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The game was a mess. That was the simplest way Erling could describe it. If he were to be more specific, he’d say it was a dishonourable, unsportsmanlike, overly violent shit show. The expectations had been high for the England v Argentina match, with the aggressive playing style the Argentinians had adopted going against the undeniable mixture of talent and desperation the English team had, the game was bound to be intense. Yet that word once again failed to convey the wreck of emotions that had violated the alpha’s mind whilst watching. Especially whilst watching Jude, England’s star midfielder, one of the three omega’s in the entire World Cup roster and amongst the most talented players at the entire tournament, if not in the entire world. The omega was a monster on the pitch; quick, sharp, driven, immensely skilled, the man was simply incredible to witness when playing. Except for the fact that he’d barely even played against Argentina. Instead, every time he got close to the ball he was swarmed, hands ripping into his clothes, arms choking around his neck, bladed feet slamming into his shins, the omega had been jumped every time the ball even veered in his direction from the very start till the very end. And with it, the world watched as Jude’s minimal patience disappeared.
After all, he wasn’t exactly known for keeping his composure. When Erling had first met the younger at Dortmund, he was ashamed to say he had expected a stereotypical omega. Talented of course, there was no other way he would’ve made it to the professional leagues without that, but he’d still expected the typical omega traits; natural submissiveness, a quiet demeanour, sweet scent and placid temperament, those doe eyes that had awkwardly met his own during his introductions only solidifying the idea. Except, Jude was the exact opposite. He was confident, snappy, with a fighting streak that regularly got him in trouble with both the referees and the media, dropping his fangs to snarl at other players with a growl which rumbled through his body with more intensity than Erling had ever heard from an alpha, let alone an omega. He laughed at others mistakes with unfiltered glee and postured at alpha’s without a hint of submission in his body. It was unseen. Shocking. Captivating. Entirely unique. Entirely Jude. Who could blame him for becoming obsessed? The spitfire omega on the pitch who roughhoused with him at training and took the extra time to sign shirts and take photos with fans, who donated his money to omega centric charities before he even began making large earnings. Those wide brown eyes creasing when he’d laugh at Erling’s stupid jokes yet would turn into an unyielding void against opponents attempts to intimidate him. The man was a walking contradiction that never failed to intrigue him. As their friendship grew over the years, the awe never stopped, if anything it continued to grow. Watching Jude purring with their teammates pups on the pitch mere minutes after snapping his teeth in their opponents face, seeing him subtly nest on Erling’s couch after a long night of celebrating whilst letting out pleased chirps and tired whines after sprinting around endlessly for more than 90 minutes. He couldn’t help but become obsessed, those quiet moments when his omegan instincts showed through became treasure, a sight that the public would never see, yet he was blessed with. The scent of mint and cedar that leaked from his scent glands and onto Erling’s clothes that the world would never get to smell. It was his and his alone. His sight to see, his smell to scent, his omega to have. It was no surprise that they’d become mates during the off season, a quiet affair that was still unconfirmed to the public (though many suspected if tiktok and twitter were to be believed), but so very loud in their lives. Two bodies and one soul. They knew each other beyond the constraints of human society, beyond the constraints of the human body, the perfect alpha and omega.
Which was precisely how Erling knew Jude’s patience had snapped. It was a small thing. The Argentinian subs running onto the pitch to celebrate, huddling near where Jude stood, grieving Englands loss, when a small ginger alpha, whose name he didn’t even know, turned his head slightly, obviously saying something aimed at the omega nearby. Evidently, the alpha hadn’t realised that Jude spoke Spanish, as his body tightened, the misery of defeat being overwhelmed by anger, as he stepped forward and smacked the shorter over the head, cameras watching as his fangs dropped and the ginger turned to confront him, pissed off words leaving the taller as he snarled down at the smaller, unyielding of the hands shoving them apart until his own teammates ushered him away, the audience jeering as the omega disappeared off the pitch, Erling quickly standing to follow, the alpha in the back of his mind growing restless at the feeling of his mate’s mess of emotions. Sadness, disappointment, anger, self-loathing, anxiety, and other feelings pulling at the animal in his head to find him.
Luckily it wouldn’t be hard to find him. FIFA had set up separate dressing rooms for omegas, not that any of the three had bothered to use them, they were used to sharing changing rooms but alas, it still provided a small, quiet alcove away from the media and their fellow teammates to hide away. The perfect spot for a distraught omega to disappear. And he was proven right as he slipped into the barren hallway, the door at the end carefully tucked out of sight, the privacy light flickering red, indicating it was in use.
“Jude?” his voice was steady, calm in a way the stadium could never be. Not that he felt calm, no, if it were up to him he’d be out on the grass throwing hands with the rude players who’d be grabbing and groping his omega the entire game. But he had to rein it in, to be the calm in Jude’s storm, less the younger man get swept away in it. “Jude?” a bang echoed from the room, a sharp omegan hiss following it. “Jude open the door,” Erling called, his fist slamming on the door as his scent glands began to itch, the patches on top of them making his instincts writhe with distress that he couldn’t comfort his omega whose own patches had began to fail, the stress of the game wearing them out as the smell of rot leaked out from under the door. “Jude!”
The door flew open. Erling stumbled forward, his raised fist missing the wood. Jude stood in the doorway, face twisted into a snarl. His cheeks were tinted pink, the dimples on his cheekbones prominent as his lips peeled back to reveal long, sharp, distinctly omegan fangs, the wide eyes which usually shone with sweetness now narrowed,
“what do you want,” his voice was hard, head raised like he expected another confrontation, yet Erling saw past the aggression. Jude’s shoulders were trembling, minor shakes which displayed how hard he was fighting the urge to curl in on himself and submit. His eyes were glazed over slightly, a subtle sheen to them as his tears were held back by sheer stubbornness. And his scent. It broke Erling’s heart. The usual sharp mint with warm undertones of cedar had rotted, the usually comforting smell now assaulting his nostrils as it flared in sync with his rapid heartbeat, a warning sign of his impending collapse as his body continued to try and fight against a threat that was no longer present. All Erling wanted to do was help, was to pull the omega into his arms and let him cry into his shoulders, to build him a warm nest with all their scented items to curl up in and finally rest in, but he couldn’t do that. Jude was stubborn, any softness displayed by Erling would be easily dominated by the omega with sharp hands and even sharper words. He would have to work for it. Afterall, this wasn’t some submissive, placid house omega whose neck tilted at the slightest hint of alpha aggression. This was Jude Bellingham; dominant, unyielding and a fighter till the very end. But he was Erling Haaland. He knew his mate, knew what he had signed up for when his teeth embedded themselves in the other’s neck to tie them together forever. He knew what his omega needed. Even if he would have to fight for it.
“Jude—“ the door swung back towards him, his quick reaction speed the only thing stopping it from slamming him in the face, “you little shit,” the alpha snarled, bodying his way into the room as the omega hissed at him, eyes narrowed as Erling locked them both in the room before ripping off his scent patches, the overwhelming scent of petrichor and pine fighting against the rotten mint drowning them both, yet the omega didn’t yield to the scent, instead he simply scoffed.
“Fuck off Haaland” he hissed, the lack of first name making the alpha growl lowly. It was an attempt at defense, to try and distance himself from the alpha when trapped in a small space with the overwhelming man. Yet the older didn’t yield, he only stepped forward,
“Jude,” Erling said lowly, nose scrunching at the rancid rotten scent still being pumped into the air, “you need to chill out.”
“Do I fuck,” he laughed, a cold cackle that made the older step forward again,
“You need to relax or I’ll make you,” his voice lowered, the threat hanging in the air as the omega puffed up his chest in defiance, staring the alpha in the eyes,
“I’d like to see you try,” he challenged, the air stilling around them as neither broke eye contact, the omegas scent in the air finally becoming drowned out by the alphas own as his instincts absorbed the challenge laid out, every muscle in his body tensing as he stared at the omega, waiting for a moment of weakness. Anything hint of vulnerability that would allow him the opportunity to settle his omega.
Jude blinked.
Erling lunged.
“You fucker—!” Jude snarled, twisting his body as Erling grabbed him, the two slamming into the floor as they grappled, snarls, hisses and growls leaving them both as they fought for dominance, the omega snapping his jaws as the alpha shoved him to the ground, capturing his wrists with one hand as the other tried to stop the smallers body from wiggling out from underneath him.
“Submit,” Erling snarled, all alpha voice as he pushed the other to lay on his stomach, his once free hand now on the back of the omegas neck, holding his head down with a clear threat to scruff the smaller, “submit Jude.”
“Fuck you,” his voice was raspy, all the air pressed out of his lungs from the alpha sitting on him as he tried to free his neck from his grasp but to no avail. It wouldn’t be the first time Erling had scruffed him however, it was usually an act done after their intimate moments together, a final release of hormones that allowed Jude to fully sink into his omega instincts without insecurity plaguing his mind. Right now though, with indignant anger clouding his mind as his body remained stuck in fight response, the idea of submitting made him rage.
“Shhhhh,” Erling crooned, switching tactics to try calm the panic that had started to leak into the omegas aggressive scent, his hand readjusting to find the excess skin on the back of Jude’s neck, a trait all omegas had, before firmly grasping it and pulling it taut. The snarls which had been escaping the omega immediately cut off, a harsh choking sound escaping him as his body shook, the sudden release of hormones through his body making him shudder. From Erling’s position he could only see the side of Jude’s eyes as they entirely glazed over, his pupils no doubt dilating as submission ran through his body, the alpha continuing to croon comfortingly as the omega’s instincts forcefully took over his mind, the scent of rotting mint finally dispersing as it sweetened, reminding him of a warm mint tea, the type one would sip on a cold winter’s morning with a dash of sugar to start the day right. It was intoxicating. Seeing the omega so softened was a rare sight, one reserved for late nights in the comforts of their home, the skies taken over by stars as they’d reunite after their inevitable time apart. Seeing it here, in a place so unfamiliar, so devoid of scents other than their own was off putting. The lack of pack scents that Jude accumulated from his teammates (both England and Real Madrid) made the alpha unconsciously tighten his grip, his instincts insisting he was the omegas sole protector in this moment.
Another choked off gasp escaped the omega, snapping Erling out of his bliss as he smoothly climbed off the others back, keeping his hand clenched around his scruff as he pulled Jude onto his knees and slid in front of him to inspect the omega. His mouth was hanging open slightly, drool catching on his fangs as his jaw worked slightly, almost as if trying to talk yet nothing came out. His eyes were half lidded, a shimmer of tears across his reddened cheeks as his pupils stole all the honey brown from his irises, the perfectly long lashes casting flickering shadows across his cheeks as his eyes rolled around uselessly before finally settling upon Erling, confusion swimming in their depths before realisation struck and a chirp escaped him. It was quiet. Softer than his usually demanding vocalisations yet it pulled just as deeply at his instincts, his alpha preening at his omega finally submitting to him after so much defiance. He tugged the smaller into his arms, making sure his head was pressed against the alphas scent glands where he began to snuffle against his skin, ticklish kitten licks pressing against the gland to encourage more of the alphas scent directly into his system. It was a primal behaviour, one rarely shown outside of mating cycles due to the excessive amount of hormones it would send into one’s body, yet the scruffing meant Jude may as well have been in heat with how clouded his mind was, the need for his alpha all consuming.
“Good boy,” Erling whispered, the omega chirping again at the words, “so good, just relax now,” his hand remained tight on his scruff as the two settled onto the ground, positions flipped as the omega now curled on top of him, the wall being the only thing keeping them upright as the scent of pine and mint filled the air, fresh and calm like a forest after a storm. Gone was the distress from being shoved about for 90 minutes straight, gone was the clashing of teeth and posturing of an omega against an alpha, gone was the unending pressure from the world watching them.
With slow movements, Erling untwisted his fingers from Jude’s scruff, rubbing softly at the skin as it settled back against the man’s neck, the soft movements making the omega purr as he finally pulled away from the tallers neck, blinking hazily before offering a dopey smile.
“Erling,” he said softly, “hello.”
“Hello omega,” a pleased chirp followed his words, a bright smile crossing the alphas face, “feeling better?”
“Mmmm yeah… Sorry,” he blinked rapidly, almost as if it could clear the fog from his head though was clearly unsuccessful as he tipped his head back, displaying his throat in submission for the alpha to mark, purring happily when he did, the thick pine scent staining his skin as Erling rubbed against the vulnerable skin with a pleased growl before pulling back.
“We need to go back out—“ a bratty whine interrupted him, “people will be wondering where you are.”
“No no, don’t want to see them,” it was obvious he was talking about the opposing team, a flicker of discontent sparking in his scent before it was drowned out by the submission still hot in his veins.
“But your teammates will want to see you,” the alpha suggested, smiling as the omega perked up at the mention of his pack mates, “Kane and Gordon and Rice and everyone else,” Jude purred louder at the names, “so let’s go see them yes?”
“In a bit?”
“Now,”
“Noooooo,” he whined, pressing into the alphas chest to blink up at him, those wide doe eyes immediately melting Erling’s resolve besides, it probably was better to wait until he wasn’t sky high on hormones in front of the cameras which were probably searching for him.
“Fine, 10 minutes.”
“15?”
“Jude.” The omega sighed before conceding, slumping and readjusting till he was laid between the alphas legs, head pressed against a firm chest as he relaxed, eyes slipping back into their half lidded state as the two of them simply breathed, the outside world forgotten as in this small room, this small moment, they were not the globally renowned superstars with the weight of the world on their shoulders, they were simply Erling and Jude — Alpha and Omega. That was all that mattered.