Archive of Our Own

Erling woke up to the buzzing of a phone, and groggily turned to look at it. It must be an emergency whatever it was because he valued his sleep above all else and set it so only really important reminders, calls and texts came through after 10pm. To his confusion it was a reminder he didn’t remember setting with the following message: ‘Heat calculated to start today for: Erling.’ 

Erling looked at the notification in confusion, what the hell was this? He then noticed the little logo on the top left corner of the notification, he had never seen it before. It was the letters A/O set to a red background. Had he downloaded some new health app and forgotten about it? 

With weary movements he unplugged his phone from the charger so he could comfortably look at the screen from his position in bed. But before he could even get to finding the app he was shocked to find his home screen set to a photo of…him and Jude? It was a photo he didn’t even remember taking and he feels like he would remember taking a photo where he looked so awfully cosied up to the man. It was Jude sitting on the edge of a sunbed and Erling sitting in front of him on the ground. Jude’s legs were on either side of his shoulders with his arms resting on Erling’s shoulder and his chin on the blond’s head. It was cute but…odd. Maybe its one of those AI generated things. Jack sent over some that their social media team made of them playing different sports, and then once Jack himself got his hands on the technology he sent some really stupid ones to Erling last week. Maybe Jack had switched his home screen secretly at training yesterday without him noticing? But he used his phone after practice and he feels like he would’ve noticed a photo of him and Jude, as his home screen, pretty quickly. 

But chalking that up to a prank from Jack and him being tired and inattentive yesterday, he moves on to finding that weird red app. And he does, on the last page, in all its mysterious glory there it stands next to some covid pass app he hasn’t used in ages and an online banking app he uses equally rarely. He clicks on it and a calendar appears. Today’s date is circled in red and so are the next 3 days. ‘Erling: Heat.’ It says again for those three days. Being too tired to figure out what the hell ‘heat’ means, he scrolls down and finds four days highlighted in yellow just after his ‘heat’ days end and it says the most peculiar thing. ‘Jude: Rut.’ There it goes again, Jude on his phone. He hasn’t seen the man in ages, so why is he suddenly all over his phone? He mindlessly clicks on the first of the yellow days listed under Jude’s name, and it takes him to a page which lists ‘Symptoms to watch for.’ It lists anything from possessiveness of mate or other preferred Omega to involuntary erections. Erling felt like he was truly in a fever dream because what the hell was this shit. 

Just as he was about to pinch himself another notification popped up on screen saying that Erling’s heat was about to start and it was all red and flashy, and it scared him so much he dropped his phone on the ground. But the jumpscares weren’t over with that because after the sound of the drop rang through his room he heard someone groan from behind him in bed and turned over to see who it was so quick he nearly sprained his neck. When in the faint moonlight he saw someone was actually wrapped in his sheets, face buried in a pillow, he jumped up and out of his bed at such speed it belonged on the field. What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck, he kept whispering to himself. Did some rando break into his house and decide to go to sleep next to him? 

Adrenaline rushed through Erling’s veins as he thought about his options. He shouldn’t make any noise to wake him. He should instead get his phone, leave the room, call the police and lock the man in his bedroom until the police arrive and take him away. Yes, that was a great plan, Erling told himself. He was surprised he could come up with it on the spot so early in the morning. 

He slowly reached for his phone on the ground and started walking around his bed towards the door when the man groaned again and moved.

“Erl, what are you doing? Did your heat start?” The man asked. But it didn’t take Erling all of two seconds to put a face to the voice, even if it was rough with sleep. 

“Jude?” He asked incredulously from the door.

“Yes, babe?” The mound from the bed replied, but his reply puzzled the poor blond man even more. He walked over to the side of the bed and turned the little lamp which sat on the bed side table on. And low and behold there he was, much more tired and squinty looking than the last time he saw him, but it was definitely Jude who was laying in his bed. Half naked no less. 

“Jude what the hell are you doing here, it's the middle of the season? Aren’t you playing against Barca tomorrow?” 

Jude rubbed his eyes and sat up slowly in the bed, the sheets falling from his chest to his lap and exposing his toned mid-riff. Erling decidedly to pointedly look away from that. Than, in a tone much softer than Erling had expected, he spoke.

“What do you mean, what am I doing here?” He asked, concern lacing his tone.

“Why are you in my bed, in my house or even in England?” Erling asked, exasperated. 

“Erling, what's going on, why are you picking a fight before your heat?” Jude replied, still calm as ever, in fact his calmness was almost starting to convince Erling that he was the crazy one here. There it was again, that word, heat .

“What the hell is a heat?” And why did his phone and Jude keep bringing it up.

That question is what made Jude actually lose some of his calmness and worriedly stand up and walk over to him by the door.

“Okay Erling, now you’re starting to scare me a little. Do you have a fever or something?” Jude asked and placed a palm on his forehand which he promptly slapped away. He wasn’t prepared for the look of genuine hurt which crossed Jude’s face at that. 

Maybe he should calm down a bit too he realized, no matter how bizarre this situation was, this was still his friend after all. He was even his best friend a couple years ago.

“Look Jude….” He began slowly. “If you decided to come visit me as like a surprise because we haven’t seen eachother in a long time, than thats cool and everything. But getting into my bed is taking it too far, I’m sorry. I thought you were some crazed fan and was about to call the police when you woke up.”

Jude looked at him with squinting eyes again.

“Did you fall out of bed and hit your head or something, because I honestly have no clue what you’re on about. We’re mates Erling, you’re my Omega, of course we bloody sleep together.”

“Omega?” Erling felt like he was going insane honestly.

 “Yeah. Look, here's my bonding mark,” Jude said as he turned his neck to show Erling a prominent scar on his neck which looked like a healed but once deep wound of a bite. “And here’s yours.” Jude continued and took Erling’s hand in his and brought it to the blond’s neck. To Erling’s shock there was a scar there and by the feel of it, it was a bite mark like Jude’s. He quickly ran over to his en-suite bathroom and after turning on the light he stretched his neck in the mirror to get a better look. 

“What the hell.” He quietly mumbled to himself as he felt around the scar with his fingers. This must’ve hurt when it happened because it felt deep. 

Jude appeared beside him in the bathroom and he caught his eyes in the mirror.

“Don’t you remember?” Jude asked, crestfallen. When Erling shook his head in reply a frown appeared on the younger’s face. And for some reason it actually hurt his heart to see that, knowing he was responsible for causing him pain. 

“We bit each other?” Erling asked, still baffled.

“Well yes, that’s how you bond, among other things.” Jude replied.

“What's bonding?” 

At that Jude dropped his head in his hands and Erling was convinced he was about to start crying but instead he rubbed his eyes and then looked back up at Erling in the mirror.

“It’s when you decide to be partners for life. It’s almost irreversible because it’s so hard to break. So I hope you can understand why I’m so scared that suddenly my partner doesn’t remember mating with me and is asking for me to leave.”

Erling looks at Jude and then at the bonding mark on his neck. He wasn’t dreaming, no this was too realistic. So what happened, did he accidentally fall into a universe where this was a thing? And in this universe he was apparently bonded with Jude.

“I’m guessing you don’t mean mates as in friends.” Erling asked.

“No, it means mates like soul mates.” Jude replies and Erling swallows uncomfortably at that thought. 

“So…we’re gay or bisexual or something like that?” Erling askes, because he’s genuinely curious. Don’t get him wrong he absolutely adores Jude in their universe but he never felt that type of feelings for the boy. The last thing he expected was for Jude to let out a snort of laughter in reply though. Especially after his gloomy expression from earlier. 

“We’re not gay Erling. You’re an Omega and I’m an Alpha, that’s what's considered ordinary.”

“But we’re both men.” 

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Hmmm, alright.” Erling muttered deep in thought now and then he turned around to face Jude, who by now was sitting on top of the closed toilet seat, and he looked down at him. “What’s an Omega?” 

Jude took a deep breath before replying, almost as if this was a ridiculous question to be asking.

“It’s your secondary sex.”

“Yeah but like, what does it mean?”

“Well stereotypically Omega’s are smaller, softer, calmer and submissive but, you, Erling, have always prided yourself on proving many of those stereotypes wrong.”

Erling looked at Jude in embarrassment.

“Submissive?”

“Look if you genuinely hit your head and lost all you know about this, I understand why that sounds daunting. But I promise you, you enjoy a special position in the Omega ranks. Because of your size and strength noones messes with you physically and if they do shittalk you, you manage to intimidate them beyond words. I should know because you did it to me a couple times too when I tried to flirt with you before we were dating.” 

“And you're an Alpha?”

“Yes, I’m your Alpha.” 

“And what are they like?”

“Well, again stereotypically, we are assertive and dominant. Very protective and possessive of our Omega, and seen as the ‘stronger’ ones in society. But again these are historic roles in society. There have been huge strides in Omega rights in the last 70 years.”

“Why did I get the shitty role, Alpha sounds a lot cooler than this Omega shit I have.” Erling replied, ignoring Judes comment about Omega rights.

“Erling these aren’t just some roles you chose in a video game, this is our lives, your life. You are a fierce spokesperson of Omega rights and dismiss anyone who doesn’t take it seriously.”

“Right, sorry.”

“But anyways, these natures, dominant and submissive. They mostly only come out during heat and rut for us. We’re known to be a very unconventional couple in the sense that I’m seen as too lenient and soft with you and you’re seen as too strong and assertive. The fans, well the ones our age anyways, love that about us. Usually Omega players wait until they’re older to bond because their Alpha will make them end their career. So when it was leaked that you bonded everyone was worried that you’d stop playing but we came out together and said you wouldn’t even consider stopping because this is the 21st century and we need to normalize Omegas working even after bonding. There was a whole media circus about it. Some called us trailblazers, some called us freaks but we stuck together.”

“We’re a celebrity couple?”

“Kind of.” 

“Hmmm. But I like having my private life private.”

“No we do. People didn’t even know we were dating because we didn’t want the fans in our business but a bond legally has to be documented with paperwork. And well I guess someone, somewhere in an office recognized our names and leaked it to the press.”

“So what’s heat then?” Erling finally asked about the word that has been floating around for so long without him having any clue what it meant.

“Right well Omega’s have heats and Alpha’s have ruts. Heats happen every month and last around three to four days and its well-” Jude stopped and took a deep breath, finding Erling’s eyes along the way. “You don’t remember anything from our relationship, you say?”

“In my memory we don’t have a relationship, we were good friends in Dortmund, and we’re still friends now that I'm at City and you're at Real but we never dated or even have feelings for each other.”

“Okay, well let me explain this the easiest I can without making you too uncomfortable. During heat an omega has a large increase in libido, so much so that their personality changes for those days. They aren’t really themselves.”

“So they just want to have a lot of sex.” Erling summarizes.

“Among other things…. Anyways, it’s similar for Alphas, we just have ruts more rarely, only every three months.”

“So that app on my phone…?”

“It tracks our cycles. You feed it some info, like that we’re bonded and our lifestyles and it gives an accurate date for when our next ones will be.”

“So according to that app, I’m going to want to have a lot of sex starting today?”

“Well…with me. Since we’re bonded, you’re going to want just me.” Jude cleared up and blushed a deep red while doing so. “God this was so not what I planned on doing tonight.” Jude yawned and brought a hand to his neck to rub at the tense muscles there a bit. “Let's just get to bed and talk about this tomorrow alright. Pep knows not to expect us at practice anyways.” Jude says and then stands up to start walking back to the bedroom.

“Wait so what about this heat thing, will I still have it?”

“Well I’m not sure what changed with you so I don’t know. You look like the Erling I know and you smell like him too. In fact, come here.” Jude said and Erling stepped up to him. And then Jude got on his tippy toes to sniff at his neck and now it was Erling’s time to blush as he felt the younger man’s face by his neck. Why was his neck and that bite so sensitive? 

“So is this scent thing also a part of the bond?” Erling says more so to break the uncomfortable silence, but he’s curious too. Jude pulls back from his neck to answer.

“Yes and no. Everyone has their own scent by which you can tell what they are. But when we bonded our scents changed in a way that tells the people around us, even when we’re alone, that we are bonded. It kind of mixes. In fact when I saw my parents not long after we bonded, but before it got out to the press, they could tell it was you who I bonded with because they knew you already and recognized your scent on me. It's useful though, other Alphas know to stay away from you, which I remember you enjoyed quite a lot, not having to scare them anymore. And the scent of a person calms their mate even before they are bonded but especially afterwards.”

“And do I still smell like that, like a mixture of you and me?”

“Yeah, you smell fine to me, maybe the only thing that’s off is that I don’t smell your heat coming anymore, when I know for a fact that I did all day yesterday.” 

“You can smell that coming?”

“Yeah, but it mostly just consists of having a stronger, even more enticing scent.” Jude replied and then let out another yawn. “But seriously let's get to sleep and we’ll figure out what the hell happened tomorrow.”

Erling, feeling quite tired himself, agreed, and got in on the other side of the bed, after which Jude turned off the night light.

Erling laid back on his pillow and stared up at the dark ceiling. He was so tired but he still had one last question pressing at his mind before he could truly nod off. He felt nervous and the idea just kept pulling at hi and pulling at him. Almost like an urge he decided he had to ask or he’d never be able to shut his running mind off enough for sleep to come.

“Jude?” He asked quietly in the dark, checking if the younger was still awake. When Jude hummed in reply, Erling continued. “Can I smell you?” He asked, it was such an odd question, but without him wanting it, it had occupied his mind. 

“Sure.” Jude mumbled into the pillow and then Erling heard some shuffling around and the next thing he saw in the pale moonlight was Jude laying on his back and his head turned to one side. Erling hesitated a little, figuring out how best he could do this without it being awkward but then he decided to just turn onto his side and lean in.

It was like a shot of straight sunshine, mainlined into his veins. Erling was so overwhelmed suddenly, never having smelt anything so inviting before, that he absentmindedly brought a hand to cup Jude’s neck and pushed his nose further. 

And for that second he felt pure, unadulterated calmness. 

There was nothing quite like it. 

No other sensation or medication he could compare it to. 

His body continued reacting on its own accord as some benign force trapped inside him but pointedly not him, decided laying on Jude’s chest and keeping his face buried in his neck was exactly what he needed right now. In fact the next thing he noticed, like a passenger to his own mind and senses, was wetness. 

Was he crying? Was he licking at Jude’s scar? 

Once he regained some control over his actions he noticed, to his horror, that it was both. He had been licking and slightly sucking at the scar on Jude’s neck. Going against the overwhelming desire that ran through him, to stay there, took him all his willpower but he managed to pull away. 

He looked up at Jude, ready to see disgust clearly present on his face. But to his surprise Jude was laying in contentment, his eyes closed, probably just on the edge of sleep. In fact, now that his mind was starting to exit the haze it was just under, he noticed Jude had brought an arm up to circle his waist. Erling quickly removed that arm and rolled onto his back, to his side of the bed. He stared at the ceiling once more with wide eyes. What the hell had he gotten himself into.

When Erling woke up the next morning he realized Jude had somehow managed to tangle himself around the blond without him noticing during the night. He didn't want to startle the boy but also really wanted to get up.

“Jude.” He whispered. When he got no reply he tried again. “Jude.”

“Hmm.” Is all he got in reply from him.

“Can you get off me?” 

“But you’re so comfy.” He mumbled into his chest, voice still heavy with sleep.

“It's making me a bit uncomfortable.” Erling admitted.

At that Jude looked up at Erling from where he was laying on his chest and there was confusion visible in his expression. But the confusion soon turned to embarrassment when the events of earlier played back in his mind. He quickly untangled his limbs from Erling’s and scrambled to sit up on his side of the bed. 

“Right, sorry.” He apologized.  “Force of habit.”

“No it's alright.” Erling said. He felt bad for Jude, the man kind of lost his boyfriend overnight. Not even boyfriend, Erling reminded himself, soul mate. “I guess this can’t be easy for you either.”

“Yeah, well, I’m going to go make breakfast. You still like oatmeal with the berries, right?” Jude asked, avoiding Erling’s comment of sympathy with a tone of resignation.

“Yeah, I do actually.” Erling replied. So apparently he ate the same breakfast here, noted.

Once Jude left to go downstairs and make breakfast, Erling decided to take a shower. His hair was still wet as he made his way downstairs and found Jude eating alone at the dining room table, shoulders slumped and face sullen. He had prepared Erling’s breakfast eerily similarly to how he did it himself at home. One large bowl of the oatmeal with berries and date syrup and he even had a cup of milk next to the bowl which caused a wave of fondness to rush through him. This Jude definitely knew him better than the one at home. He really should do something to make the man feel better. Even if things were weird between them he was still his friend and he didn't want to see him sulk. Maybe talking about his relationship with the Erling that was here before him, would help. Or would it just remind him of what he had lost? But he wanted to know. He wanted to understand the Erling of this dimension, the one that was so connected to Jude that it was now spreading to him from his shere position here. Erling was a master of being in tune with his body, noticing it’s reaction to anything, that was how he tested the scientific theories he read about, on himself, afterall. A change in his diet, a change in his sleep schedule, a new protein shake formula, anything that might help him go that extra mile. He cared for Jude before, but now, it was as if seeing him upset made Erling feel equally as upset with some guilt mixed in too.

He sat down next to Jude.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked.

“About what?” Jude asked.

“About your relationship. Like how we got together and stuff.”

“Well, I dont know. Do you even want to hear about it. I dont want to make you uncomfortable… again.” 

“No it’s- I do actually want to know our story.” 

“Well, alright.”

December 11, 2021

Erling was on suppressants, all Omegas that play football at this level were. Suppressants were an odd thing, when on it, instead of having a heat every month they had one twice a year but with the power of all the ones they missed in between. It was useful because it let them play more often, but it was also unpredictable. The heat creeping up on the Omega out of nowhere and reaching dizzying hights in a matter of an hour. With it not being safe for Omegas to play during their heat, for obvious reasons, whenever Erling hadn’t had one for a while, the team would keep an eye on him. Making sure they notice any signs maybe even the Omega himself hadn’t picked up on, and sending him home in time. 

The game against Bochum was coming up, one of the most important right now for Dortmund, and Erling prayed to any god that would listen that he not get it before or during the day of the match because he needed to play. And when he woke up the day of, feeling as strong as ever, he thought his prayers had been answered.

They were 20 minutes in when he started noticing that maybe this amount of sweating wasn’t normal for a match in the middle of December but he powered through. Not today. He couldn’t be subbed off, they couldn’t afford to lose him now.

By half time they were one down, Bochum had scored in the 40th minute. As they walked off the pitch he stayed behind, not wanting anyone from the team to pick up on what was happening to him. Something that he himself was avoiding thinking about too, instead fully dedicating his mind to game strategy. Even when it wanted to wander off into more exciting territory. Game strategy is exciting enough for him, he told himself. 

It was Jude he really had to avoid though. He’d been spending so much with the Alpha, that he was too intuned with his scent to not notice. He entered the dressing rooms and rushed off to the toilets, where he washed his face and neck. Even taking his shirt off and running a wet paper towel over his upper body. The shirt would be a dead giveaway to anyone who came close to him. But like this, maybe, just maybe he could get away with it. When he reentered the dressing rooms he quickly found his other jersey, put it on, and stuffed the old one deep into the bottom of his bag. Then he took his aerosol deodorant and used that too for good measure. 

He lingered by the door when the coach gave them a pep talk, staying out of the convo, just nodding along. When the agonizing 15 minutes was nearly finally up they started making their way back to the field. Erling had just about thought he had successfully avoided Jude during their break when out of nowhere the younger man appeared by his side. 

“You alright? You look off.” He asked, concerned.

“Yeah I’m fine. Just worried about the game, thats all.” Erling reassured him, and it wasnt even like he was lying. He was worried about the game, thats why he wanted to play it through and not get subbed off because of his stupid Omega hormones.

“Yeah okay. We’ll be fine though, don't worry.” Jude told him with a small smile and for good measure laid an arm around Erling’s shoulders. 

Fuck. Shit. Fuck. He’s going to notice. Those were the exact thoughts that ran through his mind when Jude did that, and he was quick to shrug the arm off and pick up his pace. 

But it was too late.

“Erling.” Jude called after him, but Erling acted as if he hadn’t heard and kept on walking. “Erling!” Jude called once more and this time ran up to him and pulled him back, stopping him from making his way outside. “Your heat-” He began.

“I know.” Erling cut him off pointedly. 

“But- you have to be subbed off you can’t play like this.” 

“I want to. And I can protect myself alright. So you don’t have to worry about me.”

“But its against the rules, if they notice you’ll get fined, hell the whole club will get fined.” 

“Exactly. So shut up about it and stop acting so suspicious. We’ll be fine, its just the beginning and I changed my shirt.”

“We can’t.” 

“What? So are you going to snitch on me? You know how much I hate the position of Omega’s in this league and now you’re going to make it harder for us?”

“What? Thats not what I’m saying and you know it, you’re twisting my words Erling. I just want to, need to keep you safe.”

“Look at me Jude, they call me a freak of nature for a reason. An Omega of my size and build has nothing to worry about. Theres more of a chance of you getting injured at this point. Now, the games about to start so lets go.”

“No.” Jude stood his ground.

“Fine. But I’m going.” Erling said and than turned on his heal and started walking out.

God why was he so frustrating at times, Jude was fuming. He just wanted to keep his friend safe, but this was the thanks he got from the stubborn Omega.

“Erling.” Jude growled, getting angry now. But the blond kept on ahead. He acted as if he didn’t hear Jude once more, as if he knew what was best for him when he clearly did’nt. He didn’t know what type of danger he was putting himself in. He knew that as an Omega, Erling thought more was expected of him. He had to prove massive amounts of people wrong constantly, who were always waiting for him to lose his lucky streak and retire. But they were wrong it wasn’t a lucky streak, what Erling had, it was pure talent and immense dedication. But if he did this, and they noticed, he would set his own goals back by so much. Emotional Omega puts team in danger, he could already see the headlines. All these thoughts swirling in his brain finally surmounted to a peak and he yelled before he fully knew what he was doing. Almost like some power to protect the Omega, his friend, washed over him and took over control of his actions for a minute. 

“Omega, stop right now!” He yelled but it was rough, almost like a growl but louder, Jude hadn’t ever heard his voice sound like that before. 

It took him a couple seconds to realise what it had been. He’d heard rumors of it, but he hadn’t actually seen it used before in real life. And now he had used it, completely unbeknownst to himself. His alpha voice.

Erling stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he heard Jude behind him. It was odd, he had been determined to keep treading ahead onto the field no matter what the Alpha behind him said but now, now it couldnt be further from his mind. His mind started filling with a thick fog. He turned around and stared at the man, head in a daze. What had he done to anger this Alpha so much he wondered. His heart beat rapidly and sense of guilt and fear made its way from his chest all through his body. He bowed his head in shame. Whatever he had done, he hoped the Alpha could forgive him for. 

“I’m sorry for whatever I did, Alpha.” Jude couldn’t quite believe he was actually hearing those words fall from Erling’s lips. Not after how he had acted mere seconds ago. 

Jude looked at Erling. His head was still bowed and he had his hands clasped together behind his back. This was beyond freaky, seeing Erling acting like this, he fumbled over his words.

“Eh-its alright Erling. Come I’ll take you to the coach.” Jude said and with an arm around the taller mans shoulders they finally joined the others who were warming up outside. 

Jude found the coach quickly and explained the situation, he told him everything but his acidental use of his Alpha voice, and if the man found it odd that Erling was suprisingly pliant, he didnt let on. 

Erling was stood in front of the specially designated Omega dressing room with one of their assistant coaches, a Beta, by his side when the fog cleared from his mind. What the hell happened? He’d been walking towards the field one minute and now he was walking into the Omega dressing room. 

“Do you want to change and go home now or do you want to wait out the game?” The assistant asked.

It didn’t take long for Erling to piece together what the situation was, even if he didn’t remember how he had gotten into it. The coaches had noticed his oncoming heat and subbed him off. 

“I’ll be fine.” He grumbled in annoyance. The last thing he needs is some Beta doting over him.

“Okay so I’ll come pick you up afterwards and we’ll go out the back.” 

“Yeah, whatever.” He replied as he sat down on the bench and turned the dressing room tv on so that atleast he could follow the match from here. Once the assistant saw he was settled, he left the room. 

However hard it was to admit, Erling knew the coach figuring out his heat and taking him off for the second half, was a good call. He could already feel himself getting hotter and randier, he could even feel some slick starting to accumulate in his pants - it was not fun.

Thank god his Omega instincts usually took over after his heat really began because he absolutely hated any and all symptoms. It made him feel like some pathetic mess, being so sensitive and craving things so humiliating.

By the time Brandt scored their equalizer Erling was having a really hard time concentrating on the game, and something else was hard too. And when they did a close up slow-mo of Jude’s assist to Brandt he turned off that damn tv and locked himself in a toilet stall. 

He kept putting it off but maybe he wasn’t above wanking in the dressing room toilets. In fact, if it would help him stave off the full hit of his heat, than he was very much willing to have a wank in the toilets. So he did, begrudgingly letting his mind run reels of things which if the world saw he liked, they’d question his position as an Omega rights activist. Jude being in the spotlight of said fantasies of course. 

It was interesting, that.

When Jude first joined Dortmund he took an immediate liking to the tall, handsome Omega. But Erling, assuming the worst of any Alpha before they proved themselves, proved to be difficult to make friends with. But he did notice that Jude didn’t gloat, didn’t intimidate people on purpose, wasn’t aggressive or crude or lewd or any of the typical annoying traits of young Alphas. So when he popped over a couple times to play Fifa after practice, because they lived in the same building, he didn’t make up an excuse to turn him down. Then they decided to carpool to practice because it would save gas and its good for the environment of whatever, Erling told himself. Than as covid restrictions tightened, and events and parties stopped happening, Jude came over on the weekend too. And since there was a nice comfy sofa right here in Erling’s apartment, why go two down to sleep in his bed which was cold and didn’t smell like Erling. So he started sleeping there sometimes. And if the next morning Erling was making himself breakfast, he might as well make his guest breakfast too, it was only polite. And so that was how they ended up spending so much time together that by the time Erling had his last heat, around May of this year, the star of his heat fantasies had become the young Alpha. 

He was caught off guard by it. Up until that point fantasies with his favorite players, meaning sometimes Cristiano but most of the time Ibrahimovic, or for gods sake even that hot friend of his dad, tided him over. That and his fingers. Old-fashioned.

But there were memories of Jude everywhere in his apartment that cold spring morning. His scent on the couch, his sweater on the dinning room chair, his favorite flavour of gatorade, the citrus one, in the fridge even though Erling couldnt stand the taste of that one. Eventually he gave in and let his mind wonder about what Jude would do to him in bed if he let him, and what he’d beg for him to do too. Because its heat, and what happens during heat, stays between the four walls of his bedroom. 

However when it had passed he looked at the young alpha with completely new eyes, overthinking every single touch and interaction. He stared at his hands when they were in the dining hall together, noticed how his shorts stretched perfectly over his ass. Genuinely realized his eyes were some of the most perfect ones he’d seen on an Alpha, and his lips, well he had to concentrate on not letting his eyes wander down there. Lest the Alpha think he actually stood a chance.

So Erling made sure to stay away from him both on and off the pitch. Unless of course when it was during a game which was more important than him looming crush. But his excuses started again, so the sleepovers stopped, the weekend hangouts stopped and even the fifa sessions had sparsed out. The only thing he let happen was the carpooling because he genuinely had taken a liking to having himself driven to practice.

He hated turning down the Alpha, he saw the hurt in Jude’s eyes when he turned him down for the third time in a row and the realization set in that Erling wasn’t just constantly busy but in fact avoiding him. He felt bad, guilty, but he couldn’t let an Alpha have this much power over him, even though he doubted Jude knew he had it, but he had to take some of it back.

But Jude was so persistent, he just kept going out of his way to get into the good graces of Erling again. First he found a place in Dortmund that sold his favourite snack, one that he hadn’t seen outside of Norway ever before, kebab pizza. And better yet they sold it in slices, so he didn’t even have to consider it a full cheat meal. Jude told him about it, saying he accidentally stumbled upon it one night, and offered to take him there. 

The next thing he did was offer to braid Erling’s hair to keep it out of his face during games. Erling had recently started wearing his hair in a small little bun because he hadn’t wanted to cut it but it was getting too long to control with just a thin headband, like he had done for years. His hair was an interesting and constantly evolving journey for Erling. When he first presented at 15 and it was announced that he would be playing in Bryne’s adult reserve team, he just went for a full buzz cut. Wanting to be taken seriously despite his age, and newly presented, despite his gender. And when he played in Saltzburg and was first starting to get noticed, he hadn’t wanted anything that showed outwardly that he was an Omega, as most Omega’s wore their hair long, so whenever he went to the barber’s he just asked for them to do whatever his dad had, the alpha he looked up to the most. But here at Dortmund, he felt comfortable in his place. Although he didn’t exactly advertise the fact that he was an Omega, he knew everyone knew it anyways, but he started answering questions about the topic when they came up instead of avoiding them. He even started going to those Omega rights events, and last summer even accepted the opportunity to give a speech at a ceremony specifically dedicated to Omega’s in the Bundesliga. His teammates and coaches took him seriously, they knew what they were playing with, so he felt he could grow out his hair a bit. Even feeling foolish when he thought about his previous apprehension. Who would change their minds about him, just because of something as trivial as hair. And anyways, covid gave him the perfect excuse to avoid the barber’s. 

This summer was when it had gotten to the point where he had started tying it up, after he heard an Augsburg player chuckle with another, and tell them - Rapunzel can’t see from behind all that hair - after he missed a shot. He considered maybe it was time to cut it but it had actually been Jude who convinced him to disregard the comments and think deep within himself if it was he who actually wanted it shorter or if that was just what others expected of him. An Omega trying to look and act like an Alpha - he knew thats what they said about him behind his back. But then when he went ahead and did stuff to his appearance that was actually Omega-like, they talked about that too. He couldn’t win. 

So he kept the hair. 

Going through a little half up half down phase in July, and finally deciding by August to go with the undercut and bun that he has been wearing since.

The last thing that Jude did to weasel his way back into Erling’s life was interesting. He swore he felt Jude going out of his way to make as many opportunities for him to score on the pitch as possible, he was already a prolific assister before but now…

 Even when he could’ve taken a shot he passed it to Erling for him to take. And so Erling started adding even more to his already impressive scores list. When the blond asked him what he was doing he just brushed him off and said that he was imagining things, but Erling was pretty sure he wasn’t. 

When Erling had finished himself off in the toilets, he didn’t even let himself enjoy the pleasurable aftershocks of his orgasm, but instead was immediately wiping his hands in some toilet paper and leaving the stall to rush to the tap.

He was just drying his hands when the assistant coach knocked on the door loudly and opened it slightly. 

“Hello, hello. Can I come in?” He asked, still covered by the door. 

God, what did he think Erling was doing in here, well, maybe he wasn’t that far off actually. Erling tried to act as normal as possible.

“Of course. Is the game over already?” He asked all innocent. 

The Beta entered the room and looked over his body quickly. 

“Yeah. You look surprisingly put together still.” he commented.

“Thanks. I guess?” Erling replied, he might’ve looked put together but he felt his facade coming apart at the seems by the minute, and if he didn’t get out of here soon, he would start going to embarrassing lengths to seek out Jude. “Let’s get going though.”

“Yeah, alright, get your things then.” 

When Erling stepped into his apartment he dropped his bags on the floor, not bothering with them for now. He decided to take a quick cold shower, getting the scent of the other alpha’s from the game off his skin. Then, once fully clean in a nice loose pair of boxers, because he couldn’t bare to feel anymore clothes on his hot sensitive skin, he began making a nest. He was already imagining how calming it would be to slip in between the norwegian sheep’s wool blanket he always used for his nest, reminding him of home, and calming him. He had gotten them from his family when he first presented, and then a couple more when he moved to Salzburg. His favorite one was the one made of wool which came from sheeps that were raised on his grandparents farm, it was smaller than the others, and obviously hand-knit, but it was his favorite. But no matter how much he searched his closet it was nowhere to be found, in fact at least two other ones were missing as well. In panic he raced to his laundry basket and emptied it on the tiled floor of his bathroom. searching through it, there were no signs of the missing blanket. He was almost hyperventilating by the time he realized he knew where they were. Last week Jude told him his heating was acting up and Erling told him he could take some of his blankets to keep warm, and the man must’ve taken the three from the top, he always kept his favorite on the top. 

He couldn’t possibly go see Jude in this state, he’d probably jump the poor guy. But nevermind that, he probably wasn’t even home yet. Erling let out a whine without meaning to, he really wanted that god damn blanket right about now. Dejectedly he took the ones that were left and started making the nest anyway. 

Jude was in the dressing room with the others when he finally got to search what he had been wanting to search ever since the incident during half time.

He searched on the government website. It said that Alpha voice as a concept was outdated. It used to be believed that when Alpha’s used a loud commandeering voice on Omega’s they couldn't resist and have to obey, but this was most likely because of their precarious positions in society, it was dangerous for them to not follow an angry Alpha’s demand - the website explained. It can only be observed in bonded mates, the website concluded. Well that couldn’t be right, Jude thought to himself. He searched Alpha voice working on non-mated Omegas , but all he got was a bunch of neo-fundamentalist pseudo science crap that tried refuting the claim that modern science made, that Alpha voice doesn’t exist. Instead saying it does exist, but that modern vaccines made Alpha’s lose this ability and Omega’s more able to withstand it. Avoiding the anti-vax crap he turned his phone off in anger. Julian caught sight of this and asked him what was up.

“Nothing, just…” Jude didn’t want to ask his fellow teammates about it, they were smart, and knew of his friendship with Erling, they’d connect the dots pretty quickly. But on the other hand, they were older than him and might know something he didn’t. “Do you guys- I mean have you guys ever like, used your Alpha voices, without meaning to?”

Julian looked at him with squinted eyes. 

“Why?” Julian asked.

“Just-” Jude let out a sigh. “Just please answer the question.”

“No. I don’t think those even exist.” Julian answered.

“No-no, they do.” Hummels replied. “I accidentally used mine before we weren’t even mated with Cathy, I don’t even remember what she did but I was convinced I knew better and it just came out, I did apologize profusely afterwards.” 

“But did it work on her though?” 

“Kind of. But we were already dating then.” Hummels answered and this gave Jude a new idea.

“Alright, thanks.” he replied, but his eyes were already back on his phone. Alpha voice in couples pre-bond - that had to do it, he was sure of it. And it did.

The phenomenon of Alpha voice has been observed in rare cases in pairs who had not yet bonded but were romantically involved. If the Omega feels safe in the presence of the Alpha and trusts their decision in everyday life, Alpha voice can work on them before the bond is actually created. It is usually a sign of a strong connection and implies that both parties would be ready to bond and mate if the opportunity presented itself. Usually such level of trust only presents itself after a bond is formed, and therefore this phenomenon presents in cases where the courting period is stretched to longer than necessary, such as military deployment or hospitalization of one of the mates - the academic paper explained. Or avoiding mating because they were an Omega who played professional football, Jude added to the paper in his mind. 

So Erling returned his feelings, that's what this meant. That's what it had to mean, why else would it have worked on him if not for that reason. Jude turned off his phone, with wide eyes. And looked at his teammates who were gathering their things and leaving the dressing room. He too quickly packed his bag and joined them.

On the drive home he couldn’t think of anything else but Erling, which wasn’t that unusual for him, but now it was different. He usually thought of him longingly, knowing that Erling wouldn’t risk mating at the height of his career. Not to mention he definitely wouldn’t choose someone like Jude, who was also a player and not to mention younger and shorter than him. But maybe he had been wrong this whole time, maybe Erling did like him.

But then why had he avoided his advances, Jude couldn’t figure it out. Erling had to know he wouldn’t treat him any different. Wouldn’t make him quit football and stay home and have kids or any of that crap. He loved him exactly because of his fierce nature and his passion towards football.

As he arrived home and went to his fridge to get something to drink, these thoughts were still swirling around in his mind. Then he heard his phone buzzing and saw it was a text from the man himself. 

• Can you bring the blankets I lent you last week upstairs. Just leave them in front of the door. Need them for my nest.

Oh, Jude had completely forgotten to give those back to Erling after getting his heating fixed. Poor guy, he hadn’t connected the dots when he borrowed them, that the reason Erling had so many blankets was because he used them for his nest during heats. He went to his room and folded the three blankets neatly in a pile. He quickly slipped on a pair of shoes and took the elevator up two stories. When he reached Erling’s door he rang the doorbell and waited. 

A very heat-stricken Erling opened the door. His hair was still in the plaits that Jude had done for him this morning, but a bit messier. His skin, and there was much of it on display because the man was just in a pair of boxers, was pink and glistening from sweat. Somehow he looked even more appealing like this and when his scent hit the Alpha, Jude had to physically restrain himself from the urge to scent his neck. He swallowed awkwardly.

“I told you to leave them by the door and leave.” Erling told him off, and then grabbed the blankets and slammed the door in his face. 

“Alright.” Jude mumbled under his breath. That wasn’t exactly the reaction he expected from someone who apparently had a strong romantic attachment to him , thanks for nothing internet. Jude was reconsidering his earlier revelations. 

Erling was quick to rush back to his bedroom trying to get his horny brain to forget his interaction with Jude. He doesn’t want to do those things with you, he told his stupid Omega instincts who kept telling him otherwise. 

A wave of Jude’s scent hit him from the blankets. Of course, how stupid could he possibly be, the blankets were going to smell like him because he had been sleeping with them for a week. This was really not going to help his situation, was it?

He quickly added the blankets to his nest, being much more pleased with it now and laid in the middle in a fetus position in contentment. It had actually brought him more comfort than he had expected and he tucked his face in his favorite one. Not only was the texture familiar now but so was the scent. Jude had a very pleasant, comforting scent and Erling had to admit that maybe it was a happy accident that his heat blankets smelled like the man. Now that his nest had Jude’s scent on it he was calmed from his previous panic. In fact he was starting to feel good, really good. He moved onto his stomach and bunched up his favorite blanket under his face, breathing it in deeply. 

Images of Jude from this morning, looking extra fine as he changed into his kit, drifted through his mind. He had started bulking up on the muscle recently, cementing his transition from teenager to man, it was especially visible in his thighs. Yes, Jude had beautiful thighs, Erling thought to himself and before he realized it he was moving against the mattress. Fucking into it nice and slowing, chasing his second release of the day. It didn’t take long for him to come, his skin being so sensitive and all. But somehow orgasm didn’t quite bring the amount of relief the previous one had. He still felt empty as he snuggled the woolen fabric closer. 

He turned onto his back and let his hands travel under his boxers, between his thighs until he reached his wet, aching hole. He only fingered himself when he was in heat, viewing the action as quite humiliating even though he was an Omega and so his body was quite literally made for it. During his heat was the only time he allowed himself to feel this type of pleasure, because having a heat alone was already torture enough, and his body craved the feeling so he might as well do it. 

He started slowly, letting his body accommodate to the feeling and the stretch because he hadn’t done this since May. But it didn’t take too long as he was already dripping to begin with and soon he was adding a second finger and arching his back from the pleasure. God he always forgot how good this was, maybe he should just get over himself and allow himself to do this outside of heat as well. 

He scrunched his eyes in pleasure and turned his head, pushing his cheek into the blankets. And there it was again, the scent of Jude. What if it would be him doing this to him, but not with his fingers, no. Instead fucking him roughly into his mattress, preferably while holding him down and telling him how well he was taking it. And then maybe Erling would feel like he was finally Omega enough for someone. He came with an odd melancholic undertone at that thought. As he breathed roughly he realized he missed Jude like crazy right about now. Even if he wouldn’t do what Erling had just been fantasizing about, to him, he felt that just being in his presence would make him feel better. Maybe he’d ask him to play some Fifa and apologize for being so stubborn about being subbed off today’s game. Yeah that seemed like a solid plan, Erling’s heat-stricken mind convinced himself. He went to the bathroom, washed his hands and then grabbed a clean shirt, put it on and was already out the door.

Jude was just polishing off his diner when he heard a knock on his door. He wasn’t expecting anyone, especially at this time, it was nearly ten o’clock at night. So he left his plate and slowly walked to the door. 

Not in his wildest dreams could he have guessed it would be Erling, in a t-shirt and boxers, standing on the other side. 

“Hi-” The blond began,

“Erling, what the hell are you doing outside during your heat, and in boxers nonetheless? Come in quickly.” Jude asked in worry and grabbed the man’s arm to pull him inside quickly, and shut the door.

“I-I thought we could play Fifa?” Erling replied.

“You thought we could play Fifa?” Jude repeated incredulously, and noticing one of the blankets he had just returned in the blond’s grip, he looked on confused. “Why did you bring the blanket back?” 

“Hmm.” Erling had been distractedly looking around his apartment and now looked down at the blanket in his grip as if he too had just noticed that it was there. “Oh, um, I don’t know. I missed you.” He said, and when Jude looked into his eyes he saw how dilated his pupils were despite the light being on in the living room.

“Erling, you’re in heat.” Jude reminded him.

“Yeah.” Erling replied absentmindedly.

“You know how hard it is for me, an Alpha, to be around you in heat. Especially cause I… know you. You should leave right now, while I’m still able to restrain myself.” Jude explained, but it seemed to all fly over the blonds head who was just staring at him with those wide eyes. Jude could already feel himself hardening in his trousers, purely from Erling’s more than inviting scent.

“What would happen if you wouldn’t restrain yourself?” Erling asked.

“Well we sure as hell wouldn’t be playing Fifa.” Jude replied before he could fully consider the implications of that response. He swallowed dryly before collecting himself and his thoughts once more. “Erling, why did you actually come over? It can’t have truly been to play Fifa.”

“I don’t know.” He replied meekly.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Jude asked. He knew it was a low-ball to get Erling to admit he liked him during his heat, when he didn’t have his usual defenses up but this was getting ridiculous. He seeked him out in his heat for god's sake. Jude waited expectantly on Erling for a reply, and when he didn’t say anything he gave in. “Fine, then grab a controller because I guess we’re playing Fifa.” As soon as those words fell from Jude’s lips, a gut-wrenching whine left Erling’s. And that did it, Jude couldn’t control himself anymore, his eyes clouded over and he soon found himself on his toes, reaching up to scent at Erling’s neck. With one hand on the nape of the blond's neck, and another around it he sucked right at the spot where his scent glands were. Erling threw his head back in pleasure.

“I need you, Jude.” He found himself admitting. “Always. But especially now.” 

“I can give you what you need.” Jude breathed into his neck.

“Please.” Erling moaned. 

Jude stepped back and took Erling by the hand, leading him to the bedroom. He needed to get his hands on this Omega, now, his instincts commanded of him, but he still wanted to be gentle with him, until he could atleast.

He didn’t look behind himself as he shut the door to his room, his lips already meeting the blond’s as he pushed Erling up against the wall. He had wanted to kiss him for longest time, during practice, in the changing room, during their super platonic sleep-overs when Erling cooked for him, while he stood around and made a general nuisance of himself, spilling his gatorade while motioning too vigorously and making Erling laugh in the process. (Which made the clean up worth it in the end.) And now, he was finally able to do it. 

“I need you inside me, Alpha. Please.” Erling begged between kisses.

Erling was a lot further gone than he was, Jude now realized, he had to be the rational one here, even though he felt himself losing said control by the second. Like sand slipping through his fingers.

“I’ll help you. But I can’t risk a bond.” Jude replied, a shred of that rationale peeking through. But upon hearing that, Erling broke away from the kiss and looked at Jude with hurt in his eyes. “Fuck.” Jude should’ve realized that wasn’t the best thing to say to an Omega in heat. “I just meant we can’t risk a bond. You-you know you don’t actually want a bond, Erling. Don’t let the heat fool you.” Erling scrunched up his eyebrows and then let his head drop to Jude’s shoulders, he let out a heavy breath which bordered on a whimper.

“Don’t say that again.” Erling spoke. “It hurts when you say that.” Then, trying to soothe himself with Jude’s scent, he leaned in to place a kiss at his pulse point again. And Jude was just about to convince himself that Erling was too far gone when the man spoke up again.  “Just pretend for tonight.” He whispered.

“Of course, whatever you need.” Jude instantly replied, reassuring the Omega that he was there to help. He nosed at Erling’s neck and then pushed himself up to start sucking at Erling’s pulse point, where his scent was the strongest. 

His first thought was sweetness. He tasted sweet. So so sweet. So much more so than his scent. Jude had heard all his life how the scent of an Omega would relax him, ease his nerves and such. But Erling was having the exact opposite effect on him. His nerve endings were on fire and all he wanted to do was sink his teeth into Erling’s neck and claim him as his own. In fact, before long he was pulling away and grasping Erling’s hair, still in the braids he had done and murmuring proprietary nonsense. 

“My Omega. Mine.” He whispered, and then, overcome with an uncharacteristic burst of power he pushed Erling toward the bed. Once the Omega tumbled onto the sheets and moved up to lay on the bed, Jude stood at the foot of the bed letting his gaze run over the smooth expanse of Erling’s spread thighs. His thighs were visible all the way to the top because his boxers had ridden up, and so had his shirt, displaying a titillating slice of his toned midriff. 

Erling must have noticed him practically salivating at the sight of him on his bed, and eager to make Jude’s boxers feel even tighter apparently, he quickly peeled his shirt from his torso and threw it on the floor. It had barely landed when Jude started climbing over him.

“You soaked through your boxers, you know.” He whispered gruffly.

“Well, are you going to do anything about it, Alpha?” Erling asked in a moment of boldness.

“Not if your going to be a brat about it.” Jude challenged him, a sly smile on his face.

“I have a way of getting what I want in the end.” Erling replied.

“Oh, you’ll get what you want in the end,” Jude smirked.