Fuck.
"So. Are you finally going to tell me what happened?" His mother asked, before setting a plate of food in front of him. With a quick turn, she strutted back into the kitchen, beginning to prepare him a cup of tea.
Ben glanced at the plate in front of him. Under any other circumstances, he'd be amused that Leia still refused to serve him food on her nice plates, but currently, dishware was the last thing on his mind. And even though he loved her spaghetti Bolognese to bits and would happily eat platefuls on any other occasion, the thought of food made him downright sick.
He didn't get a chance to respond before his mother slid into the chair across from him, setting down a piping hot cup of tea. Her steely gaze was oddly calming despite his evening.
Ben took a gulp of tea, letting the liquid burn his mouth. He blinked a few times, registering the space around him.
Fuck. Omega.
Return to omega.
How did this even happen? After running out of the apartment for the second time, ignoring Rey's cries and Poe's yelling, he found himself sprinting for about four blocks before nearly colliding with a woman and a stroller. At that point, he finally collapsed against the brick façade of the local Whole Foods, contemplating where the fuck to go.
He went to the one place he knew he was always welcome, despite rarely wanting to visit.
At least that was how he ended up with a 60-dollar Uber charge and 45 minutes outside of the city.
"Something has happened." He began, as cryptic as ever, "And I don't know what to do."
Han, who was lounging in his favorite recliner chair in the living room, decided then was the best time to pipe in. "You knock a girl up?"
Ben sighed but was beaten to the punch to respond by his mother. "Of course, he didn't get anyone pregnant!" Leia snapped, before looking back to Ben, suddenly contemplative, "Right?"
He shook his head. "No. No one is pregnant."
"Then what's—" Leia growled and looked back at her husband, "Dammit, Han! Turn the TV down! Can't you see that your son is distressed?"
Han groaned and grabbed the remote, following his wife's demands. "The Rebels are playing. Ben is always distressed!"
Ben finished his tea and dropped his head to the table, his parents not doing him any favors. "Can I continue?"
"May I." Leia interjected, a motherly smile gracing her lips, "You're 26, Benjamin. You can do anything."
He groaned and pulled at his hair. "For fuck sakes! I got home and…" Ben frowned, struggling to speak, closing his eyes to focus on his words, "Rey was in heat."
Suddenly, the subtle noise in the room—Leia adding sugar to her tea, the lull of Han's baseball game in the background—all disappeared. Ben was surrounded by pure silence.
He opened his eyes and met his mother's sad gaze.
"Ben… Sweetie…" She began, her voice soft, "I know you might be—"
With a curse, he cut his mother off. "Stop! Just… Stop. I'm not crazy, okay? I even brought Poe and Finn over to see. I'm not crazy. Rey is in fucking heat. She was nesting and—and—and—crying out for a fucking Alpha!"
For the first time in his life, Ben watched as his mother struggled for words.
"That's—that's not possible." Was all she managed.
Han hobbled in, his knees apparently still killing him, a half-filled bottle of beer in his hands. He looked at his wife. "Yes, it is. Remember Lando's niece?"
Leia made a face. "You mean Jannah? She presented late but not that late! She was 19. That's old, but not unheard of."
His father shrugged. "Fine. Didn't Jyn present really late?" He took a swig of beer and collapsed into the seat beside his wife, for once interested in the conversation, "I thought Kenobi mentioned all the drugs in her teen years delaying it."
Ben swallowed and pulled at his hair. "Who fucking cares if there's precedent or not! Rey is a fucking omega!"
Leaning forward, Leia pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "Hey. It's going to be okay."
"Will it be?" Ben asked, his voice wavering, "Because I feel like my world has just been thrown off its fucking axis!"
Han studied his son, his feelings impossible to read. "How did she smell?"
Ben sighed, dropping his head to the table. "Like the sweetest thing in the world."
His father whistled. "Then the world has shifted, Ben."
"You should stay here for the next few days," Leia quickly interjected, giving her husband a look of warning, "You can't act rashly. Rey is probably scared to death. Is she alone?"
"No. I left her with Poe and Finn."
Leia nodded. "Good. Finn will know how to help. Now you need to eat and get some sleep."
And as he always did, Ben listened to his mother and shoved a forkful of pasta into his mouth.
-x-x-x-
"Wherever you got dinner from was incredible. Finn loved the ravioli. And the bruschetta? Wow. I'll get that again," Poe explained, before pausing to seemingly chew, "Even brought cannolis too. You're a good friend."
Ben laid back on his childhood bed and groaned, clutching his phone hard enough that he was slightly concerned it would break. "Fuck, Poe, did you at least give Rey what I bought her?"
Poe snorted and continued to chew. "We tried. After you left, she ran back to her nest sobbing and locked the door. She only opened the door after I gave her a command."
The thought of Poe issuing Rey an Alpha command momentarily paralyzed Ben.
Another Alpha is challenging you.
Fight for your omega.
"You gave her an Alpha command?" Ben hissed out, unable to hide his anger.
Poe actually laughed, which pissed Ben off immensely. "Dude, chill. First, I'm mated. Second, I'm gay. So, I promise, I have no interest in your whining little omega."
Ben sighed and buried his face in his pillow, the smell of his childhood home calming him. "Fuck. How is she? I can't…" He struggled with his words and slammed his fists against his mattress, "I can't come back. Not until it's over."
"She's asleep now. Once I got her to open the door, Finn forced her to drink some water and eat an apple. Then he ran out and got her an artificial knot. Based on what we heard from the living room, she got some use out of that before falling asleep." Some shuffling on the line followed before Poe continued, "And it sounded like she was mainly calling out for you. Seems to think you're her Alpha."
Omega is in need.
Go to her.
Ben swallowed. "Fuck, Poe. What the hell am I supposed to do?"
"I don't know, man. But you can't come back here. It's fucking strong. Made me dizzy for a bit, but I'm okay for now."
"Please take care of her," Ben whispered, pulling at his sheets with shaking hands, "She must be scared shitless."
Poe yawned. "We got you, Ben. She's safe with us. Just… Relax. Things will be okay."
"I sure fucking hope so."
-x-x-x-
Five Years Ago
For once in his life, Ben was relieved when his mother showed up at his apartment on Saturday afternoon, arms full of groceries and what appeared to be Tupperware filled with her homemade prime rib and vegetable medley.
He was only approximately twenty-four hours over his most recent rut, one that left him fucking a flesh light and his hand in the base of his closet for four straight days. His body was sore, exhausted, and desperate for more subsistence than his usual rut food of Gatorade and power bars.
That's where his mother came into the picture.
She set her bags down and turned to study her son. With a smile, she patted his cheek. "How are you feeling, Ben?"
He grumbled and began to dig through the bags, already salivating at the sight of pretzels and Oreos. "Hmm?"
"I asked how you were feeling."
Ben immediately ripped into the package of cookies and ate one in two bites. He shrugged. "Like the life has been sucked out of me. The same I always feel after a rut."
His mother cleared her throat and placed the Tupperware into the microwave. After setting the timer, she turned to Ben, a frown settling across her lips. "So I can presume you didn't find an omega?"
Ben made a face, clearly uncomfortable discussing such matters with his mother. He ate another cookie and shook his head. "You know I never use omegas."
She sighed. "Benjamin. You're 21 years old. You're old enough to be using omegas during ruts. Why aren't you? You know how much easier an omega will make things."
He merely shrugged and began to unload the groceries. "Dunno, mom. I just don't want to."
"Ben."
He groaned and glanced back at his mother. "What? Can't we drop this?"
"Is this about Rey?"
The name of his best friend, the girl that lived next door with Jessika and Kaydel, forced him to look at his mother. He cleared his throat and aggressively shook his head. "Of course it has nothing to do with Rey. Why would this have anything to do with Rey?"
His mother gave him a look that he was all too familiar with. "Ben, you've never had a rut with an omega. I just can't help but feel that this has to do with Rey."
With another pat to his cheek, she smiled sadly. "She's twenty-one, Ben. She's not going to present."
He swallowed and shook his head. "Mom, please, that's not—"
She held up her hand. "Ben. Rey is a beta. It's time for you to get over that fantasy of yours. It's time for you to move on and find a nice omega."
He stared at his mother, too speechless to respond.
Her words were nothing new to Ben.
But it certainly hurt to hear it from the mouth of the person in his life that usually knew best.
He swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I know. No worries. I only ever had a small crush. There's this cute omega in my bio lab. I might ask her out."
His mom smiled. "Good. I'm glad to hear that."
Ben forced a smile and accepted the newly warmed prime rib from his mother.
It was time for him to get over his crush on Rey.
She was a Beta. He was an Alpha.
They would never be together.
They just couldn't be.
-x-x-x-
Present
"Is she still sleeping?" A muffled voice asked, followed by the sound of the sink running.
"Yes. And when she's up, if she refuses to eat again, you're going to have to give her another command," A different one responded, sounding exhausting.
"Thank god she accepted the artificial knot. Her crying was starting to get to me. Instincts and all."
The other man snorted. "Good to know. Next time you make me angry, I'll just cry."
"You don't need to cry, Finn. I'll do anything for you anyways."
Rey's eyes shot open, the voices of two of her best friends fading into the background. She was still sprawled across the floor of her padded closet, wearing nothing but Ben's jacket.
Of course, the once clean jacket was now coated in sweat and her slick.
She sniffed the jacket, her eyes nearly rolling back. The scent of him intertwined with hers had her legs shaking and her cunt clenching.
Alpha.
Stumbling to her feet, she waddled out of her closet and bedroom, before leaning against the hall wall for support. But with a sniff, her body tensed up.
Another alpha.
"Rey? Are you up?" Finn asked hesitantly, before rounding the corner. He studied her, his lips twisted into a soft smile. "Why don't you have something to eat?"
"Alpha." Was all she sputtered out, before her eyes landed on Poe. She raced over to him and met his chocolate gaze, before burying her face in his neck. But after a large sniff on her part, she tore her body away, her nose crinkling in disgust.
"NO!" She screamed, new tears forming at her eyes, " Not alpha!"
Poe sighed and fanned the air, as if trying to rid the smell of Rey's state. "Rey, sweetie, please." He looked to Finn, as if begging for help, "Babe, what did you do on heats without an alpha?"
"I fucked myself silly with a toy. And cried. A lot. She's doing the same thing," Finn explained, before crossing his arms, "But I also never was surrounded by the essence of a potent alpha. Ben's stuff fucking reeks of virile Alpha."
Before Poe could respond, Rey bolted out of the living room, leaving both men to race after her with a groan. They followed her into Ben's room and watched as she began to collect the less useful articles of his clothing that she once had left.
"Alpha," Rey whispered to herself, a small grin building on her lips as she cradled an armful of socks to her chest. She slipped a pair onto her own feet, the fabric extending ridiculously past her toes given the large size of Ben's feet.
With a grin, she started cooing again. "Alpha!" She shouted happily, before running to her own bedroom, the socks bouncing up and down in her arms.
Poe looked at his mate, his eyes tired. "I've never seen an omega do this."
"Well you've never been around an omega in heat that you weren't fucking," Finn explained with an eye roll, "You alphas have no idea how painful this shit is. Makes you fucking delirious. During my first heat, I found a pair of my cousin's old gym shorts. It was not my hottest moment."
Poe couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, well Rey's fucking hoarding Ben's socks, so that's already pretty low—" But his words died in his throat as he watched Rey reappear in the hallway, Ben's hamper in her arms.
Finn groaned. "Oh, jesus, Rey, no! Not his dirty clothes!"
But she couldn't be argued with. Her two friends watched in horror as she pulled out a pair of Ben's gym shorts and brought them to her face, her body shaking as she inhaled the potent smell.
"Alpha, please," She cooed, her lip quivering as she smelled the fabric again, "Alpha!"
Her sobs picked up in pace and she dashed back to her nest, quickly dumping the clothes from the hamper to join the socks she had claimed. Within moments, she had the toy Finn had brought to her hours earlier shoved up her cunt, the pulsating vibrations and large size offering only short-term relief.
She laid on her stomach, furiously fucking herself with the toy, her face buried in the pile of Ben's dirty clothes. She smelled sweat and cum and Ben and Alpha and it was all it took.
With a sob, her cunt clenched around the toy, and with a quick flick of her wrist, the artificial knot inflated within her, the internal pressure offering some comfort.
Too tired to move, she didn't even flinch when Finn hesitantly opened the door to her closet. He leaned down to cover her with one of Ben's blankets and set a plate of food beside her.
"Alpha says to eat," He whispered, causing her ears to perk up, "Alpha called to check in on you. If you don't eat, you won't please him."
Suddenly, the promise of pleasing Alpha had her sitting up, the ridiculous toy still jammed between her swollen lips, and she grabbed the cardboard container of lukewarm pasta from Finn. She shoved a forkful in her mouth and swallowed.
Eat for Alpha.
This will please him.
No pups until he's pleased.
She ate another forkful, moaning as the artificial knot pulsated inside her again. The moment the container was empty, she glanced at Finn, her eyes hopeful.
"Tell Alpha. I pleased him," She stuttered out, her throat sore from her constant wailing, "Now pup time!"
Finn offered her a weary smile and nodded. "Okay. I'll tell him." He set down a bottle of water and scurried out.
Rey looked between her legs, admiring the way the orange silicone contrasted with the pink, swollen lips of her cunt. She brought one of Ben's dirty shirts to her face and inhaled the delicious scent with a moan.
Alpha is going to be so proud. Good omega. Omega is ready for pups.
And as the toy pulsated again, she was fucked into a calming sleep.
-x-x-x-
The following morning, Ben sat in his parent's backyard, drinking a cup of coffee and staring into the tree line of the bordering forest. Maybe he was terrorizing himself by thinking of the years he and Rey had spent back here, from playing tag and catch and camping under the stars and just having the time of their lives.
She was all he could think about.
How could this actually be happening?
After the years of torturing himself by hoping they would be biologically compatible, followed by the years of forcing himself to accept their fate…
And now this?
Was his best friend really an Omega?
What the hell did this mean for their friendship?
Thankfully, his thoughts were distracted by the appearance of his father. Han hobbled over to the chair beside Ben and sat down, studying his son quietly.
Ben cleared his throat. "Yes?"
"Your mother is calling her lady doctor," Han began, his voice gruff, "Best in the designation field. She's going to have Rey see her when the heat is over."
Perhaps it was a relief that his mother was such a busy body. At least now he knew he could rely on the best designation doctor in the area to look at Rey and figure out what the hell was going on.
"She called Kenobi too," Han rambled on, still holding his son's gaze, "And I was right. Jyn presented at 23. Thought she was a beta until she met Rey's father. The doctor attributed it to her drug use. She was in and out of rehab by the time she was 14."
Ben swallowed, always weary when hearing about Rey's parents. Her mother died young after years of drug use, and her father was as good as dead, never to be heard from after Rey's mother discovered that she was expecting. And while Ben Kenobi, the man Ben was named after, was an excellent grandfather, it was never the same as growing up with two parents.
Or at least that was always what Rey communicated to him.
Ben rubbed at his eyes, beyond exhausted after a sleepless night. "As long as Rey sees someone. This is just…" He sighed and shook his head, "Fucking nuts."
The two men sat in silence for a few moments, only the hum of the morning breeze and the whistling of the neighborhood birds dashing through the tension.
"You know," Han began again, "I'm sorry I made your mother deal with you when you presented. As your father and as an Alpha it should have been my responsibility to show you the ropes."
Ben sighed and waved his hand. "You got me my first toys. That should count for something."
"Still. I removed myself from the situation. That wasn't fair to you."
"That was more than a decade ago, dad. It's fine."
Han sighed and shook his head. "Fine. But here's my advice to you now. We have to assume that Rey just presented. That she's officially an omega," He glanced at his son, issuing him a knowing look, "And that means it's time for you to make a move. Give her a chance to accept who she is, but then you need to do what you've been wanting to do since the day you realized girls didn't have cooties."
Ben frowned. "You and mom told me for years to get over Rey."
His father shrugged. "That was then, and this is now. Things have changed."
"I can't ruin our friendship," Ben shot back, his hands shaking as he considered the prospect, "She's my best friend and I refuse to lose her now because we just happen to be biologically compatible."
Han sighed and rose to his feet. "Nothing will ever be the same, Ben. Not unless you two get together or mate with other people."
At his father's words, his stomach lurched. Just the simple thought of Rey mating with someone else nearly made him sick.
Ben swallowed and shook his head aggressively. "We're not weak. We'll get her on the strongest fucking suppressants. I'll up my blockers." He ran a hand through his hair and cursed, "Nothing is going to change."
"If you say so, Ben."
He growled. "You gotta believe me! Everything will be fine! We can stay friends and act like this didn't happen, except twice a year!"
Han gave his son a sad smile. "of course, Ben. Of course. I gotta get inside and talk to your mom."
His father disappeared back into the house, leaving Ben once again alone.
He took a shuttering breath, considering what he said to his father.
Nothing had to change.
He and Rey could continue to be best friends, designations be damned.
They would not let their biology define them.
Right?