Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Louis hoped his roommates weren’t sexy alphas. He could handle cute, dorky, weird, even hot. Sexy was his weakness. Well, if he thought about it for more than one second, he guessed that sexy was most people’s weakness. But for Louis especially, it was his Achilles heel. Not that he was some leering pervert but really attractive guys made it harder to…focus. Over the past two years at college, he had gotten good at ignoring the various alphas that littered his campus. The ones with wicked grins set in sculpted faces. Or the ones who roughhoused to near nudity in the large central quad in the long heat of spring. Or even the loud and brash ones at parties who made themselves the center of attention in a way that he would never admit out loud he liked to see. 

But he had always been able to keep himself at a distance by the use of his suppressants and his being a student who still lived at home rather than the dorms. His mother and former father’s home where security cameras ringed the large property but his mother’s watchful eye was enough to monitor him and his siblings within. Though if Louis were honest with himself, it was mostly her just watching him. He, his mother’s greatest disappointment. Land and property inheritances even now in the modern era were difficult to navigate if there were no alphas present in a family. And with his father now dead, he as the oldest was eventually meant to step up. The only problem was he wasn’t an alpha. 

The look on his mother’s face shortly after he had presented and discovered his secondary gender was one he could not forget. Disappointed, nervous, resolved. She had asked him then to make her a promise. Hide it. For the sake of the family. The thing is she hadn’t even really needed to ask at all. He had no intention of letting that truth out. Or…his other truth. So as Louis grew from there, scent properly suppressed with the help of the family doctor, he moved through the world as an alpha. An alpha who would marry a lovely beta or omega woman one day but for now was too busy with school to worry about his love life. Except his time was running out. He had recently entered his 20s and was about to enter his latter half of undergrad. It was making home tense. Paul and Grace looked on as he and his mother circled each other like gators, both sharp in teeth and armored skin waiting for an opening to strike. He needed to get out of there. 

He submitted an on campus housing application and handled himself pretty well in the screaming match that followed with his mother after he got his room assignment. It was a mixed gender suite. His first time potentially living in close quarters with alphas since he was very young. Without his watchdog of a mother making sure he never brought home anyone home that could compromise the very elaborate lie he wrapped himself in so tightly it was a second skin against his body. 

He had moved in that morning and of course his entire family had come to holler at, sorry “help” him. It was a suite-that is two rooms with two beds in each, connected to their own bathroom for 4 occupants to share. It was pretty spacious for a dorm room and even had an AC unit in the windows of both rooms. 

“This room is smaller than one that rat man has,” Grace said with a disapproving look on her face as she walked into the room that Louis decided would be his. “And smells like it too.”

Louis' arms stung from the pain of moving his boxes from the trailer outside through the dorm lobby, into the elevator and then eventually down the long hallway that the suite was actually located at. “The rat man? What the hell are you talking about?” 

She gave him a look like she questioned how even he got into college. “The rat man? From that movie where he cooks in that white boy's hair?”

Louis was more annoyed than satisfied once his mind gave him the answer. “Girl, you mean Ratatouille? His name isn’t the rat man. And I don’t think he has a room?”

“It’s not Ratatouille either,” Paul interjected. He was settled in Louis' elevated twin bed, the bible open in his lap where he had been quietly reading while Louis did most of the actual moving. “It’s Remy.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “I know it’s Remy. I was talking about the movie title”

Paul didn't look up from his bible, Ephesians taking precedence. “You sure? Grace didn’t know.”

“Grace don’t know a lot of things.”

Grace pouted at that. “You got a lot of nerve for someone who left most of his stuff at the house. Now when your vinyls go missing-”

Louis pointed a finger at her. That’s how serious he felt. “You touch my vinyls, I'm smacking you. I might even swing. Grace don’t you even play like that.”

His mother’s voice carried from the bathroom. “Don’t you touch your sister Louis. You’re a grown alpha. Act like it please.”

Louis was surprised he had not already bitten his tongue off from the amount of times his mother had shut him down even though he was completely in the right. Grace’s smug expression did not help. His mother left the bathroom and entered the bedroom where they were all milling and Louis struggled not to talk more shit. 

She adjusted a curl of hair near her temple that didn’t need it. “That bathroom is disgusting. Make sure you clean it before you use it. And why does this room smell like that?”

“Like rats right?” Grace asked.

“A little…” his mother replied, looking about the room as if she could find the source. Ugh. It was more or less that for the next couple of hours as they milled about Louis’ space. By the time it was all done, Louis was emotionally drained with a full bed spread, clothes unpacked and desk organized. After a lukewarm goodbye with customary hugs, he treasured the silence that followed sinking into the thickness of his duvet hovering on the edge of sleep. 

He was violently woken up by the sound of a loud BANG and the sharp sound of a laugh. He slowly got out of the bed, walked across the room and entered in to the small intersection that held the bathroom on his left, the second room across from him and on the right and down a small hallway, the front door. A door which had a boy leaning up against it, his eyes beaming, as someone pounded on it from the other side.

“-pen the fucking door!” a muffled voice said.

The boy who had his whole body weight pressed up against the door seemed to enjoy the annoyance. “Relax before you break the whole thing down with your big ass! I’ll get you in a second.” 

It was only then that he seemed to notice Louis staring at him, his eyes squinted in confusion and caution. He popped to his full height and walked down the hall. Fuck. He was sexy. Tall, broad shoulders. Wide nose. Full lips. He wore a deep red racing jacket over baggy pants that sat very low on his waist. His ears glittered with diamond studs. As he got closer Louis could see his gleaming gold fronts in a mouth that held a grin so relaxed it instantly made him a little nervous. “Roomie, I’m guessing. Hi. The name's Stack.” He held his hand out relaxed and expectantly.

A hand was easier to deal with than that disarming smile so Louis quickly grabbed it and dapped him up. Even that small touch seemed to send a jolt through him. “Louis,” he said in return. 

“Ooh. That’s nice. Like Armstrong.” Stack mused. 

“Du Lac actually. I’m not talented enough to be like Armstrong.”

It was like a frown flitted across Stack’s face. “Come on now Louis. We just met. You can’t be selling yourself short so quickly.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Who said I’m doing all that? I’m just not the King of Jazz.”

Stack chuckled at that which made Louis feel warm. “What are you the king of then, if it ain't jazz?” He took a step closer. 

His scent. A deep musk that almost made Louis feel hungry. Louis had been so distracted with that grin he hadn't even realized that Stack was an alpha. There was nothing he even had to say. Him being so close it was clear and even the few inches he had on Louis seemed to loom large, crowding Louis in. But he didn’t feel claustrophobic. He felt…admired. So admired that he was just staring and hadn’t even bothered to think of an answer to his question. “Uh…”  Louis began.

He was saved from having to answer from the sharp booming knocks against the door drawing both his and thankfully Stack’s attention. “Do you know who that is?,” he asked, grateful to be able to easily change the conversation. 

“Someone who normally is a lot less tense,” was the only answer Stack offered up. He continued before Louis could ask him to clarify. “So I see you’re all moved in. Even got photos on the wall. Very cute, very homely. Which one of these rooms do you think is better?

Louis was starting to understand. “I checked earlier. They’re identical.”

Stack’s pointer fingers shot up and moved back and forth like twin metronomes. “So the only difference is you?” The fingers stopped abruptly in front of Louis. “You cool Louis?”

The question was more loaded than those baked potatoes that Paul loved. Was he cool? He, the oldest son of a family with more assets than liquid capital, with a 3.9 GPA, in business school? That was impressive but not really cool though. He didn’t really do extracurriculars like that. Except for some occasional theater roles. And he can’t go back to that especially after…He was liked well enough but he knew his classmates instinctively didn't trust him because he suppressed his scent. An edge he kept from the world for his and his family sake. No, not cool. But he was in control. He was Louis de pointe du lac. He had a thirst to drain the world of all it offered and stand as the man at the top of the mountain, gender be damned. And if he couldn’t handle a slick talking sexy alpha who didn’t quite understand personal space, then he might as well just give up now.

Louis lifted his chin. “I don’t think that’s the right question to be asking.”

“Oh? What is then?”

“The question is “Will I get you in trouble.”

Stack’s interest seemed to have peaked. His eyes were a little wider, he even licked his lips. “You trouble then?”

He had him. The thrill of control felt better than warmth of admiration. “Sometimes but I think it’s worth it. It’s your choice though.”

That was the right thing to say as Stack dapped him up again. “I think…you got yourself a roommate, Armstrong.”

The name felt like a scratch on the flow of the conversation but they could deal with that later. He looked past Stack. “You want to open the door and let the other guy know that?”

Stack looked back at the door which had gotten very silent since they had begun talking and returned Louis’ gaze looking a little embarrassed. That was fun. Stack walked down the entryway, unlocked the door and when it opened, he saw…Stack with a much more dour expression on his face. Or rather someone with Stack’s exact face and facial hair. Other details began to stand out however. The lack of earrings, casual white tank, open blue hoodie and sweats and the necklace with a bag hanging from his chest. 

“See, told you I would open the door,” Stack said nonplussed at this almost doppelganger. He pointed back. “That’s Louis Armstrong over there.”

“Du Lac,” Louis corrected. He had a feeling that was going to be a habit.

“Imma be rooming with him,” Stack finished. “He’s cool…maybe.” 

The doppelganger merely nodded at that statement, lifting a hand halfheartedly in greeting. “Smoke.”

Smoke and Stack. Twins from an Oliver Twist novel. Ok then. Stack let his brother in and it was only then Louis noticed someone shorter than him standing behind Smoke. His hair was dark and a little shaggy but still allowed you to see his gorgeous face. His legs looked thick in the tight jeans that he wore. And his button up had the first two buttons undone showing off a hint of his strong shoulders.  

Smoke clued Louis in. “And that’s Bo. He’s the last roommate.” 

“Nice to meet ya, Louis,” Bo said, introducing himself. And of course his voice like the other boys was sweet as honey. Stack, he could handle but now he had to deal with Smoke and Bo too? He felt unsteady as the man on the mountain once again. 

“Our brother from another mother,” Stack said, giving Bo a solid pat on the shoulder. 

“Yall are brothers? Wow, I couldn't tell.” Louis said with as much sarcasm as he could muster. He had to stay on the defensive to process. 

The line got him an eyeroll from Bo, and a smirk from Stack. “Strong family genes.” 

“If you pay close attention, you can find out which one of us is which,” Bo said cheekily.

“I’ve been driving for like 12 hours,” Smoke grunted. "Can we please just end this so I can start moving our shit in and get some sleep?”

“Nobody’s stopping you-,” Stack began and then saw the glare on Smoke's face, “-anymore. I already told you I’m with Louis and you're with Bo in that room.” He pointed at the more empty of the two rooms.”

“Did you even swap designations?” Smoke asked. The blank look on Stack’s face was all the answer any of them needed. “My god…”

Stack turned his palms inward so the back of his hands pointed directly at himself. “I’m an alpha. You ok with that?”

Louis felt annoyed with that question. Of course Stack was an alpha. The posturing, the teasing, the spicy musky scent…he didn’t need to say a thing. And with the other boys now just as close he could smell that they were as well. Their scents hung on him like a blanket, making him feel a little fuzzy at the edges of his thoughts. He needed to contact his doctor and get his suppressants realigned for this new situation.

“That doesn't matter to me,” Louis said. “I’m an alpha too.” It was a lie he told so often, some days almost felt true. Today was not one of those days. 

“Alright then,” Bo said. “Three alphas, one omega. That’s not too bad.”

Three? Bo didn't smell like an omega. His scent was sharp like mint but there was still domination in the cool of it. His face must’ve betrayed his confusion. 

“I’m an omega,” Smoke said plainly. Like it was normal for him. Like that made any sense at all. He was the same size as Stack, maybe even a little bit bigger. Dour, small movements, towering in his confidence. This guy was an omega? How was that even possible?

Luckily, Louis had a lifetime of fixing his face so the incredulity he felt merely looked like mild shock. An appropriate amount of shock because he could tell Smoke was expecting it the way he was looking so intensely at him. But he seemed to approve of the amount of emotion he showed.

Louis was glad Smoke said to to fill the awkward silence. “And Bo’s right. That ratio works. And Louis?”

“Yeah?”

Smoke eyes were as low and dark as Louis had seen yet. “You ever touch me without asking, I’ll stomp you out. You understand?”

Louis didn’t even get a chance to respond before Stack interjected. “He’s joking. If you touch him, we will stomp out. Understand that?”

The double threat weirdly seemed to diffuse the tension. Louis turned to Bo. “And I’m guessing you’re included in that ‘we’?”

“Yeah probably,” Bo answered. He then shrugged signaling the loudest What are you gonna do? Louis had ever felt.

Because truly just what was he gonna do?

Chapter Text

The walls of Louis’ closet were closing in on him and Stack was absolutely to blame. Was it that charming grin that seemed permanently grafted onto his face? Or the way he always looked at him like they both knew a secret no one else did? Or even the way that he always wore the least amount of clothes possible in their room? No it was the fucking questions. After the boys had all moved in, they had started. After they were easy facts like majors, hometown, hobbies. But then it got weird.

“You want kids, Louis?,” Stack had asked him. 

His economic notes were scattered about his bed and he was so busy trying to find the right ones to answer the module on his laptop that it took him a few seconds to process the inquiry. “Kids?” he merely repeated. 

Stack was opposite him on his own bed. No notes or homework around but phone in hand. “Yeah kids. You want 'em?”

“Maybe just one or two,” Louis replied, beside himself that a deep part of him really wanted to know Stack’s answer. “You?”

Stack shook his head. “I don’t know but probably not. It seems like a big responsibility. I can barely get myself together every day.”

Louis was a little confused by this statement because most of the things Stack had brought were clothes. Besides his closet he had an additional rolling clothing rack because not everything would fit in the school provided dresser. The one thing Stack could really do was get himself together. 

Stack continued. “Besides, Smoke wants kids and I of course need to be the coolest flyest uncle in their life so I gotta prepare for that.”

The idea of Smoke in his solidness being a parent was a little funny to Louis. It almost made him laugh at the absurdity of it. “If you don’t want kids, why ask me?”

“Why you asking me why I’m asking you? You scared I’m propositioning you Louis?”

Louis could feel the blood drain from his face, his expression frozen. What was Stack implying? “Scared of what, the impossible becoming possible?”

Stack shrugged at that. “It happened to Mary from the Bible didn’t it?”

Louis’ right hand instinctively went to the bracelet on his left with the cross that dangled like a small charm. Paul had made it for him at summer camp once and he hadn’t taken it off since. “I don’t think you have that story right.”

Stack let out a sharp laugh at that. “Probably not. My uncle’s a pastor but I learned how to tune him out young…You ever fucked another alpha before?”

Louis felt like he was in a car and Stack had grabbed the wheel and lurched them into a ditch. He put up a strong defense. “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

Stack simply ignored what he said continuing on. “You know its kind of like an fucking an omega but they're tighter. Ain't that something? There’s no slick though so you gotta get lube to keep it from hurting. Especially if you got a big piece.” It was taking everything in Louis’ power to not glance down at Stack’s crotch especially as he adjusted himself mid explaining what it felt like to fuck an alpha while looking very pointedly at his assumed-to-be-alpha roommate. 

“But the really crazy thing is that feeling you get when you’re nice and deep in an omega? Like you just want to knot and knock em up and never let them go? Alpha ass can make you feel like that too. It’s wild.”

Louis’ felt dry in the mouth but wet elsewhere. He was producing slick. Only a little but it was there. It was made more obvious because he was normally bone dry, a result of the medication. He took a small breath but couldn’t smell any wafts of his own scent. But the same could not be said of Stack’s musk which filled the space. He was excited talking about sex to Louis. And that excitement felt guiltily good. 

It was a mistake what he did next. He should've shut down the conversation. Kept his walls up and insisted that Stack never bring up the topic again so long as they had to share a room. He did not do that. “Have you ever knotted an alpha?”

Stack’s eyes widened a little at the phallic olive branch. “See now that's the really crazy part…”

That of course was not the only time a line had been crossed. Theater, sexual conquests, teachers. Stack had questions about all of it.  One of the most egregious had been late at night when they both had been finishing papers-him for a history elective, Stack for global development. By some strange miracle, they had managed to finish at the exact same time. 

Stack had noticed and with sheer force rolled his chair across the room, hand high as he looked to Louis to give him exactly what he desired. A high five. The boy was shirtless and Louis tried to ignore the raised arm and the thick patch of armpit air zooming straight for his face.

Louis intercepted him with a raised hand  of his own and even smiled when Stack let out a particularly throat WOO at the sound of the clap. “I feel like we should celebrate or something.” Stack said 

“It’s 3 am on a Tuesday. You can celebrate all you want but you’re not gonna do it here.”

Stack fiddled with one of his silver hoops. “We did this together. It would defeat the purpose if we didn’t go out together.”

“This weekend then,” Louis offered.

Stack looked like Louis had just gifted him a custom luxury bag. "Are you serious? Like no messing me with serious?”

“Why are you acting like you just won the lottery?”

“Because I might as well with how stubborn you been every time I’ve asked you to go out with us before.” 

Louis burned with shame. While they had gotten breakfast and dinner together plenty of times now as a suite, he had always declined making weekend plans with the other boys. Living with them felt exhausting enough with the self policing of his body and…urges. Doing that while also loose with liquor? It would be too dangerous a game.“I’m not the party type.”

Their chair cushions were touching, the wheels of their clacking against each other as Stack leaned in close. “See that’s the thing,” he whispered conspiratorially. “I think you’re lying about that. I bet you a party animal beneath those tasteful dress shirts of yours.”

Stack’s breath was warm but sweet like bubblegum. He was so close it would not have been hard to lean in for a kiss. Louis needed to get out of this “ ‘Tasteful dress shirts’ sounded a little shady.”

“Maybe…but also pretty accurate don’t you think. You dress like a sexy librarian.” 

There! There was his out. Louis rolled his eyes, giving Stack a playful shove. Luckily he leaned into it moving slightly further away from Louis. He was still in Stack’s magnetic orbit but at least he was no longer about to crash into him. 

Or at least that’s what he thought. Stack spoke up again, completely changing direction. “You jerk off Louis?”

Luckily he had some practice at these quick changes and was no longer as thrown off. At least outwardly. He tried to ignore the pang he felt in his stomach. “Why do you need to know?”

“If you don’t crank it once a week, that’s not healthy for you.”

Louis scoffed. “You talking about health like I didn't see you make crab cake sandwiches with waffles for bread last week.”

“And our cafeteria offers all day breakfast and crab cakes. What’s kind of point is that? I’m just taking advantage of my options. And speaking of, gotta grab your options and take advantage of it more.” He cupped his hand like he was grabbing a long pole and did a jerking motion up and down. “Just in case you’re not understanding me.”

“No trust me, I follow.”

“So?”

“So what?”

Stack gave him an incredulous look and began pantomiming, pulling his pants down. “Get to it.”

Louis blinked slowly at him. Stack did not blink at all. “You want me to…I’m not doing that in front of you.”

Stack slowly began to shake his head like Louis was an abstract art painting whose meaning he could not decipher. “Why not? Are you nervous?”

“Am I nervous…? Boy have you lost your mind?”

Stack had still not found his way to clarity. “What? I can do it with you if that makes you feel more comfortable.” Then with no other prompting he hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his basketball shorts pulling them slightly down, showing the hint of a dark bush meeting his wispy happy trail.

God I’m begging you. Just kill me. I’m ready. “Its not that I’m nervous. It’s just…why don't you get that’s real intimate? Especially with someone you don’t know that well.”

Stack somehow looked more confused. “But that’s why I offered? We’re living together Louis. How else are we gonna get close?”

“We can’t just watch a movie?”

Stack cocked his head like a bird. “Like porn?”

“No!” Louis said, exasperated.  “Like a regular ass movie”

“What, you want to jerk off to like the Matrix or something?”

They were going in circles. “You have got to get your mind out your pants-and mine to be frank.. Like it truly doesn't have to be a factor.”

Stack looked reluctantly on board with the suggestion. “Alright then. I’ll stop pushing. You kind of strange for an alpha but I can respect it.”

The final missing puzzle piece of this strange conversation was played. That’s what Stack was trying to do. Alpha bonding nonsense. Closeness through shared virility. Because his home was just filled with beta and omegas, he had never seen this particular cultural ritual. He was a little annoyed at himself for not catching it sooner. The mistake had already been made. He just had to live with Stack thinking him even more strange than he was with his scent suppressed presence.

“It’s no problem,” Louis responded, mentally exhausted by the exchange. 

It was later in the week on that Friday that things truly spiraled out of control. It was the later afternoon. Louis had just woken up from a nap. One he had taken because he had woken before dawn so he could head into the city and take sunrise shots to practice his composition and lighting because he had no classes on Friday. The nap had done him wonderfully and he felt a pleasant heaviness in his bones that was getting lighter every second he stayed awake. 

He heard the click of the front door to the suite open and Smoke appear in the doorway. He was nearly nude except for a towel wrapped tight around his waist. He clearly had come from the showers, the beads of water sliding down his large pecs the biggest indication. In one hand he held a small caddy of hygiene products and in the other balled up towel. 

He threw the towel with pinpoint accuracy and force to Louis. “Hide this.”

“Why?” It was less Louis caught it and more it fell directly in his lap. It was deep maroon and suddenly he recognized it. This was Stack’s towel. Wait if Smoke had this and had just come from the showers…

“Open the fucking door!” a muffled voice cried out and a series of knocks hit the front door. 

Smoke, still in the doorway, glanced briefly at their front door, a slight devious grin on his face. “Louis come on. Help me out here, please?”

Louis was tempted to toss it but there was something in Smoke’s pleading eyes that stopped him. Even now having lived in proximity to him for a month, Louis was always surprised by how much omega Smoke was not. Fiercely independent, willing to go toe to toe with other alphas, he did things in an alpha way that looked more natural and smooth than any way Louis pretended being. But his eyes held less iron than usual and was his mouth turning downwards into a pout? Was Smoke about to beg like he was some simpleminded alpha? 

“Wh-where do you want me to put it?” Louis stammered, twisting back and forth in his bed showing Smoke there weren't a lot of hiding places available to him on his side of the room.

The softness in his eyes disappeared in an instant as he rolled them. He set the shower caddy on the ground and walked over to Louis bed, the sound of his slides slapping hard against the wooden floor. Almost like the floor was sucking its teeth in for Smoke’s sake. 

Leaving the slides on the ground, Smoke climbed into the bed with no permission, Louis automatically moving out of the larger boy's way. It was the polite alpha thing to do, especially with a near naked omega present. Smoke grabbed the towel from Louis' hand tucking it in the small gap between the mattress and the wall the bed was pressed up against. 

Once it was properly tucked, Smoke looked at him with a duh expression. “Like that.” The front door clicked as if it was being unlocked. In a start Smoke flipped aground plopping himself to the side of where he hid the towel. He patted next to him.     

Louis felt like a trained dog the way he rushed for no reason to sit next to the omega, back to the wall seated just above the towel.

Smoke leaned over and whispered, “Be cool.” With the heavy and sweet scent of Smoke wafting slowly into his nose, Louis was unsure at how easy that would be to achieve. He hadn’t realized until this point just how…good he smelled. It was like milk or cream, light enough that he wanted to take in a deeper huff to get the full effect. 

And that probably would’ve happened if Stack hadn’t walked into their room, taking full attention from Smoke’s light but mouthwatering scent. The reason for that was that he was completely nude, save for a pair of shower shoes and an angry expression on his face. Water droplets were falling off his beautiful frame with a quickness.

 Louis tried to keep his eyes pointed right at the other boy's face. But much of him was still in his eyeline. He couldn't help himself. Besides, Louis told himself it was fine. They were alphas. Seeing each other naked was normal. He just had to be completely casual about the whole thing. They were roommates. They sometimes saw flashes and glances of each other naked when getting ready. It was like that except more open…and one sided. Seeing Stack’s body confirmed he was slightly less built than Smoke but still had big arms, shoulders and chest .His dick was nestled within a thick patch of curly pubic hair, the same that he got a preview of a earlier in the week.. While mostly hairless in the chest, his crotch, and thighs, and calves were quite hairy in comparison.. A part of Louis desperately wanted him to turn around so he could see his what his ass looked like.

He was so distracted that he hadn't even noticed Bo until stepped into the room with an amused look on his face, key in hand. “Yall having fun?” 

“Just trying to get Louis used to my scent,” Smoke answered quick and smooth. “He’s the only one that doesn't recognize me.” That much was true and a part of Louis regretted he hadn’t tried to get closer to Smoke earlier, not knowing what  he was missing out on. Another part of him was glad he had not known his pleasant scent so early in this new situation. In situations like theirs with an abundance of alphas, it was helpful if all the alphas present were made aware of the omega scent to better be able to control themselves when that omega goes through heat. 

Stack looked like a mixture of shocked and angry. “And what a convenient time for jou to be doing that.” 

Smoke merely shrugged. “Aint it?”

Despite being completely naked, Stack didn’t look ashamed in the slightest. The shifting of his feet so he was leaning on his right side, hand cocked on his hip was proof enough of that. “So if I told you to get up from that bed, I won’t find my mysteriously missing towel.”

 Bo side eyed him, looking at ease with his naked friend as Louis was not. “Mysteriously missing?” he echoed. 

“I’m trying to get across the importance of the item.” Stack explained.

“Hey, I won't police the language, brother. Was just curious. It’s not my towel missing.”

Stack looked truly touched at Bo’s words. He put a hand on his shoulder and the other on his heart. “See that’s what I’m looking for. Allyship. Loyalty. Someone who has my back.” He turned back to look at Smoke. “Why can’t I get that from you?”

Smoke looked a little disgusted. “Boy don’t say silly shit you don’t mean."

“How am I supposed to believe you have my back if you don’t even have my backside?” He pointed a hard thumb behind himself to emphasize the point. Bo let out a “hmmmm’ nodding in approval like a word was said straight from on high. 

“Alright preacherboy. If you want to move me, move me.” Smoke replied. It was simple words but Louis could hear the weight in them, the threat. And so could Stack, not pleased with the answer. Louis had never seen the twins tussle but he had a sneaking suspicion that Smoke was often the winner. 

Stack shifted his eyes to meet Louis, moving past his hypothetical loss. “What about you Louis? Would you move and let me check?”

It was then that he realized the brilliant move Smoke had made. He was an omega, Louis an alpha. He should want for any number of reasons to be on an omega’s side, especially against another alpha. If Louis said no, it would mean backing down from another alphas challenge and losing the attention of the only omega in the space. Pride was woven into the gender. If he wanted to play the role, he could not move. There was only one answer. “Sorry, there’s no towel here, Stack. I wish I could help.” He could smell the strength of Smoke’s scent grow for a moment, clearly pleased with Louis’ answer. He had played his part perfectly. 

Stack gave up, getting dressed with a grumble. Smoke asked if he could stay in Louis’ bed longer. This would help him keep up appearances so of course Louis said yes. Smoke maneuvered with more ease than Louis expected with only a towel wrapped around his waist, scenting the duvet and pillows on Louis’ bed and then Louis himself. That last one required some adjusting on both parts until they found the right position. Smoke was the big spoon and Louis the little one with Louis on the outside and Smoke taking the wall side. It was nice and awkward. The scent remained pleasant but the glances from Stack what he was doing with his brother stung each time Louis caught them. He felt guilty but they were doing nothing technically wrong. And he was seemingly caught up in a brother's feud but with Smoke’s large arm across his whole body and sweet odor being rubbed into his clothes and skin, Louis truly felt like there was nowhere else he would rather be. 

He hadn’t realized he had once again fallen asleep, waking to a dark room, alone. Smoke must’ve left at some point. That should've put a pang in Louis’ spirit but a cautionary whiff of his duvet was enough to quell any negativity. Smoke’s scent lingered still. Dark thoughts flitted at the edges of his mind. Louis turned over to see Stack’s still body splayed out like a starfish, leg hanging off the side of a bed that was almost not big enough to fit him. He was out so there were no witnesses to what Louis  wanted to do. He was wrestling internally with the idea, rolling  the ethics of it around in his mind. It would be something that an alpha would do, brazen in their…appreciation in an omega’s scent. And wasn’t that Louis had to pretend to be? Even if Stack woke randomly and saw him, he had plausible deniability. And internally, it's not like omegas couldn’t appreciate another’s scent in a platonic way and that was what this was. It was probably the reason he had fallen back to sleep so easily.

Even though the air was warm, Louis climbed under the thick cover, pulling it up to his nose. It was like he was swimming in Smoke’s mouthwatering scent. It was almost like he never left the bed, large limbs wrapped tight around Louis. And unlike earlier, where he kept his mind clear, feelings platonic, dick soft and dry, he allowed himself a measure of exploration. He started slow, hands on his stomach, moving in softly circular motions, imagining large callused palms exploring his stomach, then his chest. They would find his nipples, small yet perky on his chest and flick them. Louis didn’t have a lot of feeling in them so they had to be played with hard for him to get that pleasant tingly sensation. But he was sure Smoke could manage well enough. He had seen how rough he could get with Stack and Bo, often grabbing both alphas swiftly and suddenly any time they tried running or distracted by this omega or that one around campus. Yes the boy could manage to twist Louis nipples, maybe even sucking on them. It was something that a hookup had exposed him too and that was probably the only context Louis missed his mouth. 

While he played his nipples, he could feel the rest of his body come to life. It was always a rare thing, his pleasuring himself. The feeling was often too much. Too many strange but addictive sensations and he could barely control his thoughts while doing it. He thought himself put together and focused but the things he would imagine men doing to him while he touched himself…the shame of the aftermath was enough to make Louis moody for a whole day afterwards. He had been so good for so long but Stack had corrupted his progress, putting those thoughts of self pleasure in his mind, stoking those nearly dead coals of passion, trying his best to get naked the whole time. And now today…there was no more teasing as Smoke had shattered his defense with his sexy presence and gift of a completely nude Stack…and if he thought about it, a preview of a naked Smoke too. 

Maybe he could have that, Louis mused. His hand finally travelled down low grabbing the whole of his rock hard length, doing his best to avoid moaning as he finally began to stroke. One hand on his dick, precum flowing from the tip  and the other twisted roughly, deliciously round his nipple and his mind went wild. Smoke on his one side sucking his length down with that intense fervor with which he approached everything and Stack on his other mouth busy licking round his nipples. He, the whimpering plaything between them. Slick was free flowing from his cunt and his mind rushed to provide a plug. Bo’s thick fingers deep with him fucking him slow so as not to overwhelm him. He couldn’t go over the edge, not even in his fantasy. There was too much at stake. He could only keep touching himself for so long before the orgasm hit. He bit his tongue as he came thick ropes again and again, his body trying to extract as much from as it could in this moment like it knew this was a rare event. He was breathing a little hard from the effort and glanced over at Stack, still dead to the world thank god. He lay there for a while catching his breath in the dark, his legs instinctively avoiding his sheets and underside of his duvet that was now ruined with his fluids. Eventually he got up cleaning himself with a shirt from his hamper and gathered his bedding as quickly as he could and took it to the laundry room where only other washer was being used.

His doing laundry was good. It kept the sharp claws of shame out of his mind but now that he was walking back to his room, Louis could feel the familiar burning sensation scraping  hot stripes down his body. It was only one time. One time was fine. Since Smoke had already done it once, he was less likely to offer to scent his bedding again. He could keep it together.

Or perhaps not. As Louis walked back into his room, he noticed Stack’s weak desk lamp illuminated the space. He was putting his maroon towel on a command hook on the door frame of his closet. The towel that he had found because Louis had just stripped his bedding to wash it. 

He seemed to find Louis' guilt-ridden expression funny. But was there anything that Stack wouldn't find funny? “Hey Armstrong. Where you been?”

Louis didn’t know what to say. How long had Stack been awake? How much had he seen, heard…smelled? “Just did laundry.”

Stack nodded at that. “Smart call. After all you gotta get ready for our paper celebration tomorrow-or I guess later today.”

Shit. The memory of his promise from earlier in the week played like incriminating evidence in his mind. 

His face was still an open book the way Stack continued even though Louis hadn't responded. “I hope you not backing out on me?”

Louis still felt a bit numb. The pain from the shame and the flash bang of this confrontation had him in a daze. He merely shook his head. 

Stack lit up at the response. “Good! I’m excited to see you let loose Louis. Night night.’ He clicked the lamp off plunging the room back into darkness and climbed back into his bed leaving Louis feeling like even though a month had passed, no time had really passed at all because he was someone once again asking himself what the fuck was he gonna do?

Chapter Text

“Good boy, Louis. That’s it, that's it, nice and smooth” Lily crooned. She was basically in his lap, her heady scent in the air all around him, a large glass bottle in her hands tipped precariously against his lips. He was doing his best to keep swallowing as Lily poured more and more of the hard liquor down his throat. He met her soft alluring eyes set in a face so gorgeous if he wasn't nearly being drowned, it would've taken his breath away. Her voluminous curly black hair framed her face  so perfectly he could barely notice the long dress that hugged her curvy figure. A more forward alpha could have their hands all over her, feeling up her thighs and cupping her ass in a sign of his own domination. But even if he wanted to, Louis could not. His hands were occupied laced behind his back being held there by Stack. 

He felt the puff of a chuckle against his cheek as Stack murmured in his ear. “Look at you go, brother. You almost done with the whole bottle.” His musk and the cologne he had sprayed on top of it were enough to make Louis lightheaded under normal circumstances. These were not normal circumstances. 

He swallowed big gulps that he hoped were not so loud they sounded like moans. His throat began to burn but he continued on not wanting to tap out. Lily teased him from his front and Stack from behind, trapping him in this challenge. 

“Final little bit,” Lily finally announced as the beer had turned from a torrent to a trickle, tapping the final drops against his lips. The moment it was over Louis began to cough something fierce, the world dizzy even though he was sitting on the ledge of the large porch, Lily and Stack in similar positions.

He felt Stack’s large warm palm against his back rubbing in smooth circles. “Damn Armstrong. I wasn’t expecting all that. Good job.”

Louis tried to ignore how good the rubbing felt but the world was soft now and it was so much harder to keep his walls up now. In fact he struggled to even understand why they were so high at all. “This is making it all worth it to be honest.”

Lily pouted as she set the bottle aside on the porch floor. “So no praise for your bartender? You’re a cruel man du Lac.”

His whole body was warm, but his face was a thing that was truly burning. “No I didn’t mean like that, I just-”

“Kidding,” Lily interrupted in a sing-songy voice. 

“That was pretty amazing,” Stack added. He had stopped rubbing Louis back but he was still so close his chin damn near perched on Louis shoulder. “So you just do that for a job all day?”

She may have been kidding or not but Louis could tell she enjoyed the compliment, the truth in her body language and scent. “Only every so often.”

“How you even get a job like that?” Stack asked, amazement in his voice.

Lily winked. “Why you asking? You looking for a job yourself?,”  Louis was fine to let them talk. For one he already knew the ins and out of Lily’s strange job. They had been friends since he had got to college and it had been a pleasant surprise to find her at the same house party the boys had decided to attend on their big night out as suitemates. 

Bo and Smoke had floated away at some point to mingle amongst the others but Stack had stayed by Louis' side talking and flirting with Lily who had no problem talking and flirting back. As was her right as an omega and something that did not make him feel any type of jealousy. Somehow the topic of Lily’s side gig had come up and Stack had asked for a demonstration. Louis had volunteered to be guinea pig, again not because he felt any type of way about how quickly Lily and Stack were getting along, but just merely wanting to stay included in the discussion. 

But now he had done his part and leaned back enjoying the weight of Stack behind him who had at some point snuck his hand round Louis’waist. He felt no urgency to remove it.

“I think I could be pretty good at it,” Stack teased. Louis didn’t even need to fully see his face to know the charm on full display at Lily

“You think what I do is easy?” Lily’s tone was light but Louis knew while she always kept it light Lily tended to take people’s answers pretty seriously. It was a pretty impressive skill she had to discern behavior. There weren’t many people able to fool her because of it. 

Luckily Stack was no fool. “No ma’am. It seems plenty difficult but you seem like such an encouraging teacher, with your help, I have no doubt I could get good.”

Her bright eyes slid from Stack back to Louis. “You never said you had such charming roommates, Louis.”

“He also never mentioned how gorgeous his friends are.” Stack replied. And yet even while saying that, Louis felt his grip around his waist tighten just a tad. What the fuck was that? 

“What can I say?” Louis began, tongue heavy in his mouth. He wanted to shrug but it felt like just enough effort to keep his head up and eyes focused on Lily. “I like to keep things close to the chest.” 

Lily giggled at that but thankfully said nothing else. She was one of a few people on campus who knew his secret and he trusted damn near above anyone else who had it. A few charming words from his roommate or conspiratorial allusion from him wasn't enough to break her. Louis loved her for that.

“Do you think maybe I could try?” Stack asked. 

“Pouring a drink?,” Lily replied with a question of her own for context.

“Yeah I could do you, then you could do me.” Stack’s voice had gotten lower laced with something that made Louis want to adjust, feeling himself growing harder by the second.

Lily looked around at the other people milling about the porch talking in small groups of two or three just like them. “I don’t see any more drinks out here. We’d have to go inside to the kitchen.”

“Fine by me.” Stack glanced at Louis. “You want us to join us Armstrong or are you good out here?

Louis felt of two minds about the options. I need you to get the fuck away from me/Please don’t go. “I’m good out here. I need the air. I’ll come see y'all later.” He didn’t trust himself to be able to adjust his dick covertly in this state plus with his luck the kitchen would be hosting some sort of random wet t-shirt contest and Stack would have no choice to strip and then what would he do? His thinking of Stack’s wet naked body was also not helping.  

Luckily he was saved from the situation when Stack got up leading Lily back into the home where bounce was booming and the drinks were flowing. Unfortunately danger was never far from Louis. He simply just wasn't that lucky. 

A beautiful, wretched familiar voice rang out.  “You chugged that drink wonderfully, my love.” 

He could have ignored it. Pretended like he had heard nothing at all and walked straight away into the house and joined Stack and Lily’s courtship/demonstration. But it was hard to ignore Lestat. That’s something that has never changed. He was at the base of the 3 steps that led to the house, leaning against the railing smug and smiling like the Cheshire Cat who had stolen away with Alice’s hair.

Louis tried to talk around his swollen tongue, keeping his gaze steady. These were both challenges. “You was watching? That’s kinda creepy.”

“Admiring,” Lestat corrected. “You are on a stage, are you not?” He waved with a small flourish at the flat ledge that rimmed the porch that Louis was still currently sat upon. The moon was big and bright like a spotlight on him. Damn him. Luckily the turn towards talks of the stage told Louis something important. Lestat was probably just as drunk as he was. The thought of being on a more even playing field made him smile. 

That was a mistake. He could see in Lestat’s pale blue eyes. The smile had become an invitation drawing the alpha closer to him. Lestat moved slow and confidently, taking a literal step at a time towards Louis. He had to do something. If Lestat sat on the ledge next to Louis, if he allowed himself to take in his scent, his words, his strong hands, who knows what path this night would take? Just as he arrived next to Louis, he shot up like a spring, the suddenness of the action surprising Lestat enough that Louis found himself a few steps away, body closer to the front door. 

“Louis, do you think I would hurt you?” Lestat sounded hurt. He looked hurt too which was worse. That furrowed brow and not quite a pout was a two hit combo he struggled to come back from. 

“No, of course not. I just…need some space right now.”

A small grin crept across Lestat’s face. “We used to talk everyday and now we don't. We used to make art everyday and now we don’t. I do not think I could give more space if I tried. Perhaps I could steal a star for you? Or is that too…illumniating of a gift?” 

Illumination aka light. With light comes truth. But there’s a cost to it and truth is something that Louis simply can not afford. But lies had a cost as well. His relationship with Lestat was one of them.

He was so focused on keeping his distance, taking small open mouth breaths so as not to take in the most addictive scent he had ever known, finding an answer to Lestat’s layered question that Louis hadn't even noticed the front door behind him open. It was only Lestat breaking his gaze to look just behind him that gave Louis any clue something had changed. But before he could turn to glance himself, he felt strong arms loop around his shoulders, close and protective, body thick, solid and warm. 

Lestat looked nonplussed. “Ah, you were the one holding my Louis’ hands hostage while Lily tried to drown him on dry land.”

Before Louis could express indignation at Lestat’s possession, the words sparking anger and lust in him in unknowable measures, he heard and felt the deep timbre of his saviour's voice call out. “Nah that wasn’t me. But you being so bold in your incorrect guess has me kinda looking at you funny. Or you think all black people look alike which…if so, I’m definitely looking at you funny. So which is it?” Even if he wasn’t wrapped up in his creamy soft scent, Smoke’s voice was distinct, a vocal difference that he had apparently picked up at some point from living and talking to the twins. 

There was a rare look on Lestat’s face, one that made Louis feel giddy. Embarrassment. He wasn’t quite red with it but he looked flustered, anger sitting just beneath his surprised exterior. Louis wondered if Smoke could see it the way he had learned to do so over the course of their relationship. 

Lestat’s next words were said with ease but Louis could see the tension in his shoulders. “Apologies, I must’ve got you mixed up with someone else.”

“It’s no problem,” Smoke replied. “Don’t let that shit happen again though.”

Lestat was seething now made madder by the fact that Louis was witnessing how much Smoke was getting to him. Finally he unlocked his jaw and said curtly. “Have a good night Louis.” He walked past them both glancing quickly at Smoke’s larger frame. Just before he walked inside however, Louis saw him take a whiff of Smoke’s scent and flashed his sharp canines at them both, his wicked grin back on his face. What had Lestat figured out about them at that moment? Was it something he would have to worry about later?

“Louis, who was that very strange alpha and why do you know him?” Smoke asked.

The simplicity of the question and the clarity of the observation was what got to Louis. He couldn’t help but laugh. Smoke’s face of confusion and concern wasn't helping. “He is pretty strange isn't he?” Louis responded. 

“That’s not really an answer but ok.”  That got another set of giggles out of Louis. He did eventually catch his breath and noticed something odd about Smoke. The night was slightly humid and the house was definitely warmer than outside but he was sweaty. A nice glossy sheen across his face and his large biceps. Louis instinctively reached out and touched his simple black tank and noted yep it was slightly damp as well. It was then the first warning that Smoke had given him the first day they had met flashed into his mind. 

“Sorry,” Louis said, snatching his hand quickly back. “I didn’t mean to touch you without asking.”

Smoke arched an eyebrow. “I just came up behind and hugged you without asking. I’m the one who should be saying sorry.”

Louis shook his head at that. “No, that was fine. You were rescuing me. Besides, it felt nice.” His face burned. He didn’t have to add that last comment but it felt important to note. 

Smoke’s voice was softer in his response as if to not scare him off. “I liked it too. Can I…hug you again?”

There was deference in Smoke’s tone. Just like yesterday. There was something he was missing but the world was still tinged with liquor and he couldn't yet find the missing piece. But lack of impulse control brought with a certain truth. “Yeah, I’d be fine with that.”

Smoke's default expression was a stern smolder but right now with the slight upturn of his lips, the glassiness of his eyes, he looked cute. Really cute. Could a towering man, even an omega look as cute as he did in this moment? Louis didn't have much time to debate the idea before he was back in his big arms swallowing his upper body while he squeezed Smoke's torso tight. Here he was as close to Smoke’s scent gland as he had ever been and he used all his willpower to not let out a moan. God he smelled so..so…hot. Oh. 

Louis let go but Smoke had not. Louis could feel the whiskers of his goatee against his neck and squirmed a little at the ticklish facial hair. 

“Sorry, Louis,” he heard Smoke whisper into his neck. God was he nuzzling him? Fuck.

Using a bit of force Louis pushed against Smoke's chest. He got the hint and let go, that small grin still on his face, his eyes bright but unfocused, a sway in his step. Oh wow how had he not noticed?

“Smoke,” Louis began to ask, stomach turning because he already knew the answer, “are you going into heat?”

The grin dropped from Smoke's face. He put a hand to his forehead and frowned. “Shit.” That was all the confirmation Louis needed. 

Chapter Text

How do you control a stubborn omega who could kick your ass? That wasn’t a question that Louis had ever believed he would ever have to answer but a warm weekend night out had presented him with that exact situation.

“We need to get you home,” Louis said for what felt like the umpteenth time.

“No we don’t,” Smoke countered once again. “I keep telling you that it’s just preheat and that stifling ass house. I’m outside, I’m getting air. Give me a minute, I'll be straight.”

There was truly no way to respond to that statement in the way it deserved that wouldn’t implode his whole world. But for the joke of it all, maybe it would be worth it?

Get it together! He screamed internally. The idea was easier thought than done. Seeing Lestat, chugging alcohol, being overwhelmed by the ever increasing scent of an omega in heat, it was hard to keep Louis' thoughts in order, let alone coherent. He needed help and he knew exactly from who. He needed Stack.

Louis took a deep breath making sure he felt sure and assured with his next words. “Alright, you got some air. Can we go inside now? I need another drink” It was the last thing he needed but he was unsure how Smoke would feel about Louis intentionally seeking out his brother especially in his emotionally elevated state. 

A bead of sweat slid down the side of Smoke’s face. “Yeah I’m feeling better now.” This was all so stupid. 

Louis put his hand out, turned down and out. An offering, one that an alpha would make. He prayed that it would work. Apparently there was a god because Smoke grabbed his hand with no more protestation and followed him inside. 

People were looking at them as they navigated the living room as Louis' eyes searched the dancing masses for Stack. Smoke’s size over him but trailing behind made an odd sight. Normally Louis would have to summon his false arrogance, a thing that came naturally to alphas that he had made his own, to better hide. It kept his head high and his gaze mildly threatening. But right now it was hard to discern if the arrogance was false or not. Because he felt good. An omega in hand following behind him obediently. It was something that was being noticed and in turn he was being noticed and respected. This feeling…it was one worth revisiting.

They moved into the kitchen and neither Stack nor Lily were there. Louis poured something fruity into a couple of solo cups and handed one to Smoke who downed it immediately, wiping his forehead, a slight sheen remaining.

“Still hot?” Louis tentatively asked not willing to risk saying the other “H” word lest Smoke dismiss him again. 

Smoke frowned, looking around like he would find a thermostat. “Yeah I don’t know why it's so muggy here.”

Louis held his tongue, another idea of where Stack might be. “We can chill outside a little bit more if you want.”

“Yeah, ok. Back through the front?”

“Nah, I want to check out the backyard.” Louis' chest bloomed as Smoke took his hand once again and followed him out there. The backyard of the house had less people than the house but more than the porch milling about. The attention grabber was the guy with the guitar strumming along, a steady song on his lips and a half circle of people shuffling, their attention rapt. His accent sounded foreign, maybe Irish. Louis saw Lestat in the half circle, arms crossed in that dramatic judgy way he had when he found other people's art lacking. It was a pose Louis had seen often. While Irish Guitar’s voice was nice enough, he would mess up a chord every now and again and the scowl on Lestat’s face would only deepen with each screech. Louis wondered how long that could continue before he interrupted the whole thing and told Irish Guitar to start all over again.

“Oh there’s Stack and your friend,” Smoke suddenly spoke up. He moved Louis’ shoulder to indicate the way. They were a bit aways from the half circle by the left side of the back fence.  

Louis burned internally with embarrassment that he had gotten so easily distracted from his goal, walking steadily across the fairly high grass to reach his target. He came upon Stack and Lily close but not so close they were touching, a giggle on Lily’s lips and a shit eating grinning on Stack’s. A likely place for those things to be. 

Stack noticed them first, his eyes moving from Louis to his clasped hands with Smoke and back again. “So you decided to join us after all, Armstrong and you brought a friend.”

It was clearly a casual dig at Smoke but Louis felt a dull ache from his hand being squeezed harder and harder, Smoke looking the scowliest he had seen him ever. Louis wriggled his hand out of the death grip. It was as clear a sign as ever that Stack had gone too far and from his own scrunched eyebrows he had noticed too.

Stack walked up to his brother guiltily. “Hey I’m sorry. I was joking.”

Smoke didn’t seem to find it funny. “Just like you was joking yesterday about how everybody in the fucking world got your back but me?”

Stack chuckled at that but it was clear how not funny he found the joke now. “I was playing. I know it’s you and me before anyone. My timing could've been better too.” He leaned in even closer so Louis could barely hear his muttered tone. “You still in preheat?”

Smoke responded just as low. “Yeah but I’ll be alright.”

Stack rolled his eyes. “Yeah obviously you’ll be alright. But man if you’re uncomfortable you can just go home. Warm free liquor and hollering leprechauns can not be worth the headache.” As if he could hear them Irish Guitar strummed his final chord ending with a boisterous, pitchy note. A scattering of applause followed and Smoke and Stack snickered.

“Hey what would Annie say if she was here right now?” Stack continued. 

Now it was Smoke’s turn to look guilty. He grabbed the bag on the necklace, twisting it with a nervous energy. “That I’m being a difficult idiot.”

“So…?”

“I’m probably being a difficult idiot.” Whoever this Annie person was, Louis was curious to meet her. Somehow just the mere mention of her was enough to curtail the prideful omega. 

“First step is always admitting you have a problem,” Stack replied cheekily. He clasped Smoke’s forearm in jest but his eyes bulged as Smoke pulled him into a tight hug.

“You’re so irritating, you know that?” Smoke said once they separated. 

“And you’re difficult. We could join the circus with a double act.” Now that it was clear that Smoke was feeling better, Stack turned his attention back to Louis. “You down to go back home with Smoke. Help him out if he needs it?” The word “help" was so loaded in that sentence Louis was scared it would blow up right in his face. Help. Of course. This was an omega in heat who he lived with. This was part of the “advantages” of mixed gender living, well an advantage when everyone was who they said they were. The confidence he had felt as prideful alpha with his omega in tow had been completely crushed by the overwhelming truth of what that actually meant he had to do.

Louis was grateful that Lily had finally walked over and he looped an arm around her waist. It ground him enough to find the right thing to say. “Is Bo around? Shouldn’t he go home since he's probably helped before?” It was a guess but an educated guess. They said they were childhood friends meaning it was very likely Bo had assisted with Smoke’s heats in the past. An eternally curious part of Louis wondered if that’s how Smoke had lost his virginity.

Stack looked back towards the house. “You see him when you walked through the house to get out back here?”

Louis shook his head.

“Then he’s probably busy somewhere.” That “busy" sounded just as loaded as the help from earlier. “Louis, you look so disappointed. You think you too good to fuck my brother?” Stack beamed like a shark after the question.

“Oh wow,” Lily softly spoke up. “I would love to hear what you have to say to that .”

“I wouldn't,” Smoke said. He then grunted a little, placing his hand on his stomach. His scent was getting thicker so much so Louis didn't have to be close to smell him. Not even Smoke could ignore this was no mere preheat. It was happening.

“Let's see if they have anything inside to cool you down,” Lily offered. Smoke didn’t argue at all. She and Smoke began walking back to the house but before 5 steps were taken, Lily turned back. “You two figure out who is doing what and how we’re getting him home, quickly.”

Stack mock saluted at that before turning back to Louis. “You know I’m just fucking with you right? You don’t have to do anything with him, just make sure he’s ok. Food and water if he wants it. Maybe give him some of your clothes so he can make a nest. Though, your scent is really hard to make out so maybe just use Bo’s. Hey, why is that by the by? Is it like a medical thing or are you on suppressants?”

Louis’ mouth felt very dry. “You’re asking a lot of questions, do you know that?’

“I’m always asking questions,” Stack replied.

“I’m aware,” Louis grumbled. A lightbulb went off in his head “Are you nervous?” 

“I’m giving my brother away to a liar. Why wouldn't I be?” Stack responded so casually, it took a second for Louis to process what he had just said.

Louis’ heart sunk to the pit of his stomach. “I’m not a liar. And I wouldn't hurt Smoke either.”

Stack had very sharp canines. They had never looked sharper than in the light of the moon. “It takes one to know one Louis, but don’t worry. You couldn't hurt him even if you wanted to.”

“So you think I’m untrustworthy but not so much that I won't help out with a heat?”

“I didn’t say you were untrustworthy. I said you’re a liar but I can't quite figure out what type. That’s what makes me nervous. But that’s ok. It's like how my name is Stack. But my brother's name is Smoke. SmokeStack. We make sense together. And Smoke makes sense by himself but you look at me, hear my name, and there is something missing. I’m a walking lie but you don’t know until you meet him. I think you’re like that. There’s something you’re missing. It doesn’t make you dangerous just…incomplete. Does that make sense?”

“No,” Louis lied. 

Stack laughed at that. “And see that I know isn't a lie.”

The drive back to the dorms was a mostly silent one, which Louis was grateful for. The alcohol he had chugged was finally starting to wear off but Smoke, who was completely sober, offered to drive and everyone let him. After all, it was his car. Short of his being unconscious, Louis was sure no one was allowed to get behind its wheel but Smoke. He drove with one hand while the other grasped Louis’ left. He was ok with that, finding this small way Smoke allowed himself comfort, physical touch which was normally atypical of him, to be kind of cute.

His thoughts wandered while they drove. He didn’t yet know what to make of Stack’s breakdown of his interior. They called hope the thing with feathers and Louis was wont to agree. But his was a dead bird in a box buried deep. Or at least that’s what he wanted to be true. There was a set way that his life had to go. He had no choice except then why move out? Why the roommates? He cursed Stack’s pushing, Smokes inconvenient heat, but didn't he literally ask for this? Hiding what he was, who he was attracted to, in the middle of a den of sin? It was like trying to avoid stepping on leaves in a forest in fall. There were simply too many steps that could have been avoided to get him to this spot. Stack was right. He was a liar and his greatest was the one that scared him most-he wanted to be free.

Could blood buzz? That’s how it felt in his body. His heart was beating so quickly and he felt itchy as he followed Smoke into their suite. 

Smoke stopped at his door, hand on his stomach. “You have no idea how annoying heats can be.”

Louis said nothing at that. He didn’t even take the alpha position and say something about ruts being just as bad. Simply put they weren't. Heats happened at least once a month while ruts were often responses to omegas in heat. It made getting them more irregular but if you were careful (or a liar) you could avoid getting them for years at a time. Smoke was bound to a biological clock for the next 40 years of his life. And if it weren't for Louis' high grade specialized suppressants, that would be him. He hadn’t had a heat since he was 17. It was almost long enough for him to forget the pain, the yearning, the mood swings. For someone so solid otherwise, Louis imagined being forced into that much emotional fluidity was hard for him. 

Smoke continued. “Actually no, the heat is whatever. It’s how strange everyone else gets that’s more annoying. Bo and Stack are like that and they don’t even realize it. Bo gets distant and Stack becomes more of a dickhead. I don’t like having that influence on people. But you haven’t changed Louis. What’s your secret?” 

“I-” Louis began. The way Smoke was looking at him was open, a more open Smoke than he had ever seen. He genuinely wanted to know. The omega of their suite asked something of him. There were so many ways he could respond but hope was aflutter in his chest so there was only one answer.

“I’m an omega t-too,” He couldn't help but stumble over the final word. He couldn't even look Smoke in the eyes, as open as they were. He missed his typical guarded nature. That was easier to deal with than this honest emotional vulnerability. God heats truly were annoying. 

It was probably only seconds but the silence that followed seemed to stretch for hours before Smoke responded. “That’s fine. Do you want anyone else to know?”

Louis glanced up. His expression had not changed, open, unguarded, nonjudgmental. “You’re ok with that?”

“Should I not be?”

The buzzing in his blood had calmed to a hum. “I’ve been lying to y'all for months.”

Smoke shrugged. “About something that’s not really any of our business. At least that’s how I see it”

“So that’s it?” Was that truly it? Smoke had no strong feelings about his identity? Lily had squealed with excitement that they shared genders. Lestat had written him a poem after he had told him. His mother had insisted that the world would struggle with what he was but so far things had ranged from excitement to indifference. But that indifference was truly the thing he was not yet prepared for.

Smoke was still holding his midsection loosely. “Louis, my body is screaming at me to get pregnant and I have to trick it into thinking that’s gonna happen. This just ain't my biggest concern right now.” 

“Right,” Louis said embarrassed. “Do you still want…help?”

The steady look on Smoke’s face had finally morphed into something bordering on confusion. “You got a knot?”

“No but I can still…” Louis found he couldn't say the words hoping that Smoke understood how omega/omega or even omega/beta relations worked when it came to heats.Any physical touch especially sex could help but it was less effective than the knot of an alpha.

His hand once again twirled the small bag that hung from his neck.“A part of me, a really big part of me wants to say no. But I’m trying not to do difficult shit by myself. I was told that it was “toxic” or something. So, alright.”

Louis thought he would feel quiet inside. No more buzzing blood but instead his blood was rushing quite quickly from his crown all the way down to his hardening length. Entering Bo and Smoke’s shared room only made it worse as he took in their shared scent around him. They smelt great together. Sharp and sweet together made his head rush. Unlike his and Stack’s room which was piled high with clothes and art, theirs was much more barren. Clothes were haphazardly thrown in their open closets and on the desk chairs. There was a giant tv with a couple of videogame consoles on the far wall that looked like the nicest thing in the room. 

Smoke grabbed some clothes from one of the chairs and tossed them on to his bed. That was one way to make a nest Louis supposed. Smoke continued tossing more clothes into the bed then grabbed a medium sized lock box from his closet and tossed on to the bed too. He took his necklace off and placed it on a hook. Then he began to strip. The blank tank he had worn was completely soaked through and peeled off his body he pulled it up and off. His pecs glistened. His dark nipples were erect despite the slight warmth of the room. He kicked his shoes off, and pulled his jeans, underwear and all, down. Veins stood out prominently against the thick tree trunks of his legs Just like Stack his thighs and crotch were the hairiest parts of his body. Unlike his twin however Smoke had a pussy, curly black hair framing the whole thing. Louis tried adjusting his dick which was nearly erect now. Smoke locked eyes with him and he instinctively looked away.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit late to try and be discreet,” Smoke asked. There was a small grin on his face.

He was right of course. “Sorry you look beautiful.”

Smoke scoffed. “I’m already naked, Louis. You don’t gotta flatter me.”

He felt his erection pulse, the tip becoming wet with pre against the cotton of his boxer briefs. “It’s not flattery I promise”

“If you say so.” He turned and hopped into his elevated bed and for a second Louis got a view of his glorious ass, like two perfect basketballs squished together, swirls of dark hair dotting its surface. Pillows framed him like the royalty Louis felt like he was looking at. He placed a hand behind his head showing off a large flexed bicep. “So you gonna get naked or just stand there?”

Like waking up from a spell, Louis moved a bit haphazardly stripping as quick as he could and even tripped a little as he walked over and hopped on to the bed. Like a desperate octopus, Smoke's limbs curled around Louis and their lips locked. Smoke was hungry. He had been doing a strong job of restraining himself but wrapped up in his scent, he could feel the depths of how much he needed a body and Louis was more than willing to be that. Smokes lips were soft but he could hardly focus on that as their tongues slid past each other again and again sharing more breaths between one another than outside air. 

After a few nibbles of his lips, Louis was able to temporarily escape Smoke’s desperate hunger pressing kisses across his jaws, down his neck and on to his scent gland. The moan that escaped him when he did made Louis painfully aware of his rock hard length trapped between their bodies. 

“You smell amazing,” Louis muttered into the crook of his neck, licking delicately across the gland.  The sweetness of Smoke’s scent was like pure sugar now. 

“Fuck me,” Smoke muttered. “Fuck me please.”

Louis tried to adjust to make that happen but he found himself trapped in Smoke bulging arms. “You gotta let me go for that.”

He felt the vice trap of his arms lose their grip on his body allowing for Louis to sit up for the first time since he joined him on the bed. “Oh sorry.” Smoke, clearly embarrassed. 

He liked Smoke embarrassed. It gave him the same rush he had felt when he was walking him around the party. Louis gave him an encouraging grin. “It’s ok.” He leaned back down pressing a small peck on his collarbone then another on his left pec. When he reached his nipple, he licked softly and Stack hissed like he had been electrocuted. 

Alright then. After a moment, Louis did it again and again, each time Smoke's voice getting louder. A hiss quickly turned into a whine and then a full out moan as he sucked relentlessly kissing his nipple with the same fervor as his lips. His hand went searching for the other nipple and when he found the erect appendage, he twisted softly and he jerked the hardest he had so far, gripping Louis' forearm with a vengeance as he cried out. He felt the rush of his slick on his thighs.

Glancing up from the large peaks he was situated under, he saw the deep breaths Smoke was taking. “Did you just…” Louis began to ask.

“They get really sensitive when I’m in heat,” Smoke explained still trying to catch his breath

He rolled his nipple softly between his fingers and heard the guttural groan Smoke let out again. “Good to know, “ Louis spoke into his warm skin. 

He continued down his expansive torso with his kisses getting closer and closer to his prize when he heard Smoke speak up. “Louis?”  

Louis glanced up again. Smoke did not look amused “If you eat me out instead of fucking me, I will kick you in the head.”

Louis frowned. “But I was just trying to make sure you were open.”

Smoke scowled. “You think I’m not ready to take a dick even though my slick is soaking my sheets all the way through? You sure are not an alpha because why the hell aren’t you listening to me?”

Well it appears that heat couldn’t completely quell Smoke’s personality. With his legs spread, thighs on top of Louis’, Smoke was a vision beneath him. An annoyed vision but still one he couldn’t keep his hands from traveling down, all the way down to his extremely wet pussy, slick sliding in rivulets down his thighs. Entering Smoke was a dangerous thing. He was so warm and tight gripping him with such a pleasant vice he almost came immediately. He balled his hands so hard he could feel the pain of his fingernails in his palms to distract him. Once he was in better control of himself, Louis began to rock fucking slowly in an out of his pussy. He was unsure whether moving forward or backwards felt better. But he was determined to figure out the answer. 

“Oh my god…” Smoke groaned. He had a forearm across his eyes so Louis couldn’t see him but that was more than alright for Louis as he was finding his groove moving faster and faster until Smoke’s larger body began to move in tandem with his own. His pecs began to bounce with the movement, more like tits than anything so large and tempting Louis couldn't help but lean down and suck on the right one pushing himself even deeper. Smoke came again, slick pouring once again from him, his walls gripping Louis so tight he was tempted to follow his lead. But persist he did.  Smokes arms curled around him, keeping him tight and close but that was no problem.  This was heaven. His scent, his body, his heat trapping in this delicious furnace. 

“Fuck, alpha keep fucking me,” Smoke whined. And with that Louis could no longer hold it, spilling his large hot load in the other omega. Louis was not an alpha. He knew that, had even admitted once again to another person but in a moment like he did wonder if he could do it? Keep up the charade? Could he do this with a woman? That was a question he could answer for another day. He had Smoke’s tits to distract him for the time being. He continued to pleasure him just by playing with his large chest and even getting him to cum one more time before Smoke ended things.

“You did pretty good,” he said after they finally stopped. Louis felt just as sweaty as Smoke, his body holding the other omegas scents like a pleasurable layer of clothes on his body. Smoke unlocked the lock box and pulled out a toy with a knot at its base. “But now I gotta get serious.”

He tried to ignore the pang he felt in his heart seeing a toy somehow be more advanced than his own effort. “I’ll let you get to it then.” 

He was about to jump off the bed and find wherever he had dropped his clothes on the floor when Smoke reached out, gripped him by the chin and gave him a final kiss. Unlike before it was slow and deep and Louis felt a sting of his bottom lip from Smoke biting him. His gaze was a mixture of his desperation before and his normal serious expression. “You never answered my question. You want anyone else to know?”

Louis knew he didn’t have to specify. He took a breath before responding. “No. I’m trying to keep it to myself for now, mostly.”

Smoke nodded like it made all the sense in the world. “I'll take it to the grave then.” It was dramatic but it felt so correct. Smoke didn’t seem like anything resembling a snitch. 

Louis left the room feeling lighter than air. Normally this was when the shame would sink its heavy hot claws in him but it felt like he wore Smokes sweat and slick like armor. He could taste him in his mouth, feel him on his skin and didn’t feel rushed to wash it off so he slid into his bed under the covers, fully naked, waiting for sleep to take him.

Sleep was not quick enough to take him before he heard Stack enter the room 10 minutes later and turn on his desk lamp to undress. He noticed Louis was still almost awake. “Have fun, Armstrong?” The question was rhetorical. They both knew it. Smoke scent lingered in the air even in here mingling with Stack’s musk, and surprisingly enough, Lily’s scent as well. 

Louis simply responded. “Smoke’s alright. How was Lily?”

Stack cocked his head to the side. “Do you really want to know?”

He should've said yes. An alpha would've said yes. Sharing stories of conquest was key to the gender bonding that was common amongst alphas. “Not really no.”

That must’ve been the right answer as he could see those sharp canines of Stack’s even more now than earlier in the evening. “Good night Louis.”

Honesty was a funny thing he was finding. “Good night Stack.”

Chapter Text

Bo wasn’t wearing underwear, or rather, wasn't wearing typical underwear. His thick bulge stuffed into a red jock strap came into view in a flash as Stack tumbled just behind him, both boys crashing to the ground, Stack somehow grabbing on his basketball shorts and pulling them down his thighs. The large drinks in their hands flew into the air and promptly fell down to earth drenching them both in presumably sweet tea. 

“Idiots,” Smoke muttered sitting next to Louis under the shade of the large tree at the edge of the quad. Louis smiled at that. Smoke had been in heat for nearly a week and it had been one of the best yet confusing weeks he had ever experienced. While it was predictable that omegas changed during heat, Smoke’s more affable and touchy behavior confirmed that, Louis had not expected the change of his fellow alphas, well presumed fellow alphas. Smoke had even pointed it out ahead of time but Louis was still surprised. They were so…needy. 

In nearly every encounter he had seen between the twins, there was a lot of shit talking with a clear undercurrent of camaraderie and compassion. Now though it felt like Stack was going for a Brother of the Year award. Every piece of clothing Smoke asked for his ever growing nest was given with ease. When they got breakfast together in the mornings, Stack would make Smoke’s plate before his own. If that was intense, Bo took it to another level. 

Unless there were extenuating circumstances, omegas still had to go to class even during heat wearing patches to dull the scent so as to not be distracting their classmates. Every day he saw Smoke on his way to class, there was Bo, Stack’s backpack on his back escorting him. Louis was pretty sure they only had one class together and Bo was like Smoke’s shadow the past week. And in his own crossbody bag, Louis knew there were additional patches, water, snacks for the omega. He was like a walking talking first aid kit. Compliments were also given freely and openly. Smoke, clearly raised right, said thank you everytime either helped him and their scent in turn strengthened in the air, pleased at providing for the omega in their home. 

Because he was an omega and didn't have the protective instinct that drove his other two suitemates to fulfill Smoke’s every whim, Louis worried that he wouldn't be able to act to the best of his ability to hide his secondary gender. It turned out that wasn't an issue at all because surprisingly Smoke continued to turn to him for his carnal needs. 

He had assumed that that first night with his confession of his gender and subsequent sex of convenience meant that it would be the last time he would be able to enjoy that much of Smoke. He was delightfully wrong. Nearly every night just after the sun set, Smoke would invite him to his bed. Well, the invitation was too gentle of a word. He nearly commanded Louis to join him in his bed and like a good little soldier, Louis followed orders down to the letter. A few times Bo was still there and promptly left the room before anything happened. Each time, Louis would want to bring up the question that sat at the back of his mind-Why me and not him? Unfortunately that thought and promptly every thought after was scrubbed from his mind as Smoke would invade his space and demand his full attention with his lips.

It was nearly the same time every time. They would make out until Louis no longer smell anything besides his creamy scent, strip Smoke of his drenched draws, and try to push as much of himself into his addictive heat. Sometimes missionary, sometimes doggy, always fucking amazing. He had thought his desire to be an alpha was a desperate demand of his psyche before, but deep within Smoke, it tore at his whole being. He needed a knot and Louis so badly wanted to give it to him. But it was a delusional wish on a good day so instead he settled for small moans that Smoke tried to keep inside but that Louis fucked out of him.

One thing had changed since that first night. That night Smokes spend and sweat had been his armor against Shame’s sword but this was a fight like no other. It eventually found a chink in Louis’ armor. His pleasuring of an omega didn’t make him an alpha, it made him more of a bitch. An omega’s omega pliable to even the whims of a gender that could rarely control itself. It was awful and intrusive, but persistent. From then on, he would shower with blistering hot water, hoping the scars of shame’s slashes would flow away. Some did, some did not. Such was the way things were. 

In moments like this, he felt more solid. Friday was a slow day for classes for all of them so they had agreed to hang out in the squad in the afternoon. In the bright light of a nearly cloudless day, sweat had quickly appeared on their brows.

Stack had noticed the heat's effect on Smoke. “You hot? We can go inside.”

Smoke waved him off. He was wearing a typical tank top with a dark train trailing down front of the tank in a long triangle. “I’m fine out here.” His pecs were peaking out of the sides. 

Did they get bigger during his heat Louis wondered and then felt a pang in his crotch at the thought of Smoke squishing his face between his sweaty tits. 

“You sure?,” Bo spoke up. He had a small towel in his hand offering it to Smoke.

Smoke took it. “Thanks.” Bo beamed at that if only for a second.

Stack frowned at that interaction. “I could get you a fan or something though.”

“Outside, in the middle of the campus?” Louis mused. He felt Smoke’s arm bounce with chuckles next to him.

Stack gave him a toothy grin. “You doubting my ability to provide, Armstrong?” There was an edge to the question.

For the first time the memory of Stack’s casual threat if he ever messed with Smoke flashed in his mind and it amused him. Perhaps it was the amount of sex he had been getting recently but Louis felt bold. “I don’t need to doubt anything if you can actually do it.”

Stack had been leaning back on his palms in the circle they made under the tree but sat up promptly at that response. 

Before Louis could learn if he would regret those words, Smoke came to the rescue. “I’m a little thirsty. Can one of yall get me something from those food trucks on the west side of the quad?”

Stack and Bo hopped to their feet at the same time. 

“No problem,” Stack said.

“You got it,” Bo added. He then looked at Louis who was still sitting next to Smoke and frowned. “You staying here Louis?”

Louis nodded slowly. “Yeah, that ok with you?” He didn't think he could take Stack but Bo’s shorter slimmer build gave him even more perhaps mistaken confidence.

He met Bo’s dark brown eyes. Stack, even at his most dangerous, had a humorous edge to it. Smoke was a scowling wall of solid danger. Bo…Louis couldn’t read him at all. His expression was so blank that it was unnerving. A blink and it was gone, his features normal again. He merely shrugged and turned to start walking to get Smoke’s drink. He and Stack were walking side by side at a normal pace then with the pop of a silent gun, Bo began to rush ahead. Thus the race to get Smoke sweet tea, his favorite drink, began.

As they ran away, Louis turned to Smoke. “How you feeling?”

“Tired but this heat is almost over, thank god. Dick ain't the only thing on mind anymore” The other thing Louis enjoyed about Smoke in heat was how straight forward he was.

“What about right now? You thinking about it?,” Louis teased. It was an unnecessary question as Smoke's scent hung plainly in the air. 

“Yeah,” he replied plainly. “I would ask you but it takes you a while to nut and they'll be back soon.” He looked out across the quad, Smoke and Bo fully gone from sight.

The observation felt like a tiny barb under Louis’s skin. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Smoke smirked. “It’s not good or bad. It just is.”

“I never took you for a stoic. I thought you were more of a rationalist.”

Smoke furrowed his brow. “That philosophy class has got you thinking you Nostradamus.”

“Sorry,” Louis admonished. An idea struck him just then. He reached out his hand and put it high on Smoke’s thigh. His legs were wide and thick but his prize wasn't the muscular thighs themselves but the addictive entrance between them. His hand creeped higher and higher, Smoke not making any move to stop him, a satisfied look on his face.

Louis scooted closer so they were thigh to thigh, the warmth of Smoke’s body and the beating sun pulling double duty to raise his body temp. “I can stop speaking nonsense whenever you want and eat you out instead,” he offered in a hushed tone. “I’ll even be quick about it.”

Smoke chuckled and for a brief second, Louis felt his hopes soar. Most of their sexual encounters had been at whims of what Smoke wanted. This was fine with Louis but it did mean he had never once gone down on Smoke and the desire had only grown over the week. He had asked twice and each time, Smoke had merely said “maybe next time.”  He wanted to tase the omega and show off his prowess with his tongue and not just with his dick and hands. Of course the fact he had never done it before hadn’t curtailed the desire either. His hand was fully on the crotch of Smokes sweatpants, rubbing slowly at where he thought his clit would be. He must’ve been close as Smoke began to squirm just a little, a small breath leaving his mouth a kiss breath away from Louis’ own.

Louis felt Smoke’s hand cover his own, slowing down his movements. “Maybe next time,” he repeated once more. Louis felt his hopes fall to his floor but tried to hide his disappointment in his face. 

A true alpha wouldn’t be denied the way he denies you. A nasty thought flitted through his mind. 

“You keeping say that but you also said your heats almost over so I’m not sure when that next time is really supposed to be. You can just say no. I’ll drop it.” 

Smoke lifted an arm scratching the back of his head, his large arm flexing in a way that made Louis want to lick it. He was deliberating something, that much was obvious. A strange wall given the past week. 

“Is it something I’m doing wrong?” Louis offered as a jumping off point once it was clear Smoke wasn’t going to speak first.

He shook his head. “Nah, it's not you. It’s like I gotta be in the right headspace for it.”

“Pun intended or no?”

“Pun, what…oh ‘head’ space.”He smiled at that. “You’re funny.”

Louis took his hand back giving Smoke a little physical space. “I try, sometimes. And that’s fine if it’s not for you. You know where to find me if you ever feel up for it and the answer can be never too.”

Something was clearly still bothering Smoke, frustration still clouding his features. “Thank you. I think…tonight.”

Louis eyebrows and his dick both shot up. “That was fast.”

“You backing out then?” Smoke taunted.

Louis vigorously shook his head. “I did not say that at all.”

“Alright then.” Smoke nodded like the conversation was well and truly over and in truth, it did feel like that. Elation filled Louis up enough to push his reservations far to the back of his mind. And it was in the light hearted anticipation of his final night of heat with Smoke that he noticed Bo and Smoke both rushing back to their spot, each with only one arm pistoning as the other held a large drink. It was only once they were a few yards away that Stack slipped and they fell over each other leaving both sticky with sweet tea and Bo nearly shortsless. 

His shorts were still halfway down his legs as he gave Stack a dirty look and in response, Stack tackled him. They began to wrestle grappling for a solid hold on each other in the low grass. This behavior was fairly typical behavior for alphas especially as neither one had bared their fangs at each other. It was a social activity Louis rarely indulged in. He was more content to watch the desperate erotic displays of dominance in real time, the quad the most common space that it tended to happen. He did have one memory of Lestat offering to wrestle with him. The encounter had been thrilling, pitting his strength up against the other alpha and the tinge of fear in him once he realized Lestat was stronger than him had only excited Louis further. The lack of self control in the situation felt like a dangerous road for him to go further down so he had hung up his wrestling days then and there. His enjoyment as a spectator remained. 

Bo and Stack looked evenly matched, able to escape one another’s holds after a few seconds each time. While their expressions at the beginning were frustrated after a few minutes they turned to wide pained grins. A few minutes after that, they stopped and were fully laughing as they wrapped each other in big bear hugs. Bo grabbed his shorts that had been thrown far away from their impromptu wrestling ring and Stack their forgotten cups and with their arms around each other's shoulders they finally walked back to Smoke and Louis.

“So…the mission was a failure then?” Louis noted.

Stack shook his cup, the ice hitting the inside of the plastic interior. “There’s still a little bit in here.” He handed the mostly empty cup to Smoke who took it with no hesitation, not thrown at all by the fight or the lack of liquid.

“Mine has more,” Bo said as he handed his cup to Smoke as well. Smoke smiled at that and Louis could smell his scent strengthen at that. 

“So, half a failure then?”

There was that blank look flickering across Bo’s face again. “You really are a glass half empty kind of person, aint ya Louis?”

Smoke and Stack snickered at that and Louis swallowed in discomfort. “I suppose so.”

“You would think hanging around us would’ve changed that,” Stack mused. He shook himself vigorously as if that was going to dry him any faster.

Bo crashed to the ground spreading out just outside the shade of the tree. A much more effective strategy. “Well he and Smoke been thicker than thieves recently so that’s probably not helping.”

Smoke tilted the cup he was drinking from down. “What are you implying Bo?” His tone wasn’t harsh, more amused.

Bo lifted just his head off the grass to address them. “That you are more negative than Nancy sometimes. That’s all, handsome.” 

“He’s not wrong,” Stack added, paying more attention to his phone and not the conversation. 

Smoke looked ready to argue but then seemed to internally decide against it, nodding slightly and going back to his drink. Bo had a pleased look on his face from seeming to win an argument before it truly began but as he met Louis' eyes, there was something…heavy, angry to his expression. It was only for a second but it confirmed his suspicions. Bo did not like him. 

As the sun was setting, they returned back to the dorm and while the other boys went to the dining hall for dinner, Louis met up with Lily to head to the movie theaters. She wanted to see a horror movie, but not alone, so he agreed to tag along. Louis was not a horror fan himself, the world scary enough on its own with unending social rules to avoid ostracization but he appreciated Lily’s love of the dark and macabre. It was a vampire film, full of longing and repression and plague rats. He hated it but did not tell her as her eyes were alight with excitement as they walked to the bus stop that would take them back to campus.

With his left arm looped through Lily’s right, Louis was scrolling through his missed notifications from being MIA for a few hours. He saw a text from Smoke. “Wya? I need you.”

Though brief Louis could feel the desperation in the message and felt excitement shoot through him. He was needed to provide his body to quell Stack’s urges and he was more than willing. Just like an alpha. 

“I’ll be home in 40. That good?” he texted back.

It was a few minutes later that he received a notification that Smoke had liked the message. Though curt, he was used to Smoke’s text based responses. Perhaps his hands were busy at the moment? The vision that his mind conjured up of Smoke was a particularly incendiary one. Legs spread, fingers deep within himself while his heat finally burned itself out barely able to find the concentration for anything else but his own pleasure. But there was one exception and Louis was that exception. He felt warm at the fantasy. 

Lily’s sweet voice cut through the filth of his mind. “Who you texting?” 

“Just Smoke,” he replied smoothly. “He was wondering where I put the floor cleaner.” Lying was like a second language for him and while he was fine with Lily knowing about his secondary gender, this current situation that he found himself in was one he wanted to keep close. For what reason, he hadn't quite reached. It was some combination of persistent shame, the thrill of secret keeping, and fear of being asked to interrogate what he was doing further than he was comfortable with. When Lily learned things, she pushed, for better or for worse. That answer was satisfactory for her as they continued and she began to gush at all of her favorite lines and scenes from the film.

His mind had wandered back to Smoke, his large hand on Louis's ass as he pushed him deeper and deeper inside. The beauty of his sweat stained skin that barely hid the strength of his muscles beneath. His soft full lips that Louis had developed a habit of biting.  

They had arrived at the bus stop when Lily asked. “So what did you think of the movie?”

He gave her a nothing answer, wanting to return to his heightened memories. “Hmm…oh it was fine. You know I’m not a big horror fan.”

“Right,” she replied with a flat affect. So flat of an affect that it forced him to pay attention to Lily more intently. She was pouting and had pulled her own phone out. Something was wrong but Louis was unsure as to what. Well whatever it was couldn't be too bad otherwise she would've simply shared like she always did. If he brought it up it could very well end up being in a situation where she needed comfort and he just didn’t have the capacity for that right now. Someone else needed him more. 

They rode back to the dorms in relative silence, Louis escorting Lily to her hall which was on the other side of campus from his own. He was horny, but he wasn't a monster. It was only once he had confirmed she had made it to her own room that he started on to his own residence, shooting Smoke a text that he was 10 minutes away. There was not notification that he had seen it this time around. Perhaps he truly had lost himself to his heat. Louis picked up his pace slightly, his blood pumping faster than his legs. 

The familiar yet nondistinct door of his dorm hall came into view but the moment he was going to push on the wide button that ran its width, the door swung open stopping Louis right in his tracks. There was Bo wearing what Louis could identify as his workout clothes, with a medium sized crossbody bag. For a brief second, he wondered if he had changed in to another jockstrap. 

They wore mirrored expressions of mild shock then relaxed as familiarity set in. Bo spoke first, extending his hand out.“Hey, where you coming from?”

Louis quickly dapped him up. “A movie with  Lily.”

“Was it good?”

“Not at all.” Louis replied flatly.

Bo grinned at that. His canines were so sharp. Louis wondered why he had never noticed that before. He grinned back, though much smaller and tightlipped. Knowing his role in this conversational back and forth he continued, “Where you heading?”

Bo patted his crossbody bag twice. “The gym. Get a late night workout out in.” 

Louis nodded at that. “Well, have fun.”

“I’ll try.”

That’s when he fucked up. The conversation was over. It was cordial and short and the exact amount of care roommates should have for each other as two ships passing in the night. But Louis wanted the last word. There was nothing he craved more, well almost nothing. 

As Bo began to move past him into the night, Louis threw out a final question. “Is Smoke upstairs?”

Bo’s body locked like he had been hit with a freeze ray, stiffly turning to face Louis. “Why you asking? You need him for something?”

Just one thing in particular. He wanted to say it so bad but he could smell Bo’s scent. The cool sharpness of it was being undercut by something harsher, hotter. Anger. 

“We were texting earlier, but he stopped replying so I just wanted to make sure he was ok,” Louis replied. 

Bo looked at him like he knew how big of a crock a shit that statement really was. “Yeah he’s in his room, but I have a question. Louis, do we have a problem?”

“I don’t think so. Do we?” Louis said feigning ignorance.

Bo shifted his weight gripping tightly at the strap of his bag. His body had become tenser than unchewed gum. “See I used to think the answer was no, but this past week has me reconsidering that answer.”

Louis felt almost high, his fear of a confrontation with Bo at war with his delight at being so clearly chosen by Smoke over him. “I’m not trying to stir up trouble. We’re all alphas just trying to help our omega through his heat. I’m just doing my part.”

Bo’s eye twitched at the use of the word “our”. “Yeah but you really seem to be enjoying that part of yours.”

Louis merely shrugged at that. “I mean not to be crass but how could I not? It feels pretty great. I mean you should know right? Seeing as you two are so close?”

Bo moved closer, his voice so low as to be a growl. “I know how he tastes and I’m thankful for it.”

Louis did not move back his pride, locking his feet as he stared Bo down. “But not how tight he feels? How warm? You’re missing out.”

Perhaps that was too far as Louis could smell nothing but Bo. The musk of his anger overwhelming his scent, the strap of his bag near invisible in his invisible bunched fist. Then like taught string something snapped and he stepped back and began to chuckle. The chuckle quickly turned into a laugh and for the first time Louis no longer felt in control.

He shouldn’t have asked but he had just lost a fight with not a single punch thrown and it was rattling him. “What’s so funny?”

That sharp grin was back, clear as crystal on Bo’s face. “Because it all makes sense now. You’re right Louis. Me and Smoke? We’re close. I love him like a brother but the important thing is that I’m not actually his brother. That position is filled, application closed 21 years ago. Nobody is more important to Smoke than Stack. You think you understand what that means but you don’t.” 

He laughed again and it somehow sounded even crueler this time around. 

Louis felt himself straightening out his posture, sticking his chest out just a tad. “Well you keep on loving him like the brother you’ll never be. I’m not looking to fill that spot.”

“Then what role are you trying to fill then? Be his alpha? His number one?” Bo asked those questions with such mockery it felt like he was talking to Lestat for a second..

Louis knew how to handle such condescension. Don’t give fuel to the fire. He kept it casual. “I don’t know. I’m not thinking that far ahead. This is just sex but who knows?”

Bo giggled, fully stepping into the darkness of the night before circling back. “And that's what the fuck I’m talking about. You don’t know. You don't get it!” He nearly spat out that final sentence. “Smoke doesn't fuck alphas.”

Louis felt his heart begin to pound in earnest. “What are you talking about?”

Bo looked almost manic with glee. “You want me to speak slower? Cuz I can. Smoke doesn't fuck alphas, doesn't let them fuck him. Whichever way you want to phrase it. He would never take the risk. Getting pregnant in the middle of college when he hasn't gotten him and his brother settled rich and comfortable…that’s just not happening. But if you are fucking him, then that would mean…”

“Don’t” Louis growled. He could feel the sweat under his arms, the sweat on his palms, the sweat beneath his bent knees ready to slam his whole weight on to Bo to keep him quiet and not finish that logic train. 

Bo finally deflated, if only a tad, respecting the threat in Louis’ tone. “I won’t because, unlike you, I can keep it classy. I’m even pretty good at keeping secrets. Have fun playing your part Louis.” Then Bo turned and walked into the dark of the night. Louis watched him until he could no longer see his shadowed figure. Then stood there even longer. He might’ve stayed there the whole night if not for his phone buzzing in his pocket. 

It was Smoke. “You still coming?” Louis did not have an answer.