Chapter Text
Luke had been unusually quiet all day during their promo. They’ve been at it since six in the morning, and he’s exhausted. He’s tired of being asked the same boring questions over and over again. He’s tired of all the interviewers fawning over his other band mates’ relationship, and leaving him out.
“Luke, you alright, mate?”
Luke looks over and sees Ashton walking up to him, and he has to hold himself back from rolling his eyes, because Ashton is the oldest and feels he has to look after everyone.
“I’m fine,” Luke replies, though he can tell Ashton isn’t buying it.
“I know that’s a lie. You’ve been quiet today. You’re never this quiet during interviews,” Ashton says.
“Well, that’s hardly my fault, is it?” Luke snaps without meaning to.
Ashton frowns. “Sorry, Luke. I know it must be annoying. We can’t really stop the interviewers from asking about our relationship. We’ll have you sit in the middle for the next one. Maybe that will…”
“Don’t,” Luke warns. “We’ve sat in the same position all day. People will notice…”
“I don’t care,” Ashton snaps. “You’re a part of this band too, and I’m sick of people excluding you.”
“I didn’t think anyone noticed,” Luke mumbles, feeling guilty.
“Of course we noticed. Actually, Calum is the one who first pointed it out earlier,” Ashton says. “I didn’t believe him until I started looking for it in interviews. It’s fucked up is what it is.”
Luke shrugs his shoulders. “We’re almost done anyways. I’ll be fine.”
“There you two are. We’ve got to start the next interview.” Ashton looks over and sees Michael and Calum walking into the dressing room. “Oh. Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. Right, Luke? Come on,” Ashton says, and grabs his hand, tugging him forward.
Luke blinks, feeling confused, and he desperately wants to tell the others that he doesn’t feel good, but they’ve still got a couple more promo interviews today and one more performance.
Luke doesn’t want to be the reason they have to cut their schedule short.
During their last interview, Luke completely zones out, letting the other boys take the lead.
Until a question is actually directed towards Luke.
“Luke?” Calum asks beside him, gently nudging him.
Luke blinks and looks over at Calum. “What?” He asks with confusion.
Calum chuckles. “Sorry ‘bout him. It’s been a long day. The lady asked you a question, mate.”
Luke looks over at the interviewer apologetically. “Sorry. Long day. Little sleep. What was the question?”
“That’s alright, Luke. It must get exhausting,” she says, and Luke can’t disagree with her. “Well, the fans are just curious. We all know you’re a bit of a late bloomer. Do you think you’ll be presenting soon?”
Luke tenses at the question. He hates answering questions about his ranking. He’s late, and the last of the band who hasn’t presented yet. Fans are always speculating. Most people think he’ll be an alpha, although there are still some who think he will be an omega. Luke just wants to get it over with.
“Uhm,” Luke hesitates. “I don’t- I don’t know. I’m sorry I don’t have more of an interesting answer. I’m just perfectly happy how I am now. If it happens, it happens.” It’s all a lie, but sometimes Luke has to lie.
“I’m sure it’ll happen soon,” the interviewer says, and Luke gives a forced smile.
As soon as the interview is over, Luke stands from the couch and heads straight to the bathroom. They have to perform in just a little bit, and Luke’s honestly not sure if he’ll make it to the performance at all.
“Luke?”
Luke squeezes his eyes shut when he hears Michael’s concerned voice from outside the bathroom door. He grips onto the bathroom counter tightly. “I’m- I’m fine! I’ll be out in a second!” He quickly covers his mouth when he feels like he’s about to vomit any second. He’s definitely not going to make it to their performance. He’d rather not embarrass himself on television. “Fuck!”
Luke rushes to the toilet, throwing up. He doesn’t know what’s going on, but he’s a little terrified.
“Luke! Luke, you better open up right now!” Michael shouts, pounding on the door.
Luke clutches onto the toilet, not responding to Michael. He hears a commotion outside, and then a moment later, the door is being kicked in. He looks over and sees Ashton, Michael and Calum standing in the doorway.
“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” Michael says.
Ashton rolls his eyes, though he’s unable to keep the smile from forming on his face, and then he looks down at Luke, and frowns when he sees the state he’s in. “Bloody hell, Luke. Why didn’t you tell us that you were sick?” Ashton asks, hurrying over to him.
Luke whines, and leans his head against the wall. “Didn’t want to ruin everything.”
“Jesus. You wouldn’t have ruined everything. We’ve done plenty of promo today.” Ashton says. “Besides, your health comes first before anything.” He looks over at Michael. “Go cancel the performance, please.”
“On it.” Michael turns around, and brushes past Calum.
Calum sighs as he stares at Luke, and then he sniffs the air. “You smell that?”
“Smell what?” Ashton asks, and then crinkles his nose. “Shit. That’s strong. That’s not you.”
“No,” Calum replies, shaking his head. “My scent isn’t usually that strong.”
Ashton freezes, and looks back at Luke. “Shit, Luke! You’re presenting. We’ve gotta get you out of here!”
“What do you mean I’m-?” Luke yelps when Ashton pulls him up from the floor. “Calum, get Michael, and get me some security. It’s going to be hell getting past all the fans outside. We need to get him safe.”
“Ash,” Luke whines as he tries to push away from him weakly. He’s got zero energy left in him. “No, stop, I’m not presenting! I’m just not feeling well! I can do the performance!”
Calum snorts. “Luke, I’m an omega. I think I know what presenting looks like. I’ve been through it before. We all have,” he says, and sighs when Luke glares at him. “I’m going to go get Michael. Stay here.”
Ashton reaches over and he flushes the toilet once Calum is gone, and sets the lid down, forcing Luke to sit down on it. “Luke, calm down, babe. Everything’s going to be fine.”
“It’s not going to be fine!” Luke cries, trying to take deep breaths. “My parents are going to be so upset!”
“Luke, your parents are going to love you no matter, omega or not,” Ashton tries to assure him.
“You don’t- fuck-” Luke grips onto the toilet as he feels a heatwave rush through him. “You don’t know how my parents talk when it comes to omega’s. My dad- He’ll disown me. They can’t- They can’t know!”
“Hey, relax. Don’t think about that right now,” Ashton whispers.
Luke’s eyes widen as he looks up at Ashton. “You- You shouldn’t be in here with me! How- How are you able to act so calm? Any other alpha would be having their with me.”
Ashton chuckles. “Lukey, I’m hurt that you would compare me to such alpha’s. Yes, I’m struggling a bit, but I’ve taught myself how to control myself around omega’s in heat. Ever since Cal presented as an omega, I’ve made it my mission to protect him rather than to harm him during situations like these, and so has Michael. We’ll do the exact same with you now that you’re an omega.”
Luke closes his eyes. He has no idea how his presenting as an omega will affect the bands’ relationship. How is he going to survive being around the two alpha’s now that he’s officially an omega? And Calum. He’s so in love with all three of them. This can’t possibly end well. He’s going to get heartbroken.
Eventually, Calum and Michael come back with extra security to get Luke safely into the car, where they then take him back to the hotel. It’s not ideal for Luke’s first heat, but it’s all they’ve got.
After his four day long heat has finally finished, Luke calls his parents and informs them of his presentation. Of course, his father is not happy at all, and has even suggested Luke go on suppressants. Luke argues at first, until he agrees. His father is already sending him a batch of suppressants to help.
Luke is only doing this to keep the peace in the band. They’ve worked so hard.
Luke’s more than nervous when he sees the boys for the first time in four days since they found out he was an omega. He’s not sure what they think of his new ranking. But, he’s scared.
“God, it’s good to see you again,” Ashton says as he greets Luke at his hotel room, immediately throwing his arms around Luke, hugging him tightly. “These idiots have been driving me crazy.”
Luke chuckles as he buries his face in Ashton’s chest as they hug. “Missed you too, Ash.”
“Quit hogging him, Irwin. We’ve all missed him,” Michael says as he and Calum walk into the room.
Ashton snorts, and pulls away from the hug. He watches fondly as Luke hugs the other two.
“Mate, welcome to the club,” Calum says when he pulls away from their hug. “Honestly, I really didn’t think that you would be an omega. I was so sure you’d be an alpha. Ash and Mikey didn’t think so.”
“In our defense, Luke kind of acts like an omega sometimes,” Michael says as he stands beside Ashton.
Luke blinks, and he looks at Calum. “You’re not, like-” He hesitates, trying to find the right words, because the last thing he wants to do is upset Calum, because then that will upset the two alpha’s, and that’s never a good thing. “I mean, you’re not upset that I’m- that I’m an omega?”
“Why would I be upset that you’re an omega?” Calum asks, frowning slightly.
“I just-” Luke sighs. “I thought it would upset the balance.”
“Upset the balance? Come on. That’s not going to happen, Luke. I mean, we’re all mature enough to handle two omega’s in the band,” Ashton says. “What’s going on, Luke?”
Luke runs a hand through his hair. He knows they’re not going to be happy that he’s going on suppressants, and he knows Calum despises them. But, Luke’s got to tell them the truth. They’re going to notice when his scent goes away. “I’m- fuck. Please don’t be mad. I’m going on suppressants.”
“You’re what?” Calum hisses. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
Luke looks over at Calum. “It’s my choice-”
“Did you talk to your parents?” Calum asks, and growls when Luke doesn’t say anything. “Luke.”
“So what if I did?” Luke shouts, taking a deep breath. “It’s not like they’re not holding me down with a gun to my head, Calum. It’s my decision to go on them. Nothing will change just because I’m an omega now. Everything will stay the same.”
“I just don’t understand why you think things will change just because you’re an omega?” Calum asks.
Luke rubs his arms nervously. “They just will, and I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
Calum scoffs. “That’s a bullshit excuse, Luke, and you know it. Suppressants are fucking dangerous. Fuck. You could die from them! Omegas have literally died from those things because of how dangerous they are!” Luke flinches at Calum’s harsh tone, but he can’t blame Calum for being so angry, because he's right.
“I- I know that, but-”
“Fine. If you want to ruin your life, then go right ahead. Don’t come crying to me when I told you so,” Calum snaps, before storming out of the hotel room.
“Calum-!” Michael shouts, and sighs as he looks over at Ashton.
“You go after him. I need to talk with Luke,” Ashton says, and watches as Michael runs after Calum. Ashton turns, and looks at Luke, determined to get to the bottom of Luke’s decision. “Sit.”
Luke glares at him. “Just because I’m an omega now, doesn’t mean you get to use that voice on me.”
“Luke,” Ashton warns, glaring at the omega. “Sit on the bed. Now.”
Luke shivers at the command, and does as he’s told. He’s not used to this, but he knows Ashton means no harm. Luke looks up at Ashton. “Talk to me about what, Ash?”
“Luke. We don’t keep things from each other,” Ashton says.
Luke scoffs. “Oh yeah? Just like the three of you kept your entire relationship from me for six whole months. I only found out because I fucking walked in on you in the middle of-”
“Okay!” Ashton exclaims, throwing his hands up. “We already went over all of that. We already told you why we kept it hidden, and you said you were fine with our relationship.”
Luke grumbles to himself, and crosses his arms against his chest.
“Why are you going on suppressants? You know how much Calum despises those things,” Ashton says.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with Calum!” Luke shouts, looking up at Ashton. “This is my decision, and I’m doing what’s best for me. You’re not my alpha. You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“I’m not trying to tell you what to do, Luke!” Ashton shouts back, letting out a sigh. “I care about you, and I’m trying to look after you! Calum’s right. Those pills are super fucking dangerous. There are more cases each year of omega’s dying from taking suppressants. Tell me why-”
“Oh, for fuck sakes! I’m in love with you!” Luke cries, standing up. “I’m in love with you, and Mikey, and Calum, and- and I’m not going to ruin what’s already been established. I’m not a homewrecker!”
“Luke,” Ashton breathes as he stares at him with wide eyes.
“So just- just let me do this,” Luke whispers. “Please.”
“Luke, you should have said something-”
“No!” Luke cries, taking a deep breath. “You- You and Michael already have Calum. You’re already perfect the way you are. You don’t need me coming in and messing things up.”
“You didn’t even bother to ask us how we feel about you,” Ashton says, frowning.
Luke scoffs. “There’s no possible way any of you could like me like that,” he mumbles.
“Luke, we’ve wanted you from the very beginning, but you hadn’t presented yet, and we didn’t know how you would feel being with two alpha’s and one omega,” Ashton explains.
“There’s- There’s no possible way Calum would be okay with me coming in and- and-”
“Calum wants you too, Luke. We all do,” Ashton tries to assure him. “We’ve- We’ve been waiting for you to present, because we wanted to talk to you about joining us. Without you, we feel incomplete.”
“I-” Luke begins, and he nervously rubs his arm. “I- I don’t know, Ash. I don’t want to mess anything up.”
Ashton chuckles softly, and steps closer to Luke. “Why don’t you let us figure that out for ourselves?”
“But, I-” Luke begins, and his eyes widen when Ashton leans forward and kisses him sweetly on the lips. Luke can’t help but melt into the kiss. He’s wanted this for years, having to watch the older alpha with their bandmates. As soon as he thinks of Michael and Calum, he pulls away. “Ash-!”
“Don’t panic,” Ashton quickly says, gently grabbing a hold of Luke’s arms. “It’s okay. They’ll be more than okay with the fact that I kissed you. “I just need you to relax. Can we talk about this, please?”
“This is-”
“I know.” Ashton nods. “We can work it out. I promise.”
“But, my dad-”
“Your dad doesn’t control your life anymore. You’re a grown man who can make his own decisions,” Ashton assures him. “You don’t need those suppressants. I promise you, Luke.”
Luke whimpers, and Ashton immediately pulls Luke into a hug.
Two hours later, when Luke has passed out on the bed from exhaustion.
Ashton calls Michael as soon as he gets the chance. “How’s Calum doing?”
“Still pissed,” Michael answers. “But, he’s starting to calm down a little. He has every right to be pissed. Suppressants are so dangerous. Luke could seriously damage himself with those things.”
“I know, but we might not have to worry about suppressants anymore,” Ashton says. Ashton will do everything in his power to keep Luke away from those suppressants.
“You talked to Luke?” Michael asks hopefully.
“Yeah, uh-” Ashton hesitates, unsure of how he should bring up the kiss to Michael. He knows he and Calum will be okay with it, but he’s still nervous. “We talked. Uhm. We might have kissed too.”
“You did what now?”
“Okay, hear me out!” Ashton exclaims. He glances over at Luke, who’s still sleeping peacefully beside him on the bed. “He was freaking out a lot, and he admitted that he’d been in love with all of us, and he was crying about how he didn’t want to mess things up for us. So, I kissed him. I think he’ll be willing to talk with us about joining our relationship. You think Cal will be calm enough to come back to the room? I- I really don’t want Luke to leave the room while he’s so upset.”
“Yeah, I’m sure Cal will be fine. We’ll be over shortly,” Michael says.
“Alright.” Ashton sighs. “I love you.”
“I love you too. See you in a bit.” Michael hangs up the phone.
Twenty minutes later, Ashton hears knocking at the door. He hesitates, not wanting to leave Luke’s side, before standing up and walking over to the door. He opens up, and sees Calum and Michael. “Hey.”
“This better be good, or I won’t be happy,” Calum says, walking into the room.
Ashton raises his eyebrows, and he looks over at Michael. “You said he’d be calm.”
“You know how he is,” Michael says before stepping into the hotel room.
Calum looks up when he walks further into the room and his heart instantly melts when he sees Luke sleeping on the bed, looking like an angel. “Oh fuck. He’s so cute,” he says, and turns to look at Ashton. “Please tell me you talked him out of those bloody suppressants.”
“I think so?” Ashton responds, before sighing. “We have a lot to talk about.”
“Should we wake him up?” Michael asks, walking beside Ashton.
“He’s been sleeping for about two hours now. He might be a little grumpy,” Ashton says. He walks over to the bed, the side where Luke is sleeping. He leans over and he gently shakes Luke awake. “Hey, bud. Can you wake up for us? I’d hate to wake you, but we’ve got some visitors.”
Luke whines, and curls himself tighter, not wanting to get up. “No.”
“Babe, you gotta get up. We’ve got visitors,” Ashton tries again, shaking him again.
Luke peeks one of his eyes open, and he looks over to see Michael and Calum watching him. He takes a deep breath as he stares at them nervously, and then he slowly pushes himself up. “Oh.”
“Don’t sound too excited.”
“Cal,” MIchael hisses, harshly nudging the omega.
“Sorry,” Calum mumbles, crossing his arms against his chest.
“Alright.” Ashton climbs onto the bed, and sits next to Luke. “So, I told Michael what happened earlier-”
“What- What happened earlier?” Luke repeats, his eyes widening as he looks over at Ashton. “I-”
“Luke, I know this is a lot for you to take in, and if you need some time to think about it, we understand. But, we want you. You belong with us just like we belong with you,” Ashton says.
Michael nods. “And, we can take things slow. However slow you want to go.”
Luke stares at Michael, before looking over at Calum. “Cal?”
Calum lets out a sigh of defeat. “Of course I want you, Luke. I have wanted you for the longest time. Like, we all have. I just- you have to promise me not to go on those suppressants.”
“I won’t,” Luke squeaks out.
“So, you want to be with us? We’re all on the same page?” Michael asks hopefully.
“Yeah, I- I do. I just- I’m new to this. I don’t-”
“Oh. That’s alright, Luke. That’s what Calum’s here for. He’ll teach you all the ways,” Ashton says. “But, just because you’re an omega now, doesn’t mean things will change. You’re still the same Luke, and we’ll treat you the same just as we’ve treated Calum. You know us. We’re not strict alpha’s. You know that.”
“I think I should have some one-on-one time with Luke. You’re not strict, but there are still a lot of things Luke needs to know when it comes to being an omega,” Calum says.
Michael huffs as he looks over at Calum. “You’re seriously kicking us out? We just got here!”
Calum glares at Michael. “I may be an omega, and I may be smaller, but I will kick your ass.”
Ashton snorts. “I’d pay to see that.”
“Yours too, Irwin,” Calum warns. “Get out. The omega’s need quality omega time.”
Ashton rolls his eyes at Calum’s demand. He gently squeezes Luke’s arm, before sliding off of the bed. He walks over to Michael, tugging on his arm. “Haven’t spent any alone time with you awhile.”
Michael grins. “Hell yeah.” He leads the way out of the hotel room.
“Text us if you need anything!” Ashton shouts before the door closes.
Calum rolls his eyes, and then he climbs up on the bed. He looks over at Luke. “We haven’t even asked. How are you feeling? Feeling okay? Stressed? I mean, you’re freshly presented.”
Luke chuckles. “I feel a little overwhelmed. But, that’s normal, right?”
“Totally.” Calum nods. “Mike and Ash aren’t strict alpha’s. You should know that if you’re going to accept them as your alpha’s. They don’t have these strict rules like usual alpha’s, nor do they do punishments. However, they are quite protective. They’ll want to know where you’re at if you’re not with them.”
“That’s… understandable,” Luke mumbles, nodding. “Cal, how are you so calm about this? You can’t possibly be okay with me just barging into your relationship like this.”
Calum chuckles. “Luke, I’ve wanted you too. Just as much as my alpha’s have. I’m okay with sharing. We’ve talked about this many times before, about how we would handle things if you were to present as an omega or an alpha, or even a beta. We’ve always wanted you from the very beginning.”
Luke looks over at Calum and frowns. “I’ve wanted this for so long. I just-”
Calum reaches over and kisses him softly on the lips, surprising Luke. “Then let us take care of you.”
“I-”
Calum kisses Luke again, and Luke lets him this time without hesitation.
It’s all happening so fast, but Luke’s wanting this for ages now. For years. He finally has it, and he’s going to enjoy every once of it while he can. He’s sure it won’t be long until his parents come into the picture.
After a sweet make-out session and cuddles, Calum decides to take a picture of the two cuddled up. “Thoughts on me posting this pic on Instagram?” He looks over at Luke.
“It is cute,” Luke says tiredly.
“Mm,” Calum hums. “You wanna tell the fans that you’re an omega?”
Luke looks up at Calum. “Do you think they’ll be mad?”
“Who cares? You’re still you. Nothing has changed. We’ll prove that to them,” Calum says.
@calumhood:
much needed cuddle time for the omega’s
Luke smiles when he gets the notification and sees the picture. “We are cute as fuck.”
“Hell yeah we are.” Calum cuddles closer to Luke. “I love you, Luke.”
Luke closes his eyes. He knows those words have a different meaning now. “I love you, too.”
@ashtonirwin:
cutest fucking omega’s in the world
@michaelclifford:
@ashtonirwin dunno how we got so lucky mate :)
Luke isn’t surprised when he’s suddenly trending all over Twitter, with multiple Twitter trends. He knows the fans have been waiting for him to present. They’ve been arguing since the start of the band whether he was going to be an alpha or an omega. Luke always tried to ignore those fans.
Now, he just wants to enjoy being an omega. Enjoy his new mates.
Calum is surprised when the alpha’s don’t come back until the morning. Although they were bombarded with texts from the alpha’s after he posted the picture of him and Luke, confirming Luke’s ranking.
“I’m honestly surprised you lasted that long,” Calum says as he lets the two alpha’s into the room.
“We knew you probably needed some time alone, and we personally wanted some time alone together. There’s a lot Luke has to learn about, and you’re the best to learn from. How’s he doing?” Ashton asks.
“He’s doing fine,” Luke answers as he walks out of the bathroom, freshly showered.
Ashton instantly takes in Luke’s scent. “Fuck. You smell so good.” He walks over to Luke and hugs him.
“Oh, Luke. Be prepared for them to hug you randomly for a few weeks. That happened with me for a while after I presented,” Calum says. He rolls his eyes. “It gets annoying after a while.”
Luke chuckles. “What do I smell like?”
Ashton sniffs him. “Mm. Pine tree. It smells really nice,” he says.
“Pine tree?” Luke questions, raising his eyebrows. “That’s really random, but I’ll take it.”
“No, it’s nice. Calum smells like an ocean breeze. The two of you together is like heaven,” Michael says, throwing his arms around Calum and taking in his scent. “Cal. You took care of our new omega?”
Calum looks up at Michael. “Of course I did. Who do you take me for?”
“Well, unfortunately, our little mini vacation has to end. We have to start packing to leave soon. We’ve got an album to finish promoting,” Ashton says. He looks over at Luke. “You’ll be okay?”
Luke nods, feeling confident that he will be okay, as long as he has his boys with him. “Just be patient with me. That’s all I ask.”
“Of course,” Ashton whispers, gently squeezing Luke.