Bodies filled the gap between them, shuffling forward with the determination of people who had waited too long already.

Neville could still see Grayson’s black hair above the crowd, but the distance grew with each passing second. The pheromones pressed in from all sides, assaulting his vomeronasal organ.

Ugh!

His eyes were already swimming, his ears were ringing.

Suddenly, a large, firm hand clamped onto Neville’s arm. The hand instantly pulled him out of the flow of the human current.

Neville looked up to find that Grayson had somehow carved a path back to him, his eyes sharp with concern. His grip felt protective, almost possessive.

"What’s wrong with you?" Grayson asked, sharp with concern as he pulled Neville flush against his side.

"Too many... pheromones," Neville managed to gasp out, his hand clutching at Grayson’s shirt.

"Stay close," Grayson said, his voice low enough that only Neville could hear.

The crowd surged again.

More elbows. More pheromones.

Grayson immediately shielded Neville with his body, a solid, broad wall between Neville and the jostling crowd.

Neville’s face ended up pressed against the soft material of Grayson’s shirt, right over his chest. He could hear the rapid thumping of Grayson’s heart.

Grayson’s pheromones were a calming, single, powerful force, overriding the chaotic background noise. It was so intoxicating that Neville leaned into it without conscious thought.

Then a child’s shriek pierced the air as someone accidentally stepped on their foot. The chaos intensified, bodies pressing together in a suffocating mass of impatience and sensory overload.

Neville watched Grayson’s jaw tighten.

Then the atmosphere changed.

It started as a subtle pressure followed by a low growl that was barely audible carried a warning that made everyone who had heard it snap to attention.

The crowd froze.

Grayson’s fresh water pheromones expanded outward along with the growl, but this time, asserting his presence as an extremely dominant alpha.

Conversations died mid-sentence. Children stopped squirming. Even the anti-grav strollers seemed to hover lower.

Dominant.

Predator.

Do not approach.

The effect rippled outward like a shockwave, creating a bubble of space around them. People stepped back unconsciously, their bodies reacting before their minds could process why.

An omega three meters away went pale and grabbed her companion’s arm. A beta man coughed awkwardly and suddenly found the ceiling very interesting.

The living staff members visible near the entrance exchanged relieved glances. One of them—a young omega in the aquarium’s blue uniform—wiped sweat from her forehead.

Crowd control had clearly been a nightmare. Whoever had just released those dominant pheromones had solved the problem more effectively than any security protocol.

None of them made any move to identify the source and make an arrest since some questions were better left unasked.

[Host! Host! Did you see that?! He’s so cool! 10/10 would write fanfiction about! (｡♥‿♥｡)]

Neville barely registered Shelly’s suddenly excited squealing as he drank Grayson’s pheromones.

"I’m sorry," Grayson whispered softly against Neville’s ear. "Are you okay?"

Neville took a deep, shaky breath, inhaling Grayson’s pheromones. "Yeah... just dizzy."

Grayson tightened his hold, keeping Neville securely pressed to his side.

"We’re not waiting in this line. This is ridiculous." He glanced around until his eyes landed on a discreet side door marked ’VVIP Access.’

"Stop." Neville snapped back to his senses and pulled away from Grayson.

Grayson looked back at him, a little lost.

Neville touched his neck a little and awkwardly said, "We’re going to stand out if we enter that way."

Sure enough, the entrance to the VVIP Access was really empty that anyone who entered would immediately be the center of attention.

Grayson narrowed his eyes before saying, "Okay." Then, he turned his head forward as if nothing happened.

However, one thing kept Neville distracted as they stood side by side.

It narrowed to a single point of contact.

The hand on his wrist had moved.

Why was he still holding his hand?

Then, Grayson’s fingers suddenly slid down, past the sensitive skin of his inner wrist, until their palms pressed together.

Neville managed to close his mouth as he gasped.

Grayson’s fingers continued to thread between his own, interlacing with a deliberate slowness, acting like it was just an accident.

Neville looked up.

While doing this, Grayson never looked back at him. His eyes remained fixed on the path ahead, with his carefully maintained expression.

But his lips curved into the smallest smirk after tightening the grip on their interlaced hands.

Heat flooded Neville’s face.

"This way," Grayson said, as if he hadn’t just messed with Neville’s brain. "The line’s moving."

"I—" Neville’s voice came out strangled.

He unconsciously raised the hand that was holding Grayson’s hand, but then quickly dropped it and used the other to clear his throat.

"Right. Yes. Moving."

[KYAAAAA! HAND-HOLDING! SKINSHIP! So nice! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]

’Please stop.’

They walked forward, their joined hands hidden partially by the angle of their bodies.

Neville couldn’t decide if that made it better or worse.

On one hand, fewer people were staring at them.

On the other hand, the secrecy made it feel more... intimate.

Like a secret shared only between them.

The crowd pushed again, testing the boundaries of Grayson’s earlier warning.

This time, Grayson didn’t bother spreading his pheromones. He simply pulled Neville closer again, tucking him against his side.

Neville found himself pressed against Grayson’s arm, the solid warmth of the man’s body blocking the chaos from his left side.

A small family tried to squeeze past them. But Grayson moved, shielding Neville from the contact without breaking away from each other.

"Better?" Grayson asked.

Neville could only mechanically nod, unable to say anything more.

They walked like that through the remainder of the queue with Neville’s shoulder brushing Grayson’s chest with every step.

When they finally reached the entrance and scanned their tickets, the crowd thinned dramatically and spread around this huge place.

The aquarium’s interior was designed with multiple pathways and viewing alcoves, dispersing visitors effectively to prevent the kind of chaos that had plagued the queue.

But Grayson didn’t let him go.

Their fingers remained intertwined as they walked past the first exhibit.