Suddenly, Eugene felt his lungs stop working. He forgot that he also had his own personal hunting puppy. Swallowing hard through his dry throat, Eugene looked at his daughter.
"...what?"
Sophie tilted his head. "Flower?"
"Unn! Hannah smells it when Papa hugs Hannah, around Papa's neck," Hannah nodded, a big smile on her face.
Neck--scent gland? Also...flower? Eugene widened his eyes. He couldn't help but remember what Arthur said on that rooftop: like a field of flowers.
"When Papa is happy or very surprised, Hannah can smell it too!" the little girl continued as she climbed into her father's lap. "Oh, but...when Papa is very angry, Papa's smell becomes weird, like...like when the flowers in school turn yellow and brown..."
"That...sounds like pheromone," Sophie said, glancing at Eugene.
Nice fragrance during positive emotion, and putrid stench during negative ones. It was textbook pheromone characteristics that even Eugene knew, even though he had never smelled anything.
Eugene took a deep breath and held Hannah carefully so the girl wouldn't fall. "Since when?" he asked, wondering if he had gone through 'awakening' just like Sophie said--however weird it sounded. "When did you start smelling it?"
"Huh?" the little girl tilted her head. "Hannah can always smell it?"
Eugene--and Sophie--widened their eyes in surprise. Always? Not recently? Hannah hugged her father and snuggled into the crook of Eugene's neck.
"Hannah love it so much! Papa smell so nice. When Hannah smell something bad, Papa's smell makes Hannah feel good again!"
"Is...that so?"
Eugene was beyond surprised. All this time, he thought Hannah calmed down in his embrace because he had no scent at all. It turned out that his natural--albeit almost non-existent--scent was acting as her neutralizer.
Was it like Arthur's tobacco?
"Why...haven't you told me, Hana?"
"Why?" Hannah pulled her head and looked at her father in confusion. "But everyone smell of something. Hannah thinks it's not weird."
Eugene subconsciously frowned. Something a bit stale came out of his neck, so faint that no one else but his adorable hunting puppy could smell it. Hannah gasped and clutched Eugene's arm.
"Papa...you're mad?" Hannah asked, looking half worried and half afraid.
Eugene flinched and immediately shook his head. "No--no, of course not, baby," he grasped Hannah's cheeks gently and smiled, caressing her hair to soothe her. "I was just surprised because I thought I didn't have any scent."
The stale smell vanished like a lie as Eugene got a hold of his emotions, but Hannah still asked to make sure. After all, her Papa was very good at hiding emotions!
"Really?"
Sensing the girl's distress, Sophie clasped her hands and said energetically. "I see! It's because Hannah's nose is special!"
"Special?" Toby, who wasn't really interested in the conversation he didn't understand, looked up from the tantalizing candy in his hand.
"Special?" Hannah raised her brows high. "Only Hannah can smell Papa?"
"Yep!"
"Wow! Hannah have superpower!" Tobias clapped his hands, eyes sparkling in amazement, making Hannah perk up in joy.
"That's right!" Sophie nodded proudly, patting her helpful son and letting him have one piece of candy as a reward.
Does it mean...Arthur really smells my scent? Eugene felt his heart sink. Thank God for the fake patch! Eugene initially wore the fake patch because he was tired of people constantly asking him about the absence of pheromone; he never thought it would save him for real!
...wait? Didn't Arthur think he was a beta six years ago? In that case, wouldn't it be better for the alpha to smell Eugene's scent so he would appear like a normal omega?
Eugene groaned inwardly. Why?! Why did this kind of idea only appear after it was all too late? Since he already mentioned the scent blocker patch, it would be weird if Eugene said it was his scent now.
Eugene truly wanted to cry because of his foolishness. It was good that he had already sent Hannah to play with Tobias again. Otherwise, the girl would be able to smell his distress.
Hmm...was that why she was always weirdly perceptive of his emotions? She was always good and quiet when Eugene was stressed out from his deadlines.
"Oh, this reminds me..." Sophie tapped her chin while looking at the ceiling in reminiscence.
"Of?"
"The other night, Arthur asked me what perfume you're wearing--said he wanted to gift you something..."
This time, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, his emotion slipped out nonetheless. His throat felt dry, and it felt like blood had left his face.
He had been relying on Arthur not recognizing his face because of his 'bad memory' and visual impairment. But suddenly, he was filled with fear that he left something six years ago: a scent. If he actually always had pheromone, no matter how minuscule it was, he might leave behind something that Arthur could smell.
Yeah. If little Hannah could smell it, how could the more experienced hunting dogs not? Not to mention, they were literally skin to skin, sweat mingling and everything. This hunting dog even had a library of scents, so while he might not remember Eugene's face, he might remember Eugene's smell.
Darn it. Darn it!
"Gene?" Sophie asked, a clear concern in her quiet voice. "Is there...something wrong?"
Eugene looked at Sophie, and suddenly, he felt tired. Just tired. This is a secret he had been keeping tight without anyone knowing, not even Sophie. It had been gnawing at him several times when he had to process Hannah's administration alone, but it had been especially hard this month.
It was one thing to suddenly find he had to work with his daughter's alpha father; he would have told Sophie about it usually, discussing what he should have done. But when he also found out that the alpha was his best friend's childhood friend, it became hard. It became too complicated for him, and he withdrew himself too much because of it.
It exhausted him, feeling like he was tiptoeing around both Arthur and Sophie.
And he had enough.
"...can you spare me a drink tonight?" he asked quietly, sluggishly, as if he had just run another three sleepless nights of deadline chasing.
Sophie raised her brows high, but she quickly nodded in understanding. "Wine?"
Eugene considered it for a few seconds before chuckling bitterly. "Does Allan have gin stashed somewhere?"
"Let me raid his cabinet for a bit," Sophie giggled and stroked Eugene's cheek lightly while standing up. "Why don't you take the babies to sleep first?"
"Mm..."
Eugene herded the children to Toby's bedroom and tucked them into bed. He had to read a whole bedtime story first before they finally closed their eyes, but when he came out, Sophie had already prepared a cheese and berry board, along with a bottle of Allen's gin and her favorite wine.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Sophie laughed as Eugene joined her on the couch. "Perfect time since Allen is not home."
Eugene arched his brow at the unopened bottle of gin on the table. "Allen won't kill me for this, right?"
"Don't worry," Sophie swatted the air nonchalantly. "He'll only kill you if you touch his scotch."
"I won't hold back, then."
Eugene chuckled and opened the bottle of gin, pouring it into his glass and had it straight as usual. For a while, Eugene was just busy savoring the flavor he hadn't tasted in a long time. After having Hannah, he only ever drank on two types of occasions: when he celebrated something, or when he wanted to talk about something heavy.
For the latter, he needed to loosen up slightly with the help of alcohol. It was a habit that Sophie knew very well, so she waited patiently until Eugene finished his first glass before asking.
"So, what do you want to tell me?"
Eugene didn't reply right away. He poured another glass for himself and rolled a blueberry in his mouth while thinking of the best way to divulge the secret. In the end, he chose the simplest route.
"About Arthur..." he started.
Sophie straightened her back. "Yeah? Did he do something to you?"
"Yeah," Eugene chuckled, as if he wanted to convince himself that it was a comedy. He took a sip of his gin before dropping the bomb. "He gave me Hannah."
"...huh?"
Eugene didn't say anything more, leaving Sophie digesting his words. She stared at him silently, wine glass in suspended hand, eyes blinking slowly before turning wide and bulging.
"Wait--"
She stood up, looking at the children's bedroom, before shifting his gaze back at Eugene, who took the wine glass from her hand in case she dropped it.
"The p-person..." she stuttered as she dove back to the couch and grasped Eugene's arm. "The alpha...who you had one night stand with..."
"Mm,"
Sophie opened and closed her mouth several times as if the name couldn't leave her tongue. "Arthur Crowley is Hannah's father?!"
"Yeah."
Sophie gasped and let go of her friend's arm, flabergasted by how calm he looked when he was all pale and distressed half an hour ago. "Eugene?!"
"Phew..." Eugene exhaled slowly, rubbing his chest with a relaxed expression. "That feels nice."
Finally, at least, there was someone who knew this one big secret of his.
"What feels nice?! Wait a minute!"
Sophie snatched her glass and gulped down the wine before standing up again. She proceeded to walk back and forth in front of the coffee table, one moment rubbing her chin and one moment grasping her hair. Eugene let her deal with it herself while enjoying his second glass with some cheese.
"Oh, my God!" after minutes had passed, she finally stopped. "It all makes sense, now!"
Eugene looked up, but didn't say anything.
"So that's why you were so bothered by him!" she continued. "That's why you don't want anyone to know about Hannah!"
Eugene had no idea how someone could scream while whispering, but apparently, it was doable.
"That's why looking at Hannah felt nostalgic!" Sophie smacked her forehead. "I met Arthur for the first time when he was Hannah's age!"
"I see," Eugene nodded.
Sophie turned and stared at Eugene with narrowed eyes. "He doesn't know, does he?"
"No," Eugene replied dryly.
"Why?"
Eugene fell silent again, staring at the clear liquid in his glass. He chewed the inside of his mouth, feeling his throat getting dry no matter what.
Sophie frowned and returned to the couch, looking at Eugene with a concerned gaze. "Why didn't you tell him, Gene?"
Finally, it was time. Telling her about Hannah's father was one thing. Quite easy, even. But this...
This was the real heavy talk.