This Pretense

Chapter Ten: Victory

In Alfred's mind, the impossible had happened; he was happy, and when he wasn't happy, he was content. His life seemed to slowly fall into a perfect place with the greatest people. Arthur and Ivan got along well – at least when he was around (and really, that was all he could ask of two Alphas).

October was coming to a close and so was soccer season. It was the eve of their final game and Alfred found himself anxious. After this it was back to working out in the rec center gym; no more teamwork, tense moments on the field, or the near suicidal urge to prove himself to a group of men and women who could easily ruin his newfound happiness. He was excited and sad that it was ending, but overall he was relieved that it all had turned out so well, how one rushed decision could change his entire life.

"You seem to have a lot on your mind tonight, love," Arthur said, carding his fingers slowly through Alfred's hair. They were snuggled together on Alfred's couch, watching a sci-fi movie on pay-per view after eating at the Vargas' for a carb rich meal of pastas and tomato sauce. "Want to talk about it?"

Alfred's head was pillowed in Arthur's lap as he stretched across the couch cushions. "Mmm, just thinking about how much I love you." Arthur snorted and pinched Alfred's nose affectionately. "What? It's true you know. But other than that, I guess I'm just thinking about how awesome this last game is gunna be and how we're gunna kick some ass and then, well… I'm wondering what I'm gunna do once soccer is over." He gave Arthur a toothy smile. "I mean, when am I ever gunna see you in those shorts again? God I love your practice shorts."

"Oh do shut up, will you?" Arthur laughed softly, running his hand through Alfred's hair before leaning down to steal a quick kiss. "If I must, I'll wear them for you whenever you wish. I'd do anything for you, even if it means wearing those silly shorts for you." He bent for another kiss, this time taking his time to linger. "Mmm, but I should head home, love. I need to get my things ready for the game."

The Omega whined as Arthur tried to stand to leave. "No! Don't leave already!" He wrapped his arms tightly around Arthur's waist, burying his nose into the fabric of his mate's shirt. "I hate sleeping without you. I can never get warm enough – it's going to be winter soon! You can't blame me!"

Arthur sighed. "Alfred… I can't simply… well, you know how it is, and…"

"Yes you can! You can just grab some clothes – there's more than enough room in my closet – and nab your toothbrush and you'll be set!" They both stood up at this, albeit reluctantly. This was an argument they'd been having a lot recently, and the colder the weather became, the more Alfred begged. When Arthur didn't change his mind, Alfred pulled himself away. "Fine. Go home to your damn house. I'll just grab the spare blankets from my linen closet."

"Alfred, please don't do this. You know I would if I could."

Alfred huffed, crossing his arms over his chest to give Arthur a narrow look. "You're just saying that because you don't want to wake up an extra twenty minutes for a commute." He didn't wait for Arthur to reply, quickly latching onto his mate's arm with a tight grip. "Hey, fine, if it's gunna be like this then make a bet with me, okay? And no matter what you can't go back on it."

"Will it help you sleep at night if I do?" Arthur asked wearily, carefully prying Alfred's fingers from his arm to hold his hands instead.

"Yes."

The Alpha sighed, squeezing Alfred's hands in reassurance. "Alright. What's your wager, then?"

"Tomorrow, the soccer game – if we lose then you get to do what you want, live where you want, spend time wherever you want, but if we win, and you can be sure I'm going to be busting my ass so we do, you have to move in with me."

"Wha-what? That's absolutely ridiculous! Alfred!"

Alfred laughed, pulling away his hands to wag a finger at Arthur in a patronizing manner. "Ah-ah-ah! You said you wouldn't go back on it! So should I tell Coach that you're going to try and botch the game or what?" Alfred waited for Arthur's tale-tell sign of resignation – that slight drop in his shoulders and the long, breathy sigh that would come from his parted lips before finally looking Alfred in the eye and agreeing. He threw himself back into Arthur's arms, locking his hands behind his mate's neck as he kissed the man deeply. "Love you," he murmured between kisses, nipping on Arthur's bottom lip. "Mmm, I love you but you should go home now. I need to grab those extra blankets."

"Oh no, you can't do that now," Arthur said, chuckling as he pressed his nose into the crook of Alfred's neck to breathe in his scent. "Hnn, not when you start me up like that, you wicked thing." Alfred laughed cheerfully, squirming out of Arthur's arms to run to his bedroom with Arthur on his heels. Arthur supposed it was time he got used to waking up an extra twenty minutes early – Alfred corrupted him well enough without relying on silly bets and bribes.

And when he lay next to Alfred that night, holding his Omega close to his chest, shielding him from the nightly frost that drifted in through the cracks of windows, he knew that the transition wouldn't be a bad one at all.

All recreation games were held at community fields, the grass painted the evening before and tickets sold to excited Omegas and sport enthused Betas. Alfred breathed in the chilly air, stretching and bouncing in excitement. "Alright guys, this is it! Let's kick some ass!"

"Don't hurt yourself out there," Arthur said, setting a hand on Alfred's shoulder and letting his fingers linger against the Omega's neck before quickly pulling him into a one armed hug and patting him on the chest, prompting others, including Ivan, to join in their pre-game hype. "And hey, Peeters, don't forget to pass the ball once and a while!"

Emma laughed brightly just as they were all ushered out onto the field. There was an intoxicating adrenaline rushing through Alfred's veins as he stepped onto the grass, his cleats digging into the soil. He felt good – great even – and as he bounced in his spot on the field, he caught Arthur's eye and grinned widely. This was it, he was going to win this game and Arthur would move in with him and they would live happily ever after.

The game was a brutal one and the other team was just as competitive as theirs, if not more so. Alfred lost a couple shoving matches, was tripped once when he wasn't even dribbling the ball, and was benched for a foul after reflexively punching an opposing team member for snapping his teeth too close to his face. The crowd had cheered for him, so he didn't feel half as miserable as he should have as he sat on the bench.

"Did you really have to punch him?" Arthur asked him as both teams gathered around their coaches for the halftime break, the fans whooping cheerfully as the players took the time to swallow mouthfuls of water and listen to their coach's advice. These games weren't as popular as the professional ones, but it was an outlet for the communities and cherished by many.

Alfred shrugged and handed Arthur a towel. "He snapped at me – I meant to shove him, I swear." He laughed anyway when Arthur gave him an impassive stare. "We're kicking some serious ass though! Ivan, dude, I saw the way you scared the shit out of that Beta girl – a great goalie keeps them from even making the shot! Ha ha!"

"I wasn't trying to…" Ivan mumbled, shaking his head before crushing his empty cup. "Oh, Alfred, Arthur, I was going to be wondering if… if… Oh, no…" With that simple phrase, the whole team seemed to become engulfed in confusion and shouts of, "What's going on?" and "Get her out of here, she's not supposed to be here!"

Ivan pulled Alfred out of the fray, casually moving to body block him from the confusion. "Alfred, I thought you said you told Miss Monaco that you would not join her pack?"

"I did… a lot. Hell that's why I moved out here and – wait, why?" Alfred squirmed around Ivan to watch the chaos in front of him, only to find the team tense and watchful as Sophie pushed at Arthur's chest. "No…"

"You have no right!" Sophie was yelling as Arthur blocked her from Alfred, snarling and baring his teeth at the vehement woman. Arthur wasn't a terribly tall person, but he had the ability to make a person feel small with only his posture and a look with his acidic green stare, and Alfred could tell that Sophie was beginning to crumble under the pressure as she shoved at Arthur, glaring at his neck instead of making eye contact as her voice grew more and more pitched. "You shouldn't meddle in other people's affairs! I don't care who you think you are you can't steal Omegas from their Alphas so give me Alfred back!"

He felt Ivan grasp his arm as several pairs of eyes turned to him. "Wait, wait, wait! So let me get this shit straight," Lovino said, pushing passed their stunned teammates. He was still on crutches from his accident and was very bitter about the fact. "You," he said, pointing the knobbed end of one of crutches at Alfred, "Are an Omega? You mean this whole time? You're not a Beta?"

"Of course he isn't!" Sophie shouted, her voice broke and she took a step away from Arthur, who only rounded up on her again. "You – you all are so stupid! You can't tell me you didn't know when he went into heat! Or – or that he was unmated and – ugh! How? You've let an Omega play on your team this whole time! And he's m-"

Arthur's back went rigid. "Don't you dare call him yours, or so help me you'll wake up in a hospital," he snapped, pushing his face into Sophie's until she cringed involuntarily.

Alfred was shaking, the pure anger and tense fear around him made him want to crawl on the ground and roll over in defeat. He wanted to sit at Arthur's feet with his head ducked until the trouble was over, but he knew that that wasn't a viable option. The air was perfectly still and Ivan's grip dropped on his arm just as Sophie opened her mouth and said, "Alfred is mine."

In a split second Arthur leaped for Sophie, his long legs lashing out suddenly when Ivan grabbed him in the middle of his leap to tackle him to the ground. "Let me go, you fat arsed lummox," Arthur yelled, squirming and kicking against Ivan's weight. "I'm going to knock her teeth bloody!"

"Ah, I'm not thinking that's such a great idea my friend," Ivan said, coughing when Arthur kneed him in the side.

Sophie stood stock still, her hands covering her mouth as her shoulders began to shake with the shuddering of her breaths. "What the hell," Alfred mumbled to himself, breathing in deeply through his nose to try and gather what little wit and nerve he had left. Today was supposed to be one of the best days of his life, a milestone, a shining moment to look back on for the rest of his life; not whatever this mess was. "Don't you guys have a game to get back to?" he snapped at his team members as he walked passed Ivan and Arthur.

Coach Ludwig blew his whistle, startling everyone out of their dazed states of mind. "Alfred you have five minutes to talk to me privately; Arthur you're on the bench, everyone else get back out on the field – you too Ivan, go!" Slowly Ivan got off of Arthur, pulling the Alpha to his feet and pushing him to the benches, making sure to give Alfred space as he carefully approached Sophie.

"Hey… Sophie, don't cry. Sophie… Soraphine, come on." Alfred swallowed and then pulled the sobbing Alpha into his arms, tucking her head below his chin. She had finally broken down, and even though this was a moment he had prayed to see hundreds of times when he was younger, seeing it now was nothing short of saddening. "Please don't cry…"

"Wha-what am I sa-supposed to do now?" she sobbed, wiping at her eyes and sniffling pathetically. Alfred could feel Arthur staring at them, but for the moment he ignored it in favor of comforting the girl who used to be the only one who he could talk to about his problems, the only shelter he had from the unfairness of his life. "My-my mom is going to hate me – I… I can't just-just go back without you!"

Alfred sighed and pried Sophie away from his chest, rubbing her arms with a pitying look. "I don't see why not. You're an Alpha, right? Why don't you do what Alpha's do best? Be a stubborn bastard and tell her you said no."

Sophie chuckled hopelessly, the sound interrupted by a small hiccup. "That sounds more like you," she said softly. "I might be an Alpha, but I don't think I do a very good job at it. Sometimes I think you make a better Alpha than I do, and you're not even… like mom is."

"Well, everyone is different. You should find someone who gets that. I did, and Sophie, I wouldn't leave him for the entire world." He smiled, pushing a lock of stray hair back behind her ear. "But you should go now, alright? Now that they all know I'm an Omega, I'm sure I'm walking into a shit-storm. Ah! Don't apologize, they were going to find out eventually, and I'm sure a few of them had hunches."

"I see." Sophie wiped her face one last time, straightened her dress and gave Alfred a pursed smile. "I'm sorry – for everything. Tell your mate I said that too, okay?" She touched his cheek, patted it softly and then left the field with her head held high.

He sighed in relief, trudging back to the bench and sinking into the spot next to Arthur. His hand sought his mate's and Alfred smiled as their fingers tangled together, squeezing together for reassurance and comfort. "Hey Coach? You wanted to talk to me?"

Ludwig stared at them for a long moment, simply glancing between the two of them as he chewed on his bottom lip. "Warm up, both of you. You're going back in the game in five minutes."

Alfred paused, turning to look at Arthur before giving Ludwig a hopeful expression. "Really? I – I mean, you don't care about… about you know?"

"Jones if I cared about your genes beyond athleticism, you wouldn't be sitting there right now. You're a good player, even though two months ago you didn't even know what a soccer ball was."

"Yes sir!" Alfred said, jumping up from his seat. "I'll make sure that we beat these guys!"

Arthur chuckled, leading Alfred off to the side where they could stretch. "He has ulterior motives," he explained needlessly, leaving Ludwig to roll his eyes and return his focus to the game in progress.

"Ahh, hah, mmm I'm sure the whole team knows, ha, what we're doing right now."

Arthur bit at Alfred's neck, kissing the pinking mark before moving to a new spot. "Mmn, who cares? They can stew in jealousy because I have the best Omega in the world. So sexy and strong, hnn, and a great fuck."

Long fingers began to run up into his tee shirt, stroking at his skin and teasing every sensitive spot. "I'm… so glad that, uhn, I have so many good qualities." Alfred unbuckled his belt and groaned into Arthur's mouth as his Alpha pressed against him for a deep kiss. "Mmm, Arthur we're not… not even gunna make it up the stairs if you keep this up."

"You're helping." With every stair that they managed to climb, another article of clothing was shed until Alfred was in only his boxers, sitting on the second to top stair with Arthur between his legs. "Get rid of these things," Arthur mumbled, kissing the fabric just over Alfred's growing erection.

Alfred whined as Arthur pulled his boxers off slowly. He leaned back, the edge of the stairs digging into his bare back as Arthur's hot breath washed over his cock. "But the lube, auhh, it's in my room." Arthur didn't give him a chance to protest further and pressed two of his fingers into Alfred's mouth.

Arthur's hot tongue slid along the shaft of Alfred's cock, teasing the head before taking it into his mouth. Alfred's knees hit the walls in an attempt to spread his legs in the narrow staircase. He gasped around the fingers in his mouth before lavishing them as well as he could with his tongue.

"I want you to moan for me," Arthur mumbled as he took back his fingers and let them ease their way into the crack of Alfred's ass. "Lift your hips for me a tad… Now there's a lad." Alfred choked, shuddering and mewling as Arthur paid attention to his tight balls, licking their underside and nuzzling the base of Alfred's cock with his nose. Arthur eased his two saliva slick fingers into Alfred's entrance, taking his mate's cock back into his mouth and sucking. He wanted to hear Alfred squeal with delight, to moan and sob and choke on his name as he climaxed just for him.

"Arthur," Alfred whined, the heels of his palms biting into the wooden stairs and his head fell back with a thud. "Oh, god Arthur, I just want you to fuck me, please, please, please."

There was no verbal response to his pleas, but Arthur doubled his efforts, enjoying the way that Alfred squirmed under his touch and dug his hands desperately into his hair. His fingers worked Alfred open, teasing at his prostate until Alfred was sweating and mumbling nonsense. Arthur wrapped his free hand around the base of Alfred's cock and took in as much as he could, pumping what he couldn't until Alfred sobbed out some broken version of Arthur's name before coming inside of his mouth.

Alfred gasped and practically melted into the stairs in post-orgasm. "Hah, ah shit… I'm not… in heat right now. Ah shit multiple rounds sound so hard right now."

"Let me help you, love." With a small smile Arthur scooped Alfred up into his arms, making sure to keep his balance as Alfred leaned heavily into him. He carried his sated Omega to the bed, laying him on the blankets before pressing himself against Alfred and grinding their groins together. "Are you sure you don't want me to fuck you now?" he breathed against Alfred's sweaty skin, kissing his chest and lapping at his nipples.

"Yes, but ah, let me hold you. I want to hold you and we won the game and you're moving in with me and I just want to hold you, please."

Arthur's laugh was airy and touched. He buried his nose into Alfred's hair, inhaling his sweaty scent and cherishing it before kissing his love's face. "Only if I get to hold you in return," he said as he reached for the drawer that held Alfred's collection of lubricants, popping off the cap of the first one he felt to begin smearing lube on his cock.

The Omega wrapped his arms around Arthur's shoulders, one of his hands burying itself into the back of Arthur's hair as he began to push inside. "Ah – ah ohh! No condom?"

"Sorry, sorry," Arthur mumbled as he sunk in completely, taking a moment to wrap his own arms around Alfred's chest. "I'll pull out before I come, I promise."

They fell into a passion, a final release of all the tensions and worries and fears that had built up since the fateful day in the locker room. There could be no more secrets, no more hidden pasts or lovers, and as Arthur held Alfred, with Alfred's legs wrapped around his waist, he decided it wouldn't have it any other way. "I love you," he grunted out, listening for Alfred's whined answer before he pulled out with a jerk to come on the contracting muscles of Alfred's stomach.

"You don't have to finish me," Alfred mumbled. He was only half hard and it faded rapidly with his drowsiness. Arthur chuckled and wiped the semen from his lover with a sheet, tossing it off the side of the bed. "I'm sleepy."

"You had a busy day," Arthur agreed. He sat on the edge of the bed for a few moments, drumming his fingers against his thigh. "Come, let's get a shower and into something more comfortable."

Alfred groaned, pulling the blankets up to his chin petulantly. "But I am comfortable."

"Ah, but I insist!" Arthur stood up and snatched the blankets away, leaning over the bed to pinch Alfred's ear. "Come now love, if I'm to live with you, you might as well get used to my eccentricities. So, shower, hop to it."

The younger finally succumbed to Arthur's whims, reluctantly letting Arthur scrub him clean and dress him in his favorite baggy sweatpants and a tee shirt. "The bed is back upstairs," Alfred whined as Arthur led them down into the flower shop, flicking on the lights. He only wore his boxer briefs and a borrowed tee from Alfred, his pants from earlier in the day in his hand with coins jingling in the pocket.

"Just one request," Arthur said, going through the shelves and chilled fridges until he found a bouquet that he liked. "How much does this one cost?"

"Arthur the shop is closed." Even so, Alfred walked behind the register counter. "Uhm, the roses are starting to wilt so I guess it'll just be twelve, sound cool?"

Arthur pulled his wallet from the pocket of his trousers, pulling out at ten dollar bill before fishing for coins, placing them on the counter in a heap for Alfred to sort through. The Omega rolled his eyes but began pulling the proper coins from the pile, counting them out one by one and then suddenly pausing. "Arthur… what is this?"

Alfred bit his lower lip before holding up a simple golden ring. Arthur gave a nervous smile. "It's a ring," he said, clearing his throat as he leaned onto the counter. "For you, of course. The ring is for you." He coughed again and stamped his feet. "I – I'm not asking you to marry me, ah, it's a promise ring. It just… it means that well, you'll be mine as long as you wear it. That's all – not permanent…"

When Alfred didn't say anything, Arthur reached across the counter to try and snatch it away, but Alfred pulled his hand back. "I didn't think you would." A slow smile spread across Alfred's face as he let the ring slip down his finger. "Then I guess I'll just have to wear it forever."

He pulled Arthur into a honeyed kiss, the corners of his mouth upturning in happiness; because running away from home was easy. All you had to do was save up, and then just leave. Don't look back, don't second guess yourself, just completely immerse yourself into the culture and people of where you want to go. Don't regret.

But running away from yourself, that was something entirely different; something that Alfred had struggled to do every day. And now that he had found himself, and his love, and a life to love, he knew it was time to cast away his pretense and never run again.

- End -

Unimportant Notes: I hope you guys enjoyed this story! I'm really glad I saw it through to the end (and it even ended up being longer than I had thought). Thank you all very much! :D