Chapter Text
Highschool hadn’t at all gone the way Steve expected it to. He’d been late to present. Most of his friends and classmates had presented at the normal age, in their preteens. Steve had been certain that he’d present as an alpha, his father was an alpha and his mother was an omega. Statistically, it was a pretty good chance he’d present as either an alpha or omega, since both presentations ran in his family. The fact that his first gender was male, and he wasn’t small or as nurturing or feminine as most omegas tended to be, led his family to believe that he would be an alpha.
But he just… hadn’t presented.
He passed through his preteen years with no changes. Developed as the standard beta. It was unexpected and his parents were disappointed that he turned out to be unremarkable in this way too. They tried to trigger his alpha hormones by exposing him to all sorts of omegas that they hoped would be compatible, but nothing.
Steve made peace with the fact that he was a beta.
He managed to keep his popularity and his reputation. He worked at being good at sex and ruled Hawkins High through a harmless but charming bravado. People were surprised by the fact that he hadn’t presented as an alpha, but Steve adjusted, kept playing to his strengths and holding his own despite being a beta. Sometimes it even worked in his favour. He could sleep with any girl or male omega without judgement and there were few stereotypes that were based on him being a beta.
He found himself a girlfriend at 17, a female beta named Nancy Wheeler.
Everything changed when a dark blue Camaro flew into the parking lot. Steve looked up from where he was with Nancy and watched as a guy who’s appearance screamed alpha at him got out, along with a preteen. Observing for a moment, Steve watched as the alpha confidently strutted through the parking lot as if it belonged to him. Steve caught a faint whiff of a scent. The guy’s pheromones must’ve been strong for a beta to scent it from probably 15 feet away. Either that or he’d doused himself in cologne. Steve felt an uncomfortable pang in his gut. He had skipped breakfast this morning, and he was regretting it. His stomach would probably growl all through the morning classes.
He parted with Nancy with a kiss.
Steve’s first class was English. He’d failed the class last year, so he was taking grade 11 English again. Mr Berkshire gave him a pointed look when Steve moved to sit in the back, and with a sigh, he took a seat in the middle. Steve stared at whatever the teacher was writing on the board uncomprehendingly. His stomach was aching pretty badly, and it was distracting from the already difficult task of reading. He could see the words swimming in front of him, and he knew he would end up with a big mess of misspelled notes.
A sharp pain tore through his gut and Steve gasped in shock. He curled up a little in his chair. His head was throbbing now too, the scent of chocolate and leather filling his nose. His head was pounding. He winced at the bright light and closed his eyes for a moment, desperate for relief. His guts burned and he curled up a little more. He felt like he was going to be sick. As a hand landed on his shoulder, he jolted. He opened bleary eyes, whining at having to expose his eyes to the fucking awful fluorescent lights. Mr Berkshire had a hand on his shoulder, looking concerned. Steve glanced around the classroom and realized that everyone was staring at him. Steve spasmed as another wave of burning torturous pain tore through him, a wrecked, desperate sound forcing its way from his chest.
He hadn’t even noticed that he was making noises until now, with one hand buried in his shirt and the other clutching the desk tightly, his fingers turning white from the grip. Was he dying? Had his appendix burst? Were his kidneys failing?
It slowly dawned on him that Mr Berkshire was saying something to him. He tried to focus on the man, his head feeling like someone had replaced his brain with cotton.
“Mr Harrington, are you alright?”
Steve shook his head slightly, closing his eyes again at the way it made his brain throb. Could someone please turn off the fucking lights?
“No, hurts.” Steve forced out.
“What hurts?” Mr Berkshire asks.
Steve tried to convince himself to answer, but he just let out a groan of pain.
An annoyed voice cut in, “Sir, he’s presenting.”
Steve didn’t even look up to see who spoke. He just clenched his eyes shut and put his head down, waiting for the pain to go away. His pants seemed damp with something. He’s not sure if he’s peed himself with the pain but can hardly bring himself to care. It feels like he’s being stabbed.
Mr Berkshire was talking again, something about someone going to get the nurse when the irritated voice interrupts again.
“No point in bringing the nurse here. He needs to get out of here. I’ll bring him to the nurse.”
The voice sounds tense and sharp. Steve wishes everyone would shut up.
“Very well, Mr Hargrove. Do you need any help getting him there?” Mr Berkshire offers, but Steve doesn’t know what help he would be. Mr Berkshire is built like a twig.
“No need.”
Then somebody is grabbing his hands and positioning them on solid shoulders. Steve cracks open his eyes and catches a glimpse of the new guy before he’s being pulled into a princess carry and Steve cries out in pain as he’s forced to uncurl himself. He grips down hard on the new guy’s shoulders, hard enough to bruise. When the pain dulls enough for him to open his eyes again, the new guy, Hargrove, is already carrying him down the hallway. Steve blinks in surprise as his everything is filled with the overpowering scent of leather and chocolate. The scent is warm and soothing and despite the harsh frown on Hargrove’s face, Steve gets the feeling that he’s deliberately trying to calm him. The pain even seems to abate a little. Steve pushes himself closer, trying to absorb all that scent, get closer to the source because any relief from this pain is desperately wanted. Steve burrows his face into Hargrove’s neck, greedily inhaling that delicious scent. He nearly moans in relief. His stomach still aches, but the pain is dulled by several degrees. Hargrove grunts and shifts his hold on him. They reach a door and the guy has to balance Steve awkwardly to free his hand to open it. Once they get inside, Hargrove tries to put him down and Steve can’t help but beg.
“Please, please, don’t. Don’t go. Don’t leave.”
He tightens his hold around Hargrove’s neck, not letting go. No amount of embarrassment could make him let go. Hargrove is the best painkiller and he can’t bear another second of feeling like someone had torn a hole in his abdomen.
Hargrove grunts, then sighs and settles Steve in his lap, but Steve doesn’t care. He just clings and replaces his head into the crook of Hargrove’s neck. He sighs.
“Thank you.”
A door slides open, but Steve doesn’t bother to look. He can’t move from this position. He needs this right now.
A woman inhales sharply. “Is that boy in heat? What are you doing?” She chides.
Hargrove replies, voice strained. “It’s his first. He’s in a lot of pain and he won’t let go.”
Steve’s finally calming down enough to register what is happening now. The realization washes over him like he’s had a bucket of cold water dumped on his head.
“Am I presenting?” He asks from Hargrove’s neck.
“It seems that way.” The woman says.
Steve tries to process that.
“I’m presenting as an Omega?” He asks disbelievingly.
“Yes.”
Steve frowns. “But I’m 18. I’m too old to present.” He argues.
“It’s uncommon, but some people present later in life.” The nurse explains.
Steve is quiet for a while. He’s an Omega. He’s growing a womb. That’s why it hurts. His internal organs are rearranging themselves to make space for a fucking uterus.
Now that the pain isn’t numbing, Steve’s aware of how wet his pants are and he’s sitting on Hargrove’s lap.
“I’m so sorry. I’m making a mess. I should let you go,” Steve says, then proceeds to not move. He really should move. He’s probably getting pee or slick or something on this random guy’s lap. He tries to pull away a little, but the pain returns and he makes a whiny sound. Hargrove pushes him back into his neck.
“Take some meds first.” He says shortly.
Steve blushes, burying his face in this guy’s impressively muscular shoulder.
“I’m sorry.”
Steve feels Hargrove’s chest rise and fall as he huffs a breath.
“It’s fine.”
The nurse interrupts their pitiful conversation.
“I’ve got some painkillers here. You just need to swallow them. Can you do that, Steve?” She asks.
Steve nods even though he’s not sure because he can’t very well hang on Hargrove like a monkey forever. He pulls away a little to grab the pills and take a sip of water to wash them down. They settle badly in his strained, empty stomach. He experiences a wave of nausea and curls back into Hargrove’s neck.
“There’s not much else we can do. You’ll be in for a rough week. I’ll contact your parents to pick you up. And… Mr?”
“Hargrove. Billy Hargrove.” Steve’s unfortunate teddy bear says.
“Mr Hargrove, I’ll write a note for your teacher to dismiss you from the class you missed. Are you planning to stay to comfort Mr Harrington for now?” She asks.
Hargrove shrugs.
“I can stay until the meds kick in.” He says.
Steve chooses now to interrupt.
“Um, I don’t think you’ll get a hold of my parents. They’re at a conference in Washington. They’re really busy.” He explains to the nurse.
The nurse hums sympathetically and Steve wants to disappear, wants to take a nap. He sags further into Hargrove, exhausted and sore.
“Well, I’ll leave you for a moment. I need to report this to the office.” The nurse says and the door shuts.
“So your name’s Steve Harrington?” Hargrove asks.
“Yeah, and you’re Billy Hargrove?” Steve asks.
“Mhmm.” Billy acknowledges.
“I’m so sorry. I’m ruining your clothes,” Steve apologizes.
Billy shrugs again. “Yeah. It’ll be impossible to get the blood out.” He agrees.
Steve sits up. “Blood?!”
Billy nods. “Yeah. You’re bleeding from your ass. Don’t worry about it.”
Steve pauses. He vaguely remembers that the whole growing new organs and genitals is a fucking messy process for male omegas and female alphas. He guesses it must be even more difficult because his body had the time to fully develop his male bits and now also had to make room for female bits too. So fucking weird.
“Oh.” is all he says in reply.
Then a thought strikes him. “How did you know I was presenting?”
Billy moves to shrug again but seems to stop himself for whatever reason.
“Your scent. You smelled like something, I don’t know, rotten or sour or whatever. Smelled bad. Like rotten apples. Came out of nowhere, then you started freaking out. Put two and two together.” Billy explains dismissively.
Steve nods slowly. That makes sense.
There’s a long moment of silence, then Billy speaks again. “You ready to let go?”
Steve’s about to protest when he realizes the painkillers have probably already kicked in.
“Ah. Sorry.” He says, climbing off his lap and sitting next to him. Now that he can see Billy’s face, it’s clear he’s uncomfortable.
“Are you okay?” Steve asks.
Billy glances at him and huffs a laugh.
“I’m fine, pretty boy. You’re the one who’s bleeding out his asshole and smelled like pain concentrate a minute ago.” Billy’s lips twitch downward like he’s remembering the smell.
Steve winces. That sounds awful. He can’t smell anything about himself.
“What do I smell like now?” He asks curiously before realizing how fucking intimate that question is.
Billy shrugs. “Like apple pie? Warm apple pie, to be specific. Something kind of cinnamon-like in there too.” He says.
Steve blinks. That sounds okay. Sweet, but hopefully not too sweet. He’s met some omegas that had such sweet scents that even as a beta, they’d given him a headache.
Another cramp hits him, but it’s dulled by the painkillers. Still, Billy seems to notice his wince and casually pulls his shirt off and tosses it at him. “Keep it. It should help a little.” Billy says. He looks so damn comfortable in his own skin, sitting there and on display and unaffected by being shirtless in the nurse’s office.
Steve catches himself staring and shakes himself out of it. What is he thinking? He has a girlfriend. Then he pauses. Nancy. Nancy’s a Beta. Steve’s an Omega now. Can they even stay together? It’s an odd coupling. Almost unheard of. They wouldn’t be able to have kids. Or maybe they could? Steve still had a functional dick, so maybe he could still have a family that way. Would Nancy care? Would she be okay with dating someone like him? People would definitely talk if they stayed together, but they loved each other. Surely that meant something. They couldn’t break up over this. Steve could give up on the whole having kids thing if he had to. Nancy was the one. He couldn’t lose her over this.
A crinkling sound pulled Steve out of his thoughts. Billy was popping a piece of gum in his mouth. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Steve looking. “Want one?” He offers, holding out the pack.
Steve shakes his head and Billy shrugs, stuffing the pack back into his bloodstained jeans. Steve’s also suddenly aware that during his musings, he’d raised the shirt to his nose, breathing in the scent to soothe himself.
He feels a trickle of shame. He’s going nuts over the scent of some random Alpha while he has a girlfriend. Isn’t this like cheating or something? Or do the circumstances excuse it? He doesn’t have a clue. Hargrove doesn’t seem to be interested in him that way. He looks… bored? Concerned? At least if he’s reading the weird tense posture the alpha has correctly. His scent is in full on soothing mode, steadily pumping out calming pheromones in reaction to the stressed and pained pheromones Steve is undoubtedly producing.
“Where are you from? You’re new here, right?” Steve asks.
Billy gives him a long look. “California. Lived right near the coast. Just moved here a few weeks ago.” He says.
Steve nods. “That’s cool. My parents brought me on vacation to Cali one year. I got burnt like a lobster.” He says, his thought-to-word filter failing a little. Billy doesn’t seem to mind. He just laughs.
“Maybe try sunscreen next time.” He suggests.
Steve grins sheepishly. “Yeah. Bit of a stupid move. To be fair, I was only 10.”
Billy nods a little.
The school nurse returns and she’s looking harried.
“So, turns out you were right, Mr Harrington. Your parents are difficult to get hold of. We’ve tried the emergency contact, but it seems to have been outdated. Do you know your parent’s cell number? Or perhaps the hotel they’re staying at?” She asks.
Steve pauses. He does know their number but they rarely answer, whether it’s because they’re busy or they just want to avoid talking to him, he doesn’t know.
“I’m technically an adult. Couldn’t I just go home?” He asks.
The nurse hesitates. “The first heat during presentation is the most difficult. It's risky to spend it without a caregiver.” She explains.
Steve nods. “I can get a friend to help. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
The nurse looks conflicted. “Well, as long as you have someone with you, it should be fine. You’ll need painkillers and plenty of food, water and rest to get through. Do you have a way home?” She asks.
“Yeah. I’ve got a car and my house isn’t too far.” He says.
The nurse purses her lips like she is unsatisfied with his plan, but nods. “Alright. You’ll be excused for the week. Please take care.” She says.
Steve smiles and nods.
“Yeah, of course. Thanks for your help. And uh, thank you too, Billy. I’m sorry for this whole mess.” He says.
Billy stares at him then he looks away, smacking his gum. “Whatever. It wasn’t a big deal.” He says dismissively.
“Uh, your shirt?” Steve says, holding out the alpha’s shirt.
Billy just smirks. “Keep it. As a souvenir.”
Like a first heat was a field trip to New York that he needed a memento to properly appreciate.
Steve stares at him. Billy’s smile twitches into something more mischievous, like he’s trying not to laugh in Steve’s face. Steve shakes his head in disbelief and bemusement.
“See you around, pretty boy,” Billy says, leaning back casually. His tongue peeks out to wet his lips.
“Yeah, see you, Billy.” Steve says.
Steve gives a little wave and heads to the parking lot. He climbs into his BMW, wincing as he sits on his bloody ass. He’s going to need to clean the seat.