"Welcome back, Dr. Abdel,"
The personnel at the Chu residence greeted us as they let us in. We were led inside a spacey mansion where a familiar looking woman was waiting for us.
"Dr. Abdel, who could your... companion be?" she asked with distaste as she looked down at me like a proper villainess would. After all, it's been three days since I last took a bath, and am currently wearing an old white shirt and loose slacks.
Hmph.
She should be glad that Habibi got me to change into clean clothes!
"Mrs. Chu, this is my colleague, Prof. Antonio, we were together at work when you called, so he decided to accompany me here."
"P-Prof. Antonio?!" the woman looked surprised. "The Prof. Eric Antonio?! My goodness, Professor! I'm a big fan! I have an omega son, after all!"
She was suddenly all smiles! She quickly approached me, and I couldn't help but think that she looked familiar.
"I had no idea you two were colleagues, if I knew you would come, I would have told our chef to prepare a feast!"
Augh, what a two faced bitch! Now, where have I seen her before...
"Can we see the patient now?" Aahmes pipped in.
"Ah, yes, please, head this way."
The vile woman led us to Shorty's room where we found him lying on the bed.
"You know, professor, my son has been a big fan of yours, ever since he found out he was an omega!" bragged the evil witch.
She went to a shelf and took a picture frame from several displayed there.
"Do you remember this, professor?" It was a picture of me with two young boys in a restaurant. There was even a signed napkin framed with it. "This was about taken about four years ago!"
Hmm... I guess that's why she looked familiar...
"Right, I remember now. How is his brother, Giovani?"
"Oh, my eldest is already in college!"
"Good," I gave her a smile, "now, can we take a look at your son's medical records from birth, as well as the latest diagnosis of his primary physician?"
"Well..." her smile wavered, "I would need to look for his old records in my study..."
"Thank you, Mrs. Chu, we'll wait for you right here."
The wicked woman finally left the room. I went to Shorty's side as soon as she closed the door and slapped his leg.
"Are you up? You're mom's gone, you can open your eyes now."
Shorty's eyes popped open.
"Prof. Antonio?! Are you really Prof. Antonio?!" he asked, staring at me at all angles, as if searching for the professor in my face.
"That's right, shout louder for your mom to hear, why won't `ya?"
"Ah!" the kid covered his mouth yet couldn't help but look excited for meeting me.
"I thought you said the kid was dying?" I asked Aahmes
"I didn't actually say that, professor," Aahmes replied.
"I'm so sorry for not recognizing you back at the club room, professor!" the kid babbled, trying hard to keep his voice down. "I can't believe I was so depressed that I didn't recognize my idol! I thought you just had the same name, I had no idea you were actually the Prof. Eric Antonio in the flesh!"
"Is this really someone who's suffering from fated pair syndrome withdrawals?" I asked Aahmes once more.
"It seems he had just spent a passionate encounter with his alpha mate," said Aahmes who was recording everything on his tablet.
"H-how did you know?" Shorty's face turned bright pink.
"I could smell him on you," replied Aahmes. "I congratulate you on your first time."
Shorty's face burned even brighter.
"I-it was amazing, doctor, I was feeling so sick that I could hardly move, yet in just an instant, all the heaviness in my body just seemed to have been sucked out by a single kiss! It was... just like magic!"
"It's not magic. Your body simply resumed normal operations after it detected your pair's pheromones." I explained. "The same applies when marked omegas are separated from their alpha partners for a long period of time."
"But... I haven't been marked by Jin yet..."
The kid absentmindedly touched the thick black collar bound around his neck.
"My mom forced me to wear this after she found out about Jinn and me... she was so furious because he almost bit me last time..."
"He did?" asked Aahmes.
"You should be thankful that he didn't bite you," I said. "You're both too young for that, and what's more, I heard from Josh that you two don't get along well?"
I watched Shorty's mouth open and close.
"That's right, Sir," he gazed down at his hands. "Ever since we were kids, I've always hated being near him."
"How do you mean?" asked Aahmes, recorder at the ready.
"The first time we met, Jinn approached me and gave me a hug. I don't know why, but I smelled my favorite rice cake, abnoy from him, but then I started feeling sick..."
"Abnoy. That is the steamed delicacy made of rotten duck eggs, is that right?" Aahmes clarified.
"That's right, doc, I used to love that food, until I started smelling it on Jinn. Since then, I feeling irritated whenever I see him... that's why I always tell him to get away from me, but he just keeps coming back!"
"What about Jinn? How did he react when you first met? Did he smell anything special from you as well?"
"I don't think so, he hasn't mentioned anything strange..." replied Shorty. "He just keeps bugging me and gets too touchy sometimes... Oh, and he's always telling me that I bring the rain wherever I go."
"Rain?"
"The smell of ozone?" mumbled Aahmes. "And this happened, even before the both of you manifested your secondary genders?"
"Yes, doc. Jinn has been living in Korea and just visits us during summer. I manifested in junior high while he was out of the country. His family just recently decided to stay here three years ago, and since then, his smell and his attitude has been pissing me off even more!" Rome told us with a pout. "But after that kiss last week..." his expression softened. "After that kiss, everything just... changed..."
"It seems your hatred of Jinn had been suppressing your connection with each other," said Aahmes. "The bond was only triggered after you finally accepted him." He looked sideways at Rome. "Did you kiss him back?"
Shorty looked like a goldfish with his red face and open mouth flapping open.
"I shall take that as a yes."
"But, Doc, what should I do? My mom hates Jinn, she keeps saying 'the heirs of the Chu family must find suitable mates worthy of their standing', that's why she keeps pairing me with alphas from other wealthy families in the textile business..."
"Textile?"
"We own 'Blue Ridges', after all..." said Shorty.
"What's that?" I asked.
"A world renowned apparel brand, at par with 'Luci Vitton' and 'Hermies'," said Aahmes.
"Huh, no wonder the woman was such a stuck up bi–"
"Professor..."
"It's true though."
Shorty sadly nodded in agreement.
"Do not worry, she will come around soon," said my Habibi. "We will talk to her again, the professor and I, we will try to make her face the facts. In the meantime, go lay down on your bed. There is an alpha coming this way."
Shorty quickly ducked beneath the covers and pretended to be asleep again. There was a knock on the door which was opened by Cruella Demonyita and a young man with a basket of fruits.
"Prof. Antonio, here are Rome's hospital records, and this is my eldest son, Giovanni. He's an alpha!" she bragged.
"Good evening po, Professor, how is my baby brother doing?" he asked.
"You would have to ask Dr. Abdel about that," I said as I looked through Shorty's records.
"He seems to be sleeping properly. Did you give him any suppressants?" Aahmes asked the devil woman.
"His aid said they gave him a shot back at the school clinic."
"What's this?" they all turned to look back at me. "Dr. Fuego diagnosed him with depression? That's it?! He didn't even prescribe a suppressant for your son whose heat has become dangerously erratic?!"
"Well, as Dr. Fuego said, he's currently at a rebellious age..."
"Missus, with all due respect, do you think your son is simply 'rebelling' against you?"
"W-well... he's been forcing us to accept his relationship with a boy I don't approve of! He's obviously just doing this to anger me... right?"
"You're not even sure yourself? Should we just wait it out and see if he's just 'rebelling' or if he would actually fall into a withdrawal coma?"
"Are you serious, Professor?" asked his brother.
"As you can see, Rome is starting to get lethargic again," explained Aahmes, "once he goes back to the unresponsive stage, he might slip into a comma and may no longer wake up."
"Wait a minute, what do you mean 'again'?" asked Giovanni.
"He was already in the unresponsive stage last Tuesday," ratted Aahmes.
"Ha? Ma, is this true?!"
"Well, he pulled out of it, didn't he?" insisted the monstrous mom. "As you can see, it looks like he's just sleeping now!"
"That's because I insisted that you let him keep his mate's shirt, so that he can relax while smelling his pheromones,"
"Mom?" Giovanni frowned at his mother even more.
"Well... you know your brother, once he gets an idea in his head, he won't stop nagging about it until we eventually give in!"
"What if he's not faking it?" her son asked her. "What if he actually lapses into a comma and never wakes up?"
The maleficent witch finally ran out of excuses.
"Dr. Abdel, Prof. Antonio, please do everything you can to help my brother," said Giovanni.
"The only thing that can help your brother now, is for him to be with his mate," said Aahmes. "Unless you are willing to take the risk and have him undergo the experimental surgery I mentioned to your mother."
"What surgery?" Big Bro and I asked in unison.
"I can severe the connection in his brain," Aahmes looked excited as he endorse his `experimental surgery'. "Though we are not yet sure what the outcome may be, I may be able to stop him from craving for his fated pair."
"Are you talking about brain surgery?!" I asked him before the two could react. "You must be aware of the risks behind this, and the possibility that it may not have any favorable results at all. It may even result in death!"
"It is only a suggestion, and like I told the lady of the house, it is a very risky experimental surgery."
"B-but... there's still a possibility that my son may be cured of this FPS, right?" asked the evil witch.
"Yes, I can guarantee a 40% chance that the operation with succeed. Though one of the side effects is that he might lose his sense of taste and smell, and might also turn impotent."
"I-impotent? You mean, he won't be able to have children?" The witch looked genuinely concerned.
"No, he would still be able to bear children," Aahmes clarified, "though he would find it difficult to get an erection."
"Oh, is that all? Then I'll go with the surgery."
I stared at the devil in disbelief.
"Are you serious, mom?!" Giovanni yelled at her. "Didn't you hear the risks involved?! Are you really trying to kill my baby brother?!"
"There's still a 40% chance that the operation might succeed!" she insisted. "That's much better than letting him pair with that... that Jinn!" She grimaced at the mention of the name.
"Ma, just what is it that you hate about Jinn? Their family and ours have been friends since we were kids! Why do you suddenly hate him now that he has a relationship with Rome? At least we know that Jinn and his family will take good care of Rome!"
"We'll talk about this later, Giovanni, I'm just looking after your brother's future!"
The two continued bickering.
It seems the Evil Queen has rich prospective alphas lined up for her omega son.
I took a deep sigh and glanced at Shorty in bed. Tears were streaming down his cheeks while his mother planned his future without his consent. I stood in front of the bed to cover him and tried to get between the two.
"Ma'am, why don't you step outside with Dr. Aahmes to talk about the provisions in the contract in case you plan to go on with the surgery?"
Aahmes was quick at the uptake. He took the woman's arm and pulled her towards the door.
"That is right, Mrs. Chu. Is there a place where we can talk in private?"
"Oh... oh my, of course..."
"Prof. Antonio, are you also pushing for this experimental surgery?" Giovanni confronted me when the two left. "I expected so much better from you!"
"I am not your parent," I told him. "I am not even part of your family. I may try to discourage your mother all I want, but at the end of the day, the legal guardian has the right to decide for their child who is still a minor."
"But..."
"Kuya..."
We both turned to face the crying boy on the bed.
Giovanni sat by his side and held him tight.
"Don't worry Rome, I would never let Mother do that to you! Dad left you in my care when he left mom, and I promised him I would never let anything bad happen to you!"
"That's the spirit, Kuya!" I cheered him on. "After all, only you can be the hero your brother desperately needs. You're the only one who could save him now."
Unfortunately, the Wicked Witch of the Chu House had decided to opt for the operation.
We left that day, disappointed with a mother who would gladly put their child's life in danger, just to get what she desires.
We told her to wait for the official contract and waiver to be drafted so we could schedule the operation. And I'm telling you, I'm gonna make her wait for a verrrry very long time.
The week came and passed. Later that evening, we got a message from Blondie.
'TITO ERIC!!!'
It read in bold letters.
'ROME AT JINN ELOPED!!!'
Well, at least, they'll be happy now.
I hope.