh, then Brian, then Martin, then Adam, then Stephan, then Georgie… and sometimes all at once. Didn’t you used to say you preferred casual arrangements? So what changed?" I ask in a teasing tone again, which Veyron completely ignores.
Instead, he straightens up a little and answers with surprising shyness.
"That’s only because I never met anyone who actually blew me away. You know how I used to have endless crushes on my professors, but nothing ever came from it… aside from a couple of casual fucks during office hours."
I gape at him.
"You’re telling me you actually fucked some of your professors?"
Veyron giggles.
"Hell yeah. But obviously it was during my last year, once I knew I couldn’t get them into trouble," he says with a helpless laugh.
I shake my head in mild disapproval.
"Honestly, I can picture it," I mutter.
Veyron has this natural ease with people, plus the kind of face that makes people stare at him and throw compliments.
And then there is the ridiculous range of his hobbies. Perfect flirting material, honestly, along with his Renaissance-man personality and the way he connects with people so effortlessly, it’s no surprise he never struggled to get omegas’ attention.
Sometimes I was even annoyed by it.
But at the same time, not once during all those years did I ever see him truly in love, taking someone seriously, introducing anyone to the family…