Chapter Text
The plastic stick sat on the marble countertop like a tiny, white explosive.
Tay stared at it. Then he blinked, rubbed his eyes, and stared again. There were two lines. Two very clear, very unapologetic pink lines.
"This is a glitch," Tay whispered to the empty bathroom. "A statistical anomaly. A prank by the manufacturing company."
He didn't stop at one. He couldn't. Ten minutes later, the counter was a graveyard of plastic. Three different tests, from three different brands, all lined up like a tiny, judgmental firing squad. One had a plus sign. One had two bars. The digital one simply read: PREGNANT.
"I’m an alpha," Tay reminded the digital screen, his voice cracking. "I lift weights and dumbbells. I meal prep. I moisturize. Biology doesn’t just… glitch."
He sat down on the edge of the toilet seat, his head spinning. His stomach did a weird little flip, the same flip it had been doing for a week every time he smelled pad kaprao. He also felt a sudden, inexplicable urge to go buy a very soft, oversized blanket and let his partner scent it.
Tay Tawan was a textbook alpha. A top-tier, 100% certified, "I-can-carry-all-the-groceries-in-one-trip" alpha. And yet, here he was, staring at a trio of positive results.
There was only one variable in this equation: New.
-
Tay’s mind drifted back to the day he first met New, at a rooftop mixer. New had been standing by the railing, looking effortlessly cool and a little detached in a navy button-down. To Tay’s alpha instincts, New smelled like rain on pavement. Subtle, clean, and, in Tay’s very confident opinion, obviously omega.
Right then and there, Tay made a decision. He was going to be the best alpha New had ever seen.
For the next two years, he was fully committed to the role. Protector, guardian, dramatic lead in his own internal story. Completely unaware that, the entire time, he was being played like a very willing, delicate fiddle.
-
Tay still remembers their first date like it was a full action movie, except he was the only one who thought he was the hero.
They were walking through a crowded street festival when a group of loud, rowdy alphas started pushing through everyone like they owned the place. Naturally, Tay sprang into action. He stepped right in front of New, puffed up his chest, and let out his best low, warning pheromone growl.
“Stay close, New,” Tay said, dropping into his very serious commander voice. “I’ll get us through.”
New didn’t look scared at all. If anything, he looked like he was trying not to cough. Or laugh.“My hero,” he murmured, gently patting Tay’s bicep like he was encouraging a very brave but slightly confused puppy.
Tay stayed focused, fully convinced he was handling the situation. What he didn’t notice was that the rowdy alphas were not backing off because of him.
They were backing off because New had caught their eyes with a look so calm and so terrifying that it made them instantly reconsider all their life choices. One of them nearly tripped over his own feet trying to get away.
Meanwhile, Tay just kept walking, proud and oblivious, completely convinced he had saved the day.
-
Last month, New had mentioned the kitchen sink was leaking.
“Don’t worry your pretty head about it,” Tay had said, grabbing a wrench he barely knew how to use. He spent three hours under the sink, grunting, sweating, and accidentally spraying himself in the face twice.
New sat at the kitchen island, scrolling through his phone, looking very delicate.
“You’re doing great, Tay,” New called out. “It’s so impressive when you get all mechanical.”
Eventually, Tay fell asleep on the kitchen floor out of pure frustration. When he woke up, the leak was gone. “Must have been a loose washer that finally settled,” Tay told himself.
In reality, New had waited for Tay to start snoring, grabbed the wrench, and fixed the entire plumbing system in four minutes flat.
-
Tay looked back at the three tests. Suddenly, everything made horrible, humiliating sense.
New was rage baiting him! New would call him “big and strong” with that tone. The constant requests to open jars that were, in hindsight, definitely not that tight. New hadn’t been a sweet, helpless omega. He had been entertained.
New wasn’t an omega. He was an ENIGMA! The rare, mythical rank that apparently existed just to humble overconfident alphas and ruin their understanding of biology.
The bathroom door creaked open.
New stood there, holding a plate of buttered toast. Tay’s stomach immediately flipped, and he realized with deep concern that he wanted that toast more than he had ever wanted anything in his life.
New glanced at the three tests on the counter, then at Tay’s pale, soul-leaving-his-body expression.
He didn’t look shocked. He looked… pleased.
“So,” New said casually, leaning against the doorframe, his rain-scent deepening into something richer, heavier, undeniably powerful. “I guess we should start looking at nurseries?”
Tay pointed a trembling finger at the counter. “You… you knew! Three tests, Newwiee! Three! And you still let me wear that ‘I’m the Boss’ t-shirt last week!”
New took a slow bite of toast, chewing like he had all the time in the world. A smug little smile crept onto his face. “In my defense,” he said, “you looked really cute in it.” He shrugged lightly. “And I never said I was an omega. You just walked up to me and started explaining mortgages. I didn’t want to interrupt. It was… charming.”
“The vibe?!” Tay’s voice cracked into a full squeak. “New, I’m an alpha! What are people going to say?!”
New walked over, gently placed the warm toast into Tay’s hand, then leaned down and kissed his forehead like this was all completely normal.
“They’ll say you’re a very hardworking alpha,” New said smoothly, “who is going to be loved by me and an excellent papa to our little one.”
He gave Tay a soft, satisfied pat on the head.
“Now eat your toast, honey. You’re eating for two now.”
Tay took a very spiteful, very hungry bite.
He was absolutely going to have a serious talk with New about honesty. Right after his nap.