Chapter Text
“This is cheating,” River hissed.
“There are no rules, petal,” Elliott cooed as he lined the boot of his car with covered platters.
Heath frowned. “Dinner party etiquette is something you should be very familiar with,” he told the alpha, sounding almost disappointed. “But cooking your own dinner for the party is not an expectation.”
“Exactly,” Elliott huffed. “And she wouldn’t let me hire a private chef.”
“We barely have enough chairs to add you two to the table,” River reminded him. And they didn’t have a separate dining area to the kitchen, so they’d all have to watch and make the chef uncomfortable while they were trying to work.
“Chefs don’t eat with their clients, petal.”
River scanned them both with her eyes, letting her horror show. “Now that is lacking etiquette!”
“It’s business.” He smacked the trunk closed. “Let’s go.”
“Okay, but remember-”
“I know. We’ll let you sneak the food in and hang back so they don’t see us until the dinner party is supposed to start,” Elliott recited.
“And then-”
This time, Heath filled in the blank. “We will be on our best behaviour, in our best clothes, proving your mate is the best in the whole wide world.”
“You’ve got your work cut out this time,” Elliott told him.
“I’m well aware,” Heath grumbled.
River sighed, falling into her mate’s arms and letting him cradle her. “They’ve got the wrong idea about you from the outside looking in.” She pressed her cheek to his chest until it smushed and he had no choice but to kiss the opposite one. “So, we’re going to let them in.”
“I feel like my tried-and-true fake introvert routine works really well for me,” Elliott argued. He pinched the cheek between his teeth gently. Not quite a bite, but a show of dominance that sent a surprised jolt of pleasure through her. “People like introverted Elliott.” He didn’t sound sad as he revealed this conclusion, just accepting.
River shook her head, and maybe nuzzled his t-shirt a little. “Because that’s a plaster. A short-term solution. A polite one, a pleasant one, but not one that will last.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed. “If you’re going to be accepted by my friends as my mate, long-term, you can’t cover yourself up.” Her chin had to be pointed skyward to face him from this angle, but she did it, resting her face in the dip in the centre of his chest. He was watching her with warm eyes, deep blue waters to welcome her. River smiled. “I like the real Elliott and they will too.”
Elliott flustered. He shrugged and mumbled to himself. River extracted herself from him with a giggle and let him hurry back to the driver’s seat to hide.. Heath hid a grin and followed him into the car.
X
The chairs cobbled together to fit everyone around the table included a wheelie stool for a sub-sized desk and a storage ottoman. River’s guests offered to take the more precarious seats. It didn’t warm the house mates to them. Backs were up, butts were balanced, and bowls of food were served.
“Dig in!” River yelped. She sat to Elliott’s left, while Heath took the opposite spot. A buffer zone against house enemy number one: the alpha. The tension could be cut with a knife since they had arrived. River’s house mates were absolutely expecting to hate the pair, and River was putting her faith in a local restaurant’s take-away, Elliott’s alpha charm, and Heath’s good manners to see them through.
“This actually looks really good,” Linnet mumbled. She shook some salad out for herself.
“I don’t know why you’re so surprised,” River said, spooning oven-warmed lasagna onto her own plate. There was a selection of hot and cold dishes, and a lack of washing up to do in the sink that no one had pointed out yet. “I’m an omega of many skills.”
“Yeah, and what skill exactly is it that keeps reeling you back in, Alpha?” Bramble asked, brandishing his fork in accusation.
“I get as close as she lets me,” Elliott answered diplomatically. “But she’s always had me in the net.”
River scoffed. It was a good answer, but that didn’t make it any less cheesy.
Linnet peered up from her salad, twiddling her fork. “So… it was River ending it each time?” When she looked to River, she shrugged and nodded. Technically, she was the one to end things because she hadn’t gone to him for a top-up until the scent fade had begun. Every time, she’d waited it out, regretted it, and gone running back. That wasn’t how she would be telling the story to the grand kids though...
“You think I’d turn down a hot omega girlfriend?” Elliott asked with a grin that would worry her house mate’s hearts. It was wicked and a little dirty. “Now that’s insulting.”
Heath jabbed him with his elbow.
“I just… I was being careful,” River explained. She was still piecing together her meal, having let everyone else do the first round of tasting. She created quite the concoction balanced on her plate. “Being scent marked turned out to be a lot more than I bargained for. It made me more hesitant each time...”
Ember pulled her fork from her mouth with a pop. It was sparkling clean. “And yet, here you are, stinking of him again.” At least the food was going down well, if the interrogation wasn’t.
“I didn’t take that decision lightly. This time we dated without a scent mark for a bit first.” All of a fortnight, but they didn’t need to know that. And she was confident with her choice. Waiting had been the right decision, and taking his scent that morning in the hotel had also been the right decision. It was finding the right words to convince everyone else that was the struggle.
“And when were you going to tell us?”
“I’m sorry, it really just slipped my mind. I thought everyone already knew.”
Linnet blurted, “We were the last to know?”
“River!” Ember gasped.
River winced. Heath joined her. “I’m sorry!”
“Doesn’t this great food make up for it, though?” Heath suggested, presenting his full fork to them all before taking a bite with comically high eyebrows. The subs stared at him. Heath swallowed. “Thanks, River.”
River’s body relaxed by a fraction. “You’re welcome, Heath.”
A chorus of gratitudes followed his example. A tad more tension slipped away. This was what she had needed him for, he made great moral support. And he was sweet and kind and genuine – and none of those things needed time to see. River smiled gratefully around Elliott’s chest. It had delighted her how bowled over Heath had been with the invite. River got the impression that he had been keeping solidarity with Elliott since they came to university. No drinking, no parties, no real friends. They could both do with some opportunities to open themselves out without the need for alcohol or substances, without worrying someone would take things too far.
Bramble, self-appointed head of the inquisition, took his chance to switch targets. “And you’re… the room mate?” He said it as though reading out a past conviction.
“That’s me.” Heath smiled awkwardly. “Heath.”
“You met Elliott here?”
“Uh, no. We were friends as kids.”
“And what do you think of River?”
“I think I’d rather be her friend than Elliott’s.”
“Hey!” Elliott laughed. “Don’t say that stuff here, they won’t know you’re joking.”
Heath frowned. “I’m not.”
“This one I like,” Bramble announced. “All in favour of keeping him?”
The table all raised a hand, some while still spooning food into their mouths. River joined them with a quiet giggle. Elliott wisely kept his hands to his cutlery.
“Heath, you’re in.”
“Does that mean I can vouch for him?”
Ember peered at her peers around the table. “Let’s hear what you’ve got.”
Heath stood up as though he were the best man at a wedding and cleared his throat. “When Elliott is with River he’s literally the best Elliott he’s ever been. That might not be saying much, but I’m really glad they’re together. And… they’re happy. You can see it. You can feel it. You can smell it.” He wrinkled his nose and the subs joined him, laughing. “So, please let him in the sub club.”
The trio looked amongst themselves. They took way too long pulling faces and chewing. River cleared her throat.
“We could extend a conditional offer,” Linnet said carefully.
“Yeah,” Bramble agreed. “The condition being that the moment River ends it with you again, you’re out the club.”
Ember grinned. “And we get full custody of Heath.”
Elliott stuck his hand out. “Agreed.”
“Keep your scent to yourself,” Bramble sniffed.
Elliott dramatically draped a napkin over his hand and held it out again. This time, he got three shakes.