Omega Verse-Do you know that there's still a chance for you ('Cause there's a spark in you) 2/5
Three weeks later
Jared waited impatiently as he tried to focus on his books. Lunch was ready- a simple but hearty pumpkin soup, some grilled carrots and freshly baked bread. He was nowhere near Jensen’s level of kitchen expertise but he had learnt to put up simple meals under the alpha’s tutelage. He still did not enjoy cooking quite as much as his husband, but given Jensen’s love for all things food, he’d learnt to appreciate flavours, besides; it was a great way to spend time together.
He glanced at the children and found them still engrossed in colouring the food-based colouring book Jared had bought as a gag. Jensen had found it absolutely hilarious when both kids had immediately adored the book- the love for food was apparently gene-deep. He had stopped laughing the first time their boy had coloured a tomato purple and given bright green polka dots to the bread loaf.
It was surprisingly peaceful, but Jared couldn’t concentrate: Jensen was at the TOC to collect Denny and as much as Jared had wanted to be with him, the place just held far too many memories for him to contemplate visiting for any reason. They had made sure that all the papers were in order- every 't' slashed and 'i' dotted , before submitting it to the TOC for review but then it was out of their hands. It had been a nerve-wracking two-week long wait as their application was processed, but then they had received a call last Friday informing them that their application had been successful and that they could collect their omega today. As good of a sign as that was, he just hoped that things went smoothly and there were no unforeseen hiccups. The familiar rumble of Jensen’s car turning in their driveway brought him out of his thoughts and he abandoned his books without even bothering to mark his place in the thick tome as he hurried to the door. The children tailed after him, having identified the sound of their father’s car as well and Jared had to physically bar the door to prevent them from running out to greet the alpha. Jared’s eyes were on his husband as he emerged from the car and locked it, checking for sign of stress and he paid for his distraction when he felt something wriggle by his legs and then there were twin high pitched squeals as the two pint-sized escape artists made their break. The front lawn was awash in autumn colours and though it was warm, there was a slight nip in the air and Jared worried that the children were not dressed warmly enough to step outside. There was enough space in their front lawn that Jared didn't worry about the children slipping out onto the road immediately despite their barreling steps but before he could chase after them Denny was gathering up both kids with a loud whoop. Jensen met his eyes over the crouching omega’s head and Jared relaxed at the peace he saw in them. There was the expected hint of underlying sadness, but Jared wasn't much worried about that because as far as he was concerned, anyone who came out of the TOC without feeling atleast a sliver of melancholy needed to get their head checked. They would talk about it later and Jared would do his best to soothe the hurt... For now, priority was getting the omega settled in. The alpha dipped down to swing his daughter up into his arms- leaving Denny to pick up the boy, and headed for the door, pausing to sneak a quick kiss from Jared.
There was a soft gasp and Jared turned his head to find Denny gaping up at him. Jensen stepped up next to him, lowering the child in his arms to the floor and wrapping an arm around Jared's waist with easy familiarity as he turned to the newly acquired omega. “Denny, you remember my husband Jared?”
The omega was clearly shocked, but he quickly composed himself and nodded his head, not meeting either of their eyes, “Yes, Sir. Thank you for opening your door to me, Mast-... uh... sir.”
“Hey, none of that now,” Jared rebuked lightly, leaning forward to take the child so that the omega was free to carry his bags unencumbered. “No one’s a master or sir here, okay? You can call me Jared.”
“Yes, Si-.... uh... Jared.” Denny whispered uncomfortably. “I’m sorry. I-I-I-... I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Jared could see that for whatever reason he was frightening the omega and while everything in him wanted to wrap up the slip-thin figure in his arms, he stayed away. “It’s fine. C’mon, I’ll show you to your room so that you can freshen up. Food’s ready, so we can eat whenever you are done.”
“Yes Si..Jared.”
He offered another smile, trying to convey that he wasn’t angry but the omega had his head lowered. He opened the room he had prepared for the omega- it was Henry’s old room and cleaning it had been an emotional task for both him and Jensen, but watching Denny’s eyes widen in disbelief as he looked around was a balm to his soul.
“Is this okay?”
“This... is for me?” The omega breathed. “You- you’re giving me a bed?”
Jared frowned at the implication of that but forced his expression to smoothen out as he offered another smile. Denny was older than him by a few years, but given how tiny he looked next to him- and the wide-eyed innocence in his eyes; Jared felt like he was the adult... which yeah, technically he was, but that wasn’t the point. Point was, despite being in his mid twenties, Denny looked to be in his mid-to-late teens!
“Everything in here is for you to use as you wish... and if we’ve missed something, please feel free to tell either Jensen or me, okay?” Jared told him as he turned to leave.
“Jared!”
He paused at the panicked call, turning back to the shorter man, “Yeah?”
“I-... I’m not going to try to take your place, okay? I-I promise. ... I didn’t even know Alpha Jensen still had you or that he’d mated with you-”
“We’re married,” Jared cut in. He could empathize with the other's fear- an omega's welcome in a house stretched only as far as the house-beta's goodwill extended , but it hurt him too much to see those big blue eyes so filed with terror and he decided in that instant to explain the situation to the other omega as plainly as he could. It would make him sound abrupt, but it would also hopefully clear the air enough that Denny lost some of his dread. “Jensen and I married a few years after the TOC was done with me. ... so it’s not like he forced me, okay? Jensen really is as good as you think, I promise. He’s not going to force you in any way. You’re here because we need someone to watch over the kids. ... Pops used to do it but he died a few months ago and while we can manage when I just have my regular classes, I start my internship next month. So, yeah...” He shrugged, “Look Denny, I know what the TOC offers as rehabilitation to the omegas that cannot go back to their lives and I promise you that that’s not why you’re here-”
“I know,” Denny interrupted nervously. “They told me that it was a baby-sitter assignment.”
“Yeah, and tell me you didn’t think any different?” Jared challenged. “I mean c’mon... I’ve been in the system. Things worked out far differently for me and I got real lucky, but that's a long story and I'll tell you about it some other time. What I'm trying to tell you is that I’m under no illusions about what might’ve happened to me if things hadn’t gone the way they did. And I was there at the centre for my training, you know? They put me on accelerated training because of my age so I met some of the older omegas... and the one thing they all told me was that it can be packaged as prettily as you please, but the TOC is in the business of trading omegas and under the pretty words, the truth about most of the rehabilitation jobs on offer is the same; all that varies is the frequency of demand.” He sighed before looking up, “I know you don’t believe me, but I guarantee you that this is different. We really are looking for someone to babysit our kids. Nothing else,”
The omega nodded his understanding.
Jared offered a reassuring smile, “Come to me if anyone bothers you, okay? Even Jensen... I’ll handle it.”
He stepped out of the room before Denny could formulate a reply. Turning towards their bedroom he found Jensen-freshly showered and changed into comfortable sweats and a tee- lounging against the door. The alpha inclined his head and Jared followed him inside.
“You were eavesdropping?”
“Not quite. Just overheard that last bit,” Jensen told him, twining his arms around Jared’s back and pulling him closer. “You know that you really don’t have to worry about him stealing my affections, don’t you? You’re the only one for me, Sweetheart.”
“I know that,” Jared admitted easily, “And I’ll gut you with one of your own knives if you ever start fantasizing about me not being enough for you... but I digress. I told Denny that because he doesn’t know any different.”
“Oh,”
“He’s terrified, Jensen.”
The alpha nodded, leaning forward to rest his forehead against Jared’s sharply defined left shoulder bone. “I wish I could do more.”
“One step at a time, Alpha... You were the one to teach me that.”
“I know, but you didn’t see them, Jared.”
“You went to the barracks?”
“Not inside, but yeah.”
"Right," Jared nodded. “Let’s settle Denny in, first. And get me my degree...Then we can think about improving the lot of the omegas at the TOC.”
Jensen pulled back to peer up at his husband curiously, “Looks like you’ve given this some thought,”
Jared grinned down at green eyes with mock affront, “What, you think I picked business management on a whim or something?”
Jensen opened his mouth to respond but there was a muffled thump from the kitchen and both men hurried towards it, relieved to find that it was only an upturned ottoman. Denny was already there, setting it upright and asking the children if they had gotten hurt when it had fallen.
“So, who’s hungry?” Jared announced as he started ladling the soup.
Jensen watched as Denny led the kids to the bathroom to wash their hands and turned to his beta, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten what we were talking about.”
“Oh, were we talking?” Jared laughed, winking at the man as he passed him the filled bowls to place around the table.
“Brat,” Jensen growled, but his voice was playful and Jared knew that the man was not really annoyed. They would finish that conversation sometime, may not be today or tomorrow... but someday and then - well, who could say what the future held?
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