Chapter Text
Bill hung up the phone and wearily rubbed his eyes. If misbehavior was a right of passage, then his boy officially crossed the threshold into teenage territory. Not just teenage territory, but alpha teenage territory. As far as Bill was concerned, there was nothing worse than young hormonal alphas. He hauled himself up and made his way to Holden's desk. He stood for a moment, waiting to see if his mate would notice him standing there, but he had headphones on and was intent on the interview. Finally Bill tapped him on the shoulder.
Holden started, quickly glancing up, then away and pulling off the headphones. “Sorry.”
“Brian's school called. He's gotten himself into trouble fighting with another boy,” Bill said without preamble. “It's official, he's a young alpha.”
Holden looked mildly concerned. “Is he OK?”
“Yeah, just in trouble. I need to go down and talk to the principle.”
“I can go, if you need to stay here,” Holden offered, still looking uncertain. “What happened?”
Bill shrugged. “There are many scenarios that have occurred to me. No, I'll go. He's probably hoping for the good cop.” He patted Holden's shoulder. “A little disappointment won't hurt him.”
Bill didn't feel particularly concerned, just mildly aggravated. He couldn't claim he had been any better as a kid, and for the most part Brian wasn't an unreasonable teenager. In fact, Bill couldn't help but feel they had gotten off lightly so far. Fifteen wasn't an easy age for an alpha when they hadn't developed full control over their instincts.
He made his way through the school to the office. A final bell rang sending the few students in the halls scurrying to their classrooms. He caught sight of his son upon entering the office. He was sitting looking angry next to a smaller blond boy. Bill caught a whiff of angry alpha and distressed omega. Omega, well that explains it.
Some of Brian's defiant posture dropped when he saw Bill, proving his assumption correct that he had been hoping to see Holden come walking through the door. Bill tamped down his inward amusement and gave the boy a stern look.
The principle, Mr. Mears, motioned for Bill to step inside his office sans boy. “Thanks for coming, please have a seat.”
Bill sat down piecing together two likely scenarios. Brian had either entered into a territorial scuffle with another alpha over the omega, or he had been defending the omega from a perceived threat. “What happened?”
“Brian was fighting with another boy in the parking lot at lunch. Obviously, we don't allow fighting on school property, and none of them were supposed to be outside.”
“What about the little omega?” Bill asked, wanting the full story from another adult.
“Ah, well, he was there too. It seems that Brian felt he was defending him from the other boy.” He studied Bill for a moment. “To be honest, this isn't uncommon with alpha students, and Brian is better behaved than most. I don't personally believe he would have started the fight, if the omega hadn't been there.”
“It's a story as old as time,” Bill remarked. “I remember being that age.”
“Unfortunately, rules are rules, and he'll be suspended for three days.” He watched Bill carefully, as if expecting him to object.
Bill understood. No matter the mitigating circumstances, the school couldn't let it's alpha students run wild. They had to learn to control their behavior. “I'll have a talk with him.”
“I called you and not his mother, since Brian said he was staying with you this week.”
“You did the right thing. It's better if I talk with him alpha to alpha anyway.” Bill's mouth quirked up into a small smile. “I think he was hoping my mate would be the one to show up.” This drew a chuckle from Mr. Mears.
“We'll see him back in three days, and hopefully there will be no more of this.”
“I'll talk to him,” Bill promised again.
“Ready to go, son?” Bill asked, he paused glancing at the omega who was sitting hunched and nervous. “Who's your friend?”
The question seemed to catch Brian off guard. “Oh, uh, this is Sam. Sam, this is my Dad.”
Sam looked up, not quite meeting his gaze, but more forward than Holden. “Hi, sir.” His voice was quiet, and Bill could tell he was uncomfortable.
“Nice to meet you, Sam.” Bill kept his voice gentle before turning his attention back to his son. “Come on,” he directed in a sterner voice.
Brian looked torn for a moment, knowing he had to go with Bill, but not wanting to leave Sam. Finally he stood and followed his father out. Bill didn't say anything until they were in the car. “You've been suspended for three days.”
“But, Dad! They were picking on Sam!” Brian strenuously objected.
Bill sighed inwardly. Of course they were. “What were you doing outside?”
Brian fell suspiciously silent. “Do you want me to guess? Let's see... you were where you weren't supposed to be with Sam who is an omega--” Brian squirmed. “Away from the prying eyes of teachers...” Bill went on. He glanced at his son who was looking increasingly uncomfortable.
“It wasn't like that! We weren't...doing anything bad,” Brian finally broke in. He seemed to struggle to come up with a reasonable explanation. “Don't you want to have time alone with Holden?”
That's what you come up with? You're digging yourself a hole, kid. “Yes, that's why we're going to sit down and talk when I get home from work tonight.”
“No, that's not what I meant!” He flailed.
“What did you mean then?” Bill asked reasonably.
“Just, you know...wanting talk and stuff.”
“And stuff?” He glanced over at Brian again who was staring at his sneakers. “We'll talk about this tonight. I have to go back in to work. Can I still trust you here alone?”
Now Brian looked mildly offended. “Of course. Dad, I don't just pick fights with people, Sam --”
“Tonight, Brian.”
* * *
“Is everything OK?” Wendy asked from where she was standing by Holden's desk.
“Oh, my son the alpha found himself a little friend and got in a fight with another kid who was trying to bully him,” Bill explained wearily.
“Oh, well that's not so bad,” Holden said. “It's understandable at least.”
“And this is why I went to go pick him up and not you. Yes, it's understandable, but he shouldn't be immediately resorting to his fists, and none of it would have happened if they had been where they were fucking supposed to be at the time.” Bill glanced at his watch. “I'm going to need to stay late tonight and play catch up.”
“I can get dinner started,” Holden offered. “Make sure the kids haven't burned the house down.”
“Thank you.”
* * *
Brian sat on the sofa with his notebook on his knee and his geometry book sitting next to him. He had already found himself in one mess today, and it wouldn't hurt to make a better impression with his homework. His sister was watching a cartoon and peacefully drawing, and he easily tuned out the noise from the TV. He had other distractions. His knuckles were sore from where his fist had connected with Eddie's face. He tried to ignore it and not think too hard about what happened. It would just make him angry, and his parents could smell his moods.
He looked up as the door opened and Holden appeared. Emily sat up. “Daddy, Bree invited me to spend the night on Friday. Can I?”
“Is it OK with Bree's Mom?” Holden asked, setting his bag down and toeing off his shoes.
“Yes.”
“Well, you'll have to ask your Dad too, but it should be OK.” He smiled and turned his attention to Brian. “Homework?”
Brian held up the text book. “Geometry. I'm almost finished.” Since they worked together, he was positive his Dad had told Holden what had happened at school.
“Your Dad's going to be a little late tonight, so I'm going to get dinner started.” He picked up his shoes and disappeared to go change out of the suit that made him look so proper. He reappeared a few minutes later in a sweatshirt and jeans and headed for the kitchen.
Brian finished up his geometry homework and slipped his books back into his backpack. Not that he would need it for a few days. Part of him wanted to avoid parental attention when he knew he was probably on thin ice. Part of him hoped to win at least one of them to his side.
He wandered out to the kitchen to find Holden turning water on to boil and heating up sauce. He dug through the drawer with the spices and considered several options to doctor the jarred sauce. He half turned to acknowledge Brian's presence. “I heard you had an exciting day.”
“I got in a fight with another kid, but he was bullying an omega,” Brian explained, his voice coming out more petulant than he had intended.
“Sam? I think that's what your Dad said his name was?”
Brian nodded. “Yeah. He's really nice, would never bother anyone. They were just being jerks.” Jerk wasn't the word he really wanted to use, but didn't want to press his luck with bad language.
“Unfortunately, some people are like that, but that doesn't mean you can go around fighting them. Fighting at school is usually a good way to get yourself into trouble.” He caught sight of Brian's expression. “Even if you think you have good cause,” He added.
“Like Dad wouldn't protect you,” Brian complained.
“Of course he would but, that doesn't mean fists have to be involved. And I am a grown man - I'm not helpless,” Holden gently reminded his son.
“But Sam isn't! He's a lot smaller than you,” he protested, thinking the better of disagreeing with Holden's assertion regarding himself. He was aware enough to know that Holden was sensitive about how people regarded his status.
“Do you know what I did at the FBI before I met your dad?” Holden asked, stirring the pasta sauce. When he didn't receive a response, he continued. “I was a hostage negotiator.”
Brian had some recollection of being told this in the past. He tried to picture Holden like one of the guys in the cop shows on TV, but he had a hard time seeing it. Holden was the smartest person Brian knew, but he wasn't a tough guy.
“I used to teach classes on it. Do you know what the number one objective is in that situation?”
“Uh, to rescue the hostages?” Brian said, not sure where Holden was going.
“No body bags. No one dies – not the hostage taker or the hostages. I had trouble getting my students to take that seriously. They always assumed their guns would fix whatever situation they might find themselves in.”
“OK...what does that have to do with what happened at school?”
Holden sighed. “You don't always have to use force. There are other ways to deescalate a situation.” He turned towards Brian, studying him. “You've grown a lot. Most kids are going to find you intimidating enough without you wailing on them.”
Holden turned back to the stove where the pasta water had finally decided to boil. He dumped a box of spaghetti into the pot. “Go get your sister to help set the table.” He directed.
“Hey, Em! We have to set the table!” Brian called into the living room where his little sister was watching TV. She bounced up and came trotting in, standing on tip toe next to Holden to see into the sauce pan.
“Spaghetti?” She asked her father.
“Yep. It seemed like a safe bet.” Holden smiled, willing to accept the fact that Bill was better in the kitchen. “Now, help your brother.”
Brian handed her down the plates and carried the glasses in himself. Emily set down the plates with exaggerated care before skipping off to dig place mats and napkins out of the drawer. He was still stewing over the unfairness of the situation. Rationally he understood what Holden had said, in fact, it made sense. However, Brian wasn't in the mood to be sensible. Other kids had tried to make Sam feel like shit, and that was not OK. As far as Brian was concerned, a bloody nose was only half of what Eddie Walkins deserved.
He heard a key turn in the lock and Emily's squeal as she pelted to the door. Brian sighed. His father hadn't been that angry when he picked him up, but he knew it was far from over. The rise and fall of his sister's higher pitched voice and the lower rumble of his father's drifted closer.
“Did Bree's Mom say it was alright?” Bill asked.
“Yeah, and so did Daddy.”
“I don't see why not. Hi son,” Bill greeted him, Emily promptly running off to the kitchen to share the good news regarding the Friday night sleep over. He looked tired, and Brian felt a pang of guilt for causing him to have to stay late.
“Hi Dad.”
Lacking anything better to do, Brian wandered after his father into the kitchen. Bill hugged Holden from behind. “Thanks for getting dinner together.”
“It's no problem.” He turned his head for a quick kiss and then went back to wrangling the pasta. Brian had always found his parents' easy affection comforting. He knew Holden wasn't going anywhere. This was a family unit that would hold together, and the feeling of stability helped keep the worst of his anxiety at bay.
“What did you do in school today?” His father asked Emily over dinner, and Brian breathed a sigh of relief that the attention wasn't on his earlier misadventure.
“We had art class today, and when they dry, Mrs. Woodhouse is going to hang our paintings up in the classroom,” Emily happily offered. His sister was a talker, and Brian was depending on her to keep the conversation going. Unfortunately, not even his sister's chatter could save him from Holden's curiosity.
“So Brian, tell us about Sam,” Holden prompted, humor tugging at lips.
Brian heaved a sigh. “He's a junior, and in band. He plays the trumpet – he can also play piano. He's really good at music.” He started to warm to the subject despite himself, feeling a little glow in his belly at the thought of the omega boy. “His family moved here last year.”
Emily was watching him with interest. “Is he your boyfriend?”
“Yes, do you just like him? Or do you like him like him?” Holden asked, clearly teasing him now.
Brian rolled his eyes. “Holden.”
“I want to know too,” his father chimed in. “So are you dating or just wanting to date him?”
Brian stared down at the remains of his pasta feeling his face flush. “We're together, I guess, but we haven't gone anywhere. Just hung out at school and band practice.” He looked up hopefully. “I was hoping to maybe go to the movies or something with him.”
“Don't forget, you're still in trouble,” Bill said, squashing his son's hopes for a date sometime in the near future.
Brian huffed in frustration. “But --”
“We're still having that talk tonight,” Bill went on.
“It's not a permanent 'no'.” Holden broke in. “But we'll have to discuss some things, OK? An alpha and an omega dating isn't the same as two betas.”
Brian was willing to seize the glimmer of hope Holden held out, but he was still dreading talking to his father. He still didn't know how much trouble he was in exactly. Neither Holden or his father smelled angry, but there was no way they were just going to let a three day suspension slide. And as for the rest... talking about sex with either of his parents was fairly mortifying.
After dinner Brian attempted to sneak off to his bedroom, but he didn't even make it down the hall before his father called him back. “Damn,” he muttered to himself, before turning and slinking back. Realizing there would be no escaping the inevitable, he sat down at the now cleared dining room table across from his father. Holden and Emily had absconded to the living room.
“Two things,” his father began. “First, about today. Walk me through what happened.”
“Uh, OK. We just wanted a few minutes alone – to talk and stuff without all the betas around. Most of them are cool, but there's some that don't understand. It was lunch, so we snuck out to this spot near the parking lot where there aren't any windows, and no one can see you. Only Sam got there first. A few other kids, betas, snuck out too to smoke and were giving him a hard time. Calling him really nasty names.” Anger flared at the memory.
“Take a deep breath, son.”
Brian did so, and continued. “So I told them to back off, and gave Eddie a bloody nose. But a teacher was walking by and saw, so we all got called into the office. Do you have to tell Mom?”
“Yes. Now, ignoring for a moment that none of you were supposed to be outside at lunch, what could you have done differently?”
“There's no way I could let them bully Sam, and Eddie deserved it,” Brian protested.
“I didn't say to let them bully Sam. How could you have handled the situation differently?”
“Get between them and Sam and tell them to back off without hitting anybody,” Brian finally forced out, crossing his arms defensively.
“Exactly. And it doesn't matter if this kid deserved it or not. You can't go around hitting every idiot you meet. If you start having enough disciplinary problems, the school won't let you play on the soccer team. As an adult, if you punch someone in the face, you can be charged with assault. Your actions have consequences, and not just for you. When you use your status as an excuse for your behavior, it reflects badly on all alphas. We have a reputation that isn't always deserved.” He fell silent, studying Brian.
“What if someone was giving Holden a hard time?” This tactic hadn't worked with Holden, but he was hoping it might with his fellow alpha father.
“I've never had to punch someone over Holden. A little bit of posturing and no nonsense attitude is enough to make most people think twice. Besides, he doesn't want to be treated like a damsel in distress. There's a difference between supporting someone and trying to fight all their battles for them. I'm glad you want to step up and protect those who are weaker, but there's a way to do that. Understand?”
Brian nodded. “It just pisses me off.”
“Of course it does. It should. That's not the problem. The problem is control. Remember I said before, back when you first presented that being an alpha came with responsibility? This is that responsibility. Your instincts say to find a mate and fight for them, but we aren't living in caves anymore. You have to work with your instincts and be smart about it. Count to ten before you react, and think about your actions.”
“OK. I'm sorry you had to leave work and come out to the school.” He uncrossed his arms and pushed the dark hair back from his face.
“Number two,” Bill began.
“Oh no,” Brian groaned.
“Oh yes. That 'stuff' you and Sam were doing that wasn't talking...”
Brian squirmed. “It wasn't anything bad! It's not like we were...” He made a face. “Do we really need to talk about this? I know where babies come from – I have a little sister,” He pointed out.
Bill ignored him and continued. “You found an omega, and he's cute and smells nice, and it makes you want to do stuff. Brian, look at me. If you care about Sam, you will not saddle him with a baby before he finishes high school. Let him get his diploma, so he has options in life.”
“I wouldn't do that!” Brian insisted. He wanted kids some day, but not now. “Besides, doesn't he have to be in heat?”
“Noooo, he doesn't. It's a lot less likely. The conception rate when an omega is in heat is incredibly high. Outside of heat, it's low, but low is not never. It does happen from time to time, usually to people who thought they were safe, because they weren't in heat. Is Sam on birth control?”
“Uh, I don't know? It hasn't come up?” Brian couldn't imagine blurting that question out to someone he had just started seeing.
“If he isn't on birth control, then you have to keep it in your pants.” His father's voice truly stern for the first time.
“Uh, Dad,” Brian protested covering his face with his hands in embarrassment.
“If you'd rather, you can sit down with Holden and have this conversation. He'll use bigger words and will take twice as long,” Bill offered. Brian quickly shook his head.
“Also, unless you want to ensure you bond with him, you have to keep it in your pants. Sex will speed up the physiological process of bonding. Bonding is for life. Holden is my mate for the rest of our lives. Think about that.”
Curiosity warred with embarrassment. “Dad, how did you know Holden was the one you wanted to bond with?”
He thought for a moment. “I just knew. It felt right, and I couldn't imagine being with anyone else. I dated a few omegas before your mother. We knew pretty early on that those relationships weren't going to work out, so we ended them fast. Bonding isn't anything to fool with, but if you're really incompatible with someone, you'll probably both know it. Still, it's not something you need to rush. The urge to mate is very strong, and it's only going to get stronger. I'm an alpha with a mate. Trust me, I know what it's like.”
Brian groaned again, not wanting to think of his parents like that. “Dad.”
“I just want you to be responsible and take this seriously.”
“I will! I will! Just, please...I understand.”
“OK. Well, since you're home for the next few days, you're in charge of cleaning up the house. If you don't do a good job, it will make Holden twitchy,” Bill warned.
“OK.” Brian nodded, not about to argue. “What about going on a date with Sam?”
Bill sighed. “I have to talk it over with Holden, and if the house isn't spotless, it's going to be an automatic no.”
“OK, I'll be thorough, I promise.”
* * *
Bill crawled into bed next to Holden and kissed his mate firmly on the mouth. “I have him on house cleaning duty since he suddenly has free time on his hands.”
“Ah, he's getting off light.” Holden kissed Bill back.
“Mmmm... I can't have him getting in trouble at school, and he needs to learn control...but, it is understandable. It would be one thing if he was just trying to throw his weight around, but it's a lot to ask an alpha to keep his cool when someone is threatening his omega.”
“I had to read him the riot act regarding sex. I do not want him knocking up poor Sam when they're both still in high school. The question is how much it sticks,” Bill sighed and nuzzled against Holden's neck, breathing in his scent. “I'm an alpha with an adorable mate. I know what it's like.” He slid his hands under Holden's t-shirt and ran them over his warm, bare skin.
Holden pressed into his touch. “And what's that like?”
Bill shamelessly sucked a bruise on the base of Holden's neck. “Like I can't keep my hands to myself.”
“Mmmm...lucky you, you don't have to.” He snuggled closer into Bill's warmth. “Is he still angling to ask Sam out on a date?”
“Yeah. I don't know what to do about that. Sam is a junior, that makes him at least sixteen. What does sixteen year old Sam have that fifteen year old Brian doesn't?” Bill curled around the omega, feeling comfortable and relaxed for the first time that day.
Holden thought for a minute. “Oh, Oh! A driver's license.”
“If one of them has access to a car it means they have a semi private place to get up to all kinds of trouble.” He gently stroked Holden's bare arm. “It's not just pregnancy that worries me – that can be prevented, but--”
“Bonding?” Holden supplied.
“Yeah. When you're with someone you're compatible with, things can move fast.”
Holden lay quietly in his arms. “Why not have Sam over here? They can rent some movies, order pizza, have some illusion of privacy...Emily is going to be sleeping over at Bree's on Friday, so she'd be out of their hair...and we'd get to meet Sam. Or is it too soon after getting in trouble?”
Bill snorted. “I think he got the point about thinking before punching. I'm more concerned about him and Sam. He's not a violent kid. I'll need to talk to Sam's parents, make sure he's even allowed to date. God, Holden. We have a teenager.”
“He's technically been a teenager for a couple years now.” Holden pointed out, running a hand through Bill's silvery hair.
“Yeah, but it's finally setting in.”