Chapter Text
"Nicky, you know you don't have to go back to Sixth Form if you don't want to. Not yet, at least. Your heat only ended Saturday, no one would blame you if you needed another few days to get your head around things and recover."
Sarah Nelson leaned across the island in the kitchen, using one hand to brush his hair from his face and pressing the back of the other against his forehead. She frowned a little, not liking how clammy her son still felt.
"I know, but I want to. I've already missed enough of school, and I don't want everyone to get anymore suspicious than they already are." Nick sighed, trying not to think about how much his phone had been blowing up over the past week. If it wasn't his rugby lot, it was the Paris squad, and if it wasn't the Paris squad, it was Charlie.
Ok, so it was mostly Charlie. His boyfriend of over a year who, like everyone else, believed he had been off the past week with a particularly bad case of covid (blessed covid, giving teenagers everywhere an excuse to not attend school with little proof needed. Nick dreaded to think what unbelievable excuse he would have had to make up had he not presented in the aftermath of a pandemic).
"I just want to make sure you're doing the right thing, love. That you're not rushing into this." His mum sighed, going to the kitchen cupboard above the sink and taking out a small packet of pills. His scent blockers. He accepted the packet gratefully from her outstretched hand, popping a pill and pocketing the rest of the packet. He gagged at the taste, taking a large gulp of water to help get the pill down. "The side effects might not be the greatest, but they'll at least stop anyone at school being able to smell your secondary gender." She gave her youngest son a pitying smile.
Sarah knew all too well the hardships of presenting as omega, having presented as one herself at the tender age of 15. To this day, she's still sure she was the youngest one in her school to present. Not that she'll ever be sure - secondary genders were often well hidden. And her parents, bless them, tried their hardest to allow her to have as normal a teenage life as possible. Even if it meant taking a daily dose of pills to suppress her scent. She can still remember the pounding headaches and nausea now, not to mention the fatigue. She thinks back, wondering if it was worth it. Unfortunately, omega healthcare hadn't come a long way in the few decades since she had presented. She had been reassured by their GP that the pills prescribed to Nick didn't have such an extensive list of adverse side effects, but one in five would experience migraines and sickness. One in thirty would experience dizzy spells and one in 100 would experience fainting! An increased risk in certain cancers, weight gain, weight loss, increased libido, decreased libido. Even depression! (Although that one wasn't scientifically recognised, she had done enough research to know that omegas on suppressants and scent blockers seemed more likely to be diagnosed with it).
Sarah had wondered if taking those bloody pills would even be worth it, and hadn't been afraid to voice her concerns to her son. Something which she reiterated that morning.
"Are you sure it would be so awful if everyone found out that you're an omega? Things aren't as bad as they used to be, there's not as much stigma surrounding us."
Nick was grateful for his mum's concern, even though he felt it a little unneeded. He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, knowing her words came from a kind place. "I just...school, exams, everything. It's all hard enough without facing the ridicule of everyone knowing the school's 'rugby king' is just a weak, useless omega." Nick clenched his eyes shut, willing the tears not to spill. He wanted to blame his increase in emotions on the hormones, but knew it was more than likely down to his omega genetics making a change in his body.
"Hey, none of that in this household! I thought I raised you better than that." Sarah schooled as she rushed around to Nick and pulled him into her arms. His head rested in the crook of her neck, scenting his mum as he tried to calm down. "Who says Truham's best ever rugby player can't be an omega? Who says an omega can't be bloody good at rugby? Being an omega isn't how it used to be, Nicky. Anything an alpha, or even a beta, can do, you can do just as well and if not better."
Nick always knew how great his mum was, especially when he listened to some of the stories Charlie had to tell about his own mother, but he had never truly appreciated how amazing she was until he presented.
*
The day had started off as normal as any other. It was Friday, a bit wet out, but what was new there? He had been looking forward to the weekend - he had plans with Charlie to go to the zoo. It had originally been a surprise for Charlie's 16th birthday, but his plans had been put on hold when his boyfriend had presented as an alpha just 2 days before his birthday. It had been a shock to everyone, most of all Charlie. Coming from a family of betas, presenting as anything else was unexpected. Paired with the fact he didn't have the typical physique, presenting as an alpha had truly knocked him for six.
Thinking back, Nick can see the alpha traits coming out in Charlie long before he presented. He always did have a certain air of confidence about him, despite seeming timid to outsiders.
They'd booked the zoo for Sunday, with Charlie planning on sleeping over Saturday night. Sleepovers in the same room behind closed doors had been a new advancement in their relationship, with Charlie's parents finally agreeing to allow their son to sleep at Nick's now he was 16 and legal.
The two conditions may have been that the door is kept open and one of them sleep on a blow up bed on the floor. But it was Sarah's house, and what Jane and Julio didn't know wouldn't hurt them.
Nick had gotten through his first few lessons fine, Geography never seemed too hard and Biology came easy to him. He'd spent his lunch with just Charlie, finding being away from their friends was sometimes easier for his boyfriend to eat. But by PE towards the end of the day, he'd developed an uncharacteristic headache. Fighting through it, he went to rugby practice after his lessons had finished but everyone could tell he wasn't playing to his usual best standards. At one point he even dropped the ball, much to the frustration of his rugby mates. Nick couldn't quite figure out what was wrong with him.
His mum picked him up after practice, asking how his day was before relaying her own day once he told her it had been alright.
"Richard at work, I've told you about Richard before, well he had the nerve to tell me I should be on scent blockers! I had a few choice words with him, I'll tell you that. We don't live in the Victorian age anymore! And okay, I understand that to an alpha an omega's scent can be distracting. Which is why I do take mild suppressants leading up to my heats - not that I get them much anymore, I think I might be going through the change. But..."
Nick decided to tune her out there and then. He and his mum were close, but there was a line to cross and he really didn't fancy listening to his mother talking about going through the change. That, and his head continued to pound. He pressed his fingers to his temples, creasing his eyes shut and letting his head roll back as he waited to arrive home.
Sarah seemed to notice her son's pain once she pulled into their drive and was no longer focusing on the road. "Are you ok, Nicky?"
"Yea," Nick grumbled, "just a bit of a headache. Think I'll go up to bed."
His mum wasn't convinced. "Without dinner? Are you sure?" She opened the front door for him, not once taking her eyes off her son.
"Mhmm." He nodded in response, slipping off his trainers. "I'll take some ibuprofen from upstairs."
"Ok, if you're sure. I'll keep your dinner in the microwave, in case you decide to have it later. It's lasagne, my special recipe."
Nick gave his mum a smile as she wiggled her eyebrows at him, amused by her attempt to tempt him to eat. Her special lasagne just meant she'd added garlic to the sauce and used a three cheese blend grilled on top. Delicious, but not what he needed right now.
He declined again, before trudging upstairs to the bathroom and going into the cupboard to take some pills. He had a quick shower to wash the mud from his body and brushed his teeth. It was then he noticed his mum's dressing gown, soft and purple and smelling like all things comforting, hanging up on the door. He grabbed it, taking it into his bedroom with him and placing it next to his pillow. He found one of Charlie's jumpers on the back of his chair (shocking that Charlie actually owned his own jumper, because by this point it seemed the only jumpers he wore were Nick's). Deciding that the jumper would be perfect on the other side of his pillow, he then snuggled up into bed and drifted off to sleep.
He was awoken by Sarah knocking on his bedroom door. "Are you decent?" Her voice called out.
Nick groaned, rolling over in bed and touching his phone to see it was only 8am. Who wakes up at 8am on a Saturday?!
" 'm decent." Nick mumbled back, staring through squinted eyes at his mum's beaming face as she came and sat herself at the foot of his bed.
It was only then that Nick realised how clammy his skin felt, his whole body covered in a thin sheen of sweat. At least his headache had mostly subsided. He sat up in bed, cringing a bit, his bum feeling particularly wet and sweaty. Subconsciously, he picked up both his mum's dressing gown and Charlie's jumper, pulling them both close to his chest and shifting a bit to find a comfortable position.
"Ahh, so that's where my dressing gown disappeared off to." Sarah said, appearing to hold back a laugh.
It took Nick a second to realise what his mum was saying, his brain still foggy from sleep. "Ohh, yea, umm, you can have it back, if you like?" He offered half heartedly. He had no intention of giving it back, clutching it closer to his chest without even realising.
His mum's eyes glimmered, and she shook her head. "You can have it, Nicky. Something tells me you'll need it."
Nick looked at her puzzled, and after taking a deep breath, his mum decided to explain. "You've presented as an omega, darling." A comforting hand was placed on his knee, giving it a squeeze.
The words seemed to waken Nick up a bit, his mind no longer seeming as fuzzy. "An...omega? I don't...are you sure mum? An omega?" He furrowed his eyebrows together.
His mum nodded back. "An omega, dear. I suspected last night that you could be presenting - your headache must have been an early sign. And then, when I noticed you'd taken my dressing gown, it was obvious you were nesting a bit." She gestured down to the two garments in Nick's arms, which he pulled closer to his body as though she was going to snatch them away. "I won't touch them, don't worry." She reassured. "And then when I woke up this morning, I could smell it. You're in the early stages of heat, there's no denying it."
The pair remained quiet for a moment, allowing the news to sink in. An omega. Surely not? He knew that old fashioned stereotypes didn't mean anything - just look at Charlie - but Nick, an omega? He was strong, had muscles, was broad and tall. Nothing like your typical omega. He couldn't quite imagine it.
"But...I'm meant to be seeing Charlie today." Nick didn't realise he was crying until his mum tucked him into her arms, running fingers through his hair.
"Oh, baby." She soothed, own voice sounding heartbroken. "It should only last a week or so, and I've bought you some things to help."
This peaked Nick's interest, and he sniffled before pulling back to look at his mum in the eye. "What sort of things?"
Sarah reached down to pick a box up from the floor, something Nick hadn't realised she'd bought in with her. "Now, there's some stuff in here that came in a pre packed box from Boots, and other stuff which I sorted out for you myself. I know it'll be a little different for you, being a male omega, but I tried to find things I thought would help you."
Intrigued, Nick lifted the lid. The first layer had water bottles and protein bars. "For your energy." His mum explained. He took them out, placing them on the bedside table.
Underneath were some boxes, one of which Nick picked up and quickly dropped again as though it was on fire. Well, if it wasn't on fire, Nick may as well be. His face burned bright red with embarrassment as he realised he'd just picked up a dildo.
"I know it's all a bit awkward, and probably not something you want to be given by your mum, but I promise you that you'll appreciate them by the evening."
Nick looked at his mum with wide eyes, not too sure how to respond to that. "Mum-I-um-I don't think-"
"We don't have to talk about it now, I'm sure you're not far off from being in a full blown heat. I'll leave food by your door, and plenty of water but just text if you need anything else. And I'll text Charlie, too, and make up some excuse why you can't see him."
"Charlie!" Nick's mind suddenly remembered that his boyfriend, his gorgeous, sexy boyfriend was an alpha. And he was an omega. And alphas can help omegas through heat. He needed Charlie, right now.
He didn't even realise his feet were taking him to the bedroom door until his mum was guiding him back to his bed. "Charlie won't be able to see you, I'm sorry baby." And she genuinely did sound remorseful. "Im going to lock the doors and keep the keys, just in case. First heats can be intense and it would be dangerous for you to be on the streets alone."
Nick made a distressed sound, flopping back on the bed and bringing Charlie's jumper to his nose. The scent helped calm him, but it wasn't anywhere near as good as the real thing.
"Do you have any questions before I leave you to it?" His mum asked, setting the box next to his bed. She only received a groan in response, which she assumed was a no. "Ok, well I'm going to go downstairs but remember if you need anything or want to know anything, no matter how embarrassing you may think it is, just let me know."
He felt her plant a kiss to his forehead, heard the floorboards creak and the bedroom door close. And then he was alone to ride out his heat.