Archive of Our Own

Smitty typed frantically at his keyboard, eyes darting around the screen, finding holes in the code and breaking encryptions to find what he was looking for. Vanoss was counting on him to find this guy, the one who’d put the whole crew at risk by selling their information out to a San Andres gang. Thankfully this crew had only sent a couple people to scope out their base, and BBS had taken care of them quickly while getting the LSPD to turn a blind eye to the mayhem it had caused. This hacker was good though, as Smitty was having trouble getting through any of the virtual defenses. It had been a back and forth war between the hackers and Smitty didn’t know when it would end.

Smitty’s eyesight blurred and he shook his head, reaching out blindly towards his bag of candy and stuffing a handful in his mouth before going back to his work.

This wasn’t his only job to do either. Evan had requested that he figure out how to buy the building next to theirs to convert it into a designated medical building for the crew, and Marcel had asked him to look for someone who was selling this new weapon. Meanwhile Jonathan wanted this, but Brian needed that, then Brock needed this thing, and Daithi wanted that thing. It was as if they had all forgotten that Smitty’s actual job in the crew was as a hacker, not some collective personal assistant .

The only things anyone had helped him with was Kryoz helping him buy more medical supplies and looking for machines for the new medical building. And Tyler had helped him with finding contractors and construction workers that wouldn’t snitch about who they’d been hired by.

But that led to his next problem, Tyler was pissed at him and he had no idea why. One day they were discussing ways to ask Kryoz out on a date and the next, Tyler wouldn’t even talk to him.

On top of ALL of that, Smitty was feeling like complete shit. Constant headaches, stomach aches, brief fevers, nausea, the works. All he wanted to do was cuddle with his boyfriend but the asshole wouldn’t get his head out of his ass long enough to talk to him so they could sort their shit out and Smitty could get his cuddles.

His laptop started beeping menacingly and Smitty was brought out of his worries, eyes widening as random pop-ups started appearing on his screen.

“Motherfucker!”

He couldn’t afford to be distracted, he needed to concentrate. That was why he’d locked himself up in one of the spare apartments after all, so no one would bother him. But that meant that Smitty was left to his work with nothing and no one to make sure he took care of himself. He’d been running on Reese’s Pieces and energy drinks for almost two days with no sleep.

Smitty worked to get rid of whatever the other hacker had done to his computer and then finally, finally, he saw a way to gain access to the other computer’s files. He started typing quickly, the other hacker’s attempts to thwart him failing. He was just about to gain access when-

His laptop slammed shut on his fingers and Smitty jumped back, pulling his hands away and cradling them to his chest. He stared at the hand on top of his closed laptop, slowly following it up to the face of the person who’d just ruined his chance to finish the most important job on his to-do list. Kryoz looked around at Smitty’s work space and sighed, kicking an empty can away before unplugging Smitty’s computer.

“That’s enough Smit,” the beta sighed and Smitty felt rage boiling up to the surface.

“What the fuck John? I nearly had him!” Kryoz ignored him as he walked around the table and started picking up the garbage around Smitty’s chair, empty bags of junk food and crushed cans of energy drinks, “Don’t fucking ignore me!” Smitty spun his chair to face his supposed friend and opened his mouth to let out some more choice words, when his vision went out of focus again, this time accompanied by an intense wave of dizziness that nearly had him falling out of his chair. Kryoz quickly dropped the garbage he’d picked up and set his hands on Smitty’s shoulders, catching him before he tipped over.

“You’re clearly in no shape to keep working, dude.” Smitty frowned as he waited for his body to catch up with his mind.

“I’m fine,” he said, his words didn’t even sound convincing to himself. Kryoz straightened up and grabbed Smitty’s laptop and cord and tucked it under his arm before staring down at him.

“Look Smit, you can either take yourself home or I'll take you there myself." Smitty scoffed at Kryoz’s words.

“I’m not a kid, I can walk on my own.” He pushed himself up and immediately his legs shook and he felt his knees give out under him. Kryoz caught Smitty as he fell into him, slipping his free arm around Smitty’s back and the hacker’s arm over his shoulders.

“C’mon,” Kryoz said, no judgment in his voice, just calm patience, “ Let me help you.” Smitty grumbled under his breath but he begrudgingly allowed himself to be led out of the room and up a flight of steps.

When they finally reached Tyler’s and Smitty’s apartment, Kryoz reached up to knock on the door. After a couple seconds, Tyler opened the door, his expression sour before he saw how awful Smitty looked and his gaze softened. He silently stepped aside to allow Kryoz to guide Smitty into the apartment and Kryoz walked him to the couch. Once his knees hit the soft material Smitty basically collapsed on the cushions.

Had the couch always been this comfortable?

Smitty closed his eyes and listened to Tyler and Kryoz talk quietly for a few minutes, almost drifting off to sleep before he heard Tyler clear his throat. He opened his eyes to see that Kryoz had already left, and Tyler didn’t look too happy with him.

“You worked yourself too hard again,” Tyler sighed and Smitty couldn’t help the scoff that he let out as he shakily sat up.

“So what, you’re finally speaking to me again?” Tyler’s eyebrows rose for a brief second before his expression turned angry and he growled.

“Not my fault you’re cheating on me with some whore omega.” Smitty felt like he’d gotten whiplash, that was the last thing he’d expected Tyler to say. He spluttered to find the right words before his tired brain worked for him.

“Cheating on you?! Where the hell did you get that idea?!”

“You smell like you fucking rolled around some omega’s scent soaked bed!” Smitty furrowed his eyebrows and lifted his wrist to his nose, taking a sniff and smelling nothing different about his scent.

“I haven’t been though,” Smitty said, still completely baffled he was even having this conversation with his boyfriend.

“Then explain to me why you smell like strawberries and whipped cream,” Tyler scoffed, “That’s not your normal scent.” Smitty threw his hands up in the air.

“I have no idea Ty!” he shouted, “But I haven't been fucking some omega! .” Tyler closed his eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down, but his nose scrunched up and he scowled.

“I can still smell it, strong as ever!” the alpha yelled, “What the fuck Jaren?!” Smitty winced at the sound of his real name. Tyler was the only one in the crew who knew it and had only ever used it a handful of times. In Smitty’s silence, Tyler turned and stormed off and as he disappeared down the hallway, Smitty recovered enough to yell out “I don’t know! How am I supposed to know?!” A door slammed shut and Smitty went to stand up to follow, but his legs refused to work for him. He sighed angrily and gave up, laying back down and turning his back to the rest of the room. He closed his eyes as his head started throbbing with how strong the anger in Tyler’s scent was in the room.

That… that was new… Tyler’s scent wasn’t normally so strong.

Before Smitty could think too much about it, he was out cold, the hours of no sleep finally catching up with him.

≫ ──── ««•◦ ✪ ◦•»» ──── ≪

Tyler rolled over in bed and groaned, reaching out for his boyfriend but finding the other side of the bed vacant and cold. He blinked sleepily for a couple seconds before the previous night came back to him and he sighed. He hadn’t meant to lose his temper like that, but if Smitty wasn’t going to at least own up to his actions, he was going to get pissed off.

Had he ever thought the beta would cheat on him? No, but why else would the beta smell so strongly of an omega. He wanted to work this out, he loved the man after all, but Smitty had to be honest with him.

Tyler sighed again and moved to sit at the edge of the bed, stretching before standing up and going about his routine, getting dressed and shuffling his way towards the living room.

Smitty was still laying on the sofa, curled up into a shivering ball and Tyler’s heart ached. He pulled a nearby blanket from an armchair and gently draped it over his boyfriend’s sleeping figure.

It was just a brief brush of contact, but Tyler knew the moment he felt Smitty’s skin that the beta was feverish. The alpha sighed and shook his head. Looked like the hacker’s working stunt had gotten him sick. Tyler reached out for Smitty’s shoulder and shook him gently, trying to ease him out of sleep. He needed to make sure he got some medicine in him, at the very least drink some water.

“C’mon Smit,” he said softly, “Wake up babe.” When Smitty didn’t respond, he shook his shoulder a bit harder, “You need to get up, you fell asleep on the couch.” The longer he tried to wake Smitty up, the more he began to worry, because Smitty wasn’t responding. Panic rose in his chest as he pulled at Smitty’s arms, jerking the beta enough that his body fell out of it’s curled position, body scarily limp.

“Smitty,” he said, his panic-laced voice rising, “Smitty wake up!” As a last effort, he slapped Smitty's face to try and get a reaction, light enough to not hurt him much but hard enough that even the deepest of sleepers would wake up to.

Smitty remained motionless, and Tyler’s panic spiked.

He practically sprinted out of the room and back to their bedroom, where his phone was plugged in on the side table. Tyler pulled it from its charger bringing up the contacts and dialing Evan right away. He walked out to the hallway and paced, waiting for Evan to pick up the phone.

“Hello-?” Evan barely got the word out before Tyler was talking over him.

“Smitty isn’t waking up,” Tyler panicked, “I’ve tried everything I can think of and he’s not fucking waking up Evan!” There was a pause on the other end of the line and Tyler heard shuffling, like fabric moving.

“Is he breathing?” Evan’s voice was calm and Tyler found some comfort that someone was calm enough to figure out what to do. He turned mid-pace and jogged back into the living room, going over to Smitty and turned him onto his back, not even bothering being gentle in case the movement woke him up. Tyler laid a hand on Smitty’s chest and his panic diminished slightly as his hand rose and fell with Smitty’s breaths.

“He is,” Tyler said, moving his hand up to Smitty’s neck to check his pulse. He felt around for a bit before he found it, Smitty’s pulse fast and erratic, “His heartbeat’s uneven though.” There was more movement from the other end of the call and another voice speaking muffled as Jonathan spoke.

“Jonathan and I are coming over,” Evan said before hanging up. Tyler dropped the phone and, not knowing what else he could do, he moved to unlock the door before he kneeled on the floor beside Smitty and began moving his sweat-soaked hair out of the beta’s face. He couldn’t even be bothered to be mad at the intensifying scent surrounding him, the scent of strawberries and whipped cream seeping into everything as he waited in silence.

Finally, he heard the door of the apartment open and he turned his head. Evan rushed into the room with Jonathan and Kryoz on his heels. Jonathan knelt on the floor beside Smitty and grabbed the beta’s arm, his eyes wide with worry. Kryoz seemed frozen, eyes wide and staring at his best friend as if not comprehending what he was seeing. Evan walked up next to Tyler, reaching out to feel Smitty’s forehead. Tyler’s teeth clenched and he growled at Evan, his protective instincts flaring up with his boyfriend in such a vulnerable state and Evan looked Tyler in the eyes, not taking his hand back.

“I’m just trying to help, Tyler,” Evan spoke calmly, proceeding to press his palm to the beta’s forehead. After a second he flipped his hand over and pressed it back to Smitty’s forehead.

“Is he okay?” Despite the business they were in and all the dangerous situations they’d been in, Tyler had never heard Jonathan sound so scared. Evan sighed.

“Kryoz,” Evan said, his voice all business, “I called you here for a reason you know.” That seemed to snap Kryoz out of whatever trance he’d been in and he moved towards the couch, dropping a bag onto the coffee table and rummaging through it. Kryoz checked Smitty’s vitals, his eyebrows furrowing with each measurement he did and the other three in the room watched him anxiously. Finally, as Kryoz took Smitty’s temperature, he swore under his breath as he reached into his bag.

“His fever is too high, we need to get him to the ER,” Kryoz said, as he dug around his bag. He seemed to give up looking for whatever he was trying to find and just started stuffing things back into his bag, “I don’t know what’s going on with him and we don’t have the equipment to test him for anything, and we could cool him off but…” That was all Tyler needed to hear before he moved to scoop the beta into his arms. Evan moved to open the door and the four of them hurried for the lounge.

The hallways were quiet as they approached the lounge, but once they entered the room and what seemed like half the crew saw Tyler carrying a clearly unconscious Smitty, a whole slew of questions were thrown at them.

“We don't have time to talk!” Jonathan shouted, “We’ll let you guys know what’s going on when we know ourselves!” After that, they ignored everyone’s questions and any looks they threw their way and rushed for the garage, heading straight for Evan’s vehicle. Kryoz opened the door for them and Tyler gently climbed into the backseat, careful not to let Smitty’s body hit the car. As Evan stood a few feet away, giving Jonathan quick instructions for what to do while he was away, Kryoz hesitated in the car’s doorway, his eyes wide and face etched with worry as he looked at Smitty’s face.

“What are you doing?” Tyler asked, “Aren’t you coming too?” Kryoz’s eyes snapped up to Tyler and he looked conflicted for a second before shaking his head.

“No,” he said, “I’ll only get in the way.” Tyler frowned for a second. He wanted to tell the beta that Smitty would want him to come with, that Tyler wanted him to come with, that the both of them wanted him. But he didn’t argue. He didn’t want to waste time trying to convince him to come when Smitty needed help immediately. Evan gave Jonathan a quick kiss before walking around to the driver’s seat and starting the car. Kryoz stepped back and closed the door and once the others were clear, Evan put the pedal to the metal, speeding out of the garage and skidding onto the street, racing towards the nearest ER.

≫ ──── ««•◦ ✪ ◦•»» ──── ≪

Tyler was hunched over, his head in his hands as he and Evan waited for news on Smitty. The doctors had rolled him away on a gurney when they had arrived and another nurse calmly explained to them that they were to wait in the waiting room while they treated Smitty. Tyler was ready to growl at the nurse, not wanting to leave Smitty’s side for one second, but Evan calmly asked for the staff to keep them updated on Smitty’s condition. The nurse had agreed and Evan led Tyler to a seat before the alpha’s temper boiled over.

A low growl resonated in Tyler’s chest as another wave of guilt washed over him. If he’d just slept next to Smitty the night before, if he’d just helped his boyfriend to their bed after he’d needed help getting into the apartment, they might not be here. He would’ve noticed he was sleeping next to a fucking space heater and be able to take care of Smitty before it had gotten this bad. For all he knew Smitty could be on his deathbed and…nope. Different train of thought… different train of thought…

Tyler only lifted his head when he heard footsteps approaching them and saw a nurse walking over.

“Friends of Jaren Smith?” Evan looked confused when Tyler stood up but followed his lead, “Follow me please.” The nurse waited until they were out of the waiting room and halfway down the current hallway before speaking up again, “Jaren’s fever is completely normal for his current condition and it’s not putting him in any danger. We’ll keep him here for a couple days to monitor him, and once he wakes up and his condition has improved enough he’ll be free to go home.”

“What’s going on with him?” Tyler asked, but the nurse just held up a hand for him to wait as they turned the corner, walking down another hallway.

“We’ve got him hooked up to an IV to keep him hydrated and comfortable and we’re monitoring him for any changes in his condition.” The nurse came to a stop in front of a room with Smitty’s name written on a white board beside the door, “We took some blood samples while we were trying to diagnose what was going on with him, and we noticed that his hormone levels are unbalanced. He’s a beta, correct?” Tyler nodded, unsure where the nurse was headed with this, “Is he in a relationship with an alpha?” Tyler nodded, bewildered as to how some random nurse could have possibly guessed that.

“It’s rare, but sometimes when an alpha and beta are in a relationship, the beta’s hormones start changing due to exposure to the stronger alpha pheromones. This seems to be the case with Jaren, and it appears his hormones are causing him to change presentation into an omega.”

Tyler tuned out the nurse at that point. Smitty was an omega now? He didn't even know that was possible. But then that means the strawberry scent wasn't… god did he feel like an asshole. Smitty hadn’t been cheating on him at all, that new scent that clung to his boyfriend, that was Smitty's own scent changing to an omega’s.

Fuck.

“Is he in any danger since he’s presenting so late?” Evan asked, noticing that Tyler had zoned out of the conversation. The nurse shook their head.

“The only difference between this and an omega presenting in their teens is that his body is trying to catch up. His body is quite literally growing an entirely new organ system, and developing glands that he didn’t have before. It’s an extremely painful process, which has caused him to slip into an almost catatonic state. His body’s shut down for the moment to protect him.” Evan nodded and held his hand out for the nurse to shake.

“Thank you,” he said. The nurse glanced at Tyler as they shook Evan’s hand.

“Is your friend okay?” Evan nodded.

“He’s fine,” he said, “He's just worried about his boyfriend waking up…”

“Ah.” The nurse nodded their head before turning around and walking away, leaving the two alphas outside the presenting omega’s room. Evan snapped his fingers in front of Tyler’s face and the other snapped out of his head.

“C’mon Tyler,” Evan said, “We can go in now.” Tyler nodded and Evan pushed the door in front of them open.

Smitty looked oddly peaceful in the current state he was in, despite what his body was going through, despite his body’s temperature spiking like it never had before… Tyler frowned and pulled a chair over to Smitty’s bed, taking the hand that didn’t have an IV taped to it, and rubbing circles on the back of his boyfriend’s hand.

“He’ll be alright you know,” Evan said, sidling up next to him, glancing at the heart rate monitor and raising his eyebrows at the presenting omega’s internal temperature of 110°. Tyler nodded.
“I know,” he said, “I’m just regretting how I acted towards him…” Tyler sighed, “I could tell his scent was changing, I thought he was cheating on me…” Evan groaned.

“Dude,” he sighed, “You should’ve known that Smitty wouldn’t ever cheat on you.”

“I know,” he groaned, louder than Evan had, “I was stupid okay!?”

“Won’t argue that,” Evan muttered, still loud enough for Tyler to hear, “Listen, I’m gonna head back to the base, let everyone else in on what’s going on. At least tell them that Smitty’s not gonna die. Are you good to stay here?” Tyler scoffed.

“You’re a fucking moron if you think I’m leaving him for one second.” Evan smiled softly.

“Alright,” he said, “Keep me updated on how he’s doing?” Tyler nodded and Evan left the room, leaving the alpha alone with his boyfriend. Tyler lifted Smitty’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it, mentally going over ways he could make it up to Smitty for how much of a dick he’d been.

≫ ──── ««•◦ ✪ ◦•»» ──── ≪

It had been a long couple days while Smitty slept through everything around him. He was oblivious to the nurses coming and going from his room, the visits from the crew, and the beeping of his heart rate monitor. The one constant was Tyler sitting beside him.

The alpha’s instincts, which had been muted while Smitty was a beta, were now kicking in full force to protect his omega boyfriend. He hovered over the nurses’ shoulders as they worked to take care of Smitty, he was reluctant to let any of their alpha friends into the room and all but pouted in the corner of the room when Kryoz visited and let said alphas visit with him. Kryoz had visited the most and Tyler’s alpha instincts trusted him wholeheartedly to protect Smitty while he was vulnerable. He took advantage of the opportunity to take care of himself while Smitty was in safe hands.

It was while Tyler had stepped away to get some food that someone he didn’t recognize visited. She was an omega, wearing professional clothing and rapidly texting on her phone. Kryoz was eyeing her from his corner of the room before he met Tyler’s eyes as the alpha walked into the room and shrugged. Tyler cleared his throat and the girl turned around. She smiled and held out her hand to shake Tyler’s.

“Hello, you may call me Leah,” She said, “I’m the Smith’s personal assistant. His parents couldn’t travel to Los Santos themselves so they asked me to check on their son after they got the call that he was in the hospital.” Tyler narrowed his eyes, ignoring her outstretched hand and Leah slowly lowered it.

“How do I know that you’re who you say you are?” Leah blinked, clearly not expecting him to ask something like that. Before she could answer, someone else spoke up.

“Ty?”

Tyler’s head whipped over to Smitty and he pushed past Leah to sit next to Smitty.

“Hi baby,” he said, taking the omega’s hand, “How’re you feeling?” Smitty smacked his lips and hummed.

“Like I got hit by a truck,” he said, before furrowing his eyebrows and blinking blearily at Tyler, “Did I get hit by a truck?” Tyler chuckled.

“No you didn’t,” Tyler was going to explain what happened, but Leah interrupted.

“Hi Jaren,” she said gently, “Your parents wish they could be here but…”

“But they couldn’t because they were too busy,” Smitty sighed, looking at Leah, “Yeah, yeah, I know the spiel.” Leah smiled sadly.

“Is there anything you want me to tell them?” Smitty shook his head, wincing slightly.

“No,” he said, “Thanks for keeping them updated though.” Leah beamed like that’s the only time she’s ever been thanked for doing her job. Kryoz, who had at some point left the room without anyone noticing, walked back in with a doctor on his heels.

“May I ask you all to leave the room please?” the doctor asked as he walked over to the computer set up next to Smitty’s bed, “I’m sure Jaren here would appreciate some privacy as I evaluate his condition.” Tyler sighed and kissed Smitty’s cheek.

“Who is this chick?” he asked quietly, “Can we trust her?” Smitty nodded, sighing.

“She can be trusted,” he quietly responded, “Just ask her for identification from Exoma Industry.” Tyler wanted to ask more questions but the doctor spoke up before he could, asking again for them to vacate the room. Tyler gave a gentle squeeze to Smitty’s hand before standing up and following Kryoz and Leah out of the room. As the door closed behind them, Tyler turned to Leah, arms crossed.

“You work at Exoma?” he asked her and she nodded, “You got any ID on you?” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a card and handed it to Tyler. He looked at it and sure enough, it was labeled as an Exoma Industry employee ID… whatever that meant. Tyler handed it back to her and she pocketed it once more.

“Can I do my job now?” Leah asked in a joking tone, and Tyler chuckled and nodded. Smitty said she could be trusted and he was going to trust Smitty’s judgment on this.

“So what happened?” Tyler starts to give her a recap of what had happened when he found Smitty that morning and how they rushed him to the hospital after his temperature was so high. When she asked Tyler what the doctors had told him was going on, Tyler told her that Smitty presented as an omega. He made sure not to tell her about what had caused his late presentation. Smitty had told him to tell her what she needed to know and well, he didn't think she didn’t need to know the details about their relationship.

The whole time that he was talking Leah was texting on her phone, and once he finished she put away her phone and thanked him before going to sit in a chair near Smitty’s door. Tyler took a deep breath and turned towards Kryoz, who was staring at Leah with a confused expression on his face.

“Why’d Smitty’s parents send someone instead of coming themselves?” he asked and Tyler shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he sighed, “Smitty never really talks about his parents so I assumed they didn’t have the best relationship.” Behind them, the door opened and Smitty’s doctor walked out.

“You can all go back in now,” he said, starting to walk towards the nurse’s station. Leah hopped up from her chair and walked towards him.

“Actually I have a couple questions to ask you Doctor.” Kryoz and Tyler exchanged a look.

“Go on,” Kryoz said, “I’ll keep an eye on her.” Tyler smiled at the beta and did as he said, walking into the room and heading straight for the chair next to Smitty.

“Well?” Tyler sighed, sitting down in the chair beside the bed, “What’s the prognosis?” Smitty let out a huff of a laugh before putting his face in his hands.

“Holy shit,” he laughed, “Of all the reasons I’d end up in the hospital I never expected it to be because I presented late as an omega.” Tyler chuckled as Smitty looked back over to him.

“Fair enough,” he said, “What else did the doctor say?” Smitty shrugged.

“He just kinda told me what had happened and that I could go home by the end of the day,” Smitty said before his face reddened and he continued, “He also said that my first heat should be starting soon and that I should figure out what I’m doing for that.” Tyler nodded, silent. It hadn’t even occurred to him that Smitty would have a heat now. His gut twisted when he thought about what to say next. He was unsure whether he should even suggest spending the heat together, after all, not only was this all new to Smitty, Tyler had been such a dick to him. Tyler sighed and reached over to grab Smitty’s hand, bringing it up to his lips and kissing it.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, “I’m so, so sorry. I never should have accused you of cheating, I know you never would but I just…” Tyler trailed off and Smitty squeezed his hand.

“It’s okay,” Smitty said, “I understand what it must’ve seemed like, what with my scent changing and shit.” Tyler sighed in relief that he’d been forgiven so easily but that didn’t stop the guilt twisting in his gut.

“That doesn’t excuse how I treated you like shit though,” he said, “I’ll make it up to you, promise.” Smitty smiled at him and opened his mouth to say something when the door opened again and Leah walked in.

“How are you feeling, Jaren?” Smitty’s smile wavered and he looked over to her. As Leah came in, Kryoz followed her into the room and shut the door behind him. Tyler gave a small squeeze to Smitty’s hand and stood up, walking over to Kryoz as Leah took Tyler’s seat and continued talking.

“She didn’t get much from the doctor,” Kryoz told him quietly, “HIPPA violation and all that.” Tyler nodded and crossed his arms.

“Would you like to facetime your parents, Jaren?” Tyler glanced over at the two talking and Smitty’s smile was completely gone now, a scowl taking its place.

“I doubt they have the time,” he said, his voice laced with bitterness. Leah frowned at that.

“I’m sure they’d make time for you,” she said and Smitty scoffed.

“If they had time to spare, they’d be here instead of you,” he retorted, before taking a deep breath, “You’re great at your job Leah, but you haven’t known my parents long enough to tell that they don’t really care about me.” Leah looked troubled at that.

“That’s not true,” she said, “They actually asked me to set up a flight for you to visit them.” Smitty looked shocked at that.

“That… that doesn’t make sense.” Leah reached out to pat Smitty’s shoulder.

“I’m sure they care about you Jaren,” she said, “They just… have a difficult time showing it I think.” Smitty pursed his lips before sighing.

“Okay, go ahead and set it up, just let me know when the flight is,” he said, “I suppose a visit couldn’t hurt, for now though I’d like to be left with my friends.” Leah smiled at him and nodded.

“I’ll let you know the details,” she said and she stood up and headed for the door. As she passed Tyler though, he could smell that she was anxious and her face gave even more away, she looked almost scared. Tyler furrowed his eyebrows as she left and debated whether or not he should follow her and figure out what was really going on. He pursed his lips and told Kryoz he'd be right back before heading out of the room.

Leah was headed for the elevators and Tyler had to speed up to catch her, slipping into the elevator with her just as the doors were closing. Leah looked at him with big, scared eyes as he reached to press the ground floor button.

“I assume you’re good at your job,” Tyler started, “But if you’ve just lied to my boyfriend, I’d like to know about it.” Leah let out a squeak and spun to look at him.

“He has a boyfriend?” Tyler furrowed his eyebrows.

“That’s what you’re concerned about?” he asked, getting angry, “Not that you’ve just fed him some bullshit about how his parents really care about him. I can tell that they don’t give a shit about him just from how I haven’t heard him speak of them at all in the years I’ve known him. So tell me, what’s really going on?” Leah swore and started picking at her nails, her anxiety growing.

“Look,” she said, her voice higher with how stressed she seemed to be, “I’m just trying to get my job done here, I don’t want anyone to get hurt but Jaren’s parents… they’re powerful, they could make or break everything and if I don’t do what they want me to do…”

“Woah slow down,” Tyler said, “What’s going on?” Leah took a deep breath.

“Jaren’s parents told me to get him to them as soon as possible as soon as they learned he’d presented as an omega,” she said, “And I know I work for them, but they aren’t good people. They’re corrupt and just… they’ll do whatever it takes to get what they want. I- I think they want to use their son as a bargaining chip, to gain more power or something.” Tyler knew his anger was coming off of him in waves but he needed to know more.

“So, that means?”

“They’re basically going to offer him to the highest bidder,” she explained, “Use him to get a rival company to merge with them by offering him to an alpha.” Tyler swallowed and his mind was racing. How could they fight this? By the time the elevator doors opened he had an idea.

“Okay,” he said, walking out of the elevator with Leah and stopping just at the exit of the hospital, “You’re going to do what they say, okay? If they’re as bad as you say they are, I don’t want you getting hurt because you didn’t do what they told you to. Can I see your phone for a second?” Leah nodded and handed her phone to him, “I’m texting my number from your phone so I can let you know what’s going on.”

“But what are you going to do?” Leah asked as Tyler handed her phone back to her.

“Can’t tell you yet,” he said, “But I’ll explain later. Just go along with what they tell you and I’ll take care of the rest.” Leah nodded hesitantly.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she said as she walked out of the building. Tyler took a deep breath and started heading back towards the elevator.

“Honestly, me too.”

≫ ──── ««•◦ ✪ ◦•»» ──── ≪

When he opens the door, Smitty and Kryoz are laughing at something on Kryoz’s phone and Tyler leaned against the doorframe. His heart skipped a beat in a way he’s all too familiar with when he saw the two of them. He took a deep breath in and closed the door behind him as he walked into the room.

“Hey John,” he started off, “Can I talk to Smitty alone please?” Kryoz raised an eyebrow in confusion but nodded, squeezing Smitty’s shoulder before leaving the room. Smitty turned to him expectantly, waiting for him to speak, but Tyler just stared at the omega.

“Ty?” Tyler smiled at him.

“I fucking love you, you know that right?” Smitty smiled at the words but he seemed confused as he reached to take Tyler’s hand.

“You okay?” Tyler swallowed.

“I talked to Leah,” he sighed, “She kind of… broke down? And she told me that your parents are basically evil.” Smitty nodded.

“Yeah,” he sighed, “That checks out.” Tyler furrowed his eyebrows.

“They want to use you,” he said, “Arrange a mating for you to further their company.” Smitty frowned.

“That… that also checks out,” he said, “Man, that fucking sucks.” Tyler nodded.

“I have an idea though,” he said, “I was thinking that well, they legally can’t interfere if you’re mated already so maybe....” Smitty furrowed his eyebrows as he absorbed what Tyler said. Tyler’s heart was beating in his ears, too anxious by what he’d already said to explain further.

“Are you asking to bond with me?” Tyler nodded, “Tyler, just because this is happening, you don’t have to force yourself into…”

“I’m not forcing myself to do anything,” Tyler said, “Honestly I would have asked you to marry me soon had you not presented as an omega. We’ve been together for years and I can’t imagine my life without you with me.” Smitty’s eyes began welling up and he reached up to wipe at his eyes.

“Fucking hormones,” he laughed, voice thick with emotion, “Fuck me.” Smitty bit at his lip and took some slow, deep breaths, “I fucking love you, Tyler,” he said, “And under normal circumstances I would say of course. But I just presented Tyler…” The omega ran a hand over his face, letting out a hollow laugh, “And you’re already asking me to bond with you.” He met Tyler’s gaze, “I’m just overwhelmed right now Ty.” Tyler nods and leans forward to press a kiss to the omega’s forehead.

“Think about it,” he said, “If you’re not ready, we’ll figure something else out.” Smitty nodded and Tyler kissed the back of his hand, “I’m going to go back to the base for a bit, okay? I’m in need of a good shower I think.” Smitty wrinkled his nose.

“I wasn’t going to say anything…” Tyler laughed.

“Shut up asshole.” He walked to the door and opened it, Kryoz right next to the door.

“Are you guys good?” the beta asked and Tyler nodded.

“We’re fine,” he said, “I’m going back to the base for a while, okay?” Kryoz nodded.

“I’ll stay here with him.” Tyler gave Kryoz a hug and the beta stiffened in surprise before hugging back, “Are you sure you’re okay Tyler?”

Tyler nodded. He was okay for now but knew that the next day would be stressful.

≫ ──── ««•◦ ✪ ◦•»» ──── ≪

The second he stepped foot into the lounge, he was met with several questions.

“How’s Smitty doing?”

“Is he awake yet? Is that why you’re here?”

“You didn’t come back because he died, did you?” Tyler brushed off the questions and walked towards Brock, who was towards the back of the crowd that had gathered.

“Hey, can I talk to you?” Brock furrowed his eyebrows but nodded and Tyler led him to their meeting room.

“I have a huge job for you,” Tyler said, “And I doubt it’s going to be easy.” Brock nodded.

“What’s going on?” Tyler gave a brief explanation that the owners and CEOs of Exoma Industries needed to be dealt with, preferably ruined socially and financially. Brock nodded as Tyler explained, “How soon do you need this done?”

“As soon as possible preferably,” Tyler sighed, “They might try coming for one of our own if we don't handle them soon.” Brock nodded.

“I’ll get on it right away then.” Tyler thanked him and left Brock to his work. He ignored everyone else as he headed for his apartment. While all he wanted to do was to collapse on his bed and sleep for the rest of the day, he needed to stay focused.

First things first though, he needed a nice long shower.

≫ ──── ««•◦ ✪ ◦•»» ──── ≪

He didn’t know how long he’d stood under the steaming hot water, but he felt refreshed and ready to take on the world. Or at least take on some shitty people.

Tyler quickly got dressed and before he headed down to the lounge, he checked his phone to make sure he hadn’t missed anything from Smitty or Kryoz. However, he had in fact missed some stuff, according to the seven missed calls from Kryoz and the multiple texts he sent. He furrowed his eyebrows as he quickly skimmed through the texts from Kryoz and he swallowed thickly at what he was reading.

K: they’re releasing Smitt early can you bring some clothes for him

K: uhh nevermind they’re providing clothes

K: his heat is starting sooner than they thought so we gotta leave asap

K: ill bring him back to the base theres not enough time to wait to get picked up

With each text he read, his eyes widened and just as he had finished reading, the door opened and Tyler was immediately punched in the face by the omega scent that he had learned to hate over the last month, but made his mouth water now. It was more intense than it had been before though, so strong it was almost a different scent entirely but Tyler could immediately tell what was happening.

Smitty was going into heat, soon.

“Smitty…” The omega shyly smiled at Tyler.

“Hi,” he said, the door closing behind him before he leaned against it. Tyler couldn’t figure out what was happening anymore.

He could practically hear the increased heartbeat, strong and steady, see the drops of sweat beading on his forehead, could almost feel the heat radiating off of Smitty. He’d never been with an omega in heat so he didn’t know what was alpha instinct and what was because it was just Smitty.

“What’s going on?” Smitty shot him a look.

“I’m sure you can already tell,” he said, “The doctor said my heat would start soon, but uh, we didn’t expect it this quickly.” Tyler swallowed.

“Why-?” His question was cut off by the omega before him rushing towards him and connecting their lips. When Smitty was a beta, kissing him was amazing, but the intensity behind this one, the fact that he was in heat… it was driving Tyler mad. He groaned into the kiss, before pushing the omega away slightly. He could feel his control slipping, so close to his boyfriend… unmated… in heat…

“What’re you doing?” Tyler asked. Smitty took a deep breath in.

“I’ve thought about it,” he said, “You’re right, we’ve been together for more than two years, known each other longer… I can’t imagine myself with anyone but you.” The omega’s hands moved up from their place on Tyler’s shoulders to cup his face. His palms were almost too hot for Tyler to handle, “I love you, so much. I want to bond.”

Those words were all it took to break Tyler’s control, the alpha growling and kissing Smitty roughly and the new omega whimpering in response. The sound only spurred Tyler on to pick Smitty up, supporting his weight as the omega wrapped his arms around Tyler’s neck, and walked towards their bedroom. Tyler kicked the door open and Smitty laughed when the door banged loudly against the wall.

Tyler let Smitty’s feet touch the floor and watched as the omega… his omega… walked over to the bed. He could practically feel Smitty’s nervousness permeating the room and he walked over to Smitty, who had just sat down on the bed, and hooked a finger under his chin and lifted the omega’s gaze so their eyes could meet.

“I need to ask,” Tyler said, knowing he couldn’t go through with this if he didn’t, “You’re absolutely sure about this?” Smitty nodded quickly.

“I’ve honestly never been more sure of anything in my life,” he said, “Just… you know, a whole new first time…” Tyler nodded, understanding exactly what Smitty meant.

“You know how this works, right?” he asked, “Did they teach betas anything about bonding?” Smitty shrugged.

“I mean… the basics,” he said, “The whole knotting and biting while the omega’s in heat.” Tyler nodded and Smitty grimaced, “Is it… is it gonna hurt?” Tyler shook his head.

“If it’s done properly, and I’m going to make sure it is for us, it won’t hurt a bit,” he promised, pressing a kiss to Smitty’s forehead, “I’m going to grab the water from the closet quickly, okay?” Smitty nodded and Tyler stepped back and turned around, heading for the closet where they kept a case of water for when Tyler’s rut hit. Looks like they’d need to add another to the stock now that Smitty was an omega.

He picked the case of water up and set it outside the closet, against the wall, before closing the door and looking back towards the bed. In the short time Tyler hadn’t been paying attention, it seemed that Smitty had grown more comfortable with what was happening, his clothes thrown to the floor, eyes closed, hand slowly stroking his cock. Tyler growled at the sight and Smitty’s eyes opened, pupils already blown, and Tyler could tell that his heat was intensifying.

Letting out another deep growl, Tyler stalked towards the bed, shedding his own clothes on the way. Their lips connected and Tyler began coaxing the omega further up onto the bed. Once Smitty was comfortably laid down on the bed, Tyler sat back on his haunches between the omega’s spread legs. Tyler hoped that this part would ease Smitty’s nervousness all that bit more, as it wasn’t much different from their sex before. He moved so that he was hovering over Smitty, kissing the omega’s lips and trailing teasing bites down his neck, relishing in the beautiful whimpers Smitty let out. As he moved back up the connect their lips, he reached down to circle Smitty’s rim, the omega letting out soft mewls at the touch. Tyler nipped at the omega’s bottom lip as he slid one finger in.

Tyler worked Smitty open until he could feel the omega begin to relax, letting his new biology take over. Tyler smiled into their kiss before breaking it and pulling out his fingers, the omega pouting at the loss of contact.

“Ty…” Smitty whined and Tyler just rolled his eyes.

“Don’t even start,” Tyler said, “You know we’re not fucking done.” Smitty just continued pouting but he swallowed at the reminder, and Tyler frowned at that, “Hey, I’ll take good care of you,” he said, resting one of his hands on Smitty’s hip, rubbing circles into the skin, “You know that, right?” Smitty nodded, “Good, you don’t need me to talk you through the process, do you?” Tyler teased and Smitty scoffed and softly kicked at Tyler.

“Fucking- no!” Smitty said, blushing and Tyler laughed.

“Okay then,” he said.

With a shiver, Smitty’s eyes closed and he whimpered.

“Ty…” he gasped, “Ty, please…” Given the quick change, Tyler knew that they couldn’t keep bantering, Smitty’s heat was settling in and he wasn’t about to let his soon to be bondmate suffer. He lifted Smitty’s hips and the omega hooked his legs around the alpha’s back. Tyler kept one hand on Smitty’s hip while the other took hold of his cock to line it up. He slowly pushed in, watching Smitty’s face carefully to make sure he was okay. Of course, he didn’t have much to worry about as Smitty’s heat was making him crave this exact feeling. The omega gasped out as Tyler continued to go agonizingly slow until he bottomed out, pausing for a second before beginning to thrust. Smitty’s mewls with each thrust were music to Tyler’s ears as they found their rhythm, pace building as desperation and pheromones took their minds over.

Smitty was overwhelmed in the best way, the intensity of sex while in heat was incredible. His instincts still screamed for a knot but he was content to enjoy the feeling for now.

It didn’t take long for either of them. Tyler’s knot grew with each thrust, shallower and shallower as it grew, rubbing oh so beautifully against Smitty’s prostate, milking him to orgasm. Smitty’s vision whited out for a second and he expected the relief to set in, but started to get anxious when it didn’t, he just… needed more. He let out a whine on instinct and Tyler shushed him, shifting the two of them so that he was leaning over the omega, kissing along his neck.

“S’okay babe,” he grunted, against the omega’s heated skin, “You’ll get a knot soon.” Sure enough, Tyler’s knot popped after a couple more thrusts and the alpha bit down at the crook of Smitty’s neck.

Both of them saw stars as a connection formed, vines of emotions tangled and twisted together, every fiber of their being aware of the other in every way possible, the connection intertwining into a beautiful bond that tied their souls together.

Smitty shivered as his body finally felt relief, his instincts satiated by the knot locking him and his alpha together. Tyler kept his teeth right where they were as he experienced what he could only describe as heaven. He’d never experienced knotting an omega and knotting Smitty was something he’d only dreamt of. They took their time to calm down, letting their visions clear as Tyler pumped wave after wave of come into Smitty.

Finally, Tyler relaxed his jaw and let go of the skin of Smitty’s neck, lifting his head to examine the bite. It was deep just as a mating mark should be, red, bloody, and kinda ugly at the moment, but Tyler’s heart skipped a beat when he looked at it and he smiled softly, pressing kisses around the area. Smitty sighed at the feeling of his alpha’s kisses pressed to his throat, even slightly alleviating the dull throb of the bite on his neck. He opened his eyes when the kisses stopped, looking up into the sky blue eyes he adored and he sighed again, completely content. He smiled smugly, happy, knowing that no one could do a damn thing to keep them apart now, and Tyler smiled and kissed his omega, feeling his happiness and the reason behind it through their fresh bond.

“So,” Smitty said quietly, “How long are we gonna be stuck like this?” To emphasize his point he clenched around Tyler’s knot and the alpha groaned.

“Fuck,” he swore, “You little fucking shit...” Smitty just laughed.

“Seriously, how long?” Tyler paused for a moment.

“Maybe another ten minutes?” Tyler said. Smitty nodded before reaching up to pull Tyler down to kiss him. He was perfectly content to spend the next ten minutes like this.

≫ ──── ««•◦ ✪ ◦•»» ──── ≪

Once Tyler’s knot went down and they were able to leave the bed, Tyler took Smitty to their en suite to treat the bite, knowing that it was important to take care of a fresh mating bite. Once the bite was cleaned and covered by gauze (and fuck, Tyler’s inner alpha was fucking pissed about having it covered. He wanted every damn alpha to know that Smitty was his fucking dammit) they went back to their bed and burrowed under the covers, nestling into each other’s arms and relaxing, finally, for the first time in weeks. And as much as Tyler wanted to stay like that for the entirety of Smitty’s heat, there were things that needed to be done.

“Babe?” Tyler said gently, brushing hair out of the omega’s eyes, “We need to talk about some stuff.” Smitty pouted and Tyler chuckled lightly, “It has to do with your parents, it kinda can’t wait.” Smitty groaned and lifted himself up, leaning on his elbows.

“I know,” he sighed, “Just sucks that they even had to get involved.” He ran one hand over his face, before grumbling, “I should really make sure they aren’t my emergency contacts anymore.” Tyler snorted.

“They can’t do anything now though,” he said, “We’re bonded. Like I said before, they legally can’t interfere.” Smitty shook his head.

“They don’t care about if they can legally or not,” he said, “If they want something, they’ll do whatever they have to to get what they want.”

“That’s why I talked to Brock,” Tyler said, “He’s going to be doing some hacking to ruin your parents financially and leak some things to ruin them socially.” Smitty was quiet for a bit before nodding.

“That could work.” Tyler smiled and wrapped his arm around Smitty, pulling down so he was on top of him and he kissed him. Smitty let out a squeak before laughing and kissing him back.

“It’ll work,” Tyler said once the kiss was broken, “And if it doesn’t, we’ll figure something else out. They won’t get to you.” Smitty smiled and burrowed his nose into Tyler’s neck, inhaling his alpha’s scent for the first time.

They had some time before Smitty’s heat picked up again, but until then they were going to enjoy being together like this.

Neither of them had any doubt that they’d get through to the other end of the bullshit.