Robin freezes, eyes going wide as what she just said catches up with him. Kat knows that she’s supposed to keep that a secret, but it appears she’s under so much stress that it doesn’t matter. Robin’s heart begins to race as he thinks about all the implications of that. Of a way to fix this.
Jude is in the car. Jude heard her reveal that Robin has already presented.
Robin decides that he will deal with the fallout of this conversation later. Making his sister feel better matters more to him.
“My situation was different.” Robin tries to console her.
“How?” The girl asks, and Robin purses his lips. Jude hasn’t said a word, and Robin genuinely doesn’t know how to steer away from this new topic of discussion.
“I’m the reason everything happened the way it did. Being an alpha won’t change anyone’s opinion of you.”
“Mom and dad don’t like alphas—”
“Mom and dad don’t like anything,” Robin says. He knows he shouldn’t speak of their parents like that to his sister, but oh well. “They love you, though, and nothing will change that.”
Robin’s words don’t apply to himself, but he’s confident in Kat. She has always been the favorite, so she really shouldn’t worry.
There’s a silence, and Jude says, “we’re about a mile away.”
His voice sounds different, and Robin tries not to focus on that. “Okay, well I’m gonna call mom.”
Robin hears objections in the background, but hangs up before Kat can try to dissuade him. He dials his mom and explains the situation to her almost immediately after. She notifies him that she will be able to get off work early and come take care of things.
“In the meantime, I want you to give her some painkillers and try to get her to rest.”
Robin replies with an affirmative, and there’s a lengthy pause. He hears Jude and his sister enter the house, but doesn’t really pay much more attention than that. This is because his mom finally asks;
“What is she?”
Robin replies, “an alpha.”
He doesn’t need to be around his mom to know she’s disappointed. He can feel it through the phone, hear it in her voice when she responds;
“Okay. I’ll be there in an hour.”
Robin rolls his eyes, and they hang up. He sighs, before walking out of his room and through the hallway, before making his way down the stairs. He finds Kat with a sandwich and a Tylenol, Jude standing by the kitchen counter. She appears sweaty, her hair falling out of its ponytail. She glances up at Robin’s entrance. She looks like she’s been crying.
Robin walks over to the girl, feeling her forehead with the back of his hand. She’s warmer than usual, that’s for sure. “Mom says you need to rest.”
Kat just nods, looking back down at the counter and finishing her sandwich. The girl is deeply troubled, and Robin tries to think of something to make her feel better. Nothing comes to mind, and he ends up standing there—feeling Jude’s eyes on him the whole time.
The smell of alpha is potent, though Kat’s scent is obviously the strongest. It’s distracting, but not in the way Jude’s is. It’s quite different, and Robin still hasn’t made eye contact with his best friend. He’s hoping the guy won’t bring anything up.
“Did you tell mom?”
“Yes.”
Kat glares at the counter, though the look in her eye is mostly nerves and fear. “What did she say?”
Robin shrugs, before beginning to root through the fridge for soda. “Nothing, just that you need to get rest.”
“Did she sound upset?”
Yes.
“No.”
There’s a heavy silence, and Robin cracks open a can before turning to face his sister. She doesn’t look like she believes him.
“I’m gonna take a shower,” she says, before exiting the room. Robin can’t help but feel bad for her, and makes a mental note to check on her later.
“How has she been handling it?” Robin asks Jude without making eye contact. Jude is leaning against the kitchen counter, and Robin continues to sip his soda and look anywhere that isn’t his best friend.
“It’s stressing her out.” Jude replies, and his tone of voice is a bit strange, but Robin can’t pinpoint what the difference actually is. Robin just nods.
“She doesn’t want your parents to react the way they did... when you presented, according to her.”
Fuck. Robin knew Jude caught that, and he especially knew the guy wouldn’t just let it go. He was still foolishly hopeful, but now he has to deal with the aftermath of the conversation that took place only about ten minutes prior.
Robin finally glances up to meet Jude’s eyes. The guy is studying him, and he looks beyond intimidating. Robin can’t help but feel like a cornered cat. Jude is visibly displeased, and Robin wants to end this conversation as soon as possible.
“They... they might be upset at first, but I don’t think it will really affect anything.” Robin says, choosing to ignore the portion of the sentence that he probably shouldn’t ignore. Jude raises an eyebrow.
“Well, how exactly did they react, Robin? What happened when you presented?"
Robin can’t help but wince at Jude’s harsh tone. He makes the executive decision that he’s not dealing with this right now.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Robin says, turning around and beginning to make his way to his bedroom. He can hear Jude behind him the whole way, and does his best to ignore it. Jude doesn’t say anything until they finally enter Robin’s bedroom.
“Is this the secret? The one Miles found out? The one you won’t tell me?”
Robin spins around, glaring at Jude, who doesn’t look any happier. Robin ignores every instinct of his to look away and submit, like usual, and his irritation aids in it. “Stop it, Jude. If I presented don’t you think you’d smell me?”
“I would not put it past you to take scent suppressants every day.” Jude replies, and Robin crosses his arms. They’re standing in the middle of Robin’s bedroom, and Robin is happy that Jude closed the door behind them. He doesn’t want to risk Kat hearing this, though it’s doubtful. “You are obsessive.”
Robin is trying to stare Jude down. Glare him into submission. Obviously this has no hope of working, but Robin doesn’t know what to say right now. He can’t figure out a way to get out of this. There is no realistic or believable excuse to cover his secret right now, at least none that he can think of.
Wait...
“Okay, fine. I did present.” Robin says, and Jude raises his eyebrows. He’s visibly surprised that Robin admitted that so willingly. Except... “I’m a beta.”
Robin can tell immediately that Jude doesn’t buy it. Like, he’s not skeptical. He doesn’t even give the idea a chance. He just straight up does not believe Robin, and it’s evident on the guy’s face.
“Really? Then why cover it up?”
Robin blinks. Shit, okay, he did not think that far ahead. Why would he cover up being a beta? Why would his parents care if he was a beta? A lot of this doesn’t add up, and Jude’s beyond smart enough to realize that.
“Because I felt like it.”
Jude raises an eyebrow. “Why does it matter if Miles tells everyone?”
Robin frowns, scratching his neck. He seriously needs to work on his excuses. Wait, he never confirmed that this was the secret Miles found out. That’s right! Jude was trying to trap him!
“Um, Miles found out a... different secret.”
Jude doesn’t believe that either, but he still appears irritated by the idea. “How many things are you keeping from me, Robin?”
Now Jude is slowly approaching him, and Robin starts to feel nervous as he tries to think of something else to get him out of this. He can’t think of anything, though, and he’s starting to realize he’s completely out of excuses. It appears as though he’s just making his situation worse, though, so maybe...
Maybe he should just tell Jude.
Jude is standing right in front of Robin now, and Robin can feel his eyes drilling into him. He feels so nervous, and he’s staring at the floor. What should he do? God, he wishes there was some sort of written guide on these things.
“How...” Robin tries to figure out how he should word this. “Hypothetically, if I were an omega, what would you do?”
Robin doesn’t dare look up, but Jude stays silent for a while. Its excruciating, and he fidgets as he dreads his best friend’s response.
“I would not care.”
Robin’s head shoots up to make eye contact with Jude, who doesn’t look nearly as upset as before. He’s completely sincere, and he’s giving Robin a meaningful look. For some reason, though, Robin’s still having a hard time believing him. What if he’s just trying to get Robin to admit it? Then, once Robin does, Jude’s going to leave and never talk to him again.
“Seriously?” Robin asks, nerves eating away at him. “Are you being serious? Jude, please tell me you’re not fucking with me right now.”
Robin starts to shake as the concept eats away at him. What if Jude is just messing with him? What if it’s all a lie? What if he’s just trying to get Robin to admit it?!
Robin feels a hand in his hair, Jude grabbing hold tightly so he can freely manipulate his head. He forces Robin to make eye contact, and the look in his eyes is the same as before, though a bit more intense.
“It wouldn’t bother me, Robin.”
Robin feels his eyes get a bit watery, and he tries to blink it away. Please don’t get emotional right now...
“Just tell me the truth.”
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck, Robin doesn’t know what to do. Should he? The consequences quite literally scare the absolute fucking shit out of him. Jude appears to be serious, though. Robin tries to keep his bearings as he internally freaks out.
“I...” Robin takes a deep, shaky breath. “I’m...”
Jude raises his eyebrows. Come on, Robin. You can do this. Tell him! It’s time!
Robin genuinely can’t bring himself to say it, but with the way Jude is looking at him, he’s starting to think he may not have to. It appears as though the guy already knows. Honestly, though, who proposes such a specific and relevant hypothetical situation and doesn’t mean it literally?
Jude seems to have caught on, as he suddenly wraps his arms around Robin and yanks him forward. Robin is flush against Jude’s chest and trembling as the guy embraces him. As Robin begins to hug Jude back, he hears the words he’s been dreading all these years;
“You’re an omega.”
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