Archive of Our Own ^beta

Years later, Jannik saw the ghost from his past again on the stand, just behind his bench. The man wasn’t hard to spot; fluffy dark hair, dazzling eyes and a big smile, just as how Jannik remembered him. The man was strong for a typical omega, but one could still tell his status by the soft lines of his face and the sweetness of his scent.

Jannik saw Carlos again during his 18th Grand Slam final in Roland Garros. Jannik had played Grand Slam finals too many times so the excitement and novelty had long worn off. He didn’t feel much when he stepped onto the court to face his opponent, a young star from Spain who rose to the top 10 with flashing speech. His opponent was almost eight years younger than Jannik, a challenger to his throne, with the typical fearlessness of a young man who couldn’t have known better. Jannik had been that young man before. He could see his past self across the net, staring back at him with the ferocity to topple a king.

Jannik wasn’t so easily intimidated. He managed to hold his ground and defend his dominance, winning the first two sets in 7-5, 6-4. One set to go and Jannik could make history of not losing a set to a grand slam title. He went to his bench for water break and that was when he saw him.

He saw Carlos, sitting behind his bench on the stand, with a little boy clinging to his arm, a large Spanish flag wrapping around their shoulders. For a moment, Jannik thought it was the Roland Garros heat playing tricks at him, producing a sick mirage to mess with his head, because how could his ex show up after all these years at his game only to cheer for his opponent? Worse still, with a little boy who clearly inherited Carlos’s bambi eyes and fluffy hair.

“Time. Third set, Sinner to serve.”

Jannik had no time to dwell on all the possibilities playing in his head, so he swept the thoughts into the corner of mind and stepped to the baseline. He could hear Spanish cheering from behind, vamos, the few Spanish words he knew by heart. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, gathered his thoughts, and started the game.

Jannik Sinner took his 15th Grand Slam title in Roland Garros in 7-5, 6-4, 4-6 and 6-3.

When Jannik got back to his hotel room after media duties and celebration, it was well past midnight. He had almost forgotten about the omega on the stand, but the thought of Carlos resurfaced after his world resumed its normal silence.

To put it short, Carlos was Jannik’s ex. They met at Alicante, in Juan Carlos’s tennis academy. Jannik was there to work on his skills during off season, while Carlos was there to keep an eye on his younger brother Jaime, who was in the boy’s winter camp. Jannik spotted Carlos immediately from the crowd because there wasn’t many omegas in professional tennis. Carlos didn’t look like a typical omega, with all that tanned skin and careless demeanor, but Jannik was quick to discover the soft line of Carlos’s jaw, the fullness of his cheeks and the pair of big, glassy, hazel eyes. Jannik wouldn’t call it love at first sight, but it was close enough. Carlos was energetic and cheerful, always ready for a good laugh, like a never setting sun, a sharp contrast to Jannik’s calm and somewhat distant demeanor. They were meant to draw each other close like two opposing magnets. That was why no one blinked an eye when Jannik showed up to practice with a hickey on his collarbone and way too much omega pheromones for an alpha like him. When Jaime Alcaraz saw his big brother with love bites around his neck, all he did was to check Carlos’s gland for any sign of trespassing, earning a death glare from Carlos, of course.

“I am just checking, brother. You know how papi gets when it comes to accidental mark and unprotected sex before marriage.”

“Jaime!” Carlos shouted, embarrassed, his face red as a tomato, “Janni and I aren’t there yet! Where did you even learn these words?!”

Jaime only shrugged.

“You are the only omega except mommy in the family, Charly.” The boy said, as if this could explain everything.

“Thank you, Jaime, but Janni would never do anything I don’t want.” Carlos said, smiling as the memory of his boyfriend’s promises rushed back.

“I am happy for you, Charly. Jannik is cool, but if he dares to hurt you, I’ll make sure he never sees the light of day.”

Carlos chuckled at his little brother’s boyish threat. When Carlos told Jannik about this conversation, he laughed and pressed his cheek on Jannik’s bare shoulder as they waited for Jannik’s knot to come down.

“My little brother swears to kill you if you hurt me.” Carlos said, hot breath on Jannik’s skin, his spicy omega scent melting into something sweet and appetizing.

“I’ll never hurt you, Charly.” Jannik replied with all the sincerity he had, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Carlos repeated.

It turned out, maintaining a relationship with someone outside the profession was harder than Jannik had ever expected. Carlos took a job near his hometown after graduating high school, and despite his best effort, his normal working schedule was hard to sync with Jannik’s erratic one. The time difference slowly took its toll, and Jannik found it harder and harder to maintain a conversation with Carlos. Carlos was sweet and understanding, and he did have a little brother who was playing in the youth tournaments, but Jannik just didn’t think Charly understood the enormous pressure he faced everyday as No.1 in men’s tennis. Jannik tried to keep Carlos engaged so he invited Carlos to sit in his box during the European tournaments, but that was still not enough.

The break point came when some show organizer decided to pair Jannik up with some amateur model to play mix in a reality show as a special episode. Jannik didn’t give a damn about the show, but it was necessary for PR. Jannik wasn’t thrilled about it, and neither was Carlos.

“Can’t you just turn it down? It has nothing to do with tennis anyway.” Carlos said, dipping a carrot stick into hot chilly sauce before taking a bite. They were in America, during a short break before the US Open. Carlos had taken some time off and decided to fly across the Atlantic to see his boyfriend, even though they had just spent the whole summer together in Spain.

“I can’t, Charly.” Jannik signed and took a sip from his sparkling water. Carlos’s food choice was strange, but Jannik was happy to indulge him.

“Why?”

“It’s the PR requirement.” Jannik said, pitching his nose bridge, “It’s not my decision to make.”

“I don’t like your mix partner.” Carlos scrunched his nose, “she looks like she wants to devour you.”

“I won’t let her.” Jannik said, running a small circle on the back of Carlos’s hand with his thumb.

“I am your omega. I don’t like others sniffing around my alpha.”

Normally, these words would make Jannik preen, but now it just challenged his patience.

“It doesn’t work like that, Charly.” Jannik tried to reason with his boyfriend, “I have responsibilities as a player.”

“And it includes whoring yourself out?” Carlos raised his voice, slamming the veggie plate down with a loud bang, “You have responsibilities as my alpha too!”

“Don’t I know that? It’s not like you fulfill your omega duties all the time!” Jannik shouted back, too carried away to care how deep his words could hurt.

Carlos’s eyes immediately glistened, but he refused to let the tears fall.

“We agreed on this, Janni,” Carlos said with a trembling voice, arms crossed in front of his stomach, “you said you wouldn’t force me to give up my career. You promised you wouldn’t make me your trophy wife. I can’t follow you around all year to satisfy your sex needs. I have a job-”

“Yeah, that amazing career you have in your local gym which can’t even write your paycheck on time.”

That was it. That was the final blow, brutal and ruthless, right on the spot where it hurt the most. Jannik was a master at hitting his opponent’s weakest spot, but now he used this ruthlessness against his boyfriend who had been there since the beginning of his professional career.

Carlos stood abruptly and ran for the door, fleeing the scene before Jannik could regret his words. Jannik watched him go, and that was the last time he had seen Carlos.

By the time Jannik came to his senses, Carlos had already blocked all his contacts and vanished from his life completely. Jannik could have tried harder to reach out to the omega he had loved since teenage years, but he didn’t. He let Carlos go, hoping the omega would return after he had learned his lesson, but Carlos never did.

Jannik had dated a few others since he broke up with Carlos, including that model from the reality show who Carlos hated so much. It turned out Carlos was true about her. She wanted to drain Jannik’s blood before moving on the next. Jannik broke up with her after a few months, but others soon followed. No one would let such a prestigious alpha go, except perhaps Carlos. Jannik got tired of this game and remained single for almost two years now.

Jannik was jolted awake from past memory with a message alert on his phone. It was from a sender who Jannik wouldn’t expect in his wildest dreams.

The message was from Jaime Alcaraz.

Perhaps Jaime finally decided to make true of his words and kill Jannik at last for leaving his brother.

Can I ask you a favor?

Surprisingly, the message was not a death threat. Jannik laughed despite himself.

Anything.

Jannik typed back, and the reply came almost immediately.

Meet us in the hotel lobby in 10.

Us. Jannik’s finger lingered on the letters for a moment too long. What did Jaime mean by us? Who was us?

Jannik found out about the answer soon enough. Jaime, Carlos and the little boy greeted him in the corner of the lobby.

“Thanks man.” Jaime shook Jannik’s hand and gave his shoulder a small pat, “I appreciated it.”

“You staying here as well?”Jannik asked, more of a polite pleasantry than a real question.

“Si,” Jaime said, “closer to the courts.”

Jannik nodded. He always stayed in the same hotel during the French Open, and it was common knowledge among players, including Jaime, who had made his professional debut last year.

“Jannik.” There was another voice chiming in, so familiar yet so foreign, as Carlos stepped up to greet him, “Long time no see. Thank you for meeting us in such a late hour.”

Carlos was in the same shirt Jannik had seen from yesterday’s match, the soft fabric hugging his body so perfectly that Jannik could see the contraction of muscles underneath. Carlos kept his hair nice and clean, the same hair style as Jannik had first met him. His smile was the same, warm and radiating, but there was some softness to it now. There were a few fine lines on the corner of his eye, and Jannik spotted a white hair or two among the lush black, but instead of aging him, they only added to Carlos’s charm. The warm spicy omega scent was as intoxicating as Jannik remembered.

“Hi,” Jannik offered lamely, dumbfounded by Carlos’s charming smile, “no problem at all. I wasn’t sleeping anyway.”

“Yeah, I figured.” Carlos laughed, “grand slam celebrations, right? Your 15th. Congratulations.”

Jannik swallowed hard, partly because of the shock that Carlos followed men’s tennis close enough to know Jannik’s grand slam titles, partly because of the warmth that came along with the knowledge.

“T-thank you.” Jannik stuttered, “Congratulations to you too.”

Carlos blinked confusingly, tilting his head to the side in such a cute way that it made Jannik’s mouth water.

“I don’t think I did anything worth congratulating.” Carlos replied after a short pause.

Jannik’s eyes shifted to the little boy clinging to the omega’s side. The boy bore a striking resemblance to Carlos, Bambi eyes, pouty lips, straight nose and fluffy hair. What intrigued Jannik, though, was not how much the boy looked like Carlos, rather the opposite. The boy had fair skin, a light brown hair color, and a cluster of freckles on his cute little nose. The boy’s father, or Carlos’s alpha, must have fair skin and light hair, perhaps a ginger like Jannik himself.

“I mean your marriage.” Jannik said, remembering how strict Papi Alcaraz was about marriage and promises, “It’s worth congratulating, no?”

Carlos looked lost for a second before realization surfaced in his eyes.

“I am not married.” Carlos said, holding Jannik’s gaze.

“I am sorry.” Jannik felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment, “I just assumed you must have-“

“No, I have not.”

“And your alpha?” Jannik couldn’t help but ask, the urge to know was eating him from inside out.

Carlos just shrugged instead of making a proper answer. Jannik took it as a cue to drop the topic. Carlos’s alpha was apparently not here, which somehow offended Jannik. Why didn’t Carlos’s alpha keep an eye on his omega and their son?

“Papa, can we get the autograph now?” The boy tugged at Carlos’s pants, “I promised Maria I will get her one.”

“Sorry, sweetie.” Carlos looked down at the boy and offered an apologetic smile before turning back to Jannik, “Meet my son Lucas. Lucas, this is Jannik. Jannik, this is Lucas.”

“Hello, sir.” The boy offered his hand to Jannik, like a little gentleman.

“Hi.” Jannik kneeled down to meet the boy’s green eyes at eye level before shaking his hand, “I am Jannik.”

“I know who you are.” Lucas said, “You are the one Uncle Jaime wants to beat the most.”

“Well, I hope he only means on court.” Jannik said, smirking.

Jaime murmured something under his breath but Jannik couldn’t hear.

“Can you give me an autograph? My classmate likes you and I want to give her a gift.”

“But you don’t like me?” Jannik asked, already prepared to answer all of the boy’s request no matter what, “I heard you cheering for my opponent today.”

“You are my favorite player, but I had to cheer for Spain.” Lucas said with all the sincerity and seriousness of a young child, “Papa likes you too.”

“Luke!” Carlos hissed.

“He does?” Jannik was having butterflies in his stomach like a young alpha stupidly in love. He willed the feeling to go away, because he could not have feelings for his ex who had clearly moved on.

“Yeah, he watches your match whenever he can.” Lucas clearly didn’t know how much impact his words had on Jannik.

“Don’t listen to him, Jannik.” Carlos kneeled down as well, handing a tennis ball and a signing pen to Jannik, “just sign this and we will be on our way.”

“When do you leave?” Jannik signed the ball as well as a white board addressing Maria. He would even agree to do a FaceTime call with this girl if that means Lucas would be happy. Jannik had always grown fond of the boy, even though he had just been introduced for a few minutes.

“We have an early morning flight.”

“Back to Murcia?”

“Alicante.” Carlos replied, “Jaime has a few days off and I have some businesses to do in the area.”

Jannik wanted to ask what the business was about, but he feared he might offend Carlos. The last time they had a conversation about career, it ended ugly.

“You can take the flight with me if you can spare another day here. My jet has enough rooms.” Jannik offered, desperately wanting to prolong the time he had with Carlos.

“Unfortunately I can’t, but thanks for the offer.” Carlos shook his head politely, “I have an appointment with my land attorney later today and Lucas has school tomorrow.”

“Oh.” Jannik couldn’t hide his disappointment, “Oh.”

“Don’t look so disappointed.” Carlos laughed, “I run a golf club near Alicante. You are welcomed to stop by if you like.”

Carlos had once told Jannik about his dream, running a golf club one day and perhaps holding a local tournament in his hometown. Jannik didn’t really give it much thought, always dismissing Carlos’s enthusiastic talk. Come to think of it, perhaps Jannik had never really believed in Carlos. He never believed Carlos could ever achieve anything, treating the omega like a pretty trophy wife instead.

Jannik felt small and inadequate now; Carlos had proven himself to be capable and independent, a well-achieved omega who had carved a place for himself in the world. He was not a trophy wife, especially not Jannik’s.

“But I don’t have your number.” Jannik let out finally.

“My number hasn’t changed.”

“But you blocked me-”

“Jannik, I have removed you from the block list a long time ago.”

You would have known if you tried to contact me during the years.

Carlos’s unspoken words exploded like a bomb. Jannik couldn’t answer, breath hatched in his throat.

Carlos didn’t give him time to react. The omega thanked him again before leaving with his brother and son. The well-lit hotel lobby suddenly felt dim and dark after Carlos had left, like the world without the sun.

Jannik came to Alicante three months later. He was more nervous than the first time he visited, but Carlos welcomed him with a warm smile and a warmer hug. Jannik took a huge inhale, trying to pick up any trace of alpha pheromones, but there was none. There was no sign of an alpha either. Carlos took care of Lucas and his own business so well, but it still bothered Jannik that his alpha was not here.

“So, no significant other in your life?” Carlos asked as he pulled the gold cart over.

“No. There hasn’t been one for a while.” Jannik let Carlos lead him to the starting point. He was never interested in golf, never good at either, but he was willing to follow Carlos to wherever the omega led him to.

“That’s a shame.” Carlos said, handling the putter out, “You are hard to resist for omegas.”

Jannik didn’t care about omegas except for the one standing right in front of him.

“Your alpha,” Jannik started, “when will you introduce me to him?”

Carlos’s eyes flashed with something Jannik had not read.

“He’s…not around often.” Carlos looked a bit embarrassed, which made something in Jannik boil again.

“Why? He can’t just leave you and Lucas alone.” Jannik said, trespassing the line he knew he shouldn’t.

“That’s not my decision to make.” Carlos shrugged, “I manage just fine.”

“It’s an alpha’s duty to protect his omega and child.” Jannik insisted, “he should be here with you.”

“Do you think I can’t live without an alpha?” Carlos asked, his face hardening.

“No, of course not, Carlos.” Jannik rushed to say, “It’s just… I am sorry.”

I am sorry I left you. I am sorry I can’t be your alpha, no matter how much I want to be.

“Here, try a swing first. Let’s see how much you’ve got, Mr. Sinner.”

Jannik received a call late at night on the last day of his stay in Alicante. He was shocked awake by the ring, and for a moment he didn’t even realize the noise was coming from his phone. The ring lasted, as the caller refused to give up.

Jannik jumped to his feet after realizing the call was from Carlos.

“Hello, Carlos?”

“Jannik,” Carlos sounded panicked, and Jannik could almost smell the desperate pheromones from his voice, “C-can you come to the hospital now? I already sent you the address.”

“What’s wrong, Carlos?” The word hospital was enough to chase away any sleepiness Jannik might have, as he rushed to put his clothes on.

“I am sorry to wake you up. I know your flight is early-”

“Carlos, tell me what’s wrong.” Jannik said in his alpha voice, trying to provide any comfort he could through the phone.

“It’s Lucas. I think he’s presenting but-”

“I’ll be there in no time, okay? Everything will be fine. I promise.”

Jannik was glad he had decided to rent a car after he had arrived, because he wouldn’t have the patience to wait for a Uber. He broke at least 3 speed limits while driving to the hospital, but Jannik didn’t care. He arrived at the hospital in 15 minutes while the normal journey would have taken twice the time.

Carlos was already waiting for him in the pediatric wing. He had clearly cried, his eyes red and puffy. He looked incredibly young and lost, making Jannik’s heart clench with tenderness and the urge to protect.

“Where is Lucas?” Jannik asked, wrapping his arm around Carlos as the omega threw himself to his chest.

“In intensive care. They can’t break his fever. No pheromone stabilizer seems to work. The doctors say-” Carlos couldn’t continue. He let out a loud sob, sweet scent turning sour and pungent.

“What did they say, Charly? You can tell me.” Jannik said, as gentle as he could.

“They say Lucas can’t control his pheromones because he lacks alpha influence from his father.” Carlos managed to let out, “it’s my fault, Jannik. I messed up. I thought I could raise him on my own but-”

“Shhh, it’s okay.” Jannik let his emotion take better of him as he planted a small kiss on Carlos’s head, “it’s not your fault. The doctors can fix this, yeah? Do you want to call your alpha?”

Carlos stiffened in his arms, as if the omega suddenly realized Jannik was not his alpha. Carlos untangled himself from Jannik, seeking comfort in his own arms rather than Jannik’s.

“I can’t.” Carlos murmured, “I can’t call him.”

“Why not? Are you separating?” Jannik frowned, “even so, he should come when your pup is in danger. It’s his duty.”

“No, I can’t.” Carlos said stubbornly.

“Do you want me to call him?” Jannik offered, “Is he in Alicante now?”

Carlos nodded and whispered a soft yes. Jannik had no idea which question the omega was answering.

“Tell me where he lives and I will bring him here.” Jannik said, grabbing his car keys, “Just give me an address, Carlos.”

“You can’t bring him here.” Carlos took a sharp inhale, “I am sorry I dragged you into this. I wasn’t myself. I am better now. I can handle things from here.”

“No, you can’t, not without your alpha.” Jannik let out a frustrated sigh, “look, Carlos, I am not saying you can’t raise Lucas on your own, because you have done a beautiful job at that. I am sure you are well capable of anything, but please, your son is in danger. Don’t let your stubbornness ruin his life.”

Carlos bit his lower lip but said nothing to retort. Jannik was telling the truth, no matter how ugly it was. Carlos had to rely on his alpha now, and how he wished it could be as simple as Jannik put it.

“You can’t bring him here.” Carlos said, swallowing down the dread of revealing a secret.

“Carlos-”

“You don’t need to, because he’s already here.” Carlos finished, lifting his chin to look straight into Jannik’s eyes.

Jannik’s heartbeat quickened. He felt like a boy stepping into a grand slam final for the first time, having no idea what fate was waiting for him at the end. He had a feeling that whatever Carlos was about to say next, it would change Jannik’s life forever.

“You are my alpha and Lucas’s father, Jannik.” Carlos said, dropping each word like a bomb on Jannik’s heart.

It all made sense now. Lucas’s light hair and freckles, Carlos’s weird food choice back then, the mood swings, every clue that had been laid in front of him all this time but Jannik just chose to ignore them.

For Jannik, the news was like a wild dream come true. He shouldn’t be so happy when his own son was in dire danger, but the realization that Carlos had been his the entire time just sent a chill down his spine. Jannik reached out and swept Carlos into a crushing hug, something he should have done years ago in that hotel room in New York. He should have never let go.

“I’ll never leave you and Lucas again.” He said, and meant every word.

Carlos returned the hug just as fiercely as Jannik.