Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Robert didn't make it his life’s mission to advertise his secondary gender to people, it was no one's business what was between his legs and what flavors covered his scent.

Unfortunately for him, the government made it a requirement, a fancy way of saying law, that all active Heroes had to make their designation public knowledge. It was bureaucratic bullshit that went back decades. In his grandfather's time it had been illegal for Omegas to work in the Heroics department as either a hero or an authority official. The only jobs they could apply for were janitorial and maintenance staff, secretary office work and other positions in that job bracket. 

Even Betas got the short end of the stick by being passed up for the newest Alpha that strolled right up, regardless of skill, age or even experience; and don’t even get Robert started about the whole debate of the female vs male shit storm. Even Female Alphas suffered the same kind of bullshit that Male Betas got, although to a lesser degree.

It was the same everywhere, discrimination disguised as old-timey chivalry. 

Things had only started to change for the better after Robert's father had died.

It wasn't any kind of political or movement trigger and in fact the two incidents had nothing to do with each other. But Robert couldn't help but associate the wave of Omega and Beta Rights movements with his father being murdered.

It was a shitty feeling, especially because it was due to both events that Robert was able to continue the Mecha Hero line and become the third generation Mecha Man. Both his grandfather and father had been prime alphas and Robert's birth mother had been an unassuming beta. So it had been expected that Robert Robertson III would grow up to be an Alpha. Or at the very least a strong Beta that wouldn’t shame his family’s legacy.

Robert hated himself for being relieved that his father had died before Robert had presented as a Male Omega. His father had loved him, this Robert was sure of. But the older man hadn't made it a secret about how he felt about what he termed the weaker sexes that made up humanity, according to his father and his father’s friends, Robert’s grandfather had thought the same kind of thing.

Chase had been a godsend of a babysitter, always willing and able to cover for Robert whenever he experienced something that wasn't deemed an Alpha trait, even though he had been an undesignated pup at the time and should have been allowed to fucking cry and seek comfort as a child.

Robert didn't hate himself, at least he didn't for his designation. He had a thousand and one other reasons to dislike himself without bringing up his omega pussy or the terrible heats that he spent alone.

Mecha Man Blue became his whole life once he put on the suit. Robert also had to submit his designation to the hero registration which sucked balls because it caused such an uproar that for the first time in Robert’s life he thought about not becoming a hero. But he preserved and pulled off miracle after miracle just to justify himself being out as a hero when not even half the Alpha heroes out there could even get close to his success rate during missions.

But for every ten successes he of course had at least one failure, which both the conservative media and departments liked to hype up to show how unsuitable Omegas were as Heroes.

It sucked, but then there was the opposition. Omega rights activists and even some sympathetic Alphas and Betas did the opposite and highlighted his deeds and prowess and as more and more Betas and Omegas became heroes it became almost like a trend and for every ten Alphas there were half the opposite designations out there. Women heroes were becoming more numerous as well, which was another talking point that got shut down when Blonde Blazer cold cocked an aggressive congressman who touched her inappropriately on camera.

Robert had been Mecha Man Blue for over a decade at that point and it still boggled his mind to see how many of his fellow Omegas were out in the field with him.

Maybe it was because he’d been the start of it or because he was such a public figure, but the media still wouldn’t let him go like they did all the newbies in the field. But by this point Robert was used to working at 200% and wouldn’t know how to slow down even if asked. He may have set an unrealistic standard and he was sorry about that when his fellow Omegas and some of the other minorities got pissed off at him about it, as they were all expected to follow along with his unrealistic success rate.

It made it all the more funny to know that he would be considered powerless without the suit, unlike all the other heroes out in the field with their superpowers ranging from flight to super strength to laser beams and more.

And by funny, he meant it wasn’t funny at all.

Normies were mostly exempt from the law of public designation. They weren’t required to wear the color coded bullshit tags unless their workplace or other such establishment demanded it and then those people who didn’t want to could just fucking leave. Scent blockers and suppressants were common all around which Robert had been using since he presented as a teenager. So even though everyone knew that Mecha Man Blue was an Omega, he could proudly say that no one knew what his scent was like except for himself and possibly Chase.

Robert didn’t even want to recall the amount of Villain Alphas that tried to shit on him, even using their stupid as fuck Alpha Voice on him multiple times to get him to submit to their thrill and let them go or even mate with them. But Robert was made of sterner stuff and never gave into those weak ass bitch orders, it also helped that he could filter that shit in his metal suit’s speakers and even his normal uniform had mufflers over his ears. 

After a few years the amount of bullshit like that went down, because of the Rights’ Movements and such, Alphas who use their Voice unlawfully or publicly to harm another person could get a lifetime sentence without parole.

So yeah, people chickenshit out and stopped trying to force him to submit to their will and dicks.

But then his life went to shit when his suit blew up and he went into a coma for four months and came out only to realize his life as he knew it was over.

Robert was no longer Mecha Man Blue. Something that encompassed his whole identity and life. He didn’t even know who Robert was anymore, nevermind the Omega part of him, since he was on the strongest blockers and suppressants on the legal market and rarely allowed himself any time off to explore and relax. Now that he was no longer an active Hero he wouldn't be able to afford those strong medications anymore.

It scared him more than he was willing to admit and he’d admit that trying to drown his sorrows after waking up and dealing with the fallout of his actions and the consequences of losing everything wasn’t the best way to deal with shit.

Fuck doing things the proper way.

He didn’t even regret splashing water in that flaming asshole of an Alpha face, but he also couldn’t laugh when the man slipped on that puddle and knocked himself out while losing a tooth due to the bar’s hardwood counter.

It was kind of like watching an old cartoon, stuff like that shouldn’t happen in real life but somehow still did. But it just brought back the memories of how he had harmed this same villain before and how he’d regretted having to do so. Robert didn’t naturally enjoy harming villains, even posturing ones like Flim-Flam here. 

Robert wondered if that confrontation would come back and bite him in the ass. Especially if what the asshole said was true and that he was no longer classified as a villain but was now an active hero in the industry. Who knows if that bullshit was real, but if it was then there was a lot that shithead could do to harm him legally if it came down to it.

Then Blonde Blazer herself came forward with an offer that Robert would be an idiot to refuse. Although he almost did so because of his pride and because of the crazy idea of rehabilitating villains into half-way decent heroes sounded stupid even to his tone-deaf ears.

Also…the team he’d be in charge of would consist of Alphas. All of them.

“Fuck me.” Robert mumbled as he shuffled to his cubicle. He’d just gotten out of a meeting with Blazer about cutting someone from the team and he’d spent more time then he’d like arguing against the contrary. Which meant that he’d been late to actually dispatching the Z-Team and had to have Chase pick up his slack.

Hearing all the screaming and cursing coming from the mics and Chase’s mouth, Robert decided that everything seemed to be going…okay.

“I got this Chase.” Robert mumbled as he picked up his headset.

“Oh thank god, these motherfuckers are getting on my last nerve and I was this close to directing the lot of them into the toxic sludge on 3rd and Stag St and having them all melt into goo and save us the trouble of dealing with their whiny bitchass complains ever again.”

“You know we can hear you, right?” Prism’s voice echoed on the mic.

“Yeah? Look how many fucks I give. Oh wow, I’m out of fucks apparently. Do your motherfucking jobs fuckers!” Chase slammed back and turned off his headset before turning to Robert. “I’m going on break so it’s on you to deal with your messed up pack.”

“They're not my pack.” Robert mumbled before turning on his headset. “Okay people, I’m back. Now, let’s see how to unfuck the mess you all made while I was gone.”

As the loud commotion of voices echoed through the speakers, talking over each other to complain, Robert closed his eyes and sighed. This was going to be a long-ass day.

Robert drained his coffee mug, his tenth today. 

He’d just signed out of work, after making sure that all members of the team were finished with their respected missions and were heading back to headquarters to do the same.

It had been a few weeks of him dealing with these assholes and Robert had never felt so drained of life. Those fuckers didn’t even know that Robert was an Omega but it sure felt like that sometimes with how much degradation they threw his way.

Or maybe that’s just the way they were with everyone as Robert had seen them being shitty to Phenomoman on occasion. The alien who was the textbook definition of a prime Alpha and usually commandeered respect from all designations.

So Robert doubted that him being outed as an Omega would change anything with the group’s dynamics, except maybe an increase in sexual jokes. Even so, Robert had no plans on showing them anything other than the artificially bland Beta front he was projecting.

It was better that way, because Chase may have been joking earlier, but he’d been right about how the team was vaguely acting like a Pack. One that was full of aggressive and egoistic Alphas but a pact regardless. It was actually fascinating to watch from an outside perspective. How they continued to snip and verbally bite at each other, even getting into physical altercations at times, but even if they all aggravated each other, they also took extreme comfort in each other’s scent and presence.

It calmed a small inner part in Robert to see them like that and it only bolstered the idea of the Phoenix Program. These assholes may have been villains in the past, but they were working on bettering themselves.

Robert didn’t even want to think of what would happen if he’d been forced to cut one of them from the program and out of the pack. He’d probably have been found dead the following day.

Because Robert was not part of the pack. No matter what Chase and even Blazer like to hint at him. He refused to see it, as these dicks weren’t the least bit kind to him or treated him like he was one of them.

They listened, vaguely to his instructions and directions but even then Robert had to fight tooth and nail to get them to succeed in their missions and even then sometimes it wasn’t enough. For every failure, Robert felt it ten times over.

Because even though he’d been unsure about this whole desk jockey job, he’d come to care about these idiots and wanted them to succeed. Not just to show up the bureaucrats that said it was impossible but because they deserved the second chance that the program was granting them.

“Uh - ah sir? You are - ah.” Waterboy’s stuttering voice startled Robert, he’d been staring into the empty mug and hadn’t noticed anyone else walking into the break room. “Uhhh.”

Robert looked up, smiling tiredly at the timid janitor who was standing nearby. In his hands he clutched a mop and was staring at Robert with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. “Hey, sorry. I’m a little tired. Did you need something?” Robert asked as he set the mug into the kitchen sink behind him.

“Your -” Waterboy coughed, a small cascade of water dribbled from his mouth as he wiped quickly at the mess. “Your patch.”

Robert felt cold. He reached up and felt the patch on his neck gland and realized what Waterboy had been trying to convey. His scent patch that hid his designation had expired. He hadn’t even noticed because he assumed the light coffee scent had been coming from his mug and not himself.

Who the fucks knows how long he’d been scenting up the place with his weak-ass omega scent? Fuck.

“Shit.” Robert swore and clasped his palm over his neck, not that it would do much but hopefully the action would keep him from panicking. He didn’t have any spares at work either, he’d run out the day before and forgot to refill his stash. “Okay, I can’t be here to greet the team.” Robert then remembered he’d been supposed to meet everyone in the conference room to tell them the good news that no one was getting cut from the team. 

It had been on their minds all day, worrying and sabotaging each other's chances of being pushed out of the bottom of the mission board. Robert had had to scold them several times whenever he caught wind of them doing so, telling them it looked worse to harm another mission than to fail their own.

The team had gotten quiet after that and Robert had tried reassuring them without telling them exactly what him and Blazer had talked about this morning. He hadn’t wanted to worry them and Blazer had insisted that he wait until the end of the day to tell them the news as she’d gone off to talk to the higher-ups that had been insisting that he cut someone. Fuck those guys, they were never on the field and didn’t know jack shit about how to do a real hero’s job.

But that may have been a mistake, waiting that is. Now Robert couldn’t even go there and tell them himself that they were all safe. Because if he did so he’d be outing himself as an Omega.

And sure, it wasn’t the end of the world. He could deal with the uptake in shit-talking those assholes would no doubt throw his way. However…

Robert was afraid that it would only encourage his own instincts instead. 

Robert wasn’t stupid. He knew that he was an emotionally and physically suppressed man. He’d put his whole life on pause just to become this perfect image of a hero and hadn’t given himself the space and time to indulge in his instincts. 

He didn’t even have a nest.

So, to say he was afraid that if he outed himself as an Omega to a bunch of Alphas that he may or may not care for…Robert was apprehensive. 

It wasn’t even that he was sexually compatible with everyone on the team. He liked them all enough of course but there were only a handful of people on the team that Robert would ever actually fuck. 

Not that he was. Going to fuck anyone. Nope. Robert didn’t fuck alphas. Too much trouble and commitment.

As Robert continued to spiral mentally, the outside world ticked on.

“Are you okay?” Waterboy had gotten closer. “I - uh…hmmm. Are you? Are you - heat? Going in heat?” Waterboy sniffed him discreetly and normally Robert would have been offended and pushed the other person away. But it was actually nice, he didn’t smell any aggression coming from the watery hero-in-training and SDN janitor.

It helped that he was pretty sure that Waterboy was a fellow omega. It was hard to tell at a distance with all the water flowing from his skin. But as the other man got closer to him, Robert was able to pick up the subtle hints of water lilies and algae coming from the man’s skin.

Oh yeah, that was more in line with an Omega scent then the aggressive scents like Flambae’s sulfur and smoke.

Robert relaxed.

But then he analyzed just what Waterboy had said and tensed back up.

“What?” Robert blurted out. “No, I shouldn’t be anywhere near my next heat.”

“I heard…my gran said that sometimes - uh - omegas can go into heat outside their normal schedule when - hmm.” Waterboy was clearly struggling to make his words clear without going into a stuttering mess and Robert appreciated it but he’d really like to just leave and hole himself up in his empty apartment. Shit, he’d need Chase to take care of Beef if he was really going to go into a messy, unprepared heat.

As if realizing how little patience Robert had at the moment, Waterboy took a deep breath and sped talked the rest of what he wanted to say. “Omegas can go into harsh, spontaneous heats when stressed about their Alphas.”

Robert stared blankly at Waterboy. “I don’t have an Alpha.”

Waterboy snorted, an uncharacteristic gesture for the normally meek hero. “No, you have eight, technically.”

“...what?”

So yeah. Robert was completely fucked. After Waterboy had confirmed that Robert smelled like he was in pre-heat, he’d mentally shut down, which caused the other man to panic and let out his own distressed omega scent.

Which had caused Robert to react instinctively by trying to smooth the other omega with his own weak scent. But that only made Robert’s scent stronger as he pumped his own glands of their coffee and vanilla into the air, hoping to calm the other man down.

It probably would have worked too.

If Flambae hadn’t walked into the break room a few moments later and caught wind of their scents and reacted accordingly to the smell of two distressed omegas before he even clocked their identities.

So yeah, that became an instant shit show when the flaming asshole realized just who he was pumping out smoothing alpha pheromones too.

That didn’t even take into account how Robert’s upcoming heat scent was becoming more apparent to everyone in the room.

“Ah…shit.”

Robert suddenly wished that he hadn’t woken up from his hospital bed all those weeks ago. Although with how red Flambae’s face was getting, he wondered if he was going to be sent into another months-long coma. His only consolation before his assured death was the sight of Waterboy throwing up a large amount of water all over Flambae’s chest in response to the small flickers of flames that had begun to burn along the hero’s skin and suit.

Chapter Text

So maybe Robert didn’t deal with the fallout as cleanly and neatly as he should have. Of course, being told you're going into a spontaneous heat by a friendly, if anxious co-worker who only noticed because Robert had failed to take in account his failing meds and common as shit scent wasn’t bad enough. But then the most temperamental asshole in existence had walked in and clocked the scent of two distressed omegas. 

Well, Robert was going to assume that Waterboy was distressed as the man seemed to be in a constant state of some kind of breakdown whenever Robert saw him.

But to digress - yeah. Robert’s day had gone from shitty to downright diabolical.

To be semi-fair to Flambae, the asshole’s first reaction to the scent had been to send out calming purrs and somehow his scent had gone all soft campfire and burning wood. It was much, much nicer than his usual pissed off scent, the one that Robert had only ever scented from him.

But that calming effect only lasted a few moments before the dick had clocked who it was that was in distress. Flambae didn’t immediately go into a rage to Robert’s confusion, but instead seemed to be choking on coming to grips with his reality. He’d just stood there near the doorway, pointing with a shaky hand at Robert with confusion and growing anger.

It was miraculously Waterboy who saved the day. Or at least kept them from all being incinerated. 

“Um, Mr. Rober - uh, Robert. I have some - umm. Emergency patches in my l-locker.” Waterboy came forward, dropping the mop and yanking on Robert’s shirt, the area quickly became damp but Robert didn’t care. Instead, he focused on what the other man was saying. “H-how about you take a-a few and call it a d-day? I’ll - uh, inform B-Blazer that y-you’ll be absent for a f-few days.”

The longer Waterboy talked the more his sentences actually came together, which was amazing progress and usually Robert would have praised him but all he could feel was the rising heat nearby and his own heart thundering in his chest.

Waterboy’s words had merit though as there was no way Robert would be able to continue to work in these conditions. His heats weren’t as terrible as he’d heard some Omegas suffered, but it still was three days minimum of pure horniness and pain. Shit, Robert was only now realizing how badly his lower abdominal and back ached. He’d chalked that up to sitting at a desk all day and poor posture but in hindsight, yeah - he’d been going into pre-heat for a while. The buildup was unmistakable.

“Okay. Yeah. That sounds perfect.” Robert said and took several deep breaths to calm himself so that his scent wasn’t as distressed smelling. “Why don’t you come and help me with that?”

Waterboy blushes. “Oh, sure.” Waterboy gets more of a hold on Robert’s shoulder and directs him out of the room. The both of them were still ignoring the sputtering flame hero. 

Robert really wanted to leave before Flambae finally calmed down enough to actually engage in insults and such. But he wasn’t heartless so - “Hey, Flambae? Thank you. I can take it from here, but if you could tell the others for me that no one is getting cut from the pack that would be great. I’ll send a mass text as well when I get home.” Robert rushed through the words but even so, they were all sincere. He didn’t even realize that he’d labeled the team as a pack until he was halfway down the hallway and the only thing he could do was groan and bury his face in his hand while ignoring the near silent snickers from the wet man next to him.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up.” Robert grumbled goodnaturally, relaxing some more as Waterboy’s scent became stronger due to their proximity, the kid smelled really good, all nature-like and shit. “But I’m not the one who has to deal with everyone for the next three days. Who do you think they’re going to have sub-in? I don’t think Chase will take it since he barely survived a few hours this morning.”

“T-that’s something B-Blazer will deal w-with. You - not worry about it.” Waterboy said as they made it to the locker rooms and pulled out a pack of scent blockers, they were the ones that were marked as waterproof and were the kind that athletics wore, the patches were more visible then the brand that Robert usually used that were more discreet, but in the end it would work all the same.

“Here.” Waterboy helped him place it on his neck and Robert tried not to feel a little sad when his own scent became lost. “Um, I c-can - uh, Beef? Y-you want me to t-tell Chase?”

Robert only took a second to realize what Waterboy was saying and flushed. This man - seriously.

“Waterboy…you are truly too good for us all.” Robert chuckled warmly. “Are you sure you don’t mind? You already said you’d informed Blazer about me, which I can do over the phone if you recall. Chase would be delighted to take in my chunky son for a few nights, but I can inform him myself before I leave. It'll probably be a few days before I can safely come back to work, so let me apologize beforehand for how shitty this place may get. If Flambae or any of those dicks try to harass you, just throw up on them and report their behavior to Chase, Blazer or Royd and I’ll make sure they’d wish they were dead when I get back.” Robert didn’t mention HR because as shitty as it would be for the Alphas to cause trouble to the watery Omega, he’d rather not lose any of them. Especially since he spent so much time arguing the fact he didn’t want to cut any of those cunts from the team.

Waterboy went even redder if possible. “It’s f-fine. I can handle them. T-they’ve never used my designation to i-insult me. Only my e-everything else.” Waterboy gestured down his whole body with a sad little chuckle. 

Robert frowned. “That’s still shitty of them. You're a sweet guy and if you had a little more confidence in yourself I know you could become a powerhouse of a superhero. You know, even though I didn’t cut anyone from the team, Blazer and I have been talking about adding a sub-in to the team for awhile now. I’ll discuss it with Blazer when I get back but I’ll be putting your name in the pot and if you can be seen handling it, both the missions and that pack of dicks, then you could become a permanent member…”

Robert trailed off as he watched a range of emotions pass over Waterboy’s face. From embarrassment - shock - confusion - horror - back to shock - elation - and finally settling on shy adoration.

“Y-you’d want that?” Waterboy whispered, his voice going all gooey and soft. “T-to become p-part of y-your pack?”

…Robert kind of felt like there was some miscommunication happening right now. But for the life of him he couldn’t find out where everything had taken a left turn. He’d been talking about introducing Waterboy as a hero-in-training right? 

Why did it feel like he’d just proposed marriage?!

Loud commotion from nearby broke up any more conversation and Robert realized that he should leave now before the rest of the Z-Team descended upon him like a plague of locusts.

Robert gave one last nod and smile to a still heavily blushing Waterboy and left the room. As quickly as he could he pulled out his phone and called Chase. The phone only ran once before the other man picked up. 

“What the fuck did you do, you motherfucker?!” Chase barked into the receiver, causing Robert to cringe back. “These crazy ass freaks are chowing at the bite! FlamAss apparently had a melt down in the break room and then made some massive call to the others and now they’re blowing up my phone looking for you? Did you blow the guy in there or something? Magic sucking powers or something?”

“Jesus Christ Chase. No. I did not fucking give Flambae a blowjob in the break room. Or any room in fact just because I know you’re going to ask. There was no sexual misconduct happening anywhere.”

“Well tell that to these motherfucks. Because I can’t get a word in and can only hear every other word from their bigass mouths. What did you do to get them all up into arms?”

“So…funny story. I’m going into a spontaneous heat and I forgot my extra scent patches and Flambae may have noticed and that’s probably what caused him to freak out because no one on the team knew I was an Omega.”

“...”

“.......”

“W-what the fuck, Robert!?” Chase shouted. “How - what -!”

“Why?” Robert chuckled and ignored Chase’s cussed out response. “I’m unsure as I’m not due for another two months. But Waterboy helped me out by lending me his patches and getting me away from Flambae after he caught my scent. That’s probably what has all the rest in a tizzy, Flambae probably tattled on me to the others. Can you watch Beef for a few days? I haven’t gotten around to actually decking out my place and I don’t want him to suffer for that while I’m indisposed." Robert requested before adding - “Also, watch out for Waterboy? He’s been super helpful and I worry the others are going to bully him while I’m gone.”

“Omegas gotta stick together, huh?” Chase calmed down, sighing in some manner of relief. “Sure, I can do that. Also, of course I got the Beef. Little fucker’s gonna come back even rounder and happier so look forward to that. You just take care of yourself, you hear me? Want me to run over after work and get you some supplies?”

Robert blinked back tears at his uncle’s caring words. It brought back memories of Chase doing the same when Robert first presented as an Omega. He’d been so unprepared for his designation as he’d been so sure he’d present as a Beta like Chase that he’d had no supplies, nest or food to whittle those first hellish days.

But Chase had quickly responded after Robert’s tense, panic filled text message from the younger Robert. He’d gotten everything that Robert needed and more and had made sure to stay in the guest room just in case Robert had an accident or had any complications due to how his body changed. It was known to happen after all, newly presented young Omegas and even Alphas being rushed to the hospital to be put on emergency hormones and sometimes even needing surgery to help things along. It was every presenting pup’s nightmare.

But Robert had pulled through, crying and in pain but he’d managed it well and Chase had taken him out for ice cream after.

Hearing the same level of concern that Chase always had whenever Robert got hurt or even inconvenienced as a child smoothed a hurt that Robert didn’t even realize he had. 

Chase really was his family, wasn’t he?

“T-thanks, unc.” Robert said shakily. “I should be okay though. I’m gonna stop at the convenient store near my apartment and grab some easy meals and Gatorade; that should be enough for a few short days since this isn’t my normal heat and I doubt it’ll take as long as normal to get over it.”

Chase hummed thoughtfully. “I haven’t been to your new place yet. Have you got more nesting materials yet?”

Robert’s throat closed up. He hadn’t actually. The last time he’d enjoyed a proper nest was back before he’d started dodging Chase and began spending all his time out on patrol. It got to the point that the cockpit had become more of a nest for his inner omega then his cold bed ever could.

He wasn’t going to say that shit to Chase though. The old fuck would go apeshit over it.

“I’m fine, Chase. I just need to get going before my heat settles in properly.” Robert cut the line of questioning and he was sure the older man had noticed. But Chase didn’t push, only reassured him he got Robert’s dog and he’d have a conversation with Blazer and the other dispatchers to make sure to cover the team while Robert was out.

Robert thanked his uncle again and made his way out of the building. Avoiding the normal route because he could hear the voices of Punch-Up and Prism coming from that direction.

Were the Z-Team actually covering the exits? Why the fuck would they be that interested in confronting him? Robert being an Omega shouldn’t have caused this much of a stir and now he was overthinking about how much trouble he’d be in when he came back to work.

Would the pack…team request cutting Robert out? 

Robert felt nauseated at the thought and swallowed the bile that climbed up his throat. He hoped it didn’t come to that. As much as he hadn’t thought he’d enjoy this job in the beginning, he’d come to really feel like he was making a difference working at the SDN, even if it was behind a desk.

While he mentally spirals into a sad slope, Robert is able to successfully avoid the wandering team and escape the building intact and unmolested. 

He’d already shot off a quick text to Blazer, knowing that Chase and even Waterboy would cover for him. He then made sure to turn off his phone, because he knew that the only reason the team were bugging Chase about him was due to Robert’s personal phone number not being public knowledge. 

However, Robert knew it was only a matter of time before his phone number and possibly even his address became known, due to Invisigal and the other ladies on the team being sneaky little shits and raiding the file room.

But he didn’t have time to worry about all that. Robert’s apartment wasn’t located far from the SDN, so he tended to walk to work to save himself the extra money in owning a car.

Something he is really regretting right now because even though he knew the patch was doing its job it felt like everyone on the street was staring at him. Like they expected him to fall into a moaning mess.

Well fuck them. Robert didn’t moan for any normal dick on the street. 

The quick trip to the convenience store went fine, the cashier didn’t even bother looking up as Robert pushed the big box of Twinkies, the twelve pack of Gatorade and the handful of microwavable ramen on the counter.

It wasn’t great and he’d probably suffer heartburn before and after but it would tide him over until he was well enough to properly get food and supplies. 

Robert silently promised his inner Omega that the next heat would go a lot more comfortable, as long as he could get through this one without any mishaps.

Like buying a proper bed. That would have gone a long way in helping him not want to die within the next few days.

He’d have to make a semi-functional nest out of his clothes and the two thin blankets he had. Maybe even use Beef’s bed as a pillow…

Shit, he was going to get slick over everything. The floor was made out of hardwood, that shit was going to sink in and become a permanent part of the woodgrain.

Robert sighed heavily before trucking up the stairs to his apartment, already he could feel the cold and loneliness of his place encompass him. Maybe now that he had a paying job he should actually splurge on himself? 

But then that meant that he couldn’t use that money on his suit that Royd was still building from scratch. Robert knew he didn’t need to funnel his entire paychecks into the project, but the more money he gave, the quicker things could be done to fix it all up and then Robert could become Mecha Man Blue again…

Did he even want that? Would that mean quitting the SDN as a dispatcher?

The disturbing thoughts floated in Robert’s head as he unlocked his door and put his food stuff on the kitchen counter, placing most of the drinks in the fridge. But taking one of them and the box of twinkies and placing them on the floor of his living space that doubled as his bedroom.

He’d thought he’d come to terms with this weeks ago when he accepted the job as a dispatcher from Blonde Blazer. This job was only supposed to be temporary after all. A stepping stone to getting back on his feet and becoming a real hero again.

But then he’d gotten attached hadn’t he? The Z-Team were more than just some villains playing hero. They were really trying their best out there. Most of the time at least.

While Robert kept his mental dialogue up his body started fixing the place up for him. Making sure the latch on the sliding doors leading to the balcony was locked tight. Getting the blankets and tossing them on the ground along with every spare piece of clothing he had, including the slightly smelly ones. 

It was a sad excuse for a nest and Robert’s inner Omega felt like it was screaming, wanting something better - more.

Wanting something that Robert refused to give them.

A wave of heat started creeping up Robert’s spine. It wouldn’t be long now before he went into a proper heat. 

Unlike what the media and fiction liked to dictate, Omegas and Alphas didn’t lose their minds while in heat and rut. Sure, they got super horny and didn’t make the clearest of decisions while inflected but they weren’t mindless.

Robert would have to deal with his heat in the only dignified manner he could and try to keep his cries of frustration to a minimum as he didn’t know how thin the walls were.

Robert quickly turned the lights on low and got undressed. Putting the clothes that he hadn’t realized held a hint of Waterboy’s scent in the fabric near where his head was going to lay, he settled down to wait.

He didn’t have any toys. Most of his stuff he’d sold or thrown away in a fit of depressed rage after he’d lost the suit and been deemed obsolete to the superhero community. That included the few heat items he’d kept around when he’d been forced to go into heat by his cycles. Not that it had happened frequently since he’d been on the good suppressants at the time.

Maybe that’s the real reason he was going into this surprise heat, his body was still getting onto a regular cycle after being suppressed for most of his life. Robert made a mental note to talk to his doctor about it. At least the SDN would be footing that bill so Robert wouldn’t have to worry about payments.

What Robert failed to realize was that his absence and the reason for said absence would send eight Alphas into a spiral of epic proportions. The protective instincts of even one Alpha would be a lot to handle, but having a whole pack of them freaking out at the same time? 

The damage control had gone into over budgeting.

Funnily enough, Waterboy was having the time of his life. While the rest of the building was panicking and trying to control the worrying and agitated Alphas as they tossed shit around and disobeyed orders, he as an omega was thriving. 

And sure, maybe it had something to do with Robert’s scent still attached to his own, but Waterboy didn’t think that was the only reason that the Z-Team were treating him with a kinder hand. Not that they had treated him badly before, he’d gotten a few insults thrown his way and some macho posturing, but surprisingly the former villains tend to treat him better than they did the other workers in the SDN. 

Not only because he was an omega although Waterboy was sure that played a part in it, but ever since Robert started paying attention to him; something he was sure the other omega hadn’t even noticed himself doing, the others paid him more attention.

Now, with Robert indisposed and in heat and supposedly on his own. His Alphas were going insane. Waterboy was pretty sure Flambae and maybe Invisigal were the only two who were romantically inclined with Robert. But Robert had already turned down Invisigal’s non-subtle flirting attempts. So she’d been turning that charm on Blonde Blazer who seemed receptive to her courting attempts.

But just because they weren’t trying to bone down the omega, that didn’t mean that the rest of the Z-Team didn’t think of Robert as their Omega.

Waterboy hadn’t been joking around when he’d informed Robert that the pack of Alphas were his. If not yet in body, then in heart.

Flambae better lock the fuck in through because Waterboy had gotten confirmation today that Robert wasn’t against having another Omega in his nest. Not with the subtle scent of interest that had peaked out of his glands when he’d been looking at Waterboy today.

Waterboy silently fist pumped.

Chapter Text

It had only been one day but Robert was pretty sure that he was dying.

He’d barely slept after tossing and turning all night, aching for comfort and a sense of release that he couldn’t provide for himself. His whole body hurt and his stomach hadn’t stopped cramping since his heat hit fully sometime late last night. 

It felt like his insides were tearing themselves apart and to his shame he’d spent more time crying than doing anything else. He knew it wasn’t just the physical symptoms that were making him feel terrible, but the emotional heartbreak. The offensive smell of burnt vanilla and old coffee grinds quickly filled the apartment and he had to literally stuff his nose with toilet paper so he wouldn't get sick of his own distress scent.

It made him glad that no one would be coming over anytime soon. If the scent was nauseating for him, he could only imagine how terrible it would be if other people got a whiff of his depressed ass.

Also, if word got out that Mecha Man had cried himself to sleep because he was fucking lonely then it wouldn’t matter if Robert got to take down Shroud or not, he’d pull the trigger on himself. That fucking interview he’d had to do after leaving the hospital had highlighted just how much the public he’d given his whole life too would turn on him in a heartbeat when he didn’t present a prefect standard of hero every minute of everyday.

It was all bullshit and Robert knew that, but that’s politics. They didn’t teach that shit when someone first signs up to be a hero, but those poor smucks learn quickly after their first smear campaign.

Right now he had a short respite to gather himself and knowing it wouldn’t last long he sat up, groaning as his body let out some truly sickening cracking noises, his bones and muscles clearly hadn’t appreciated him sleeping on the ground, even nested in every piece of fabric he could spare.

But it wasn’t like he was going to spend his heat in the goddamn chair. He wasn’t that much of a masochist, no matter what Royd had implied when the guy had stopped over to pick up the leftover Mecha suit weeks ago.

The sexual part of his heat had been more mild than Robert had expected too. Not that he wasn’t grateful he hadn’t turned into a whiny, needy mess. But he’d felt more pained cramps and emotional whiplash than anything else, even when his dick kept its half-hard state no matter how many times he tried to find release. Robert was able to ignore it and just tucked his own face into Beef’s bed that he’d ended up covering in his shirt from yesterday. 

It wasn’t enough to calm his neediness entirely, but not only did he have wisps of Waterboy’s scent on the fabric, but he could smell a hint of Chase’s faint Beta scent from a few of his dirty uniforms as well.

But right now Robert was going to get up so he could heat up some noodles, drink some electrolytes and stuff some creamy twinkie goodness down his throat and hopefully with all that, he wouldn’t feel like death warmed over.

After he finished stuffing a third pastry in his mouth, Robert debated whether he had enough time to take a shower or not before the next wave hit. He could feel it even now, his inner Omega was steadily getting more insistent and making it harder to ignore the need between his legs. 

It wanted comfort, companionship, it wanted its Pack.

“Shut the fuck up, you don’t have it that bad.” Robert mumbled, chastising himself in the hope that the feeling would just disappear. Realizing he’d probably drown himself if he tried showering, he instead went to lean against the cool glass of his balcony doors, the slight morning chill coming from outside helped his overheated skin and cleared his mind further.

Looking out, he wasn’t too worried about anyone peeking up at his naked body since he was on the third floor. It wasn’t like his scared, scrawny body was appealing in the slightest. What was it that Blazer and Invisigal had said to him when he’d been forced to change out of his hero uniform and into his newly dispatch officeware that first day? 

Something about covering up his dad-bod?

Looking down, Robert could admit that his abs had gotten softer then when he used to pilot the suit and his body wasn’t up to its old standard since he’d woken up after four months of being comatose. But he didn’t think his body type qualified as a real dad body. But what did he know about where the line of today’s standards of superhero bodies lay nowadays?

Was it Phenomoman?

Sure - sounds great, placing the masculine alien as today’s human male standard. That wouldn’t cause a boatload of mental and body issues for the impressionable youth of today.

Robert snorted out a laugh as he imagined the hunky but depressed as hell hero doing a psa on body imagining and loving oneself despite the flaws that society fostered on themselves. All the while his body was showing off unrealistic muscle tones and superhero prowess.

Would it be better or worse if it was Sonar or Flambae doing the psa?

“Oh, better yet. Malevola. She’d kick all their asses and they’d thank her for it.” Snickering, he leaned his sweaty forehead on the glass and closed his eyes.

Robert hadn’t realized it at first. But his mind had naturally fallen into thinking about the team. Each member’s name that passed through his head caused a sense of warmth to burn gently in his chest.

He wondered how everyone would handle their missions today. Blazer and Chase should have informed the rest of the team that he’d be absent for at least the rest of the week. Hopefully, they’d thought to inform the team that no one was getting cut or fired from the SDN. Because even though that should have been Robert’s job, he’d been forced to skip the meeting after work.

Was it selfish of him to feel upset by that? He’d wanted to be the one to give them the good news.

“Shit.” Robert rubbed his eyes. “I’m kind of a dick, aren't I?” Robert looked down at his silent phone. He’d turned it off after leaving work and hadn’t had the courage to turn it back on. Afraid that he may do something he’d come to regret.

But now that he had a pretty good grasp on how badly his unexpected heat was, he felt more secure in his actions. If he hadn’t done something last night, then there was no reason to believe he’d do anything stupid now.

Also, he kind of wanted Chase to put Beef up on a video chat before he succumbed into a non-verbal mess again. Robert took a minute to estimate that he’d be back on the floor within an hour at most with how he felt.

Plenty of time to see his pup, check up on Chase and maybe get a heads up on how everyone else was doing. The team should have all clocked in hours ago, so if everything was going smoothly then the Z-Team should be out on the field right now.

Robert decided not to hesitate anymore and powered on his phone. Making sure to angle the device so Chase wouldn’t get any fresh imagining of his body below his collarbones.

At first Robert didn’t sense anything off, his phone restarted without a problem and the usual update messaging popped up. Robert just swiped those away. He did see that he’d gotten a message from Blazer last night and a quick click showed it was just her confirming his absence and that it would be filed under a medical emergency, rather than filing his absence under authorized mandatory heat leave. Robert figured she’d done so because he’d probably still have to suffer through his normal cycle in two months' time and the company would only pay him for those days if he took time off within that time frame.

More bullshit that Robert would be happy not to think about. Thankfully Blazer and her team seemed to be ahead of the game when it came to playing office politics.

The screen of his phone glitched, startling him and rendering the phone useless as he thumbed the screen several times. “Shit, I don’t need this piece of crap dying on me.” Robert shook his phone, hoping that some rough handling would fix the issue.

Thankfully, the glitch didn’t last and Robert was able to use his phone like normal. He quickly phoned Chase, deciding that if the man was too busy for a chat then Robert would just leave him a message.

Chase picked up the call immediately but declined the prompt to change from audio to video chat. 

Robert got a foreboding feeling.

“Hey! If it isn’t my good friend…uh Roberta!” Chase whispered with false cheer. “How are you doing, girlfriend?”

Robert pulled the phone from his ear and just stared out into the skyline with deadened eyes. 

Maybe he had died last night and this was his hell.

“Uh, hey? Are you still there?” Chase’s tiny voice took on more of a worried tone and while Robert was already fed up he couldn’t let the old man worry about him unnecessarily.

“Yeah Chase, I’m here.” Robert sighed. “I’m guessing that you're trying to be discreet about who you're talking to? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing wrong. In fact, everyone’s being really productive today.”

“No shit?”

Chase sighed explosively. “Naw I’m fucking with you. This place is two seconds away from blowing up. We really didn’t take into account how the team would freak out with you gone.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?”

“It’s probably the circumstances.” Chase muttered, to himself more than to Robert. “If Flamass didn’t have to be such a bitch and tattle to the rest of his pack then they wouldn’t all be under the impression that you’re dying or mad at them, not sure which is the worst scenario in their twisted little minds.”

“Chase. What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Well, Roberta.” Chase drew out his fake female name sarcastically. “You were right in thinking that most of the department was unaware of your status as an Omega. But what you failed to take into account was that your freak team had been treating you like one for ages now, even when they’d been under the impression you were a Beta at best.”

“What?”

Chase’s sighs got deeper and increasingly annoyed. “Anyway, putting that aside for now.” Chase seemingly ignored Robert’s increased high pitched sputtering. “I’m not sure any of those fuckers realize that you only left because of - you know - and not because you’d gotten sick of their shit. It’s not helped by the fact that your pukie little fuck of a janitor has been acting all smug as shit this morning. I tell you, I had no idea just how big those brass balls on that little shit were before now but if he keeps on antagonizing them, Flambae and Invisigal in particular, you're going to come back to either a man made of human sushi or a bonded Omega.”

“I - shit. Have they been bullying him? Should we contact HR?” Robert chose to focus on the part where Chase mentioned that Waterboy might have a problem with the team and not any of the other stuff. That was something he’d deal with after he hung up the phone and could panic in solitude.

“No.” Chase laughed. “Waterboy’s been bullying them. It’s frankly hilarious and the only reason for why I haven’t walked out today. Almost every mission given to those assholes so far has been labeled a failure and while it's only the morning shift, I think Blazer’s considering having the Z-team go home for the day.”

“Ah shit. That won’t look good to the higher ups, especially since I just had to argue against them forcing an employee cut so soon.” Robert complained, his head was aching again. “Damn it. Who’s dispatching? Maybe I can give them some advice or -”

“Blazer and I have been tag teaming them, so save your breath.” Chase interrupted. “No one else would volunteer to touch this shitshow and for good reason. They were volatile before you came along and while you’ve become something of a miracle worker and inspired those shitheads to actually be proud to be one of the good guys, that doesn’t mean that they are tame.”

“They don’t need to be fucking tamed, Chase. They’re not animals.”

“If it barks, bites and bitches like a dog then I’m calling it a motherfucking dog.”

“You know the whole reason I called was because I wanted to see Beef on video chat before I went under again.” Robert sighed, feeling like he was the aged man and not Chase. “Connect me to the team, I’ll try calming them down so they can do their job.”

“Not sure if hearing from you would calm them or embroil them, but I guess it can’t hurt. Dumb idiots haven’t figured out where your place is yet so there’s one blessing.”

“Why the fuck would they want to know that? I thought they didn’t want to kill me?” Robert couldn’t help but look around his empty apartment. Paranoid that one of the team would just materialize out of thin air. The sad thing was - that was possible with at least two of the superpowered members of the team.

“Oh my sweet summer child, I only wish that were the case.”

“What the hell do you mean by that Chase!”

“Nevermind all that. Listen, I don’t want you to worry too much. Like I said, Blazer will probably end up giving those losers the rest of the week off, without pay of course. Motivate those fuckers to do better next time.”

“Chase, just patch me in please. Oh and if you could get Waterboy added on I’d appreciate it.”

“Fine, it's your funeral. Guess Pack Omega knows best.”

“Yeah I do- wait. What did you call me?!”

“Hold for a moment while I figure this shit out.” Chase replied right before the crazy fucker actually put him on hold, the terrible elevator music was almost enough for Robert to hang up. How the hell did that old timer get that shit on his phone anyway?

Robert didn’t even know what he was going to say? Calm down? Do your job? Ask them if they really did want to be fired? The team already knew all that shit anyway and they were still acting like kindergartners.

What could Robert possibly say to them that would get them to behave?

A dangerous thought occurred to Robert then. One that he would never had entertained if he’d not been in the middle of his heat and pissed off.

If those fuckers wanted to treat him like an Omega, then he’d fucking give him an Omega. One that was pissed as fuck.

It was most certainly going to bite him in the ass after and he’d hate himself even more when he went back to work. But if by some slim chance it worked? Robert would take it.

Chase came back on the phone. “Okay I got those fuckers on hold, half of them are out on stand-by while the rest of them had been stalking the halls looking for easy prey. I’ll patch you in and whenever you done just hang up on those fucks. How about I drop some groceries outside your door tomorrow? I’ll bring Beef with me so you can say your loving shit to your fat faced furbaby through the door.”

“Sounds good, Chase. Thanks. You can come around, but just knock really loud so I’ll hear you, okay?”

“Sure, love you kid.”

“Love you too, unc. Now patch me in, I have a couple of idiots to wrangle.”

Chase’s laughter warmed Robert, leaving a smile on his face. He really needed to hang out more with his uncle and big brother outside of work. 

That smile was wiped clean when the loud click of Robert patching into the comm system of the Z-Team plus Waterboy sounded in his ear. He could already hear them bitching at each other, but it wasn’t the normal way they talked to each other or even when they traded insults. There were actually cutting words full of anger and spite filling the chat and Robert really took note of how serious the situation had gotten. 

The team of Alphas were actually fighting like separated territorial Alphas.

If Robert didn’t fix this then the Z-Team as they knew it would be over with.

Robert took a deep breath and leaned more of his body against the glass, he had one more moment to second guess himself before he allowed his instincts to take over.

“HEY! Shut the hell up before I sew all your mouths shut with dental floss!” The Omegan Roar. Something that Robert had never deployed before as it was similar in use to that of the Alpha Voice. “I don’t know what you all were thinking by sabotaging your own fucking chances of staying in the Phoenix Program but that shit stops now!”

Eight Alphas and one Omega all whimpered simultaneously over the line.

Chapter Text

Robert took control of his breathing by purposely inhaling and exhaling slowly, while making the executive decision to ignore the continued sounds of intimate whimpering that only started tapering off when he didn’t follow up after his singular usage of his Roar. He reasoned that the Alphas most likely haven’t heard an Omega’s roar before, so he’d give them the courtesy of ignoring any and all noises they made after hearing it. Robert was a professional like that. “Okay, now that I have all of your attention, I have a serious question for everyone.” Robert couldn’t stop the low growl that tainted his voice, it wasn’t a Roar, but it wasn’t not a Roar. “What the fuck were you all thinking?”

Robert should have known better than to ask that type of question with this lot, because the clamoring noise of multiple people trying to talk over one another filled his ears. “Hey! One at a time. Let’s start with -” Robert hummed before randomly choosing someone that hopefully wouldn’t anger him right off the bat. “Punch-Up, want to fill me in on why everyone’s acting like someone spiked the water cooler?”

“Lad, I don’t think any of us ‘cept for maybe Waterboyo has ever drank from that contaminated device.” Punch-Up commented. “But that’s beside the point. Who do we gotta kill?”

Robert was highly concerned with the fact that Punch-Up made it sound like the water cooler in the break room had actually been spiked and made a mental note to contact Blazer about starting an investigation into that little nugget of information while also ordering a non-optional physical for Waterboy.

But the larger concern Robert was having was the other part of Punch-Up’s sentence - why the hell were these idiots considering murdering someone? What had he missed?! He’d only been gone a short time!

“Why are you confessing a pre-meditated murder to me?” Robert asked, fed-up with these idiots already. “Listen, I don’t know what weird as hell idea you all have cooking in your heads. But let me be clear, I’m only out of office because I’m - uh.” 

Robert took a calming breath to settle his nerves, as he realized that he’d have to admit that he was suffering from a heat and not only that, he was on the phone with all of them while he was in heat.

Was he the one committing a HR violation now? 

Should he find some way to lie and say he was dying instead? Would that be better or worse?

Waterboy’s voice came over the line, as if he could sense the panic that Robert was feeling. “W-what Robert is trying to say is t-that - ah, he’s gone into an unplanned heat. It - well it's obvious due to - hmm, it's likely because of health concerns.” 

Normally, Robert would have been proud of the younger man, as Waterboy sounded confident with his words and tone while addressing the Z-Team in its entirety.

But he wasn’t sure he liked the implication that his unexpected heat had come about due to his poor health, even if that might be true to some extent. 

Also, saying that had been a guaranteed confirmation that Robert was an Omega. Not that there was much evidence left to the contrary but Robert decided he deserved to be a bit of a bitch about it.

“Right, thank you Waterboy.” Robert said dryly. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the heavy silence over the phone but he powered through his nerves and continued the now one-sided conversation. 

“As Waterboy just said, I'll be out of the office until next week, which means that you idiots need to play nice with the other dispatchers and our boss until I’m good to come back in. I’m sure Blazer has already informed you - but in case it got lost in translation, I’ll say it clearly. None of you, including those on the bottom of the list - looking at you Invisigal - will be cut from the team and thrown out of the program. However, that’s not something I can keep promising if you fucktards keep messing up on purpose.”

“So what I’m hearing is that it wasn’t some bitchass punk who hurt you?” Prism injected, seemingly out of nowhere. “Made you smell all sad and shit? At least that’s what the break room smelled like according to my bestie. By the time everyone else got there, Waterboy was already spritzing the place down with an industrial odor neutralizer. I think my nose is actually broken now from that shit.”

“Does this have to do with why you're all talking about committing a felony?”

“Well yeah, lad.” Punch-Up said. “When Flamboyo blew up the group chat yesterday we all feared the worst. He said and I quote - ” Punch-Up coughed dramatically as Flambae started complaining loudly in order to try talking over him. But someone in person must have been standing near the flame hero because Robert could literally hear someone punching him silent. “Holy shit, I just saw Bobert in the break room and he looked like complete shit. Think someone messed with him? He smells really good but also not and I think that little waterbitch might know something, so maybe I need to have a private talk with -”

“Okay! That’s enough!” Flambae screamed over the line as everyone started laughing uncontrollably. But even as Robert chuckled, he noticed the sound of real panic in his voice and if he wasn’t feeling so confused by this whole conversation, he’d give more thought as to why Flambae would be acting like someone was reading his diary on live stream and not whatever message that Punch-Up was reading from. 

Robert personally didn’t think it sounded that bad, maybe a little cringy but it didn’t sound like he was listening to any deep or dark secrets. But Flambae must have thought differently since he continued to protest. “Holy fucking shit, are you actually reading off my chat message from the group chat? What kind of pissant, little bitch does that? Didn’t we make a pact that what’s said in the chat, stays in the chat?!”

While Punch-Up took offense to Flambae’s words and started a verbal fight that was mostly questioning each other’s integrity and dick size. Robert was coming to realize that he might have an idea of what everyone’s issue was; weird as it was for it to be directed towards him by a highly dangerous group of Alpha ex-villains. 

Was this their version of care? Robert didn’t…dislike it.

“Okay, we’ll get to all that in a minute. But rest assured, no one fucking messes with me besides you dumb fucks.” Robert said. He debated whether to ask Waterboy directly if Flambae had done anything inappropriate, but then he remembered Chase’s words about the lanky man not taking any shit from the group so he withheld his questions for now. 

“Sorry about that, Prism. I know that freshly sprayed chemicals can burn like a bitch so maybe try placing a cool, damp rag over your face and see if it’ll help take away the sting if you're still suffering any effects.” Robert addressed Prism's complaint first as he didn’t enjoy it when the members of Z-Team got injured. He wanted her, all of them really, to know that he was listening to them when stuff like this happened, for them to know that he wouldn’t dismiss any of them no matter how minor the issue happened to be. 

If they were at work right now, Robert would have already been wetting a bunch of paper towels and getting her situated somewhere comfortable. But alas he was at home and couldn’t physically do anything to help her, so all he could do was give her piss poor advice and hope she didn’t get offended by his words.

“Just to clarify about yesterday, my scent patch expired after our last shift of the day but I didn’t notice until Waterboy had to point it out for me. I may have gotten a little anxious about it, which is probably what Flambae smelled on me and confused my worry for - whatever he came up with in his head.” Robert confessed before going right into lightly teasing them to break up any tension there might be from his words. “Also, thanks for cleaning up after me, Waterboy. As of now, Waterboy is now the MVP on the dispatch’s secret chat and my own ranking system.”

“What the fuck, Bertman?” Sonar whined, the faint sounds of Malevola comforting him could be heard among her fit of giggles. “We were literally going to take someone down in your name and you're nominating Wetboy as your secondary? Also - what the hell do you mean? What is the dispatch chat and why are we only hearing about it now?!”

Robert muffled his snickering as he answered the manbat hero. “First off, you're not a dispatcher and I’m sworn in by blood not to say anything, but just so you know, all of Z-Team? Are prime gossip material. Second, I have no idea what you're talking about. Secondary? If you mean that I should put Waterboy in charge of everyone when I’m not there then yeah, okay that sounds like a great idea.”

Robert ignored Waterboy’s stuttering protests as the phone blasted with laughter and protests. Robert just talked right over them, ignoring everyone as he knew they were just protesting for show.

“Remember, murder is bad. We’re trying not to be bad anymore, right? Heroes don’t kill people. So even if someone had tried messing with me you’ll all put on your big boy and girl panties and let me deal with them myself.”

Invisigal laughed, “Damn Robbie-” Robert cringed at the nickname but didn’t argue with it. “Didn’t know you were so passionately against asking for help. Makes sense though with your depressed middle age aura.”

“I’m not against asking for help. I just don’t need it.” Robert said, fully ignoring the feeling of hopelessness that swelled inside him. It was a lie of course, both answers. But like fuck he was going to say anything differently to the people that were technically his subordinates. They’d probably just laugh and tell him to get over it, just like dad and all his old friends other than Chase had said whenever he tried asking for help growing up.

Robert knew he would be a therapist’s nightmare if he ever did decide to go to therapy. Lucky for them, repression was an old hat of his.

“I’m not middle aged by the way. You all just act like toddlers on speed so I look more responsible in comparison to you. So, are we all good now?” Robert asked, feeling like the glass was no longer cooling his body. He’d be entering his next cycle soon by the way heat was beginning to boil under his skin. “You’ll all behave now that you know everything’s fine?”

“Oh Robert.” Coupe spoke up. “I think you’ve misunderstood our intentions. But that’s fine for now, there’s no rush. Subsequently I had a nice chat with a worker here who’d apparently been to your place once before and had some very interesting things to say about it.”

Robert frowned, not getting why Coupe was bringing up his apartment of all things. “Do you mean Royd? I had some junk piled up in my garage so I offered it to the tech team my first week at SDN, he came to pick it all up and helped me move stuff around.” It hurt Robert to call the Mecha Man Suit ‘junk’ but other than Invisigal and Waterboy, the others didn’t know he’d been the superhero Mech Man Blue and for the foreseeable future, he’d like to keep it that way.

“Riiight. Well I got some pretty interesting information from the big man. Apparently your home is empty of all creature comforts?” Coupe aired out his dirty laundry like it was nothing. “Like a bed for example? Also apparently you don’t even own any kitchen supplies or a shower curtain?”

“What the fuck, Bob-Bob?” Flambae growled out. “Are you a living Buddha? Too good for things that keep the rest of the world tolerable?”

“Listen, it’s been a little hectic. I just haven’t gotten around to decking out my place.” Robert said, defensively. Sure, another reason for him not shopping for basic household necessities was because he’d used all of his last few paychecks to just pay rent and funnel the rest to Royd and his little R&D project. But maybe these dicks had a point, loathe that he was to admit it. 

Robert would give his left nut for a soft cushion right now.

Coupe hummed, sounding unconvinced. “I’m sure that’s the reason why your nest is a pile of clothes and spare towels on the floor.”

Robert froze. What - ?

“Shit homegirl, you weren’t supposed to give up the ghost until the rest of us finished getting our shit ready.” Sonar complained. “Do you know how heavy a den mattress is? Between me, Malevola and Lucky Charm here we’re going to barely beat you guys there.”

“W-what? What is happening right now?” Robert demanded. “Coupe. Want to fill me in on why you’re so sure my nest looks like that?” 

“Robert. Look to your left.” Coupe countered.

Robert didn’t want to look. He really didn’t. But his head was already moving and yeah. There was Coupe in the air, flying just to the side of his balcony. If he hadn’t been leaning so hard against the glass he wouldn’t have been able to see her at all. “What the fuck?! How the hell did you get my address?”

“We had Sonar and Visi hack your phone. The moment you turned it back on it gave us a location. Apparently, our little she-devil placed the sleeper program on your phone during your second day at SDN so we just utilized our resources, just like you taught us.” Punch-Up straight up murdered him with his delivery. 

Robert wasn’t sure what to focus on first, the blatantly disrespectful for his privacy and personal items, Coupe spying on him in all his naked glory, or the fact that they were all apparently heading towards his apartment right now.

“G-guys, I told y-you that arriving unannounced isn’t g-good.” Waterboy stuttered out, sounding fed up with them. “C-Chase is already w-wondering where everyone’s g-gone off too. He’s been - urgh, asking q-questions.”

“Aww look at you covering for us.” Sonar cooed. “Such a good Second we have, doing the hard work of keeping the monkeys off our backs.”

Waterboy let out an embarrassed whine and Robert was torn between scolding Sonar and cooing himself. But the most overwhelming emotion he was feeling was anger. How dare these entitled, stupid Alphas just decide to override his own wishes?

“Stop.” Robert growled, his throat vibrating. He could physically feel everyone actively stopping and even spotted Coupe falling out of the sky and landing on the road below, out of sight. “No one is coming over. I’m in heat, idiots. I will not have knothead assholes invading my space while I’m vulnerable, even ones that would be considered safe. So here’s what’s going to happen, you all will be marching back to work where you will do your goddamn jobs and wait for me to come back to kick all your asses.”

It was Waterboy who managed to speak up as everyone else was whimpering near inaudibly with Flambae being particularly loud and high pitched. Even though Waterboy was clearly annoyed by the Alphas’ actions and had known this would blow up in their faces, he still wanted to convey the reason for why they felt like they had to do all this for the older Omega. 

It wouldn’t do for Robert to misinterpret their actions. Even though Waterboy had told them this would happen. It wasn’t his fault that he’d been told the complete fucknut of a plan by Golem too late to do any meaningful damage control.

“Robert…” Waterboy spoke up, firmly letting his own instincts take control, just like he’d practiced talking at home by himself. “Omega. N-none of the members of the pack will invade your - space, if uh - you don’t want them there. H-however, once everyone had learned how sparse your den is, the pack pooled their resources together to purchase you a nesting bed. It’s the b-bare minimum but the m-most important object for a Omega in h-heat to have. If you’ll allow them, Punch-Up and M-Malevola will deliver it quickly and leave just as f-fast.” Waterboy took a deep breath to steady his nerves. So far no one had interrupted him. “Coupe is there to make sure nothing untoth happens and to intervene if necessary. That’s why she is outside. Afterwards, we won’t b-bug you unless y-you call us first.” 

“It’s just as the waterbug says, Robert.” Flambae said, his ridiculous gap tooth was audibly whistling through the call’s feed as his emotions got all worked up. “If you’re feeling that distressed though, I’ll give you all our locations and you can inform Blazer of them.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Robert groaned. He’d backed away from the balcony, but didn’t bother to close the curtains just yet. “What the fuck is even happening?” He mumbled, not even caring that everyone could hear him. “If this gets you all back in the office and not stalking my street then fine. I’ll lock myself in the bathroom so make sure you're quick about it, if you want to deliver the stupid bed then it's all on your paychecks. I’m not gonna pay you back.” 

Not that Robert would be able to even if they requested it from him. Robert might have to buy everyone morning donuts for the next month or two though, to relieve any feelings of guilt at worrying the group unnecessarily and for them using their money on him.

They were acting like him not having a proper nest was the end of the world and Robert couldn’t understand why. Did they think he was that incompetent? That he was so weak that he couldn’t suffer a heat on the ground?

What if this made it more difficult for them to obey him in the field? He wasn’t going to make it a habit to use his Omegan Roar at work, not only because it was a huge HR violation but it was a gray area of legality to use it on Alphas that the Omega weren’t bonded to. He didn’t want to harm them, especially emotionally.

Also, it kind of hurt his throat.

“Of course you're not paying us back!” Prism said, all offended by the implication that they’d demand payment for their actions. “Also, just be glad we’ve now decided to hold onto the rest of the stuff until your housewarming party.”

“...What party?” Robert asked tiredly.

“Pris! That’s supposed to be a secret, now the surprise party is ruined.” Invisigal complained, she then started to narrate all the items they were going to use to make Robert’s apartment festive, which included about ten kinds of booze.

But there were also household items on that list and Robert just mentally checked out at that point.

Golem spoke up for the first time during the call. “Hey, a party is a party and this way Robert can mentally prepare for the upcoming invasion of his den.” The large clay and rock hero had been chilling on the line, listening quietly as everyone else made utter fools of themselves to their Den Omega. 

He’d stayed behind at the SDN with Waterboy, helping to field questions from Blonde Blazer about the locations of the rest of the Z-Team. All the while having a pleasant gossip session with the Omega about the employees in the office. Both of them were frequently overlooked by others; Golem because people thought he was nothing but a dumb construct with no personality and Waterboy, because of his anxiety, stutter and lack of control of his powers. So the two of them got to see most things that other people missed, which made for prime gossip.

Prism could only wish she had half the dirt these two held over everyone’s heads.

“It’s not an invasion!” Invisigal argued. “We were just going to arrive and celebrate Robbie having to deal with us for the rest of his life.”

“I said what I said.” Golem answered calmly. “Robert. If you need me to cement any of them, just say the word. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure their heads are unsealed as murder is frowned upon at the SDN.”

Protests filled the phone but Robert was no longer paying close attention, even though he found Golem’s words funny and not at all concerning. His heat had started bothering him half-way through the call, and now he was worried that the others would be able to tell that he was succumbing to another wave while still on the phone.

He had to quickly cover his mouth to stop the others from hearing him moaning near silently.

“S-shit.” Robert cursed into the meat of his palm. Carefully he took his hand away, chewing harshly on his tongue and hoping that the stinging pain would help him focus. “Okay, while this is all very i-interesting. I think we need to cut things short. Malevola, how much longer do you think you’ll be?” 

Even with him trying to hide it, the others clearly heard the tension in his voice and reacted accordingly.

Which by that, Robert meant that they all fell into a panic circle like the little freaks they were.

“Hey! You bitches all need to shut up.” Flambae yelled over everyone’s noisy fretting. “Rob here needs to actually hear Mal’s answer. Sonar, I need you to take Invisigal back to the office before she follows after the others. Prism, help me finish purchasing this shit, we’ll hold this stuff at my house until next week’s party.”

“Who died and made you head Alpha?” Invisigal challenged, her tone informed everyone that she wasn’t going to just do as she’d been told and was looking for a fight. Robert had gotten very familiar with that inflection in her voice while he’d directed her on missions she disliked. “If I want to go to Robert’s place then who’s gonna stop me?” Her growl held a hint of feralness. Robert was unsure if that was a sign of her actually feeling feral or if she was just being a bitch and wanted to make it everyone’s problem.

Robert was about to inject his own two-cents into the conflict, as he really did not want Invisigal anywhere near him while he was in the middle of heat as her impulse control was fragile at best, when someone else beat him to it.

“Visi.” Waterboy’s normally anxious cadence was gone. In its place was the voice of a pissed off Omega. “Out of all of us, you are on the bottom of the totem poll when it comes to the pack. If o-only because of your past actions with Robert, he’d already told you he wasn’t i-interested in pursuing a sexual relationship with you and I know you’ll respect that.”

Somehow, Waterboy’s voice got even rougher. “Normally. But can you tell us that you’ll continue to r-respect that after you smell him in heat? Know your place and do as Flambae ordered. Sonar, get a hold of her in case she bolts.”

Waterboy wasn’t even using his own Roar and yet Robert knew his words were impacting the others in a way that was shocking and gratifying for everyone. Whoever ended up snatching that absolute gem of an Omega would end up being a lucky fuck.

“Don’t worry my dude, I got her.” Sonar said, the sound of scuffling faint in the background. “We’ll head back now and check in with Chase and Blazer. Golem, are you all good there?”

“Yeah.” Golem said solemnly. “Waterboy’s taking a minute. He’s…angry right now.”

“Understandable.” Coupe’s voice was dark and unforgiving. “Invisigal, we’ll be having a little discussion between us girls after work tonight. Robert, Malevola and Punch-Up will be arriving within five minutes. Please lock yourself in your bathroom, they shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to set the piece of furniture down in your living room.”

“D-don’t touch any of my stuff.” Robert mumbled, already stumbling towards the bathroom. 

“Don’t you worry, laddie.” Punch-Up said. “We’re just gonna place this in the middle of the room and skedaddle. That way, you can shuffle it around until it’s perfect without having us knotheads messing it up.” Punch-Up chuckled. “Uh, also for transparency, we have a sealed bag with some articles of clothing from each of us. It’s all clean and totally optional, but we felt like it was the bare minimum we could do for you on such short notice without overwhelming yah.”

Robert paused in the middle of closing the bathroom door behind him. “Huh. I’ve never had anyone offer their scents before. Are you sure you want to provide that? I know how private people’s scents are.” Robert was trying to convince himself that they were only offering out of a sense of obligation and maybe to one-up one another.

But there was only so much that Robert could lamely excuse in his head. He wasn’t an idiot, but on the other hand he couldn’t understand why everyone was acting that way towards him.

“Bob-Bob.” Robert was on alert when Flambae’s tone of seriousness came over the line. “Listen to me very carefully. We don’t do anything we don’t want, as a group and alone. Remember, we may be former villains but we’re no goodie-two-shoes like the rest of you crazy fucks.”

“We’ve only known you for a few weeks, but during that time you’ve shown us that you can hang with the big dogs and not run off with your tail between your legs. Not sure if Blonde ever told you, but we’d gone through five other dispatchers before you had the misfortune of accepting the job. One after another, those bitches could barely tolerate us by the end of their first shift.”

“Hold the heart-to-hearts until later Flambae.” Coupe said, interrupting the other Alpha, who grumbled but conceded that now wasn’t a good time to get all introspective. “I don’t think Robert’s in any position to hear you right now. Even outside, I’m getting a slight scent of Robert’s state and it’s not looking good right now.”

“Sorry about that laddie, we’ll be in and out really quick. Remember to lock that door and maybe go to the furthest part in the room. Coupe darling? You got good eyes on me and Malevola?”

“Yeah.” Coupe’s voice had only a slight strain to it. “Hurry the hell up though.”

“Got it.” Malevola confirmed. “We’re just down the hall now. Robert, can you confirm you're locked in the bathroom?”

Robert opened his mouth but instead of actually answering he fucking whined, unable to answer the simple question as a flash of heat rolled through his stomach. His inner omega was whining at the thought of his Alphas being so close to him.

Modified, Robert slammed his head against the shower tiles behind him. After he’d enclosed and locked himself in the small room, he’d curled up in the tub, his body resembled nothing less than a tight, naked ball of horny depression.

Robert couldn’t understand why his Omegan instincts were going haywire now of all times. Sure, he’d known that just talking to the group of Alphas would probably get his inner instincts all flared up but he hadn’t expected this level of distress so soon. He should have had at least another 20 minutes before his symptoms even got this bad.

Was it just the idea of three Alphas outside his den? He hadn’t exactly felt needy when seeing Coupe, although she’d mostly stayed out of his sight so it wasn’t like he’d been able to get a good enough look at her to offset his instincts. Which could be considered a blessing if this was how his inner instincts were acting up from just hearing their voices over the line for a short ten minute conversation.

He could hear the others, not just on the phone but in his apartment as well. Malevola must have used her powers to get them inside because Robert completely forgot to unlock the door for them.

Robert realized his hold on his phone had loosened, with the device almost falling from his grip. Lifting it back up Robert ignored the cascade of voices and willed his own body to fucking work for him a little longer. “I’m fine.” He said tensely. “Just got hit with a wave. Ple-please tell me you're already gone?”

“Yah lad. My lady here ported us out onto the street a few seconds ago.” Punch-Up’s voice sounded all soft and nice. The sound of which was almost enough for Robert to start purring. Luckily he had the sense to dig his nails into his leg, the pain stopped him from embarrassing himself. “Coupe’s gonna escort the two of us home. Waterboy, can you inform Blonde Blazer that the three of us are calling out sick for today?”

“What’s wrong?” Robert asked. For a moment, his concern overridden his fuzzy brain and his thoughts became clearer than when he’d first gone into pre-heat.

“Don’ worry about it. We just - um.”

“What Punch-Up is trying to say is that the both of us got hit strongly by your scent and need to fuck it out, Coupe’s just being a real one and invited me into their den so we could spend the time together helping each other out. We’ll all be back into work tomorrow but unless you want us distracted, we’re taking responsibility and calling out.” Malevola stated. Robert could hear the faint tension in her voice, showing him just how affected she become by just getting a hint of his residue scent for a minute or two.

“Wh-wait!” Sonar whined over the line. “I want to join! Let me call off too-”

“No o-one else is c-calling off.” Waterboy’s voice came back online and Robert would deny the huge sense of relief at hearing the other Omega’s voice. “I’ve informed Chase a-about our actions, but he already k-knew enough. He’s also planning on stopping over t-tomorrow to check on Robert so let’s all r-respect that.” Waterboy’s said so calmly that it was hard to imagine that he’d been angry earlier.

“Thanks.” Robert murmured gently. “All of you. I’ll…hmmm.” Robert wiggled his bony ass, his slick was now soaking under him and causing him to slip down the cold acrylic tube. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

“But it’s Wednesday?" Prism said. “Wait, how long does your heat usually last? I thought heats were like a three day max thing.”

“I said what I said.” Robert said as firmly as possible. “Please behave. I don’t want Chase to have to patch me through again until I’m feeling better.”

“Ah shit. He’s using guilt tactics." Flambae muttered. “Bitch knows that’s gonna make us feel gross if we purposely fuck up now just so he’ll call us.”

Robert mimicked strangling someone. No one was around to see it but the gesture made him feel better. “I’m hanging up. If Chase says you all have been good little boys and girls, then maybe I’ll call someone this weekend.”

“Wait! Who-”

Robert hung up and dropped the phone on the floor next to the tube. Not feeling even a little mean about it. Let those brats twist themselves into knots in order to show off who could achieve the highest number of successful missions for the rest of the week. 

The answer would have been Waterboy either way, but he wasn’t going to ruin it by telling them that. Waterboy wasn’t even an active hero but the jobs he did around the office were highly appreciated and the other employees tend to refer to them as missions behind his back.

He decided to stay there on the bottom of the tub for now, letting his slick just slide right down the drain. While he was curious about the new bed outside the door, he’d rather not spoil it right now when he couldn’t even think straight.

Sure his neck hurt and he was fucking freezing but if he was lucky this wave would be short.

Robert tried not to knowingly acknowledge that his inner Omega was less lonely after that call. While he still felt the urge to cry, it wasn’t because of how depressed he was - but by the strain in his privates.

Reaching down, Robert resigned himself to rubbing a couple, unsatisfying orgasms out before he dared to crawl back out of the bathroom.

Chapter Text

Hours later, Robert finally dragged his sorry ass out of the bathroom. He’d turned on the water at some point, letting the lukewarm water cascade down onto him from the shower head and spill out onto the tiles. He knew he would need to clean that up if he didn’t want to accidentally slip later but Robert couldn’t bring himself to give a shit.

The warm water helped his mood tremendously and getting the slick, cum and sweat that had accumulated on his skin all washed off was like he’d stepped in nirvana. But just the effort to clean himself properly had been physically taxing and now all Robert wanted to do was sleep the rest of the day away.

After leaving the bathroom, Robert walked over to check the front door, happy to see it was still deadlocked and chained properly. Then realizing that he couldn’t ignore it any longer he turned his attention to the elephant in the room. 

Or to be more exact - the huge ass nesting bed in the middle of his living room.

It was much bigger than he anticipated it being and he realized that there was no way he’d be able to move it around on his own. Robert didn’t know what he’d expected really, but this clearly hadn’t been anything close to what he had in mind. He’d seen a few nest beds advertised in magazines and commercials and while the standard size was usually the same width and length of a full size bed, there were cheaper ones that ran twin-sized and were made out of cheaper but more affordable fabrics.

This motherfucker? Was easily the size of a Family King or even an Emperor mattress. It took up literally half the floor space of his living room and if it hadn’t been pushed back to the furthest corner of the room, he wouldn’t have been able to walk to the balcony doors without having to crawl on top of it.

“How the fuck did they carry this shit here?” Feeling gobblesmack by the implications of such a feat, Robert drifted closer to the fluffy new bedding.

Noticing a large double pack of soft nesting blankets situated on the bed, Robert wasted no time in tearing it open and pulling them out to feel the luxurious plush fabric.

“Oh shit.” Robert breathed out as he lifted the soft fabric to rub against his face. “Oh shit.”

Soft soft soft.

Without hearing himself, Robert looked over at his sad little floor nest and picked up Beef’s bed, leaving everything else behind. 

He only realized that he was vocally keening when he pulled his dirty shirt off the dog bed. He quickly dropped the shirt on the bed and placed Beef’s bedding back in its proper spot. He'd still wipe it down later, even though the only body fluids that may have tainted it were tears and sweat.

Robert wrapped one of his new nesting blankets around his shoulders, the soft keening finally trailing off as he engulfed his body in the soft material. The weight comforted him and took away any lingering chills that had accumulated from walking around his apartment naked. He hadn’t bothered to get redressed after leaving the bathroom.

Not only because his options consisted of work outfits and little else, but just the thought of putting anything on his already irritated body made him want to punch someone.

Looking back at the nest bed, Robert realized that it must have easily been the most expensive one available on the commercial market. Not just accounting for its size but by all the fancy materials used both inside and outside the bedding. He’d only pressed a hand down on the bed and already he could tell that this right here was what celebrities used for their heats and ruts.

Looking down, Robert’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he realized something else. Since the bed was so big, it could easily accommodate four or more people, especially if they didn’t mind squeezing together.

Somehow he had a feeling that the Z-Team had taken that into account when purchasing the monstrosity.

Fucking entitled dickbags. He had half a mind to sic Chase on them all with a squirt bottle full of tobacco sauce and then send them on a joint mission to an animal farm or something similar.

Robert turned to look at the grocery bags on the kitchen counter, all labeled with the logo of a nearby grocery store. Riffling through them showed some healthier but still easily ready meals. Sadly there were no twinkies or other types of prepackaged pastries, which should have been a crime in and on itself.

Robert distracted himself by fueling up and sending a short text to Chase, telling him everything was still fine and that he’d be turning off his phone for the night. So if anything popped up he’d be on his own dealing with it.

Robert got a text back of a middle finger. Smiling, Robert powered down the phone and then remembered what had happened earlier with the glitch and the explanation for it. Grimacing, Robert felt especially slow, knowing that he should have realized what was happening sooner but he’d been so spaced out lately that he’d totally missed the telltale of a hack. 

As a hacker, Robert could only hang his head and keep a better eye on his appliances.

Robert made a mental note to purchase a new phone when the dust had settled and he could go back out in public without being mobbed by gross scent hounds. Robert wasn’t going to keep a device that blatantly had spy tech embedded in it; even if it had only been activated for non-nefarious reasons. 

Robert wasn’t going to allow the Z-Team or anyone else for that matter, to put a tracking collar on him.

Even if he’d been temporarily retired by force and unfortunate circumstances, he was fucking Mecha Man Blue. He’d been a superhero for over ten years and had to rely on no one but himself that entire time. 

He wasn’t going to be downgraded as some damsel in distress. So even if it had only been activated with well meaning intentions, Robert was shutting that shit down fast.

Robert finally turned his attention to the other problem in the room. The vacuumed sealed garment bag that was full of different articles of clothing. Since the plastic bag was clear, Robert was able to get a good look at the items without opening it.

He was relieved to see that most of them looked to be different types of shirts. Although it took him a minute to wonder about the ugly tea towel and realize that the fabric must have been holding Golem’s scent as the hero didn’t typically wear clothing.

Then Robert noticed that there was a secondary bag mixed in with the clothes. It didn’t take Robert more than a second to realize that the article of clothing probably held Waterboy’s scent. It was a thoughtful gesture for the group to have not mixed the other omega’s scent in with the alphas, giving Robert the option to intermingle them at his own leisure.

Although that didn’t seem to be the case for the rest of the team. The Alphas had compiled their scent articles so tightly together that if he wanted to scent one specific one, he’d have to take them all first. “Smart pricks.” Robert muttered as he nervously fiddled with the bag.

He knew what people would say if he added the Alphas - any Alpha - scents to his den and nest, especially if he was in heat. Sure, it could be interpreted as a familial comforting gesture and for some of the members of the Z-Team that could definitely apply, even if he only meant it in the loosest meaning of the term. 

Because Chase was family, Beef was family.

Z-Team was - ?

“That’s the million dollar question that I will not be answering today.” Robert sighed and left the sealed bag by the bed. 

Robert’s head was still active, although to a lesser degree then he’d presumed and would normally suffer at this date. Having scents of Alphas that he trusted in his nest would go a long way in helping ease his way through the rest of the heat and hormones.

But - he’d rather focus on relaxing with just his natural scent for the moment and not have to worry about twisting himself into knots about anyone else. Especially since the nest was brand new and barely held scent at all. He thought there might be the faintest hint of scents from the others on the surface of the bed but he was equally sure that it was his imagination.

All Alphas at the office wore scent patches, so that would stand to reason that Malevola, Punch-Up and the others would have been wearing them when they delivered the bed. There was nothing on the plush, soft material other than the smell of Robert’s apartment. It was just his inner Omega wanting to taste their scents that made him imagine them.

That’s why Robert decided to keep the bag sealed, at least for now. When his head was clearer and his heat was behind him, Robert would open the bag and allow himself the privilege and indulgence to appreciate the gift that the team had offered to him without demanding anything back.

“Huh, my imaginary therapist would be so proud of me.” Robert laughed weakly as he buried himself in the plush bed, his body sinking slowly into the lavish material as he let his mind wander aimlessly. 

Robert reached out and pulled yesterday’s shirt towards his face, the scents from before had faded greatly. So that the fabric mostly just smelled like him, but held the aftertaste of desperation and arousal.

Not a minute later Robert was throwing the article of clothing onto the ground, a tired and pissed off growl followed its path as he buried his head deeper into the bed in the hopes he could suffocate himself to sleep before his next wave hit.