Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Howdy Howdy, you may have seen my other work (Let him know) and i sort of teased i had more works i wanted to publish, so i decided to make this book. This is the index.

Chapter 1 - you are here.

Chapter 2 - loose fantasy au, Puffer is kinda trying to deny he needs help in preheat.

Chapter 3 - Matt's presenting as an alpha much to the shock of everyone around him.

Chapter 4 - Droid's the only omega in his pack, and this is his first pack heat. He doesnt know how to ask for help.

Chapter 5 - Just a silly Drabble of Matt complaining

Chapter 6 - Puffer angst. He's trying to leave his pack before they need to tell him to leave

Chapter 7 - Trans-Omega Smitty. Him coming out to his pack and being accepted by his packmates

Chapter 8 - They're a werewolf pack, and Johns finally moving in with them!

Chapter 9 - Matt's heat's ended and they're all cuddling in his nest!

Chapter 10 - Trans Omega Puffer needs to be honest with his pack about wanting to medically transition

Chapter 11 - Grizzy was only gone 6 days, and now he cones back to find an accidental mate mark

Chapter 12 - Smitty hates ruining other peoples plans just as much as he hates asking for help in his heat

Chapter 13 - Beta Yumi is confused why people think he's an omega

Chapter 14 - Trans Omega Grizzy comes out to his pack

Chapter 15 - Omega-Leaning Alpha Smitty and Alpha-Leaning Omega John

Chapter 16 - Omega Puffer is hesitant to let the pack court him, because they already have so many omegas

Chapter 17 - Omega Pezzy in heat feeling like no one cares because he's all alone

Chapter 18 - Beta Matt going through it because Smitty left him for John in America

Chapter 19 - Beta Pezzy is kicked out for being trans, Yumi runs away with him. Pezzy sacrifices a lot to raise his brother. Their dad finds them in the future.

Chapter 20 - Alpha Pezzy is sick of everyone calling him an omega, especially after everything, John going to keep him company, While he's away, Droid presents as an omega.

Chapter 21 - Smitty used to date Matt, then he moved away. Now Matt's back in the area, he's encouraging John to go and maybe date Matt

Chapter 22 - Werewolf pack pt 2 - Werelion John bonds with Werefox Yumi

Chapter 23 - Grizzy presents as an Omega, and tries to pretend to be an alpha, because it's what's expected of him

Chapter 24 - Alpha Smitty loses his ability to scent, and then it really fucks him up mentally

Chapter 25 - Mamá Puffer becomes real!

Chapter 26 - Droid and Matt get turned into pups, Mama Pezzy steps up

Chapter 27 - Omega Yumi's heat hits, Alpha Soup is just here for the ride

Chapter 28 - Omega Puffer loves riling up Alpha Pezzy, but he goes too far.

Chapter 29 - Omega John and Omega Pezzy are tired of everyone thinking they need an alpha, but when John goes into heat, they're split up

Chapter 30 - Beta John doesn't understand what he brings to the pack. He's kind of useless, in the scheme of things... Plus they don't treat him thr same as each other.

Chapter 31 - Omega Matt gets pregnant, Omega John pretends to be the father, as a cover up. It goes poorly

----------

BTW, If you want to request a specific idea here's my list of rules. You also accept that my chronic ADHD means I have 23 fics on the go and some may just randomly manifest after weeks or months.

Yes!!!:

- I'm down to write any dynamic, like... relationship wise. I would prefer Poly settings, but I'm easily flexible.

- any secondary gender I'm cool with on anyone. Or trans that gender.

- I'm down to write like... any tropes. Angst, fluff, hurt comfort, fantasy.

- please i love writing trans / lgbt characters go crazy please

- most settings (apocalyptic, minecraft idk)

PLEASE MIX UP THE DYNAMICS!!! Seeing a variety of secondary gender suggestions makes it all fun. Yes I do like Alpha Grizzy and Omega Pezzy, but sometimes mixing it up is fun! /nf

also I would love to have some reqs for all characters!! I do love Smitty, but I also love everyone else too /lh ♡

were creature aus / hybrids

Very situational / Iffy on

- major character death of one of the boys. Like its sometimes fun to write but I can not for the life of me give people perma death endings. Someone's coming back as a ghost and you gotta be okay with that. Randoms dying? Yeah thats chill

- I'm okay with implied abusive relationships but I'm not rlly writing out details..

- Cheating....

- Angst without a happy ending.

High school setting... Because then ages get icky for me.

No:

Non con with Detail. This includes but is not limited to - touching, sexual acts, non con gender transitioning, triggering of heats in a malicious way. I am not comfortable with that. The most you will get is IMPLIED, and even then it's like... ehhhh

- I'm not writing them in a Harry potter setting. Nope. I dont fuck the vibes.

- nsfw, (but Feel free to suggest it on my other psued) if you want, but I'm not gonna publish it here, it would be published separately. It's also not set in stone its even gonna happen.

- None of the following even as sfw - Pedophilia, grooming, incest, beastiality, suicide(?),

Chapter Text

Pezzy is sitting on the couch, studying the way Puffer keeps walking past him, pausing and then leaving the room. He seems a bit lost to be honest, not all of himself seems to be there behind his glasses. It would be amusing to Pezzy if it wasn't so out of character for the taller man. He looks like a lost puppy.

As his eyes are following Puffer walking past him again, Droid now comes into view, freezing at the sight of Puffer almost walking into a wall.

“Wow okay.” Droid says, raising an eyebrow. “That's a thing now.”

“Do you know what's up with him?” Pezzy asks curiously, as Droid comes to invade his space, sliding next to him.

Droid jolts at the question, turning to him before relaxing again. “Oh shit yeah I forgot, you betas can't smell it yet. Puffer's like 100% in preheat right now.” Droid nodded, the younger alpha clearing up the confusion.

Pezzy nods, accepting the explanation before frowning again. “Ahhhh. Why's he look so lost then?” Pezzy asked, Droid also frowning at this before another voice chimes in.

“Because it's the first time he's been in preheat without Grizzy nearby in like years.” John's voice cuts in behind the two who jump initially.

“Ah yeah.” Pezzy mumbles.

“Makes sense.” Droid snorts.

John snorts as well, coming around to check on them both. “You guys doing okay over here? No one's about to spontaneously go into heat despite living their whole life as some other gender? No? Damn get more creative guys, keep me on my toes please.” John joked, making Pezzy and Droid look away, trying not to giggle at the memory of Grizzy waking up a few days ago screaming bloody murder.

“Nah I think we're both doing good here boss.” Droid says, giving John a thumbs up as John just sighs tiredly.

“You're on thin fucking ice buddy. The fact that you're the only alpha in this household now and I'm doing your job of tending to two omegas in heat… Count your days…” He glared jokingly. “If Smitty goes into heat right now I am going to KILL MYSELF.”

About 5 days ago now, the house had awoken to Grizzy screaming bloody murder. He'd been snuggling with Matt, the older going through a tummy ache, when they'd both fallen asleep in Matt's nest. The full moon had shone through the window, lighting up the room in a soft glow.

Somehow the witch Grizzy had accidentally pissed off a week prior had not been joking when she had placed a curse on him. The alpha had woken up to find out he was now an omega in the middle of a rough fucking heat, coincidentally triggering Matt into a sympathy heat.

Droid had wisely decided he wasn't going anywhere near all of that drama, not wanting to fuck with a new omegas first heat mentality, deciding to leave it all up to Smitty and John to look after. Pezzy being on standby, but mostly in charge of gathering supplies each day.

Smitty had been practically glued to the two men since then, constantly being scented and cuddled by the others, trying to reassure a very emotional Grizzy that yes, he was still loved by them all, even if this had happened, and no he wasn't a failure of an alpha, even if he was an omega right now.

Matt and Grizzy kept accidentally getting really teary and emotional, while Smitty would shoot daggers at John everytime he made a joking comment.

“Look man, I totally get it, dealing with Matt's stage 5 clinger ass is kinda tough, but you got a good deal out of all this. Me and Pezzy gotta deal with a bitchy and moody Puffer for a week starting tomorrow, so I'm gonna say Karma is already working its wonderful magic.” Droid pouted, making John smile again, nodding at the knowledge of this.

“Oh yeah that's so true. He is not going to be impressed that his favourite alpha is now too busy in someone else's nest. He is going to be such a drama queen, and I'm glad I won't be the one dealing with that this time.” John snickered, standing back up. “Well anyway, I'm about to go back and check on the others, which I reckon is gonna take like an hour with all the tears and complaining. Take care of the other needy big guy for me.” He said, leaving with a wave and a blown kiss.

“Bye.” Pezzy called, watching John leave as Puffer came back in again, still looking lost.

“Okay this has gone on long enough.” Droid muttered, getting slightly concerned at the others behaviour.

“Don't man. He's confused right now, I'd rather that than a moody bitch..” Pezzy pleaded quietly, not being serious but still tugging on Droid's sleeve. It was a bit too late.

“Puffer. Stop.” Droid said, commanding the older with his voice, Pezzy grimacing hearing the alpha tone come out of him.

Puffer froze on the spot, slowly turning around to lock eyes on the two of them, orbs narrowing in offence at the fact Droid had just commanded him without consent.

“You… Fuck you man. Leave me alone.” He attempted to growl out, voice coming out more as a whine, still rooted to the spot.

“Dude, you need to fucking calm down. You're wearing a hole in the fucking flooring. What's wrong? You can talk to us.” Droid prompted, trying to get Puffer to open up.

Puffer practically deflated, looking shifty. He obviously didn't want to admit weakness. “Nothing's wrong. I'm fine.”

“Dude you've walked through here like 10 times in the last hour. I've been watching so don't even try and deny it.” Pezzy said, raising an eyebrow as Puffer closed his mouth with a glare. “It's okay if you're nervous about going into heat without Grizzy man-.”

Puffer looked offended at this, sputtering, “What the fuck?”

Droid looked at him not wanting to deal with the lies about to come from Puffer. “Okay bro. Stop the cap. You're wearing one of his shirts right now. It's not illegal to miss someone you care about.”

Puffer froze, looking down at the large shirt he was wearing, sputtering and looking away. “That….doesn't mean anything. Fuck off. I'm fine!”

Pezzy stood up, approaching the taller man carefully, like he was a startled animal or something. “It's okay to be nervous about this, okay man? You've spent so many heats with Grizzy nearby, you're allowed to be scared because he can't be there for this one. That doesn't make you weak, it makes you human.”

Puffer seemed to shy in on himself, finally willing to admit how he felt. “It's….stupid though…. My inner fucking omega is telling me that I fucking did this. That I was such a shit omega it made one of my alphas get like…..cursed. I know it's not true but.. now I'm just.. It doesn't feel right without him being nearby to reassure me it's not my fault.” Puffer quietly admitted, looking ashamed.

Droid stood up as well, offering up a hug, which Pezzy joined in on, both of them moving in to comfort Puffer who relaxed very slightly.

“Dude it's gonna be okay alright? Me and Pezzy are both gonna be there for you, and hopefully we can get Grizzy uncursed or some shit. Hopefully this is a one off okay?” he soothed, Puffer relaxing at his voice, willing to take some deep breaths.

“Okay… could we cuddle in my nest then? I don't wanna be alone, and you guys will do…. And could you bring some cake please? I'm kinda hungry from all of my pacing.” Puffer said slyly, making Droid deflate but then perk up again at the fact Puffer was letting them in.

“Sure….” He muttered, walking away.

“Show me your new nest Puffer. I bet it looks really good now!” Pezzy said eagerly, taking the tall man's hand.

He could feel surprised pride coming off the tall man as he spoke; “I mean. I don't want to brag, but it is probably the best nest in the pack now…”

Chapter Text

Something was definitely happening to his body. At first Matt wasn’t sure what it was or if it was even real or he was just getting a bit sick, maybe he picked up a bug during the holidays? Now he was definitely sure something weird was going on.

Something that made him nauseous sometimes and too dizzy out of nothing. He didn’t have a clue about it until the guy he sat next to in computer science, Mika stared intently at him. The younger man hummed, studying Matt’s expression with a critical look in place, and put a hand on his forehead lightly.

“Matt, I-I think you’re um, presenting,” he said in a low voice, moving his hand away. Mika started looking around the room to see if anyone else had noticed.

“Huh? Presenting? Now?” Matt asked, too light headed, blinking a few times and focusing the best he could on Mika.

"I think you’re presenting as an Alpha,” Mika added quietly, tapping away on his laptop.

An Alpha?

Matt looked down at his keyboard, trying to remember all he knew but pretty much failing to recall anything.

They said something about that at school, right? Like in biology? Maybe. Probably…

And he probably didn’t pay attention to it. Matt’s parents, a Beta and an Omega, had never properly talked to him about those things and somehow he just thought it was something not worth his worry yet.

He was clearly wrong. Why would he be an Alpha? He always expected to end up a Beta, like his father. A lot easier, too.

“I’ve just been… a little off for a few days, maybe I'm just getting sick,” Matt said optimistically, trying not to freak out about this.

His friend Rectrixx who sat on his other side helpfully decided to chime in, much to Matt's displeasure.

“It can feel like that for some people. The problem is you don’t smell sick, but you do definitely smell different,” Rectrixx mused. “You should go back to your dorm before anything happens. We both know you dont wanna start anything with anyone.”

That night, after a walk through the gardens to try and calm down, Matt was sure both of his classmates were right. Fuck.

Lying in bed, feeling too hot all over, generally uncomfortable in his own sweating body, Matt just wanted for it to be over soon.

He tried to play on his phone but it wasn’t distracting from the heat like he desperately needed so he ended up googling the whole thing, secondary genders and all those other things he also refused to acknowledge.

He was scared, much as he didn't want to admit it. He didn’t want to be fully changed because of this. He pretty much despised how everyone seemed to be more of an animal when finally presenting or how their interests changed drastically. If this affected his personality or friendships he would be pissed off.

No, he didn’t want that. And if he was an Alpha, like Mika and Rectrixx seemed so very sure of, he would need to take suppressants and get scent blockers. He wouldn't let this control him.

He wouldn't be stuck dealing with ruts or whatever they were called.Getting angry and snappish, fighting people over omegas? No thankyou.

He hated it. All of this. Google gave a lot of information but at some point it was too overwhelming. He left his phone aside and shifted in the bed, trying to find a colder spot. Maybe he could sneak into the freezer in the cafeteria? But he didn't want to come into contact with anyone else… fuck.

—--------

The next time he sees Smitty, Matt feels literally sick. He needed to take a few days off to finish presenting, but he's already back at the computer lab, trying to catch up on work, not liking how his body is behaving at the moment. He doesn't feel in control anymore.

Everything was going fine, until he suddenly feels incredibly jealous at the way that Smitty and Rectrixx seem so well adjusted to each other. They're obviously both omegas, they smell so similar now. It makes sense that they would get along. It explains how their friendship happened so easily and naturally.

The fact that Matt can even pick that overwhelms him. Before, he didn't smell much, didn't even percieve scents or anything but now his smelling is fucking crazy. Everything is overwhelming, too much, all at once. It makes his head hurt. He can smell people's fear and sadness and joy and it's making him feel stressed which in turn makes everyone else feel stressed because they can smell his distress and…..

Being near Smitty is surely the fucking worst and Matt cant quite put his finger on why.

He's now also very aware of Smitty being an Omega, whilst he's an Alpha.

There's also no coming back when Smitty confronts him for avoiding him, Smitty's scent filling him with a sense of longing so painful it makes him want to throw up.

—-

“You're avoiding me.” Smitty scowls, arm stopping Matt from leaving his dorm room.

“No…” Matt sheepishly lies, swallowing nervously, trying not to react to Smittys sour milk scent sharpening with anger.

“Bull fucking shit bro? What's wrong with you? What? Since you're an alpha now you can't hang with me because I'm not an alpha?” Smitty scoffs, poking Matt in the chest.

“No!” Matt says aghast. “It's not like that!” he protests.

“Well what is it like? Ever since you presented you don't wanna hang out anymore! What am I supposed to think!” Smitty snaps, throwing his hands up.

Matt frowns, staring at the floor. “I don't know.. I… It's just so overwhelming… I can just smell so much, and it makes me so fucking scared Smit.”

“Huh?” Smitty says pausing. Clearly he had been prepared to argue more, Matt's answer throwing him for a loop.

“I just. I don't want to be feared? I'm just Matt. I don't want to hurt anymore because of some stupid instincts I don't even want! I just want to get on suppressants or something. I don't want to hurt you Smitty.” Matt says, stepping back, retreating back inside his dorm room. He quickly shuts the door so Smitty doesn't see him cry, leaving the other there in shock.

—-

His parents also barely acknowledge the fact of him presenting, just tell him he needs to be well adjusted so his career doesn't have any low points, but don't suggest he should start blockers for his ruts or anything. They don't seem to care…

His friends congratulate him for officially presenting the next time they eat at the cheap Cafe nearby. Great. Like he needs to be fucking reminded of how he's a monster now.

Yet, this is absolutely fucking shit.

Everytime Smitty casually puts his arm around his shoulders or happily teases him, Matt feels both euphoric and dizzy. And then he feels anxious. And the anxiety just starts piling on.

As the days turn to weeks, he finds himself slowly noticing the difference in Smitty's scent regarding different emotions. It's so fucking much, so fucking annoying.

So overwhelming.

He just wants to be a beta.

"So, as you all know, Matt ended up being yet another Alpha in our group! Kinda weird that I'm stuck with a group full of you now, huh?" Smitty jokes with everyone, playfully shoving Matt with his shoulder. “Y’all knotheads better not be getting any weird ideas now!”

Yes. Matt has been very aware of the fact Smitty is the only omega in their group. “Mmmhmm.” he just hums in agreement, too afraid of his voice shaking in fear.

It's somehow worse the time they decide to meet at Matt’s dorm room for a night out on the town. Smitty smells so very much of mint and lavender, almost completely overpowering his warm scent of milk and cinnamon, that it takes Matt by surprise.

He smells purely of someone else's scent. It's like a punch in the gut.

Matt’s Alpha gets awfully jealous once again, burning with the need to make it right. If there's any scent that should be clinging to Smitty, it gotta be his.

The strong feeling and urgent need almost makes him sick and it's difficult to properly control it. The dumb part of his brain that he loathes, feels like claiming what he so deeply wants for himself (Smitty), but the logical part of his mind keeps insisting there's nothing there, really.

Just his own, stupid and annoying crush that got worse with him presenting. Its not worth ruining his friendship over. Besides, Smitty isn't his just because he's an alpha now.

They're in a bar, Matt trying his hardest to not be glaring daggers at the strange Alpha chatting to Smitty, drink clenched in his hand. The alpha has the same scent as before, Smitty leaning in a bit too close to the guy. Matt's alpha wants to fight for Smitty, but the rest of Matt wants to go home and cry. He's so overwhelmed.

When the alpha leaves Smitty's side for a friendly beer with a tall blond girl, Matt can't stop himself in time,his alpha taking charge. He needs to get over there. Now.

He stumbles forcefully against Smitty and grabs his wrist firmly and demandingly.

What is he doing?

"Matt? What's wrong? What are you doing?" Smitty yelps in shock at the way his friend is acting.

Matt doesn't answer. It's too crowded here. He feels too many eyes on him.

Smitty lets him drag him away from the main bar area and outside instead, into a more dark and quiet spot. Matt lets out a shaky breath, trying to stop the tears from springing to his eyes.

He lost control so easily! He's a fucking monster.

"Hey, man, mind sharing what's happening now?" Smitty gently tries again but Matt doesn't answer this time either.

He moves closer and his alpha insists mostly on pressing his nose to the base of Smitty's neck, near his scent gland. "Ummmm, dude what are you doing?"

Smitty takes a step back and Matt feels like dying inside. His alpha has too much influence, his nose is too good now. He feels heart broken. He feels like he's not in control.

He also knows too much about the true nature of Smitty and the other guys relationship, thanks to his stupid fucking alpha senses.

"Y-you fucked h-him?" he bursts out, one hand still holding Smitty's wrist. His alpha is howling mournfully, as if Matt should have any say in who Smitty pursues.

"Matt!" Smitty blushes violently and something ugly growls inside Matt’s chest. “Keep your voice down okay?”

Mine.

"Did you?" Matt asks, the question coming out rather whiny.

Smitty looks away and it's the answer he needs for everything to be obvious. Matt’s heart cracks a little.

“I don't see why that's any of your business man…” he replies quietly.

"I-Is it serious?" Matt asks again. Shit. Hes so fucking NEEDY! …..

please say no…

"I don't know, maybe, maybe not… Just…" Smitty shrugs, not looking Matt in the eyes. “It was.. nice..”

Matt’s alpha angrily huffs before he pushes him against the wall right behind him, not minding the surprise in Smitty's face for a second.

The second ends quickly, replaced by shame, pure self hatred at the fact this is his life now.

He blinks back some tears, which is pathetic, but his alpha needily presses his lips to Smitty's.

Smitty doesn't kiss back.

He's going to kill himself

He doesn't do anything, really. But Matt can't let this go now, he can't do anything with the painful need to brush the rival away from Smitty's body. He needs the other. Matt's alpha is frantic, insisting that Smitty is his omega, all his.

Smitty mostly lets Matt kiss him, hands soothing after a while holding him closer more on a gentle touch, more like a fraternal touch that Matt’s alpha does his best to ignore.

He wants this, but not like this. He wants Smitty to be the one to choose to kiss him. He wants it to be on Smittys terms. He wants to be loved by choice, not by instinct. He feels deep shame and sadness.

Despite all of that, everything else to do with the situation is intoxicating, Matt feels like he is flying, burning, incredibly hungry for more.

He feels like crying and he's not sure why. He doesn't realise he's sobbing.

"Smitty… I like you so fucking much... " he breathes deliriously, lips reaching for the back of Smitty's neck. What is he doing???

Smitty freezes a little at the words, before relaxing slightly. “I know Matty… I know..” He nods slowly, deep in thought.

Matt feels a tear drip down his cheek, freezing. His alpha has fuckex this all up irreversibly. His alpha tries to whine, Matt quickly pulls away, trying his best to explain but it sounds weak, especially coming from him; “Mmm sorry, I just.. I think I overstepped. My alpha… I…”

Smitty scrunched his brows together, shaking his head. “N-no. I just..” he sighs.

Matt frowned looking at the sky, wiping his eyes before asking; “Just what?”

“I just… um.. I don't really wanna be a cheater okay? Can you gimme like five minutes then we can go back to your dorm. Maybe continue this conversation somewhere more private?” Smitty said, letting out a bit of a giggle, turning back to Matt. ”Chill out while I'm gone okay?”

Matt froze, letting out a small smile, sheepishly nodding. “Okay. Thanks Smit.”

Smitty smiled wide, kissing him on the forehead. “Be right back.”

Chapter Text

Droid shuffled into the living room, pausing at the sight of Matt and Smitty arm wrestling. Pezzy and John were cheering them on. He immediately swallowed, suddenly feeling out of his comfort zone.

They all knew he was an omega, yes, but they didn't treat him like one (thankfully). Droid usually took suppressants, which meant the pack had fallen into the routine of just treating him like a beta. It's what he wanted, but that just made what was about to happen more awkward.

His doctor had informed him that his reliance on suppressants had started taking a toll on his body, that he needed to go without for about six months. He'd been vigilant with them for almost a solid ten years now, forced into having a heat, and this would be the first heat with his pack.

But… he was the only omega in the pack. He was ashamed about it. He didn't know how to make a nest, or be comforted through a heat, and he especially didn't know how to ask for help. He played up his ego on stream so often, but it was mostly a mask to protect how scared he was of being judged.

So, like he'd done for the last couple days, Droid shuffles back out of the living room, retreating to his bedroom. He had told himself that today was the day he would ask for clothing to make a nest, maybe ask for help, but seeing everyone all together… happy…. Really had done nothing positive for his mental health.

Sneaking back into his bedroom, he quietly whined sadly. He didn't know what to expect and he was scared! But he also didn't know how to let anyone help him. The idea of six men all trying to take care of him scared him.

Maybe Droid could just pretend he was sick for a few days? Keep everyone out? It could possibly work…although Pezzy and Smitty were nosy as hell … He could just lock the door…

Droid's looking at the pillows on his bed, trying to trust his instincts when he hears a single knock at the door. He pauses, before sighing, going to answer the door.

“Sup.” He says simply, looking up at Puffer's face. He's only got the door open a crack, so Puffer is already frowning.

“What ya doing?” Puffer asks, crossing his arms.

“Nothing.” Droid says defensively.

Puffer just raises an eyebrow. “Doesn't look like nothing to me.”

“What do you want Puffer?” Droid sighs out, already sick of this conversation.

“Can we talk? Can I come in? I'll explain.” Puffer says.

Droid stares at him before sighing, opening the door and letting the tall beta into the room. Puffer pauses, closing the door before sitting on Droid's chair instead of the bed.

“Your heat is soon, isn't it?” Puffer just says bluntly, staring at him.

Droid feels himself in a fight or flight reaction, body almost growling at the other. “What if I am?” he just says shortly.

Puffer just snorts. “Don't get pissy with me man. I might not be able to smell it, and ever since you got home from the doctors last week you've been acting differently. You keep scenting everyone, like almost submitting to people, and you keep trying to back away from big groups. You're obviously trying to make a nest here too. So what's up?”

Damn. Puffer really had been paying attention.

Droid just sighs out. “It's stupid! I don't know how to make a nest at all! And like. I always assumed when I would join a pack there would be like… a pack nest or something? The closest thing we have is like… Smittys’ bedroom. I just. I don't know what to do, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I haven't had a heat in fucking years, and the idea of three over protective alphas trying to care for me scares me a bit.” He admits.

Puffer just sits and listens before standing up. “Okay cool. So here's what we're going to do okay? You stay here, decide where you want to make the nest, and I'll quickly go grab some clothes from the others closets and shit. I'll be sneaky, don't worry. Then I'll bring the stuff back, and I can help you make the nest you're most happy with, okay?”

Droid's eyes well up with tears, already feeling more hormonal. “Really?”

Puffer smiles walking over and petting his fluffy hair. “Yeah, of course man. Heats suck, and I helped some people in college so I know a little more than other people okay? I'll be right back.”
Droid watched Puffer leave. If he had a tail it would be wagging eagerly.

He turned around, looking at his king sized bed. He decided to push it against the wall, scared of falling off. He lines up the side with pillows, placing some stuffed animals at the foot of the bed. He uses some blankets to form a barrier around the outside of the bed, quietly working, stepping back and nodding. This felt better.

He heard a tap on the door, before Puffer came back in. He was carrying a laundry basket, filled with hoodies and shirts from everyone in the house. Droid beamed at him.

“Wow. Thank You so much.” He said, ducking his head shyly.

“Man you don't gotta submit to me, just for helping you okay?” Puffer jokes, placing the basket on the floor. “Looking great already, Droid.”

“Really? You think so?” Droid asked hopefully.

“Yeah, of course!” Puffer nodded. “Now where do you want all these?”

Puffer helps Droid for the next hour, passing him pieces of clothing for the man to weave in and out of his blankets. He feels a swell of pride in his heart when Droid decides to put one of his shirts on a pillow for cuddling.

At the end, Droid is sitting in the middle of the nest, purring quietly. Puffer smiles, standing outside the nest, not wanting to overstep.

“You can come in… if you want.” Droid says shyly, smiling when Puffer does just that.

“This is the best nest I've ever seen!” Puffer praises, kissing Droid's forehead. He smiles when he hears Droid trill with joy, letting out a few quiet purrs of his own.

“Would you… would you mind spending my heat with me?” Droid asks quietly, not looking at Puffer.

Puffer blinks. “I mean sure i can, but wouldn't you rather an alpha be here to help you?”

Droid shook his head. “Not really I-” he swallowed. “My heats.. well the few I've had, are mostly non sexual. I just get really scent-drunk and clingy… My body still reacts the same in a way.. but my mind doesn't want it.. The problem is when an alpha scents me, it can trigger their rut, and then they want to do sexual shit with me. It's why I went on suppressants. No one could understand why I didn't want to share my heat with them.”

Puffer just nodded. “I just… Matt, Smitty and Grizzy wouldn't do that. I don't think so anyway.”

Droid nods as well. “Yeah I know… but this is my first heat in years.. I kinda just want you and Pezzy and John to cuddle with me… if that's okay?”

“Of course it's okay Droid… but you need to be the one to tell everyone. It has to be you expressing your needs, and then everyone will respect them okay?” Puffer says, nuzzling up to Droid.

“You forget I can scent you really well, Puffer. I know how smug you are about the fact I'm picking you over an alpha.” Droid deadpans.

“Shut up.” Puffer grumbles, rubbing his scent on Droid again.

Droid makes a slightly pained noise in response, Puffer jumping back.

“Did I hurt you?” he asks frantically.

Droid shakes his head. “Nah my body has decided that since I have a nest now, it's time to start my heat soon. Great. Looks like we gotta have that talk fucking now!”

Puffer jumps up, helping Droid out of his nest, trying to ignore the whining noise Droid makes at the feeling of leaving his nest.

“Come on. They're having a moving night. Let's go crash this bitch.” Puffer chuckles, letting Droid scent him, all the way there.

Droid feels embarrassed at how clingy he's being, but he also can't control it, so he tries to relax.

The two enter the living room, realising the others are still trying to pick a movie.

“Guys.” Puffer starts, immediately being ignored by everyone.

“Okay but we went with your idea last time Pezzy! Let's watch something scary this time!”
“Oh hell no Grizzy. We are not fucking doing that.”
“Smitty, just because you're a little bitch baby, doesn't mean we all are.”

Droid whines as another spasm goes through his body, making all three Alphas immediately shut up and look at Puffer and Droid. John and Pezzy quickly quieten down too, looking over.

“Droid? You're in-” Matt starts out, sniffing the air.
“He's about to go into heat, yes.” Puffer says, answering the statement, watching the three Alphas carefully.

This was the first time their pack dynamic had gone through a heat, he didn't want to turn around and see Smitty and Matt getting their asses beat by Grizzy. Because Grizzy would win 10/10 times.

Smitty’s lip rose for a second, a quiet growl emerging as he looked at Grizzy, before John just slapped him on the shoulder.

“Ouch! Thankyou John. My dumb alpha forgot we're all in a pack together for a moment. All good.” Smitty said with a wince.

“Hey, hey Droid, are you doing okay? You wanna come over here and scent me?” Grizzy asked calmly, not standing up to crowd the omega.

Droid shocked everyone in the room by burying his head into Puffer, before pulling back and shaking his head.

He tried to ignore the hurt look on Grizzy’s face, biting his lip instead.

“Wait so.. which alphas gonna help you with your heat?” Pezzy accidentally blurts out, confused.

“Um. None of them.” Droid replies quietly.

Matt makes a quietly wounded noise, Smitty looking saddened and Grizzy looking hurt still.

“Look I love you guys okay? And I trust you so fucking much… but this is my first heat in years. I'm so overwhelmed already. I've had a bad experience with Alphas during my heats before, so my brain’s a little spooked. And I know what you're all thinking about Omegas needing an alpha in heat, but my heats are mostly non-sexual. My body still reacts the same, but I just want to cuddle with everyone. I want to get through this one first, and then next one we can like um..maybe make a pack nest or something?” Droid explains quietly.

The three Alphas stare at each other, before Smitty sighs.

“Dude. It sucks because our instincts are all telling us to look after you, but the best way to help right now is to not help you.” He explains.

Matt nods. “Of course we respect what you want, Droid. Take your time okay?”

Grizzy blows him a kiss. “Okay, but you gotta make up for the missed cuddle time AFTER your heat. I bet your nest looks really nice too.”

Droid felt himself blushing, especially as Puffer chimed in. “You should see it soon Grizzy. He said he didn't know how to make one, which is bullshit because he's make the nicest one I've ever fucking seen.”

Smitty scoffs. “That's our omega. Always gotta be the best.”

Droid purrs at the compliments, smiling wide, before a cramp hits him and he whines..

“Okay, you should get him back to his nest Puffer. We'll leave some snacks outside the door a bit later for you.” Matt says quietly, the other Alphas nodding.

“Come on Droid.” Puffer says, Pezy jumping up to help the omega, whose legs are shaking.

John looks over at them, looking back at the alphas and then looking over at them again. He's clearly torn. He obviously wants to help take care of Droid, but he's too shy to ask if he's invited, not wanting to get rejected. Puffer has an idea to fix that.

“Yo John, can you help with Droid? Pezzy’s too fucking short.” he calls over, John jumping up and nodding.

Pezzy pouts, walking in front of them instead as the two other betas help Droid shuffle back to his room.

Pezzy opens the door, making a happy noise at the sight of Droids nest. John lets out a whistle. “Damn man. Puffer was right. This hit slaps.”

Droid is at the point where he's struggling to form words, so he just makes a happy noise.

They help him onto the bed, Droid immediately yanking Puffer back into the nest and scenting him.

Pezzy closes the door, coming to the bed. “Droid, may I enter your nest?” he asks politely, the omega nodding at this before immediately getting to work scenting the older man.

John awkwardly shuffles on the spot in the room, before inching backwards towards the door.

“Where ‘y goin’?” Droid slurs out, looking up.

John hesitates. “Well I mean. I didn't know if you'd be comfortable with me there… You've known the others for longer and I didn't want to like… intrude?”

Droid frowns, patting the nest, and glaring at John.

“I think he wants you in here now.” Puffer giggles, watching as Droid nods in agreement.

John walks over, taking his shoes off before slowly climbing in the nest, presenting his neck so Droid could scent it as much as he liked.

After he was satisfied, Droid made Puffer and John cuddle him from each side, getting Pezzy to snuggle on top of him. They all smiled as Droid started purring loudly.

The noise was so loud that Matt popped his head in to check they were all okay. He clarified he had a scent blocker patch on, to not trigger Droid, he was just making sure the noise was a happy one. He quickly placed the bag of snacks in the room, poking his phone back in to take a picture before leaving.

“Fuck man. I think I'm blushing in that picture.” Puffer groans, snuggling up into Droid more.

“You're cooked.” John snorts, kissing Droid on the head.

“Oh no. You're showing emotion. It's the end of the world.” Pezzy quietly mumbled.

“Shush. Sleep.” was all Droid replied with, before he went back to purring.

Chapter Text

“I think I was a serial killer in a previous life.” Matt says bluntly, taking a sip of his water.

“Pfft. What makes you say that?” Puffer says, spitting out his water.

Matt groans, turning around. “What do you mean PUFFER? Bitches would call me lucky, being in a pack with 5 omegas! And I mean yeah it's cool and all, but when their heats all sync up? Torture.” He whines, Puffer looking at him unsympathetically.

“That has literally never fucking happened.” He says bluntly.

“It fucking feels like it!” Matt whines, being dramatic.

Puffer thinks for a second. “Okay so you're just being a whiny baby. Grizzy’s heats last like… 3 days maximum. John and Smitty's dosync up to be fair, but they spend the whole heat cuddled up, trying to fuse together. Droid's heats are sporadic at best, and I'm on suppressants. Plus I don't know why you're the one complaining, you're the pack beta!”

“Pufferrrrrr. You're supposed to be sympathetic to my plight!” Matt groans out, Puffer just rolling his eyes.

“You're just a little bitch Matt.” Puffer snickers.

“What are you guys arguing about?” Pezzy asks, popping into the kitchen.

“Puffer’s being mean to me!” Matt cries dramatically.

Pezzy turns to the taller omega, frowning at him. Puffer has to hold in a snort at how offronted the small alpha looks.

“Puffer, is this true?” Pezzy says, crossing his arms.

“Maybe. What are you gonna do short stack?” Puffer snorts, making Pezzy pout.

“Be glad that I'm too busy dealing with Droid right now. I would alpha voice the shit out of you.” Pezzy sneers, Puffer just rolling his eyes.

“How is Droid doing by the way?” Matt chimes in.

“Ask him yourself, asshole. You said you were gonna be five minutes, an HOUR AGO! Get your ass back in the cuddle nest Matt.” Pezzy snaps, Matt blinking.

“Ah yeah. My fault. Got distracted.” He replies, slinking back to a very clingy Droid.

Puffer chuckles, watching him leave.

“You're kinda hot when you're being bossy.” He says casually to Pezzy, who goes bright red.

“Fuck you asshole. You're making dinner now.” A flustered Pezzy exclaims, leaving the room.

Chapter Text

Sometimes at night, Puffer would lie awake and think back to his early teenage years. Before he was ashamed of being an Omega, before any of his insecurities blossomed.

He would dream of being in a pack, with people who loved him, a mate that cherished him and put him above anyone else. Maybe having pups.

Then he would snort at how unrealistic his younger self was being. Puffer would sit up in his nest, alone of course, leave the room and sit out on the couch. Surrounded by the familiar scents of his pack, he didn't feel so alone.

He would then spend the rest of the night curled up uncomfortably on the couch, an alarm set to quietly go off before anyone else awoke. He would slink back to his room before anyone caught him. He would wait for anyone else to enter the kitchen for coffee before emerging, feeling less alone.

He knows he could ask to spend the night with someone else, but he was ashamed to even admit that he needed that comfort. He was Puffer! He had always touted himself as being independent, not needing all the comfort that other omegas needed. Besides, he would be intruding.

John and Matt would always sleep in Smitty's nest, Grizzy and Droid doing the same for Pezzy's. They didn't need a second omega trying to steal their mates away. Despite the fact they would always protest it wasn't like that, Puffer could smell the bullshit from a mile away. He knew that it was only a matter of time before he would awaken, probably after Pezzy or Smitty's heat, to see his friends sporting bond marks, similar to the pack marks they all sported. Then they would awkwardly ask Puffer to move out, because they want the spare room for pups or something-

Puffer rubbed his pack mark on the right side of his neck. He knew that they were set to renew the marks in a few days. His hand fell away from the scarring into his lap. Maybe this time he just refuses to take part? He could start to set boundaries on his own terms, before they happened for him. Honestly, he hides his emotions through the bond so often, it's not like the others were getting anything out of him being there.

Puffer whined quietly into his pillow, flinching at the noise, filled with self loathing again. This would have been so much easier if he was a beta or an alpha. He could go off by himself, not need help once every two months with a fucking annoying heat.

Puffer could hear Smitty and Matt talking quietly in the kitchen already, knowing that John liked to sleep for a bit longer. Grizzy wouldn't wake up till at least 11am, Droid and Pezzy usually sneaking out or staying with him. Puffer could leave his nest, go hang out with the Canadians…

Or he could stay here. Wallow in his self pity and anguish for a day. That sounded nice.

He was sick of being reminded of everything he couldn't have. He was sick of seventh wheeling for his friends. Pretending he didn't see Pezzy making out with Droid, or John kissing Matt on the cheeks. He was just tired.

“Puffer, it's 3pm, are you getting up today? Or do you need anything?” A voice quietly awakens him, making Puffer blink confusedly.

Remembering he slept in, he sluggishly turns to see Matt, that was Matt's voice just before, kneeling next to his nest.

Puffer is torn between telling a lie, or telling the truth. The lie seems easier to deal with right now. “Mmm sick. Could you get me some water please?”

Matt makes a humming noise. “Sure. What's wrong? Where do you feel sick? Is it your-”

Puffer is quick to cut him off. “No it's not my heat.”

“Are you sure? It's been quite a while since the last.” Ever the worry wart when it comes to his friends, Matt is already stressing.

Puffer knows it's not his heat. He's been using illegal suppressants to avoid them for months now. He doesn't want to ruin the others' relationships by having his heat, so he's just… not been having it. “I just have a migraine, Matt. I'm not feeling feverish or anything, see? You can check if you want.” Puffer replies quietly.

He holds in a flinch when he feels the cool skin of the back of Matt's hand press against his forehead. Matt makes a noise, smelling back. “Mmm seems alright. I'll go grab you some painkillers and water okay?”

“Thank you.” Puffer replies quietly.

He sips the water when Matt gets back, quietly placing the pills under one of his nest pillows when Matt turns around.

“Need anything else?” Matt asks gently.

You. I need you to stay. I'm so lonely.

Puffer ignores the voice however. Matt isn't his. That's not fair. “No, I'm good for now. Thank you Matt.”

Matt smiles, petting Puffer’s hair gently, before walking out the room, gently closing the door.

Puffer breathes in shakily. It's for the best..

He wakes up the next day, hungry having not really eaten in a while. He sneaks into the kitchen, grabbing some bread and making a sandwich. As he's eating he begins to realise he can hear parts of a semi hushed conversation between Pezzy, Grizzy, Smitty and John.

“-Saturday, but Sunday isn't going to work because-”

“-fine. I don't know what he's-”

“We've been waiting to do this for ages. You can wait a few more-”

“What if he-”

“It's going to look-”

“I feel bad though. Why are we-”

“left out-”

“You're imagining it-”

“Remember, bond mark ceremony is Friday though.”

“We have till Friday?”

“you're the one who said Saturday!!”

“you know what John? Fuck you.”

“whatever.”

“shhh.”

“don't tell him though-”

“Yeah yeah. Puffer-”

Puffer pales, hearing them mention his name before they stop talking, he quickly tip toes back to his room, making no noise.

He lay down on his nest. Today was Wednesday. Friday was the pack bond renewal, and then on Saturday? He didn't know. It was a secret to him, and apparently that was deliberate. Pezzy had expressed guilt about something.

Puffer swallowed, it dawned on him. After the pack bond ceremony, they would all do private commitment ceremonies, then tell him Saturday. Wow. How generous of his so-called pack mates.

Puffer huffed out a noise, turning around, pulling out his phone.

Time to get a head start on finding a new place to live.

Puffer gets up on Thursday, getting dressed and quickly grabbing something to eat. He bumps into Droid, who's sleepily turned up in the kitchen.
“Oh hey man! Did you hear about tomorrow?” Droid asks, a big smile on his face.

Puffer freezes, schooling his expression. “Uh. Yeah I think so.”

Droid smiles wider, “I'm so excited! This is gonna be great again. Wait, are you heading out? Did you want company?”

Puffer hummed, pretending to consider it. “Hmmm. I'm mostly going to go meet with my Tax agent for a couple hours. You're welcome to come and sit with me?”

Droid pales, shaking his head. “Nah nah. I'm good. Good luck with that man.”

Puffer waves to Droid, grabbing his car keys, heading out the front. He punches in the first rental place's address, driving away.

He arrives back relatively late, coming in as he sees the pack all eating together. They're all happily chatting and laughing together. He feels a pang of loneliness in his core, slipping past the door, heading to his room alone. He avoids the warmth of the pack, sitting in the dark alone.

He writes some notes on his phone about the places he looked at, groaning at how stiff his back is feeling, before just deciding to sleep.

He hears his door open later, Grizzy poking his head in.

“Wait. You're home? Since when?” he asks, confused.

“Like.. a few hours..?” Puffer replies back.

Grizzy shuffles in the doorway. “You.. you know you could have come and joined us? Like. That was an open invitation.”

Puffer sighed, lying. “I know, I was just so tired from today. Apparently I've been committing a lot of tax fraud, so we had to sort that out, and it took hours.”

He can see Grizzy nod, seemingly buying it. “Ahh. Fair enough. Rest up man. Big day tomorrow.”

“Night.” Puffer replies quietly, drifting off.

Puffers sitting in the kitchen the next day, toning out the others talking.

“Remember 11pm tonight, before the full moon is at its peak.” Smitty is saying.

“Why do we do it on the full moon again?” Droid asks.

“Something about how our ancestors used to be one and the same with werewolves and stuff I think? I don't remember.” John replies with a shrug.

Puffer picks up his dirty plate, loading it into the dishwasher, quietly leaving the room.

Well he had time to kill it seems. Time to be productive.

It's 10pm when someone knocks on his door. Puffer blinks, realising he hasn't done shit.

“We're meeting in the lounge area.” Smitty calls, walking away.

Puffer groans, getting out of his nest. Time to face the music it seems.

He's the last to turn up, everyone else already there. Once again, he feels out of place, like he's not supposed to be here. Like he's ruining the vibe by even being here.

“Who's going first this year?” John asks, looking around.

“Me!” Droid says eagerly.

“Bro you went first last year.” Matt says, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

“Nuh uh.” Droid lies, pouting.

Puffer just leans against the wall, watching the moon get higher in the sky, zoning out again.

“So we decided. Best of 11 gets it?”

“Yeah sure. Okay. Rock paper scissors… DUDE AMONGUS ISN'T A CHARACTER.”

Puffer feels Pezzy slide up next to him. “You excited Puffer?” he asks cheerily.

Puffer's eyes flick over to Pezzy, taking in the sight of the smaller Omega. “It will be cool to watch.” He replies carefully.

Pezzy frowns. “What do you mean watch? Puffer?”

Puffer sighs, looking away again. “I'm not taking part this year.”

“WHAT?” Pezzy yells, the room going silent immediately.

“Huh? What was that Pezzy?” John asks, judging Grizzy and Matt's rock paper scissors competition.

“Puffer says he's not taking part tonight.” Pezzy says, immediately switching. Puffer groans, leaning back and tapping his head on the wall again.

“What?” Smitty's shocked whisper comes out.

“W-why not?” Droid asks, voice shaking.

Puffer pushes himself away from Pezzy, taking a few steps back. “It's been fun guys, really. It has been amazing. You've all been so nice to me, but I feel like I've honestly overstayed my welcome. Every day I wake up and I feel so fucking alone. I see you guys in your little mated groups, and I don't wanna be the awkward third wheel who's just getting in the way of what's meant to be. So I don't want to be taking part in this ceremony. I'm sorry.. I just..” Puffer swallows, shying in on himself. “I think I need to go find what I need. And I know I haven't been honest about that, I mean I lie about wanting attention, and I've been suppressing my heats for two years, but I don't want to get in the way you know?”

He opens his eyes, seeing everyone either with their mouth open wide or tearing up.

“Suppressing?” Pezzy questions, taking a step closer to Puffer.

“You know what I mean, Pezzy. I bet Smitty does too.” Puffer replies, looking away again.

“I..” Smitty cuts himself off, holding in a sob.

Puffer is trying to calm down, when Matt materialises in front of him.

“I'm sorry Puffer.” Matt says quietly, opening his arms.

Puffer is confused. Why aren't they just doing the ceremony? He's pulled into a hug from Matt, the other pressing right against him.

“We. Ugh. I hate when I get emotional.” John groans, looking away for a second before covering his eyes. “We didn't want to over step. Is what I wanted to say before I started acting like a baby.”

Grizzy nods. “I think we're all in agreement here?”

Puffer frowns, looking confused. “Huh?”

Grizzy comes over to Puffer, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Dude, we're not going to do this ceremony if you're not part of our pack. Part of our family. We're not going to force you either, we just want you to think about reconsidering sometime okay?”

Puffer makes a choked noise. “What?”

Droid sniffles a little. “We're not a pack if you're not there man. It wouldn't be the same. If we bonded without you, it would feel wrong…like we're missing a piece.”

Puffer shakes. “But I heard you! You guys were talking about something Saturday, hiding it from me!”

Matt looks confused. “Hide what?”

Smitty blushes, looking at the ground. “Ah um. Yeah.”

“You wanna explain or should I?” Pezzy replies quietly.

“Nah give that bitch to me.” Grizzy says, sighing. “Basically… we've been talking. At first it was Pezzy and I, then I mentioned it to John as a joke, but Smitty overheard it, so… Basically.. ah hem. Tomorrow night, the four of us were going to propose the idea of our pack bond… like.. would we all be down to try that romantically? Basically all 7 of us, like.. romantically involved with each other.”

“What?” Puffer says, jaw dropping open.

“Ayo, why was I not told?” Droid protests.

“Oh shut up man. You would have blabbed so quickly.” Pezzy grumbles.

“Basically. What we're trying to get at here is, we would have cuddled and made out with you earlier but we thought you weren't cool with that.” Smitty says, trying to joke and lighten the mood.

Puffer is stuck blinking. He would be… included? They wanted him in the pack, and to be their mate?

“R-really?” he says quietly, Grizzy pulling him into a hug.

“Yeah. I'm being serious.”

John grumbles a little. “We are being serious. But whatever, take all the credit asshole.”

Smitty joins in the hug, followed by Pezzy, Matt and then Droid and John join in too.

Surrounded by his pack, his family, Puffer begins to tremble. They're all gently holding him, scenting him, and for once he drops down the walls on the bond.

He's overwhelmed by the feeling of pure love and longing hitting him directly in his heart and soul. A tear springs to his eye, as he stands there, basking in their love.

“I.. I.” Is all he can get out.

The others back away, seeing Puffer slightly overwhelmed. “Okay. We can try.” he whispers quietly, a small smile falling into place on his face, bright red.

“Okay. I've decided. Puffer's going first this year.” Grizzy says, everyone nodding in agreement.

The way they did pack bonding was everyone would sit in a circle, the person biting the person next to them, before they then did the same. Puffer going first meant he would be the first to get bit, then he would pass it along. Usually at the end, everyone would go non verbal for about an hour, just sifting through the emotions and scents of your pack.

“Okay guys, follow me.” Smitty says, everyone following him. Grizzy bridal carries Puffer who tries to protest, before being cut off by a nuzzle.

“We have a pack nest or Puffer would you like us to do it in your nest?” Smitty asks.

Puffer thinks quickly. “Pack nest please. It's bigger… you better have not changed it up though.”

“Nah he ain't touched shit. I would have killed him.” Pezzy reassures the omega, Puffer sighing in relief.

They all get settled in the pack nest, getting comfortable and scenting each other before midnight. After the main part is complete, Puffer finds himself surrounded by familiar scents, drowning in a sea of positive emotions. He can feel his body purring, dimly aware of Smitty and Pezzy doing similar, John and Grizzy rumbling contently. He can feel Matt's hand in his, Droid's arm over his thigh. He feels safe. He feels loved.

He's with his pack, his family, his mates.

He is loved and wanted. He's not a burden or a third wheel. He's valued.

They all decide to do mate-bond marks when Puffer’s next heat is finally finished. Puffer can't help but feel slightly embarrassed when he looks in the mirror to see 6 different marks glow slightly on his skin. Grizzy’s and John's marks sit proudly up the top of his neck, Matt and Droids sit below, and Smitty And Pezzy's are carefully placed on the top of his shoulders. He knows the rest aren't faring much better, but giggles knowing he placed his mark in the alpha position on his Alphas. They had rolled their eyes, before kissing him gently.

Chapter Text

Smitty was an Alpha on paper. Plain as day. His scent was Alpha-esque, being a blend of smoked maple syrup, very savoury, not sweet like an omegas. He could growl and rumble like an alpha, and take care of omegas easily…

He never mentioned to his pack the reason he could take care of omegas easily was from all the research he did when he had not yet presented. He was so sure that he would be an omega - excited by it even, that he had got a head start on what to expect. When he'd awoken to find himself in rut, he would never admit to anyone he had broken down and cried.

Yes, Smitty was an Alpha on paper, but inside he knew he was an omega. It's what he was supposed to be. He lived to be pampered during a heat, to take care of his pack in a maternal way, to sit and purr when his packmates filled out his nest. Many of his dreams would be along those lines, often waking up shattered to find out the reality.

He was-

“Are you doing alright over there, alpha?”

Pezzy’s soft voice snaps Smitty out of his odd reminiscing daydreaming. He's been caught by the older man, zoning out while just looking at the intricate design of Pezzy’s nest, something hypnotising about the way he's woven the blankets so carefully. Smitty jumps as he realises he's been caught, Pezzy looking confused as to why he's staring at him. He would never admit that he was staring because he was envious.

“O-ooh. Sorry. I. I dunno. Just zoned out a little there, I wasn't even thinking of anything! Anyway… Do you need me to get you anything else Pezzy? How are you feeling at the moment?” Smitty races to ask, Pezzy still looking slightly concerned about Smitty from the safety of his nest.

“I'm okay, Matt brought me some water earlier, and now I'm finally not in heat anymore it's a lot easier…. Um.. actually.. would you mind holding me until I fall asleep?” Pezzy asks nervously, blushing red.

“Sure. Scooch over a tad and we can cuddle.” Smitty smiles, Pezzy beaming at the response.

As he lays there with Pezzy, he can almost pretend it's his own nest, and he's just cuddling with a fellow omega.

Yesterday it was Pezzy’s nest, today he's zoning out staring at Puffer's.

Puffer's nest is a lot simpler, he has all his packmates various scents down one end of the nest, the other end having supplies and snacks to help when he's having a lazy day.

It would be so easy to just go in there, and lay down in Puffer’s nest… which is a dangerous thought in itself. You should never touch an omegas nest without their permission. It could make them spiral, trigger a panic attack or make them furious.

Smitty sighs. He wishes he could make his own nest. He wouldn't even know where to start. He-

“Yo. What are you doing man?” Puffer asks, making Smitty jump again.

“Holy fuck you scared me.” Smitty exclaims, clutching his chest, heart beating rapidly.

“You didn't answer my question though. Why are you staring into my bedroom? That's weird man…” Puffer says, raising an eyebrow.

The lie flows from Smitty's mouth easily. “I was looking for your dumb ass, because I wanted to ask you something, and then I froze because I forgot what I needed to ask, and I zoned out trying to remember.” Smitty says.

Puffer sarcastically nods. “Uh huh. Did you succeed?”

Smitty makes a confused face. “Succeed what?”

Puffer snorts. “Succeed at ‘remembering’ what you needed to ask me?”

Smitty flushes red realising he's been caught out, but he's going to just deny everything. “Fuck you. I'm leaving.”

He hears Puffer laughing at him as he stalks away, mad at being caught.

The pack nest is nice to be honest. He always loves the rare times when the whole pack would get together and cuddle in it, renewing scent bonds made him feel safe and secure.

He was staring at it from the doorway again. He wants to go inside and sit in the nest, but it's too weird for an alpha to be sitting there alone. A beta would be unusual, but not unheard of, an alpha would raise eyebrows.

He feels sad. The fact that he can't take care of an urge that's been bugging him more strongly than usual, makes him slightly miserable. He knows he's been more snappy than usual, not sure of how to get back to normal.

Nesting would fix it, but he doesn't want to have to ask everyone else to nest for his sake! So he just sits there and suffers.

He-

“We need to talk.” Grizzy says, snapping Smitty out of his daydreaming again.

“Huh? What's wrong?” Smitty says, turning around.

Matt and Grizzy, (his fellow alphas) are standing there, looking concerned.

“We’re worried about you man. You've been acting weird, zoning out and moping around the house recently.” Matt starts, trying to not be too serious.

“No I haven't.” Smitty denies.

“You were literally just doing it! Puffer and Pezzy have caught you doing it multiple times, we've literally all seen you do it.” Grizzy says, making Smitty huff out.

“What are you stalking me now? I'm fine!”

“Pezzy says your scents have been off.. like sour a lot more.” Matt says, raising an eyebrow.

“So?” Smitty shrugs.

Grizzy snaps at this, hand pressing onto the door frame. “Dude. We know something up with you, we just want to make sure you're okay. I've literally been snapping at all of us over nothing! What's up bro? Do you not want to be in a pack anymore?” Grizzy asks.

Smitty's blood runs cold. “Oh my god. No. I want to be in this pack.. I'm sorry, I've been dealing with some personal shit. I- I'm sorry. I'll try and not obsess over it.”

Matt and Grizzy look at each other, before looking back at Smitty. Matt speaks, placing a hand on Smitty's shoulder.

“I'm not going to ask you to share, because I know you're not going to right now. We're always here if you need someone to talk to though, okay?” Matt finishes with a smile.

Grizzy nods. “Seriously, we're here for you okay? Hope you feel better soon.”

“Thanks guys.”

But I can't tell you this.

Smitty's hiding under the covers in John's room now. It's the best he can do, not wanting to get caught nesting as an alpha. That would be wrong.

He needs to be strong. He needs to be a leader for his pack. He shouldn't be seeking out comfort like this. He shouldn't be spreading his sadness soaked scent around the house, worrying his packmates.

Holy shit. He's such a failure of an alpha! Smitty whines, smashing his face into John's pillow.

John's pillow..

John.

John….

He's supposed to be John's alpha! How could John rely on him when he's acting like this?

Smitty whined quietly, tears springing to his eyes. It wasn't fair! None of this was fair!!

Pezzy and Puffer got to have nice nests, get comforted and taken care of by the others! He wanted that too!

But he couldn't have it. All because he was born in the wrong body. He would never carry pups, he would be stuck having a stupid rut that made him feel dysphoric and nauseous.

Smitty quietly let out a sob, wishing with all his heart he was home alone so he could just make a nest in his room and no one would catch him or judge him for it.

He breathed in, John's scent slowly relaxing him. It's going to be okay.

He doesn't realise he's drifting off until…

“Smitty? Hey? Are you okay?”

Gentle hands shake him awake, John's concerned voice waking him up. Smitty groaned, putting a hand to his head.

“Shit. I think I fell asleep.” He groaned, bones in his hand clicking slightly.

John frowned,looking concerned down at him, “Have you been crying? Your face is all….” He gestured around, “Like crusty and red.”

Smitty looked away, lying. “Just allergies.”

“You're not allergic to anything though?” John looked suspicious. “What's really up bro?”

“I don't want to talk about it.” Smitty says quickly, hugging himself.

John reaches a hand out towards him, Smitty flinching away. He tries his best to ignore the hurt in John's eyes, as he stands up, not making eye contact.

“Did I… did I do something?” John asks nervously, looking slightly scared now.

“No. No. I just.. I'll tell you soon, okay? I'm working through some stuff.” Smitty mumbled.

John opened his arms for a hug, but Smitty just shook his head, eyes tearing up again, turning around and leaving the room quickly.

John deserves a better alpha.

Smitty’s holding a blanket in his hands, looking down at his bed.

He really wants to make a nest now. It's burning in his brain, the absolute need to do it.

He's looking at his pillows as he places the blanket up near the head of the bed. His heart is beating faster in excitement.

*knock*

Smitty freezes, heart dropping into his stomach.

“Smitty, we need you out here to help with something.” Puffer calls from the other side of the door.

Smitty is throwing the blanket to the foot of his bed now, sliding off and racing to the door. He doesn't turn back, lest his resolve falter.

“Okay, what up?” He asks, opening the door.

His heart cracks a little when he comes back later, seeing the blanket falling onto the ground. He picks it up, holding it close to his chest before having a cry.

He can't do this.

He needs to be strong. For his pack. For John.

He's going to just suck it up….

Unfortunately, Smitty has always been selfish. He spends another day thinking it all over before his resolve wavers seeking out John again.

“Can… Can we talk?” Smitty asks nervously, looking up at John, who he's run into in the hallway. John pauses, looking at Smitty before nodding.

“Yeah. Sure.” John replies with a tight smile, not moving to touch Smitty, just in case he overstepped.

“I'm ready to explain..” Smitty said quietly, John's eyes widening in shock.

“You don't um. You don't have to force yourself to be ready too quickly, just for me man.” John said, frowning slightly.

“I'm not. Promise.” Smitty said, giving a small smile.

“Okay. Lead on then.” John said, gesturing with his arm.

Smitty hears John's steady footsteps following him to his room. He shuts the door quickly, locking it to avoid anyone from coming in and interrupting them. He wasn't ready to tell them.

“You're sure you're ready?” John asks quietly, not looking at Smitty.

“Yeah. I. I'm still not.. like. I'm still a bit scared, but you of all people deserve to know. I love you man. I love them all too, but you're my beta.” Smitty smiled, blushing at the admission.

“Smitty. You've been my best friend for so long now. I love you man. You're my alpha. I'll always stand by you.” John says, sitting down on Smitty's bed, looking at him.

“Okay.. about that… um… John, I.” Smitty swallows nervously, scratching his arm. He looks over at the beta, who's sitting patiently, waiting for Smitty to speak. “John. Would you still… love me.. if I wasn't your alpha anymore... Would you still love me if I was an omega- your omega?” He finishes quietly, watching John's eyes widen as he explains.

“W-what?” John replies, looking confused. Smitty immediately retreats into himself, trying to do damage control.

“Hahaha. Just kidding. That would be stupid right?” Smitty says, hugging himself, ranting quietly. “So fucking, stupid of me to even think I could do that.”

John's quick to put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Smitty, you didn't even give me a chance to finish jeez. What I was going to say was, I would love you even if you lost your secondary gender for good. Even if you were some weird genetic hybrid, or you were a beta like myself! At the end of the day, I don't care what you are, just that you're happy okay? I'll be right beside you all the way, supporting you any way you need it.”

Smitty feels his eyes well up with tears as John speaks, hands shaking. “W-what? Really? Y-you actually mean it?” He wetly asks, John nodding with a smile, eyes also getting slightly teary.

“Of course I fucking mean it man. Holy shit, you really thought I wouldn't be chill with it? You're silly…. Okay anyway, let's have a little look-see here.” John trails off, looking around Smitty's room. “Do you have a nest somewhere yet?”

Smitty blushes, sheepishly shaking his head. “I was gonna make one, but then Puffer came in the other day and I got embarrassed and got rid of it all. I'm really not ready to tell everyone yet..”

John nodded, pressing a kiss to Smitty's forehead. “Okay that's easy to fix then. I'll go grab some of my own stuff, and if anyone questions what I'm doing, I'll say I'm the one nesting in your room. They've seen me do it before so I mean. Win win right? Okay, give me a second and then I'll help you with making it. Sounds okay to you?”

Smitty sat there in shock as John just quickly took off, heart fluttering with feelings of love and relief. He could feel his cheeks start to redden, completely overwhelmed by John's compassion.

John returned quickly, throwing down a pile of clothes. “Okay they're mostly mine, BUT.” He rummages through the pile, pulling out a scarf and a shirt. “This is Matt's scarf and Grizzy’s shirt. I feel like it's important for you to have your alphas scents in the nest too. It helps ground you in my opinion.”

His alphas.

Smitty blushed again, nodding shyly. “Um, would you mind helping me? I'm not… sure exactly what to do. Like I have a feeling, but…”

John nodded, holding his hand out for Smitty to take. He pulled Smitty up, wrapping an arm around him and brushing his cheek glands against Smitty's face. “I got you Smit- sorry my omega. Okay. This is gonna be the best nest in the house… don't tell the other two I said that though.”

They finish up about twenty minutes later, John having asked Smitty to focus, and use his heart and instincts to decide the correct place for everything. They then carefully assembled the nest, making sure the scents of their missing pack mates were near the front of the nest, so he could scent them easier. Smitty could feel pride emanating from his chest, wanting so badly to purr, but it ended up still coming out more as a rumble. He pouted, feeling the dysphoria hit him.

John, ever the observant one when it came to Smitty, immediately noticed. “Hey what's wrong? Need me to adjust anything over here?”

“Nothing. Just. I still do the stupid alpha rumble thing. I hate it.” Smitty groaned, slumping over, face down on his nest. “I know in my heart that I'm an omega, but that doesn't mean that my body is willing to listen to me.”

“Okay, firstly, properly get in your nest okay?” John instructed slightly seriously, Smitty immediately listening to his suggestion. “Now, can I please come in my omega?”

“Of course? Why?” Smitty frowned, looking over at him.

John carefully slid in next to Smitty, reaching over and holding his hand. “Now. I'm going to be fully transparent with you here. I did a bit of voice training when I was younger, because I wasn't sure of my gender. I still remember the basics, but one of the cool things about it was the fact that I taught myself how to make alpha and omega noises without the natural instincts. The only reason I never did it was because I didn't want to confuse people. So. I'm assuming you wanted to purr there?” John asks, looking as Smitty nods. “Okay, what we're going to do is this-”

Smitty locks on to John, fully focusing as John explains the gist of stuff with his voice box and larynx. He shows Smitty how to lighten the pitch slightly, which would turn Smitty's alpha rumble into a softer, more relaxing sound. Smitty smiled up at John as he practised repeatedly, John reassuring the other that he didn't need to get it straight away, there wasn't a rush, demonstrating again. Smitty nodded, touching his nose to John's with a giggle.

John then pressed a quick kiss to Smitty's forehead, imitating an alpha rumble with his voice, making Smitty blush crazily at the thought of John being his alpha. The thought shocked him so much, he immediately slipped into a much more accurate purring noise, making John beam widely in excitement.

“Holy shit Smitty! You're a fucking natural…. Well I mean. Of course my omega would be super talented and gifted. It makes sense.” John says, nuzzling Smitty, the omega purring.

“Once you get the hang of that, I can teach you how to trill and stuff if you want.” John said casually, Smitty eagerly nodding.

“Please? I would love that.” Smitty smiled eagerly.

“Sure thing. Not tonight though… I'm kinda eepy. Do you mind if we cuddle in your nest?” John asks, practically seeing the pride emanating off of Smitty.

They then spend the rest of the night cuddled up, John rumbling every now and then, Smitty doing the occasional purr. Life was good.

“I think you need to tell the others man. If you're going to start HRT, they deserve to know okay?” John says gently, a few weeks later.

“I… I know. I'm just scared.” Smitty admits.

“I'm going to be right there with you. You have nothing to fear, okay?”

“Okay….”

They wait till the whole pack is home, relaxing and in a good mood.

It was like John could sense the moment he was going to chicken out, standing behind him and saying; “Smitty has something he wants to tell you guys.”

Smitty's face lit up red as he now felt five other pairs of eyes on him. He took in a shaky breath.

“Thanks for that John.” He grumbled.

“No problem.” John replied cheerily, patting Smitty on the back.

“What's up man?” Pezzy asks.

“You alright?” Droid chimes in looking over.

“Okay. Um. Shit. So. John told me I needed to tell you guys before I went to the doctor and stuff but um.”

“Are you sick?” Matt asks, looking nervous.

“Nono. Nothing like that.” Smitty said, scratching his neck. “Um….”

“Go on. It's gonna be okay.” John whispered, taking his hand. “They love you.”

“Basically I'm looking to transition.” Smitty announces, the rest of the room looking slightly surprised, before just nodding.

“Cool. So what pronouns do you use now?” Puffer asks, leaning back on the couch.

Smitty blinks before shaking his head. “Oh shit uh. Not that type of transitioning. I mean it's similar but-”

“What this idiot is trying to say, is he's going to officially transition to being an Omega.” John cuts in, wrapping an arm around Smitty, leaning in and rumbling quietly into his ear. Smitty relaxes instantly, just nodding in agreement.

The room is quiet for a second, Smitty's heart beating faster until Grizzy pipes up.

“I'm gonna be honest, I don't know about y'all, but I didn't even know that was a thing. Even so, I still fully support you, man.” he smiled, Smitty's eyes widening at the reassurance.

“R-really?” he whispers hopefully.

“God. You're saying soon I will have to take care of three omegas during various heat cycles. I'm going to kill myself.” Matt joked, running over to Smitty and hugging him instantly. “Dude, I love you either way, whether you're a co-alpha with me, or one of my omegas in this pack, I have always got your back man. Okay?” Matt says, nuzzling up into Smitty's neck.

“Matt….” Smitty sniffles, hugging him back.

Droid comes over next, lifting Smitty off the ground, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You really thought we would have issues man? That's crazy bro.”

Puffer comes over awkwardly hugging him, before Pezzy then bursts in.

“Puffer here obviously wants to know if you have a nest, but he's too embarrassed to straight up ask.” Pezzy explains.

“Pezzy…” Puffer whines, covering his red cheeks.

“He does.” John informs them, Pezzy beaming wide, bouncing on the spot.

“Ooooo. Can we see it please Smitty? I can bring some extra pack stuff for it!”

Puffer is blushing, but he nods in agreement, “If you don't mind that is?”

Smitty nods shyly, Pezzy grabbing his hand eagerly, “Let's go!!”

Smitty lets go of Pezzy’s hand to open his bedroom door, before letting them all in.

“Here it is.. it's not much but-”

“Dude are you kidding me? For a first nest this is so fucking amazing!” Pezzy praises, Smitty feeling pride hit him in the chest.

Puffer is nodding in agreement. “Dude, my first nest was like a single blanket. This is awesome man, but you need to remember it doesn't matter how it looks, more just how it makes you feel… God that was cringe as fuck.”

Smitty nods, wiping a happy tears away at the praise from the omegas.

Pezzy rushes over to stand next to it, turning back. “Can I please enter your nest?”

“Sure.” Smitty nods, Pezzy cheering as he carefully climbs in, patting it gently.

“Just imagine. A few months and then the whole pack is gonna be in here taking care of you during your first heat.” He says wistfully, finishing with a wink.

Smitty goes bright red, covering his face.

Puffer notices, nudging him. “What? It's all right for you to take care of us, but we're not allowed to help you in your heat? As omegas we know what you're gonna be going through, it's only natural we are here to help.”

“It's not that, I just. Wow. The idea of it makes me giddy and nervous. Going into heat…” Smitty explained, face still covered.

“He's just scared to get dicked down by Grizzy or Matt.” John snickers, leaning against the bedroom door frame.

“JOHN!” Smitty protests, removing and throwing a shoe at him.

“Damn John, always gotta lighten the tension up.” Pezzy giggles, Puffer wheezing in laughter.

“What am I doing? Who said my name?” Matt asks, coming towards the room.

“Go away!!!” Smitty groans, Puffer just cackling even louder, falling to the ground, Pezzy wheezing at the sight of Puffer's helplessness.

“Oh hey Matt. Say have you given any thought to-” John is cut off by Smitty's other shoe flying over and hitting him in the face.

“John. Stop it!” He groans, face burning as he collapses back into his nest.

Matt pokes his head in, frowning at Puffer on the ground before looking over at Smitty. “Oh wow man! That's a really nice looking nest you got! If you need anything scented like me, you feel free to take what you need okay Smit?”

Smitty felt himself hum with pride, a purr bubbling up immediately and spilling over.

“Oh my god, wait… PUFFER SHUT UP. He's purring. Awww.” Pezzy coos, Smitty choosing to ignore that, focusing on the fact that one of his alphas gave him praise on his nest!

He could feel John's fingers stroking his hair, as he relaxed into the touch. Someone's speaking, but Smitty's now too out of it to think about that. He lets more people into the nest, until his whole pack is eventually scenting and cuddling in his nest. Smitty can't stop purring, eventually a happy trill leaves his throat, room falling silent for a second as they all watch in awe at how happy and at peace Smitty seems. As if this truly was his calling.

“How are you feeling today Smitty?” Grizzy asks at breakfast.

“Normal for now, a bit nervous but…” Smitty swallows.

Smitty had now been on hormonal treatment for roughly 3 months now. The treatment would build up the hormones in an alphas body until it triggered their first heat. The first heat would usually just be body changes, internal movements, not usually sexual.

After the first heat, you could then be fine on an injection every six months. Smitty's first heat was scheduled to hit the week before, but much to his dismay, they're all still waiting.

“What if it doesn't even happen?” Smitty says quietly. John looks over immediately, cuffing Smitty over the head, trying to curb the depressing thoughts.

“Stop being so negative! The doctor said it could take up to a month. It's going to happen okay? You need to relax.” He finishes, nuzzling into Smitty's neck. Smitty lets out a quiet purr, John pulling away and kissing him quickly.

“What he said. You need to chill homie.” Droid chimes in, walking past them to the kitchen.

“You could..” Puffer pauses, sighing to himself, shaking his head.

“Could what?” Smitty asks, turning to him.

“Look. I'm just saying. Sometimes omegas heats can get triggered by heavy scenting and petting in their nest. Uh. Not that I would know for sure but… have you like… tried that?” Puffer says awkwardly, not really looking at the others.

“It could be a good idea.” Grizzy says, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh no… I volunteer as tribute.” John says, wrapping an arm around Smitty.

Pezzy hesitates. “Honestly, It may be better for an alpha to do it. Especially since it's his first…”

Smitty feels John tense up, not needing to even look at him to sense the look of displeasure.

“I mean. I guess?” Matt shrugged. “It's up to Smitty though.

“Maybe having an alpha there would help kick start it?” Smitty mused out loud, John huffing next to him in protest.

“Again, it's all up to you. I'm sure Matt feels the same, if you want us there, of course we'll be there.” Grizzy replies, looking over at a nodding Matt.

Smitty goes to reply, John's growling getting deeper as he's suddenly pulled close to John's chest.

“What are you-?” Smitty gets cut off by John mimicking a challenge howl noise, making them all pause.

Challenge howls are a more outdated tradition. When an alpha wishes to court an omega, but another alpha also feels the same, typically one will challenge them to a fight, initiated with the howl.

Alphas could also challenge betas, but it was almost unheard of for a beta to challenge alphas.

“Damn.” Pezzy blinks, the rest of the room in shock. “He did not fuck with that idea.”

Smitty pulls away slightly, John barely letting him, but he turns around to cup John's cheeks, speaking firmly to him.

“Hey. Calm down. I'm not going to be doing any of this without you okay? If I need an alpha in my nest, you're also going to be there okay? These are our packmates! They're family. They-” Smitty pauses as a painful spasm hits his stomach, frowning.

John has his eyes closed, sighing. “I.. I know. I'm sorry. I just didn't.. in my stupid, jealous mind you were pushing me aside. I'm sorry Smitty.” He pauses to look over at the rest of the pack, “I'm sorry guys. I got a little jealous there, my fault.”

“S'all good homie. We chilling.” Grizzy nods at him, Matt just frowning, looking at Smitty.

“Smitty, are you okay?” He asks.

Smitty gives Matt a thumbs up. “Yeah, a weird cramp. Now where was I? Oh-” he grimaces as a second spasm hums through his body.

“He's going into heat you idiots. Damn, sorry I didn't mean to sound that annoyed.” Puffer says, immediately trying to backtrack.

“Oh shit.” John says, hands going to hug Smitty, but then flinching away. “What do I do?”

Matt snorts. “All that confident talk just now, and you still don't know what to do.” he says playfully, John just sighing.

“Dude, just tell me how to help him!” John whines, looking at Matt.

“Did you not read the information the doctor gave us?” Matt asks John, who shakes his head.

“To be fair neither did I.” Pezzy shrugs, looking slightly guilty.

Matt groans. “Did anyone else read it? No? Oh man.” He shakes his head. “Okay, here's the crash course of information. Doctor says, his first heat is a non-sexual one, because his body is too busy adjusting itself, organ growth and shit. Unfortunately as a result it's very painful, so sleeping tablets are advised. Said omega should spend as much time as possible in their nest, with packmates, preferably an alpha or mate with them. Minimise the contact between other omegas in their nest, this can sometimes negatively affect a new omega’s first heat, the following heats are fine! His scent is likely to change to a sweeter version of what it currently is as well. Blah blah blah. If it all goes well and shit, he should have all the properties of a normal omega, vocal range nearly identical, and in some cases, can even get pregnant. Damn. That's crazy how much medical shit has developed.” Matt read off the information from his phone.

“I zoned out, what did he say?” Droid asks, yawning.

Matt glares at Droid as Grizzy chimes in, “Smitty's in heat. It's gonna hurt a lot, and the other omegas can't go near his nest for the first one. He does need as much pack comfort as possible.”

Droid nods, turning to Pezzy who's pouting. “Sucks to suck loser.”

“Bite me.” Pezzy glared at him, poking his tongue out.

“Okay, come over here baby.” Droid winks at Pezzy.

Smitty interrupted the weird banter with a whine, as he felt like his intestines were knotting themselves into a ball.

“Um Grizzy, would you mind carrying this omega to his nest please?” John asks politely, even dipping his head as a show of respect to make up for his anger earlier.

“Sure I got y'all. Let's go. Droid you are now staying out here in case we need anything ok. Have fun.” Grizzy said, Droids face pouting as well now.

“Suck shit.” Pezzy snickered, Droid then throwing him off the couch.

“Y'all are children.” Puffer groaned, hands in the air.

Smitty felt a semblance of relief as he was laid down into his nest. He motioned to John to immediately get in, panting as he felt how warm and sticky his skin was already. He knew it was only going to get worse, but he was also excited.

His first heat! He really was an omega now!

His eyes then flicked up to Grizzy and Matt who were on the outside of his nest. They were just waiting to see what he wanted.

“A… Alphas? Would you please come inside my nest?” Smitty asks shyly, cheeks flushing red as he looks up at Matt and Grizzy.

Once they were equals, now they're his alphas. It made him blush.

Grizzy leans forward and pets Smitty's hair. “Sure, if that's what you want, I'd be glad to help you out.”

After Grizzy gets comfortable, Matt steps closer sighing, cupping Smitty's face.

“When we were younger, and you presented initially as an alpha, I was honestly confused. You seemed exactly like an omega, all through school. I've watched you over the years, pretend to be someone you're not, watched you try to be the perfect alpha for a pack. But now it's different. You don't have to fight to be something you're not anymore. Seeing you be this happy, has been so refreshing for all of us. I'm so grateful to be able to call you one of my omegas Smitty.” Matt says honestly, eyes flicking to John who nods, before pressing his lips to Smitty's gently.

Smitty melts into the kiss, whining prettily as Matt pulls away, brushing some hair behind his ear. He then moves over to John, smiling at him.

“I may be the alpha, but you're always the number one person in charge of him, okay? I don't want to fight you, I want to help you help him okay?” Matt said quietly, looking down nervously.

“I. I was just being stupid earlier…. Ugh. Come over here.” John says, pulling Matt into the nest and then into John's lap.

“Oh shit I-mmmph-” Matt's cut off by John pressing his lips to Matt's. Matt whines quietly as John pulls away with a smug grin.

Smitty looks over, purring at the sight, nuzzling into Grizzy. Grizzy moved Smitty into his lap, letting the older scent him however he wanted.

It was the final day of his heat, and he was laying in the pack nest now. Pezzy and Puffer were curled up either side of him, heads pressed to Smitty's bare chest. Matt was behind Pezzy, Grizzy behind Puffer. Droid was laying in between Smitty’s legs, John curled up around his head.

All three omegas were quietly purring, nuzzling into each other, Droid snoring quietly.

Smitty's neck burned from the new pack claim marks he'd received, John's being the highest up of course, showing that he was indeed part of a pack, and he was loved by many.

He was finally happy. He finally felt like he belonged.

And it was wonderful.

Chapter Text

Smitty was excited. Today was the day. The big day.

Today was the day John was moving in. The final member of their pack that would be living with them. Yumi mostly lived with his other packmates, coming over and staying a week here and there, Rectrixx preferring to stay in Canada for the moment, but John's delay was more due to many incidents happening at the last minute.

The second covid restrictions were raised, Matt and Smitty leaped the border to move into the pack house. They'd been there a few months now, Smitty antsy to have his best friend come over and join them. It just wasn't the same without John there. He wanted John to be able to join in on all the pack things they did together, like when they would all get together on the last day of Grizzy’s or Matt's heat and all lay in their nest together, scenting and comforting each other, or when they would all shift under the full moon and go out hunting as tradition. For John to finally get his pack-mark from them, signalling he was a member, not a lonely wolf.

Smitty could feel his inner alpha practically bursting at the seams, excited. He couldn't wait to see John's wolf, find out what pack dynamic he was, play fight with him, cuddle with-

“Earth to Smitty? Hello? Are you there?” Pezzy asked, clapping to get his attention.

“Huh sorry, I was zoning out.” Smitty said, Pezzy rolling his eyes.

“No shit? You've been doing it all day! We all know why you're zoning out, but you still have shit you need to do! Droid and Grizzy just left to pick John up, but Puffer needs you out the back… um.. they're back on our territory.” Pezzy says nervously.

Smitty sighed. “Do I need to shift for this or?”

Pezzy groaned. “It would be nice for someone to actually speak to them, Puffer’s busy trying to intimidate them.”

Smitty brushed past Pezzy, heading out the back to see Puffer's large blue-gray wolf growling at two men. The men look bored, not really spooked by Puffer which is obviously making Puffer more pissed off.

“Finally. Someone we can talk to.” The shorter man grumbled, shooting a side eye to Puffer who just huffs.

“Yeah yeah. I'm here. Why are you on our land?” Smitty asked, crossing his arms.

“You KNOW why. Don't play fucking dumb with us mutt.” The taller spits, hostility clear.

“What my associate is trying to say is, we caught one of your pack hunting on our lands. We would like an explanation.” a short man says, looking at Smitty.

Smitty frowns, trying to think back to the last hunt. He doesn't recall anyone straying from their territory.

“I don't recall anyone straying from our borders, are you sure?” He says, being as polite as possible.

“Is this enough proof?” The taller spits, dumping a rabbit, half chewed into the yard. Puffer steps forward, sniffing the rabbit, before looking at Smitty and nods.

“Okay, who was it?” Smitty asks, Puffer shifting back, groaning.

“Who the fuck do you think? Same guys as last time.” Puffer groans, Smitty helping him up.

He's glad that they all have special enchanted necklaces that allow them to retain their clothing when they swap formes, because this would be awkward if Puffer was butt-ass naked right now.

“Droid?” Smitty says, Puffer just nodded in confirmation.

Droid had a thing about zoning out when hunting, often forgetting vital information like scent boundaries, roads, the fact he was about to run into a tree. Smitty knew this wasn't the first time and he also suspected this wasn't going to be the last time.

“On behalf of our beta I apologise to you. You have been very patient with him. I will see that he is reprimanded for this.” Smitty offers the shorter nodding.

“See to it that it doesn't happen again. Our clan is itching to test their claws out, and I can't promise that the next time it happens that some members won't see it as an attack.” The shorter replies.

“If he does it again we're going to give him a lesson he won't forget in a hurry.” The taller hisses, Puffer snarling in response.

“Again I am sorry about this. I'll do my best to avoid this happening again. Feel free to hunt on your way home, as a sign of our good faith.” Smitty nods, the two men dipping their heads in agreement.

“Thankyou pack-alpha, for handling this with more care than your associate here.” The shorter says, eyeing Puffer, who's giving him a side eye.

“Travel well clan-beta. Take care.” Smitty replies, watching as the two men shift into their leopard forms and take off towards the woods. Once they're out of sight Smitty groans.

“When the fuck did Droid go out alone?” He asks Puffer who just shrugs.

“I think after he got really mad during that stream the other day. Dude. Why the fuck did you let those fucking cats hunt in our woods man? You didn't need to do that shit.” Puffer groans.

“Unlike you guys, I don't actually want to fight a war with our were-cat neighbours thanks! It's better to keep the peace. How the fuck are you going to explain numerous injuries to your stream chat if that shit happens? I need you to talk to Droid and tell him that he can't be doing this shit anymore okay?” Smitty stresses.

“Why's it gotta be me?” Puffer groans.

“Because John's gonna be here and I'll be busy.” Smitty replies.

“Busy making out with him.” Puffer groans, walking back inside. “Fineeeee.”

Smitty nods, looking out at the woods again before heading back inside. Pezzy has been watching from the window, nodding at Puffer and Smitty as they come back in.

“What was their problem?” He asks.

“Droid’s been hunting on their territory again.” Smitty groans, sitting down.

“Again?” Pezzy says.

“To be fair, it's only the second time he's been caught. He's probably done it more.” Matt adds, Smitty shooting a glare over at th3 man after that statement.

“He WHAT?”

“Kidding.” Matt grumbles, leaning into Smitty's body, snuggling up against him.

“You're a leech, you know that.” Smitty says, Matt just grinning.

“You love me.”

“True.”

Smitty zones back into the sound of the door knocking and then opening.

“We're back!!” Grizzy calls, Smitty standing up to greet them.

“Hey man!” Droid grins at him, Smitty just frowning at him.

“You're grounded.” He says, Droid's face dropping.

“WHAT? WHY?” He whines, giving sad puppy eyes.

Smitty sees John standing behind, a slightly amused smile on his face as he continues to talk to Droid.

“Dude, I get that you get like… in the zone when you hunt. But if you're going to hunt on cat land, don't leave the evidence behind?” He groans, Droid just rolling his eyes.

“Whatever. They have the best shit over there anyway! That's so not fair. How did you even find out.”

“They showed up and said next time they catch you it's on sight man. I don't want you getting hurt.” Smitty stresses.

“I can take em. They're just little kitties! I'm a fucking werewolf man. I'd win.” Droid boasts, flexing his arm.

“Let's not start a turf war on John's first day living with us.” Matt says, slipping past the two, and hugging John.

“Oh hi. Can I come inside now?” John snickers, hugging Matt, as the others move aside.

John's looking around at all the stuff in their house, immediately drawn to a poster they have on the wall. It's a large canvas piece, with each of their hand prints first, and their paw prints next to each, with a name above each pair.

“Oh that's cool.” John hummed, taking in all the prints.

“Yeah, here's where yours are gonna go!” Pezzy points near the beta area, John humming at the space.

“Oh sweet. Uh, but I probably should go over here,” John says, pointing next to Matt.

“You're not a beta?” Smitty's jaw dropped, as John shrugged.

“I mean I never said I was, y'all just assumed and I never corrected you. It was kinda amusing to me in a way you know?” John smirked, Matt running over and hugging him again.

“Finally someone who will want to nest with meeeeee! Grizzy’s such a hater.” He pouts, shooting Grizzy a look.

“Now hang on. I nest when I'm in heat, and that's all I need man. Leave me out of this!” He groans, heading to the couch.

John laughs at how keen Matt is. “Yeah sure man. We can nest together, but you gotta let me make mine first.”

Matt perks up. “You can sleep in mine tonight if you want?”

“Yo Matt we were gonna sleep in the pack nest tonight remember?” Puffer says, Matt immediately freezing as he remembered.

“Oh yeah… well… it's up to him!”

John just blinks. “I'm.. I'm so not used to being around this amount of people yet. Are you guys chill with me just staying with Matt tonight and working up to the pack nest?”

Smitty nodded, trying to not show his disappointment. “Sure man. Whatever makes you happy.”

John nodded, Smitty leading him to his room.

“This is all yours okay? Do what you want with it!” He says, gesturing to the very simple set up. John smiles, winking at Smitty.

“Can I have some of your clothes so I can start my nest then? Your scent is just so… comforting.” He smirks, leaning in to smell Smitty.

Smitty flushes red, stammering awkwardly as John laughs, nodding and pointing to his room.

“Take whatever you want man. Have fun okay!”

It's a few days later, John's finally settling in and they're talking about their pack traditions to him, seeing as it's the new moon that night. John would be receiving his pack mark from Smitty and Puffer at midnight, but they wanted to make sure he knew everything first.

“-and when that's all over, we usually hang out in the omegas nest after the heats chilled out. Sometimes we shift, other times we don't, but it's a big like, scenting fest if that makes sense?” Pezzy is explaining, John nodding.

“Yeah, that seems good to me. Like a time for us all to restrengthen bonds and shit.” He says.

“Out of curiosity, how often do you have your heats?” Grizzy asks casually.

“Huh?” John asks.

Matt groans. “He's just trying to flex the fact that he only has a heat every three months, unlike my every two months. Grizzy, it's not a competition.”

John blinks, laughing a bit. “I can do you one worse. I get them every five weeks during spring and summer and then nothing the rest of the year.”

“Damn. Did you piss off the gods of spring and summer or something?” Puffer snorts, John shrugging.

“I dunno. My brain took ‘heat’ literally I guess. It's all good though. I shouldn't be due for another few months.” John says.

“Okay anyway…uhhhh.” Smitty says, trying to remember what else he's missed.

“Full moons?” Droid adds, Smitty nodding.

“Ah huh. That's it. Yeah so every full moon, schedules permitting, we like to all shift and go hunting together. It's nice, all the wolves out in the light of the moon, howling together. You're going to love it John.”

John nods, taking it all in. “Ah huh. And you mentioned neighbours and territory?”

Droid rolled his eyes. “Yeah don't worry. There aren't any rival wolf packs for miles around here, just some stupid werecat clan kinda nearby. It's decently easy to find the border, they reek so fucking bad with their fish scent.” He groans.

“Yeah they are low key pussies.” Matt chimes in.

“Literally.” Grizzy laughs as they high five.

John nods, eyes flitting around the table. “Anything else?”

“Nah you're good.” Smitty says, smiling.

“We should do John's hand print after the marking ceremony!” Pezzy says, pointing to the canvas.

John perks up at that. “Yo that would be cool!”

Puffer smiles, leaning back a little. “Sounds good to me? What do you think, Smitty?”

“Can't think why not.”

—---

It's almost midnight when they sit in the pack nest, John in the middle, Smitty and Puffer on either side. Some may call the ceremony cringe, but they did it anyway to honour their ancestors. Or something like that.

“John. Omega. Do you pledge your loyalty to our pack above all others? Do you promise to do the best you can to protect and care for your fellow pack mates?” Puffer starts, ignoring Droid's snicker at the serious tone.

“I promise.” John says, looking at Smitty.

“Do you promise to listen and obey pack law, as decided by your alphas? Will you do your best to carry yourself with pride for being part of this pack?”

Smitty was glad their pack didn't actually have any pack laws, abolishing all that shit immediately when he started his own pack.

John nods to Smittt, making eye contact. “I promise to do my best.”

Smitty knows the last line is very outdated, but Puffer still says it without hesitation, looking John in the eyes.

“Do you promise to defend your pack in times of war, even at the cost of your life?”

John knows the line they taught him for the ceremony, nodding. “I will lay down my life with pride for the pack.”

“So be it.” Smitty replies, grabbing John's right wrist, Puffer grabbing the left.

They both bite down at the same time, John hissing at the pain as the bond immediately takes effect, linking him to the pack. They all feel a burst of pride and happiness explode through the link briefly before John's blocking the bond as they all mostly do by default. Smitty passes John a shiny ring, imbued with the same properties as their necklaces.

“We thought a ring would suit you better.” Smitty whispered quietly, John smiling before slipping it on his pointer finger.

“Thanks.” He says quietly, looking into Smitty's eyes. Smitty can almost forget the others are there, zoning out into the ocean of John’s-

Matt breaks the silence with a rather blunt comment. “Well that was gay.”

Smitty can't help but snort at the choice of words. “Dude you're in a male only pack and you think that it may be a little gay here?”

“Now hang on a minute. I was promised bitches. Where are my beautiful babes?” Droid says, whipping his head around.

“Sorry you get Grizzy, take it or leave it.” Pezzy snorts, Grizzy raising an eyebrow.

“Okay where's he taking me and is he paying?” he says, continuing the bit.

Smitty laughs, watching Droid stutter, nuzzling up to John who is smiling. Matt nuzzles up on Smitty's other side, purring filling the room, and he's struck by the fact he's never heard John purr like the other omegas.

John hasn't been here long however. He's sure he'll trigger it sooner or later.

Smitty groans, pouting at Puffer.

“You still haven't gotten him to purr yet?” Puffer snickers, Smitty just whining.

“Nooooo. I've tried everything man! He just doesn't do it! Does he not like me?”

“You sound like a teenage girl right now. Look on the bright side. You get to meet his wolf tonight.” Puffer reminds him, Smitty perking up.

“Oh I'm so excited.” He chatters, bouncing from foot to foot.

“Cool, I'm happy for you. Can you fuck off now? I'm trying to work.” Puffer says, shooting a glare over.

“UGH fine.” Smitty pouts, stalking away.

He leaves Puffer catching the rest of the pack lounging around the living area.

“Remember we're meeting out the back when the sun goes down. We're going to have some fun.” He reminds them, Grizzy’s smile widening.

“Oh I'm gonna beat Puffer's ass. He said he could take me, and I'm gonna prove him wrong.” He giggles, Droid hyping him up.

Smitty can sense John's presence behind him, seeing him standing behind awkwardly.

“Are you excited?” Smitty asks, John slowly nodding.

“Yeah I mean. It's cool. I just…” He trails off.

Smitty frowns, leading him away.

“Do I have to shift tonight?” John asks, looking at the ground.

“No, why?” Smitty replies, mostly confused.

“I just… the last time I shifted on strange territory I got my leg trapped in a bear trap. Do you remember that like… month I couldn't stream?” John says, Smitty nodding.

“Yeah.. oh shit? You got injured that bad?” Smitty said, John rolling his sleeve up and showing a faded, yet still pink scar.

“Yeah.. if it's okay with you guys I just wanna explore the territory tonight, while y'all do your thing. Is that okay?” John asks.

“Of course man. I'll tell the others for you, that's completely understandable.” Smitty says, holding his arms out.

John walks into his arms, nuzzling up to Smitty's neck, humming.

“Okay guys here's the deal.” Smitty starts out, everyone in the backyard stretching. Puffer's locking the house, as everyone's limbering up. “John's not comfortable shifting tonight, only because he wants to get a scope of the territory first, so we're gonna spread out and make sure it's safe while he explores on foot. Not that I think we'll see anything or anyone, but that's just what's happening okay?” He instructs, the others nodding.

“I'll stick around you man just in case you need any help, shout out alright?” Pezzy says kindly, John nodding.

“Thanks man. Back in Washington, there were so many bear traps and shit in the forests. I don't want a repeat performance if I can avoid it, you know?” John says, the others immediately understanding his paranoia.

“Alright, you guys can shift and head out whenever. See ya later.” Puffer says, walking towards the forest, almost looking like he trips over before he's taking off into the greenery.

“Hey asshole, you said you would fight me! Come back here!” Grizzy yells, taking off after him.

“I wanna see Nelly kick Puffer’s ass, you coming Droid?” Matt cheers, Droid immediately nodding.

“I'll catch you soon.” Smitty nods to them, waving goodbye.

Smitty walks towards the forest, turning back to John and Pezzy.

“Shall we?” Smitty says, before he's shifting as well. He feels himself shrinking in height before suddenly there's just so much more. He can smell John's perfume, and Pezzy's body wash, and the scent of his packmates leading into the woods. He can hear Pezzy and John chatting behind him as he guides them into the woods. He takes it as a good sign that he can't smell any fear scent coming off John.

Smitty leads them towards the border first, pausing a good distance away from it.

He turns around, seeing Pezzy point out the pine tree that they use as a border mark, John nodding.

Smitty wrinkles his nose at the scent of so many cat scents along the line. It seemed they really were marking their territory more actively. He follows along the border, checking for any signs of trespass when he hears paws approaching.

Puffer bursts through in front of him, dipping his head as a greeting.

“He did it again.” is all the other wolf has to say through the pack link before Smitty is growling.

He knows Puffer's talking about Droid. He turns around, giving Pezzy a look, the older man saying something to John before shifting.

“We need to deal with Droid, you're cool tailing John?” Smitty asks, Pezzy bowing his head in response.

“Show me.” he says as Puffer takes off, Smitty’s own white fur becoming a blur as he streaks through the forest.

It doesn't take too long to get to Droid, the other looking guilty enough to easily show what went down. He'd only chased prey over the border, not actually hunted it, much to Smitty's relief, but both Puffer and Smitty decided that Droid was banned from hunting alone for the time being, sending him off to tail Grizzy.

Smitty had spent some time play fighting with Matt, the calico wolf being cuddly and playful after all the drama. He left Matt after a bit to go back and check on John and Pezzy.

As he gets closer to where he'd last seen them, he's struck by the smell of Pezzy’s fear scent. Smitty picks up speed, before he sees Pezzy.

“Where's John? What happened?” Smitty asks, already growling.

Pezzy uses his nose to point over at John and Smitty pauses, realising the reason for Pezzy's distress.

John's just having a chat with four of the clan cats in the neighbouring territory next to the border. It seems friendly enough, with how both parties seem to be joking around.

“What the fuck?” Smitty asks.

“I don't know. I was just staying out of sight, then they saw him and didn't recognise him. He introduced himself, and they suddenly started being all chill and nice to him? I'm so confused, it's low key scaring me.” Pezzy replies, whining a bit.

“I'm going to investigate. Don't shift back unless I tell you, you may need to go get the others if this goes to shit.” Smitty says, Pezzy just nodding, putting his ears back, huffing.

Smitty approaches carefully, doing his best to seem as calm as possible. He doesn't growl or bare his teeth, keeping his hackles low, trying to seem unassuming.

John hears a twig snap, turning and making eye contact with him, a small smile appearing on his face at the sight of Smitty's white fur.

“Oh, here's one of our pack alphas now. Speak of the devils and they shall appear.” John's saying, the cats just laughing with him, nodding.

“They always seem to know, don't they? Like they have some freaky sixth scent.” one of them is saying, and Smitty pauses squinting a little. It's that shorter guy that came by a few weeks ago to complain about Droid. Luckily the angry taller guy doesn't seem to be with the group.

He can immediately tell, from the little he knows of their neighbours, all the cat scouts are betas. They're primarily a beta clan, a single Alpha and Luna who stay closer to their home, with two omegas who often spend most of their time shifted. They then have around 10 beta's who come and go as they please.

Unlike the cat's clan, they don't have a Luna or a single alpha in charge. Smitty and Puffer preferred not having a hierarchy in their pack, preferring everyone to be seen as equals. Even so, when Yumi would stay with them, he knew better then to try and go against Smitty or Puffer’s wishes, the other alpha happy to just sit back and enjoy the vibes.

Smitty is eyeing the casual conversation, relieved that it does seem to be more on the calm side. Much as he doesn't want to shift back yet, he also knows it's important to be polite, and to keep the scouts over here as long as possible while his pack fixes up Droid's stray scent patch on the border line.

Smitty groans slightly as he shifts back, recognition flickering in the lead scout's eye.

“Hello again. Nice weather tonight isn't it? I see you have met John.” Smitty says politely, the scouts all nodding in agreement.

“Didn't realise you had a new pack member with you. We didn't recognise his scent, so we wanted to investigate, and then he just came over to say hello.” one of them replied casually, Smitty internally groaning.

“Yeah, that sounds just like John here.” Smitty scoffs, playfully pushing the older man who doesn't even budge.

“Pfft. Shut up. I'm just trying to be a chill neighbour. Don't need them ratting me out to the cops if they catch me smoking weed out here.” John jokes, smiling at Smitty, who rolls his eyes.

Smitty’s gaze lingers on John for another second before he turns to the scouts party leader. “Ah yeah, another thing I should mention to you guys before you leave. I wish to inform you that one of our wolves accidentally crossed the border by about three wolf lengths about a quarter mile north. No prey was taken and the border scent line should be fixed, but I wanted to inform you as a show of good faith about us trying to work with you guys.”

The beta frowns slightly at the initial subject change, looking relieved as Smitty explains further. “Thankyou Pack-alpha for the warning. We appreciate you informing us, we won't pass this along providing it is as you say when we investigate. We are sorry to keep you from your lunar night hunt, but it was nice to meet you John.”

John waves as the cat-scouts also give a smile wave back, taking off further along the border.

“They seem alright.” John says, eyes flicking over to Pezzy, who's whining, still distressed at all the people. “Dude see i told you I would be fine Pez. You just gotta be chill with people and respect them, you feel me?”

Smitty frowned, looking at where the others had gone, then looking back at John.

“Why did you decide to speak to them?” Smitty snaps, John turning around, looking confused.

“Huh?” John replies. “We just had a chill chat, nothing bad happened!”

Smitty's eyes flicked over to Pezzy, whose tail is still in-between his legs.

“What if something went wrong though? There's been so much tension lately, if that one guy was there, he would have attacked you on sight! That's why Pezzy is so upset if you haven't noticed. What's he supposed to do? Try and take 4 were-cats on? What if you guys got seriously injured?” Smitty says, a flicker of hurt appearing on John's face.

“I'm sorry man. Sorry to you as well Pezzy. I just….” John trailed off, eyes getting a little foggy as he recalled information. “Back where I used to live, there was a small clan of four were-cats nearby. They used to let me chill in their territory because they knew I was a loner. I was just taken aback, because this clan smells very similar to home…” John says, crossing his arms, before looking up at Smitty.

Smitty frowned, looking at John's face before faltering. He couldn't stay mad at John, he never was good at that.

“Okay, okay. Just don't do it again alright? Pezzy, you did the best you could okay?” Smitty says, Pezzy nudging Smitty's thigh with his head, huffing out an approving noise.

“Try not to mention this to the others, I don't need Puffer and Droid on the warpath.” Smitty says, John nodding.

“You mind guiding me to the other border?” John says, nudging Smitty, who just sighs.

“Yeah yeah, but I'm coming with y'all. Not having you get into trouble again.” Smitty says, letting his body shift back to wolf form.

“You love me.” John snickers, petting Smitty on the head. “Who's a good doggy?” he jokes, Smitty letting out a growl.

“I’m going to bite him.” Smitty says to Pezzy who's trying not to howl with laughter. ”Actually maybe I'll bite you instead.” he says, pressing his face to Pezzy's muzzle with a glare.

“If I speak I'm in trouble.” Pezzy says, looking away before taking off.

Smitty gestures to John to follow him, the man just chuckling and following behind.

“Has anyone seen John?” Smitty asks, walking through the house. They're supposed to be recording soon, John nowhere to be found.

“He said he was going for a walk, he should be back soonish I think?” Droid calls out, Smitty sighing.

Ever since the night of the full moon, John had spent as much time as possible in the woods, exploring the territory. They'd all seen him slinking out of the tree-line after accidentally napping in the shade of one of the many large oaks.

“Of course he is!” Smitty sighed, pressing his face against the glass to see if he could spot John.

“We sure he isn't like.. secretly doing drugs out there? He's spending an awful lot of time out there.” Grizzy jokes, Smitty just shrugging.

“I don't think he is, but it's John. Who the fuck knows.”

“There he is!” Matt chirps, Smitty perking up as he sees John's form casually strolling out of the woods.

“John, we're recording in five!” Smitty calls out, John just giving a thumbs up.

“Sweet. I'll be there.” He says, entering the house.

Smitty stretches an arm out, pulling John in so he can scent the other quickly, John groaning and struggling, trying to pull away.

“Dude noooo. Chill Smitty.” He groans, the others just chuckling in amusement.

Smitty lets go, watching John fix his hair, before walking off to his room. He smiles for a bit, his lips pulling down into a frown as he gives a last look to the woods.

Why was John spending so much time out there alone?”

It's about three weeks later when everything finally goes to shit.

Smitty is woken up from his lie in, by an angry pounding on the back door. He jerks awake, exiting his bedroom, practically crashing into Grizzy and Puffer, who exit from Grizzy’s nest.

“What the fuck is happening?” Grizzy grumbles, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“I dunno.” Smitty yawns, ears pricking up as he hears Matt yelp.

“Uh guys.. the neighbours are back and they look pissed off.

Smitty and Puffer glance at each other, both of them running downstairs to the back door.

Smitty and Puffer pause at the sight. The clan alpha and Luna are at their door, along with two beta scouts Smitty doesn't recognise. The betas have their ears and tails on full display, appendages lashing around quickly to add to the intimidating aura.

“Shit. This looks serious.” Smitty grumbles, opening the door and schooling his features to look more neutral.

“Hello. How may we assist you this morning?” Smitty starts out, the clan alpha letting out a loud hiss.

“We warned you what would happen if your mutts didn't keep off our land. We let you walk all over us, and for what? A measly few pieces of prey?” The alpha hisses out, Smitty taking a step back, confused.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Puffer says, more bluntly, the pack Luna clicking their fingers, and a beta steps forward with a woven backpack, spilling out the half eaten bits of prey.

“Our scouts found these scattered along the border. They REEK of mongrel stench. What do you have to say for yourself?” The Luna asks.

“Matt, get Droid out here, NOW.” Smitty snaps, Matt just taking off quickly, feet pattering away.

Smitty makes eye contact with Puffer. He can tell Puffer wants to declare war here and now, but they need to be smart.

They turn as they hear Droid's grumbling get closer.

“Yo? Why do you need me up this early man? I was having a good dream!” Droid whines, freezing when he sees the company. “Ohhh.”

“Did you do this?” Puffer asks, pointing to the mangled prey.

Droid steps closer frowning as he examines the bloodied mess. “Maybe? Where was it found?”

The clan alpha hisses angrily. “Where do you think mongrel? On our territory!”

Droid shakes his head immediately. “Nah. Can't be me then. I've been hunting near the creek on the other side since the full moon. I'm not risking stepping over the border again.”

Smitty and Puffer glance at Droid, Smitty stepping forward to scent the prey.

It does smells very similar to Droid however, Smitty struck with the fact that he's not sure if he believes the other.

“He says it wasn't him.” Puffer says firmly, a dangerous glint appearing in the clan alphas eyes.

“How convenient. It was one of you, and we know that. I've issued an attack on sight order for the next three moons, only coming to inform you out of courtesy. Any one of your mongrels spotted within 10 cat lengths from the border is fair game to us. Goodbye.” The alpha sniffs, snapping his fingers and turning around.

The pack watches as all four people shift to giant cats, taking off into the woods.

Puffer groaned. “Seriously Droid? You couldn't just not hunt there?”

Droid sputtered. “It wasn't me dog! I promise! I ain't wanna start a pack war, no matter how much I fucking hate them. You believe me right Smitty?”

Smitty freezes, looking down where the prey had been, sighing. “It did smell a lot like you-” Droid looked like he wanted to protest, but Smitty put his hand up to stop him. “However, if you say it wasn't you, I believe you.”

“Thank you.” Droid nods, sighing a little.

“Hey guys, not to like, burst your bubble or anything, but where are John and Pezzy?” Grizzy asks, coming back into the room.

“I don't know..” Smitty says, looking around.

“Oh shit. I think they went for a jog in the woods?” Matt jumps up, remembering seeing the two head out in the earlier light.

Smitty feels his tail burst out of his spine instantly, fighting the urge to chase and find his omega… and Pezzy.

“Okay. This is serious. We can't risk them getting hurt. We need to find them.” Smitty growls, looking around at his pack.

“Matt, you're staying here.” Puffer snaps, Matt immediately goes to protest. “No. I don't want to hear it. You have the loudest howl, so if they turn up back here while we're out, we can get home safely okay? We all know you hate fighting too, okay?” Puffer says more softly, Matt looking a bit sadder as he reluctantly shifts, the omega doing his best to pout.

“Right, I'll take point with Droid, Puffer you stay behind, Grizzy you watch our flank okay?” Smitty barks out, the others all nodding instantly.

“Go.” Puffer says, throwing open the back door, Grizzy’s dark black wolf immediately racing out into the yard. Droid's grey fur immediately follows, Smitty chasing after him.

They run with urgency, following the slightly stale scents of their pack mates. Smitty can feel his heart sink as he notices the scent gets closer and closer to the borderline.

“I can smell blood.Puffer says, the rest of them sniffing the air, confirming it.

“I can smell Pezzy's fear.”Grizzy huffs, the others speeding up.

The four burst into a clearing, freezing and growling at the sight.

Pezzy is unconscious on the ground, blood pooling from a wound on his head. John is nowhere to be seen, but there's scuffle marks everywhere, drops of blood around.

What can be seen however, is the giant fucking Lion next to Pezzy, tail lazily swishing through the air.

“That bitch hurt Pezzy! Oh it's ON.” Droid howls, leaping in to fight.

Smitty flinches as he hears a roar answer in the distance. It seems the clan was already calling in backup, and Droid's just given them access to their location.

“Watch out dude, you only have fangs, he's got fangs and claws!” Smitty protests, trying to get closer to help his packmate.

Droid seems to be handling himself well however, nipping here, racing around and biting somewhere else. The lion isn't making much effort to fight back, gaze struggling to keep up with Droid’s movements.

Pezzy lets out a groan and goes to sit up, both Droid and the lion's attention shifting to the short beta. Droid realises this, and goes for a face first attack to defend his injured packmate, lunging his jaws towards the lion's eye, biting down on its face.

The lion lets out a pained roar, flinching back, backing up and shaking trying to get Droid off.

Grizzy shifts back, scooping Pezzy up. Pezzy groans, looking over to Droid in horror.

“Droid STOP!” he screams, Droid ignoring him.

Suddenly six pairs of paws burst into the clearing. The clan's backup is here. They hiss and growl at Droid, who lets go, backing up to stand in front of Pezzy with Smitty and Puffer.

Three versus Seven. Smitty didn't like those odds… maybe six… the lion didn't look too good after Droid.

The Lion roars again, moving to the centre of the clearing, in-between the two rivalling groups, shifting back.

Smitty lets out a whine of horror as the shape is revealed to be John.

He can smell his pack's distress, especially Droid's at the fact that they've injured one of their own.

John shakily stands up, Smitty unable to look at his face too much, bloodied bite marks forcing one eye shut.

“Stop. There's something you need to see. Both of your alphas.” John says, pulling out something from his pocket.

Smitty frowns, looking over at Puffer. He shifts back, walking over to John, hands up to show the clan cats that he's not planning anything. The cats eye each other, until a large Cheetah steps forward, shifting back as well. It's the alpha from earlier.

“What is this trickery?” the alpha hisses, his cats staring from behind him.

“You need to see this.” John repeats, unlocking his phone, opening a video.

Smitty looks at the screen, blinking when he sees that it's that one tall beta scout. The really angry one.

“When I met your scouts a few weeks ago, they recognised my scent. Turns out they're relatives of the guys I used to know back home. Got talking about it all, and they accidentally let slip about some guy in your clan being pissy he didn't get promoted to Luna, and the fact that you were quote; ‘letting these mutts walk all over us’. I didn't think much of it, until I started spending more time in the woods. I started running into him quite a bit, not that he knew. But I watched him.”

John plays the video, which shows the tall beta hunting prey, shifting back to human, destroying it using gloves, then pulling out a clump of wolf fur, placing it sneakily under some loose skin to make the prey smell like wolf. The camera then pans out, showing him tossing the prey on the cat side of the border, shifting away into the woods.

“What the fuck.” Smitty swore, anger gleaming in his eyes.

“I have about seven or so videos similar to this one if you would like to see those as well?” John asks the clan alpha, whose eyes are blazing.

“Can you send them to me? We need to have a trial. Trying to start a border fight over promotion scuffles is disgusting. We will make sure this clanmate is dealt with swiftly.” the clan alpha says, typing his number on John's phone.

John taps a few buttons, hands shaking as he shows the sent receipt to the other alpha.

“Stand down.” the alpha calls, nodding to the wolves and John, before taking off.

Smitty lets out a sigh. Crisis averted.

He turns around to look back at his pack mates, before he hears a deep hiss.

“TRAITOR! You would side with these…. These MUTTS? Over your own kind?” the voice snarls.

It's the beta, who's now shifting into his leopard form lunging at John.

“Oh I have been WAITING for this.” Puffer transmits through the pack bond, snarling as he intercepts the leopard's attempt to attack an injured John.

It's over rather quickly. Puffer gives the cat a nasty leg wound, the animal hissing in disgust before retreating away to lick its wounds. Smitty snorts at the way Puffer is puffing up his chest.

“I could have taken him.” John groans, Smitty just rolling his eyes.

“Sure buddy. Droid can you help me get this guy home? Considering you did most of the damage?” Smitty asks, Droid unshifting and blushing in embarrassment.

“Uh shit. Sorry about all that man.” he awkwardly apologises, John just giggling a bit from the pain.

“S’all good. It's kinda why I never said anything you know? I knew y'all hated the cat people… but you guys never actually asked me if I was even a wolf! I just kinda saw what y'all were saying and I felt a-a-ashamed.” John slurs out, nodding at the others.

Smitty frowns as they carry John back home. They had all just assumed John was a werewolf, no one ever seeking further clarification. It explained why he looked so apprehensive about the full moon stuff, all the howling and whatever.

John fell unconscious as they got to the house, Matt yelping and grabbing the med kit immediately.

Pezzy suffered a minor concussion, and as Puffer and Matt treated John, he explained what had happened.

“John and I were out having a jog, when that guy came up to us. He started pressing John about all sorts of stupid shit which went over my head at the time, but looking back now it makes sense. He tried to convince John to join him, saying he didn't belong in a pack, he deserved to be with his own kind. John just laughed at him, calling him a prick. The guy didn't like that, and he went to attack John, so I shifted to try and help out. He managed to trip me up, winding me. It all gets kinda fuzzy from there.. I remember his paw on my head, slamming me to the ground, I remember shifting back to get out of his grasp, but I was really dizzy, and the next thing I knew, John just let out the loudest fucking growl I have ever heard. He shifted and stood in-between me and the guy, scaring him off i think? I don't know… next thing I knew I was in Grizzy’s arms and Droid was chewing on Droid's face.”

“Holy fucking shit.” Grizzy swore, leaning back on the couch. “Dude really solved a fucking border war and saved a pack mate from a rouge agent. What a guy.”

Puffer hummed, looking at Smitty with a small smile as he finished stitching John's wound closed. “It explains why you couldn't make him purr though.”

“What do you mean?” Smitty asks, “I would have thought that big cats would purr more?”

“Nah. Lions can't purr. Something about how their skulls and voice boxes work. It probably translated to John. He would have been purring if he could, but he's literally biologically unable to.” Puffer snickers, slapping a dressing over the stitch.

Matt sighs. “I'm gonna be real with you guys. I don't know if he's gonna keep his eye. We need to watch out for infection, and keep an eye on everything carefully, okay?”

Smitty frowns slightly, wrapping an arm around Droid. He can smell Droid's guilt and misery.

“Dude, you didn't know, and when he wakes up he's going to slap you for feeling sorry for yourself. It's okay to feel bad, but don't dwell on it too long okay?”

Droid nods, just leaning down and in to scent Smitty, the alpha gently rubbing his back.

Grizzy moved John to the pack nest, where much to their shock, he immediately groaned.

“Oh cool. 6 men in my bed, this is a good dream.” John jokes, going to touch his face, Matt slapping his hand away.

“No touching idiot. Why didn't you just tell Droid it was you?” Matt protests.

“What do you mean?” John says, face full of confusion.

“Through the bond? That's how we communicate when shifted?” Grizzy says, John looking even more lost.

“Wait, that's a thing? I thought y'all just pre planned everything? That makes so much more sense now!!” John nodded, laughing a little. “Sorry when I shift, I just kept the bond closed, because I didn't know it had a use.”

“Oh my god.” Smitty groaned, facepalming. “You're an idiot.”

“Yeah but I'm your idiot. HAH. Gottem! Did y'all see his face?” John snickers as Smitty glares jokingly at him.

“Yeah yeah, Smitty's a raging Homosexual fit you and Matt and all of us! We get it.” Puffer says, Smitty just groaning. “Okay John, here's the deal. You should probably shift back, because it's going to take so much longer to heal in human form, and we don't really want to run the risk of infection that close to your brain.”

John freezes, looking down at his hands. “Do I have to?” he says quietly.

Matt and Puffer look at each other, Puffer just sighing. “Yeah. It's for the best man.”

John just sighs, looking away.

“What's wrong?” Smitty asks, moving closer, nuzzling into John's neck.

John sighs again, laying back on the nest. “I was so excited to be coming to live with you guys. To do all that stuff with you. But then over time, things fell through, and I saw more and more cases of Werecats and Werewolf turf wars. I told myself it was going to be different here. That I would fit in, despite the fact that I'm different. Despite what everyone else says. I come over here and I hear what you all say about our neighbours, the words you call them. And I know they've caused trouble for you, and it's warranted, but in my brain it's like you're saying all that shit to me. It's okay though, like… you didn't know… I'm just.. I'm sorry I'm different.”

Smitty blinks, looking around the room at the guilty faces of his packmates.

Droid sighs. “Nah. You're right. I shouldn't be saying shit about our neighbours, when they're just trying to live their life too. I'm sorry if anything I said hurt you, I was just frustrated.”

Puffer nods. “Yeah, I'll admit I also got a bit hot headed about them all, but I think after today we can put everything behind us.”

Smitty grabbed John's hand. “Dude. None of use care if you're a wolf, cat or even a fucking hamster okay? You're pack, and pack sticks together okay? We love you.” Smitty says, stroking John's uninjured cheek, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.

“Gay.” Matt snorts, Smitty pulling away and glaring at him.

“Okay. Okay. I'll shift… only if you guys do too. I want some pack cuddles.” John says, Smitty smiling wide and nodding.

“CUDDLE TIME! DIBS ON THE SQUARE PILLOW!” Matt yells, immediately shifting and trotting over behind them all. He sat smugly on his pillow, eyeing them all.

“I was going to let John and Pezzy choose their spots first since they're the injured ones… but okay Matt.” Smitty laughs, Matt just whines.

Pezzy huffs out a laugh, rolling onto his back and shifting, his honey colored body reminding Smitty of a goofy golden retriever sometimes. Grizzy rubbed Pezzy's tummy, the wolf making a contented noise.

“Your turn.” Puffer says, looking at John who sighs.

“Wait. You know how we can half shift? What's it look like for you?” Droid asks curiously, John pausing.

“Oh uhhh. Lemme.” John frowns, Smitty holding his breath as he watches John's hair get longer, ears poking out from up top, and a tail poking through the bottom of his shorts.

“Damn you look hot.” Grizzy whistles, before coughing. “Damn who said that?”

“That's crazy.” Puffer snickers, watching as the large omega pretends to be asleep.

“Nah that ain't me I'm schleep.” Grizzy says, shifting and curling up around Pezzy.

John snickered, stretching his arms out in front of him. “Y'all may wanna move back a bit.”

“Hey Siri, what's the size difference between a Lion and a wolf?” Puffer asks his phone,

“ On average, a wolf will weigh between 70-80 kgs and a Lion will weigh around 175-190 kgs. Wolves on average will be six feet in length verses about nine feet for a Lion. Lions are about 3 times larger than the average-” Puffer mutes his phone, motioning for everyone to back up.

John shifts, and Smitty finds himself holding his breath. John is beautiful, a word Smitty never thought he would use to describe a cat, but it suits John.

John lays down in the middle of the nest, nosing around before slowly blinking at Smitty.

“Aww, it means he likes you.” Droid coos, Smitty shooting a glare at him.

John's on the smaller size for a Lion, but he still is easily twice as big as Grizzy, three times bigger than Pezzy. Something stirs in Smitty's chest at the idea of him being the small spoon for once. His omega being the one to hold him close! Smitty wouldn't admit how much the idea appeals to him.

Puffer punches the light out, shifting and sliding up in between Pezzy and John. Droid shifts, dragging Matt back over to the pile, and Smitty shifts, slotting himself next to John's belly, nuzzling into the fur there.

“Gay.” Matt sends through the bond, a huff coming from John.

“Okay, I see what you mean about communicating with this now. That makes it so much easier.” John remarked, a noise bubbling through his body, making his chest vibrate.

“Awww. So Smitty, lions don't purr right, but they make huffing noises and chuff. Sometimes they make low moaning noises. That's how you can tell they're happy. John's doing the equivalent of purring right now.” Puffer remarks, John raising his head.

“Shut the fuck up Puffer, I could end you with a thought!” He groans, making the others laugh at the feeling of embarrassment coursing through the bond from John.

Smitty leaned his head up, licking John's neck to get his attention, before nuzzling into him, rumbling. John slowly blinked back at him, a happy chuff noise escaping his jaws as he locked the top of Smitty's head fondly.

As Smitty drifted off to sleep, he could feel John's leg drape over his body, keeping him safe. He smiled mentally.

His pack was complete.

Chapter Text

“Isn't this nice guys? We should do this more often.”

“It is rare that we're all free to be fair… I think it's nice anyway Smitty.”

“Shut the fuck up Droid you wet blanket. Nice is stretching it a bit. I think Pezzy's foot is in my-,”

“Woah there. Chill out John, I'll move my fucking leg okay?”

“How long do I have to stay here again..?”

“Puffer, that's so mean! Are you saying you don't want to help with my post-heat pains? I always knew you hated me!”

“Man Puffer, you made Matt start crying! You know how emotional he gets on the last day! We've been through this shit before!”

“I didn't do shit Grizzy! I swear!”

“We're all right here Puffer, we all literally heard you.”

“Stop being a snitch Smitty…”

“MATT? I was literally standing up for you? What the hell?”

“Damn bro, rough out here in Matt's nest, you ain't know if anyone's a real one anymore.”

“True that Grizzy, they turn on you in less than a second and then boom! You're naked in the middle of the room because someone's stolen all your clothes for their nest.”

“Shut up Pezzy, that was only like… one time.”

“One time? Bro I woke up every day for a week to you trying to steal my pants Droid!”

“Damn you suck at everything… picking up women, stealing, sucking d-”

“Actually John, let's not talk about that.”

“Why can't we Smitty? Are you homophobic or something?”

“Dude I literally made out with you earlier. We're all gay as hell here.”

“Nah I'm straight.”

“Shut up Puffer, we all seen you get a little too cosy with the homies to be classed as the straight guy anymore.”

“Yeah, get him Pezzy. Puffer's a fucking asshole.”

“Stop pouting at me Matt! I'm sorry for saying I wanted to leave earlier okay? If I give you a kiss will you move on?”

“Mmmmm. Maybe. Gotta be on the lips though.”

*mwah*

“He's straight guys. He just gave a big smooch to Matt here but don't worry, he's straight.”

“Nah Grizzy, you don't get it. I love making out with the bros as a straight man!”

“You're the gayest motherfucker here John. No one would even believe you were straight in the first place.”

“That's very hurtful of you to say that Puffer, I agree with Matt. Get this guy out of here….. or kiss me as well… your choice.”

“So when are we getting back to the sleeping part of the cuddle session?”

“Smitty's bored of us already! Damn bro, what are we keeping you from?”

“Nothing Droid! I was just kind of tired! Didn't realise that was illegal now… God…”

“You should know it's illegal when not even Grizzy’s trying to sleep…. Yo Big Man, wake wakey…”

“Hnnnng? Sorry I dozed off there… What were you saying, Pezzy?”

“This guy…”

“Don't ‘this guy’ me Droid, I'm sleepy….”

“Psshhh, i'm just messing with ya, you know I'm joking. I love you.”

“Love you too man…”

“I'm so glad Gay people are real…”

“Are you fucking crying Matt?”

“Shut up John. It's just someone's cutting onions.”

“Okay man.. sure…”

“I hate Gay people.”

“Shut up Puffer.”

“Bite me Smitty.”

Chapter Text

Puffer was a beta. That's fact number one, and probably also the only fact people on the outside would ever know about.

Actually, no one else knew anything further then that because Puffer was still deeply filled with shame and resentment every time he even spared it a minute's thought.

Puffer was a beta biologically yes, but deep down in his brain he longed to be an omega.

During his teenage years, he'd made jokes about being disgusted with the idea of presenting as an omega, deep down wanting nothing more than to wake up one day and find out his scent had sweetened.

Much to his misery he'd presented as a measly beta, like most of the population. It was fine… alright even, but Puffer had buried the feeling of his heart cracking so far down, that he struggled to recall just how much it had hurt.

To cope with the fact he was dysphoric about his secondary gender, he started acting with an ego. During his late teens he adopted a more narcissistic personality, focusing on himself more, constantly telling himself and others how glad and happy he was that he wasn't some dumb omega. That was so not him at all!

He continued to act like that until he lived with Grizzy.

Prior to moving in with the guy, he didn't know much about him. He had just assumed the guy was an alpha, and that's where he was wrong.

Puffer had rocked up, boxes in hand to Grizzy writing stuff on a calender.

“What's up man? What you doing over there?” Puffer had asked.

“Oh hey man. Just putting down when my next heat should be due you know? Sometimes I forget, so I want to have a reminder.” Grizzy had replied casually.

“Heat? Wait you're an omega?” Puffer had replied in shock, jaw dropping.

Grozzy had turned around and raised an eyebrow. “Problem? What? Just because I like to rage and yell during gaming sessions I'm not an omega?”

Puffer was quick to clarify. “No, no, no problem! I was just surprised that's all. I'm a beta myself, so you don't need to worry about that for me.”

Grizzy laughed, patting Puffer on the back. “We chill man, I'm just pulling your leg okay?”

Living with Grizzy had really helped stomp the weird, almost sexist persona he'd been building, instead just pretending to the internet that he was some big tough alpha for jokes, open with his true status among friends.

It was fine for a few years. Puffer made jokes, Puffer ignored the longing and ache in his soul, Puffer buried the urges. Fine.

Down the road he moved in with his pack, becoming more closely knit with all of them. Now they shared markings on their wrist and neck, showing they were unified and off the market. Puffer felt happy.. Mostly anyway.

Then something caught his eye when he went to his doctor's appointment for a check-up.

A flier, talking about HRT, for secondary genders. Puffer had looked around, making sure no one had seen him, before grabbing one.

He'd opened it in his car afterwards, hands shaking before reading the information with his heart racing.

New hormonal medications had finally been approved for public use. A repeat pill for someone looking to transition to alpha status, an implant blocker for someone to become a beta. Both very big advances in science. Puffer turned the pages, heart shuddering when he saw what he'd hoped for.

The hormonal course to transition to omega status.

Puffer blinked before reading.

’Unlike the medication required for alpha hormones which much be taken on an ongoing basis, or a beta's blocker needing replacement, the omega treatment is much less long term.

Firstly, you will take the oral tablets provided for a month to prepare your body for its first heat. During this time, you may feel discomfort and mild nausea as your body changes internally.

Your first heat is the point of no return for anyone looking to transition. You can not trigger it naturally, so an injection will jump start the process, heat starting around 6 hours later. During your first heat, your reproductive organs will grow in properly, the gland in your brain will then ‘switch on’ and start regularly producing the hormone you previously took with tablets. Upon the conclusion of your first heat, your body will be functionally identical to a biological omega, the only difference being a lower fertility rate and some patients will suffer from rarer heats.’

Puffer raised an eyebrow at the information, taken aback by how simple it all seemed.

He could become an omega… just like that! He could finally feel at home in his body, finally feel happy….

Puffer had always been pretty nonchalant about the idea of having kids. Mostly because of his career, the idea didn't seem too appealing to him. The idea of him being able to one day carry his own children made a blush rise to his cheeks. It's not that he wanted kids, but it would be nice to have the option in the future. The very far future hopefully.

Sitting in the car, he placed the pamphlet in his glove box as he was driving home.

When Puffer got home, he fished the booklet out, freezing briefly.

How the fuck was he going to even bring this up to the others? ‘Oh hey everyone. I know I make jokes about being an alpha all the time, but I'm looking into transitioning into an omega! I never felt at home in my body and-’

Shaking his head, Puffer instead retreated to his room, shutting the door before looking over to his walk-in closet.

None of the other packmates knew Puffer had a basic nest on the floor in here. He immediately swapped his clothes to softer textured ones, dimming his lights and slipping into the small space. He curled up in the small nest, wrapping himself around a pillow as he imitated a cat making biscuits, quietly slipping off to sleep.

Puffer woke up from his nap a few hours later, sluggishly standing up and stumbling to the bathroom. When he was finished, he hesitated on going back to sleep.

He really wanted to cuddle someone, but the thought of that would immediately raise red flags with everyone, much to his dissatisfaction.

Creeping out of his room, he immediately pricked his ears at the sound of John whining.

“Smitty, come on. You said you would nest with me later, it's been ages now.”

“John, it's barely been an hour man, I really need to finish this video, okay? I'm sorry, I just have to finish it up…”

“Fuck you then asshole. I'll go find someone else then.” John grumbled, storming out of the room.

Emerging into the hallway, John looked around before his eyes locked onto Puffer. Puffer did his best to look disinterested, sealing his fate as John immediately honed in on him.

“Oh hey Puffer, you're not busy are you?” John asked, arm reaching around the taller waist.

“Actually I-” Puffer was interrupted almost immediately.

“Great. You're coming with me then.”

Puffer pretended to protest and squirm as John dragged him into his room, pushing him into his nest. Puffer felt slightly softer then usual, offering up little resistance to the manhandling.

“Your nest is looking nice at the moment man.” Puffer said, complimenting John to cheer him up.

John immediately grinned before trying to look less excited by the comment. “Oh really? I haven't done all that much with it… it could be better…”

“Nah, Smitty's missing out.” Puffer crooned, John immediately nodding.

“You're right. That's his loss. Fucking loses.” John mumbled, moving blankets around.

Puffer laid there and watched John work, small smile forming on his face as John started making biscuits with his hands, purring quietly. He pretended to be sleeping when John glances over, secretly enjoying the whole experience.

“Hey John I'm done now, where to you want me?” Smittys voice calls from the doorway.

“Fuck off traitor.” John spits, not even looking at Smitty.

Puffer lets out a snort at Smittys brief expression of hurt before Smitty is sighing.

“John, I'm sorry okay. I brought those chocolates you like to make up for it…”

John glances over at Smitty before back at Puffer. Puffer thinks John's about to make him leave, so he's taken aback when John just says; “Fine, but you gotta squeeze in behind me. I want double the cuddles.”

Smitty looks over at Puffer, covering his mouth with a giggle. “Ah, I see he caught you. Thanks for keeping him company.”

Puffer just shrugs. “It's all good. I'm kinda enjoying the quiet. It's nice.”

“Shut up. Back to silence okay?” John grumbles, scenting Smitty thoroughly as Puffer drifts back off to sleep.

Days slowly pass, Puffer finding himself a bit distant from everyone, preferring to keep to himself over hanging out with his mates.

He spends a lot of time daydreaming about being post transition, about being doted on by Matt and Droid, pretending to hate it, but they all know how much he loves it. It slowly builds inside him, a strong urge that isn't fading, and he finds himself NEEDING to do it.

He knows his pack is worried about him, but he also knows they've been giving him space to work it out. Puffer is grateful they're respectful like that, finally deciding to emerge from his room and meet up with everyone after he finally freshens up.

“OH SHIT? Puffer? Hello?” Pezzy says, doing a double take.

“Dude you spent so long in there I literally had my fucking heat.” John snickers, rolling his eyes.

Puffer squints looking around the room. “Where's Matt at?” he asks, unable to see the half Arab.

“HERE'S MATT!” a voice calls, thud echoing through the house as Matt runs into a wall.

“Ouch.” Droid grimaces, Grizzy shaking his head.

Puffer swallows, shifting from foot to foot. Smitty looks over and immediately notices.

“You doing okay Puffer?” He asks carefully.

“I'm going to be an omega.” Puffer blurts out, room going dead silent immediately after. Puffer freezes, nerves flooding in and making him tremble.

“Huh?” Matt replies, rubbing his head.

“Could you explain?” Grizzy asks, looking confused.

“Well. I mean. In my mind I know I was meant to be an omega… But now like… I can actually be who i was meant to be… and like you know how I am, so this isn't to be like.. confused as a joke or anything or-” Puffer gets interrupted by Droid nodding.

“Oh, so you're like coming out as transgender to us? Okay.” Droid said, looking around as the rest of the pack nodded.

Puffer’s jaw dropped. “Wait what?”

“Dude. We know you. We know how proud you are, plus all that time you spent locked away. You would have to be so fucking sure of yourself to even admit that to us, so that means you already are comfortable with the idea.” Pezzy said bluntly, Puffer just blinking in shock.

“What, did you think we would hate you or something? Fuck off you dickhead.” John grumbled, rolling his eyes.

Grizzy crossed his arms. “You just wanted to be one of the cool people in this pack, I get it. Who wouldn't want to be?”

“Matt wouldn't want to be, thanks.” Matt said, rubbing his head.

“I just… huh?” Puffer sputtered.

“It's really just that easy.” Smitty giggled, hugging Puffer.

Puffer then proceeded to be stunned to the point of minimal sass throughout the whole treatment. During his first heat, he wasn't moody or bitchy like the others thought he might be, instead he was just genuinely grateful for all the help and care he got. Upon the conclusion of his first heat, the sass immediately returned, Puffer immediately denying any and all claims of how soft he had behaved during the heat.

If Matt found Puffer sometimes crawling into his bed at night post transition, he would keep it to himself. Droid wouldn't however, immediately set on bragging to the others, the young alpha enjoying the blush rising into Puffer’s cheeks as the new omega swore he would never return to Droid's bed. They all knew he was lying however.

Chapter Text

The room was quiet, one persons face bright red with shame, another's barely looking bothered. The rest of the pack standing around them awkwardly.

Grizzy coughed, breaking the tension marginally. “Sooooo. What are we going to do about…” He pointed at the pair in question. “All of… this…”

Matt shrugged. “I have an idea of what we could do.”

Grizzy turned, looking at Matt. “Oh damn, that was quick.”

Matt jumped, pointing at Puffer. “Pay up pussy, you lost the bet! You owe me!”

Grizzy groaned. Puffer groaned.

Yumi groaned. “What the fuck did y'all gamble on this time?”

Matt grabs the 20$ bill from Puffer, pocketing it. “He bet that the first people to fuck up and accidentally do a mating bite during a heat would be John and Smitty because of how chronically gay they are.”

Smitty snorted, covering his mouth in amusement, Puffer just glaring at him.

“I didn't have to lose a crisp 20… not my fault you're unreliable.” He muttered.

Droid chuckled. “To be fair, you were half right, Puffer, I mean, John was definitely involved….”

The group shoots a glance at the smug man, sitting on the couch, eating a bowl of cereal. John's eyes look up from the food, pausing before swallowing. “Are y'all still on that? God that's like… so one hour ago.”

Grizzy shook his head. John was so shameless that he honestly didn't give a fuck… that meant they needed to try a different approach. Turning his eyes to the man next to John, his frown locked on to Pezzy's eyes, freezing him in place.

Pezzy squirmed as Grizzy’s glare made his bones almost lock up. “Ummm. So guys… this is kinda awkward, I'm not gonna lie.. but it's not as bad as it looks….”

Everyone else in the room raised an eyebrow at him, Pezzy covering his face and looking at the ground. “Ummm.”

“Fuck you mean not as bad as it looks bro??” Grizzy snapped, Matt nodding next to him.

“They're just mad because they got no bitches…” John muttered, louder than he thought he would, making Grizzy look murderous.

“John, John.. Chill out before Grizzy kills you man!” Smitty said, patting the fuming Alpha's shoulder.

“I just! After everything I've said! Every heat we do this shit! We all know that a mating mark is for LIFE! Why is it the first heat that I'm away for, I come back to find a mate mark on one of our omegas? HOW THE FUCK IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE?” Grizzy yelled, holding his hands up, looking at the ceiling.

“What can I say… shit got freaky…” John snickered, nudging Pezzy who went even redder.

Puffer slid in front of Grizzy, intervening before he went nuclear. “I think what Grizzy means is the fact that it shouldn't even be possible for two omegas to bond alone. Normally you need at least another beta or alpha there. The fact that you two managed to… uh.. cement the bond to the point that it… you know… that's honestly insane.”

Smitty's nodding. “Yeah, next time you're having a freak off, invite Droid, I can almost smell the jealousy coming off him now he's the only unclaimed omega.”

Droid whirled around, looking offended. “Shut the fuck up asshole! I…” Droid went red, realising he couldn't deny the allegations, instead mumbling. “They look happy though… maybe I wanted cuddles.”

Matt wrapped an arm around Droid, nuzzling him. “Here ya big baby, I'll cuddle with you.”

Yumi squinted, looking at Pezzy and John.

The two men were sitting next to each other, and on the outside they both looked like they were reacting differently, but if you studied them, you would notice how John's eye was twitching, how their pinkies were linked for support, Pezzy's lip trembling slightly.

Ugh. Honestly, he didn't wanna be the mature one here. “Yo, can we like..M chill the fuck out. They fucked up, yeah, we all get it. Let's just like… move on because you don't wanna like, fuck up their bond while it's still forming or whatever…. And that's all you get from me, I'm going to order doordash and get fucking drunk.” He said, rolling his eyes and leaving the room.

“Ummm. Okay then.” Smitty said, watching him leave.

Grizzy turned back to glare at John and Pezzy, before sighing. “I'm sorry guys… I was just so fucking shocked.. I've always tried to protect you from that type of shit, fought hard for y'all to be yourselves, not need to deal with all that, and then to come back from my mamas and see you both with a mate mark, I felt like I failed..”.

Pezzy slowly stood up, walking over and hugging Grizzy. “You didn't fail man. You're an amazing alpha, and don't go believing otherwise.”

John nodded, putting his empty bowl on the table, leaning back. “Yeah.. I'm sorry Griz… It was a total accident, I'm not gonna lie. I told him to bite me, because we both thought it wouldn't have any effect because of us both being omegas… Maybe it's because we were both in heat, I really don't know…” John said, trailing off with a shrug.

Pezzy nodded. “Yeah we both came too after it all, and then there was just like… this weird like.. warmth in our heads.. we sat up, looked at each other's neck and literally shit bricks.”

Grizzy rubbed Pezzy soothingly, rumbling to help him relax. “Well… just make sure you guys continue with close contact over the next week, and then you should be alright… I don't want either of you getting separation sickness or any of that bullshit.”

Pezzy let go of Grizzy, walking up to Smitty, hugging him as well. “I'm sorry Smitty. I feel like I stole him from you and-”

Smitty chuckled, making Pezzy pull away, confused. “Dude, you can have more than one mate mark. Did you not know that? It's cool man, you need to relax…. Maybe I'll claim Droid during his next heat though, I feel like it's only fair, right hot stuff?” Smitty said, shooting a wink at Droid who started blushing crazily in Matt's arms.

Grizzy raised an eyebrow. “How about let's not. Guys, this is a serious life commitment, we shouldn't be doing all this type of stuff just for fun or anything.”

“Okay Dad.” John joked, Grizzy whirling around.

“You're fucking grounded then.”

“Fuck.” John swore.

“Ouch.” Puffer yelped, making Grizzy whip around.

Puffer was shooting a look at Matt, who was looking at his nails, whistling. Grizzy walked over, grabbing Puffer’s hand and moving it. He groaned at the shimmering bite mark on Puffer’s neck, similar to the one Pezzy and John now shared.

“Right. That's it. You can't be trusted with shit in this house! Matt, you're grounded.”

Matt pouted, before yelping as Puffer bit him back.

Grizzy’s eye twitched, as he turned to the kitchen.”I fucking need a drink, I'm going to lose it!”

Puffer wrapped an arm around Matt, dragging him away. “Come on asshole, you need to spend time with me. I am not getting sick because you want to go play hockey!”

Matt whined, clawing at air as everyone watched him get dragged away.

Droid turned to Smitty, raising an eyebrow.

Smitty just crossed his arms. “You wish! Nah man, Grizzy would kill us all if I did that right now.. give it a week okay…”

Droid hi fived Smitty before leaving, Smitty sitting down next to John, as Pezzy sat on the other side, nuzzling up to John.

“It's not what I expected to happen, but I think it's really cool that it did happen.” Smitty says, linking his hand with John's.

John smiled, looking at Smitty. “You're a little jealous though, aren't you?”

Smitty hummed. “Surprised, yes. Jealous? No, not really. I know we have something, but I also feel like I have something with everyone here. Seeing you two together only makes me feel that same kind of love that I feel for everyone ....” He trailed off, Pezzy just looking over, shocked.

“Wait, you're gay?”

Chapter Text

Smitty was good at putting others first, especially when it came at the cost of himself.

Like now. He's about to go into heat, but he also knows that Puffer really wants to go see some friends for a few days, John's about to leave to see his younger brother for the first time in almost three years, and if Smitty were to say anything, they would both probably drop everything and stay with him.

He doesn't want that. He would be sick with guilt over it, instead lying to his two alphas, telling them that his heat is actually next month, the look of relief evident in their eyes as they turn to go pack. The smile drops from Smitty's face after they turn around, and he quietly starts stocking up on supplies for his heat. He knows Pezzy is suspicious about how he's acting, but he also knows the older man won't say anything unless he's sure.

Smitty waves goodbye to John, and then Puffer, one leaving in the morning and the other late afternoon, before he turns back around and enters the house again. He sighs, ignoring the part of his brain howling that he's been abandoned when he needs it most. Smitty goes to his bedroom and shuts the door, before running a warm bath in his attached bathroom.

He can already feel the flames licking in his stomach, the tell-tale signs of preheat, so he settles for a warm bath to help his body relax, to reduce the pain from it. Sighing at the feeling of the water on his skin, he eases into a laid down position, trying to enjoy the feeling of peace before shit hit the fan.

When he's done, he slowly towel dries himself, putting on a pair of old briefs and old loose shorts, knowing he would likely wake up sweaty and covered in various gross fluids, not wanting to ruin any actually good outfits.

—

Pezzy is the one who initially suspects something is off, but he overthinks it a little too much. He offhandedly mentions it to Droid, who takes note of Pezzy's worries, before he ruffles the shorter man's hair, telling him to go chill out.

When Pezzy leaves, Droid pulls up their shared calendar, looking through the dates, then checking the edit history. It was just as Pezzy had suspected - Smitty's heat was supposed to be starting any day now. Droid frowns, seeing that the person who'd changed the date was none other than the man in question.

Droid leaves the room to go question Smitty, bumping into Matt instead.

“Oh shit, sorry man, didn't see you there!” Matt squeaked out, apologising profusely, Droid shaking his head.

“Nah nah, my fault… uh.. Say .. you haven't seen Smitty anywhere, have you?”

Matt frowned as he thought about it, slowly shaking his head. “Uhhhh.. No actually… Why? Do you need to speak to him?”

Droid nodded. “Yeah, I'm pretty sure his heat is due any day now.”

Matt paused, thinking about it. “Hmm. I thought he said next month when Puffer asked about it… although..” Matt paused, counting on his fingers before getting his answer. “Nah, you're right, I just did the math… so you're saying Smitty lied?”

Droid nodded. “Yeah, I just wanted to know why… like.. Why would you lie about when your heat is? Surely you want all the help you can get..”

Matt paused at Droid questioning, sighing. “Yeah you would think so but…”

Droid looked back at Matt. “You know something? Would you mind uhh… sharing it maybe?”

Matt just scoffed, looking around the room before his body just deflated. “I don't know it for sure… but I have my suspicions. Years ago, he was dating this… absolute specimen of an alpha… it was not healthy for him in anyway shape or form… Basically, she got annoyed when he would go into heat, claim he was too clingy, too needy, that he needed to learn to take care of himself… that if he didn't learn how to do that, he would end up alone. She drilled it into his head so much, that he started to believe it… she would leave him alone during his heats, and honestly… Ugh. I hadn't heard from him in like… four days, so I went over to his place and…” Matt paused, tears welling up in his eyes. “It was bad man… I can't smell scents all that well, but even I could smell how miserable and lonely his scent was. He was too scared to be touched by me, claiming she would leave him if he didn't learn how to behave… I.. I managed to make him accept help for that one, but it took years to get him to the point where he would accept help without asking… I suspect he's still too nervous to ask for help however. He probably doesn't want to come off as too clingy…”

Droid nodded, fists clenching in anger at Matt's explanation. “My mama told me to never hit a lady, so she better not be watching me from above right now, I swear to God….”

Matt nodded, wiping his eyes. “Yeah, it be like that… anyway umm… We better go see how bad it is…”

—

Smitty's awoken by a knocking on his door a few hours, heat having set in overnight. He groans as he gets to his feet, going to open the door and then hesitating..

He doesn't need help. He's fine. He wouldn't want to bother the others, they're all really busy.

“Smitty?” Droid asks, Smitty just sighing.

“Yeah, what's up?” he replies, keeping his voice steady.

“Can we come in and talk to you please?” Droid asks, Smitty pausing.

He wonders who's followed Droid over, but a wave of heat hits him and he's leaning forward and clutching the door to stay upright.

“Ummm. No.. sorry. I think I'm sick with something and…” Smitty says, lying.

“Oh.. okay.” Droid replies sadly, a flicker of guilt hitting Smitty as he's then jolted out of his feelings.

“Open this door right fucking now Smitty. You and I both know what's going on, and I swore to you that I wouldn't let you act like this ever again. You have 10 seconds to let us in, or I'm going straight to Grizzy and getting him to bust this door down… and you know he will.” Matt threatened, voice snapping out.

Smitty narrows his eyes at the door, trying to see if Matt's bluffing. Matt wouldn't make Grizzy bust his door down… right?

“Okay, I warned you. HEY-” Matt's cut off by Smitty opening the door, anger flickering in his eyes as he grits his teeth.

“To what do I owe the pleasure..?” Smitty grits out, Matt's expression changing into a wide smile.

“We're all here to keep you company and help you through your heat!” Matt says, Smitty just huffing and looking away.

“I'm fine by myself man. I know how I get… you don't wanna deal with all that-”

Pezzy interrupts Smitty, running past him. “Oh that's cool… anyway.. I think I wanna deal with it! Oooo. Nice nest Smitty, honestly, I wish I could make nests as good as you!”

Smitty tries and fails to stop the purr in his throat, the praise from the other omega making him flustered. Droid approached Smitty, pulling him into a hug.

“Matt told us a very… brief summary of what might be going on, okay? I just want you to know, I've never thought of you as a burden, and helping an omega through a heat is something the pack bonds with. Please, let us help you through this one.” Droid says soothingly, Smitty sucking in a sharp breath at the words.

Tears bubble up and overflow, Droid stepping back, looking worriedly at Matt, who immediately is pressing kisses to Smittys face and neck.

“Hey, hey. It's okay. I'm here. I told you, I'd always be here for you. For every heat. Okay?” he said quietly, Smitty nodding.

Grizzy poked his head in, smiling when he sees everyone else there already. “Hey. I brought some cookies and some chocolate for you Smitty. I got a heat pack on standby when you need it, and dinners slowly cooking in the oven.”

Smitty burst into sobs, overwhelmed with all the love and care he was getting. Everyone bar Matt looked concerned, but Matt just troked Smitty's hair, soothing him.

Smitty then broke away after a while, sniffing and then looking at everyone.

“Thank.. Thankyou guys… I forget that I'm in a pack sometimes… that I don't have to start… acting like that anymore…”

“Smitty, it's all chill. Heat makes us do weird things, remember?” Pezzy said, his cola scent making Smitty relax.

“I think it's cuddle time for a bit.” Matt suggests, steering Smitty to his nest, the younger nodding, climbing into his nest, before motioning to the others to join him.

A little while later, John and Puffer both receive a picture, sent via the group chat. It's obviously taken by Grizzy, man winking and holding the camera, in the background of the picture, Matt's got Smitty sitting in his lap practically, Pezzy leaning and cuddling Smitty on one side, Droid on the other, but he's making grabby hands at Grizzy.

The two alphas see the message stating Smittys heat came sooner then planned, and before either can offer to come back home, they see a message from Matt saying that they have it all under control, and to enjoy their break.

Chapter Text

Yumi was a beta. He honestly thought it was obvious to everyone, so he never felt the need to broadcast it too much.

Looking back, maybe people got confused about his status from how he was raised.

Born to two omegas, he was the smallest in a litter of four pups. His parents loved them all equally, letting them nest with them whenever, all four pups purring inside the big nest together every night.

When his two older brothers and older sister all presented as omegas, his parents naturally assumed the whole litter would present as omegas, so he learned how to make nests, what to do in the event he got his heat, how to safely use suppressants and apply scent patches to keep himself safe. As he grew older, he finally presented at 18, scent barely changing, and the whole family was shocked that the ‘runt’ of the litter was actually a beta.

Not that it bothered Yumi. He didn't feel the need to change anything about his behaviour. He still nested regularly, purring when he was happy, secretly happy he never needed to worry about the shit his siblings needed to.

His online career was… something. Yumi adopted a very edgy style of humour, very early on. It seemed nothing was off limits for him to joke about… well almost nothing.

He's recording with the Goons and some other people he doesn't know as well, and one of the alpha males made a misogynistic joke about, ‘how would two omegas even raise a family? They'd probably all turn out as sissies!’

The call had gone quiet after that, Yumi immediately feeling himself heat up with anger. “Yo man. What the fuck are you even fucking saying dog? Who the fuck cares what gender they are so long as they love each other and the kids. Just because your alpha daddy didn't love you don't mean you gotta project all your shitty family drama on to us.” He snapped, everyone else in the call pausing and taking in Yumi’s rant.

“You seem really defensive about that Yoomi. Are you one of those-” the man's cut off by Soup stepping in.

“Yo, who even invited this guy? Get him outta here. Yumi’s fucking right for once.”

Yumi heard the disconnect noise, still seeing red, shaking his head. “Dude, I don't need you to defend me like I'm some fucking princess man.” He snapped.

Soup just chuckled. “Yeah I know that, I just wanted to shut it down before we had to listen to your dumbass voice ranting for hours. Thank me later, boy.”

Yumi sniffed, huffing slightly. “Fuck off. Also for the record, both of my parents were omegas, so if any of y'all even think it's funny to joke about that shit I'll fucking kill-”

Matt coughed, clapping his hands. “Yeah I think we get it… Now, let's get back to the game here.”

Yumi reluctantly reined his anger in, ignoring it worming up inside him. When they were done recording, he was the first out the call, diving into his nest, snuggling up on the soft blankets.

Who the fuck did that guy think he was? What a fucking prick!

—----

Smitry approached him a couple years later, when he was better friends with everyone, asking if he wanted to move into their pack house, maybe potentially join their pack down the line.

Yumi had been hesitant for a while. His last pack had.. had a very… public falling out, himself being the one to leave. This was the chance for a fresh start. Without any of the leftover guilt he felt.

Whatever. Feelings were pussy shit.

Soup offers to drive him over, which he eagerly accepts, the older wanting to stop in and visit everyone.

Soup frowned at all the blankets and pillows being shoved in the back of the car.

“You know they have all that stuff over there right?” He mentioned turning to Yumi with a confused look.

“Yeah, but these are essential pieces for my nest, okay?” Yumi snapped back, stunning the older man.

“Oh.. a nest.. that's.. yeah.. fair enough.” Soup mumbled, helping Yumi shove everything in the car.

Yumi was confused at the glances Soup kept giving him, but he shrugged it off as the alpha just being weird.

—

Arriving at the new pack house, Yumi rolled his eyes at the fact he could already hear yelling coming from within. Looking over at the door, John was leaning on the wall next to the entrance.

“Oh, sup Yumi. I just ducked out because they're playing Mario Kart with bets and it's getting loud. Need any help with your bags?” he asked, Yumi nodding.

“That would be good.”

“Cool, go ask someone then. Didn't say I would help, idiot.” John smirked, poking his tongue out.

“You fucking-” Yumi said, face lighting up red.

“Kidding bro. Let me carry all these pillows and shit…. You know we got heaps of this shit inside right?” John asked, Yumi again rolling his eyes, watching Soup head inside.

“Yeah man, so I've heard. Nah this shit for my nest, it didn't feel right to not bring some old pieces? You feel me?” Yumi explained, John freezing before nodding slowly.

“Ah that makes sense. Yeah I feel you. When I made my nest here, I only brought like one fucking blanket and it felt a bit off for a while… Once you start making yours, come see either Droid or Rectrixx or me, we can show you where the spare stuff is kept that smells like everyone. Just make sure it doesn't smell too much like Pezzy, Droid gets pissy if we take anything like that…” John explained, Yumi nodding, taking it all in.

“Cool, thanks man. Appreciate it.” Yumi smiled.

“I'll just run past everyone so I can get all your shit inside before it rains, you go say hello to everyone, okay?” John said, waving Yumi away.

“Thanks dude. I owe you one.” Yumi said, walking inside.

Opening the door, Yumi was hit with the sound of loud angry voices, arguing over the video game.

“I’M GOING TO FUCKING SAY IT. I HOPE YOU HAVE A PUP SCARE NEXT HEAT DROID, YOU CHEATING BASTARD.” Puffer is yelling, Grizzy and Pezzy wheezing with laughter.

“MAD COZ BAD LOSER. L BOZO.” Droid snaps back, sticking his tongue out at the taller man who's fuming.

“Can we talk about how Smitty stayed in 12th place to farm lightning over and over?” Rectrixx piped up, Smitty immediately going on the defensive.

“Okay so a guy can't be a little whimsical today? Fuck you.”

“You were not being whimsical bro, you were downright evil.” Eli scoffed, Smitty just rolling his eyes.

“Guys my controller disconnected midway through can we run it back?” Matt's asking, Puffer shaking his head.

“It's not like you were going to win anyway, let's be real man.” Puffer snorts, making his fellow beta glare at him.

“Guys, chill, chill. Let's calm down now.” Pezzy says, Droid immediately turns on the short alpha.

“Nah bro, you got two bluebells. I don't wanna HEAR IT.”

Grizzy freezes, narrowing his eyes at the other alpha. “Wait.. YOU… YOU KNOCKED ME FROM FIRST TO SEVENTH!”

“I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT!” Pezzy protested, Grizzy just crossing his arms and shaking his head.

“He totally meant it.” Soup stage whispered, making Matt giggle.

Eli looked up from the group making eye contact with Yumi, smiling and waving. “Oh hey man, how was the trip?”

“Who are you-? Oh shit yeah, hey Yumi!” Smitty said, pausing the game, making everyone else groan. “Shut up, new packmate just dropped losers, you can keep fighting later.”

Yumi suddenly felt awkward, everyone's attention suddenly fell on him. “Oh shit man, you don't gotta stop for me man, I'm enjoying this shit show. I'll watch a bit then I gotta go sort my room and shit.

“Hear that? Start that shit back up, I need REVENGE.” Puffer snarled, Smitty rolling his eyes.

“Chill out bro, calm down.”

Matt stood up, passing his controller to Soup. “I suck ass at this. I'll show Yumi to his room.”

Motioning to the younger to follow, Matt led him up the stairs, down a hallway. Near the end of the hall he paused.

“Okay, I'm next door to you, and Rectrixx is across from you, but don't be surprised if we're not sleeping in there. Everyone sleeps everywhere here, it's pretty chill. Normally the lounge room’s a giant pack nest, but today they wanted to do a stupid tournament.” Matt explained, Yumi nodding as John appeared, exiting Yumi's room.

“All your nest shits in there man, if you need any help building it, my rooms the one with the actually painted door.” He smiled, walking away.

Matt paused at the information, before continuing. “Uh yeah, we're pretty laid back as a pack, the only rules being like, if you're going out just tell us what time you'll be back in case we need to go looking, and if you wanna have anyone over let us know in advance preferably…. On full moons we always usually spend the day together, but you don't gotta join in… it's not like…. mandatory… Downstairs has a calendar that we mark known heats and ruts on, so we don't get snuck up on by that shit…. Uh and if… people need help with heats and ruts we just use a tag thing on our doorknobs. Red means like… can't help at the time or that person's live or recording, Green means yeah, Yellow means down to help but like, not anything uhhh… nsfw…” Matt explained, blushing at the end, Yumi just musing over the information.

“Well. That's a good idea I mean.” he mumbled, Matt nodding.

“Oh, in case you're unsure, Pezzy and Grizzy are the co-leader alphas of our pack, uhhh. Eli is also an Alpha, but he comes and goes. Myself and Puffer and Smitty are betas, but Smitty's like weirdly alpha leaning… John, Droid and Rectrixx are omegas, Rec is also in and out all the time, so don't worry if he just vanishes.. anyway… I'll leave you to it.” Matt smiles, Yumi just blinking at all the information he'd been overloaded with.

----

“So what's your scent Yumi, I can't really get a good read on it.” Pezzy's asking, Yumi turning his head.

“Huh? Oh, I think it's like muted wet grass or something? I don't remember.” Yumi shrugged, making Smitty pause.

“I always pictured you with… like a vanilla or strawberry scent honestly… something sweeter.” he admitted, Yumi raising an eyebrow.

“Just because it's my mascot, doesn't mean I smell like it man!” he protests, rolling his eyes.

“Mmmkay.” Is all Smitty replies with before he leaves the room, also leaving Yumi confused.

—-

“Yo, Yumi, are you bus- Oh. Shit. Sorry, didn't realise you were nesting.” Grizzy says, pausing in the doorway, Yumi popping his head up sleepily.

“Yeah I'm fucking busy. Now, what do you want?” he grumbled, Grizzy looking guilty.

“Nah bro, it can wait till later, you keep napping man.” Grizzy says, waving a hand at him. “I'm gonna just go bug Matt or John about it.”

Yumi watched him leave, shrugging as he snuggled back into the blankets. Not the weirdest thing, but still unusual.

—--

Movie night on the full moon. It's his first full moon in the house, and he wants to make an effort to show how grateful he is to be invited into the pack, without having to actually say anything. He has a reputation.

“Are you guys cool if I squeeze in over here?” Yumi asks, everyone immediately nodding, shuffling around.

“Sure, I'll just move Nelly's fat ass over.” Matt joked, Grizzy just shoving him back.

“Fuck you. I'm not cuddling your ungrateful ass anymore. Come here Droid.” Grizzy grumbled.

“Grizzy cuddles, WOOO!” Droid cheered, immediately diving next to the younger.

Yumi rolled his eyes, settling down next to Puffer and Rectrixx, the younger omega immediately snuggling up and scenting him.

“Oh, hey man. How are you doing?” Yumi asked quietly, leaning in to the Canadian.

“Pretty good. Honestly, spending time with everyone it's just nice.. makes me feel all nice and fuzzy.” Rectrixx admitted, Yumi nodding in understanding.

“It kinda feels like I'm a pup again almost… that security.” Yumi mumbles, Rectrixx nodding against his neck.

“Are you purring already Droid? You fucking simp.” Smitty scoffed from nearby, Droid just protesting in defense of himself.

“John's been purring like this whole fucking time, cuddled up to you, why don't you bully him!?” Droid whines, John sluggishly looking over.

“Leave me out of this, I'm too tired gor this bullshit man.” John groans, before resuming his purring.

“Because he's being a cutie. Just look at how eepy he is!” Smitty pouted, Droid just looking at him, eyes narrowing.

“Am I not allowed to be eepy too? What the fuck…” He mumbled. “This shit unfair as hell.”

Yumi looked over as he felt Rectrixx settle down next to him, the younger one starting to purr as well. Letting out a yawn, Yumi felt himself start purring on reflex, initially very quietly, but it soon growing louder as he fell asleep.

”Guys.. shhhh. I think Yumi's also purring.” Puffer hissed, the chatter quietening down.

“Oh my fucking god.” Pezzy almost squealed, getting elbowed by Eli, making him quiet down.

“Shhh.” Matt whispered, hushing everyone.

“I'm happy he's blended in so well with everyone.” Smitty admitted, everyone else nodding in agreement.

“It will be interesting to see how his first heat goes.” Grizzy mumbled, various people also nodding at that.

“He still hasn't put it on the sheet though.. I'm kinda worried.” Smitty noted, Pezzy gnawing on his own lip.

“Do you think he's maybe just a little overwhelmed? Give him a bit more time guys I think.” Eli suggested, being the voice of reason.

“Can't hurt.” Droid yawned, nuzzling up to Grizzy again. “Mmm, cuddle me man.”

“Surely we don't have to wait much longer.” Grizzy murmured.

“Hmm who knows man. He's kinda secretive… I've never heard him mention his heats before.” Smitty thought out loud.

“I think you're gonna be waiting a long while to hear anything more.” Eli mumbled, Puffer shooting him a look.

“What the fuck are you yapping about?”

Yumi immediately moved in his sleep, everyone glaring at Puffer.

“Shhhhh!”

—-

Smitty shuffled outside Yumi's door, looking at John and Pezzy next to him. Pezzy was concerned that it had been a few more weeks and still nothing was recorded on the calendar, so John had agreed to come along, Smitty jumping in to see what was up.

Bursting open the door, the noise made Yumi jump, waking up in his nest.

“YO WHAT THE FUCK? DOES NO ONE KNOCK IN THE HOUSE?” Yumi yelled, Smitty just waving at him.

“Oh hey man. Nice sleep?”

Yumi sneered. “IT WAS. Until y'all ruined it. What the fuck do you want.”

Pezzy crossed his arms. “We want you to start being more honest with us, thanks… well.. I mean more open.”

Yumi raised an eyebrow. “Uh. Okay, what does that entail?”

“We need you to put when your heat is down on the calendar so we can plan ahead.” Smitty said bluntly, John just nodding.

Yumi nodded as well until it dawned on him what they meant. “Wh- HUH?”

“You heard me… right? Why are you… John, why is he making that face?” Smitty said, turning to the older man.

“How the fuck would I know dingus?” John shrugged, looking at Pezzy who also shook his head.

Yumi was flabbergasted. “Wait, you're serious?”

“Yeah asshole! I know. Shocker. We care about your well-being!”John grumbled, Yumi just blinking in shock

“You guys really think…. Wait you think I'm a fucking omega? And I'm ashamed of it? What? Dude no, I'm a fucking beta man! If I was an omega though, I would totally own that shit.” Yumi said, the three men immediately shot him with doubtful glances.

“Uh. Sure, okay buddy. Still gonna need those dates though.” Smitty said, not believing him.

“For what? Dude, I'm sorry but when I have my period is none of your fucking business!” Yumi snapped, starting to get annoyed.

“Peri-ohhhh. Oh.” John mumbled, eyes widening.

Pezzy just continued. “But all the nesting? Like… explain that?”

Yumi shrugged. “Can a man not nest? My whole family was omegas, it reminds me of my family! We used to always nest and hang out together!”

“You literally purr!” Smitty said, pointing at him.

“And you're literally a bitch. So? It doesn't mean shit man!” Yumi said, rolling his eyes. “Again, I thought I was gonna be an omega too, they taught us all how to purr pretty early on.”

“You're really a beta. Huh. Aren't we fucling stupid.” John snickered, watching Yumi sigh.

“YES! Now can y'all fuck off? I'm fucking tired.” Yumi grumbled, Pezzy looking at the others before running away.

“Guys.. YOU'RE NOT GONNA BELIEVE THIS SHIT.” Pezzy's voice echoed through the halls.

Yumi rolled his eyes, turning a2ay as the door shut again.

His packmates were a bit special.

—-

“Dude, I don't know what you expected! He literally told us multiple times before he moved in!” Eli said with a facepalm, as everyone just gaped at him.

“What? When?” Matt asked.

“Uh. I don't know? Do you guys not watch his q and a videos?”

“.......”

Chapter Text

Grizzy was tired.

Tired of everything to be honest. He was tired of being forced into a label that didn't fit him, tired of people assuming they knew what he wanted.

Just so fucking tired.

Grizzy’s the youngest in his pack, but he's also (unfortunately) the biggest and strongest alpha, which earns him the unofficial title of ‘head' alpha. He just has that aura that makes people listen to him. Even Puffer and Droid listen to him easily, despite him insisting to his fellow alphas that no one person is in charge. He's really tired of that too. He almost wants people to fight back, challenge him… (only packmates he means)

It never happens. How boring.

He's tired of being in charge. Every day since he presented, it's like he was expected to know what to do and when to do it. People had taken one look at him, and had known he was going to be an alpha. And they were right… mostly.

Grizzy was an alpha on the outside, but on the inside, he was an omega. An omega playing the role he was born and raised into. Forced into.

After all, no one ever asked him what he wanted to be.

Everyday when he's observing his packmates, when he's protecting them from rival packs, he's expected to act a certain way. He's supposed to be strong and brave, to bring them comfort.

Nevermind the fact that he has to hide the tremors he has, being the first in line to defend their home. To fight for his mates. The nervousness he gets, the pressure just building on him.

He's so fucking sick of the anger and impulsive thoughts that race around his brain. He's sick of his ruts and he's just sick of being an alpha in general. Finally he's going to change that.

He's had enough, and today is the day He's finally going to indulge. His packmates are out, enjoying the relief from the heatwave in the creek they have on the back of the property. He'd given an excuse of being busy, wanting to stay back and have some peace and quiet. His packmates had offered to stay, but he told them to go have fun.

Now. Now he was going to finally try and make a nest. The bread and butter of an omega.

He'd gathered some clothes from all his packmates over time, giddy at the way he'd managed to stash them away, plus a soft blanket. He got all the bits of fabric out and paused.

He had no idea how to actually do this. Shit.

…

No matter. There was another omega in the house! Perhaps he could find some inspiration?

Grizzy snuck out his room, walking to Pezzy's room, flicking the light on and peering inside, squinting.

There!

Pezzy's nest was curled up in the space between his bed and the wall at the moment.

Grizzy walked over, taking a picture of it, before kneeling down and studying the build. It seemed simple enough to make.. but he knew it would require practice to weave the blankets and clothing correctly.

He gently stroked the nests wall, before pulling his hand back and nodding to himself.

Standing up, he walked back to his own room, examining the area before settling on his large closet.

If he made it in here he could keep it up for as long as he liked! No one would find it!

Grizzy got to work.

And it was beautiful.

…

…

“Grizzy, can we like… talk…?” Pezzy asks quietly, nudging him, making him look over from the movie he was watching with a few of the guys.

“Huh? Oh sure? What's up?” Grizzy asked casually, Pezzy shuffling.

Pezzy looks at the others before leaning down and whispering. “Not here… uh.. follow me.”

“Okay?” Grizzy frowns, now confused.

….

They enter Pezzy's room, older man shutting the door, breathing in and slowly turning around.

“I saw… I went to your room to get some clothing for my new nest and I saw… I saw the nest in your closet… I just…. are you… are you cheating on us?” Pezzy nervously asked, wringing his hands.

Grizzy’s jaw dropped open as he started shaking his head. “I… no… I promise I'm not… thats… that's actually my nest.” he said quietly, coming clean.

Pezzy's eyes widened, immediately apologetic. “Oh..I'm sorry. It's so rare that an alpha nests that I just-”

Grizzy decided to just fully explain. “I'm not an alpha Pezzy. I'm fucking tired of pretending to be okay with it. I know it's what my parents wanted and what all of you wanted from me, but I just can't do it anymore. I'm an omega. I've always known. I don't want to live a lie like this anymore. I'm honestly miserable….”

Pezzy's eyes teared up, the shorter immediately feeling guilty. “Oh.. oh… Grizzy… I'm sorry.”

“Why?” Grizzy asked.

“I'm sorry you felt that you had to hide who you are… even from me. I never asked….” Pezzy explained.

“It's okay… i.. I was very good at pretending…” Grizzy admitted, rubbing his arm shyly.

Pezzy looked at Grizzy, studying him before he's reaching over, locking his door quickly. “Would you.. would you like to cuddle in my nest with me? I also have some pheromone blockers and some various omega scent sprays if you wanna try those out too. Sometimes I get bored of my scent so I like to try a different scent when I go out… it could be good for you so you can then feel more like… yourself?”

“Wait.. really? What have you got?” Grizzy asked excitedly, perking up.

Pezzy walked over to a small box, lifting it onto his desk “Not to be stereotypical, but mostly sweet shit, like I have chocolate, Berry, bananarama, caramel, honey-”

“Wait… can I… can I try honey?” Grizzy asked, interrupting the older.

Pezzy paused, eyeing Grizzy’s hopeful eyes, smiling and nodding.“Yeah.. I only ever used it once… I always got the vibe it wasn't for me, you know? But for you…. I think it's gonna work nicely.”

Pezzy uncapped the roll on scent blocker, explaining how to apply it. “Okay, this lasts like a day or so, so you rub it on your neck and wrists like this-” he said, rolling it over Grizzy’s skin gently.

Pezzy then grabbed the other thing that looked like a small roll of deodorant. “Then what we do is roll this on top of the blocker, and boom! Now you smell like a-” Pezzy paused, scenting Grizzy quickly, nodding in satisfaction. “I gotta say man. I only did a rough job for the first one, but man. That stuff on you? Keep it. It suits you really well. It's perfect.”

Grizzy’s eyes lit up, smiling. “Really man?” h3 whispered.

Pezzy nodded, grabbing his hand, smiling at the taller. “Okay, come into my nest, and let me scent and cuddle up with you. Let me show you all my secret tricks…”

Grizzy tenderly got in the nest, afraid of disturbing the careful balance, Pezzy quickly walked over, slipping in next to him before whispering. “Roll over.”

“Huh?” Grizzy exclaimed, confused.

Pezzy rolled his eyes jokingly as he explained. “Well. You're an omega, I'm giving you the full experience, so you're gonna be the little spoon for once, hurry up and roll over.”

“Oh. Oh. Oh..” Grizzy whined, eyes filling up with tears as he made a noise in his throat.

Pezzy panicked. “Shit man, if you don't wanna rollover, you don't have to. We can-.”

Grizzy shook his head, blinking away the tears. “Nah I am I just… I need a minute man… gender euphoria or something like that.”

“Oh.. that's amazing.” Pezzy cooed, nuzzling Grizzy’s neck.

Grizzy finally felt like this is what he was supposed to be. He felt safe.

….

“Alright guys. I know we don't officially have a ‘head’ alpha… let's cut the crap… I want y'all to know that I'm gonna be stepping down permanently, effective now.” Grizzy announced at the pack meeting, most people gasping in shock.

“Huh, why?” Smitty asked, confused, eyes widening.

“Are you leaving the pack? No! Please don't leave Gribby!” Matt whined, eyes going teary.

“Just say you fucking hate us.” Yumi scoffed, pretending to be chill with the idea.

Grizzy shook his head. “ No! I'm not leaving! I'm trying to come out to you guys! I'm an omega.”

“The wokeism is contagious, hide your children.” Puffer muttered, Droid and Smitty snorting at the comment, Pezzy rolling his eyes.

“Guys, not the time.”

“Dawg my ass didn't even know that was a thing.” Yumi admitted with a shrug.

“Anything bring this on or…?” Smitty asked, trying to settle down again.

Grizzy sighed, looking down at the ground. “I just… I can't do it anymore man. I don't want people to look at me and see the alpha shell I'm wearing. I want… I want them to instead see Grizzy - the unusually strong omega, who gives amazing bear hugs and smells like honey. The real me. I-if you guys don't like that, I will leave the pack, I just thought you should know.”

“Fuck off, you're not leaving.” Matt said loudly, everyone else nodding immediately.

“Dude, Grizzy we fucking love you man. Don't you forget that.” Droid said, Puffer nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, now that you're one of our omegas though, you better not start getting too clingy…..” he joked, turning to the Mexican next to him. Okay Droid, rock paper scissors for head alpha now.”

“Oh you're on!” Droid cheered.

“Yo guys…. Again… Now's not really the time..” Pezzy said, frowning at the two.

John stared blankly at Grizzy, having stayed quiet the whole time until now. “Sooo… do you think you're gonna do the hormone treatment or you gonna do the suppressants route?”

Grizzy jolted, not expecting someone to ask more about his transition plan. “W-well tp be honest.. I… I'm not really sure.” he admitted.

John nodded, looking off intot he distance a little. “Honestly. I'm straight up telling you, don't bother with the suppressants. The side effects are pure dog shit. The hormone treatment is slightly more expensive, but it's a lot less of an issue… at least in my experience.”

Smitty facepalmed, shaking his head. “Oh shit yeah I forgot you were an alpha when we met.”

“Huh.” Puffer said, snapping his head over.

“What?” Pezzy shouted.

“The Woke virus claims another….” Yumi muttered, being elbowed by Pezzy.

John snorted. “Uh, yeah? I thought this was common knowledge? Puffer you literally drove me to get my script filled a month ago?”

Puffer’s facial expression blanked out. “Oh my fault…”

John stood up, shaking his head. “Yall are fucking stupid as hell.” he exclaimed, walking over to dap up Grizzy. “Welcome to the cool kids club man. I'm proud of you.”

“We all are.” Smitty said with a smile, Grizzy just tearing up again, turning around.

“Are you-?”

“Shut up Yumi, there's dust in my eye!”

Chapter Text

“UGH.” Smitty groans, sliding down the couch, landing next to Grizzy.

“What's up with you man? What's got you pissed off this early?” Grizzy asks, raising an eyebrow.

Smitty sighed. “It's just John, he started his heat and he's so fucking fussy that-”

“Wait. John started his heat?” Droid asks, face confused.

Smitty nodded slowly, confused. “Yeah…? As I was saying, he's so fussy that-”

“I thought Alphas didn't have heats?” Pezzy exclaims, confused.

“They don't.” Smitty says, thoroughly confused now. “You guys do know that he's an omega right?”

“WHAT?”

“SINCE WHEN?”

Smitty blinked, sucking in a breath. “Since always?! What?”

“That's weird that you're both omegas.” Puffer remarked, Smitty just frowned in confusion.

“What? What the fuck? Dude, I'm an alpha!”

Pezzy and Grizzy looked at each other, then looked at Smitty with a raised eyebrow.

“For real?” Grizzy asks skeptically, Smitty nodding quickly.

“Uh- YEAH?” Smitty exclaimed, hand on his chest, completely stunlocked. “Why would you even think that?”

Puffer snorts, counting on his fingers; “For starters, you're always nesting. That's more commonly an omega thing.”

“You're really clingy too.” Pezzy adds, Smitty shooting a look over.

“Am I not allowed to like scenting my packmates!?” Smitty said in shock.

“You're always such a pushover, especially compared to John! I could never see him submitting to anyone… sorry Smit.” Droid adds, Smitty pouting.

“You let him mark you higher up, which is usually the alpha position.” Matt adds with a snicker, having known the whole time, but still wanting to join in the conversation.

“Well that… that was just an inside joke!” Smitty protests.

“I think he also used an alpha voice one time…” Grizzy adds, Puffer nodding and putting another finger up.

“Okay, Okay I get it! I'm a shit alpha. You don't need to rub it in.” Smitty says quietly, everyone immediately jumping in.

“No!”

“What? We never said that!”

“We think you're an amazing alpha! It's so easy to relate to you!” Pezzy adds, everyone nodding.

Smitty covers his eyes, body shaking as Puffer goes to place a hand on his shoulders. Smitty jumps back, laughing at the taller. “Gotcha suckers! Nah, I don't care what people think of me or John. He doesn't want to nest unless he's in heat, he says it's too annoying, and that's his choice. I like doing it because I find it comforting.”

“Classic Smitty and Kryoz moments.” Pezzy said deadpan, the rest of the pack nodding.

“Like I mean it makes sense for those two…” Grizzy mutters.

“YO SMITTY! WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU GO ASSHOLE? YOU SAID YOU WOULD BE RIGHT BACK! NEWSFLASH, IT'S BEEN AT LEAST FIVE MINUTES.” John's whiny yell called out, Smitty paling.

“SORRY, I NEEDED TO SHIT ASSHOLE, I'LL BE BACK IN A SECOND.” He yells back, turning to his friends.

“Guys please. He's so picky in heat. He needs to inspect every blanket three times, every scented item like five times, and he makes me come and go like I'm a slave or something. Help me…” Smitty whines.

“He can't be that bad.” Puffer scoffs, Droid walking off to pop his head in.

“Yo John, do you need anything?”

Wide eyes with almost manic pupils turn to the younger, eyes narrowing. “Give me your shirt.”

“What? I'll go get one, sure.”

John stood up, walking closer, shaking his head. “No. Take it off. Now. Hurry up. I need more of your scent…. And probably Puffer too. If you're going to come in, take your socks off, the texture hurts my ears. Actually, go get Smitty and tell him I need the blanket from his room.”

Droid's jaw drops, handing John the shirt, walking back to the others.

“Puffer, I think he wants you… and Smitty, he wants a blanket from your room?”

Smitty groaned again. “He already has rejected that fucking blanket twice today! He's driving me insane!”

Matt giggled, smiling at Smitty's whining.

“MATT? GET YOUR ASS IN HERE, I NEED YOU TO SIT NEAR THE WINDOW SO YOUR SCENT BLOWS OVER HERE.”

Matt pouted, slinking away, passing Puffer who was missing his pants, taller man pulling his shirt down to hide his boxers. “Shut up. Don't even start.”

Matt watched as Smitty passed John the blanket again, John's nose kindling as he pushed it back. “Changed my mind… take it back.”

Smitty shook his head. “What a surprise… You're lucky I love you asshole.”

John's eyes softened, the man just making a noise, cheeks reddening. “Pshhh. You're such a sap Smit… I love you too.”

Chapter Text

Puffer was packless. That was fine for him.

Packless by choice, he must insist.

Too many people asking him if he would be willing to change his personality, could he maybe be a little less brash perhaps? Too many alphas sneering when they realise an omega is taller than them. All of the typical shit. You name it, Puffer's heard it from everyone; teachers, friends, random people on the streets, even his own fucking family.

“Chris baby, maybe you need to start acting a little bit more submissive. I would like to meet my grandpups before I'm 100 please darling.”

“Mom, how about you mind your own business? It's not like being submissive stopped dad from cheating on you with a beta-”

“Go to your room! We do not talk about-”

“Mom, I'm twenty four, I'm not going to my room. I'm leaving because honestly, I don't need to hear this shit.”

So yeah. Puffer was packless.

Puffer was also friends with many people who were all in a pack together. It's not unusual for friends to form packs, platonic or romantic, it makes life easier apparently. He wouldn't really know, never having given it a try personally.

When he met his friends, they'd asked if he was a part of a pack. He'd responded with a simple ‘no’ and then being quick to add; ‘and I'm perfectly happy with that. Pack life isn't for me.’

His friends had seemingly taken it in stride, much to Puffer’s relief.

Puffer had then learned that his friends were somehow now all in a pack together. They'd all asked him a couple of times over the years if he'd wanted to join, Puffer turning them down every single time, not really thinking much of it. They were doing it just to be polite, because they were friends, not because they actually liked him romantically or anything. They were all in a platonic pack, so why did it scare him so much still?

Except… Except it wasn't just a platonic pack. That had taken Puffer by surprise.

A few years down the line he realised the actual ahem… dynamics of the pack his friends were in. It wasn't as…. Platonic as he thought originally, and the mix of secondary genders?

It had made him pause, almost want to say something, question it all, and then shake and dismiss it. It was really none of his business, what his friends did. If they were happy, then he was happy for them.

They said they had only gotten romantic about a year ago, and Puffer notes that's about the time they stopped asking him to join regularly.

He notes that down, heart panging with something akin to hurt. Why is he hurt by that? He doesn't like them like that!

But he's the only one not included. The only one in the friend group not worthy enough of being romantically involved with.

It's because he's too tall, he's too independent, he's too…

He's too.. himself.

Puffer mentally decides that they just needed to make sure to give him some space from all of that romantic mushy shit. He still had no interest in being part of a strangers pack, and he didn't want to be the pity invite from his friends, third wheeling constantly.

Fighting for attention. To be seen or heard in a way he's comfortable.

He's not even supposed to know the gender dynamics of their pack! It was very fucking taboo to talk about your secondary gender to non packmates!

(The only reason Puffer knew was because Pezzy was a fucking lightweight, blabbing about all the details while he was smashed.)

“So how's packlife treating you?” Puffer had asked, taking a sip of his beer, looking over at the older.

“Oh, yeah yeah. It's fucking great you know? I've never been happier!” Pezzy had smiled, kicking his feet as a stim.

“That's honestly great to hear!” Puffer said, happy for the older man. “I was hoping it was going well for y'all.”

Pezzy laughed, watching his feet move. “Yeah it's like, definitely not conventional in the slightest, but we make it work. I’m happy!”

Puffer had paused, before replying. “Well that is all that matters.”

Pezzy had just kept yapping. “Like.. you would think with so many omegas in the pack, Smitty would struggle? Because like he's the only alpha? But nah, most of the time we don't even need him. Like, considering we're all omegas, not including Grizzy or Eli… but Eli's rarely home, you would think when we get our heats that he would like… neglect us? But nah, he actually-”

Puffer had spat out his drink. Just how many of his friends exactly were omegas? “Woah, woah woah. I do not need to hear about how he does it man. Jesus Christ though? You're serious? That fucking many of you are omegas?”

“Yeah the cuddle sessions in our nests are fucking lit.” Pezzy bragged, sleepily laughing.

So yeah he knew the dynamics, and he did have to admit it did irk him a little… Not in a jealousy way… totally…

They have that many omegas, they do not need one more. He's so picky and fussy, they would get annoyed with him so fucking quick and tell him to piss off.

But, at the end of the day, they're all happy together In their cute romantic pack and he's just so happy being single. He has to grit his teeth every time he says it… but… whatever.

… Okay… Well he's mostly happy.

God, he doesn't want to even imagine being in a pack that large! There wouldn't be any privacy, too much noise too much-

Was he just… scared of being loved? No… of course not…. Its not like hes a fucking coward or something…

Puffer had to admit that some of his feelings however, went far beyond strictly platonic… sometimes the flirting honestly just felt so fucking real…

Then he would blink and be alone in his room…

But he's fine! They're happy, he's happy!

Win win.

—

Puffer slowed in his walk back to his apartment, pausing by his mailbox. He frowned, looking closer. He could see something poking out of his slot.

Groaning, he pulled the rose out, rolling his eyes at the cheesy message attached to the stem, before grabbing what he assumed were bills in envelopes.

He didn't know what his friends were playing at, but he was getting fucking sick of finding roses in his letterbox. All with stupid pick up jokes attached. April fools had finished over a week ago, it was getting really old, fast.

He stormed up the stairs, dropping the rose and note in the bin on the way up. Maybe he needed to tell them to stop?

But when did his friends ever just stop a joke like that? It would only encourage them more. Maybe they would send a bouquet? Ugh.

Puffer’s still annoyed about it an hour later, so he calls up Rectrixx, who he knows will at least be a voice of reason to the other pranksters. They chat for a little bit before Puffer brings it up.

“Rectrixx, I'm honestly fucking losing it. Every day I keep finding fucking roses in my mailbox!” Puffer complains.

“O-oh? What do you mean? Wouldn't that be like a nice thing?” Rectrixx replied.

Puffer remembered the Canadian hadn't been there when they'd had the original conversation, explaining further.

“I don't know if you're aware of it, but literally almost all the guys you live with have been doing it as some weird fucking joke and I'm gonna fucking lose it. Like, I know you weren't aware, but they all fucking know the smell of roses makes me gag! Why do they keep leaving them there with stupid pick up notes? I know it's them, I know all their handwriting! I thought it was an April fools prank, but it's been weeks now! I'm so tired of that smell man…”

Rectrixx hummed sympathetically. “Oh… wow yeah I understand… that would really fucking suck if they make you feel sick.”

Puffer’s almost hysterical, rambling. “I don't get it like… what's the joke here? Ha-ha! We made you almost throw up! Can you tell them to stop please? I would have asked everyone, but I know they would just laugh and keep doing it.”

“Yeah, I got you man. Don't worry.” Rectrixx says, soothing the other who sighs in relief.

“Thanks man.” Puffer says gratefully.

—--

Rectrixx walked into the living room a little while later, eyes widening as he saw Smitty tape a card to another red rose.

“Uh, Smitty.. this uh.. totally great plan you guys are working on… who's idea was it?” Rectrixx asked, making Smitty pause.

Matt looked over, making eye contact. “The idea for us to court Puffer because it doesn't feel right without him? Or this specific bit of the plan?”

“Yeah, uh, mostly the second bit.” Rectrixx asked, tapping his foot.

Smitty thought before replying. “Well, kind of a group effort, but this specific bit was suggested by Droid. Droid told us how much Puffer loves roses, so we're trying to spoil him first.”

“You trusted Droid? Oh my god. Guys. Puffer loathes roses. They make him gag and feel sick.” Rectrixx moaned, facepalming.

“WHAT?” Droid yelled out from the other room. “WAIT FOR REAL?”

Rectrixx nodded. “Yeah?? Did you not think to like… double check before you started all of this?”

“No?!” Smitty yelped, dropping the rose. “Fucking shit.”

“Yeah… so he thinks y'all are pranking him, and he asked me to tell you to stop.” Rectrixx admitted, Matt grimacing as Smitty winced.

“Fuck.”

—--

“Rectrixx, did you talk to them?”

“Yeah. They said they would stop… I hope they didn't lie to me though…”

“Oh, they stopped the roses, yeah… But like… Can you tell them to just straight up stop putting anything in my mailbox?”

“What? What's happening?”

“They decided to just double down and prank me harder by leaving those marble center chocolates in my box. I'm fucking allergic to that shit!”

“Oh my fucking god. Yeah I'm gonna talk to them.. again..”

—

“Okay so… why did you ask for a pack meeting Rec? Normally we don't bother till the new moon.” Yumi groaned, bored already, tapping his fingers.

“Shut up Yumi. Okay Rec, you can speak.” Grizzy said, encouraging the shorter man.

“Sooooo guys. We have another problem with the courting plan… The gist of it is, Puffer says if you leave fucking anything in his mailbox again, he's going to leave a pipe bomb in our mail box as retaliation.”

“Does he not fuck with the chocolates? How fussy is he?” Smitty said, aghast, standing up in shock.

“No Smitty. Because you're leaving the type of chocolate he's allergic to in his mailbox!” Rectrixx yelled, slamming the table.

“Grizzy? What the fuck dude?” Matt said, giving him the side eye.

“Yo, Yo, hey! Don't you try and pin this shit on me. I literally said ‘that shits his kryptonite!’ I fucking thought you all would know what I meant!” Grizzy said, shaking his head.

“I thought you meant like… he's addicted. Not the fact he's fucking allergic!” Smitty whined, face down on the desk.

“Yeah, so how's that my fucking fault?” Grizzy said.

“Okay, new plan time.”

“Hopefully you don't fuck this one up Smit.”

“I don't see you helping John.”

—-

“Have you ever thought about joining a pack, Puffer?” Smitty had asked, after a stream one time.

Puffer had paused, trying to think of a safe response.

He couldn't exactly say; ‘Yeah I would love to be in one, but I don't do well with being told what to do, and I don't want to deal with someone being in charge of me. I don't want to lose my independence.’

Or; ‘I really kind of struggle with jealousy issues.. my only partner cheated on me with multiple other omegas and then made me feel like it was my feelings that were the problem.’

And he doubts Smitty would like to hear; ‘I know you guys just want to do it to get a laugh out of seeing me vulnerable… just like everyone in college.’

Instead Puffer just replies with; “Sometimes… but then I remember I fucking hate people and it goes away pretty quickly.”

“You're always welcome in our pack though Puffer, remember that.” Smitty had replied, Puffer just rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, you keep saying that. I'm still gonna pass, man, not my thing.”

“Tch… I know. Maybe one day you'll come around.” Smitty jokes, Puffer just huffing.

“Maybe, but they'd need to court the shit out of me… I'm talking flowers, meals, the full nine yards… and again, I'm not interested. But anyway… I couldn't really care less.” Puffer said, shrugging dismissively.

“Fair enough… but in my opinion, you're missing out.” Smtty had said.

“Mmmmm. I don't think so..”

….

“Hey Puffer, how's it going man?”

Puffer raises his eyebrow at Droid and Pezzy, both of whom are standing in his doorway. Suspicious.

“What are you two doing here?” Puffer asks, confused as to why two of his friends are visiting him in person with no prior warning.

“Well we saw your recording session got cancelled, so we wanted to know if you wanted to join us for dinner?” Pezzy asked, Droid nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, yeah! We can all just hang out, have a nice meal, maybe catch a movie.” Droid added.

Puffer wrinkled his nose. “Dude, you sound like you're asking me on a date or something…” He mumbled, shaking his head and thinking.

“Yeah. Maybe we go and like… meetup with the pack and then see the movie?” Pezzy threw the suggestion out, Puffer immediately seeing red flags.

It sounded like they wanted to either court him, (unlikely) or wanted him to be a third wheel on their date.(very likely) Both options didn't appeal to him.

Puffer does not want to become another omega in a harem, he doesn't want to be under anyone's fucking control.

“Uhhhh. I'm sorry, I said I would record Mario Party with Nogla like ten minutes ago. I'm busy tonight. Have fun with your pack stuff.” Puffer said, only half lying.

He did want them to have fun, but he would not be recording anything… Well that was the plan.

“Aww man. That sucks.” Pezzy pouted.

“Next time then!” Droid said hopefully, Puffer nodding, but inside knowing he wouldn't be taking them up on that.

“Aight, bye guys.” Puffer said, closing the door and sighing, not even listening to them say goodbye.

He needed to call Nogla and ask if he wanted to record now. Lovely.

—-

“Yo Puffer, you should come along to our full-moon movie night we're doing!” Eli had said, as they're waiting for the others to stop being afk.

“Hmmm. You guys still do movie nights?” Puffer jokes, Eli scoffing, slightly defensive now.

“Hey! It's nice to watch shitty movies with your p- friends. With your friends!”

Puffer was quickly putting everything together, the full moon obviously significant… think.. think…

Oh. Full moons were for strengthening pack bonds. Coming along to an invite in a full moon was significant, it showed you wanted to see what the pack's bond was like.

They probably thought he was too uneducated in pack dynamics to notice that.

“Hmm. I think I already have plans. I'm not going to lie. Might be seeing my sister.” Puffer replied casually.

“Awww. Well, have fun!” Eli had said happily, Puffer just muting and letting out a sigh.

Could his friends fucking stop trying to invite him to their pack activities?! He wasn't interested.

He wasn't interested in a way that they would want.

He wasn't interested in changing.

—-

“He said no again guys.” Eli said, walking into the room that they would all commonly nest in. Most of the pack was in there for the time being, many of them pouting.

“Wait, for real?” Matt said sadly, nuzzling into Smitty's shoulder, pouting as well.

“Dude I don't fucking get it! One day he's talking about how he would suck my dick and the next he's all like; ‘nah I don't fuck with you that way.’ I can't stand these fucking mixed signals! I am going to kill someone… someone random.” Yumi groaned, rolling face down and screaming.

“Maybe.. just maybe… he's not interested in joining the pack guys. It's been a couple years now.” John said in a rather deadpan voice, everyone shooting him a look of confusion.

“Why does he always shoot us longing glances then?” Droid countered, pointing with his finger.

“Why does he always flirt with us then?” Pezzy joined in.

“Flirting with the homies isn't gay, I keep telling you all this.” John snarked back, rolling his eyes.

“Has anyone actually straight up asked him out on a date though?” Rectrixx asked, Smitty just making a noise.

“Pshhh that's so lame. Puffer said he needed to be courted! But he keeps fucking fighting us. He's playing hard to get!”

“Maybe he just doesn't know what we're doing?” Rectrixx tried suggesting, but was spoken over.

“Okay, maybe we do-

—

They're at the club.

Puffer sighs, sick of watching Pezzy giggle and press kisses to Droid and Smitty's faces, looking around.

There's a man at the bar who's even taller than he is. That's rare.

Puffer slinks away to investigate, not noticing Matt's worried glance at the others.

Sitting down next to the man, Puffer can already tell he's an alpha. He just has that aura in the way he talks and chats with the bar staff. He catches Puffer’s eye, giving him an easy smile.

“Hey there cutie! I must say, your scent? It's so intoxicating… I used to live by the ocean, it's giving me some very happy memories.” He says, leaning in and winking at Puffer, who's cheeks burn bright red.

“Oh, wow. Yours is actually really nice as well.” Puffer replies awkwardly, the man chuckling and leaning in closer, cupping one of Puffer's cheeks with his hand.

“Maybe we could get to know each other a bit more, give me some new memories with that scent? How would you like that?” The man says, whispering into Puffer’s ear, making him shiver.

“That sounds-”

“Get the fuck away from my Omega.” Smitty growls, low and scary, pulling Puffer back and behind him.

“What the-?” Puffer gets cut off.

“Hey man. My bad, if I'd known he had a pack claim on him I wouldn't have shot my shot. I'll leave you guys be.” the man says, getting up and moving to the other side of the club, Puffer slightly saddened.

He's also now very angry. He can hear Smitty growling still, low in his throat, and now Puffer wants to make a scene, to yell and scream and cry.

Puffer really felt like he was about to snap. He wasn't a damsel in distress! He was having fun meeting someone new, and he wasn't even drunk!

Not only had Smitty literally done something that Puffer fucking hated, he was also trying to trick him into coming back to the pack house to chill out. Puffer was honestly done with it all.

Smitty turned around, going to move past Puffer and head back to his pack.

That was the final straw for Puffer.

“What's your fucking game here Smitty? You're a great friend of mine, sure, but don't just assume that because we're good friends that I'm basically just another member of your pack. I'm not some helpless injured stray cat that you can save to make yourself feel better! I can flirt with whoever the fuck I want, and you don't have a say in it! Why the fuck did you even do that?” Puffer snaps, stamping his foot and clenching his fists, scent souring.

“But Puffer it's not like that, I just-” Smitty tries to explain, turning around, the rest of his pack suddenly watching the two of them.

It's just that in his mind he owns you already.

Puffer put his hand up, cutting Smitty off. “You know what? Save it. Leave me the fuck alone. I'm leaving.”

Puffer stormed out, watching his friends' various shocked and confused faces. It was whatever. He'd just go home and work, because apparently that's the only thing he has control over.

—

Puffer’s squeezed in between Pezzy and Droid on the couch at their pack house, playing Mario Kart. He's still mad at Smitty, don't get him wrong, but these guys are also his friends first and foremost, so he doesn't wanna let a fight get in the way of that.

He's slowly regretting agreeing to come over however. The two, (plus Grizzy, but it's mostly the others), have been flirting the whole time, making his skin crawl. That was bearable, until Droid had flipped it and flirted with Puffer, shocking the man so much he drove off the road.

Now the others just wouldn't stop flirting with him, laughing at the reactions they were getting out of Puffer.

Puffer hissed as a kiss Droid drops on his cheek makes him so stunned he drops to last place.

Puffer wants to cry. They're flirting with him, which should be good news, but they're doing it as a joke to play Mario Kart. They're laughing at how flustered and embarrassed he's getting.

They must know there's more to it than meets the eye. Why else would they still be going on and on?

Puffer feels dirty. Dirty and ashamed.

—

Puffer hears a shuffle outside his front door as he's getting ready to go out. Frowning, he quickly opens it, catching Smitty in the act of trying to leave flowers.

At least he's not allergic to these ones…

“Can I help you?” Puffer asks, raising an eyebrow.

Smitty looks up and jumps, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Oh, hey man… Uh.. just leaving these here again to say sorry… Also I wanted to know if you wanted to maybe go out to eat and hang out?”

Puffer’s just… astounded by Smitty's lack of awareness. It's jaw droppingly poor. He's acting like Puffer should be grateful he's even talking to him.

Puffer takes a breath through his nose, stepping closer to Smitty, speaking coldly.

“Okay. I just need to know like… What the fuck kinda apology is this? What are you fucking playing at? Is this like a weird kink thing for you? A game? That apology was so ass, and you are not even asking me out because you care about me. You're obviously just annoyed that I still have my independence…huh. What is it? Let's see how many omegas you can have in your pack like some weird harem? I'm not fucking interested in fulfilling your weird fantasy.” Puffer said with a snarl, Smitty's eyes going wide.

“It's not like that! I mean it! We're- I'm really trying to court you-” Smitty gets cut off by Puffer sneering.

“Sure. That's why you guys keep laughing at me, giving me prank gifts and shit. What kind of shit courting attempt is that? I honestly don't believe you. Goodbye.”

“Wait! Puffer-” Puffer shuts the door in Smitty's face, walking away to lay on his bed.

There's no way in hell you actually want me because you like me. You just want a new boy toy. A new omega to add to your collection.

I'm not going to be a part of it.

___

Puffer’s finally finished complaining to Rectrixx, the younger having rushed over the second he got the call, happy to listen to Puffer's rant in silence.

“-sick of it. Like.. obviously I don't want to be alone my whole life, but I want to be able to make the choice for me. I want to have control over it, in a way… If that makes sense? But I'm an omega, no one would ever take me seriously.” Puffer finished, Rectrixx nodding then pausing.

“I would take you seriously.” Rectrixx replied, looking over at Puffer.

Puffer’s heart stuttered. “W-what?”

Rectrixx shuffles around a little before nervously speaking. “I mean… I uh.. I know this is stupid and a massive shot in the dark, but I wanted to just… I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go on a date or something? I-I… there's no pressure to join my pack or anything, I promise ! But again yeah.. I am an omega, I don't want to like overstep by myself being an Omega and asking you out, maybe you only like alphas or betas, but I wanted to be straightforward and-”

Puffer placed a finger to Rectrixx's lips. “Hey. Relax there Rec. I'm an omega too… I just have a lot of trust issues and issues with people not respecting me because I'm an omega. I don't mind you asking me out… that's different. When it's you, it feels like you mean it…”

Rectrixx relaxed, gently moving Puffer’s hand into his own. “Oh cool. Well I mean, I guess you're in charge then if you did want to um… give it a go!”

“I… Hmm… If it's not you trying to trick me into joining the pack-” Puffer jokes, Rectrixx shaking his head.

“I wouldn't do that to you man. Not after everything.” Rec said with wide eyes, fully serious.

“I know Rec. I trust you… hmm. Alright. Rectrixx, I'm going to be courting you, so you better be ready for it.”

Rectrixx blushed as Puffer walked him to the door, kissing him on the cheek.

“And also Puffer… I know you may not believe Smitty, but try and believe me when I say, I think they're genuine in their attempts to court you…Hey let me finish!” Rectrixx said, stopping Puffer from speaking. “Yeah, the courting sucked, but I'm just going to say it, Smitty and Grizzy both are like wet cats when it comes to courting. They're clumsy and awkward and make mistakes and get emotional. You don't need to like, forgive Smitty right away, but I just want you to maybe like… think it over in due time. That's all.”

Puffer looked into Rectrixx's eyes which showed so much sympathy and love, sighing.

“mmmm. I don't know Rec… but for you.. I'll keep it in mind okay? Have a safe walk home.”

Rec leaned in and kissed Puffer on the cheek, enjoying the bright red flush. “Bye!”

Shutting the door, Puffer paced around the room, thinking about Rectrixx's words. If Rec was right and Smitty and the rest had been trying to court him….

If that was the case, Puffer didn't understand how the pack had so many omegas if Smitty sucked this bad at courting.

____

Puffer’s back at the pack house, cuddled up with Rectrixx on the couch, just enjoying his scent mostly. The others were chill at first, until suddenly Rec had to go sort something for a while, and suddenly Matt and Pezzy move in on the now alone Puffer, offering to cuddle him, talk to him, basically anything.

It's honestly weirding him out, shaking his head politely as he gets up and says he needs to get a drink.

Puffer manages to slip away from the weird looks and odd flirting that Pezzy and Matt were trying to do, slipping into an open door, shutting it and sighing to himself, jolting at a greeting from someone else.

“Sup.” John nods, turning back to his editing.

“Oh. Sorry… I didn't realise someone was in here… I'll just go-”

John snorted. “You really wanna risk that? They're like sharks in the water and they smell blood. You can stay and chill out if you want, it doesn't bother me.”

Puffer sighs, eyeing the couch near the desk, slowly plodding over and sitting on it. John glances at him out of the corner of his eye, before looking back at his computer.

Puffer’s only able to sit there quietly for a minute or two before the thing that's been bugging him finally bubbles to the surface.

“Why aren't you like… doing anything? We're alone.. I thought your whole pack had some weird agreement to like… jokingly flirt with me or something. I don't… I don't even know if it's a joke anymore to be honest, but they keep laughing at me and I don't like how it makes it all just ache… but you, I've almost barely seen you.. I'm just worried you're going to turn up and sing me a song or something.”

John pauses at those words, eyes flicking over briefly before shrugging. “I mean, is that what you would want someone to do to court you?”

Puffer’s slightly confused by that. “Huh? No?”

John just turned his chair to face Puffer, shaking his head. “Honestly dude, I've known you for years now... Basically, I'm not going to go running around trying to seduce you, because that's just… that's not you. I feel like, you're more the guy that.. if you were interested you would have told me what you want me to do. I'm honestly too old to be playing childish guessing games now. If you're in my pack, cool. If you're not, cool. If you want to go on a date? That could be fun, but if you don't, it's not the end of the world. You're still my friend. I don't fucking care. You're you, and I'm me.”

Puffer blinks, feeling his cheeks heat up. First Rectrixx, now John is making him blush.

Maybe Rectrixx was right about the pack wanting to court him.

“Oh, wow…” Puffer whispers, suddenly shy.

John gets a small smile on his face. “So Puffer. What would you like? You're in charge here.”

He's in charge!

“Hmm. Well. If that's the case, I would like to make it clear that you are not courting me, I am courting you. I will not change who I am just because I am courting anyone. Is that understandable?”

John nodded, looking confused. “Yeah, why would you…? Changing who you are for people is fucking stupid.”

Puffer nodded, in agreement. “Anyway… I'd like to take you and Rec out maybe… If that's okay with you?”

John nodded again, leaning back in his chair. “Sounds good to me. If you need any help planning, don't ask me because I fucking suck at it. Rectrixx is better at that, I reckon you could both find somewhere really nice. I can message him and get him to come here after he's done if you want? Then you don't have to go out there…”

“Oh that would be fucking lit man.” Puffer smiles.

_____

Puffer’s been on a couple dates with the two now, slowly warming up to the idea of courting the whole pack, when his heat hits him out of nowhere.

He can already tell it's going to be too much to handle alone, blindly grabbing his phone and ringing the last messaged contact.

Luckily it seems to be John.

“Hello? Puffer? You okay?” John asks, confused at the random call.

“Mmmm…. Need helllll… help.. Please Jo-John…” Puffer whines, phone screen making him dizzy.

“Are you okay? What's wrong?” John asks nervously.

“My heat… Oopsie.” Puffer replies with a shrug.

“Oh shit. You're in heat? What do you need? I can be over in five minutes.”

“Jus… Jus need you, and Rec…. And maybe a lot of chocolate please… It hurts…” Puffer whimpered, John shuffling around on the other end.

“Don't worry, I'll bring painkillers too, okay? I'll see you soon.”

“Kay….”

—

Puffer gets a message from Rectrixx, saying they're there. He gets on wobbly legs, moving to the door, frowning at the sound of arguing, opening it.

“What that fuck are you doing, following me here!” John's snapping at Smitty who lets out a distressed whine.

“I heard he was in heat and it's going to be a bad one… I just want to help.”

“You've already done enough helping recently…” John snarls, Smitty whining and showing his neck as a sign of submission.

“Oh… Hey Puffer.” Rectrixx says awkwardly, the other two freezing.

“I'm just getting Smitty to leave.” John says with a pointed glare, Smitty just looking at the ground.

“Okay, if that's what you think is best John, I trust you.” Smitty says softly, the scent nervous and sour.

Puffer grabs Smitty's arm. “No. He stay. I mean.” Puffer shook his head, fog clearing a little. “Smitty, could you stay? Your scents relaxing me a little… Consider this a second chance.”

John narrowed his eyes at Smitty who just gave a small nod. “Lucky…”

Smitty waited for the omegas to go inside, turning to Puffer. “By the way, I put a scent processing blocker on, so you don't need to worry about me trying to do anything to you. I just wanted to show that I am here to help, and that you're completely in charge okay? Tell me what to do, and I'll do it… I'm a little rusty though.”

Puffer frowned at that. “What do you mean? Surely with that many omegas in your pack you have to deal with this all the time?”

“Funny story…” John snickered, opening a cupboard to grab a cup out, filling it with water.

Smitty shook his head with a small smile. “Not exactly…”

“Okay, for starters, I just don't have heats. At all.” John said casually, passing painkillers to Puffer who quickly took them. “I am totally infertile but like I don't give a fuck.”

“Matt's on suppressants because they are too dangerous.” Rectrixx added, Smitty nodding.

“Okay then uh, Yumi and Droid are both trans omegas, and they said it was cool for you to know, so don't worry about that… But they don't have heats either, and then Pezzy and Rec here's heats are both really short. So honestly, I don't get much practice. Everyone's pretty self-sufficient, they tell me if they need anything, and then I leave them be.”

Puffer was taken aback. “Wait, I thought since you're the alpha you were in charge?”

Smitty snorted, shaking his head. “Nah, I'm just the alpha, but to be honest… Pezzy and Grizzy do most of the decision making. It would be John, but-”

“I said no because I couldn't be fucked telling everyone to shut up and listen to me every day.” John shrugged.

“Oh, wow.” Puffer mumbled, blinking in shock.

“Yeah..”

—-

Puffer’s heat ended, John and Rec went home, Smitty stayed over so the two could chat about everything.

“If I am going to allow this to happen, I need you to know that even though I am an omega, I am probably going to always wanna be in control or in charge of myself.”

“Yeah, I have no problems with that.” Smitty said with a shrug. “I'm just… The pack never felt whole without you.. thank you for even giving me a chance.”

Puffer scoffs, looking away. “Okay, you're such a fucking sap….I just wanna um.. I would prefer it to be me courting you. Is that okay?”

Smitty nodded quickly. “Yes of course! Holy shit… you can't be any worse than I am…”

That made Puffer pause.

“Okay, I need to know. How did you court all those omegas if you suck so badly at courting?” Puffer burst out, Smitty freezing and then chuckling awkwardly.

“Dude, I don't know?! Droid was just as bad as me, Pezzy said it was out of sympathy because I looked so inept at it, John and Matt courted me, Yumi only said yes because I wouldn't shut up-” Puffer silences Smitty with a kiss on the lips.

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Puffer said, smirking at Smitty's stuttering and flushed face, wrapping an arm around him.

“Okay, where are you taking me then,big alpha? Also you're paying.”

“How… kind of you to let me choose.” Smitty snickers, elbowing Puffer.

“I know. I am pretty great.”

Chapter Text

It's official. This is the worst heat ever.

Pezzy smothers down a whimper, turning in his nest again, inner omega wailing at the lack of pack scent in his nest. It wasn't his fault! He didn't know his heat was just going to drop in out of nowhere!

Then, he'd tried to go find stuff to put in his nest, perhaps ask someone to help him through the heat, but that had also gone poorly.

“Hey Grizzy I-”

“Sorry Pezzy, not now, I'm in the middle of a recording session.”

“O-oh. Sorry. My bad.”

…

“Um, Puffer?”

“What's up Pezzy? This isn't a good time.”

“Oh sorry… It's not important.”

“Uhhh okay?”

…

“John-”

“OH YOU LIKE THAT YOU LITTLE WHORE? YEAH THATS WHAT I FUCKING THOUGHT! DON'T EVER TRY TO SNEAK UP ON ME SMITTY, YOU IDIOT!”

“Yeah I'm gonna go…”

…

“Matt?”

“Pe-” *cough* “Pezzy? Hey, sorry I got some kind of contagious shit.”

“Oh my god Matt, do you need anything?”

“Could you turn my light back out? Thanks man.”

“Rest up.”

…

“I am going to lose it! PEZZY, DO NOT COME IN HERE DAWG, I AM TWEAKING OUT!”

“Okay Yumi…”

…

“Droid?”

“Pezzy, my man! Come over and say hi to chat!”

“Uhhh not today man… I gotta go.”

…

“YEAH JOHN? WHY DON'T YOU KISS ME ON THE MOUTH?”

“not even gonna bother….”

—-

So here he was. Alone. During one of the worst heats he's ever had, emotions running wild, and he's already struggling.

How had his alphas not even batted an eye at his scent? Yumi had blown him off, Puffer being busy, Grizzy and Droid dealing with cameras… It left a bad taste in his mouth.

John and Smitty hadn't stopped yelling at each other to check on Pezzy either, the omegas were too busy play fighting.

Pezzy feels worthless. Like an afterthought.

He knows he's a bit needy and clingy during his heat… maybe that's why his alphas didn't react? They don't want to be the one he clings to.

His ex girlfriend had called him clingy too… The insult burning a hole into his brain. He thought his pack was different from her… but maybe they just pretended this whole time? Loathing the way he would snuggle and scent them over and over.

Pezzy snuggles into the blankets that smell a bit too much only like him, letting a tear roll down his face. He needs to make a change.

But he just wants to be sad for now.

…

Pezzy wakes up, checking his phone, seeing he slept for about 16 hours, head feeling fuzzy and foggy.

The pillow in front of his door is still there, making his heat sink. No one bothered to check on him? Not even Puffer, who saw he'd wanted to talk, or Grizzy once his recording finished? No one thought to just… make sure he's okay?

Pezzy usually spends his days when he's free hanging out in the pack's nest room, or sitting in someone else's room with them. He's always with someone. Did they..

Did they not think it was strange that he wasn't around? Or were they just celebrating the fact he's giving them space?

Pezzy's omega whines sadly, as he gets up to go to the bathroom. He decides to go get something to eat quickly, seeing as he's hungry, legs wobbling as he stumbles to the kitchen.

It's quiet. Very quiet in the house.

Shrugging, Pezzy quickly grabs some chocolate, and Granola bars, filling a few water bottles up, dashing to drop them in his room.

He pauses in the door, when he can hear Matt hacking and coughing, quickly going to make sure he's okay.

He helps Matt sit up, lifting a cup of water up, helping the younger drink it slowly. Matt's eyes are wet, and he wheezes out a distressed whine to Pezzy.

“Man, you need to leave… you're gonna get sick..” he whines.

“Shush. You need help. I got you man.” Pezzy says, tucking Matt back in, pressing a kiss to his head, smiling as he relaxes visibly. He silences a grimace as a spasm of pain hits him, instead he gets to his feet, perching on the chair for a couple minutes to make sure Matt's okay.

He slinks back to his room, holding back tears as he hears everyone get back home. Apparently they went out to dinner or something, not even bothering to ask him.

Pezzy waits for someone, anyone, to knock on his door, teats trickling out slowly as he realises he'll be spending another night alone.

Tossing and turning, Pezzy hugs a pillow to his chest, falling into a heat induced slumber.

—

Pezzy is surprised when he wakes up and he feels warmth. He's taken by surprise, eyes snapping open as he takes in the blob of someone draped over his legs, clinging to him.

His heart sours! They noticed!

Pezzy moves around, waking up the person, who turns out to be Matt, who sniffs a little.

“Matt? What are you doing here?” Pezzy asks, shocked. “You need to be resting.”

“I am resting. I'm just doing it in your nest… it's why I'm not near your face… I don't want you to get sick, but I poked my head in and saw you were alone… isn't that really bad when you're in heat?” Matt mumbles, rubbing his eyes.

How did Matt, the only beta in the pack who also happened to be sick, realise first out of everyone that he was in heat? How was that possible?

Pezzy blinked the tears in his eyes back, rubbing at them. “It's.. it's not a big deal… everyone's just really busy and I know I can be really needy and clingy during my heat…” He says, voice fading to a choked whisper.

Matt's eyes widened. “What?”

Pezzy rubs his own arms. “I mean, I tried to talk to them all, but they were busy, and I mean they would have been able to smell it on me, so I don't know what I did wrong but..” Pezzy sniffles. “It hurts Matt… it really hurts… I just wanted stuff for my nest, but I don't want to be a pain…”

“Pezzy, you're always the first one there for everyone else, heat or rut. The fact no one then is there for you when it's your turn is kinda fucked up… I'm sorry it took me till today to notice…” Matt said quietly, rubbing Pezzy's leg. “I wasn't sure if your scent was different, but I noticed how red and twitchy you were and put two and two together.”

“Matt, you're a beta and you're sick. It's fine… it means a lot that you came and stayed…. Please stay… You can have some of my water over here.”

“I'm not leaving until they apologise to you for being shitty packmates.” Matt said with a nod.

Pezzy felt himself tear up at that, motioning for Matt to come closer. “You can rest your head on my stomach if you want? The way you're laying can't be comfortable.”

Matt moved up, letting out a crackly attempt at something akin to a purr, making Pezzy's body purr back.

—

Pezzy emerges on day five knowing it's probably the last day of his heat, scampering to the kitchen to get more water and food. He's efficient, grabbing this and that when Droid takes notice.

“Oh, hey Pezzy, feel like I haven't seen you in ages! What are you doing?” He asks, Pezzy just shuffling awkwardly as Droid scents the air. “Oh shit, are you about to go into heat? Do you need help carrying that?”

“No.” Pezzy replies shortly, grabbing the supplies, leaving the room and a confused Droid behind.

Dumping the food and drinks out, he then turns around and goes towards Matt's room. Matt had said he could grab the blanket at the end of his bed and add it to the nest. Pezzy jumped at the chance to add more of Matt's scent, but had waited till Matt was in the shower to leave.

He passes by Puffer and Smitty who both look confused as he darts into Matt's room, returning with a blanket. He goes to walk past them, when Puffer says something.

“You okay Pezzy?”

Pezzy is forced to stop, holding in a sigh. “Yeah?” He replies in an even tone, Smitty and Puffer just eyeing each other.

“It just… you smell like you're about to go into heat.” Smitty says, Puffer nodding.

“And you're grabbing nesting materials.” Puffer points out, Pezzy just blinking in reply.

“Okay?”

Smitty just shuffles on the spot, Puffer trying to find words to reply. “You can go grab some of my clothes after if you want.” Puffer says, Pezzy just staring at him.

“Nah, I think I'm good.” Pezzy replies, turning on his heel and walking away, leaving a stunned Puffer and Smitty behind.

Dumping the blanket out, Pezzy pauses to think, remembering his favourite hoodie was still in the living room, walking to go get it.

He's picking it up when another voice interrupts him.

“Pezzy! Where have you been hiding?” Grizzy says cheerily, Pezzy looking over to see Yumi and John looking at him as well.

“Just… busy…” Pezzy has to fight to not spit the words out, watching them nod.

“What do you need us to do to help you before ya heat?” Yumi asks, Pezzy having to fight the urge to scream.

“Nothing.” He replies shortly, making the three others' jaws plop open.

John bites his lip nervously. “It's not a good idea to spend a heat unprepared or alone… you know that, right?”

No shit John! But it's already too late for that now!

“Oh really…” Pezzy says, voice trailing off.

Grizzy stands up, getting closer to Pezzy. “Hey, let me come help, I'm sure there's something I can do.” John and Pezzy nod at this, Pezzy just feels himself get angry.

What kind of pack only offers to help after all the hard shit is over? Was this some kind of sick joke? An attempt to save face?”

Pezzy steps back, letting out a growl. “No.”

Grizzy pauses, a look of hurt flashing in his eyes quickly, before he nods. “Ah, must be one of those, not wanting an alpha nearby heats.” He said quietly.

John stood up, stretching. “Okay, guess I'll come with and-”

Pezzy’s eyes narrowed. “I said no. What part of no do you not get? I am fine, now leave me ALONE.”

Pezzy storms out the room, leaving shocked packmates behind, but he can't bring himself to care.

Matt's just stepping out of the shower when Pezzy comes back, the sight of the sickly beta making Pezzy's heart soften. He nuzzles up to the beta, the two climbing into his nest.

Pezzy’s woken up some time later by a knock at the door. He sees that Matt's still sleeping, so he decides to go take care of the visitor before the younger one gets woken up.

He exits his room, shutting the door, turning to see Smitty, Puffer, Grizzy and Droid there. Pezzy rolls his eyes.

“What do you want?” Pezzy says, Grizzy taking in a deep breath, but letting Puffer speak.

“We're worried about you. We're worried that you're not taking your heat seriously, which can be dangerous!”

“Uh huh.” Pezzy says, Smitty looking at him worriedly.

“Omega to Omega, you gotta know that it really fucking sucks man. It's not worth it.. we're worried.” Smitty says, Pezzy just blinking.

“People have FUCKING DIED FROM SHIT LIKE THIS!” Grizzy snaps out, Droid placing a hand on Grizzy’s shoulder.

For once Pezzy didn't feel spooked by his alpha yelling at him.

“I'm just confused man… what's going on?” Droid asks, eyes wide. “Like… did we do something wrong?”

Pezzy could tell them, but he's still upset and hurt they didn't notice, so instead he just repeats his words from earlier. “I don't need your help. I don't need you pretending to worry about me. I am fine, now leave me alone. Seriously.” Pezzy says shortly, turning around and going back in the room. He ignores the knocks that hit again, going back over to curl up with Matt.

Pezzy sniffles. He was the first to alert the pack of any heat or rut, but when it was his turn, his pack didn't even notice until the end of it? Didn't notice he was gone 5 days? What's the point of being in a pack if you're the only one putting in the effort.

Matt moves in his sleep, making Pezzy feel a little less angry. He could cuddle with Matt. That was fine.

—

Matt awakens to an unusual feeling. He's cold.

That hasn't happened in Pezzy's nest before, eyes snapping open. Pezzy isn't here, and no one's in the bathroom, door wide open.

Matt finds a folded piece of paper on the bed with his name on it, heart stuttering nervously. He can hear someone knocking on the door, but he's bust reading the words on the page, heart cracking.

Matt,

Thankyou for helping me with my heat, you made it bearable and easier to deal with. I love you and I love the guys as well, but at the moment it doesn't feel as if I love them as equally as they love me. They all think I'm in pre heat, not realising they missed my whole heat because they were busy trying restaurants and doing petty things while I was suffering alone and you were sick.

I can't do this anymore. I'm always the mom. I check on everyone, take care of them, help them in heat or rut and I'm always cooking when we eat in. I think I'm tired of it all, so I'm going away. I don't know if or when I'll be back, and if I'll even stay in the pack.

Please, don't blame yourself Matt. You were perfect. Please get well soon.

“PEZZY! OPEN THE DOOR OR I'M GONNA BUST IT DOWN!” Grizzy’s snarling out, Matt walking over as if he's in a shaky trance.

“You can't do this alone..” Droid's nervous voice comes through.

“Okay Grizzy you can- Matt?” Puffer pauses, taking in Matt's appearance.

“Holy shit Matt are you okay? You're not looking too good.” Droid grimaces, Puffer nodding in agreement.

“Where's Pezzy? He's trying to prove he doesn't need us for a heat.” Puffer explains, Matt is still looking at the paper.

“He doesn't.” Matt said with a shrug, wiping his eyes.

“Not you too!” Droid groans, turning around.

“Is he in the bathroom? We can wait.” Smitty says, at the back, unable to really see Matt.

“It's too dangerous for him to go it alone.” Grizzy explained, making something in Matt snap.

“Fuck you mean? He doesn't need y'all! He DIDN'T NEED Y’ALL. YEAH. I said didn't because his heat is OVER! Yesterday was the last fucking day and none of y'all did so much as check on him. So yeah, he would be fine without you, because he's done it already!” Matt sniffles, eyes watering.

“What?” comes Puffer’s shocked voice.

“N-no.” Smitty says, covering his mouth.

“Why didn't he say anything?” Droid asked, stepping forward.

“He shouldn't fucking have to! Someone should have noticed! How did none of yall even scent him? I fucking noticed and I'm sick and a beta! What the fuck’s your excuse?” Matt said with a glare.

“I um…” Grizzy scratches his head awkwardly.

“I thought someone else would have checked on him.” Droid admits.

“Same.” Puffer says guiltily.

“Can we go in and apologise?” Smitty says quietly.

“No.” Matt says coldly.

“Huh?” Grizzy says.

“Why not?” Droid protests.

“He's gone…” Matt whispers, holding the paper close.

“What?” Puffer asks, confused.

“I said. HE'S GONE!” Matt snaps, taking a step back.

“Where?” Smitty asks, eyes wide.

“How the fuck should I know. *cough* All I know is he says he's done, and honestly I don't blame him. Y'all have the awareness of a… of a spoon or something! So you all thought someone else would check, because usually it's Pezzy checking and you all got fucking lazy. That's just great guys.” Matt says, turning around and wobbling back into Pezzy's nest.

“I..” Puffer looks at the ground.

“Don't come in unless you find him. Leave me alone.” Matt says with a whine, making the four look at each other and nod.

—

Pezzy's feeding the local ducks a bag of frozen peas when he hears a noise that sounds like loud slapping coming from somewhere behind him. He ignores it, chucking some more peas into the pond water area, smiling softly at the mama ducks with their little ducklings. It's cute.

The slapping noise gets louder, making Pezzy frown and turn around. He schools his face into a more neutral expression when he sees Puffer and Droid gasping and sputtering against a tree, catching their breath, Grizzy on all fours panting, John and Smitty in the distance, walking a little slower and then he pauses as he realises Yumi was the one behind him, making him jump.

“What the fuck do you guys want?” Pezzy says in a cool manner, Yumi just shrugging, turning around to look at the others.

“Gonna be real Pez. I can't speak for the others, but I can for myself. I fucked up. I fucked up bad. I should have just calmed down and taken notice of you the other night, maybe followed up with you, but I didn't and that's on me. I'm sorry.” Yumi says, voice wavering slightly, Pezzy blinking at Yumi's words.

“Okay…” Pezzy whispers, watching as Grizzy gets to his legs, nodding.

“Pezzy. You deserved so much better man. You're too good for us. You're the one who's always there for us, telling everyone else when something is up with another packmate, I guess we grew too lazy and just got used to relying on you. That's not okay. I'm sorry too.” Grizzy says, Pezzy nodding slowly at his words.

Puffer’s the next to speak. “You.. I should have realised. I should have checked up. I thought it was weird that I hadn't seen you, but I thought you must have wanted space. I'm sorry. If you're willing to give me another chance, I'll let you cuddle with me every day, and I won't complain anymore. I'm sorry.”

Pezzy tilted his head at that, jerking in shock as Droid tripped and landed face down in front of him.

“AH FUCK. I'm sorry Pezzy! I missed you so much, I just really fucking fumbled this one, but never again. I promise I'll always check up on you every day, and I'll also check up on any omega in our house. I won't let this happen again, and you can shave my head if I fuck up.. I'm so fucking sorry.” Droid said, tears trickling down his face.

John and Smitty got there, John hesitating, but speaking. “I. When I presented, I went through a couple of beats alone, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I'm sorry that you had to experience that.. I.. I don't know what to say.. I really suck at expressing my emotions, I promise I am sorry. Pezzy I may seem like some closed off rock, but I do really enjoy the times we nest together. It means a lot to me.”

Pezzy's expression remained neutral, looking at Smitty.

“I.. I fucked up too. I'm sorry. You're always the first in my nest when I'm in heat, I should be there when it's yours… I don't want you to consider coming back for me… I understand if you don't wanna court me anymore, but please, come back for Matt. He's distraught he couldn't come looking for you. Please don't leave him. Let us try and earn your trust back, but don't punish him.”

Pezzy's expression wavered at that, frowning. “I… thank you guys for apologising… but.” Pezzy hesitated, looking at everyone's faces. He sighed. “I'm willing to come back, but.. on a few conditions… Firstly, we're starting over. By that I mean, I want y'all to prove that you wanna be with me, because over the past week, I've felt like an afterthought. Secondly, we make a chart so every week, two of us need to do daily check-ups on everyone to make sure that nothing like this happens again. And finally… you have to shout Matt and I next time we go out for dinner.”

Pezzy's barely finished speaking when they're all nodding, Smitty pushing through and hugging Pezzy, wet tears dripping on his neck, making Pezzy tear up too.

“Yeah, sounds good.” John nodded.

“Someone competent better be rostered with Droid… I'm just saying… Him and Yumi…” Puffer jokes, making a face, Yumi and Droid immediately both shouting at him.

“Can I carry you to your car and drive you home?” Grizzy asks, Pezzy rolling his eyes.

“Dude… you don't have to…. But since you're offering..”

—-

Matt yelps with joy when he sees a sheepish Pezzy in the doorway, nuzzling up to him immediately, the two cuddling together and being pampered by everyone else.

It's no surprise that Pezzy wakes up sick the next day, Matt apologising like crazy, bit Pezzy's waving it off.

When Pezzy’s next heat hits, he wakes up to Smitty already in his nest, a message on his phone from Droid (offering to go grab any supplies he wants) and the others all coming in and checking on him all day. They take turns caring for him, listening to what he wants, and Pezzy feels loved.

Chapter Text

“I'm sorry man. I wanted to tell you when we last hung out, but I couldn't find the words. I- I.”

Matt pauses, listening to Smitty curse over the phone. His heart is beating faster, sure that this is going to be a confession. That Smitty finally returns the feelings he's had for years.

“Um.. go on…” Matt encourages nervously, hand shaking.

“Sorry I… I'm moving to America… to start a pack with John.”

Matt's world shatters. His world is Smitty. What point is there if his world isn't near him. He can't reply. He has no words.

“-Matt?” Smitty asks nervously, Matt's eyes just welling up with tears.

“O-oh-” is the only word Matt can get out.

“-Like I'll still be able to visit all the time, it's not like much is going to change and-”

Matt hangs up the call, putting his phone on do not disturb, and then thinking it over and switching it off. He can't deal with anyone else right now.

Of course.

Of course Smitty would be moving to America! Why would Matt have been so fucking stupid and naive as to think…

As to think the pretty omega would ever want him?

Why would he settle for a measly fucking beta, when he could have the alpha of his fucking dreams? It's always alpha and omega romances on TV and in the news, never a beta and omega.

He never had a fucking chance.

“Matt.. We're good friends now, I have a favour to ask… please don't judge me though?”

“Huh? I never would Smit. What's up?”

“Would you…. Would you mind… Ugh. This is so hard. Oh my god.”

“Hey, it's okay man. Can I hug you?”

“Ummm… In a sec.. but uh… Could you help me with my heat? It's coming up soon, and I don't have anyone to help me through it and-”

“Of course man. I just.. are you sure you don't want an alpha to help you?”

“Why would I need an alpha when I have you?”

—----

“Thankyou Matt. How can I ever repay you? I'm so fucking sorry about the bite as well man…”

“Pft. Don't worry about it Smit, it was an accident man. It's not valid, I can't feel any weird emotional shit from you.”

“Thank fucking god. I would hate to have accidentally bonded to you without asking you… I would be so mad.”

“It's okay man… Now you better get back home, it's gonna snow again soon.”

—-

Looking in the mirror, Matt gently touched the bite mark scar, shivering a little.

He'd done himself no favours, lying to Smitty about their bond. He didn't want Smitty to feel bad! But…

Instead Matt's left here, alone, with an incomplete bond. He knows the dangers of it. It would have been fine, with Smitty living only 5 minutes away, able to pop over and visit him all the time, meaning the bond barely frayed at all… But him being in another country, for… good.

When bonding, partners must take great care to make sure that both parties receive a valid marking. Completed bonds mean each member can sometimes feel emotions or strong feelings from their partners. A newly bonded pair must stay close to each other for the first week, to stop any chance of the bond becoming faulty / unstable.

If only one member has a bond mark, it gets more… complicated. The recipient usually feels faint emotions through the bond, but due to the incomplete nature, the inner psyche will struggle being away from their mate, becoming more emotional. The recipient will also be more… susceptible to their partners orders or suggestions, making them more vulnerable to abuse…

Matt's bond however, had been strained from the distance after the very first day. Smitty wasn't too far away, but just enough that he was uncomfortable a lot. Over time he learned to ignore the feelings, but whenever Smitty would go on holiday to America, Matt would barely be able to function, wanting to sob or bed rot.

Feelings of inadequacies flowing in his head, barely being able to function properly, stuck in bed, whimpering and whining to the empty room that his mate would return. That Smitty would realise what Matt was going through and fix it all.

Matt knew if Smitty moved to America it would destroy him, but he also knew if he told Smitty that he'd lied all those years ago, that Smitty would be distraught.

He couldn't let Smitty know. That was the best idea.

—-

It's been a rough couple months and Matt's barely able to function. He's so tired, depressed and down right touch starved. His inner beta is practically howling in misery, feeling abandoned and alone.

He's always alone.

Talking to Smitty over discord seemed to work at first…. Until it didn't, the change was so abrupt and sudden that Matt suddenly found himself avoiding Smitty, dipping out on all recordings to avoid any chance of him being there.

He knows Soup is worried, but Matt won't tell him why. Why does he feel like this? He knows Soup would tell him to get it removed, to seek help, but he can't.

He can't remove it because deep down, it's all he's ever wanted.

—-

Another morning, another day.

Matt rolls out of bed at 1pm, hearing his door knocking. It's his grocery order.

Trudging down the stairs, he yawns before opening the door….

And nearly slamming it back shut.

Smitty's there and he's not alone. John is standing right there next to him, a reminder that Smitty found someone better.

Smitty looks pissed. John looks neutral, but his eyes scream concern.

“What the fuck, Matt?” Smitty is yelling at him, the two pushing past Matt, entering his house. Matt doesn't say a word, content to feel some relief in his chest from the aching and constant yearning.

John interrupts Smitty's ranting with a gentle touch. “Smit. That's enough… Look at him.”

Smitty blinks and then it's like it hits him. He sees Matt, hair greasy, dark bags under his eyes, clearly not someone who's been taking care of himself.

Smitty doesn't say anything, studying Matt for a while before he nods and starts cleaning up Matt's house, busying himself with cleaning. John takes him to his couch, brushing off some rubbish and gently taking his hand.

“Matt… You don't have to tell me, but who gave you that bond? Maybe we could get them to help with your symptoms? I know that stuff can get rough.”

Matt just looks down at their hands, Smitty scooting by and picking up more rubbish.

“Oh, John.. I did that.. Don't worry though, it's not a valid bond, so no need to stress.”

Matt stays quiet, twitching a little as John sucks in a breath.

“Smit… Who told you that?” John asks nervously, looking over.

“Oh. Matt did.” Smitty says, sounding confused.

John looks at Matt, taking in the waves of shame, just pouring off the younger man as he murmurs. “If the bond wasn't valid, it would have faded by now. Isn't that right… Matt?”

“What….?” Smitty says, dropping the bag of trash on the ground, hands coming up to his face.

Matt sucks in a shaky breath, trying his best not to cry, tears leaking out anyway as he smiles. “I.. ha-ha. I'm sorry Smitty. I just.. I didn't want you feeling bad about it! It's fine! It's not even the reason I'm like this! I'm just being dra-dramatic…” His voice trails off, silent tears escaping his eyes.

“Matt… you… but…?” Smitty is whispering to himself quietly, shocked.

“It's fine Smitty, okay? You don't feel that way. You have John. I'll be okay. Please…. I don't… I don't want to ruin….” Matt trails off, a full body sob hitting him as John pulls him into his arms. Strong hands rub his back as Matt dampens the man's sweater.

“I can.. you can mark me? Finish it?” Smitty says, sounding desperate, Matt's eyes looking over.

“No. I won't.. I wouldn't do that to you…” Matt mumbles, John just pulling him back in, scenting him even harder.

Smitty's eyes fill with tears as he goes quiet then, John's other arm reaching out and pulling him in.

“Well. Seems to me that the two of you are both fucking stupid! All this time and you guys didn't talk about it?” John says, the two men pausing at that.

“About what?” Matt sniffs, John just scoffing.

“Cut the crap, you both have feelings for each other, and before you say anything Smitty, yes I know you also love me too. That doesn't mean you can't also love Matt.”

Matt shook his head. “N-no. If he loved me he wouldn't have left me here… alone.”

Smitty lets out a strangled sob. “You idiot Matt! I was trying to ask you to come with me to America! I wanted you there with me, I was trying to ask you to come form a pack with me, and then I thought you rejected me!”

“What? Really?” Matt sniffles, Smirty just nodding.

“My stupid omega, not communicating.” John said, kissing Smitty's forehead. “Actually, that should be our omega… yes the offer is still open to you Matt. It always will be.”

Matt let out a quiet sob, nuzzling into John's neck, nodding furiously. John chuckled.

“Smit, you got some work to do to make it up to our lovely beta here, but first of all, let's get him cleaned up and finish that bond markup, okay?”

Smitty and Matt both sniffled and nodded, both not moving.

John groaned. “Do I have to be the smart one and the strong one? I'm not carrying you guys. come on. Get up!”

—-

Later that night, John’s laying in the middle of both of them, the two cuddled on his chest, finally with matching marks. John's neck lays bare for the time being, wanting to wait until Matt's more comfortable and sure that this is what he wants.

Matt nearly cries again, feeling the pure essence of love travelling through the now complete bond, nuzzling closer into John's chest.

Chapter Text

Hey dad,

I'm writing to you
Not to tell you that I still hate you…
Just to ask you how you feel…
And how we fell apart….

How this fell apart…

“We're.. well…. I mean uhhh. Wait let me start over.. Matt suggested it as a joke, but John and I were kinda down for it, so I'm checking with everyone else. We were thinking of inviting Yumi to move in, join our pack. How do you feel about that?” Smitty asks Pezzy one uneventful night, Pezzy pausing for only a second, turning to look at the younger.

Looking Smitty up and down, Pezzy decided to go for a more relaxed response, ignoring the hammering in his chest. “I… I mean, I don't have any issues with that. If you want to, go for it.”

Smitty smiles, walking away to ask someone else, Pezzy’s expression dropping to something more… more emotionless.

He flicks to a contact in the bottom of his phone, actually texting for once instead of using discord, not wanting to risk the chance of anyone else seeing his messages.

[Max] -> [Blake]

Yo.
You didn't say anything weird to Matt right?

[Blake] -> [Max]

What?
You can fucking say hello as well, by the way asshole. Jeez,.

[Max] -> [Blake]

Oh sorry.
Hi. Did you say shit to Matt?

[Blake] -> [Max]

Fuck no.
Y?

[Max] -> [Blake]

He got it into his head and got Smitty on board that you should join our pack.
I thought that you may have said something for him to suggest that

[Blake] -> [Max]

I haven't said shit man.

[Max] -> [Blake]

Okay. I trust you.

[Blake] -> [Max]

Would that be weird though?

[Max] -> [Blake]

For what?

[Blake] -> [Max]

You know.
For me to join your pack.

[Max] -> [Blake]

I.. I don't think so. Like I mean.
Providing no one ‘ships’ us together in the house or something dumb like that.
Or you don't go making a move on my boyfriend.

[Blake] -> [Max]

Bitch. I didn't even know you had a boyfriend. Why the fuck would I want your sloppy seconds?

[Max] -> [Blake]

I thought I told you ngl. Whoops. Droid's my boyfriend BTW.

[Blake] -> [Max]

I would have put money on it being Puffer or Grizzy with how down bad you act with them sometimes.
People r always trying to show me the clips in “laugh or lose challenges” and I gotta try not to barf.

[Max] -> [Blake]

Yeah yeah. Okay.
But I just want you to know, if you want to join our pack, I'm not opposed to it.
… I have missed you.

[Blake] -> [Max]

OK.
I'll need to think about it.
Maybe I missed you a little too.

[Max] -> [Blake]

OK. I'm gonna dip then. Bye

[Blake] -> [Max]

K.

Pezzy swiped the conversation away, hiding it for later, sighing.

So, it really was just a random coincidence then. He'd really worried for a bit that Yumi had blabbed during a drunk stream or some shit about their shared history.

It's not like Pezzy was embarrassed or anything about it, it's just…

He still wasn't ready to open that whole can of worms yet.

—--

Are you happy out there in this great wide world?
Do you think about your sons?

—--

When it came to Yumi actually moving in, Pezzy came downstairs to try his best to offer any help, without trying to make it look like he cared that deeply. When he first set eyes on Yumi for the first time in three or so years though, he couldn't help but pull the younger man into a hug, ignoring how he pretended to squirm or protest for the others. He could feel how Yumi had relaxed for a second, knowing the other missed him just as much.

A few eyebrows were raised by some of the others as Pezzy quickly volunteered to help Yumi with his room, and then kept offering to help him with everything else.

He'd been chilling with Droid in the Hispanic's nest when a thought had popped into his mind. “We should probably get some more soft blankets or something so when Yumi finally wants to he can make his nest.”

Droid frowned. “Huh? Since when was Yumi an omega?”

“Since always?” Pezzy replied like it was obvious, before remembering it wasn't common knowledge and deciding to backtrack. “I mean. I just heard him talk about it after a recording one time… although I think he was drunk.”

“Ah that makes sense.” Droid nodded.

Later, as Pezzy lays down in his own bed that night, he tosses and turns, memories flowing into his brain, the sight of Yumi making him remember more than he wanted to ever recall.

Wayyyy too many memories.

—---

Do you miss your little girl?
When you lay your head down
How do you sleep at night?
Do you even wonder if we're alright?

—---

[14 Years Ago.]

“No. I won't have any child of mine believing in any of that… that fucking shit. Go. Get the fuck out of my house! NOW.” A fat man glares down at his fourteen year old daughter, fury and disgust clear on his face.

She sneers back at him. “Fine! It's not like you loved me before I told you this anyway. I'm grabbing my stuff and then I won't be fucking back again.”

Storming past him, she rushes into her bedroom, wiping her eyes which are starting to tear up. She really wants to break down and cry, but she doesn't have time for that.

She grabs her large trackbag, the one she bought when she thought about trying to play a sport (other than gymnastics or ballet like her father wanted) and quickly shoves clothes inside. She grabs the cash she's cobbled together, ($207.55c. It's not much but it's better than nothing) a few photos of her mom, plus her ratty little dog plush. Zipping up the bag, she grabs her phone and nods to herself.

Turning around, she sees two eyes watching her from the doorway curiously.

“Where… where are you going?” her little brother asks, biting his lip nervously.

Step-Brother, her brain reminds her unhelpfully, her shaking the unhelpful thought away.

“I'm sorry Blake. I gotta go.. Father is… he's fucking pissed at me. He's kicking me out.” She says quietly, Blake's eyes widening in horror.

“No! You can't go! No one else is nice to me! Please. Maxine don't go.” he begged, tearing up.

“I don't have a choice..” She replied quietly.

“Okay, I'll come with you then.” Blake said, determined.

“You can't. It's too dangerous….” she replied again, rubbing her arm.

“But…” He protested, being interrupted by his step father.

“MAXINE YOUVE HAD YOUR TIME, GET THE FUCK OUT.”

“I need to go. I'm sorry Blake. I love you bubba.” she said, crouching down to hug him.

“Wuv you too.” he mumbled, sniffling.

“I'm … I'm going to try and get to the shelter over other side of town… but here… that's my phone number. Maybe you can give me a call in a few days, okay?” she whispered, brushing his hair back.

“I-” Blake gets cut off again.

“GIRL.”

Storming down the stairs, she sneered at the pathetic excuse for a father she had, the man just spouting nonsense.

“When you finally come to your senses, you can come home after you apologise. A girl can't become a boy, I don't know what you've been hearing at that school of yours, but it's down right wrong. That's like saying an alpha isn't in control of their omega. Fucking disgusting.”

Standing up in his face and snapping back. “Well. Sorry to say but I won't be back. You're never going to see me again, fucking asshole. Fuck you dad. My name is just Max.”

“Maxine you need to-”

Slamming the door in his dad's face, Max takes a deep breath and starts walking away from the abusive cesspool his home had become.

He remembered his mother walking out, crying. His dad had cheated again.

She never came back home, killed by a drunk driver.

When his dad had remarried, he’d been cautiously optimistic. Nervous at the idea of having a sibling, but excited at the idea of being a family.

That got thrown out the windows fast. The two parents prefer to get blackout drunk every night, rather than raise their children. Max would take care of Blake a little, letting him sleep in his room when he had nightmares.

He feels so shitty, leaving Blake behind.

___

But we're alright
We're alright….
___

[3 Weeks Later]

“Max. Hehehe. Hi. I made it!”

A shy voice wakes Max from his slumber, eye cracking open to see the chubby cheeks of his nine year old step brother. Alone.

“Blake? What the fuck? How did you find me? Why are you here?” Max exclaims, looking around.

“Snuck out, I stole Step-dad’s phone when he passed out. I know his password and he had a tracker app on your phone because he bragged to my mama abouts it. I'm here because you can't leave me! Please, please don't make me go back! When he drinks he's like… been hitting me, and I don't like it at all. But um.. See? I got some important stuff!”

Max sits up, taking in the backpack Blake's been lugging around, filled to the brim, clearly fit to burst.

Looking inside, Max sees a few bits of clothing, a bag of cereal, some packets of junk food and his little strawberry stuffie. Shuffling the stuff around, his eyes widened seeing the stack of hundred dollar bills in the bottom.

“Where did you get all that?” Max asks, shocked.

“Stole it from mama. She took it from your dad.” Blake shrugs.

Max thought to himself, cooking a plan. He was okay with living in the street by himself, but with his brother? That was way too dangerous. He needed to come up with something… Maybe the next city over, so they don't get caught?

“Okay Blake… I think there's something we can so, to maybe find somewhere nice to stay… but we need to act like one of those spy movies.” Max said, Blake nodding immediately.

“Okay! Can I pick my secret spy name.”

“Sure bubba.”

One bus trip plus a trip to buy some brown hair dye later.

Max wasn't going to risk people recognising them over their blonde hair, fixing that quickly, to be less obvious.

He clutched a flier to his chest with one hand, wrinkling his nose at the building, holding Blake's hand in the other. With a sigh, he went inside, seeing someone at the small desk inside.

“Hey… what's the cheapest place you have to rent here?” Max asks the guy sitting in the lobby (which is also kinda dirty and falling apart, but he's getting desperate.)

“Aren't you a little too young to be asking shit like that?” The man says with a raised eyebrow, not rude, just more on the cautious side.

Max breathes in preparing the rehearsed speech he'd come up with. Luckily for him he had a growth spurt last year, so he could potentially pull this off. “I just want a roof to put over my son's head, please. I'm nineteen and we just managed to get away from his abusive father.. His father's almost thirty... I'll take anything. Please.”

Well.. that part was at least true. Their father WAS abusive.

The landlord's facial expression didn't really change much, but his voice seemed a little more sympathetic when he spoke again. “He's your son?” He asked, looking at Blake.

Max just nodded. “Yes, bubba, want to introduce yourself to the nice man?”

Lucky for both of them, Blake was a rather short kid still, the chubby cheeks doing wonders for adding more youth to him.

“Hi there Mister! ‘M Christ'phr, and ‘m six!” He said with a wide smile, the missing tooth doing a lot to help be more convincing.

Max could see the landlord doing the math, expression softening ever so slightly more.

“Okay… look doll, it's not gonna be pretty, but I have got something ya can have. The place next to it expanded, and as such I got a one room with a small attached bathroom that could probably work. It's unfurnished, so I'll take that into account for the rent… and I'll also take it down a bit more on account of ya situation. I'm willing to charge ya $600 a month for it, but ya better actually pay up, I would hate ta have ta toss ya back out onto the street.”

Max was nothing if not someone trying to save money. “How about $500 and I'll do 8 hours of unpaid work each week and clean up the building for you. This place could do with some love and care.”

The landlord paused, thinking for a second nodding at the suggestion. “I like the way you think, young lady. I'll take you up on that.”

“Does cash work?” Max asked eagerly, reaching into his pocket.

“Cash is preferred sweetheart. What's the name for me to put on the lease?” the landlord asked.

“Mary.” he said, using his beloved Mother's name.

Heart pounding, Max smiled as he handed over the cash, the landlord nodding as he passed over a key. “Easy enough then. Okay Mary, it's gonna be on the 4th floor, down at the very end. The stairs are just over there.”

“Come on bubba.” Max motioned, Blake deflating at the stairs, but following.

The room was pretty small, wallpaper peeling, musty smelling, but Max didn't fucking care. Shutting the door, he sighed as he helped Blake out of his backpack, laying down a blanket he'd stolen from a retail shop a week ago on the floor, letting Blake sit on it.

“Alright Blake, there's gonna be some ground rules here. Firstly, this is really important. Outside of here, you are my son and you can not call me Max or Maxine. We can't risk losing this place and ending up back on the street.”

“That's weird though.. Why would I call you Maxine… that's not your name.” Blake frowned, Max's heart swelling with pride.

“Blake… thankyou… Anyway. Number two, I'll probably need to get a job to keep us here, so it's gonna be up to you to clean up this space if you make a mess, okay?”

“Okay…. I hate cleaning but… ok.” He grumbled.

“I… I'm really sorry but I don't think I can afford for you to go back to school for now… I'm sorry. If the other parents ask, I'm homeschooling you, okay?”

“Okay.. “

____

It's been a long hard road without you by my side
Why weren't you there all the nights that we cried?
_____

[6 Months Later]

Max counted out the notes and coins, grimacing as he came to the grand total of… not fucking enough. He'd really hoped he'd saved enough to be able to get a binder, to get something, to help his major dysphoria, but…

He knew Blake's shoes were getting too small for him. More often than not he would see the kid running around outside barefoot, with the other apartment's kids, which worried him. He knew Blake's shoes were on their last legs, plus with his birthday coming up, it could be good to do something nice.

The soon to be ten year old was finally coming out of his shell, six months later. He had friends, he had fun, the other parents in the building worked just as many hours as he did, so they turned a blind eye to his ‘child’ not being at school, buying the home-schooling lie.

Max goes up to the roof that night, staring out at the city, letting out a few tears. He's already so fucking tired. He works long hours, every day of the week, then he does another 4 hours each day of the weekend for the landlord. He knows he looks like shit, because he has to look a certain way, to keep up appearances, despite wanting to cut all his hair short, change his wardrobe and start treatment.

He cries for the ponytail he had to put up everyday, the dresses and skirts he has to wear, the way he feels nausea every time someone calls him ‘miss’ or ‘ma’am’ or even misgenders him. His skin crawls, and he wants to step out of his body, like a weird butterfly.

Max's tears run dry, and he sighs. It's okay. At least they're safe.

Maybe after he keeps his job for a while, he can request to wear pants over skirts. Maybe down the line he comes up with a more gender neutral name to go by, so he can feel less gross whenever someone's trying to talk to him.

It's okay. It's only temporary anyway.

And when Blake unboxes his new sneakers a few weeks later on his birthday, he beams a smile so wide, Max can hold out another month for his binder.

They blow out the candle on the little cupcake, Max giving him a hug, praying that their father doesn't find them still.

—--

You broke my mother's heart, you broke your children for life
It's not ok but we're alright

—---

[11 & 16]

Max turns 16 quietly, not even going to mention it to Blake, but somehow his brother remembers, rocking up with an iced cookie that one of the sweet neighbours had helped him make. Max tears up a little, ruffling Blake's hair, and splits it in half with him.

Blake was a good kid. He knew that. He was really trying his best to teach the eleven year old to be kind and polite but…

Blake had started getting sassy, especially with the adults. Sure, there were a couple that he respected, mainly the parents of his neighbours kids, and thankfully the landlord, but Blake also could easily tell when he was being lied to, and even though he was short, he didn't stand for it.

He would loudly call out anyone who he thought was doing something stupid, and constantly be getting into fights when he wandered far from home.

Max would groan, having to go out and find what his brother was up to, dragging him home with an awkward wave to the neighbours, many of which weren't as sympathetic to his situation.

He would hear them whispering when he would walk past, trying his best to remain civil, but honestly, he wanted to yell and scream that they didn't understand! He never asked to be a parent at fucking 16! He didn't know how to parent a kid, when he himself was still just a kid.

He nearly turned around and yelled at them himself when he heard them imply he needed an ‘alpha male’ to ‘straighten her out’. Max knew he didn't need anyone else sticking their nose into his business, just grateful he'd presented as a beta, a lot less issues stemming from that.

It's okay though, he just needs to keep working, to keep them both off the streets.

It's all that mattered.

____

I remember the days you were a hero in my eyes
But those are just a long lost memory of mine
____

[12 & 17]

Max's heart shudders nervously. He's talking to his landlord who'd come by to give a very grim announcement.

“I'm sorry Mary, it's not that I wanna evict you, because I really don't. The city bought the building out because they wanna demolish it. I had no choice, because they were gonna take me to court over it. I'm giving you six months warning that you gotta find somewhere else for you and little Chris here to go…” he trailed off, catching sight of Blake. “Jeez Chris! You've had a mighty growth spurt, ey? Nine year ole with his first growth boost… God, you're gonna be taller then me one day lad.”

Blake smiles politely, handing the landlord, Jim, a card.

“Oh, for me? Let's see here…. Happy Birthday Uncle Jimmy, thanks for being so nice and letting us stay here. Hope you have another amazing year. Love Christopher…. Aww God bless Chrissy, ya really know how to make an ole’ man tear up a little.” The landlord says, smiling over at him. Jim stares at the two, expression softening.

“Look, I have no choice, but I'm going to reach out to a couple people I know, see if they got any planned vacancies coming up. And if you find a place in another town, I'll gladly put in a good word, or go down as a reference for you, okay? You've always been early with your rent, which is more than most people here, and your work in the building gave it more light then it had seen in decades. I'll see what I can do. Anyway, I am sorry again.”

“Thank You sir. It means a lot.” Max said quietly, the landlord nodding.

“Bye Uncle Jimmy!” Blake waved, Jim ducking his head and closing the door.

As the door clicked shut, Max sighed, walking and flopping face down on the bed.

“Fuckkkkkk.” He groaned, rolling over and pulling his hair. “How'd you even know it was his birthday Blake?”

Blake shrugged, laying on the beanbag they used as a chair. “Saw… well.. I overheard Lucas's ma, talking to him about all the contractor shit a few days ago, because he was complaining that he needed to give six months notice on his birthday. Thought a card might soften him up to give us more options, and I was right.”

Max blinked at his brother. “It's kind of scary how much you know about that type of shit… When I was your age-”

“Okay bro, it's not like you're fucking 60. Calm down there gramps.”

Max scowled. “God, the Karen's in 5c and 5e were right. You really are becoming a little menace to society.”

Blake rolled his eyes. “They didn't know shit. Not my fault sneeze Tommy wanted to wipe his hands on my shirt, so I stepped out of the way and he fell over. Maybe they should teach their kid to walk better.”

Max snorted. “Okay man, okay. I believe you.”

Blake frowned.

“What's up man?” Max asked.

“What happens if we don't find anywhere to go? Are we gonna have to go back-”

“No.” Max said, interrupting him. He stood up, kneeling next to Blake, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“If… if we really can't find anywhere to stay… I. I might have to live it rough again for a while.”

“We, right?” Blake asked.

Max shook his head. “No. I.. I can't do that to you bubba. It's too dangerous for you. No. If that happens, Lucas's mom said you can go stay with them, just until I can find us a new place.”

“NO! YOU PROMISED! YOU SAID YOU WOULDNT LEAVE ME!”

Max let Blake's outburst calm down, going for the more nonchalant response to try and soothe him.

“Blake, I'm not going to be leaving you. I'm going to see you everyday, it's just so you got somewhere safe to sleep okay? It won't be forever, I'm not giving you away. I promise. Besides, we have plenty of time to sort something out.”

Blake nibbled his lip, looking at Max's eyes before faltering, suddenly seeming younger. “O-okay. I trust you Max. I'm sorry.”

Max pulled him into a hug. “It's okay.”

____

I spent so many years learning how to survive
Now I'm writing just to let you know I'm still alive
____

[13 & 18]

“Okay, here it is. It's not much, but it's officially ours!” Max said, showing Blake.

“It somehow looks bigger than our old place. That's funny.” Blake said, looking at it, squinting slightly.

Max nodded.

It had been rough. A rough few months. But finally. Finally it will be over.

Blake had spent the better part of four months staying with Lucas's family at night, his mom's happy to have the boy stay, knowing Max's situation. They'd offered to let him stay too, Max refusing, not wanting to take advantage of them.

He'd spent the last four months in and out of shelters, sometimes sleeping on the street, saving money, penny by penny, until finally a breakthrough.

Jim had called him on his shitty Nokia phone, throwing him a lifeline. His mother had owned a caravan, but she now needed to go into a retirement home, so he was needing to get rid of it. He'd asked if Max had found a place yet, Max explaining how rough it had been.

Jim had then explained he was willing to sell Max the caravan for a low price, as a thankyou for all the work he'd done. Max had initially refused, until Jim had said they could sort a monthly payment thing out, sort of like rent.

The caravan sat in a park owned by his family, so the deal was set up in a way Max could make monthly payments to Jim, which covered the caravan plus rent. A win win.

“Even though it's kind of small,” Max said, opening the door. “You see that over there? That's a dividing sheet thing, so you can have more privacy when you want it. You can sleep down this end on the bed, and I'll take the couch, which also can become a bed. What do you think?”

Blake nodded, looking at the small space. “Honestly, the colors in here suck, but I'm happy to be back with you again. I missed spending most of my time around you.”

Max nudged him with his elbow. “Psshhh you're going soft man…” he scoffed, sitting down on the couch.

Blake sat next to him. “I can't wait to start running around all day with the kids here too.”

Max blinked. “Oh about that… Jim said you can use their library's computers at any time, so I've actually gotten you enrolled in online school. I managed to get free education because of our circumstances.”

“Wait. What. Maxxxx….”

“Yeah, you gotta do homework again pal.”

“Fuck.” Blake groaned.

_____

The days I spent so cold, so hungry
Were full of hate, I was so angry
____

[14 & 19]

Max was counting out the cash they had, grimacing at the lack of funds on hand. He knows he could potentially dip into Blake's college fund, but he was adamant he wouldn't need to, wanting his brother to have the best chance at a higher education.

It was fine. He could skip a couple doses of testosterone. They’re low on food at the moment, and Blake really needed some new clothes, that 2nd growth spurt had really come out of nowhere. Max had lost one of his jobs after the summer break, the water park nearby had cut back on staff, meaning there was a lot less funds to play with.

Max groaned, head in hands over it all. To top it off, it was past the time when Blake said he would be back. He hoped Blake was okay, but….

Grabbing his jacket, Max went to the door, being surprised as Blake burst in, Storming past him.

“You're home late.” Max replies shortly, Blake just groaning.

“Yeah yeah fuck off.” He scoffs.

Max bristled. “Dude, I asked you to at least try and call if you can't be home by 10. It's almost midnight! I was worried sick, man.”

“Get over it. I don't want to talk.” Blake sneered, making Max angry.

“You might not, but I do! Why are you insisting on staying out that late Blake? It's dangerous, you could get hurt! What would i do then?”

“I'm literally fucking fine Max, fuck off.”

“Do I need to tell Lucas's parents to not let you in? What do I gotta do?”

“Maybe get off my fucking back! I fucking hate living here, maybe I wanna be in a house and pretend to live a normal life!” Blake snapped, making a pang of hurt flicker through Max's heart.

“Well sometimes we don't get what we want! I didn't want to have to raise a kid at 14, and yet here we are!”

“Oh yeah? I'm sorry that I've apparently, INCONVENIENCED YOU, so FUCKING hard… I don't know why you're so pressed over it you're not even my real fucking mom anyway so stop acting like you did shit. Just shut up!”

“I know I'm not… I'm sorry, I was just worried… I'll stop being so overbearing..” Max said quietly, taking a step back, wiping his eyes.

Blake's expression faltered at that, as he took a deep breath, looking down. “I'm sorry. I.. I shouldn't have said any of that. I'm glad you're not my mom… she's such a fucking bitch.”

Max sighed. “The neighbours are gonna think I'm teaching you to swear all the time again… but yeah… your mom was a bitch.”

“I.. I just had a bad day… I don't know.. I just get so angry, I wanna scream and punch and cry sometimes. I would rather you give me some space when I'm like that, over me saying shit to you.” Blake admitted, Max nodding.

“Okay, we can sort something out then.. Maybe like a signal or something that you need some space, then we can talk about it when you've cooled down?”

Blake nodded. “That would be good… I'm sorry for missing my curfew… I'll try to at least be nearby next time.”

“It's just rough because I can't get you a phone or anything yet… I'm sorry Blake. But I promise, you're not a burden. Not to me.” Max said softly.

Blake bit his lip, before quietly asking. “Can I have a hug please? I'm sorry for yelling at you.”

“Of course. Come here man.” Max said, opening his arms. “God, you're almost the same height as me already. Fucking hell.”

“You're just short.”

_____

The scars run deep inside this tattooed body
There's things I'll take to my grave
____

[15 & 20]

“Max… the other kids that I hang with have like… they keep saying I smell funny. Do I smell funny to you? I swear I've been showering, and even using soap!” Blake protested as he rambled.

Max pauses, looking up from his crappy 2nd hand laptop to look at Blake, the teenager shuffling around on the spot.

“Huh? Funny how?” he asked, seeking more explanation.

“I don't know, they said I smelled like.. sweet or something.” Blake said worriedly, “Am I sick or something? What's wrong? Why do you look so scared? Am I dying?”

Max swallowed nervously. He knew he'd forgotten to teach the kid something… the whole secondary gender thing not being something he really worried about.

How the fuck is he supposed to teach Blake how to be an omega? Is there even a correct way?

What if he gets in even more trouble?

“I think.. I think you might be presenting Blake.” Max says after a pause, making Blake frown

“Presenting? Like what?”

Max stood up and hugged his brother, pulling away to gently speak to him.

“I… I think you're presenting as an omega.”

_____

But I'm ok
I'm ok
_____

[16 & 21]

“Hey cutie, why don't you come back to my place?” a stranger wolf whistles at the two of them, Blake jolting in shock.

Max's fury locked on to the stranger, hissing protectively. “He's only sixteen you fucking jackass.”

The stranger paled, walking away, Blake snorting at the speed at which he fled.

“Thanks ‘mom.’” he joked, Max just pushing him.

“Okay bro, fuck you. Save yourself next time. See if I care.”

“You do care. You care a lot.” Blake reminded him, nudging him back.

Max sighed. “Yeah. I do.”

_____

It's been a long hard road without you by my side
Why weren't you there all the nights that we cried?
_____

[17 & 22]

“UGH. I'm so fucking done. I'm so done with everything, Max.” Blake snaps, storming around the caravan, Max busy trying to use cardboard to tape up the broken window from vandals.

“What's up?” Max asks curiously, suddenly concerned at how mad his brother was.

“I.. Lucas was like… totally chill when I first presented, right?” Blake started.

“Yeah, his mom's were super helpful to me.” Max recalls.

“Yeah…. He would constantly tell me how I was one of the ‘good ones’ and how I didn't act all sissy like the other male omegas.” Blake continued.

“Uh huh.” Pezzy already suspected he knew where this was going. It wasn't good.

“But now, after I had my first heat, he's being a massive cunt to me. He keeps making jokes about me to other people, talking about how I'm only good for making pups, how a real omega wouldn't talk back to his alpha friends…” Blake ranted.

“Awww. That… that fucking sucks dude.” Max admitted.

“It's not even the worst of it, but like yeah whatever! I could deal with it but..” Blake got quiet, suddenly shaking his head.

“What?” Max asked.

“It doesn't matter. I'm sorry.” he said, shrinking in.

Max stopped with the tape, coming over and looking at his brother. Blake's eyes were red, he'd obviously been crying, and even with his beta nose, he could smell the rotten strawberry scent coming off the other.

“What happened Bubba? What did he say?” Max asked, looking up at his brother.

Blake shuffled. “He… he went into his rut and didn't tell me. When I went round there, he was alone and… he told me I was practically his property already and I should submit. He-” Blake unwound his scarf, showing the massive bite on his neck.

Max gasped, quickly pulling Blake toward the light, sighing in relief. “Well, lucky he's too much of an idiot to know where a mate bite goes, so luckily, once that heals, no one will even know… What did you do?”

Blake bit his lip. “I kicked him in the nuts and told him to suck his own dick and then I ran… I..”

Max nodded. “Understandable. I don't want you going over there again…I'm going to call his mom's though. I'll make sure he never bothers you again.”

Blake looked nervous. “Can.. Can you come hang with me in my nest please? I.. I need some company, but I don't wanna talk.”

“Of course.”

_____

You broke my mother's heart, you broke your children for life
It's not ok but we're alright
—-----

[18 & 23]

“So… basically what I'm saying is, I'm gonna be moving out.” Blake said, showing off his fully paid college offer, Max smiling widely.

“Holy fucking shit Blake! I'm so proud of you! Anything you need, I got you.”

Blake wrinkled his nose. “I couldn't ask you to do that bro.. I'm an adult now, I need to start buying my own shit.”

Max shook his head. “Dude, you're always gonna be my baby brother… Besides, I set up a college fund for you a few years back… It should help cover the cost of any additions you need.”

“Wait, you did? Holy fucking shit… I love you man.” Blake said, hugging him.

“Love you too man… Don't forget me in that big wide world, k?”

“As if. Fucking idiot…” Blake said softly, nuzzling into him.

______

I remember the days you were a hero in my eyes
But those are just a long lost memory of mine
___

[19 & 24]

Max sinks back into his chair, still in awe that he can even afford a place this nice. With Blake in college, he'd finally sold the caravan, going straight to another apartment. It was kinda small, but it was finally his own place. He'd finally been able to buy the things he'd always considered, but had to shelve due to lack of finance.

He's finally managed to start gaming. A hobby, unrelated to work or childcare.

It's nice. It's great even.

He meets people when he's gaming. Finally making friends of his own. He meets Droid in a game of rocket league, the younger man adding him, and then they spend the night talking. Droid introduces him to Grizzy and Puffer, and Max clicks with them as well. When Grizzy explains he's only 19, Max is shocked that he's the same age as his son brother.

Grizzy and Puffer then introduce them both to Smii7y and through him they meet Matt and John. Max loves all the people he's meeting, enjoying the company as he plays games.

They don't know him as Maxine, the runaway, Mary, the single mother, they just know him as Pezzy, the guy who likes to sit there and speedrun games for hours at a time.

Streaming is a thing he starts doing, only after someone in Grizzy’s chat asks him where they can all follow Pezzy. Pezzy laughs, explaining that he doesn't do that, because he doesn't think he'd be entertaining enough. Grizzy’s chat disagrees, so some time later, he sets up his own twitch account, gaining a couple hundred followers, maintaining a small community.

The money starts coming in. He's still stunned he's being paid to have fun! He gets to cut back his hours at the store, he gets more sleep.

He gets the fright of his life.

Smitty is a big youtuber, one who frequently collabs with many different people. Pezzy’s been invited to today's session, nerves and excitement, double teaming him.

“Guys, Matt had to dip, so I invited another guy I know to take his place, his name's Yumi, be nice… EVEN YOU PUFFER.” Smitty scowls, Puffer just muttering under his breath.

‘Yumi’ joins the call. “Hey losers, Smitty said he had no friends and I felt bad for him, so I said I'd come help out.”

Pezzy's heart nearly jumps out of his chest when he hears Blake's voice. Holy fuck.

He stays quiet, letting the others say hi, Smitty then noticing how quiet he is.

“Pezzy? You okay?”

“Uh.. Yeah.. *ah hem* I mean, yeah I'm good. Nice to meet you… Yumi..” Pezzy says, stopping his voice from shifting too high, a survival instinct from when he spent all that time raising Blake.

Yumi seems to pause, before he just laughs. “Dude, are you sick or something? Or you just choking on a dick?… nah, nice to meet you too… Pezzy…”

The recording goes well, despite Pezzy feeling awkward about making any of his usual jokes near the guy he practically raised. No one appears to notice, and then later on, only they're left in the call.

Pezzy sighs. “Is that you Blake?”

A laugh. “Yeah. You know it. I wasn't sure it was you Max for a bit… you're getting really good at that voice training… but yeah… small world.”

Pezzy hums. “It really is…”

They sit in silence.

“So.. we're never telling them, right?” Yumi says, Pezzy immediately sighing in relief.

“Fuck no. Never.”

“Thank God. Anyway.. see ya around.. Pezzy.”

“See ya later… Yumi.”
_____

Now I'm writing just to let you know I'm still alive
Yeah, I'm still alive

_____

[20 & 25]

When Pezzy wakes up from his top surgery, he honestly doesn't expect to see the big ass red ‘get well soon’ balloon, plus the ‘it's a boy’ balloon. The second one gets a snort out of him, laugh immediately making him groan in pain.

“Fuck.” He winces, the sound of movement alerting him.

“You literally just came out of surgery bro. You need to calm down.”

Pezzy looks over, seeing Blake's wry smile from the corner.

“Oh my god, Blake? Why are you here?”

Blake frowns like he's stupid. “Why the fuck wouldn't I be here? This is major surgery bro! You're also gonna need someone to keep an eye on you for a while, to watch for complications… I'm just paying it back. I finally get to take care of you.”

Pezzy blinked back tears, trying not to cry at how happy he was to see his brother.

Blake snickered. “Aww come here ya big softie. Let me give ya a hug.”

Pezzy leans just his head into the loose hug, smiling at the feeling of his brother's scent surrounding him, making him feel all warm and safe.

“Thankyou.” He whispers. Blake nods.

“See. You made it man. Maxine is fucking dead and buried, long live Max! You're still alive, despite everything. You can do anything!” Blake said cheerfully.

Max smiled, leaning back. “Yeah, rest in pieces, that Bozo… she will not be missed.”

“Amen.”

_____

And yeah… Sometimes I forgive
Yeah, and this time I'll admit
That I miss you, said I miss you

—----

[21 & 26]

“I hope it's.. I hope it's nice there.” Blake- no Yumi. He really needs to call him Yumi in his mind now, says to him, Pezzy’s ear to the phone.

“It's. It's been nice so far. It's honestly just weird living with other people again… I'm not used to it.”

“Well, it's not like I was a great example.”

“I mean… at least I don't have to raise these guys.. “

“Come on Max bro. Grizzys like the same age as me man. You telling me those fatherly instincts are gone?”

“Dude they died the second you said you were moving out. I heard you say it, and then I was just like ‘oh yeah, freedom!’”

“Shut up, I was an angel!”

“No the fuck you were NOT! That's funny that you think that.” Pezzy snorts. He can practically hear the eye roll through the screen.

“You love me though. Who's the clown now?”

“You're right. I do, man… But yeah. It's weird to live with someone else, and then that person isn't you… it's weird. I miss you.”

“I miss you too, man. When this outbreak of covid dies down, maybe I could come visit?”

“I don't know. Travelling isn't the safest..” Pezzy hesitated, Yumi just interrupting.

“Bro. We're both in fucking Texas. It's not like I'm gonna be on a plane or something!”

“True… Maybe that could work.” Pezzy admitted.

“Hmmm, but then I have to look at your ugly face. Hmm. I don't know if I want that.” Yumi jokes.

“Okay man, at least I can actually grow a beard, and my body wasn't supposed to.” Pezzy says playfully.

“Okay man, that one hurt, I'm sorry about the comment on your face. I know you're insecure about your ugliness.” Yumi teased.

“I'm sorry too, man. Maybe. Pezzy joked back.

“Okayyyy.. woooow… Huh. Yeah…. Max?” Yumi mumbles.

“Huh, what?

“I miss you too… I gotta go though.” Yumi says, Pezzy just nodding.

“Love you bro. Stay safe okay?” he says heartfelt.

“I'll do my best. You too Max. Love you.”

_____

It's been a long hard road without you by my side
Why weren't you there all the nights that we cried?
_____

[23 & 28 / The Present]

Yumi finishes moving in without any issues, Pezzy quietly apologising for ‘outing’ him as an omega. Yumi explained that it had slipped his mind yet again, not even bothered in the slightest.

It was nice having Yumi around again, Pezzy automatically gravitating to his brother's scent a lot, especially when he was anxious. Chilling in Yumi's nest, even when he wasn't with him, would always make him feel better, memories of the good times helping him relax… then he would go and shower so Droid wouldn't get all pouty and low-key jealous.

Droid would never admit to it, but Pezzy knew him. He knows what Droids like, even if he doesn't verbally say anything. He's like a wet cat.

When Yumi's birthday rolls around, Pezzy has to stop himself from laughing too loud when he reads the ‘25’ on the cake, eyeing Yumi, who just shakes his head at Pezzy. Pezzy keeps his secret, instead pretending he just slipped over.

He finds out Yumi lied so he could drink on stream without people caring. Pezzy glares at him for that, before laughing with him.

So yeah, it's pretty good, until Yumi's first heat in the house rolls around, and then the misunderstandings start.

Pezzy knows Yumi's heats are non sexual, and he also knows how to help the younger through them. Usually company and some hot water bottles helped him.

The others didn't know that however.

Yumi had practically begged Pezzy to help him with his first heat, still worried about living in a house with alphas, after his incident with his first heat. They both knew Grizzy and Smitty probably wouldn't do anything like that, but Pezzy agreed, just to help ease Yumi's anxieties. So Pezzy spent most of the time in Yumi's nest, sitting on guard.

The first time Pezzy emerged to get supplies, he had to deal with John and Puffer wiggling their eyebrows, asking if the two were ‘having fun’ because ‘they didn't even need an alpha.’

Pezzy had to remind himself that these were his packmates, not some strangers making jokes, resisting the urge to snap at them.

“It's not like that.” He'd just snapped, brushing past both of them, leaving them confused.

As the days went by, Smitty came and asked him if he was courting Yumi, Pezzy having to hold back his disgust at the question. Smitty obviously could see said disgust, immediately trying to wingman his friend.

“Hey, don't knock it till you get to know him! You helped him in heat, surely you felt a spark or something?”

Pezzy shook his head. “Absolutely not.” He replied deadpan. “I need to stream, can you uh… go?”

Even Droid came to him, shuffling around, before blurting out that he was okay if Pezzy wanted to court Yumi, but could he please let Droid know.

Pezzy had covered the younger man in kisses, silencing him. “Trust me, when I say, I will NEVER. EVER. Court Yumi. TRUST ME.” He said seriously, Droid seeming a little doubtful, before nodding.

“Okay. You seem serious, so I'll believe you… sorry the others still think there's something there…” Droid admitted.

Pezzy just sighed. “Of course they do.”

_____

You broke my mother's heart, you broke your children for life
It's not ok but we're alright
—----

Pezzy’s busy today, doing a run for himself. He went and bought some pokemon packs, grabbed some more energy drinks for when he's streaming, dashing home and then realising he forgot to get his testosterone shot. So, as a change of pace, he decided to walk the short distance to the pharmacy, handing in his script and killing time by looking around.

Pezzy can't shake the odd feeling like he's being watched however. It's like an itch on the back of his neck, but whenever he turns around, no one's setting off his radar. It's starting to make him nervous.

Pezzy puts down the vitamin gummies, making a note to speak to his doctor about them, before going to pick up his medication.

“Hey. Order for Max?” He asks at the bench, smiling when he recognises the black hair of his usual pharmacist. “Oh, didn't realise you were hiding back there Cindy! How's it been today?”

Cindy laughs, passing him the paper packet hiding his testosterone shot. “Pretty good so far Max. Haven't been too many people screaming during their immunisations today, so I'm taking it as a plus.”

“That's good at least.” Pezzy would rather be dead than do that job.

“Anyway… that brings your total to… $58.60 today, are you paying on card again?” Cindy asks Pezzy, who dips his head in a quick nod.

“Yes please, thanks Cindy.” he says with a smile.

His card beeps happily as Cindy pulls the reader back. “See you next time Max. Be safe!”

Max waves turning around, nearly bumping into someone on his way out. “Oh, my bad.”

“Hey.”

Max doesn't stop, walking out the store door, texting his pack mates he's about to head home. He's putting his phone away when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“I said HEY. It's not polite to ignore people.” The man snapped, Max just rolling his eyes before he turned around to placate the guy. Turning around, he felt something akin to horror flooding his veins, tasting bile in his throat.

“Hello there Maxine.” The man, his father, sneered at him.

Pezzy swallowed, taking a step away. “Uh, hi… dad… It's Max though.”

His father leaned his head back and laughed. Laughed real loud. It was… cold sounding, making Pezzy shiver. “Are you still on that fucking bullshit, girl? I thought it was you, but I couldn't be sure until I heard that bitch calling your name, then I knew.” He sneered, crossing his arms.

“That's not very polite to Cindy…and I honestly thought you wouldn't be able to recognise me..” Pezzy admits quietly, his father scowling.

“I mean, it was hard, you've gone and mutilated your body, but you never changed that beautiful feminine scent of yours, so it was easy to recognise you.”

Pezzy just hummed, going to turn around. “Uh, okay, well, I need to go. Bye.”

Pezzy quickly opens his phone, texting Yumi three words, before quickly burying his phone into his pocket again.

[Max] -> [Yumi]

He found me

Pezzy froze as he felt the large, solid hand coming down on his shoulder again, Pezzy gulping nervously as he looked over at the angry man.

“No. You fucking owe me, whore. After what you did. Kidnapping my son? What, did you end up raising him to be some kinda queer like you? You ruined my fucking life bitch, and you need to fucking pay.” He snarled, grip tightening, making Pezzy wince in pain.

“I didn't do anything, you did all that to yourself!” He protested, slipping out of his grasp, taking a few steps back before turning around and running full sprint towards home.

“FUCKING COME BACK HERE GIRL!” his father snapped, the sound of him running after Pezzy evident.

Pezzy wanted to have a panic attack, but he knew he needed to run, to get home, to be safe with his pack. He was in danger near this man.

____

Sometimes I forgive
Yeah, and this time I'll admit
That I miss you, said I miss you
___

Yumi’s streaming with the goons and some other streamers he doesn't know at all, when he gets the text message. Normally, he wouldn't bother checking his phone midstream, but something feels off this time.

“Yeah yeah chat, I know, I'm bored of you already.” He jokes as he looks at his phone.

1 New Message from Max

He found me.

Yumi pauses for a second, before his brain kicks in. If Pezzy found anyone, he would just call them by name, unless…

Oh. Him.

Suddenly Yumi feels 9 again, watching his brother leave. Watching his brother be kicked out.

He's 9 again, his mom is passed out on the floor and his step dad needs to take his anger out on someone.

Yumi shakes his head, snapping out of his memories. He ends his stream instantly, only bothering to explain because he knows, one, Matt's in the call, and Matt will otherwise burst in here and two, their stream chats can pass the message on to his own.

“Guys, I need to go, like, now. It's a serious family emergency. I'm not fucking around.”

“Bro got them mommy issues?” Someone in the call jokes, Yumi rolling his eyes, glad it's not someone he gives a fuck about saying that.

“Dude, just go, we got you.” Mcnasty reassures him, Yumi hearing the sound of Blarg leaving too.

Yumi leaves the call, pushing his chair away, taking a deep breath.

He can hear Matt's footsteps getting closer, but he's mentally preparing himself.

He's not fucking nine years old anymore.

This cunt is gonna get it.

___

Pezzy stumbles on the front step, and then proceeds to fumble with his keys, almost in tears now as his father is running up their driveway.

“STOP BITCH. YOU NEED TO TALK TO ME, MAXI-”

Pezzy cuts him off by slamming the door, leaning against it and sinking to the ground.

He's okay. It's going to be okay.

His body is shaking, and he can't help but start to cry, breathing increasing rapidly.

He can hear his father's muffled yelling outside, and then the banging on the door begins, making Pezzy jump back in fear.

“LET.”

“ME.”

“IN.”

“BITCH!”

“I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!”

“I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!”

“Is that someone at the front door? Shit, Pezzy, are you okay?” John asks, coming around the corner, immediately running towards Pezzy.

“Can I touch you?” John asks, Pezzy shaking his head, no.

Any touch feels like his touch right now.

“Okay, okay, it's okay. Breathe with me man.” John soothes, helping Pezzy follow him.

“Is anyone gonna fucking get that?” Grizzy asks, coming down the stairs, pausing at the sight of Pezzy and John.

“Nonono. Please don't.” Pezzy sobs shrinking away further.

“Yumi, I don't understand what you're saying. What the fuck are you even talking about?” Matt's voice comes down the stairs, the Canadian trailing behind Yumi, whose face is red in anger.

“I said what I said, Matt. Someone's gonna fucking die today, okay?” Yumi practically snarls, walking towards the door, pausing by Pezzy to check on him

Yumi's eyes meet Pezzy’s, Pezzy just shaking his head no, as if Yumi ever listened to Pezzy after he moved out. Yumi's expression softened.

“Dude, I got this. I ain't a pussy anymore. No more running.”

________

I remember the days you were a hero in my eyes
But those are just a long lost memory of mine

_____

“Uh Smitty, you guys need to come home right now. Something is happening. Something bad…….. yeah I can video chat it. Hold on.”

“Wait, is Yumi really trying to start shit with someone?”

Yumi ignores Grizzy’s questioning and Matt's frantic call to Smitty in the background, standing up and facing the door.

“I SAID OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR BITCH OR I-”

Walking over, Yumi opens the door, steps outside and shuts the door with one hand, not willing to turn his back. It appears someone other than Pezzy answering the door has stunned the poor excuse for a man into shock, Yumi just studying him quickly, a look of disgust covering his face.

The man he’d once been excited to have as a father figure wasn't looking all that good. He wasn't as fat as he used to be, but he was covered in drug scarring, his fingers and teeth were yellow, plus his eyes were red and bloodshot. He looked disgusting.

He seemed to have moved from drugs to alcohol. What a wonderful fucking guy.

Yumi was glad he'd decided to rob this bitch of a couple hundred bucks when he was 9.

“Can I fucking help you?” Yumi asked, popping his hip out sassily. “Mind telling me why the fuck you're out here pounding our front door like a rabid animal? Like… get the hint bro.”

“WHERE IS SHE?” the man formerly known as his step dad snapped, eyes flicking to the windows.

“I don't know who the fuck you're talking about now, asshole. No girls are allowed here. Anyway… What the fuck kind of pathetic human, follows someone home, and then decides to smash their dirty fucking, child-beating fists on the nice front door. Honestly. Just fuck off.” Yumi sneers, making something dangerous light up in the others eyes.

“Fuck. You. You're gonna listen to me omega. You're going to go get that fucking bitch so I can finish talking to her.” He sneered, spitting on the ground.

Yumi yawned dismissively, looking bored. “Nice alpha voice you got there, Bozo. Unfortunately, I can still do what I want, so I suggest you fucking leave before I kick your ass. Last chance.”

Yumi knew his packmates were watching from the windows, so if he did fail abysmally, he knows Grizzy will come out and finish him off. Hopefully.

His father just laughs at him, making a weird fire burn in Yumi's chest. Something making him want payback.

“Oh yeah? You're gonna kick my ass? Who the fuck do you think you are? Oh, are you the fucking pathetic sissy omega man she chose to surround herself with to make herself feel better with? You're the one fighting my whore of a daughter's battles? Okay fa-”

Yumi saw red and lunged.
______

Now I'm writing just to let you know I'm still alive
_____

*smack*

“OKAY. FIRST OF ALL, MAX CAN FIGHT HIS OWN BATTLES.”

*thunk*

“Secondly, you don't have a fucking daughter, you HAD two sons, but neither of them would be caught dead with you now.”

*pow*

“Thirdly, what kind of fucking dick, beats a child? You're the scum of the earth.”

Yumi paused, taking a breath as he rubbed his hand from the punches he's thrown, his former father standing up, wiping blood from his nose.

“That bitch is the reason we went to jail! She kidnapped our beautiful baby boy. They said we sold him for drugs! He was stolen!!” he snarled.

*insert door opening by John trying to snoop, sound*

“Newflash asshole! I'm your fucking son!”

“You're not Bl-”

“YES. YES I AM, FUCKING, BLAKE. AND YOU? YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME.”

*SMACK*

“DON'T EVER TALK SHIT ABOUT THE MAN WHO FUCKING RAISED ME. HE WAS A BETTER FATHER THAN YOU COULD EVER DREAM TO BE.”

“Always knew you would become a fucking queer like her. I could have made you into a real man.” his father sneered, Yumi just rolling his eyes.

“GO TO FUCKING HELL.”

*smack*

Yumi rubbed his hand, hissing in pain, shaking it.

“Dude… I think he's out cold.” John's voice came over, Yumi whipping around, seeing John's impressed look.

“Can someone please tell me why there is a fucking middle aged man knocked out on my front lawn?” Smitty's voice echoes from the phone, Yumi just huffing and walking past Matt to where Pezzy was sitting.

“Hey.” Yumi whispered, holding out his clean hand, Pezzy’s eyes focusing on him, taking the hand.

“I couldn't.. he was just.. and i-” Pezzy sobs, making Yumi’s heart ache for his brother.

“It's okay. You did your best.” Yumi says, unusually softly, making the others confused, Pezzy just looking at him.

“But, I should have done more. I should have been the one to confront him! You shouldn't-”

“Shhhh. We'll talk about it later… did you want a hug?” Yumi says, quietly.

“Please.”

When Pezzy pulls back, Yumi then walks over to where John, Matt and Grizzy are waiting, sighing a little.

“Hey, you guys don't mind if I call the cops on my ole’ pa out there right? I think a restraining order is long overdue.”

The boys all just looked at each other, nodding at the younger.

“Cool.” Yumi replies, practically skipping away to call them, Matt just looking back out on the front lawn.

“What the fuck?”

____

And sometimes I forgive
And this time I'll admit
That I miss you
I miss you
______

Smitty, Droid and Puffer all rock up back home at an awkward time, watching the man Yumi had beat the shit out of, being led into the back of a cop car. They all walk past that, pausing when another cop is talking to Yumi.

Puffer leads them over to everyone else, eyeing Pezzy who's still looking a little shaky. “Uh, can anyone please help me out and tell me what the fuck is going on.”

“Uhhh. Best I could figure out was Yumi’s pops out there was looking for someone? I don't know. He doesn't seem to like his dad very much.” John said with a shrug.

Pezzy mumbled something to himself.

“What was that?” Droid asked, kneeling next to Pezzy who shook his head, looking up.

“He was following me home.” Pezzy says quietly, making everyone confused.

“What kind of alpha follows a beta home?” Grizzy says.

“Surely he knows how bad that looks?” Puffer said in agreement.

“It's because he's a cunt. Hope that helps.” Yumi said, walking over, kneeling next to Pezzy, checking in on him again.

They all watch as Yumi helps Pezzy to his feet, Yumi wrapping an arm around Pezzy and pulling him in protectively.

Puffer looks confused. “When did… all of… this… happen?… actually nevermind. Why was he looking for you, Pezzy?”

Pezzy sighed, leaning into his brother's chest, Yumi's scent just reminding him of how far they've come. He hesitated as he looked at everyone's worried faces.

“I used… to know his uh..daughter… very well.” Pezzy starts, Yumi chokes a little at the comment, Droid interrupting him.

“Wait, so you dated Yumi's sister and now you're making moves on Yumi? That's kinda messed up bro!” Droid says.

That gets a snort out of Pezzy. “Dude, I am Yumi's sister. Well. I was Yumi's sister.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“Are you being serious?” the last voice being Smitty's, everyone else's shock blending together.

Pezzy nods solemnly, Yumi rolling his eyes dramatically.

“Yeah, this loser here practically raised me. No, we aren't dating, nor will we ever fucking date. That's fuckign weird.”

“You're brothers?” Matt asks.

“Step-brothers.” Pezzy corrected.

“Erm ackshully!” Puffer replies in a need voice, Yumi interrupting him.

“Dude, he gets to correct people now, I had to fucking call him ‘mom’ in public for like 9 years okay?” Yumi says, defensive.

“Nine fucking-?” John does the maths.

“Huh?” says Grizzy.

Pezzy nodded. “Yeah I got kicked out at fourteen because I came out as trans, and oh boy, my dad didn't like that. So I left, and then a couple weeks pass and this fuck-ass nine year old rocks up with like a thousand in cash. So we change our names and move cities.”

“What names did you pick?” Matt asks, everyone else shooting him a glance. “What! I was curious….”

Pezzy snorts at that. “Dude Yumi wanted to be called ‘Christopher’ if I remember right.”

“Yeah let's not bring that up.” Yumi says.

“Based name…. Actually let's talk about it.” Puffer starts.

“Let's not Puffer.” Yumi says with a glare.

“But yeah, if you call any of your pups Mary, I'm literally going to kill you after I have a ptsd induced panic attack… uh.. so… I pretended to be like a 17 year old teen mom with a 6 year old son for a while.. honestly it was rough, but still infinitely better than living with my dad…”

“Wait. YOU'RE 23?” Droid says, pointing at Yumi, Pezzy giggling.

Yumi shrugged. “Uh yeah? My bad?”

“Dude I thought you were 25?” Smitty says.

“Uh sorry to disappoint you? I just really wanted to take shots on stream.” Yumi admits, raising a few eyebrows.

“He's an alcoholic of fucking course…” Grizzy jokes.

“Honestly it explains like… a lot.” Matt admits.

“Wait, you're not mad we lied?” Pezzy asks, looking around.

“Nah, to be fair it's none of our business.” Puffer admits.

“Yeah, like if you weren't comfy sharing, that's fine.” Smitty agrees.

“Also none of us asked either, soooo.” John says.

“Do you have any embarrassing child Yumi pics?” Matt asks, Yumi immediately glaring at Pezzy.

“Don't you fucking dare.”

—----

Hey dad…

—--

Pezzy’s chilling in Yumi's nest, leaning his head on Yumi's arm. He's still a little shaken up from earlier, but he's also happy that it's all out in the open.

“Mmm. Max.. Why does Droid keep messaging me?” Yumi asks, Pezzy just snickering at that.

“He thinks he needs your blessing or some shit to keep on dating me.”

Yumi frowns. “That's so fucking stupid! As if I am gonna be like ‘oh nah you can't date the only stable father figure I've ever had.’”

Pezzy laughed. “Ah yeah, sorry sweetie, Yumi said ‘no’ to our date.”

Yumi wrinkled his nose. “It's still weird for you to call me my gamer tag when it's just the two of us.”

Pezzy rolled his eyes. “Damn sorry my bad Blake.”

“It's like if I were to turn around and start saying ‘hey dad’......” Yumi said, trailing off.

Pezzy hummed. “Honestly? After everything. I wouldn't care…. I very nearly like… uh nevermind.”

Yumi looked over, confused. “What?”

“It's stupid.”

“So?”

“Okay, I very nearly tried to legally adopt you, so if your mom came back, she wouldn't have a claim to you… but then I realised we needed ID for that… and I didn't have any.”

Yumi sat thinking for a bit, the silence unnerving Pezzy.

“I'm sorry. I know it's weird but...”

“We should do it.” Yumi says.

“What?” Pezzy's jaw drops open.

“Okay okay, hear me out. I know we're both adults, but like… it means I have no attachment to those fucking people anymore. I would kinda like it.” Yumi explains.

“Wait really? You're serious?” Pezzy says.

“Yeah.”

“.... Okay.. I'll think about it… But.. You can not call me daddy. Ever… and also-”

____

“Yo. What the fuck do you mean I'm a father? I didn't think omegas could get betas pregnant? What the fuck?” Droid said, reading his text message out loud.

“I mean, he is transgender…” Puffer pointed out to Droid again.

“First packmate to knock someone up, the award goes to the virgin, of fucking course.” John jokes, making Matt giggle.

“OH MY GOD. NO. I'M SO YOUNG! I'M ALREADY HAVING A PUP? WHAT DO I EVEN DO? I DON'T KNOW WHAT BABIES LIKE? DO THEY LIKE GAMING?” Droid yelped, panicking, Smitty snickering at how Droid was tweaking.

“Crazy that he only told you over text.” Grizzy points out, looking at the phone.

“Hey yeah? What the fuck, Pezzy?” Droid whines, rapidly texting him in protest.

Later that day, Yumi knocks on Droid's door.

“Sup? Do you need anything Yumi?” Droid asks, looking over, away from his ‘how to be a dad’ books.

“Hey there step-pops. Since you're dating Pezzy, that now makes you my new step dad. So. My birthdays coming up, and I was thinking-”

“YO PEZZY. IS YUMI SLASH SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?” Droid yells.

—-

Pezzy paused his explanation to the rest of the boys, hearing Droids yell from the other room.

“YES…. Now as I was saying.” Pezzy continues after he yells back.

“So it's like a symbolic thing?” Matt suggested, Pezzy nodding.

“Yeah. It's like we're our own little family, just like.. more officially now. Legally.”

“That's really sweet… although, you really had me thinking there that I was gonna be an uncle.” Smitty said, Pezzy snorting.

“You wish. I am not raising another fucking pup ever… well. At least not for a while.”

Pezzy relaxed into the company of his pack as the subject then changed multiple times, enjoying the familiar scents and vibes.

Honestly, if you'd told him 14 years ago when he was alone on the street that he would have a family that loved him for who he was, he would have laughed in their face.

But now?

Now he gets it.

Chapter Text

It's 4am and Pezzy can't sleep.

It seems to be a recurring thing for him as of late, bed too empty, emotions too wired.

That's what happens when you decide to up and leave your pack suddenly, he guesses.

He doesn't know… All he knows is he's so tired. Tired and miserable.

Pezzy sighs, hugging his large and fluffy tail to his chest, gently running his fingers through his fur. He can hear John gently snoring nearby, the other man completely shot. Pezzy doesn't want to keep bothering him with his problems, so he'll let John rest.

Ever since… about a week ago, he's been a lot more… on edge. Since he left. Since his friends-

Pezzy shook his head, trying to shake the thought. They didn't really know! How were they supposed to know? It's not like he'd talked that much about his past with them… How would they know that the jokes they make all the time, he secretly panics every time he hears them? That they fill him with dread and make hidden memories surface?

It's probably supposed to be fine for them to joke about it, stuff like this because they don't know! It's not really that deep… But, when it feels like more and more people start to joke about it, Pezzy starts to get overwhelmed. When even strangers start joining in, his chat?

When he tells them to stop… but they don't think he's serious. Just like when he would tell his family to stop… and they wouldn't.

He's just stuck in a repeating loop it seems.

—------

Pezzy had never been insecure about his height until he'd moved in with his packmates, meeting them all together. At the time he was just happy to be away from his family. He remembered stepping out of his car, his ears shooting up with excitement, and then panicking, because he'd never been honest about that part of himself. Droid and Grizzy had side eyed each other, before laughing and also showing off their ears and tails.

Learning that half his pack weren't fully human either, was a special kind of relief for him. He wouldn't have to worry about hiding that part of himself at least, he could let his tail just casually wind around people's legs and not have them care.

Much to his shock when they got around to finally meeting everyone, he was the shortest, which was… okay, but then the subtle and not so subtle stereotyping began.

Grizzy and Puffer were the alphas, large, tall and imposing. Grizzy being a bear hybrid suited him… Despite him then saying he's actually a Mexican Grizzly bear??? Puffer sort of says he's mostly human, and then showing off some gills with a shrug.

Droid was still yet to present gender-wise at all, but the man insisted that he would be an alpha, and that he was a ‘Grey wolf.’ That got shut down immediately when everyone pointed out his more floppy ears, and then he admitted he was a grey mutt, a mix of different breeds.

Matt, Yumi and Rectrixx were Betas. Matt had no obvious hybrid features, until he ran at the wall and proceeded to stick to it, just like the gecko he shared features with. Rectrixx was a polar bear, albeit much more gentle then their reputation gave him credit for. Yumi claimed to be human, until he had a coughing fit, and got seeds everywhere, admitting he was half strawberry, and a snarky; ‘Seriously? I don't know how you didn't realise? I thought I was obvious enough with my channel icon!’

…And then there was John and Smitty, the other two shortest were the packs omegas. Smitty was some type of Arctic fox, although sad about the fact his coat had changed now he lived in America, no longer a fluffy white.

John had shrugged and said it didn't really matter what he was, until he'd reluctantly admitted to being a rosy maple silk moth, adding to his interest in fashion when he could literally use his own silk to create and edit garments. He refused to show off any of his hybrid features however, keeping them hidden under his skin and hair.

Naturally, hearing all the secondary genders from everyone else, meant that when they had turned to Pezzy, they proceeded to wrongly assume he was also an omega, not even asking.

“So, what do you like to nest with?” Smitty had asked casually, tail wagging, Pezzy's eyes widening as he struggled to speak up, panic thrumming through his veins.

‘Please. Not this shit again…’

Finding his voice and holding back a defensive hiss, Pezzy explained. “I just want everyone to know that I'm an alpha as well! Before you all mistake me for anything else!” Pezzy exclaims, looking around and seeing his friends look shocked and surprised.

“Really?” Puffer had asked, raising an eyebrow, as if Pezzy had any doubt in his mind about WHAT he was.

Turning around, he could also see the shadows of doubt on everyone's faces, so he decided to drop the subject, ignoring the giggles echoing in his mind… a memory from a more miserable time.

Ignoring it all. Pushing it down.

Just like he's done his whole life.

—--

“Morning Pezzy… let me know when you wanna get moving, okay? I'm just gonna… keep dozing.” John yawned out, before settling back into the blankets.

Pezzy let out a soft smile, looking at the way John's fluffy pink antennas were poking out from under the sheets. He snorted when John started snoring just as quickly again, deciding to curl up next to him, instincts wanting to purr, but settling for a weird mix of rumble and purr.

_____

“You sure you're not just… coping Pez? No one would blame ya!” Yumi had scoffed, elbowing the shorter one only two days later.

“No.. I, am an alpha.” Pezzy sighed, going to his room.

“Okay, okay! It's all good, I'm kidding!”

-

“My cute little omega, nesting, pookies!” Droid says, Pezzy shooting a glare over at him, from where he's chilling in Smitty's nest.

“I'm still an alpha, even though I'm in here man!” Pezzy exclaims, tail fluffing up, Droid pausing and then nodding, ears drooping.

“Ha-ha… yeah.. I.. I kinda just forgot a little… my bad.” He says sheepishly. “It's harder to remember when you can't scent people yet.”

~

“Pezzy I would dominate you.”

“Huuhhhhh?”

“Puffer?”

~

“I mean, you are kinda omega sized…”

“Okay…. To be fair… maybe y'all are just fucking massive….”

“Hmmm… maybe…”

~

“It's not like you've ever alpha-voiced us… Just saying.”

“What? Since when does an omega wanna be alpha voiced, Smitty?”

“Can be fun in the bedroom, you know?”

“Of.. of fucking course, you'd say that John.”

~

“Your scent’s just… not very… alpha like.. It's really more kinda…sweet.”

“I know Rec.. but like… I like smelling like candy.”

“Oh! I'm not saying that's a bad thing! I totally do like your scent by the way!”

“O-okay.”

~

“UGH, fine I'll go help Smitty.”

“See, what a good little omega you are being… I'm kidding, it's a joke!”

“Sometimes it doesn't feel like it.” Pezzy mumbled, looking over at Matt.

~

“Nah Chat… you don't get it. Pezzy does smell like cola, but cola candy… It's honestly addicting.” Yumi is saying one night on a stream that Pezzy's watching.

Pezzy's eyes flick to the chat, groaning at all the messages;

‘Pezzy omega confirmed?!’

‘What's Pezzy like in his heats?’

‘Who else is an omega in your pack @Yumi’

‘Pezzy my meow meow omega husband!’

‘honestly, we been knew’

~

At least the stuff his friends would say was still miles better than the things other people would say. His chat following Yumi's stream was particularly bad;

“Hey chat, today I'm going to be speed running-”

*ANON DONATED $25: PEZZY WHAT ARE YOUR TIPS FOR DEALING WITH YOUR HEATS?*

“Well Chat. I don't have any that you couldn't already find on google, Ha-ha. So..”

~

*ANON DONATED $30: What is it like being an Omega in a pack house with multiple alphas?*

“You guys are aware that Smitty is live, and has literally talked about that right?”

~

*ANON DONATED $20: okay bitch shut up and get on my knot you omega whore*

“Okay chat, TTS is going off, because some of you can't fucking keep your mouths shut. Thanks for the money though, asshole.”

~

Not to mention the things that strangers and even his familywould say, only going off his height and scent, then playing it off as a ‘joke.’
~

“Come over here omega! I know you're into me!! You're kinda pint sized, aren't you?”

“What?”

“It's just a joke man. Lighten up.”

“Yeah, get over it man.”

~

“Maybe we'd treat you more like an alpha if you acted like an alpha.”

“Thanks guys.. you're meant to be my fucking siblings, not assholes.”

“Come on Pezzy lighten up, how are you gonna get an alpha talking that much smack all the time?”

~

“Oooh. You remember Devin, the Rugby captain? He's the alpha of his own pack now, I remember him asking about you the other day… maybe you should give him a call?”

“Jeez. Thanks mom, I love your support, as always. I don't need an alpha though.”

~

“Are you in heat? Because my heart is melting for you…”

“Dude? No? Fuck off?”

“Someone get this omegas alpha! He's getting cranky.”

—----

Pezzy was 18 and he was out to prove that he didn't have to follow his parents' stupid rules anymore. They'd been so protective of him his whole life, he just wanted to go to one party! Maybe make some friends… that would be nice. Do things like a normal kid!

Just because he was born the runt of the litter. The smallest.

Sneaking into the building, he was soon passed a drink, which quickly turned into a second, and then another, and suddenly his limbs were like concrete.

He's now cornered by the captain of the rugby team, Devin, the taller man scenting him and leaning in with predatory eyes, making Pezzy tremble in fear. He didn't like the cold look in the bigger man's eyes.

“I've seen how you look at me… we both know someone as sensitive and petite as you, has no place being an alpha. Someone with a scent that… sweet should learn their place, I think.”

“P-please, Devin… lemme gooo.” Pezzy had slurred, the man clicking his fingers in amusement, before covering his mouth with a cloth.

“Breath deeply whore. When you wake up, you won't have a say in what you want anymore.”

~

No one at the party had helped him, even when he screamed for what felt like hours.

~

It had taken Pezzy nearly five years to finally undo the hormonal damage to his body, the doctors initially sceptical that he would ever be able to be classified as an alpha again.

Five years of using drugs he shouldn't have to, all because some dickhead who walked free felt like screwing over his life, just… because he could.

Now, everytime someone calls him an omega, there's a large chance he's mentally back there, pinned to the floor again, vision hazy as his senses are flooded and ruined.

His family would never understand! His friends wouldn't get it! No one would.

It would end up becoming even more of a ongoing fucking joke probably. “Pezzy's such a shit excuse for an alpha he practically got turned into an omega already!”

~
When he moves away from his family, to another state, to live with some online friends, he thinks it will be different. And it is… Mostly.

He doesn't understand how none of them see how hurt he gets when they joke about his secondary gender. How he deflects or goes quiet.

He's not used to even having friends in the first place, so he has no idea how to ask them to stop! He tries, but people just laugh, as if he's telling them another joke! He feels trapped again, every joke wearing away at his already minimal confidence.

~

The breaking point for Pezzy hits him out of nowhere.

It all comes to a head one night at another stupid fucking party, because of course it does.

Pezzy is doing…. Alright.. all things considered. He's nervous, really not wanting to be here at all, but he knows that he needs to stay for at least an hour, to not look suspicious to other people. He honestly wanted to leave before he even got there. It's far too loud for him, far too many shitty people, but he's part of Yumi's pack, so he's gotta deal with all of these people. For him…

But yeah… It was bearable, until Pezzy overheard some drunk people nearby, talking with some of his pack mates, his ears catching onto something, which made him pay a lot more attention.

“Nothing wrong with like.. uh.. omegas playing hard to get.” Puffer jokes, the rest of the group nodding and laughing. “Like.. it's kinda fun… in a way… It can kinda humble you…”

“God knows you need to be humbled with that fucking ego of yours, bro!” Yumi laughs, making the others cheer.

“Speaking of Omegas that are playing hard to get, what about that real kinda stubborn one in your pack, Gizzard… Uh.. Grizzy?”

“What do you mean John? He's actually not the stubborn one.. Now, Smi-”

“No, No, not them… I'm talking like… the really fucking short one who keeps lying out his ass. What's his face…? Pezzo, Pezzy? When’s he finally gonna submit to you big guys here, eh?”

“P-Pezzy? But he claims that he's an alpha?” Puffer drunkenly replies sounding a little confused, Pezzy's eyes flashing with hurt at the fact one of his packmates is even entertaining the idea.

I claim? What the fuck? I AM AN ALPHA. WHAT DO I GOTTA DO? TATTOO IT ON MY FOREHEAD?

“-is crazy. Are you sure though?” one of the strangers says, Puffer just pausing for a second before shrugging.

Another guy, skinny, with red hair speaks up; “I honestly reckon he's just one of those omegas trying to play hard to get. You really need to wear them down…”

Pezzy finds himself hissing quietly, his usually well hidden tail fluffing up at the complete fucking audacity of these pricks!

“Who's wearing what? What are you wearing?” Matt asks, almost sleepily, before conking back out on Puffer’s chest.

“Damn, he's eepy.” Yumi jokes, fluffing up Matt's hair.

The first guy spoke again. “Nah, but back to Pazzo. Once he's broken in… probably after his first heat he spends with y'all, he'll be begging you to fill him with pups. All omegas are the same, trust me!”

“Yeah, your advice? That's probably why you're still single and alone over there, buddy.” John's monotone voice says from the side of the group, making the alpha growl back at him in anger, Pezzy too busy spiralling.

“Okay uh… If he doesn't want to come out, I'm not gonna force him out.” Puffer frowns, crossing his arms. Grizzy nodded in agreement.

“I mean, I just hope he's comfortable enough to… like, be honest with us! We've caught him nes-” Grizzy’s voice fading to static as Pezzy's tail wrapped around his leg to comfort himself, eyes tearing up.

“Okay, so. P-Puffer is it?? Now I want you… to like.. just imagine a pup that's the mix of the two of you-”

Pezzy's eyes widened as the group laughed.

“God that kid would have the worst sleep cycle ever if it was a mix of me and Pezzy.” Grizzy snorted drunkenly.

Puffer thought before laughing. “Maybe a mix of ours would end up being close to normal size then…”

“God, imagine the Yumi and Puffer kid though..” Grizzy adds in.

Puffer scoffed. “That kid is not making it past 5, he would fight a fucking rabid coyote and die. No anger management.”

“Okay, back to Pezzly, so here's how you-”

“How about we not listen to your shit advice and you fuck off?” John snapped, making some people boo him.

“Nah, nah, so what you gotta do is-”

Pezzy stormed away when the fucking idiot didnt get the hint, from John, and knew he needed to keep walking. He needed to get out, to go past the bar, past the door, out the hall, into the Street, and never come back.

He needs to run. He’s not safe here.

They're apparently just like the others, even fucking humouring them! Why didn't they shut it down and defend him? Did they not respect him enough? Is he that much of a joke?

Why the fuck did he even try this shit again?

Bumping into someone, as he's rushing away, he mutters an apology out, speeding up and throwing the door open. The rain made him sigh, his half cat nature honestly disgusted at the weather, but it didn't deter him. He needed to get away.

“Hey, wait! Pezzy, is that you?” someone calls, as he walks away, not even turning around to see who it is.

He hears wet squishy noises as the person seemingly gives chase, so Pezzy starts running, not wanting to talk to anyone.

“Pezzy! Please! Slow down! Are you okay?” the voice (John's voice) follows him through the dark car park.

“Please, Pezzy.”

John's begging him to slow down, chasing him through the rain, his body heaving in breaths of air as Pezzy sighs and pauses under a bus station for shelter.

“Go away.” Pezzy snaps at the moth hybrid, wiping his face, sighing at how damp his ears were. Ew.. too much water.

“Dude, please, tell me. What's wrong?” John practically pleaded, his usually hidden antenna almost flat against his face with moisture, ignored as all his attention was on Pezzy.

“I…” Pezzy hesitates, cutting himself off, bringing his tail to his chest. “I don't…”

John sighed, his eyes“You practically crashed into me, you looked so… disgusted… when you saw me.. I needed to check on you.” John admitted, watching the rain drip.

“I… It's not you… but… I dont know… You'll just fucking laugh, because its totally stupid.”

“If it's upset you this much, then it's probably not stupid.” John replies, prying his fluffy antenna off his head carefully.

Pezzy bites his lip, fisting his tail fur. “Y-you promise not to laugh?”

John's eyes were wide, as he shook his head vehemently. “No. I won't. I promise..”

Pezzy sighed in relief, dropping his tail. “Okay. I guess… I.”

John quickly interrupts him with a hand on his shoulder. “Although, if you don't want to talk, or you're not ready too.. don't push yourself, okay? It's your choice.”

“Okay.” Pezzy says again, this time more softly, shuffling over and leaning on John as they both watch the rain fall for a little bit.

John sighs, blowing a piece of hair out of his eyes before he starts ranting quietly. “I just wanted to add, who the fuck even invited some of those guys? Surely it wasn't Yumi? Like, the shit they were saying… even some of the stuff our pack was saying. That was so fucking wrong… Who knows what they were drinking to be honest… I tried to downplay it, change the subject, but people kept sending me glances as if I was the one ruining the vibe. God forbid that I, an omega, complain about an alphas jokes regarding how he picks up omegas.” John said, Pezzy pausing to consider the words, nodding in agreement.

John continued, accidentally puffing up his cheeks, making fluffy wings pop out near his ears as his camouflage slipped from his emotions. “It's so fucking dumb! Whatever. One of the perks of being made the back-up designated driver, is the fact that I haven't been drinking tonight… so I could tell that you were uncomfortable, immediately when they brought up your name especially… Not that anyone else could. I also noticed when you started suppressing your emotions through the pack-bond link. I just wanted to ask, well… I wanted to check on you. Please, Pezzy. Don't shut me out. I'm here for you.” He begged, Pezzy's resolve faltering at that, seeing someone actually care so deeply for his well-being.

“I…” Pezzy's eyes were watering again, hands clenched in fists, as he looked away, tail swishing. “Basically, I don't like it when people joke about me… being an Omega. It makes me really uncomfortable. Like… it's bad…”

“Okay. That's fair enough. Thank you.” John nodded, turning back to look at the newly forming puddles, eyes narrowing at the water flowing into them.

Pezzy was surprised at John's response, looking over at him. “Are you not going to… like… ask me why?”

John's eyes shifted and looked over at the shorter man, studying the way Pezzy's ears were folded back. “No… I wasn't going to, honestly. If you want to tell me, I'll listen without judgement, but, I'm also not going to be like.. prying the information out of you. That's your choice if you wanna share it…”

Pezzy sniffled, wiping his eyes, tail hugging himself. “Okay… okay..”

John pulled the car keys out of his pocket, wrapping two of hisbarms around Pezzy, while one of his others checked his phone quickly.. “Mmm. Okay. How about I drive you home? The rest of them can all get an Uber home or something, for all I care. Right now, I'm focused on you. Let's get you somewhere safe.” John says, brushing his hair with his fingers to hide his hybrid features.

The second the rain shower stops, they're walking over to definitely-not-John's car, both of them getting in and doing their seatbelts up. When they're both ready to go, Pezzy finally says; “When I was 18… I was dumb enough to go to a different party.”

John just nods, acknowledging he's listening, but not replying, not wanting to ruin Pezzy's flow, offering one of his hands to Pezzy to hold, keeping the other three on the wheel.

Pezzy just stares blankly out the front window. “The alphas there… They were also convinced I was an omega. They wanted to ‘prove it’ in a way… They drugged me so I couldn't fight back, and then they….” Pezzy swallowed, making a hand gesture.

“Whatever they gave me that night… I don't know what it was, but it really messed with my hormones. The doctor's ran some tests after, saying that I now more fitted the classification of a beta after that night… It took years of steroids and other hormone therapy to correct the damage back to normal… ish… levels. Not that my parents ever fucking helped… anyway. Now, I'm very low on alpha hormones.. they're so fucking diluted that I don't even have ruts anymore, my alpha voice is practically non functioning, but it's still who I am. I like being an alpha. Even a shitty, half broken excuse of one.” Pezzy explained with a shrug, still holding John's hand.

John nodded again thinking back a little. “It explains how… when people would make jokes about your secondary gender… It explains why that would really upset you. You fought so hard to get that part of your identity back, but then everyone constantly disrespects you in a way. I kinda get… that…” He finished quietly, Pezzy nodding a little, glad that someone was taking him seriously.

“Y-yeah. I didn't suffer days and weeks of horrible migraines, dizziness and nausea, just to listen to the people who I call family, both biological and not, make the same jokes that hurt me over and over. Maybe I.. I should have spoken up more?” Pezzy says weakly, wiping his eyes.

John shakes his head a little. “I don't think so… But I don't know for sure… In my mind. If someone says they're uncomfortable with you saying or doing something, and you're really close with them, that should be enough to get you to stop. Maybe a second reminder if you can tell they're trying but they slipped up?”

Pezzy nods, smiling a little. “Thank you for… getting it. I felt like I'm going crazy… like.. maybe I need to just suck it up?”

John frowned as he turned the car into their driveway, switching the engine off. He looks at his three hands on the wheel as he starts to speak quietly.

“A while ago.. before we all became pack.. I went to a few other people, mostly irls, but people who I considered good friends at the time, and mentioned that I thought I may be like… nonbinary or something. They seemed cool with it, so I asked them to like.. mix up the pronouns they would use for me….” John said quietly, hands slowly falling into his lap as he turned to Pezzy.

“Did they?” Pezzy asked, curiously.

John chuckled. “Hmm, let's see…. Well, some of them just, straight up, didn't even bother. A couple stopped after a day or two, a few after a week or so… I tried to remind them in subtle ways, but they would get angry, as if I asked them to run a marathon? The only one who actually kept their word was Smitty. All I'm saying is, if people love you, they will listen to you and change. If they don't… then you'll be able to tell soon enough exactly how they feel about you. There's no point wasting your time with those people, if they're not willing to change for you…. Obviously within reason however…”

Pezzy stays quiet, following John inside, listening still. John goes to the cupboard, and pulls out two towels, chucking one at Pezzy, who immediately starts getting the copious moisture out of his fur, John just toweling his hair dry. Shaking his hair out, John focuses on getting his hybrid features back under control, before he turns to Pezzy, helping with his hair.

“I think what you need to do with everyone is to sit them all down and have a serious conversation about your boundaries. Say. ‘This is a hard boundary for me, and I will not tolerate being called an omega, even as a joke.’ Then you know everyone's for sure on the same page.” he suggests, pulling back with the towel, then looking over.

Pezzy's breathing picked up at that thought, still high on adrenaline from earlier. “What..? You mean… I should say all of… that and then when they demand a reason, I have to admit that I was weak enough to allow that all to happen in the first place? And not expect anyone to laugh? Oh sure. That sounds great….”

John gently touched him to get his attention, pulling his hands away from where he was fisting his own tail. “Pezzy, you were assaulted. No one in the pack would joke about that, or anything to do with it. They would understand.” John said, eyes wide at how much Pezzy had lashed out.

Pezzy shook his head, frowning, his tail lashing back and forth now. “No… No. I just… can't trust them to not joke about it anymore, John. I'm too fucking scared to even confront them, because if they were to laugh, I would want to kill myself. I… I think… I'm… I'm gonna leave. Yeah… I'm gonna leave this pack. I need to just go and do my own thing again, fuck streaming, fuck YouTube, at least no one will fucking misgender me anymore… That's all I want.”

“Wow, let's just….hold up a second? Why do you need to leave? Maybe not…? Let's talk about it some more…” John yelped, eyes widening as he watched as Pezzy dashed past him, to his own room. The moth hybrid scrambled to follow, hybrid features immediately showing, proving how worried he was.

“I can't… I need them to know how serious I am… At the very least, I need a break, to think about what I want. A fucking long one…” Pezzy mumbled, pulling out his suitcase, looking around his room. Walking over to his chest of drawers, he started throwing stuff over.

John gnawed his lip, watching Pezzy moving back and forth before he schooled his face into one more calm. “Then I'm coming with you.” he says, now with a determined look on his face.

Pezzy smiled sadly, shaking his head. “No... You can't…. I couldn't just…. take you away from Smitty, from the pack… like that! We all know you two are… more than just…” Pezzy trailed off, John just raising an eyebrow at him, before his wings burst through the back of his shirt, fluffing up with his burst of emotion.

“Pezzy, with all due respect, you may be one of my alphas, but I'm not fucking listening to that shit. I'm coming along with you, to make sure you're safe and that you have company. You shouldn't be alone, especially when you're dealing with shitty memories..” The omega said firmly, crossing his arms and standing strong. Pezzy was shocked at John's expression, and his wings, knowing how much the older man hated showing them.

“I… You shouldn't… but.. I can't.. what about…” Pezzy kept trailing off, eyes welling up with tears as John's expression softened, gently cupping Pezzy's cheek.

“If you're worried about Smitty… he has Matt and the pack, he'll be okay. Who do you have?” John asked, stroking the skin on Pezzy's face.

“I…” Pezzy was almost convinced, and John knew it, resorting to low blows.

“Please, alpha. Give me five minutes to pack a bag…” He said, eyes wide.

Pezzy groaned, rolling his eyes. “Okay okay, fine. Be quick though…”

John smiled wide. “Yippee! Okay so, I would offer to drive again, but we both know I don't have a license, and I was totally bullshitting before, just to get you back here, out of the rain.”

Pezzy snorted, his face still wet as he got back to packing. “I fucking knew something was up with that… go hurry up now…”

-

They leave soon after that, John not wanting to ruin Smitty's night, sends him an email that he knows Smitty will see sometime the next day, saying he's going on a road trip with Pezzy, and it's urgent, but not to worry, they're both safe and well

-

Matt wakes up the next day, and he knows immediately that something is.. off. He feels wrong. Like there's somehow a hole in him.

He doesn't understand why, though? He didn't even drink that much, just a few shots and then he passed out on Puffer!

Matt doesn't understand the feeling, until he goes towards the mirror, squinting as he's looking at his reflection, then gasping in shock, at something which is noticeably different.

“UH… GUYS? CAN YOU ALL COME HERE? I'M REALLY GONNA NEED Y'ALL TO SEE THIS.” he yells, practically shrieking.

“It's too fucking early for this…” Grizzy’s groan calls back, almost sounding like a roar.

“Nah.. this is beyond, fucking urgent.” Matt yells back, panicked, gently touching the fading mark around his patterned skin.

Matt wraps a towel around himself as his packmates quickly filter in, most of them looking just as tired as he feels.

“Huh.. Where's… John at?” Smitty asks, the fox hybrid quickly looking around at the missing faces.

“Where's Pezzy too?” Droid asks, just as confused, looking around, tail slowing down.

Matt shudders a little, as the coolness in the air gets to his skin. God. He needs to sun-bake for an hour after this. “I think they're gone.”

“Uhhh. What do you mean… gone?” Puffer asks with a confused look, rubbing where his gills sat.

Matt drops the towel, showing the others what he's talking about, faded scars shown in between his leopard gecko patterning. “I mean it as I say it. They're fucking gone.”

“Holy fucking shit.” Yumi swears, looking at all of Matt's marks.

The pack takes in all the claim bites littered on Matt's body, in and around his patterning.

A healthy bond mark scar is usually darkened pink, but healed nice and flat.

Matt's marks were mostly healthy, but one was noticebly a lot paler than the rest, another almost now completely faded white. “This one right here, this mark, that's John's.” Matt says, pointing to the slightly faded one, “This one over here… this white and faded one… is Pezzy's.” he whispers quietly, almost in disbelief.

“He’s rejecting your bond?” Puffer exclaims in horror, Grizzy quickly shucking his own shirt off, everyone gasping at the change on his scars as well, as his ears droop.

It's the same.

Everyone's suddenly quick to check their own bodies, Droid whimpering like a pup when he sees the faded marks, tail between his legs, Smitty also wailing, seeing John's bond a paler pink, his heart panging in shock, tail fluffing up in distress.

“What… what happened?” Matt asks, looking around for answers, eyes swivelling around the room.

“I don't.. I don't fucking know!” Smitty basically sniffles, trying to call John, phone going to voicemail. The scent of sour milk quickly spread in the room.

“Did…Did anyone see them leave the party last night?” Yumi asks, holding his head in pain, skin shifting to look more plant-like from his emotions.

Everyone thinks back to the night before, everyone slowly shaking their head.

“Well.. I remember Pezzy and John being there… I don't really know what happened to them though. I was catching up with Soup, then Puffer’s chest was comfy.” Matt shrugs.

“I was helping Smitty stand while he was getting some fresh air out the back I'm pretty sure.” Rectrixx shrugs.

“Something must have happened at the party.. surely.” Droid says almost desperately, tail showing just how nervous he is. “Did uh… anyone weird like… seduce them? I don't know… I think I passed out in the bathroom.”

“What, you think someone just came over and… pack stole them? Just out of nowhere?” Puffer protests, Droid shrugging, his ears going back in defence.

“Dude, I don't know what to fucking think right now! I can't scent anyone because I haven't presented, I also can't read emotions through the bonds, like you guys can! I'm literally fucking useless!” Droid whined, before a thought occurred to him, glare falling on his face “I can't… but you guys can. You all should have been able to tell if something was fucking happening though!” He protests, head whipping around as everyone awkwardly shrugs. “Seriously? What's the fucking point, of being in a pack then, if none of you can even pay attention to someone getting upset?!” he yells, eyes filling with tears as he stomps away, noticeably upset.

“Let's… give him some space.” Rectrixx suggests quietly, everyone nodding, also on edge.

“Oh…. John sent me an email… last night.” Smitty says quietly, making them all look at him, curiously.

“What's it say?” Grizzy asks, crossing his arms.

Smitty sighs as he rereads the note. “Uh… Something came up, and he's going on a road trip with Pezzy for a while, to keep him company. They want some space, but they're both safe. So basically, don't call them…” He finishes up, biting his lip as he scratches his arm. Matt shuffles next to him, letting him lean on the older, Smitty's tail looping around Matt's leg.

“Well. That doesn't fucking explain anything to us!” Puffer groaned, throwing his hands up. “Maybe we should get Smitty to call John..?”

“No. That's not a good idea. We don't want John getting mad at the only person he's communicating with.” Rectrixx said, making Puffer deflate.

Smitty whined in distress, before putting his phone away, ears down. “I need to go.. fucking nest or something. Everyone's allowed to join if they want, okay?”

~~~~

They've been travelling around to different places, going and seeing the local sights of various towns, doing basically anything to distract Pezzy from thinking and making a decision about his pack.

They take silly pictures, they sleep in dingy motels, they eat food of various qualities, and after a while, Pezzy can feel himself finally begin to relax.

John buys a couple stupid fucking meme shirt that reads ‘I love my alpha —-->’ with big text, making sure to always wrap his arm around Pezzy in public, and as a result he hasn't been misgendered the whole trip.

They're running out of ideas, so John did some quick research, seeing if there was something Pezzy had offhandedly mentioned wanting to see. Within five minutes he'd put his phone down, and had then suggested to Pezzy that they could go north and maybe see the northern lights? Pezzy’s eyes had shone in excitement at the chance, practically bouncing up and down. It was something he'd really always wanted to see, and he was just excited at the prospect of seeing them.

John had then pointed out in a more soft voice, that they would probably need to stop back at the pack home, to grab more practical supplies. They hadn't exactly packed heavily insulated jackets when they left quickly a few weeks ago. Pezzy had hesitated, but his excitement at being able to possibly see an aurora in person had made it easy enough to convince him.

Which led them to this dilemma. How to sneak back inside the pack house, with as little drama as possible….

John had offered to go inside, to basically claim he stopped by to grab some stuff for his heat, and then if further questioned, say he was still busy keeping an eye on Pezzy. It wasn't even a lie, Pezzy just really didn't wanna see any of the others yet.

~~~~

John got Pezzy to park halfway down the street, so they would draw slightly less attention to themselves out the front of the house. Walking up to the house casually, he unlocked the door, slipping inside with a sigh.

It was… quiet. Oddly quiet.

John was immediately confused. Normally people would be streaming at the current time… At least someone would be yelling or talking loudly. Noise would normally be emanating around the house… but…

Nothing.

John's confused and also slightly concerned now. As much as he's trying to pretend to be more detached about it with Pezzy, he still loves his pack dearly.

Creeping upstairs, he goes to Smitty's room, opening the door to check on him first.

It's empty.

It's obviously still lived in, but it's like he's just gone out for some reason… Maybe to go eat?

Flicking through the next few rooms, Matt, Yumi, Grizzy, Puffer, Rectrixx….

All empty as well.

Shrugging, he gets to work grabbing a new suitcase, shoving some warmer clothes inside, first for himself, then some for Pezzy. As he leaves Pezzy's room, he takes notice of Droid's door, also shut.

Shrugging, because it can't hurt to look, he opens the door, jolting in shock when it's not empty like the others.

John takes a step forward, gently speaking, not wanting to spook the other. “D-droid? Hey…”

Droid's currently laying in the middle of the bed, knees drawn up to his chest, arms wrapped tightly around himself. Hearing John's voice, his ear flicks, before looking over at him.

John sucks in a breath at how bad Droid looks. His eyes are red, as if he's been crying a lot, dark bags under his eyes, hair greasy, noticeably thinner as well as the fur on his tail being matted.

Dropping the bag he's carrying in the doorway, John dashes up to the younger, who whines almost needily at the sight of the older omega. He's pulled into a hug by John, who's now gently holding him, Droid just shaking as he cries again.

“I'm. S-Sorry.” Droid whimpers, much like a pup, John just soothing him, quickly texting Pezzy that he'd be a few minutes longer.

Pulling away, John bites his lip, eyeing his upset packmate. He can't just… leave Droid. Like this…

What, am I just going to… bring him with us?

Looking at the way Droid looked over at him nervously, biting his own knuckle with clear hesitation and wide eyes, John made the decision for both of them.

“Hey, how would you like to come see the Northern lights with Pezzy and I?” John asked him quietly, Droid's ears going up and eyes widening at the mention of the shorter alpha.

“P-pezzy? He's okay? I..” Droid's eyes start watering again, ears going back down. “I.. I miss him… But he.. I don't think he misses me…”

“Shhh… it's okay…” John says, soothing the other again, scratching his ears. “I'm sure he does miss you.”

John then slowly helps Droid to his feet, before ushering him into the bathroom. He proceeds to run a warm bath, stripping his packmate before getting the other inside and under the water, before turning back to the door.

“I'm going to go pack some stuff for you okay? Do you think you can wash your hair and fur by yourself, or will you need help?” John asks, kneeling next to the bath.

Droid looks at the ground, ashamed. “Could you help me… please?”

John stands up, nodding. “Okay, let's do that first, then I'll leave you to enjoy the water okay… now, close your eyes.”

John gently shampoos and conditions Droid's hair and ears, letting the younger handle his tail. He also managed to do it without getting too much water on himself, and minimal soap in eyes.

“Okay, I'll be right back.” John says, trying his hands off.

Walking back to Droid's room, He quickly rummages around the cupboard for a second suitcase, packing clothes for Droid, chucking his heavier jacket in as well. He carefully wheels the suitcases to the front door, before grabbing a piece of paper, leaving a note for the pack.

He doesn't need the others to worry about Droid being missing, so he writes that he's taken Droid with them on a trip, because Droid's obviously missing Pezzy to the point of making himself sick, and after the trip, he's hoping for Pezzy's reconciliation with the pack. He adds that they're safe, and doing a lot of healing, just to keep the others off their back a little bit longer.

Going back upstairs, he helps Droid out of the tub and then helps him dry off, before getting him into some fresh, yet still comfy clothes. Droid goes to lie back down on his bed again, and as he brushes past John, his scent finally hits John.

Droid used to have a more pup-like scent, having not presented, his hybrid traits made him smell kind of like a wet dog, but now that smell is gone, even after the bath. Now he smells like Mangoes.

Oh. The scent change. The attempt at nesting. The submissive behaviour.

Somehow, in the time they've been gone, Droid's started presenting as an omega.

Droid, who was very close to Pezzy.

Now, on a subconscious level, he probably feels rejected by what his brain is labelling as ‘his alpha’, and it's all getting a bit much for him.

“No.. we're not going to be doing that, okay?” John says gently, intercepting Droid, instead, carefully placing a blanket over his shoulders.

“Hmmm?” Droid says, now kind of floaty and unaware of what was happening.

“What about you, come with me? I'll help you feel better, okay? I know where your alpha is.” John says, making Droid's slightly foggy eyes light up at that, ears shooting up.

“Okay.” he nods, allowing John to lead him downstairs, tail between his legs.

It's a bit of a struggle for him to get a cuddly omega and two full suitcases to where Pezzy had parked, but John by some miracle does it. He carefully wraps his fingers on the trunk of the car, getting Pezzy to pop it open, then putting the luggage in, squeezing it next to the bags already there.

“Just wait here a second, okay? I'm going to go and get your alpha.” John says, Droid nodding passively, just staring out at the houses around them.

Pezzy looks over as John walks towards the front of the car, eyes seeing movement, rolling down the windows as John kneels next to it.

“You're back. I thought they weren't gonna let you leave for a second.” Pezzy jokes casually, making John half smile.

“We… We have a small problem.” John says quietly, not wanting to upset Pezzy.

Pezzy's brows furrow. “A… problem..?”

John nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “He's.. out here.. if you wanna come say hi.”

Pezzy glared back at John, ears going back, a hiss rising into his throat. “John. I thought we had a deal?”

John shook his head, even letting his antenna out, showing how alarmed he was. “I know… but.. I promise… it's not like that… but…”

“But what?” Pezzy replied, raising an eyebrow.

John sighed, in exasperation, antenna drooping. “I think you'll understand when you see him, Pez. We can't leave him there. He's gonna just get sicker.”

“Sicker? Why would you bring someone sick?” Pezzy said in confusion, gesturing to John to back away from the door.

Pezzy jumped out of the car after that, looking around, eyes then locking on to the blanket covered figure who is now shivering near the back of the vehicle, tail between his legs.

“Droid..?” he said quietly, Droid looking over, eyes widening as he saw the other.

“A-alpha..?” he whispered, Pezzy jolting at that, taking a hesitant step forward.

“Wait, does he mean…?” Pezzy turned to John who nodded.

“Yes.. he means you.” John whispered back to Pezzy.

Pezzy sucked in a breath, walking up to Droid, scenting him and immediately catching on to the new scent, and what was happening.

“Oh…Droid… baby… I'm sorry. I never would have left you, if I knew you were going to present while I was gone… I'm so sorry. I promise I wasn't rejecting you.” Pezzy says, pulling Droid down into a hug, tail winding around the younger’s leg as he starts shaking and tearing up.

Droid's tears dropped on Pezzy's hair. “I… I felt so hollow… I felt like part of me was just gone… Everyone else felt bad too… but… they at least knew what your scent was, they could feel your emotions… I had nothing! It just got worse and worse. They all started pack therapy, but I couldn't even get out of bed.. I didnt wanna go.. just in case you came back… So I could beg you to stay... I..” Droid sniffed, Pezzy just nuzzling him, a soft rumble in his throat.

“It's gonna be okay, you're going to be okay. I'm not gonna leave you now.” he whispered, Droid's scent lifting up a little, Pezzy's tail wrapping around his waist now.

John took in and noticed how hard Droid's grey tail was wagging now, making him smile softly at the pair who were staring into each other's eyes.

“Okay, I'm gonna drive us to the motel, because I doubt we're gonna be leaving today now, so y'all can like… cuddle in the back seat, but one of you gotta drive tomorrow… okay? Let's head out.” John says, helping Pezzy get Droid into the back seat.

As he settles into the driver's seat, he looks into the back, noticing how Pezzy's sitting in the middle, being hugged by Droid, who's displaying some real golden retriever energy, scenting the alpha furiously, making little, soft purring noises. Pezzy's smiling as well, with a softer look than anything John's seen this month while they've been away.

Eyeing Droid one last time, John's taken aback by how maternal he's feeling towards the younger omega, his own omega wanting to protect the younger, take care of him. Something about the pup being so innocent and new to all this. He pushes that away for now, focusing on looking like he knows how to drive… He's good at pretending.

~~~~

They proceed to take their time driving north, not wanting to get too tired out with all the driving. Droid really comes out of his shell after a couple days, almost back to normal with his attitude and banter, much to the other two's relief.

John lets Pezzy talk to Droid about why they left, by himself, however, wanting to give them space to work through the conversation, just in case it went poorly.

~~~~

“I… I just wanted to explain why I left… because it was my decision… John only came along so I wouldn't be alone.” Pezzy says, from next to Droid on the King sized bed they're sharing, the younger humming in acknowledgement.

“Mmmm. Okay…” Droid replies nervously, eyeing Pezzy. “It… it wasn't because of me… presenting…r-right?”

Pezzy looks over in alarm, shaking his head. “No? Of course not! I promise…” he says softly, making Droid relax. Looking back at the ceiling, Pezzy kept speaking quietly. “When I was younger, I got drugged and… sexually assaulted by some alphas… The combination of the drugs and the trauma… resulted in my body not really able to make alpha hormones anymore…”

Droid sat up, looking at Pezzy with wide eyes. “P-pezzy? Holy shit? I-”

“Please. I need to say it, or I won't finish… is that okay?” Pezzy says, putting a hand on Droid's shoulder.

Droid nodded, instead sliding down, tucking his head under Pezzy's, pressing himself against the shorter, ears tickling slightly.

Pezzy felt himself blush a little before he continued. “It took a lot of trial and error, but after many…many… different medications, my body finally started to produce the hormones again but..” Pezzy breathed in slowly. “I know people think I use suppressants, but I can't have ruts anymore, because my body just can't produce the hormones anymore… I can't even use my alpha voice either… My family kept saying I should just give up, stop trying to be an alpha, when everything the world's thrown at me is insisting I shouldn't be one. I know I'm a broken alpha, but I'm still an alpha! Whenever people misgender me, even as a joke, I just… I have some flashbacks. The occasional joke is to be expected… but I just felt like everyone was making them more often… then I heard people at Yumi's party speculating about me… I just. I had enough. I needed to get out of there. That's why I left.” Pezzy says, voice getting quieter as he keeps speaking.

Droid whined, scenting the older a bit, trying to comfort him. “I'm sorry. I know I've made a joke or two myself in the past… but I did stop after you told me too. Also because it didn't seem right…. In a way. Maybe my body subconsciously knew that it wanted you to be my alpha, so that meant I never saw you as anything other than one.” he said into the alphas chest, Pezzy's scent relaxing, as his tail loosely linked itself with Droid's. “I'm not mad you left… it was just… hard. Part of my brain insisted it must have been me, and then I was suddenly presenting and…. The others tried to help, they really did, and I mean, they did a little, but my inner omega was bitter, because it felt like they should have known something was up, through the bond. By the time I could finally scent properly, your scent had mostly faded from the house, so I was just… devastated. They started to do pack therapy… but the thought of leaving the house scared me. The first couple times they went, someone would stay home with me…this time however, I insisted that they all go, basically the day you guys came by… because I knew they really needed it… It's just not the same without either of you.” Droid admitted, Pezzy quietly rumbling to comfort him.

“Once we're done here… maybe.. maybe we can figure something out.” Pezzy said quietly, making Droid nod into his chest.

~~~

The northern lights are… stunning.

They get lucky, both nights they're in the area, they get to see the brilliant shades of blue and green, leaving Pezzy and Droid speechless. John takes a photo of the two of them, with the lights in the background, which they both set as their phone wallpaper.

They have their first kiss under the lights in the sky too.

The drive back is uneventful, thankfully. Droid keeps calling shotgun when Pezzy's driving, so he can stick his head out the window, ears blowing in the wind as John watches in amusement from the back.

When they get back into town, Pezzy suggests they stay at an air bnb for a while, not really wanting to jump right back into living with the others yet. John finally calls Smitty, nearly going deaf from how hyped up Smitty is to finally hear John's voice.

After they catch up, John asks when their next therapy session is, as a pack, and would the therapist be a mediator?

Smitty happily gives them the time, date and address, and then the event is set.

It… It's a little rough at first.

The pack was super excited to see the three, Droid just as happy to see everyone as well, but Pezzy and even John to some degree were a little withdrawn. Pezzy almost seemed to be running on autopilot before the session started, not wanting to talk about everything, until a neutral party was there.

“I don't like it when you guys make jokes about my secondary gender.” Pezzy says, eyes flicking towards them, and then back down at the ground. “Like.. I really fucking hate it.

“Okay….?” Yumi replies, confused, looking around at the others.

“Like… all of the jokes?” Grizzy asks, seeking clarification.

Pezzy nods, crossing his arms. “All of them. The jokes about my size, my lack of alpha behaviour, the speculation on me lying about what I am… all of them. They need to stop, or I'm not coming back.”

“Uhhh. Sure. Consider it done.” Puffer replies, still confused at why Pezzy was asking that.

“Is it possible for you to explain a little more to your… pack… why you don't like those jokes perhaps? They clearly want to understand you. It might help them understand how you feel a bit more clearly.” the therapist suggests.

Pezzy freezes in fear, biting his lip, looking down at the ground.

He remembers how they'd joked at that party. Would they even take him seriously?

Looking back up, all he sees is worry and concern in everyone's eyes. Pezzy looks over at John, who nods with a smile, all his hybrid traits in full display, trying not to hide.

“I don't like them, because uh.. hmmm. John explained that I feel uh.. I think the term he used was ‘dysphoric’ when they're made.

“When I was younger, I got… drugged… again, not by choice… and then.. shit happened… it kinda, really fucked my hormones up… now when I hear those jokes, it's just like I'm back there… and those alphas are leering at me, right before they-” Pezzy's jaw snapped shut as he shrank in on himself. “It.. I've just fought so fucking hard to be an alpha… I don't like people discrediting that. Especially my pack.” he mumbled.

Rectrixx burst into sympathetic tears, quickly leaving the room, John going after him, to make sure he's okay.

Pezzy was scared, but he eventually looked up, seeing sympathy and worry in everyone's eyes. He frowned, deciding to be honest, tail flicking a little.

“I didn't like uhhh… hearing all of that shit about me at that party… like…. You guys fucking joked about me being an Omega who's just in hiding! Why?” he whispered, eyes looking for answers.

Puffer eyed Grizzy, both of them sighing. “Pezzy. I'm sorry… We weren't trying to… like… imply anything… I really meant what I said, but only with the bit about if you were hiding, that I didn't want to be the one to force you out. Not that I thought you were in hiding.”

Grizzy nodded in agreement “I think I said something like… I only hope you trust us enough to come out… but both Puffer and I both had a feeling that wasn't the case. We didn't mean to try and like…. imply otherwise..”

Puffer jumped back in, looking at Pezzy. “Also, regarding imagining what your pups would look like… thing… Grizzy and I always try to imagine what our pups would look like with anyone and anything… and then we try to make a joke out of it…”

Smitty snorted, before jumping in. “I told Puffer that at least my imaginary pups wouldn't need to wear industrial glasses from the age of two… if I recall correctly.”

Grizzy squinted and remembered. “If I recall… Someone at that party had the audacity to say my pup with Smitty would be like a choc chip cookie. I asked them what they meant by that, and then they never replied.”

“I think they said it because you're-” Matt gets cut off by the therapist clapping, intercepting his comment.

So. Therapy continues. They work on building trust back over time, Pezzy accepting the apologies he's been given, and spending time with the others.

They go on walks, play games at the pack house, but Pezzy doesn't sleep at the house, not willing to fully commit back yet.

He gets some one on one sessions with a new therapist, and starts exploring through his own private trauma, trying to put the past to bed.

~

About six months after the party, Pezzy decides he's comfortable enough with the idea of officially rejoining the pack, John and Droid having stayed with him near constant during the time, so he wouldn't be lonely.

Stepping back into the pack house, this time as a permanent resident again, Pezzy feels lighter. As if he finally feels like he belongs, without any doubt in his soul. He knows he's been over a fuck tonne since they all started therapy, but this feels more final. More proper.

Smitty greets Pezzy first, nodding to Droid who's clinging to him like a limpet, before biting his lip and asking for a hug. Pezzy immediately pulls him in, Droid joining in as the two hug and scent the omega.

Smitty then pulls away and practically strong arms John into his nest before John can even say anything, no chance to unpack. You can then hear Smitty's purrs throughout the whole house.

Pezzy then carefully pries Droid away from himself, telling him to go make a new nest in his own room.. Or in Pezzy's, whichever works better for him. Droid's really conflicted, but nods, Pezzy knowing the other really wants to just cuddle, but also needs a nest to do that effectively.

Pezzy then goes to find the others, stumbling upon Matt, Yumi and Rectrixx in the next room over. Pezzy gives a shy wave, Matt beaming at him, running over and hugging him, before dragging him onto the couch.

“Our final alpha’s back now!! We're never letting you go again… Don't even try.” he giggles evilly, Pezzy just snorting, before Yumi and Rectrixx pop over and join in with the group hug. Pezzy relaxes at the group of beta’s scents, the familiarity washing over him, grass, rain and strawberry all getting him slightly emotional.

“You're squishing me!” he protests.

“Tough shit.” Yumi replies with a sniff, winding his vines around Pezzy to hug even tighter.

Pezzy pretends to fight it for a little while longer, before just relaxing into the cuddle pile.

~~~

When he's let go a little while later, he pops up the stairs, a fond smile on his face as he sees Droid working on his nest in his own room, tail wagging as he's sizing everything up.

“Pezzy, should I use the green blanket or the orange one?” He asks with big eyes, Pezzy looking over and snorting.

“Dude, there isn't a green blanket… it's orange and red…” He laughs, Droid's head whipping back around as he groans.

“Nah get out man… you better forget all about this.” He mumbles, throwing the blankets both aside, tail still wagging.

Chuckling, Pezzy glances into Smitty's room, a fond smile gracing his face as he sees Smitty gently preening John's pink and yellow wings, looking over John's shoulder as John pulls up photos on his phone and showing them off to his fellow omega. Pezzy snorted, seeing that Smitty and John were already wearing newer, fresher bond markings, having wasted no time.

Pezzy's own door is open however, so he decides to go and investigate, finding Puffer and Grizzy waiting for him. He's taken aback at how Grizzy’s got all his bear features out, and even more shocked that Puffer’s also got his features out, making Pezzy realise after all this time that Puffer’s actually an axolotl. The blue fuzzy fins on his face, the webbed hands and blue tail, easily identifiable.

“Hey.” he says, the other two nodding a little, awkwardly, both of them giving a small wave.

“Hey… We just wanted to apologise… And especially after everything, I wanted to be more open with everyone… so that starts with you… with me actually showing you what I am…. But yeah… we really wanted to apologise.” Puffer says nervously, his webbed hands fiddling with the edge of his shirt.

Grizzy sighs, his fluffy forearms awkwardly struggling to find a place to settle.“Yeah
.. we wanted to apologise again, that is ....”

“We wanted to give you a more private apology… like in front of people, it's all well and good, but we didn't want you thinking it's for show.” Puffer clarified.

Pezzy smiles softly, pupils dilating as he takes in how nervous they both are. “You really don't have to.. I know you guys didn't mean it like…. that.”

Puffer shakes his head, gills flowing softly with the movement. “It doesn't matter. We shouldn't have been engaging in that type of banter, drunk or not, full stop. We should have stuck up for you and told those pissheads to eat rocks or something.”

Grizzy nods in agreement, ears poking up. “Yeah. We just wanted to reiterate to you that we're sorry, and you're just as much of an alpha as we are… if not more. We honestly fell apart without you here, you're like the alpha glue that keeps us all together. Puffer and I are just a little too hot-headed sometimes… you really help balance that out.”

Puffer smiles, awkwardly rubbing his neck. “Yeah, we're kinda shit at our jobs, so we really need you to help us out. Don't go thinking we'll let you run off again, okay? Also, I just wanted to let you know… There's no rush to do new bond marks, like I'm assuming some other people already have done. The doctor says the old ones should go back to normal, if we all start spending time together, gradually restrengthening. It's up to your inner alpha to decide what you wanna do. If that means you need time with the pack, without us around, let us know. We'd understand.”

Pezzy shook his head, ears back. “No…. I think I need everyone around, because if some people are missing, the pack isn't right... I accept your apology.. I'm also sorry it took so long for me to come home… I think the therapist I've found has really been helping me with my trauma… so I feel a lot better about it now.”

“You took the time you needed to help yourself heal. We'd wait forever if we had to for you.” Grizzy says quietly, pulling them both in for a hug, rumbling loudly.

Puffer pretended to squirm in his grip, before relaxing into it.

“Puffer, is your tail…. Slimy?” Pezzy asks, shocked at the slightly damp feeling against his leg.

Puffer groaned. “No… it might be slightly damp… or like… because it's more cold blooded then the rest of me… it's not slimy… I promise.”
Grizzy snorted. “Feels slimy to me dawg.”

“I fucking hate you both.” Puffer lied, rolling his eyes.

They pull back, just enjoying the vibes until an impatient cough snapped them out of the moment.

“Hey guys, can you like… get off him thanks? I kinda need that short guy for my nest… please.” Droid said, tapping his foot, pretending he's been waiting for a while.

Pezzy snorted, walking over and gently headbutting the taller, before he saw Droid eyeing up the other two, barely giving a second glance to Puffer’s hybrid features.

“Actually… all of you, come and follow me. I could use you in my nest too.. hurry up.. Now..”

“Jesus Pezzy, you've spoiled him completely rotten.” Puffer snickered, tail flicking in amusement as he followed.

Pezzy held Droid's hand, following him to the nest, pausing in the threshold of the room.

“Wow Droid, your nest looks really good.” He says, the omegas chest swelling up with pride.

“Yeah… I know.. I'm just that great.” He says, blushing.

“Okay, move it bozo, you had a good teacher. Do you mind if we crash here too?” John asks, dragging Smitty inside.

Droid smiles, tail wagging at the thought of having a full nest. “Sure, wait I'm gonna grab everyone, oh wow this is gonna be great.”

Pezzy and Puffer snorted at how he practically skipped out of the room.

~~~~~

A short time later, Pezzy's got Droid buried in his arms, Matt practically draped over his back, as they're all crammed onto Droid's California king bed. Tails are everywhere, scents all blitzed together, and Pezzy thinks it's the most comfortable he's ever felt.

Chapter Text

John's halfway through his job’s newest assignment when Smitty speaks up and ruins his work flow, costing him another 10 minutes probably.

“What are you doing Friday?” Smitty asks kind of casually. John sighs at the tone his mate had, knowing Smitty would be plotting something. His focus was already shattered, and now it would be a slog to try and finish.

“Why? You better not be trying to set me up on a date again…” John warned, eyeing the discord call, Smitty's icon flickering a little, the guilty silence evident. How predictable, you idiot.

He keeps pretending that he's working on the notes for his job, looking back over when he hears the message pop up. Groaning, he looks over at their shared chat.

“Wanna help my worlds collide?” Smitty's message comes through, John immediately knowing that Smitty's got another plan for him, not wanting John to be ‘lonely’.

“Smit. I'm fine, I promise. I don't need you setting me up with a stranger! You’re more than enough for me!” John protested, Smitty staying quiet before practically exploding in excitement, words just slipping out rapidly.

“Okay, firstly, he's not a stranger, I literally used to date him, secondly, look at how fucking hot he is. Like come on. Tell me you're not interested. Say it.” Smitty exclaimed, a photo coming through immediately after, making John sigh in exasperation.

John decided to humor Smitty, looking over at the picture that was loading. Upon seeing the picture (of his mate, just a little younger) with a very pretty tanned man, John's cheeks flushed red.

“Well… that was how many years ago? He's probably changed…” John protested, as Smitty sends a more recent one, in a sort of smug silence.

John swallowed again, eyeing the man who'd obviously been working out since then. His cheeks felt obnoxiously warm as he groaned in defeat.

“Do you want his number?” Smitty teased, John just slumping over as Smitty laughed, watching him. “Actually, should I be the one to call? I haven't seen him much at all.”

John thought about it more, raising an eyebrow as he replied. “You really want me to be the one to go ask your ex out? Really? Not your best idea.”

Smitty ignored that, instead making a happy noise. “Yeah. It could be weird, but I think I'm into it.”

John snorted, brushing the hair out of his eyes. “Of course you fucking are! This is probably more like some kind of wet dream for you.”

“Come on, you know I'm one for the overly passionate.” Smitty protested, John's resolve already wavering as he looks at the picture again.

“I don't know… you sure it's a good idea?” John asked, biting his lip, Smitty immediately agreeing.

“Uh yeah? I like you and I loved him… we could all be the best of friends!” Smitty proposed, John laughing at how cheesy it sounded, shaking his head.

“Aw dang, you only liked me? That sucks… Why'd you let me bond then?” He snickers, practically hearing Smitty's pout.

“I felt sorry for you, asshole.”

John cackled, shutting his work tab closed, instead pulling up Steam. “What game do you wanna watch me fail at then?”

Smitty hummed. “More Poly Bridge.”

“Okay, anything for you, my wonderful mate…. Love you, you fucking idiot.”

“Love you too.”

~

‘Matt, I heard you're back in town! We should meet up!’ Comes the text from Smitty, as Matt's unpacking his boxes in his new place. The notification noise scares Matt a little, making him jump.

“Huh?” Matt mumbles, reading it, then instead of replying, he's calling him, listening to the dial.

“Hey there! Long time no see!” Smitty's voice comes through a little quickly, making Matt smile fondly at how eager Smitty still is to talk to him.

“Yeah. It's been… a little too long, Smit. How have you been going?” he asks, unable to keep the fond tone out of his voice.

“Euhh.. Lotta things have happened, too many to tell you over the phone. Honestly, I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little pale at the moment, I haven't been getting out enough.” Smitty jokes, Matt just snorting at the fact that the Canadian was pale. No fucking shit.

“When did you ever have fucking tanned skin?” Matt snickers, unpacking a giant frog plushie, looking it up and down. Has it always been this tall?

“Touché. Anyway, we should get back together, catch up! It will be just like old times!” Smitty giggles, making Matt snort.

“You sound a little desperate there pal.” He smirks, making Smitty scoff.

“Come on Matt! You know you missed me!” he protests.

Matt sighed, admitting to both of them. “Yeah.. I did…quite a bit, actually…. Hmm okay. Let's do this.”

They talk about meet up ideas for a bit, before Smitty drops another bombshell.

“Okay, also, I'm going to bring my friend John with me. I really think you guys will click… If you know what I mean.. Trust me.” Smitty then says out of nowhere, Matt's heart speeding up out of nervousness.

“Huh? What?” he yelped, “You what?”

Smitty immediately sends a picture through, Matt's cheeks going aflame. “O-oh. D-does… he smile like I do?” he whispered, eyeing the photo, more attracted to this stranger, to John, then he's willing to admit.

Smitty giggled at Matt's quiet mumbling, “Yeah. Just as bright… and despite our flaws, I held his hand like I held yours.”

Matt pinched his eyebrows, “God… that was a long time ago Smit. You're still a fucking romantic sap I see.” Matt kindly teased, Smitty just giggling in reply.

“Yeah, I am… so are you in?” Smitty asks, Matt already looking back at the picture again, knowing his resolve was already weak.

“Hmmm… okay. Okay.” Matt says, Smitty cheering and speaking quickly.

“Thanks for understanding! You have no idea how amazing this all is!! This could be a lotta fun, so let's break the awkward and come undone.” he rambled a bit, practically fan-girling through the phone.

“It could be weird but I think I'm into it.” Matt said quietly, blushing at the thought of meeting a guy that handsome, being set up by his ex of all people.

“You know I'm one for the overly passionate.” Smitty replied, Matt could almost hear the implied wink.

“Hmm. I loved you, I might like him… we could all be the best of friends.” Matt mumbled, staring at the picture with a happy feeling in his heart.

“Yeah, that's the spirit! I'll be in the middle, while you two get along!” Smitty chuckled, making Matt giggle at how excited the other sounded.

“Of course…. Twice the cuddles for you..” Matt snickered.

“Guilty.’

~~~

“Sooo.. You picked the park as a meetup spot, why?” John grumbled as he dodged another patch of damp grass. “I swear if my shoes get wet…”

“There he is!” Smittys voice hissed into John's ear, John rolling his eyes at how excited Smitty already sounded.

“How did I let you talk me into this again?” John grumbled, Smitty just giggling.

“Because he's pretty and you love me.” he replies smugly. “Because you're a simp for meeeee.”

“Yeah. That was supposed to be rhetorical.” John replied with a snort, making Smitty laugh as well.

John walked over to the slightly shorter man who was looking around, seemingly kind of lost. “Hey, you're Matt, right? Smitty's… friend?” he says, awkwardly, having next to zero people skills.

Matt turned around at the voice, eyes widening at the sight of John, tiny blush appearing. “O-oh, yeah! Well… Smitty's ex but.. I suppose friend works just as well, too! You're John, right? Where's…?” Matt looked around for Smitty. “Is he waiting to like…. jump on me?”

“Ah, he did that to you as well? Good to know… but no.” John then paused, directing a quiet statement at the call he was on. “Uh did you not…?”

Smitty hissed a quick reply into John's airpods. “Uh, yeah so… I did kinda forget to tell Matt that I'm actually kinda not there with you. My bad.”

John knew what Smitty was implying, which was a whole other can of worms. “HOW THE FUCK DO YOU FORGET SOMETHING LIKE THAT???” John groaned, making Matt confused at John's suddenly odd behaviour.

“Are you okay?” Matt asked nervously, scratching his arm. “If it's not a good time, I can go-”

“Oh, no! I'm sorry, just, yeah, I'm fine, sorry…. Uh, Smitty's kinda sick at the moment, I'm on call with him right now. He forgot to tell you because he's a fucking idiot. Do you wanna come back to our place to see him?” John asked, scratching the back of his neck, praying Matt didn't run for the hills.

Matt raised his eyebrow, jokingly looking John up and down. “You're not trying to like… kidnap me and murder me are you? That wouldn't be very good for me.. Sure, I'll come see him, it's been too fucking long.”

John shook his head, paling at the thought of murder. “Nah, I really don't need someone haunting me…” he mumbled, motioning to Matt to follow him.

~~~

Arriving at their shared home, John paused for a second to try and think of how to explain this whole… situation. He couldn't think of shit-fuck, nothing seemingly good enough to explain everything, unfortunately.

“Hey Smitty we're back, where ya at loser?” Matt calls, John walking in, behind him.

The house is silent, as per usual, John just mentally groaning at the conversation that was about to go down. This is going to be a conversation of all time. And probably not a good one.

“So…. I don't know if he's gonna actually show his fucking face.” John started awkwardly, Matt frowning at that, seeking answers with a raised eyebrow.

“What do you mean by that? Shouldn't we go to him, if he's sick. Maybe help him out? I think he liked chicken soup… we could get him some of that?” Matt suggests, making John's heart flutter at how obviously kind Matt is.

“Well you see…” John's quickly interrupted by the third person, arriving to grace them with his presence.

“BOO!” Smitty yelled, flickering into existence in front of them, waving his arms around.

“Oh, so you finally decided to join us. You have some decency at least, not leaving me alone to explain this all!” John said, turning to Smitty, Matt just froze in shock taking in the sight of his ex-boyfriend.

Smitty looked… well… he looked okay, to say the least. Okay for a ghost, anyway.

John studies Smitty, taking him in. He's currently very see-through, obviously going for the visual option that uses the least amount of ghost-energy. His skin is a lot paler than when he was alive, and there's also the area covered with dried blood on the back of his head from where he slipped on that patch of ice, but other than that he looks… normal.

Smitty usually spends all his time inside his old phone, using the technology to communicate, because he can then stay invisible, conserving energy. He knows he can siphon it from the house, but he doesn't want to bring the power bills up, and he's not willing to leave John's side long enough to rob someone who deserves it.

Matt blinked at the sight of Smitty, the ghost just babbling excited, flying around them both, John looking unamused.

“Okay, so I mayyyy have forgotten to mention that I was dead. I'm sorry Matt, please don't cry, I'm still here! It's like nothing changed!” Smitty babbled, frantically explaining.

Matt just turned to John, elbowing him gently. “Dude, I feel so sorry for you, getting haunted by his bitch ass? You deserve financial compensation.” he snickered, Smitty’s jaw dropping open into a surprised shock, John just bursting out into laughter.

“Oh my fucking god, you have no idea how annoying he can be like this! Sometimes, in the morning, when he's bored, he deliberately lowers the room temperature near my feet, so I wake up and am forced to entertain him.” John explains with a giggle, Matt just wheezing next to him.

“Oh my god, he still acts like a cat? When we were dating, he would like.. jump on top of me and demand attention all the time! I'm like, dude, I thought you're supposed to be the alpha here!” Matt says, arm around John, Smitty just staring at both of them.

“Oh my god I thought the same thing. And another-”

Smitty's eyes narrowed, watching his two mates get to know each other, bonding over shared tales about him. It wasn't ideal, but at least they seemed to get along…

“Excuse me, can you both chill? Please pay attention to me, I'm literally right here!!” Smitty whined, the other two looking over at him, wide smiles.

Matt laughed, wiping his eyes. “Damn, I'm sorry, Mr Needy. Heaven forbid I try to move on from you.”

“I'm not? John? Am I needy?” Smitty whines, making John look away, whistling.

“John?!”

~~~

They're still getting to know each other later, with less shots thrown at the ghost, much to his relief. John finds out about Matt's music, Matt gets to see some of John's art, Smitty just floating around them the whole time, smiling wide at how chill the vibes are.

John's feeling a little twitchy, so he invites Matt up to his nest, so they can keep talking.

Matt is hesitant, but he still follows, not wanting to overstep, and then he's frowning at the large milk bag plushie in the middle of the nest.

“What's that for?” he asked curiously, John just pausing and then noticing Matt's point at the plushie.

“Oh, yeah. So, Smitty can like… possess things, and then he can kind of feel some touch from the objects. It's how we are able to like… cuddle still. If he stays inside an object for a while, his scent somehow manages to linger there for a while too, so it helps keep his scent around.” John explained, Matt gasping in shock at that, tearing up a little, the first time since hearing Smitty was… past tense.

“Really?” he whispered, cautiously reaching for the plush. “May I? It's been.. a long time..”
John nodded, Matt gently picking up the plush, smelling the once, very familiar scent of coffee with heavy creamer lingering on the plushie. His eyes filled with heavy tears, the nostalgia just hitting him square in the chest.

“Oh my. Oh my god. It's like he's with me again. Like he never left…” Matt mumbled, John wiping his tears away..

“I'm literally right here.” Smitty replied, deadpan from above the two, who kept ignoring him.

“It's like… Almost like I can still hear him sometimes.” John snickered in response, Matt pulling away and wiping at his eyes.

“Yeah.. god I can't believe he fucking slipped on ice as a Canadian. What an idiot.” Matt snorted.

Smitty pouts a little, but still floats down into the plushie, immediately making a noise akin to a rumble as he feels two pairs of hands on his ‘skin.’

Matt nuzzles up to the plushie, gently placing his head under where John's sits, the older omega softly chuckling at how relaxed Matt looks already, curling around him protectively.

Maybe this could be the start of something new?

Chapter Text

After everything that went down, all the drama, Smitty had hoped that John would be more… relaxed in the pack now.

It wasn't the case however.

John had spent the bare minimum amount of time shifted, promptly shifting back to human as soon as he was allowed to, face down on the ground before slinking away to his room.

They'd noticed him changing up his fashion in response to the injury. He started with dark sunglasses to hide the damage to his eye (which by some miracle hadn't needed to be removed) Droid was unable to hide the guilt on his face whenever he saw John euthanasia the glasses however. John just streamed with facecam off after that day, not worth the questions.

John also made it a priority to grow his hair out more, using it as a perfect cover to hide the damage to his face.

He'd never said anything out loud about it, but Smitty knew, somewhere inside John, he was insecure about his appearance now. He had visible and noticeable scarring over and around his eye, the eye itself having an incident where the pupil split, leaving him almost permanently blind in that eye. It was noticeably foggy, as well as the irregular pupil size, so he liked people to not look at it.

John also still didn't shift to do full moon patrols. He'd just stay on foot, sometimes his lion features out, but only on colder nights.

They'd cuddle in a shifted pile, John awkwardly surrounded by wolves, not willing to shift.

“I'm just too big.” He'd say.

“You guys already have enough to deal with.”

“I never shifted that much before, anyway.”

–

It's all forgotten about, temporarily, as Yumi moves in. He's left his other pack, following too many fights, and the younger injured alpha turns up with a couple fresh bite marks, quiet and subdued. Smitty can tell that Puffer’s slightly on edge by another alpha arriving, but they both take in the way Yumi's acting, immediately becoming concerned.

Yumi's acting more like an omega, if anything. He's never shifted in front of anyone, but he's also not streaming anymore. He sits in the pack nest, curled up in a ball, knees to his chest as he presses his fingers to his faded pack scar, and the still healing bite on his ear and wrist. Sitting in silence, alone usually.

John's the one who starts to get through to him, accidentally at first, but then finding more of a kinship with him.

John hears a muffled noise coming from the pack nest, curious enough to check it out, seeking explanation.

Yumi's eyes are filled with tears, but he's asleep. He's having a nightmare it seems… Well, that's simple enough to assist with.

John gently settles down next to him, nuzzling him to wake him up, letting his scent slowly envelope the distressed alpha.

“I'm sorry!” Yumi whines, waking up suddenly and thrn sighing. He realises he's not alone anymore, sniffing and wiping his face. “Oh shit. Sorry man. What's up? Do you need something?”

“What exactly happened to you man? Why were you kicked out of your other pack?” John asks bluntly, straight to the point. Everyone wants to know that, but they've all been dancing around, avoiding asking him for ages now. Yumi sighs, looking away, scratching his faded bond mark.

“They.. I..” He swallows. “They had an alpha, and then I presented as an alpha, which was fine but.. over time, they didn't like the fact that I wasn't a werewolf per-say. They were… uncomfortable with a non wolf alpha in the pack… Words were said, I lashed out, they attacked me back and then told me to leave… So I did. Simple as that.”

“Ah.. that's rough.” John says, taking in the information, simply sitting next to Yumi in silence.

Yumi shuffled around, frustrated. “Do you know what it's like, to be surrounded by people, but you're completely fucking different? And you know that you being different makes them uncomfortable, but they won't ever say it to your face? Do you know what that's like?” Yumi says quietly, not expecting John to relate.

John stiffens a little, the feeling hitting close to home. “Yes, actually… I know exactly how you feel.”

“What?” Yumi says, now confused.

“I said yes. I do know that. Trust me.” John replies, looking at Yumi's hands, watching the way his fingers twitch.

“How could you possibly know how I feel? You're a wolf in a fucking wolf pack! It's not the same, even though you joined late!” Yumi snaps, a slight hiss in his throat.

John snorted, throwing his head back. “Dude. You've never seen me shifted. Don't assume shit, okay? Trust me when I say that I know what it's like.”

Yumi stayed silent, before he spoke again, a more shy voice now. “Wait…really? You're not a wolf either? Actually?”

“Nope.” John said.

“Show me.” Yumi insisted, tugging on John's sweater.

John hesitated, suddenly looking away. “I don't know… I'm kinda… large when I shift man…”

Yumi studied him, thinking. “I'll show you mine if you show me yours?”

John sighed, a small smile on his face as he stood up. “Look what you made me do…Okay… but first… May I?
” He reached for Yumi's wrist, nosing over the broken bond mark.

Eyeing Yumi, who hesitated, before he nodded, John gently bit down, deep enough to make only a temporary bond, just between the two of them. “So we can still communicate while shifted, since you're not part of the pack officially…. yet.” he explained, making Yumi nod.

Yumi perked up as John handed his own wrist over, biting down similarly, before pulling away.

John then chuckled, backing up, away from Yumi. “Okay, promise me that you're not gonna like… Just.. don't freak out…” He smiled, before stretching out like a Yoga instructor, body growing.

Yumi gasped as he watched John's form enlarge, mane sprouting and erupting from his hair, tail bursting out behind him as a large Gray lion now stood in front of him, eye locked on to his own.

Yumi's expression stuttered, between fear and awe, as he stepped forward, before he held John's muzzle in his hands.

He carefully stroked over the large pink scar, covering John's eye, taking in the ripped ear too. John's eyes both open, one noticeably foggy compared to the other, permanently damaged by something.

“Your turn.” John said telepathically, nosing Yumi, making him giggle at the impact, John obviously very strong.

Yumi sighed, before he's sitting down and shifting, John's good eye watching carefully as he shrunk down into a fox. Yumi stood up, shaking his body out, snout staring almost straight up at John, in an unsure posture.

Eyeing the alpha, John mentally did some calculations, thinking about the sizing.

“I think you're even smaller than Pezzy… how the fuck were they bothered by an alpha of your size? How the fuck was that fight even fair?” John growled, his tail swishing behind him, studying Yumi's shifted form, attempting to pace, but restricted by his size.

Yumi stood fairly short, dark ginger fur, with an ear almost completely torn away, bite marks littered over his pelt. His ears were back, tail down in a sign of submission to the omega.

“It… It wasn't fair.” Yumi replies quietly, making John's good eye narrow in anger, a growl rumbling deep in his chest.

“I need to go pay them a visit, then, I guess. Fuck them.” He growled, deep and scary, making Yumi jump.

“You're so fucking cool John… holy shit. You're massive!” Yumi practically yips out, making John let out a quiet chuffing noise, flattered by how excited Yumi is.

“You do look pretty beat up, not gonna lie.” he snorts back, making Yumi groan mentally at the comment.

“Yeah, you're right… Maybe I should groom my fur again, its been a while.” he admits, John huffing a little.

John turns around, starting to spin slowly, before curling up on the blankets, gesturing with his large head. “Come here.”

“Why?” Yumi asks, confused.

John slowly blinks at him, before explaining. “It's cuddle time. Come on.”

Yumi gently stepped over, eyeing the lion warily for a second, who only nodded slowly in reply. He then gently curled up against its belly, nosing his snout into the soft fur as he finally felt warm. Safe. Cared about.

He began to make a noise similar to a purr as he felt John's rough tongue begin to gently preen him, the feeling reminding him of when his mother did it to him as a kit. Yumi found himself melting into a puddle, totally blessed out.

“My alpha… Mine.” John's chuffing possessively, Yumi only able to purr in response, currently scent drunk

Chapter Text

It's unusual to have not presented yet. That's what his mother says anyway, when he goes to visit her. Grizzy knows she's right, because she always is.

It's weird that he's almost 25 and still lacking his secondary gender.

That hasn't stopped him from being in a pack however, being welcomed in with open arms by everyone, no one caring that he's a late bloomer. When he joins initially, both Yumi and Droid also have yet to present, Yumi going into heat about a month after it becomes official, Droid about six months later.

All eyes are on Grizzy now, the youngest only slightly unsettled by the comments that his chat makes about him.

“Grizzy, you're so alpha goals!”

“Use your alpha voice on us! Please!”

Grizzy always ignores the messages, not even willing to play into them, not wanting to build up a reputation for being one of… those… types of streamers.

He's waving goodbye to his pack, off to see his mother for a week, when he feels a little warm. He ignores it at the time, pushing it down to deal with later.

He chats and catches up with her, cooking and walking around the kitchen with her. They're eating afterwards, Grizzy feeling sweat beading on his forehead. His mother looks concerned, but he waves her off, saying he's just tired from the long day.

Grizzy wakes up that night in a pool of his own sweat, blood boiling and brain screaming to nest.

Acting on pure instinct, Grizzy cobbles together a shit excuse for a nest in his childhood bedroom, before pulling his legs up to his chest and weeping.

See, the thing about Grizzy, is everyone in his life, including himself, had thought he would present as an alpha. He's a 6 foot 3, 320 pound black man, he really doesn't scream ‘omega material’.

Grizzy doesn't know what to do!

Puffer constantly complains about the lopsided dynamics in their pack. The fact he's the only alpha, and he has to care for four omegas? That's insane! Puffer's always joking around, making comments about how he can't wait for Grizzy to be able to help him out!

He's overheard so many whispered conversations, talking about what they're gonna do when they get a second alpha, how much smoother things will be. He feels now if he goes home and announces his new gender, that they're all going to be disappointed in him.

Annoyed at yet another omega to look after.

He knows they've been waiting on him to present to do their mate bonding, but would they even want to bond with him, if he's presented as anything other than an alpha?

Grizzy wakes up the next day, dried tears crusting onto his face, his mother gently stroking his hair, humming quietly to him.

She knows. She can smell how scared he is. Grizzy’s just happy that she still loves him.

He struggles through the week, unused to the deep desire within himself, wanting his pack to hold him, to comfort him.

His heat ends, and his mother makes him promise to be honest with his friends. To not be ashamed of who he is, just because society expected him to be something, and he's not.

Grizzy hugs her goodbye, fingers crossed as he assures his mother he's going to be honest with them.

He makes two stops on the way back home. One to buy suppressants, the other to buy scent blockers.

He can't have them knowing.. Not yet.. If they smell his sweet honey scent, they'll know… Know that he's not what they need. He just wants a bit more time with them, before they toss him aside for an alpha that they need.

Some people would argue, if he wants to be an alpha that bad, that the treatment exists! He could…

But.. the thing is… Grizzy’s scared to be an omega, but he's also happy about it. In his own mind, it feels right….

It doesn't mean that everyone would share his opinion however.

So Grizzy gets home, lies about his trip and proceeds to continue on as normal, unaware of the hormonal bomb building inside himself.

..

The jokes continue, because of course they do, but Grizzy finds it harder to laugh along with them.

He struggles with not having a nest of his own, but to compensate, he's trying to ease into being more involved in the other omegas nests.

Droid and Matt are overjoyed at having someone who wants to cuddle in their nests, showering him in attention. Puffer seems suspicious for a bit, until Grizzy shrugs and lies, saying that he's ‘Just practising for when he presents,’ and that Puffer should be grateful, because he knows how much the taller one dislikes cuddling.

The lie seems to work, Puffer cracking a joke before leaving Grizzy to Droid's scenting.

…

Grizzy’s sneaking out one night to get a drink of water when he overhears a conversation.

“I'm just… I'm so tired..” Puffer whines, Smitty and Pezzy comforting him.

“You're doing your best man! It's hard being the only alpha, when two omegas both go into heat at the same time!” Pezzy adds.

“You're doing really well. Seriously. You know that Matt and Yumi don't mind you not being there all the time.” Smitty says quietly

Puffer lets out a noise. “I know, but I feel like such a shit alpha!”

“You can't do more though.” Pezzy says quietly.

“I need Grizzy’s alpha to finally wake up from hibernation and take half the load off my back.” Puffer admits, making Grizzy’s eyes widen at the comment, the other two nodding in agreement.

“All the research I did, said it should happen before his 25th birthday… and that's coming up soon… hopefully this is the last double up that you need to deal with alone.” Smitty says carefully, making Puffer sigh a little.

“That would be nice… not needing to worry as much.” he admits.

Grizzy frowns, deciding he can wait till morning for water, quietly going back to his room, locking the door and hugging a pillow to his chest.

He's just a burden, isn't he?”

…

’How to swap secondary gender, omega to alpha?’ is what Grizzy carefully types into Google a few days later, looking into all the processes.

He can't do this to Puffer! The older man really needs help, and much as Grizzy likes being an Omega…

The pack comes first. First and foremost, always.

But…

A few more days pass and Grizzy’s body is itching. Not only itching at the thought, but also itching physically.

He's trying to focus on his work, reply to emails and the like, but it's like a biting fly is darting around his skin, pain pricking on different areas, seemingly randomly. It's been a few hours now, and it's only getting worse.

Eventually, he gives it and starts scratching.

It doesn't seem to help in the slightest.

Minutes tick by, his eye twitching as he gets more and more antsy.

Opening a new tab, he types in ‘omegas body won't stop itching why’

Reading past the autogenerated bullshit, his eyes lock into a few news articles, talking about the risk of going onto suppressants, immediately after your first heat. He reads the Web pages, coming to a horrified conclusion.

It seems that, if you're going through your first heat, without someone there that your body considers to be part of your pack, your body is going to keep triggering a heat, until your pack is able to help you with one. You need to have at least heat with packmates to regulate your own hormones in a more stable way. Suppressants would only work for so long, before his body would get so desperate, it would overpower them.

Grizzys eyes widened in pure horror. So this was a sign he was about to just… go into heat? At any time?

And there's nothing he can do to stop it?

If the itching was anything to go by, it seems to be sooner rather than later too.

Grizzy gets up and paces, trying to come up with ideas..

What if…

Oh!

He decides that if he wears hidden scent blockers, he can pretend that he's presenting as an alpha, and trick his packmates into not being worried about him.

He just needed to… figure out how to pretend to be an alpha in rut…

There was also the problem of all of his packmates…

He knew that his fellow omegas, mostly Matt and Droid, would try and hang with him the whole time.. which would be fine, except…

If they were to go into sympathy heat by spending time near him, it would be a pretty obvious give-away.

So he had to pretend to go into a rut and keep the omegas out… Hmm.

If he pretended to be upset by Puffer's presence, then only the betas would need to deal with him… Less risk of his scent being noticed, due to their inability to smell heat or rut hormones.

Grizzy nodded to himself, reading up on ‘what to expect when presenting’ he could do this.

—-

Leaving his room a few hours later, he starts his act by making sure everyone sees him checking on them. He makes sure that he's spotted checking their doors, making sure they're locked, and then he starts to pace around the house.

“What's up Griz?” Yumi asks as Grizzy goes to walk past him.

Grizzy lets out a grunt, before shaking his head. “Nothing… Just.. Checking the doors you know? Feeling a bit… like we forget about them.”

He keeps walking, leaving a confused Yumi behind.

…

When he's done pretending to pace, he decides to sit on the couch in the living room, nearby where John's being made to cuddle with Matt, Smitty on the other side, amused.

“Hello Gribby!” Matt says happily, Grizzy settling on a nod to reply, having researched that alphas tend to speak less when going into rut.

He perches nearby, not even needing to pretend to stim with his legs, his right foot beginning to move by itself as he starts browsing Twitter on his phone.

He can see his packmates looking at each other out of the corner of his eye, so he decides to play it up a little. He finds a post that would normally be irrelevant to himself, and decides to make, what he would label a ‘big fucking deal out of it.’

He huffs out a breath, frowning at his phone, gripping it a bit before looking away and pinching his eyebrows.

John looks over, curiously. “You good man?”

Grizzy just huffs again, looking back at his phone. He chooses to make his voice sound deeper as he explains. “Just this fucking... Ugh. I fucking hate when they do this shit! Like… obviously it's to make people click on it, but why do they gotta like…” He snarls out, gesturing to his phone, eyes not looking over.

Smitty tries to soothe him. “Huh? You're not making sense man, explain again?”

Grizzy just shakes his head. “No, it's stupid… I just keep falling for these dumb ass bait videos!” he pauses, mentally preparing to ramp it up. “THERE'S ANOTHER ONE? OH HELL NAH!” He snarls out, locking his phone and standing up, throwing it at the couch.

“Wow. Wow, wow.” Smitty says, Matt's eyes widening behind him, Grizzy feeling guilty for scaring the omega. “You need to calm down man. What's up?”

Grizzy just growls a little, before shaking his head. “You wouldn't get it… I need to go fucking… UGH.” He snaps, storming away, going to check the doors again.

He's walking away as he hears Matt talking to Smitty. “I think you need to get Puffer to come back home from the store…”

…

Grizzy keeps the glare on his face as he stalks around the house, having to force himself to stay away from the pack nest, wanting nothing more than to bury his face into it.

He knew he needed to be careful, he didn't want to actually scare anyone. Last thing he needed was Puffer trying to alpha-voice him… he would probably melt immediately, which isn't the best look for someone who's trying to fake being an alpha.

He knows Puffer's back home, he could hear the whispering of Smitty and John talking to him, and he can feel the alpha's eyes watching him as he paces around.

Luckily, his heat seems to be starting up, and he's already getting to the point where his skin is more flushed and he's sweating. Grizzy sighs, gritting his teeth as he passes by the pack nest again, bypassing it for the kitchen.

He just needs some water, and then he could go back to his room and nap.

Unfortunately, the kitchen's not empty, but at least it's only Pezzy in there.

Grizzy passes by the shorter man, going straight for the sink, grabbing a glass out and gulping down water. He can feel Pezzy's eyes on him, curiously.

He grabs a third glass, as Pezzy pops into his peripheral vision. “Hey Grizzy? Are you feeling okay? You've been acting weird.”

Grizzy pretends to be surprised, turning to Pezzy. “Have I? Huh? I haven't really noticed… but… I don't know… it's all a bit foggy.” He shrugs, before pulling Pezzy into him, scenting him.

Pezzy giggles, squirming in his grasp a little, but mostly lets Grizzy scent his neck, enjoying the attention. “Hey, careful man! You're so clingy all of a sudden! That tickles!”

Grizzy lets out a growl, but lighter, trying to imitate a rumble noise. He's pretty sure it works, Pezzy just making a humming noise.

“Puffer, look! I think he's presenting!” Pezzy says, making Grizzy’s attention come back, his inner omega wanting nothing more than to start scenting the taller man.

Grizzy is nothing if not strong however, so he pretends to not hear Pezzy.

Puffer chuckles from behind them. “Yeah, so it seems… Apparently he's been a real maniac today, checking the house a dozen or so times…”

Pezzy nods. “Grizzy… Grizz.. hey. I need you to back away so I can look at you.”

Grizzy listens, because he's always going to listen to his best friend, letting Pezzy examine him.

Pezzy looks at his eyes, his skin, looks at the sweat beading on his forehead, the way his breathing is coming out. “Dude, his pupils are blown man! Holy shit… he feels like a furnace.”

“Really? I don't really smell anything yet… Let's see..” Puffer replies, taking a step closer.

This is where Grizzy decides to play his part, the final step in making it believable. He lifts the corner of his lips, growling low and scary, his face turning slightly to make eye contact with Puffer. He pulls Pezzy closer, holding him tightly, before growling out. “Mine…”

Puffer freezes, backing up with his hands up. “Shit that's my bad man…good luck with that Pezzy, I do not want to be triggering him in his first rut… Weird he's latched on to you and not someone like Droid… but I've done some dumber things in my ruts… I'll take my leave.”

Puffer leaves the room, Grizzy continuing to growl, until he's out of sight. Pezzy pats his cheek softly. “Thanks for protecting me.” He says softly, before Grizzy lets him go slowly.

Grizzy just nods, before he's stalking away to his room, dragging Pezzy behind him.

Pezzy lets himself be manhandled into the bed, Grizzy cuddling him close, his inner omega crying at the lack of a nest, but just happy to have company.

“Sleep.” Grizzy says quietly, Pezzy just giggling a little. “Sure man.. Get some sleep okay? I'll be here.”

Grizzy’s eyelids flutter, as he takes in Pezzy's scent again. It's a lot less intense, because he's a beta, but it smells faintly like coffee. The smell helps him relax as he slips into a weird sleep.

…

Grizzy’s awoken later by voices, inner omega cheering, but his logical brain freezing up.

The more people there, the more risky it is… Maybe he could try and be a territorial alpha? Stake his claim on Pezzy and Pezzy only?

“I think he's waking up…” Smitty whispers, Grizzy’s eyes snapping open, making eye contact with the beta.

Smitty, Yumi, Droid and John are in his room, Puffer watching from the doorway. Pezzy js right next to him, not as close anymore, but still within arms reach. Grizzy mentally sighed. Another Oscar winning performance he would need to give here.

Grizzy looked around, pretending to scent the room before making eye contact with Puffer. He immediately glared, baring his teeth, letting out a growl.

“Yo, Grizzy, you need to chill dawg.” Droid started, leaning closer to him.

Grizzy mentally promised to apologise to Droid later, before locking eyes with him and pulling Pezzy closer. “Mine. Leave. Now.” he snarled out, eyes then drifting around the room.

Pezzy giggled awkwardly. “Grizzy, it's okay, they're pack! They wanna snuggle to help!”

Grizzy shook his head. “RIVALS. LEAVE.” he growls again, hand twitching.

Puffer watches, shaking his head. “Guys, I'll try and leave, see if he gets better. Good luck.”

Grizzy watches Puffer go, inner omega crying, but he hasn't got time for that. Droid's letting out some pretty pathetic smelling pheromones, and he can't risk faltering.

Grizzy rolls Pezzy over, putting him behind him, before turning back, puffing up his chest and stalking out his bed. He narrows his eyes at his pack mates, growling again as he takes a step closer.

Yumi shakes his head. “Guys, we're stressing him out okay? I'm gonna dip, okay?”

Grizzy watches Yumi leave, John following behind him. Droid looks sad, but Smitty stands in front of him, making him leave.

Smitty goes to leave, but Grizzy’s hand shoots out, grabbing his wrist. Smitty turns around shocked as Grizzy narrows his eyes. He brings Smitty closer, scenting him before nodding. “Acceptable.” he mumbles, before pushing Smitty to the bed.

Smitty goes with a shocked expression on his face, laying down next to Pezzy, who also looks just as confused.

“Have you ever seen an alpha reject omegas for betas before?” Pezzy whispers to Smitty, who shakes his head.

“Dude no! But I mean.. He's a late bloomer, who the fuck knows!”

Grizzy swallows down the lump in his throat, the fact that no one even for a second, thought to question if he was even an alpha, everyone taking it at face value. He pushes the feeling down, instead just settling back onto his bed, kicking his blanket down the end, pulling the betas close.

He tries to tell himself that if the blankets are down there, it's basically a nest!

It doesn't work very well.

…

Grizzy lets Smitty and Pezzy cycle in and out, ignoring the wistful looks that Matt, Droid and even Puffer are shooting at him as he experiences his first ‘rut’.

He showers four times a day, to keep washing off all the hormonal sweat, placing scent blocker after scent blocker on his skin, ignoring the inner voice in his head that's snarling like a starved animal.

You're a fool if you think this is going to work! You're not helping yourself, you're making it worse.

He spends his days sleeping and eating, cuddling with one of his betas.

The problem arises on day 6, when he wakes up and he realises that it's still going. Not just that, it's still just as intense as the second day.

Grizzy’s worried. He only has another day's worth of blockers left, having chewed through them faster then he thought possible… but his heat just… isn't progressing! It's just… stagnated.

He ignores Pezzy sleeping next to him, grabbing his phone and heading to the bathroom.

He turns the shower on, pretending to shower as he does more research, coming to more disappointing conclusions.

In order for some omegas to finish their hormonal adjustment heats, they need to get basically scent drunk, which isn't really possible when you're one; blocking your own scent and two; only have a couple of members of your pack there.

He's not adjusting to being an Omega, because he's not being an Omega basically …

This could go on for another week or two if he doesn't start making better choices.

Feeling this anxious for another two weeks? Hurting his pack for another two weeks?

Grizzy mentally weighs up his options.

He could keep going like this… or just accept it, deal with it and then suppress every heat after this one.

But..

Would his pack be okay with him lying about it?

Grizzy bit his lip, eyes watering a little. Would they be okay that he was deliberately scaring omegas? That's a big fucking no no.

Grizzy puts his phone down, clawing at his shirt, removing it and staring at the blocker patch with anger.

He gives up. He's sick of this heat, sick of being stressed. He just wants it over.

He rips the patch from his skin, shoving it in the bin as he pulls his knees up towards his chest, hugging them.

He would have probably made a shit alpha anyway.

…

Pezzy stares at the closed bathroom door, biting his lip.

Grizzy’s been in the shower for nearly two hours now. He's getting a little worried now.

He's tried calling out to him, with no response.

What if he slipped and fell?

That spurs Pezzy into action. He jumps up, dashing out the room, looking for Puffer.

He runs into Droid instead, the omega sort of camping outside Grizzy’s room, browsing his phone.

“Droid?” he asks, confused, the omega shrugging.

“I don't know… I thought since his rut should be ending today, maybe he's gonna want more people to cuddle… I don't know.” he said quietly, rubbing his arm, eyes filling up with tears. “I miss him.” he admits, making Pezzys' eyes soften.

“Could you help me with something?”

Droid jumps up, nodding, “Sure.”

Pezzy leads him into the bedroom. “Okay, he's been in there like two hours man.. He's not replying, I'm worried he's slipped and hurt himself… can you bust the door down?”

Droid hesitates, before seeing how worried Pezzy looks, nodding. “I… Okay…Only if you're sure…?”

Pezzy nods.

Droid knocks on the door. “Hello? Grizzy? Are you okay in there?”

Silence.

He knocks again. “Grizzy? HELLO?”

Pezzy sees Puffer put his head in the doorway, confused. “Puffer he's not replying, I'm getting Droid to open the door.”

Puffer nods, staying by the door, getting his phone out, just in case.

Droid sighs. “Sorry if your dicks out man, I'm coming in now.”

Pezzy flinches as Droid bounces off the door, shaking his head. “Shit. Wrong angle… let me just..”

*CRASH*

The door hinge breaks, door falling to the ground, Pezzy smiling at Droid's effort. He sees Droid tense up, Puffer tensing up in the door, moving next to Pezzy.

Pezzy sees Grizzy curled into a ball, apparently asleep on the ground. He's shirtless, but seems okay.

He ignores his frozen friends, going to touch him, Puffer's hand coming down on his shoulder, stopping him.

“Don't.” Puffer says softly, not wanting to wake Grizzy yet.

Pezzy is shocked. “What do you mean?” he asks, turning around, to see Puffer, whose pupils are blown wide, pinching his nose.

“Plans have… changed.” Puffer says softly, expression closing off. “Get everyone to come to the pack nest, okay? Don't ask questions, this is an emergency.”

Pezzy nods, dipping out of the room as Droid breathes in a shaky breath.

“All… all this time.. We told him man.. We kept telling him he was gonna be an alpha… Is that.. Is that why he lied? Was he ashamed?” Droid said quietly, looking to Puffer for answers.

Puffer swallows, looking away. “I don't… I don't know… Maybe he was scared.. worried about what we would think..?”

Puffer sighs, moving next to Droid. “Help me move him? I think he may have gone into heat sickness.. he's been going this whole time without a nest… he's been trying to pretend, for us…”

Droid and Puffer somehow manage to lift Grizzy together, shuffling out the room, to the pack nest.

They see the confused faces waiting there nervously, as they help Grizzy into the room, confusion fading away from everyone bar Pezzy and Smitty.

“What's going on?” Pezzy asks nervously.

Puffer sighs, moving Grizzy’s head into his lap, stroking the coily hair. “I… fuck.” he shook his head. “We were all just… so fucking sure, of what he was going to be… We never stopped to ask, ‘what if we're wrong?’”

Smitty still looked confused. John turned to him, explaining. “He's not in rut, he's in heat.. He's probably been pretending because it's fucking Grizzy. We all thought he was an alpha.”

Pezzy's eyes widened. “That's why he clung to me and Smitty, because we can't fucking scent him!”

Puffer nodded.

Matt spoke up. “You guys do know that means this isn't his first heat right..?”

The room all turned to look at him.

Matt sighed. “If he went into this one, knowing who to keep near him, who to dodge… He went in knowing what was up… Bro literally did homework on this shit…”

Yumi nodded. “Matt's right… he was acting almost too alpha in a way… Like Puffer, you patrol the house, but you don't do it that much in one day… it's like a build up… He just went for it.”

“When he rumbled, it didn't sound right… but I thought it was just a…Grizzy thing..” Pezzy admitted quietly.

“Did we put too much pressure on him?” Droid said quietly.

“I'm just worried about like… How long has he known that he's an omega?” Smitty said.

John sighed. “How many times has he heard us all joke about how unbalanced the house is? Face it, it could have been months… I just don't know how he hid his first one.”

“I didn't.” Grizzy replies quietly, making them all look at him.

“You're awake!” Pezzy says, relief evident in his voice.

Grizzy hums, keeping his eyes closed. “I'm awake… now… and I'm sorry… For lying..”

Puffer strokes his hair still, looking around the room. Everyone's looking at him for leadership, and he sighs.

“Look… I don't think any of us are mad… more like.. concerned I'm gonna go with.” He says, everyone nodding in agreement.

Grizzy hums, folding his hands together on his chest. “I.. I presented when I went to my momma's house… It was… a shock… I just..” He opens his eyes to glance at Puffer, before closing them again. “I wanted to hide it… I was going to try and transition to an alpha in secret, and then tell you guys I presented when it was done… but I spent my first heat alone, and my suppressants failed, so I tried to hide it.”

“Do you… do you want to be an alpha then?” Droid asks, as Grizzy freezes up a little.

“It's.. better for the pack.” He says quietly.

“That's not what Droid asked though.” Puffer says firmly, Grizzy’s eyes opening and meeting his own again.

“I… It shouldn't matter what I want… It's what the pack needs.” Grizzy says again, making Puffer shake his head, but Smitty is faster

“That's fucking bullshit and you know it! We're an unconventional pack, but we make it work! We always have! If you want to be an omega, that's fucking fine with us dude! We just want you happy, okay?”

Puffer blinks. “Took the words right out of my mouth Smit…”

Grizzy sighs, gaze going to the ground. “I think I would like to try being an Omega.. if that's okay… I just.. I know you're overwhelmed, but-”

Puffer presses his forehead to Grizzy’s, before kissing him on the forehead. “Then it's settled. You're an omega. Congratulations on finally presenting.”

“Made us fucking wait for it.” Yumi scowls, Matt throwing a pillow at him.

“Shut up Yumi, you ruined the moment!”

Grizzy looked over at Matt and Droid. “I'm sorry for scaring you guys, you were just trying to help, I just didn't wanna risk a sympathy heat and-”

Droid just nestled down next to him. “Apology accepted, only if you let me help you make your nest after this.”

Matt narrowed his eyes. “I want a kiss.”

Grizzy rolled his eyes, grabbing Matt's wrist and pulling him in. Pecking Matt quickly on the lips, he lays back down, Droid curling up next to him.

“Fucking gay people? In my pack?” Yumi says, blinking.

“It's more likely than you think…” John mumbles, curling up next to Smitty.

Grizzy pouted, making grabby hands at Puffer. “Can you please cuddle with me? You forced me to stay closeted.”

Puffer scoffed. “We are NOT calling it that! You make me sound homophobic!!” he squawked, before laying down on Grizzy's other side. “But fine… just for you.”

Grizzy smiled as he took in the scents of his pack around him. It was going to be okay.

Chapter Text

Ever since Smitty got covid for a second time, he knew in the back of his mind, something was off.

He always used to be so on top of scenting people. He used to know when someone would be going into heat, normally before the omega themself knew.

Now? Now it's like he's drowning.

Smitty's studying a blanket that he secretly stole from Matt's room. A few months ago, he would have been drowning in the sweet cinnamon and apple scent, but now?

Smitty holds the blanket close, sniffing over and over. He can barely catch a hint of apple. It makes him nervous.

He'd presented early, and prided himself on how well he could scent. Being able to know who was around him at all times had done wonders for his anxiety, but now? Now it's back to square one.

He was trying to train his brain, trying to find some way to fix it. He had to.

Why?

He'd waltzed out that morning, happy as all could be, before his fellow alpha, Grizzy, had exploded.

“Dude? I would have thought you of all people would be helping Matt right now! Why are you not there? His heat started last night!” Grizzy growled, not actually angry, more stressed about his pack.

Smitty froze, smile dropping as he processed Grizzy’s words. “Oh shit… my bad um… I'll just go..”

Grizzy frowned. “Yeah. Go take over for Yumi…” he muttered.

…

When Smitty had missed Droid's heat, it had been a week after he wasn't contagious anymore. He was still a little sniffly, so he shrugged it off.

When he missed Puffer's heat, a couple weeks later from that, he'd only found out because Pezzy, the only beta, had somehow scented it on Puffer before him.

And now… he'd missed the start of Matt's heat. He'd never ever missed one before.

Something was seriously wrong.

….

“I'm sorry Mr Smith… because Covid is such a new virus, we don't know the proper effects of long term Covid injuries very well…but it's not likely you'll ever regain your good sense of smell… furthermore… At the risk of being… a bit gloomy. Your immune system is seriously compromised. If you were to catch it again, you may not be able to smell anything anymore. This comes with the fact your sense of taste will also be dulled. I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do.

Smitty gets home from the doctor, feeling defeated. The one thing he was really good at? Gone. For good.

What would happen if he couldn't smell anything anymore? Its how he can help understand what people are feeling! He really struggled with facial expressions and tone, using scent as some sort of cheat code.

He goes and joins Matt in his nest later, the older happy to have the alpha cuddling with him. Smitty’s just trying to save the memory of Matt's scent in his brain desperately.

…

A few weeks later, they're getting back from Pax and Smitty feels a tickle in his throat. He sighs, knowing it's probably from the stress of the flight.

Smitty wakes up the next day, feeling like he's drowning, like he's forced to swallow constantly or he will choke. He's feverish, a migraine to kill a horse and trembling.

He goes to his bathroom, pulling out the testing kit he's had there since the last time.

He cries as it shows a positive result. He cries harder when the second test he does shows the same thing.

…

Following the conclusion of his illness, Smitty's heart sinks. It's as the doctor warned. He can't smell anything anymore.

He walks into the pack nest, quickly leaving to go have a cry in his room. He used to feel safe there, surrounded by nice smells.

Now it's just a reminder of everything he's lost.

…

Smitty does his best to hide it. He's not sure it's going all that well.

He's started tracking his omega’s heats on his phone, but it's dodgy at best. He tries to check up on them, studying them with his eyes, keeping an ear out for if they're purring a lot more then usual, getting more emotional.

He doesn't sit with his back to the door anymore, not wanting to be caught off guard. He always keeps one eye on any entryway, making sure that he's never delayed in greeting anyone.

He thinks he's getting away with it.

It goes to shit in the worst way possible.

…

John's a weird case when it came to his heat. They were rare, inconsistent and very painful.

John preferred to spend them with as few people as possible. Usually just Smitty, maybe Pezzy or Matt. He didn't like people making a big deal out of it, and would often hide it.

He was really great at hiding it… but Smitty would always manage to sniff him out and join him, right before it got too bad.

Everytime that is, except this one.

It's day three of John's heat, and he's struggling. Smitty is nowhere to be seen, and he knows the alpha is home, because he can heat him laughing and chatting with everyone else.

John's heart clenched painfully. Had he done something wrong? Was taking care of John in heat, just that annoying that Smitty wanted to skip out on it this time?

John knew he was clingy during his heats… and moody… and kind of a bitch… but…

He always thought Smitty wasn't bothered by it. Smitty would just chuckle, let John rest his head on his shoulder and make silly jokes with him. It was nice… great even.

John can't help but whine as another painful spasm wracks it's way through his body. Even if he wants to get up and find Smitty, he can't. He's shaking too bad to stand.

He reaches for his phone. His finger hovers over Smitty's contact, biting his lip before shaking his head.

He doesn't want to be a pain.

He whimpers sadly, messaging the contact underneath.

…

Smitty's chatting with Matt in Matt's nest when Pezzy storms in, furious.

“What the fuck?” Pezzy snaps, glare freezing Smitty in place.

Smitty looks at Matt who shrugs.

“What's wrong Pezzy?” Smitty asks, Pezzys eyes twitching.

“Dude. You know. You fuckign know what's up. I just want to know where you get off, on leaving John alone to deal with his heat! If you walk near his door, the smell even hits me like a truck, and I'm a fucking beta! It's been four days, and you what? You just don't wanna deal with it anymore? Next time you wanna do that, can you fucking warn us?” Pezzy growls, Smitty jumping up in horror.

“I… Oh.. Is John okay?” Smitty asks nervously, Pezzy just glaring.

“Wouldn't you like to know!” Pezzy snaps, turning around and storming away.

Smitty sighs, glancing at Matt, struggling to pick up on the emotion in Matt's face. Anger? Sadness? Disgust?

Whatever it was, Smitty just quickly left, walking towards John's room.

He paused outside of it, sniffing frantically. He couldn't smell anything.

Suppressing a whine, he reaches for the door handle, a growl interrupting him.

“Haven't you done enough?” Yumi snaps, storming over to intercept.

Smitty's heart leaps into his chest. “I just wanted to check on him… I…”

Yumi shakes his head. “Fuck off man. We're handling it. Give him space and when he doesnt feel so shit, then talk to him.”

Smitty just nods, quickly turning tail and leaving.

…

John's heat ends, but the tension remains.

Smitty's still hiding it all, because…. Well he's not even sure why he's hiding it still, but it's probably something to do with him not wanting everyone to think he's a broken alpha.. not worthy of being pack.

Pezzy keeps side eyeing him, not willing to hold a long conversation with him.

He can hear the others whispering, his name being tossed around a couple times, but he's never able to figure out what they're saying.

And John.

John's avoiding him. The few times he's managed to bump into him, John just looks at him with an expression that Smitty can't identify, and just stares at him.

“I'm sorry I'm a bitch when I'm… going through it.” Is all John says, before vanishing into the house.

Smitty's losing it.

…

Matt and Droid get lost in the woods behind their house.

Pezzy's frantic in the backyard when they all come outside.

“There's a storm forecast, and their phones are almost dead… we need to follow their scents and find them.”

Grizzy takes off with Puffer immediately going left, John and Yumi going right.

Pezzy just stares expectantly at Smitty.

Smitty swallows, as he realises that Pezzy expects Smitty to lead them to the others, probably choosing him because he's got the best nose.

Smitty turns around, hoping his blind luck won't fail him.

….

It's failing him.

Drops of rain have started falling, Smitty's struggling, trying to use his eyes and ears to track the missing omegas and he knows Pezzy’s a few minutes off from just losing it.

“Yumi says their path went cold, so they're going back to the house.” Pezzy says bluntly, from behind Smitty.

“Okay…” Smitty says quietly, continuing his journey down the path.

It's silent for a few more minutes.

“How close are we?” Pezzy asks, looking through the trees at the sky. “I'm worried the rains going to wash away the trail.”

“Shouldn't be… too much longer…” Smitty says, bullshitting completely.

He's running out of broken branches that his mind can pretend Matt or Droid broke.

They make it to a small clearing as it starts bucketing down. They duck under a rocky outcrop.

“Fuck… do you think you can pick up the trail after this?” Pezzy asks, looking at Smitty.

The old Smitty would have laughed at the rain. The old Smitty would have found them by now.

Current Smitty shuffles a little, before shaking his head. “It's not worth it.”

Pezzy snaps at that. “What the fuck do you mean? Of course it's worth it! It's our pack! Do you.. are you looking for a way out or something? Are you done with us?”

Smitty takes a step back, heart pounding in his chest. He goes to speak, but he can't, words freezing in his throat.

Pezzy's phone lights up. A message from Grizzy.

Pezzy reads it, turning to look at the trees. “Lucky for you, Grizzy and Puffer found them. When this stops, let's go back.”

…

Smitty follows Pezzy back to the house, a pain in his chest, making him stumble a few times.

On the path, they bump into Puffer, who's waiting for them.

“Oh. I thought I smelled you guys.. they were just over here, I don't know how you missed them.”

Pezzy's eyes burn holes into the back of Smitty's head as he keeps walking, not stopping to chat.

He's too busy worrying in his brain.

He can't even help his omegas! What kind of alpha is he, if he can't help find them?

He doesn't deserve to be in this pack.

…

Smitty watches as everyone goes to the pack room to cuddle, turning away as he sees Pezzy talk to Grizzy, the bigger alphas eyes making Smitty jolt, looking down at the ground.

Smitty sits off to the side in the pack nest, hugging a pillow to his chest, a pillow he's pretty sure used to smell like John and Puffer, but now it could smell like gasoline, for all he could tell.

He knows they're talking about him.

He knows he's a bad alpha.

…

Smitty gets surprised by a pair of hands over his eyes.

“Guess who!” he hears from behind him, and Smitty's brain is working overtime.

That was Matt's voice, so it would be too obvious to be Matt's hands… they don't seem too large, so not Grizzy… shit..

Smitty swallows, nervously answering; “Uh.. Ummm. I don't.. Puffer?”

The hands drop away, revealing Droid and Matt.

“I thought you would have just scented me! Or was Matt's scent too overpowering for mine?” Droid asks, Smitty just shrugging.

“I don't… I don't know.”

Droid and Matt side eye each other, before Droid sighs.

“What's up man. Something’s wrong. You're like…” Droid struggles for words.

Matt shrugs. “Like, you're not all there… you seem really on edge lately.”

Droid nods. “Like, usually you would have picked it was me, because I'm in preheat, and you're the guy who like… knows that shit.”

Smitty's heart panged painfully as his eyes welled up.

“Is that… Is that the only thing I bring to the pack?” Smitty asked quietly, making Matt shake his head quickly.

“No! Of course not! We love you man! You bring more than your crazy scenting abilities-” Matt gets cut off.

“I can't smell anything.” Smitty says bluntly.

Matt and Droid look confused, Droid asking him. “Like… right now? Are you sick? Is it from the rain?”

Smitty shook his head. “I.. I can't smell. Anything. At all. Anymore.” He says, pausing to get the words out.

The room goes silent, but the blood rushing in Smitty's ears distracts him.

Matt's voice comes out quiet, nervous. “But it's temporary, right?”

“No. The doctor said it's unlikely I'll ever get my sense of smell back… When I got coved the second time, it reduced my ability to about.. 10% now it's… it's just all gone.” Smitty says quietly, looking away.

Droid's eyes widened. “Wait, so you can't tell?”

Smitty's voice wobbled. “I can't tell who's behind me, I can't tell what people are feeling, I can't tell where people have gone, and I especially can't smell when people are in heat. It's hard being here… I know I'm supposed to be happy, surrounded by scents, but… it's just empty… I'm fucking broken.. I'm sorry.”

John's the one who says something next, catching Smitty off guard. “Why.. why didn't you say anything?”

Smitty sniffles. “What? And admit that the thing I'm known for is gone? Admit that I'm a bad alpha? Who wants a broken alpha in their pack? I just.. I didn't want you guys to kick me out.”

Pezzy's the one who speaks next. “Smitty.. we would never kick you out over… over something you can't control, what?”

Smitty looks over at the rest of his pack, tears running down his face. “I just feel so useless. I really tried.. I tried to adapt, I was working on my visual learning, but its just not the same I…”

Grizzy sighs. “Dude. We thought you wanted to leave the pack.. We thought you were trying to give us hints, by how you seemed to be ignoring all this shit, like heats, when people's scents spiked…” He shook his head, eyes going sad looking. “I'm happy you're not leaving, but to know that you gotta deal with this… that fucking sucks.”

“I'm sorry John.. I'm sorry Matt… I didn't know when you guys went into heat.m I felt so fucking bad over it, but… i” Smitty gets cut off by Matt rolling his eyes.

“Dude, after what you just said? I think I'm okay with you missing part of my heat. You cake to check as soon as you knew.”

Yumi looked at John and sighed. “I'm sorry Smitty… I stopped you from going in when you found out… I just didn't want John to get more upset.”

Smitty nodded, wiping his eyes. He stood up, walking over to John. “I'm sorry.” he whispered.

John shook his head. “I'm sorry as well… but God.. I just wanna know… can you still taste all right?”

Smitty's taken off guard. “Huh? Well.. I mean.. it's definitely a lot more dull, but I can still kind of mphh-”

Smitty's silenced by John's lips on his, the slightly dulled taste of coconut ice on his lips, triggering a memory in Smitty's brain about how John smelt like.

John pulled away, raising an eyebrow. “So, did that work?”

Smitty touched his lips, shocked, nodding shyly as he started blushing.

“Problem solved guys, he can still smell us, he's just gotta get a little closer than before. You're welcome.” John snickers, before sitting back down.

Smitty stands there, in shock at how the conversation had gone. He slowly turns around, blinking rapidly.

Matt just shrugs. “Sounds pretty gay… can I go next?”

Smitty adapts a little easier now he can still kind of ‘scent’ his packmates. He can taste a dulled version of their scent on their lips and if he marks them. Everyone in the pack gets used to wearing a lot more bite marks from Smitty, the alpha always giving everyone puppy eyes to convince them.

They let him, even if Puffer and Yumi both grumble quietly about it.

Chapter Text

Puffer sighed, reaching for the tiny little stick, turning it over after swallowing.

He slowly opened his eyes, counting the lines.

One.

Two.

Positive.

He drops the test like it's burned his skin, it clattering onto the floor.

He'd hoped the first two were faulty, but this is the third test. The third positive.

This is bad. This is so fucking bad.

Puffer silences a whine, biting down on his fist as he shuffles out of the bathroom.

He's known something was off for a while. He couldn't put his finger on it though.

He's not the most open or affectionate omega. He's the only one who tracks his heats, because he often skips them, it's just easier to keep it to himself.

Unlike Droid who's basically got it down to the 5th of every second month, Puffer's are sporadic and random… Or Smitty's, which he keeps just marked on the calendar in the kitchen, so everyone's aware.

No, Puffer's kept it to himself, and right now, he's very grateful. He doesn't need everyone asking him why his heat's a month late.

What does he even do? Does he even want a pup?

Puffers not sure still. His first answer is no, because that's his default response whenever anyone asks him on stream, but it goes deeper than that.

He says no, not because he doesn't want pups, but because he thinks he would be a bad parent. He's cold, dismissive, touch averse, everything stemming from his own neglected childhood…

What if he just continues the cycle? What if he's just like his step-father? What if he's like his papa?

Puffer doesn't like thinking about that, but he knows he's going to have to make a choice, sooner rather than later…

But sooner doesn't have to mean right now, so Puffer instead curls up on his bed, hugging a pillow.

…..

“I'm feeling a little sick at the moment.” Is the excuse he tells his packmates, desperately trying to buy some time to himself, so he can think it over.

They all buy it, because they don't have a reason to not trust him, and they spend days comforting him, bringing him whatever he wants, and he can't help but feel worse about it all.

He doesn't know how to even bring it up to them. Everytime he thinks of speaking about it, he freezes up. He can't help but overthink.

….

“Who do you think would be the worst parent here?” Twitch chat asks.

Everyone laughs.

“Yumi would lose the kid gambling…” Puffer snorts, Yumi nodding his head.

“And then I would win it fucking back! You'd lose the kid, and then lose the house!”

“God, Puffer shows up to pick up his daughter, and he looks so annoyed her friends all get scared off.” Pezzy snickers, making Puffer look offended.

“I mean, you get annoyed at Matt and John so fucking quickly Puff, how are we all supposed to believe that you're just going to start being all soft and cuddly with a kid? You're more prickly than a cactus sometimes!” Droid jokes, making Puffer roll his eyes.

“Well, my kid would at least be smart! Look at Oso man, he's dumb as bricks!”

“Leave my son out of it! He may not be bright… but he's got a really good personality!!” Droid cries.

The cameras turn off later, Droid immediately apologising to Puffer, who waves it off quickly.

The thought stays in his brain though.

…..

“Chris, why don't you go play with some of the other children?”

“But Mamá, I don't want to… they keep trying to hug and squish me, because I'm the shortest!”

“Hush nino, it's fine! You'll grow to be taller than them all one day, go have fun, you're a child!”

The five year old bit his lip, looking over at the other kids. He walked over reluctantly, looking back at his Mamá.

“I heard your daddy hits you, because you're stupid and a mistake.” The tallest kid teases, pushing him.

This was a mistake.

“No-no. Whoever said that was lying.” He protests.

“Sure man… but they still hate you. Not even your Mamá hugs you goodbye… but your sisters? Yikes…”

Little Puffer tries to defend it. “It's because my step-dad says I don't need that stuff if I wanna be a man!”

The other kids just roll their eyes, pushing him again. “Whatever shorty… you're it again.”

….

Puffer's eyes fluttered open, as he shivered. He's still not good with touch, even after all these years.

The abuse from both father figures in his life has done massive damage in how he can cope with even the smallest amount of touch.

Strangely, when you get hit every time you try to hug someone, you stop wanting to try. Even now, he has to stop himself flinching when Smitty or Pezzy randomly grab him.

How's he supposed to throw that all away when a pup comes? Pups need touch and comfort, all the time. They don't warn you, it's random, and you need to be ready at all times.

This is such a bad idea to even consider… but he doesn't need to make a choice yet… he can just… wait a little longer.

So Puffer waits. And waits. And keeps it to himself.

…

He goes alone to the doctor, claiming he's getting his eyes checked, when he's actually getting the first scan of the pup done. The second his eyes make contact with the small jellybean on the screen, he knows he's fucked. He's keeping it.

His heart screams with a new feeling, something akin to omega instincts, and when his shirt’s lifted back down, his hands slowly cup around his stomach protectively. He smiles, shy, and to himself as he goes home.

Now he just needs to tell them.

But what if they're not on board? What if they're unhappy with the idea?

Puffer freezes at that, wilting a little, before going back up to his room.

He hasn't really left them much choice. Even if he's still not confident in the plan, he's still not willing to give his pup up.

What if they look at him like he's insane? Like he's grown a second head?

What if they suggest that Smitty or Droid forster it, because… ‘Puffer, you know pups? They need a caring omega to nurse them. Maybe it's better to let someone else do that… for you?’

So Puffer curls up in his nest, alone again, and sighs.

…

Something is wrong.

Puffer wakes up, and immediately knows something is wrong. He immediately leaves, racing to the walk-in clinic.

Meanwhile, Smitty's getting worried. None of them have really seen Puffer in the past few weeks, and they're getting concerned. Smitty's used to Puffer being distant, but this has been an unusually long cold shoulder.

So Smitty goes snooping, trying to see if he can figure out what's up.

Pezzy catches him instantly, because Pezzy had almost been run into by Puffer, who'd left the house almost frantic.

“What are you doing Smitty?” Pezzy hisses, making Smitty shrug.

“Nothin… just… looking…” Smitty says, opening the door to Puffer's room. Pezzy narrows his eyes, but follows him in.

The two pause in the middle of the room, wrinkling their nose.

“Smells like… fear scent… you getting that?” Pezzy asks, Smitty nodding.

“Yeah, strong… must be why he raced off somewhere… let's see…”

The two look around the room, not seeing anything unusual. Smitty goes into the bathroom, pausing.

“What's… this?” He says, picking up the pregnancy test. “Oh fuck… Pezzy?”

Pezzy hums, and Smitty emerges, eyes wide. “I think I know why Puffer ran away this morning.”

Pezzy covers his mouth. “Oh my god? He's with-pup? Holy shit?”

Smitty nodded, sniffling a little. “Wow… I'm so happy for him… No wonder it smells so fear scented in here… Poor guy’s probably terrified and gone to get a doctor's opinion.”

“What do we do?” Pezzy asked, looking at the test, Smitty biting his lip.

“I… I don't know… It's his choice… I just don't want him thinking he needs to do it alone…Like..”

“Who needs to do what alone? Why are you guys in Puffer’s room? GRIZZY, THEY'RE SNOOPING AGAIN!” Yumi calls out, making Pezzy and Smitty freeze up.

“Who's snooping?” John asks.

“Smitty you're pregnant?” Matt says, seeing the test.

“Why are you doing a pregnancy test in Puffer’s room?” Yumi says, confused.

…

Ten minutes later, everyone's in the living room, on the same page.

“We're going to wait for him to bring it up, okay? He's obviously scared about it, but we don't want to pressure him, okay?” Grizzy says, crossing his arms.

“Aww Puffer would be such a good Mamá though, we all know how much that pups getting spoiled.” Pezzy says quietly.

“That kids going to be set for life…” Yumi snickers.

“Are you sure we have to wait?” Matt asks, as Grizzy narrows his eyes.

“Yes.”

A few quiet grumbles and then everyone is nodding.

…

Puffer comes back in later, everyone pretending to act natural, Yumi tripping on a rug, failing immediately.

Much to their shock, he brushes past everyone, going to his room and shutting the door.

“Give him time.” John suggests, before everyone goes about their day.

…

Puffer leaves his room later, going to the kitchen and reaching for the alcohol in the fridge, before flinching a little and grabbing a bottle of sparkling water. He pulls away, sighing a little, leaning back in the kitchen. He's not really hungry, but he should probably eat…

“Have you been crying?”

Puffer freezes up, shoulders going to his ears as he looks away, the words scaring him a little. “No.. no..” he denies, the tips of his ears going red.

What's that going to do for his reputation? He's the chill one… Puffer doesn't cry…

Smitty's raising an eyebrow. “Sure… Okay. I'll pretend to believe you… Why don't you sit down, and I'll get you something to eat?”

Puffer wants to fight him, but this is the day from hell, so he just nods weakly.

Smitty's busy working in the kitchen when John drops by, kissing him on the cheek.

“You make a pretty hot kitchen maid Smit, wanna make me a sandwich too?” He winks, Smitty immediately shaking his head.

“Fuck you. Make it yourself. Jackass.”

John pouts, before just leaning against Smitty. “You want me to starve!!”

Smitty hands Puffer the sandwich, and the older man simply takes it back to his room, leaving the others worried.

“He's going to tell us…” Smitty reassures himself, biting his lip.

…

It turns out Puffer was set on the whole, not telling anyone plan, and Smitty's now taking matters into his own hands, because he's worried about the older male.

Puffer's pup is visibly noticeable now, the slight bump in his belly like an elephant in the room. But still he doesn't say anything.

Smitty sees Puffer on the couch, when he tries to comfort him, letting his scent out, trying to soothe him.

“Look man… I just gotta let you know… I know you're scared, about all of this… but you need to know. We all support you, whatever you decide.” He says quietly.

Puffer tilts his head, looking at Smitty. “Huh?”

Smitty sighs, deciding to be blunt. “You're fucking pregnant, man! We've given you space, tried to give you time! But it's like you're set on denying it, even as it's happening! We need to know how to help you, so we can make sure you're okay! We love and care about you!” Smitty snaps, making Puffer's eyes fill with tears as his scent goes soir.

“Smit… we talked about this.” Grizzy says, his tone full of warning, immediately catching the omega in the act

Smitty shakes his head, eyes wide. “No! I want him to know that I think he would be an amazing parent! I know he's talked about it in the past, like… worried about it, but I think he will do amazing, okay? You don't need to worry about what we think, this is all your choice!”

Puffer sniffles, looking away, biting his lip. “Can you… stop… please. Besides… I'm not like that…”

Smitty's jaw drops, and he grabs Puffer’s shoulders. “Dude. You need to have someone tell you. I believe in you. I love you. Its okay Puffer.”

Puffer’s shaking, not looking at Smitty. “I… I can't do this… I'm not ready.”

“You are..” Pezzy says quietly, sitting on the other side of him, patting him on the back.

Puffer’s eyes whip between the two of them, and he bursts into tears, trying to hide it.

Grizzy frowns, shooing them away, barely holding back a growl. “Give him space.. he's obviously very emotional about all this.”

Puffer pulls something out of his pocket, throwing it at Grizzy who picks it up, Puffer slowly creeping backwards..

Grizzy starts reading, as Smitty tries again.

“It's going to be okay man. We're all here for you.”

Grizzy sighs, as he gets to the end of the information, swallowing a little, scent smelling sad. “Stop. Seriously. Puffer, I'm… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry man. Do you want to go to your room? Do you need anything.”

Puffer shakes his head, eyes hardening. “Just tell them. Tell them what I did.”

Smitty and Pezzy’s confused eyes look over at Grizzy who sighs, before explaining.

“His last scan showed… poor development progress on the pup… After some in house consultation, his Doctor's have suggested that at this point in time, the pup may be incompatible with life…. But he will still have to carry to full term, because of the law…”

Puffer sniffles, his hands hugging his chest. “I… I was scared.. yeah.. But I saw it… them.. on the screen… and I knew… I was keeping them…” he wiped his eyes, as his voice changed. “I didn't know how to tell you guys.. then I woke up, and I knew something was wrong. The doctors didn't tell me anything… but I could tell something was wrong… I kinda… they just spoke and it's like I shut down..”

Puffer’s arms hugged himself even tighter. “It's fine though… I would have probably been a shitty parent… What kind of omega can't even… can't even keep their first pup safe… from themself? I would be a terrible mother… I'm just not good at any of that…”

Puffer turned around quickly at that, walking past the three, shutting himself in his room.

…

The house was quiet for a while after that, Puffer busy mourning the loss of something he never even got to hold, while the others grieved for him, worrying about how hard he was being on himself.

Puffer kept blaming himself, despite them all reassuring him, it wasn't his fault.

Everyone would take turns with keeping him company, not to overwhelm him, sleeping in the nest with him.

It's one of those one on one times, where Grizzy is laying with him, Puffer as the little spoon, Grizzy gently nosing his mate mark that Puffer wears, letting the omega rest as he scents him.

“I don't care what you say. I think you would have been the best mother to the pup fucking… ever. You just don't see what I see, do you? I don't know how you don't…” He mumbled, running his fingers over Puffer’s stomach, gently stroking the slightly taut skin. “Even though you act all cold and prickly, we all see how much you care, how much you love us. You care for us all in your own special way… You're one of the sweetest people I know, I just wish you could see what I see.” Grizzy murmurs, pressing a gentle kiss to Puffer’s stomach.

He flinches as Puffer’s stomach proceeds to thwack him in the nose.

Grizzy jumps back, eyes wide, as his brain lags.

Did… did the pup react to his voice? It's… it's moving?

Grizzy leaned in close again, wanting to check. “As I was saying, Puffer, I love you so fucking much and honestly, I don't know what I would do with out-”

Another thump.

Grizzy choked, eyes welling up with tears as he manoeuvred around a little in excitement, accidentally waking Puffer, who yawns, blinking as he squints.

“Grizzy, why did you… wake me? Huh…Are you okay? Are you crying?” Puffer asked, unable to see without his glasses, just sort of staring in his direction.

Grizzy sniffed, as he fanned his face. “The pup! Puffer! It… I…”

Puffer sighed sadly, voice shaking. “W-what? What about it?”

“I felt it kick! Twice!” Grizzy insisted.

Puffer froze, getting defensive. “You're lying. It's not.. supposed to-”

Grizzy kissed Puffer's belly, before staying close to the area. “I was just speaking to you like this, and then-”

Another thump, and this time Puffer was conscious enough to feel it.

…

Everyone's awoken at 4:30 in the morning by a high pitched squealing noise that is so loud, Matt thinks it's the burglar alarm..

Everyone races out into the hall, before Yumi opens the door to Puffer's room, not seeing the omega or one of the alphas in the hall.

“What in the-” He gets cut off instantly.

“THE PUP IS ALIVE! HE KICKED! IT'S MOVING!” Puffer practically screams out, making everyone blink in shock, processing the words in their sleep deprived brains.

“Holy… fucking…. shit?” Pezzy swears, as everyone enters the room, surrounding Puffer, all the scents comforting him.

Puffer's busy sobbing a little, as everyone takes turns stroking his belly, him curling up against Grizzy, who's keeping him steady

The oldest pack member leans in, gently petting the skin, before looking back at Puffer.

“I've heard of this happening before… sometimes unborn pups can benefit from being around their mothers alpha or pack… maybe the fact you've been spending so much time with all of us has helped the pup grow stronger? Helped it get over the illness?” John suggested, looking over at Puffer who's now purring, absolutely enjoying all the attention on him.

“Yes, you are a good omega… You helped your pup get so strong… That's so amazing, Puff.” Grizzy coos, making Puffer swoon a little.

Smitty smiles eagerly at Puffer, who in response grabs his face and then kisses him hard. “I.. You need to teach me everything… how to be a good omega… please. I'm so relaxed and chill all the time, i don't know how to be caring and shit like you…”

“Bro? Have you not seen yourself? I think you're doing just fine.” Droid snorts, kissing Puffer’s cheek, petting his hair.

“Look at you right now. Mamá Puff. You're practically glowing. You're going to be fine, and you're going to do it wonderfully.” Smitty coos, making Puffer preen a little at the praise,before faltering.

“I don't know..” Puffer says, biting his lip.

“We're all here to help, remember?” Matt says with a kind smile.

Yumi snorts. “At least you know now, that you for sure want the little guy…”

Grizzy’s eyes look over at him. “Uh… thanks captain obvious… Let's not go there.”

Puffer giggled at Yumi's pout.

….

“You can't all come in with me… the room's are not big enough back there..” Puffer frowns, making everyone deflate.

“That's not fair! Why does Grizzy get to go?” Matt pouts.

“Excuse me, we're pretty sure that it's my fucking pup!” Grizzy snaps back playfully, making Puffer roll his eyes.

“Guys, Grizzy’s going because I want to have an alpha there, so the nurses don't look at me like I'm some lonely single omega… John gets to come too, because he's the only one who's going to stay calm enough to write stuff down for me.” Puffer says firmly. “I'm a little too emotionally charged to react rationally to any news right now.

John turns around with a smug smile. “Besides, I'll Facetime you guys from the room, don't worry!”

“No.” Grizzy says, crossing his arms.

“Yes!” Smitty and Matt cheer.

Puffer sighs.

…

*Here we are guys, I'm streaming straight from the ultrasound machine, just a short stream today, because Grizzy called security!!!”

…

“So. The doctors fucked up? That's where we're at?” Pezzy asks, looking around the room as John nods.

They've just gotten back, and now a chance to catch everyone up.

“Yeah, they gave Puffer the wrong scans back last time… his kid was apparently fine the whole fucking time! The weird pain he had? It was his ribs moving around to make more room for the pup… They apologised so much, but I think we'll be going somewhere else when the little pup eventually comes.”

“Did you find out the sex?” Smitty asks curiously.

Puffer's eyes looked over at Grizzy, narrowing. “This idiot looked at the doctor's papers and spoiled it, so one of us fucking know.”

“All I'm saying? We got money. Banger gender reveal…” Yumi says, rubbing his hands together evilly.

Matt perks up. “Oh! Can I please be in charge of it please?”

“Fuck no. You will go to fucking jail, knowing you!” Puffer says, shaking his head. “I'm happy with some fucking cake or something…”

“What I'm thinking right? Is we get this cake, and we make it explode, and then the colour is the colour of the pup!” Matt says, making Puffer roll his eyes.

“No fire. No explosions. Nothing illegal, or you're not going on the birth certificate as under the “mate section”.” Puffer says, eyes narrowed.

…

“Least we don't need a DNA test to tell who the father is…” Yumi says, cracking his back, as they all look at the baby..

“What's that supposed to mean?” Pezzy said, raising an eyebrow as he slowly turns to the younger.

Yumi sputtered, looking at Grizzy holding the baby, taking in the almost identical features.

Droid placed his hand on Yumi's shoulder. “Excuse me. I am 3%, so that baby could still be mine. Don't assume shit in this pack.”

“My fault.” Yumi said, raising his hands.

…

Grizzy smiles as he watches Puffer rock the small girl to sleep, gently placing her in the crib. He pulls Puffer in for a gentle kiss.

“And you thought you would suck ass at this.” He snorts, making Puffer's cheeks burn slightly in embarrassment.

“I.. shut up… It's just…” he paused, shaking his head. “When I saw her… I just knew.. I knew what to do… all the fear just kind of.. melted away, and I was just holding this innocent soul..” His voice trailed off into a yawn.

Grizzy snickered, scooping Puffer up. “Okay Mamá Puff, it's time for you to get some sleep now. Pezzy’s staying up to do some work, so he's got the baby monitor, so there's no excuse for you not getting some good sleep.”

Puffer relaxed a little, nodding against Grizzy’s chest. “Okay… Okay.. fine..”

Grizzy smiled as he carried Puffer up to his nest, humming as the omega drifted off to sleep, curling up protectively around him.

Chapter Text

“Okay, I've decided I don't care who's fault it is anymore, I just want to know what the fuck happened.” Pezzy says, glaring at his packmates like a disapproving mother. John peeks over Pezzy's shoulder, frowning at the sight.

“So… Uh..” Smitty cuts himself off, shrugging. “You know what? I got nothing man. You could offer me anything to try and explain it, and I still don't know what the fuck just happened.”

Pezzy's eyes snap to a very guilty looking Puffer and Yumi.

“Okay, spill.” The omega hisses, glaring at the two alphas.

Both of them look away, before Grizzy pushes past. “Oh, I'll sell them out! These fucking gambling addict mother fuckers made a bet against some fucking wizard!”

Pezzy’s eyebrow raised, as he looked at Puffer, who doesn't say anything to deny the claims. “Uh, huh? Is that so?”

Puffer eyed the ground, staying silent.

“Yeah, so these idiots really thought they were outsmarting him! Nah, it was a full on trap. He lures them in, they're winning bigger and bigger, better potion effects, better spells… and then these morons say ‘double or nothing!’ and lose it all!”

“To be fair, they didn't know they'd lost.” Smitty chimes in, unhelpfully, being shot at by a glare from Yumi.

Pezzy rolls his eyes. “So explain to me then, why does the house have a giant ass, fucking hole, in the middle of the wall now?”

Grizzy held up a hand, asking him to pause. “So I was getting there! The wizard hands them both a scroll, and just like all the others they assumed they'd won more luck scrolls… nah. One just fucking… spontaneously combusted… and the other uhm..”

Pezzy frowned as a whining noise interrupted Grizzy. “What's that?” He asked, looking around, seeing a moving bundle under a blanket.

Smitty and Grizzy locked eyes, Smitty sighing. “That's Uh… that's what the other scroll did.”

John walked in front of Pezzy, kneeling and turning the blanket over. “There's pups here?” He said confused, picking up the small fluffy bundles of fur.

Pezzy's pupils dilated, at the mention of pups, having just finished his heat, he was still little emotional. “Pups? Where?”

John gently holds up the small, dark, grey and brown bundles, placing one in Pezzy's arms, as he cooed.

“Awww puppies!” Pezzy said quietly, stroking the little grey puppy, which just let out a whimper, nuzzling into him.

“That’s uh actually-” Grizzy gets cut off by Yumi.

“That's Droid, man.” He says bluntly, crossing his arms.

Pezzy jolted, waking the little bundle up fully, the one green and one blue eyes staring up at Pezzy slowly.

“WHAT THE FUCK?” Pezzy snaps, almost dropping the pup, who cries out.

“So this is Matt?” John says, squinting at the still-sleeping brown bundle.

“Yeah….”

========

After Smitty finishes explaining that the bundles of fur were actually the other two omegas from their pack, and the scroll was an omega-curse scroll, Pezzy is grateful to John for delaying their trip back home another twenty minutes or so.

Pup-Droid is feisty, well… he's attempting to be. He keeps growling and barking when people try to hold him, and Pezzy’s not really sure why he's the only one able to hold him.

Pup-Matt is unusually quiet, mostly just watching them with big wide eyes, cowering next to Droid. It makes Pezzy feel sad in a way.

Pezzy's omega is struggling to hold himself back from taking the two pups away and just, nesting with them for the rest of the day, maybe the rest of the month… Just… away from all this bullshit.

Pezzy's got them on the table, and is currently nuzzling his face against their fluffy fur.

Puffer moves over to touch Pup-Matt, when something clicks in Pezzy's brain and he growls, turning around, moving to stand in-between them,head rotating to growl at the alpha.

“Mine. My pups.” Pezzy growls, low and dangerous. His scent spikes, indicating his stress, making even Grizzy wrinkle his nose at the intensity.

“Look what you've done! You fucking idiots triggered his possessive omega hormones! Good luck trying to get anywhere near them now!” Grizzy sighs, throwing his hands in the hair. “Fuck it, I'm going to go to town and try and find some magic bullshit to reverse this. You two are coming with me!”

Yumi and Puffer yelp as they're grabbed by the annoyed beta, and taken away.

Pezzy just ignores the sound of people moving, instead he's gently scooping up the two small pups, and taking them to his private nest. His expression falters a little, watching them whine a little, shivering at the lack of warmth in his room. Pezzy lets his omega features out (for once), his large, yet very soft cat tail emerging from his spine. He nuzzles both of them, having to hold back his cat instincts that want to groom them with his tongue, instead, he just purrs, soothing them.

He makes sure the pups are comfortable, pulling them in close to his belly, tail curling up around the pups protectively, when he sees movement. His eyes narrow.

It's just Smitty and John.

Eyeing Pezzy warily, Smitty quickly holds up a bottle of milk, gaining Pezzy's attention. “We warmed some of the milk up, figuring they probably need food of some sort, seeing as it's nearing dinner time now.”

Pezzy nods, currently a little too much in his own head to be able to reply verbally.

Smitty just takes it in stride, waiting for Pezzy to move his tail away and pass them each a pup, watching them closely. Smitty glances at John. “Hey… Are you cool with feeding Matt? It's a bit weird seeing my other childhood best friend like…this..” Smitty admitted, reaching for Droid as John nodded.

Smitty carefully picked up Pup-Droid, before gently giving him the bottle. The pup looked over at the bottle, looked up at Smitty and then chomped down, right on his finger.

“Son of a b-” Smitty cuts himself off, shaking his head as he groans in pain. “I swear, Droid? He knows… I don't know why you're taking it out on me though man! I literally told them to stop!” Smitty said, narrowing his eyes at the pup, who just blinked slowly at him.

“You're just losing it, Smit.” John mumbled, gently petting Pup-Matt's fur, the tiny guy just hungrily swallowing all the milk. John makes a satisfied humming noise when Matt's done, passing him back to a watchful Pezzy, who purrs happily when one of the pups is returned to him.

After a couple more minutes, Droid's done too. Smitty passes pup-Droid back too, swearing he sees the pup poke his tongue out, but not wanting to throw hands with a literal baby.

Pezzy curls his fluffy tail back up around the two again, purring happily.

“You're such a good omega, taking good care of the pups, yes you are.” John says soothingly, making Pezzy trill with happiness. John leans in and gives him neck scritches, Smitty doing the same on his cat ears.

“Okay, we'll leave you alone. Don't worry, we'll be guarding the nest for you from outside the room.” Smitty says, making Pezzy blink slowly in response, before he's settling back down.

….

“Smitty looked like he wanted to punch me..” Droid whined quietly, Matt just yawning in response, rolling his eyes.

“They can't understand us while we're like this, so I don't know why you're trying to be a little gremlin and whisper.” Matt sleepily mumbles, pressing his tiny paws into Pezzy’s soft fur. “Cozy…”

Droid sighed, wagging his tail. “I am literally one foot tall right now. I don't want them getting any ideas! I need them to know that I'm still in charge of me!”

Matt just stared at him, slowly blinking. “Okay…” he mumbles.

Droid tilted his head, suddenly concerned. “You okay? What's wrong?”

“Mmm… just.. Foggy… When I was a pup… it was kinda rough… now that I'm this size… it's like I'm… I don't know.. second chance? I just feel.. I don't know.. fuzzy. It's… hard to focus.” Matt explains, his eyes all glazed and foggy. “‘S nice.”

Droid looks around, noticing that Pezzy is now asleep, before turning back to Matt. “Hmm. I mean, if you want to act just like a pup, while you look like one, go ahead. I'm not gonna judge… Honestly, it could be fun to just.. switch off your brain for a bit.”

Matt nods, kneading his paws into the soft fur. “Mmmm. S’rry. Just.. words hard.”

Droid waddles over, laying next to him, nuzzling up into Matt's fur. “You just vibe man, I'll be here. I'm gonna do the same.”

….

Puffer sheepishly passes the scroll over to Pezzy, whose eyes scrutinize it, before nodding.

“That should work…” he mumbles, passing it back, looking thoroughly unamused.

“Cool…” Puffer mumbles, shuffling around awkwardly.

“What?” Pezzy asks, his voice low.

“We kind of… need you to let go of one of them. To turn them back.” Yumi says, hoping Pezzy won't overreact.

Pezzy looks at the way his tail's wrapped tightly around the two, he sighs a little as he loosens it back.

Pup-Droid bounces around, jumping at Yumi, who scoops him up. Pup-Matt just shuffles back, looking at Yumi, before hiding under his tail. Puffer scoops him out, shocked at how much the pup starts struggling in his grasp.

“Wow… Matt really doesn't like that.” Pezzy mumbles, grabbing the pup back possessively. “Hey, hey… It's okay… Mama's here.” He purrs, nuzzling the small pup.

Pup-Matt relaxes, pressing his tiny wet nose into Pezzy’s own nose, making something is Pezzy's heart melt.

They all watch closely as Yumi does the spell, turning Droid back to normal with no issues, before Puffer starts for Matt.

Droid shakes his head, looking around, slightly dizzy. “Oh, I'm taller again. Thank God. That was…” He blinks, looking around.

Droid then notices Puffer’s spell chanting, before quickly placing a hand on his shoulder. “Wait, you need to stop man. I need to-”

“-with this return to forme again- fuck that was meant to be ‘ return to forme unchanged’, Droid, what the fuck?! Now I've fucked it up.” Puffer says with a growl, whipping around as Matt starts glowing.

Droid looks guilty as he rubs his arm, shyly explaining. “Matt wasn't ready to go back,” he admits.

“Huh?” Pezzy says, Yumi and Puffer are then both turning and looking at Droid.

Droid eyes the glowing Matt, sighing. “Something about switching his brain off, bad childhood, second chance? It was really helping him. He said he felt safe with Pezzy.”

Puffer groans as Matt attempts to stand up, legs wobbly, looking a bit out of it. He gives up standing, just sitting and staring at the floor.

Puffer rereads everything, comparing Droid's post spell reaction and Matt's. “Ah shit… I definelty fucked up the spell too.. I hope I can reverse it.. Fuck...”

Matt looks at Droid, his eyes still foggy before shaking his head. He looks down at his body, his hands clenching together and then unclenching. “Oh…. This shit again. Okay.” Matt whispers.

Pezzy steps over to Matt, letting out some calming pheromones, easily smelling Matt's distress. “Hey man, you look kinda out of it still. You wanna come back over and nest with me?”

Matt bites his lip before deflating a bit. “It's not the same..” he mumbles, shrinking in on himself, pulling his knees to his chest.

“I'm sorry…” Pezzy croons, wrapping his tail around Matt's waist, as Matt sniffles a little.

“I just. I've never felt that safe before… I… Fuck I need to grow up… I'm sorry.” Matt whines, as Pezzy shakes his head.

“No, no. It's okay. I liked looking after you! I enjoyed it a lot. It was like you were my pup..” He soothes, making Matt's eyes widen.

“R-really?”

“Yeah.”

“I'm.. I'm glad.” He mumbles.

Everyone in the room gasps as Matt's body starts glowing again, before shrinking back down, smaller and smaller. Once they can all look back at him, he's back to the pup form, but he appears to be crying.

“Well.” Yumi says, blinking, rubbing the back of his neck.

“So… you turned Matt into a.. were-pup? That's… interesting...” Pezzy says, picking Matt back up, nuzzling him close. “Hey Matty, don't worry, Mama's here…” He whispers, making Matt immediately relax, turning happy instantly as he whines.

Pezzy pecks a kiss on the top of his head, before placing the happy pup in his nest again.

Puffer just nods, blinking at the scene. “Huh… Well… that's a thing.”

Droid crosses his arms. “Dibs on telling Smitty that Puffer fucked up.”

“Fuck you…” Puffer sneers.

……

Chapter Text

========

“I'm not a fucking piece of glass.”

Soup looks over at Yumi, who's glaring at him from the top of their beds. They'd shoddily pushed both beds together, to try and make a larger area to nest when Yumi's heat had hit out of nowhere.

Yumi was stubborn however. He kept insisting that his nest was “good enough” (it was barely a hoodie and a sheet), and that he didn't actually feel that bad. (Despite the fact he's absolutely drenched in sweat and he can't stand.)

“I know you ain't glass, boy. But I also know how much of a bitch you are. I think I'll be staying over here.” Soup replies, making Yumi's scent flare up in annoyance.

Soup knows what Yumi wants. Yumi knows that Soup knows.

Soup also knows that Yumi's pride was going to need to take a hit here. He wasn't stepping foot in that nest unless Yumi broke down and asked him. He's enjoying watching him squirm, the way Yumi's scent keeps trying to entice him in. It's amusing.

Because Yumi's scent is addictive, yes, but this is funnier.

Yumi pouts a little, curling up and glaring daggers over at the alpha. “I hate you.” He grumbles.

“Is that the way to talk to the guy who just saved you from being jumped by a heap of nerds, Princess? A thank you may be a better start.” Soup just replies, looking at his phone.

“Princess? I-” Yumi turns around, offended. “Fuck you.”

“Love you too, babe!” Soup winked, recalling the day's events.

=======

When Matt had suggested that Soup come along to the meet up, he'd jumped at the chance to see most of the weirdos he interacted with in person. When he'd walked into Matt's hotel room, he was greeted with someone groaning out; “Oh fucking hell, who invited this guy?”

Soup had snorted, raising an eyebrow at Yumi, who was chilling on a couch. “I don't recall Matt mentioning the make a wish kid being here, but here we are anyway. Move over, boy!” He teases, flopping down next to Yumi, who just rolled his eyes.

“You fucking stink man. And you look like shit.” He says.

Soup just laughs, wrapping an arm around Yumi, enjoying the way he blushes. “You just smell like a little bitch bro… How’ve you been, anyway? Still living in mold and filth?”

Yumi shakes his head, throwing his arms up. “Dude! It's so fucking bad! Everytime I think we've gotten it all out, I turn around and find more! I'm going crazy!”

Soup laughed, enjoying the way Yumi's strawberry scent spiked slightly, the annoyance about his house coming off him in waves. “Surprised you ain't developed black lung yet, boy! Ah. Give it time. Maybe next year.”

Yumi rolls his eyes. “Jeez, thanks Soup… What have you been up to anyway? Killing small critters with your hands or something?”

“I been doing something with my hands alright..” Soup snickers, making Yumi flush, covering his face.

“Dude! What the hell! MATT! SOUP'S GETTING WEIRD!” Yumi yells out, making Matt look over, waving at Soup.

“Oh, hey man! If you guys are going to be freaky, can you at least do it in the bathroom? None of us want to watch.”

“Speak for yourself.” Pezzy jokes, making Puffer side-eye him.

“*cough* Freak.*cough*”

Yumi sputtered at Matt's comment, unable to think of a reply, just crossing his arms.

Soup leaned in, whispering into his ear. “Oh hush Princess. You need to relax. Getting all worked up already?”

Yumi's eyes flashed as Soup pulled away, laughing. “Alright, now that's behind us, I got some videos of Rebel, if you wanna watch them?”

Yumi perks up, nodding as he shuffles closer to the alpha, pressing his cheek to Soup’s chest.

Soup absent-mindedly finds himself running his fingers up and down Yumi's side as they watch, trying not to react when he hears the quiet sound of Yumi purring.

They sit in their own little bubble, watching Soup’s videos, before moving onto stupid tiktoks, before someone's coughing at them.

“Hello? Yumi? Soup? Love birds?” someone says, but it sounds almost far away.

“Hmmm?” Soup mumbles, not really listening.

Matt's hand covers the screen, getting their attention. “FUCKING finally! Holy shit! We've been calling your names for like five minutes! What are you watching? Gay porn?”

Soup chuckles, rubbing Yumi's side. “Yeah. We're re-watching the sex tape we made. Wanna watch with us?”

Matt doesn't even react at that, some of the others looking confused. “Uh huh. Okay pal, we're all going to dinner now, so if you could stop groping Yumi in my hotel room, we can go.”

Yumi goes a pretty pink colour again as he pulls away, sputtering. Soup just stretches slowly, shooting another wink at Yumi.

“I'll see ya later… roomie.” He snickers, making Yumi groan.

“What do you mean? Why do I have to room with Soup?” He whines making Smitty look over.

“We did it because you're like… gay for each other. No need to thank me!” he says, trotting away.

Yumi just swears as they all head off to dinner, ignoring the way Soup’s fingers felt on his body. He shivers a little.

It felt nice.

…..

It had been a fun few days at first, but when Yumi woke up on day 4, he knew. He knew something was off.

He felt really crappy, something jiggling in his brain, but he's unable to place it. He's quieter the whole day, gaining more than a couple eyebrow raises, preferring to stick closer to Soup. It's like he's drawn to the older man, wanting to snuggle up against him.

The day drags on, and at dinner, it finally seems to click in Yumi's brain what's wrong.

He's in preheat. His heat can't be far off.

“Fuck.” He mumbles quietly.

“What was that, boy?” Soup asked, leaning in and taking a breath. Soup paused, taking a second inhale, to double check what was up.

Yumi's faint strawberry scent had gotten more thick. Something smokey was underneath the sweetness, and it smelt really fucking good.

Yumi's foggy eyes turned to face Soup, and Soup also swore.

“Fuck. Uh, guys?”

“What's up?” Pezzy asks.

Soup pushes his chair back, pulling Yumi into his arms. “This fucking idiot feels really sick… I'm gonna take him back to our room. Don't wait for us at the bar, k?”

“Okay, hope ya feel better soon Yumi!” Matt calls out.

Everyone says goodbye, as Soup drags Yumi out of the restaurant.

“I can fucking get back there myself.” Yumi groans, leaning in and scenting Soup.

“Sure ya can princess. Why don't I just be nice and help ya out though?”

Yumi hummed, clinging to Soup, the two of them walking back in the sunset.

======

So now, they're in the stand off.

Yumi desperately wants to cuddle with Soup in his nest, but he also doesn't want to be the one to ask.

It would seem like Yumi's got an ego, but it's actually the opposite here. He's massively insecure. He knows he's not a typical omega, and he doesn't think he could handle being rejected.

Because he's not some typical omega, he hadn't even bothered trying to make a nice looking nest. What's the point, if Soup's just not going to even join him? Alpha's as hot as Soup, don't go for chubby, tall omegas like Yumi.

It almost made him want to cry.

Mustering up some courage as a cramp ripples through his body, he looks over at the alpha.

“Hey.. would you fucking… just get in here? Please?” He asks, actually using the p word for once. Soup just rolls his eyes.

“You can ask better than that!” He snickers, still thinking Yumi's being stubborn.

A lump surfaces in Yumi's throat. Instead of re-asking, he just rolls over, curling up into a ball. Hurt ripples through his core, more upset than he thought he would be, from the light teasing.

…

Soup honestly thought Yumi would have laughed and re-asked again by now. He's a little out of his depth, being this close to an omega in heat, but he knows Yumi, he knows their dynamic, it should be simple, right?

Wrong.

Soup's waiting to hear Yumi reply, when he scents the air again. He frowns at the scent of rotting fruit filling the air, immediately jumping up, walking round the bed to crouch next to where Yumi's face is.

“Yumi?”

Yumi looks away, covering his face up.

Soup immediately feels bad. “Dude, I'm sorry.. I thought we were still joking around… I'm not used to this.”

“.... It's fine… I know you don't wanna….” Yumi mumbles, looking away.

Soup feels like shit now. He immediately reaches over, stroking Yumi's hair.

“No. I'm sorry Yums… Am I still allowed into your nest to cuddle?” He asks, watching as Yumi's eyes widen.

“Really?” He asks, almost nervously.

Soup nods, and then Yumi shuffles over, making room.

Soup lays on his back, unsure how the other would want him, and is pleasantly surprised when Yumi lets out a satisfied chuffing noise, nuzzling his nose into his neck. Yumi wraps an arm around Soup's chest, nuzzling into any part of the older that he can.

Soup can't help but laugh, soft and gentle, not wanting to spook the other. “God. Look at you. What a good omega you are, scenting me! Safe in your nest too.” He says, letting out a low rumble.

Yumi's pupils dilated at the compliment, scoffing. “Shut up. It's just because I'm in heat…” He grumbled, already back to being sassy.

Soup just nods, running a hand along Yumi's back, pulling him in closer.

“You look cute like this.” He teases.

“Shut up…asshole…” Yumi replies, but it's softer, and lacks any actual fire.

Soup smiles, falling asleep to the sound of Yumi's purring, deciding he's only going to bring it up next when Yumi's heat is over.

Chapter Text

Another argument, another day. God. Pezzy’s tired of this.

He doesn't remember how it started, or even why it started. He does remember how it ended though.

“Maybe that's why your sister hates you so much? Because you're such a whiny bitch? What type of alpha just lets everyone walk on top of him?” Puffer sneers down at Pezzy, enjoying the way Pezzy's eyes widen at the comment.

“I-” Pezzy gets interrupted by Puffer, who seems more angry than usual.

“It's probably also why your last girlfriend cheated. If you weren't going to stand up for yourself, why should she stick around?” He finishes, looking smug as he stares down Pezzy.

Pezzy bristles, turning around and storming off to his room, hands shaking.

“Yeah, go cry to your mom. When you're ready to act mature again, I'll be here.”

Pezzy ignores Puffer’s words, slamming the door shut, clicking it closed behind him, as he whispers to himself.

“I am enough. I am enough… I am…”

It's like a dam breaks to pieces.

He quickly backs up towards his bed, heaving in gasps of air.

He hates fighting! With anyone! Why is he constantly at war with Puffer?

Why is Puffer so good at getting under his skin? Why is the omega so brutally effective at picking him apart? He knows how to rile him up, and he knows how to make it hurt.

Pezzy’s not innocent either, but at least when he's fighting Puffer, there's lines he doesn't cross.

For example? He would never bring up Puffer’s abusive step-dad. Ever. That would be going too far.

He tries to make his arguments less about things that can't be changed, and more about simple, in the moment things.

But Puffer? It's like he wants to make Pezzy bleed. Cut him up with his words, each crafted into a knife with a point designed to do maximum damage.

Pezzy's unable to stop the quiet sob that leaks out of his mouth. Then another.

He needs to muffle his crying better. Real Alpha's shouldn't cry. That's what his father always said anyway.

Maybe he needs to sit down and talk with Puffer? Explain to the other that the reason he doesn't act like a typical alpha, is because he doesn't want to turn out like his dad.

He never wanted to use the alpha voice on anyone. Ever. He'd seen what it did to his own family. Puffer would get on his nerves, sure, but he'd never even think of ordering him to stop.

Maybe he should tell him, but lately, he feels like everything he ever told Puffer in confidence, gets thrown back at him in an argument. He's not sure he wants to be teased for something like that.

Pezzy sniffles a little, as he pulls his legs up to his chest. He just doesn't understand!

Is love supposed to hurt this much? It had only gotten more and more common, for one of them to be yelling at the other. Pezzy saw how it was affecting the others, but other than a pathetic excuse of an apology, he doesn't know what to do.

Puffer’s gone a little too far today though. Bringing up his sister was one thing, but his cheating ex too? That stung, deep. They'd all been on call when he'd mentioned it, everyone giving him the comfort and support he'd needed to dig himself out of that hole.

Why had Puffer just thrown it back at him, with some sort of twisted pleasure? What was he getting out of making Pezzy angry or upset?

Maybe he should just leave? Give Puffer some space? Clearly his presence is stressing the omega out. He knows the fighting is bugging the rest of his packmates too… Maybe he can take some time away, figure out what he's done and apologise for it? He just doesn't even know what it is that he has done!

And then what? Puffer just laughs at him again? Telling him to suck it up and hit back?

Pezzy was just all too tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of his packmates sighing in response to the drama. They'd all tried to stop the fights at the start, but now it's more just threats and annoyed glances when they hear the two of them.

The only one that seemed to try and break it up now was Droid. Pezzy's heart ached for him. He sighed, trying to clear his mind, but his adhd had now found something new to fixate on, constantly making him re-evaluate the fight.

Maybe Pezzy did something that was considered bad enough, that his pack thinks he deserves all of this? But.. Why has no one told him what he did?

Is he even welcome here anymore?

Pezzy hears a timid knock on the door, knowing it's Droid. (Puffer would just attempt to barge in, and the others haven't even visited him in a while)

“Come in..” He says quietly, wiping at his eyes. He's pathetic.

Droid ducks inside quickly, before he shuts the door behind him, scenting the air and looking worried.

“Pezzy…?” He asks quietly, almost nervous as he speaks.

Pezzy doesn't look at him. He can't show the other omega in the pack how weak he is. “...yes?” He whispers back, voice strained and crackling.

“Are you okay?” Droid asks, timid and nervous.

No. No. I'm drowning. I don't know what I've done wrong. Why does my mate hate me? Why do I always react? Why do people say things just to hurt me? Why does no one seem to stop him? Why did my sister hit me? Why did my ex cheat? Am I really that unloveable? Why?

“I…”

Pezzy can't even get out the words ‘I'm fine.’ He knows the script. He knows what he's supposed to say. Pezzy’s just tired. Tired of everything.

For the first time, he's too tired to continue the lie.

“I… I don't think so.” He says quietly, looking at Droid, feeling despondent.

Droid's eyes widen, as he reaches his arms around Pezzy, pulling him in for a hug, scenting him slowly, trying to help ground him.

Pezzy just sits there, disassociating more and more.

“I'm sorry.” Droid mumbles, but Pezzy doesn't hear him. He's too busy thinking about Puffer.

======

“W-why do I love the p-people who hurt me the most?” Pezzy's quiet voice takes Droid aback, as he pulls away to look at the alpha.

Pezzy seems to be shrunk in on himself. Like he's trying to make himself a tiny target or something. Trying to protect himself.

“Um.. I…”

Droid doesn't know how to reply to Pezzy either. He doesn't know how to fix this.

He knows the others are getting annoyed with the fighting. It's not like Droid likes it either! But he also notices how none of them race to stop it. They just sit to the side, waiting for the silence to return to the house.

“Pezzy can hold his own against Puffer, he's an alpha. If Puffer gets too bad, he can just alpha voice him..” They'd say.

“Why are they even together, if they fight like this all the time?” was another classic.

Droid just watches them yell, like he's frozen in place, unable to move. To the side, out of earshot, because the noise of people fighting stresses him out. It makes him remember things that he doesn't want to bring up. Makes him remember the fighting, all before both his parents walked out, and left him behind.

Everytime Pezzy and Puffer storm off to different ends of the house, Droid can't help but feel that flicker of fear that they're about to leave him too.

“Puffer didn't mean it, surely… He's just being a fucking bitch… I'm sorry.. ”

Droid's words sound weak, even to himself. Pezzy barely reacts, as his scent decays even more, making even more worry bubble up inside of Droid.

“I don't un-understand… What did I do wrong? Why does he hate me?” Pezzy whimpers, looking over at Droid, seeking answers. Droid doesn't have any. This is bad.

Droid realises then and there that they've let this all go on too long. Puffer likes being a bitch, sure, but it's seriously starting to get to Pezzy. He's always worried, deep down inside… What are they going to do when one day Pezzy starts believing the stuff Puffer says to get a reaction out of him?

Today seems to be that day. Droid looks at how broken Pezzy seems to be, and can't help but wonder what the alpha said to him.

“Puffer's… I… I don't know… I don't really understand him.. He's just trying to make shit up and upset you.” Droid attempts.

“I mean… He's not even making shit up! Everything he says is true! I just want to know why he feels the need to say it… I want to know what I did wrong, that everyone just stands and watches. Is it.. funny? Does everyone like seeing me get angry to the point of tears? I don't… Why is that…funny…?” Pezzy's voice fades away.

Droid doesn't know how to fix this. His mind is racing. Maybe he needed to-

“I… Droid?”

“Y-yes?”

“I… I'm sorry. I need to be alone for a bit. I'm sorry to have bothered you..” Pezzy mumbles, not looking at him.

Droid's heart aches, but he nods and backs up, moving out of the room. The door shuts and Droid takes another deep breath, shuddering at the lingering smell.

He's never smelt Pezzy like that. It fills him with something akin to dread.

Normally, Pezzy smells like fermented cherries post-fight. It's a bit pungent, but it's a more normal scent.

This time? This time he smells purely like rot. There's no cherry scent. None. It smells like rot, mildew and something else… Something that Droid would describe as a mix of depressed acceptance. As if Pezzy had accepted that this was his life. That he deserved it.

It made Droid's blood boil.

He storms down the other end of the hall, towards the living room. He can see Grizzy out of the corner of his eye, but he ignores him as he storms up to Puffer, grabbing him by the shirt, growling.

“What the fuck did you do, Puffer? What did you say to Pezzy?” He growls out, unable to even hide the disgust he feels.

Puffer just shrugs, making Droid somehow even angrier.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HIM?” he snarls, going to charge, before he's pulled back by Grizzy.

“I honestly don't even remember. Nothing that wasn't a lie probably.” Puffer says, looking mostly unbothered, a glint in his eyes.

The rage bait works… A little too well.

Droid goes ballistic at that, thrashing around in Grizzy’s grasp. “YOU DON'T REMEMBER?” he snarls, trying to claw and scratch at Puffer, trying to make the other feel some of the pain Pezzy is feeling.

“What's going on?” Smitty asks, scenting the air, and then immediately going to leave when he sees the fighting.

Droid catches Smitty's eye, and stares at him, with something akin to betrayal.

It actually makes Smitty pause, confused at the look. “Droid?”

Droid stops moving, his brain slowly working.. “Put me down Grizzy.”

“I don’t-”

“I'm not going to attack him.”

Grizzy slowly lets go, and Droid simply turns on his heel, looking behind himself at them. “Do you smell that?” He says cryptically.

He enjoys the confusion in the other’s eyes. “Yeah, that smell? That means you all fucked up. You went too far this time, Puffer, and none of y'all fucking said anything! Again!” Droid snapped.

Puffer still looks confused, but less smug now. “Droid, I-”

“Shut the fuck up, Puffer! I don't want to hear it! You fucking promised me! You looked me in the eyes and you said, you would stop picking on him every fucking second day! You may not have lied to him, but you definitely fucking lied to me when you said that!”

Puffer looks at the ground at that, shame creeping into his scent.

Droid eyes flit over to Grizzy and Smitty. Looking like he wants to speak, he just shakes his head instead, before going to sit outside of Pezzy’s room.

….

Over the course of the afternoon, he notices everyone whispering. Talking about the smell that Pezzy’s outputting. Droid stares at them all, his gaze cold.

So now they wanna intervene? Wanna say something? Not when Pezzy’s in a fight, but when Droid of all people says something?

Droid's startled by the sound of Pezzy’s door opening, immediately jumping up. “Pezzy I-”

He freezes. Pezzy’s got a backpack on and a suitcase behind him. His eyes are red, and he looks defeated. His scent is still just as miserable as earlier.

“I can't do this anymore, Droid. Maybe if I give him some space, he'll love me again?” Pezzy mumbles, sounding almost delirious, as Droid's brain races.

Pezzy is leaving. Pezzy is leaving him. Where is Pezzy going? What if he never sees Pezzy again?

Droid lets out a quiet whimper at that. “I don't want you to go…” he says, in a very timid voice.

Pezzy’s tired eyes study him, before he's leaning forward, gently hugging him. Droid scents him, noticing a tiny bit of cherry underneath, and he clings to the smell, hoping he can remember it.

“Droid… You always tried your best to stop the fights. I appreciate it… I'm going to go… Stay with someone… for a little bit. I'll let you know later… but don't… tell the others, okay?” Pezzy whispers, making Droid swallow.

“Okay…” He replies quietly.

Pezzy then walks out of his room, towards the communal area.

Droid follows behind him, hearing the others' reactions.

“Pezzy?” John asks, confusion in his voice.

“What are you-?” Grizzy pauses.

“Are you going somewhere?” Smitty asks cautiously.

Pezzy lets out a shallow breath, before speaking. “Mama… She said she… I need to go back home for a bit… I…”

The lie is weak, and Droid knows none of them are buying it. But no one's calling him out.

“I gotta go.. so…”

Pezzy gets pulled into a hug individually by everyone. When he gets to Puffer, he hesitates.

Droid watches as Puffer gently pulls Pezzy in, noticing how much more pleasant Puffer’s scent is. It's not the wild, spicy salty ocean, more something soothing like a relaxing tropical breeze. It makes Droid's eyes narrow.

Pezzy shudders in Puffer’s hold, pulling away and wiping at his eyes.

But then it's like a switch flicks. Puffer's scent and body just close off, and he walks away.

Pezzy appears hurt by this. He gets to the door, looking back. “I just.. I wanted to say, I'm sorry… For everything.” He says quietly, before he's out the door.

Droid's whole world collapses as he sees Pezzy leave. He sees everyone crowd around Puffer, but he can't help but take a step back, eyeing them all with distrust.

You all did this! he wants to scream.

Instead, Droid slips away, pausing outside Pezzy’s room.

It might be petty, but he doesn't think that Puffer deserves any of Pezzy’s scent in his nest for the next few days.

Droid gets to work at stealing the remaining items, placing them all in his own nest. He settles down on top of it, trying to stop the aching worry from building in his chest.

Pezzy will be back. It's going to be okay. Puffer and him will talk it out and-

Droid cries.

=====

Droid lasts two days before he storms to Puffer's room, going to knock on the door.

Smitty intercepts him, but a growl makes Smitty pause.

“What?” He snarls, making Smitty's eyes widen.

“Maybe not now, Droid. Puffers really-”

“I don't fucking care how he feels. He should feel shit!” Droid snaps, storming into the other omegas room.

Puffer’s in his nest, facing away from the door. Droid's pretty sure that Puffer smells him before he hears him, because he sees the other stiffen, before turning around.

“Droid?”

Puffer sounds confused. Droid aims to clear that up quickly.

“Why? Why do you always fucking do this? It's always to him, as well! With any of us, you'd just let it go! With Pezzy, you go so much further! There's got to be some reason why!” Droid asks, voice cold.

Puffer blinks, having the decency to look a little guilty. “I mean… There is a reason… But I don't think you're going to like it..” his voice goes quiet.

“Anything is better than nothing.” Droid replies.

Puffer sighs, looking away. “There's… something addictive.. Pezzy… When he gets angry, his scent… I've never smelt anything so fucking delectable. The way his cherry scent becomes all… fermented… It's like a drug to me. I can't stop. I crave it. It's all I can think about in the moment, making him so mad, I can smell it again, and-”

“You're hurting him so you can get fucking high?”

Droid's voice cuts through Puffer’s ramble, a look of disgust so clearly plastered on his face.

Puffer’s cheeks go red with embarrassment. “I mean….”

Droid takes a step closer. “You mean what? That's fucking pathetic Puffer. You're so fucking selfish. Wanting to smell his angry scent? If you were a better mate, you'd realise that when Pezzy’s feeling really loving or scent drunk, he also makes the same fucking scent. Way to show how little time you spend with him, not fucking arguing.” Droid snaps.

It's like Puffer’s world shrinks down at that moment. “Wh-what? Really?” He asks, voice nervous and shy.

Droid's eyes are narrow. “You'll be lucky if you ever get to smell it again, with the way you've fucking treated him. I'm serious, Puffer, if you ever do this again, I am breaking my own pack bond and I am fucking leaving, with him. Because if I let it happen, over and over, I'm just as bad as you.”

Puffer swallowed, nodding. “I… I never.. I never set out to be like this… Just along the way… I got addicted to the smell… The rush of the fight… How we would make up afterwards again I-”

“I don't care. Fix it, or don't. It's in your hands. I'm over it.” Droid cuts him off, stalking away.

=======

Pezzy comes home after about a month away. Droid knows why he came back so randomly. He knows it's because of Puffer's heat.

Even if Pezzy thinks Puffer hates him, he still wouldn't dare to leave the other alone through a heat.

Speaking of Puffer, Droid's barely seen him while Pezzy’s been away.

Puffer’s been mostly hanging out in his nest. Droid's just glad it seems like the other's been doing some self reflection

Pezzy appears similar as to how he left. He looks tired, but this time he seems less sad and more melancholic. He doesn't move to hug people when he enters the house, instead he's keeping his distance, almost eyeing them with caution.

Droid notices almost instantly Pezzy is wearing a scent patch, and it makes his heart break.

“I'm back.” Is all Pezzy says, as everyone just watches the interaction of Puffer coming to greet him.

“Pezzy!” He yelps, running over and hugging the shorter. Puffer sniffles a little, holding Pezzy close. “I'm sorry, I… I went too far last time, I... Thank God you're back. I am so sorry. I really am.”

Pezzy seems stiff in Puffer’s grasp, awkwardly patting him. Puffer pulls away, studying Pezzy.

The older man still looks tired. “Okay…” is all he says, looking away.

Puffer seems confused by that, repeating the words. “Okay….? Just… Okay?”

Pezzy sighs, rubbing his eyes. “Yeah. Just, okay. What? Do you want me to be honest? Fine. Okay, I don't forgive you.”

Puffer looks confused. “B-but I said sorry. I apologised.”

Pezzy walks past him, moving his suitcase. “Yeah. You did. But you also apologised all those other times you hurt me. And then you did it again. If you never actually loved me, you should have just said something.”

Puffer watches Pezzy go, his scent becoming more storm based. He lets out a quiet; “What….?”

======

Droid watches from his room as Puffer’s pacing up and down the hallway.

He can smell that Puffer’s pre-heat has hit, and he knows the other would be typically spending that time with Pezzy. Pezzy would notice, and make Puffer rest.

This time, Pezzy’s not going to come out of his room.

Droid watches in amusement, as Puffer tries to make his scent more and more enticing, hoping to get Pezzy back to normal, however, Pezzy isn't budging.

Droid decides to slip past Puffer, and slide into Pezzy’s room, to rub salt in the room.

“Hey, Pezzy?” He asks.

Pezzy turns around, expression softening. “Oh, hey Droid? What's up?”

Droid makes his eyes wide as he asks. “Would you mind cuddling with me in my nest?”

Pezzy looks outside the room, making eye contact with a needy Puffer, before nodding at Droid. “Sure. It's nice when someone asks to hang out with me.”

Droid then leads the way, shooting a smug look at Puffer, who looks pissed off.

=====

Pezzy sighs, settling into Droid's nest.

It was nice staying with Yumi, but now he's glad to be around more familiar scents. Droid's been like a God sent for him, always picking up when he's in his head too much.

Pezzy’s just buying time, it feels like.

He's waiting for Puffer to really and truly mean it, when he apologises. He's so tired of people not meaning it, so he's set on being distant.

He doesn't want to get hurt again.

Droid had explained Puffer’s weird thing with Pezzy’s scent as well. Pezzy had been upset by how shallow the reasoning for the constant fights were, so he'd made sure he was covered in scent blockers.

He wouldn't allow the other to get anything maliciously from his scent anymore.

So Pezzy relaxes in Droid's nest, scenting the other, until about an hour later, there's a timid knock on the door.

“Yes?” Droid says, as the door opens.

A very meek looking Puffer stands there. He's shuffling from foot to foot, biting his lip.

“Can… Pezzy… Can I…” He shakes his head. “Can Pezzy come and nest with me?” He asks quietly.

Droid rolls his eyes. “Ask him yourself. He's not my property.”

Puffer looks at Pezzy, who just stares back at him. “Oh… shit um.. Pezzy… Would you mind coming and nesting with me…? my preheat’s getting kinda bad..” Puffer asks.

Pezzy sighed, wordlessly getting up and following Puffer back to his nest. He waits for Puffer to tell him where to sit, and then moves into the nest.

Pezzy doesn't speak a word.

====

Puffer's getting anxious now.

It really seemed Pezzy was set on sticking to this… whatever this was… Payback?

He presses his nose into Pezzy’s side again, trying his best to get a whiff of cherry, whining quietly when he can't smell anything other than soap and detergent. It's disconcerting to say the least.

Pezzy's just a warm body. He could literally be anyone. This isn't Pezzy anymore.

Puffer bursts into tears.

“I'm sorry.” He whines, clinging to Pezzy. “I'm sorry that I'm selfish, argumentative and a fucking bitch. I'm sorry that I made you feel as if you weren't loved. I'm sorry I had the nerve to bring up things you were insecure about in an argument, just so I could get high off of your scent. I'm a piece of shit. I don't deserve you. I love the type of alpha you are. You let me be myself, and at some point, I started taking that for granted. Please. Give me one more chance. If I fuck up, I'll leave the pack. I don't want you feeling like you have to leave, because I'm being a prick. I love you Pezzy. I am so sorry.”

Pezzy freezes in his grasp, before he starts speaking quietly. “I'm the type of alpha I am, because of my childhood. My dad abused the alpha voice near constantly. I never felt safe… I didn't want to be like him. If that's not something you like, I'm not the alpha for you.”

Puffer shakes his head. “I don't care. You know what my childhood was like. I-”

Pezzy sighs. “We're both kind of broken…”

They sit there in silence, before Pezzy turns to look at Puffer, wiping his tears away.

“Look. I'm not saying that we're back to normal. I'm still hurt and upset by what you said. You need to accept that. If you mean it, and you do really want to change, then you're going to need to prove it to me.”

“Yes. I understand… Let's start over. Let me court you, Pezzy. You deserve to be spoiled.” Puffer says, grasping the alphas hands.

Pezzy’s cheeks go red. “Oh… You… court me? I-” He swallows, rubbing his neck. “Okay.. We can do that..”

Puffer lets out a quiet trill at Pezzy’s agreement, his scent coming off him like a nice tropical beach in the summer.

Pezzy sighed. “We're not like we were before, but if you're serious, we could be better than before. I accept your apology, and I want to forgive you, but-”

Puffer nodded. “That's okay. You can't just yet. I'm only saying words right now.”

Pezzy nodded, moving his hands to remove the scent patch, making Puffer's breath catch in his throat, as he scented the wild cherry storm in his nose. The emotions running off of Pezzy.

Hurt. Fear. Unloved. Lonely. Misery. Anger. Were all prominent base notes. Puffer focused on the lighter notes. Love. Optimism. Cautious happiness. Nervous. Adoration.

Pezzy’s scent screamed; ‘You have hurt me badly, but I love you enough to try one more time.’

Puffer let out a quiet keen, working on erasing all the sadness from Pezzy’s scent.

His neck, his biceps, wrists, belly, thighs, calves, hips and face. Puffer scented and sometimes kissed the areas he could reach, making sure Pezzy fully smelt like him. When he was done, he pulled back, pressing a kiss to the corner of Pezzy’s lips.

Pezzy’s face was red, as Puffer trilled again.

Puffer then gestured to Pezzy, to do the same to him.

“Really? You're letting me scent you?” Pezzy asked in quiet shock.

Puffer nodded, as Pezzy’s scent flourished, and his pupils dilated in shock.

That scent. The one he craved. The one that he was addicted to. Droid was right. But this? This was somehow even better.

Instead of fermented cherries, this was like… The most mouth-watering cherry wine you'd ever smelt. It felt like he'd bitten into one, and it almost made the eyes in his head roll back with how amazing it smelt. The sweetness, the tart, the addictive taste.

Puffer didn't even realise he was crying, until Pezzy wiped away his tears.

“Thankyou…” he whispered, as Pezzy pecked him on the lips.

=====

Droid watches them, the next week, eyes studying the two of them, as Puffer proudly shows off how much he smells like Pezzy.

Pezzy’s eyes meet Droid's, and a small smile graces both of their lips.

Pezzy walks over, nuzzling into Droid's neck, making him flush.

“Thank you. For giving him a wake up call.”

Droid rolls his eyes. “It was long overdue…. Are you guys…?”

Pezzy smiles. “We'll see. He's apparently taking me on a date this Friday, we'll see how it goes.

Droid nods, finally relaxing a little. “Make sure you buy the most expensive thing there. You're worth it.”

Pezzy laughs. “I know… Only thanks to you.”

Droid blushes, scoffing. “Get your goofy ass away from me, you simp.”

========

Chapter Text

Smitty's an alpha, John's an omega, it's meant to be, right?

All their friends would certainly think so if you asked them. The way the two act, the way their scents work so nicely. It's basically set in stone. They banter near constantly, and they're always together.

It's only a matter of time everyone says. John's just not so sure about that…

….

John's absent mindedly looking across the room when Puffer’s suddenly elbowing him. He hisses in slight pain, looking to Puffer for clarification.

“What are you looking at, John?” He asks with a smug tone, eyes following to where John's were looking. “Ooooo. Smitty again?”

“No! Oh my god, shut up! He's just my best fucking friend! Chill Puffer.” John groaned, looking away and covering his red cheeks. Curse the younger.

Why did Puffer always make a scene out of this shit?

“What's going on?” Droid asks, sitting down on the other side, making John groan.

“John's staring at you know who again!” the delta says smugly, Droid smiling as he shakes his head.

“Ah, the classics. I love them.”

…..

Droid is an alpha, Pezzy is an omega, it's meant to be, right?

All their friends act like it. Any excuse to leave them together, alone, is taken by them. Pezzy's just getting a little tired of it all.

Sure, Droid is sweet and kind.. but Pezzy’s not sure he wants that. Maybe he wants someone to push back on him? Fight him? Not roll over like a kicked puppy?

….

“Mmmm… hey there… Yo? Pezzy!” Smitty calls out, making Pezzy look at the younger.

“What's up Smitty?” he asks, taking in the slightly drunk alpha.

“Okay, so I was thinking, tomorrow, you should take Droid and like uh… go somewhere, just the two of you! It would be great! I can cover for you and-”

“Wow, slow down there! Why would I do that? I'd much rather hang out with everyone while I'm here.” Pezzy says, already seeing through what Smitty's trying to do.

Matt sighs, swirling his colourful drink with a straw. “Bro, you need to live a little! Come on!”

Pezzy shakes his head. “I'm not interested in Droid like that though. You need to stop, guys.”

He looks over the other side of the bar, making eye contact with someone and blushing, catching the other's attention.

“Oh, you're literally looking at him now!” Smitty squeaks, looking over at Matt.

“He's blushing!” Matt teases, ribbing Smitty.

Pezzy just sighs and orders another drink, looking down at the bar with a sigh.

They wouldn't get it.

…..

John couldn't help but whine quietly, noise escaping under his breath, just watching how Smitty was pushing Pezzy to hang out with Droid again. God. Why couldn't they be trying to make Pezzy hang out with him?

He can't hear the words being spoken, but Smitty had explained the plan to him earlier in the day, making jealousy well up in the pit of John's stomach.

You see, the person John had accidentally picked to crush on was also an omega. An omega who was practically taken by an alpha.

Kinda funny how pathetic he is.

….

The night goes on, and John's happiness slowly trickles away, as he watches his friends all joke and laugh. Watching Droid wrap an arm casually around Pezzy has something almost nasty swelling up in his stomach, and he weakly leaves, with a terrible excuse that no one seems to doubt. Luckily, they're all drunker than he is.

_____

Pezzy sighs in disappointment as he watches John leave the bar, mood immediately dipping. He pulls away from Droid, turning to face everyone else, brain already working quickly.

“I'm going to make sure John gets back to his room okay… He looked sick or something… I'll be back.” He lies, knowing full well he just wants to go lay face down on his bed and sleep for a year… Possibly cry.

Pezzy ignores the chorus of replies, darting over and catching up to the taller omega, who flinches a little in shock, seeing the younger one following him, before relaxing.

“Huh? What are you doing following me?” John mumbles, eyeing Pezzy and then back at their friends.

Pezzy shrugs, speaking casually. “Just making sure you get back to your room safe, man.. Could be weirdos about…. I'm kinda tired too, if you know what I mean.”

John cracks a smile, nodding. “Okay… I guess you can walk with me then.”

Pezzy's scent lightens, as the two start joking about nothing in particular.

_______

It doesn't take long for the conversation to change, both men slightly drunk and just rambling.

“I'm getting so fucking sick of my friends trying to set me up!” Pezzy snaps in the elevator, making John's head flick over, curiosity hitting him square in the chest. He didn't realise Pezzy was in the same boat as he was.

“Oh?” he replied.

“Yeah, they think I need an alpha, specifically, Droid, to take care of me! Newsflash! I'm not interested in him. He's my best friend and that's it!” Pezzy growls, his scent flaring up in anger, getting almost spicy.

John has never connected so deeply to someone faster. “Tell me about it! Everyone's constantly trying to set me up with Smitty! I'm so tired of it all. I don't even swing that way!” John groaned, relating to the shorter almost instantly.

The elevator chimes, and they both step out into the hallway. Pezzy’s still busy thinking it seems, because he stays still for a second.

“Swing, what way? What, men or alphas?” Pezzy says, suddenly confused.

“Alphas… God, I love men… But Alphas and I… don't really mix well..” John mumbles, making Pezzy giggle, before he slowly goes silent.

The two continue down the hall, pausing as John gets his room key card out, opening the door.

They walk inside, John throwing his jacket over onto the table, stretching out a little.

Pezzy is quiet for a bit, before sitting on the edge of John's bed. “Are we even allowed to do that?”

“Do what?” John asks casually, as he's changing into a plain singlet. He's feeling a little warm, and he doesn't seem to notice the eyes raking up and down his body.

“Are omegas even allowed to like other omegas?” Pezzy asks quietly, drawing into himself.

John turns around, pulling the singlet down, looking confused. “Yeah, of course we can.. why?”

Pezzy rubbed the back of his neck, before explaining. “Growing up, I was taught you… it wouldn't work… It's also not something you ever really hear about in the public eye….”

John snorted, flopping down next to Pezzy, rolling on his back. “Trust me. From some of my personal experiences. It can work out just fine.”

_______

Pezzy waves goodbye soon after that, before going to return to his own room. When he hears giggles and whispers from Matt and Smitty coming from the bathroom, mentioning his and Droid's names again, he makes a split second decision.

Pezzy quickly grabs his suitcase, turns on his heel and marches straight back to John's room.

“Sorry, I think I heard them plotting in our room, can I hide out here tonight?” Pezzy asked nervously, John nodding, before letting Pezzy back into his room, not even blinking at the suitcase.

“Sure man! You're welcome to stay the night here! There's only one bed, but I can take the couch… Wanna borrow a shirt to sleep in?”

Pezzy nodded, despite having his clothes with him, as John chucked over a shirt he'd painted on, holding it up and drunkenly stripping off his current shirt. John's cheeks flushed a little, seeing his own clothes on the shorter omega, but he covered it up with a cough and a yawn. “You don't have to sleep on the couch…” he says quietly.

John thinks about that, before replying with. “Okay…. Wanna cuddle then?” He asked casually, Pezzy immediately nodding, and climbing onto the double bed.

The two omegas proceed to spend the next few minutes thoroughly scenting each other, making sure they each smelled like a well blended mixture of the both of them. Pezzy's laying with his head on John's chest now, arm wrapped around John's stomach, as he thinks to himself.

Why does this feel so right? I've never felt-

“So… Um, John? How did you know that you only really liked omegas?” Pezzy's voice finally asks, all quiet and nervous.

John hums, contemplating the question, before answering. “I don't know when it happened, honestly… I've never vibed with alphas in a romantic sense… Even less people in a sexual way. With alphas? Their scents smell too harsh, and they're just… They're too alpha. I feel like if I'm dating one, I'm locked into place, like that's all I can be… Whereas if I'm with another omega, anything is possible… It just feels electric! It's just passion and fire, the fact that we both have equal power and respect… I don't know… I just enjoy it a lot more… Plus, if I'm with a beta or omega, i dont have to worry about my body betraying me when I go into heat… My body sometimes just wants the heat over, no matter what, despite the fact I'm somewhere on the ace spectrum….”

Pezzy nodded in understanding, nuzzling into John's chest more, thinking it over. “It sounds like it could be fun… I always felt so trapped in the past… Like… the fact I'm supposed to always be the submissive one… Maybe I like the dynamics to change up? Maybe I don't need to scrunch my nose up when scenting my partner…? Maybe it would be more freeing?”

John chuckled a little, his purr still vibrating his chest as he replied. “I tell you what… I have never felt more alive…”

Pezzy lifted his head up, tilting it slightly, before smiling. John looks back at Pezzy, raising an eyebrow, checking in. “You good?”

“Never better… I must say… Thank you for the understanding. I gotta say, I'm a lot more sure of what I want now.” Pezzy says, his eyes hooded.

“Oh? And what would that be?” John says, cockily, as if he knows what the answer is.

Pezzy shuffles around, almost sitting in John's lap as he loops his arms behind John's neck. “You.”

John doesn't even look surprised, his eyes flicking down to Pezzy's lips, as he replies. “Okay, go ahead then. Take me. I'm already yours.”

Pezzy presses their lips together, and it's everything that an alpha isn't. It's warm, bubbly and fun. Almost like it's forbidden. Like they're sneaking around, trying not to get caught. He's never felt more passion from someone else.

“Fuck, Pezzy… you taste so sweet… so nice…” John practically whines, as Pezzy purrs at the compliment.

“You're not too bad yourself.”

…

Pezzy wakes up, noticing his now bare chest, and John's bare chest. The memories of making out with the other, marking up each other's skin, before cuddling to sleep ring fresh in his head.

Something's a little off this morning however.

John whines a little, still asleep. Pezzy scents the air, noticing the smell of sticky sweet tree sap in the air.

It seems like John's gone into heat at some point. Fuck.

The second the others found that out, he'd be whisked away from Pezzy, and dunked into Smitty and Matt's room.

Pezzy isn't going to tolerate that! His brain is whirling.

This is now his omega! He had a taste of him last night, and he's never letting him go! He doesn't care what his friends think anymore. He finally knows what he wants.

Pezzy nuzzles into John's chest, chirping quietly. John groans, his eyes fluttering open.

“You're in heat.” Is how Pezzy announces it, rather bluntly.

“Oh… I am.. That's.. Not ideal.” John replies, swooning slightly as Pezzy leans forward to kiss at his neck.

“My precious omega… I'll take such good care of you…” Pezzy mumbles, kissing and nipping at John's neck, the other whining in encouragement.

“You wanna help me make a nest?” John asks, bleary-eyed, and Pezzy’s heart absolutely melts.

“Of course!” Pezzy replies with a chirp.

____

It's not long before the two are entwined in a nest, Pezzy eagerly emptying the contents of his own suitcase to add to the nest. It smells mostly like the pair of them, and both of them are purring happily, John content in Pezzy’s arms.

“This is… Nice. Nicer than I thought it would be…” John mumbles, nuzzling back into Pezzy’s neck.

“Mmm… Are you sure you don't need anything else?” Pezzy asks, as John proceeds to think about it.

“Honestly? Usually I'm stressed and anxious, busy fighting my biological urges, but for once, I feel content. Like there's the heat and other shit, but I don't feel as frantic and worked up like usual. I feel relaxed. It's nice…” he mumbled, as Pezzy nosed into his neck again, pressing kisses to the skin there. John purrs a little.

“You're nice.” He giggles, making John roll his eyes fondly.

“It's nice to just be in heat, and be actually aware of what's happening… Normally I'd be in agonising pain right now…” he mused, as Pezzy frowned.

“That's terrible! It's okay, I'm not going to leave you now….”

John's eyes fluttered shut again as he relaxed some more. “Thank you… this is good….”

______

Hours passed, the two rotating between cuddling in the nest or cuddling in the bath, the pheromones in the room getting thicker, brains getting foggier.

“Is…. It's getting… kinda warm…” Pezzy slurred out, as John nodded in agreement.

“Mmm…. I feel like… huh… Did we have something today??? Someone keeps messaging me..” John mumbled, reaching for his phone, squinting at it, unable to make out the words.

“Tell them to just leave us alone!!!” Pezzy whined, his teeth nipping at John's shoulder playfully, as John locked his phone, not bothering with a reply.

“Honestly… You're right… I just don't care right now… I can reply later…” John mumbled quietly, turning back to Pezzy, kissing him on the cheek. “Now… where were we?”

======

“So you're saying his stuff is gone? And you don't know where he went?” Puffer asked, as Matt nodded.

“Yeah, when Smitty and I woke up this morning, Pezzy’s stuff was already gone. He's not answering his phone and his location is off.”

“Neither is John, by the way.” Smitty added, looking worried, as the rest of the group checked their own phones.

“Did you at least check John's room? Considering that's where Pezzy mentioned he would be going last night?” Yumi asked, making everyone look over at him.

Smitty scoffed, face going red. “Yeah, I would have, but Puffer’s got the duplicate room keys, and I didn't wanna just steal it without asking… So can we like… go and check John's room?”

Puffer sighed, walking over to the counter, grabbing out the copy to John's room that he'd willingly shared in the event of an emergency. Puffer gestured for Smitty and Matt to follow, as they walked to the stairs, climbing up one level, before approaching the door.

“Okay, here it is….” Matt mumbled, as Smitty knocked on the door.

“John? Are you there?” No response, making Smitty sigh. “We're coming in buddy, you're not replying and we need to make sure you're alive…” he joked, gesturing to Puffer to open the door.

Puffer opened the door, and it was like a punch to the face.

“Matt, get Smitty behind you… John can be kinda nasty to alphas when he's in heat…” Puffer warned, instructing the beta as Smitty's eyes dilated naturally in response to the pure sweetness in the room. Matt recognised the seriousness in the tone, as the three walked into the room.

“There you fucking are as well, Pezzy.. What are you doing here? You're going to go into a sympathy heat at this rate! You know the rules!” Puffer frowned, tutting at the older omega, who only scowled in response.

“You fucking broke in? Dude… I was going to reply… Eventually….” John whined, nuzzling back into Pezzy’s neck, as Puffer shook his head, snapping his fingers.

“No, no, no. You guys are already getting wayyyy too clingy… Matt, grab Pezzy, we're taking him away, Smitty, you can stay and comfort John.” Puffer instructed, as Matt quickly grabbed an unsuspecting Pezzy, who wasn't prepared.

“Wait, what?” Pezzy blinked, unable to process how quickly he'd been moved. “When did i move…?”

“No! Give him back!” John immediately whined, moving to follow, but Smitty's hand on his shoulder made him pause. Instead he let out a sad noise, scent souring as Matt proceeded to remove Pezzy from the room.

“It's for your own good man, sorry…” Puffer replied, before leaving Smitty to comfort the saddened omega.

Walking into the hall, he's taken aback by how much Pezzy’s started struggling against Matt. Pezzy’s spitting and hissing, and Matt's struggling to keep a hold of him.

“Let me fucking go, you asshole!” Pezzy’s growling, trying to worm his way out of the grasp, Matt just grunting.

Puffer quickly contacts some backup, and a minute later he hears Droid's feet walking up behind him.

“You called for backup? Oh shit… He's fucking wired…” he mumbled, shock on his face, taking in Pezzy’s almost feral movement.

Puffer pinched his brow. “Can you just alpha voice him to calm him down enough to get him back to your room or something? Please?”

Droid looks unsure, but Pezzy's teeth narrowly miss biting down on Matt's fingers, and that seals the deal for the young alpha.

“Pezzy, man, chill out. Stop fighting Matt and follow us to my room please.” He said, Pezzy’s body slumping over in response, like the strings that held him up had been cut. Matt sighs in relief, before Pezzy’s eyes narrow, and he gives one last valiant attempt, struggling through the alpha command before falling over and giving in. Matt catches the omega, bridal carrying him away.

Locking the door, Puffer sighed at the unhappy omega, whose body was frozen, but his eyes silently tracked the delta.

“Here. Droid's going to monitor you… I'll check back in later.” He says, before leaving the room and sighing.

What a fucking joke of a holiday.

—-------

Much to Puffer’s annoyance, Pezzy fully goes into sympathy heat later that day, despite them separating the pair. He's busy dropping off some clothes from the pack, so Pezzy can make his own temporary nest, but upon entering the room, he was shocked at the scene.

He'd expected to see the alpha and omega cuddling and happy, but there was thick tension in the air as Puffer entered the room.

Droid appeared to be cowering in the corner, Pezzy nowhere to be seen. Puffer’s honestly astounded.

“Where..?” he asks, looking around.

Droid sighed in relief at the sight of Puffer. “Bathroom… He's set up in the empty tub… He won't even let me touch him, he keeps spitting and growling at me. He's scary, man…”

Puffer sighed at Droid's nerves, carrying the supplies into the bathroom, Pezzy’s eyes narrowing at the sight of the other. Puffer just groans at the older man.

“Pezzy, don't be like that. We had to split you guys up! At the time, you were at risk of going into a sympathy heat, and what do you know? Now you're also in heat! What do you want us to fucking do? You won't even let Droid help you!” Puffer frowns, as Pezzy rolls his eyes in response.

“I don't know, maybe you shoulda left us the fuck alone?” Pezzy growls back, his eyes flashing over the rim of the tub, not moving to take any of the clothing, bar a single nondescript blanket.

Puffer’s a little taken aback by the hostility in Pezzy’s voice, but he continues. “Dude, you guys would have just kept getting scent drunk off each other. Nothing good would have happened! It's fine now. John's with Smitty, and Droid's out…”

Pezzy's eyes flash again, as he hisses, moving closer. “I'm telling you right now, Puffer, if you try and get Droid into my nest to ‘comfort’ me through this heat again, I am going to attack him. Not because I hate him, but because my instincts are going crazy. I do not want him near me right now. I love him like a friend, but I can't deal with his scent right now.”

Puffer rolled his eyes, pinching his brow again. “Stop being so dramatic! You need an alphas scent to help you relax, Pezzy. You gotta chill out man.”

Pezzy simply hisses again in response, before turning away, ignoring Puffer.

“You can't give me the cold shoulder over that, man.” Puffer groans, but Pezzy doesn't turn around, his scent just flaring up in anger.

“Okay man, I'll see you later…” Puffer groans, waving to Droid on the way out before returning back to his own room.

He's tired of this already.

______

It's the next morning, and it's only getting worse. The heat’s thrumming through his body like a raging wildfire, and John doesn't know what to do anymore. It's like there's a raw, bloody hole in his chest, like he's missing something.

Pezzy had been such a calming presence nearby, and now the other omega is gone, and John's on his own… Mostly.

He tried nesting with Smitty, but the primal omega part of his body had started wanted more than his mind willingly allowed, his sexuality once again reminding him that he's not a normal fucking omega. Despite being heavily asexual, during heat, his body seemed desperate to throw all that aside, despite the horror his brain would feel upon attempting anything like that.

So John's stuck moping about, wishing for some sort of mercy…. Maybe death??? He mused. That's more normal than it should be.

He's seen both Puffer and Matt come into the room, frowning in confusion at the fact he's nowhere near the alpha who's supposed to be helping him. Yumi had suggested to him for them to be moving closer, but John had only thrown a shoe at him in response.

So John was here, in the remains of a nest that smelled like Pezzy, with misery and loneliness in his soul. He's lost all ability to speak, currently just zoning out in his nest. Smitty keeps trying to help, but the fear scent John's producing, pauses his progress. Finally, after a nap, John's relieved to see Smitty's not there anymore.

After using the bathroom, he stumbles back to his nest, and then picks up on a conversation outside the room.

“I don't know what to do guys. I'm not really able to help him at all!” Smitty's saying. John can hear him speaking to the others outside, and his eyes narrow.

“What do you mean? You let him scent you, and then he can calm down and stuff! What's so hard about that?” Yumi sighed in frustration.

Smitty made a noise in response. “I mean, if anything, my scent only makes John freak out more. He got all upset and stressed out.”

John sighed, covering his ears as he rolled over again. He just wanted Pezzy back near him… Was it really too much to ask?

Pezzy's heart ached, as he felt another tear trickle down his cheek. Why was he so angry and so sad? Why did it feel like he'd been abandoned? Like he was missing something?

Pezzy nuzzled deeper into the blanket he's nesting on in the tub. He's fucking miserable.

John howled, long and sad, as Smitty sighed, trying to calm him down.

“Hey man… It's okay, I'm here! I don't… I don't know how to help you…” Smitty admitted, as John's howling slowed, turning into half swallowed sobs.

Smitty tried to move closer, to maybe scent the distressed omega, but John flinched violently, baring his teeth, eyes fogged up with fear. Smitty sighed, backing up again.

Matt's the one who figures it out, as he comes out of John's hotel room, finished delivering him some food.

“Um, guys… I just wanted to point out that John's got a uh.. mark on his neck… and i dont think it was Smitty who did it…”

“Pezzy and John were giving each other hickeys the other day man… I'm not surprised he's got some residual bruising …” Puffer sighed, shaking his head.

Matt huffed. “I know that, but I mean like.. John had like.. a mate bond mark… I just noticed it when I was passing him a bottle of water.” Matt explained, as everyone looked at him in confusion.

“But I thought.. I thought two omegas couldn't bond?” Grizzy asked in confusion, as Matt shook his head.

“They can, but it requires both of them to have a strong emotional and romantic connection… Unlike with alpha/omega relationships, those can happen accidentally, omega/omega bonds are more… deliberate.” He explained.

“So you're telling me that Pezzy was serious about not being interested in…? Fucking hell.” Smitty sighed.

Puffer looked over. “I would have sworn you and John were like a set in stone thing?”

Smitty looks confused. “I mean… If it had happened, I wouldn't have been opposed, but I mean… You guys know Matt and I are already bonded, right?”

“HUH?” Droid yelped, as everyone shook their heads.

“Shit.. My fault… forgot to mention that, I guess..” Smitty mumbled.

Matt cleared his throat, bringing them back to the conversation at hand. “I'm just saying… What if Pezzy and John marked each other, and that's why they're both freaking out, because their bond is so fresh, it's causing them like… some serious separation anxiety being apart?”

“That…” Puffer frowned, thinking about it all, pausing a little.

“Pezzy was kinda fighting the shit out of you when you went to remove him...” Droid reminded them, as Puffer gave a slight nod, contemplating it more.

“Honestly, they're both already in heat… It's not like they can go into a fucking… double heat or something now… We may as well see if their mood is helped by some closer proximity…” Smitty mused out loud, getting a side-eye from some of the others.

“Okay fucking nerd.” Yumi snorted.

........

Pezzy's woken up by someone knocking on the corner of the bathroom door frame. It's Matt, but Pezzy's eyes still narrow. Matt steps slightly closer.

“Pezzy, can I see your neck? I need to check for a bond mark…” Matt asked, as Pezzy processed the words. Matt added; “If you have one, it means you're both freshly bonded, so you can go right back to nesting with John… We just need to know.”

Pezzy's glare dropped at that, peaking over the rim of the tub. “I can go back…?” He asked in a quieter tone, his eyes widening. When Matt nodded, Pezzy scrambled out of the tub, practically bouncing on his toes in front of the beta, as Matt had to force him to sit still.

Matt studied the skin on Pezzy's neck, frowning. “I'm not seeing anything… Maybe I was mistaken- Oh never mind… I didn't see it.. Right on your collarbone… I'm used to them being on necks… Well… This is going to need some pack-discussion, but that can be done later… Let me escort you back to John's room.. Just in case some weirdos are around.”

Pezzy immediately snatched up the blanket, and Matt had to race to keep up with him.

.....

John's nose twitched, as something sweet began to be picked up by him. He knew that scent! That meant-

John rolled over as Pezzy charged straight at him, enveloping the shorter in an almost tearful hug. Pezzy immediately let out happy little purrs, scenting and nuzzling back into John's neck, the older one waiting to repeat the behaviour.

“You came back…” John mumbled, as Pezzy nodded, brushing some of John's hair away from his eyes.

“Yeah… Apparently, we may have bonded the other night, and that made us both really emotional…? I don't know… I'm sorry we couldn't have like… talked about it…” Pezzy said, as John's expression became something more smug.

“Well.. I'm not sorry! Now I have you all to myself! Now everyone knows you're mine!” He snickered, as Pezzy just blushed.

The two omegas proceeded to thoroughly scent each other, both collapsing against the other, scent drunk and purring happily. The rest of the pack is just happy to see them happy.

Chapter Text

It's just like any other day.

He wakes up, surprisingly not late today, stumbles out of his bedroom, eyes flicking around the pack house to make sure everything still seems safe.

Upon his quick visual inspection, John gets to work making sure his pack is taken care of.

Popping his head into Puffer’s room first, he's met with sleepy twin growls from Smitty and Grizzy, quickly answering his question of whether Puffer’s still in heat. It's definitely a yes. Doing a quick head count, he sees that it's just those three, before going to check on the next room.

He's not surprised to see Rectrixx snuggled up with Yumi, but Matt being there too is more unusual. It's probably because Smitty's busy with Puffer, that Matt's seeking comfort from someone else.

It does sting slightly however, knowing that Matt chose Yumi over John. It's not unusual however, omegas subconsciously seeking out alphas. It helps them feel safer, or something.

Checking the last room, he can see Droid's half laying on top of Pezzy, fast asleep. Everyone’s accounted for. That's good.

Gnawing on his lip, John gets to work.

He leaves a bundle of food and water outside Puffer’s room, he gets to work cleaning up the pack's nesting room, does some work tidying up the kitchen, because he knows Grizzy hates the mess Pezzy leaves.

When he's done, his fingers twitch awkwardly. Normally someone else would be awake by now, but John's still alone in the kitchen. Isolated in a way.

He does another check on everyone, seeing them all fast asleep still. With a sigh, he heads back to his own room, retreating for now.

As he closes his door, he doesn't bother with the lock. He never does. It's yet to happen, but his door's always open, in the event someone needs to cuddle, or wants company.

It's laughable in a way, how desperately John wants to be needed. The sole beta in a pack of evenly split alphas and omegas. Again, why would any omega seek out a beta, when they could just get an alpha? What kind of person would do that?

It stings a little, but it's okay. John's got plenty of time to do other things.

…..

The doubts started even before he moved in. He was the oldest, and yet, he had the least experience when it came to pack life. It's almost like the invitation was a last second thing, but Smitty had practically begged John to come along, and who was John, if not loyal to his friends?

He'd moved in about a month after the initial six had, taking in everything.

He watched as Pezzy and Droid would lean into each other, how Smitty was slightly more possessive over Matt, how Puffer would gravitate towards Grizzy.

He realised quickly they were all alphas or omegas, and whether they realised it or not, he's already been excluded, in the fact that they all knew what each other were, and forgot that John wouldn't be able to tell.

Alpha's and Omega's for starters, have a way better sense of smell. They can immediately tell when someone's going into a rut or heat, they can scent people properly, and their own personal scents are a lot more complex as a result of that. In a pack house where everyone so far fell under this category, there was no need to track things with a calendar, scenting working just as fine.

John didn't fall under that however. As a beta, his sense of smell was greatly weaker. He could barely tell the difference between someone's peak rut or heat scent versus their normal one, and he couldn't even smell his pack-mates' emotional responses like they could. He was lost already, feeling like he was racing to catch up on information.

He resorts to trying to keep track of everyone's rut or heat in his own little journal, but hormones are a fickle thing, and he finds out quickly that it's almost impossible to be accurate. He gives up soon after that.

Back to scents. Alphas scents are typically stronger in flavor, omegas sweeter in nature. As a beta, John's scent could be anything. It sounded great, but when it came time for heats, his scent clashed horribly with many of his packmates, so it was easier for him to just sit to the side, to make sure they were comfortable. When you're trying to have a nest with perfect balance, someone who smells like burnt flowers is probably not ideal to even consider.

When his packmates mentioned adding Yumi and Rectrixx to the pack, he'd been excited. He didn't know what they were, so he'd secretly hoped to have some new betas to help him out, maybe bond with over shared-

Nope.

It's messy, because Yumi goes into a rut the day after moving in, and Rectrixx laughs about how his heat only just finished. At least John didn't get his hopes up too much, as he gets to work tidying the pack nest.

….

John can't help but wonder, is he even doing enough for his pack? He can't really help with many of the pack tasks, so he finds other ways to help.

He's the one rotating the clothing and blankets in the pack nest, making sure everything stays clean and tidy. It's a skill he's grown almost proud of, the way he can remake the nest to look almost identical as before, and all the omegas are happy enough they don't notice the difference. He does wonder why no one ever questions the fact that the nest always seems to change colour every few days.

John's also the one who's constantly stocking up on pre-heat and pre-rut supplies. He makes sure everyone's favourite snacks are around, a constant supply. He takes great care in making sure there's plenty of preserved food and vitamin waters around, because you can never be too careful in the event of someone deciding to bunker down for the whole experience.

John goes out of his way to find the perfect food for everyone. He's travelled for a solid two hours, just to get a special type of biscuit for Pezzy, because he really likes the specific texture it has, but they were sold out everywhere nearby. He's got tabs on certain products, making sure he knows when they're free to be bought. He's got to make sure that all of the sweets that some of the pack like to much on are allergy friendly; (Grizzy can't have bananas, Pezzy’s allergic to lemons, artificial blueberry makes Matt gag, and stuff with licorice makes Droid and Smitty feel queasy, even if it's just in the same bag.)

But is it even anything in comparison to what the alphas do?

The alphas protect, they guard everyone, make everyone feel safe. The omegas aren't helpless, fuck no, but there's a level of respect the alphas have. Even Pezzy, being shorter than everyone, has this… aura about him.

In a normal pack, a beta's job is to assist the alphas when an omega is in heat. But this isn't a normal pack. Why go to the single inexperienced beta, when you could just ask another alpha?

Does cleaning and doing some shopping really come anywhere near to being someone's emotional rock for days at a time? For helping someone when they're suffering from blistering heat and cramps? His pack never seem to mention the things he does, unlike how they thank each other for helping with their heats or ruts, so it mustn't compare in the slightest.

So yeah, John doesn't really think they compare, so he keeps trying to find things to do… Which often ends up in him getting into trouble.

More than once, Grizzy, Smitty, Yumi and even Puffer and Pezzy have had to pull him away from a fight. He always looks ‘too hostile’ for another alphas liking when they're out in public, or he's doing something else wrong.

It always seems to end with one of his alphas apologising for him, Smitty looking disappointed as John feels something slightly off bubble up inside of him.

It's not like he's trying to make trouble, but he can't help but feel like he's a burden.

It's not like they see the alphas leering at Matt or Droid, but John spots them, his eyesight far keener than most of his packmates. John's protective of his pack like no other, because he's got the most to prove.

He's got to prove his worth.

As of late, now, John's starting to feel a little more tired though. It's harder for him to work up the energy to do even half of the jobs he mentally assigns himself.

Instead of cleaning the pack nest, he finds himself lingering inside the nest for longer periods of time. Never when someone else is there, and always with scent blocker on, because he can't ruin the delicate balance inside the nest.

It's when the others joke about something that Puffer did during his last heat, all of them laughing at the inside joke, as John studies his nails. It's like they forget that John's never with them during those more intimate moments.

He feels like an outsider in his own pack.

They don't love you like you love them.

They don't need you like you need them.

Why would anyone need a beta in a pack like this?

And the thoughts aren't uncommon, but for once, John lacks the energy to fight back against them.

….

It's odd in a way.

The fact that an alpha or an omega's nose can be so sensitive to a fellow alpha or omegas scent, but then not really be able to pick up the difference in a betas.

That's what John tells himself anyway. He thinks about it, over and over, when he lays in bed at night, alone. How can the others not scent his longing? His self loathing?

He knows they care. But he also knows they care less about him than they do each other.

…

And as he passes Droid and Matt, in the center of the pack nest, curled up next to each other, surrounded by pack mates, their heats both having perfectly synched up, John's struck by the fact that he feels jealous.

He wants to be invited in… but…

Heats are a thing for alphas and omegas to deal with. They don't need a beta stinking up the place.

His pack doesn't need him right now.

Swallowing down a whine, John goes back to his room, making a mock nest out of his bedding, hugging a pillow.

Maybe he can pretend that someone came to cuddle with him? He can pretend that they needed him, that they chose him.

John's not very good at pretending when he's laying alone in bed, the sheets are too cold to mimic the touch of someone else.

….

When he overhears them talking about mating bites after everyone's had their next heat or rut, he can't help but feel… wrong. As if it's confirmation that they don't see him the same as they see each other. Everyone's chatting about it eagerly, and John just can't help but feel lost.

Maybe he needs to become more independent? Branch out a little?

John's not sure.

…

When John bumps into Eli, at Pax, it's refreshing. It's been a while since he's seen the other, and even with his whole Pack being there, he finds himself enjoying hanging with the other.

They get to chatting as the two of them walk around, content to stay in the slightly less populated areas, both having gotten overwhelmed by the crowds slightly.

“What's it like?” Eli asks, as John blinks in confusion.

“Huh?”

Eli chuckles. “Sorry, what's it like being in a pack with… everyone? Surely you've got some good gossip?”

John's face must show some weird emotion, before he smothers it, because Eli suddenly seems concerned.

“What's wrong?” He asks, as he stops walking.

John's quick to shake his head. “Nothing! Nothing's wrong! It's nice… being in a pack.. Droid, Matt and Pezzy are all super clingy, but Droid loves to deny it, and Puffer hates-”

John stops speaking, sighing a little, too tired to even keep pretending. “It's nice, but it's also… weird.”

Eli puts a hand on John's arm. “What do you mean?”

John almost shrinks down. “Like… I was invited in, but I feel.. Weirdly out of place? They're all alphas and omegas. As the only beta, I just… I struggle to connect with them sometimes.”

Eli looks concerned. “You've brought this up with them though? Right?”

John shakes his head as Eli sighs. “That's.. Well. That's rough, man…”

“I honestly feel like a burden to my pack some days…” John admitted in a quiet voice. “But what? I tell them, and then they confirm what I've suspected all along? That I was a pity invite? I… I just need to prove myself.. I need to work harder… I'm just so…”

Eli wrapped an arm around John, the older leaning in and scenting him gently.

“When was the last time you opened up to your pack? Not even talking… Just scenting.” Eli asks.

John leaned in closer to Eli, as his mind raced. They'd all hung out in the pack nest not that long ago, but scenting? He was under the impression that it was more of an omega or alpha thing.

“I don't.. I mean… When someone's in heat or rut, I'm kinda in the way, And with scenting, my scent isn't that nice, so I don't really blame them for not..”

Eli looks sad almost. “You don't do…like… Weakly pack bonding sessions or anything?”

John shakes his head. Eli grabs his wrist, marching back to his hotel room.

“Where are we going?” John asks, confused by the sudden change in scenery.

“Going back to my room… I think I know how to make you feel better.” Eli explains.

…

So now John's here. In a nest of sorts, cuddled up next to Eli.

When they'd reached the hotel, Eli had explained that he was a little out of practice with nesting, because he was a beta, he was still getting used to it all. John had eagerly lent him a hand, before the two had shed the outer layers of clothing, curling up next to each other.

“This is… Nice…” John mumbles to himself.

He thinks he likes cuddling. He feels happy.

….

When the convention is over, Eli turns around and tells John he's decided to come back with them all. It takes the older man by surprise, but he's happy to welcome the beta into the pack home for a bit.

Smitty and Puffer give Eli the tour, seeing as he's basically part of the pack anyway, showing the beta around. John can't help but watch from a distance as Eli takes in everything.

It doesn't take long for Eli to ask some questions.

…

“So like… There's 4 alphas and 4 omegas here?” He asks, Smitty nodding in agreement.

“Yeah. And John!” he says happily.

“And John…” Eli repeats, before continuing; “If you don't mind me asking, how do you guys even keep track of all the heats and shit around here? Surely that's like… nightmarish to plan around?”

Puffer shrugs, explaining. “I mean, when our scents start flaring up we kinda know what's happening. It gives us like a week's notice. Then we know for sure it's gonna happen.”

Eli frowned, seeking clarification. “Okay… But like… What do you do for John?”

“What do you mean?” Smitty asks, voice sounding more serious.

Eli looks back and forth, unsure if they're just being dumb or genuinely don't know. “You guys know that like.. a beta's sense of smell is like… Significantly worse than an alphas or omegas right? Like I don't know what you guys smell like to each other, but all I'm catching is a hint of vanilla from Puffer, and maybe something like… a sharp yoghurt from you Smit? I don't know…. All I'm getting at, if you're going off the scenting system, how's John supposed to help you guys prep?”

Smitty and Puffer looked at each other, both of them shaking their heads.

“Wait. You're serious? You can't smell like… Sea salt and beach scent on Puffer?” Smitty asks, as Eli shakes his head.

“Nope… Nothing like that at all.”

“You can't like… practically taste the shock coming off of Smitty? It's like all up in my nose, man…” Puffer grumbles, face scrunching up.

Eli once again shook his head. “I can't smell shit man. We can usually only pick up on the change during the peak of a heat… It's fucking rough for us, man.”

Smitty actually looked guilty at that. “Shit man… Maybe we need to start actually keeping a better log of all our cycles… Fuck man. I better apologise to John too…”

“I always thought he knew, because he's usually seen stocking up on our supplies like… at the right times. He's like a miracle worker, ready to give us what we need…” Puffer mumbled, processing it all.

Eli decided to press more. “Whilst we're on the subject of… John… He seems kind of… touch starved… He practically clung to me every night while we were at Pax. How often do you guys re-strengthen your pack bond, and like… all nest together?”

Smitty and Puffer both look confused at that as well.

“He did?” Puffer asks, almost shocked.

Eli nods as Puffer and Smitty look at each other. “We were under the impression that he didn't like cuddling or anything… He never really joins in when we're in the pack nest. We didn't want to stress him out or anything.” Smitty says, rubbing his arm.

“So you guys… never asked him?” Eli says, in shock at how much miscommunication this pack seemed to be suffering from.

When the two men shook their heads, Eli groaned. “Of course he'd be too awkward to ask! Its fucking John! He'd suffer in silence till the end! Plus, from the outside, you guys look like four duos and he's on the outer. He doesn't want to get in the way of anything.”

“Oh shit… Oh my god.” Smitty mumbled, as Puffer turned to him.

“Smit?”

“He's my best friend man… And I've been, like… Neglecting him? He joined us late, and I just assumed he'd make a space for himself, but he… He was just too shy… Fucking hell… We need to talk with the others…”

“I could go out with him, if you wanna chat with everyone, without him… overhearing?” Eli offered.

“Please..” Puffer mumbled, as Smitty continued to spiral.

….

[One deep and meaningful discussion later]

…

Matt's the first one who decides to try and… make up for the accidental neglect, so to speak. They all decided to start small, and then see if Eli's suspicions were correct, and then they could apologise.

So, back to Matt.

He creeps into John's room, surprised to find it unlocked, scenting the familiar smell of dried flowers, frowning at the notes which could only be described as; ‘lonely, miserable, abandoned, self-loathing.’

Matt's heart breaks for the beta, who's obviously been suffering in silence for so long. He's definitely going to be insisting on them all taking good care of their long suffering beta.

Matt walks round to where John's sleeping and gently nudges him awake. John wakes up quickly, slightly confused.

“Who's? Oh.. Is that…? Matt?” He mumbles, sounding confused.

“Yeah… Do you mind if I sleep in your bed tonight, with you? I had a weird dream, and it made me uncomfortable.” Matt mumbles.

John's quick to nod, shuffling over immediately. “Anything you need? I can get you some tea, or some warm milk, or-”

Matt laughs, soft as he slides into the bed. “No, I just wanna scent you, if that's okay? Just reassure myself that you're here and it's all okay.”

John freezes slightly, scent coming out edged with confusion. “Shouldn't you be like… With Smitty then?”

Matt shakes his head. “Nah. All I want is cuddles from John at this moment... Now-”

“But I smell.. Bad…” John's mumbling, as Matt gasps in horror, turning back to him.

“No? You don't? You smell like… sun dried flowers. It's like… nice and soft, but also something not too overpowering. Don't be so harsh on yourself.” Matt says, shock evident in his voice.

John looks doubtful, but still settles down next to Matt. The omega smiles as he smells John's scent flourish a little, as the beta finally relaxes.

…

John's just relaxing on the couch, some movie in the background mindlessly playing, when Droid shoots a look towards him.

“You okay?” John asks, as the omega quickly dips away.

To John's surprise, the omega reappears with a blanket, placing it down next to John, and then vanishes again.

John shrugs, continuing to watch the movie.

Over time, Droid comes and goes, placing more things next to John, before he settles down and curls up into John's side. At this point, John realises that Droid's made a whole nest around him, and incorporated him into it.

“Awww… You're in preheat again, aren't you?” Grizzy’s voice says, as Droid nuzzles more into John's side.

John freezes up, going to untangle so an alpha can take his place, when Grizzy’s hands firmly get placed on his shoulder.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you. He's fussy when he's in preheat, and if he's nesting right next to you, it means he wants you to be near, but he's usually too shy to ask. Thanks for looking after him, do you need anything?”

John stops himself from getting up, still confused. “Um… no? I… just… Shouldn't someone else… be here?”

Grizzy shrugs. “That's up to Droid. It doesn't really matter though. Anyone can help an omega through pre-heat or even a full on heat. It doesn't have to be an alpha.”

John's heart thudded in his chest as Droid started scenting him, shooting a glare over at Grizzy.

“That's my cue to dip… If you need anything, just yell..” Grizzy snorts, as he leaves the room.

John turns to look at Droid, gently folding a hand through his hair. “Thankyou for making such a nice nest to share…” he says quietly, enjoying the way Droid's face completely lights up with a smile.

Droid pulls back a little, frowning, before running away, coming back with Rectrixx, and shoving him into place on John's other side.

“Oh, hi John… Seems you've been chosen as well… Yes Droid… I won't try to leave your nest, I'm sorry, I'm getting into it now… It's so well made!” He mumbles, as Droid gets annoyed at the lack of movement.

John watches, feeling almost amused as Droid proceeds to thoroughly scent Rec as well, before breaking out into a loud purr.

“What the fuck is that? Is there a motor running?” Pezzy asks, running into the room, immediately pausing as Droid stops purring. “Shit… My bad…Did you want me in the nest this time?”

Droid narrows his eyes at Pezzy before shaking his head. Pezzy pouts, before ruffling Droid's hair, leaving again.

John just stays seated in shock. What the fuck just happened?

…..

“Um… So, would you mind chilling in my room?” Smitty asks, as John raises an eyebrow.

“You want me to help with your pre-rut emotional response?” John repeats, as Smitty nods.

“Yeah I mean, it's a stressful-”

….

“Time, you know? My emotions get all out of whack, and sometimes I just get so angry for no reason.” Yumi finishes, as John just nods, expression blank.

“That's pretty much just what Smitty said, now I think about it…” he grumbled, not actually annoyed.

….

John's eyeing the new calendar going up, Grizzy placing it on the fridge. It clearly lists all the things that John's been trying to predict for months now, in an easy to read, color coded format.

“It just makes it easier.” Grizzy smiles as John watches, slightly shocked.

What a weird time to decide to do it.
…..

John's finally had enough. Something weird is going on. He's not used to getting.. all of this.. stuff.

He storms into the pack nest, pleased to find everyone there.

“Okay, what's going on? Why the fuck are you all being so… weird?” he grumbles, as his packmates all look guilty.

Smitty's quick to stand up, running over to John. “I'm sorry. Eli pointed out to us all how fucking… terrible we were at meeting your needs in the pack, so we like… tried to make it up to you, and hope you would notice, but… I still feel so terrible. I'm sorry about everything man. We're actually stupid.”

John's confused. “Huh? What? What are you talking about?”

Puffer sighed. “So we thought like… you could smell as well as we could, so we just… never mentioned our heats or ruts… we didn't realise how out of the loop you were..”

Matt speaks next; “And we all thought you were like… touch averse…”

“Kinda like Puffer is…” Yumi grumbled, Puffer elbowing him in response.

“So we didn't wanna like… Bother you if you hated cuddling… You never seemed to join in the pack nesting..” Rectrixx explained.

John was shocked. “I thought you guys were like… mated pairs or something… I never wanted to intrude or-”

Pezzy sighed. “Yeah, he pointed that out too… No… None of us are bonded. We all agreed that if it were to happen, all nine of us would need to agree together.”

John frowned. “Nine…? There's only eight of you…?”

Yumi threw a pillow at him. “Seriously? That includes you too bro! Dude, we're a pack. You're a part of that man!”

“Don't be thinking we don't notice all that you do.” Grizzy chimed in as Smitty nodded, hugging John again.

“We see the effort you go to, to try and make us all comfortable. We see how much you care… Please, let us make it up to you?” Smitty asked, as John weakly nodded.

“Okay… I mean… You guys are serious? You're not like… This isn't a bit?”

“I swear on my mom.” Yumi says.

“I swear on Yumi's mom too!” Droid snickers, as Yumi scowls at him.

“Come sit here! There's a spot over next to Puffer, but he's too much of a coward to invite you.” Pezzy calls out, as Puffer's cheeks light up.

Smitty helps him step around the bodies, before John's carefully slotting into a space next to Puffer and Matt.

“It's nice in here…” he mumbles, looking around at all the members of his pack.

“God, remind me to like… send Eli the biggest thank you present in his life… Fucking hell..” Smitty sighed, flopping on top of John's chest.

John coughed at the sudden weight, before Smitty rolled more to the side, curling up next to him.

“Fuck you…” John mumbled, no heat to it.

“Yeah, he does that. Just like… lick him or something if he gets too heavy.” Yumi suggested, as everyone else wrinkled their noses.

“Gross.”

“What the fuck?”

“Yumi….”

Chapter Text

Omega Matt's on the last day of his heat, and his scent blockers wear off. He's drunk, and Alpha Smitty's drunk, he helps him through it.

Smitty leaves quickly after that, Matt being a little hurt by it, but it's whatever. They're not mates or anything, Matt needs to get a grip.

Matt wakes up a little later and to his surprise John's there, snuggled up and comforting him. He's confused, but John says he could smell the heat scent, and wanted to help Matt relax. He knows it must be rough for the other.

Matt apologises immediately. “Oh.. Can you smell it on me? I'm sorry, I-”

John's eyes flickered down, looking away as he admits. “N-no. Not like that… I'm an omega as well, Matt. I just wanted to help comfort you. That's all.”

Matt nodded, letting out a sigh of relief, still feeling rather drunk. “Okay.. That's nice. Thank you… It's much…better when people are around.”

…

Matt feels a bit emotionally funny for the rest of the trip, but he still flies home with Smitty.

He's in love with Smitty, to be noted.

Matt's pretty sure Smitty's in love with John, because Smitty's always making excuses of going to hang at John's place for a week here and there. Disappearing off the face of the earth, before popping back up, happier than ever.

Matt's chill with it all. He's just happy Smitty is happy.

It's been about 8 weeks since the party, when Smitty's like, “I'm going to visit John again, don't be spooked if I don't reply much, bye!”

Matt waves goodbye to Smitty, before his smile drops, hurt welling up in his chest.

The next day, John turns up at his house, suitcase with him, and saying; “Surprise! Where's the other one at?”

Matt opens the door, confused at what the older man means. John says that he flew over to hang with both him and Smitty, because Smitty said he'd be spending the week at Matt's, and be really busy doing stuff in person.

Awkward.

They realise he's been lying to both of them, which kinda hurts to figure out. John seems a little uneasy at first, but Matt just invites him in anyway.

“I know you thought that like.. Smitty would be here… But I'm happy if you wanna hang out. I can show you some of the sites around if you want?”

John nods, looking around Matt's house. “Sounds good to me, so long as we can cuddle after all of that socialising… Otherwise I'm gonna get cranky…”

So John ends up staying with Matt, and the two of them get closer, spending time together, watching trashy movies together, John listens to Matt talk about cars, and Matt listens as John explains some art ideas, ranting about various obstacles.

Unfortunately, Matt starts feeling sick in the mornings.

Matt dismisses it originally, until it happens again.

John's a little worried that Matt's ill. Matt waves him off, but goes to the doctor anyway.

They go to the doctor together. The doctor nods and listens, before asking if they can try an ultrasound, to check out if it's not his appendix being strained or anything.

Well. No. But..

He's apparently pregnant.

The doctor shows him on the ultrasound, it's blurry, but there's two little figures that look like tiny blobs.

Matt's in shock. John's in the waiting room, and then Matt comes out holding the scan, and John quickly catches up on what the issue is.

They go home, not speaking until back at Matt's place.

John's the one who brings it up, sighing as he paces a little

“Matt, I'm not stupid, and I'm pretty good at maths… So… Who's the other father? Before you protest… I know that your last heat was during that weekend we all met up, meaning there's a good chance it was one of our friends…And there were a lot of drunken nights… If they took advantage of you, I swear to-”

“No! I was stupid! I was… I should have never…” Matt mumbles, looking away.

“What?”

“I doubt he even remembers… And then you were there and…”

John pauses at that comment, taking in Matt's teary eyes, the way he shifts away, how he's rubbing at his wrists nervously. John thinks for a second longer, remembering the scent that had been in the room, before just saying; “Oh.”

“He didn't.. take advantage of me… We were both drunk, okay? He didn't do anything that I wasn't okay with…” Matt mumbles, as John just looks back at him, something like.. pity on his face.

“Oh.” Is all he says again, because John's now realised who the father is.

John never asks if Matt's keeping the pups, because they both already know the answer.

Matt's biggest weakness has always been Smitty.

…

They don't even get as far as figuring out how to tell the alpha, before it goes to shit again.

Smitty announces he's dating Puffer in their group message chat, later that very same day, also apologising to Matt and John for lying in private, saying he wasn't ready to come out, that he'd been trying to figure it all out.

Teasing from their friends ensues, Pezzy and Droid asking if that's why Puffer missed their most recent filming for the podcast, Puffer choosing to ignore that, instead explaining that they've been easing into it slowly, and that Pezzy and Droid should just suck it up and suck each other off.

Tuning out the chat, Matt's just gutted.

He's not the only one.

John also kind of had feelings for Smitty, so he understands exactly how Matt feels. The two of them end up cuddling in Matt's bed that night, and it becomes a routine.

…

Smitty extends his trip indefinitely, so John also extends his, enjoying getting to know the other omega, loving the fact he has company.

Matt also enjoys John's company, liking the fact that John's more on the quiet side in person.

The two of them bring up the elephant in the room.

“What are you gonna tell him? You can't just… hide it forever…” John says to Matt, who bites his lip in response, wincing.

“I don't know.. I can't..” Matt shakes his head, before his eyes are welling up again. “I don't want to think about it right now.”

John nuzzles his neck, “Sorry…”

….

Matt still doesn't know what to do. He's almost 4 months pregnant now, and he knows the pregnancy is starting to show earlier than usual, because it's more than one pup. His inner wolf is getting more antsy by the day, making Matt whine and snarl at random times. It wants him to go into the woods for the rest of his pregnancy and hide away.

He's fighting every day, the urge to just go fully feral, run away, as a way to protect his unborn pups.

John can see how distressed and twitchy Matt is getting, probably because the unborn pups don't have an alpha around, thus making Matt’s inner wolf freak out. He knows Matt's gonna bolt at this rate, because his anxiety is at a high point.

John decides to help out, coming up with a plan to help Matt. Sitting down with the other, he eases into it by scenting him, before looking him in the eyes.

“I.. I have an idea… It's honestly pretty dumb, but…” John's voice trails off, as Matt looks over at him.

“What? What's the idea?” Matt asks, curious now.

“Okay… What if… What if I… was the alpha, to your pups? Then you don't have to worry about ruining Smitty and Puffer’s relationship… I know you're overthinking that as well..” John proposed, taking Matt off guard, as he frowned, immediately worrying.

“But everyone-”

He cuts Matt off, shaking his head quickly. “No, they don't know I'm an omega. I'm pretty sure only you know… Everyone pretty much thinks I'm a beta…” John admits, rubbing his arm awkwardly. “I was always too shy to come out…”

Matt pauses, looking away. Shivering a little, he's unable to look John in the eyes as he admits; “It's so fucking.. Hard. Man! … I just want… I want to run away… raise my pups like.. to be feral or something. I…” he sobs a little, rubbing his face. “I feel so anxious all the fucking time. I don't know why, but it really sucks. Do you think that being my alpha would help…?”

John hums, nuzzling him again, pulling him closer. “Okay, so… at the moment, you're struggling because.. he's not around, I'm pretty sure, anyway…How about this? Let me try something to help you first… And if it goes bad, I'll fucking follow you into the woods, okay? I'm not letting you go alone.”

“You'd do that? For me?” Matt sniffles, slightly taken aback, as John nods quickly.

“Fuck yeah, of course, man! I'm not leaving you now, who the fuck do you think i am? Do we have a deal then?”

Matt weakly smiles at John's enthusiasm. “Okay.. But.. Only because you're willing to go through all of that for me… No one's ever done something like that for me before.”

…

It's not much longer, maybe another month or so, and Matt starts shifting more often in the house, spending more time in his wolf form.
He explains to John that it helps him not feel so anxious, and helps when he feels bloated. The older person immediately nods, enjoying the way the other looks so much more relaxed and at peace.

…

“Would you shift with me?” Matt asks, as they're laying next to each other on the couch. He feels John tense up next to him, nervous.

“You don't want that.” John hums, as Matt shakes his head in confusion.

“No. I really do. I want to scent you properly, and you to do that to me. I want to feel like I kinda have a pack around…” Matt says quietly, as John sighs, looking around.

“I'm… I'm not like you though. I'm not pack… Our species are typically rather… hostile to each other.” John says quietly, voice heavy with shame.

Matt whines, voice almost pleading. “Okay? But it's still you. I know that. Please? I really need this. I… I'm sorry..”

John stands up, stretching a little, with a nervous look on his face. “Okay, fine.. We can try it, but let's go to the living room, where your wolf's nest is, okay? That will be more comfortable for us.”

Matt attempts to jump up quickly, but his swollen belly makes him take a little longer, eagerly following behind John (who gives him a hand up.)

…

“You're really sure about this?” John asks, as Matt nods eagerly, tail morphing out and wagging.

John groans, before holding out his hand, explaining; “Okay…Give me your wrist, so I can temporarily bond us… Um.. So we can still communicate.”

Matt eagerly hands over his left wrist, hissing a little as John sinks his teeth in, but not hard enough to do much more than bruise. Matt then repeats the action for John, before John's shifting with a regretful sigh.

To Matt's shock, John's a lion. A large grey lion. It suits him.

He's not as large as the lions he's seen in other places, but that's probably because he's an omega. The lion looks a little nervous, waiting for Matt's reaction to the sight of it, so Matt holds out his hand, letting John sniff it first.

John quickly licks his hand, making Matt giggle, before Matt's leaning in and full body hugging the lion.

Studying the big cat, John's mane isn't as full as an alpha's would be, but it still helps soothe some of that nervousness in Matt's belly, as if the pups recognise John as a suitable stand-in alpha. John doesn't put any weight on Matt, letting Matt fully lean into the cuddle.

John's fur and mane are both soft, so very soft, and Matt lets out a quiet, rather pleased noise, before pulling back and then he too is shifting.

Looking up at the lion from his shorter stance, Matt's low-key in love… and he doesn't even know it.

John stares down at him, warmth in his eyes as he leans over and licks the top of Matt's head, catching Matt off guard.

“So big!” Matt yips, as John huffs out a noise, humor evident.

“So small, my precious little mate.” John rumbles protectively. “Now, lay down. You need more rest. For your pups.”

“Cuddles?” Matt whines, curling up on the ground, giving big eyes to the cat. He yips happily as John proceeds to curl up behind him, the lion using his tongue to groom the wolf's fur, making Matt’s heart flutter a little.

“Safe.” Is the last thing Matt thinks, before he's drifting off into dreams.

…

Matt comes to wholly cherish those moments, when it's the two of them in their shifted forms. John always curls up behind him, draping a paw protectively over Matt's belly, his claws safely tucked in, while nuzzling him close. Matt's never felt safer.

John's never felt more fulfilled. He finally has a purpose.

…

The next doctor's appointment ruins everything again. It shatters Matt's naive and rather optimistic dream of himself and John with two little pups in his house, all happy and loving. Perfect.

The doctor frowns during the ultrasound, getting in another technician for a second opinion, before they break it to Matt. It seems that one of the pups is… it's looking like it's already gone.

They say it's rare, but sometimes a lack of alpha contact during the first trimester can sometimes just do this… Especially in an unbonded pairing. Matt's devastated to find that out.

Matt gets home, explaining it to John, who also looks devastated at the news, but he immediately comforts Matt, making sure the younger is okay.

…

“I…I feel like I failed them already..” Matt whispers, as John pulls him in for a grounding hug.

“It wasn't your fault. It can just happen, okay? It happens to so many people, for no real reason. It doesn't make you a bad parent, I promise. I'm so sorry about this, Matt.” He says, wiping Matt's tears away.

The two omegas curl up into each other, Matt finding comfort in John's now familiar scent.

…

Month after month passes. John had popped home for a couple weeks, returning with more gear, so he can actually work properly at Matt's place, moving most of his stuff up to the Canadians place.

They get an area set up for John to work in, Matt still undecided on where he wants to put the nursery. John tells him he can take his time, it's not too urgent.

Then, a change;

Smitty says he's coming back home to Canada! With Puffer! How… great!

Yes! That's right! He's super duper excited to go home, and see Matt again, so when would Matt like to meet up? Maybe they should go to a bar?

Matt and John side-eye each other, reading the text message before swallowing nervously.

Shit.

Matt's very heavily pregnant, and it's super fucking obvious. He doesn't know what to do, but John quickly takes the lead.

“I can handle it, okay? I have an idea. Why don't you shift, and relax for a bit… Stress is bad for the pups. I've got it all under control.” John says, kissing Matt on the forehead. “I'll be back in like an hour, okay? Then we can snuggle, and I'll even shift as well, if you want.”

Matt pretended to think about it, before smiling a little, nodding. “Okay… That would be acceptable.”

….

John's solution is scent spray and some heavy duty heat blockers for himself, so he can properly play the part of an alpha. Matt looks on doubtfully, but John asks him to pick which scent he'd rather smell if they're gonna do this.

Matt frowns in disgust at most of them, until they get to a more floral one, that makes Matt pause, going back in for a second sniff.

“Yeah. Let's go with that one… It's like your scent now, but like.. More intense in a way… You could definitely pass it off as like an ‘alpha who's been protecting his pregnant mate,’ type of scent change.”

John weakly smiles back at him, before the two embrace, breaking down in each other's arms.

It's a shit situation.

…

They decide not to tell Smitty or Puffer about Matt and his condition until later, John instead paying for an UBER from the airport for them, due to himself not being able to drive, and Matt being too far along in his pregnancy to want to risk it.

Smitty knocks on the door, and John greets him with a warm smile, catching them both off guard.

“John?” Smitty says, voice sounding confused as he looks around. “What are you doing up here, in Canada?”

“Damn, not even a hello? This fucking guy, hey?” John jokes, looking at Puffer whose confusion fades quickly, instead, joining in on the bit.

“Yeah Smitty, he opened the door for us, isn't that good enough for you?” Puffer smirks.

Smitty sighed, shaking his head, waving his hands. “Shit… My bad. Oh, hey John, nice to see you… What the fuck are you doing up here in Canada? Explain?”

Not replying, John instead moves aside to let them in, as Puffer looks around the house, studying the furniture.

“Where's Matt?” Smitty instead asks, scent spiking up a little in worry.

“He's in the living room, he's just chilling on the lounge, I think.”

“What, he can't get off his fat ass to come say hi to his two other best friends? Matt… What the hell, man?” Puffer teased, as they both followed John to the living room.

Matt rolled his eyes at the whining.

“Ah shit, my bad guys! Let me just waddle slowly over there.” Matt scowled as Smitty and Puffer both turned and froze at the sight of Matt, who's currently laying on his back, very heavily pregnant.

“What the fuck?” Smitty practically shouts, as Puffer quickly back tracks.

“OK, when I said that stuff, I did not know you were.. like this? What he said… What the fuck?” He mumbles, as Matt slowly sits up on his elbows, glancing over.

“Sure buddy. I'll remember this.” Matt teases, eyeing John nervously, praying this works.

“You're pregnant? Why didn't you say something?” Smitty says, still in shock.

Matt shrugged. “I mean… Time flies? To be fair, I kinda wanted to, John suggested this would be funnier. He was right. Your faces were fucking hilarious.”

Smitty turns and looks at John with mock hurt, who just looks smug. “Heh. Told ya so.”

“Are they your pups, John?” Puffer asks, sitting next to Matt gently, letting the omega scent him.

John forces himself to relax as he only half lies.

Well, he's mentally claimed the pups as his own, even if they're not biologically his…

“Yeah, they are my pups… When I found out, there was no way I was going to leave him to do this alone… He's been making me do everything for him though!”

“Sorry John… That's what you get for being an alpha.. You get the housework while I'm pregnant…” Matt says weakly.

Puffer and Smitty laugh a little, and Matt and John both make eye contact, grimacing internally.

“God, this is so amazing! You're both going to be such great parents!” Puffer gushes, as Smitty nods, slightly stiff in his movement.

You could tell there was something off, but Smitty just kissed Puffer on the cheek before speaking again.

“I'm so proud of you guys!”

…

“That sucked.” John huffs sadly as Matt's rather quiet.

“I thought I was over him… Seeing him with Puffer like that… It fucking hurts.” Matt whines, as John nuzzles against him, whining slightly.

“I'm sorry…”

…..

Now that the others are in Canada, it only serves to remind Matt of what he can't have, and his progress at getting over Smitty comes to a screeching halt.

He can feel his mind splintering, jealousy and envy preying on his mind, unable to help the bitterness that flows through him every time the two are over.
When he sees them giggle at an inside joke, when they're hugging or kissing…

Matt just feels sad.

…

The illusion finally flickers a little when Matt talks to Smitty, this time alone.

Smitty's talking about how glad he is Matt's got someone good, but maybe they should have waited to have pups? They're still a little young.

Matt readily admits that in a perfect world, he would probably be giving them to another loving home, anyway. It would be better for them.

Deep down, he's not really ready to be a parent… Or at least that's what he says.

Smitty seems slightly relieved at that, making a joke about Matt's scatterbrained self.

It doesn't land as well as he thinks it does.

…

Afterall, that's the straw that makes something in Matt's brain snap, and he waves Smitty goodbye later, all the while his mind is racing.

He starts putting contingency plans in place, scheduled messages to friends and family just saying he's on holiday, paying some bills in advance.

Crying, maybe.

John catches him as he's about to leave out the back door, the two men just making eye contact. It's John that speaks first.

“Matt?”

John's voice, hesitant, makes Matt pause, as he goes to lock the back door.

“I can't do this anymore John. I tried. I really did. But I can't stay here anymore, I feel like I'm losing my mind. I'm sorry.”

John sees Matt's eyes, how troubled they are, before nodding, taking the keys from Matt's shaking hands.

“Okay, let me just lock the door for you.” He says calmly, before turning back, pulling out his phone, pocketing the keys.

Tapping some buttons on his phone, he leads Matt further into the backyard.

Matt frowns at the sight of the safe, newly installed, yet already mostly buried. John leans down, opening the door, before chucking all his valuables in there, along with the set of keys.

“Anything you got you want in here?” He asks, as Matt wordlessly passes him his phone and car keys. John places them gently inside before closing the safe up.

John then moves a large rock from nearby to hide it all. Nodding a little, at the knowledge of the hidden contents, John then gives a tilt of his head to the woods, Matt looking over.

“After you.” He says, shifting to his form, but still waiting for Matt to lead the way.

Matt's heart flutters again, before he himself is shifting, and the two take off into the darkness, paws thudding through the muddy forest path.

…

“I learned I was bisexual back in high school.” Matt admits, the two of them just lounging in a heated spring that John accidentally stumbled across while hunting.

Their clothes have been washed, and they're letting them dry, but in the meantime, the nicely heated water is doing wonders for Matt's sore muscles, and he's taking full advantage of it.

John makes a contemplative noise. “I thought I was pansexual in high school… I learned later on that I was actually asexual… probably demi-romantic too… I mistook my lack of interest in everyone as me being interested in everyone…”

Matt's eyes widen. “Oh, you're asexual? Like..?”

“Like I never wanted to have sex or like.. have pups, to put it bluntly. I like to joke about it, but that's all it ever is… A joke.”

Matt feels guilty, drawing his arms around his belly. “I'm sorry, I-”

John shuts him down quickly, shaking his head a little to dry it. “Matt. You didn't force me into anything, okay? I made the choice to be here, and every day I'm happy I made that choice. I care an awful lot about you. At the end of the day, I'll be here for you and the pups.”

Matt's eyes welled up with tears as John grabbed one of his hands. His voice croaked out a quiet; “Thankyou…”

…

“Honestly, we could just say ‘fuck it’, and just do an actual mating bond, if you want?” John says, moving some rocks around the cave area they're currently nesting in, as Matt's curiously watching.

He likes the shared nest of moss, feathers and sheep's wool that John made for them. He also appreciates the work John's doing to clear all the small stones away, so he won't trip on anything.

Matt then processes John's words.

“Pardon? I thought you were like-”

John snorts, waving his hand. “Honestly? I think I've probably thought of you as my mate, for a while now, anyway. It just makes it easier, but don't feel pressured to-”

“Okay.” Matt says, agreeing instantly.

“What?” John says, shocked.

“Let's do it. I mean… I still have feelings for… Smitty, but I know I also feel something for you, and… I know it's um… Yeah.” Matt says, blushing.

John snickered a little, also going red. “Oh. You have feelings for little, ole me? Hehe! I'm flattered!”

Matt laughs at that, as John comes over and nuzzles up into his side.

“I hate you.” Matt sighs.

“Hmm, I don't think you do!” John says, kissing him on the nose.

…

The markings? It seemingly works. Now they look like a typical feral pair from a distance, and they're also more finely tuned to what the other one's feeling.

Matt feels a lot more relaxed, John feels a lot more protective of his mate and unborn pups.

…

The others don't notice their absence at first.

Puffer goes over, wanting Matt to help him plan something for Smitty, then realising that Matt's gone. There's no sign of the pregnant man, nor John.

Explaining it to Smitty, the other quickly attempts to contact John, but he doesn't pick up either.

It's worrying.

Going over to Matt's house, Smitty uses the spare key, letting them both in.

It's empty. There's no signs of life, and food is starting to smell.

Matt and John are gone.

Deciding this to be an emergency, with Matt's condition especially, Puffer calls up the group chat, explaining the situation to everyone, who're all just surprised that Matt's pregnant.

Pezzy, Droid and Grizzy fly up, to help look for them when they don't come back home that night. Yumi couldn't get a flight in time, so he's busy trying to cover for them all.

They all start searching the forest, frowning as the scent from Matt and John is already faint in the air, old and stale.

…

It's about three weeks into the wilderness when Matt gives birth, during a stormy night much to his absolute misery.

It's a long, tiring and brutally painful labor, the wolf shifting to canine form almost instantly, not wanting to deal with the added pain in human form.

They quickly find out that; of the two pups, the brown furred pup is still-born, and the other, the one with sleek, white fur is alive, but also very, very weak.

It's heartbreaking.

John lays around Matt as he cries and howls, doing his best at trying to calm him, by licking his head, and holding his mate close. They both decide to dig a hole and bury the deceased pup overlooking the flowers nearby, placing a stone to mark the grave. It's decently near the cave where they're hiding out in.

…

Of all the friends to find them, the one who does, somehow manages it purely on accident, not even looking for them, when it happens.

It's Droid, because of course it is, the young wolf is not even on their scent trail, he's purely just looking to get out of the second storm, scared of the loud noises. Finding the others is just a crazy bonus for him.

Shaking his fur dry, he whines a little at the sight of the rain. It's there, he finds Matt when he turns around, eyes adjusting to the darkness. Much to his shock, he sees the wolf form of who he believes to be Matt… (Smitty and Matt had once play-fought in front of them all, so Droid's pretty sure it's Matt) and the wolf is doing his best at nursing a pup… that looks almost identical to Smitty's wolf form. Suspicious.

Droid doesn't consider himself a very smart person, but even he puts two and two together.

The first thing Droid does is block his pack bond with Pezzy, Puffer and Grizzy, not wanting anyone else to hear or find him, immediately realising this situation is a lot more complicated then first described.

Scenting the air, he recognises the familiar sweetness of Matt's omega scent.. But there's also another scent…

Then he hears the growling, eyes locking on to the slowly approaching figure, stalking towards him.

Narrowing his eyes, he studies the lion quickly, familiar with lion shifters thanks to his in-laws.

This lion? It's not tall enough to be an alpha, like Puffer and Smitty said that John was… But, it's also got John's eye colour. So… Is that John?

Taking a step back because he's unsure, a rumble of thunder makes Droid freeze, his body involuntarily shaking as he does his best at covering his ears with a whine. Fuck, he really hated how loud the noise was in this form. It didn't help his fear of storms.

When the rumbles pause again, he stands back up, ready to try and find another cave. He doesn't want to bother the mated pair.

Backing out while still facing them, Matt and John are busy looking at each other, before John beckons him back inside, using his tail, before shifting back, sitting on a rock.

“Bro. You look fucking pathetic there, no offence. You can stay the night if you want, Droid… Just please… Don't tell anyone. Okay?”

Nodding quickly, Droid trotted in closer, before settling down near the back of the cave, as far away from the rumbles, John then moved to seal the cave up.

“There…” John mumbles, nodding at his work, before shifting back to his lion form, curling up around Matt again.

Droid watches the pair nuzzle into each other fondly, drifting off to a weird sleep.

…

He's woken up later, by distressed whining from Matt.

Leaping to his feet, he takes in the situation.

Matt's sleepily nosing the pup, while whining in a panic. He tries and fails to shift back, not able to focus in the panic because he's so emotional. Droid quickly shifts back, trying to give the pup chest compressions, trying to do anything to help his friends.

However, when his hands touch the soft fur on the pup, Droid freezes. The pup is stone cold, long gone. There's nothing he can do.

The pup had passed in its sleep. Matt's howling in misery, John watching on sadly.

Droid leans in to give Matt some comfort when John pulls away. Droid helps Matt lay down, the older wolf passing out into a sleeping spell, emotionally worm out.

Droid watches as John picks the pup up gently, walking out of the cave, unintentionally leading Droid to where the other sibling is buried.

Droid then recognises the pup as the second one they'd lost, a whine of pain escaping him. He's then shifting back, racing to the cave, comforting Matt when he shifts and whines in his sleep.

…

“We should go home…” Matt says, voice hollow and crackly, having been unused for a while.

Droid looks over, tilting his head as John gently touches Matt's hands, rubbing the palms gently.

“You don't have to, we can-” he's cut off by Matt, who shakes his head quickly.

“No. There's no reason to stay anymore.. If they're both… We need to go back home. I need to… I need to find something else.” Matt says, looking at both of them, before he's shifting back into wolf form.

Droid looks at John, who sighs, before they're both shifting and following Matt.

…

It's not long before Matt's lagging behind, his emotional pain having started to manifest itself as full body aches and tremors, making him stumble a few times.

Droid stops walking, shifting back, looking around. “Did you guys hear that?”

John shifts back, gently petting Matt's head, before asking; “What? What did you hear?”

Droid shifted back, sniffing and then looked around, tilting his head again. His ear flicks, before he's galloping over to a fern. Droid lets out a gasp, shifting back to human, before gently picking up the wet and abandoned kit.

He studies it, noticing how it's mewling and crying. It couldn't be much older than a week or two… It's lucky to still be alive.. The poor little puma had a more white fur colouration and bright blue eyes.. but it also didn't react to Droid, who had loudly moved up next to it.

He came to the conclusion rather quickly.

The kit was deaf, and that's why it was abandoned, obviously too much work for a feral clowder.

Walking back slowly, he then showed it to the others.

“I think he's deaf… But he's obviously been abandoned.” He explained, as Matt's eyes lit up, whining at the baby, almost pleading with Droid.

Droid quickly passed the kit over to Matt, who immediately started fussing over it.

John chuckles, as the kit licks Matt's nose, side hugging Droid.

“He wouldn't have survived much longer out here, alone… Good job.” John says, Droid just looking away shyly.

….

After the kit's safely asleep, being carried by a much happier Matt, they keep walking home.

Droid explains that everyone's probably at Matt's house, still looking for the two of them.

John looked at Matt, and then back at Droid, explaining. “Okay… Well, Matt wants to stay shifted when we see them. I'll do the talking for both of us, if that's okay?”

Droid nods.

…

They make it to the house, everyone spotting them from inside and racing out to greet them.

John and Droid shift back, Matt staying behind the pair, the kit on his back, fast asleep.

“Droid? Where were you?” Grizzy asks, voice sounding relieved. “We couldn't sense you anymore… I was worried you-”

Droid quickly hugs Grizzy, Pezzy sliding in too. “It's been a long couple of days… Okay? I.. I'm not ready to talk about it.” He whispers, as Grizzy and Pezzy nod, before pulling back.

Smitty and Puffer both greet John, Matt not looking at the two of them, instead, he's gently setting the cub down, licking it to make sure it's still nice and warm.

Smitty looks at the puma kit, and frowns at Matt, thoroughly confused, before blurting out; “You gave your pups up, Matt? But then what? You took in a kit? Is this some weird kinda trade deal?” he jokes, not seeing the pain in John's eyes.

Matt snarls angrily, before he's pouncing on Smitty in a fit of emotions. Droid quickly dives over, picking up the kit and taking it over to Grizzy and Pezzy.

“Please, hold him carefully.” He mumbles, before attempting to split up the two wolves who are snapping at each other.

Puffer’s trying to defend his mate with words, which don't seem to be working. John gives Matt a worried look, which is enough to get him to stop, allowing Smitty to get away, the younger backing up, saying he was joking and he didn't mean anything by it.

Unfortunately, it goes to shit very quickly.

Pezzy of all people breaks the silence, by dropping a bombshell on Smitty and Puffer. “How did two omegas even have pups anyway?”

“John's an alpha?” Puffer says, confused as Pezzy shakes his head, not seeing the look Droid is giving him.

“No, John's an omega, I'm sure of it! I remember him being in heat at the very end of a meetup in person once.. Plus he's not very big shifted..” Pezzy explained, John wincing at the memory.

“Wait. You're not an alpha?” Smitty asks, both him and Puffer looking over at John, who proceeded to look at the ground. Then he sighs, looks back over at Matt, who shrugs in response.

“Uh..Well….thanks for that… Pezzy.. Um.. Yeah, so they weren't actually mine? Cat's out of the bag…So…”

Smitty's doing the math, and then he's looking at Matt, suddenly worried, scent spiking up in anguish.

“Matt. Who's pups were they, then? Don't tell me…”

Matt doesn't reply, not shifting back, but he looks away, upset.

Smitty's almost growling now, suddenly more worried about it all. “Matt. Tell me. Were they my pups?”

Matt flinches at the command, before he's nodding, his eyes filling with tears as he lays on the ground, body shaking.

Smitty's then yelling at Matt, who's crying about the whole situation. “Are you saying that you gave them up to some strangers, only for you to take in.. Some stray kit? What? You don't even tell me that I have pups? I deserved to know about it, man! I would have taken them in, no questions asked! What the fuck? Where are they? Can I see them?”

Matt whines a little, John immediately kneeling and hugging the wolf, Pezzy looking guilty from the side.

“He didn't want to ruin what you had… With Puffer… The day he found out, you guys announced it.. He didn't want to ruin it all..” John says, looking over at Smitty, whose eyes widen.

“What? Matt. You're my best friend. I wouldn't ever blame you if something in my life went wrong…”

Puffer nodded. “You… I know what it's like man… I wouldn't have been angry or hurt… I'm sorry if I came off like that… I…”

“Can I see my pups? Please?” Smitty asks, as Matt whines again, John gently stroking his head.

It's Droid who speaks up, taking them all off guard as he looks over at Smitty.

“I can.. Take you there… To them, if you really wanna meet them so badly.” He says quietly.

Matt shifts back, looking at Droid. “Don't… Please… Not yet. I can't… I… After everything… Give them space, for me.”

Looking over at a hopeful Smitty, and then back to Matt, Droid sighs. “Matt. Smitty deserves to know more… But, I will respect your wishes for now, okay? I'm sorry Smitty. I really am, but this whole situation is shit.”

Matt sobs a little, shifting back, approaching Pezzy, nose pointing to his kit.

“Please, Pezzy. We need to get him inside. He's cold and hungry.” John says quietly, as Pezzy nods, passing the kit back to Matt, who takes it inside.

“I'm sorry, I… I thought everyone knew. When Smitty said Matt ran off with his alpha and that John was there… I thought there were three people involved…I didn't sleep enough on the plane.” Pezzy admitted, as John shook his head.

“It was going to come up anyway, at least it's out in the open now…” he says, before shifting to follow Matt.

…

Smitty's getting more and more anxious, he's worrying about where his pups are, if they're safe, happy, fed.. And then he's also wondering what they're like, what they look like, daydreaming and talking to Puffer, who nods along, nuzzling into his chest.

Whenever the pair ask Droid, he always seems to shut down however. He doesn't even tell Grizzy and Pezzy.

…

One morning, a few days later. Droid sneaks off, wanting to place fresh flowers on the pup's graves.

Puffer sees him leaving, and follows him, wanting to make sure he's okay, because Droid's been really quiet recently.

…

Puffer looks around, sniffing the air, before he spots Droid. Droid's nosing some stones around, before dropping something on the pile of fresh dirt.

Creeping over, Puffer quietly pads up behind him, looking over at what Droid's doing.

Droid's head whips around, fur bristled as he realises Puffer followed him. Looking around Droid, Puffer’s heart drops.

Droid was leaving flowers on two flat stones, on top of freshly dug earth.

Droid being sad, almost guilt ridden. Matt and John refusing to speak about the pups, where they're at. Matt begging Droid to leave them alone for a while.

Puffer shifts back, kneeling next to a still-wolf Droid.

“It's what I think it is, isn't it?” He asks quietly, Droid whining a little.

“You did good, Droid. It's okay …” Puffer mumbles, as Droid cries a little in wolf form.

…

Puffer and Droid get back, and Puffer decides they all need to talk.

…

“Smitty? Matt wants to talk..” Puffer says, quickly putting up his hand to stop the alpha from speaking. “Before you get too excited… It's not what you thought it was. I… This is going to be hard for him to speak about. You need to be patient. I…I think something bad happened. I don't think they wanted to return without your pups.” He says, as Smitty's eyes widen.

“Oh.. Do you? You know something, don't you?”

“I'm sorry. I think it's best for you to hear it from Matt.”

…

Smitty sighs, throat closing up a little as Matt finishes explaining, voice wobbling, and John nuzzled into his side.

Smitty reaches over, grabbing Matt's hand. “I'm so sorry, Matt. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm sorry for yelling. Everything just… Fuck…”

“You didn't know.” Matt says, looking away.

Smitty's jaw clicked a little as he looked up at the ceiling. “I'm sorry about everything that went wrong.”

Matt nodded in slight understanding, quietly speaking. “I.. I can't go back there. Not yet. Droid mentioned that Puffer visited briefly. If you want to visit, you can.. I-”

Smitty sighed. “I'll visit… But when you feel strong enough to go back, I'd like to be there too. To support you.”

______