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1 - Sonic and North
Integrating Way back into the pack was turning out to be a slow process, at least one that was much slower than Sonic had been expecting. Sure, he understood that it would have been perfectly reasonable for the whole pack to reject Way entirely, and therefore including Way in anything was far more progress than he could have hoped for. But still. Sonic missed his friend. After North and Alan, Sonic had been closest to Way on the team and in the pack.
So when Alan finished discussing it with everyone and invited Way to the team picnic on a weekend where there was no race, Sonic was excited. Probably too excited, but only North noticed, and the Omega was just as happy to see their friend again as he was and did nothing to try to calm him down. Anyone who could have settled or scolded them was busy setting up or, in Charlie and Babe’s case, too focused on looking after the pack’s youngest member.
With no one looking after them, there was no one to stop them from shrieking happily when Way arrived with his mate and stepson in tow. Sonic glomped onto him, and North joined the hug as well.
“P’Way! I missed you!” Sonic squeezed Way tightly, cutting off any greeting Way could try to make. He rubbed the side of his face against Way’s like a cat. “We almost thought you might not come!”
“Ah… Alan got to Pete and Martin first, and those two convinced me it would be fun to see everyone again.” Way tried to look at Pete to save him, but Pete was bringing Martin over to where Charlie was sitting on the picnic blanket with he and Babe’s pup. Martin happily greeted his baby cousin and pulled on Pete’s hand to try to make him go faster.
North pulled back from the hug first, bringing out his phone. “We should take a picture! Let everyone know that you’re still alive and everything!”
Before Way could agree or not to taking a selfie with the two of them, Sonic froze as he breathed in Way’s scent. While he’d been expecting Way’s scent to be slightly different now that he was mated and surely Pete had scent marked him, he wasn’t prepared for just how different it was. Way had always had a normal Alpha scent, so he’d assumed Pete’s would be the same, and he was definitely picking up a stronger Alpha scent than before.
But just as prominent as the Alpha scent marking was something soft and mild that he’d never picked up on Way before. If it weren’t for the fact that pups couldn’t scent mark and their scents wouldn’t linger long enough on someone for anyone without senses like Babe to be able to pick up, Sonic would have assumed it was Martin’s scent. And beneath that, there was a more subtle scent, sweet like milk with a hint of sugar.
He stepped back to look Way up and down. Way looked normal. He had on his usual slacks and a white t-shirt. The only difference in his appearance was that he seemed visibly healthier and happier, and had a mating mark on his neck and a wedding ring on his finger.
Still, even without any visual cue, there was only one explanation for the new scent. Sonic knew there was just one thing that would cause Way’s scent to turn sweet and milky. It’d happened to Babe.
“P’Way, are you pregnant?!” Sonic asked, voice loud with shock.
Way’s eyes went wide. “Huh?”
Everyone looked over. North shoved his phone into his pocket so he could grab Way’s shoulders. “Is that true, Phi?! You’re gonna have the second X-Hunter baby?”
“Third,” Sonic corrected. “Martin is also an X-Hunter baby.”
“The second real baby X-Hunter baby?!”
Way pushed them both away. “I’m not pregnant!”
“But your scent is all different!”
Way’s cheeks went pink. “Well, I’m mated now. My scent changed.”
“Not that! North, can’t you smell it too?”
North also leaned in to sniff Way. “Yeah! You’re all soft and sweet now!”
“Well, that’s probably from Martin scent marking me so much this morning.”
They stared at him. Alan glanced over at where Martin was playing with his baby cousin, Charlie showing him Prince’s favorite toy, which the baby was reaching for. “Kids can’t scent mark, though,” Alan said, confused.
Now Way looked confused. “Yes they can…?”
Pete explained, “Martin can make scent marking pheromones already because he’s an Enigma. Other designations can’t do it until they present.”
Well, that explained the soft scent, being from a very happy pup going overboard scenting. But that didn’t explain the other part of it.
“Well, what about how sweet you smell?”
Way lifted the collar of his shirt to smell it. “Oh. I guess it spilled on my shirt too.”
“What did?”
“Martin’s strawberry milk. He was so excited to try scent marking for the first time that he spilt it all over my jacket. It must have gotten onto my shirt as well…”
“Oh.”
“I’m not pregnant.”
North and Sonic pouted, disappointed that they wouldn’t be getting another nephew.
2 - Alan and Jeff
His phone suddenly ringing startled Alan as he hunched over the engine of North’s car. A few mechanics had caught some sort of cold and all called out sick, so Alan had taken over all the work that needed to be done on the junior drivers’ cars so Jeff and the remaining crew could focus on the other ones. He narrowly avoided bumping his head on the hood, but dropped his wrench. Thankfully, it wedged itself in a spot that he could easily reach and work it out of.
He deposited the wrench on a workbench and grabbed his phone. Seeing the contact name, he immediately answered. “Mr. Pete! Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you to call.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not a work call,” Pete replied.
“Hi, Mr. Alan!” Alan heard Martin yell into the phone.
Definitely not business related, or Martin wouldn’t be trying to say hello. Alan thus felt fine speaking more casually, lamenting, “He’s really still saying Mr. Alan…?”
“You can call him Uncle or Phi, little one,” Pete told the pup. “He’s Mama’s Phi.”
“Mama doesn’t call him that and Papa just says Alan. Mr. Alan.”
“Stubborn, huh?” Alan gave up. “What’s up?”
“Martin and I are in Lampang for the next three days. Would you mind checking in on Way while we’re gone? I get worried about him being by himself if he’s nauseous. He gets so lonely when we’re away.”
“Oh. Way didn’t go with you?”
“I’m about to drop Martin off at his grandparents’, and I have meetings and work events. Way said he’d rather stay home.”
“Is he sick?”
“No,” Pete answered.
“Yes,” Martin said at the same time. “Make Mama not sad. He’s sick when he’s sad.”
“Well, he’s just- Ah, we’re almost to the house. If you could drop by later, I’d really appreciate it. I’ll text you the house code.”
“Of course! I’ll swing by as soon as I’m done in the garage.” Alan heard Martin excitedly shout that he saw his grandparents’ house, so they wrapped up the call.
After work, Alan dropped Jeff off at home and promised he’d grab dinner on his way back from Pete and Way’s place. He figured he wouldn’t spend too long with Way. No doubt Way would be embarrassed about his mate sending someone to check on him, and Alan doubted Way would be sad like Martin claimed.
Way didn’t answer the door when Alan knocked and rang the bell. He waited, glanced through the garage window to see Way’s car was there, then input the code and went in. He called Way’s name, but there was no response, even though he could see Way’s things tossed onto the kitchen counter, his keys and wallet and jacket.
A quick search of the house for any sign of Way led him to finding the Enigma in a bathroom, hunched over the toilet and throwing up.
“Way!” Alan knelt next to him and rubbed his back until he was done puking. “Damn, are you sick? Do you need to go to a doctor?” He pressed a hand to Way’s forehead to check for any fever, but Way wasn’t warm.
“No,” Way groaned after spitting vomit from his mouth. Pale and with dark circles under his eyes, Way looked exhausted. His hair and clothes were a mess, his shirt hanging on by a button done up wrong, hanging loose to expose a shoulder. “Ugh… ‘m not sick.”
“Did you eat something bad?”
“Haven’t eaten.”
“How about yesterday?”
“No.”
“At all?” Way just shook his head.
A thought occurred to Alan. If Way wasn’t ill and didn’t have an upset stomach from eating something that didn’t agree with him… As well as Pete being so worried and expecting that Way would be throwing up while he was gone…
“Way, are you pregnant?!” It had to be morning sickness. He grabbed Way’s shoulders. “How far along are you?”
“Huh?” Way squinted at him, bewildered. “I’m not pregnant!”
“Are you sure? Pete called me all worried, and you’re puking-”
Way shoved him away, then fended him off when he tried to grab him again. “Why did he call you? I’m fine! I’m not pregnant! I’m hungover!” He pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. “Fuck, my head hurts.”
“Oh.” Now that Way mentioned it, he actually sounded like he was still a bit drunk, his words slurry slightly. He kept his eyes almost closed and was swaying a bit like he always did when he drank too much, pouting. Alan could actually still smell the alcohol on Way, which he’d somehow missed.
He knew how to handle a drunk Way, though he’d never expected to see him like that again now that he was so happy living with Pete and Martin. Once Way had emptied his stomach and was sagging against him, Alan got him cleaned up and helped him brush his teeth and rinse his mouth out, then had him sit down and forced him to drink a cup of water. After Way had finished the cup, Alan hauled him up and brought him out of the bathroom.
“Where’s your bedroom? You need to sleep this off.”
Way grumbled but pointed down the hallway. Alan followed Way’s directions until they reached a doorway. He pushed it open with his foot and instead of being greeted by the master bedroom where Way and Pete slept, he was instead faced with the colorful decorations and many toys of a child’s bedroom. Martin’s room.
Pulling away from Alan, Way went straight to Martin’s bed and flopped down on it. He buried his face in the pup’s pillows, curling up amongst his bedding and plushies.
It was obvious now why Way had drank to the point of throwing up. Alan went over and wrapped his arms around Way, getting ready to haul him back up. “Ah. You miss Pete and the little guy, huh? Okay, you’re coming to my house before you throw up on the kid’s bed.”
Way whined as Alan dragged him off of the bed, struggling weakly against him. Right as he left the bed, he threw his arms out and grabbed what he could. All he managed to get ahold of was a small blanket, which he clung tight to as Alan forced him to go to his car.
He brought the Enigma to his house and almost had to carry him inside, Way losing all the strength in his legs as Alan walked with Way’s arm around his shoulders. Too tired from so much dragging around already, Alan deposited Way onto a couch instead of bringing him upstairs to his room in the house. He moved Way so that the younger man would be more comfortable and less likely to roll off. Way hugged Martin’s blanket, snuggling it, and Alan put a light blanket over him.
As he stepped away, he saw Jeff in the doorway of the living room. Jeff looked down at Way and asked, “What’s wrong with Way? Weren’t you just visiting him?”
“I was, since Pete asked, but Way was throwing up and then was trying to burrow into his pup’s bed, so I brought him here. Figured Pete and the kid would appreciate Way not hurling in the kid’s room.”
Jeff came to the same conclusion he had, with an additional point that Way wanted his stepson’s scent for comfort. “Is he pregnant?”
“No. He’s just drunk and misses Pete and Martin. Way’s a clingy drunk.”
“Oh.”
3 - Babe
Pete had a busy day at different work events and Way suddenly had to go see clients from his showroom, so Babe had been asked to pick up Martin from school and look after him for a few hours until one of his parents were free.
Way eventually texted that while he wasn’t ready to head home yet and therefore couldn’t pick up Martin from Babe and Charlie’s house, Martin could be dropped off at the showroom.
Babe hadn’t intended to drop off Martin at first. Charlie was attending some convention with Alan and Jeff, and had decided to take their pup along so Babe could focus on his training without being interrupted and distracted by the baby. He’d done his training, only going as far as Charlie had detailed was enough for him, since it’d only been a few months since Prince was born and he needed to ease back into training, and had then been by himself for the rest of the day.
Unused to being away from Charlie and their son for more than a few hours at a time, Babe had been grateful to receive the request. It sucked being alone. He wanted to keep the kid around until either his parents picked him up or Charlie got back home with the baby, but then Martin had seen his phone and gotten all excited about going to the showroom.
After bringing the kid to be dropped off, Babe got out of his car and grabbed Martin’s book bag from the back seat. His nephew was so happy to be at the showroom and see his stepfather that he’d forgotten to grab it.
Babe figured he’d just toss it into Way’s car instead of trying to catch the kid to give it to him. It was easy to find and grab Way’s keys and then go to his car. He went to drop the bag onto the passenger seat, but paused.
“What the hell is that?” There was an opened package already sitting on the seat. Babe tossed the backpack onto the driver’s side and grabbed the contents of the package, which was clearly visible.
He frowned at the little baby onesie that had been in Way’s car. It looked like a Formula One race suit, in onesie form, in blue. It was absolutely the kind of thing he would put on Prince, as most of his son’s clothes and belongings were race car themed.
Babe would have guessed it was a gift for Prince, but it was far too small, newborn size.
He heard Martin greeting Way on the other side of the showroom. Right after saying hello to the pup, Way’s phone went off and he told Martin he could explore while he took the call.
No one else in the pack had a baby or was expecting one. Alan and Jeff had taken in Andy, and he and Charlie had their pup, but that was it. If he hadn’t seen Kenta and Kim recently and knew neither of them had any change to their scent that would mean they were pregnant, he would have then guessed that Pete knew first from Kenta.
It left only one explanation.
Babe waited for Martin to wander away from Way and didn’t even notice how Martin went to one of his cars and began touching it as he went straight towards Way.
Seeing him, Way told the person on the phone that he’d call them right back. “Babe? What’s wrong?”
“Way, are you pregnant?! Why haven't you told me yet?!”
“What?”
Babe couldn’t believe that Way hadn’t told him. Though he didn’t smell any changes in Way’s scent now that he was close enough to him, Babe didn’t think that counted. Way’s scent was indistinguishable from a normal Alpha’s despite his actual Enigma subgender, and drowned by scent-marking from Pete and Martin. It was probably some kind of Enigma natural masking thing preventing Babe from being able to tell using his Sense.
It really wasn’t fair. Babe had made sure Way was included when he and Charlie had announced to everyone when they were expecting a baby, which was just two days after they’d found out. For Way to already have ordered and received baby clothes…
Way noticed the onesie in his hand. “That! Babe, that’s not for me. I’m really not pregnant!”
Babe narrowed his eyes. He was not going to let Way keep this a secret from him, even if Way was planning some kind of pack announcement like he’d done. “What do you mean?! Why else would you have this?”
“No. No, that’s not- I bought that online for Prince.” Before Babe could protest that it was far too small, Way continued. “I clicked the wrong size when I was ordering it. I hit newborn instead of the right size for him.”
Oh. Babe calmed down and looked at the onesie. It was supposed to be a gift for Prince. He was grateful that Way had been casually in explaining why the onesie was the wrong size. Though Prince was still very young, he was growing very well and didn’t fit in clothes in his age range. Charlie often cooed over Prince for being adorable and chubby. Babe was just happy that Prince was always eating well and growing up healthy.
If it were North who had gotten the onesie, he would have called Prince monster-sized again, and Babe would have had to hit him.
“I haven’t sent it back yet to get the right size. I swear I’m not pregnant. Why does everyone think I am, lately?”
+1 - Pete and Martin
Martin begged to go to the next race weekend, so they went early to the track to see everyone before they really started getting ready. Pete gave Way a worried glance as they drove into the parking lot, a glance he had given him repeatedly over the entire course of the morning. Way pointedly ignored him. He wanted to see the session just as much as Martin, and was not going to let the little stomach bug that had been bothering him on and off the past few days get in his way.
He would just simply sit down as soon as they got to the pit. Then he wouldn’t feel so tired and queasy, and Pete could fuss over him for the rest of the day while they got to see North’s first senior division weekend. Alan had caught Charlie falling asleep on the simulator, the young driver tired from a combination of driving and training and being a new parent and devoted husband. After letting Charlie nap for a while, he’d scolded him for not letting himself take a break and said Charlie was to take a week off. The mandatory vacation coincided with a race weekend, so North, as the next most experienced available driver, was chosen as the reserve to drive alongside Kim in Charlie’s place.
So even though he’d thrown up a few times during the night and hadn’t even tried to eat anything that morning, Way was going to go and watch. Martin was blissfully unaware that he wasn’t feeling well, the pup too excited by their putting to notice. Way checked the rear view mirror after putting the car in park. Martin was cheerfully playing with his VIP garage pass, which was oversized on him.
The pup was adorable. It gave Way the boost he needed to not only ignore Pete’s concerned look, but the roll of nausea he’d felt when the car stopped.
As they walked to the garage, Martin skipping ahead of them, Pete told Way, “Baby, if you start feeling too sick again, we can head home. Martin can stay with Charlie and Babe and watch qualifying.”
“I’ll be fine once I sit down.”
Pete sighed, wrapping an arm around Way’s waist as they walked. Way flushed a bit, unused to Pete being so touchy when they were out in public. For the past few weeks, Pete had gotten more and more protective. Way didn’t mind it at all, of course, always glad to have more of his mate’s attention, but it was different.
“I’m just worried about you, angel,” Pete murmured, nuzzling him. “You really make my instincts go crazy.”
They were forced to stop as Martin suddenly turned and crashed into Way, “Ah- Martin!”
“Be careful, little one.”
“I wanna hug Mama too! No fair!” Martin whined, bouncing on his feet. He reached up to be lifted.
While he was sure he’d be fine through the qualifying session, Way did not think he had the energy to carry Martin around, especially not when he was excited.
Pete patted Martin’s head. “Then give Mama a hug so we can hurry and go see your uncles.”
Martin nodded and hugged Way. The pup froze a bit, then pulled his head back. “Huh?”
Pete lifted him up. “Let’s keep going, cub. Mama wants to find a spot to sit inside.”
The boy looked confused, then stared at Way with an expression that Way couldn’t decipher. Way had no clue why the pup had gone from so excited to that. Sometimes he just didn’t understand children. They were truly unpredictable at times. “Okay…”
Martin stared at him for the rest of the walk. Way glanced at a window they walked past, but it didn’t look like there was anything wrong with his face or hair.
In the X-Hunter garage, Martin got distracted from his staring by all his uncles, excited again to see them and say hi. As Martin got passed around from person to person, Alan showed Pete and Way where they could sit and watch everything in the garage. Pete brought Way right over.
Babe and Charlie had already laid claim to a section of the VIP area. Prince’s diaper bag and carrier were there, as well as the couple’s jackets. Way figured Martin would want to sit closest to them so he could see his cousin and his two favorite uncles, so he left a few seats between him and Babe.
After saying hi to everyone, Martin found his parents. He got the odd look on his face again as he approached, and without saying a word he wrapped his arms around Way’s middle, leaning on his lap.
“Are you alright?” Way asked. Martin had looked like he was having a great time before he came over to them.
The pup didn’t answer.
Pete checked if the boy was alright, patting his head to use his ability. “What’s confusing you, little one?”
Martin pulled back and went to answer. He paused, then once again hugged Way’s stomach. After a moment, he stood up, frowning. He crossed his arms, perplexed.
“Mama feels weird!” the pup announced loudly. Everyone looked over.
“Can you tell Papa what you mean by that?”
“I dunno. Mama’s tummy feels really weird. It’s like…” Martin frowned even more as he couldn’t think of what it reminded him of. “I don’t know!”
Pete pulled Martin onto his lap before the boy could get too frustrated. “It’s alright, little one. Maybe it’s just because Mama isn’t feeling very well. Does he feel sick?”
“No. Not that.”
Babe came over, followed by Charlie who was holding their baby. “What’s the kid mad about?”
Seeing Babe and Prince, Martin realized why what he could sense was familiar. He gasped comically loud and said, “Mama feels like P’Babe when the baby was in his tummy!”
“Huh?!” Way grabbed onto Pete’s arm, exchanging a wide-eyed look with him. Pete put a hand on his stomach and focused, and he picked up what Martin was feeling as well.
It made sense. The nausea and fatigue, Pete’s instincts going on overdrive, Martin picking up something with his enhanced Enigma senses.
Pete pulled out his cellphone. “I’ll call your doctor and make an appointment for later.”
“You’re pregnant?!”
“Way is pregnant?”
Everyone asked all at the same time, coming over and all starting to talk at once.
“Congratulations, man!” North cheered. “X-Hunter baby #3 at last!” He high-fived Sonic.
-
The next day, when Way walked into the garage before the race, a very happy Pete and Martin in tow, none of them were surprised at all when he announced that his doctor had confirmed he was pregnant.