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Chapter Text

Charlie finds Jeff and Sonic in the kitchen.

He had not meant to come looking for them. Sleep had broken early and refused to return, leaving him staring at the ceiling while the quiet weight of the house settled around him. Eventually his hands had simply moved on their own, guiding the wheelchair down the hallway until the kitchen light appeared in the doorway.

Jeff is leaning against the counter with a mug of coffee that has gone untouched. Sonic sits on the edge of the table with his phone in one hand, though he clearly is not reading anything on the screen.

They both look up when Charlie rolls in.

For a moment none of them speak. There is a strange understanding in the room already. They were both there in the clinic when the doctor explained everything. None of them have had time to fully absorb it yet.

Jeff sets the mug down slowly. “You look like you didn’t sleep.”

Charlie shrugs a little. “I did.”

The lie is thin, but Jeff does not push it. Sonic studies him instead, sharp eyed and patient in a way that makes it clear he already knows why Charlie came here.

“So,” Sonic says after a moment. “Are you going to tell Babe?”

Charlie’s hands tighten on the arms of the wheelchair. “No.”

Jeff closes his eyes briefly. “Charlie.”

“I said no.”

The words come out more sharply than Charlie intends. He presses his fingers into the armrest, trying to steady himself before continuing. “You both heard the doctor. None of this is supposed to happen. My powers have been messing with my body since I was a kid.”

Jeff straightens slightly. “Your powers did not make you fake.”

Charlie lets out a quiet breath that sounds almost like a laugh. “I was supposed to be an alpha.”

Jeff frowns immediately. “No.”

Charlie finally looks up at him. “That is what everyone thought.”

“Thought,” Jeff repeats firmly.

Charlie shakes his head slowly. “My whole life I absorbed abilities from alphas. Strength. Instincts. Scent markers. The way an alpha’s presence fills a room. That is what people saw when they looked at me. After a while it is what I believed about myself too.”

He pauses, searching for the right words.

“But none of it was actually mine,” he says quietly. “It was borrowed.”

Jeff’s shoulders tense.

Charlie meets his brother’s eyes. “When I absorbed your power,” Charlie continues, “it changed something.”

Jeff does not argue with that part. They had all heard the doctor explain it.

“You are an omega,” Charlie says softly. “Your instincts are different. Your biology is different. When my body took that in, it woke something up.”

Sonic folds his arms across his chest, watching him carefully. “The doctor said it did not create something new,” Sonic says. “It woke up what was already there.”

Charlie looks down at his hands. “That is the part I cannot stop thinking about.”

Jeff moves closer to the table, his voice quieter now. “Charlie. That means you were always an omega.”

Charlie shakes his head immediately. “I lived as an alpha my entire life.”

“That does not change what you were underneath it,” Jeff replies.

Charlie gives a small, strained smile. “You make it sound simple.”

“It is simple,” Jeff insists. “You did not lie to anyone. You did not pretend to be something you were not. Your powers covered it up. None of us knew.”

Charlie’s gaze drops back to the table. “But now we do.”

The words sit heavily between them.

He remembers the doctor’s calm voice explaining it as if it were an ordinary biological correction. ‘You were never truly an alpha, Charlie. You mirrored them.’ The sentence had slipped under his skin and stayed there.

His hand drifts toward his stomach before he can stop it. His fingers press lightly against the fabric of his shirt.

“I built my life around being an alpha,” he says quietly. “My relationship with Babe. The way we took care of each other. Even the stupid names we used.”

Jeff’s brow furrows slightly. “Names?”

Charlie’s mouth curves faintly with something that is not quite a smile.

“He is, was Mama when we talked about having a family someday,” Charlie says. “And he called me Papa.”

Sonic exhales softly.

Charlie shakes his head again. “I was supposed to be the one protecting him. The one carrying the weight of things.”

Jeff’s voice softens. “You still do.”

Charlie looks up at him. “You know that is not the same.”

The kitchen is quiet again.

From somewhere deeper in the house North’s voice rises briefly in conversation with Kim, followed by the sound of something clattering to the floor and Kenta muttering under his breath.

Normal life continuing.

Charlie feels strangely separate from it.

Sonic finally speaks again. “You are not worried about the baby,” he says.

Charlie hesitates. “No,” he admits quietly. The truth of that surprises him slightly even as he says it. His hand presses lightly to his stomach again. “I have always wanted a family,” he says. “I just never imagined I would be the one carrying it.”

Jeff’s expression softens. “Then what are you afraid of?”

Charlie takes a slow breath before answering. “Babe never dated omegas.”

Jeff blinks. “What?”

“He always dated alphas,” Charlie says. “That was his thing. Two alphas. Equal footing.”

Sonic tilts his head slightly. “And now you think he will not want you if he finds out the truth.”

Charlie does not answer.

The silence is enough.

Jeff shakes his head slowly. “Charlie, Babe loves you.”

“He loved an alpha,” Charlie says quietly.

Jeff opens his mouth to argue, but Charlie continues before he can. “He loved the version of me who did not need protecting. The one who could stand beside him without anyone questioning it.”

Charlie glances down at his legs briefly before looking away again. “Now everything is different.” Neither Jeff nor Sonic interrupts him. Charlie draws in a slow breath. “I am not telling him yet,” he says.

Jeff and Sonic exchange a look over his head. They were both there when the doctor explained what Charlie’s body had been doing for years without anyone realizing. They both know this truth is not going to stay hidden for long.

But Charlie is staring down at his hands like someone trying to hold together pieces of a life that suddenly no longer fit the same way.

For the moment, neither of them pushes further. The silence that settles into the kitchen is not agreement. It is patience. And the quiet understanding that this conversation is far from over.

______________

Babe notices the change in Charlie’s behaviour.

It is small enough that no one else would catch it. Charlie is still gentle with him. Still soft spoken. Still leaning into him sometimes when he is tired.

But Charlie slips out of bed early that morning without waking him. That almost never happens.

Babe wakes when the mattress shifts and reaches automatically for Charlie, expecting to find warm skin beside him. His hand meets empty sheets.

At first he assumes Charlie has gone to the bathroom or the kitchen. But when he rolls onto his back and stares at the ceiling, he realizes something about the air feels wrong. Charlie’s scent is faint in the room already. He has been gone long enough for it to start fading.

Babe sits up. A restless unease settles low in his chest.

He finds Charlie in the kitchen talking with Jeff and Sonic. The conversation stops the moment Babe walks in. It is subtle. Anyone else might miss it.

Babe does not.

Charlie smiles at him, but there is a thoughtful distance behind his eyes that had not been there the day before. The rest of the day continues normally.

Charlie stays close to him on the couch. They eat dinner together with everyone else. When Charlie gets tired Babe lifts him carefully into bed like he always does.

But the feeling never fully disappears.

Charlie is still there. He just feels a little further away. Babe cannot name the difference. He only knows it leaves a dull ache in his chest. By the time night falls, Babe has convinced himself of one thing.

He must have done something wrong.

The idea settles deep in his mind and refuses to leave.

He thinks about the clinic. About Charlie crying in his arms when they came home. About how fragile Charlie looked when he whispered that he still wanted their family. Maybe he pushed too hard. Maybe Charlie needs more reassurance than Babe has been giving him. Babe lies awake long after Charlie falls asleep, staring into the dark and thinking.

By morning he has made a decision.

If Charlie is unsure about him, then Babe will simply prove himself again.

The next day the living room table looks like a small market stall. Charlie wheels himself slowly down the hallway and stops in the doorway. The entire coffee table is covered in food.

Fruit. Eggs. Toast. Yogurt. Rice porridge. Two bowls of soup that smell like something Alan probably helped cook in the kitchen.

Babe is standing beside the table with his arms folded loosely across his chest. When he sees Charlie, his expression softens immediately. “You should eat,” he says.

Charlie blinks at the table. “All of this?”

Babe shrugs slightly. “You need the energy.”

Charlie wheels forward slowly, still staring at the collection of food.

Across the room Jeff is sitting in an armchair with a book open in his lap. Sonic is stretched across the couch with his phone in one hand.

Both of them are very clearly pretending not to watch.

Charlie reaches for the edge of the table. “This is a lot.”

“You are carrying our baby,” Babe says simply. “You should eat.”

Jeff coughs quietly into his hand. Sonic presses his lips together so tightly they almost disappear.

Charlie glances between the bowls again in mild confusion before picking up a spoon and starting with the soup.

Babe watches him closely.

When Charlie finishes the first few bites, Babe quietly slides a plate of fruit closer to him.

Charlie looks up. “Babe.”

“You need vitamins too.”

Jeff slowly lowers his book just enough to look over the top of it. Sonic’s shoulders are beginning to shake. Charlie eats another spoonful, clearly trying to process the sudden flood of attention.

Babe settles on the couch beside the wheelchair but does not move far. His presence stays close and steady beside Charlie. At some point his hand rests against the back of the wheelchair. The contact is light. His fingers curl loosely over the metal frame near Charlie’s shoulder. Charlie feels the warmth of him almost immediately.

What Charlie does not notice is the subtle shift in the air. Babe’s scent deepens slowly, spreading through the room in warm steady waves.

Across the room Sonic’s head lifts. Jeff’s eyes flick upward. Babe is not doing it consciously. His instincts are simply responding to the closeness.

Charlie eats quietly for a few moments. The tension that had been sitting in his shoulders since morning slowly loosens.

The scent around him feels safe.

Grounding.

Babe studies his face carefully, watching the small changes. When a lock of Charlie’s hair falls across his forehead, Babe reaches forward automatically and brushes it back. His fingers linger there for a moment longer than necessary.

Then, without thinking, Babe leans closer and presses his nose lightly against Charlie’s temple. The contact is brief, soft and instinctive. It is unmistakably a scenting touch.

Charlie freezes. “Babe?”

Babe pulls back slightly, looking faintly confused by the reaction. “What?”

Charlie hesitates. The moment felt strange, but not unpleasant. “Nothing,” he says quietly.

Across the room Sonic slowly lowers his phone, his eyes wide. Jeff stares straight ahead like a man witnessing something inevitable unfold.

Babe picks up a slice of fruit and places it gently in Charlie’s hand. “You should keep eating,” he says.

Charlie looks down at the fruit with mild confusion but obeys.

Sonic finally leans closer to Jeff and whispers under his breath. “He is courting him.”

Jeff closes his eyes briefly. “He does not even know he is doing it.”

Sonic’s grin spreads slowly across his face. “Oh this is incredible.”

Jeff rubs a hand down his face.

Charlie continues eating quietly beside Babe, unaware that the instincts of an alpha trying to win over an omega have already begun unfolding around him.

The next problem begins when Charlie tries to leave the couch.

He has finished half the food on the table, which already feels like far more than he normally eats in a morning. His stomach is warm and pleasantly full, but his body is still tired in that deep, strange way he has been noticing lately.

He grips the wheels of the chair and pushes himself back slightly. “I’m going to get some water,” he says.

Babe stands immediately. “I’ll get it.”

Charlie pauses, slightly surprised. “I can reach the kitchen.”

“I know.” Babe is already moving.

Charlie watches him disappear around the corner before slowly turning toward Jeff and Sonic. Both of them are staring. Charlie frowns. “What?”

Jeff quickly looks down at his book again. “Nothing.”

Sonic does not bother pretending. “Oh nothing at all,” he says lightly, though his eyes are sparkling with barely contained amusement.

Charlie narrows his eyes slightly but does not push it. He is still trying to understand the shift in Babe’s behavior since this morning.

Babe returns a moment later with a glass of water. He does not simply hand it to Charlie. Instead he crouches slightly beside the wheelchair so Charlie does not have to reach far to take it.

Charlie accepts the glass slowly. “Thank you.”

Babe nods once, then stays there.

Charlie takes a sip of water, glancing down at him with growing confusion. “Babe?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you crouching?”

Babe seems to realize he is still kneeling and straightens quickly, clearing his throat. “Just making sure you didn’t drop it.”

Across the room Sonic presses his face into a pillow to hide the fact that he is shaking with silent laughter.

Jeff watches the entire exchange like someone trying to prevent a slow moving disaster.

Charlie finishes the water and sets the glass aside. “I was thinking about going outside for a bit,” he says. “Just to get some air.”

Babe’s head turns toward the front door immediately. “I’ll come with you.”

Charlie hesitates. “You don’t have to.”

“I want to.” There is no hesitation in the answer.

Charlie studies him for a moment, then finally nods. “Okay.”

The moment Charlie starts wheeling toward the door, Babe moves with him. Not behind him. Not ahead of him. Beside him.

The front door opens to a bright, quiet morning. The air smells faintly of rain from the night before. Charlie pauses just outside the door and breathes in slowly. For a moment the world feels calm. Then Babe’s hand settles lightly against the back of his shoulder. The touch carries warmth and a steady pulse of scent that spreads through the cool morning air.

Charlie glances up at him. “You’re hovering.”

Babe frowns slightly. “Am I?”

“Yes.”

“I’m just making sure you’re okay.”

Charlie opens his mouth to respond but pauses.

The concern in Babe’s voice is genuine. Completely unguarded.

So Charlie lets it go.

Behind them, through the open door, Sonic appears in the hallway like a curious cat watching the scene unfold.

North walks past behind him, pauses, and looks outside as well. “What are you staring at?”

Sonic points.

North follows the gesture and watches Babe standing beside Charlie in the yard.

“…is Babe scenting him?” North asks slowly.

Sonic nods with deep satisfaction. “Oh yes.”

North blinks once. “Does Charlie know?”

Sonic laughs quietly. “Not even a little.”

North leans against the wall, watching Babe move closer to Charlie again as if pulled there by gravity. “So he’s courting him.”

“Full alpha instinct,” Sonic confirms.

North runs a hand over his face. “This house is insane.”

Back outside, Charlie is unaware of the conversation happening just inside the door. But, he is watching Babe more carefully now. “You’ve been acting strange today,” Charlie says.

Babe’s expression shifts slightly. “I have?”

Charlie nods slowly. “You made enough breakfast to feed ten people. You keep following me around. And you keep touching me like you think I might disappear.”

Babe opens his mouth, then closes it again. He has no explanation ready. All he knows is the feeling that has been sitting in his chest since yesterday, Charlie felt further away and Babe does not want that distance to grow, so he does the only thing that feels right. He reaches forward and gently tucks a stray lock of hair behind Charlie’s ear again. “I just want to take care of you,” Babe says quietly.

Charlie’s chest tightens unexpectedly, the sincerity in Babe’s voice is impossible to miss. Charlie looks away first.

The morning air is cooler than it first looked.

Charlie does not notice it immediately. The quiet outside the house is peaceful and the light breeze feels good after being inside for so long.

Babe notices.

He notices the way Charlie’s shoulders shift slightly when the wind moves through the yard. He notices the way Charlie rubs his hands together once as if trying to warm them.

The realization settles in Babe’s mind instantly, Charlie should not be sitting out here getting cold, not now.

Babe straightens slightly beside him. “Come on,” he says gently.

Charlie looks up at him. “What?”

“It’s cold out here.”

“I’m fine.”

Babe studies him for a moment, clearly unconvinced. “You’re carrying our baby,” Babe says quietly. “You shouldn’t be sitting in the cold.”

Charlie opens his mouth to argue.

Babe is already reaching for the wheelchair handles. “We’ll sit inside.”

Charlie exhales slowly, but he does not fight him. Part of him is still too tired to argue over something this small, so he lets Babe guide him back toward the house.

Inside, Jeff is standing near the hallway talking quietly with Alan.

Alan has a wrench in one hand and grease still on the sleeve of his shirt from the garage. He looks slightly confused as Jeff gestures toward the door where Babe and Charlie are returning.

Jeff keeps his voice low. “You see how Babe keeps hovering around him?”

Alan glances toward the door. “Yes.”

“That is not just him being protective.”

Alan raises an eyebrow. “Then what is it?”

Jeff hesitates for half a second before answering. “He is courting him.”

Alan blinks slowly. “What.”

Jeff rubs the back of his neck. “He does not realize it yet. But his instincts kicked in the moment Charlie started pulling away yesterday.”

Alan looks toward the door again just as Babe pushes Charlie back inside “…well,” Alan says after a moment. “That explains the breakfast situation.”

Jeff nods.

Sonic appears beside them like a ghost that has been waiting for this exact moment.“It gets better,” he whispers happily.

Alan glances between the two omegas. “You two are enjoying this far too much.”

Jeff sighs.

Sonic grins.

In the doorway Babe helps guide Charlie toward the couch again. Charlie reaches for the wheels to adjust his position, but Babe stops him gently. “Hold on.” Before Charlie can ask what he means, Babe slides one arm beneath his knees and the other behind his back.

Charlie startles. “Babe, I can get onto the couch myself.”

“I know.” Babe lifts him anyway.

The movement is smooth and careful, practiced from weeks of helping Charlie move when his body refused to cooperate.

Charlie ends up sitting comfortably against the couch cushions before he fully realizes what has happened. Babe adjusts the pillows behind his back until Charlie is properly supported. “There,” he says quietly.

Charlie watches him with growing confusion. “You know I can still move on my own.”

“I know.” Babe disappears down the hallway for a moment.

Charlie looks toward Jeff and Sonic, they are both staring again. “What?” Charlie asks suspiciously.

Sonic just waves a hand dismissively. “Nothing.”

Babe returns carrying two blankets. One is soft and thick. The other looks like one of the comfortable fleece throws from the bedrooms.

He drapes them around Charlie’s legs and shoulders without hesitation. Charlie blinks “Babe.”

“You said you were cold.”

“I did not.”

“You rubbed your hands together.”

Charlie stares at him for a moment before letting out a quiet breath “Okay.”

Babe disappears again.

When he comes back he has a small armful of things. Another pillow. A folded sweatshirt. A soft throw that Charlie vaguely remembers seeing in the guest room. Babe sets them beside Charlie on the couch.

Charlie looks down at the growing pile “…what am I supposed to do with all of this?”

“Use whatever you want,” Babe replies simply.

Across the room Sonic is gripping the edge of the chair to stop himself from making noise.

Charlie shifts slightly, pulling one of the blankets around his shoulders, the warmth is actually very nice. Before he can say anything else, Babe leans down, his nose brushes gently through Charlie’s hair the scenting touch is slow and deliberate this time.

Charlie freezes.

Then Babe’s nose brushes lightly against the side of his neck as well, inhaling quietly the contact lasts only a second before Babe straightens again.

Charlie’s face has gone faintly pink, “Babe.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re doing that thing again.”

“What thing?”

Charlie hesitates. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

Babe looks genuinely confused.

Across the room Jeff presses two fingers against his temple.

Sonic is practically vibrating with delight.

Babe glances toward the kitchen “You should eat more,” he says.

Charlie looks down at the food still on the table “I already ate.”

“You should still have something else.” and with that Babe disappears into the kitchen.

“…so,” Alan says quietly to Jeff, watching Babe through the kitchen doorway. “What exactly does courting involve?”

Sonic answers immediately. “Providing food. Comfort. Protection. Demonstrating reliability.”

Alan nods slowly, “That explains a lot.”

North walks in from the hallway and glances between them “What are we plotting?”

Sonic turns toward him with a wicked smile. “You are about to help Babe impress his omega.”

North blinks “His what?”

Jeff sighs again.

Before he can answer, Babe reappears carrying a bowl and a glass of juice.

Alan clears his throat casually. “You know,” he says thoughtfully, “when omegas are pregnant they usually need a lot of support.”

Babe looks at him immediately, “Yeah?”

North nods, playing along now, “Especially comfort. Soft places to rest. Good food. A strong mate.”

Babe glances back toward Charlie on the couch, who
is sitting in a nest of blankets and pillows, looking extremely confused about how he ended up there.

Babe’s expression softens immediately, “I can do that,” he says quietly.

Sonic leans toward Jeff and whispers under his breath. “This is going perfectly.”

Jeff closes his eyes “This house is going to explode.”

Babe sets the bowl of food carefully on the coffee table in front of Charlie “Try this,” he says.

Charlie looks down at it. “Babe… I’m still full.”

“You ate earlier.”

“Yes.”

“That was earlier.”

Charlie exhales slowly but picks up the spoon anyway. At this point it feels easier than arguing. The blankets around him shift slightly as he moves.

He does not notice the way his hands automatically adjust them. The thicker blanket gets pulled closer around his legs, one of the softer throws ends up tucked against his side, the pillow behind his back gets nudged until it sits at a better angle. It is unconscious. Comfort driven.

Across the room Sonic slowly straightens in his chair, Jeff notices at the same time. Charlie shifts again and pulls the sweatshirt closer to his stomach without even thinking about it.

The blankets bunch around him, soft and warm. It is not a full nest but it is close enough that every omega in the room sees it instantly.

Sonic’s eyes light up like someone just turned on a spotlight “Oh,” he whispers softly. Jeff presses his fingers against his forehead.

Charlie takes another spoonful of food, completely unaware.

Babe notices, he notices everything. His attention had been focused on whether Charlie would actually eat, but now his gaze drops to the blankets gathered around Charlie’s legs, the small pile of soft things pressed around his body. Charlie adjusts the fleece throw again, pulling it tighter around himself before settling back against the pillows.

Something in Babe’s chest expands, a deep, instinctive satisfaction rolls through him. His shoulders straighten slightly. He did that. He made Charlie comfortable. The thought fills him with a quiet, powerful pride.

Charlie finishes the last bite of food and sets the bowl down. “Okay,” he murmurs. “Now I’m definitely full.”

Babe takes the bowl from him immediately.

Charlie leans back into the couch. The blankets shift again as he settles deeper into them, he doesn’t notice the way his fingers smooth the fabric, or the way his body curls slightly toward the warmth still lingering where Babe had been sitting beside him.

Babe notices that too.

He steps closer again, and without hesitation he leans down and presses his nose gently into Charlie’s hair.

Charlie exhales softly, this time he does not pull away. Instead he leans slightly into the contact without realizing it.

The scenting touch lingers a little longer, Babe inhales quietly, the warm familiar scent filling his lungs, a slow smile spreading across his face.

Behind them Sonic clutches Jeff’s arm “Did you see that?”

“Yes,” Jeff mutters.

“He leaned into it.”

“Yes.”

“This is happening very fast.”

Jeff watches Babe straighten slowly.

There is a subtle change in him now. His posture is taller. His shoulders broader. His expression carries a quiet confidence that had not been there before.

Alpha pride.

Charlie shifts again, tucking the blanket more securely around his legs.

Babe’s chest practically glows with satisfaction.

North notices it immediately “…he’s preening,” North murmurs quietly.

Sonic nods with absolute delight “Oh he absolutely is.”

Babe glances around the room for a moment, then, almost casually, he rolls his shoulders his hands lift to the hem of his shirt.

Jeff’s eyes widen slightly “…oh no.”

Babe pulls the shirt over his head and tosses it aside.

Charlie looks up in surprise “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Babe says easily as he moves toward the open space near the wall and drops to the floor.

Then he starts doing push ups, the movement is smooth and controlled. Muscles shift and tighten across his shoulders and arms with each repetition.

Charlie blinks, “Babe.”

“Yeah?”

“What are you doing?”

“Working out.”

Charlie stares at him “Why?”

Babe pauses halfway through a push up and looks up at him “Just staying strong.”

Sonic slowly lowers his face into his hands.

Jeff stares at the ceiling.

North whispers toward Alan, “Is he showing off?”

Alan folds his arms and smirks “Yep.”

Babe pushes himself upright again, stretching his arms slightly before starting another set.

Charlie watches him for a moment, the confusion on his face slowly shifts into something softer, his fingers tugging the blanket a little higher around his shoulders.

Across the room Sonic whispers again. “He is literally proving he is a strong provider.”

Jeff nods slowly. “And Charlie is nesting.”

Sonic grins like someone witnessing the best reality show on earth. “This is incredible.”

Jeff exhales heavily. “If we do not tell them soon this is going to spiral completely out of control.”

Sonic glances toward the couch where Charlie is now half curled into the blankets, watching Babe with quiet interest.

His smile widens “Oh,” he says softly “I think it already has.”

As Charlie watches, he slowly sunk deeper into the couch.

The blankets that Babe brought earlier are no longer just draped over him. They have shifted and folded into something softer and warmer. The thick one is wrapped around his legs. The fleece throw has ended up tucked beneath one arm. The sweatshirt sits bunched beneath his stomach where he leaned forward at some point without thinking. None of it was deliberate. But it is unmistakably comfortable.

Charlie’s eyes have been growing heavier for the last twenty minutes. The warmth of the blankets, the food in his stomach, and the steady pulse of Babe’s scent lingering around him have slowly pulled his body into a deeper exhaustion.

He tries to fight it at first, but fails. His head tips slightly to the side against the cushions and his breathing evens out.

Within a few minutes he is asleep.

Sonic notices first, he nudges Jeff lightly with his elbow and nods toward the couch. Jeff glances over and exhales quietly.

Charlie is curled slightly toward the back of the couch, one hand resting loosely against the blankets near his stomach. The soft pile of fabric around him has shifted again in sleep, forming a loose little hollow around his body.

North watches for a moment and murmurs softly, “Well. That answers that.”

Across the room Babe finishes another set of push ups.

When he stands and turns back toward the couch, he immediately sees that Charlie has fallen asleep.

Every part of his posture softens. The proud energy from earlier settles into something quieter and more focused. He walks back toward the couch slowly. When he reaches it, he crouches slightly beside Charlie and studies his face.

Charlie always looks younger when he sleeps. The tension he has been carrying fades from his expression completely. His fingers twitch once in the blankets before going still again.

Babe reaches out carefully and pulls one of the blankets a little higher over his shoulder. Then he stays there. Watching…

Guarding.

The room remains peaceful for several minutes, until the front door opens and Kim and Kenta step inside, still talking quietly to each other.

“…I’m just saying the part should have fit,” Kenta says as they walk down the hall.

Kim shrugs. “You were forcing it.”

They enter the living room mid conversation.

Kim steps forward automatically, glancing toward the couch. “What’s every—”

He stops mid sentence, noticing Charlie asleep on the couch surrounded by blankets, Babe sitting close beside him, the air smelling strongly of alpha. Still he takes one more step forward.

The reaction is instant, Babe is on his feet before Kim finishes the movement. A low warning growl rumbles out of his chest, the sound cuts through the room like a blade.

Kim freezes.

Babe has stepped between him and the couch without even seeming to think about it. His shoulders are squared, his body angled protectively toward the sleeping figure behind him.

The message is unmistakable. Too close.

Kim raises both hands slowly. “Hey,” he says calmly. “I wasn’t going to—”

Alan moves faster. He grabs Kim by the back of the shirt and physically drags him two steps backward. “That’s enough,” Alan says quietly.

Kim looks down at him in disbelief. “I was just walking in the room.”

“Yes,” Alan replies calmly. “And that was already too close.”

Behind Babe, Charlie shifts slightly in his sleep. The small movement immediately pulls Babe’s attention back to the couch. His shoulders relax a fraction when Charlie settles again.

He sits back down beside him without another word, still between Charlie and the rest of the room, still watching.

Across the room Alan jerks his head toward the hallway, “Come here,” he mutters.

Kim and Kenta follow him reluctantly, North and Sonic join them. Jeff lingers one second longer, glancing back toward the couch before stepping into the hallway too.

Kim crosses his arms, “Okay,” he says slowly. “What the hell was that?”

Alan rubs the back of his neck “…so.”

Sonic answers first “Charlie is an omega.”

Kim blinks.

Kenta blinks.

“…what,” Kim says.

Jeff sighs softly “He did not know until the clinic.”

Kenta looks stunned, “But he was as an alpha.”

Jeff nods “He was absorbing alpha abilities for years. It masked it. When he absorbed my abilities, it woke up his real presentation.”

Kim processes that slowly “and Babe?”

North answers this time “Babe knows about the baby.”

“But not the omega part,” Sonic finishes cheerfully.

Kim stares at them “So Babe thinks he knocked up an alpha.”

“Yes.”

“And he has no idea why his instincts are going insane.”

“Correct.”

Kenta runs a hand through his hair “…that explains the growling.”

Alan nods “Also the food. And the blankets.”

North glances toward the living room “And the push ups.”

Kim looks back toward the couch where Babe is still sitting close beside Charlie “So right now Babe thinks he’s just… protecting Charlie.”

Jeff sighs, “Exactly.”

Sonic folds his arms happily “And he has started courting him.”

Kim stares at him, “He what?!”

North shrugs “Alpha instinct. Pregnant omega mate. Nesting behavior.”

Kim rubs both hands over his face “This house is unbelievable.”

Back in the living room Babe adjusts the blanket around Charlie’s shoulders again. Charlie shifts slightly toward the warmth without waking. Babe’s expression softens with quiet satisfaction.

In the hallway Jeff exhales slowly “I think we might have encouraged this a little too much.”

Sonic smiles brightly, “Oh absolutely.”

North chuckles under his breath.

Alan sighs, “…well,” he says “At least he’s committed.”

Behind them Babe settles back into his seat beside the couch, one arm resting along the back of it, creating a quiet barrier around Charlie’s nest of blankets.

Anyone with working instincts can see it clearly now. Babe is guarding his mate.

Charlie wakes slowly, for a few seconds he does not know where he is. Warmth surrounds him. Something soft presses against his cheek. The air smells deeply familiar in a way that relaxes something in his chest before his mind catches up.

Then the memories return, the clinic, the baby, the quiet fear that has been sitting inside him since yesterday.

Charlie opens his eyes.

He is on the couch, blankets are everywhere. One is tucked beneath his arm. Another drapes across his legs. The sweatshirt from earlier is wedged under his stomach where he must have leaned forward at some point during sleep.

He stares at the pile for a second “…oh.”

A quiet voice answers from beside him. “You woke up.”

Charlie turns his head.

Babe is sitting right there, close enough that Charlie can feel the warmth of him through the blankets. One arm rests along the back of the couch behind him like a quiet wall.

Charlie pushes himself up a little “How long was I asleep?”

“About an hour.”

Charlie blinks, “Seriously?”

“You needed it.”

Charlie rubs a hand across his face as he wakes up fully. When he lowers it again, he notices something strange.

Everyone is watching him.

Jeff and Sonic are standing near the hallway. North leans against the wall beside them. Alan stands with Kim and Kenta a few steps away.

Every single one of them is looking at him.

Charlie frowns slightly “…why is everyone staring at me?”

No one answers immediately.

Sonic looks like he might explode if he opens his mouth.

Jeff looks like a man bracing for a crash.

Charlie glances back at Babe “Did something happen?”

Babe shakes his head “No.”

Charlie studies the room again, the tension makes his stomach twist and suddenly the weight he has been carrying for two days feels impossible to hold inside anymore.

He exhales slowly, “I know why everyone’s acting weird,” Charlie says quietly.

Every head in the room lifts.

Babe tilts his head, “Yeah?”

Charlie grips the blanket in his lap. “I didn’t mean to… I didn’t really want to hide it,” he says softly. “I just didn’t know how to explain.”

Jeff closes his eyes.

Sonic mutters something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like finally.

Charlie looks down at his hands. “When I absorbed Jeff’s abilities,” he says, “it changed something. The doctor explained it at the clinic.” His voice gets quieter. “I was never really an alpha.”

The room is silent.

Charlie swallows. “I’ve always been an omega.”

The words land softly but heavily.

Charlie keeps talking before he loses the nerve. “The alpha traits were just things I copied from other people. But when I absorbed Jeff’s abilities it woke up my real presentation.” His voice trembles slightly. “So I know that’s not what you wanted,” he says quietly. “You always dated alphas and I know I’m not who you thought I…”

“Charlie.” Babe’s voice interrupts gently.

Charlie stops and looks up.

Babe is watching him with a puzzled expression. “…I know,” Babe says.

The entire room freezes.

Charlie blinks. “You… what?”

“I know you’re an omega.”

For a moment no one speaks.

Then Kim says very slowly, “What.”

North straightens from the wall.

Sonic lowers his hands from his face.

Jeff stares.

“…I’m sorry,” North says carefully. “Did you just say you knew?”

Babe looks around at them, confused by their reactions “Yes.”

Alan points between them “You knew.”

“Yes.”

Jeff rubs both hands over his face “The man who once drove three laps with the fuel light on because he ‘didn’t notice’ knew this.”

Babe frowns “What does that have to do with anything?”

Sonic steps forward slowly “You. Knew. Charlie. Was. An omega.”

“Yes,” Babe repeats patiently.

North looks genuinely stunned “The most oblivious man I have ever met noticed that before the rest of us.”

Kenta mutters quietly, “This feels illegal somehow.”

Charlie is still staring at Babe “…how?”

Babe gestures toward him like this is obvious “You went into heat a few weeks ago.”

The room goes silent again.

Charlie’s brain stalls “…I what?”

“That’s what triggered my rut,” Babe says calmly.

Sonic slides slowly down the wall until he is crouching on the floor.

Jeff looks like he might laugh hysterically.

Babe glances around at them, confused again “That’s not something alphas do.” He looks back at Charlie. “I called you omega during it,” he adds. “Remember?”

Charlie’s mind flashes through the memory. The heat. The haze. Babe’s voice against his ear.

Omega.

“Oh my god,” Sonic whispers from the floor.

“But you never said anything,” Charlie murmurs weakly.

Babe shrugs. “You were still recovering,” he says simply. “I figured we’d talk about it when you felt better.”

The room goes quiet again.

Kim finally looks at Alan “…he processed that faster than the rest of us.”

Alan nods slowly “I hate that.”

Babe looks back at Charlie, still confused about why this is a problem. “Charlie,” he says gently, “why do you think I’ve been acting like this for two days?”

Charlie blinks “…I thought you were just being nice.”

Sonic makes a choking noise.

Babe stares at him. “You thought I didn’t know.”

Charlie nods faintly.

“And you thought I wouldn’t want you anymore.”

Charlie hesitates “…maybe.”

Babe exhales sharply. Then he leans forward and pulls Charlie into a tight hug before he can say another word. The blankets bunch between them. Babe’s arms wrap around his back firmly. “Charlie,” he mutters into his hair, sounding half exasperated and half relieved. “I don’t give a flying fuck what presentation you are.”

Charlie’s breath catches.

“I love you,” Babe continues. “Not alpha Charlie. Not omega Charlie. Just you.” His hand settles gently over the blanket covering Charlie’s stomach. “And I love our baby.”

Charlie’s eyes sting.

Babe pulls back slightly and studies his face. “So now that we’ve solved that,” he says quietly, “can you tell me why you’ve been so upset?”

Charlie’s throat tightens. “You really don’t care?”

Babe snorts softly. “You think I’d spend all day feeding you and guarding your nest if I cared about that?”

Behind them, Sonic starts laughing again.

Jeff groans quietly.

Charlie looks down at the couch, the blankets, the pillows, the carefully arranged pile of softness “…my what?”

Babe glances down too, then back at Charlie “…your nest.”

Charlie’s face turns bright red. “Oh, my god.”

Babe just smiles softly and presses his nose gently into Charlie’s hair again. “Relax,” he murmurs.

And for the first time since the clinic, the knot in Charlie’s chest finally begins to loosen because Babe is still here.