#anton valenosk

In which Alois meets Anton’s parents, and realises if he wants it, family and a second home filled with love are his for the taking.

Daily excerpt from secret oneshot: Anton had an arm around his shoulders, possessive and concerned, but he seemed more easy-going than some of the other alphas. Alois hated that too. He hated all of this. Everything about it felt like a bad dream, and he stared venomously at the black forest rolling by outside the window, wondering how this so-called “sister facility” was going to house them all, and for how long they’d be away from Hillview for. ‘I’m not paying for this,’ Alois muttered. ‘I know,’ Anton said. ‘I have a car, I could have driven us!’ ‘Yeah, I know,’ Anton said, his voice low. ‘But we had to move fast, and I didn’t want you driving stressed. Besides, finding somewhere to book into at this time of night would have meant hours of driving in the dark, and it’d also be hard for Faber and the crew to keep track of us.’ ‘I don’t like this,’ Alois said plaintively, hating that he was sounding like every single other omega in here. He shook his head and pressed closer, and his body made a sudden wrenching of its own, like it could sense the dislocation from the place Alois had been calling home for a few years now. He didn’t like it. He’d left his blankets behind, and all the ways he liked to nest, and his tablet; everything except his wallet. He just wanted to make the bus turn around and take them back. And he couldn’t. The scents from everyone else were making him frantic. Even with all the windows open, it wasn’t enough. ‘I’m here,’ Anton said steadily, easily. ‘Just think of it as an adventure.’ ‘I hate adventures,’ Alois said venomously into Anton’s shoulder. ‘That’s the spirit.’

‘They’re so happy,’ he said. ‘Your parents. It’s not an act.’ ‘It’s not,’ Anton said. He put his other arm around Alois’ back. ‘This is why we didn’t come for Wigilia, by the way, no matter what Dad says, it’s not happening. This is already a lot. But, Alois, the reason we’re here is I need you to know you can have this now. If you want. They love you. I know you’re probably not ready for the idea of basically having a new set of parents who want the best for you, who love you, but they’re here. They’ll accept you with open arms.’ Alois’ throat went tight, and he shook his head slightly. He couldn’t think of what to say. While he’d been here, he hadn’t felt once like he was being judged. Julia was friendly and kind, but not in a false way. Niko didn’t give Alois any odd looks and didn’t imply Alois was too old for Anton. They both let him – a complete stranger – into their house like he’d always belonged there. ‘It’s rather overwhelming, if you must know,’ Alois said against Anton’s arm.

In Albany, Alois took one look at the drab main street with its dull grey road and old brown and red brick buildings and sighed. ‘They can’t all be winners, I suppose.’ ‘You’re elitist,’ Anton said, bumping into him as they walked down the street. ‘I bet that restaurant over there is suitable for your impeccable tastes, good sir.’ ‘So you say,’ Alois said dubiously. Though the restaurant did look nice enough from the outside, and through the clear glass windows, he could see tasteful chandeliers and spaced out tables with lovely high-backed chairs. ‘Let’s try it. Will you… Will you choose for me today?’ ‘You know it,’ Anton said, leaning down to kiss his cheek. Two betas walked past and stared at them. And then, two steps past, Alois tried not to tense when he heard: ‘Christ, did you see his neck? They’re like animals, I swear.’

– Thanks to all the Patreon and Ream supporters for making this (and my other writing) possible!

(Also, casual extra bit of worldbuilding we already have - it's very convenient that most omegas don't have birth certificates so when they die from abandonment, they don't need have a proper funeral / be marked down in death records etc. Most are invisible citizens no matter what kind of lives they lead. It's why Faber works so hard to make sure omegas at Hillview get birth certificates - they tend to get treated better by hospitals and police once they have one, because death records then have to be kept. But for the invisible omegas, many are born, lead tragic lives, and then die, without leaving a trace or even the memory of a name).

‘Wait,’ Nate said, his voice changing, sounding breathless. ‘The back of your neck, oh my god. Oh my god.’ Alois reached to the back of his neck and didn’t touch it. Everything was still healing. He no longer had gauze on the bites that hadn’t taken, but the stitches had yet to be removed. ‘Oh, fuck,’ Nate said, his voice breaking. Alois was horrified to see tears well up in Nate’s eyes, a second before Nate covered his face and turned away. ‘Sweetheart, I’m fine,’ Alois said. ‘Forgive me for being terribly forward.’ He reached out and carefully placed his fingertips on Nate’s shoulder, half-expecting to be shoved away, even attacked. Instead, Nate made a choked sound and turned towards him, canting forwards like he wanted to lean in but couldn’t let himself. Alois stepped closer and carefully wrapped an arm around his shoulders, thinking that his scent was like the rain. Sweet, fresh rain. But he was clearly distressed, too. ‘I’m fine,’ Alois said. ‘I’m…happy.’ He smiled to himself. Yes, well, the stitches pulled at night, but Anton also carefully painted an antiseptic cream into the skin – avoiding the true bite itself – and held him close and said the loveliest things to him. ‘I didn’t know it would be like that,’ Nate said. ‘No wonder- No wonder it kills people.’ ‘But here I am, and I’m doing fine, Nate. See? So I’m not going anywhere at all, and we can be friends, if you like. I didn’t realise you were so worried.’ ‘I’m not,’ Nate said, his voice still tearful. Alois smiled ruefully.

– Thanks to all the Patreon and Ream supporters for making this (and my other writing) possible!