Chapter Text
Spencer sat in the middle of Jack’s room, Jack somehow folded into his lap as he happily played by himself, rearranging his toys so they all neatly sat around a mini table and chairs set. Jack mimicked pouring them all tea and cutting them slices of cake with the plastic kitchen set he had been gifted by Jessica for his 5th birthday.
The scene made Spencer’s heart swell as Jack babbled away, mostly ignoring him but occasionally offering Spencer some tea as well, when he would of course mime how delicious it was and ask for some more.
Jack only had one doll, who sat next to him at his pride of place. Jack took her everywhere, making sure to always hold her carefully so she wasn’t hurt and her hair would get messed up. Spencer loved watching his caring characteristics come out when it came to the doll, always smoothing down her dress and asking her if she was ok.
The other toys were all action figures, a couple of superheroes and other military figures. Hotch had, of course, got them for him. He said it was to encourage Jack to learn to stand up for himself and protect others, just like superheroes did. Jack did not quite understand the depth of what his father was trying to teach him, but he still enjoyed the toys. When they weren’t at the tea party, Jack pretended they had injuries and would nurse them back to health, using toilet paper as bandages.
Spencer wondered if he wanted to have more dolls that represented him, rather than tough figures who needed to fight, but Jack never asked for any more and he seemed to enjoy playing with them nonetheless, albeit in a less traditional way.
“What’s this?” They heard coming from the doorway.
“Daddy!” Jack exclaimed, glad that Hotch was finally home.
Surprisingly, instead of Hotch bending down to give Jack a kiss, he immediately turned to Spencer.
“What did I say about playing these games?”
Spencer was startled at the cold welcome they’d both received, his mate never just ignored Jack’s presence like that or failed to give him a kiss. Before Spencer could answer, he stormed out of the room once again. Spencer heard footsteps down the corridor and then the door to his office close.
He took a moment to acknowledge what happened, but before Jack could fully feel rejected, he encouraged him to come back and carry on playing, but only for 10 more minutes before bedtime.
“Don’t worry about that Jack, Daddy’s just had a long day,” Spencer squeezed him from behind and planted a kiss to his soft hair, inhaling the smell of his pup.
He knew what Aaron was talking about, both of them had noticed their pup displaying many omega characteristics. He was sensitive, if someone hurt his feelings, he did his best to not take it to heart, telling Spencer that it was probably because they felt sad inside. He’d even had a boy tease him at school, instead of fighting back, Jack begged to have him over for dinner so they could make up and be friends.
Otherwise, he was shy, sticking to the other quiet kids at school, most of whom were girls. He tried to get into sports but wasn’t as strong or fast as the other boys and struggled to enjoy it as a result. Spencer always encouraged that it wasn’t a problem, and he did not need to be good at everything, he was still proud.
Jack was due to present in a month’s time, not that they needed to wait that long, that boy was omega through and through.
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“What was that all about?” Spencer asked, anger seeping into his voice as he confronted his mate after putting Jack to bed.
“What?” The alpha looked up from his desk, having not heard Spencer storm in.
“Why can’t you just let your child play with the toys that he enjoys?”
“I’m sorry for trying to encourage my child to play with more suitable toys.”
“What do you mean ‘more suitable’?”
“He’s already getting teased at school for mostly having female friends, he’s bad at sports, weaker than the other boys and now you want him going around holding a babydoll?”
“What I want is for our child to be able to express himself as he likes in his own home and have fun.”
“He’s presenting in a month and you really think forcing him to play with dolls is going to have a good outcome?”
Spencer could not help the hurt look that crossed his face. Yes, being an omega, a male omega at that, wasn’t always easy- but times had changed, they were closer to equality than they ever had been. Still, he was an omega. Aaron said he loved that about him. He said they would have fallen in love regardless of his classification, but Spencer knew that being able to bond and reach that closeness was definitely a factor in how strong they were.
Hotch had done his best to make sure that Spencer and any other omegas in the BAU were treated equally and respectfully, immediately shutting down anyone who decided to harass them. He allowed them time off when they had their heat, just as any alpha needed time off for their rut, without it eating into their holiday time. He even made sure to have scent blockers on their health insurance plan if they chose to take them. Many did, especially unbonded or single omegas, making their place in an alpha dominated environment much easier. Only they could get expensive when taken often, so Hotch made sure everyone was able to.
“What do you mean by a good outcome?” Spencer whispered, looking down at the floor. All of the anger he had been feeling at the way Aaron dismissed them earlier suddenly replaced with hurt that he thought being an omega could be a…bad thing?
Hotch didn’t respond, instead, raised an eyebrow at Spencer as though they both knew what he was talking about, but he did not want to say it out loud. Spencer was confused about what his mate actually thought of him now. Did he simply see him as a weak omega that needed protecting after all this time? Surely not.
Either way, someone’s classification was a biological factor. As much as people tried to encourage their children to be tough and protective in the 5 years before they would present. Desperately wanting their children to be alpha, knowing they’d have an easier time in life, it was decided at birth what they were and nothing could change that.
Spencer could not think of anything to say, he should’ve expected this based on how his mate had been treating Jack, trying to get him to do things that just weren’t natural for the boy. So why was he so shocked right now? Why was he standing across from Aaron feeling so small and foolish for thinking he was any different and progressive?
A tear rolled down his cheek as he opened and closed his mouth, wanting to stand up for Jack, for omegas generally, but he froze. Instead, he turned around and hastily walked out. He lay in bed and once again was surprised that Hotch had made no effort to follow him or make sure he was ok. So, he let himself softly cry himself to sleep, feeling pathetic that he hadn’t said anything.