Old Clothes and Stale Coffee

Chapter 102 – Changes in the Body

Chapter 102  

We got to the Del Mirasol’s residence an hour later. I drove as fast as I could to get there early, since I couldn’t wait to meet Reubert and Nathan.

It seems my hypothesis could actually be proven.

Could it be, that Nathan’s body is beginning to change?

I should get some blood samples at once to check if his estrogen and progesterone levels are rising. It would also be advisable to get an MRI and check any development in his abdominopelvic cavity. Changes in his body, after all, can take as short as a couple of weeks to a month to manifest.

“Tito Eric, Doc Aahmes, tuloy po kayo!” Mercy greeted us as she opened the door.

“Ano, kamusta na si Blondie?” Eric asked.

“Nasa taas po, tito, hinihintay kayo ni papa, halika po...”

”Ah, in a moment, can I check on Nathan ang Reubert first?” I said as I quickly made my way to their kitchen and found the pair eating breakfast together.

 “Nathan, Reubert,” they looked up as I came closer, ”I’ve been wanting to talk with you for so long.”

I grinned at Nathan. As expected, his glowing skin looked much more supple than before. This is because the excess female hormones in his body triggers the increase in his sweat and sebaceous glands.

I lifted his arm and pinched his biceps. He has also started to lose muscle tone, his muscles are now less defined, while the areas around his hips and thigh seem to have thickened.

This is phenomenal!

It shows that his body has began to redistribute his weight.

If my calculations are correct, then Nathan will begin to grow a miniature womb by the end of the month!

”Ow! Ano ba `yan?” Nathan complained as I proceeded with my check-up.

”You look healthy.” I smiled.

“Of course. After all, I’m taking good care of him!” said Reubert who pulled me away from his mate.

“Habibi, don’t run inside on your own!” Eric said when he entered the kitchen with his niece, “It’s rude to just barge inside someone else’s house.”

“I’m not your Habibi,” I frowned at him. “Can I go upstairs now?”

Nathan and Reubert tagged along with us. Eric led the way to a door at the end of the hall. I could smell the pair’s pheromones seeping out from inside it.

”Louie, are you civil?” Eric asked as he knocked.

“Of course I am!” Louie snapped when he opened the door. “Ang tagal mo’ng dumating, tumigil na ang dugo!”

“Nagpumilit kasi ang Habibi ko sumama, hinintay ko pa siya’ng matapos sa ginawa niyang paperwork.”

“Who’s your Habibi?” I frowned at him and looked at Josh who sat in their bed. “Is it okay to check you up?” I asked.

“O-okay lang po...” he answered.

“When did the bleeding stop?” I asked them.

“Mga 30 minutes ago...” Louie answered.

“Tumigil `yung dugo sa laway mo, pa?” asked Nathan.

“Oo,” replied Louie who looked at me embarrassedly. “Naisipan naming i-try dilaan ang sugat, since sabi nila, may anticeptive properties ang saliva...”

It seems he licked the omega’s wound until the bleeding stopped.

“So, the alpha’s saliva is needed to stop the fated pair’s bleeding...” I mumbled. “It seems a fated omega’s mark needs more careful attention after the alpha inflicts it. Understandable, since the pair is more intimate and not simply the result of a sudden rush of lust,” I frowned. “But we still don’t know why the blood didn’t coagulate. Perhaps it is to pass more saliva into the wound, and thus, strengthening the pair’s seal?”

“Ano raw?” I look up at Josh who was beginning to look worried.

“Ibig sabihin, hindi nag-congeal at tumigas ang dugo para maging langib,” explained Eric. “Posible na kaya `di nagsara agad yung sugat, ay para mas maipasa ni Louie ang DNA mula sa kanyang saliva sa sugat mo.”

“Baka naman diabetic si Josh?” Reubert asked.

”Hindi naman siguro, dahil naglangib na ang mga sugat sa braso niya kagabi,” Eric pointed out.

”This is something definitely worth looking in to!” I exclaimed, “Do you mind if I take blood samples from the wound? As well as saliva samples from the alpha?”

“Nasa mesa pa ang bandage na ginamit ko kanina,” said Louie.

He pointed at several cotton balls on top of their side table.

“I’m afraid this is...” I was about to ask for more blood samples, when Eric glared at me.

I guess, with all that Joshua went through, it would be insensitive to ask for more.

I would need to get more samples from him some other time.

“I’ll just give you a quick check-up,” I said instead.

We all went downstairs after the check-up. Mercy served us some breakfast, then we moved to the den with Reubert and Nathan. I was about to ask them questions when Eric beat me to it.

“So, kamusta ang pagsasama ninyo? Nag-aaway pa ba kayo?” he asked as we took our seats.

“Madalas,” Reubert grinned, “sa kama.”

”Sir Go, `wag ka po’ng bastos.” Nathan said, irritated.

”Ah, I see behavioral changes in the omega’s personality.”

I jotted down my observations in a notebook.

“Iniinom mo pa ba ang gamot na binigay ko sa `yo?” Eric asked Reubert.

“Of course. It’s part of the deal after all,” the other replied.

I looked up at him.

I could tell he was lying since I could scent a faint trail of pheromones emitting from his body. It seems he is not following the professor’s orders.

Which means I could get fresh samples from him without the suppressing effects of his medicine.

“Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to get some more blood samples from you both.” I told them.

“What for?” Nathan frowned.

“Para siguradong wala nang drugs sa system mo,” Eric covered for me.

“Hay, walang katapusang sipsip ng dugo!” he complained, ”Buti na lang `di pa ko natutuyot sa inyo!”

I prepared my equipment from by metal briefcase and proceeded to extract blood samples from the two. I then handed them two vials each.

“Ano naman ito?” Nathan asked me.

“For urine and semen samples,” I replied.

“H-ha?! Kailangan pa ba pati semen?!” he looked surprised.

”Halika na, tutulungan kita.” Reubert said with a grin as he stood up and pulled his partner.

”`Oy! Ano ba!” Nathan’s face turned bright red. ”Kaya ko’ng gawin `yon nang mag-isa!”

Eric sat on the long couch when the two left. I sat beside him and labelled my specimens.

“Did you see, Eric? Nathan seems to be rounder than before.” I told him.

“Oo nga, mukhang ang sarap ng buhay ni loko sa bahay ni Reubert, nangayat na nga s’ya nang naospital noon, ngayon naman, napapalitan ng taba ang natirang muscles sa katawan n’ya,” he chuckled. “Mukhang hiyang na hiyang si loko.”

“He is also starting to look more feminine. From the smooth skin to the softer angles, the rounder hips, the thicker hair...”

“Makapal naman talaga buhok ni Nathan, mas mahaba lang ito ngayon. Dapat magpagupit na s’ya.”

I look at the professor and sigh. It seems he really does not want anything to do with my experiment. I guess I would just let him find out by himself that his nephew is slowly turning into something else.

I went back to my specimens and carefully placed them inside my brief case.

I can’t wait to go back and check them under the microscope.

“Here’s your sample.”

Reubert was the first to return. He gave me the two vials which I placed inside my case.

“Mukhang wala pa si Nathan, ha?” he grinned.

“Oo nga, ba’t ang tagal noon?” mumbled the professor.

“Well, he did say before, that he was having problems getting it up,” I mentioned.

“Wala naman s’yang problema `pag magkasama kami!” Reubert said with a chuckle.

“Ano ba naman kasi ang ginawa mo sa pamangkin ko? Dati rati, makakita lang `yun ng nakasampay na palda, tinitigasan na! Ngayon, sayo na lang sumasaludo ang alaga n’ya!”

Reubert laughed, his face turning red.

“P-Professor talaga... I guess he just loves me that much, kahit hindi n’ya aminin.”

“Hay...” Eric slowly stood up and stretched himself. “Habibi, dala mo ba `yung pinatago ko sa `yong envelope?”

“Right here.”

I handed him a brown envelope containing several photos.

“D’yan muna kayo, tulungan ko lang ang pamangkin ko’ng loko,” he told us.

“Ano po `yan, Sir Eric?” Reubert asked curiously.

“Wala. Naisipan ko lang magbigay ng regalo kay Nathan dahil naging mabait s’ya lately,” he said with a sly grin before heading out of the living room.

“Dr. Abdel, alam n’yo po ba `kung anong laman ng envelope na `yun?” Reubert asked me as soon as Eric was out of earshot.

“Just some documents from the lab,” I replied. “Anyway,” I quickly added before he could ask more questions, “how are the two of you doing? How is Nathan reacting to the changes in his body? Have you noticed anything worth mentioning?”

“Wala naman, doc, makulit pa rin s’ya, though unti-unti na n’ya ako’ng natatanggap. Hindi na kami ganoon kadalas magtalo.”

“Have you noticed any change in his scent?”

“No.”

“His s****l appetite?”

“None.”

“Have you been doing it as frequently as you can?”

Reubert gave a soft snort.

“As if we could. If I had it my way, araw-araw ko s’yang...” he paused and turned red. “Anyway... we have classes, but I try to make love with him every other day.”

“And you keep your seeds inside as long as you can?”

“Opo, I always leave it overnight, kahit pa nagagalit si Nathan... actually, lately, parang `di na s’ya nagrereklamo na masakit ang tiyan n’ya...”

“Good, just keep at it until we get some results. I will call you over to the lab next week to get his MRI and check if he has developed a womb. Look for tell-tail signs of ovulation, like increase in s****l appetite, moodiness, and plumpness of the hips and chest.”

Reubert fell silent. I looked up from my notes and saw him looking thoughtfully at me.

“Dr. Abdel, do you really think he’ll develope a womb?” he asked. “Nathan’s been an alpha for a decade now, and he’s turning twenty soon. I don’t think an adult alpha could just change, and even if he does, don’t you think it would come as a shock to him?”

“Well, at the beginning, perhaps, but he will learn to accept it through time.”

“What if... he rejects it?”

I frowned at him.

“Why would he reject it? He should be proud to be the first alpha to develop a miniature womb.”

“Do you really think someone as proud as Nathan would just accept that?” Reubert said. “I mean, he used to be a top. He’s a dominant alpha, tapos naging bottom s’ya, at ngayon, maari pang mabuntis at manganak?”

“Well, of course, at first, he would find it difficult to accept, but with his partner by his side, I don’t think there would be much problems.”

Reubert’s frown slowly disappeared.

“You’re right. Nasa tabi n’ya ako. Hindi dapat ako masyado’ng mag-alala,” he said with a gentle smile in his face. “T-that is, if what you say actually happens!” he quickly added.

“Eto na kami!” we were startled when Eric suddenly called our attention.

”Ay, sa wakas!” Reubert stood up and grinned at his partner, ”Masyado ba’ng marami kaya ka natagalan? O nakatulog ka na sa kahihintay?”

”Ha-ha-ha! Nakakatawa!” Nathan sneered and sat with Eric on the couch in front of ours. “Nasaan na sina papa?” he asked.

“Nasa kusina pa, mukhang gutom na gutom ang dalawa matapos nilang maging mates,” Reubert answered him.

“Which is a common occurance between mates, may they be fated or otherwise,” said I. “After mating, partners usually attune their bodies to the other’s biological clock, they would get hungry at the same time, sleep at the same time, and even wake-up at the same time.”

“So, ayos na ba ang lahat dito?” asked Eric as he handed me Nathan’s samples.

“Yup, we’re almost done here,” Reubert answered.

“Ba`t ba parang mas iniimbestigahan n’yo kami kesa kina papa?” Nathan asked with a frown.

“S’yempre, simpleng fated pair lang ang tatay mo at si Josh,” replied his uncle, ”samantalang kayo ni Reubert ay fated pair na dominant pareho, with Reubert as the top.”

“You are more interesting,” I agreed, “also, I have been busy for so long, this is the only time I can test you both.”

“Tama, kamusta na nga pala ang kaso sa Club A?” Reubert asked me.

“The investigative body have decided to dismiss it as hysteria caused by an illegal drug that was probably circulated in the black market,” I replied.

“Pero may mga haka-haka pa ring lumalabas na isa itong military nerve gas attack, gamit ang concentrated omega hormones para mag-rut ang mga alpha,” Eric said, revealing classified information, “Kaya’t kailangan pa rin ninyong mag-ingat. Mahirap na pag sumabog sa balita ang tungkol sa mga dominant omegas at mga kakayahan nila,” He looked at Reubert and frowned. “`Pag nangyari `yon, pati ang side n’yo ay `di na p’wedeng manahimik na lang.”

”Anong side?” asked Nathan.

No one even  dared to look at him.

”Reubert, tito Eric, anong side ang sinasabi ninyo? At bakit parang may tinatago kayo sa akin?” he sounded irritated.

“The less you know, the safer you are,” said Reubert, which does not help at all. “Just know that I can protect you. And that you can trust in me.”

“Akala ko pa partners tayo? Ikaw pa ang sabi nang sabi d’yan na iisa na katawan natin! Dapat lang alam ko ang nangyayari sa katawan ko!” Nathan insisted

”Sabihin mo na kasi, Reubert,” said Eric.

Reubert gave a deep sigh.

”Okay...” he frowned, ”kakilala ko si Gen. De Leon.”

Nathan stared at him.

”Sino `yun?”

”Hindi mo kilala ang head of National Defense ng Pilipinas?!” Reubert frowned at his mate.

“Ah, siya ba `yun?”

“Well, anyway, pasalamat na lang tayo at malakas ang kapit ni Reubert,” said the professor, standing up. “Ngayon, tingin ko kailangan na naming bumalik habang fresh pa ang mga specimens na naipon namin, right Habibi?” he placed an arm on my shoulder and grinned.

“Don’t call me Habibi,” I replied. “We will see you again next week for further testing.”

“May karugtong pa?” Nathan protested.

“Of course, this will continue for at least six months to a year.” I informed him.

“`Wag kayong mag-alala, after next week, monthly na lang ang check-up ninyo.”

I stared questioningly at the professor.

I was hoping we could visit them weekly!

“Makapagpaalam na kay Louie bago umalis,” he said before I could protest. “Halika na, mahal, uwi na tayo.”