The ABO Serum

Broke But Happy

It was hard to pull himself together after confronting Mitch and kissing him so uncharacteristically aggressively, but Auggie set out to do it. He put his clean clothes away and made his bed, then cleaned his room more thoroughly than he ever had before.

His roommate took off back to Wyoming after confirming he wasn't affected, so Auggie didn't have to worry about that. But he wished he had a way to make the half empty room look more welcoming. He started rearranging the furniture, pushing the beds together. Then, he ran out to buy a second set of sheets, another pillow, a king size blanket, and a party pack of LED candles. The dorm rules banned real candles. It wasn't ready for Architectural Digest, but it looked cozy.

He ate lunch out and bought a microwaveable lasagna for four, a bagged salad, and a six pack of beer for dinner. Mitch knew he was a mostly broke college student. It was the thought that counted, and Auggie's thoughts were about making sure they didn't have a reason to leave the dorm room again before morning.

Satisfied with the overall effect, he had a sudden realization of one important piece missing and ran back out to pick up condoms. If they'd used them the last time they might not be in this situation.

Then again, he didn't hate this situation. It hurt when he realized Mitch forgot him, and it hurt when he had to confront him about it. It hurt to think about the emotions he went through figuring out why it mattered so much to him. It hurt to strip his bed and put the sheets in the wash, effectively saying goodbye to any hope of getting back together with Mitch. But when he looked in those eyes and saw how much more sorry he was than his words could express, Auggie's hope returned. And when Mitch broke down and cried, Auggie gained resolve. They'd both experienced enough pain. It was time to make something worthwhile out of it.

He heard Mitch stop outside his dorm room. He stood by waiting for the knock. He realized he needed Mitch to decide to come in, but he wasn't doing it. Some other yokel walked by noisily and knocked. Auggie could hear it all quite clearly. He had to respond to the knock, even though it wasn't Mitch.

The door bursting open caught Mitch's face in a startled expression. Rather like a deer in the headlights. But he quickly schooled it into a friendly smile. Auggie hid his disappointment behind a similar expression and invited Mitch in.

It was terribly awkward until Mitch looked around and realized how the room had changed from earlier. He laughed a genuine laugh at the college boy's seduction setup. Auggie seemed a little peeved at this reaction. This whole situation was ridiculous. It deserved laughing at. But they should be laughing together and to get there they needed to talk first.

Reaching for Auggie's hands, Mitch sighed with resignation. This would hurt more before it got better. He sat with Auggie on the edge of the bed and told him about his day. About his doubts and the other men he'd infected and their reactions, particularly Pedro's. How he took it as comforting that his early exposure settled his future. He didn't have to stress about it as the world changed around him. How he was happy to be himself. "I want to be happy to be myself like that," Mitch confessed. "I don't think I ever was, even before this."

Taking all this in, Auggie struggled to get a handle on what it meant for them, for their relationship. "Do you think when you're happy with yourself, you'll still want to be with me?" He asked, cautiously.

Mitch smiled and confessed more, "I think I can only be happy with myself if I'm the kind of person who makes you happy. I would hate anyone capable of hurting a beautiful soul like yours, ergo I must not hurt you if I'm to like myself." Mitch watched the play of emotions across Auggie's face. The worry turned to confusion, the confusion to understanding to relief to...tears?

Before he could decide what to do about making this beautiful soul cry, Mitch found himself crushed in Auggie's arms. "Thank you for telling me. I'm sure that weighed you down quite a bit." Mitch nodded into Auggie's shoulder and tears of relief fell down his face as well. "I have dinner, but the beer's out for you if you promised not to drink," Auggie still held him as he spoke, like he had no plans of letting go for dinner.

"I can drink water," Mitch assured him, not loosening his hold either.

"I'm not really hungry yet," Auggie added.

"Me neither," Mitch agreed.

"Can we..."

"Please!"

Lips crashed together and hands stroked, gripped, and tugged until they were both naked and panting on the bed, their bodies never out of touch. The frenzy didn't slow until Auggie plunged inside Mitch for the first time. "Ahhh!" Mitch screamed and Auggie stopped, afraid he'd caused pain. "No, don't stop!" Mitch begged. "Auggie, love me. Love me more! Please!"

There was no way Auggie could resist such pleas. He set up a rhythm thrusting and stroking, kissing and grinding. Slowly, steadily, building the intensity over time until Mitch was a whimpering mess. "Love you. I love you. I love you," he panted over and over again between grunts until he was overcome by his own climax and released inside Mitch, staking his claim this time, screaming, "I love you!" And whispering, "You're mine now. All mine. I'm never letting go," while holding Mitch as they both came back down from their euphoria.

Mitch, who had worried about the growing womb turning him into a woman, didn't care that he was the one held this time. He took comfort in the strong young arms holding him. He let himself be happy as he was, and he finally felt released from the anger and the hurt he'd felt since he found out he was becoming a beta.

He was a beta. He, Mitch, was a beta. And Auggie was a beta. And they could love each other. And they were both gonna be okay. Whatever pain still lay ahead of them, they would share it. In between the pain there would be life together and that would certainly be more joyful than the lives they'd been living separately.

That's how love worked. It intensified other feelings and made you live with part of yourself on the outside, out of your control. It made you more careful and more kind. It really was like the song, when you "make someone happy, make just one someone happy, then, you will be happy, too." Mitch sighed at these sentimental ruminations and drifted to sleep in his lover's arms.