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His phone going off late at night had Way grimacing as it woke him up. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to wake up. Hopefully, whoever was calling would just leave a message or send a text instead.
It kept ringing. He held out hope that it would soon stop, but then Martin started shifting from where he was tucked against him, and Way blindly grabbed at the phone to shut it off before the noise could wake up the pup. As he brought the phone closer, the ringtone seemed familiar, and he squinted at the bright screen to check the contact name before he could just swipe it off.
North.
Way scooted away from Martin as carefully as he could to avoid disturbing the boy and managed to slip off the bed and head out of Martin’s room. He answered the phone, quietly going, “North, what is it?”
“P’Way, I-! Wait, why do you sound so tired?”
“Because it’s-” Way glanced back into Martin’s room and spotted the little bunny-shaped digital clock on the boy’s nightstand. “Fuck, North, it’s eleven.”
“Were you sleeping?” North asked, bewildered.
Way didn’t get why North sounded so shocked by it. “Yes. Of course I was. It’s so late.”
“What? It’s early! It’s Friday night!” North gasped. “Oh! It’s because of the kid! What time does he go to bed?”
“He starts getting ready for bed just before eight. I think he fell asleep at almost nine tonight.” Martin had insisted on a bedtime story after a late call from Pete, who was on a business trip, so they’d stayed up a little later than usual. “You calling almost woke him up.”
“Are you sleeping in his room with him while K’Pete is gone? That’s so cute.”
He had indeed fallen asleep in Martin’s bed after the pup drifted off during his bedtime story. Way had a feeling even if he’d gone to his own bed, one of them would have wandered into the other’s room. Martin tended to get a little extra clingy while Pete was away, and Way didn’t like sleeping alone anymore.
Though it was far more likely to be him than the pup. Martin was good at sleeping through the night. It would be Way who would wake up and have trouble falling asleep.
North didn’t need to know that, though.
“You get lonely, huh?” North said, trying not to laugh. Way heard him snort a bit.
Damnit. He already knew.
Way’s suspicion grew. “Did Pete tell you to call me? I told him I don’t need anyone to check up on me anymore!”
North outright laughed. “He didn’t call me- I can’t believe he did that before! Who did he call? I bet it was Uncle.”
Embarrassed, he tried to move past that topic. “...It was. So, if Pete didn’t tell you to call, what’s up?” Way wasn’t sure why North would be calling him. If North needed help with something that Sonic couldn’t solve over a phone call, he would call Alan or Kim or one of the other packmates. Though the two of them had been friends, Way had always been much closer to Sonic than North while he was in the pack, while North had been closer to Babe and Dean than him. Babe was the one who hung out with him at bars and trained with him, while Kim and Charlie were his closest friends now that Sonic was off modeling. Then Jeff and Alan were the responsible friends North could go to.
North went uncharacteristically silent. Way had to check his phone to see if either of them had accidentally hung up.
“Are you still there? Is the sound working?”
“Y-yeah! It’s working. Sorry.”
North’s voice sounded strange. Way was immediately worried. “What’s wrong?”
Nervous, North replied, “Um, can we go out tomorrow? You’ve got your kid, so… there’s a playground near my place. Martin can play there while we talk.”
“Talk about what? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine!” North distinctly sounded not fine. “I just really need to talk to you, Phi.”
“If something’s wrong, you can go to Alan. He’s-”
“No! It has to be you!” North protested, voice pitched. “Please, Phi. You’re the only person I can talk to about this. It’s really important.”
Now he absolutely had no idea why North had called. What could North possibly want to talk to him about over any of the others in the X-Hunter pack?
Way glanced at Martin. The pup was still sound asleep, and had wrapped his arms around one of his larger plushies now that Way wasn’t laying next to him anymore. “Do you want me to come over now?”
“Phi, you have a pup. It’s late.”
“I can bring him with me!” It’d be easy enough to bring Martin over to North’s apartment. All he’d have to do was bring Martin’s pillow and blanket and some toys, and he was sure Martin would happily fall asleep on North’s bed while they talked. Martin liked car rides and visiting his new uncles. He’d be fine with being woken up for the drive over.
“That’ll just wake him up! It’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow. What time does the little guy wake up?”
“Early.”
“We can get lunch and go to the playground.”
-
When they arrived at the address of a small restaurant North had texted him to meet at, Way could immediately tell that something was very wrong with North. The Omega looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes and face pale, except for where it looked like he’d been rubbing away tears, his cheeks still a little pink and raw. His hair was a mess, and he just had on a plain t-shirt, sweats, and sandals, not one of the fun outfits he always wore.
For a moment, Way was worried that North was ill, but then he caught sight of something hidden under the collar of North’s shirt.
It was a scent blocker patch, and North never wore scent blockers. North had no shame in his designation as an Omega, proudly wearing his natural scent in the world of racing, which was predominantly Alphas and male Betas.
The only time he’d ever seen North actually wear one before was when they’d been driving back from a trip with Alan and North had suddenly gone into pre-heat. They’d stopped at a pharmacy and grabbed a box of patches, which Sonic had stuck every one of onto him so that Babe could handle the rest of the drive without gagging at the sweetness and being sent into rut right there in the car, hanging his head out the window like a dog. Way had pretended to be avoiding North’s scent as well like the others, as they’d all thought he was an Alpha that could be affected by North’s pheromones.
Why they hadn’t just called a cab to take them and let Alan drive North alone, Way had no idea. They hadn’t been able to compete that weekend; Babe, Sonic, and Alan all succumbed to the pheromones after getting home. Way had taken the free weekend to secretly get work done at his showroom, as Enigmas were immune to heat pheromones and he hadn’t gone into an early full or partial rut like the others in the car.
The extreme scenario had never happened again. Alan had made sure to be on top of North’s cycle after that, cementing his position as their Head Alpha. Otherwise it would have been a huge overstep on Alan’s part as a boss, getting so involved in something so personal.
So there was no reason for North to be wearing one now, not unless he was trying to hide his scent. As they approached the Omega, Way was glad for once to be an Enigma. Though his senses weren’t as enhanced as Babe’s, they were much better than a normal Alpha’s. Scent blockers didn’t do much but dull down scents to him as long as he was close enough.
He and Martin both caught North’s scent at the same time.
“P’North feels sad!” Martin let go of Way’s hand so he could throw himself at North’s legs. Unprepared for the pup to launch at him, North stumbled, catching himself on the wall of the restaurant. “Don’t be sad, Phi.”
North was trying to cover up distress, but couldn’t mask the pheromones from them. Though they didn’t cause a primal urge to protect, comfort, or give space like they would to an ordinary Omega or Alpha, the both of them recognized it and reacted.
Way pulled North to one of the outdoor tables. Martin tried to climb onto North’s lap as Way pushed him down into a seat, but Way scooped him up and held him on his own lap instead.
“What’s wrong?”
North gave them a big fake smile. Way hated it. Martin squirmed, trying to escape his lap to get to North. “It’s nothing! We can talk about it later. Are you ready for lunch, kiddo?”
“No.”
North ignored Martin’s unhappy rejection. “This place sells good sharing food. I’ll go get a meal.” He got up and walked off a little faster than necessary inside to place their order. When he came back, he set the food and drink tray in the middle of the table.
Actually faced with food, Martin eagerly reached for it to start eating. Way took a bit as well. But as he gave Martin his drink after the pup ate too much without it and started whining a bit, he realized North hadn’t touched the food and was barely sipping on the soda he’d gotten.
The Omega also hadn’t said anything, just watching them. His eyes were lingering on Martin as the pup sipped his juice.
“What’s your drink, Mama? Can I try, please?” Way let Martin have his boba tea as well.
“North… aren’t you going to eat? You love this kind of stuff.”
“Uh… I’m just not that hungry.”
“You invited us for lunch.” North shrugged. Way couldn’t imagine what could be wrong for North to be acting like this. He tried to think of what could have happened. Suddenly worried, he grabbed the edge of the table. “Is Sonic okay?”
North jumped. “Huh? Sonic? Yeah, as far as I know. Why, um, why do you ask?”
Way breathed out a sigh of relief. “I thought maybe something happened to him and you were going to be the one to tell me. You’re freaking me out acting like this.”
“Nope. Sonic is fine. He’s doing his fashion stuff.” North sounded miserable. The Omega crossed his arms over his stomach, leaning back against his chair.
Before Way could try to figure out why North would look even more upset at the mention of his best friend, Martin started coughing as he reached for the food. A bunch of boba balls and tea fell out of his mouth and onto the table, and Way grabbed a handful of napkins to wipe it up before it could spill off onto them.
North laughed.
It was nice to hear North laugh. But Way couldn’t focus on that. He had a four-year-old to wrangle. “Martin, why? No, don’t try to put them back in your mouth. They’re dirty now.” Way shooed Martin’s hands away from the table as he reached for the boba balls. “Drink your juice.”
“Aw. I wanted to get them all from the cup, Mama.”
North leaned over to high-five Martin. “It’s fun, huh? Nice try.”
-
After Martin had eaten his fill, they left to follow North to his apartment, where from there they walked to the park. Martin excitedly went off to play by himself, and Way and North sat on a bench nearby. North looked stressed as they sat there, the distress becoming stronger under the scent patch. Way tried waiting for North to work himself up to talking about whatever he’d asked him out there for, but the Omega was just shutting down.
“North… why did you want to talk to me? No one asks me for advice anymore.”
“You’re the only one I can talk to about this,” North insisted.
“Why?”
North hesitated. Then, instead of answering, he quietly asked, “Do you like being a dad?”
Not expecting that, Way paused for a moment. “Uh… yes?” North looked at him expectantly. Seeing that his friend wanted more than a simple yes, Way continued. “I do. It’s- it’s really hard, and it took so long to adjust to it and most of the time I have no idea what I’m doing even though somehow he’s happy and alive and seems to actually like me so I guess I’m doing something right or at least Pete is somehow keeping me from fucking him up, but… but I really love Martin. Being involved in his life again is the best decision I ever made.”
“Yeah, you suck at decisions, usually. This one and the one to be with Pete are your only good ones. Great ones!”
Way glared at him, but only for a moment. “Yes. I’m… I’m really glad I listened to Pete. It makes me really happy, having a family. Seeing him be so happy and have a normal life, after everything… it’s really nice.” He looked over at Martin and smiled. The pup had made his way to the top of a slide and laughed as he went down. As soon as he landed on the sand he jumped up and hurried to climb back up to slide again, giggling the whole way. Then Way frowned. “Though I hope he doesn’t do the boba thing ever again. What was that? Was I not supposed to give him that?”
North shrugged. “It’s fine, he didn’t choke. He’ll definitely do that again, though. That’s a normal kid thing. I used to put all sorts of stuff in my mouth. It drove my parents crazy.”
“Besides that, it’s really nice.” He still didn’t get why North only wanted to ask him. If it was about parenting, even Alan was still a better bet. He’d taken in Andy after everything, and had technically been a parent longer than Way had. He was probably much better at it too, Way thought. North could also go to his actual parents. If it was something about being a dad, North had his father, another Omega like him, who could answer. “So, what did you-?”
“Why’d you even have him?” North blurted out his next question.
Way stared at North, surprised. For a moment he was offended, as he’d just explained that he loved Martin and being part of a family, but then realized North didn’t mean anything bad by it. He looked genuinely curious, and shockingly emotional. His eyes were a bit wet. Way grabbed his hand. “North, are you crying?”
“No,” North sniffled. “But, um, how come you didn’t just… get an abortion? You just gave him to Pete after having him, so why even go through the whole…”
“I didn’t trust any doctors. It was easier just to go through with it and give the baby to Pete than risk Tony finding out if I went to a clinic.” The Chen Family Foundation had made deals with all sorts of hospitals and medical centers. Terrified of being found out, Way had refused to go to any. Thankfully, Pete had been well-prepared to take Martin once the pup had been born, so all Way had to do was hide that he was pregnant until then.
“So you would have?”
“…Yeah. I tried pretty hard to not have him. You know how Babe and I used to be. Plus, racing.”
North gasped. “Oh my god. You raced while you were pregnant.”
“For a couple months. Then I screwed up with my powers and Babe and Alan found out and banned me from racing.”
Somehow that seemed to cheer North up. “That’s so cool. Martin’s competed in races! Your little co-driver. Did you win any?”
North’s reaction to him racing for almost two whole trimesters of his pregnancy was far different than Babe and Alan’s had been. Way could still clearly remember them yelling at him.
And then them yelling again the next morning when they realized he’d coped with the first time via his usual means of lots of alcohol.
He sort of wanted to do that now, remembering it. “I won one,” he said weakly.
North clapped his hands together. “Martin won a race! Does he know? That’s so great. And he lived! Man, you used to drink like crazy too. He’s a tough little guy, huh? Must be an Enigma thing to get through all that and still pop out in one piece.”
Way wasn’t sure how he was supposed to process North’s view of his pregnancy. Way had always seen it as extremely negative, something he felt guilty about despite things turning out well in the end. Martin was obviously fine, now four years old and cheerfully making his way to a small climbing thing vaguely shaped like an animal. And Way was back in the pup’s life, had been since he’d gotten out of the hospital and moved in with Pete.
He looked at North and felt a bit of whiplash at how the Omega suddenly looked stressed again. North’s up and down mood was turning out to be a lot to handle. He wondered if Pete ever felt the same about him, but dismissed it. Pete loved spoiling him, regardless of his moods. He couldn’t possibly ever feel the same.
“Why are you asking so much about Martin? Are you trying to babysit him? Charlie and Alan have that covered.”
“Would you have been fine, if you’d gotten rid of him?”
“What?” It’d been his intention, if not for the fact that getting medical help was too risky and the pup being too resilient against everything Way tried to cause a miscarriage. “Yes, I think so. I wanted to. I mean, now I’m glad I didn’t, but I guess I could have just… tried for another pup if I’d wanted one?”
“Would you ever do that now? Have another pup?”
Way shook his head. “I’m fine with just Martin!” But then he was unsure. “For now. I don’t know. Pete has never brought up having more. Martin’s never asked either, and don’t give him ideas. North, what’s going on?”
“What was it like being pregnant?” he asked instead of answering.
Way almost shuddered at the memories of all his pregnancy symptoms he’d had to hide when he was expecting Martin. “Awful. But a lot of that might have been from dealing with everything. I’m not the right person to ask about what a normal pregnancy is like.”
“But you’re the only person I can ask!” North protested.
“What about your dad? Don’t you have a bunch of siblings?”
“I don’t want to talk to my parents about this! They’ll freak out on me, especially my dad! He’s always so- ugh! I can’t tell him. He doesn’t like that I’m a driver at all, he’d just get even more upset with me. So you’re the only one I can talk to.”
Right. Way forgot that North didn’t talk to his parents hardly at all. “But why?”
Finally, North blurted out in a big rush, “Because I think I’m pregnant with Sonic’s baby and he’s off following his dreams and you’re the only friend I have who’s ever been pregnant even though you were dealing with all that crazy Tony bullshit and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, P’Way!”
Way’s jaw dropped. It took a few seconds for his brain to process everything. Then, shocked, he said, “Wait, you’re pregnant?!”
North slumped forward, burying his face in his hands. “I don’t know. I think so.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?! You’re asking me all this stuff and you don’t know?”
North groaned. “I’m sorry! I’m too scared to check. But my heat didn’t come on time or at all yet and I’ve been throwing up and I feel so weird. How’d you realize you were pregnant?”
“Uh, I didn’t let myself think about it until Babe asked me why he could hear something like a heartbeat coming from me that didn’t match my pulse and I panicked and used my power on him to not pay attention to that.”
“P’Way!”
It was time to move off of that little anecdote. “But the nausea and no rut. And exhaustion. My chest hurt too. But I was really stressed, though, so I wasn’t actually sure until Babe mentioned the heartbeat and I couldn’t just ignore it. I didn’t think it was even possible. Are you stressed?”
“I wasn’t until I thought I might be pregnant,” North said, totally stressed. There were tears in his eyes. “What do I do, P’Way?”
“You need to take a test!” Way blurted, now also stressed. “Go to a store right now and buy one!”
“What if it’s a false positive or negative or- or whatever?”
“Then buy a bunch of them. Is there a pharmacy near here?” Way stood up and forced North to get up as well. He tried to think of what Pete might suggest in this situation. He let go of North as soon as he was up just in case he accidentally used his powers. He did not want to use them in this situation, especially not to a friend like North. “We don’t need to stress out unless one comes out positive for sure. Let’s just go and get one.”
North nodded, sniffling.
Way herded him toward the park entrance, careful still not to touch him. He could hardly believe what was happening. Though he’d known Sonic had been in love with North for ages and that North had been oblivious to his own crush, he’d never expected it to amount to anything anytime soon. Especially not in a potential baby. It was almost too much to process, especially combined with how he was still reeling from all the bad memory inducing questions North had asked. He still felt the guilt that had come up, thinking about how he’d almost missed being a part of Martin’s life. He was so glad Pete had persisted in asking him to be a part of their family when he was in the hospital.
As they neared the sidewalk, Way heard Martin calling out, “Mama?” in a worried voice.
Way exchanged a wide-eyed look with North.
“Oh, shit- Martin!” Way spun around, horrified as he realized they’d been about to leave Martin all alone at the park. “Pup, we’re over here!” he shouted.
Martin immediately ran towards them. He latched onto Way’s legs. “Mama! Mama, don’t forget about me!”
“No, no, we didn’t forget about you, pup,” Way lied to Martin before the pup could get too upset, even though he had forgotten about him despite thinking about him. “North and I were just walking around.”
“I couldn’t see Mama and I got scared…”
“I’m sorry, pup. We didn’t mean to scare you. We just got bored of sitting and wanted to walk in the park while you were playing.”
“Oh.”
Way lifted him up. “North has to pick up something from the store. We’ll go with him and then to his house. I’ll get you some snacks.”
That cheered the boy right up.
As they headed in the direction of a nearby store, North asked, “Your parents ever forget you before, kid?”
“P’Babe forgot me in the garage last week… it was scary…”
Way hadn’t heard about that yet. “I didn’t know that. Does Pete know about that?”
“Papa said he would tell Mama.”
-
North was too nervous to grab a test, so after letting Martin get an armful of candy, juices, and snacks, Way grabbed a couple different ones and tossed them into their basket, a small bottle of alcohol for himself, and then dragged North to the register. He almost pulled out Pete’s card out of habit, but then was worried the little convenience store might send off an alert to Pete’s bank, and he didn’t feel like giving his mate a heart attack if he checked the purchase and somehow saw all the tests.
His own neglected card was finally brought out.
North seemed to get even more anxious as they left the store. Way had Martin carry their bag, the four-year-old always happy to help out with things. He grabbed his pup’s hand, then North’s as well, leading them both back to the apartment.
Once they were in the apartment, Way got Martin settled in front of the tv, dumping the bag of snacks onto the coffee table. North had plenty of entertainment options that would suit a child, so he grabbed something with a Pokémon on the front and put that in. Way grabbed his drink and the tests from the snack pile before Martin could try to see what they were.
Way had been quite proud of himself for his journey in quitting drinking, limiting himself only to drinks that Pete made for him or ordered when they went out to eat somewhere. Pete knew his limits, and what he liked, so Way tried his best to stick to only drinking when his mate put something in his hand.
Usually, he’d feel horrible for falling back on old habits, especially when he was looking after Martin.
But there was no way that Way was going to sit through North’s pregnancy scare without a bit of alcohol in him.
He downed the small bottle and then forced North into the bathroom. He closed the door behind them and locked it, just in case Martin decided he wanted to join in with whatever was going on. Way opened up the tests and lined them up on the edge of the sink. North pressed his back against the wall, trying to stay as far away as possible from them. In his little apartment bathroom, it wasn’t very far.
Way reached over and grabbed the front of his shirt to pull him over. “Use these.”
North looked ready to cry again. “But what if I’m actually-”
“You might not! And I might have broken my drinking rule for nothing. I’ll set timers on my phone.”
“Can you use your power to make me do it?”
“No. I did not drink nearly enough for that.” North hesitated, then opened his mouth to ask something. “I’m not going to drink whatever you have here! I have to drive Martin home later!”
“Why did Sonic have to leave?”
Way opened his arms. North practically collapsed against him, starting to sob. Despite wanting to rub North’s back, Way carefully kept his hands hovering over North. “He’s following his dream, North. It’s okay.”
“It’s not. Now I’m probably pregnant with my best friend’s kid and he’s not gonna be there if I keep it.”
“Of course he will be. Sonic will come back as soon as you tell him.”
“But then I’m just gonna ruin his dream.”
Way was pretty sure this would actually be Sonic’s dream, his longtime crush having his baby and wanting to be with him. “They might not come out positive.”
“I miss him a lot,” North whimpered against him. “I didn’t realize how important he was to me before he left. Even if I’m not pregnant I still wish he’d come back. I feel so selfish.”’
Way squeezed him, and then let go again. “You’re not selfish. Sonic misses you just as much, I bet. You’re important to him as well. I never thought you’d get around to sleeping with each other. That’s something, huh?”
North shook his head, sniffling. “Sonic has slept with plenty of Omegas. I wasn’t anything special. It was just stress relief before his flight.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t. You’re more than just some random Omega to him, North. He adores you.”
“Then why did he leave?”
Way bit his lip. He didn’t want to sound mean at all, but North needed the truth, just like he had. It’d been why he’d never gotten Babe, why he’d almost missed out on being with Pete. “Well, you didn’t try very hard to keep him,” he told his friend.
North just sobbed. He didn’t pull away, instead burying his face against the crook of Way’s neck, arms wrapping tight around him. Way finally rubbed his back, leaning his cheek against North’s head.
In the past he would have panicked and told his friends to stop. But Way knew now it was better to just ride it out with them, to just be there if he couldn’t think of anything else to say. So he let North cry against him.
After just a couple of minutes, North was able to collect himself and pulled back from Way. He kept one hand holding onto Way’s arm, but stood up straight and wiped his eyes. “Thanks, Phi.” He took a deep breath. “I’m okay. You give really good hugs now.”
Considering how often Pete and Martin hugged him, Way wasn’t surprised. Pete and North were a similar height as well, so of course Way had been able to hold him easily.
North finally grabbed the first test. Way brought out his phone to set timers and turned around while North used each one.
Once each was back sitting on the edge of the sink and North had zipped up, they went to sit on the couch while they waited ten minutes for the first timer to go off. Seeing how North was glued to Way’s side, holding onto his arm for comfort, Martin frowned and climbed onto his mother’s lap. After a moment, North shifted and then leaned against Way so he could also hug the pup, wanting his nephew as comfort.
“P’North is still sad?”
“North just doesn’t feel well, cub. He’ll be okay.”
Martin eyed both of them suspiciously, but decided to believe him. “Mama’s helping P’North feel better?”
North gave him a half-hearted thumbs up. “Yeah. Your mom’s doing his best.”
The pup was still frowning. He sniffed North and bounced a little, unhappy. Way ripped the scent blocker patch off of North’s neck. North yelped and then grumbled, rubbing at the irritated spot. Martin settled down as North’s scent returned to its normal level.
With basically both of them on his lap, Way asked Martin what was happening in the movie to distract them from the wait and keep the pup from scrutinizing North long enough that he might realize he was crying. Martin launched into explaining what the characters were doing, and who each of them were.
The pup whined when he was moved off ten minutes later and told that they couldn’t watch with him anymore for a while, but being handed a candy distracted him. Way dragged North to the bathroom. The Omega did his best to stay quiet as he was pulled, not wanting to alert Martin to the fact that he was upset.
Neither of them were ready to look at the results. North’s hands started shaking, so Way took a deep breath and grabbed the first one and its box for him. He checked the instructions. One line for negative, two for positive.
There were two lines.
“Shit, North.”
“What?”
Way could feel his heart racing. “This is just the first one. We’ve still got the others.”
“Phi! What does it say?!”
Biting his lip, Way showed him the stick. “It’s positive.”
North recoiled from it. “Oh my god. I’m-”
“It’s just the first one! It could be a fluke!”
It wasn’t. Shortly after, Way could only stare at the tests, which all displayed positive signs. He really wished he had gotten something stronger to drink. The offered drinks that were sitting in North’s fridge seemed extremely tempting. He forced himself to remember that he needed to drive Martin home later.
North sunk down to the floor. “Oh, fuck.”
Way knelt next to him. “North, you can always just, ah… get rid of it. Then everything will be fine.”
North shook his head. “I want to keep them,” he sobbed. “They’re mine and Sonic’s.”
“Are you sure? I could drive you somewhere.”
“I’m keeping them. Even though I- I’ll be by myself.”
Way squeezed his shoulders for a moment. “You won’t be by yourself, North. You have the rest of the pack. They’ll support you. And… and I’ll help with what I can.” North hugged him. “You’ll have to tell at least P’Alan soon. No racing or drinking! Don’t be like me.”
“Ah. I can’t drive… I have a race this weekend. Practice tomorrow. Uncle won’t have anyone to run in the lower division… But I don’t want him to tell Sonic!”
Way didn’t want North to make the same mistakes he’d made. “North. If you’re really serious about keeping it and don’t change your mind, you have to tell Sonic eventually.”
North grabbed his arms, desperate. “Don’t tell him! I have to do it myself!” He shrank back, biting his lip. It was awful, seeing North like this. He was always so happy, the light of the team. It was just wrong to see him upset, making himself small, distress pouring off of him in waves. “I- I’ll tell him the next time he’s in the country.”
They had no idea when Sonic was coming back. If he was coming back. Sonic was doing pretty well for himself the past two months he’d been gone. For all any of them knew, Sonic’s fashion career would continue to take off and he’d have a steady line of international work for a long, long time. Without North, there was really nothing tying him back to Thailand. Sonic seemed perfectly content watching the team on social media and calling the pack over the phone to keep in contact. He’d never mentioned a set return date of any kind, though he’d promised to come back and visit someday.
North did not want to tell him.
Alan would have to be the one to get through to him. He at least knew from Way’s example how shitty things ended up when a pregnancy was kept secret from the sire for a long time. Way shelved that thought for later and changed the subject. “North, you have to set a doctor’s appointment. So they can check for sure and actually tell you everything that I don’t know about.”
“Like prenatal pills and stuff?” North asked, kind of whimpering.
It took Way a moment to remember what those even were. He definitely hadn’t taken those, though Alan and Babe had practically force fed him a variety of vitamins after they found out he was pregnant, and then badgered him about taking them for the rest of the pregnancy. “Yes. Your baby isn’t like Martin. You can’t avoid doctors.”
He ended up taking North’s phone and booking an appointment online for him. “It’s for tomorrow, at two. I’ll text Alan that you can’t make practice.”
With that settled, Way brought North out of the bathroom and to his room instead. He checked on Martin as they walked by, and the pup had found a large bowl and was opening and dumping all of his snacks and candies into it. That would be keeping the boy’s attention for quite a while, so Way returned his full focus on North.
Way didn’t really know what else he could say to North to comfort him. He hadn’t really expected him to be so adamant about wanting to keep the baby. But he wanted to be a supportive friend, so he went with what he did know how to do. He had North lie down on his bed where his nest was, and then settled in next to him, cuddling him the way that Sonic used to do to him whenever they shared a bed or couch. The nest wasn’t as cozy as North used to keep them the last time Way had seen one, but it had a bunch of Sonic’s clothes and bedding in. Pretty much everything the Alpha had left behind on his own apartment had made its way over to North’s bedroom, either on the nest itself or piled off to the side for future nesting use. North turned so he could press his face against him, sobbing still.
He let North cry himself out. The Omega didn’t seem to have anything else to say either. He’d blurted out all his worries in the bathroom, and there wasn’t anything else to add. North knew he understood how world-shattering it could be to discover you were pregnant. They didn’t need words, not really.
Eventually, North sat up. He wiped his eyes with his sleeves. Way got up as well, rubbing North’s back.
“Do you think I’ll be an okay dad?” North asked, voice rough from crying.
“You’ll be way better than me.” North didn’t look too sure. “You're already doing better. At this point, I went and drank until I blacked out. You aren’t doing that. Don’t do that.”
Shaking his head, North said, “I’m not gonna do that. No more drinking.”
“See? Far better.”
The door creaked as it was pushed open. Way looked over at the sound of more sniffling, this time from Martin instead of North. The pup came into the room, his hands and shirt covered with snack crumbs, a little smeared on his face. His eyes were brimming with tears.
Before Way could even ask what was wrong, Martin whimpered, “Mama, my tummy hurts…!”
Maybe leaving a four-year-old with a bagful of snacks and candy with permission to eat as much as he wanted hadn’t been the best idea. Way wasn’t the one in charge of feeding Martin when they were home. Either Pete or their housekeeper was responsible for stocking the kitchen, and they prepared meals in advance or cooked for Martin so Way didn’t have to make anything himself. Martin didn’t get junk food very often. There was never any in the house.
He’d known which ones Martin liked just because he sometimes got some from Charlie or Alan as treats, or would let him pick out something on his own if they were out.
But apparently the pup was too young to know his own limits on just how much he could consume at once. Way realized he should have expected that after the whole boba tea incident.
Martin joined them on the bed so he could cuddle them and get his tummy rubbed.
They stayed for a while more, until Way’s phone started ringing. Pete’s name popped up on the screen, and Way realized he’d been gone far longer than he’d initially told his mate. Before leaving, he’d called Pete and said they were just going out for lunch and then to the park with North. Pete was probably worried about them after he got home from his business trip to an empty house.
He was just going to text Pete an update, but North started pushing them up and out of the nest. “North-”
“You guys can head home. K’Pete must be freaking out.”
“I can tell him if you need us to stay. Or I can ask him to come pick up Martin so I can stay with you.”
Martin, half asleep, whined and grabbed onto Way’s shirt. “I don’t wanna go home without Mama...”
“It’s fine, Phi,” North told him. “I think I want to be alone for a bit. You and Martin can head home.”
Way hesitated. “Are you sure? I can really just call Pete to pick him up.” he asked, covering Martin’s ears. The Omega was still upset. Way didn’t want to leave North alone if he needed a friend with him.
“Yeah! Your kid needs you. He doesn’t feel good. It’s okay, P’Way, really. I need some time to think, that’s all.”
It didn’t seem like he’d be able to stay. So he gave North one last hug and gathered up Martin to bring to the car. Once Martin was strapped into his car seat and Way was ready to drive, he set his phone in a holder and called Pete, putting it on speaker.
Pete answered almost immediately. “Way! How are you, baby?”
Though Pete was trying to sound casual, he was a bit too loud and quick with his greeting. He was worried.
“Martin and I are fine.” Martin protested in the back, grumbling a little. “We’re on our way home now.”
His mate’s voice was relieved as he responded, “That’s great. How was North? What did he need your help with?”
Way stopped the car at the exit of the apartment complex’s parking lot. He leaned his head against the steering wheel and sighed.
“Angel? Are you there?”
“Papa, my tummy hurts,” Martin called up to the phone.
“Oh, poor thing. What happened, little one? Did you eat something that didn’t feel good?”
“Yes…” Martin mumbled, pouting in his seat.
Way didn’t think the phone would have picked that up. “I gave him too much candy and snacks.”
“Ah. At that age they don’t know when to stop. Like goldfish. He’ll be fine soon. So what happened with North? You’ve been gone all day.”
“North is-” Way was suddenly aware that if Martin knew, he’d blurt it out to everyone on the team, possibly before North could. He couldn’t even risk trying to say it in another language. Martin was very good at his English and Chinese lessons. He might know. There was also a chance he could repeat it. “Um, you know how I was really freaked out by a certain thing that happened to my body. Almost five years ago? Don’t say it. North is also that.”
“Oh. Sonic’s?”
“Yes. From the night before he left.”
“Is he going to stop for the season? Or…?”
“He’s already canceled practice. He’ll tell Alan before the weekend, since Alan won’t have any drivers to run unless he finds someone or puts in Charlie.”
“I’ll talk to him about that.” The team losing a driver would be something they’d have to discuss with their sponsors, especially their title sponsor. “Are you sure you’re alright, love?”
He wasn’t, not really, but he couldn’t say that in front of Martin. “It’ll be fine. Can you stay on the phone while I’m driving back?”
“Of course, baby.”
He resumed driving. Pete talked about his flight back and what he’d been up to at home while he waited for them. Standard stuff, but it was good to hear his mate’s voice. Martin dozed off in the backseat.
Way tried not to think too much about everything, trying to stay focused on driving. But he couldn’t help it. North being pregnant brought back too many memories. As he dwelled on it more and more, Way became convinced that he absolutely couldn’t allow North to make any of the mistakes or poor choices that he had. His life would have been much happier if he’d just ignored his own instincts and fears and let Pete and Alan figure things out for him.
He had to get North to tell Sonic sooner rather than later. Though he trusted Alan, he had a feeling that the team captain would be too nervous to press North too hard. He’d been extremely careful with Way while he was pregnant. And if Sonic really was doing well in his career, even if Alan convinced him to visit without spilling things, there was a chance that something would come up.
There had to be a way to get Sonic to Bangkok so North could be convinced more easily to confess to him. Maybe Pete would be able to help him come up with something once they were home and Martin was out of earshot.
An idea suddenly hit him as he wondered what Pete might come up with. “Ah!”
“Way? What’s wrong?” Pete asked, worried.
Martin woke up at his exclamation. “Huh? Mama?”
“Pete!” Way glanced at the rear view mirror and seeing Martin’s startled expression, quickly assured him and went back to what he was saying to Pete, “It’s nothing, Martin. I’m just talking on the phone. Pete, make your company do some kind of advertising thing and hire Sonic as the model for it!”
“Of course, baby. I’ll start making arrangements for that tomorrow. Do you miss your friend?”
It was nice that Pete would do anything for him. But he couldn’t bask in that at the moment. “North said he won’t tell Sonic about everything unless they’re face to face here. But if you hire Sonic and force him to come back, then North can’t put it off forever!”
“That’s brilliant, Way. I’ll definitely start that tomorrow.”
-
The next afternoon, Way got a text from North. He opened it and could see a picture of an ultrasound. Having never really looked at one before other than ignoring them on TV or in ads, he wasn’t sure what he was looking at. Nothing looked like a baby. Just blobs. Two of the blobs were marked A and B.
The ellipses popped up, North typing. Then, ‘twins’ was the only thing he sent.
Way felt like he was going to pass out. He couldn’t believe North was going to be having two pups and not just one. He forwarded the image to Pete. A minute later, his mate sent back that he’d just had his secretary start looking into getting a flight booked for Sonic as soon as possible.