Are you hungry?" Marcos asked as he stepped towards Raphael. He'd taken a gamble and ordered extra food when he was picking up his dinner. Hopefully it would pay off now. As it was he was growing frustrated with the way the omega had been avoiding him. His earlier resolve to try and win Raphael's friendship had already begun to fade a little.

Whatever question the omega had been expecting, it hadn't been that. Or at least, that's what it looked like to Marcos. Raphael's smirk of superiority had slid off his face and he was sitting on his bike with a slack jawed expression.

Marcos repressed the urge to smirk. He'd managed to catch Raphael off guard. Now time to capitalize on the situation.

He unrolled the top of the paper back and peeked inside.

"Do you like fish tacos?" he peered over the top of the bag. Raphael was watching him intently, still unmoving. "I was going to take this home and eat it myself, but if you'd like to join me maybe we could sit at one of those tables by the beach?"

"No!" Raphael exclaimed so suddenly that it looked like it took him by surprise. "Not the beach," he said with a little less force.

"So you do want to eat with me." Marcos grinned.

"No, no I don't want to eat with you at the beach or anywhere else," Raphael insisted. He began to turn his bike around once more. "Now I answered your question. Leave me alone."

"Wait." Marcos stepped forward again and reached out a hand towards Raphael. "I don't want anything from you, I swear. I don't know what alpha gave you such a negative impression of us, but I want to try and repair that. I know I came on a little strong before and I'm sorry for that. All I want is to share a meal and prove to you that alphas and omegas can just be friends without it being a pretext for something else."

Raphael eyed him uncertainly. It was clear that the omega didn't really trust him. That was fine with Marcos. He didn't need Raphael's trust just yet. He just needed him to be willing to give this a chance. They really could be friends, he was certain of it. He could turn this negative into a positive still. He had to believe it was possible.

The omega frowned for a long moment before his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine," he relented. "Just not on the beach."

"That's fine," said Marcos, doing his best to hide the triumph swelling in his chest. "What about the park across the street? They've got that covered eating area." He glanced up at the sky as he spoke. The gray clouds over head threatened rain at any moment.

Raphael glanced down Main street in the direction of the park and the beach. He seemed to be going over something in his head. "That should be okay," he said at last.

"Great." Marcos smiled broadly as he began to march down the street towards the park. To his surprise, Raphael climbed off his bicycle and pushed it along as he walked beside him.

They completed the short walk in silence. Marcos had to force himself to keep his eyes forward and not look over at his companion no matter how much he wanted to. He had to remind himself that he'd made an overture of friendship, nothing more. He wasn't here to flirt or to try and win over the omega's heart.

The park was only a stone's throw away from the beach at the end of Main Street. On a normal day, food carts would be parked along the roadside and people would be splashing and playing in the waves. The large covered eating area would've been crowded with people and seagulls would be sitting nearby waiting to scoop up any discarded food scraps.

Today, not even the seagulls were hanging around.

They wordlessly grabbed a table near the center of the eating area and sat down. Marcos divvied out the food and they began eating in silence.

Marcos' brain railed against him. This wasn't good. Sitting here in silence wasn't going to help. If he didn't say something, start some sort of conversation, then any chance of friendship between them was going to be over before it even started.

"So...how did you get started carving seashells?" Marcos tried to sound casual as he selected the most innocent question he could think of.

Raphael was silent for a moment as he finished chewing a mouthful of food. Marcos noticed that he kept glancing towards the beach every few seconds. Sure, the sea was a little rougher than usual but it wasn't all that bad. He wondered at what as making the omega so nervous but, wisely, decided to avoid such personal questions right off the bat.

"I...it started with my papa. He was friends with Pearl. They grew up together and I guess they learned it from Pearl's grandmother. Then when I was a kid, Papa taught me. Pearl eventually hired me to help out in the shop and when her arthritis got too bad to do the work herself, she had me take over." Raphael looked down at his food the entire time he spoke. He seemed to be doing everything in his power to avoid meeting Marcos' gaze.

"The carvings I saw in the shop were beautiful," commented Marcos, trying to keep the conversation moving. "Do you have any favorites?"

"Um, not, not really? I mean, there's this one that I did. It was a commission from President Fernandez as a wedding president for his husband. It was this really huge conch shell...I don't even know where he found it. He brought it in and had this really intricate design he wanted. A pod of three dolphins splashing in the waves. I guess they were supposed to represent the two of them and their son." Raphael looked up briefly and for just a moment Marcos thought he got a sense of the artist inside his pale skinned companion.

"Look, this...I just..." Raphael seemed to be struggling to find the words he wanted to say. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea here. This isn't a date."

"I never said it was," Marcos replied in a manner that he hoped came across as nonchalant. "This just two acquaintances chatting over a meal. Nothing more." Again, he smiled and tried to appear as innocent as possible. Getting Raphael to relax and lower his guard was proving to be more difficult than he'd expected. His words didn't seem to have any affect.

"I just...I'm not sure that's going to work," admitted Raphael as he pushed away what was left of his food. "You're too much of an alpha. You're too attractive, too confident." He quickly climbed to his feet. "Nothing between us would ever be 'just friends.'"

"Wait, just stop." Marcos scrambled to his feet in an effort to intercept Raphael. He was still struggling to catch up. He couldn't recall a single point in his life where he'd ever felt so bad about receiving a compliment on his appearance. "You can't just reject someone because they're an alpha."

"I can. I have. I will." Raphael grabbed the handlebars of his bike and began pushing it back towards the road.

"Why?"

"I don't owe you an explanation."

"Don't you?" Marcos couldn't come up with a better protest. He hadn't been prepared to lose so quickly. Frustration was building in his chest. He did his best to suppress the urge to yell at his fleeing companion.

To his surprise, Raphael paused and looked back at him. There was a pained expression on his face and Marcos got the distinct impression that the omega really did want to stay. There was fear in his eyes. Something was driving him away. Something beyond Marcos and outside of his influence. Something that wouldn't be easily dislodged.

"I...I don't even know you. I don't owe you anything," Raphael said at last. He turned back towards the road.

Before he'd gone two steps, the sky opened up. Rain poured from the sky in an endless deluge. It hammered against the roof covering the tables and spilled over the edge in a waterfall like sheet. The downpour was so thick that it almost obscured the sight of the beach.

"My name is Marcos Espinoza," began Marcos. "I am thirty-two years old. I was born right here on Catalejo island. My father is a drunken asshole and inspired me to leave home as soon as I was old enough. I got a job working on a fishing boat. Now I'm a captain, I earn a decent income, and spend my free time trying to find someone crazy enough to take a chance on me."

Raphael stared out at the rain and avoided Marcos' gaze. For a long time it looked like he was just going to stay silent.

"Didn't you have another parent?" Raphael asked at last.

Marcos hadn't been expecting that question. He wasn't really prepared to talk about his mother or the reality of his relationship with his father. As much as he wanted to win over the omega's icy heart, he wasn't sure he was willing to pay this price.

"I...my mother..." Marcos' voice trailed off. "I'm sorry. It's complicated and I...I don't..."

"It's fine," said Raphael, leaning his bike against one of the tables. "I shouldn't have pushed. You'd think someone as guarded as me would respect other people's boundaries a little better." He laughed mirthlessly as he climbed onto one of the tables and sat down, resting his feet on the bench. "You didn't have to tell me all that."

"I don't know who hurt you," said Marcos. "My actions yesterday only seemed to reinforce something negative in your past and for that I'm sorry. The fact of the matter is that I want to get to know you. Y-you’re intriguing to me and...you're stunning to look at." Raphael blushed and looked away but said nothing. "The carvings you've done are amazing and I guess when I first encountered this perfect package of beauty and talent I got a little carried away."

"You're not the first smooth talking alpha to try and win me over," said Raphael with a slight smile on his lips.

Marcos felt his heart sink a little at those words.

"But, you are the first one that I believed," Raphael finished. "I...I'm Raphael Alvarado. I'm twenty-four years old. I was also born here on Catalejo island. I...left home when I was sixteen and went to live with Pearl. She gave me a job and the rest is pretty much as I told you already."

It was clear that Raphael was editing a huge chunk of his life out of his story, but Marcos couldn't really fault him for that. Not after his own refusal to share details about his past.

They looked out at the rain in silence for several long minutes.

"It's really not letting up," sighed Marcos, shaking his head as he packed up the remainder of their meal. "Look I...don't take this wrong way. It's not what you think. It's just that I live just around the corner in one of the apartments. We'd have to brave the rain, but it would be more comfortable than sitting out here."

To Marcos' surprise, Raphael's answer wasn't an immediate rejection. "Let's just stay here for a few more minutes."

"I don't want you to get the wrong idea," Raphael continued. "I'm not ready to go back to an alpha's apartment alone. We've both pretty much admitted that we're attracted to each other. I don't really know what would happen if we moved to a more...comfortable setting." He shot a sly glance at Marcos.

"Your thoughts just go straight to the gutter, don't they?" teased Marcos, moving to stand in front of Raphael.

The omega's cheeks flushed red. "It's just that I don't think I could resist you. I don't want to put myself in that position."

"What position is that?" Marcos pressed, his lips curling up into a grin as he looked up into Raphael's dark eyes. "Missionary? Doggy? Cowboy?"

"You're terrible!" protested Raphael, straightening his back and folding his arms. "All this talk about how much you want to improve my opinion of alphas and here you are being so stereotypically alpha it's almost not funny."

"I'm sorry, I can't help it," said Marcos, doing his best to press back a smile. "I find you highly desirable. My thoughts keep running away with me. I...I can't promise I won't ever say anything like that again. What I can promise, is that I'll never lay a finger on you without your permission." He wasn't sure exactly what prompted him to make that promise, but judging from Raphael's expression it had taken him by surprise.

"Do you really mean that?" Raphael asked.

"Yeah, I do." Marcos didn't even hesitate. He knew in his heart that it was a promise he would do anything to keep.

"Then..." Raphael looked indecisive for a long moment. Before Marcos could speak again, Raphael leaned in pressed a kiss against Marcos' lips. The movement was so sudden that it seemed to take them both by surprise.

Their eyes met hesitantly. Marcos searched Raphael's gaze for any hint of remorse or uncertainty. All he saw there was a question of whether or not to continue.

"Can I kiss you?" Marcos asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he stepped closer.

"Yes," breathed Raphael. Their lips met again. This time it was more than just a quick peck. They opened their mouths to one another, exchanging heat and lust.

Raphael slid down off the table and the moment his feet touched the ground, Marcos slid his arms around the omega's body and pulled him close. The depth and heat of their kiss only increased now that they could slide their hands over one another's bodies.

Marcos could already feel his body beginning to respond. The warmth of their kiss was spreading to his groin where his erection began to tighten against his jeans.

"I...I want you, Raphael," Marcos breathed in between kisses. "I want you badly."

"I'm...I'm not ready," Raphael said as he broke the kiss and backed away. "I've never... I'm not ready."