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The rain was pouring down heavily against an abandoned alley the day Jude threw away his emergency contraceptive pill and ran away from the biggest mistake in life. Also, he was late for the airport.
The rain was pouring down heavily against the road as the Real Madrid bus made its ways through Madrid to Bernabeú, the whole team tried to act like an official pack in El Clásico day, so they all were filling the air with their scents, even himself. They couldn’t risk being called coworkers again when pitched against the splendid Barcelona family.
It wasn’t their fault those men were rubbing their scents on each other every single time, Jude thought the scenting they did was nice and enough. But the press had different opinions and those opinions dripped on their fans. So, Mourinho told them to grow closer.
And here they were, at least it was true that he felt more comfortable than months ago.
“You ready?” Asked Vinicius with a smile, sat by his side in the window seat. Through the view alone, Jude noticed they were close to the stadium.
“Born ready, mate,” he replied, mind focusing as he changed the music he was listening.
Paparazzi welcomed them with flashes and questions none of them bothered on answering, they needed to move like a unit. They couldn’t afford to lose here after the humiliation they suffered last Saturday. It saddened him not to sign any autograph on his way to the locker room, he hoped these fans were still fans by the end of the match.
Walking with his team in two straight lines, he checked his phone for any new text he could’ve received from his mother, he left her behind in favor of grouping with his team, but he would’ve folded immediately if his children had said the word. The little pricks only talked when a soccer ball put in front of them, thus Jude was hoping they all could chat today.
Dark blonde curls and olive skin, he knew his boys were way paler than him, but he could still pretend they were half white thanks to his father. It was their eyes the reason he had never publicly show them, because how the fuck was he going to explain those powerful blue eyes? They held a little green hue around their pupils which he loved dearly, but they were dangerously close to some eyes he tried his best to avoid outside the pitch.
Eyes that just happened to burst into his peripherical vision.
The world stopped a second and his heart started to beat fast as he scanned the picture before him: Erling stood there in all his height, dressed in elegant clothes—large coat for and turtleneck for the cold—and towering menacingly over a really known figure to him.
Declan, in his casual sweatpants and shirt, was visibly sweating cold when Jude quickly slid between the two of them with the fakest smile he could muster, knowing he was about to be scolded by his coach.
“Hey, you two!” He greeted, splitting formation. “Didn’t know you were coming today!”
Of course he knew Declan was coming to see El Clásico, he’d invited him as soon as he knew the man had gotten three ribs dislocated during a match as had been sent home for two months. In all honestly, it should’ve been like six to eight months out of the field, but players like them couldn’t afford not to play for long periods yet. He’d been there before, during his pregnancy. He did it in an act of solidarity and Erling didn’t need to know.
Instantly, he noticed a powerful burnt scent cloying his nose and Declan’s, someone was mad and it wasn’t either of them.
“Yeah, escaped a couple of days to settle some stuff,” the alpha answered, “didn’t know we’d gather here like some high school reunion.”
More like World Cup reunion, Jude could pretend all he wanted about Haaland being the real father of his children, but the lingering scent of pups wouldn’t abandon his body no matter how hard he tried. Alas, he asked Declan for help and the entire tournament they were seen together.
His long-distance friendship with Erling always came back with force at matches and competitions, he knew Erling had wanted to see him before they had actually meet in the hotel the teams were staying, but he couldn’t risk it. It was going to be a long stay and he wanted to spend time with his children. All things considered, Jude was more than grateful that Declan stuck by him all the tournament. That also meant that, whenever the blonde alpha wanted to see him, Declan was their not so welcome third.
Jude felt Erling’s curiosity turn into irritation as the weeks passed, an when the older man left, it was clear their bond was in the rocks. He’d expected Erling to show his face during the Champions League, not today of all days when he’d decided to bring their kids to watch El Clásico.
“Yeah, you know Declan and I,” his cheeks started to hurt, “like two lovebirds.”
Declan pinched his side playfully in retaliation, that relaxed him until Erling spoke again, “What a surprise.” The words came slowly out of his mouth, his scent souring more.
“Well, look at the time!” His friend intervened, visibly uncomfortable. “I’ve gotta get to my seat, thanks for that, Judy!”
What a pussy, he though. The omega watched as his friend left him alone with uncredulous eyes, then he focused on the alpha again.
“Why is he thanking you for his seat?” Erling lolled his head to one side. “And who’s Judy?”
Erling’s scent came sweeter, or as sweet as a Norwegian alpha could, get. Jude allowed himself to relax, though he still felt some irritation coming from Erling’s direction. He sighed, wishing this to be over quickly.
“I invited him, Erling,” he explained, crossing his arm around himself protectively, “and my mates from the England’s team started to call me that after—”
My children called me that when they comforted me when we lost.
Some of his teammates believed they were his cousins, some, like Declan, didn’t. Still, he wasn’t about to tell the right story aloud ever.
“—after Tuchel scolded me after a training session.” He ended up saying.
Erling chuckled at that, “Your England mates sure are on another level to you, right?”
The comment warmed his heart, memories of their last campaign together came to him vividly, he smiled fondly, “Yeah, always.”
Jude’s body got goosebumps before he could register what happened: Erling lowered his head towards him, he didn’t have to do that for them to look at each other’s eyes, so the move felt like a statement. The air went electric around them.
“Up enough in your podium for you to invite him and not me?” Erling asked, frow slightly burrowed.
He blinked slowly, calming himself in order to avoid losing composure, he wasn’t a needy omega anymore, “I didn’t know you were free,” he deadpanned, “he’s injured.”
“From the way he fled, no one would know that.” Erling quickly countered back.
The alpha’s magnetism was obvious, he wanted Jude’s attention wrapped around him, like it had always been. But the omega couldn’t be Erling’s best friend today. He needed to call his mother and tell her to turn around a go back to their villa. He needed to be away from this situation now.
“What are you doing in Spain again?” Jude questioned, taking a tiny step to his side to start walking to his long-gone team.
Please don’t say you’re here because of Real Madrid, please don’t say you’re here because of Real Madrid.
“I couldn’t get my head around something,” Erling mustered, like a secret, Jude raised a brow, “It didn’t let me sleep, nor train.”
Please don’t say they’ve offered to exchange Kylian with you or I’m killing Florentino today.
“Something that big, huh?” Jude tried to look friendly to get more information. “Spill some tea, mate.”
Erling spun on his axis, something in his pheromones changing. Whatever he was here for, it had surely made him distressed enough for him to get on a plane. Jude could only guess it was something related to football, the love of their lives. There was no way he’d be here otherwise.
The omega was mentally wishing his farewells to the club and the staff when Erling talked again.
“When were you going to tell me that you had children?”
What?
The question stoned him. And something animal instantly grew in the deep of his stomach.
“Just how the fuck do you know that?” He snarled protectively, eyes scanning the alpha fiercely.
Shit.
“Oh, so it was true,” Haaland supplied slowly in a threatening voice, his perfect blue eyes getting darker, “someone got you pregnant and you didn’t tell a soul.”
Shit, shit, shit, he thought, it’s clear I’m still a dumb man before a mother.
Jude knew that Haaland wanted to say not even me, but luckily for him, he didn’t and, as the alpha flared his furious pheromones, duty was kind enough to come to him in the form of an assistant.
“Bellingham, run! What are you doing here?!” The woman had a lot of papers in her hands, but she still trembled to mark her point.
“Good talk,” he gulped out, ignoring Erling’s fierce glare. “Let’s catch up another time!”
And he ran, like he’d been doing for almost four years.
Jude was sweating hard and cold when he got to the field to warm up with the rest. The rain had let up and his team was doing different exercises in small groups.
“I’m so sor—”
“Mourinho isn’t here yet, bête,” Kylian welcomed him, arms crossed and captain band tight on his forearm, “otherwise we’d be already dead.”
“Mate, you don’t know what just happened,” he couldn’t keep it to himself, “Vinicius, come here, now!”
The Brazilian alpha was stretching when he heard Jude’s desperate yell and jogged to them breaking formation with the other teammates. The three of them were wearing their scent patches like the rest of the team, so no scents were rotting the field. Standing there, they formed a little private tringle far from their team. At the other half of the pitch, the Barcelona team was also warming up, none the wiser at Jude’s predicament.
“This better be good or I’m killing you both,” Kylian complained, yet he didn’t move an inch.
“Erling knows I have children,” he blurted out automatically, still recoverin his breath from the marathon he pulled to be there on time.
His words weighed more than they should, for the men in front of him stopped moving.
“Caralho,” Vinicius gasped, a hand covering his open mouth.
“How?” Kylian inquired, leaving his unbothered shield behind.
“I don’t know,” he exhaled, mind blurred enough to make him incapable of thinking of a how.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Kylian pressed. “Jude, I don’t know if you know, but this is huge.”
“I don’t know!” He replied exhausted. “Never told anyone apart from you and Rodrygo, and the staff that needed to know, and even so only you tw—”
Vinicius interrupted him, and if Jude didn’t know much spanish, how he was supposed to know what the other man was saying in portuguese? But it sounded mad, he was cussing like he was the one in serious trouble. Kylian and Jude put their hands in Vini’s shoulders to ground him.
“He must have hired a private investigator!” Vinicius shouted as low as he could. “That man has always been weird about you! I told you! I told you!”
Before Jude could tell him that it probably wasn’t the case, a spiced pheromone filled his nose with pure fear. The omega in him assessed his situation: they weren’t training, they were gossiping before a match so important like El Clásico.
“Shut it!” A voice Jude recognized as none other than Jose Mourinho yelled. “All of you! Come here! Here, now!”
They were too frightened to move an inch. Mourinho could and would beat their asses, both physically and mentally. The three of them looked in each other’s eyes, knowing damn well they were about to be benched. Feeling his day couldn’t get any worse, Jude dared his luck and turned his head around to watch his coach striding menacingly to them, ignoring the fact that he’d come the latest.
And trotting behind him using a big black coat against the cold, was Luka Modrić.
“We’re saved by god himself,” he murmured, not believing his eyes.
“Don’t mess with me—” Kylian replied before he laid his eyes in the blonde omega, “—we’ve been truly blessed.”
The first to react was Vinicius, “Modrić!”
He ran towards the small man without care, and that made him and Kylian have balls enough to meet with Mourinho. With only a glance, the brazilian stopped on his tracks from hugging Luka and went to Mourinho instead. They followed hollowly.
“Just what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Was their coach’s greeting. “It’s a fucking Clásico and you want to gossip like some fucking grandmas?”
Jude knew he had to go and see his mother, he couldn’t go before because he was terrified of an angry Mourinho, he didn’t even think about texting when was in such a hurry. But if the old omega was already mad, maybe he could have a chance.
“Sir, I—”
“Sir, Bellingham needs to go see his boys for a moment,” Kylian intervened in his behalf, and Jude wouldn’t be able to thank him enough for that.
“Having the captain band today doesn’t mean you’ll have it tomorrow,” their coach answered dryly, “don’t be people’s lawyer. Bellingham, speak.”
“There’s something wrong with my sons,” he talked fast, nervous, “I really need to check on them.”
“Are they actively dying?” Mourinho had bothered eyes.
I will die if Erling gets to them.
“No, sir,” he bowed his head.
“Have they been kidnaped?”
Erling will take them away from me if he notices they look like him.
Yet he answered, “No, sir,”
“Then why the fuck do you want to be with them now?” The coach rubbed his eyes with both hands. “Please, don’t make me say something sexist against my own kin.”
“Sir, I think Jude only needs—” Vinicius tried to help.
“Bech,” Mourinho raised a finger, shutting Vinicius up extraordinarily.
“Mourinho—sir, I really need to go and check on my mother and my chil—,” he tried pleading.
“Bench,” Mourinho repeated.
Rationally, their coach had already given his draft for this match away to the press. It’d be a scandal if one of the confirmed stars appeared benched suddenly. Jude knew Mourinho didn’t care about anyone’s reputation. The omega started to tremble, fear filling his veins and cooling his blood. He could be great today. Amazing, even. He just needed this out of his mind. Pups safe and sound.
At that point, he was fantasizing about a big bad blonde alpha taking what was rightfully his away from him. It’d take Erling only a second to solve the puzzle about his children’ appearance and buy tickets to Norway, England, wherever he wanted—
He’d be alone, again.
“Mourinho, I think I can solve this,” Luka—godsent—Modrić intervened, big round eyes assessing the scene before them.
Air went back to his lungs as he watched how the oldest omega of them all seemed to meditate one second before making up his mind annoyingly.
“Well, fuck it, you better make the time I lost picking you up worth it,” Mourinho buffed, “I want them running in a minute, Modrić,” he ordered before walking towards the rest of the team, already shouting hurried commands.
Jude felt like he’d been blessed.
“Here because Mourinho wants me succeed him next year,” Luka explained before anyone could ask, “this is a test for me, I’m sure, we need to be quick.”
“Thank you so much,” Jude said from the deep of his heart, palm against his chest where his heart should be.
Luka raised a hand, “I’ve done nothing yet,” he corrected, “so talk, fast.”
“You know I have my twins, right?” Jude started.
The blonde omega smiled fondly, “You used to take them to every training session we had, yes.”
Almost four years ago, he didn’t waste a second to come back to the pitch, even so, he hid his babies in the most private rooms of the training field. Apart from the best nanny he could’ve ever find and some administratives, only his mother, their coach and Modrić saw his twins. Luka, as the male omega closest to him had been his parole in such tumultuous times. He’d given free advice and watched them for him when Luka ultimately had started to lose his spot in the team in favor of young prodigies.
Luka meant the world for him.
“Haaland is their father,” he informed bluntly, “and he’s here, and I never told him I had children, and now he knows, but he doesn’t know they’re his, and if he finds out today, he’ll take them away from me.”
“The fuck did you just say?” Luka squawked, shocked. “You cannot expect me to be okay with you saying that many stupidities in such short time, Bellingham.”
“Luka…” He cried out miserably. “Please, just tell my mother to hide them, she doesn’t even sit with them anymore.”
“You’re joking,” Luka seriously said as he crossed his arms, “knowing is his right, Jude, if he’s here out of all days maybe it’s a sign.”
Don’t be on his side, not now.
“You’re with child,” Mbappe pointed out distractively as his arms went around Jude’s waist to help him calm down, “can’t Ramos stay away from you?”
Luka eyed him knowingly, yet he ceded to change the subject and had the decency of blushing, hugging his belly above the coat, “We’re hoping to get twins this time.”
Jude, looking at his feet, was so self-absorbed in his misery to care. The other two players gasped, loudly so.
“Luka,” Vinicius chimed in carefully, “this is your third pregnancy.”
“So?” The blonde raised a brow.
“Well, I—,” Vinicius tried to say.
“Do you think I can’t get it to term?” Luka rebutted cockily and fast. “Do you think I’m weak or old? Be nice and choose only one option.”
Kylian put a hand on Vinicius’s mouth, stopping him from committing social suicide. “We’d never doubted you in or out of the field.”
“Luka,” Jude insisted again, hands clenched into useless fists, “maybe it’s a sign, but it won’t be fair to me either if he finds out while I’m playing and he decides he wants to them with him.”
Luka seemed like he wanted to say a lot of things, Jude was glad when he didn’t and instead chose to pass a hand through his face and hair.
“I’ll go,” he said last, “if it’s so important to you, you won’t be able to focus today.”
A weight he didn’t know he was carrying lifted from his shoulders, freeing his body, mind and soul. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“It’ll mean nothing if you don’t warm up now,” Luka motioned them with a hand to start exercising.
Jude, Kylian and Vinicius disengaged and started to run to make up for the time they lost while Luka texted someone on his phone and approached the team to greet them. They exploded in roars and cheers as the older omega walked to them with a big smile. Mourinho looked at them all in the eye once, everyone shunned.
“Arda! Look how grown you’ve got!” The omega still wrapped his arms around the boy, much to their coach’s despair. Arda stayed silent, but a tiny smile betrayed his happiness.
Staring at him like a hawk, Jude conceded that Luka Modrić also reminded him that he wasn’t fit to truly be an omega. Deal, he was proud and cocky and always encouraged the ones like him to never stop chasing their dreams. Nonetheless, he tended to be harsher to himself in closed doors. In front of the mirror, he was way too tall, too broad, too different to the omega models that had his body type and still looked beautiful.
Luka, small, slim, delicate and compassionate fitted what he’d wanted to be at fourteen. Despite that, as he grew up, he decided what he wanted his body to look like, and even feeling proud of it, he sometimes wondered with cruelty what would’ve happened if he didn’t follow his heart to a sport that required building muscles.
When they were done running, the three players quietly followed their team inside the locker room, Jude found Mourinho talking firmly about their game plan: don’t fuck it up. They were about to decide which team would pass onto the next leg in La Liga and, with so many paparazzi there that day, they’d be double humiliated if they lost at home.
“You assholes, something to tell me?” Mourinho called them out, but nobody moved to acknowledge them, focused on the whiteboard behind the old omega, names splurged everywhere.
Jude breathed in when he saw his name still in the main draw.
“Sorry, sir,” they chanted out all unison, heads bowed.
Their coach only scoffed and kept on talking while the team players got ready. Kylian silently walked to Mourinho and stayed there, taking his place as captain solemnly. Luka wasn’t there with them and Jude, in his stall, had the immense need to check his phone, he was aware of what Mourinho could do to him if he just saw an inch of the metallic piece, but if he was quick—
“No phones, Bellingham,” Mourinho roared, “really, out of all days, you decide to be a bitch today?”
“I don’t want this either, sir,” he replied, quickly sinking his phone into his backpack without even looking at it.
Surprisingly, the older omega only sighed and pushed no more, “Let’s hope Luka can get to your mother before you rip a vein.”
After some eternal minutes, they got called outside. Everyone was under their patches already, but that didn’t stop some of his teammates from rubbing some wrists to try with one another to cool off some steam. Kylian, as their captain, replaced his neck scent patch and allowed some of the younger players to sniff him in the short time he used to change before they all left the locker room for the match.
With him in position, Jude let his eyes wander on the pitch, Barcelona’s squad hadn’t varied much, Pau Cubarsí was on the pitch again after cutting his face again, there were only four stitches that went from the below his left ear to the small bottom part of his jaw. How he got it, the omega wasn’t sure, the only thing that mattered for Jude was that the young alpha wasn’t present in the last El Clásico.
Real Madrid still lost that game, he cringed internally.
And with Pau in mind, Jude stared at Lamine Yamal, who shocked nobody by doing tiny blonde highlights for the third time that year. Hair a little longer so that his curls decorated his head. All Jude knew about the other kid was close to nothing at all: divorced parents, funny little brother, a star harbored directly from La Masia. Basically a beta if he didn’t present this year, though the teenager was head on determined on being an alpha, he for sure went out to party like he already was.
Jude couldn’t deny the boy was quick, both his defenders and midfielders synced with him to give him the chance to score, they were making a legend out of that boy. They were succeeding.
He could feel Erling’s stare from miles; the alpha was eating him alive now and for sure will keep doing so throughout the whole ninety minutes he’d be on the pitch. He didn’t know whether to feel scared or hot. Turning his face around a little, he scanned the private box he’d chose for today and, fuck, Erling was sitting there, manspreading his legs and disguising his eyes with sunglasses.
Then, he checked on his friend. Jude wasn’t that stupid, he got Declan’s seat two rows before his mother’s, but that made him sit just one row below Erling, directly on his right, where the alpha could see him and his mother. Anders and Andrew were sat together at the front row, dressed completely in black with their hoods on, their nanny at their right and… Luka and Sergio Ramos at their left, talking to each other to take the attention off the children.
Still, in that exclusive private box, there wasn’t many people, and Haaland was dangerously close to the little family he’d put together with all the effort he could give.
“Focus, Bellingham!” Valverde shouted, bringing Jude back into the pitch.
He could only nod and hope Mourinho didn’t come for his guts after the match.
The referee asked both captains to greet each other, and Kylian immediately shook hands with Ferran, the alpha didn’t let go, he kissed the omega’s knuckles while looking at his face. That distracted him, Jude tried his best not to laugh. The whole stadium roared viciously, already invested in Torres’ ironic chivalry.
Someone inside Barcelona’s lines growled viciously at the gesture and Kylian shrugged his hand off the alpha’s hold looking disgusted, but he faked a smile to the masses nevertheless. The omega couldn’t distinguish who could be that furious, but the primal sound settled the mood for the rest of the game. Out for blood, as always. Nothing else could numb his thoughts like this.
The whistle started the game.
Heats weren’t that much of a pain in the ass as his father made it seem when he presented. He’d survive a couple of them being high on suppressants, others had come and go leaving him needing closeness with his family. Jude didn’t even have to halt club activities. He cuddled with his mother in those, scenting each other while Jude tried his best to still sniff his father and brother on some old shirts they’d given him in advance.
“That’s because your body, even after presenting, was the one of a pup,” the doctor had told him, “this is normal, some get urge to participate in intercourse sooner, others, later. But Mr. Bellingham, now that you’re going to enter your twenties, it’s imminent.”
Jude left the doctor’s office with a paper urging him to get some rest during his next heat, because it was probably going to be bad. His mother, waiting for him outside, read the document and sighed, then she let out a loud ironic laugh.
“Summer break, here I go!” Dennisse was overjoyed; she was leaving Jude in Germany because of his heat. As she understood it, this time was inevitable for Jude to share nest with someone who wasn’t her, and it was about damn time! The alpha woman was worried, but she knew his son wouldn’t be stupid. This was healthy.
Jude didn’t understand why it was so funny all the way home.
The next day, he was in a white room inside Dormunt’s quarters, planning how long he was really going to be out. His mother was already gone, not before cooking enough for a month; the woman didn’t waste a single moment. Sharing heats with an alpha would lessen the fever faster. Thus, he’d told the human resources lady he would spend his heat with Erling,
“Mr. Haaland just left the club, Mr. Bellingham,” the tiny beta reminded him carefully.
Sitting directly across her, he said, “I know, but he leaves Germany in a week, there’s plenty of time.”
The woman just nodded, already typing something in her computer.
Erling and Jude were best friends, but Jude had trouble setting boundaries about physical touch, invading personal spaces, privacy and his fucking heart beating too fast. He liked the alpha, more so, he was sure he was in love. He’d never felt like this before, the risk was worth it. The day he’d gather courage enough to confess had been the day Erling had told him about his transfer.
Truths died in his throat, only half-assed congratulations remained.
Since then, as Erling stopped training with him, they just texted each other all the time. His friendship was intense. Jude could die like Tinkerbell if he didn’t get the alpha’s attention, and the older man was very enthusiast about following him everywhere. It wasn’t easy, Erling was getting brand deals by the minute and he couldn’t drop his agenda just to see him, Jude got it.
“What are you wearing now?” Erling asked through the phone.
“Oh, you know, nothing at all,” he teased playfully. “It’s hot in here.”
Erling grunted warningly, “Don’t be a brat, stop joking.”
“Oh, but I’m not,” Jude chuckled. He had Erling on speaker as he rearranged his nest for the fifth time. The omega hated that his doctor’s conjecture had been spot on: he was feeling his stomach heavy.
“It doesn’t matter, he pressed, “you could get a cold.”
The omega rolled his eyes. “I won’t get a cold, Erling. Matter of a fact, what I’m getting is a heat.”
“Fuck,” Erling sucked in a breath, “I’m sorry, Jude, didn’t know, I’ve been so—”
“Nevermind, mate,” he said slowly, “you can make it up to me.”
“Really? How?” The alpha sounded hopeful.
Usually, Erling’s help consisted on scenting him between matches and training sessions, stolen hoodies and long hugs after draining day when it was all too much. Jude loved the scenting and the hugs the most, and Erling did it too. But this was on a different level. It was now or never, ever. Erling’s flight was scheduled for tomorrow night, they’ve been talking about it. Forgetting about the calendar, they had decided that Jude was going to send him off, quickly and painlessly, at the airport.
Jude’s heat would destroy that plan, the omega would rather die.
“Spend my heat with me,” he said simply, because he needed it to be simple.
Silence.
“Say what?” Erling deadpanned, and it seemed he stopped whatever he was doing.
Oh, I terrorized him.
“The doctor said some rubbish about me getting horny this time,” he explained quickly, “he said I needed a partner this time, mom left me to fetch for myself”
“Why would she do that?” Erling sounded more worried than his mother had been.
“Because I need a partner and she’d would try to break this said partner’s throat should she be here in this house,” he explained, “also, needed a break from me, apparently,” and he laughed.
“You’ve never had this problem with your heat, before,” Erling pointed out. “You always with through them with suppressants or the power of friendship.”
Power of friendship his ass, he allowed their teammates to scent him because it would’ve been awkward to only need Erling’s touch every single time, and because they were supposedly a pack, and maybe he liked them to really be there for him.
“Well, not anymore,” he shrugged knowing the alpha couldn’t see him as he laid in his nest, “now I can’t let just anybody touch me, or I’ll get pregnant.”
Erling left a groan out, “Yeah, I know that could happen.”
“So…?” Jude rolled to his side and bit his lip.
Silence.
“I promise I won’t be weird about it… today,” Erlind said at last, clearly choosing his words with care, “but I’m telling you, it’ll mess in my head.”
“How so?” He inquired.
“Well, it’s because it’s so sudd—and I don’t know if this is—”
His head was getting fuzzy, so he cut the man off. “I think I want you,” Jude heard himself say, he did more than want him, but he wouldn’t sink deeper that day. “You don't want me?”
“No, Jude, you don’t get it, I—”
“I’m sorry if this made you uncomfortable,” he apologized, feeling his demeanor take a turn for the worst, “I’ll just call—”
“Who?” Erling growled. “Who else would you call in such moment?”
Jude wasn’t about to tell him he’d call his mother to beg her to come back and nurse him like a dying dog.
“Know what? Forget it, forget them, I’ll do it,” Erling rushed out, “I’ll be there in two hours, tops.”
“Thank you,” he whispered, pleased.
Jude could hear how Erling’s throat throbbed. “Yeah, of course, see you soon.”
He dozed off in record time, peace in his mind as he achieved getting Erling to pass his heat with him. His nest felt comfortable, right next to his bed the thing appeared done by an amateur, but it was his doing. All clothes piling around him even followed a code: nothing with zips, nothing too white, nothing too black, family’s wardrobe by his head grounding him, friends’ around him and just below he could sniff some of Erling scent. It made him wet.
The bell door rang once, then twice. Three times became incessant pounding in his ears. Time stilled when he finally opened his eyes. Already horny. After a while, Erling seemed to remember he had spare keys hidden under the welcome rug. Jude stood up and took off his shirt, the shorts were also uncomfortable and sweaty, but they could wait.
Jude only made it as far as the door of his bedroom when he saw Erling, dressed like a model with his hair down, yet looking in a hurry. The older man only breathed after discerning Jude from the rest of the house. He inhaled and exhaled sharpy, taking the view in and doubts out.
“Hey,” Jude stared at him through his half-lidded eyes.
“Hey,” Erling said back.
“What do you have there?” He poorly signaled the plastic bags Erling was carrying with his finger. “Why are you so handsome today?”
“Can’t believe what heat makes you say,” the alpha chuckled, “but yeah, got this handsome just for you.”
Jude, even dying for a hand down there, raised both brows.
“I was filming some stuff,” Erling rolled his eyes, “and this,” he brought his hand with the bags up, “are for our survivance.”
“My mom cooked,” Jude told him again.
Erling went to the kitchen counter and left the bag there. “It’s not food, it’s water and… some… some stuff for later.”
The omega wanted to laugh, Erling clearly forgot the word he was about to use, giving how his hands moved through the air as if he could catch the word physically. The alpha relaxed his neck as he took the house’s smell in. Every corner affected Jude’s heat by now. He also chilled, feeling the alpha’s pheromones being released into the room, atmosphere turning hot. Erling secured the stuff and made it to Jude in four painfully long steps.
“You said you wanted me,” Erling touched the topic first, standing in all his height but lowering his head, “I know it’s your heat talking but… I liked that.”
Jude wanted so much to say it hadn’t been the heat talking, but he figured they could talk about it after their bodies had had their fills of each other, he didn’t want to think. That process of thinking got him grabbing Erling’s wrist, trying to pull him inside his bedroom, inside his nest.
“Let’s go, big boy,” he said when Erling didn’t move.
The alpha looked like he tried to evaporate himself on the spot. “Jude, we need to talk.”
“In my nest,” he almost whined, his crotch already smeared with lubrication.
“No, no, listen,” Erling he used the hand Jude was holding to pull him towards him, “it’s the first time you’ve ever been this hot, I cannot put it in.”
Jude almost started crying on the spot.
“It’s a heat, Erling,” the omega desperately wanted to reason, “I literally need you.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Erling pursed his lips, “Let me take care of you properly this time, then—”
This time, Jude blushed and rewound those two spectacular words in his mind, that means he’s thinking about a next time. He became pliant in that instant.
“Okay, okay, okay,” he falsely conceded. The omega closed the distance between their bodies, the animal part of him thinking a way to be fucked right away. “Do you know what I smell like?”
Erling should’ve known that was an evasive question, made to divert them from the last point. Yet he grabbed him by the chin and turned his head towards him. “Like a plum, ripe and sweet,” Jude blushed deeper, “it’s the best scent I’ve ever felt.”
That did it for him.
Jude wetted his lips and leaned in, and Erling welcomed his peck with care, just a shy brush of lips he hoped could talk more than his voice ever would. The alpha’s thumb settled just below his cheekbone, holding him where he pleased. They locked eyes, and Jude was happy to find desire in Erling’s eyes.
They both lunged forward, hitting their mouths for a second before their lips started to rip each other open. The omega whined at the contact. He was so hot, and Erling’s wandering hands cooled the fever like nothing ever could. Erling streaked a long trail of spit across his bottom lip and savored the soft moan that Jude let out, the alpha swallowed it with a hungry kiss, losing all self-control for once and for all.
He’s such a good kisser, Jude thought. Taking the lead like he was telling his mouth what to do, pressing his tongue against Jude’s lips, demanding entry, then sucking his tongue into his mouth to claim him. Jude had never been kissed like this. The kiss didn’t feel quiet like it as time passed, instead they were devouring one another, licking and biting ferociously as animals. Jude’s pheromones filling the air with their intoxicating fragrance.
The proximity made their hardened cocks brush against each other roughly, even with the fabric in between them. Erling let out a groan, he pulled away slightly and grabbed Jude’s neck. The omega sensed how his whole body was alight with electricity, hot and buzzing low in his belly.
Jude knew Erling could feel the heat radiating off of him. He wanted the man to jump at his throat, claw his way in, and see how much feelings and time he had missed out on. They could’ve been like this ages ago.
The alpha's hands ventured lower, appreciative and predatory, head swimming with nothing but Jude. He shoved down the smaller man's thin shorts, watching his flesh react to the cold that still lingered in the room. He smoothed a hungry finger over the exposure.
“Nest, now,” he growled.
Jude complied, took the man’s wrist again and walked him into his room—nest, allowing him to see what he made with so much care for them. At the feet of his nest, the omega let Erling go to undress, ashamed and overly aware of all his imperfections. Too tall, too broad, too different. When he was done undressing, he watched entranced as Erling took his shirt off. He had an amazing body. The muscles of his abdomen rolled with every movement and his Adam’s apple was prominent. Jude had seen him naked before, but never when he was going to lose his virginity to the man.
“Let’s help you, yeah?” Erling smiled, but the gesture didn’t quite feel innocent.
“Yeah,” he nodded absentmindly, staring at Erling’s notorious groin.
Mouth felt dry as he descended to bed, on his back with Erling following close like a shadow. Erling’s hands wandered across the naked body, ignoring the erection between the omega's legs as he settled between them with a loud thumb and a stare… almost madly enough to get Jude nervous.
They resumed their tough kissing, Jude squirmed to the alpha’s pressure in his waist, kneading his skin and engraving his touch on it. His hole felt so empty that it was clenching on nothing, squeezing over and over like that would maybe help get something inside. So, he did something he’d been thinking a lot about.
He brought his knees together and lowered his right hand, too shy to be exposed like that in front of his best friend. Erling didn’t let a second pass before his hand snapped his limbs apart. “You wanna do that? Fine, let me see.”
Erling stopped mauling his mouth to get a perfect view of him dipping his fingers between his cheeks carefully, probing the feeling and rubbing over his hole. Without a second thought Jude pushed the tip of his index, harder than he’d thought he would need to. He wriggled and drove in against it until his finger sunk inside of himself. Erling smirked, devouring the sight before him while Jude squirmed in spite of his best efforts not to.
“Pretty,” Erling nuzzled his neck, “let it go, make you feel good.”
“My nipples,” he said, forcing his knees wider and closer to his hip, “touch them.”
“Huh,” the alpha groaned, “yeah, just want you—what you want.”
Erling immediately grabbed at Jude's nipples, pressing the areolas and the skin around them with one hand as Jude teared up with the humiliation and arousal he felt. He was hot. He was ashamed. He was an omega in heat. He wasn’t getting what he needed. He still was feeling good with an alpha above him. Jude dug his heels harder into the nest, tipping his head back on it, and he heard flesh being slapped rapidly, Erling’s hand speeded up on his own dick. The omega wasn’t aware of when did the alpha had the time to pull down his pants enough for his dick to spring out free.
Erling felt around his breastbone some more, pulling at the skin. Jude hadn't noticed, because he hadn't had the time to look at himself in some full-length mirror, but his breasts looked… rounder, perkier than usual. Like… like they were tits.
“They’re like tits,” Erling breathed out, mesmerized.
“Don’t say that,” he closed his eyes, his face was getting hotter.
“They’re your omega tits, Jude,” Erling went down to kiss between the two, “pretty.”
Jude counted that as the second pretty of the night while his index finger curbed, trying to fuck his prostate, but he just couldn’t. Slick coated his inner thighs and squelched out around his finger, but it wasn’t quite helping him. He was a big man, why wasn’t his finger large enough to satisfy him? He whined in desperation, hitting again and again incessantly a spot that made him feel good, not amazing.
Erling noted his despair and said, “Let me do it.” He groaned. “Your hand won’t be enough.”
“Yes, yes, Ling,” Jude groaned and brought his hand out and up into Erling’s shoulder for stability—focus—concentration, fuck, he didn’t know. He just wanted to touch and press and be touched and pressed.
The alpha was right, his hand passed by every inch of his torso before getting to his swollen cock. He touched it lightly, to Jude’s horror. Yet he forgot the treason when that big, strong hand got in between his cheeks. His fingers were calloused, longer, and thicker where Jude deemed his scrawny and useless. Erling only explores his entrance a moment with closed eyes before pushing his finger inside. The omega shuddered at the foreign feeling of something that wasn't his own.
Erling moved his finger further in as Jude shook, his cock hardening further at the sensation of something bigger in his ass. It felt good. It made him tremble. He could feel his finger exploring, spreading more of his slick around and gushing it out. Then, Erling successfully stroke his prostate, and Jude couldn’t keep his moans to himself. The alpha continued to stroke Jude's insides as his other fingers went over his perineum, getting ready to make him feel full. Erling forced his thumb down, trying to open Jude's hole wider, his stare was dead set in the omega’s needy entrance.
The rest of Erling’s hand covered the hole again and he didn’t wait to exchange his thumb with two dry fingers; something between a moan and a scream came out of Jude. The circling of those pads around his fluttering hole, not breaching, only teasing and tormenting made Jude want to scream. The roughness of it all riling him up more. He wanted it, he could take it. He could take him.
Erling sunk his fingers up to his knuckles in one go. He let out a muffled cry, feeling almost full when Erling started to thrust his fingers. Every phalanx hitting a different spot with roughness. Inside and outside, inside and outside, punishing the swollen organ on purpose, he fucked Jude with his fingers and seemed to enjoy turning him into a sin. The warm inside received him gladly and Jude could see how bad Erling wanted to put it in, something was messing up with him to his belly.
Jude's hips began moving unconsciously, rocking back and trying to sync with the simulated thrusts done by his fingers like he wanted to impale himself while the rest of his body kept on shivering from pleasure. Jude’s moans and groans were the only thing heard in that room apart from Erling’s free hand jerking off ferociously.
It was too much and not enough all at once. Jude’s body started to crave more of Erling, he wanted him deep inside him now. So, he started blabbering, finally ceding to the voice in his head asking him to beg. The omega couldn’t form a thought, much less talk, so he got clumsy and started scratching Erling’s neck softly.
The man woke up from his haze, “What?” He said viciously, brows furrowed, but then relaxed, “Speak.”
Jude gulped, having trouble finding the words that could help him the most. “See—I was… wondering if you—you could take my virginity,”
Erling’s hand inside him stopped entirely and his head went back to his neck, breathing hard the scent Jude was releasing, “We just agreed that… I’d only help you without penetrative sex, Jude.”
“I’m empty,” Jude cried out, “I feel empty and you’d make me full.”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean,” Erling panted in his neck, nose moving through the skin. “Next time.”
Next time, next time, next—now, I want you now.
“Don’t want to take it, Ling?” He insisted, lips pouting. “Am I undesirable?”
Erling’s body froze, and after a moment he leveled up his head so his eyes could pierce Jude’s with pure lust and anger.
“Undesirable?” Erling now did growl, low and rough, accent thickening. “Fuck, I think I’m gonna go insane just from your scent, Jude. You’re here, so pretty for me and you think I don’t want to fuck you?”
Jude could feel it then, Erling brought his hips closer to his ass, the alpha’s dick was large, thick, and still impossibly hard. The cockhead brushed his skin, dripping precum all over his left cheek, making a point.
“Do it, please,” Jude heard himself beg, “I want it.”
“Came to me just to take you,” Erling said under his breath, watching his lips. “Is this why you wanted me here? You wanted your best friend to take your virginity?”
The omega lowered his eyes where he could see Erling’s cock, veiny and furiously red, dying to force his way in. He nodded. Erling growled again, dirty and unsated. The alpha took a sitting position, moving his torso away.
“Just the tip, okay?” Erling murmured a little breathlessly, eyes glued to his dilated rim.
Jude lost it, seeing how disoriented and horny Erling was made him even more wet, his mouth wanting to kiss him again. To leave bruises in that body that made the alpha think of him when he was gone.
“Answer me,” Erling growled, bringing him back to the present, “I’ll only put the tip of my cock in you, and you’ll be happy with it, okay?”
“Yes,” he said desperately at last.
Erling shifted on the bed below him, trying to lower his pants down more until he got them off. He finally pressed the head of his dick to Jude’s aching rim, and pressed inside, smooth and slow and insistent. He was huge. The pushing of Erling's cock into Jude's entrance was insane, the omega wasn’t prepared for it. But, fuck, how it filled him good.
It left him breathless for a moment.
Movement halted at what Jude imagined was just the tip inside. It hurt, he had never been like this before. He loved it. The omega moaned at the feeling of finally being filled with Erling's cock.
It was already too late for the alpha, though, as Jude pulled him in, pushing his ass back and tugging Jude forward with his adventurous legs. Half of Erling’s cock got lodged deeper into him, making him whimper. “Deeper, I—I can take it.”
“Jude, no,” the alpha tried to reason, but he was, in fact, lost, “it’ll hurt you.”
But the omega was slipping away, unknowingly tilting his head to the side, brandishing his mating gland to Erling. For the alpha to see how bad he wanted him and his dick as he clenched down hard.
“Fuck,” was the only thing Jude heard.
Erling leaned forward, grabbing both of Jude’s asscheeks, and forced his cock deeper. Jude let out a staggered cry. The stretch was overwhelming and so fucking good. When fully sheathed, Erling took possession of his hips with one hand and, lifting the other, he ran the inside of his wrist along the tender spot, scenting it as he went, making Jude shudder and lean into the touch.
“Little virgin Jude,” Erling leaned in and whispered, “losing it all on my cock.”
He thrusted his hips slightly. Jude moaned, waist moving as he accommodated his first cock inside, hands besides his head fisting the clothes.
“Are you afraid?” Erling purred, low and dangerous.
Jude, wasting the last drop of sanity he had, looked into the alpha’s dilated eyes, trying to keep a serene expression. He shook his head. “No.”
Erling huffed with a smirk. “Wrong, you should be.”
A high-pitched moan escaped Jude’s lips and right into Erling’s ear as he thrusted again without warning, skin flush against skin. Erling roared victoriously inside him. And Jude felt like he had waited his whole life for this.
“You’re so greedy, I said I’d only give you my cockhead and you took it all in,” Erling said right into his ear.
The pace became disastrous. Erling shoved Jude’ legs up so his knees were folded against his sides and he drove into the omega’s wet hole ruthlessly, forcing every inch of his dick repeatedly into the slicked heat without pause. Jude keened, burying his face in Erling's neck to muffle the sound, inhaling the alpha's scent like it was oxygen. He could feel his toes curling at the sensation of being filled, the primal side of his brain totally taking hold at last.
“I always thought you’d take me well,” the alpha kept on telling him sweet nothings, “I’m so proud of you, pretty little thing.”
Third pretty.
Erling was breaking through all of Jude’s defenses, molding his body to his liking. The man took his time between each shove, partly to fuck him with care, and partly to carve his shape inside the omega. A hand dragged itself to Jude’s neck, possessed by pure greed as Erling wrapped around his neck, pressing faintly.
“I won't let anyone else touch you,” the alpha breathed out, “you only need me, right?”
Jude could only nod, Erling’s hold tightening just for it relax a second and do it all again. It was maddening, the lack of air in his lung just made him feel more animal. The idea of getting his body used to Erling’s shape wreaked havoc in his loose brain. He whined sharply when the alpha went down and scraped a nipple between his teeth. Happiness was this: being pounded hard and shamelessly against his nest, over and over with his hole squeezing everything his alpha could give him.
He sensed his face hot, all was hot. He was crying and sobbing because he didn’t know what to do with the pleasure. Jude was getting sated, breathing heavily he clung back to Erling’s shoulders with all his might, clawing his nails not wanting to let go, fingers digging into muscles. He was letting him do as he pleased, taking each penetration submissively and arching his back to Erling’s touch to continue being groped and choked, totally surrendered to his carnal desires.
One miscalculated press made Jude think that Erling could snap his neck if he wanted to. How effortlessly it would be for the alpha to do Jude as he wished without him having any chance of resisting. The thought didn’t scare Jude as much as he expected.
“You’re so adorable,” Erling praised between kisses, “I want to have a child just like you.”
“Ah, mhmm, ugh!” The battered lips had forgotten how to talk.
He wants it, I want it. He’s gonna put a pup in—
Jude couldn’t form straight thoughts anymore, couldn’t do anything but wiggle and submit underneath Erling and press his heels hard into the small of the alpha’s back, panting into Erling's mouth and bite his lips, trying to mark him forever as the alpha did with his cock. Erling thrusted hard into him, always at exactly the right angle. He just needed to get a hand on his own dick and he’d be complete. His right hand obeyed his instincts.
"No," Erling grunted, snapping his hand right away, "don’t, you come only with my touch or not at all."
Jude whined and tried, and tried again, but he was unable to get through Erling. The man moved his bitten lips sluggishly from his cheeks to his ear, warm breath to his sensible shell as he bit the lobe.
“Obey, for once,” Erling said, “or I’m leaving you like this.”
Rationally, there was no way Erling could’ve been strong enough to pull away from him. Still, he put his hand over Erling’s back, feeling the sweaty skin with hunger. Erling kissed him again, studded with teeth, and gave in using a single hand to lightly palm Jude's pitifully wet cock between them, already messing their stomachs with precum. Jude could almost physically feel how Erling head was cloudy with the boiling heat of his body. Their minds were ensnared by the sharp thorns of the aphrodisiac pheromones of his heat.
As Erling keep on fucking franticly, purely instinctual, Jude knew his own orgasm was coming along. The alpha was pressed his body over Jude’s, all the weight glued to his dick while the man covered every inch of skin he could reach. Erling rubbed his face into Jude’s neck, which had been freed at last.
“Say you’re mine,” Erling’s eyes shone alight, “say it.”
A loud whine informed Jude that his dick had spent his useless seed onto their bellies. He didn’t care. Erling’s alpha voice didn’t frighten him like Jude knew it should.
“I am, Ling,” was the instant reply after trying to force his voice out a couple of time, “I am yours.”
It wasn’t a lie, now and before, and after that day. It wouldn’t be a lie. The room filled with a primal groan from Erlin as he filled Jude’s hole with his hot cum. There was no knot, as Erling wasn’t in rut, but his cock went bigger inside the omega, splurging copious amounts of cum.
“So pretty, so nice for me,” Erling whispered, making his skin crawl, “only for me.”
Fourth pretty. Jude could only laugh.
From there on, everything became a fuss inside Jude’s mind. The heat receded for twenty minutes, maybe less. The alpha left him for what it felt ages to bring food, water and wipes, and took care of everything. Of him. When Jude’s body became hell let loose again, Erling fucked him without resistance, pouring every drop of his own scent onto, into, and all over him. And Jude found himself unable to focus on anything except the smell of his alpha, his huge presence, and the overwhelming need to be closer, to be touched, to be held, to belong.
His heart never once stopped racing like crazy thorough the night. He felt owned. Loved, even.
The morning came deadly fast.
“Jude,” he felt himself being called from far away, “Jude, you need to wake up.”
“No, I don’t,” he complained, his body lax onto his nest and the scent of Erling, sex and himself cloying nicely his nose.
“Well, you know—I need to go,” a bucked full of ice-cold water would’ve woken him up kinder.
Jude opened his eyes in a second and tried to lift his torso, only to find a heavy hand keeping him flat. He hid the thoughts of that same hand inside him and took a moment to get used to all the light clouding the bedroom, but something was clear: Erling, sitting down just outside his nest, had already changed.
“Why are you dressed?” He spurted out, then he noticed he was dressed in his pajamas too.
“I’m leaving today, did you forget?” Erling lolled his head to his side.
He had indeed forgotten about it. The date had been clear in his before the first peak of his heat knocked him senseless. For a moment, in the mist of it all, he’d hoped for Erling to reconsider, for Erling to be with him forever. He cringed at himself internally. He knew this was going to happen, and he still wished for more. What a loser.
“No, of course not, mate,” he lied, “thank you for all.”
Erling’s scent went acrid enough for the omega to wince. “Don’t thank me, for god’s sake. You chose me for this, and I’d do it again if—you know, wanted.”
“With you in England?” Jude was quick to answer. “… I’ll think about it and I’ll call you to make the arrangements.”
He knew he was rejecting then man, kindly so. But Erling’s scent went back to normal, so it was enough. They were athletes, and want he desired was far deeper, far more visceral and far more intense than anything they had ever prepared for. Jude loved the man and wanted everything with him. His bones ached to follow him or make him stay. But they wouldn’t be able to keep it going for long if he just confessed now. Reality crashed him down.
Be his best friend, hid this night in the deepest of your heart and maybe one day, when they stopped wanting the gold, it could work. That was a better option.
Even if he’s the only one not to make me feel alone.
“Yesterday I bought you heat inhibitors,” Erling said, gulping, “so you could go to the airport calm, but I guess we powered through the worst of your heat last night.”
“Oh, you think?” Jude teased moving his shoulders from side to side, feeling how his limbs hurt deliciously. Outside, clouds were gathering slowly but surely. It was going to rain.
“Don’t joke now,” but Erling chuckled. “I also… I also bought you an emergency contraceptive pill.”
Huh?
“What for?” He asked, finally prompting his torso up.
“Well, for you not to get pregnant,” Erling nervously explained, “I came inside, a lot.”
I would want it, if it’s your it’s worth it. The thought was dangerous, greedy at its core.
“Yeah, of course, mate,” Jude said, nervous, hand on his shoulders. “I’ll use it quickly.”
“Don’t forget to eat the rest of what you mother cooked,” the alpha had a demanding tone, “and I’m taking the trash out, you have to talk to Dormunt to tell them your—”
“Yeah, alright, dad,” he shut him off, “don’t you have somewhere to be now?”
“Can I hug you?” Erling stared at him longingly. Probably missing the nice hole he had last night.
Jude rolled his eye, “Come, but you have to be kind, you’ve let me sore.”
Erling lunged forward embarrassingly quickly, but Jude wanted the alpha’s touch all the same, thus he didn’t say a thing. Erling’s strong arms encircled his waist and squeezed him tight, Jude found his hands making his way towards the other necks. The omega enjoyed Erling’s scent from the core source one last time, before he had to be contempt with only remnants.
“See you at airport, right?” Erling told him to his ear. “I can come pick you up but that’ll be earlier and I want you to—”
“Give it a rest,” Jude said with a curt smile, “I need to rest, you know. I’ll see you there.”
With that, they reluctantly pulled away. Erling popped his lips, looking anything but Jude, “Yeah, great, awesome, see you later. I’m already missing you.”
I’m already missing you, Jude thought sadly, that’s my line.
Jude snapped back to reality just in time to hear the referee’s whistle. Game over. After the first half ended in an evenly two to two, meaning their coach was mad and they were hungry for victory. The omega ran, dribbled and got a yellow card out of sheer desperation. Yet he scored, and with his goal, they officially won the match three to two.
They were now even in the in points, they would have to face each other again if by each’s next game they remained equals. The stadium clearly didn’t care, their fans stood up from their seats dancing and singing Hey, Jude with all their lungs, followed by the usual chants. Barcelona’s shouted and grimaced the results. The white team celebrated for a while on the pitch before getting into the locker room.
Mourinho wanted all their heads on a stake, giving them only one day off. Marc wanted to greet their teammates from the Spain national team, and Jose Mourinho was a man capable of lots of things, even of isolating their whole team from the others, but he couldn’t win against Cucurella’s singing attempt.
“I am so selling you at the next opportunity I have,” Mourinho sighed as the whole Real Madrid moved towards the Barcelona team.
Marc only showed him his tongue and that seemed to be it for the day. He waltzed his way around the stadium as if he’d been born there. Once they were all refreshed, the whole team moved with the omega in solidarity, and in fear of what the oldest omega could do when left alone with one player. There was strength in numbers, or something like that.
The press filmed their victory road. Jude didn’t want to be there; he wanted his boys in his arms cradled in his nest. Kylian and Vinicius were holding his arms as they marched joyfully to stop him from running. When they crossed the doorframe of Barcelona’s guest locker room, his team was surprised to find the other pack laughing.
“What’s so funny, imbeciles?!” Marc yelled with an ear-to-ear smile, making the others aware of their presence.
Gordon waved at him, too busy with a younger beta Jude didn’t quite catch the name making him record a TikTok. The omega could only laugh, they definitely enjoyed Spain and their people’s antics.
“Marc!” Jude heard Dani Olmo scream, the pale man ran to Marc and lifted him up. Someone got the music on, and the most outgoing fellas of both groups started to hit it off.
Jude watched in awe how the guys from the other team appeared to be injected with adrenaline, even after losing they weren’t beating themselves. He guessed that, well, they hadn’t really lost La Liga, and they had higher spirits than them. Maybe their coach had been kinder than Mourinho, too. His team had been appalled by the man… and they had won. Still, they worked better under Mourinho than under anyone else. That was tragic.
The omega could see some of his more introverted teammates following the same track of thoughts. It was awkward. Jude only wanted to go back to his pups.
By the corner of his eye, he caught up with a glimpse of Lamine facetimig with a cute boy—that was Mora, from Mexico. He could remember the face anytime; he took a liking of the kid and called him occasionally. He wanted him in Real Madrid for the next season.
It was weird to call an overseas friend just after losing, though. His mind casually assessed the scene before him: Lamine, who hadn’t even bathed yet, was explaining the match as if he himself had decided to pardon Real Madrid today. Gilberto, with a clearer landscaping indicating early morning behind him, was having none of that.
Jude sucked his lower lip funnily. To each, their own.
“Should’ve put more cologne on,” Kylian yawned beside him, “your distressing smell is killing all of us.”
The omega was exaggerating, but it was true to some extent, while everyone was all smiles and hugs with the protection of perfume and scent patches, Jude’s worry was beginning to drip alongside his cologne, singling him out like a sore thumb. Some of the other players were giving him concerning glances, perhaps they were thinking about asking him if he was okay. He wasn’t. He wasn’t about to disclose that to anyone there.
“Do you think I should go a put on a scent patch instead?” He asked.
“Yeah!” Vinicius yelled, phone in hand while dancing with some other players and livestreaming. “Just put in on and then we’re leaving!”
Kylian nodded in agreement and Jude brought his hands up, guilty of killing the mood for some, he walked out of the guest locker room and went into some halls until he found a more private restroom. He loved Bernabeú because of this: some hidden restrooms for the public had changing areas like the ones in the locker rooms. Although they were smaller, those shy spaces could help anybody in Jude’s situation. He just needed to patch himself up for a couple of minutes and then he’d be picked up by his mother who already texted him about his boys’ safety.
He just needed to get to his house and the day would be over. One step at a time.
The omega sighed as he packed up his stuff again. Ready to leave, Jude stopped in his tracks when the restroom’s door opened and closed with such fury, he instantly got up on one counter just beside the archway that separated the space he was using with the rest of the room. Knees on his abdomen and arms wrapped tightly around himself, his instincts told him don’t move.
Someone kicked all the doors from the bathroom stalls but didn’t check Jude out. The omega counted the steps, two people, two men, two alphas. Instead of feeling embarrassed or straight up frightened, he was curious.
“I know he’ll be an omega,” Curbarsí’s voice startled him, “You don’t know him like I do, he has to be.”
The young alpha had acrid undertones in his scent, clearly angry about something. Jude froze in his place, knowing damn who he was talking about.
“He doesn’t act like one, though,” Ferran seemed to have lost all playfulness he showed during the match. “I mean, you just saw him flirting with Morita.”
“Don’t remind me, please,” the sharp comment betrayed jealousy, “what does that little boy have that I don’t?
“Well… he’s an omega, you know.” The older alpha pointed out, by the distance of their voices, Jude could imagine Curbasí looking at himself in the mirror and Ferran laying against a wall.
“Lamine wouldn’t be a homosexual omega, Ferran,” Pau rebutted rapidly. “His family is so against that it’s not even funny, I know they’re waiting for him to present so he can be properly courted and I will be the first in line.”
“You can’t make those kinds of assumptions,” Ferran’s voice softened. “It’ll hurt you, hermano.”
“I know,” he said.
“We don’t know anything until he presents, Pau.”
“I know,” the younger alpha groaned.
“And what if he’s just a beta?” Ferran asked.
“Then, he’s mine,” Pau deadpanned, like it was the most obvious answer in the world.
“What are you gonna do when if he presents as an alpha, then?” Ferran pushed, his voice betrayed his fun. “Be homosexual yourself? His family would still hate your guts.”
There was a little silence, and Jude thought Pau had surrendered to realism and those two would finally leave when Pau spoke again. “Do… do you happen to know what bitching is?”
The other man gasped loudly, “You wouldn’t dare…”
God, he’s insane.
He rearranged his stuff, stood up and left his hiding with strong steps, feeling outraged and horrified. Jude couldn’t bear to hear anything else. Pau Cubarsí went horrifyingly pale at the sight of him. Exactly as he had imagined it, the young alpha had his hands pressing one poor sink. He decided to calmly wash his just in the one beside him. Ferran had his mouth open, terrorized expression.
“Excuse me,” he said when he was done and took his leave.
As the door closed behind him, he sprinted all the way back towards the guest locker room, only to find out most of the players had already begun bidding their farewells. He was late.
“See you tomorrow!” Vinicius was already far when they both got a glimpse of each other.
Jude could only wave to him before locking his hands in Kylian’s shoulders, the older omega was just texting someone, so he jumped a little. “What? Did you see him?”
“No,” the french raised a brow, “way worse,” Jude opened his eyes to make a point, “I really need to talk to Lamine.”
Kylian nodded and hummed, thinking, a cocky grin appeared on his face. “Why don’t you ask Gavi?”
“Gavi is in Gavirá?” Jude didn’t stop himself to think. “You’re right, they’re close.”
“I’m close with who?” A smaller man approached them curious. Gavirá, who flashed brown roots, white hair with a little pink tint in the ends. Gavi who, in the secrecy of their texts had asked Jude to call him Pablo to make him stand out from the rest. Memories of this same omega being interested in him shamelessly stomped him, making him stutter between his words.
How could he have forgotten? Short answer: Jude wasn’t invested. Vinicius was.
“It’s—it’s so good to see you,” he said, looking at the older omega for help.
Said omega distanced himself from him and started walking, “I’ll leave you two to it!”
Jude made a mental note not to trust Kylian more than he trusted his brother. Ugh. Ugh. Gavi. In all honestly, the man was a beautiful creature, soft curves and hard edges where it mattered the most. They hit it off in the pitch first, but then Gavi had asked someone for Jude’s number and proposed carefully a couple of times. The omega was passing time with however he pleased until his alpha returned to Spain in the off-season. Jude, had other priorities, he didn’t date for fun; he had children to take care of.
So he’d been kind to him and blocked the memories and passed his number to the brazilian alpha, and hence, today he just went into Barcelona’s locker room and didn’t even bother to greet him properly. He was an asshole.
“So, who are you looking for?” Gavi wondered, taking one step closer and making Jude tower him. He made Jude feel way too tall, too broad, too different.
“Have you seen Lamine?” He rushed out, ignoring how embarrassed he felt. “I need to tell him something.”
“Oh, want me to pass the message?” Gavi offered.
“No, no!” He got scared. “It’s something about a friend, you know?”
The other omega laughed. “You tell me about it,” Gavi cleaned fake tears off his face, “He’s already in his way to the bus for the airport, if you’re really a good friend, you should run.”
And run he’d do. He needed to get to the teenager before Curbasí. He was scanning the hall to make his scape route when Gavi spoke again.
“Earth to Jude!” Gavi called, both hand around his mouth to power his voice up.
“Right, I’m sorry,” he heard himself say, but his mind was already out. “By the way, what do you think about Pau Cubarsí?”
“Amazing friend!” Gavi instantly replied, no once of doubt in his voice. “We’ve seen him grow from La Masia all the way until now. He has such a golden heart, so naïve I’m telling you. We all trust him dearly.”
He’s got everyone wrapped on his fingers. What. A. Freak.
“Great,” he popped out his lips, feeling weird when Gavi didn’t miss the movement, “I should get going,” he signaled the hall with his thumb.
“Oh, one thing, Jude,” Gavi called, and Jude hoped it was the last thing the man had to say.
“Yes?” He wanted to leave now.
“Don’t forget to text.” The smaller man winked. “I still want to be just your friend.”
“Yes, yes,” he hurriedly said, smiling the best he could in this situation, “see you around?”
Gavi rolled his eyes, “see you around,” he laughed before his slim figure got lost in the jungle of halls.
Awkward.
He started running again, excusing himself with a lot of remaining paparazzis and fans. He didn’t have much time; he needed to leave right before warning Lamine. Jude had secured his backpack with one hand while he made his way out of the building to get to teenager. Taking a turn around a corner close to the nearest exit, his head bumped into a huge back. A back he knew all too well, because he’d spent almost four years fingering himself to the memory of his hands scratching until it bled one night.
The massive man he recognized as the father of his twins stepped aside to show him a bizarre picture: The Ramos-Modrić marriage talking non-stop… and a very exasperated Erling Haaland. Jude instantly punched him jokingly and put on his best smile.
“Hola, muchachón,” Sergio greeted, not minding a bit how Jude still had trouble understanding spanish superlatives.
“Hey, hombrezote,” he said back with a smile. He liked the man, he was good to Luka—and had cradle them both in his arms one night where Jude just couldn’t keep pretending he didn’t want an alpha—Erling, but they didn’t know—and Luka melted like a mother seeing his child cry.
“There you are,” Erling groaned in what sounded way too close to satisfaction, “you played amazing today, Judy.”
“You think so? Thanks!” He said, faking his glee. “What are you still doing here?”
Erling slouched for the second time today, face features getting darker with shadows Jude couldn’t possibly understand. “We have to talk.”
“Jude is way too tired, Erling,” Luka told him instead, “come with us for dinner, really.”
“I fear I’d rather have dinner with Judy, alone,” Erling replied not even looking at them.
No, no, no, no. Jude was starting to sweat cold.
“Are you belittling my wife?” Sergio saved him from completely melting.
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
That sentence made Erling glare at Sergio, “Of course not,” he said firmly. “An omega kone is well respected in Norway, Mr. Ramos, I’d never dare.”
“That’s because they don’t marry a lot,” Luka whispered to his husband, Sergio nodded in acknowledgment.
“I’m going home Erling,” he stated. “Gotta see my children.”
The blonde alpha stiffened and the married couple gasped silently, the subject he thought Jude was avoiding being touched so soon.
“Are you going to tell me who’s the father?” He also asked straightforward.
There, Jude saw his chance and he latched onto it like his life depended on it. It kind of did.
“Who else?” The omega smirked. “Who did you see today?”
“Are you seriously trying to tell me you let Declan Rice inside you?” Erling blurted out. “Him?”
Declan would be gone tonight, blissfully unaware, and he just had to inform him to expose him later. With Erling in England dealing with the Champions League, Jude could scheme something more elaborate if the alpha still wanted an explanation by then. Therefore, one could hardly blame Jude for using his friend’s name when he was the perfect and most immediate scapegoat.
“We became closer with the years,” he continued his lie, “he’s been a bless to me, Ling, we wanted privacy, I thought you would’ve guessed, mate. You know, we were together all the World Cup.”
It seemed the blonde alpha wanted to growl but contained himself.
“He… he didn’t even kiss you earlier,” Erling reminded him, slowly. The alpha’s pupils quickly looked into his eyes. He sounded like he was giving Jude a chance to back off his words. He blatantly ignored how Erling’s scent soured to the worst he’d ever felt.
“Jude—”
“No, Lukita, not now.”
Both Jude and Erling ignored the couple.
“What part of private would still be private if we kissed in front of everyone?” He shrugged.
The alpha’s face got closer, close enough for Jude to feel how bad Erling’s pheromones were. He pretended he didn’t feel them with mastery. Why would Erling be sad for? They’ve been best friends for years, not a single attempt on the alpha’s part to change it. This meant nothing, just a hurt but possessive best friend.
“You’re not marked.” Erling insisted, voice rough.
“Not where you can see it, duh,” he faked a chuckle. He got on his tiptoes and used a hand to cover his mouth and Erling’s ear as he said, “He likes my thighs, guess the rest.”
He dove just in time to avoid Erling’s hand trying to get a strong hold of his neck, Jude stared at the air where he was supposed to be, the alpha’s hand went in with sheer force. He would’ve been shoved to the wall with no chance of escaping.
“Haaland!” Luka and Sergio yelled at the same time.
“Oh, sorry, look at the time!” He watched a non-existent watch on his wrist. “Gotta go, so much fun catching up! I’ll be a better friend, Erling! I promise!”
Jude ran, breathing clean air as much as he could in his way. He didn’t fumble on his own feet, trying to find a nice pace, but took each leap courageously, dismissing completely the possibility of falling.
“Jude, come back! Faen!” He heard, but he didn’t look back, that would be a problem for tomorrow.
“You come here, grandote!” The older alpha shouted, followed by Erling’s growl. He still didn’t turn around.
Jude didn’t understand how Sergio didn’t coil when standing face to face with Haaland. But for all he knew, the man was nuts. Nuts enough to get Luka pregnant four times. Then, he finally saw the boy he was looking for. Tired from all the emotions and running, he halted his movements to breathe, hands in his knees for a second.
“Yamal!” He called, his voice went through the teenager’s headphones, making him turn his—thank god, already bathed—torso around to stare at him in the eye as he slid them to his shoulders, uninterested.
“What happened, tío?” He replied, holding his stare.
Jude took a look at the boy in front of him, broad shouldered and dark skinned like him. Perhaps too alike. Trying not to feel like a creep, he noted full thighs and a small waist covered in the giant sweatshirt. People talked trash about him, and Lamine was strong enough not to care about it, Jude could guess his mind was all football and meeting cute people to have a good time until he presented and started to think about settling down.
Pau surpassed him in that moment, Ferran following close. The young alpha wrapped Lamine with one arm, forcing him to move one step further. Lamine seemed to relax in Cubarsí’s embrace, his head falling a little to lay in Pau’s arm comfortably.
Something clicked on him.
“Nah, nothing, mate,” he backtracked fast, “have a safe trip.”
Lamine raised a brow, “Thank you?”
Jude nodded and turned around to go back to his family; he was absolutely done for the day. Neither Cubarsí nor Ferran said a peep, they just walked away with their backs too straight towards the rest of their team.
Maybe… maybe it wasn’t his problem to solve, he had enough in his plate to nose those teenagers’ business. After all, he just left the father of his children sad and furious inside the Bernabeú, the one who indirectly made him decide to be a mother at nineteen, life-changing decisions could take place anytime. He could only warn Morita to not meddle, and hope for Lamine to agree to whatever Pau had planned.
To each, their own.
Jude saw Erling’s back when he sneaked into his mother’s car, he was still discussing something vividly with Sergio, Luka in the middle of them with his coat opened to apparently remind them that, if they were to throw hands, they’d be hitting a pregnant omega before their fists touched each other. Jude was more worried about both alphas; the older man could easily kick the lights out of someone twice his height.
“Hello, my dearest!” He smiled at his boys, sitting in the middle of the back of the car.
“Mama!” The children replied with the same grin, Jude opened his arms and the twins instinctively got closer to hug him, their milky and pure scent swallowed him whole, erasing all worries from his mind.
Finally, peace.
“Jude, Mr. Ramos told me,” his mother said as she started driving, the nanny using her phone as her copilot, “we’re going home and you’re cuddling them.”
“Say less,” he agreed, enjoying the feeling of his boys close to him.
“Mom! You were amazing today!” Andrew said.
“You think so?” He smiled fondly, his hand smoothing his son’s hair.
“Yes,” Anders chimed in a lower voice. “That last goal was…”
He watched his son struggle patiently, his kid always had trouble remembering words, “Amazing, Ander!” But the other was quick to help him every time. “I saw it first than anybody!”
“No,” was the speed dialed reply, “I saw it first.”
His mother laughed at her grandchildren while boys kept bickering and asking questions about the match. Just how he’d expected, Anders and Andrew talked the most when football was involved. If any other stuff was the topic, they’d probably fall asleep within the minute, making their priority clear. Usually, they only murmured in their own little world. The omega expected them to open more next year when they enter kindergarden. Covered by sudden nostalgia, Jude concluded that he had a piece of Erling every day with those two: focused on the ball and nothing more ever.
Both of them had careers to protect back then, everything had been so immediate, so out of the blue that sometimes Jude revels in the idea of a younger version of himself making this decision on the spot so lightly and surviving all this alone. He hummed as his children started to lose track of the conversation to find better positions to sleep for the rest of the trip. He wasn’t alone anymore, though he was still surviving, hidden away from the Erling with shame and embarrassment.
He’d never tell him. It was too late now, if Erling even got a slight glimpse of his children, Jude knew he’d be mad at him, and he’d be able to take them far from him. There were so many layers to this mess, everything could’ve gone wrong from the start, yet it didn’t. He wasn’t about to risk it all just to be honest with Erling. The alpha was possessive, in his mind, Erling would only be taking what was his. And they were, they all were.
Andre and Anders ran through all the living room, taking their hoods off as they made their way to the couch. His mother and the nanny went inside and quickly started picked one of the pups each.
“There’s food in the kitchen,” the alpha said, “eat before you do anything else, we’re going to bath them.”
“I love you,” he smiled, “thank you, get them back here so we can watch some movies and cuddle please, do you guys like that, huh?”
The twins shared a look, then they stared at him for a moment before nodding. Jude rolled his eyes; they were right back at their usual selves. His mother nuzzled Anders’ head before moving to the boys’ room where they had a private bathroom. The nanny smiled kindly and followed Denisse.
Before he could take a step in any direction, his phone buzzed, he checked and saw Declan calling him. He forgot about the man a little, still he was going to pay him the ticket back to England as compensation for not sticking to talk.
“Hey, Declan,” he said answering the phone and walking to the kitchen, “sorry I couldn’t say goodbye, I did my best today, though, did you see it?”
Silence, the kind of silence Jude interpreted as tense. He moved around getting his food ready before a yell startled him. No, that wasn’t a yell, that had been a growl.
“Mate, what the fuck?” He snarled.
“Yeah, mate, what the fuck?” Declan groaned. “Jude, just why the fuck would you tell him your sons are mine?!” Were the greetings he got.
Oh, shit.
“Who are we talking about?” He sat in the kitchen aisle, playing dumb.
“Do you really thought he wouldn’t hunt me and try to attack me?” The other man squawked. “He’s going after you, I’m sorry, you should’ve at least warned me.”
“What do you mean he’s coming for me?” His blood froze. “Declan, mate, where are you?”
“I just made it to my hotel, he stopped my taxi with his car, literally” Declan replied. “It was a nightmare to get him off me, but then I came clean and he left… like thirty minutes ago.”
Thirty minutes ago meant that, indeed, Erling was now hunting him down.
“Declan, I’m so sorry,” he began apologizing, “really, there’s nothing I can do right now to make it up to you, pass me your flight bill, I’ll cover it.”
The alpha sighed. “Jude, I’m the least of your problems now, I don’t know if he knows where to find you, but don’t open the door.”
“Don’t worry, mate,” he didn’t feel one ounce of reassurance in his words, but he had to try, “I’ll be fine.”
“Take care, Jude, please,” Declan replied. “He was really mad at the thought of me with you—scratch that, he was furious.”
“Tell Tuchel I love him if you don’t hear from me, okay?” He tried to joke.
“God, why are you like this?” Jude honestly didn’t know. “I have to pack my souvenirs, I hope I see you again, mate.”
Declan ended the call there while Jude went down to the ground quietly and slowly, phone discarded and hands against his mouth so he wouldn’t scare his sons if he screamed out of pure fear. Few people got to experience a panic attack, and Jude really thought he was going through one by the way his heart increased its beating and his mind couldn’t concentrate on anything at all. He was so happy he’d put on a scent patch back at the stadium, the children didn’t need to see him like this.
Nothing was saving him this time. Neither a fake injure nor other responsibilities. Karma had really come for him. Erling was in Spain only for him and his children. There was no excuse. There was no way to stop him from finding them now.
The bell door rang once, then twice. Three times became incessant pounding in his and his sons’ ears. Time stilled. Then there were hurried footsteps in the living room.
“Coming, coming!” Yelled the nanny, drying his hands with a small towel and walking to the main door.
He immediately stood up and tried to get to her, “Wait, Mery, don’t open—!”
But he’d reacted too late.
“Afternoon, Judy,” was the only thing Erling said as he shoved past the nanny to walk into Jude’s home uninvited. Eyes settled only on the omega.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Bellingham,” the woman said with her head down. “I didn’t know—”
“Leave us alone, please, Mery,” he mustered.
She was about to comply, but the laughs filled the living room. His children were done with their bath, and they ran to center of the house innocently. His mother just behind them, yet she also stilled all movement at the presence of the alpha. Something shifted in the air. Only the pups remained unaffected. Erling lolled his head to the right, watching Anders and Andrew like one commoner would watch a movie: Far and enticing, a glamorous dream made specifically for the weak to wish to be there.
He knows, he knows, Jude thought scared. Nobody said anything for a while.
“Nico said they were pups,” Erling told them, “but they are grown.”
The phrase moved something inside Jude. “What do you mean Nico?” He asked upset. “My Nico? O’Reilly?”
The alpha scoffed. “When we got back for preseason he couldn’t stop talking about your cute baby cousins,” Erling spat, “you don’t have baby cousins, Jude, you would’ve posted them somewhere.”
Jude shivered in recognition of his old white lie. Still, he was killing the young alpha at first sight.
“How old are they, Jude?” The man took a step closer to him without taking his sight off the children. His children.
The smaller man had every right to shut up—no he didn’t have anything like that. He still chose to remain silent.
“Answer me.” Erling insisted, voice rough on the edges.
“Erling,” his mother said, “I don’t think this is a good time to—”
“Mrs. Bellingham,” Erling cut her off, not even sparing her a glance, “please.”
“Mom,” he complied to Erling. The alpha woman buffed, clearly altered, but she walked towards the kid and sat in the single couch, feigning deafness. Her being there grounded him. Mery disappeared into her room fast.
“They’re gonna be four soon,” he looked away when the words slipped from his mouth.
Silence.
Jude’s eyes went back to the alpha and watched Erling do the math in his head. Anders and Andrew were stealing quick looks to Erling, but the boys were smart enough not to let adults’ problems interfere with their little sparring. They didn’t have wants yet, Jude could only hope they never did, not as shamefully as he did at least.
“You were never gone for a year, like omegas usually do,” Erling said reasoned, scent sour, “you only took six months off, that means you stopped playing for five months and only took a month to recover before your first match, I guess you went through natural labor to be able to get back in shape fast.”
Honestly, that was the longest he’d ever heard Erling speak without stuttering or forgetting a word.
“That—that,” he trembled with his words, “is right.”
Only then Erling did look at him, flared nostrils and standing in all his height. Jude could sense his ire, his madness, and his despair. The air became dense and his mother had the decency of politely put her hand over her nose.
“Once, you told the press you injured your foot,” Erling took another step.
“Yes,” Jude knew where this was going to end.
“I called you like a madman almost every week to check on you.” The alpha’s eyes scanned his face thoroughly. “I was worried sick, Jude.”
“I know,” Jude’s brows furrowed, “I answered every call.”
“You don’t know, I didn’t until now,” Erling huffed. “I got Couvade syndrome.”
Jude nodded in agreement. “You’re right, I don’t know what that is.”
His mother slapped her face, the twins stared at her judgingly.
“My head hurt all the time and I felt the grossest nausea of all,” the alpha rolled his eyes as he towered over him, making Jude aware of how small Erling had always made him feel. “But I just wanted to call you every day.”
“Why?” Jude’s hand shivered like crazy.
“Because my body knew my seed had taken root,” Erling said with haughty calm. “Even when denied the joy of being with my family.”
“Oh, god, Erling,” his mother hid her mouth with both her hands.
Instantly, Erling moved toward the center of the room, near his mother, near their children. Decided steps resonated in every part of Jude’s house. He knew what he was doing, and Jude couldn’t help but to tremble harder, yet forced himself to stay in place, accepting the consequence of his actions.
“Denisse, take the boys for a walk,” Erling ordered, “please.”
“Do as he say,” Jude supported in a heartbeat. “Take them, mom, It’ll be okay,” he tried reassuring her.
From her seat, she smiled sideways sadly, “You hear your mother, let’s go to the park, boys,” she stood up decidedly and shushed them to the door. The twins followed, side eyeing each other, “Merry, get an umbrella, we’ll go first.”
The nanny ran to them, already with an umbrella inside a backpack; she held the boys each with one hand while her mother checked her blazer for the keys. Something must have happened in the telepathic conversations the children were having because they refused to move and instead looked at Erling.
“Will you be here later, sir?” Anders asked.
Erling startled at the word and spun around to see his babies, distraught. His biological pups were calling him sir instead of dad. Even Jude had to admit that was cruel. Nonetheless, he opened his mouth in awe, it had been days since Anders had started a chat with an adult willingly. The omega had to become a court’s buffoon to get the same little outcome.
“Yes,” he said way too fast to be cool about it, “I’ll be here.”
“And are we going to watch a movie?” Andrew followed.
Now Jude had his mouth wide open with surprise, this was… rare for him to see.
“Of course,” Erling’s dark mood lightened an ounce, “whatever you two want.”
The twins shared a pleased glance just between them, and now they were pulling their nanny outside, insisting on being far away from the house quickly.
“For what it matters,” Denisse said before closing the door, “I’ve always thought you deserved to know.”
The door clicked shut, leaving them finally alone. Erling walked to the biggest couch in the living room, his body moving predatorily albeit shaken. He sat there, dominating the space entirely. Jude remained awfully still where he was standing, to afraid to move, to make himself seen.
Since the beginning of the day, Jude had tried to avoid this specific situation, and now he was in distress in his own home. He could only wait for the worst, his heart laid heavy in chest, resigned to lose everything he loved the most.
“How’s that your mother is better than you?” Erling wondered, though it was obvious he wasn’t expecting an answer, so Jude kept himself shut.
Silence.
“They’re nice, and they’re well-behaved,” he whispered, more to himself than to Jude. “And they don’t know I’m his dad,” The omega could feel how brokenhearted the older man was. His scent had become rotten, impossible to ignore. Deep inside him, he wanted to be the one to cure his sadness.
As Jude looked how Erling rubbed his hands against his face intensely, he deemed himself unworthy of supporting the other man. After all, he’d been the one to cause all of this. Out of nowhere, Erling laughed, loud and raspy. It was a painful nasal noise, he was laughing to avoid spilling tears. The alpha was crumbling in that house.
Erling’s hands fell to his sides, and his stare landed at the exact same spot the kids had been fighting clumsily. After some tense minutes, the man in the couch turned his head to Jude, showing eyes red when they locked in Jude’s again. “It was that night, right? The night before my flight.”
“Ling,” he called, trying to reason, “you’re not in condition to—”
“Answer me.”
Erling’s alpha voice choked the truth out of him. “Yes.”
In less than a second, the alpha stood up and walked towards him. Eyes warmer than Jude could’ve expected. Suddenly, they were too close, and the omega tried to take a step back.
“What did I ever do to you to deserve this?” The man cried out, because Erling was crying, and it was the second time he’d ever seen the alpha cry. Jude didn’t know what to do, but he wanted to stop this.
“You did nothing wrong, Erling I just—”
“I got it all wrong,” Erling sighed, closing eyelids to avoid spilling tears, “maybe it was the heat talking, maybe you really didn’t want me like—”
“Stop, stop it,” Jude brought both hands up and landed them on Erling’s chest. “That is not what happened.”
“Then what?” Erling grunted, brows knotted in tight anger. “Why didn’t you say anything? Did you hate me that much you did this to punish me? To always have something against me?”
“No, what? Erling, no! That’s not it!” Jude widened his eyes, but the alpha had already grabbed his arms. The hold wasn’t meant to hurt, but Jude was already hurting from the moment he felt Erling Haaland trembling in front of him.
“Then what is it?” Erling pursed his lips, loose blonde strands falling to his forehead. He looked horrible, and Jude still wanted him. “I remember I cared for you, I didn’t want you to go through something like this that young. Jude, I bought you a pill. You told me you took it.”
“I know,” he panted out, forcing his eyes to stare into Erling’s. He perfectly remembered throwing away the little thing as he hoped for his loneliness to end.
“You’re not telling me why, Jude,” Erling sniffed, “I don’t know how—how to be mad anymore,” the man lowered his head, rather watching the floor than Jude, “just… say something that has sense, please.”
A knot wrapped itself around his throat, secluding the truth from materializing. “I—”
“God, you never talk to me,” Erling said, face coming up again, “You never agreed to me coming to see you, and you were too busy to go…”
“I couldn’t leave them alone…” Jude tilting his brows inwardly, “they’re so little—”
“You could’ve brought them to me!” Erling snarled, finally pushing the omega, “Did you think I would’ve—…”
Jude didn’t mind the push, because he knew Erling had every right to act worse. At the alpha’s lack of knowledge about the words needed, he completed it for him. “Dip out?”
“That,” Erling shook his hand in agreement, too distressed to say thanks, “Did you think I was going to be a deadbeat father?”
“No, of course not!” That was exactly the reason he didn’t say anything.
The situation wasn’t improving, but Erling’s shiver was calming down. Jude could see the alpha becoming numb, for the moment, to the pain he was feeling.
“… I don’t understand you,” the alpha, “I tried to be the best for you, gave you my all and you still… did this.”
Jude wasn’t about to say sorry, because he felt deeply ashamed, but not sorry. This was the reason he couldn’t tell Erling about the twins. They wouldn’t work for long, Erling would prioritize his work over Jude’s, and Jude would’ve done the same. In a world where they compete to be the best, who would’ve stayed with the boys? What kind of half-hearted life would they have? The nannies? He hated himself for needing one, he tried his best to be present and the time and still suffered. And still felt greatly overjoyed when his pups welcomed him.
What would happen if he ever came to an empty home because the children were overseas with their father? He’d rather die.
Erling then continued. “I cannot reason with you, I’ll stay to say goodbye. Then we’ll move with the lawsuit.”
“The fuck did you just said?” He rushed out, blood cooling.
“We aren’t getting anywhere, Jude,” Erling had tired eyes as he spoke, “It’s been too much, for you, for me. Let’s take the legal route and be—”
Something exploded inside him. Two steps were all it took for Jude to get to the alpha and grab him by the coat. “Don’t you dare taking them away from me!”
“You took them away from me,” Erling reminded him coldly, not minding the rough treatment. “You hid my children from me, Jude.”
“I was tired of feeling alone!” The omega lashed out, feeling tears pooling in his eyes. “Tired of not being proper omega…”
Erling’s body loosened up enough for Jude’s to lean in a little without wanting to. “Say what?”
“We couldn't even date, Erling,” Jude came clean, raspy voice saving him from sounding pathetic. “I just couldn’t submit and confess and follow you. I had my own dreams, so I took what I could and ran with it.”
“What you could?” Erling raised a brow. “That’s a cold way to address my children.”
“I liked you,” Jude closed his eyelids with force. “I didn’t want to be alone after you left and—and I just didn’t take the pill, I thought we had been a mistake, but I wanted something from you at last.”
“That first phrase was in past tense,” Erling noted, words coming out rough with his accent.
There, Jude let Erling go like he’d been caught on fire. “I did like you, I think at some point I loved you, you were the only one not to make me feel lonely in Germany.”
The alpha just glared at him oddly, hands fisted by his sides. Jude didn’t know where to look now that the truth made it out his throat.
“Is that really true, though?” Erling asked, pale blue eyes piercing through his brown ones.
“What do you mean?” Jude crossed his arms against his chest protectively.
“I remember I offered my help,” the alpha replied, “for your heats, but you never called.”
Jude sighed. “I… I’ve never spent my heat with anyone else after you.” He confessed. “I was embarrassed of it, I only wanted you and nowadays I only want to nest with Anders and Andrew.”
“For someone who didn’t want to be caught, you sure named one of the pups like a norwegian,” Erling pointed out, lips curving slightly.
“The best of both worlds,” he managed to chuckle.
Erling groaned, loudly so, and rubbed the palms of his hands against his worn out eyes. “This is unfair, Jude,” he breathed out after a moment, “this day has been cruel to me, these past months had been awful.”
“How so?” Jude doubted about taking a step closer to Erling, but he did at the end.
“When Nico came and showed off about your nice cousins, I knew they weren’t cousins… and I got sick, madly so,” the alpha sighed, hands leaving his face to rest where his neck met his shoulders. “Thinking about who could’ve enamored you so much you would let them breed you.”
“You, you know, could’ve had ask?” Jude tried to say.
The alpha rolled his eyes. “Jude, first, you wouldn’t had told me the truth and second… you don’t understand,” Erling’s eyes found him once again, this time darker. “I could’ve killed somebody just to make them mine.”
Oh.
That man has always been weird about you, Vinicius had said.
He was really mad at the thought of me with you—scratch that, he was furious, Declan had also said.
Oh.
Amidst the disaster he was involved in, his heart fluttered. That was the closest thing to a confession Jude knew he would get that day.
“Erling…” Jude called softly. Something shifted in the living room. Something got sweeter. And it hadn’t been the omega.
“Do you know how bad my heart is broken right now?” Erling closed their distance. Heat rising between the bodies in a way Jude hadn’t experienced in a long time.
“I think I know,” the omega shrugged, eyes fleeing from the alpha impulsively. “That’s why I know we wouldn’t have worked then, and I know we can’t work now. Erling, I just don’t want to lo—”
“Let me show you how we would’ve work,” Erling cut him off, something like fire alighting in his whole being. “How we will.”
The man stood up in all his height, broader than anyone could ever be, towering him easily as he searched to get Jude’s glance trapped in his. The omega, still in his Real Madrid tracksuit, cowered.
“Show me your bedroom,” the man ordered, no alpha voice. Just pure determination and something… raw.
Jude moved automatically. Partly because that seemed to appease the alpha the man looked like he’d really kill someone if denied, partly because he didn’t know what time it was and the children couldn’t come back to an angry alpha, and partly because, even in the most tumultuous scene, Erling still made him feel... wanted. The omega led the way to the main room. His room. It was luxurious in a humble way. In the way someone rich wanted to connect with the mundane world and couldn’t even grasp it because of their status.
His nest had a lot of stolen clothes from his teammates, his family and his babyboys. It landed neatly at the closest side to the bathroom. They didn’t make it far. The door closed behind Erling with a click, and the man tugged him by the waist pulling him down to the floor.
Erling hugged him from behind, his large legs open to settle him there easily as the alpha started breathing hard in his neck. He resumed his trembling, the whole body flushed against his was shivering in a way Jude found terribly sad.
“Those are my children, Jude,” Erling sobbed, his neck getting wet where the alpha nested his face. “And you hid them from me.”
“I’m sorry, Ling, I’m—I’m sorry,” he breathed out, “I thought I did the best.”
Their bodies fit perfectly, folding like a puzzle, like a missing piece finally falling into place. Erling’s hand moving, finally.
“That is not for you to decide alone,” the man said, “that was never a decision to take alone.”
He caressed his sides, it apparently calmed him down, or at least that was Jude understood by the way the bigger body stopped having an earthquake internally. His hands started to wander lower, and Jude didn’t dare to stop him. He… didn’t want to. Erling still had the force to bestow his desires upon him, and he was yet to find the courage to want him far away from him.
The pads pressed his belly down and came dangerously close to his hipbones. Erling’s scent talked the truth while his hands complied with his desires. Hatred. Hunger. Possessiveness. Tenderness. Frustration. Love. All mixed together. All too big to contain.
“Not a single claim in your body right? They came from you,” Erling rambled, “the prettiest boys from the prettiest omega.”
“They also—you know, they’re…” yours, he wanted to say, though lacked the strength.
“You knew I would’ve taken a look at them and see myself in their eyes,” Erling whispered to his ear, nose passing through the length of his neck. “You knew I would’ve taken them on the spot.”
Erlin’s hands ventured recklessly. Jude found himself whimpered as Erling's hands massaged his thighs and ass, squeezing and groping. He hadn’t been touched like this in years, but he instinctively opened his legs, now trembling himself. The resolution, the yielding came fast to him. The man plastered himself more against Jude’s back, pressing his erection, thick and clothed like a weapon against the omega. He grinded it, trying to catch the clothed ass.
Jude couldn’t believe Erling got hard at a time like this.
“That time… I wanted you to stay. I couldn’t have you, so I had the next best thing,” he managed to say quickly. “They are my reason to live, Erling, and I won’t let you take them—"
“These hips changed so you could give me pups,” Erling groaned, low and dangerous, “God, I’m taking you all with me,”
The spell broke in that movement as Jude felt awfully aware of what that entailed. He immediately tried to stand up, Erling didn’t allow it. The alpha released calming pheromones as much as he could in the distressed state he was.
“No, that’s not what I want,” Jude cried out, voice raspy, “I’ve got my career, they’re happy here, Erling, I—”
“Jude, stop fucking thinking,” Erling growled. “it’s been a rough day, let me just…”
With a firm hand, Erling held Jude’s chin and made the omega face him. Blue against brown, they went in for a kiss at the same time. It was all-consuming, hungry and wet, just their open mouths fighting against each other. Jude finally relaxed his body, accepting it all. Erling felt massive, the alpha never made him feel too tall, too broad, too different.
Time passed, and they just kept making up for lost time, ignoring their erections. If Jude were sane, he could stop that right now. He should’ve stopped it the moment it started. His mother would be back anytime now. He didn’t find the strength to care. He only wanted to stop thinking.
“Are you perhaps up for a third?” Erling asked between kisses.
Glide eyed, Jude didn’t know what the other man was talking about. “What do you mean?”
“These are your heat twins,” the alpha kissed him again. “I want my rut daughter.”
There was no way in hell Jude was taking that pill. He shook his head as he thought to himself. The thing was already in the trash, and for the love of god he wouldn’t step a foot in a drugstore just buy that, so there was also not going back.
He’d scrubbed himself clean with neutralizing soap after a couple of hours, took the heat inhibitors and did a painfully novice session of pilates to feel normal again. The exercise wasn’t bad, yet he found himself hurting. Nothing too bad, but just sore enough that he had a constant reminder of the stretch of Erling’s cock inside him.
“Did you take it?” Erling muffled to the side of his neck. They were hugging, because why wouldn’t best friends hug in a farewell? Jude’s arms wrapped in Erling’s neck and Erling’s encircling his waist.
“Of course,” he lied and chuckled, “first thing I did once I was awake.”
“You almost don’t smell like me,” the alpha noted, sounding close to sad.
“Did you really want me to parade and show off your scent like a claimed omega?” Jude rolled his eyes.
There was a moment of silence until Erling finally put some distance between them. “… Please think about what I told you, okay?”
“I don’t want to bother you with that, mate,” at Erling’s pout, he said, “but we’ll see.”
“Don’t ever think you bother me,” the alpha had fire in his eyes… and a backpack in his shoulder, and a carry on beside him with a birkin bag above it.
“Well,” Jude moved in his axis clumsily, “I told you I’ll think about it.”
“One call and I’m taking the next flight here,” Erling searched for his brown eyes, “don’t doubt about it.”
Jude couldn’t do that to him in a million years. To go back and forth from one country to another would make the press talk, would make Erling’s new teammates and coach talk. It would mark him as unprofessional. It was an unnecessary effort. He was an unnecessary effort.
“Let’s hope my heats don’t get worse, then.” He said, smirking through his thought.
Erling looked away for a millisecond and wetted his lips, “Yeah, let’s hope.”
They talked of nothing and everything for a while and hugged tight one last time before Erling entered the only traveler’s zone. The staff that came to bid farewell offered Jude a ride home, but he wasn’t in the mood to be social. He went for a walk, instead, to clear his mind.
The rain was clearing up as he jogged through the streets. Jude had told himself to remember to tell Erling something about how he felt, yet when in his arms with a goodbye in his lips, he had already forgotten. He was going to miss Erling like hell.
Erling who was now gone, and before he was gone, he’d made sure Jude was taken care of his first heat. Erling who went out to buy him the pill he’d been despising all day, risking being recognized and exposed for his private affairs. Erling who did it in order to keep their careers stable. Erling who cared about him enough to fuck him senseless and leave him behind telling him it was his choice whether it would happen again.
Jude wanted it, wanted him, been wanting him long before his heat pushed them together awkwardly. But it wasn’t meant to be.
Maybe it would never be, and Jude would find solace in the seed he was hoping to take root inside him.