Berwald set his pen down on the little stack of paper and reached under his desk, rubbing a small area near his pelvis and giving a soft groan. The pangs in his stomach have been coming and going throughout the week, and usually they hit him before it's even noon. The internal hits only made coming to this dull workplace that much more unbearable, and at this point it's taking every ounce of his will to keep coming to this office and fill out paperwork and run in-building errands with his flesh wringing itself and causing what Berwald feared may be spikes in is body temperature.

But even willpower and self-encouragement aren't enough to get him through the day. Beads of sweat ran down the bridge of Berwald's nose down to the tip, and whatever temperature his body was in right now was hot enough to make him start panting. He slid open his desk drawer and dug around until his fingers touched a little plastic container. Berwald took out the orange tablet tube and frantically popped the cap off. He dumped two large green painkillers onto his palm and gulped them down dry, coughing a bit to work the tablets down his throat. He took a deep breath through his nostrils, picked up his pen, and wiped the sweat from his brow. Just thirty minutes, Berwald thought as he resumed writing. Just thirty minutes until the pills work. Please let the pills work.

Berwald shifted in his chair to lean over the files more. With his hand working quickly and smoothly to fill out the information on the paper and write out his signature, Berwald distracted himself enough that he easily ignored the trouble happening above his pelvis. Finishing the first paper on the stack, Berwald placed the file aside to work on the next one, but paused as knocking sounded from the door.

He placed his pen away and cleared his throat. "Yes?" He called to the door.

A coworker opened the door, much to Berwald's annoyance, and stepped inside. "Hej, Oxensteirna, I'm sorry to bother you, but I have some new paperwork for you to do when you're finished with the other one." He held up a manila folder with a stack of white paper so thick that Berwald sighed softly at the hours he know he's going to have to put into it. The man looked up and gave a sympathetic grin. "Sorry, friend, boss' orders."

"Ja, I know," Berwald sighed. He rose from his seat and walked towards the door with his hand out for the folder.

The coworker walked in to meet him. "Oh, and when you're finished with both of them, make copies and send this one to-!" The coworker stopped. A small grunt rumbled in his throat, and he had to swallow in order to be able to control it.

Berwald stopped in his pace as well. "What is it?"

The coworker blinked, his eyes darting around the room before settling back onto Berwald. "N-nothing, I just-" He tilted his nose in the air just a little. His nostrils twitched and made a nasally sniff. "-Um, do you smell something?"

"No." Berwald lowered his hand. He stifled a grimace as his pelvis started to hurt again; this was definitely too long for him to stand without his painkillers kicking in.

"Are you sure? You don't smell that at all?"

"What're you smellin'? I don't smell a thing."

"Ah, it's a weird smell. It's... pine cones and... coffee?"

Berwald pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "I had a cup of coffee an hour ago-"

"No, no, it smells like a weird kind of coffee; it's 'not real' coffee sort of thing. And the pine smell adds on to it. It smells kinda... Kinda nice."

Please, don't do this now, Berwald begged silently. He breathed through his nose again and closed his eyes briefly. He opened them again and said, "Okay, Adel, that's nice, but if you could just give me the files-"

"You have to tell me what spray you're using, it's nice," the coworker looked around in a daze, his cheeks taking on a soft red.

"Adel, please!" Berwald cringed and held his hand to his pelvis. It was getting worse by every second he forced himself to stand, and he can even feel his knees weaken under him. He breathed slowly and straightened up. "I can't talk now, just give me the papers an' I'll get ta 'em after the first ones."

The coworker raised an eyebrow, wondering about the sudden rushed behavior this usually-patient guy was exhibiting, until his eyes traveled down to the other hand Berwald had pressed to his lower abdomen. Both of the coworker's eyebrows rose up. "Oh. Ooooh! Heh, so that's what it is?"

"What? What is 'it'?"

The coworker glanced up at Berwald's face before concentrating on the area Berwald's hand covered. "Nothin', nothin'," he said. He came closer to Berwald, almost in a slow saunter, and held the folder out for Berwald to grab. When he grabbed the folder, Berwald could've sworn that he felt the coworker's finger brush against his palm. He was ready to ignore it and turned back towards his desk when the coworker said, "So, I guess it's your time of the year, isn't it? Yer mate must be super excited for you to come home."

"My what?" Berwald faced the coworker again and winced from the invisible punch his pelvis took. Damn, bad turn.

"Your mate." The coworker came close to Berwald, making Berwald step back and look around in discomfort and confusion. He took another whiff of the air around Berwald, and his eyes settled into Berwald's eyes. "What, are you telling me you don't have a mate?"

"Well, no..." Berwald replied. He backed up some more. What is with this man?

"Wow, can't imagine anyone passing up someone as attractive as you," Berwald's coworker mused. His head still tilted, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and gazed up and down Berwald's body.

"Ah, thank you?" Berwald turned and went straight to his desk, emphatically placing the folder on the desk and opening it. He leant over the files again, half trying to give the other man a hint, and half trying to not put too much strain on his upper body. He closed his eyes and rolled them behind his lids when the coworker simply went to his desk as well and sat on the edge of it.

"You know, maybe I can atone for the mistake of the men who passed up a good thing by maybe buying you dinner sometime? Are you free tonight?"

Berwald looked up and was about to give a firm, irritated "no" to get this man out of his office so he can nurse his pain in solitude when another coworker poked her head in the door. "Adel, you're needed in the main office," the new visitor informed him.

The first coworker gave Berwald a quick regretful look before getting off the table and walking towards the door. "Thanks," he said flatly, with a hint of a scoff in his voice. He stopped and pointed at Berwald. "Hey, you think about my offer, you hear?"

"I-" Berwald said as the coworker closed the door. He watched the door moments after, and bent his head back down to concentrate on the paper in front of him. He picked up his pen, held it on the white surface, and moved his hand to the back of his head to scratch it. What was that all about?

"Ah, man, I love checking out some honeys during heat season."

Tino gave Mathias a bemused grin before raising his cup of coffee to his lips. "That was kinda...random," he said. He took a sip of his water and grinned behind the cup.

"Yea, but don'tcha like it, too?" Mathias picked up the coffee pot and refilled his cup. He placed it back on the heater and leaned back against the counter. He blew on the coffee until it cooled and sipped it straight black, watching all of the workers filling in and walking out of the employee lounge, his eyes expertly picking out the Omegas in the group, and honing in more on the Omegas without a mate yet. "So many available flowers ready to be plucked, just waiting for a big, strong Alpha to swoop them up and carry them into bed!"

"Mm, I wouldn't exactly put it like that, but yes, the Omegas are pretty attractive," Tino said. "And so many are, ah, 'eye candy', but I kind of have my eye out for someone else already, when he gets in heat, that is."

"What, really?" Mathias looked down at his friend. "Already, huh?" He shrugged and went back to Omega-watching. "Eh, not surprising since it's you and all."

Tino raised an eyebrow. "Now why does it sound like you think it's a bad thing?"

"I don't! I honestly don't, well, except that it's not really safe, y'know?" He swirled his cup around and let his eyes roam around the room. "Competition will be pretty fierce between us Alphas, and if it wasn't for the fact that we're not allowed to get gritty in the workplace, we'd probably be biting each other's head off to get to our favorite choice. And then what happens if someone else took our favorite potential mate away while we were fighting to get them? That can happen to an Alpha, that's why I try to keep my options open."

"Wow, that was a pretty grim view, Mathias," Tino replied. He sighed and shrugged. "But I supposed it's true. Yet at the same time, I also kind of feel that the apple of my eye isn't going to go too far away; he doesn't seem to be that type of sub that gets easily snatched up by an Alpha after seeing some muscle or dominant behavior."

Mathias shrugged too and shook his head. "Maybe, but you never know. Omegas can and usually do switch up partners if the ones that want them aren't that interesting to them. I still say keep your options open, Tino."

"And it's no wonder you're so desperate to get any submissive mate that'll settle for ya."

"Huh?" Mathias snapped his head at the direction where the deep voice came, and smiled as Berwald walked towards them. "Berwald, hey!" He exclaimed with his arms wide open. He took Berwald into a hug as Berwald tried to avoid it and gave him a squeeze. "Okay, one: shaddup, I'm not desperate, two: Jesus, bud, you're sweating like a roasting pig, and three: how are the cramps, man? Letting up yet?"

Berwald shook his head and removed Mathias's arms from his shoulders. He wiped a handkerchief on his nose and stuffed it in his pocket. "No, not yet. I took some pills over an hour ago to ease the pain, but nothin' changed like it usually does. In fact, it kinda got worse when I left my office to drop off the papers. It hurts right now." He gently pat his pelvis and rubbed little circles on it. "My body does not do well around others."

"Well, then you should sit down and rest your body!" Tino moved to Berwald and touched the hand Berwald had over his pelvis. "I don't think it is wise to push your body when you're not feeling top-notch."

"Ah..." Berwald's hand stilled under Tino's palm, his own palm moistening and soaking the shirt in that one area that will definitely be noticeable with a dark blue damp spot. Yet the spot was not what Berwald was paying attention to. His breathing became shallow and difficult to do; his mouth dried, all of his saliva seeming to collect in his throat and form a choking lump that wouldn't allow any words to come out. He wanted to turn his hand around so that their palms can touch and he could lock his fingers with Tino's fingers and hold the other's gentle care as if it was a tangible piece of gold, but he couldn't even move his eyes up to meet Tino's, let alone move his hand to do anything else. All because of this simple gesture that only lasted for a moment as Tino removed his hand.

Tino smiled up at Berwald, but the grin on his face fell when he studied the Swede's face. "Wow, you must be feeling terrible! Your face is getting so red, are you okay?!"

"I- I'm fine..." Berwald forced out of his throat. When his voice came out a little too dry- and it must have, the way Mathias was standing away and pretending to stifle his snickering as if Berwald's reaction to Tino's presence was a joke- Berwald snatched up the coffee pot and a foam cup and poured himself some of the beverage before chugging half of it dark. He grimaced and silently wondered just how Mathias drinks the stuff like that.

"Uhm, Berwald?"

"I'm fine," Berwald repeated. He refilled his cup and sweetened it with coffee and creamer this time. "And I can't rest. I have to finish the census forms before I get more piled on, and it's going to get worse with this dingus trying to mate with everyone," he said with a jab of his thumb towards Mathias.

"Hey, someone has'ta to pass down our beautiful strong bloodline, and I don't think it's gonna be the prissy Alpha who didn't even get his first erection or fight yet!" Mathias retorted with a puff of his chest.

Alpha? He thinks Berwald's an Alpha? Tino raised an eyebrow and looked between the two men. He hesitated, debating whether or not it's in his place to say anything, when he spoke up, "Mathias, I don't think-"

And then his nose caught it. He stopped as his nostrils filled with a delicious scent that tingled his spine and went all the way down to his loins. He latched on to the scent, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply.

"Uh, Tino?" Mathias shared a questioning glance with Berwald and turned his eyes back to the Finn. "Tino, man, you're creeping us out, what the hell are you doing?"

Tino silently stepped closer to Berwald and pressed his nose into the other's shirt. He ignored the awkward air he was creating as he focused on the smell of coffee and pine that gripped him tighter and tighter.

"Tino, dude, stop doing that!" Mathias took Tino's shoulder and tugged him away from Berwald.

Tino sighed and opened his eyes, but they were half-lidded, his gaze becoming dark and smoldering. "Berwald..."

"Hm?" Berwald leaned back; that was not the type of physical contact he was hoping for from Tino.

"Berwald, I think... I think you're ready..."

"For what?"

"Tino, what the fuck is wrong with you-?" Mathias stopped, his nose twitching and nostrils widening. What he picked up was, as pleasant as it may smell, was oddly repulsive to him, like a hint of repugnance that warded him away from something that he shouldn't touch. And yet he inhaled deeply, and followed the scent to-

"Oh, hell naw!" He flung his coffee to the floor and took Berwald's upper arms, gripping so tightly that Berwald was sure that he was going to get bruises later on. "Berwald, goddammit, are you fucking kidding me?!"

"What?!" Berwald jerked his arms out of Mathias's hold, and gasped as the coffee spilled on his wrist. He bit his lip momentarily and closed his eyes, reopening them when the coffee cooled on his skin. "Ugh..."

Tino reached out towards him. "Berwald! Oh, no, are you okay?" he asked as he took the coffee-covered limb in his hands.

"Hey, back the hell away, Tino!" Mathias shouted. He gave Tino another shove, this one more forceful than the last time. "Stop getting fresh with my little brother!"

Tino jabbed a finger in Mathias's face. "Don't you shove me, Mathias! And I was only trying to see if he's okay after you made him spill coffee on himself! If you're going to control your brother like this, at least make sure he's not hurt!"

"He's my brother, I can very well do what I please with him! Including being sure gross Alphas don't try to fuck my little brother-!"

"STOP YELLING!" The command came out more like a guttural bellow, frightening even the bigger-looking Alphas in the room into jumping out of their skin. Berwald's nose was red and flared, his narrowed, hardened eyes fixed on the two men arguing in front of him. "Stop it! Both of you! Yelling like a couple'a hyenas ready to rip each other's throats out an' causing a scene! Everyone's staring!"

Mathias and Tino looked over towards the rest of the room, and groaned frustratedly at what they found. It wasn't everyone looking at the three; they were so busy with their own bickering that they completely forgot about the other Alphas in the room, but now that they remembered that they weren't alone, their spines tensed up with territorial fury as the other Alphas focused on Berwald and sent out their vibes hoping to get his attention.

"Ugh, come on, Berwald!" Mathias grunted. He grabbed Berwald's wrist and started to pull him away.

"Mathias, please stop grabbing my arm!"

"Yeah, let his arm go!" Tino ripped Mathias's hand away from Berwald.

"Didn't I tell you to fuck off?!"

Berwald moved quickly to set his cup down and hold the two men back. "No. Fighting." He gave them both a scolding look until they calmed down and looked down at their feet, both feeling shame that they were being put in their place by an Omega, an Omega in heat, at that. He stepped back, retrieved his cup of coffee, and watched them to be sure that they weren't going to attack each other before he relaxed himself. "...I don't know why you two are fighting over me, but I had enough. And I did not expect this much aggression from you, Tino.

"I only came for some coffee, and now that I have it, I'm gonna go back to my office and sit before this cramp gets worse... And make me sick." He turned on his heels and stormed out of the room with eyes following him, leaving the two Alphas to dwell on their shame like cubs shamed by their mother bear.

When the tension eased, Tino looked up at Mathias and asked, "So... he doesn't know that he's an Omega?"

Mathias shook his head. "Nope. He doesn't know. We all didn't know, honestly. We thought he was an Alpha with how intimidating he looked, or at least a beta."

"Wait a minute! No one in your family knew at all that Berwald is an Omega? How did you not know?"

"I told you, we thought he was because he was pretty intimidating-looking an' stuff!" Mathias gazed up at the ceiling and put a finger to his chin. "Although looking back, this would explain some of the weird ways he acted when I had beat him up or asked- well, demanded- for his stuff. Keh heh, the poor ass just couldn't say- aw, damn!" He tossed his head back and covered his face with his hands. His palms muffled the line of obscenities he was screaming. "Oh, shit, this is not good."

"What? What's wrong?"

Mathias stared straight into Tino's eyes as if Tino was clueless. "Berwald can't say no!"

"What?"

"Berwald can't say no, Tino! He's going to get screwed by everyone!"

Tino shrunk back with his mouth hanging open in disgust. "Wow, what a really kind thing to say about your own flesh and blood. I can see why you're Brother of the Year."

"No, no, no, dammit, Tino, that's not what I meant and you know it!" Mathias shook his head rapidly and stopped to rubbed the bridge of his nose. "What I meant was that Berwald cannot say no. Oh, my god, the guy's been such a damn doormat when we were little, he probably won't be able to resist if I'm not there to stop the creep trying to get in his pants, and- oh my god, how's he gonna know how to even take it, he's not prepared at all!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Tino exploded. "HE DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT SEX, EITHER?!"

"Well, yeah, but the whole building doesn't need to know that," Mathias smiled awkwardly around the staring faces, waving his hand to make Tino lower his voice.

Tino huffed and said, "Okay, I'm sorry, but still, Mathias, did anyone teach him anything at all?!"

"Um, no..." Tino opened his mouth and Mathias continued quickly, "But it was just that, well, we kinda had no one to teach us. Our ol' folks kept traveling and couldn't make time for us with their work, and every time I tried to teach Berwald myself what I picked up on the streets-"

"'Picked up on the streets' oh my god, Mathias-"

"-He'd get anxious and sick so I couldn't teach him without having him vomit all over himself or run out of the room. When he peaked physically- like getting tall and muscular with a deeper voice and shit- I figured it was too late to teach him anything and that maybe he can take care of himself. But he never showed any interested in obtaining an Omega when we grew up." He slumped and rubbed behind his neck. "And now I know why."

"And the heat he had didn't clue you in at all?"

"He didn't have any heat." Mathias held up a finger as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Ah, no, wait, he had these cramps ever since he was younger."

Tino shook his head. "And you didn't think anything of it?"

"Nope. Just gave him some pills and went out on a mate hunt. Hm... I did read back then that some of the painkillers offset pheromones in Omegas, but, yeah, didn't think twice of it because I didn't know that he..." He trailed off and shrunk sheepishly under Tino's stare.

Tino took a look at his watch and started towards the door, wagging his finger to make Mathias follow him. "So let me get this straight: neither one of you received proper education on this type of thing, not even a talk with your parents," he said as they began walking down the hall.

Mathias stuffed his hands in his pockets and shook his head. "No."

"And now we have my- an Omega running around oozing pheromones without even knowing what he's doing and since he doesn't know about sex or attraction, he can be swooped up and taken by anyone without knowing what's going on?"

"Looks like it."

Tino stopped. It was his turn to groan and rub his fingers on the bridge of his nose. "Oh, Mathias..." He crossed his arms and continued walking, mentally working out whether he felt pity for them both for not learning about mating between Alphas and Omegas as children or if he was frustrated at how Mathias probably messed Berwald for the long run."

"Uh, hey, Tino, you okay? You been quiet for a while..."

"We have to protect him."

"Huh?"

Tino turned sharply towards the taller man, glaring straight up at him. "We are going to have to protect him," he repeated.

"I know that, Tino, I was already planning on-"

"No, I mean seriously protect him, Mathias! You had him believe that he was an Alpha and that he can protect himself from all of the other Alphas, and we all know that that isn't the case when he can't even bring himself to kill a spider viciously. What can he do when he encounters all of these Alphas and experimenting Betas trying to get into bed with him and he doesn't know what's going on?"

"Yeah, you definitely have a point."

"Of course I do!"

"-Please, I really have'ta get back to work-"

Tino and Mathias perked their ears. "Was that Berwald?" Mathias asked.

Tino lifted his nose and sniffed the air. Although the scent was weak from distance, it was definitely pine and coffee that he smelled from earlier. "That's Berwald's scent. But where is he?"

"Adel, it's nice of ya to offer, but I am not free for dinner."

"Then how 'bout lunch? I can take you to this nice bistro in town, and it's not far. We can get a bite to eat, come back to work, or maybe..."

"Adel, no. Do not touch me there."

Tino stood on his toes and craned his neck. Moving his head this way and that to look through the busy movement of workers, Tino spotted the tall Swede yards away, and he was obviously trapped by the other man, the way he had to lean back on the table while that guy named Adel leaned his hands on the edge on either side of Berwald, leaving Berwald with no space to wiggle out of. Even though Berwald was taller, he seemed so small enclosed like that.

"Hey! Hey, you!" Mathias pushed past Tino and any workers that walked in his path when he spotted his younger brother, too. "Hey, get the fuck away from my brother!"

Their coworker, Adel, took one annoyed look at Mathias when he sensed the approaching man's rage and rolled his eyes. He went back to smiling up at Berwald and trying to earn his interest.

"Don't fucking ignore me, you bastard!" Mathias reached the two and grabbed Adel by his tie. He yanked it so that the other man was pulled away from Berwald's space. "Stop creeping on my little brother, especially when he told you he doesn't want to fuck you!"

"Mathias!" Berwald gasped.

"What, do you want to fuck this guy, then?" Mathias shook Adel for emphasis.

"No, I just-"

"Then this little turd better leave you the hell alone before I beat him senseless!"

"Oooor we can have him written up for sexual harassment and coercion," Tino gripped the hand Mathias used to yank Adel's tie and tugged at it until he released the man. "That way, no one gets fired for trying to protect someone," he continued, staring pointedly at Mathias. He pointed at Adel. "And you, Adel, should stop doing this. Do you honestly think you don't look desperate when you keep coming on to someone after they clearly and repeatedly refused?"

Adel puffed up, trying to glare Tino and Mathias down and show off his domineering capabilities to Berwald. But when neither of them backed down, he rolled his eyes again and walked off. "Whatever, I'll talk to you later, Berwald, when you don't have these two stalking you."

"Like hell you will!" Mathias shouted after him. He sneered and sniffed. "Better walk off, ya piece of shit," he grumbled.

Tino shook his head. Noticing Berwald backing away, he asked him, "Berwald, are you okay?"

"Ja, I'm fine, Tino," Berwald nodded. His lips pulled up into a small, grateful smile. "Thanks. Both of you, I guess." He looked at the papers in his hand and backed away some more. "Better go back to my office, I have a... lot of work..." he said.

"Oh, Berwald, wait!" Tino tried to grab him, but Berwald was way out of reach before he could. He let his arm fall down. "Oh, this is not good."

"You think?"

Tino glanced toward Mathias and sighed. "You know what this means, right? We're going to have to double our watch over him and keep him safe from all of these Alphas."

"Yeah, I know."

Tino nodded silently, keeping his eyes on Berwald as he walked away, thinking about the full day- probably the full month- they were going to have. He started walking, calling over his shoulder, "Let's get to it, then."

"Wait, now?" Mathias hurried after Tino. "Don't we have work to do, man?"

"I'm pretty sure this is more important than work, Mathias." He shot death glares at the Alphas he caught watching Berwald with hungry eyes as they passed them by; some of them threw their palms up with an awkward grin on their faces or turned away, others hardened their eyes and bared their teeth with a competitive aura as if they all had chosen Berwald. He gritted his teeth and balled his fists at his side. This was definitely more important than work.