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There were unspoken rules about crushes and there Isaac was, breaking all of them. He could blame himself but that was too much responsibility so he blamed the object of his affection. It was easy to pin it on Stiles—the way he acted, the way he looked, the way his brown eyes seemed to be anything but brown like he did it on purpose.
Crushes weren’t usually a big deal outside of grade school but this particular crush was a big deal, because of who Stiles was and because of who Isaac was. They were coworkers and those types of romances were forbidden by the owner. They attended rival colleges and that was social suicide. And, to top all of it off, they were both omegas and that was against their very biology.
So, Isaac watched from a distance. He couldn’t do anything but watch. Watched as Stiles laughed, watched as Stiles’ full lips smirked, watched as a random alpha customer slipped Stiles her number on a receipt.
“Oh,” Stiles said, lips still frozen in a smirk as he grabbed it, folded it, and placed it in the back pocket of his very tight skinny jeans. “Thank you, I’m flattered.”
“No pressure,” the she-alpha said, donning a matching smirk. Then she winked and left the coffee shop with whatever hot drink she ordered.
Stiles gave the other omega a side-eye and a tiny smile, and Isaac wanted to cut his own heart out. Surely that would be far less painful.
*
“Alright, what’s going on with you?” Cora snapped out of nowhere, suddenly looking up from her homework and glaring at Isaac with a wrinkled nose and pinched eyebrows.
Isaac’s friend group was having a study session and the rest of their heads snapped up too, faces ranging from annoyed to concerned. There was solace in knowing that the annoyed-looking ones, Cora and Derek, were alphas reacting to acidity in Isaac’s distressed omega scent. The other two, Erica and Boyd, were betas, less susceptible to subtle emotional changes in scents.
“Nothing,” Isaac lied and shrugged. Hoping that they would drop the subject, he brought his literature book closer, pretending to read the passage he had been trying to read for the past half-hour.
“You’re a terrible liar,” Erica declared.
“Come on,” Derek added, “you can talk to us.”
Could he actually tell them about how his crush—an omega co-worker from their rival college—was currently out on a date with an alpha?
“Isaac, please,” Boyd said. The alpha rarely talked but when he did, it was important and he meant every word.
“I—” Isaac sighed, rubbing the nape of his neck “—I don’t even know where to start.”
“Anywhere,” Cora said as she placed a hand on Isaac’s.
The touch made him finally look up again. Taking in their sincere expressions, he decided to tell them a half-truth. “My crush is on a date right now.”
“Since when do you have a crush?” Derek asked but he was barely heard over Erica’s squeal.
“Who is it?” Erica’s grin was blinding as she fished for gossip like she usually did.
Isaac frowned. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you guys.”
“Sorry,” Cora said, glaring at her brother and Erica; only Derek looked regretful.
“It’s okay.” Isaac closed his book with his free hand. “I’m not his type anyway so I better get used to pining like a love-sick fool.”
“How do you know?” Boyd’s face was neutral but there seemed to be a hint of amusement in his dark eyes.
“It’s hard to explain,” said Isaac because he sure as hell wasn’t going to go into detail.
“But,” Cora arched an eyebrow, “did he ever specifically mention his type to you?”
“Well—no—I—”
“So how do you know?” the she-alpha asked.
Isaac huffed. “Okay, fair, but it’s not like I can naturally bring up that sort of conversation.”
“Sure you can,” Derek said with an encouraging nod, “all you have to do is bring up your type—which is him—and see how he responds.”
Boyd had a rare teasing grin as he added, “Or just straight-up ask him out.”
“Go get him, tiger!” said Erica with an excited pump of her fist.
They were all embarrassing yet Isaac couldn’t imagine his life without them.
*
“How'd the date go?” Isaac asked the next morning during a terribly slow part of the shift he shared with his crush.
Stiles’ eyes didn’t leave the counter he was wiping down but he let out an awkward laugh, saying, “To be honest, I’m not that fond of alphas. I only went on the date cause dad said it’d be good for me.”
“I get that,” Isaac said while trying to contain his excitement so it didn’t steep into his scent. “More of a beta man then?”
“Err.” Stiles quickly glanced at Isaac before looking away to put the rag on its hook. “Not really, if you catch my drift.”
Isaac was about to start vibrating out of his skin. “I do—I feel the same way.” Maybe he felt the same about one omega in particular but he kept that part a secret.
A beautiful blush tinted Stiles’ porcelain cheeks as his scent oozed a mix of curiosity and attraction. “Always been like that?” he whispered despite the nearest ears being a handful of customers on the other side of the cafe, but Isaac didn’t blame him, the topic was taboo at best.
“No,” Isaac admitted, lowering his voice as well. He took a second to lean against the cleaned counter—closer to Stiles—and worried at his inner cheek as he tried to think of his next move. “I started liking this person, and at first, I didn’t mind that they’re an omega, but now, I realize I like that too.”
“Oh, I see.” A neutral statement on its own but it was followed by Stiles licking his bottom lip—a nervous tick Isaac had known about for ages.
Nervous? Why was Stiles nervous? Unless…
“It’s you,” Isaac blurted out in a hushed tone before he could lose his nerve, “the person I like, it’s—it’s you.”
“Oh.” Stiles’ perfect lips formed a perfect ‘o.’ Then he blinked aggressively, once, twice, thrice, like he was trying to reboot his brain.
Isaac winced and blamed his friends for their advice. “Sorry, pretend I didn’t say that.”
With the stereotypical amused tilt of his neck, Stiles asked, “What if I don’t want to?”
Now it was time for Isaac’s brain to reboot.
In his silence, Stilles stepped forward, leaving no room for personal space before saying, “I like you too.”
If they weren’t in public, Isaac would’ve been cheering. If they weren’t in public, Isaac would’ve been hugging Stiles. If they weren’t in public, Isaac would’ve been kissing the—
Oh.
Stiles was already kissing him without caring that they were coworkers, academic rivals, and omegas. That was all it took for Isaac to kiss him back, killing his previous worries and blame and all of the reasons he made up to not seek the love he deserved.