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It was a frustrating thing, trying to plan a heist. Alex had a map of the museum spread out on their kitchen table. This had to be done perfectly, and perfectly by Morgan’s standards, which meant no powers. For anything. Hopefully, the map they’d obtained from the info broker was correct, seeing how they now owed her a favor. They were starting to doubt the accuracy, seeing how the museum was either lacking vents, or they just weren’t labeled, and they were pretty sure it was the latter. Though it could be the former since they knew their limits and had chosen one of the easier museums to steal from.
It wasn’t so much as they wanted the “Bust of Hadesias'', or thought that it would look lovely in Morgan’s apartment, as it was that they wanted to be able to provide the plans for a heist.
“Fuck.” They could feel the date looming over them. Twenty-four days. That’s how long they had to completely finalize the plans to give to the beta if they wanted to initiate courting with him before they hit the first stage of their upcoming heat. If not, then they’d have to wait until after, and who knows how much of their information would still be accurate.
They could ask one of Morgan’s minions to help them, but none of them could be trusted to not report back to him. Not to mention, they had already helped with the last heist that Alex was in charge of planning, even if that one had gone to shit. The omega started pacing, nervously tapping their pointer finger and thumb together.
“Okay, so if the museum closes at five, then most of the staff are out by seven.” They muttered, going over the plan out loud. “We’d want to eliminate the chance that anyone but security would be in the building, so we should be ready and there by eight. Since we’re parking away from the building, it’ll be better to be staked out nearby to watch for when Chance takes his smoke break, which, according to the broker, is always before nine and he turns off the cameras that are right by the door. The side entrance has a keypad and I still don’t know how to rewire those.” They paused just long enough to bend over to where the legal notepad on the table was to jot down a note. “My dad should know, so add that to the list of things to bring up this weekend. Currently, there are only two security guards who work the night shift on Wednesdays, so as long as we’re able to catch them off guard, then I can use either Taekwondo or Judo and we’ll be fine. The security office does have a way to dismantle the rest of the cameras, but it is a bit away from the side entrance. If we could use the vents to travel there, then that would be the best course of action, but they might not be large enough and the map doesn’t have them labeled.”
The omega stopped and groaned. They were going to have to go to the museum to actually scope it out, weren’t they? The things they do for love.
~~~~~~~~~~
The farm was filled with quiet sounds of life, from the faint animal noises outside to the music coming from the radio on the kitchen table, to the rustling of pages of a book being turned. The familiarity of the environment brought comfort to the omega, no matter how much they tried to deny it. Alex and their mom were at the counter, shoulder to shoulder, next to the stove, both wearing safety goggles and aprons. The former top-tier alpha villainess had a knife in her hand, for once not using it on a human. There were a variety of vegetables on the counter, two of each kind.
“Any good cook needs to know how to handle the food that they’re using; one of those things is knowing how to cut them properly. Now, first, onions. We’ll be slicing them. You start out by cutting the onion in half. To do this, you cut the top off.” She demonstrated on one of the onions on the counter. “Then, you place this flat side on the cutting board and make sure to cut through the root end. Next, you need to peel it. When chopping, you need to make sure that the flat side is on the cutting board to help prevent it from slipping. Curl the top of your fingers slightly so that your knuckles are flat and chop with the blade resting against that flat part. And, that’s how you slice onions! It’s your turn. Show me what you’ve got.”
Alex took the other onion and slowly began cutting it, using precision in every movement. Honestly, it wasn't too bad. Definitely not as bad as they had imagined when she had told them that they couldn’t use their powers to gain the knowledge.
As they gradually continued their slicing, they could feel their mother watching them. They glanced over and saw that her red slitted eyes were focused on their face.
She leaned up against the counter. “How come you’ve never taken interest in cooking until recently?” They paused in their slicing.
“Well, I mean, umm,” they trailed off mumbling. The omega could feel their shoulders coming up to their ears. Fuck. That was basically admitting guilt to the only woman who knew all of their tells.
“What was that dear?”
They forcibly relaxed their body and turned their focus back to the onion. They only had one half left to slice. It would be fine. They added a lilt to their voice. “Have you ever tasted Morgan’s cooking? It’s-”
She cut in. “Yes.”
They turned and looked at her. She had a neutral expression on her face, giving away nothing. Their brows furrowed in thought. They knew Morgan was close to their parents, but, “When did- You know what? It doesn’t matter. Anyways, he’s just so good at it without even trying and I want to surprise him.”
She brought her hands up to cover her mouth and let out a gasp. “Oh! Do you know what this means? Frank, honey.” She ran to the doorway that led to the family room, and, holding onto the doorframe, leaned in to call to her husband sitting in his armchair, reading. He peered up over his glasses. “Did you hear? It’s happening. Our child is getting ready to propose to Morgan.”
She sauntered into the room and sat down on the edge of his armchair. She put her hand on her husband's shoulder, and he placed his on top of hers“Isn’t this so exciting?”
Alex put down the knife and onion and rushed in after her. “What! No, mom! Well, I- kind of. I mean- I just want to start courting him.”
The two parents looked over, almost simultaneously. Their mother raised a brow, a disappointed look on her face. “Wait, are you not already courting? I mean, you told us at Christmas time that you two were already together. “
They internally cringed. Whoops. They had forgotten about that minor detail. They held their arms out in front of the placatingly. “No, mom, I mean-”
She held up a finger, silencing them. “And besides, you never asked us for permission to initiate courting.” With that, she rested her chin in her hand and leaned slightly forward in expectation.
What? They scowled, “Mom. I’m an adult. I don’t have to ask your permission to start courting someone.”
She waved a hand dismissively. “Oh no, we don’t care if you court someone without telling us, but you didn’t ask us permission to court Morgan. Honestly, that should’ve been the first clue for us that you were scheming.”
“Mom!”
Their dad took his hand off of hers and closed the book he had been reading, setting it aside. “Well, I mean, she’s got a point. I think it’s wonderful that you’re finally putting effort into a relationship.” He looked up again at his wife, his partner in every aspect. “Oh honey, do you remember back when we started courting?”
The sweet smile she directed towards him was enough to give anyone cavities. “And how you stole that car just to impress me?”
“Oh yes, you were just radiant and I knew right then that I wanted you as my partner in life.” He turned his head to kiss her hand where it still rested on his shoulder and gazed lovingly up into her eyes.
“Frank.” Her voice was soft and her other hand lifted up to her chest, resting above her heart. The smell of cinnamon and pears grew slightly in the room.
Alex cleared their throat; good to see that nothing changed since they were in elementary school. “Not to interrupt, but, Dad, could you teach me how to rewire a keypad?”
He looked over at Alex, a knowing look in his eye. “Ah, I knew that there was something you would need from me! Is this for whatever you have planned for Morgan?”
They nodded. “Yeah, I’m planning a two-person heist. Except, I still haven’t learned how to do most of this; I don’t have the skill set that I need.”
“Excellent, that is definitely something that Morgan would enjoy. Good choice. Now, I may not have been a top-tier villain, but I am quite handy, which Morgan appreciates.” He stood up and started striding toward the front door, raising his pointer finger in a declaration. “To the shed! Let me show you what I know.”
Alex’s mom snapped and he was suddenly back in the armchair. “Not yet, honey. Alex and I need to finish making these sauteed vegetables. Our child still needs to learn how to win Morgan over in the kitchen before you can show them how to win him over on a heist.”
Alex was in for a long weekend.
~~~~~~~~~~
There was a clink as Morgan set his glass down. The dinner had gone great and Morgan seemed pleased. The omega took a deep breath. It was showtime. “Are you free this Wednesday? I could use some help with a museum heist.”
Morgan sat, gaping. “You need my help? You need my help? Can’t you just walk in and rip the door off its hinges? What do you need my help for?”
“Well, I think that it would be a good experience. You know.” Alex’s throat felt dry and their palms sweaty. They fisted their hands into the table cloth in their hands. There was no going back. “Just the two of us. I thought that it could be a good way to start out a new chapter of our lives, together.”
They glanced up. Morgan was smiling at them. Their heart skipped a beat. “That sounds amazing, we’d be a bestseller.”
They let out a shaky breath and pulled out the papers that had the plan on them. “I will need your help with rewiring the keypads. I asked my dad to show me, but I still couldn’t get it. Even after an hour.” They pulled their chair from across the table to right next to him. “Good, okay, so here’s what I’m thinking.” They continued, with Morgan listening intensely, latched onto their words, eyes never wandering from where they were explaining the entire time until they were finished.
They twirled the pen in their hands. “So, do you think it could work?”
There was a pause as Morgan thought over the plan. He smiled at them. “You know what? I think this actually might work out. I’m looking forward to this.”
He accepted the courting offer, most likely, but there was one way to make sure that he understood. “Could I- Could I scent mark you?” They had been waiting for this for a while.
“Sure.” Not the most enthusiastic of responses, but they knew that, as a beta and with his family being the way that they were, it had probably been a while since he had been scent marked. Wanting to start it off easy so that they didn’t overwhelm him, Alex reached over with a wrist so that they could swipe it once over his neck and wrist glands. That would be enough for now. Their inner omega was satisfied for now that their bond had been acknowledged.
They had time to work up to an actual scenting session.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sirens blared in the distance. Morgan and Alex were racing back to the truck, the statue bust secure in Morgan’s grasp. They rounded the corner and scrambled to open the doors. Morgan lay the bust flat in the back seat on the pads that they had prepared beforehand before getting into the driver's seat.
“We really should park closer next time!” Alex called over to the other, hopping into the passenger seat. As soon as the door was closed. Morgan was speeding off.
“You know what, this was actually really fun. Thanks for inviting me. It was nice doing a heist with a friend.”
The omega paused, the last word repeating in their brain. Friend. Friend. Friend. They reached out a hand to grab the beta’s arm. “ Morgan, what are we?”
Morgan glanced at him for a moment before returning his eyes to the road. “What?” His voice was bewildered.
Alex let go of his arm to gently tug on his hair. “Are we friends? More than that? What do you want? I don't know, I thought I knew, but apparently, I don’t.”
Morgan’s grip on the wheel tightened, his knuckles white. He gritted his teeth. “Alex, this is kinda random and we’re trying to escape right now. Maybe it’s not the right time or place.”
“Look, I get it! You don’t actually like me. At first, I thought that maybe I was reading too much into things and that you flirting with me was just a you thing, but then I thought that maybe you did like me back. But you literally just friend-zoned me in my courting offer. I get it and I won’t make any more advances on you, but please don’t make this any harder for me.”
Morgan yanked the wheel and they went down an alley that was not a destination on their map. The truck jerked to a halt when he slammed on the brakes. Once they came to a stop, the beta turned to face the omega. “Courting offer? When did you give me a courting offer?”
They looked pointedly from him to the statue bust in the back seat. “Morgan. I planned this heist for you . In your way of doing things. As something that just the two of us could do.”
“I thought that it was a proposal to become business partners?”
Alex felt it as their soul left their body. This clueless man. Business partners. They pinched the bridge of their nose and gestured around. “Morgan. I literally asked my mom to teach me how to cook so that I could make you food that tasted good and wasn’t materialized. Not to mention that I asked to scent you when you were leaving.”
The lost look on his face grew with each word that came out of their mouth. “Alex, I don’t know how alpha or omega courting works. I only know how betas court each other, and even then only barely. From what you just described, they’re not at all similar. I just didn’t want to ruin our friendship because I could never tell if you were really interested in me or not.”
“Of course I was interested in you. But, you have an alpha sister. Who courted an omega. Successfully, I might add. How do you not know about omega courting rituals?”
He threw his hands in the air. “I was never taught about them! My family is very conservative. As a beta, they didn’t think I would need to know about them. I thought you weren’t interested in me.”
“That’s stupid.” They stated, matter of factly. Everyone should be taught about courting rituals and the signs of someone being courted, if not for respect, then for their own safety.
He barked out a laugh. “It kinda is, isn’t it?”
“Well, then, we’re starting your lessons right now.” Alex unbuckled their seatbelt so that they could turn fully to the beta. “Scenting. I asked you to do this because I want others to know that I am interested in courting you. This is reserved for family members and courting partners. With this knowledge, can I scent you?”
They watched the minute changes in Morgan’s expression as he thought over the implications. His throat bobbed in a swallow before he nodded. “Yeah, I would like that.” His voice was slightly raspy.
They started to reach over but hesitated. They were a bit too far away to reach all of the locations. Morgan, having been observing the omega since pulling over, leaned down to move his seat back and raised an eyebrow, gesturing at his lap. Alex nodded and clambered over the seat to straddle his lap. Alex peeled off both of the white scent patches they had worn for the heist. Bergamot and jasmine started to fill the truck. Morgan inhaled sharply and grabbed their waist. They took the scent glands on their wrist and started to mark Morgan on pivotal locations, starting from the top of his head, and moving down, glancing over the neck glands, which resulted in a slight shiver from Morgan, before continuing, light strokes along the shoulder and down the arm. They did this several times before they felt less jittery. They braced their hands on the beta’s shoulders before leaning down so that their neck glands touched for just a moment before straightening back up, eyes slightly hooded and lightly purring.
Morgan had a slightly glazed look on his face. Whoops. They might’ve gone a bit too far on his first scent-marking session. “Now that that's sorted out, can we go out on an official first date sometime? This one doesn’t count because apparently someone didn't know that it was, in fact, a date, or a courting present.”
Morgan shook his head as if to clear it. "Oh shit, the heist! You planned it! This was supposed to be our first date?”
Alex rolled their eyes. “Yes, you idiot. Do you really think that I would go through that much effort for anyone?”
Morgan rubbed his thumbs where they were still located on Alex’s waist. “Okay, okay. How about this? Since you planned our first unofficial date, I'll plan our first official date.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal.” They leaned down and placed a small peck on his lips.
“So,” Morgan began, “you got your parents' help? I know you didn’t know how to rewire a keypad just a few weeks ago. I might have to thank them.”
They scrunched up their face. “Don’t. They’ll be insufferable about it.”
He smirked and Alex could feel themself melting on the inside. “No more than you would be.”
The omega patted the betas chest twice before awkwardly trying to climb back over to the passenger seat. “Alright, that’s enough from you. Let’s get this statue back to your place. I thought it would look nice on the table at the end of the hallway.”