Chapter Text
They stay like that, wrapped up in each other for many minutes, until Jude’s scent starts to sweeten ever so slightly, and Jobe can feel the tears drying. The omega slowly pulls back, bringing a hand up to quickly, roughly wipe his eyes and nose with the sleeve of his wet jersey. Jobe observes as Jude opens his mouth, closes it, then opens it again, until the omega clears his throat, breaking the silence between them.
“Jobe, would you… come back to the team hotel…? For just tonight.. I just- I thought- I might… never mind…” he trails off, eyes moving sporadically and scent reverting, turning so salty it’s making Jobe’s eyes water. He places a hand on Jude’s shoulder, waiting for the omega to look at him.
“Jude, of course I will,” he says firmly, hand squeezing reassuringly. “I get it, mate. I get it.” And he did; he understood from a footballer’s perspective, of course, but also through the scent Jude was exuding, through the many instances he’d seen Jude destroyed over a loss over the years. He’s seen how he beats himself up, how he cowers from the noise of the media and rages at himself for not having done better, been better.
Jude looks up at him, and his lips are pressed in a tight line, eyebrows jittering with the strength at which he’s trying to prevent them from turning upwards, to try and hold the flood of emotions back, and his scent suddenly becomes extremely withheld, which, truly, impresses Jobe immensely after everything that’s happened today. Jobe tries to smile, but he doesn’t think it fully reaches his eyes, and then Jude pulls fully away.
“I have to go to recovery… shit, I probably need to do media too and- fuck this, fuck it all,” he says as he puts his face in his hands, fingers digging harshly into the dried sweat. A big, stuttering breath is pulled in and released all at once. He suddenly removes his hands, stares at Jobe, and then latches onto the younger boy, nose going back to Jobe’s scent gland. Jobe stands still, letting his brother try and calm himself, rubbing and moving reassuringly and trying to release as calming pheromones as possible despite everything. In less than 10 seconds, Jude is pulling away again, shaking himself off. He nods at Jobe, “Grab mum and dad and I’ll meet you at your car. We can go to the team hotel, but I don’t think mum and dad can stay… but I’m sure you could for the night. Tomorrow will just be recovery so…” he trails off once again, taking in a deep breath. Jobe only nods in response.
“Do you want to call Erling or…” Jobe looks at his brother expectantly, but Jude cringes away and shakes his head vigorously.
“No- I- I can’t. Yet. Tomorrow…maybe,” he says, but the look in his eyes is utterly unconvincing. Jobe knows that if Jude doesn’t pick up the phone tonight when Erling inevitably calls, then the alpha would also end up calling the entire family trying to get to his mate. Hell, he might even fly back across the world to get to Jude after a loss like this.
“Jude…” Jobe edges, his face clearly concerned.
“Shut up, I know. Fuck,” and his face is back in his hands again, shoulders tightly held near his ears. He breathes out and lowers them. “I’ll handle it. Just- not right now, please, Jobe?” And what is Jobe supposed to say or do when he asks him so nicely? Despite the fact he’s probably going to have to deal with a hovering blonde alpha until Jude decides to pick up his goddamn phone (which, he decides, because it’s Erling, is far worse than dealing with Jude after a loss like this).
“Okay Jude, okay,” he says placatingly, holding his brother's wrist, still trying to lightly scent him. Jude nods and tries to smile gratefully and squeezes his hand.
“So just- get mum and dad, yeah? I probably… I have to go back now.” He eyes the door to the room they’ve hidden themselves away in, starting to make steps toward it. Jobe’s alpha bristles at the idea of Jude going back out into that environment, but he understands that it’s not about what his alpha wants but what Jude needs, even though what Jude needs is exactly what goes left unsaid.
The first time Jude suffered a serious loss was the final of the 2020 Euros. Despite his limited number of minutes, Jude had created a bond with the England pack throughout the tournament. The emotions of the team and each performance affected him greatly, and Jobe watched as his brother, only 18, who had yet to fully build up the walls he now utilizes for protection, became more and more emotionally invested and vulnerable, letting the pressures creep up and whisper into his ears.
He was so proud of his brother throughout that tournament. He and their parents stayed in a separate hotel from the Three Lions, but almost every day the team would drive Jude to their hotel so he could breathe in the scents of his family - something key to an omega still fresh from presenting. Also, it was very well known that carrying the scents of loved ones, whether you were an omega or an alpha, helped greatly boost performances and clarity. Their hotel would suddenly burst with chocolatey warmth the minute Jude got back from recovery and media. He would bound over to Jobe, holding his brother tightly even as Jobe tried to pretend like he was doing too much. Jobe would try to toss Jude off of him, but despite being a newly presented alpha, Jude was still older and unfortunately, still larger and stronger.
In all honesty, Jobe’s alpha utilized these playfights as moments to spread his scent onto Jude, using each brush of their scent glands as a way to mark Jude to try to protect him from the players and other alphas that he knew were much older, stronger, and experienced. Jobe couldn’t help his alpha from feeling somewhat threatened by the thought that such a young and sweet omega like Jude was being shoved and tackled so aggressively on the daily (when really, it was Jude who was normally the aggressive one, but that didn’t seem to matter to Jobe). So, in these moments, when Jude was ecstatic and simply oozing happy, chocolatey, fresh-baked cookie scent, Jobe saw no reason not to attempt to mix his happy cinnamon spice in with it, and Jude never seemed to care and, if anything, was too happy to indulge him.
But after the final, Jude’s entrance into their hotel brought with him the scent of an extremely salted ocean and burnt chocolate. Their mum and dad had gone out to get food and bring it back to the hotel for Jobe - knowing that the time Jude would arrive would depend on how much time the pack took to lightly discuss the loss and recover from the game. Normally, they hoped that Jude was able to pick up the pieces on his own, that they could simply be there to support him when he needed to lean, rather than take the whole weight for him.
But Jobe had quickly understood that’s clearly not what was going to happen after this loss. His eyes immediately watered from the smell of Jude opening the door, grief and sorrow so heavy that it immediately felt like something heavy was placed on Jobe’s chest, making it difficult to breathe.
“Jude?” He wheezed, waiting for Jude to come into the room. He listened intently as the door closed softly and soft footsteps padded gently on the carpet of the hotel floor.
He sat up from his place on one of the beds, putting his phone down where he’d been mindlessly scrolling. “Jude?” he asked again as he finally saw the older boy fully walk into the room, hoodie up and face scrunched up and looking down. He watched as Jude made his way to the nest in the middle of the hotel floor, lowering himself gently so as not to stir anything up and curling up in a ball along the outer edge, furthest from Jobe. Jude said nothing.
And that in itself was abnormal. Jude, even after losses, always had something to say. He would shout angrily or cry about how it was unfair or how he could have done this or that, and the cycle would continue until he got over it. But this was different. Jobe had never seen this before, and he felt his alpha reacting.
It was clawing at his chest, asking why Jobe hadn’t moved to clearly comfort the omega in immense distress or questioned angrily who had made Jude feel this way. It shoved him forwards, and Jobe scrambled to join Jude in the nest in an attempt to maybe comfort or talk to him, but he was quickly stopped by a threatening hiss. The hood had fallen off Jude’s head in the older’s quick movement to posture himself aggressively to ward Jobe off, and Jobe could finally analyze his face.
It was blotchy and red, and Jobe quickly understood that his brother had clearly been crying, which he’d hardly seen Jude do after the age of 13. Then he saw the way his brother’s lips were pulled back and shoulders hunched, clearly defensive, and his alpha instinctually knew to back off, even though Jobe had never seen something like this before. At his retreat, Jude relaxed minutely.
Observing this, Jobe moved slower. His alpha was making low rumbles in his chest, which were actually quite high, seeing as he wasn’t anywhere near being a mature alpha yet, and that seemed to make Jude tense back up again, inching closer to the outer edge of the nest as if he wasn’t already right up against it, but he didn’t hiss, and didn’t bare his teeth. Jobe saw this as slightly comforting, proceeding to step one socked foot and then another into the nest, slowly getting on his knees. Jude remained where he was, eyeing him warily.
Jobe inched ever so carefully forwards, scent pumping out all kinds of calming pheromones into the air to the point where he was even starting to smell himself intermixed with the bitterness of the air. It was only a few moments later when Jobe was finally within touching distance of Jude that the omega seemed to give in, so tired from trying to keep it together, trying to seem so, so strong, and defend himself with a mask. His omega recognized then that Jobe was not a threat; he was not an alpha who would try and hurt Jude; no, he was family. Jobe watched in worry as Jude seemed to crumble, and he moved quickly to try and gather his older brother in his arms.
“Jude? It’s okay, Jude, I promise it’s okay,” he said even as his voice wobbled, young arms trying their best to support Jude’s weight. The older buried himself aggressively into Jobe’s neck, forgetting how much bigger he was than Jobe and toppling him over. “Whoa!” Jobe exclaimed as the air was suddenly knocked out of him once more, and he gripped onto Jude harshly as the omega attached himself to Jobe.
After a few minutes of just resting there, Jobe staring dazedly up at the ceiling as the older omega’s weight crushed him, he felt Jude slowly pull back. His scent was much calmer now, still bitter with burnt chocolate, but notes of brown sugar were finally beginning to seep through.
“Jobe…are you…uhm?”
“Yeah, mate, still alive,” Jobe tried to joke. It didn’t really land, and Jude kicked him harshly. “Ow!”
“Shut up,” the older growled, eyes narrowed.
“Sorry,” He said meekly. Jude pulled back even more until he was finally looking at Jobe, and he plopped himself down next to the alpha, eyes lowered to their legs.
“No… I- I’m sorry, Jobey.” Jobe heard Jude’s voice crack on the words. “I didn’t mean to- to lose my head like that. Normally it’s okay… but this- this game. Fuck it was so shit- I can’t- if only I had-” and he really started to sound like he was going to cry then. Jobe’s alpha couldn’t handle it. He let out a real growl, angered at Jude’s self-disappointment, and watched as Jude’s eyes widened in surprise and his body tensed.
“Jude. It’s not your fault.” He grabbed Jude’s shoulder, trying to put him at ease, but gripping harder than he meant. He lightened the touch at Jude’s wince. “There was nothing more you could have done in this tournament. I’m so proud of you, mum is so proud of you, dad is so proud of you, anyone that means anything is so, so proud of you, mate. Don’t put yourself down. You helped the team in every way you could. You lost your head, that's okay- I do that all the time; it happens. You don’t have to pretend with me, Jude.” He tried to project as much pride into his scent as he could.
“I- I know. I-”
“Don’t say you’re sorry, Jude.” Jobe glared. Jude quickly shut his mouth and nodded.
“Can I… I need… can we just… scent until mum and dad get back? I just need to…” He looked nervous, and Jobe realized that ever since he became an alpha and Jude moved away, they hadn’t scented each other in a nest like this since they were pups. Jobe’s alpha purred with satisfaction at the fact that it was able to give this to Jude, to help the omega and protect him from his own head.
“Of course, Jude,” a real smile pulled across his face as he tried to get his brother closer.
“Such a smug fucking alpha,” Jude rolled his eyes and punched Jobe lightly. Jobe winced mockingly.
“You’re the one who wanted to scent me, so…” he pointed out. He watched as Jude turned slightly redder.
“Shut up,” he said, tackling Jobe, shoving his face where his cinnamon smell is strongest.
“Are all omegas this demanding, or is it just-” a hand cut him off, slapping tightly around his mouth as Jude pushed himself further into Jobe’s neck and groaned in annoyance.
“Didn’t I tell you to shut up?” Jude mumbled into his neck, and Jobe let out a light laugh, holding his brother close, relief flooding him as his alpha finally eased, knowing that Jude was safe now, as long as Jobe was there to hold him.
They stayed like that for a long time, and Jobe tried to give everything Jude needed. When their parents came back from their food run, Jobe was finally released from Jude’s tight grip and ate with their dad while their mother took his place. They all huddled in the nest (Jude growling when Jobe tried to exit), and their mother cooed at Jude lightly, holding him tightly as their two omegas purred together in comfort.
Now, after the two of them had come together, Jobe understood exactly what Jude needed from him, what he was asking from all of them after this loss tonight. His alpha still paced in his chest, antsy and worried for Jude having to face not only the critic in his head but the critics of the media, of (fucking) Tuchel, and the rest of the team. He watches as Jude leaves, and it’s like his alpha cries out in anguish.
He exits the room shortly after Jude and is purposeful with his walk, being careful not to be seen to avoid being pulled aside to discuss the altercation with the Argentinian players (which, although he doesn’t regret it, he now sees as something he is definitely going to face criticism for later). He quickly finds the family exit and finds his parents huddled together on a bench, looking like they’re talking in low whispers.
He informs them of what Jude asked of him, and they agree quickly, knowing how important it is that all of them try to be there for Jude, and Jobe’s alpha swells at the love and bond he has with his family, knowing that he’s taking care of Jude and doing what he asked. They sit, waiting, for around an hour, which is quite usual for post-match duties, and Jude looks a lot fresher, still carrying with him an air of gloom and with his hood up over his face, but still cleaner, not as raw as he was on the pitch or right after. Jude has gotten a lot better at concealing what’s under the surface as he’s grown up, and a part of it tugs on Jobe’s heartstrings at having to see it.
As they get into the car intended for only Jobe, their mum, and dad, Jude knocks himself into Jobe’s shoulder and tries to smile. Jobe smiles back. None of them say anything, knowing that the silence is what Jude needs. He needs their scents of pride and their unwavering support as they sit beside him, a single unit. Jobe sits on one side of Jude while their mother sits on the other in the backseat. They both take hold of Jude’s wrists, sharing scents. Jude’s tension and the face he tries to put on relax noticeably. He is slowly lowering his pinched expression and tight shoulders in the safety of this backseat, where it starts to smell like honey, cinnamon, and warm-baked cookies, a scent like coming home to sweet, sweet dessert, and Jobe smiles as Jude finally lets himself melt.