Chapter Text
Nick didn’t remember passing out on the rugby pitch. The last thing he remembered was the jolt of pain that shot through his abdomen, the prickling heat across his skin, and the swell of nausea swirling in his stomach. After that, things got a bit hazy. The field had taken on a wavy, indistinct appearance, the shouts of the other players turned muffled, and then… Nothing. No recollection of his vision going dark, no memory of the ground rushing up to meet him, no awareness of how the entire game skidded to a halt and an uneasy silence swept through the crowd as they witnessed a player collapse before their very eyes.
If Nick was being completely honest with himself, he shouldn’t have played today. He woke up feeling a bit ill, with a raging headache and a complete lack of appetite, stiffness in his limbs and aching in his muscles. It was probably the flu, and it would have been in his best interest to call out sick and try to sleep it off, but he couldn’t let his team down, so he pried himself out of bed, packed up his kit, and headed across campus to the pitch. The walk had drained most of his energy and he was already sweating profusely by the time he made it to the locker room, but he forced a smile and joined in on the pre-game pep talks as they changed and readied themselves for the match. But the game hadn’t been going well for Nick. He couldn’t play up to his usual standards, missing easy passes and letting himself be tackled by much weaker players. Everything hurt, and he could barely focus. And, evidently, it all became too much and he’d lost consciousness, because now he was on the ground with a few of his teammates hovering over him, utterly confused as to how he’d gotten there.
“Oi, Nick, are you alive?” came the voice of one of his teammates, followed by the sound of that teammate getting smacked on the arm. Nick couldn’t recognize the voice because his hearing was still muted, like he had his head underwater.
“Of course he’s alive, you idiot!” That voice must have belonged to Josh, who was bending down to crouch beside Nick, face frowning with concern.
“What happened?” Nick asked. He tried to sit up, but black spots appeared on the edges of his vision and a wave of nausea washed over him, so he laid back down and focused on his breathing, pleading with his body to keep his insides where they belonged. It was bad enough that he was currently flat on the ground, lightheaded and disoriented, in front of his entire rugby team, the visiting team, and the devoted fans who had come to watch the game. It would be ten times worse if he added vomit to the equation. He swallowed down the saliva flooding his mouth.
“You passed out,” Josh told him, waving their coach and the team medic over. “And you still don’t look great. Your face is so pale, it’s almost gray.”
That didn’t sound good. Gray was not a color skin was supposed to be. Nick felt his heart rate speed up, pounding in his chest as a knot of anxiety twisted itself around his stomach. God, what was wrong with him?
Coach waved his arms at the gaggle of players huddled around Nick. “Step back, boys, let’s give Nelson some room here.”
“Did anyone see what happened?” the medic, Terri, asked, fingers pressed against Nick’s wrist as she felt his pulse.
“I was next to him when he went down,” said Ethan. “He didn’t take a hit from anyone or anything like that, just kind of froze all of a sudden and then his face turned white and the next thing I knew, he was on the ground.”
Terri shined a light in Nick’s eyes, the brightness triggering an immediate headache to flare behind his eye sockets. Nick moaned, squeezing his eyes shut against the assault. “Nick, have you eaten today?”
Nick shook his head slightly, regretting it immediately when the pain in his head worsened. He whimpered, then felt his face blush with embarrassment at making such a pathetic sound in front of his teammates and coach.
“Nelson, what the hell were you thinking? Playing a match on an empty stomach?”
“Sorry, Coach,” Nick mumbled, wincing at how loud the coach’s voice was. “Just…wasn’t hungry this morning. Felt a little queasy, so I skipped breakfast. Won’t happen again, I promise.”
“So you’re telling me you were feeling ill this morning, and instead of calling me to tell me you were sick, you what? Decided to tough it out and play anyway?” Coach ran a hand through his short, spiky hair and sighed heavily. “Come on, Nick, I expect you to be more responsible than that.”
Nick felt tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. Oh God, no. The last thing he wanted to do was cry in front of his team. He’d already been vulnerable enough by passing out in front of them. Crying would be even worse than vomiting, because at least vomit could be blamed on a weak stomach. Crying just meant he himself was weak, and he didn’t want anyone in the gathered group thinking that of him. He had a real chance at being promoted to captain next year, and he had to prove himself worthy of the position. Crying over being reprimanded by his coach would not be a good look and definitely wouldn’t inspire confidence in his ability to lead the team. He rapidly blinked back his tears in a desperate attempt to keep them from falling.
“I’m sorry,” Nick said, his voice only wavering slightly. “I just didn’t want to let the team down…” Elle had been right when she’d called him out and said he was a people pleaser, but he still couldn’t shake those tendencies. He’d rather push himself through his misery than leave his teammates high and dry. They were relying on him, and if he didn’t show up, everyone would hate him. No, probably not, but they would at least be disappointed, and Nick couldn’t bear the thought of anyone being upset with him. Even though that plan had clearly backfired, because his coach was obviously upset he’d played today despite feeling sick. He opened his mouth to apologize again but shut it immediately when a sob escaped. This was officially the worst day of his life. He would have to quit the team; there was no coming back from this.
Terri continued to examine him, delicate fingers probing over his body. Her digits felt cool and refreshing against his skin, and a soft sigh of relief escaped his parted lips. Then she leaned down and sniffed near his neck, body tensing as she pulled back and looked up at the crowd of rugby players anxiously awaiting her assessment of their fallen comrade. “Can we have some privacy, please?”
Coach clapped his hands at the gathered team. “You heard her, boys. Let’s get back to the locker room.” He gestured to the opposing team’s coach in such a way that must have communicated they were calling the match, because the other coach blew his whistle, rounded up his own team, and called to the spectators that the game was over.
“But sir,” protested Ethan. “What’s wrong with Nick? Is he alright?”
Terri waved a dismissive hand in his direction. “Nick will be fine, but please, go. All of you.”
Josh patted Nick’s arm once, worry still etched deeply across his face, before standing and following the team and their coach back across the pitch. Once they were gone, Terri returned her attention back to Nick. “Nick, I’m going to ask you some personal questions, and I need you to be honest with me, okay? Everything you say will be confidential, just between the two of us.”
“Mm-kay,” Nick mumbled. He felt ridiculous, just lying on the ground, but his limbs felt too heavy to try to push himself into a seated position. His energy was beyond depleted, and he felt like if he closed his eyes, he’d fall instantly asleep.
“Nick… Are you an omega?”
An icy cold dread filled Nick’s stomach. Heavy limbs forgotten, he shot up, the rapid move from lying flat to sitting up making his vision go a bit wobbly. “What?” he asked, hoping that maybe he had just misheard Terri’s question.
“Are you an omega?” repeated Terri.
“I don’t…see how that’s relevant,” Nick stammered, stalling. He kept his secondary gender private for a reason; he was ashamed of being an omega when he looked the way he did. He’d been trying his whole life to get over that shame, but he still couldn’t shake it.
“Nick, you can trust me. I’m only trying to help.” Terri gave him a reassuring smile, rubbing a soothing hand up and down his arm. “I’m going to ask you one more time, and this time, I need you to answer me. Are you an omega?”
“I’m…I…Yes,” he admitted finally, unable to meet Terri’s eyes as he spoke the horrible secret aloud. His nausea came back in full force, accompanied by a cramping sensation in his lower half, as if his body was trying to physically reject the admission. “But you can’t tell anyone! I don’t…I’m not…No one can know.”
Terri shook her head. “Of course not, Nick. Your secret is safe with me.”
“How did you…how did you know?”
“I can smell you,” Terri replied. “Your scent is still very weak, but I happen to have a pretty sharp sense of smell.”
Terri wasn’t making any sense. Nick’s suppressants included a scent blocker, so no one should be able to smell him at all, no matter how strong their sense of smell was. Before Nick could ponder this further, Terri was asking him another question. “Have you had any other symptoms today that could indicate you’re going into heat?”
“What?!” Nick spluttered. “That’s not what this is, it…it can’t be!”
“Nick, please answer the question. Any other symptoms? You mentioned you felt queasy this morning and didn’t have much of an appetite. Obviously you’ve been dizzy and lightheaded, hence the passing out on the pitch.” She placed the back of her hand against his forehead. “You’re running a fever. Any cramps?”
Nick nodded miserably.
“Headache?”
Another nod.
“Nausea?”
Nick swallowed hard as a bit of bile shot up the back of his throat. He forced himself to nod again.
“Nick,” Terri said gently, “you’re going into heat.”