Chapter Text
John hadn’t exactly had an easy life. He had a loving family, with the keyword had .
His father had been an Alpha, fit the exact stereotype too, he had always been strict yet still protective of his family. He always provided for them and made sure nobody went to bed hungry or scared. He had this softness to him, one only for his family, who he always loved more than life itself.
His mother was a Beta, she was a kind woman who had a love for anything involving her hands. Whether it was sewing, painting, or woodwork, if it needed her to do something physical with her hands, she loved it. John still remembered that look on her face when his father had renovated the garage into a cozy studio for her, the fresh scent of pine and oak still in the air from the renovations.
There were a few siblings too, 2 brothers and a sister; Ian, Keith, and Blair. Ian was a year older than John, he ended up a Beta just like their mother. Last John checked, he ended up scoring a decent job as a carpenter. Keith was a year younger than John and was an Alpha like their father. Keith had always enjoyed sports and last John checked, he joined some famous soccer team back home. Blair was 3 years older than John, she was also an Alpha, but she had moved out on her 18th birthday and they lost touch.
Everyone had expected John to be an Alpha, given his energetic charm and how he always had something to say. He was such a feisty kid from the moment he popped into this world, it was never dull with him around. Issues only began to arise once his 14th birthday passed and there was still no sign of him presenting. In fact, he didn’t present until his 16th birthday, and it was as an Omega. The first Omega to present in the MacTavish bloodline in almost a century.
And safe to say, his father didn’t react well. He was kicked out, had to scramble to find someone willing to sell him a fake ID so he could join the military and avoid homelessness. And it turns out he preforms very well when he’s at risk of homelessness, he practically broke records in the SAS and was the youngest to graduate training. Sure, they eventually found out about the fake ID, but by then he had proven himself too useful to throw away.
And that’s how he got here, Sergeant of TaskForce141, a demolitions expert and even taken in as the pack’s Omega. They didn’t find his loudmouth irritating or his snarky comments grating, they welcomed it, him , with open arms. He had even been given the nickname Johnny by his Lieutenant, an Alpha named Simon Riley who had the loveliest scent of gunpowder, Bourbon, and charcoal. A scent Johnny could spend all day inhaling, the scent that always calmed his nerves and melted his brain.
Sure, things with Simon, or Ghost as he likes to be called, were slow at first. He actually thought Ghost hated him the first few weeks he was here, but they finally were in a good place. Johnny had finally managed to sleep with Ghost during his 27th birthday last month and he could practically smell how much closer they were now!
Though a small issue began to rear its way into Johnny’s peripheral, and that was how avoidant Ghost was becoming again. Those lingering touches that had finally grown more confident were now pulling away, that chuckle whenever Johnny bantered with Ghost on comms grew colder, and Ghost even began sitting away from him when they’d go to the pub after a mission. Things were just getting good and now Ghost was regressing?! It made Johnny’s Omega whine, uncertain what he did wrong or how to fix it.
So, since he didn’t know what was wrong with Ghost, he chose not to dwell on it. Instead, he approached the Beta of the pack, Kyle, while the sun was still rising.
“Kyle, got a sec?” He asked as he waved the Beta down
“Yeah, why?” Kyle asked
“Ye got time tae spar?” Johnny asked as he approached Kyle, that itch to burn off steam rising in his head
Kyle paused before he sighed and flashed a weak smile at Johnny, “Sorry, I don’t have that much time. Have to go help Ghost with training recruits in 10.”
Johnny’s smile faltered before he nodded, “Aye, got it. Good luck” He muttered before he walked off
He went down the hall until he reached his room. He shoved the bedroom door open before curling up in his nest. That familiar scent of gunpowder and bourbon was mixed with another Alpha’s scent, Price’s scent of cigar smoke, pine needles, and rust. Johnny couldn’t help but curl up deeper into his nest, shoving his nose into one of Price’s spare beanies he had stolen for the massive nest built of everyone’s clothes, his own blankets, and some blankets he had stolen from his pack mates. Some of Ghost’s spare masks, Kyle’s sweaters, and Price’s jacket alongside that beanie were all scattered throughout the thick nest. That alluring call of sleep tempted Johnny, who reluctantly closed his eyes as the familiar scents of his pack mates soothed his tired mind.
Johnny didn’t know how long he had been asleep, but it was dark by the time he woke up. He groaned as he pushed himself into a sitting position, his hair stuck all sorts of ways and his body sticky with sweat. His bright blue eyes widened when he felt a familiar feeling, this awful sickening sensation practically crawling up his throat, his stomach in knots as he rushed out of the bedroom and just barely made it to the bathroom in time, thick and dark bile hurled into the toilet as a cold sweat ran down Johnny’s forehead.
He had been feeling sicker lately, but he had thought it was just something he ate. He was never the type to throw up easily, and this couldn’t be some symptom of heat, his heat wasn’t due for another-
No..
In the dimly lit bathroom, Johnny’s hunched over and trembling body jolted up from in front of the toilet as an awful thought rushed through his head, more bile rose through his throat and ejected into the toilet.
Johnny shakily stood as he used a piece of toilet paper to wipe the remnants of vomit from his mouth, before he flushed it along with the dark liquid covering the toilet bowl.
The man practically rushed to put on his boots, he fumbled with the laces and stumbled into the empty living room, the only light sound being the red illumination from the digital clock on the wall. It read 23:00, which was just enough time for Johnny.
He left the base with nothing but his wallet and some random car keys he had stolen off of the coffee table, quick to find which car they belong to and rush out of the base’s car park.
This awful pit grew in his stomach, absolute dread overwhelmed his mind as he broke nearly all traffic laws just to get to a shitty corner store a few minutes away. He hopped out of the car and immediately went inside the store, ignorant to the concerned stares at his frantic state.
Johnny let out a huff to calm himself, remind himself he could be wrong and this could be nothing, and that he shouldn’t embarrass himself with people watching. He took another deep breath to gather his bearings before he stepped into the pharmacy section.
Everything after that was a bit of a blur. He recalled paying for the tests and locking himself in the store’s bathroom, his heart dropping further and further as more knots grew in his stomach at the possible reality. He had to force himself to breath, but not too much or he’d hyperventilate.
And now, he stood before three little tests rested upside down on the bathroom counter, his heart pounding through his chest as trembling hands reached out to turn over the tests one by one.
Positive
Positive
And… Positive
“ God fucking dammit ” Johnny swore under his breath, he stuffed the tests deep into the bin before storming out of that corner store and back into the car
Johnny had to hit his head on the steering wheel a few times before he mustered up the courage to tread back into base. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw nobody was up yet, tired eyes still scanning the hall regardless as he stumbled back into his nest and laid down for the night, with the decision to confront Ghost in the morning. He needed to at least figure out what the hell was up with him before dealing with all this
So, as soon as daylight broke, Johnny was up and dressed, a blue t-shirt shoved over his body as he marched down the hall like a man on a mission. Though he paused at two very familiar scents in the gym, mixed with some soured anger.
“Bloody hell Simon, You gonna talk this out or not?” Price asked, visibly irritated as he stood above Ghost
Ghost let out a low growl as he continued lifting weights, a thick balaclava masking his expression as he spoke, “Talk out what ?”
“For fuck’s sake, even Kyle’s seeing it now. I don’t know what the hell happened between you and Soap, but you need to talk it out.” Price growled back
“Nothing happened, ever think that’s it?” Ghost retorted angrily as Johnny took a step back from the door, “Maybe I jus' don’t need an Omega, yeah? Don’t want to deal with all that”
If that pit in his stomach was bad before, it just got even worse. It felt like Johnny’s breath was stolen from him as he backed away further, at the news he had been dreading all these months
That he wasn’t truly wanted after all.