"Hey, Teacher Arthur."
Arthur stopped just outside his next classroom, turning to find a female colleague hurrying to catch up with him. They had only ever shared brief, polite pleasantries in the past, so her sudden initiative left him blinking in confusion.
"Is everything alright?" Arthur asked, keeping his voice carefully low.
The teacher let out a heavy, sympathetic sigh. "I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Teacher Gavin has been floating around the staff room, asking anyone who will listen if they've seen 'your Alpha.' I think you've become his new target. Just be careful. Now that his interest is piqued, he won't stop digging into your private life."
Gavin. Arthur's stomach sank. So that was the old man's, Mr Harrison's name.
"Ah... thank you for telling me," Arthur managed, his throat suddenly tight.
"Honestly, he did the exact same thing to me," she continued, glancing warily down the corridor. "My boyfriend dropped me off one morning, and Gavin apparently spotted us from the window. He cornered me for weeks, constantly prying. The only way I got rid of him was by finally giving in and telling him exactly what he wanted to know."
Arthur stared at her, a chill running down his spine. The reality of the situation began to settle in. He wasn't just facing a momentary annoyance; he had officially become the old gossip's latest obsession.
"I see... thanks again for the warning," he murmured.
The warning haunted him for the rest of the afternoon. Even while standing at the chalkboard, Arthur's mind raced with strategies for avoidance. He went to extreme lengths to keep out of Gavin's orbit, eagerly volunteering for extra administrative tasks and taking over substitution slots for absent teachers just to stay on the move.
By the final periods, the crushing fatigue of constant vigilance set in. There was absolutely no sanctuary for him at school. The bright, breathless euphoria he had felt that morning had vanished, replaced by the exhausting routine of dodging a predator of privacy.
Should I file a formal complaint before it escalates? Arthur pondered, watching his students complete their seatwork. But he's just a nosy old man. He hasn't disrupted my actual duties yet. Would the principal even consider it a valid grievance?
Sweet Distractions
"Yaaay!"
The final bell cut through the tension like a blade. The students cheered, frantically shoving notebooks into their backpacks. Arthur didn't dawdle either. He gathered his materials, swiftly signed the departure ledger, and practically sprinted toward the school gates. He was determined to leave the suffocating workplace stress behind the moment his feet hit the pavement.
Is she here?
Arthur's eyes scanned the crowded street, a suppressed smile finally tugging at his lips when he spotted the familiar car parked further down the block. The dark cloud over his head lifted instantly.
He took three steps forward before a firm tap landed on his shoulder. Arthur froze, deliberately ignoring it at first, his mind instantly screaming a warning that Gavin had caught him at the finish line.
"Teacher Arthur!"
Thankfully, the voice was young and gentle. Arthur let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and turned around. "Jax?"
"I-I'm sorry, I forgot to drop this off earlier," the boy stammered, his cheeks flushing as he held out a small, neatly wrapped container. "We made this in our home economics class. I remember Auntie mentioning that you have a bit of a sweet tooth."
Arthur blinked at the offering. "Ah, Jax, you really could have kept that for yourself. It's alright."
"No, please. I wanted you to have a piece," Jax insisted, his eyes wide and earnest. "It's chocolate, too. Please accept it."
Arthur's heart softened. "Well... thank you, Jax." He patted the boy's shoulder lightly, accepting the container before offering a quick goodbye and turning back toward the car.
Arthur didn't think twice about the interaction, merely feeling a standard wave of teacherly pride that the boy was so considerate. Consequently, he completely missed the way Jax remained frozen on the sidewalk, watching him walk away with a bright, doting smile and a deep crimson blush spreading across his neck.
Shoving the cake into his bag, Arthur opened the passenger door, a wave of nervous excitement instantly replacing his fatigue. He slid into the seat, sneaking a cautious glance at Natalia.
She was staring straight ahead, her hands resting casually on the steering wheel. Her expression was unreadable, almost distant.
"…Mm… ready to go?" Arthur's voice broke the silence, sounding smaller than he intended.
Natalia pulled her gaze from the windshield, offering a brief nod as she shifted the car into drive. The atmosphere inside the cabin felt inexplicably heavy, a stark contrast to the soft, intimate warmth of their morning ride. Arthur swallowed hard, wondering if she was in a foul mood.
Maybe I should share the cake, he thought frantically. Sweets are supposed to improve a person's mood, right?
He unzipped his bag, carefully retrieving the container and uncovering the rich slice of chocolate cake. He cleared his throat, turning to her hesitantly. "Um... your friend's brother gave me a slice of chocolate cake from his class. C-can I feed you a piece?"
Natalia didn't look away from the road immediately, her eyes tracking the movement of the traffic before darting down to the cake in his lap. A slow, familiar smirk began to play at the corner of her lips.
"You want to feed me?~"
Arthur's face flared crimson at her smooth, teasing cadence. The sheer relief that she was back to her usual, playful self made his chest ache. "…Yes."
"Then do it, dear."
Arthur bit his inner cheek to hide his smile, the weight of the word dear settling beautifully in his chest. He broke off a small piece of the cake, leaning across the console. He was acutely aware that this was the very first time he was doing something so overtly intimate, and he was terrified of making a mess.
He guided the piece carefully past her lips. In his intense focus, his cold fingertips brushed against the smooth skin of her mouth, and stayed there. Natalia didn't pull away; instead, she teasingly pressed her lips together against his fingers.
A tremor ran through Arthur's hand. He caught his breath, his eyes locking onto her face in a total daze. He couldn't move his hand away even if he wanted to.
"Don't just feed me," Natalia murmured around the bite, her voice low and scraping against his nerves in the best way possible. "You eat some, too."
Only then did Arthur find the strength to pull his hand back, nodding numbly as he took a piece for himself. The rich flavor of the chocolate hit his tongue, but his brain barely registered the taste. Every single one of his senses had narrowed down to the lingering phantom touch of her lips against his skin.
He wanted it again. The taste. Her lips. A proper kiss.
Terrified that his thoughts were written across his face, Arthur abruptly turned his head to stare out the passenger window, aggressively chewing the cake in a desperate bid to distract himself.
Natalia kept her eyes on the road, but a quiet, knowing smile spread across her face. He was entirely transparent, and she found it utterly intoxicating.
"So..." she drawled, her tone dripping with mock disappointment. "You're just going to stop feeding me?"
Arthur jumped slightly, his head snapping back toward her. "Ah- I'm sorry. Here."
He hastily broke off another piece and leaned in, but before he could reach her mouth, Natalia's hand shot out. Her fingers wrapped firmly around his wrist, halting his movement. Slowly, deliberately, she brought his hand down, pressing a soft, lingering kiss directly onto the palm of his hand.
Arthur gulped, his eyes darting around the interior of the car as his stomach did a violent, ecstatic flip. The sheer intensity of her focus was paralyzing.
By the time the car finally pulled into the familiar streets near his home, the cake was entirely gone. However, despite Arthur's meticulous care, a tiny smudge of dark chocolate icing remained at the very corner of Natalia's lips. She knew it was there. She had left it there on purpose.
When Arthur finally noticed it, his brain short-circuited. He spent three agonizing minutes frozen in hesitation, his mind battling over the propriety of pointing it out.
When he finally muttered a faint, "Um, you have some..." Natalia simply tilted her face toward him, stopping the car by the curb. Her eyes locked onto his, filled with a quiet, satisfied amusement as she watched him nervously rub the back of his ear.
Arthur's hand shook as he reached out. His thumb moved with agonizing slowness, gently wiping the dark smudge away from the corner of her mouth.
He pulled his hand back, staring at the small trace of icing on his fingertip. His throat was entirely dry. An overwhelming, reckless urge to simply lick it off flashed through his mind, but before his trembling courage could materialize, Natalia moved.
She caught his wrist again. Her eyes never broke contact with his, holding his gaze with a fierce, magnetic gravity as she parted her lips and slowly, agonizingly licked the icing from his finger. The warm, damp slide of her tongue against his skin made Arthur's breath completely shatter.
Without a word, she pulled a linen handkerchief from her pocket and gently wiped his hand clean, her touch smooth and deliberate.
Arthur sat frozen in the passenger seat, his chest heaving as the phantom sensation of her tongue echoed through his entire body. He wished she hadn't stopped. He wished her lips had stayed against his skin until the world faded away entirely.
He was utterly, beautifully undone.
G-god... Arthur thought, pressing a hand against his ribs to steady his violently racing pulse. I think I'm having a heart attack.