Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Being mated, being wanted and loved and claimed, having not one, but two alphas, is all part of an omega’s dream. Well, it’s Sapnap’s dream anyway, that’s why he feels so grateful. He’s got two amazing mates who are not only alphas, but his best friends, and the fact that they’re all together makes their pack even stronger, in Sapnap’s opinion.

He loves everything about the other two men, from their demeanors to their different dynamics, their differing personalities and their looks. They’re both hot in every single way, it’s hard for Sapnap to find flaws - not that he actively seeks out their flaws, but if he did, he knows he’d find slim to none. Everything about them, their bond, and their relationship makes Sapnap feel warm, inside and out.

He’s loved both Dream and George for a very long time, long before they all lived together. He never had the courage to speak up about it, even after George moved in and something between the three’s dynamic had shifted. It felt newer, sweeter, more loving, and perhaps it was because they officially became a pack once George moved in, but something within their interpersonal relationships with each other changed too.

Dream was the one who pointed it out, always the natural leader amongst them. So of course, he took initiative and confessed first. He told them both that he thinks they’re a great pack and they’d be even greater mates, though he didn’t pressure them to agree. He said that if they didn’t reciprocate his feelings, he wouldn’t hold it against them, but of course Sapnap eagerly agreed. George followed close behind.

It’s an odd dynamic, perhaps. Two alphas and a single omega. A lot of people might assume it’d be troublesome, because of alphas’ instincts and possessiveness over their omegas, but there hasn’t been any trouble. The two alphas get along just fine; of course they do, it’s Dream and George. The two never argue, Dream is too much of a peacemaker for that to happen. And George doesn’t tease and push Dream around the same way he does with Sapnap.

See, maybe if George and Sapnap were the alphas while Dream was the omega, there would be problems. Sapnap and George go after each other all the time, but it’s how they bond now. Before it was how they got under each other’s skin and hurt one another’s feelings (or rather, how George hurt Sapnap’s feelings), but ever since their conversation about being kinder to each other, their banter and teasing has become much more playful.

God, Sapnap is so in love. George is so perfect, with his witty comments, sly comebacks, charm and beauty. His deep brown eyes that promise fun and adventure, his scent that smells like pine trees during the winter time, cool and natural and fresh. His sharp jawline, his enticing voice with that insanely hot accent of his, the stubble that lines his face, and his fluffy brown hair that curls at the back when it gets a little too long. When Dream has busy days of work, George provides Sapnap with company and entertainment, and they always have a good time. His humour, his grossness, his playfulness - his energy always matches Sapnap’s so well.

And Dream, well, he’s perfect too. His never-ending kindness, the warmth and love he provides, his forgiveness and patience. He’s goofy and funny, always making Sapnap laugh and never failing to bring a smile to Sapnap and George’s faces. His ability to communicate, even during stressful situations, and the way he helps mediate arguments when George and Sapnap take their bits a tad too far. His wooly dirty-blond curls that are always soft to the touch, his gorgeous laugh and beautiful green eyes. His Greek God-like build, handsome face and broad shoulders. Fuck, his scent, sweet but a bit sharp, exciting and warming, like eating candy canes next to a warm fire.

Although maybe that warm fire Sapnap feels doesn’t come from Dream’s scent, and more so from Sapnap himself, from his core. They’ve been together for a month now, mating bites and all, and Sapnap has yet to experience a heat with them. It’s bound to happen eventually though, and he’s pretty sure it’s starting soon.

His body has felt more exhausted lately, muscles sore and tired, making him feel sleepy and making it hard to move. He’s started feeling more warm too, not enough to sweat intensely yet but enough that he knows he’ll be drenched soon enough. His scent, chocolatey and cozy, like the smell of hot cocoa on a cold day, has started to become more prominent - sweeter - and stronger, too. He’s also started cramping, although not enough that it stops him from doing things.

Still, he knows it only gets worse from here. Especially because he’s avoided having heat partners for so long, although his mates don’t know exactly why. They don’t need to know the full story, just that he had a shitty heat partner at some point in his life.

They don’t need to know that he was nineteen while his partner had been in his late twenties, and they certainly don’t need to know about that alpha’s carelessness yet constant need for control. His desire to put Sapnap down, make him feel like he was nothing but a filthy omega who was made to be used. They don’t need to know Sapnap was too afraid to reach out for help, and why he went IA for a couple months before moving in with Dream.

It’s all in the past now, he knows, but it’ll be okay because Dream and George are his future. Still, it’s hard, and he’s scared. Terrified, even. The alpha was so aggressive, even with him, it almost felt like his protective alpha instincts and the comfort he was supposed to provide Sapnap during his heats just didn’t exist.

Sapnap knows Dream and George are much different though, and he knows they’ll cherish him and take good care of him. They’ll help him through it, give him the safety he needs, and they’ll work together to give Sapnap the best experience possible. They’re good alphas like that, and even better mates too. Dream and George have never had a serious fight before, because the two alphas care about each other deeply, which is pretty fucking rare. Sapnap is very glad to be where he is right now.

…Even if it means laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, dreading the next few days as his body sweats and muscles pull tight, making him ache all over. Maybe his heat is approaching sooner than he initially thought, but he at least has time to prepare, mentally and physically. He’s sure Dream and George can smell it, but he’ll let them know anyway. He needs to be around them right now.

But first…

He rolls over in Dream’s bed, whining softly as he rubs his cheeks against the pillows. He feels giddy, butterflies fluttering around in his stomach at the thought of this being their shared main bedroom. It makes sense, Dream has the biggest bed and his room feels the safest since he’s the leader of their pack, but it never makes Sapnap any less happy to think about.

He continues spreading his scent over the pillows, another quiet whine slipping from his throat as a wave of intense heat washes over his body, making him shudder and wince slightly. Just like most omegas, Sapnap hates his heat.

This is just pre-heat right now though, the cramps not nearly as bad as they will be, the soreness of his body at a minimum, the temperature of everything not quite unbearable yet. He huffs, sitting up slowly before reaching his hands out towards Dream’s pillows. He pauses, looking around the bed before deciding where the perfect place to put them is.

It’s instinctual, the way he builds his nest in such a specific way, each item being placed in very particular spots. It feels right like this, his hands doing their own thing, getting the work done, scratching at the itch in his brain.

He whines at the lack of George’s belongings, the other alpha’s scent missing from what has now become the start of Sapnap’s nest. He doesn’t want to get up, he wants to text Dream and George and ask them to gather things for his nest, get snacks and drinks, help him prepare for his heat. It’s natural for an omega to want the help of his alphas.

But he needs to do this part himself, at the very least. He can’t rely on them entirely, he needs to be there for himself too. He wasn’t there for himself back when he should’ve been, and it led him to the worst experience of his life. He knows that his new alphas are different, but he can’t help but feel a little anxious. One wrong move from either of them and it could send him spiralling, reliving a part of his life that he just wants to forget.

If he texts them and asks for help but they say no, then just that alone will screw him over. He can’t rely on them as much as he wants to, he just can’t. Even if it’s merely omega instincts he can’t exactly control. He needs to be his own biggest supporter during his heat with them.

Besides, all he needs to do right now is get up and grab some clothes from George’s room. It’s not like it’ll kill him to do this stuff on his own.

With a nervous sigh, the Texan slowly gets out of his unfinished nest, standing on his shaky legs and taking a deep breath before trudging out of his mate’s bedroom. He beelines for George’s room, happy to see the door open because that usually means George isn’t there, but as soon as he steps inside he freezes at the sight of his alpha laying in bed on his phone.

Naturally, he feels a wave of relief wash over him. George’s strong, comforting pine scent refreshes him the way a cold shower on a hot summer day would. It makes him untense slightly, makes his brain feel just a bit more foggy.

But then, internally, Sapnap cringes. He can’t let himself do this again, he can’t put so much faith into an alpha. Especially one like George.

Not that George would do anything to hurt him, of course, especially during his heat. But George is an alpha who leans towards the lazier side, to put it lightly. He doesn’t exactly take certain responsibilities seriously, cuts corners and avoids harder tasks. Sapnap doesn’t really want to find out whether or not he’d act similarly while he’s in heat, so he does his best to ignore George right now.

A part of him wishes he could leave the Brit’s room and pretend this didn’t happen, come back for his belongings when he’s not in here and avoid getting hurt. But George has seen him, and his nose is sniffing the air. He can smell Sapnap, can most definitely smell the pre-heat and it’s probably going to make his alpha brain go insane. The younger man can only hope that his new alpha has more self-control than the last, but he won’t hold anything against George if he doesn’t.

“Why do you smell so… anxious?” George asks after a moment, a concerned frown tugging at his lips.

The question catches Sapnap off guard, not at all expecting George to focus on the smell of his emotions. His previous alpha only ever smelt the sweet warm smell of heat and slick, regardless of what Sapnap was feeling.

“Um,” Sapnap starts, unsure. He looks around the bedroom, eyes locking onto a hoodie that’s on the floor. He steps further into the room and picks it up, holding it to his chest and avoiding eye contact with the older man, “my heat is going to start soon.”

“I know,” George hums, standing up, “I can smell that too. But omegas don’t usually smell this- like- distressed about it. What’s going on?”

It feels so out of character for George to be so concerned and caring, Sapnap nearly takes it as him making fun of him if it weren’t for the soothing, calming scent coming from the Brit along with the comforting rumble of his low growl.

The alpha gets out of bed and approaches the omega slowly, still frowning and looking a bit worried. Sapnap does his best to keep ignoring him as he continues collecting clothes, pillows, and other items from his room so he can bring it back to his nest.

“Sapnap?”

“I’m fine, George, it’s just- you know. You know.”

George scoffs and rolls his eyes, crossing his arms, “I don’t. Talk to me.”

“Stop,” Sapnap whines, turning back towards the door once he decides he’s got enough of George’s things, “you’re being weird.”

George’s scent suddenly becomes much stronger, making it nearly impossible for the omega to ignore him. It’s like a spell, the way alphas’ scents override an omega’s brain during their pre-heats and heats. It doesn’t take much for them to gain control, and that’s another reason why Sapnap is so scared. He can’t allow himself to lose control over his own brain this time.

He wants to go back to Dream’s room, or rather, their room, but the wintry pine wood coming from the older man makes Sapnap want to stay.

“Are you being like this because of… um, the thing you told Dream and I?”

The Texan nods stiffly, eyes still trained on the door. He stays put though, unable to leave until George gives him permission to. He wants to please his alpha, especially if it means his scent grows stronger.

“Let me help you,” George whispers, gently placing a hand on Sapnap’s shoulder, “I just want to take care of you.”

“You’re being weird,” Sapnap accuses again, frowning, “you’re not acting like yourself.”

The Brit sighs, walking with the younger man towards the door as he explains; “I’m acting like your alpha. I want to help you out and make sure you’re okay, I care about you, even if I don’t always show it.”

Sapnap doesn’t say anything after that, still trying to figure out whether or not this is some sick, cruel prank of George’s. Maybe he’s masking his real scent that would reveal his true intentions, and that’s why Sapnap can’t smell anything other than worry and care from his alpha.

“Don’t be stupid, I’m not going to hurt you, idiot. Not now when you’re like… this,” George scoffs, wrapping an arm around Sapnap’s shoulders as he guides him down the hall back to Dream’s bedroom.

At least that brought some semblance of reassurance to the omega. He’s still George, a little mean, but with good intentions and (almost) always meaning well.

Once in the room, Sapnap drops what he gathered from George’s room on the centre of the bed, whining when he realises he doesn’t have some of his own things.

“What?” George asks.

“Um,” Sapnap starts, keeping his eyes on the small pile of clothes, still refusing to look his alpha in the eyes, “nothing.”

He clambers into the nest, prickles of anxiety crawling up his neck and making his stomach feel like it’s in knots while he continues building up his nest. His sweet cocoa scent smells a little spoiled, and he knows that must be pissing the alpha off.

What if George gets too annoyed? What if he gets frustrated by the smell of fear and anxiety when in reality Sapnap should be feeling safe with him? So frustrated in fact that he bites Sapnap a little too hard, claws at him, hits him, kicks him out of his own nest?

He doesn’t want to get kicked out of his own nest again, not now. Not during a time like this. He can’t, he- he could take anything else but-

“Hey, hey,” George calls, that cold refreshing pine hitting Sapnap like an unexpected avalanche.

It helps put a stop to the rapid breathing he wasn’t aware had started up, and makes his hands stop shaking so much too. The tears beading at his waterline slip down his cheeks, only a few, but George seems to notice.

“He did more than you told us about,” the alpha mutters, and even though it’s not a question, Sapnap nods anyway.

He opens his mouth to apologise, but George speaks first.

“Don’t apologise. Just- work on your nest, and I’ll be with you the whole time, okay?”

Sapnap nods again slowly, sniffling quietly while his cheeks burn from embarrassment. He’s crying over literally nothing, he’s being a baby and George probably wants to make fun of him so badly right now.

Much slower than when he started, Sapnap puts the pieces of the puzzle together. He puts everything where it should go while George stands beside the bed and watches, but then, when Sapnap runs out of George’s things, he frowns at the lack of his own belongings.

He wants the nest to have all three of their scents, not just his alphas’, even though he’ll be in the nest so it’ll actively smell like him. It just feels more put together with something from all of them though, not quite complete with just Dream and George’s things. The problem is that he doesn’t really have the energy to get up and go to his own room to get some of his things, the cramps are starting up again and-

“I can go grab some stuff from your room, if you’d like?”

Sapnap’s eyes light up a little, and for the first time today, he looks George in the eyes. The brown that bears into him are soft and kind, loving and welcoming. But he also looks like he knows something, which is a little confusing to Sapnap, but he doesn’t think anything more of it.

“Yes, please,” Sapnap whispers, curling up in the safety of his nearly-completed nest, “thank you, alpha.”

George’s chest rumbles with a low, comforting growl in response to Sapnap’s absent-minded purring, and after another moment, the young omega hears him walk away, leaving him alone in the bedroom and alone with his thoughts.

Immediately, Sapnap feels the way his entire body untenses, which seems a little opposite to how it should be but he doesn’t blame himself. A heavy sigh follows, along with a heavy feeling in his chest that he can’t quite get rid of. Dread.

He grunts, irritated with himself, with his situation, and with the confusion that comes with not knowing how to fix it all. He pushes his face further into the mattress, feeling so lost and downright frustrated, and then, he takes in a slow, deep breath. His omega brain melts at the wondrous smell of candy canes as it fills his nostrils and puts him in a hazier state of mind, making him take another deep breath, and then another. The bed smells so good, so much like his other alpha, and while it does ease something in Sapnap’s terrified brain, it scares him at the same time.

He knows this is different. He knows that, his rational brain understands that it’s totally unfair to compare his abusive ex to his- his fucking soulmates, but he can’t help it. He’s scared, this went horribly with his first alpha and he doesn’t know what he’ll do with himself if something goes wrong again. He feels so bad for feeling scared of them, for being scared of this - a completely natural, normal process of an omega’s life - but he can’t just unlearn the behaviours that created what felt like safety for him at the worst point in his life.

Footsteps padding against the carpeted floor snap Sapnap out of his spiral, and immediately he sits up despite the horrid feeling starting to pull his guts apart. He bows his head in submission as well as in thanks to George for bringing him stuff from his room. The Brit could’ve easily just told Sapnap to go fuck himself - in normal George fashion - but he didn’t, and Sapnap is grateful for it.

“Sap,” George sighs quietly, and he almost sounds sad. Sapnap just sits there though, waits for praise. He’s being good, he’s doing what he’s supposed to. Respecting his alpha, showcasing his submission to him, staying silent and not speaking until spoken to.

Unless Sapnap was supposed to answer to that? Was George asking him to speak? He did directly say his name, he called him, but he didn’t say anything else afterwards, so what does he want Sapnap to say?

Sapnap whimpers, stomach sinking at the confusion. Confusion isn’t good, uncertainty isn’t good, it only leads to danger.

He moves over, allowing George into the nest if he wants to come in. Maybe that’s what George wanted, and even though Sapnap doesn’t want him in here right now, maybe-

“Baby,” George calls, softer. He kneels down beside the bed in an attempt to make eye contact with the omega, which is weird to Sapnap but he doesn’t question it. As an omega, he should never question an alpha.

He doesn’t avoid George’s gaze when their eyes meet, so he doesn’t miss the pained look he sees either.

“You’re shaking.”

Sapnap’s not really sure what to say. He hadn’t noticed it was happening, but yeah, he’s trembling a little bit. He’s scared because he’s confused, because being confused and not understanding his alpha has screwed him over in the past, sue him, whatever. He’s fine though, George doesn’t have to look so… worried.

“I’m not entirely sure how to help you,” George admits after a long silent pause, “I don’t want to scare you, or make you feel, like, pressured or anything. But this stuff isn’t… my strong suit, I guess. I- I dunno, Dream is better at this than I am. But I want to help, tell me how to help.”

Sapnap shrugs in response, not sure how to help himself either. He’s almost in a fight-or-flight state right now, brain feeling frantic, body cold and hesitant. He just wants to do whatever his alpha wants to do, because if he does that then nothing could go wrong, right?

“Can I come into your nest?” George asks, standing back up. Sapnap presses his nose into the mattress again, shutting his eyes as he shrugs once more.

It’s entirely up to George, what he wants to do. Sapnap has no say, and as much as he told himself he wanted to stand up for himself this time, the safety of just doing whatever is asked of him rather than fighting back is much easier.

“Sap, work with me here, come on,”

He smells annoyed. Or mildly frustrated, mostly concerned, like he wants to help but he’s upset that he doesn’t know how. Upset because Sapnap won’t tell him how. Therefore he’s upset at Sapnap.

His alpha is angry at him.

“I’m sorry,” Sapnap whimpers, lifting his head back up to look George in the eyes earnestly, “If it would make you feel better then come into my nest.”

George frowns, his scent becoming a little less frigid. “But what do you want? And I want you to be honest, I promise I'll be okay with whatever you want.”

Sapnap looks around at his nest, the safety of it surrounding him and only him being the last thing holding him together. He doesn’t want to give it up just yet, can’t let his alpha in until he feels safe enough to completely go into heat.

George is surprisingly patient, quiet while he watches the omega carefully. Sapnap can’t see it but he can feel the way those eyes are burning into him, paying attention to every little detail, every shift in his body and facial expression, looking for any sign of discomfort.

“I- I don’t want you in my nest yet,” Sapnap hesitates, ice cold fear shooting down his spine at the thought of denying his alpha, “I-”

“Don’t apologise again, you’re okay,” George assures, his calming scent growing the more relaxed the Texan becomes.“Do you want me to leave or would you like me to just sit next to the bed for now?”

Sapnap blinks at him a couple times, hugging his knees to his chest while he tries to calm his rapidly beating heart. “You’re not mad I denied your request to come into my nest..?”

“It’s your nest,” George shrugs, “your rules. Normally I’d be annoying about it but this is a very different situation. I don’t… I don’t wanna mess up.”

Sapnap tilts his head to the side like a curious puppy, the casual conversation helping distract him from his fears, though they still linger.

“You don’t wanna mess up what?”

“Things with you,” George admits shyly, looking away, “I like you a lot, and Dream too, and like.. Ugh. This- I don’t- you know?”

The Texan cracks a smile at the admission, heart warming at George getting all sentimental - well, as sentimental as he can be.

“You’re cute,” Sapnap compliments, still staring at George while he waits to meet his eyes again.

“Shut up,” George huffs with a roll of his eyes, though he does eventually turn his head back to look at the younger man again, “is there anything else you need?”

Sapnap thinks about it for a moment, the adrenaline racing through his veins slowly fading out as he remembers that this is George. His best friend George who he’s known and loved for years, George who is goofy and annoying and obnoxious, George who pushes all his buttons to get a reaction out of him but always loves him no matter what, George who shows his love in his own unique George ways.

“I’m scared,” Sapnap admits, allowing himself to be vulnerable with George despite where being vulnerable with his heat partner led him last time.

“I know,” George replies, “and I’m not going to tell you not to be because you can’t help it, but you know you can trust me, right?”

“Can I?” Sapnap teases lightly, a playful smile on his face. He doesn’t want to be so sad and serious with George for the entirety of his heat, he wants to be able to banter and joke and poke and prod the way they always do. Maybe just being themselves will help him out more too.

“No, actually,” George scoffs, “no, as soon as you’re in heat I’m going to- I’m going to explode you.”

“You’re going to explode me?” the omega questions with an incredulous laugh, “what does that even mean?”

“With TNT,” George continues, “I’m going to place TNT blocks around you while you nap in your nest and then set it off with flint and steel.”

“You’ve got it all planned out, huh?”

“Well, yeah, duh,” George smiles, “I’m the smartest out of all of us, I always have everything perfectly planned out.”

“You know, I think our fans get their delusional-ness from you,” Sapnap jokes, giggling to himself at the little pout he gets.

“I’m going to spit on you.”

Sapnap sits up, scrunching his nose in disgust, “What?? Ew, do not!”

“I will!” George shouts, standing up while loudly gathering spit in his mouth.

“No! NO! George-” Sapnap yells, laughter between each shout as he rolls onto his stomach and hides his face away in the pillows of his nest. He stays there for a while, even as George laughs because he doesn’t trust that he won’t spit on him mid-laugh anyway.

“I won’t, I won’t,” George assures between chuckles, “I’m too good of an alpha to do that.”

“Uh-huh,” Sapnap agrees sarcastically, voice muffled by the material in front of his face, “too much of a prim and proper alpha to spit, right?”

“Yeah,” George agrees, “I’m very prim and proper. That’s, like, a British thing,”

Finally, Sapnap rolls over onto his back and holds out his arms, making grabby hands at George and silently inviting him into his nest. “A British thing?”

George lights up at the invitation, his scent growing a little stronger and making the room smell much more like him. It’s comforting, scratches that itch in Sapnap’s brain, and it scratches it even more so when he hums in agreement and growls happily as he climbs into the nest, curling up next to his omega. The sound makes Sapnap feel warm all over, although that could be another wave of pre-heat preparing him for the overbearing feeling of constant heat.

“British people are disgusting, George,” Sapnap scoffs, unable to keep from smiling.

“So are Texans, but okay,” George shoots back, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“You’re supposed to be taking care of me and instead you’re bullying me,” Sapnap whines, kicking his legs out both for dramatic effect and because his cramps are kicking in again.

“Poor baby,” George teases, wrapping his arms around Sapnap and pulling him close. He presses his cheek to Sapnap’s neck, scenting him while growling quietly. Immediately, Sapnap nearly tears up at the action. His first heat partner only scented him if he was “a good enough toy”, but here George is, doing it with no hesitation and without asking anything of Sapnap in return.

“Was I too mean?” George asks quietly, cupping the younger man’s cheek, “I thought we were just joking-”

“I’m happy,” Sapnap smiles, his eyes actually watering now, “bittersweet, I guess. I- you’re scenting me and it’s making me happy.”

“Oh,” George says with a small smile, looking away briefly, shyly, before looking back at his mate and kissing him softly. Immediately, Sapnap melts into the kiss, letting George take control, allowing him to do whatever he wants.

George pulls away after a moment, which Sapnap is grateful for because he’s not really feeling up to getting knotted quite yet, but he wouldn’t have stopped the alpha if he’d tried. Maybe George knew that.

“You look tired,” George comments, poking at the eyebags underneath Sapnap’s eyes.

“I am,” the Texan replies, lightly pushing his face into George’s touch, “I’ve been tired all afternoon, pre-heat is the worst.”

“Then let’s take a nap, I’m tired too,” George tells him with a yawn as if to prove his point, “Sooo eepy.”

“Right, because you never sleep.” Sapnap teases, closing his eyes and pressing into his alpha’s space.

Slowly, he rubs his cheek against the older man’s chest, unsure of whether or not George is okay with being scented by him right now. Sapnap doesn’t just smell like himself, he smells like pre-heat, and soon he’ll smell like heat too. Some alphas don’t really like walking around with the smell of omega-in-heat clinging to them.

George doesn’t make him stop though. He growls, a low rumble that silently holds Sapnap together, hugging him tight. It’s at this moment right here, with his eyes closed and sleep tugging at him, that Sapnap realises this is the happiest he’s ever felt during a heat.

———

Everything hurts. His entire body is covered in sweat, he’s panting, his body is cramping and in desperate need of a knot, and Jesus Christ the amount of slick he’s producing right now has got to be, like, fucking unnatural. His last alpha always hated when he made this much slick - this unnecessary mess - so Sapnap can only hope that George will be different.

But it’s truly never been this bad before. This is the absolute worst way to get woken up from a nap, no doubt about it.

Sapnap groans, steadily peeling his eyes open which he immediately regrets. The light in the bedroom is still on and it’s far too bright right now, there’s no natural lighting seeping in because the curtains are closed, and his vision is blurry because it always is after a long nap. How long was he out for?

Sharp pains stab at his insides, making him feel like he’s being ripped apart from the inside out. Now his eyes get blurry for a different reason, wet with tears of pain, the agony of the cramps too much. What does he do?

His alpha is asleep right now, and if he knows anything about having an alpha help him with his heat it’s that it’s up to the alpha to decide when they breed. But man these cramps are fucking killer, maybe he should just take an ibuprofen and try to go back to sleep. Or he could try to convince George to wake up and fuck him sooner…

How does he entice him though? How does he wake him up without being annoying and ticking George off? He can’t lose the help he now has, not when he’s so close to getting what he wants.

Shakily, Sapnap sits up, wincing when another razor sharp pain zaps through his body. Knife after knife drags through his insides, tearing him apart, but he tries not to fall over as he slowly crawls into George’s lap, straddling him.

The alpha’s cock is big beneath his ass, and the feeling of it even with clothes between them makes more slick leak from Sapnap’s wet, loose hole. He whimpers, his scent dizzying even to himself. He smells much too sweet, far too obnoxious, there’s no way George is going to want to do anything with him when he wakes up.

The thought pains him, especially considering George might just leave if the smell becomes too much. Sapnap wouldn’t hold it against him, but it’d still hurt. He takes a deep breath, trying his best to calm his scent, but he knows there’s nothing he can do to change his entire biology in the span of however long it takes for George to wake up.

Every omega smells much more intensely sweet during their heats, and it normally entices alphas, but that’s not the case for Sapnap. In his experience, it angers alphas, comes across as him trying to be the big guy or whatever.

God, he hates himself, he hates that he can’t stop himself from grinding his ass against George’s soft, clothed cock. He hates how desperately he needs it inside him, he hates how he’s losing control of his own brain even though losing control of his own brain is what got him in so much trouble last time. He needs to hang on, he has to, but he can’t.

He’s slipping away, and maybe there’s a part of him that just wants to let go and give up control but he shouldn’t. Biologically it’s almost impossible for omegas to stay in control of their own minds during heats, they just become needy knot-craving sex fiends but Sapnap can’t let that happen.

“Please, Alpha,” he whimpers under his breath anyways, wishing there were no clothes between them, wishing George’s cock was planted deep inside of him, pounding into him, relieving him of the cramps that are surely slowly killing him.

He needs there to be less layers between them immediately.

Quickly, Sapnap scrambles off George’s lap and all but rips his own clothes off, tossing them to the floor. He cringes at how wet his shorts sound when they hit the ground, cringes even harder when the sweet smell of slick and heat strengthens now that he’s fully naked.

He’s made so many fucking mistakes so far, he’s screwed when George wakes up, but it’s like something else is taking over his body as he swiftly clambers back into George’s lap and starts grinding against him again.

Slick pools out of him, making a mess of George’s own shorts, and the delicious smell of hot cocoa takes over, leaving no room for any other scent, even George’s.

“I’m sorry,” Sapnap whines quietly, suddenly choking on a sob. His body shakes with need and with fear, but he just can’t stop. He needs a knot, the cramps are so bad, and he hates himself for being a bad omega and losing control like this but he can’t help it.

He shuts his eyes and grits his teeth, squaring his jaw as he focuses on grinding right on George’s dick at a perfect enough angle that he can feel the tip press against his hole despite the layer that keeps them apart.

He tries to keep quiet as he grinds, and tries to satisfy himself enough with this. George will fuck him when he wants to fuck him, he can’t expect George to wake up from his nap just to take care of some cramping. He’s being a bad omega expecting that of him, this has to be enough for now.

“Mmn, S’pn’p,” George groans sleepily, hands slowly lifting to rest on his hips.

“I’m sorry,” Sapnap sobs, tears streaming down his face, both because of the guilt and shame and because of the painful cramps, “Alpha, I- I need- I’m sorry.”

“Shhh,” George soothes, squeezing the younger man’s hips as he tiredly blinks his eyes open, “off.”

Sapnap wilts, movements immediately halting. He was bad. He was bad and now George is angry at him, George is going to tell him off, George is going to kick him out of his nest, hit him, bite him-

“You’re okay, I’m going to knot you, okay?” George interrupts, moving when Sapnap gets off of him, “Present for me.”

Sapnap shudders at the thought of finally getting fucked, tears still silently rolling down his cheeks but at least he doesn’t feel like sobbing anymore.

He sniffles, getting on his hands and knees before pressing his head down into the mattress and sticking his ass up in the air. He spreads his knees slightly, exposing his hole to the cool air, his scent growing even more.

“Sorry, I’m sorry,” he whimpers, cringing at his own smell. It’s revolting, and he’s sure George thinks so too.

“My sweet omega,” George compliments, growling lowly. The sound of clothes being tossed aside and landing on the floor makes Sapnap’s stomach roll with excitement, “you’re perfect.”

“Alpha,” Sapnap moans, wiggling his hips and pushing his ass back, “breed me, breed me, want your knot!”

“I know,” George answers. Sapnap can’t see him right now but he can hear him moving around, feel the shift in weight in the mattress, and he knows the older man is right behind him.

Suddenly, cold hands grab his hips again, sending a shock through his system, and nails dig into his skin slightly. Sapnap shudders yet again, his eyes rolling back as a gasped moan is punched out of him when the feeling of a long, wet muscle meets his slick hole.

“Fuck,” George moans as he breathes in sharply, “you smell and taste fucking incredible.”

“Alpha,” Sapnap whines, high-pitched and needy. His body shakes with need, fingers digging into the mattress, gripping the cover for dear life as he tries to hold himself at least a little bit together. He can’t lose control.

“You’re so good, Nick, you’re doing amazing,” George praises, the use of Sapnap’s real name pushing Sapnap that much closer to the edge.

“Wan’ your knot, Alpha, please,” Sapnap begs pathetically, pushing his face into the sheets and shaking his ass enticingly.

“I know, baby,” George mutters, gently running his hand up and down Sapnap’s spine, “fuck, you’re driving me insane. I- I’m trying to- I don’t want to scare you by getting carried away.”

The Brit’s words are barely registering in his brain now, and the realisation brings tears to Sapnap’s eyes. There’s nothing he can do to keep control, it’s slipping through his fingers and all he can do is lay here and accept it.

He lets out a broken sob when George’s tongue meets his hole again, briefly sliding in before pulling back out, licking all around and cleaning Sapnap up. The sensation is amazing, the feeling of being wanted so desperately is even better. The fact that George likes him, likes his slick, likes his scent- fuck, he’s so close already.

“A-Alpha,” Sapnap stutters, body trembling, “close, please, wanna cum,”

George giggles, still gently petting Sapnap’s back, “You can cum whenever you want to, my sweet omega, you don’t have to ask for permission. Okay?”

“Yes- yes Alpha,” Sapnap chokes, biting back tears.

Everything feels overwhelmingly good but at the same time, he still worries. What if he fucks up while out of control and he gets in trouble for something he doesn’t even remember doing? That happened a lot with his first heat partner, it made him feel really guilty. He apparently made a lot more mistakes while out of it, sometimes even got aggressive and hurt his alpha. Or so he was told. He doesn’t remember though, it was a long time ago and again, he wasn’t in control of his own brain and body when these things happened.

He whimpers, nervous as it all slips away from him and he starts melting into the omega-in-heat mindset, desperate for a knot and nothing else.

“Shhh, relax,” George whispers, wrapping his arms around the younger man’s waist as he leans over him.

They’re chest to back, it’s very intimate, especially when George nibbles and licks Sapnap’s mating mark. He scents him too, growling quietly, and the feeling rumbles against Sapnap’s back. All of it makes Sapnap feel warm and safe, loved and wanted and accepted.

He purrs loudly in response, tilting his head to the side to accept more nibbles and licks. George gives him just that, reminding the omega that he’s his mate, now and forever. They both have the marks to prove it.

As George continues to lick and nibble, three long, cold fingers slip inside of Sapnap, and he’s so loose that there’s no resistance at all. He pushes back against them, moaning, wanting more, wanting a knot, but for now George just fingers him. Really fucking fast.

Sapnap is a moaning, shaking mess, begging and gripping at the sheets, biting at his own arms while he gets finger blasted by his Alpha, who is still clinging onto him and keeping close. It only takes a few seconds before more slick is squirting out of him, getting all over George’s hand and dripping down the younger man’s thighs. His dick jumps too, a bit of liquidy cum shooting from it.

That- that’s never happened before…

“Alpha!” Sapnap shouts as he cums from his hole and his dick, wanting infinitely more. It’s not enough to stop the cramps, but fuck does it feel good.

George doesn’t stop, he keeps going, fingers moving at such a quick and harsh pace. He curls them, slamming them into Sapnap’s prostate repeatedly, all while still nipping at Sapnap’s shoulders and neck.

“Ah, ah, fuck, Al-Alpha!” Sapnap struggles, legs shaking as he takes what George gives him. It feels so fucking good, he’s so skilled. He knows exactly how fast to move his fingers, exactly where to put them to make Sapnap feel good, and he’s doing all that while making sure Sapnap knows he’s loved.

Another orgasm is coming up before Sapnap knows it, his scent somehow growing stronger while his body shakes more too. His moans become obnoxiously loud, his eyes shut tightly, he can feel his mouth moving and he knows words are coming out, but he can’t hear what he’s saying. His ears are ringing, brain dizzy as he cums again so soon after the first time.

George’s comforting, possessive growl is the only thing Sapnap hears, the only thing his brain processes, as well as the feeling of George holding onto him tighter. After a few more seconds, his fingers slow to a stop and then they slip out. George lets go of him and pulls away, sitting up while the wet sound of his tongue licking and sucking his fingers clean fills the room.

Sapnap’s legs feel weak, still shaking slightly from how good that was. He still desperately needs a knot to fill him up, wants to be pumped full of George’s cum and carry his pup, but the cramps have lessened a little bit. He rubs his cheek against the mattress below him, panting and shaking as a wave of overwhelming warmth washes over him. The cramps are always what hurt the most, but the feeling of the heat itself is a close second. Those waves of heightened temperature feel like Florida on a hot summer day, humid and dry, sticky and making it hard to breathe. The feeling is so fucking hot that it almost feels ice cold, and it drives Sapnap nuts. It’s overwhelming, it makes him want to cry. He wants it to go away but there’s nothing he can do about it.

More cramps tearing through him is what does it, and immediately he’s sobbing again, begging for George’s knot yet again. His words are slurred, vision blurry with tears and need, brain numb and ears still ringing. When George speaks again, he’s able to zero in on his voice, but just barely.

“Poor baby,” he coos, petting Sapnap’s back and ass for a few seconds before digging his nails into his hips and slowly pushing in, “fuck, you feel amazing, holy shit, Nick.”

“Alpha,” Sapnap cries, tears rolling down his nose. He sniffles, pushing his ass back against his alpha as he waits for the man to fuck him stupid.

“I’m here, I’ve got you,” George promises as he pulls out almost all the way before slamming back into the Texan.

“Ah,” Sapnap moans, somehow arching his back even more. He tilts his head back, purring loudly when George grips onto his hair with one hand while the other remains firmly placed on his hip.

In a matter of seconds, the alpha is roughly slamming into the younger man, fucking him so hard the entire bed creaks and shakes, Possessive, animalistic growls escape him, the sound like music to Sapnap’s ears. Before he knows it, he’s cumming yet again, his slick wetting George’s dick and his hole tightening around it.

“Fuck yeah, good boy, being so good for me,” The Brit praises behind gritted teeth.

He groans with each thrust, the wet sound of slicked skin slapping filling the room and making Sapnap dizzy. George is pounding him in just the right spot, and with the way he changes his angle every so often it makes Sapnap wonder if the older man is paying attention to his sounds and reactions and is actually trying to make him feel good too.

The thought of that warms Sapnap’s heart. It feels like George truly cares, and Sapnap knew that already of course, but the way he’s fucking Sapnap and focussing on his pleasure as much as his own feels like reassurance.

“So fucking tight, holy shit, I’m gonna breed you,” George growls, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around Sapnap’s waist again, pressing his chest to his back. “You want that? Wanna get pregnant with my pups?”

“Yes!” Sapnap sobs, body shaking, fingers digging into the sheets while his eyes roll back again, the pleasure almost too much, “Breed me!”

“My pretty omega,” George grunts, fucking Sapnap so hard he feels like a cartoon character seeing stars when they get dizzy. Not too long after, the Texan feels his alpha’s warm cum paint his insides, warming him from the inside out and instantly making him feel better, especially with the knot that follows.

They’re locked together, and for the first time ever, Sapnap couldn’t be happier to be locked like this with an alpha. It feels right, it feels safe, and it feels good. The cramps are gone, his insides stretched with George’s large knot, and the idea of getting impregnated doesn’t just turn Sapnap on, but it eases something in his omega brain, helping him to relax.

The two are a heaving, panting mess, sweat and cum and slick covering their bodies, but neither of them seem to care. The room smells incredible, both of their scents powerful and melding together perfectly, creating a soft, cozy environment for the both of them. Sapnap’s eyelids feel heavy again, each blink becoming slower and slower until eventually his eyes are closed. He’s calm, at peace, and he trusts George to take care of him. Finally, Sapnap is experiencing his first ever good heat with a perfect alpha who truly loves him. Nothing could go wrong right now.

Until his eyes shoot open at the smell of… Something truly rancid. It’s disgusting, the omega’s nose scrunching in disgust while he shifts uncomfortably. He wants to lay down on his side, and he’s hoping George gets the hint, but then his ears catch up to his nose and he hears the low, aggressive and protective growl from his alpha.

It sends ice-cold fear racing down Sapnap’s spine, because why on Earth does George smell and sound like that right now? Although, now that Sapnap gives the air a proper sniff and fully listens, it sounds and smells like it’s not coming from just George.

Two aggressive growls, two foul smells, and it doesn’t really click for Sapnap until in-between all the different smells is that of candy canes on Christmas morning.

Dream?

Sapnap turns his head, a frightened whimper slipping out without his permission. Just as his eyes meet the doorway, he sees Dream’s tall figure stalk off down the hall, one of the two gross smells and terrifying sounds leaving with him.

Were George and Dream growling at… each other? Because of Sapnap’s heat? Because George is knotting him?

They were supposed to be getting along, Sapnap thought it was safe and okay to have a heat with them, he thought-

“Shh, baby, you’re okay,” George soothes, licking his mark and scenting his neck once more.

George smells good again, refreshing pinewood filling Sapnap’s nostrils and making him feel almost high as he inhales it. It makes him sleepy again too, the exhaustion from his heat and being knotted making it much too easy to fall asleep. Even though he now has a million questions he wants to ask George, the omega is out like a light before any of the words he wants to say ever make it to his mouth.

Chapter Text

Being two alphas in a relationship with an omega is bound to have its consequences.

That’s what both George and Dream have told Sapnap on separate occasions, but they both obviously agreed to keep it under control and not go all alpha-brained insane on each other.

Back when Sapnap was explaining his fears to Dream and George, the two reminded him that they love each other, that they’d both die before they even think about hurting each other. Alphas or not, they’re still a pack, and they’re still mates. Sapnap had seemed satisfied with that answer. George didn’t seem so sure, though he only told Dream that.

Later, the two had a one-on-one conversation, without Sapnap. They didn’t want to worry him, especially since he was already stressed out about his first heat with them potentially coming soon.

George and Dream came up with a plan to stay on good terms when Sapnap’s heat came, a way for them to remain friendly, even if their alpha brains betrayed their love and tried to convince them that the other is an enemy. They both seemed very pleased with the plan, swore to each other to stick to the plan.

So really, Dream cannot be blamed for being so angry right now. George didn’t follow the fucking plan at all.

“If one of us is with Sapnap when he’s going into heat, we should send the other person a text to let them know,” Dream had suggested. George agreed.

“We should wait for the other person to show up before doing anything with Sapnap,” George had said, “that way when we knot him, by that point hopefully we’ll both be more relaxed about it.”

“Plus, maybe both of us being in his nest at the same time will tell our alpha brains that the other alpha is safe,” Dream added gleefully.

They were both so happy with this plan. They were optimistic, hopeful that it would work. They fucking made a promise, and foolishly, Dream trusted the other alpha.

Sure, maybe George became all alpha-brained before he could commit to the plan, and by the time he thought of texting Dream, his alpha, omega-hungry side told him not to. That’s very possible.

Dream is still pissed off anyways, and he makes sure George knows it. It certainly doesn’t help that his own, rational mind is slipping from him, his alpha side taking over.

All he sees when he looks at George is an opponent. An opponent who’s trying to take his omega from him, therefore an opponent he needs to kill.

He growls, his candy cane scent smelling sour and overwhelming. He makes sure it’s strong, tries to overpower George’s rotten wood scent with his own gross smell.

George is glaring right back at him, growling just as loud, though his is deeper - more protective than aggressive. His growl is telling Dream; “stay back, leave my omega alone. I’ll protect this omega with my life if I have to.”

Dream’s growl is louder, coming from his chest rather than his throat. His growl is aggressive, telling George; “get away from that omega, he’s mine, I’ll do whatever I have to to take him from you.”

They both understand what the other’s growl means, but neither step down. Dream is only getting angrier by the second, because George is knotting Sapnap - an alpha is knotting Dream’s omega.

The two men are naked in Sapnap’s nest, they both look sweaty and the room smells like pure sex, smells like a breeding ground.

Why the fuck would George do this, knowing that Dream is the leader of the pack? Why would he try to challenge him? Why would he attempt to take Dream’s omega? Surely he knows he’s in the wrong here, right?

As the two alphas growl at each other, Dream feels a little guilty. The level of hatred and anger he feels towards George - his best friend, packmate, and lover - is absurd. He’s never hated anyone so much before, never wanted to kill so badly before.

He’s been with omegas in the past, had some run-ins with other alphas while his omega was in heat. He’s felt aggression towards them before, but this time feels so different. He’s never thought about actually fighting to the death. George just feels like so much more of a threat, and it’s fucking terrifying.

He knows it’s only natural to feel this way towards another alpha, but it’s just unfortunate that this other alpha is also his mate. He doesn’t want to feel this unbelievable level of anger and hurt because of George knotting Sapnap, but he can’t help it. Sapnap is his as much as he is George’s, and it feels unfair that the older alpha gets to help with Sapnap’s heat while he’s cast off to the side.

Sapnap whines, his revolting terrified scent completely overpowering both Dream’s and George’s combined. He looks like he’s trembling a little too, and the sight pains the younger alpha.

As leader of the pack, he needs to protect his packmates. As one of Sapnap’s alphas, he needs to make sure the omega feels safe. As their best friend and boyfriend, Dream needs to make sure that he doesn’t do anything to fuck up their relationship.

Reluctantly, Dream stalks off, fighting the urge to attack George while he’s vulnerable. The man is knotting an omega, trapped and unable to fight. It would be so easy to take him down right now, but Dream can’t.

Sapnap is scared. Scared of them. Dream needs to fight his alpha urges and be mature right now, no matter how much it’s killing him inside.

He grits his teeth, his growling eventually stopping once he’s downstairs, far enough away from his own bedroom. While they did all decide his bedroom would be their shared bedroom - their den - Dream kind of regrets that decision now.

He would love to curl up in his own bed right now, wallow in self pity until Sapnap invites him into his nest or until George is ready to fight him. It feels so unfair that both Sapnap and George have their own rooms they can hide away in when they really need it while Dream is just left with his office.

He has a bed in there, sure, so if he really wanted to nap he could. But the problem is that that room is associated with working, which makes it very hard to relax.

He’s not entirely sure what to do with himself right now. He’s not particularly tired, despite all the work he just finished doing, but he doesn’t want to go back to work either.

Maybe all he can do is curl up on the couch and wait for an opportunity to arise. Maybe George will leave the room, and Dream can book it up the stairs and ask Sapnap if he can be the one to help instead. Or maybe, just maybe, George will actually follow through with the rest of their safety plan.

Dream doubts that though. They’re both pretty alpha-brained right now, Sapnap’s heat scent has triggered their instincts. Since they didn’t do the plan from the start, they’re kind of screwed now. They have to do the entire plan from start to finish, not just pick it up somewhere in the middle.

Fuck. If only George listened.

It’s not his fault, Dream reminds himself, he can’t help his alpha instincts.

He won’t lie, he’s worried. Now that they’ve been set off, it’s possible one of their ruts starts too. If they’re in a rut, they lose complete control over their mind and body, the same way an omega loses control during their heats. The only difference is that an alpha’s rut is about dominance while an omega’s heat is about submission.

They have to avoid getting into ruts right now. They can’t do that to Sapnap, he needs them. He needs their comfort and safety, kindness and love and care, more than anything. They need to gain his trust and then politely ask if he’d ever be willing to help them when they’re in their ruts.

For now though, all Dream can do is hope and wait. Sit on the couch, watch some TV even though he’s unable to pay attention, and just be patient. He’ll confront the older man eventually, he doubts George has the patience to stay in the same room all day with an omega in heat. George doesn’t exactly seem like a responsible alpha.

Which is exactly why Dream thinks he should’ve been the one at Sapnap’s side right now, but whatever. He’ll get his turn soon enough, he’s sure.

———

He tried to distract himself, he really did. He was able to for a couple hours, but it wasn’t the best distraction. Instead of trying to pull himself out of his possessive alpha mindset, he used it to help him formulate a plan. A plan to take George’s place, make Sapnap prefer the younger alpha and forget about the older one. It’s a pretty simple plan too.

Dream is going to make the omega food, bring it up to him, and therefore court him. Naturally, Sapnap will become more attracted to Dream, feel more comfortable and loved by him, which means that Dream will become a better fit as Sapnap’s alpha than George.

On top of all that, he knows Sapnap better than George does. The two have been friends for much longer, have lived together for longer, so really, Dream should be his heat partner anyways. It just makes the most sense.

Dream has such a big advantage over George - he knows exactly what Sapnap likes, knows the exact things the omega would want to hear, and knows just how to make him feel good.

Plus, Dream is overall just more responsible and considerate.

With a pep in his step, Dream begins pulling out what he needs to make Sapnap’s favourite dish, but he’s quickly interrupted by a scent he never thought he’d grow to hate so much.

Normally, he loves it. He loves both of his boyfriends’ scents, especially because the three of their scents go so well together.

But now, things are different.

Pine wood has never smelled so fucking awful before. Dream can’t stand the smell anymore, and immediately, before he’s even seen George, a growl rumbles from his chest. When George finally does round the corner, he locks eyes with the other alpha, and he too begins to growl.

It’s almost as if Dream has blacked out, all he can see in front of him is a threat. All he sees is some other alpha trying to take his omega away from him, and the thought makes the dirty-blond’s hands twitch at his sides.

He needs to eliminate his opponent by any means necessary.

“You left the nest?” Dream scoffs in an accusatory tone instead of pouncing at the other man the way he so desperately wants to. He’s never felt so enraged before, and it would scare him if he were thinking like himself right now, but he’s not. He’s thinking like an alpha.

“Yeah, to get some food.” George replies, a scowl on his face as he walks past Dream and steps into the kitchen. He glances at the cookware Dream has pulled out, rolling his eyes like he knows exactly what Dream is planning on doing. “Plus, he’s napping right now anyways.”

“Are you a shitty alpha on purpose?”

George whips his head towards the younger man, growling at the insult, “What?”

Dream grins, mostly to himself, satisfaction making his chest feel warm. He’s starting to get under George’s skin.

“You’re not supposed to leave an omega alone at any point during their heat unless they ask you to, it can stress them out. That’s fine though, your turn with him is done anyways.”

“My turn with him?” George spits behind gritted teeth. He’s getting angrier by the second, he’s losing his cool and letting things get to him, which is rare. The thought makes the younger man smile. He’s going to win this.

“He’s not just your omega, George. In fact, he’s not your omega at all, if you really think about it,”

The Brit’s eyes darken with pure hatred, his scent becoming rotten again while his mouth and nose twitch. He inhales deeply, as if trying to calm himself before speaking, but before he can open his mouth again Dream cuts him off.

“Him and I have lived together for much longer, our bond is stronger, we’ve already laid in his nests together before. He’s more bonded to me than he’ll ever be with y-”

“Shut the fuck up!” George snarls, suddenly jumping towards the taller alpha and shoving him backwards with a surprising amount of strength.

Dream lets out a small oof at the impact, the force of the push sending him back to the kitchen wall. He winces when his back slams into it, but he’s quick to stand tall and prepare for a fight.

In the back of his mind, there’s a part of him trying to slam on the brakes. A part of him trying to remind him that this is George, this is his mate, one of the loves of his life. But the alpha side is far too loud right now, growling at that part of him until it shuts up.

“Nick is my omega!” Dream snarls, growling and baring his teeth in a show of dominance before throwing himself at the older man. He grabs for his shoulders, but George is too quick, jumping out of the way just in time before ramming his elbow into the back of Dream’s head.

The dirty-blond yelps loudly, swiftly moving away from his mate to avoid any more attacks he may be trying to throw at him. Dream stands there for a moment, dizzy and a little afraid, but even then confidence continues to radiate off him. Perhaps it’s ego.

“You’re so naive,” George scoffs, rather calmly with a condescending tone to go with it. “Your lack of experience as an alpha is showing.”

“Fuck you,” Dream spits before spinning around and digging his teeth into George’s arm. It’s all animalistic instinct, he’s completely unaware of what he’s doing, all he knows is he needs to do everything in his power to get rid of this alpha.

It seems as though the Brit wasn’t at all expecting the attack, and he lets out a loud pained shout before trying to roughly rip and tug at Dream’s hair to pull him off. He even pulls a few strands out, making the younger cry out in pain, but still he doesn’t let go.

Dream clings onto him for as long as possible until the pain is completely unbearable, and even when he sees that he’s drawn blood, he remains in this blind, alpha-brained rage. The small part of him is louder though, begging him to stop, and in a moment of weakness, that small part of him that’s begging and pleading him to put a stop to this suddenly sounds like Sapnap.

“How have you never had a heat while living here? Do you use suppressants?” Dream asks him randomly one afternoon. The two are preparing to move into their new home now that George has gotten his visa and will be living with them soon.

“I do use suppressants, but I had to stop a few months ago. My doctor said it was unhealthy,” Sapnap admits. He looks stiff, like he’s expecting Dream to say something and is dreading it. It makes Dream frown. Why is he afraid?

“So I’ve heard,” Dream mutters to himself before raising his voice again, “omegas aren’t supposed to take them for long periods of time. Were you taking them because you’re uncomfortable having heats around me? Since I’m an alpha.”

Sapnap falls quiet. Dream’s heart breaks a little bit. Is Sapnap scared of him? Why? Did he do something to make Sapnap so uncomfortable?

The omega turns his head to finally look at his best friend, and quickly gives him a gentle smile.

“You didn’t do anything,” Sapnap assures him. Dream’s shoulders sag with relief. “I just… One bad heat partner was enough to last me a lifetime. I don’t… I don’t want to go through it again.”

Dream frowns heavily, now very concerned for the young omega. He hadn’t even realised Sapnap had a partner at some point, the man hasn’t ever mentioned it until now. When did that happen? And what exactly happened to make Sapnap so afraid?

“I don’t really wanna talk about this anymore. You did nothing wrong though, okay? You’re not aggressive and cruel like other alphas.”

Aggressive? Cruel? Towards their own mate?

Dream’s eyes widen and he quickly lets go before rapidly shaking his head, all the anger he felt mere moments earlier suddenly melting away. He’s become what he promised Sapnap he never would - sure, he’s not attacking Sapnap, but he’s still attacking one of his mates. Plus, George and Dream both swore to make this a peaceful, easy-going heat for him.

What the fuck are they doing?

Unfortunately, the same thought process hasn’t happened for George, and the man jumps at Dream, throwing his entire weight at the younger alpha to knock him to the ground.

Dream gasps when he hits the floor, the wind immediately getting knocked right out of him and making it practically impossible to breathe in. He tries to speak so he can tell George to stop in hopes of making him snap out of it too, but it’s no use.

George growls, keeping the younger man pinned down before going for his neck. He digs his teeth in, slowly at first, his growls growing louder as he tries to get the younger to surrender.

Dream flails around desperately, shoving at George as best as he can until he lifts his knee and rams it right into the Brit’s stomach. He whimpers and lets go, pulling back to recover while Dream uses this as an opportunity to roughly push him to the ground for extra good measure.

Finally, he stands back up and brings a hand to his neck to assess the damage, cringing at what he feels.

Liquid. Warm and dripping down, but it’s not a lot. He’s bleeding, he realises, from his neck.

“Fuck, George…” Dream mutters, suddenly much more terrified. Of himself, of George, scared for Sapnap and for their pack overall.

“Dream…” George whispers, eyes becoming soft again as he slowly sits up. The alpha rage seems to leave his body as well, and now they’re both left with the consequences of their actions.

“He needs one of us right now,” Dream reminds him, voice calm but firm, “I’m going to take care of him.”

“But-”

“George, stop. We can’t get carried away like that again, we…”

The two fall silent, the overwhelming amount of emotions in the atmosphere making everything feel heavy. George stands slowly, dusting himself off before taking in a deep breath. He looks down at his arm, cringing at the new bite mark and blood leaking from it.

“We could’ve killed each other,” he says simply, though it’s clear that the thought scares him.

“I know,” Dream whispers, frowning, “Maybe… maybe we just shouldn’t be around each other right now.”

“What if he wants both of us in his nest?” George asks, rubbing at his injured arm in an attempt to wipe off the blood, but more continues dripping from his wound.

“We’ll figure it out. For now, I’m going to take care of him,” Dream responds. George steps towards him, and Dream flinches, expecting another fight, but George just silently shakes his head.

Slowly, the younger man relaxes, even when the older alpha is face to face with him. George cups his cheek and stares at the wound on his neck before eventually looking back at his face.

Dream smiles, heart warming at the gesture. He wonders if maybe they’ll be okay after all, but then he realises George isn’t smiling. His pretty brown eyes have darkened again too, colder than ice and more piercing than a hungry lion’s.

“You don’t get to choose who gets to spend time with him and when they get to do it.” His voice is stern and unfriendly, sending a chill racing down Dream’s spine.

Before anything more happens, George shoves him away, “I’m going to clean myself up, and then I’m going to continue taking care of him.”

The alpha rivalry hurts.

Dream loves George, and he knows George loves him, but right now it doesn’t seem to exist because their alpha instincts are overwhelming and villainizing one another.

“George,” Dream warns, “you’ve had your time. Besides, we both need to clean up, let's just… Can we be nice for now? Help each other clean up and then-”

“And then what? Fight again? Race each other up the stairs and whoever gets to Sapnap’s nest first gets to be his heat partner? Don’t be ridiculous.”

He has a point. There’s no such thing as being nice to each other right now, because even if Dream is somewhat rationally-minded at the moment, that won’t last long.

“Like I said, I’m his heat partner. You missed your chance this time, you just have to deal with that.” George says, voice a bit quieter now.

Dream blinks at him a few times, biting his tongue despite the urge to snap and say something he shouldn’t. The more George talks, the less Dream wants to be friendly - now George is getting under his skin, and he’s not entirely sure how much longer he’ll keep that rational mind.

“You should get cleaned up too. Your neck is still bleeding.” George adds after a long pause, looking the younger man up and down before turning and heading for the downstairs bathroom to clean up.

It’s only natural, Dream reminds himself, heart shaking. He’s dealt with being alpha-brained before, but this time it really hurts. Physically and emotionally. He loves George, but right now, neither of them are showing it. They can’t, all because of stupid fucking instincts.

And as Dream stands in the living room, listening to the sound of the tap in the downstairs bathroom followed by the occasional faint, pained hiss from his boyfriend, he feels his frustration start to come back.

George thinks he’s better, but he’s really not. He may have more experience with omegas in general, but he doesn’t have nearly as much experience with Sapnap as Dream does. He thinks he gets to be Sapnap’s heat partner the entire time, but that’s just not going to happen. Dream will get his turn with Sapnap, regardless of what George wants.

Dream snaps out of his train of thought when he feels the blood from his neck reach his shoulder, and suddenly, he’s much more aware of the pain radiating from his neck and scalp. George really did a number on him.

If he wants to see Sapnap, he has to clean up first too, but George is hogging the downstairs bathroom. The only other bathroom available is upstairs-

George and Sapnap’s shared bathroom. The one between their bedrooms, which are across from Dream’s bedroom. If Dream cleans up fast enough in there, he’ll make it to Sapnap’s nest before George does.

With a big grin, Dream quickly runs to the fridge to grab whatever food is available, which happens to be two half-empty takeout boxes of what he thinks might be sushi, and then as quietly as he can he books it up the stairs.

He only has a minute or two to clean up since George got a head start, so he needs to be quick and efficient.

Once he’s in his mates’ shared bathroom, he puts the takeout containers on the counter for now and assesses the damage in the mirror. He winces when he sees just how bad his wounds are: his hair is a complete mess, he’s got scratches on his arms and face, and his neck is covered in blood that’s leaking down onto his shoulder and the t-shirt he’s wearing.

As fast as possible, Dream grabs a hand towel and wets it before pressing it to his open wound. He hisses in pain, putting pressure on it to stop it from bleeding while tapping his fingers against the marble counter impatiently.

Fuck, it actually hurts so badly. A lot more than earlier, which means the adrenaline must be wearing off.

Using his hand that’s not holding the towel, Dream quickly but shakily opens the mirror cabinet in hopes of finding some painkillers. He’s starting to get dizzy now, the pain slowly becoming more and more unbearable. Is he losing a lot of blood? Is that also why he’s starting to become unbalanced?

Taking a deep breath, he hastily searches the cabinet, exhaling when he spots a container of ibuprofen. He stumbles a little, suddenly finding it too hard to stand, which scares him. All this from a little bite on his neck?

With watery eyes, he presses the towel harder against the wound and opens the ibuprofen container with his teeth. He thinks he can hear George’s footsteps walking up the stairs and down the hall, but his ears are beginning to ring so he’s not entirely sure.

He dumps two pills onto the counter, hands trembling as he puts the small bottle down and picks the pills up, popping them into his mouth. He turns the tap on and leans down, swallowing some water so the pills go down easier.

Tears slip down his cheeks, not just from pain and fear but from how overwhelmed he is. How frustrated he is. He knows for sure now that that was George, he can smell the pinewood.

He missed his fucking chance.

The ibuprofen doesn’t kick in right away obviously, but knowing that it’s been ingested now helps ease some of the alpha’s anxiety.

Slowly, he pulls the towel off of his neck to reveal the wound now that there’s not as much blood covering it.

The wound is pretty deep. George managed to really sink his canines into him, his sharp alpha teeth leaving brutal marks. This bite is much deeper than a mating bite, a bite aiming to kill rather than claim.

It’s fucking scary to look at. George really was trying to kill him, damn well near did if it weren’t for Dream kicking him off.

Now he needs to wash up and then put cream on it, bandage it up to keep it from bleeding everywhere and then Sapnap is going to know for sure that something went down because why in the hell else would Dream have his neck bandaged up?

Sapnap is going to know that the two alphas he had put all his trust into broke their promise.

Fuck.

Slowly, the man sits himself down by the tub and turns on the tap, making sure the water is cold enough to keep him from passing out.

He reaches his hand under the tap, and as soon as the cool water hits his skin, he feels refreshed. It eases an ache deep within his soul and allows him to be more alert, a shock to his system, and he grabs another clean towel and wets it before once again pressing it to his wounded neck.

He takes his time cleaning himself up, not bothering to hurry anymore now that he knows his omega has an alpha with him. As much as he wishes that alpha were him, he needs to remember that Sapnap’s heat isn’t about who’s the better alpha. It’s about making sure Sapnap is feeling comfortable and safe with them, regardless of who’s the one taking care of him.

Once he figures the bleeding has slowed, Dream sighs and puts the towel down before turning towards the bathtub. He puts both of his bloodied hands under the icy water, shuddering at the sensation and wincing slightly at the pain still radiating from his neck and head. At least he no longer feels like passing out.

It’s a slow process, especially now that he’s taking his time to care for himself rather than racing to beat George. It still hurts like hell, but he’s much less overwhelmed and therefore much less dizzy, making it easier to turn off the tap and grab his towel before standing back up. He dabs the material against his wound again, clearing it of any remaining blood that may still be dripping from the injury.

The rest of the process comes much easier to him, from finding the bandages and cream to actually applying it and bandaging himself up. The ibuprofen seems to be kicking in now too, which he’s grateful for, although he feels a little confused. Has he really been in the bathroom for that long?

Whatever, that’s not important right now. He needs to see Sapnap. He has to see him. He knows George is taking care of him right now and it’s best to leave them be, but even now that he’s not just thinking with his stupid alpha instincts, he misses Sapnap. It feels like it’s been days since they’ve last seen each other with Dream being so busy in his office and all. Now it’s getting late at night and normally they’d all share a bed but that can’t happen because of Sapnap’s heat and Dream and George literally being at each other’s throats.

Speaking of which, they’re both very clearly injured and it doesn’t take much to figure out what happened. Sapnap’s going to know, especially if Dream walks in. Maybe he should just go back downstairs, but he can’t. Besides, Dream has these leftovers to give to him, he’s not letting George get credit for it.

Not that it’s a competition. They are both Sapnap’s mates and again, this isn’t about them. It’s about Sapnap.

It’s about Sapnap.

Dream still wants his one on one time with him though.

He grabs the takeout containers before leaving the bathroom, switching the light off on his way out. He’s a little nervous for two reasons; one is because he doesn’t want Sapnap to realise they got in a fight and become scared of them both. Two is because of George.

Dream isn’t scared of George, despite what happened. Well, maybe a little, but his new fear of him isn’t what’s making him nervous to walk into the room. George being in there is making him nervous because George isn’t very… Attentive. He doesn’t pay attention to the little things, like Sapnap being scared for them, for example. He’s not a great fit for Sapnap, not the most amazing of alphas.

Don’t get Dream wrong, he loves George. George is great. But if Dream walks in there right now, George probably won’t think about the fact that Sapnap needs them right now, needs them to be calm and take care of him. Instead, he’ll probably just get all agro and challenge Dream to a fight right then and there. Like a fucking idiot.

Despite all this, Dream approaches the bedroom, clearing his throat when he gets there. He tries to control his scent, tries to focus on comforting Sapnap with it rather than trying to scare George away with it. He keeps his cool, narrowing his eyes at the Brit when their gazes meet.

Surprisingly, George doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t do anything. Doesn’t even smell like anything other than the relaxed, peaceful scent of pinewood. The look on his face is anything but peaceful though, and a part of Dream almost wants to goad him into snapping, but he stops himself.

Sapnap turns his head, sniffing the air, and then he smiles brightly when he sees Dream. He’s awake, which must be why George is keeping his scent under control and why he isn’t saying anything. The Floridian stares George down for a second longer before meeting Sapnap’s eyes again, growling comfortingly when he sees just how hazy Sapnap’s pretty green eyes appear.

Sapnap looks Dream up and down, all smiles and bliss. There’s no way he doesn’t see the bandage on his boyfriend’s neck. There’s also no way he hasn’t seen the bandage on George’s arm by now, and could put two and two together. He’s too out of it to notice though, Dream supposes, which works out in his and George’s favour. For now.

“Dr’m,” Sapnap whines, shifting around in the sheets before rolling onto his stomach and getting on his hands and knees. His scent becomes much stronger as he spreads his legs, making Dream’s eyes flutter as his nostrils become overwhelmed with the smell of everything good that he could possibly want.

“I have leftovers from yesterday,” he sounds as breathless as he feels, but Sapnap doesn’t comment on it. Probably didn’t even notice it, considering the fact that he’s completely out of it by now.

Dream’s comforting growl grows louder at the thought, and he pointedly ignores the glare he can feel George throwing his way. He’s growling too now, almost as comfortingly, but Dream can hear the slight offness to it. George sounds a little scared, which is odd considering he’s the one who almost ended a life today, but it makes Dream smile regardless.

“Dr’m, c’mere,” Sapnap mumbles before beginning to purr enticingly.

“Into your nest?” Dream asks, his eyes meeting George’s again just to rub it in his face. He grins, holding back a satisfied laugh when he sees the grimace the older man gives him in return.

“Mhm,” Sapnap answers, voice scratchy and deep like he’s been screaming for hours. Or moaning, probably.

George abruptly gets up and out of the nest, picking up his boxers from the floor and roughly tugging them up his legs. Dream watches him as he slowly approaches the bed, his growling continuing as he gets closer and closer to his omega.

“Want me to get undressed?” the dirty-blond asks his younger boyfriend kindly, putting the takeout boxes down on the bedside table before turning to look back at the other alpha. He stares, waiting for their eyes to meet again so that he can be a little bit more of a prick about this.

“Please,” Sapnap huffs, “breed me.”

The smell of a thousand candy canes fills the room, overpowering George’s scent within a second. Dream quickly gets undressed while George does the opposite, and once he’s fully nude, he puffs out his chest and stands tall, feeling much more confident now compared to half an hour ago.

Finally, the burnet looks at him, a snarl on his face and cruel words clearly on the tip of his tongue, but he holds himself back. He tugs his t-shirt over his head and huffs, gritting his teeth before turning away to face the door.

Once he’s out of the room, Sapnap suddenly sits up, tilting his head at the doorway like a confused puppy. Dream doesn’t think much of it - he’s probably just adjusting to having a different alpha take care of him now - and eagerly climbs into the nest. He snuggles up to the younger man, smiling brightly and feeling victorious now that George is out of the way.

“Hi, baby,” he coos, wrapping his arms around Sapnap’s waist and gently tugging, encouraging him to lay back down.

He stares at the doorway for a few seconds longer, eyebrows knitted, but then he turns his head to Dream and smiles.

“Alpha,” he breathes, “want your knot.”

“I know,” the other replies, his heart pounding in his chest. He’s wanted to knot Sapnap for so fucking long, his dick is already half-hard at the mere thought of pounding Sapnap’s hole and pumping him full, knotting him and locking them together, breeding him, giving him pups.

Fully hard. His dick is now fully hard at the thought.

Wordlessly, Sapnap lays on his stomach and then sticks his ass in the air, pressing the side of his face into the pillow. He whines, shaking his ass while a spurt of slick slides out of his hole and down his thigh. Dream sits up, shifting around until he’s right behind Sapnap with his dick pressed between his cheeks.

“Fuck,” Dream groans, thrusting his dick between his cheeks, not quite pushing in yet, “you’re so wet.”

“Want your knot, Clay, please. Need it.”

Alpha is one thing. Dream is another.

Sapnap calling him Clay in that tone of voice while he leaks slick against Dream’s dick almost makes the older man cum on the spot.

“Jesus Christ,” he mutters, pulling back enough to press the tip of his dick to Sapnap’s wet, loose hole. “You’re so fucking pretty, baby, I love you.”

“Knot me,” Sapnap whines, letting out a loud dry-sob while his scent becomes impossibly stronger. It makes Dream feel so fucking dizzy he swears he almost blacks out.

In one single thrust, he pushes all the way in, making Sapnap practically scream. He’s loose enough so that it didn’t hurt, obviously still stretched out from George, but still tight enough that it feels fucking phenomenal. Out of this world. Everything Dream could ever ask for.

His brain practically melts at the feeling of slick pooling around his cock, somehow leaking out and down the back of Sapnap’s thighs despite the fact that he’s filled up. The feeling of his wet ass against Dream’s balls and pubes, slick spreading all over the hairs and making a mess when he’s barely even moved, Sapnap’s panting despite nothing even happening yet. The sweat all over his body, his messy hair, the way he’s gripping onto the sheets and squeezing his walls around Dream’s dick.

The alpha wants to move, but he’s already close, embarrassingly enough. He doesn’t want to knot Sapnap so soon, not without properly pleasuring him first.

“Move, pl’s,” the omega sobs, weakly fucking himself on Dream’s large dick.

“I- Okay, just- just give me a second,” Dream breathes, a drip of sweat rolling down his forehead. He’s so fucking turned on right now, wants to breed his omega so bad, he’s slipping into his alpha mindset but that won’t do anything to pull him away from the edge.

“Alpha…” Sapnap cries, scent souring a little bit. He smells worried, stressed, and that makes Dream start to panic slightly. He wants to be a good alpha so badly, he wants to be perfect for Sapnap, wants to be better than George in every way because there’s no way in hell he was very responsible with Sapnap. Probably just used the omega like a toy and didn’t bother trying to comfort him or anything. Thinking with his dick and his alpha brain rather than being kind and caring and affectionate.

A smile tugs at the alpha’s lips as an idea pops into his head.

While he tries to calm himself down enough to properly fuck Sapnap, he’s going to give the younger man the affection and love he probably didn’t get from George.

“I love you,” Dream repeats, wrapping his arms around the Texan’s waist and leaning down so they’re chest-to-back. Gently, he squeezes him, and then he peppers gentle kisses along his shoulders while occasionally nipping too.

He ignores the hickies he sees on his skin, ignores the bite marks and the splashes of purple and red that paint his body like it was George’s canvas. In fact, he leaves some of his own hickies, covers some of George’s too, claims him as his own all while whispering sweet nothings to him.

It’s perfect, this soft, loving atmosphere. It’s all Dream could ever ask for-

“Please!” Sapnap begs loudly, properly sobbing now. “Wh-why won’ you f-fuck me, wh-what’d I d-do wrong? Alpha, p-please!”

“No- Sapnap, you- Nick, you didn’t do anything wrong, I-”

“Please, it hur’s, the cramps, p-please, i’s so fucking painful, j’st-”

He cuts himself off with another loud, panicked sob. His entire body is shaking, his scent is sour and fearful and it makes Dream freak out even more. At least he doesn’t feel like he’s about to burst at any second now, but he feels terribly guilty for making Sapnap react like this.

He just wanted to be sweet and affectionate, make it perfect, he thought he was giving Sapnap what he didn’t get from George. How did he manage to fuck up so badly? He was supposed to be the better alpha, the one practically hand-crafted for Sapnap. There’s no way in hell that George is better than him. How did this go so wrong so fast?

Dream pulls out almost completely before roughly fucking back into the omega, groaning at the feeling while trying to calm them both down. Sapnap mewls at the feeling, arching his back while tugging on the bedsheets below him. It doesn’t take long before Dream finds a quick, satisfying pace for the both of them, the room once more filling with the smell of pleasure and pure bliss rather than fear.

Sapnap’s satisfied moans and pleas for a knot is all Dream needs to hear to feel relieved and back on track. But the pain and stress he smelt and saw a few seconds ago from one of the loves of his life - pain and stress caused by him - leaves a permanent imprint on his brain, especially since he has competition.

He needs to prove that he’s better, he needs Sapnap to choose him, he needs to make sure he makes Sapnap feel safest and most loved. Surely one little mistake won’t fuck up his chances now, right?

Sapnap sounds happy now, his pleasured noises loud and downright obnoxious, and Dream loves it. His knot begins to swell, it starts stretching Sapnap open more and more. The new, larger stretch causes more slick to ooze out of the omega with each push and pull of Dream’s cock, almost making the older man feel disoriented.

“Breed me!” Sapnap cries, and that’s all it takes before Dream’s knot catches onto his rim and locks them together while his orgasm hits him like a fucking train.

Pulses of cum fill Sapnap up, so much so that Dream almost wonders if it’ll ever stop. It’s so much, and it feels so fucking good, and he knows that a load like this would definitely impregnate Sapnap. Lucky for them, because of the fact that Sapnap hasn’t had a heat in so long, his body isn’t ready for pups, so he can’t get pregnant despite how painted his insides have become.

Panting is the only sound coming from the two men now, it’s the only sound in the room. Just like before, Dream wraps his arms around Sapnap and holds him close. Slowly, so as to not hurt him, he rolls them over onto their sides, still nestled deep inside him, his knot keeping them ever-so-close.

He feels guilty again, even though Sapnap probably doesn’t even remember what happened now that he’s been knotted. Dream remembers though, but he wishes he didn’t. Maybe it’s a small and insignificant hiccup, a little bump in the road, but to Dream it feels like so much more than that.

Sapnap had a horrible past with a horrible alpha. Dream doesn’t want him to relive that whatsoever. Except he probably just did. Dream might have accidentally made Sapnap experience it all over again, even if it was only a moment. Even if Sapnap doesn’t remember it happening, it still happened.

He wants to be the perfect alpha for Sapnap. He knows he’s better than George, that’s just a given - no shade or anything, but George is, well, George. Being better than George isn’t good enough though. Dream has to be the best. He wants to be the best. He wants to give Sapnap the experience he didn’t get to have when he was younger, wants to squash all those bad memories and replace them with new, happier and more exciting ones.

“‘m thirsty,” Sapnap mutters, voice sounding even more wrecked than before.

“Okay, hold on,” Dream replies softly, being very careful as he slowly pulls them both up. It’s hard to move when his knot still has them locked in place, and he really doesn’t want to accidentally hurt Sapnap, but at this rate his knot will be down by the time he finally gets his hands on the water bottle. “Um, are you able to wait until after my knot is down?”

Sapnap only solemnly nods. Dream feels guilty again.

“I just don’t want to hurt you, baby,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to his temple as he lays them back down. Sapnap hums in response, his eyes closed and his scent neutral.

“Sapnap?”

Dream nearly jumps out of his skin at the sound of George’s voice. How did he not hear the door creak open? How did he not smell George’s scent?

Immediately, he turns his head to the Brit and growls. Very aggressively.

Sapnap shudders, and not in an aroused way, but in a scared way. Like a chill ran down his spine. He smells sour again, so Dream stops, not wanting to make him panic all over again.

“Are you okay?” George asks calmly, eyes glued to the Texan. He’s very obviously pretending Dream isn’t there, even though he and Sapnap are literally attached to each other right now. The thought pisses Dream off even though he knows that if the roles were reversed, he’d do the exact same thing.

“Mhm,” Sapnap nods, snuggling against Dream while looking serene and satisfied. It’s like all the muscles in his body have become totally relaxed now that George is here, and that makes the dirty-blond furious, but he tries not to let it show. “Thirsty.”

“Okay, here, let me help,” George offers, stepping further into the room and picking up the water bottle from the bedside table. He opens it, waiting expectantly for Dream to help the younger man sit up before bringing the bottle to his lips.

The omega closes his eyes and tilts his head back slightly, drinking down the liquid with such vigour it’s as if this is his first time ever drinking water. Dream feels bad again, disappointed in himself for not thinking about this sooner and bringing the water bottle closer before knotting his partner, but he doesn’t dwell on it.

When Sapnap has drunk almost the entire bottle, he licks his lips and slowly lays back down, eyes lidded and body practically limp. George smiles at him before shooting Dream a look, a look that reads; see, I’m the better alpha.

They hold each other’s gazes, almost as if having a staring contest, but it doesn’t last much longer. George looks back at the omega, eyes becoming soft again. “Are you hungry?”

“Mm..” Sapnap hums, yawning before nodding slightly. George smiles and grabs the takeout boxes too - the takeout boxes that Dream brought upstairs for Sapnap - and starts to open one of them. That’s when Dream becomes unable to hold back.

“I think you’ve helped enough.” He snips, lip and nose twitching with the urge to growl and bare his teeth.

George ignores him, eyes and smile trained on Sapnap’s pretty face. He moves closer to the bed, starts to climb into the nest, and Dream snarls. His scent instantly becomes putrid, no longer hiding it, even for the sake of Sapnap. He needs to make sure George knows to stay the fuck back.

It works, because George puts the boxes down and jumps backwards. He growls too, though not as loudly as Dream, especially with Sapnap watching.

“Guys?” Sapnap whines, looking between the two of them. His body is tense again, he’s starting to smell off, but Dream is too focussed on getting George out of here to pay it much mind. It’s probably George’s fault anyways.

“Dream-” George starts, but the taller man cuts him off.

“You had your fucking turn, George, now it’s mine. Respect that.”

“You’re not following our safety plan!” George shouts, throwing his arms up frustratedly.

“I’m not following the safety plan? George, you didn’t follow it at all to begin with! We can’t fucking start it halfway, you ruined it!” Dream shouts back, sitting up to growl again and further project his nasty scent. Sapnap whimpers with the movement, squirming a little, and Dream promises himself to keep him safe from the other alpha.

George shakes his head and crosses his arms, speaking in a calmer, but sharper tone; “We need to stop. We can’t do this here.”

Dream inhales sharply, eye twitching while his body gets overwhelmed with all sorts of mixed emotions, although the prevailing one is pure anger. “Then leave. I’m a better fit anyways, I’ll actually take care of him. I’m not going to just use him.”

“Dream,” George huffs, baring his teeth. He looks like he’s about to say something else, but then his eyes drift down to Sapnap and it’s like something in him breaks. He instantly frowns, his scent becomes neutral, and his eyes become glassy. He stares silently for a second, and Dream almost thinks Sapnap might be trembling with fear right now, which is why he needs George to leave immediately. Sapnap is scared because there’s one too many alphas in here. George’s eyes meet Dream’s again, giving him an icy cold glare as he spits; “Fuck you.”

With that, he turns and leaves, roughly slamming the door behind him and making Sapnap yelp. Once he’s gone, the omega relaxes a little, especially once Dream lays back down properly. The alpha wraps his arms back around the younger man, grabbing the takeout boxes from around him and opening it up completely.

“It’s sushi,” he whispers softly, “here, open your mouth.”

Sapnap is staring at him. He hasn’t even looked at the takeout boxes, and even when Dream brings a piece of sushi closer to his face, Sapnap’s eyes don’t look away from Dream’s own. His eyes are watery, Dream notes, and every so often he lets out an almost silent, high pitched whine.

“Not hungry?” Dream asks, tilting his head like a confused puppy. He doesn’t get an answer, so he puts the sushi back down and closes the box before pressing a kiss to the omega’s cheek. “I love you, you know that?”

Sapnap only nods, and finally, he breaks eye contact. He’s staring at Dream’s chest instead now, but soon enough he rolls back over to press his back to the alpha’s chest.

“You’re safe now,” Dream promises, affectionately nipping Sapnap’s earlobe before shutting his eyes and yawning, “wake me up when you want to be knotted again.”

He gently squeezes his mate’s waist, growling comfortingly as he drifts off. Sapnap doesn’t purr in response, nor does he ever relax in Dream’s arms.

Chapter Text

It’s been two days since Dream took George’s place as Sapnap’s heat partner, and George is absolutely livid. How the fuck is that fair? What happened to sharing? What happened to the plan?

Dream is being a fucking hypocrite, and George is going to lose his goddamn mind because of it. Granted, he did start that fight the other day which nearly ended in the dirty-blond’s death. Maybe Dream told the omega about it, inadvertently making him scared of George, though it’s unlikely because he’d probably just end up being afraid of Dream too.

So why can’t George have his turn again? It’s not like he hasn’t tried either. Every couple of hours he goes up and pokes his head in the room, but either Sapnap is napping or he’s being knotted, which means he’s unaware of Dream growling at George and telling him to fuck off. Or maybe Sapnap just doesn’t trust George to be a good alpha. Yeah, he knows that Sapnap thinks that. He knows Dream thinks it, too. They both think George is a bad alpha, or at least not a very good one. He could smell the uncertainty on Sapnap a few days ago when George had offered to help, the doubt in his ability to behave and take proper care of him. He could see it on his face too, for Christ’s sake. And Dream… Well, he’s more vocal about his uncertainty. Normally he’s nicer about it, gently nudging George towards the “right direction” to being a better alpha, but lately he’s been more of a dick.

The thing is, they’re not completely wrong. He is lazy, he does tend to get other people to do things for him when he really doesn’t feel like doing it - like editing, for example - and he also doesn’t really look like an alpha. So he makes up for it in attitude and sass and rudeness.

What neither of them understand though is that when it’s time to be serious, when it’s time to not mess around and properly take care of an omega, he can do it. And he can do it well. He’s a very good alpha, but neither of them are giving him the chance to show that. So he’s been trying to prove them wrong, trying to take initiative, trying to show that he’s better and stronger and braver, but unfortunately that’s all kind of backfired on him.

Because now he’s alone in the guest bedroom next to Dream’s own room - it’s the closest he’s able to get to Sapnap without Dream getting angry - listening to Sapnap moan and beg for a knot while the bed creaks and headboard slams against the wall. George is listening as Dream moans and growls and promises to give the omega what he so desperately needs. And there’s nothing George can do about it. Anytime he tries to take over again, Dream gets mad. George doesn’t want to fight him again, especially if it results in Sapnap distrusting them both.

He actually feels really fucking guilty about what he did to Dream, but a few days ago when it happened and just after too, he was so… Not himself. The combination of trying to prove to his mates that he’s a good alpha mixed with the alpha instincts taking over his brain made him go crazy.

“Please,” he hears Sapnap whine through the thin walls between their bedrooms, voice high pitched and desperate, “gimme a pup, Alpha.”

George grits his teeth and squares his jaw, jealousy and pain making him want to cry, which is crazy because he wasn’t sure he could cry over things like this. He’s very emotionally repressed - another problem that makes his mates see him as a lesser alpha, but he tries not to let that get to him too.

Instead of crying, he decides to repress, as he so often does. He turns that sadness into anger, into pure hatred. They’re the Dream Team, not the- the- the Dream-and-Sapnap-plus-maybe-George-if-he’s-useful Team. It’s meant to be all three of them together, package deal and whatnot. George should be there too!

He wasn’t fair to Dream the first time, having ignored the plan in order to claim the spot as Sapnap’s alpha and heat partner. He feels bad about it, but he just wanted to prove them wrong. He just wanted to show that he is a good alpha, that he’s not weak and irresponsible.

“One day, I promise,” Dream groans as the bed creaking suddenly comes to a halt. Sapnap gasps, their scents get stronger, and George can only assume he’s been knotted by Dream, yet again. “I’ll give you a pup and we can raise it together, you and I.”

Sapnap’s scent grows stronger at the promise, his sweet cocoa affecting George’s alpha like the most addictive drug, sending him reeling and craving infinitely more, even through the walls. He’s obsessed with it, he wants to smell it from the source, wants his own soft words and gentle touches to be what leads up to the intensity of this scent.

Fuck, that sweet omega smell mixed with Dream taunting George with words spoken in a way that cuts him out of the picture makes the Brit’s brain malfunction, he can feel himself actively losing his grip on his common sense.

George is just about ready to- to-... Well, he’s not entirely sure what. But if Dream is going to try getting back at him, then George is going to keep this up too. If his boyfriends want to see him as an irresponsible alpha no matter what he does to try and change their minds, then fine, he may as well act irresponsibly. Either way, they don’t see him as a good alpha, so he might as well keep up this fight and bite Dream right back. He’s going to take Sapnap back and keep him for himself.

He just needs to plan out how… How is he going to get rid of Dream and get Sapnap alone? What does he say to convince Sapnap to pick him? How does he keep Dream away?

Maybe he just needs to wait until they’re asleep or something. He can sneak in and hide in the closet or…

No. Dream would smell him. Unless George masks his scent perfectly and Dream is a little distracted. That could possibly work. But how long would George be in that small closet space? What if he has to pee? What if he gets hungry? Plus, he won’t be able to mask his scent for a very long time because that takes a lot of energy and focus.

He sits up in the guest bed as he thinks, as if that’d help more ideas come to him. Hiding under the bed is worse than in the closet, just outright climbing into the nest is very stupid because it’d upset both Dream and Sapnap - alphas should always ask for permission before getting in an omega’s nest - but standing idly by the door hasn’t worked at all either so far.

His thoughts are cut off by Dream’s voice, making the older alpha perk up and lean in towards the wall, pressing his ear to it.

Apparently George has been thinking for long enough for Dream’s knot to go down, because suddenly he hears the man ask, “Are you hungry?”

George perks up a bit, knowing that they don’t have any food in there with them. He’s been keeping track of what Dream brings up there, of what he asks George to bring to them. He knows they’ve got nothing left, which means either Dream is going to leave the nest or he’s going to text George to get it. Which he won’t. He’ll pretend to be asleep, which will force Dream out. So no matter what, Dream has to leave the nest. The opportunity has been handed right to George, as if the universe is apologising for putting him through such hardships and is giving him a second chance to prove himself. The Brit assumes the omega gives Dream an affirmative response, because the bed once again creaks and Sapnap lets out a distressed whimper.

“I’ll be quick,” Dream shushes, “I’m just going to get us some food, okay? I promise I’ll be back.”

What the fuck happened to “You’re not supposed to leave an omega alone at any point during their heat”? George thinks with a scowl and a roll of his eyes. Dream is a hypocritical bitch.

Whatever, George is fine with it because now he gets to take over. And this time, he’s not going to feel bad about it. This time he’s going to prove Dream and Sapnap wrong. Sure, Dream will continue to think that George is an immature alpha for doing what he’s about to do, but so be it. He doesn’t care anymore.

“Where’s George?” Sapnap asks, still sounding distressed. He smells it too, and the thought of him all alone and panicked in his nest without an alpha taking care of him, even if only for a few moments, makes George’s heart ache.

“He’s, um, busy,” Dream answers, “I’ll be quick.”

His stomping footsteps make George smile a little fondly, because despite the rivalry going on right now, he still loves his boyfriend. It’s just… Harder to love him right now.

The footsteps continue out of the bedroom, down the hall, and then down the stairs. Sapnap’s distressed whines continue, making the Brit spring into action. He practically jumps out of bed, leaving the bedroom as quick as possible before poking his head into Dream’s room.

“Hi,” he greets quietly, stepping inside and closing the door behind himself, “I’m here, baby.”

“Alpha,” Sapnap whispers, voice shaky, “come into my nest, I- please, ‘m sorry, I-”

“Shh, you have nothing to apologise for,” George assures him, quickly making his way to the bed and carefully climbing into the nest, “come here, darling.”

Sapnap scooches over into his open arms in an instant, burying his nose into the Brit’s neck - his scent glands - before inhaling sharply. Almost instantaneously, the smell of his panic vanishes and his pained whines come to a stop. His body relaxes in George’s arms and he tries snuggling in closer, even though he’s already as close as he can be. He throws a leg over the alpha’s hip and holds him tighter, making George feel a sense of victory.

Sapnap wants him, needs him, and has accepted him without question. Sapnap trusts him, Sapnap prefers him, Sapnap knows that he’s the better alpha. Or maybe he’s just hoping that George will be better. It’s okay though, because George will be better - he is better - and he’s going to prove it.

But first, he needs to get Sapnap out of the main den. He needs to get Sapnap out of Dream’s bedroom.

“How… How are you feeling?” George asks first, easing into his plan. He doesn’t want to overwhelm the poor omega, after all.

“Mm... What... How d’you want me to feel?” Sapnap asks timidly. George can feel the way he grips and then lets go of the back of his shirt repetitively, as if nervous and trying to soothe himself. The Texan doesn’t smell particularly anxious, but George supposes that maybe after a while with an abusive alpha, Sapnap had learned how to mask his emotional scents. It’d be impressive for an omega in heat to be able to do that if it weren’t for the depressing reasoning behind it.

“Be honest, baby, I won’t be upset no matter what you tell me,”

Sapnap is quiet for a moment, hands letting go of the Brit’s shirt in favour of clinging onto his arms instead. He slides them up to his shoulders, just resting them there for a moment before beginning to squeeze the muscles and flesh, massaging them.

George flinches a little, the typically soothing action only serving to make him feel concerned. Omegas usually do that with their alphas in an attempt to please them, though usually they do it outside of heats. In fact, most of the time omegas do it when their alpha is in a rut.

They gently massage their mate’s muscles, making them feel relaxed, comforting them during a time when their life seems so out of their control. It eases the alpha to sleep, or to at least calm down, and then the two can nap before the alpha needs to knot their omega again. Omegas help alphas just as much as alphas help omegas, it’s a perfect balance when done right. There’s not one who’s lesser than the other, because they both need each other an equal amount.

The fact that Sapnap is doing this when George isn’t in a rut and when Sapnap is the one that needs to be taken care of shows that his previous heat partner had taken advantage of the balanced system. Perhaps the previous alpha threatened Sapnap in some way, probably by swearing to not give him a knot unless he did such and such first. Maybe he threatened Sapnap with physical force, threatened to harm him in some way.

Either way, whatever form of abuse Sapnap’s previous partner did has screwed up the balance in Sapnap’s head, a balance that is supposed to come naturally, out of instinct. Sapnap is stuck in survival mode, so now to him the alpha outweighs the omega, the alpha is worth more, the alpha is of more importance - no matter what state the omega is in. There isn’t any balance anymore. So far, from what George has seen, it seems like Sapnap has been trained to slink around at the heels of his alpha like an abused dog, desperately trying to keep from getting underfoot while craving any sort of touch.

The thought of someone doing so much damage to the young omega that they managed to rewire his brain and instincts makes George feel sick to his stomach. It sends a pang of both anger and sadness through George’s heart, a sharp pain that’s strong enough to disrupt George’s masked concerned scent.

“Alpha?” Sapnap whispers, his movements pausing. “Are- are you okay?”

George kisses the younger man’s temple, lips quivering in the same way his heart is. To keep the omega from becoming scared, George swiftly masks his scent once more, but the pain he feels for Sapnap is still overwhelming. Sapnap isn’t just his omega, he’s his boyfriend, his best friend, his soulmate. It breaks George’s heart to know that someone destroyed him and then rebuilt him in a way that benefited only them.

Once again, George feels like crying, though this time not for himself. He’s in mourning now, for Sapnap’s innocence and for the omega he was before he ran into that wretched excuse of an alpha. He can’t let this weigh him down, he has to be here for Sapnap right now, but he’s also not entirely sure how to help. He doesn’t have the full story, so far he’s just going off assumptions based on Sapnap’s odd behaviours during his heat. If he wants to help to the best of his abilities, he’s going to need Sapnap to share the full story with him.

For now, all he can do is remind the Texan that he’s loved and cared for now.

“I love you,” George murmurs, voice hushed and full of emotion. His eyes slip shut while he lets his lips rest against the younger man’s forehead. “I love you so much.”

Sapnap doesn’t reply, nor does he really react. He smells conflicted, like he wants to believe George but he’s scared of what that means. George rarely says it, but whenever he does, usually Sapnap is over the moon about it. Now that Sapnap’s in heat, it’s almost as if hearing the words I love you bring him to a place he’d rather not be.

Did his previous alpha say those words to him? Lie through their teeth about it before asking something of the young omega? Promise him love with conditions? Conditions that Sapnap was too afraid to deny?

Sapnap gently slides his hands down from the Brit’s shoulders to his arms, though his movement pauses when his hand falls over the bandage wrapped around George’s left arm.

“Alpha?” The Texan whimpers, looking his mate in the eyes.

“I’m okay,” George assures him, “I just… I got hurt.”

Sapnap winces slightly, visibly afraid as he asks; “How?”

That’s the one question George was hoping to avoid. He thought maybe Sapnap would be out of it enough throughout his heat that he wouldn’t notice, or that he wouldn’t be able to properly form the questions in his mind. As much as he wants to be honest with Sapnap, give him the trust that he deserves, George is also wary. Being truthful means admitting he and Dream got in a fight, that they got carried away and seriously hurt each other. Being truthful means telling Sapnap that the two of them are no better than any other knot-headed alpha, and it means admitting to him that they broke their promise.

So, he lies. “There… Was an alpha. That came here, some delivery driver. He could smell you and so I fought him off so he wouldn’t hurt you. But he got me good too. It’s nothing to worry about though, he’s gone now.”

Selfishly, George paints himself as a hero. As soon as the words leave his mouth, he regrets them. He could have instead said he fell down the stairs or fell over in the shower, but instead he told the omega a partial truth, which was that he got in a fight with an alpha, but then he lied about who and why. He lied in a way that made him look better than Dream, made him seem like he cares more about Sapnap’s safety than Dream does.

George is no better than any other self-absorbed alpha, no matter how much he tries to be. He’s irresponsible in that sense, so maybe Dream and Sapnap are right about him. But still, the words have been spoken now, and he can’t do anything about it. He can’t really admit he just lied either, because now that’ll do more harm than good.

Sapnap doesn’t respond, instead choosing to idly run his hand over the bandage wrapped around the Brit’s skin. Maybe he can tell that George is lying and is choosing to ignore it, or maybe he just doesn’t believe George because he doesn’t see him as the kind of alpha that would go that extra step to protect him.

“Him and I have lived together for much longer, our bond is stronger.”

Dream’s words ring in George’s ears painfully loud, like that of the bell in school during a fire drill. It makes George feel annoyed again, especially because he knows it’s true. Sapnap wouldn’t seem so unsure with Dream, he wouldn’t doubt his abilities to protect him and keep him safe. If Dream said that exact thing, Sapnap would probably be alllll over him, thanking him for being such a big and strong alpha.

George nearly scowls, his frustration slowly building, before he notices that his boyfriend is looking at him again. Instantly, he relaxes, pressing another soft kiss to the omega’s temple before letting out a soft, contemplative sigh.

He needs to do more than this to prove that he’s a better alpha than they give him credit for. And he doesn’t just want to prove it to Sapnap, but to Dream too. That’s going to have to wait though, because as of right now, George and Dream are enemies. The focus will have to remain on Sapnap - not that George is complaining.

He wants to help the omega to the best of his abilities, but that’s hard to do when he still thinks that George isn’t a very good alpha. And with Dream constantly getting in the way, it’s hard to remain calm and have the one-on-one time with Sapnap that he needs in order to prove himself.

George thinks about his plan from earlier, about how he waited for Dream to leave the bedroom before sliding into the nest. He was foolish to not fully flesh out his plan first, especially because he can’t stay here for long. Dream will inevitably return, sooner rather than later since he knows Sapnap is waiting, so George needs to figure out how to take care of Sapnap outside of this room.

For Sapnap’s sake, George should stay here in his nest, holding him and knotting him when he needs it. But if Dream catches him, he’d be furious, and George doesn’t want Sapnap to witness them growling at each other again.

So what if he wasn’t here when Dream got back? What if both him and Sapnap were somewhere else? A change of environment will be good too, this room holds a lot of tension and smells off because of Dream and George threatening each other with guttural noises and putrid scents in an attempt to scare each other off. So maybe moving Sapnap to George’s own bedroom instead is better for everyone, right? Sapnap still gets to be in an alpha’s space, he’s in a different room with a fresh environment, he gets to be surrounded by a much more comforting scent than candy canes…

Plus, omegas usually have multiple nests scattered around their houses anyways. This is actually a good idea. Now George just needs to convince Sapnap to agree to his plan, and he needs to do it in a timely manner so they can leave and get it all set up before Dream returns.

“You don’t have any other nests, do you?” George asks, soothingly rubbing Sapnap’s back while lowly growling in order to further comfort him.

“Mm-nn,”

“Do you want to build another? I know that omegas like having multiple nests around the house,”

Sapnap’s eyes flutter, inhaling sharply before pressing his nose to George’s scent glands again. The Brit’s scent is stronger now, he realises, because he feels more confident now that he has a plan. Maybe his stronger scent will convince Sapnap to do what’s best for everyone.

“I wan’ a knot,” Sapnap mumbles, chapped lips brushing against the smooth, warm skin of George’s neck.

“I know, baby, so what if I knot you in my room? We can build a nest in there, on my bed, and I’ll knot you as many times as you’d like, yeah?”

Sapnap suddenly pulls his head back, hands squeezing the flesh of George’s arms before releasing. His scent starts to smell off, and he curls in on himself slightly, making the Brit feel a little panicked. Was it something he said? He thought omegas liked having multiple nests, especially in their alpha’s room?

“Nick?” George calls softly, resting his hand on his shoulder, “Baby?”

“Please d-don’t kick me out ‘f my nest,” Sapnap whimpers, eyes watery and body beginning to tremble, “‘m s-sorry if I did something, Alpha.”

“What?” George gasps, mind-racing and heart breaking in his chest. Oh god, what was he thinking? Of course Sapnap was going to interpret it like that, he’s expressed so many times already that he’s scared of getting kicked out of his nest. His last alpha clearly did something like that, so suggesting that they build a different nest somewhere else entirely while he’s in heat was a terrible fucking idea.

George has been trying so hard to prove his mates wrong, has been doing his best to show that he’s a good alpha, but so far everything has been backfiring. Now Sapnap is panicking, and as much as George is trying to coo at him and kiss him and hold him, Sapnap won’t stop crying. He smells fucking terrible too, like he’s trying to scare George off with his scent. As if he’s intentionally making it smell the worst it possibly can solely to get the Brit out of the room.

Thundering footsteps stomp down the hall, and suddenly, the bedroom door swings open.

“What the fuck?!” Dream yells, rushing over to the bed. He frowns at the sight of Sapnap in his current state, shaking and sobbing, curled in on himself. Then he turns his attention to George and glares. “What the fuck did you do?”

George may be an older, wiser, alpha with more experience and therefore have an upper-hand against Dream, but the absolute death stare being shot George’s way sends ice-cold fear racing down his spine. Especially combined with Sapnap freaking out, looking genuinely horrified while smelling as rancid as he does.

“I- I was just-”

“Look at what you did!” Dream growls, grabbing George by the arm and roughly pulling him off of the bed and out of the nest. He practically throws him to the ground, getting rid of who he probably sees as a perpetrator right now, before turning to look at Sapnap. “Baby, I’m right here…”

Sapnap only cries harder. Even when Dream lets out a low, comforting rumble, Sapnap keeps crying. Was what George said really that bad? Did it end up bringing him back to every despicable memory, every horrid flashback? Is he reliving it all right now in the span of a few minutes, all because of George trying to convince him to build a nest elsewhere?

He just wanted to leave Dream’s stupid room, have more time with Sapnap without Dream being a problem. He just wanted to surround the omega with his own sharp and sweet piney scent, bring him to his own bed in his own room where Sapnap could be knotted and treated the way he deserves to be treated.

George knows he’s better than Dream, without a doubt. But… He hasn’t been doing a very good job at proving it, and now he fears he may not ever be able to prove himself. His mates most definitely won’t trust him after this.

“He wants you out.” Dream growls, staring George down.

The Brit has yet to move, since being tossed aside. He’s just standing, watching, his own heart breaking in his chest while he scrambles for what to do. Sapnap never said anything about kicking George out though? In fact, Sapnap is crying harder now that George isn’t in the nest.

The Brit’s heart pounds in his chest, adrenaline coursing through his veins the same way it did when he and Dream got into that first big, real fight. He knows he shouldn’t, knows they can’t do it again, especially not right in front of Sapnap, but Dream’s growl is one of a fighter. He’s challenging George, trying to taunt him and get him to growl back.

“You’re scaring him by growling like that,” George says, trying his best to stay calm.

He knows he’s got a tone right now though, he knows he sounds bitchy, especially when he crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow at Dream expectantly. He’s provoking Dream on right back, the way he likes to do with Sapnap sometimes when they’re messing around and George wants to get a reaction out of him. Except this time it isn’t for fun. This time, it’s purely to piss Dream off and push him to be the one to snap first.

He’s trying to get Dream to overreact and make Sapnap a little more scared of the taller man, sue him. George just wants to be a good alpha, but Dream keeps getting in the fucking way! He wants Sapnap to find comfort in him, wants Sapnap to ask him to be his heat partner, wants to be as good as an alpha as he knows that he can be.

Dream is naive and stupid, blind to things that are so obviously there to George. He’s unable to pick up on certain smells, still hasn’t quite figured out the process of a heat. Doesn’t know all the likes and dislikes of omegas while they’re in heat, and doesn’t understand how to interact with them differently while they’re in heat compared to when they’re out of heat.

Obviously Dream isn’t stupid, he’s a quick learner with a big heart and he loves to love. But that’s exactly why George hates him right now. Once Dream learns how to be as good of an alpha, once he learns the tips and tricks and techniques, George will be cast off to the side completely because he’s not good with the emotional stuff. He’s not good at comfort when it comes to all this. But Dream is.

“Get out of here, George,” Dream warns, “don’t do this again, not in here, not now.”

Sapnap whines, and the Brit watches as he curls up and tries burying his face further into the pillow. His instincts are shouting at him, telling him to go be there for his omega, to get in the nest and protect him from the danger that has got him so freaked out.

What his instincts don’t understand is that right now, George is the danger. George is the one that made Sapnap cry like this, he’s the reason Sapnap is a shaking, whining, snotty mess.

But… It’s Dream’s fault too, though. Had he just given George more time, more of a chance, Sapnap wouldn’t be crying anymore. George knows how to make an omega in heat calm down, soothing words and gentle touches don’t quite do it. Dream doesn’t get that though, because again, he’s a young, naive alpha who hasn’t quite differentiated the wants and needs of an omega in heat versus an omega out of heat.

The best thing to do in this situation would be to gently finger Sapnap, remind him he’s got a dominant presence with him that will take care of him. He’ll be so caught up in the feeling of something inside of him that his brain will demand for a knot instead, and as weird as it sounds, as almost manipulative as it may seem, when an omega is in heat, the things they need most are knots and praise. Comfort too, of course, physical touch and gentle kisses, because they need to be loved on and doted on - something George is sure Sapnap’s first alpha didn’t do, which is why he’s reacting like this.

Dream doesn’t get that though, he’s just going to lay beside Sapnap and wrap him up in a hug and try to shush him, but that only satisfies one side of Sapnap’s brain. The other part of him will still want a knot, still need an alpha to dominate him and take control, but Dream won’t do that because he’ll think it’s an inappropriate time to do all that.

“Dream, let me take care of this,” George tells him slowly, tone sharp and demanding. He growls back at Dream, aggressive but quiet, so as to not startle Sapnap too much more. He glares right back at the other alpha, gives him that cold, killer look in hopes of scaring him enough to make him back down, but he doesn’t.

In fact, he just loudly snarls instead, and pounces at George. At least he was the first to snap, so it makes George look a little better.

“Dream!” George yells, jumping out of the way. “You’re being a stupid knot-headed alpha right now, stop! You’re scaring him more!”

“You don’t know him like I do!” Dream yells, trying to bite at George again.

“Calm down!” George shouts, roughly shoving at the Floridian’s shoulders before rushing over to the bed. “Sapnap-”

A sharp, searing pain suddenly digs into his shoulder, making him see all sorts of different colours for a second before he whips around and throws the hardest punch that he possibly can. Dream yelps like a dog that just got its tail stepped on and stumbles back, Sapnap’s sobbing grows louder as he watches the situation unfold before him, and George hisses in pain as his shoulder begins to leak warm blood, soaking the shirt he wears while some of it trails down his arm.

George growls at the dirty-blond, throwing one of his hands onto his shoulder to keep it from bleeding out too much as he yells; “This isn’t going to help, Dream, you stupid fuck!”

“He’s crying because of you, George, this is your fault! I’m trying to protect him from you, because you’re a shitty alpha who does nothing but hurt people.” Dream spits, words venomous, hurting George almost as much as the bite.

“I was just- I was trying to help,” George whimpers, shoulders sagging slightly. His shoulder is throbbing in pain, the feeling only getting worse when he relaxes his shoulders, causing him to wince. He can’t help but feel like he deserves this a little bit.

“Well, did you? Nope! Because you’re useless as an alpha, useless as a boyfriend, useless as a- as a fucking business partner. You’re lazy and sloppy and stupid, you can never do anything on your own, and you need to leave us alone.”

George would cry, if he was a crier. But he’s not. He tries not to be. Because crying is embarrassing, and it doesn’t solve any problems. So instead, he turns his hurt into anger, and he uses it to his advantage. Dream’s words hurt, like daggers to his chest, or a sword digging straight into his heart and twisting, twisting, twisting until there’s nothing left but a broken, torn up heart.

He lunges towards the younger alpha, extending his claws and digging them into his chest that’s protected with nothing but a hoodie. Dream shouts in pain, George can feel as his claws scratch through the hoodie and dig into the skin beneath, into his chest, and while it’s not deep enough to do anything crazy like rip his heart out, it’s enough to incite more fear into the naive alpha, and certainly enough to hurt a hell of a lot.

“St-o-op!” Sapnap sobs loudly, suddenly standing right beside them. He weakly tugs at George’s arm, legs shaking so much it looks like he might fall over any second now while his arms shake in a similar way. His scent is sickeningly sweet now, and George can smell just how forced it is, can smell how opposite it is to what Sapnap is feeling, can detect that the only reason he’s doing this is to get the two alphas to stop fighting.

He does collapse to the ground after only a few seconds, drops to his knees and turns around, gets in a presenting position curled up on the carpeted floor. He’s not in his nest right now, George can only imagine how scrambled and unwell his brain is right now. The thought instantly breaks him away from the rage he feels. The hatred for Dream vanishes in an instant, and both alphas stare while Sapnap shakily presents his ass, even lewdly pulling his cheeks apart to reveal the slick that leaks from his stretched hole.

“J-just br-breed me, fuck me-e, stop fight-ting!” Sapnap begs, sobbing, hiccuping breaths, sounding like he can barely even breathe.

“Oh my god…” George breathes out, backing away from Dream. He blinks at the sight before him, utterly terrified at how… Just truly broken Sapnap looks.

Throwing himself at the alphas like he’s nothing more than a toy to be used and discarded, like he’s nothing but their play-thing, solely for the purpose of getting them to stop fighting. Sapnap is here, on the ground, outside of his nest. Throwing away his dignity, his everything, turning into the crude and evil stereotypes and old-fashioned views of omegas. Showing off his parts like he’s just an alpha’s sex slave, like his only life purpose is to please alphas. Like he doesn’t have a say in any of it, doesn’t get to have the joy of picking a heat partner, spending time with them in a nest they built together, sharing intimate moments of love and sex, closeness and romance.

The balance. It’s so non-existent to Sapnap right now, even to his rational mind. He’s in something much worse than survival mode right now, like he’s not even trying to survive anymore. It’s like he’s sacrificing himself in order to break up a stupid petty fucking fight.

That balance that was already broken in Sapnap’s mind is completely destroyed now. It’s going to have to be built back up, piece by piece, and that might take years to do. Years of regrowing trust, rebuilding safety within the pack, rebuilding… Everything that they’ve worked towards.

It feels like hours go by as they stare at him, but realistically it’s only seconds.

Sapnap is still sobbing into his folded arms, wiggling his hips enticingly. Dream reaches a hand down to pet his hair, speaking in a soothing tone, but Sapnap snarls at him and tries to bite his hand.

“I- I don’t get it, Sap, how do I help you?” he asks, lost, scared. And despite the rivalry they’ve got going on right now, he even looks to George for guidance. But George is just as stumped.

Yes, giving him a knot would calm him down, and in most situations that’s what should be done. But here, it’s just… Everything is broken. Knotting him right now might just further destroy his self-esteem, might hurt him more than it helps him.

They need to get him back into his nest, and then maybe… Maybe George should leave. He’s the one who started this, it’s all his fucking fault. Sapnap is in the worst ever state of mind because of him, all because he wanted to move Sapnap’s nest to his bedroom because he’s a selfish son of a bitch who wanted the omega for himself. So he could prove himself, so he could show off that he’s a better alpha than his mates think.

He did none of that today though. In fact, he may have done the opposite. All he did was show them that he’s a fucking idiot, and a pathetic, selfish alpha.

“Let us take you back to your nest,” George whispers, a low rumble in his chest, trying his best to give the younger man any form of comfort that he possibly can, “we’re not going to just use you like that, Nick we- we love you.”

“P-please,” Sapnap shakes, not even bothering to fight it anymore as the two pick him up and bring him back into the nest, “anything to s-stop you from ki-illing each other.”

“We’re not going to kill each other,” Dream assures, getting in the nest with him and curling up beside him.

“Look wh-what you did to him!” Sapnap shouts, choking on a sob and falling into a coughing fit while he stares at the Brit, or more specially, his shoulder.

George just stands there, shoulder still bleeding and in pain, but not as much as before, especially because he’s so focused on trying to figure out where to go from here. He’s sure Dream’s injury hurts still too, and the softer, caring side of his alpha wants to tend to his wounds and take care of him, but he can’t.

Dream and George aren’t even friends right now because of all this. George can’t take care of him, because that would be like admitting defeat and giving up Sapnap. George doesn’t want to give up Sapnap, he wants to continue being the one to be by his side through his heat, making sure it goes as smoothly as possible.

Though he hasn’t been doing a very good job so far.

“P-please knot me,” Sapnap whimpers, sniffling and coughing on spit again as he looks between the two of them and wiggles his hips again, “fuck me, alphas, fuck me.”

“Sapnap,” George starts, growling softly in a way that soothes Sapnap’s omega. It works, and Sapnap’s muscles relax a little more, especially now that Dream and George aren’t verbally or physically fighting anymore. “I’m not entirely sure that’s the best idea right now. I know you need knots, but let’s get you back to a calm, loopy headspace first, okay?”

“But wh-what if you two s-start fighting?” Sapnap asks, almost whispering it as if he’s trying to keep from crying again, “I need to make sure m-my alphas d-don’ fight.”

“That’s not your job though, baby,” Dream soothes, nuzzling his face into Sapnap’s neck from behind and scenting him. Sapnap’s true sweet cocoa scent begins to shine through the distressed one, and a quiet purr elicits from his throat, making both Dream and George light up a little bit.

“It’s up to us to keep from fighting. We’re both idiots,” George says, taking a step back from the bed, “I’m an idiot. I shouldn’t have come in here without Dream’s permission.”

“But-” Sapnap starts, frowning and beginning to hyperventilate again as George backs farther and farther away.

“No, love, it’s not your responsibility. I… I need to leave. You have Dream here, okay? He’ll…” George trails off, the alpha inside of him growling and screaming at him viciously, telling him to keep fighting for his spot, keep trying to claim his omega.

But he doesn’t succumb to the desire, no matter how strong it may be, because he needs to prove that he’s responsible. Even if it means he doesn’t get to be the alpha that helps Sapnap out during his heats.

“He’ll be the one to take care of you, okay?” George finalises, quickly turning towards and leaving before he can hear anymore of Sapnap’s protests or before his stupid alpha instincts make him do more stupid shit.

He hears Sapnap’s pained whine, his scent growing sour again, but then he smells Dream’s scent too. Overpowering, gentle and welcoming. The sweetness of the candy canes blends with the hot cocoa scent, replacing the sourness of it and making it sweet again too.

Sapnap has already warmed back up to Dream, it seems. He doesn’t even need or want George. He can’t even bring himself to be upset about that though, not after what he’s done. Not after what he caused.

He trudges back to his room, utterly defeated and hurt, moreso emotionally than anything. He doesn’t even care to tend to his wound right now, even if he knows that he should. Even if there’s the possibility it could get infected if he doesn’t. He just can’t bring himself to do it, not when he feels so guilty, not when he feels like he deserves it.

Of course, Dream’s been acting fucking stupid too. George isn’t going to sit here and act like everything is his fault. But he’s aware that he’s an instigator, he’s aware that he pissed Dream off and got him all worked up when he could’ve just not done that.

Sapnap knows first-hand how much of an instigator George can be. So while this isn’t all on him and he’s not the only one who was acting like an idiot, a lot of it escalated because of him. It escalated to the point of violence because of him, because he lunged at Dream first the other day when they were fighting in the kitchen.

And even after all that, after everything he put them both through, he still lost. It wasn’t because he didn’t do enough, but it’s because he did too much. He went too far. Yes, Dream fought back, but… George nearly killed him, for fuck’s sake!

Honestly, George is probably no fucking better than Sapnap’s first alpha. He was trying so hard to prove that he’s not only much better than Sapnap’s first alpha, but that he’s also a perfect heat partner too. He was trying to show Sapnap and Dream that he can put up a fight, that he’s not some lazy leech that takes and takes and never gives back.

He just wanted to show how knowledgeable he is, give them a new perspective and have them realise that he’s a lot more responsible than they give him credit for.

Yet in the end, all he ended up doing was remind Sapnap of just how cruel and selfish alphas can be. All he did was bring Sapnap back to his toxic relationship, and give him new horrible memories that may very well add onto his trauma.

That thought breaks George’s heart, and before he can even try to stop himself, he’s breaking down quietly against his bedroom door. He makes sure it’s locked before sliding down it slowly, finally allowing the tears to fall and the sobs to wrack through his chest while his heart shatters.

Chapter Text

Sapnap has yet to fall asleep, and it’s been hours since that fight between Dream and George broke out. He hates himself for it, but he feels so tense and scared right now, though he’s making sure to mask the scent.

He’s supposed to feel safe with his alpha! He’s supposed to feel relaxed, he’s supposed to trust his mates. But how can he? How can he, when he watched Dream pounce at George and sink his teeth into him? How can Sapnap trust his mates when George came in here trying to kick him out of his nest? How can he trust either of them when they’re so focussed on trying to take each other down that they couldn’t care less about Sapnap’s well-being?

He doesn’t like feeling like this. He doesn’t like this cold, broken feeling inside of him, like something is wrong with him. Like inside of him was an already chipped and cracked flower vase, just waiting to be taped up and taken care of, but instead it got knocked off the table and now the glass shards are everywhere.

Even though it’s not Sapnap’s fault, even though he’s not the one who shattered himself, it’s his glass shards that are digging into Dream and George’s bare feet. His broken self that’s stabbing through their skin and making them bleed, hurting them.

He’s the reason behind them acting out like this, even though what happened in his past isn’t particularly his fault. Because of his body not feeling safe enough until now to have a heat, it’s much more intense. Sapnap knew it was going to be a rough one, going into it, but he supposes he didn’t warn his two boyfriends well enough.

He’d read about it somewhere, some article he skimmed through when he was panicking because it had been over a year since his first heat - heats are supposed to happen every 3 months. He found out that if omegas experience a traumatic situation surrounding their heats, their bodies will naturally suppress them until it finally feels safe enough to have another one. This bodily reaction works the same as heat suppressant supplements, which means it also has the same negative impacts too. Like how the intensity of the next heat will just grow and grow the longer they’re suppressed, so it’s better not to be on suppressants at all.

And if they’re being suppressed because of trauma? The omega is supposed to see a therapist to help them work through it sooner rather than later.

Sapnap never did that though, because he didn’t have the money and he certainly didn’t want to relive what happened to him. He had hoped that he could forget about it and move on, and that his heat would come back naturally.

But it took so much longer than he thought it would, and now his mates are literally tearing each other apart because of him.

He should’ve never had a heat here! He should’ve spent his heat in the second house, alone with some toys. Then maybe, by his third heat, he would’ve had more control over himself. Maybe he would’ve been able to put an end to his alphas’ fighting sooner.

Of course, the intensity of this heat doesn’t just have to do with all the suppression. It also has to do with the fact that it’s not only his second ever heat, but it’s also the first heat where he’s felt safe. Until now, obviously.

His emotions were all over the place when this first started, nervous system whack and unsure of how to feel. But then George took care of him, coached him through his pain and knotted him upon request, easing that flame of doubt inside of Sapnap that was starting to grow into an irredeemably destructive fire.

But George didn’t give Sapnap the emotional comfort he craved, the words of reassurance, the calming talks to keep him from having panic attacks. He wasn’t able to say all the right things to keep Sapnap from overthinking, give him advice on how to cope with these feelings of self-blame, or even just be able to listen.

That’s where Dream came in. He comforted the over-emotional, haywire side of Sapnap’s brain. Talked idly about how loved he is, how much he and George care about him, and helped him through the many panic and anxiety attacks Sapnap experienced. The last couple of days they spent together, every time Sapnap began crying because of how bad of an omega he was for constantly asking for a knot, Dream shushed him. Pressed gentle kisses all over his face and praised him, reminded him that he’s not at all a bad omega for doing what’s completely natural.

But most of the time when Sapnap was crying and panicking, as much as Dream’s soothing words helped calm him down a little bit, he also craved yet another knot. Dream didn’t quite pick up on that though, or maybe he did but he figured talking things through would be better.

Sapnap knows George probably would’ve taken initiative and fucked the omega stupid, had he been there too. He may be lazy as an alpha, but based on what George has done so far, he seems to know what he’s doing. Maybe experience does make him a good alpha after all.

Either way though, the two of them on their own aren’t enough. That’s why Sapnap was hoping they’d get along, that’s why he trusted them when they promised him that they wouldn’t let their alpha instincts make them go berserk.

Sapnap would’ve liked to be the one who got to choose who he spends time with, and when he gets his one on one time with them. But it seems like they have their own system between them, where they choose who gets the omega when, without asking him what he wants. And then they… Fight about it?

Because of course they do. Because no matter what Dream and George try to tell him, no matter what comfort they give him, no matter what promises they make, they are both still alphas. Aggressive and overbearing at their core, with instincts that make them go batshit insane if they don’t get what they want, when they want it.

Sapnap is stupid for thinking they’d be different from most. In no way is Sapnap trying to imply that they’re like his first alpha - they’re nowhere near as bad as he was, thank God, but…

Dream and George still scare him all the same.

They snapped and turned on each other the very first day of Sapnap’s heat - their aggressive growls echo in his mind, reminding him of his place as an omega, as their omega. It’d be kind of hot if it weren’t for the fact that Sapnap is fucking terrified of it.

Who knows how much longer it is before they turn on Sapnap too? Before they start bitching at him for smelling too sweet, for taking up too much space in the nest, for whining too much and asking for a knot over and over again?

Sapnap is scared, just as scared as his first time. Maybe he won’t ever get to experience a heat where he’s not shaking with fear and doubting himself, blaming himself for how he’s feeling. Maybe every future heat with Dream and George will inevitably end in them fighting to near-death until one of them surrenders. Maybe… Maybe this stress and the overall negative emotions the omega feels during the most vulnerable moments of his life - his heats - are just his normal now.

Because here he is, laying in his nest, curled into a ball, cramps killing him slowly as they tear his insides apart, but he’d much rather deal with the pain than ask for a knot and deal with more of that harsh growling. More of that subtle smell of possessiveness. That slight sharpness to their scents that warns other alphas to back off.

Don’t get him wrong, he loves their growling when it’s soft and warm, rumbly and loving, meant just for him. But when it’s so obviously towards each other? Slightly louder, pitched a little bit lower, with those putrid scents to go with it… Sapnap hates that. He knows they’re not directing those noises and smells at him, but hearing and smelling that pure hatred and anger makes him feel sick to his stomach because it reminds him of a time when they were directed at him.

Dream lets out a slightly louder snore from where he lays beside Sapnap, startling the younger man out of his thoughts. He turns his head to stare at the side of Dream’s face, a small frown tugging at his lips while Sapnap keeps trying to tell himself to stop crying.

Right now, Dream smells neutral, but not bad. Like he’s having a good sleep, but not having any sort of dreams or nightmares. It’s relieving as much as it is frustrating - it means Sapnap is masking his scent very well, otherwise the alpha would be awake by now. But it also means Sapnap doesn’t get the attention he craves, the knot that he needs.

He can’t stop trembling. He can’t stop crying either, and even though he’s not hiccuping anymore, struggling to breathe, he can still feel the tears as they roll down his cheeks and land on the sheets below.

Another problem with Dream is that he always tries to get Sapnap to stop crying before knotting him. During the two days that he was taking care of Sapnap, everytime the younger man began panicking and tearfully asking to be knotted, Dream just laid next to him and tried wiping his tears away. He’d shush the omega while repeating those comforting affirmations and soothing words over and over, refusing to knot Sapnap until he “looked okay again”.

It was immensely frustrating. Dream doesn’t seem to quite understand that sometimes, omegas are so goddamn desperate to be fucked and filled that they can’t stop crying no matter what!

So Sapnap had to force himself to stop crying, in order to please his alpha enough to earn the knot he craved so desperately.

Sapnap doesn’t want to deal with that again right now. He can’t stop crying, and he’s tried to! For the past hour he’s been trying to force himself to stop, that way he can wake Dream up and ask him to knot him without any hesitation from the older man.

It’s impossible to fall asleep, even though he’s no longer heaving sobs into the pillow and fighting through another panic attack. But it’s not just the desire for a knot that’s keeping him awake right now, nor is it the overwhelming amount of mixed emotions he’s feeling.

He’s fucking scared of falling asleep at the moment. Today has been the worst day of his heat so far, and it’s been the day that’s affected him most. All the memories from the past are at the forefront of his mind now, reminding him of exactly why 19-year-old Sapnap had vowed to never trust another alpha again. He can practically hear his previous alpha’s voice berating him every time he lets out a shaky breath and allows more tears to drip onto the once-dry pillowcase below his head, scolding him for making such a mess and acting like such an overdramatic pussy.

“Keep fucking crying, watch what happens.” “I c-can’t help i-it, it hurts!”

Smack!

“If you want a knot so bad then shut the fuck up, otherwise you’re not getting one. Were you never taught to respect your alphas?”

Sapnap shudders, curling up into a tighter ball as he wills the memory away. His entire body is tense right now, all of his defenses up as he tiptoes around the broken shards of himself and avoids confronting the trauma he was given. He pushes it all away as best as he can, brushes all the shards under the rug and hopes that nobody else steps on it, because he’s afraid of what he might do to himself if he has to sit here and relive everything right now trying to piece it all back together.

If he falls asleep, it’s a fucking guarantee that he’ll have nightmares and actually truly relive everything he worked so hard towards escaping, so he makes sure to never relax. Keeps his body tense, nervous system on alert, thoughts racing, that way it’s impossible for him to feel drowsy and unable to keep his eyes open.

As tired as he may be right now, his mind is wide awake and refuses to let him sleep. Of course, the harsh pains in his gut and the overwhelming need to be knotted don’t help either. He might just have to wait this night out, hope his eyes dry out so that by the time it’s morning and Dream is awake, Sapnap will be physically incapable of continuing to cry.

This might be one of the roughest nights of his life.

———

Sapnap watches with half-lidded, tired eyes as his alpha’s eyes blink open slowly and his body begins to stir. The room is starting to feel warmer as the sunlight peeks in through the window and illuminates the area, making Sapnap shudder. Although maybe the rising heat Sapnap feels isn’t coming from the rising sun, but from himself, because his alpha is awake and it’s setting off all his instincts and urges to get fucked.

He’s so fucking tired, his eyes want to shut and allow sleep to take him, but they can’t. It’s not that he’s being stubborn and refusing to sleep until he gets knotted, or that he’s still afraid of the possibility of having nightmares - he’s so exhausted that he even thinks he could sleep without having any - it’s that he’s literally unable to because he’s still so keyed up. His body is restless, it just won’t relax enough to let him sleep, as if he has an ongoing adrenaline rush of sorts. It’s killing him. He already felt like shit before the exhaustion, but now his mood is so much worse - he doesn’t even have the energy to mask his malodorous scent anymore.

He’s incapable of continuing to cry too now, even though the emotional and mental pain is all still there, begging for release through his sobs. He can barely move around because his body is just so physically exhausted from being up all night crying and stressing about everything. Maybe that’s good though, because maybe it means Dream will knot him without worrying about why he’s in tears.

Sapnap is laying here, already in the presenting position, waiting for Dream to wake up enough to take what’s his and reward his omega with a knot. Sapnap was so good all night, following orders he was taught years ago to keep his alpha happy. Surely he deserves a reward now, right?

“Holy shit,” Dream curses, nose scrunching up as his head whips to the side to look at Sapnap.

“Alpha,” Sapnap croaks weakly, wiggling his hips a little, “I need a knot.”

“Nick… Did- did you get any sleep?” Dream asks in the calmest tone he can muster, though he’s visibly very worried. He carefully sits up and rests a gentle hand on the other man’s back, rubbing it slowly while making his refreshing peppermint flare a little bit more.

The warmth of his palm makes Sapnap shudder, the touch so close yet so far from what he wants. He lets out a dry sob, wiggling his hips again as he prays to whatever is out there that Dream isn’t going to try soothing him with words again.

“I need a knot, it hurts, Alpha, please.”

“O-okay, okay…” the older man replies hesitantly, shifting around on the mattress until he’s behind Sapnap.

He rests both hands on Sapnap’s hips, and immediately the omega is pushing his ass back against Dream’s crotch, another dry sob escaping him as he falls into frantic begging.

“Shhh, baby, I hear you,” Dream murmurs, slowly sliding into the man in front of him with ease, “you’re okay, I’m going to help you. I promise.”

The relief is immediate. Sapnap thinks he might start crying again from how happy he is at finally being free of the stabbing pains in his stomach, but his eyes are far too tired to shed anymore tears. In fact, as Dream fucks him slow and gentle, Sapnap almost thinks he could fall asleep.

Dream’s arms are wrapped around him, his chest pressing to Sapnap’s back, he’s cooing gentle reassurances in Sapnap’s ear and occasionally nibbling at the scent glands on his neck, continuing until Sapnap smells okay again - until Sapnap is relaxed again.

Now that he is fully relaxed though, everything is catching up to him, and it doesn’t take too long before his eyes begin to drift shut.

“Pl’s don’ stop,” he begs quietly, “j’st keep going, please.”

“Are you falling asleep?” Dream asks, and to Sapnap’s dismay, his thrusts abruptly stop.

“Dream.” Sapnap suddenly huffs, sounding genuinely pissed - he is. He just wants to be fucked and filled and given a pup and he wants these cramps to stop, the flashbacks to stop, he wants everything to be okay again but that’s all kind of hard when Dream is just… Dangling it all in front of his face, just out of reach.

“You’re being a bad alpha, you’re supposed to give me a knot when I ask for it!”

“Get out of the nest! If you can’t be respectful, you don’t deserve to feel safe. Fix your fucking attitude first and then I will fuck you when I so please. You understand me?”

“But-”

“Don’t make me hit you again, Nick. Because I’ll do it if I have to.”

“I- I’m sorry, Alpha, you- you can stop if you want to.” Sapnap apologises, muscles tightening up again while he tries to keep from throwing up. He shuts his mouth and closes his eyes, counting to ten in his head while swallowing his saliva in hopes that it keeps the bile in his throat from rising any further.

“Nick, what’s going on?” Dream asks, sounding concerned and confused. He leans down again, kissing the younger man’s scent glands over and over while gently squeezing him a little tighter, but still, he doesn’t continue his thrusts. “I- I don’t know how to help you, I don’t wanna hurt you. I don’t want to keep fucking you if you’re sleeping, that’s all.”

“Y-you can stop, ‘s okay,” Sapnap mumbles, pushing his head into the pillow, “d-d’you want me to leave?”

Sapnap’s stomach and heart drop as he awaits the answer, unsure of whether or not his alpha will be nice to him this time. He knows he was disrespectful by giving him attitude, which means he needs to be punished, but he doesn’t want to get hit again. Nor does he want to get out of his nest, but… If that would make his alpha happy again, if that would make him stop being so angry at him, then he’ll do it.

“I’m sorry,” he repeats, and it feels like his throat is closing up while the world crashes down around him, “I won’t disrespect you again, I swear, I’m sorry, p-please don’t hurt me again.”

“Again? What-” the Alpha pauses, surely debating what sort of punishment he should give the disobedient omega in front of him. He slips out and lays next to him, making Sapnap want to cry again even if he knows he deserves it.

Instantaneously, the cramps return and everything feels a million times worse. He tries to get ahold of his scent, tries to mask it and keep it from smelling too gross or too sweet, attempts to keep it from being overbearing, but he’s way too fucking physically tired to get it under control. He collapses onto his side and curls into the tightest ball he can possibly manage, the fetal position helping ease the cramps, even if only a little bit.

His chest rises and falls quickly as the environment around him shifts, the face of the man next to him looking blurry while he smells oddly scared. His Alpha is scared of him? How? Why?

“Look at what you did! You bit me after I tried helping you! Get your head out of your ass and get yourself under control, or so help me, you’ll leave this heat with more scars than necessary.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Sapnap apologises again, working up the strength to get up and leave the nest to give the other man some space. “I didn’t mean to, it- it was an accident, I didn’t-”

“Nick,” the soft voice beside him says, “listen to my voice, okay? I want you to do something for me.”

“Y-yes, Alpha, anything y-you want, I’m sorry,”

“Shhh,” the Alpha tells him calmly, making Sapnap feel sick. He doesn’t at all sound angry or hurt or annoyed, his voice just sounds comforting, helping ease a part of Sapnap’s brain that had begun to slip away without Sapnap even realising.

This has to be some twisted mind game or something, his Alpha is luring him into a false sense of security just to get mad at him again for being stupid and falling for it. Sapnap can’t let the comforting smell of candy canes and the gentle tone of voice fool him, he’s not a stupid omega, he’s learned his lesson over and over again.

“I don’t know what exactly is going on, but I want to help you,” his Alpha lies, “in your head, I want you to name three things that you can smell. If it helps, you can say it out loud too.”

Three things he can smell? Why? Is he trying to make some snide comment about how bad Sapnap smells right now? Is this another way of degrading him and making him feel like shit about himself?

“I’m s-sorry,” Sapnap whimpers, shutting his eyes tightly while his body shakes.

“It’s okay, baby, you haven’t done anything wrong. What are three things you can smell? Have you thought of them?”

It’s hard to figure out what’s going on in his current, hazy state of mind, but he knows this has to be some sort of cruel trick. Even if it is, he knows not to disrespect his alpha, so he does as he’s told and inhales sharply, taking in the different scents around him.

Something sweet and minty, washing over Sapnap’s brain and body like a cold wave on a hot day at the beach. It’s that familiar scent of candy canes that he’s grown to love over the years living with his best friend, and it makes him feel… Safer, despite the fact that he’s not safe right now.

“C-candy canes,” he stutters, keeping his eyes closed and his head down.

“Good, okay, can you name two more?”

Sapnap wants to bare his teeth and let his anger out, tell the man off for making fun of him like this, but he knows that that always just ends with him getting a black eye and no nest to keep him protected. So he keeps from stepping out of line, and answers the man’s questions.

“Um,” he starts, heart pounding in his chest, “s-something sour and… Stale?”

It’s his own rotten scent. The rich, chocolatey hot cocoa has turned flat and rancid instead, mirroring his mental and emotional state. He really does try to get it under control, another apology on the tip of his tongue, but his alpha had previously said not to apologise and he doesn’t want to even dare disobey anymore orders. Not that he can anyway, because he finds that he can no longer breathe.

His lungs feel like they’re on fire, never getting enough air and always exhaling too much. It feels like he’s being suffocated to death, helpless to the inevitable fate that awaits him. There’s a lack of oxygen coming into his lungs, even as he pulls his face away from the sheets and forces himself to sit up, it’s never enough. Even when he lifts his head and tries to get some more air, it doesn’t seem to work.

“Shh, one more, baby, you’re doing so good.”

The praise makes Sapnap’s head feel a little lighter, like the boulders inside that are weighing him down, crushing him, are slowly being pushed off of him. It doesn’t solve the problem completely, doesn’t stop the suffocating feeling in his chest, but it at least makes it just a bit easier to think.

He takes a very shaky, barely-there inhale in an attempt to name at least one other smell.

Something crisp and fresh fills his nostrils next, a woody aroma that smells sweet and earthy. This one is also a familiar scent, one that brings memories of a man who’s crass and rude and stupid but always makes Sapnap laugh, no matter what’s going on.

While his own disgusting, fermented scent is making him feel worse about everything happening, the two familiar scents bring Sapnap back to the present, and help him feel a little more in control of his brain and body. It almost makes him think that everything is okay, but then when he opens his eyes all he sees is weird colours and he remembers that he still can’t fucking breathe.

“P-pinew-wood,” he stutters, breathing in and out quickly.

“Inhale slowly, Sapnap,” Dream tells him, “in for four seconds, hold for seven, and exhale for eight.”

Sapnap shakes his head quickly, trying to get rid of the sounds of his previous alpha’s voice. It’s like a ringing in his ears, one that he can’t get rid of no matter how hard he tries, and all it does is make him panic more. The thought of his previous alpha being here, next to him even after all this time, assaulting him with more cruel words and unkind touches, makes it hard to focus on his new alpha’s words.

“You’ve got this.” Another recognizable voice encourages meekly from a little farther away.

He tries to do as he’s told, but it’s hard at first. Every inhale is short and panicked, but the more he focuses on trying to follow the directions he was given, the more he thinks he might be able to do it. It’s bumpy in the beginning though, his inhales lasting only a couple short seconds and the holds lasting barely one, but soon enough, he’s doing it.

Sapnap’s lungs don’t feel like they’re struggling so much anymore, now that he’s getting closer and closer to successfully doing a four second inhale, a seven second hold, and then an eight second exhale. Once he’s done it one, two, three, four times successfully, and he’s no longer shaking and feeling dizzy, he opens his eyes.

“Hi,” Dream greets, now sitting up next to him. Sapnap can see George standing farther back, away from the nest but still in the room. “What are three things you can see?”

“Y-you,” he stutters, continuing to breathe in and out slowly, “George. And, um…”

He looks around the room, trying to find something interesting to name. He can see lots of different things, but none of them feel good enough to say, he wants to say something that doesn’t sound stupid.

“I dunno,” he shrugs, looking at his hands in his lap, “the nest, I guess?”

“Okay,” Dream says, “good. You’re doing really well, Nick, I’m really proud of you.”

Sapnap begins to purr unexpectedly at the additional praise, but he doesn’t bother trying to stop the rumbling from his chest. He knows that with the two of them, he can make those sounds and they won’t shout at him for it. He relaxes a little bit more at the thought, a very small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Now, one last thing. Tell me three things that you hear.”

Sapnap rolls his eyes a little, looking at Dream again. “Why?”

“Just do it, idiot, it’ll help.” George tells him, standing a little bit closer to the bed now.

Dream whips his head around, seemingly surprised that the Brit has moved even closer, and memories from the day before make Sapnap stiffen up again. There’s a plea on the tip of his tongue, an urge to beg them not to fight again, to once again tell them to fuck him instead of fighting each other.

He’s so tired of this.

“Baby,” Dream coos, and Sapnap shakes his head at him, looking down at his hands again.

“E-even when I’m, like, freaked out, you and George can’t put it to rest.”

“I wasn’t- we weren’t going to-”

“Your head fucking spun around so fast when you heard him next to the bed, dude, you clearly still don’t want him here.”

“Well, yeah, but- but that’s because it’s my time with you. He got time with you, now it’s my turn.”

Sapnap scoffs. He thought things were about to get better, he thought that Dream allowing George into the room meant that they were finally going to start getting along again, he thought that maybe the two of them helping him through his panic attack together would make them realise that they work better as a team.

He never fails to surprise himself with just how fucking stupid he continues to be.

“Sap, you know that we both- we both really care about you, and… Like, we both want to help you.” George tries. Sapnap ignores him.

“Just… S-stop.”

“Do you want a knot?” George asks with a small tilt of his head.

“What the fuck do you think, George?” Sapnap snaps, but he immediately regrets it. He shrinks in on himself and bows his head down submissively, respectfully, and apologises quietly.

“Why haven’t you knotted him yet?” Sapnap hears George ask in a whisper.

“Because he was falling asleep and then he started freaking out and I didn’t wanna, like, do anything he didn’t want,” Dream answers, “don’t pretend to know more than me, George, you don’t know how to be a good alpha. You wouldn’t have been able to help him through that, he needs me more than he needs you.”

Sapnap grips the sheets in his hands, wanting nothing more than to pass out and just… Not exist for a little while. He can’t take anymore of their fighting.

George huffs, the smallest growl rumbling from his chest. “I’m trying to help. Stop causing another fucking argument and just listen to what I have to say.”

“What advice could you possibly give, George?”

“If he explicitly asks for a knot, you knot him. No matter what, no matter how much he’s crying or panicking, no matter if he’s sleeping. If he asks you for a knot beforehand, you knot him. It’ll help calm him down, and it’ll help get rid of his cramps.”

“If he’s crying, I’m not knotting him. That feels fucked up. Even more so if he’s asleep, what’s wrong with you? Why would you ever do that to someone?”

“Because when omegas are in heats, they literally need knots to survive. It can fuck them up mentally if their alpha doesn’t knot them upon request, Dream, how did no one ever teach you this?”

Sapnap shudders, tears managing to well up in his eyes despite how dry they feel. He’s shaking, choking back a sob, but neither of them seem to notice. They’re too caught up in arguing yet again.

“Don’t talk down to me like you know more, George, because I can guarantee that I’m a better fit for him. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Fuck you! I’m literally trying to fucking help Nick, this isn’t about you. This isn’t about me. This is about him, this is about helping him. Okay? So just take my advice and fucking knot him, stop hesitating, just do it. If he starts freaking out too much before a knot, gently finger him to remind him that you’re there to help, and once he’s calmed down a bit, you need to knot him.”

Sapnap’s shoulders shake, feeling frustrated and sad. George knows a lot more than he and Dream gave him credit for, he would have been able to keep Sapnap from having so many of the panic attacks that he had with Dream. But Dream is so good with words, always knowing just what to say, and he just helped Sapnap through one of the really bad panic attacks that he’s not entirely sure a knot would have fixed.

“I’m not going to do that! George, that’s really fucking weird, there’s no way that’s, like, a thing. Fucking him while he’s asleep? Knotting him while he’s having a panic attack, shaking and crying? Absolutely not.”

“Just fucking trust me for once, Dream, you’re making his heat so much worse.”

They need each other. All three of them need each other to work. It’s like that with content creation, it’s like that with their friendship, and it’s like that with their relationship too. Why haven’t these two fucking morons figured that out yet?

“Me?! You’re the one who almost killed me the other day by jumping on top of me and biting into my fucking neck!”

Sapnap’s head snaps up, his teary eyes looking between the both of them. “Wh-what?”

They both immediately fall silent, two sets of eyes snapping to him, looking guilty and regretful at the same time. Neither of them speak, they don’t even move. They just stand there, frozen, and stare at Sapnap with widened eyes.

Sapnap keeps staring, waiting for an answer. Did they actually try to kill each other? He’d thought that the shoulder bite was the worst they’ve done, was the hardest they’d fought. But… Now he’s looking between the two of them, George with that bandage on his arm and Dream with one around his neck, and-

They both lied to him. George told him he got in a fight with another alpha, a delivery driver, and Sapnap doubted him but he also didn’t want to believe that it was an injury from Dream. So he trusted George. He trusted George when he shouldn’t have, because he’s a liar and so is Dream.

Dream didn’t even give him a fucking answer when he asked about it. He shushed Sapnap and kissed him sweetly, spoke those honey-sweet words before knotting him.

George is the reason he’s got a bandage wrapped around his neck? Because he- he tried to kill Dream?

Is his arm injured because Dream was trying to fight him off? Was he fighting for his life? What made George stop? Did he snap out of it or did Dream have to hurt him enough to get him to stop?

He’s got so many questions and he’s so scared, this is all his fault. All of it, everything, it’s his fault. He shouldn’t have had a heat with them, he shouldn’t have trusted alphas again, he should’ve kept his promise to himself and dealt with all this on his own.

The glass shards are tearing through their skin, have been for longer than Sapnap thought. Since the start, little pieces of the vase inside of him, the parts that were chipped and cracked, have been slicing at Dream and George.

The suppression of his heat has caused them to become blood-thirsty monsters, so can he really even be mad at them? Is he allowed to feel angry when he’s the reason behind their reactions?

His scent, his whines, his desire for a knot, how new his body probably feels because of the fact that he’d only had one alpha before.

The shards of glass that make his boyfriends bleed are his own, their new scars are his own doing, even if not directly. He’s not allowed to be mad at them. He can’t be.

“I’m sorry,” he apologises eventually, “this- this ‘s all my fault.”

“What? No- no, it’s not, sweetheart, don’t blame yourself,” Dream says, scooching a bit closer and resting a hand on his shoulder, “none of what’s been happening is your fault.”

“It is, though,” he sniffles, heart squeezing in his chest at the thought of him being the reason behind one of their deaths, “oh my god, you could’ve died.”

Neither of them say anything. He’s got no energy left to fully cry, his eyes are rubbed raw, dry and wet at the same time. With the back of his hand, he wipes his dry, tired eyes and lays down, pressing his face into the pillow for a moment before turning his head to the side so they can properly hear him.

“I’m so tired,” he whispers, sounding defeated. The words are heavy, carrying more meaning behind them than just physical exhaustion.

He sounds as defeated as he feels, and he knows giving up on life is ridiculous, especially when it’s so good now, but… If he has to go through this with them over and over every few months, maybe he should move back to Texas. He needs to get away from here, from these alphas that he’s unintentionally hurt and who are hurting him right back.

“I j’st want a knot, but you won’ give me one and I know you asked me t-to stop crying but sometimes I c-can’t help it.”

“Oh,” Dream breathes, “I- I didn’t… I just didn’t want to hurt you or upset you, baby.”

“George ’s right. If I ask for a knot, I wan’ a knot, okay? Please, I can’t do this anymore, I can’t- I… I just can’t.”

Both of their scents shift ever-so-slightly, but it’s so subtle that Sapnap can’t piece together why they changed or in what way they changed.

Either way, he doesn’t care. He’s going to try sleeping this all off, even if it does result in nightmares. He’s been up for way longer than anyone should be, and sleep will probably do him some good.

“Do you want me to knot you right now?” Dream asks quietly.

Sapnap can only nod, knees shaky and weak as he gets into the presenting position that barely helps with cramps anymore.

“Please.” He begs quietly.

“Okay, I’ve got you ” Dream promises, though Sapnap’s not sure he can trust anymore of his promises. He gets behind Sapnap, gently grabs his hips, and slides into him.

Sapnap shudders, letting out a relieved dry sob into the pillow. He wraps his arms around it, his entire body shaking as the Alpha finally fucks him in earnest, without hesitating.

“Thank you, thank you, th-thank you,” Sapnap sniffles, barely registering the sound of the bedroom door clicking shut and the lack of an earthy smell.

“I’m so sorry,” Dream whispers, leaning down to press gentle kisses along Sapnap’s shoulders.

Sapnap barely registers the words, brain becoming foggier the longer Dream’s dick is inside of him. It’s a good fog though, the safety kind, and while that does scare Sapnap because of the fact that he doesn’t trust his alphas anymore, he just can’t resist it. He needs this peace of mind, this relaxation, even if it feels a little forced and fake.

“Fuck, Nick, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, I thought I was doing the right thing, I didn’t know. I didn’t know…” the Alpha trails off, breathing in shakily while a few warm droplets of water fall onto Sapnap’s back.

Dream’s scent smells a bit off, but Sapnap is falling asleep now and he’s much too tired to try and figure out what’s going on with him.

“I love you so much. Fuck, I should have listened to George, I’m sorry,” he cries, wrapping his arms around Sapnap’s stomach and resting his forehead on his shoulder.

The alpha presses his lips to Sapnap’s skin again, whispering kind words and apologies that Sapnap barely processes as he finally falls asleep.

———

The first thing he notices when he blinks his eyes awake is that the atmosphere around him doesn’t feel so stressful anymore. His entire body feels lighter than it did before he fell asleep, and while there are still prickles of anxiety poking along his skin, the stiffness in his muscles is gone and he no longer feels so sore. The carpet under which he shoved those shards of glass, the broken pieces of himself, has been pulled away, exposing his truly destroyed state to the two alphas who were meant to take care of them. Or maybe they were aware of it before then, but he decides not to think about that because the thought hurts.

If they were really aware of just how much damage had been done to him and then they still fought and acted the way they did? Sapnap’s not sure he’d be able to ever forgive them for knowingly retraumatizing him.

He’s not sure what time it is now or how long he’s been asleep for, but it’s dark out, which means he slept through the entire day, and he is fucking starving. He groans, rolling over in bed so he’s facing the alpha laying next to him, who’s already looking at him with a soft smile.

“Hi, sleepy,” he greets, reaching towards the bedside table and picking up a white takeout container, “George ordered some pancakes from IHOP, he got a few for you too.”

Sapnap sits up slowly, a small smile on his face as he takes the container gratefully. There’s a small bit of hope inside of him that maybe Dream and George are getting along now, that maybe after seeing him have another breakdown they’ve finally learned their lesson. That bit of hope is like tape, in a way, or maybe glue. Slowly sticking the glass back together and rebuilding the broken, empty vase. Sapnap yearns for a world in which the three work together so well again that not only does the vase get repaired, but maybe his mates put some flowers in it too. Flowers of love, trust, protection, safety… All things he lacked with his first alpha.

He won’t get ahead of himself though, because as of right now he’s still not sure he can trust them again.

He reaches his hand towards the fork that Dream is holding, but then the alpha pulls his hand back a little. Sapnap’s eyebrows furrow in confusion, and for a brief moment he worries that he’ll have to earn his right to eat until Dream asks, “Can I feed you?”

Sapnap’s heart flutters, his eyes blinking a few times in disbelief as he stares at the pancakes in his lap. Dream wants to feed him? His previous alpha never fed Sapnap, in fact he had Sapnap order and make the food all the time. It’s a pretty normal thing, for alphas to feed their omegas in heat, and for omegas to do the same for their alphas when they’re in ruts, but… It’s still a new concept to Sapnap.

Of course he knows Dream and George love him and that they’re not like his first alpha, but it’s still surprising to hear that he can get the care he needs without having to earn it first. Especially because just a day or two earlier, he had to earn his knots with Dream. So why doesn’t he have to do anything to earn this now? Has Dream had a change of heart? Would George want to feed him too, if he was here?

Sapnap nods his head and opens his mouth, staring into Dream’s green eyes as the man tears off a piece of pancake with the fork and brings it to Sapnap’s lips. It feels very intimate, and there’s a level of trust that comes with it too. There’s a part of the omega that’s mad at himself for trusting Dream again so quickly, scolding himself for falling for the trap again. He’s going to have to do something in return, Dream is going to ask for something and Sapnap won’t be allowed to say no.

He’s got a bit of a clearer head now though, especially after sleeping for however long he did. The more rational part of him is reminding him that this is Dream, his childhood best friend who loves him and would do anything to protect him and care for him. Sapnap wants to believe that Dream would never willingly hurt him.

He sighs, shutting his eyes and willing his thoughts away as he continues to accept the forkfuls of food brought to his mouth until eventually the pancakes are gone and he’s full. Even though he went into this hoping he’d have a sense of control over himself and his mind, now all the Texan wants is to be mindless. He wants to be relaxed, at his alpha’s mercy, without feeling anxious and dealing with his racing thoughts, he wants to be a normal omega who experiences a normal heat, he wants to trust. But he can’t, not yet. Maybe not ever, if his two alphas don’t get their shit together.

Dream sets the fork and empty container aside, laying back down and opening his arms up for Sapnap. Sapnap’s heart aches in his chest, grateful for the comfort being offered to him. Eagerly, he falls into the other man’s arms, but he can’t stop wishing George was here too.

Will he ever get to experience a heat with both alphas present? Or will they never be able to get along? Will they have to keep switching back and forth because they can’t get their instincts under control?

Sapnap hates that. He thought they’d figure it all out before his heat started, especially because they both told him that they talked about it. Dream told him they had some sort of plan together, so was that a fucking lie too? How much have they been lying to them during all of this?

“You’re safe.” Dream whispers, gently squeezing Sapnap’s waist. The omega buries his head in Dream’s broad chest, pressing his ear to it and listening to the soft thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump of his heart. Sapnap’s shoulders untense, giving in to the care being offered, accepting the warm hold and melting into it.

A peaceful silence settles over them, one of Dream’s warm hands running up and down Sapnap’s hip slowly, fingers drawing all sorts of different shapes into his skin. The touch paired with the sound of his heartbeat is very calming, but not enough to keep Sapnap from thinking and thinking and thinking.

He has so many questions, but he’s too afraid of what the answers might be. He doesn’t want to hear about how much Dream and George dislike each other right now, and he’s worried about how this new-found hatred will affect them even after Sapnap’s heat too. Did he inadvertently cause the Dream Team to fall apart? All because he was stupid enough to have a heat in a house with two alphas after it was suppressed for years and years?

Where is George, anyways? Sapnap wishes he was here too. He’d love to be held by both alphas, showered with love and affection, both of them coming together with their differing skill sets and levels of knowledge to help Sapnap out. He knows that if they just fucking tried working together, they would realise that they’re better together, the three of them. Because they always are. It’s insane that they haven’t realised that yet.

“Where’s George?” Sapnap dares ask after a long time, pulling his head back to look up at Dream’s face.

The dirty-blond cringes ever-so-slightly, opens his mouth but doesn’t say anything right away. Immediately, Sapnap feels his mood drop, and his scent sours a little with it. He sighs and looks away from Dream’s gaze, deciding to stare at his bare chest instead. He rests his palms against it, fingers idly playing with the hairs beneath them while he tries not to be too bummed about his alphas still not getting along.

“We… We are trying, Nick. After you fell asleep, we texted and talked things out. We’re trying to get along again, but it’s still a little hard.” He explains after a long moment.

“You should’ve been trying to get along from the start,” Sapnap murmurs, swallowing past the lump in his throat, “I thought you of all people would know that.”

Dream’s breath hitches, and Sapnap can smell the guilt on him, but just feeling guilt isn’t enough. It’s not going to fix everything that happened. But he supposes maybe it’s something of a start.

Out of nowhere, a sharp pain shoots through Sapnap’s gut, making him curl up and let out a pained whimper on instinct. Slick gushes from his hole, making him feel dirty and sick, and his brain starts to become a frazzled mess again. He whines, looking up towards Dream tearfully, who gives him a gentle squeeze before sitting up.

“Knot?” He asks, and Sapnap nods.

It feels kind of awkward, asking for a knot while still feeling so iffy with his boyfriend, but he doesn’t want to put up with the pain of cramps for as long as he had to before. He doesn’t even care if feels particularly pleasurable, he just wants a knot inside of him to stretch him out and get rid of the pain.

For a moment, as Sapnap gets into the presenting position, he worries again that he’ll have to focus all his energy on not crying just so that the alpha will give him a knot. Before he can lose himself in his thoughts and panic, Dream is pushing into him, clinging onto him tightly and holding him close.

“I love you,” Dream tells him, kissing the back of his neck, “I’m sorry your alphas haven’t been getting along.”

“J’st shut up and fuck me.” Sapnap demands, shutting his eyes tightly as he pushes back against each one of Dream’s thrusts. He doesn’t want to think about anything other than the cock inside of him, filling him up and ridding him of all the cramping. For the first time during his heat, he just wants to have a completely blank mind; no racing thoughts, no stress, no anxiety, no fear. Just the otherworldly pleasure of being knotted and freed from insufferable pain.

Luckily for him, each thrust feels like heaven, and it pulls him farther and farther away from any of his own thoughts while dragging him into a deep state of pure bliss. He doesn’t even realise he’s close until he’s cumming with a cry, his legs shaking and more slick coating the alpha’s cock as he continues pounding into him. Dream praises him - Sapnap doesn’t process exactly what it is he’s saying, but he knows the words are kind and encouraging, tickling the omega’s brain just right.

“Please, alpha,” he begs, squeezing around him and trying to fuck himself on his dick. Dream squeezes his waist, gently shushing him while holding him in place.

“I’ve got you,” Sapnap hears him say, and it doesn’t take much longer before he feels the alpha’s knot start to grow.

“You smell so fucking good, holy shit,” Dream pants, fucking him harder and faster, “I’m close, baby, so close.”

“Alpha,” Sapnap moans, “breed me, please, breed me!”

That’s all it takes for Sapnap to be pumped full, one final thrust filling him up to the brim as Dream shoves his knot inside of him and locks them together. He whines happily, blinking unexpected tears away while he begins to purr quietly.

“You feel okay?” Dream asks, carefully rolling them over so they’re laying down on their sides, spooning.

“Mhmm.” Sapnap agrees, snuggling back against the other man as much as he can. He’s happy, he’s grateful, yet he still feels conflicted and incomplete.

He needs the other alpha here too, it doesn’t feel quite right with only one. But would asking George to join them cause another fight? Will they start growling at each other again? Or will George just straight up refuse to join them if he smells that Sapnap has just been knotted?

“Hey,” Dream mumbles, lips resting on the top of Sapnap’s head, face buried in his hair, “what’re you thinking about?”

“George,” Sapnap says quietly, like he’s saying something that he shouldn’t. He shrinks in on himself a little bit, cringes slightly at the thought of upsetting Dream and losing his privileges of getting knotted, but he doesn’t even get a response.

They’re both quiet for some time, and Sapnap almost wonders if he had said it too quietly, if Dream even heard him at all. So, he repeats himself, just a bit louder.

“I- I thought so. He might be sleeping though, so…” Dream answers, sounding uncertain.

All the trust he was starting to build back with Dream shatters in an instant.

“You haven’t even tried texting or calling him.” Sapnap points out, beginning to feel frustrated and hurt all over again.

“Well, no, but-”

“Oh my god, just admit you don't want him around! Just admit that you can’t put your pettiness aside for me, just admit you’re both selfish bastards who don't know how to take care of an omega!” Sapnap shouts, his scent now vicious and sharp rather than sweet and cozy like it was mere moments ago.

Immediately, he regrets his words and attitude. He feels so incredibly all over the place right now, with the combo of hormones, emotional stress, frustration, remembering so many things he did his absolute best to forget. Panic starts to well up in his chest again, any sort of peace of mind he had gone now. His lungs tighten and his heart starts beating much too fast for his liking, that same fear and uncertainty from before coming back as if it had never even left.

“Fuck, I- I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

“No, no, Pandas, you’re right. George and I are being selfish idiots, we’re thinking of ourselves and not you.”

Sapnap just shakes his head, eyes brimming with tears and beginning to sting, the shakiness in his breath making a comeback too, “I talked back, I’m not s-supposed to talk back. I fucked up, I’m sorry. I deserve any punishment you give me, I w-won’t fight it.”

The strong, warm arms around him tighten, holding him closer, while soft lips are pressed to his skin, peppering gentle kisses anywhere they can reach. Quietly, Dream shushes him, delicately running his fingers over Sapnap’s stomach while whispering sweet nothings. Sapnap barely processes them, but it’s enough to quell his worries for now and prevent him from having another panic attack.

“You’re not talking back, you’re standing up for yourself,” Dream tells him, “I’m really proud of you for that. I’m not going to punish you, okay?”

Sapnap takes his words into consideration, mulling them over in his continuously frantic mind while he tries to keep from overthinking.

This is Dream, he reminds himself, Dream isn’t going to hit me.

By now, Dream’s knot has gone down, so he slips out with ease. Sapnap whines quietly, not wanting their intimacy and closeness to come to an end now that there’s no knot tying them together, but thankfully Dream doesn’t stop holding him.

He rolls Sapnap onto his back and sits up a little, leaning down to press a soft kiss to his lips. Sapnap kisses back, his eyes falling shut while he welcomes every ounce of love Dream gives to him.

It doesn’t last very long, the dirty-blond pulling back a moment later to grab his phone from the bedside table. A little bit of hope comes back, the small pieces of tape putting the shards back together as he watches Dream type something out.

“Your alpha was more, wasn’t he, Pandas?” Dream questions him after putting his phone down.

Sapnap looks away, feeling ashamed again, but he nods a little and hides his face into Dream’s arm. The alpha lays back down and pulls him close, pressing a kiss to his head while Sapnap rubs his cheek against his chest, purring softly again.

The click of the door along with the additional, strong scent of an alpha indicates that George is here. Sapnap tenses up slightly, expecting to hear them argue or growl again, but neither of them do. In fact, the only growls he hears are the soft, reassuring ones that are always aimed at him.

There’s a slightly tense silence, and Sapnap cringes slightly as he waits for the other shoe to drop, for his broken shards to make them react again, but nothing happens until eventually, Dream hesitantly breaks the silence.

“I know it’s hard, but I think it’d help if you told us a bit about what happened to you?” Dream suggests, scooching over in the bed to give the other alpha room.

George doesn’t come in though, standing beside it like he’s waiting for something, and Sapnap almost gets upset again until he realises George is waiting for permission. He turns his head and looks to Dream, tilting his head curiously but warily.

“Can… Can I allow him to come into the nest?”

Dream gives him a small, sad smile, and nods his head. “Of course, but you don’t have to ask me. It’s your nest, you can let in whoever you want to.”

Sapnap nods a little, grateful for the lack of bitching from the two of them. He turns his head back to the Brit, heart thrumming with hope as he welcomes him in.

Eagerly, the Brit clambers into the nest, wearing shorts and a t-shirt while the other two are completely naked.

“Can, um… Can I get naked too? Or- or would you rather I don’t?” George asks, laying on Sapnap’s other side.

“Strip.” Sapnap jokes weakly, hoping to avoid talking about his embarrassing past.

George giggles a little, the gleeful sound easing some of the tension, and takes his clothes off. He tosses them aside before cuddling in close, scenting Sapnap before wrapping his arms around him.

Things feel tense right now, and even though Sapnap can’t see it he knows the alphas are staring each other down. They’re both touching, because they both have their arms around him, but neither are pulling away or making a big deal about it. It’s something of an improvement, at least, because they’re not growling at each other nor are they trying to tear each other apart again.

“Talk to us, Sapnap,” George says after a long moment. Sapnap’s breath hitches, and he shakes his head a bit.

“I’m so… Embarrassed and ashamed. That I let it happen. He- he was, like, almost 30 and I was only 19 so why- why did I think it was a good idea? Why would I let him court me and- and allow him to be my heat partner? I still feel so fucking stupid, and I just… I don’t want you guys to think so too.”

The silence that follows is heavy, and Sapnap can smell how protective and sad the alphas are for him. It makes him feel happy, a little bit, even though as his best friends of course they’d feel sad and upset for his sake. But it doesn’t feel like they’re judging him, and George hasn’t started poking fun at him, so maybe telling them about it won’t be so bad.

Maybe it can help build back trust between all three of them, because the two supporting him together might make them realise that they are supposed to work as a team, even when it comes to things like heats.

“Sapnap, that’s… That sounds terrible,” George says quietly after a minute, “don’t blame yourself, though, that- it’s on him for being a creep.”

Dream kisses Sapnap’s shoulder, scenting it too. “Whatever happened to you was wrong. There’s nothing to be ashamed about, Sapnap, he was the one in the wrong. Not you.”

All of their scents together, the comfort from both alphas, the relatively calm energy surrounding them, all makes Sapnap want to cry from relief. This is all he wanted all along. It’s what he’s been craving, what he’s needed, and it’s so infuriating that it took multiple fights and breakdowns for them to finally fucking figure it out.

He chokes on a sob, clinging to them both tightly as he shuts his eyes and tells them just that.

“I love y-you both so much. This- this is all I was asking for. J’st the three of us, the way it always is. Us three a-against the world, you know?” He sniffles.

He looks up at George, and he’s doing his puppy dog eyes, the ones he does when he feels bad but can’t manage to spit out an apology. Sapnap can’t even find it in himself to be angry about it this time, far too relieved that neither of them are dead right now.

“I’m just s-so… Angry and sad. And hurt. You guys had me reliving a bunch of sh-shit I was hoping to forget. I fucking trusted you both and you brok-ke it, you broke your promise to me,” he hiccups, rubbing his head against both their chests, accepting all the love he’s being given. “B-but it’s not fair for me to be mad at you guys, because it’s my fault.”

“What?” Dream asks, “No, it’s not your fault at all.”

“It is,” he insists, swallowing past a lump in his throat, “I’ve been repressing my heats, even though I didn’t mean to, it’s all so much more overwhelming because of th-that. It’s so much more intense. I could h-have had this heat alone in the second house, but-”

“Stop,” George interrupts, and Sapnap whimpers, about to apologise until George continues, “you got abused. That’s not your fault. We made you relive it because we were being idiots. That was in our own control and out of yours. You can’t control our actions or the choices we make, so it’s not at all your fault. Please don’t blame yourself for our shitty behaviour.”

Sapnap looks up at George with big, teary eyes, at a loss for words. It’s rare that George is mature and serious, and even rarer that he admits to his mistakes and owns up to them. It’s an apology, even if he didn’t say I’m sorry, and it makes Sapnap feel so much more relieved and hopeful that things won’t repeat over and over in an endless and hurtful loop.

“You don’t have to share with us what happened, but we’re here for you, okay? We would never ever think of you as less because of something like that.” Dream promises him, giving him another comforting squeeze.

Sapnap takes a deep breath, thinking everything over. Talking about it would help, opening up and speaking his experiences and fears into the open so they’re no longer bottled up inside. They may not be therapists, but he knows for sure that not keeping it all to himself would make his heats less miserable, because they’d all know the kind of situation they’re dealing with and they’d all find some sort of solutions to the problems they face.

Just like they always do, because they’re a team, and they work best together.

“Okay,” Sapnap finally agrees, sniffling, “I- I think I’m ready to talk about it.”

Chapter Text

Dream holds Sapnap tightly, breath hitched as he nervously awaits for Sapnap to gather the courage to open up. They’ve been laying here in silence for a couple minutes now, Sapnap clearly trying to push through years of pain and wounds that still seem so fresh. He’s doing his best right now, and that’s all that matters.

Dream can’t stop feeling fucking guilty. He and George just put Sapnap through his own personal hell, made him relive things he wished to never even think about again - he said so himself! Dream is ready to hear about it, will be here for support, obviously, but what he’s not ready for is when the similarities become obvious. What he’s not ready for is being compared to Sapnap’s horrible ex.

Sapnap isn’t comparing them, no, but Dream’s brain works a mile a minute and it never stops connecting dots. As soon as Sapnap starts talking, the dirty-blond’s brain will start trying to figure out which of Sapnap’s reactions were caused by what trauma, will start to compare Sapnap’s ex’s abuse to his and George’s ignorance. Even if Sapnap forgives them, even if they do all heal from this, Dream is going to live out the rest of his life knowing he put his best friend, his love, his soulmate, through something traumatic. He retraumatised someone he cares about.

He knows that already now, given everything that’s happened, but now he’s about to find out how exactly he and George did it.

He’s not trying to make this about himself in any way, either - the mean voices in his head are currently telling him to smarten up and stop thinking about himself all the time - he’s just trying to put a puzzle together. Find all the missing pieces, figure out what goes where, and put it all together. Even if the finished puzzle hurts to see. Or, well, hear.

“I met him on a dating app.” Sapnap whispers, snapping Dream out of his thoughts. Subconsciously, the dirty-blond gives Sapnap a little squeeze. “His profile said he was 23, but I knew when I saw the picture that he was lying. I still… I still believed him for some reason, though.”

Dream watches as George furrows his eyebrows, clearly frustrated with the situation, but the man keeps his mouth shut to allow Sapnap to continue. Dream does the same.

“Fuck, I feel so fucking stupid,” Sapnap sniffles, his voice cracking with emotion, “thinking back on it now, everything he said to me was so obviously manipulation. How did I not see it?”

“Most people don’t know they’re being manipulated until after it’s all over, Nick,” Dream explains solemnly, “When they go back and analyse everything and realise that the situation they assured themselves was fine wasn’t actually fine at all. It may seem obvious now, but at the time that it happened, it wasn’t. That’s how manipulation works, and that’s why it’s so fucking evil. It fucks with your head.”

Sapnap presses his nose into Dream’s neck, letting out a high pitched whine. He shuts his eyes tightly, scents him, purrs softly despite being so shaken up. It breaks Dream’s heart as much as it warms it. Sapnap knows all about Dream’s own experiences with this stuff, and despite what he’s going through right now, he’s still here trying to comfort Dream too.

“You blamed yourself too, when you realised,” Sapnap recalls, whispering like he’s telling a secret, “but none of that was your fault.”

“Exactly, and the same logic applies to you here.” Dream tells him, kissing his head.

“It doesn’t feel like it should.” Sapnap huffs, shutting his eyes tighter before pulling back and looking up towards the ceiling. “I fucking- like, I got into fights with my parents about it. Because I’d sneak out to see him, they’d find out, I’d get mad at them for wanting me to be alone and deal with heats alone, I was such a jackass. And in the end, they were right. I was fucking stupid, I was rude to them for nothing.”

“You were a kid, Sapnap,” George reminds him, “you were only 19. You weren’t fucking stupid, you got manipulated at a young age by someone way older than you, someone who knew your parents would be a threat.”

Dream watches Sapnap’s body shake as another sob wracks through him, his eyes blinking open as more tears fall. He sniffles again, tries to stop crying, and then shuts his eyes again after taking a shaky breath.

“First time I went to his house, I noticed so many red flags, but I brushed them all off. I just- I wanted things to work out so badly, you know? We had been talking for a week at that point, and oh my god, it felt like we were soulmates. He- he said all the right things and we seemed to get along so well and- and while we were talking, yeah, there were also some alarms going off in my head, but… I just wanted it to work out so badly.”

Dream and George both stay quiet, giving him room to gather his thoughts and continue whenever he’s ready. They share a look though, silently apologising to each other for everything, while also silently expressing their guilt about all of this. No amount of guilt can fix this, Dream is aware, but it’ll at the very least make them much more cautious of their words and actions. Something they should’ve been thinking about from the start, no doubt, but at least they can try fixing it now.

“He smelled like cigarettes, and my omega hated it,” Sapnap mutters, “from the get-go, I wanted to leave. My instincts were telling me to leave. But I didn’t want to seem rude. He invited me into his room, saying he wanted to show me his Pokémon collection. He said that he’d even give me some of his stuff if I really wanted it. And I fucking believed that. I fell for the world’s most obvious trap.”

“You trusted him and he broke your trust,” George says, and those words alone make Dream wince, “it’s not your fault that he lied.”

“I guess,” Sapnap whispers, “but what after what happened next… Logically anyone would leave, wouldn’t they?”

—

Sapnap smiled as he stepped into the bedroom, laughing a little to himself as he stared at the shelves full of Pokémon-related merchandise. He had heard the door shut behind him, but didn’t think anything of it, a big grin on his face as he approached the shelf that looked like a jackpot to him.

“You’re such a nerd,” the omega had teased, “you should add anime to your list of things to get into. Then we’d have another thing to bond about.”

The alpha chuckled softly behind him, suddenly sounding much closer. In fact, he was standing so close that Sapnap could feel his body heat, the man’s chest practically pressed to his back.

Sapnap’s cheeks flushed, his heart skipped a beat, and suddenly he felt the urge to run away. His body was screaming at him to do so, but he was completely frozen in place, even as the alpha wrapped his arms around his waist.

“We can bond about all that shit after your heat, baby,” the alpha muttered right into his ear, which had caused the young Texan to flinch slightly.

He laughed nervously, turning his head and squirming a bit in hopes that the alpha would let him go. The older man smelled aroused, that ashy smell was so powerful and sickening that Sapnap’s eyes began to water.

“I- um, my- my heat isn’t starting for a couple weeks, dude, we can still talk about whatever now.”

Ice cold fear had raced down his spine, and he made sure that it was showing up in his scent too. He smelled truly rancid, like an old cup of hot cocoa that was left on the counter for weeks. He was hoping it would deter the older man, or at the very least have made him aware of how uncomfortable he was making the omega, but that hadn’t seemed to have worked.

The alpha growled lowly and rolled his hips forward right against Sapnap’s ass, holding the omega a little tighter. Whenever alphas started up things like this, normally their omega would reply with purring and a slick hole ready to get fucked.

But Sapnap didn’t want that. At all.

“We could just kickstart your heat now. Get it over with sooner, you know?”

Sapnap’s heart dropped to his ass, and now he really started panicking. His eyes darted around the room, as if he was looking for some sort of escape, and he truly began squirming, trying to get out of the man’s hold while trying to remain polite. He didn’t want to be a dick, it was his own fault if the alpha had gotten the wrong idea. He was the one who put in his profile that he was looking for a heat partner, he was the inexperienced one, he was the one that suggested they meet up. This was on him, he couldn’t exactly be angry at the alpha for what was happening.

“Hey, um-” Sapnap started as he gently grabbed the man’s wrists before trying to pull his arms off of him. His heart was pounding so hard and loud he could hear it in his ears and felt it against his ribs, his stomach was swaying with nausea, and he was definitely sweating too. He had never felt more scared for his life than ever before, which was ridiculous - This alpha was a good guy, he just got the wrong idea and Sapnap was struggling to stand up for himself. How was that the alpha’s fault?

“Your skin is slick with sweat,” the older man murmured, licking a stripe up Sapnap’s neck, which caused him to whimper from fear, “your heat is starting.”

“No- no, it’s not.” Sapnap breathed, shaking his head while he continued to squirm and pull his arms away.

Thankfully, the alpha released his grip on him and took a step back. The omega breathed out, turning to face the man as he let out a nervous chuckle, but his relief was immediately scrubbed away when the man shoved him towards the bed.

“Come on, baby, what do you say? You’re so cute like this.”

“I- um, I- I don’t-” Sapnap stuttered, brain struggling, body trembling while he stepped back. The older man was blocking the only way out, all he really could do was back away as the man walked towards him, stalking him like he was prey, but he was backing up towards the bed which meant that he might be giving the alpha the wrong idea again and-

—

Dream frowns, his own eyes watering as he watches Sapnap’s body shake with another sob. The omega curls in on himself, burying his face further into Dream’s chest once more, and seeing his closest friend so broken makes it hard for Dream not to break too. All he can do right now is continue to gently rub Sapnap’s back, reassure him that he’s safe now, and try not to beat himself up about the fact that he and George put Sapnap through this all over again.

“H-he- he pinned me to the bed. It was only when he started trying to take off my clothes that I f-finally had enough courage to shove him off of me.” Sapnap explains, shaking as if the nightmarish memory is still a fresh and open wound.

“Did he… Did he stop?” George asks quietly, sounding scared to hear the answer. Dream inhales sharply, scared himself, but he stays quiet to give Sapnap room to gather his thoughts and continue explaining.

Sapnap remains still for about a minute, just trying to breathe, clearly doing his best to hold himself together. George’s arms wrap around him, inadvertently holding onto Dream’s own too, and normally that would immediately make Dream’s brain freak out and get angry. But now, all those negative feelings he felt towards the Brit earlier have completely vanished. At this moment, all he cares about is keeping Sapnap safe, reminding him of how loved he is, no matter if it means he and George are both here with him at the same time.

God, Dream feels so fucking stupid. This is how it should have been from the start! It absolutely should not have taken Sapnap to fully break down like that in front of them for Dream to come to this realisation. He feels- he feels evil, almost, because he pushed his nearest and dearest friend to the very edge and only when he began falling did he truly realise what he was doing wrong and start to feel guilty for it.

The omega eventually nods in answer to George’s question, sniffling as he rubs his eyes. He whispers, voice broken and defeated, same as the rest of him. “He apologised to me. Said that h-he just got in the zone, and that his alpha brain took over. I was fucking terrified still but I believed him, so I forgave him.”

The silence that falls between the three of them is weighted. Dream’s heart somehow manages to crack even more. He looks away from Sapnap to look at George instead, and when their eyes meet, he knows George is feeling the same way that he is.

It’s true that alphas lose control of themselves when it comes to omegas in heat. But… The truth is, when the alphas are a part of the same pack, normally they’re able to remain calm. Especially when both alphas are mated to each other and the omega.

But it was so much more intense, Dream and George’s own issues and insecurities mixed with the need to help Sapnap out is what made them act out. They can’t fully blame their alpha brains for wanting to be Sapnap’s only heat partner, when their own fears and negative emotions came into play big time.

What happened should have never happened, they shouldn’t have lost as much control as they did, and it certainly shouldn’t have taken so long for them to finally calm down and talk things through.

Both alphas had so many opportunities to just talk things out, and yet instead, they chose to let their negative feelings fester and grow and turn them both into monsters.

It was selfish, and as Sapnap tells this tale of a selfish, cruel alpha that took advantage of him and his trust, Dream feels so fucking ashamed of himself.

It’s just… Whenever George was alone with Sapnap, Dream felt as though he was about to be cut from the group and kicked to the curb. He’s the leader of their pack, but he knows George has the power to take over if he really wanted to. So Dream felt desperate, felt like he’d do just about anything to stay involved in some way. That desperation fed into the aggressive alpha brain and caused him to become much more violent with George than he would ever like.

He didn’t only hurt Sapnap, in the end. He hurt George. He hurt their relationship.

“I’m sorry,” the dirty-blond mouths to the other alpha, the Brit’s eyes watering with tears of his own.

He nods his head, a couple tears falling as he mouths back, “Me too.”

Dream’s attention is pulled back to Sapnap when the omega shudders, remaining quiet for another minute or so before continuing.

“I trusted he wouldn’t do it again. So we kept hanging out in person, and he seemed under control for the most part. I mean, he’d say something about my ass or my scent every so often and it’d make me uncomfortable, but I felt like if I said something then he’d be offended, so I always stayed quiet.”

Dream presses a soft kiss to the top of his boyfriend’s head, pumping out more of that candy cane smell in hopes of helping the younger man relax a little bit more. Or, at least, relax as much as he can while talking about all this.

Sapnap pulls his head back, looks into Dream’s eyes, and just stares. They both gaze into each other’s green irises and try to read each other the way they always do, the way they always have. Dream hopes that Sapnap knows he’s safe now, hopes that, with his eyes, he’s telling Sapnap that he’s protected and loved. The omega gives a weak little smile, and Dream offers one back.

“So… Did he ever admit to being older than he put on his profile?” George asks quietly, sounding both concerned and focussed, like he’s trying to piece together a puzzle but is doing so carefully.

The Texan lets out a shaky exhale, nodding his head. “Leading up to my heat, I think he could smell it was starting soon. So he invited me over constantly, and then one day, I came over and there was a nest for me already made. I thought it was a super sweet gesture, you know? Like, maybe his alpha instincts had him make me a nest because his alpha cared for my omega. He told me to get into it, so I did because I was so happy. Then he… He told me to relax. He took off my clothes and- and…”

Sapnap whimpers, fresh tears spilling from his eyes while his bottom lip wobbles.

——

“Alpha,” Sapnap cried as the side of his face was roughly pressed into the pillows by a strong, unkind hand.

“Fuck, you look like such a little slut like this.” The man chuckled, tossing his own clothes aside before pressing his fully-erect cock to Sapnap’s wet entrance.

The omega whined, scared, and tried to strengthen the fermented scent he’d begun to release. The alpha behind him growled harshly, the hand on Sapnap’s head now gripping onto his hair meanly. The alpha pushed all the way in in one thrust, growling lowly before beginning to roughly pound Sapnap’s unstretched, barely wet hole.

“You and your fucking scent,” the alpha gritted out, moaning as the lewd sound of skin slapping against skin filled the room, “get it under control, baby. Or else I’m gonna have to hurt you.”

Sapnap’s muscles tightened up at his cruel words, which inadvertently caused his hole to squeeze tighter too, making the pain all that much more unbearable. As an omega who was having his first ever heat, his hole wasn’t as wet and pre-stretched the way it would be for future heats. For the first one, alphas were supposed to open their omegas up with their fingers, maybe use lube if necessary, easing them into that stretched-out and wet feeling.

Maybe that was just an old wives tale? Sapnap learned it at school in a sex ed class though, why would they give students misinformation? Fuck, it was hurting like hell, but this alpha would never intentionally hurt Sapnap, right? He cared about Sapnap, he was just kind of kinky. Maybe Sapnap was just being a dramatic baby.

Still, the pain was searing, and that wasn’t because of any cramps either. He was technically not even in heat yet, he was expecting his heat to start over the next few days, and that was when the cramps got bad. But right now, all the pain he was feeling in his ass and lower back were purely because of his alpha’s desperation and carelessness.

“The young ones always feel so good,” the alpha groaned, leaning down to gently nip Sapnap’s ear. Then, he whispered; “wanna know a secret, baby?”

A shaky sob wracked through Sapnap’s chest, his body getting no form of pleasure out of this whatsoever. He could try to tell the other man to stop, but he knew that once this man got in the zone, it was hard to get out. Sapnap just had to let this pass and then his alpha would apologise to him later.

“Wh-what?” Sapnap sniffled, trying to get his scent under control to appease his alpha. Maybe he would go easier on him if he does.

“I’m obviously not 23, and I think you’re fucking stupid for believing so.”

Sapnap refused to accept that as the truth, even if deep down he knew that it was.

“I’m almost 30. You’re, what, 19? Fresh meat for me, especially because you haven’t had a heat yet. But now your omega is bonded to my alpha regardless of whether you like it or not, so there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Sapnap felt trapped. So trapped. And resentful, and angry, and broken. And it was his own fault. There were red flags, he saw them all but he ignored them. Who knew how many more times this alpha was going to do this to him? Who knew what other mean words he would whisper into the young omega’s ears? And now there was nothing Sapnap could really do about it.

“Please, b-be more gentle,” Sapnap sobbed, but tried not to squirm too much. He eased into the presenting position, and stopped fighting as much to make it a little less painful. It didn’t make it any easier to deal with, though.

“What am I to you, you stupid bitch?” The older man growled, pressing the hand not holding Sapnap’s head down to his back. Sapnap arched it, hoping that was what his alpha was asking of him, but instead he felt the razor-sharp pain of his alpha’s claw-like nails digging into his skin, almost certainly drawing blood.

“Alpha,” he cried, doing his best to relax, “alpha, I’m sorry, please- please, just be a little nicer, I’ll be so good for you, please!”

——

“Jesus, Nick,” Dream interrupts, cringing with his eyes closed tightly and his lips forming a tight line. “I- I don’t even… I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry that you had to go through all that.”

The younger man gives a weak shrug in response, and then he whines, his eyes shutting tight. His sweet scent overpowers every other smell, once again filling up the room with a dizzying aroma. Dream’s own scent automatically strengthens in response, and so does George’s.

The two alphas lock eyes, trying to silently read each other and figure out what the arrangement is about to be. Sapnap is rolling over onto his stomach, getting into the presenting position. His face is scrunched up, pained, and he’s got one arm wrapped around his own stomach like he’s in pain. His hole is even more slick now, and it looks like he’s about to beg for a knot.

Who’s going to be the one to knot him? Who’s going to be the one to sit there and watch?

“Alphas,” he whines, though he sounds a little timid, scared.

“I know, baby, we’ve got you,” George answers immediately, looking over at Dream.

Neither of them ask the other if they want to be the one to fuck Sapnap. Neither of them step in and claim the role themselves either. They just sit up and stare at each other.

They can’t fight, not now, not ever again. They can’t put Sapnap through this. George was kicked out earlier, it’s only fair if he gets to knot Sapnap now, right?

“George,” Dream whispers, nodding his head towards the whimpering omega, “you knot him this time.”

The Brit’s eyes light up a little, but he doesn’t hesitate to get behind Sapnap, placing his hands on either side of Sapnap’s waist.

“I’m here for you, darling,” George says sweetly, though it feels like a jab at Dream. Is he trying to imply that Dream isn’t here for Sapnap? Is he trying to exclude him without directly excluding him?

A pang of anger, fear, and sadness all zip through Dream at once. It all happens so fast, only about a couple of seconds has passed, and Dream is about to interject until the Brit tacks on; “Both of your alphas are here for you.”

Dream lets out a quiet, shaky sigh, a wave of relief washing over him. His body relaxes little by little and he takes a deep breath, though Sapnap’s whines get louder, even as George slowly pushes into him.

“Dream,” George mutters, “he can smell you.”

“Huh?” the younger alpha asks, confused. He looks between George and Sapnap, trying to figure out what’s going on, and then he realises that his scent is giving away just how worried and left out he feels. “Oh.”

He tries to relax, tries to assure himself that everything is fine and that George isn’t taking his place. He reminds himself that Sapnap loves both of them, that George loves Dream and Dream loves George. As he watches George begin to thrust in and out of their omega, Dream honestly does his best to keep calm and not overthink.

“Baby,” George says, his own voice a little shaky as his pleasure grows. Dream is looking at Sapnap, and he assumes George was talking to the omega until he says, a bit louder, “Dream.”

“What?”

“I...” George starts, but he trails off. He continues to gently, lovingly, fuck into Sapnap, the omega visibly relaxing, his scent warming and becoming more pleasant.

Dream waits for George to continue, patient as ever, staring at the man as he gathers his thoughts.

“I’m… Sorry,” he mumbles, saying the word as if it’s molasses on his tongue, “and I- I love you.”

Dream’s eyes widen, and he can’t fight the big smile that tugs at his lips. It feels like a bit of an awkward time to apologise and remind Dream that he loves him, but then again, those words are hard enough for George to say on their own, let alone when they’re strung together in the same sentence. Perhaps fucking Sapnap at the same time provides enough of a distraction for him to build up the courage to actually say it.

“Thank you, George,” Dream replies, “I love you and I’m sorry too. We shouldn’t have ever let our own feelings get the better of us, we should’ve-”

George interrupts with a small laugh, wrapping his arms around the Texan as he leans forward, pressing his chest to the omega’s back.

“Can we talk about this later? One on one. When I’m not balls deep inside our omega who’s begging for a knot.”

Dream laughs wetly, unaware that his eyes had even begun to water, and nods his head. “Yeah. Yeah, of- of course, Georgie.”

George flashes him one of his pretty smiles, and then focuses his attention back on Sapnap. He whispers all sorts of praise in his ear, keeps fucking him hard and slow and deep, reassuring him that he’s safe, that he’s loved, that both alphas are here to protect him and take care of him. Sapnap seems to believe them this time, and for the first time throughout his whole heat, it looks like he finally actually fully slips away and completely relaxes. The worry in his brow disappears, his eyes become hazy, his body becomes limp like a noodle, his mouth falls open. He seems to let go, moaning as loud as he needs, his scent growing as strong as it needs to, all sorts of words falling from his mouth as he thanks them and moans for them and pleads for them to continue.

Dream lays back down so he’s closer to Sapnap, and gently brushes the omega’s hair out of his face. Immediately, the younger man pushes his face into the gentle touch, another happy little purr rumbling from his chest. His eyes flutter, body tensing as he seems to be getting closer to climaxing, so Dream wraps a hand around his small cock and starts to stroke him in time with George’s thrusts. Sapnap writhes with his alphas touches, moaning louder, arching his back more, pressing his face deeper into the pillow. It only takes four pumps of Dream’s fist before that overwhelmingly delicious smell of hot cocoa on a winter morning in a pretty pinewood forest is filling the bedroom, all three of their scents melding beautifully together.

The omega’s cock squirts pathetically, the clear liquidy substance shooting out of the tip and onto the mattress below. His hole squeezes tightly around George’s dick too, if the Brit’s lewd groan is anything to go by, and then the older man’s thrusts slow to a stop. Despite the jealousy Dream’s been feeling these last few days, right now in this moment, seeing his two mates locked together in such an intimate way makes his heart swell with joy. He can only hope George will feel the same later on when Dream knots Sapnap too.

Comfortingly, Dream begins to growl, smiling happily at the smell of all three of them blending together, just the way that it should. He feels yet another pang of guilt again, thinking about the fact that all of this could’ve been happening from the start. They all work so well together, physically, emotionally, mentally - scent-wise too - and yet Dream and George threw it all out the window the very second Sapnap needed all of that stability.

“Thank you, Alphas,” The omega whispers, his eyes lidded, a dopey grin on his face, “I feel s’ good.”

“I’m happy to hear that, Nick.” Dream whispers back, kissing his head.

Only a few seconds of silence pass before Sapnap’s sniffling brings both alphas’ attention to him. He’s crying again, Dream notices, but he’s smiling like he’s happy. Dream can only imagine how relieved he must be feeling right now, since he’s not being put through all that trauma all over again.

“We’re really sorry, baby,” Dream tells him, soothingly rubbing his back, still growling softly. George’s scent grows in strength, his own attempt of comforting Sapnap, and both alphas’ techniques work.

He relaxes again, he blinks away his tears, and he sighs happily. “Y’know, I used t’ get kicked out of my nests. ‘Specially if I kept begging for knots.”

It’s George’s turn to wince now, his lips parting like he’s about to speak, but the words seem to die on his tongue. He shuts his mouth and shakes his head a little, fingers rubbing soothing circles into Sapnap’s hips as the two men remain locked together.

“Do you want to talk about it?” George eventually offers instead, his voice thick with emotion.

Sapnap nods a little bit, shutting his eyes until his entire body shudders and he immediately opens them back up.

——

“Please,” Sapnap cried, squirming in the shitty nest that his alpha had made for him. He wanted to change it, desperately so, because it made his brain feel frantic and his nervous system feel out of place. Every time he tried to adjust anything though, his alpha took it personally and got angry with him, resulting in a slap to the face or a punch to the gut. “Just give me a knot.”

“You’re so fucking irritating!” The alpha growled, glaring at the younger man, “I knotted you earlier today.”

“I didn’t want to be knotted then,” Sapnap whimpered, cowering a little. He rolled onto his stomach and got into the presenting position, sniffling, “I need one now. Everything hurts, alpha.”

“Oh, yeah? Everything hurts, does it?” The alpha taunted, laughing when Sapnap nodded in agreement. “Well then I’m about to make everything hurt a hell of a lot more.”

“No! No, Alpha, please-” Sapnap cried, but the older man cut him off with a hand to his mouth. He sat up in the nest and got behind Sapnap, slamming into the younger man in one go.

Luckily, Sapnap’s hole was stretched out already from earlier’s knot, but the rough treatment still hurt a little. Sapnap winced, sobbing into the hand covering his mouth, but took what he was given gratefully. At least the cramps lessened, though the unkind words being thrown his way along with the death grip the alpha had on his waist was just too much.

“Greedy fucking bitch, aren’t you?” The alpha growled out, the smell of burning cigarettes strong in the room, making Sapnap want to cough.

His lungs were tight, his body was trembling, and his hole was slick but only because that comes with being in heat. In no way was Sapnap aroused right now. But he needed a fucking knot to get rid of these cramps, regardless of whether or not he enjoyed who the knot was coming from.

The alpha’s claw-like fingernails dug into Sapnap’s skin, tearing it up at his waist, drawing blood. Sapnap wailed into the hand over his mouth, body completely tense once more, and silently, he prayed that this would all be over soon.

He counted down the seconds in his head until he finally felt that knot fill him up, ridding him of the cramps. But now there’s new aches on his body, like the scratches on his hips and the bruises on his jaw from just how harshly this alpha was grabbing his face.

“Stupid fucking omega.” The alpha growled, the sound mean, aggressive, directed at Sapnap.

The sound truly terrified him, his fight or flight response once again getting triggered. The large hand was still on his face, muffling his sobs, his shoulders shaking with the intensity of his cries. The alpha pulled his hand away, instead gripping his hair and roughly pulling it, making the omega shout out in pain.

“Shut the fuck up before I give you something to cry about.” He threatened. Sapnap shut his mouth and nodded his head, trying desperately to calm his breathing before he started to hyperventilate.

Sapnap swallowed past the lump in his throat, wanting nothing more than to go home. He was stuck here though, with this alpha, for another few days. Or… However long it would take for his heat to be over. Unfortunately, despite what this man is doing to him, his omega is attached to this place since this is where Sapnap is having his first ever heat. His inner omega is attached to this alpha as well, so trying to find someone else to help won’t work. The alpha knows it too.

“I’m so tempted to just pull my knot right outta you right now,” the alpha growled right into Sapnap’s ear, “bet it’d hurt like a bitch, huh? But you’ll come crawling back, begging for another one. Just like you’ve done every other time.”

“P-please don’t do that,” Sapnap sniffled, voice quiet, “I’ll h-have to go to the hospital if you do.”

The alpha laughed, as if what his omega just told him was a joke. He lightly dragged his claws along Sapnap’s hips some more, spreading the blood and making the omega wince as the new wounds got scratched by the alpha’s cruel touch.

“And who’s gonna take you to the hospital, huh? Your omega won’t let you go anywhere without me, and I sure as hell wouldn’t be taking you.”

“‘m s-sorry, Alpha,” Sapnap cried, his entire body trembling, “y-you’re right, I- I’m being irritating. I’ll be good for you.”

“Good. You’d better.”

Time couldn’t pass any slower. It felt like it was forever before the alpha’s knot went down and he was finally able to slip out without causing any more damage to his omega’s body. But when he did, Sapnap felt a huge wave of relief wash over him. Lucky for him, there wouldn’t have to be a hospital trip since his alpha decided to show him some mercy.

“Now get out, I’m gonna take a nap since all your fucking nagging has made me exhausted.”

Sapnap’s heart dropped to his ass, his omega brain hitting the panic button while his lungs tightened once again. He tried his best to control his breathing, knowing that he’d be in huge shit if he had a panic attack. Fuck, sure, this nest sucked, but Sapnap’s brain was bonded to it. Getting kicked out of the nest during a heat, especially after just being knotted, is one of the worst things this alpha could do right now.

He’s done it so many times before - kicked Sapnap out of the nest, for a variety of reasons - but it was just so much worse after a knot. Despite how much Sapnap disliked his alpha, his body was attached to him, needed him, craved him. And after a knot? Sapnap’s omega needed his alpha’s comfort. Even if the “comfort” he received was just sharing a nest, laying a few feet apart from each other.

“Nick, I swear to god,” the alpha growled meanly, “get the fuck off my bed!”

Sapnap barely had any time to react before he was being roughly shoved off of the bed and out of his nest, his body hitting the hardwood floor with a loud thud. He yelped, already so battered and bruised due to the alpha’s unkind touches, and slowly sat up.

His brain immediately became scrambled, the need to be in his safe space, his nest, firing off alarms. His body became tense, his heart started to beat rapidly, and he could feel a panic attack coming on. He needed to get out of here and fast, because last time he had a panic attack in front of his alpha, things did not go well for him.

He sprung to his feet and swiftly exited the bedroom, breathing in and out quickly as he tried to catch his breath. It felt like he was drowning in quicksand, like everything was crumbling around him. He felt so exposed and vulnerable, fully naked, walking around with cum and slick leaking from his asshole and sliding down the backs of his thighs.

He hurried off to the bathroom and shut the door behind himself before falling to the floor, immediately beginning to sob and pant for air.

——

Dream holds his mate tightly, very gently giving his body a squeeze like he’s physically holding him together but is also scared of breaking him. His own eyes are filled with tears again, saddened to hear what Sapnap was going through back then, and frustrated that he was unable to do anything to help.

It’s hard to believe that all of that was happening to him, meanwhile Dream was in Florida getting ticked off by the lack of replies and effort from Sapnap. At the time, he was practically harassing Sapnap with how much he was messaging him to post a video, or to record with him and George, or to stream. Totally unaware of the difficulties Sapnap was facing, because the omega was too afraid to reach out to anybody.

By now, George’s knot has gone down, so he carefully pulls out of the younger man and then curls up next to him on his other side. Dream watches as the other alpha begins gently rubbing Sapnap’s shoulders while his chest rumbles with a low, consoling sound. He smiles through his tears, hoping Sapnap can feel just how loved he is now.

“Sapnap, we… We really fucked up,” George whispers after a moment, pressing his lips to Sapnap’s bare shoulder, “and we don’t expect you to forgive us, or trust us again, but I’m really glad you’re allowing us to help you right now.”

Dream nods in agreement, staring into Sapnap’s pretty green eyes and cupping his cheek. “We both love you so much. We really do promise to be better from now on.”

Sapnap gives him a weak smile, and then huffs out a laugh, one that sounds like he doesn’t exactly believe them.

“Don’t expect me to believe in your promises anymore either.”

Dream winces and frowns, but nods his head in understanding. “Yeah, of course not. Just… You are loved, and we know we didn’t go about it in the right way but these last few days, the both of us have been fighting to prove that to you. We both wanted to take care of you, and now we’ve got our shit figured out and we’re doing it together, you know?”

Sapnap purrs quietly while George continues to massage him, and then he leans forward and pecks Dream’s lips. The alpha’s heart flutters, his chest swirling with both warmth and guilt. There’s so much more he wants to say - it feels like there’s so much more he needs to say - but none of it is coming to mind in properly formed sentences so whatever words he was thinking quickly die on his tongue.

“Let’s just… Forget about it, okay? At least for now.”

Both alphas nod in agreement, once again sharing a look. Clearly, there’s a lot the two of them want to say to each other too, but they can’t talk while Sapnap is here. Or at least not while he’s awake.

“I’m sorry,” the omega mutters out of nowhere, voice trembling like he’s once more on the verge of tears, “I lied for so long about what happened before I moved in with you, and I feel fucking awful about it. I’d drop everything for you, you know that, right, Dream? I didn’t just- I didn’t just move in with you to get away from all that, I also did really wanna help you. I hope you don’t think that the only reason I moved in so quickly was for selfish reasons.”

Dream’s heart breaks in his chest once again, and he does his best to keep his scent under control. He doesn’t want to upset Sapnap more, after all. It’s just so saddening that despite everything that happened, Sapnap still feels like he needs to apologise for something. He feels guilty for something, even if he didn’t even do anything wrong. It reminds Dream of himself, a little bit, or rather, the things Sapnap always tells him during the stupidest of their controversies.

You don’t have to apologise for everything, especially the stuff out of your control. Don’t feel bad for people who don’t deserve it. Don’t carry guilt on your shoulders and think of yourself as the perpetrator when you’re actually the victim.

“Baby, I don’t care about that,” Dream assures him, pausing when he realises how that might sound, “well, like- okay, I care about your feelings and I’m happy you’re telling me this, but don’t feel bad for it. I know that you love me, that you’d do anything for me, but I also know that the situation you were in was one you’d wanna get out of ASAP. Me offering a place for you to stay was the perfect opportunity, I’m not at all offended by that.”

Sapnap coughs on his own spit as he starts crying again, clinging onto Dream tightly while rubbing his head against his rumbling chest. “But th-that’s not the only reason I moved. I need y-you to know that. I also really did wanna m-move in with you and help y-you out with all the stuff you were g-going through too.”

Dream peppers kiss after kiss to the top of Sapnap’s head, heart squeezing painfully tight in his chest. He just stopped crying a minute or two ago but his eyes are once again watering. He hates that Sapnap feels the need to explain himself like this, hates that he feels so guilty for something so perfectly reasonable, hates that Sapmap is beating himself up about it.

“I know, sweetheart,” Dream promises, “I know you did. Don’t worry, I don’t hold anything against you. Don’t feel guilty and don’t apologise for that, okay? Please?”

Sapnap nods, blubbering a quiet okay while he sniffles and tries to stop himself from sobbing again. “I- I’ve also been lying about b-being on suppressants, though.”

Dream furrows his eyebrows, then looks over at George. Both of them seem confused, because how is that possible? Is he implying that he has continued to use suppressants, despite what his doctor advised him to do? Dream still remembers that conversation so clearly, the way Sapnap seemed so tense and uncomfortable while briefly explaining why he hadn’t had a heat around him before.

But then how did he have a heat now? Did the suppressants stop working? Did his body learn to fight off the suppressants? Or did he decide to stop taking them once he felt comfortable enough with Dream and George? That last one makes Dream feel even shittier about everything. Sapnap said that day that the reason he was on heat suppressants was because one bad heat partner was enough for him. So if it turns out he stopped taking suppressants because he felt safe enough with his two alphas, then that makes everything even worse than it already was. Dream’s never going to forgive himself for any of this.

Sapnap hears their silence, can probably tell they’re confused as hell, so he answers the questions the two alphas have yet to ask. “I- I’ve never taken suppressants before.”

“What?” Dream asks, confused, “But that doctor’s appointment you were telling me about… Did you not actually go to the doctor’s?”

“I did,” Sapnap sniffles, “I went to the doctor because I was concerned. I hadn’t had a heat since… Since I was 19. And it had been two years and I thought that was really fucking weird so I scheduled an appointment. Turns out that- that what happened traumatised my body so much that I wasn’t able to have heats. The doctor told me I might never have any heats again.”

Ice-cold sadness and fear races down Dream’s spine. Sapnap has told so much of his story to Dream and George tonight, but he’s sure there’s a lot more to it he left out too. The fact that that sick, disgusting excuse of an alpha took that from Sapnap - his ability to have heats, to be an omega, to live his life - is so gut-wrenching.

“I was scared when I got this heat. But part of m-me was excited too. I hate heats, but I a-also… Like, it-t’s a part of me, you know? And th-the fact that I finally got to share this part of me with you guys…”

“And then we fucked up,” George sighs, “fuck, Nick. Fuck. That’s… I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t s-say anything. Just accept my apology and we c-can move on.”

Dream shakes his head, squeezing Sapnap’s smaller frame yet again. He wishes he could go back in time, go to Texas, and kick that alpha’s ass. He wishes he could go back in time and stop himself from demanding Sapnap hurry up and reply to his messages. He wishes he could go back in time and do something to help Sapnap out, tell his younger self about Sapnap’s situation that way he could help him when he needed him most.

He sighs heavily, overwhelmed with his thoughts and emotions, but does his best to focus back on the present so he can be here to comfort his omega.

“Don’t apologise, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Dream assures him, “thank you for opening up to us so much. I’m really happy you’re comfortable enough with us to share what happened to you.”

Sapnap nods his head, his eyes lidded again. His demeanor shifts, body falling lax as his exhaustion seems to hit him. He lets his eyes fall shut, his tears slowing to a stop, and he sniffles and hiccups until he eventually starts to snore.

The two alphas remain quiet, both men staring at their sleeping omega, making sure he gets the peaceful rest he needs and deserves. Neither of them say anything for a while, just quietly watching, and Dream even starts to fall asleep himself.

But then, George’s voice startles him awake.

“Do you wanna have that conversation now?” He murmurs, sitting up a little and holding himself up with his elbow.

“Yeah, I guess,” the dirty-blond agrees, speaking equally as quiet, “George, I- I was so worried about getting left out. So much has been happening lately and I just didn’t want to lose my pack. I didn’t want to get cut out of the group. That mixed with my instincts, it just… You know?”

George nods his head, frowning a little. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like that. I know you’ve been under a lot of stress lately, I didn’t intentionally try to, like, cut you out or anything.”

Dream lets out a long breath, nodding his head, feeling more at ease the more they talk about this. He hates leaving things unsaid, hates miscommunication, hates when shit hits the fan and then it’s never cleaned up. And he’d certainly hate it if this big hiccup permanently scarred his and George’s relationship.

He needs closure, clarity, and right now, he’s getting it. What he doesn’t understand, though, is why George didn’t just follow their original plan. All of this could have been avoided had they stuck to the plan they made together, had he kept the promise they made to each other.

So, Dream asks about it.

“Why didn’t you follow our plan, George? That’s what I’m struggling to understand.”

The older man frowns, flopping back down onto his back and looking right up at the ceiling. Dream watches the man’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallows, and after a minute, George finally answers him.

“I wanted to prove to you and Sap that I’m a good alpha.” He speaks so quietly Dream almost misses it, the older man looking sheepish and scared, like he’s mentally preparing for a negative response from the other alpha.

“Well, what do you mean?” Dream asks with a frown, his head tilted in confusion.

George huffs as if this is hard for him - obviously it is, they’re talking about feelings and insecurities right now - and then he shuts his eyes tightly.

“Look, I know what you guys think of me, okay? You said it yourself a few days ago when we had that fight. I’m a lazy no-good alpha. I just thought… I just thought that if I took care of Sapnap all by myself, it would prove to you that I am responsible, it would prove to Sapnap that I do care about him and want to take care of him, and it would prove to both of you that I’m not some lazy slob.”

Dream’s frown grows, and more shame and sadness eats away at him from the inside out. He never meant to make George feel like that, and he certainly regrets what he said to him. George has a big heart and a lot of love to give, even if he doesn’t always show that right off the bat. It’s a shame that Sapnap and Dream made him feel worthless, made him doubt himself.

“Oh, baby, I’m- I’m sorry.” The taller man whispers.

“It’s whatever,” George shakes his head, “I dunno. I know that- that I am lazy and all that, but I also know that I’m a good alpha, so it pissed me off when you and Sap kept implying that I’m not. Then my instincts kicked in too and I guess… Yeah. Our insecurities and instincts clashed and we got hurt because of it.”

“George, we know you’re a good alpha. I certainly do. I’m sorry for doubting you earlier,” Dream tells him earnestly, wanting nothing more than to wrap George up in a hug. He would, if it didn’t require him to disturb their sleeping omega. “If it makes you feel any better, you definitely did prove yourself. You know a lot more about all of this shit than I do, and that also kinda ticked me off. But I’m glad you have the knowledge that you do, because now that we’re working together, we can make Sapnap’s experience all the more amazing.”

The Brit smiles softly, turning his head to his boyfriend as he replies in a genuine tone, “Thanks.”

“So, are we okay?” Dream questions a bit hesitantly, though he’s hopeful.

A beat passes before George nods, sighing softly.

“Yeah, Dream, we’re okay,” he answers, grinning teasingly, “you’re still my idiot puppy-boy alpha mate.”

Dream’s face heats up and he scoffs, rolling his eyes. He can’t fight the way his lips pull into a big smile, though.

“And you’re still my stupid British fuck alpha mate.”

The two of them smile lovingly at one another, George reaching a hand over Sapnap’s sleeping form to grab ahold of one of Dream’s. The Floridian intertwines their fingers, giving his boyfriend’s hand a gentle squeeze, and continues staring into his pretty boba brown eyes.

He’s got no clue when, but eventually, Dream’s eyes drift shut and he falls into a peaceful sleep. His chest feels light, he still feels a little guilty, but he knows after talking about it all some more in the morning, they’ll be able to get through the rest of the complications that remain. Because the three of them are a team, always working together to solve their problems and get through life by each other’s side.