Work Text:
“So, Hughsie.” Jack hears when he's calmly eating lunch in his classroom. He sighs and looks up at Robert, who is walking down the stairs towards him.
It stays silent for a bit and Robert is looking for a chair to grab. Then he sits opposite of Jack, who just looks at him through his lashes as he actually just wants to eat calmly while reading some texts.
“Just curious,” He swallows while he keeps staring at his teacher, “Did Neeks dick you down yet?” He smiles innocently as Jack just glares at him.
“Not that I would tell you, but no, Robert, we haven’t had sex.” He takes a bite out of his home made sandwich and looks down at his phone again.
“Yet… Right?” Jack just looks at him shortly and roles his eyes before typing a response to his father's text.
“Come on, prof.” Robert whines. “Give him a chance, I mean, he's hot…” Jack looks up at that, suddenly feeling self-aware.
“Has he been talking to you about this?” He worried that Nico’s been giving him so many signs and he just ignored them, but he doesn't remember anything… Has it been so bad that he's been talking to Robert about it?
“What? No. He doesn't tell me shit, just says it's private, which I thought meant you have been having craaaaaazyy sex.” Jack rolls his eyes again.
“No we haven't, but I don't know, I'm not gonna talk to you about this.”
“Who are you gonna talk to? I'm, like, the perfect person for this.”
“Well, Robert, I have an older brother for these kind of worries and besides that, you're far from the perfect person for this as you are one; my student and two; my boyfriend's friend. I would rather talk to my younger brother about this than to you.”
“That's just straight up mean, Hughsie…” Robert goes through his bag and grabs a plastic bag with a sandwich to then open it and start eating, still staring at Jack.
“What? What do you want me to say, Robert?” Jack asks as he breaks eye contact and cleans up his lunchbox.
“Just… I don't know, like, when's your next heat? Spend it with him.” Jack's eyes widen at that. “Why not???” Robert asks, taking another bite. “Promise he'll take good care of you.”
“Robert, I don't know, that's going a bit fast, isn't it?” Robert shakes his head at that, keeping up the staring. “Besides, I still have a son that needs to be fed and brought to school, so spending my heat with someone will make it even harder…”
“Mh, I'll give you that. But pretty weak that you're pulling the Nate-card here.” Jack rolls his eyes again. Like how many times can he do that before they roll out of his head?
“Yeah, it's not like he has a rut or something…” Robert says, thinking out loud, but it gets Jack’s attention anyway. “Can’t you like, call one of your brothers to watch Nate and then go over to Neeks? Or just send him off to a friend or something, have the whole house to yourself.” He says that with a dirty wink and Jack stops him, which makes him laugh.
“Stop, stop. I'm not doing that, that's weird, shut up. But what do you mean, he has no rut?” Robert silences and asks: “He didn't tell you that?”
“Tell me what?” Jack asks, worried that something’s wrong.
“Nico isn't even an Alpha.” He laughs at that and Jack’s face drops at that. “Hughsie, I didn't expect you to be this oblivious. Nico is as Beta as you can get them, prof.”
“Huh…” Jack nods softly, thinking about it. It's the sound of students that wakes him from his thoughts. When he looks up again, Robert is in his seat and talking to a friend.
It's later that evening that he texts his brothers: “I made a discovery, only call if you're ready for a dump of, like, everything.” Three minutes later, Quinn calls and Luke soon joins.
“Tell me about the discovery.” Quinn says as he's eating dinner, he lives in a different time zone, so it makes sense that Jack's in bed and Quinn at the dinner table.
“So, I was just having lunch and Robert walked in, asking… an inappropriate question… And after a quite awkward conversation I made the discovery that Nico is, in fact, Beta.” Quinn just hums at that and Luke keeps ignoring them, just listening to their conversation, like most of the times they call.
“You're not at all surprised by this discovery I made?” Jack asks, whispering, but still kind of loud, himself surprised that his brothers aren't.
“Mh mh.” Quinn shakes his head, swallowing his bite of food. “Not in the slightest. Have you seen him, Jack? This man is the perfect guy for you, you don't need an Alpha, Jack, we all know that.” Luke huffs at that, all three of them know that's true.
“I know, but still… Yeah, that’s the discovery.” Quinn looks at him, through the screen, as if he's waiting for more.
“The dump?” Quinn asks as Jack stays silent.
“Yeah, like, I don't know if… Robert says that Nico didn't tell him anything but from what he said…” Jack seems to be doubting how to continue.
“Jack, just tell us.”
“I think Nico wants to have sex, but I don't know if I'm ready for that, but we are also already together for like 4 months. But then there's also Nathan and I just don't know what to do and Robert made me feel like Nico has been talking to him about how long it's taking and it kinda makes me feel shit.”
Jack just breathes after that and looks at a spot above the camera, Quinn nods slowly, understanding what his younger brother is saying. Then, the sound of Luke leaving the call is heard and both brothers ignore it, understanding that Luke doesn't want to take part in this.
“The last thing you should do is make yourself feel rushed, you know that Jacky. Also, it’s quite a big step for you and maybe Nico doesn't realise that. You shouldn't make yourself feel pressured by Nico, Robert or this “four months together” thing. And if Nico is indeed talking to Robert instead of you and that's hurting you, you should tell him that.”
Jack just nods, letting Quinn's words sink in.
“What do you think are good circumstances for me to talk to Nico about this? With as possible outcome, like, that we do have sex.” Jack’s whispers are getting softer and softer. Quinn just nods and stays silent, thinking for a bit, but it doesn't make Jack insecure anymore, talking about sex with his brother.
“Logically, you could do it when Nathan isn't home, but like, to actually have time for the “possible outcome” it would be early morning, when Nate's at school, but also, Nico probably has a tight training schedule. In that case, evening would be ideal, just so you can see if you have any energy left. But I don't know how you feel about Nathan being there. Of course, me or Luke could watch when we're playing Toronto, but Nico's probably tired after a game.” Quinn just thinks out loud.
“Okay, Robert suggested this, I think you're about to say it as well. What if Nathan isn't home. Do you think it's fair to, like, ask his friends for a sleepover or something? Would it be obvious to their parents that I want to get laid if I ask it to be at theirs?” Quinn laughs at that, starting to clear off his table after dinner.
“I mean, I do think it gives a signal, but just ask one of the oblivious mothers, pull your sad puppy eyes and you'll pull it off.” Jack nods softly, just looking at his brother, who’s moving around his apartment. He then starts to feel his eyes dropping and speaks up again, voice breaking.
“I'm super tired, but do you think that's appropriate?” Quinn hums.
“Just do it, talk with Nico, get laid. I don't know, just make sure you talk this all out. Go to sleep, Jacky, I love you.” Jack just nods, closing his eyes for a moment.
“I love you, Quinny” He says sleepily, Quinn hangs up after laughing softly, Jack falling into a comfortable sleep.