Adrien hid in his room, breathing deeply.
Earlier that day he'd presented as an Alpha.
His father, of course, was thrilled.
"So you are an Alpha."
That was the first thing he'd said to Adrien as he walked through the door, having been sent home early by the school nurse.
Adrien took in his father's scent.
Strong.
Musky.
Very clearly Alpha.
Not that he needed to smell him to know that. Gabriel exuded Alphaness in everything he did, from the way he brushed over other's concerns to the way he asserted his will, expected everyone to submit to his needs and wishes.
"Alphas are in charge, as nature intends," he'd told Adrien before, tightly gripping his shoulder. "Omegas simply exist to follow orders, betas little better."
Looking into Adrien's eyes, he'd asked him softly, "You're going to be an Alpha, aren't you?"
Adrien had wanted to respond. To tell him that he had no idea, it wasn't exactly something he was in control of. And deeper down, that if THIS was what it meant to be an Alpha - if being an Alpha just meant stepping over everyone else - then he'd rather be anything else.
Ultimately, he'd said nothing.
But now that he'd presented?
The part of him that'd balked then, that'd wanted to protest, to chew him out, was too strong to ignore.
"That's all you care about, isn't it?" Adrien snapped bitterly. "That I'm on top. That I'm above everyone else. That I don't somehow reflect badly on you."
His father's eyes widened. "Mind your tongue!" he snarled, a small growl emerging. "I am still your father. You may be an Alpha, but you're still just a pup. And I am YOUR Alpha."
"Is that all being an Alpha means to you? Yelling at everyone else, punishing them if they step out of line - out of YOUR line?!"
Gabriel's eyes hardened. He stepped down the stairs, each footfall a prognostication of doom.
He grabbed Adrien's wrist. "I do not think you will need these anymore," he'd told Adrien, throwing away the suppression pills the nurse had given him to help him ride through his first rut. "You will get through it like an Alpha should, not debasing yourself with suppressants," he said in disgust.
And that was how Adrien had ended up here, desperately trying to ignore his body's anguished cries.
He grit his teeth. Most of the Alphas in class had Omega friends to calm their hormones, to keep them comfortable, and vice versa. Chloe had Sabrina for instance, while Alya had Marinette.
He hadn't been around for Alya's presentation, sadly. But Marinette had recounted it with great gusto during one of the few opportunities they had to hang out.
Chloe'd been tearing into Marinette on the first day of the new school year, trying to get her to move seats. She'd just presented as an Alpha a couple months ago and had been thoroughly enjoying the added intimidation boost it provided her.
She hadn't expected some random new girl to stand up to her.
Nor for that girl to suddenly start leaking a musky scent.
Since then Alya'd taken a lead in protecting the class - though protecting HERSELF? Not so much.
Not that she was the only one. Marinette had been inspired by Alya's display, had gotten some confidence herself, to the point she ran for - and won! - the class rep position, with Alya as. her deputy.
Her subsequent reveal as an omega had come as a shock. Everyone had assumed she'd be an Alpha, or a Beta at least.
But Omega?
She'd seemed nervous, scared even, when she first presented.
Afraid that her friends would treat her differently.
But well… she was still Marinette. Her being an Omega didn't change that.
She was still their friend, still their class rep.
Omegas had grown more common in leadership positions - something Paris became acutely aware of when Ladybug herself presented.
It had been assumed by most of Paris's population that the suits masked the two heroes' scent glands. That Ladybug was almost certainly an Alpha, POSSIBLY a Beta, and that Chat Noir was probably an Omega, possibly a Beta.
Until Ladybug had arrived at a fight, feverish and smelling sweet.
They'd still defeated the akuma, but Chat Noir had had to do more heavy lifting than normal - there was a reason Omegas were often given reduced workloads during their heats, especially anything requiring physical exertion.
Whispers emerged throughout Paris. 'Can Ladybug really protect us if she's vulnerable to an Omega's heats?' 'An Omega, even one with superpowers, shouldn't expect others to follow their orders. It isn't the way of things.' and worst of all 'Ladybug should give her Miraculous to an Alpha. They'll make better use of it than she ever has.'
People began looking to Chat Noir more, addressing him as the leader instead of Ladybug, who they'd deferred to before. Something that clearly made both Ladybug and Chat Noir uncomfortable, with Ladybug looking downcast and Chat Noir being more snappish with the press.
Until finally they'd given a news conference, Ladybug and Chat Noir taking the stage, addressing the preconceptions and discrimination Ladybug had been put through by the city because of her being an Omega.
Not that she was the only one.
Many other prominent Omegas emerged to tell their story. Even some less prominent, more ordinary citizens, pushing back against the idea that being an Omega made someone somehow less worthy of respect, less worth listening to.
The Ladyblog featured all of this in great detail of course, with follow-up interviews with everyone who'd spoken. As Alya and Marinette excitedly told the class afterwards, they'd helped arrange it, researching activists in their area as well as asking for people to message the Ladyblog with their thoughts and experiences being an Omega.
A lot of the grumbling had died down after that - at least where the rest of Paris could hear it.
Adrien grimaced. Unfortunately, Father had been one of the ones who HADN'T been cowed.
Not that he'd expected him to be, with his… traditional attitude towards Alpha's, Beta's, and Omega's roles in society.
Fumbling around, Adrien reached out from underneath the covers, grabbing the remote that opened up his window. Much too high to climb out of unfortunately (he'd tried), but at least it let in the cool air from outside. Right now, that sounded good.
Ahhh.
He was right, this did feel good. And something about the air smelled exceptional today...
As if in a trance, he left his blanket fort, coming closer to the window.
Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath.
It smelled so NICE, so sweet, almost like-
His eyes blew open.
Just in time to get a face-full of superhero.
"OOPH!"
Adrien blinked.
Green, slitted cat eyes blinked back.
And drooped as Chat Noir turned into a pile of mush in his arms, purring up a storm as he cuddled close.
Careful not to disturb him, Adrien leaned in near his neck, getting a good whiff of his scent glands.
Omega.
Very, very clearly Omega.
He examined Chat Noir more closely; his flushed cheeks, his twitching tail, his glazed eyes.
"Chat Noir?" he asked carefully. "Are you alright?"
He kicked himself. Of COURSE he wasn't alright, he was in the midst of his first heat - a pretty intense one too, from the looks of things.
"Mmmmphhhhhrrrrrrrr?" Chat Noir asked.
Well. 'Asked' may have been overselling it a bit. 'Mewled with a questioning tone' more like.
"Do you know where you are?" He clarified.
Chat Noir just purred and nuzzled his neck, getting a good whiff of his own scent glands.
WOW he was out of it.
"I'm gonna move you, alright?" he told Chat Noir softly, picking him up as gently as he could.
He'd seen how Alya'd helped Marinette through her own heats, though none of them had been as bad as this.
First, a nest.
At least that was easy - good thing, since he had zero notice to prepare one.
Lowering Chat Noir into the mess of blankets he'd just vacated (Chat giving a confused-sounding "mew?" as he did so), he got up to find what else he needed.
A couple minutes later he was back at Chat Noir's side, coaxing him to drink sips of some nice, cold water, as well as bringing him the few stuffed animals he'd managed to save from his father's purges.
As Chat Noir sipped the water (Adrien holding onto the cup; right now Chat didn't seem confident in his ability to hold it steady), the red gradually started fading a little.
Adrien put his hand on Chat Noir's forehead. He definitely felt cooler than he had when he first landed on him.
"Chat Noir?" he tried again, making sure to keep his voice low and soft. "Do you know where you are?"
Chat Noir blinked up at him, still looking a little hazy, but like he was at least attempting to focus. "You're… that model boy… right?" he asked hesitantly. His voice sounded a little slurred, but at least he was speaking words.
Inwardly Adrien winced. Of course that'd be what he was known for; how ELSE would Chat Noir have heard of him? It's not like he knew either of the Parisian heroes very well. They'd run across each other during akuma attacks of course, especially with how often their class ended up targeted in one way or another, but they didn't exactly have time to chat.
Outwardly he made sure to not change his expression. "Yeah, that's me. You crashed into my house a few minutes ago."
Chat Noir vaguely looked around. Adrien suspected he'd just become aware of his surroundings.
A tinge of panic colored Chat's expression. "I- I'm sorry," he burst out, shrinking in on himself. "I- I didn't mean to- if you want me to go, I'll go."
Adrien shook his head, kneeling down so his head was level with Chat's. "If you want to leave, then you can. I don't want you to stay any longer than you're comfortable with."
Chat's eyes widened, then relaxed a bit, looking downcast. He began shuffling around with the blankets, attempting to stand.
Omega unhappy needs reassurance needs support
Adrien sucked in a breath. That surge of protectiveness, of the need to defend, to make sure Chat Noir was okay - he'd never felt anything quite like it before.
This… this was what being an Alpha meant to him. Not trampling over others, exerting will and dominance over them.
But being there for them if they needed it, helping to make sure every member of the pack knew how much they were wanted, needed, cared for. To lift them up, not tear them down.
Sometimes that might mean giving them space.
Sometimes that might mean staying put, letting them know you'll be by their side.
"But just because I'm okay with you leaving, doesn't mean I want you to," he told Chat Noir, trying to possess every ounce of sincerity he could muster, to reach out and let him know on a fundamental level how much he cared for him. "I don't want to keep you here or coerce you to stay. I don't want to force you into anything, or feel like you need to do anything to please me or because you feel like you need to pay me back for something. I just want you to do what you feel most comfortable, what you feel safest doing.
Chat Noir, what do you want?"
Chat Noir looked momentarily stunned.
He swallowed thickly. "I- I want to stay here for a little bit. If that's okay with you!" he added hastily. "I don't think I can get back home right now and… and I don't really want to." His ears turned backwards, flattening against his head.
"Are you okay with me touching you?" Adrien asked.
Chat Noir nodded.
Adrien sat down on the bed. Chat Noir leaned into him, Adrien stroking his head, like his mom used to do with him when he was little.
His mom couldn't scratch him behind his cat ears though, on account of not having them.
...most of the time.
(He'd always had a thing about cats.)
They stayed there for the next several hours, Adrien checking up on Chat Noir regularly, making sure he was okay with the close proximity, asking whether he'd like food or drink, just… taking care of him, while making it as clear as he possibly could that Chat could ask for things, that Adrien WANTED him to ask for things, and that he wouldn't force his will on Chat Noir.
At last, the heat dissipated to the point that Chat Noir could get up. Could walk around.
Chat Noir looked out the window longingly, then back at Adrien.
Adrien smiled at him. "It's time for you to go, I'm guessing?"
Chat Noir hesitated, then gave a short, sharp nod.
"Then go."
Chat turned around to leave, but hesitated, looking back at him, an unspoken question in his eyes.
"If you ever need to come by again, for cuddles or support or just… just because you want to? Please, please come," Adrien told Chat. "Just check to make sure my father isn't around first, alright?"
Chat Noir laughed, pole-vaulting into the night.