Rated T. A/B/O Dynamics. Drama/Humor.

Jackson and Michelle chatting about scent-marking at 3am.

Cookies are a Legitimate Coping Mechanism

The cold air of San Francisco poured in from the open window in the kitchen. It seared across Jackson's too warm skin as he plopped down at the table.

3am is the best time for breakfast.

"Awake again, insomniac?" Michelle groused as she climbed the stairs from the garage with narrowed eyes and reindeer pajamas.

"Sleep is for those with decent coping skills," Jackson grinned as he glanced down to see that Michelle's pajamas had feet on them. "If the last week has proven anything, it's that neither of us inherited those."

Michelle rolled her eyes, "There is only room for one snarky alpha in this house." She shoved his head down lightly and sat in the chair next to him.

The plate of snacks he'd nicked from the fridge was slid closer as Michelle kicked her feet up.

"Alright Baby Alpha," Michelle sighed, cookie rising to her lips, "Make like T Swift said and calm down."

It was perhaps the lamest alpha command Michelle had tried yet. It hadn't worked any better than the others she'd tried on him, but it did make Jackson smile.

"I think the offer to smother me with pheromones had more of an effect?" Jackson offered. Michelle wrinkled her nose.

"That was a threat, Jacks, not an offer," Michelle gestured with a pretzel stick before biting it in half. She spoke around her chewing, "And your amusement is not appreciated."

Jackson grabbed a cookie and shrugged, "You're the one that keeps trying to whammy me."

The second half of the pretzel hit his head.

"Not my fault I'm impervious," Jackson grinned around a mouth full of cookie. Michelle snorted, shook her head.

A whole week of midnight bonding with his aunt had taught Jackson several things. 1) Michelle didn't sleep much. 2) Her alpha abilities were either useless against him or her cancer was starting to mess with them. 3) She wouldn't admit to any of that. Even when bribed with all manner of stolen Christmas desserts!

"So, you saw your alpha doc yesterday right?" Michelle asked, brow raised and eyes focused on Jackson.

Jackson, very confidently, did not choke on his cookie. It just got caught in his throat a little.

Michelle snickered, eyes crinkling as she smiled, "I'd apologize, but I'm obviously not sorry." Jackson glared at her as he reached for his glass of milk. Michelle shrugged, "In my defense, your mom wanted me to ask."

"Uh, she was there," Jackson narrowed his eyes and wrinkled his nose. His arms gestured out, "She even brought up my knots, again! As if it wasn't humiliating enough talking about pheromones and how I triggered Ramona's heat!"

With arms crossed over the table, Michelle leaned forward. She didn't say anything. Just kept her face angled towards him as Jackson kept talking.

"He wants me to track Every time my instincts are triggered!" Jackson hands were flying now, a glower focused on the wall. "As if I even recognize the trigger half of the time!"

"Pretty sure that's the point of tracking it," Michelle chuckled, eyes closing for a moment as she sighed. Jackson frowned.

He did not appreciate reason during his rants.

Michelle's arms rose up, cupping her face as she propped up her elbows. She stuck her tongue out at Jackson, "That, and he wants to map out who your brain is classifying as 'pack' now. With no active scent marks, you're hormones still all wonky, it could be… what was the word DJ used… 'enlightening?'"

Yeah. Ngo wasn't even hiding his data collection for that paper now. He hadn't stopped scribbling throughout the whole damn appointment.

"You get anything useful out of it at least?" Michelle's elbow shot out to nudge his arm.

Jackson blushed.

The answer was yes. But finding out his attraction to Ramona was wholly teenage drama and not a remnant of the scent mark? Not something he was planning to share.

With anyone.

Not Ngo. Not Popko. Definitely not anyone with Tanner as their last name.

"You still tracking Ramona's scent like a bloodhound?" Michelle asked as she reached for a cookie.

Michelle was magic.

Possibly, she'd traded her soul for it because she seemed to give zero fucks about… well, most things.

Maybe that was just the dying thing?

"I will take your silence as confirmation," Michelle bit the cookie in half. Jackson watched her teeth sink into it.

The sharpness of her teeth was disconcerting as they eviscerated the chewy cookie.

"Have you ever…" Jackson trailed off as Michelle reached for a carrot stick now that the cookies were gone. It broke in half between her back molars. Jackson cleared his throat, "...scent-marked someone before?"

"Yup," Michelle nodded, chewed her carrot. She was staring at him, eyes lulling and face flat.

Jackson groaned, "You're gonna make me ask?" He looked at her, eyes wide. His puppy dog looks were significantly less effective now.

Or maybe Michelle was just immune to their effects…

"Watching you suffer brings me joy," Michelle didn't crack a smile even with her sarcasm dripping all over the room.

Jackson huffed. Definitely immune.

"What happened when you scent-marked? Was it as complicated and awkward as -"

Michelle snorted, her face finally breaking into a grin, "No Alpha in the history of Alphas has probably had this awkward of a presentation." Michelle pointed her next carrot at him, then frowned at it, "Seriously, why are there not more cookies in this house?"

"If I get you more cookies, will you be helpful?" Jackson narrowed his eyes. Michelle turned her head, giving him a side-eye.

"Are you telling me there are more cookies?"

Max's secret stash was easy enough to find and pillage. He set the Chip Ahoys bag in front of Michelle and she immediately held it to her chest like it was a baby.

Jackson snickered, "Okay, I get it, you love cookies, can we get with the storytime now?"

"How Rude…" Michelle muttered as she set the cookies back on the table and opened them. Jackson rolled his eyes. She huffed, "Fine~"

Finally!

"It wasn't anything romantic," Michelle shrugged, smirking at him as she brought a cookie to her lips, "So it's not quite the same."

Low blow. So rude.

"But yeah, my first pheromone party, I marked this girl I went to college with. It took me about a week to figure out why I was getting these nasty headaches," Michelle gestured with her hands as she spoke.

It may or may not have been a ploy to distract him from looking at her face. Which was twice as expressive as usual.

"Luckily, she was a beta, so it wasn't quite as dramatic on her end."

Annoyance flashed across Michelle's face and her next bite of cookie ended with a particularly loud snap.

"So… what happened?" Jackson asked when Michelle quietly chewed her cookie with a pinched expression.

"Oh, she's my assistant now," Michelle shrugged, brows rising, "She texted me an hour ago to nag me about sleeping. Apparently I'm keeping her up with all my late night emails."

Jackson's face froze. His nose wrinkled.

That was not where he was expecting that story to go.

"Are you saying you're still scent-marking her?"

Michelle gestured wide with the bag of cookies, "It makes it easy to keep track of her at shows?"

Lies. Definite lies.

Narrowing his eyes, Jackson scooted closer.

Michelle rolled her eyes, "Okay, so maybe it's impossible to remove a scent-mark from a beta and now she's stuck with me."

"So…" Jackson spoke slowly, nose still wrinkled, "...all scent-marking is complicated."

"Well, duh, dude," Michelle snorted, "You're literally coating them with your scent to the point that it becomes part of theirs? Outside of a honeymoon, that level of proximity and closeness is usually deemed a bit inappropriate."

True.

Annoyingly true.

Jackson blushed, ideas in his head slamming into each other like pro wrestlers.

Michelle cackled beside him and Jackson jumped at the sound. She smirked, "Interestingly, your scent still gets all peppery when you're freaking out." She leaned forward, eyebrows wiggling, "Anything you'd like to share, nephew?"

"Uh…" Jackson's mouth fell open and he blinked a few times, head tilting, "...no?"

"Wow," Michelle's forehead wrinkled, "You really are a shit liar."

"Hey!" Jackson yelped, lips puckering in a pout.

She flicked his forehead.

Mean.

Jackson rubbed at the spot on his head, "Aren't you suppose to be offering me advice and wisdom?"

"That's your mom's department," Michelle waved her hand in the general direction of the stairs and then towards the Gibbler house next door, "Stephanie is sarcasm and witty comebacks."

"And you?" Jackson asked, when Michelle dropped her arm and grabbed another cookie.

Michelle leaned towards him, smile plastered on her face, "I'm annoying."

The laughter came out before he could stop himself. Bursting out of his chest like air from a balloon.

"See, sometimes annoying is helpful," Michelle sniffed the air, "I can't smell the peppers anymore."

That did not bring him any degree of comfort.

Maybe Michelle's nose was going? Yeah. That could be it.

Not that Jackson wanted to smell like Ramona. He just wanted her to smell like him. Wait! No…

Okay. Maybe a little bit.

But she was back on the suppressant now and it literally made him gag, so who could blame him?

"Nope, take it back," Michelle shoved at his head, pushing him away from her, "There it is again."

Definitely not her nose going then.

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