All in all, Galen had been right that about the press not having anything to go off of. After one or two articles, the mainstream media didn’t have much to say about the Former Crown Princess anymore. Nevertheless, it seemed to have become a perennial point of small talk amongst all sorts of people. Everyone had their own theory about what had happened, and the longer they went without any real news, the weirder the had gotten.

That evening, August cooked a green curry especially for Galen and put all of it aside for him. Galen happily accepted the offering, and the two of them went back to their life of peaceable coexistence as if the power outage had never happened. August made progress on his classes and Galen started playing a new online game, and they exchanged polite small talk when they crossed paths in the kitchen or the gym.

August had learned by now where the Galen he was living with diverged from the one in the public eye. Despite being a gourmet chef, the Former Crown Princess wasn’t a particularly picky eater. Furthermore, he almost never fussed over his appearance in private, letting his roots grow out, keeping his hair in a claw clip, and flopping inelegantly wherever he sat. Understandably, Galen chose to be silent more often than not, but he also made an effort to treat August fairly, spending his own money on groceries and the house.

Galen maintained a certain distance from August, but he didn’t want to act coldly or cause ill will. He understood August to be an affable if somewhat self-conscious person who made an effort to be kind to people. He would often return misplaced objects he found around the house, and he always left on time for his classes. However, he always seemed slightly ill at ease, as if he waiting for something to happen, or there was something on his mind. Occasionally, he would say or do something that seemed clearly flirtatious to Galen, but he never seemed to be aware of his actions or their effect.

The next time August needed treatment, it went much more smoothly. Galen conscientiously trimmed his nails beforehand, and they waited together for the effects of the inducer to start. August couldn’t help but watch the process with fascination. Galen shivered and leaned forward, a small noise escaping his mouth. His face flushed and his eyes misted over.

These changes concerned August at first, but then Galen stretched, arched his back, and tilted his head at a coy angle to look at him. The hair tucked behind his ear had fallen loose as the Omega smiled at him and licked his lips. After that, August and Galen cooperated to complete the marking, and this time there was no lingering awkwardness between them the next day.

August was beginning to feel comfortable in their routine. He cooked, went to school, studied, talked to his friends, and called home regularly. Omitting any mention of Galen in his life outside the house was getting easier, and sharing space with Galen was even beginning to feel natural. He learned to ignore the rumours about Galen, and started focusing more on his university life again.

Galen was also starting to relax. Even though he couldn’t fully fathom August or what he was thinking, he trusted him to be kind and act in good faith. Furthermore, he had developed enough of a routine that it was starting to feel boring. He wanted to do something to shake things up, so he decided to float the idea of having his parents over for supper.

“Sure,” August said, taking a break from his weights, “I mean, they’re some of the only guests you can have over, right?”

“Mm, they can be a little hard to get along with, so I’ll invite them over when you have evening class. That way, they can get to know you but don’t have time to grill you or anything,” Galen thought out loud.

“Uh, that sounds like a good idea. Are you going to cook?”

“Yeah, I’ll have to. I’ll just do something simple that I know papa likes.”

On the evening Galen’s parents came over, August did his best to clean up his appearance, even if he was only meeting them for a few minutes. Galen’s father was one of the top military personnel in the Astral Empire, and his mother had been renowned as one of the most glamourous Omegas of her generation. Not to mention that August’s relationship to Galen was… probably not what one’s esteemed parents would hope for their darling Omega son. On the other hand, Galen himself was not half so intimidating as his reputation would imply, so maybe August was worried for nothing.

When he heard Galen greeting them at the door, August got his class supplies ready and carried his bag down the stairs to meet them. Galen’s father was a good head taller than him and significantly more muscled, despite his age and peppered silver hair. When he shook August’s hand, he didn’t seem to know his own strength, and August had to hide a grimace. To his side, Galen’s mother was a fair bit shorter than Galen, with delicate bones and clear skin. She was wearing a pair of opera gloves, and politely explained that her hands were currently very sensitive, so she wouldn’t shake.

They asked him a few questions while Galen played host. “So, have you lived in the capital your whole life, then?” the father asked.

“Ah, no, I moved here as a teen,” August said.

“And you’re in school now? What about after that?”

“I, uh, haven’t decided yet.”

“What about the military? That’s what most Alphas do.”

At this, Galen interrupted with a breezy tone, “that’s a stereotype, papa. Mum, how’s the sanctuary rejuvenation going?”

“It’s going fine,” his mother replied, before directing her attention back to August, “Some friends and I have been fundraising for a rare species breeding program, but I don’t supposed you’d have any interest in that.”

“Well you’ve been going through an ethics review, August studies philosophy, so he might be interested in that,” Galen added.

At this, Galen’s mother rolled her eyes. “It’s all red tape,” she huffed.

“So it’s a lot of bureaucracy, then?” August did his best to say something.

Fortunately, Galen’s mother seemed happy to launch into a long ramble about the approval process, environmental assessments, and the like, until August had to leave for class. He said his goodbyes and breathed a sigh of relief once he was out of the house. They seemed nice, if unapproachable.

Inside, Galen scowled at his parents, hands on his hips. “Well, you could have been nicer.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Galen’s mother replied, “he seemed fine.”

“Doesn’t have a very strong grip,” his father added.

Galen performed an exasperated sigh before returning to the kitchen to check on the ham. His parents were used to the cut-throat social politics of the elite noble and military circles, so naturally they treated every introduction like an enemy assessment. The fact that they didn’t actually have anything negative to say about August suggested, however, that the meeting had been successful.

His parents followed him into the kitchen, unable to keep themselves from commenting on this or that feature, where they stored what foods, and how clean they kept the countertops. Galen pulled a pineapple ham out of the oven to let it rest, and turned around to find his father holding August’s medication in his hand.

“Papa, what are you doing! That’s August’s. Put it down,” Galen explained, almost grabbing the prescription out of his hands.

His father put it back down and apologized, “I was just curious what he was taking.”

“it’s for his immune system or something,” Galen tried to brush it off. Naturally, since his parents knew about his arrangement with August, they also knew about August’s illness. It didn’t surprise him that his parents were curious, but it wasn’t really his place to explain it, either. “Why don’t you and mum sit on the couch? Supper’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

As his father plopped himself down in Galen’s usual spot, his mother turned to her son and asked, “Before I sit, can you show me your house system? Your father and I are looking to replace the one at the old cottage, and it’s about this size, so I was thinking of just buying whatever you’ve got.”

“Sure,” Galen said. He left the kitchen and led her down to the basement to take a look at the storage room. She asked him a few questions and he did his best to answer them, then she copied the model numbers onto her comm. By the time they went back upstairs, the ham was ready to eat.

Supper passed calmly, and with many compliments to the chef. Galen enjoyed feeling so much like his old self, still listening to his parent’s stories and supplying his own. He reminisced with them about Alexander, and asked how the Emperor and Empress were doing, and told them about his newfound journaling hobby.

At the end of the evening, as Galen was walking them to their vehicle, his father turned to him seriously and said, “This was great Galen, we’re happy to come over anytime…”

Galen could tell from the look on his father’s face that he had more to say. “But there’s a but?” He supplied.

“Look, Galen,” His father sniffed, “you look really good tonight, better than you have in a while,” his father smiled proudly, but it didn’t last long, “But you’re living with a nobody who’s using you, so if you ever need anything—”

“August’s not a nobody, you just met him,” Galen cut him off, “and the arrangement’s mutual. I’d love to have you over again sometime when you all can talk properly.”

“Sweetie, your father just wants the best for you,” his mother came to smooth it over. She put her hand on Galen’s arm as a comforting gesture, and Galen grabbed it and squeezed it back.

“I know, and I love you both,” Galen replied. Aside from the years he was married, he had lived his whole life with his parents, and it was a little bittersweet to know that he would probably never go back to his childhood home or the old summer cottage. Even if they could be overbearing, he was glad they’d come to visit.

Galen hugged them both, then stepped back and said, “Have a quick drive back.” Moments later, the gate closed behind their vehicle as it disappeared somewhere Galen couldn’t go.

He took a deep breath in and thought about what his father had just said. He’d known his parents didn’t like his arrangement with August, and that they probably wished the Emperor had done more for him. Maybe only Galen himself fully appreciated that the royal family’s hands were tied, after everything that had happened with Alexander and Johannes.

He checked his comm. August would be getting back soon. He went back inside to clean up the dishes and wait for him.

 

A few days after Galen’s supper with his parents, August started to suspect he’d come down with a cold. That wasn’t uncommon for him, so he warned Galen to keep his distance, and did his best to wait it out. The morning after that, he noticed that the area under one of his armpits was distinctly red, and he started to get a bad feeling. It was the kind of bad feeling that sometimes ended in hospital tests, but not always. In fact, it usually didn’t amount to anything at all except paranoia, so he tried to put it out of his mind.

The next day, however, things quickly became unmanageable. August looked in the mirror and saw a series of tender red circles along the sides of his neck, underneath his jaw. When he lifted up his arms, he found that the red spot from the day previous had transformed into more of the rash, spreading from his armpits. It didn’t quite itch and didn’t quite hurt, but he knew that the circles would if given enough time. August took a deep breath, and stared at himself in the mirror. He slowly finished getting dressed, counted himself lucky that he didn’t have class that day, and went to call his doctor.

Downstairs, Galen was enjoying his post-breakfast lounge when he heard August talking to someone through his comm. “Okay, I’ll ask him,” he heard August say as footsteps approached the stairs. Galen could tell this must involve him somehow, so he met August halfway up the staircase.

“Okay, I’ve got him here. Do you want to explain?” August said, acknowledging Galen’s presence and putting his comm on speaker mode.

Galen looked up at August from his position on the step below him, and could immediately see the rash on August’s neck. It didn’t quite register until the doctor started speaking to him. “Mrs. Astral? Are you there? For some reason, August’s disease is flaring up. Can you smell his pheromones?”

Galen grabbed August’s shirt, and pulled it to his nose as he leaned in to smell. He could detect a trace of body heat on the fabric and the smell of detergent, but there was no hint of August’s earthy and sweet pheromones. He let go of the shirt and stood up straighter before reporting his findings.

“Hmm…” the doctor said, “it seems then the problem is more likely with the immunosuppressants than with the marking or the pheromones.”

Galen couldn’t tell from the tone if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but the doctor’s next words gave him some sense of direction.

“For now, you should redo the marking and lower the Alpha pheromones to the maximum extent. After that, August, you should come to the hospital where we can control the reaction more easily.”

With that instruction, Galen and August looked at each other. August seemed tense as he replied to the doctor, “Okay, I’ll make sure the hospital tells you when I get there.”

“Yes, of course. Don’t panic too much; the reaction you described is slow, so you’re not in any immediate danger. Mrs. Astral, you too, understand?”

“Mn, of course, thank you,” Galen said automatically. He didn’t really understand. But he knew what he had to do to help, and naturally he would do his part. He started pressing August back up the stairs even as August was ending the call with the doctor.

August was herded all the way to Galen’s bedroom before he said anything. “Sorry for the inconvenience,” he apologized as he was shepherded inside. Going into heat so soon was probably not a good thing for Galen’s health.

Galen darted around August and made a beeline for his inducer. “Oh it’s my pleasure,” he said, the medication now clutched in his hand. Galen sounded like he was responding to what he’d said, but the script he was following didn’t seem quite right.

“Uh, you heard what the doctor said, right? I don’t feel great and it’s pretty annoying, but they’ll stop the reaction at the hospital and I’ll be fine.”

“Of course,” Galen sat down on the bed and pulled off his shirt without putting down the inducer. He tore the cap off the pen, revealing the fine needle. He tossed the cap in the direction of his wastebasket and missed.