Chapter Text
Manon was, most of the time, if not always, a very confident and charming person. Seriously, you could ask anyone, she knew how to get whoever she wanted and never even showed nervousness. So, Manon couldn't understand why on earth she couldn't get into her own apartment just because she was smelling the most delicious perfume.
"What happened? What's the emergency?" Lara frowned and sniffed the air. "Did Yoonchae bring someone?" And then, more deeply. Manon watched as she moistened her lips with her tongue, as if she could smell it in her mouth.
She couldn't, of course; Manon had already tried.
"Girl, I don't know," she said, her voice shrill. "I just got here, smelled it, and... I couldn't..." Lara looked at her with a mocking smile.
"You chickened out," Lara said, half-singing.
"Yeah! I've never done this before!"
And that was the strangest part. Not that Manon wasn't curious to see who was on the other side of the door— she was dying to— but even so, she froze. Thousands of thoughts raced through her head: Is her outfit okay? Does she smell bad? A friend once told her that her scent gets really strong when she's nervous. What if she stutters? Will she make a fool of herself?
Manon waited for Lara to open the door, but she just stood there.
"You're scared too!" she snapped.
"Oh my God!" They were startled by Dani's sudden voice. "Why were you yelling? And what was that message?" She climbed the last step of the stairs, her arms full of grocery bags. "What is Yoonchae baking? It smells delicious, I could smell it from the patio." Dani handed the bags to Manon and Lara as she opened the door. "Oh God, you'll never believe what happens in—" She stopped mid-sentence.
In the kitchen, dancing to some Ariana Grande song, was the most beautiful woman in the world. They stood there, watching while the stranger still didn't notice them, without saying a word. Manon knew it was because they were as mesmerized as she was.
A bag accidentally slipped from Lara's hand, drawing their attention.
"Hey, Yoonchae, you arrived quickly!" said the angelic voice before turning towards the door.
The girl looked at them awkwardly before breaking into a wide smile. None of them had said a word. The omega, not wanting to rush them into saying anything, slowly wiped her hand on a towel and walked over to them. It was embarrassing how the three alphas watched her every move, capturing it in their minds.
Lara, in particular, focused on each of her expressions, especially the smile; She would do anything to keep that smile directed at her.
"You must be Yoonchae's roommates, she's told me a lot about you." She extended her hand to Lara, who was closer. The firm handshake caught her by surprise, and she shuddered, imagining other scenarios in which that grip could develop.
When the woman's hand— Sophia, if she wasn't mistaken— released Lara's, the alpha almost growled.
This made her frown, worried: of all of them, she had always been the most controlled. Her second designation had never been a problem in any kind of social interaction; generally, reactions like these were deeply rooted in primitive feelings—possessiveness and obsession most of the time, but also anger and egocentrism—she had always been too open-minded to give space to any of these emotions.
Many consider Lara a weak alpha because of her disinterest in engaging in such stereotypical dynamics— some even mock her when they realize that her lack of scent is not due to her being a beta, but simply to the odor blockers she applies to herself every morning— eventually most discover that this is not true; she could easily subdue an above-average alpha, in fact she had already done it once with an annoying man, he was twice her size.
The truth was that Lara had been raised by an omega mother and a beta father, has an omega sister, and came from a lineage where the last alpha had been at least ten generations ago. She hadn't been raised in a conventional alpha-omega family like Daniela, and even less so in a competitive alpha-alpha environment like Manon's. Lara never reacted this way; she barely indulged in more "polite" primitive habits like purring, a common custom on the omega side of her family, let alone growling.
This was unusual, but it was also unusual for someone to be as charming as this omega, so she supposed this might be one of the effects of being near such a phenomenon.
Daniela, it seemed, wasn't doing any better than she was now, nor had Manon been moments before.
As soon as Sophia let go of Manon's hand—who was breathing heavily as if choking, just to capture more of her scent—and extended her hand to Dani, the Latina took a step back.
If the omega felt hurt, she didn't let it show.
"I'm sorry for barging into your apartment so suddenly. I'm aware of the initial agreement made last year, and I appreciate you making an exception for me. I promise I'll be out next week; I don't want to cause trouble for my sister." Manon was impressed by how she managed to say the entire sentence without breathing.
How cute, she thought.
"No need to apologize. After a year sharing an apartment with those brutes, it'll be nice to have a quiet presence at home; you can stay as long as you like," said Manon, trying to sound charming.
She mentally celebrated as she saw Sophia's cheeks blush slightly.
"She can't," Dani said suddenly.
"Ah," she bit her lip, insecure, "I really won't... I don't want to abuse your goodwill."
They were still looking at Dani, expecting an apology, not only because they were slightly attracted to Sophia, but because she was being very rude to someone important to them. Yoonchae would be very upset if they treated her sister badly.
Daniela bit her lip, hurriedly leaving the room and slamming her bedroom door shut. Lara was about to apologize on her friend's behalf when a muffled cry of frustration came from the room the Latina had just entered.