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Carlos had been having a good day, he played a good match, was satisfied with his performance despite the injury scare two days ago. After another session with his physio, followed by a team dinner, he was finally alone in his hotel room. He kicked off his shoes by the entrance, not bothering to change before throwing himself on the bed with his phone in his hands.
Like the chronically online guy that he was, he went through his routine of checking his social media. First up was Twitter, Carlos scrolled past the usual match and stat updates, laughed a little when he came across Jannik’s attempts at drop shots, and that’s when he saw it. The video. He sat up with a jolt, told himself to take a deep breath before expanding the video into full size. And there it was. Jannik’s opponent from today and Jannik in a casual embrace, that part was nothing out of the ordinary. Jannik hugged his opponents all the time. But Atmane did more than that. Halfway through the hug, Atmane turned his head and took a quick sniff of Jannik’s neck, suspiciously close to his scent glands. Followed by two separate pats way too close to Jannik’s chest for Carlos’ comfort. He could see the brief look of surprise on Jannik’s face when Atmane touched him. Irritation bubbled inside of Carlos. This was completely inappropriate behaviour from an Alpha to an unbonded Omega, and to do it in public? What was this guy thinking?
At the same time, worry began to stew in Carlos’ mind. Carlos knew Jannik wore heavy duty scent blockers almost 24/7 in public so it should not have been possible for anyone to smell him, even if they got as close as Atmane did. What if Jannik wasn’t feeling well? What if there was something wrong with Jannik’s suppressants? Jannik only came off his suppressants once a year at the end of the season so that he could have his heat in a controlled and undisturbed environment. Carlos knew this because he was going to spend Jannik’s heat this year with him. They had made plans and everything like two responsible adults in a committed relationship.
The thought of an another Alpha getting a whiff of Jannik’s real scent sent Carlos into an irrational rage. It was a privilege, something one had to earn. It took months for Jannik to trust Carlos enough to show him his real scent. And now this random Alpha came along and got to smell Jannik like it was nothing?
Carlos’ finger hovered over the call button next to Jannik’s name on his contacts list. He was going to be mature and calm about this. He wasn’t going to be one of those hot-headed Alphas who couldn’t control their possessive streak. He was just worried about Jannik, that’s all. He clicked call.
“Hello?” A few rings later, Jannik’s voice echoed through the speakers.
“Jannik?”
“Were you expecting someone else to answer the phone?” Jannik asked with a laugh.
“Uhh no”, Carlos replied with a nervous laughter, “just wanted to check if everything’s okay.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh you know, just with your suppressants…and the weather…and tennis…and things.” Carlos cringed internally at how awkwardly that came out.
“Everything’s fine, why are you asking?” Jannik asked, sounding puzzled.
“Just you know, I saw that thing with Atmane today.”
“Oh so that’s what this is about”, Jannik let out a laugh, sounding way too amused for Carlos’ taste. “I think my scent blockers just wore off quicker than I expected and so a bit of my scent leaked out.”
“Still, an alpha should be able to control himself.” Carlos muttered darkly.
“It was just an accident. I think he was just as surprised as I was. He apologised to me afterwards, don’t worry okay?” Jannik said soothingly.
“I still hate that he did that. In front of a crowd even.” Carlos grumbled.
“If it makes you feel better, I took an extra thorough shower with scent neutralisers afterwards.”
“It does”, Carlos let out a big sigh, “I wish I could touch you right now. And maybe rub myself all over you so that the world will know you’re mine. And no other Alpha will ever mistake who you belong to.”
“You know we can’t”, Jannik said quietly.
Jannik was right. One of the conditions their coaches had set was they had to douse themselves with scent neutralisers after every time they were together. A touch on the shoulder or the wrist, or even a quick hug in public was acceptable, but anything more could be incriminating. So Carlos would never be able to show the world that Jannik was his. Or vice versa. Not while they were both at the peak of their careers.
“I know. I just wish you were here next to me”, Carlos flopped onto the bed, looking forlornly at the empty expanse of the king-sized hotel bed and imagined having Jannik at his side.
“Me too, but we’ll see each other soon. Only one more week till Shanghai.”
“Yeah.” Not wanting to end the call on a sad note, Carlos brought up a new topic. “I saw your drop shots today, if they can be even called that,” he teased.
“Well not everyone can be the king of drop shots like someone here,” Jannik retorted.
“You know, you could always practice with me right? I bet I can teach you better than anyone else can.” Carlos said, half joking, but also half serious.
“I know, but I don’t want to. How am I supposed to win against you with them if I practice with you huh?” Jannik said teasingly, but Carlos also knew he was being serious.
“Okay fine. But I miss you.”
“I miss you too. Soon yeah?” Jannik’s voice softened.
After his call with Jannik ended, Carlos felt a lot more grounded. They could do this, they have endured much longer distances and time apart. This was only a week.
He went back to Twitter for a while, gushed about golf for a bit and settled on Instagram, hoping something there could distract him. But unfortunately for Carlos, there was just no escaping tonight. There it was again. Smack-dab on the first row of his suggested page. A photo of Atmane and Jannik hugging, as if taunting him. Unable to resist, Carlos clicked into the post. Carlos studied the photo with narrowed eyes. Look how he’s only returning your hug one-handedly, Carlos thought pettily. He always hugs me with both arms.
He clicked on the guy’s profile, realised that not only did his latest post feature a photo of him and Jannik hugging, he also had another similar looking post pinned. As Carlos scrolled further, he realised this guy had Jannik all over his Instagram feed. Even worse, this was the same guy who had given Jannik a gift during his birthday at the Cincinnati Open. Oh Carlos knew exactly what this guy was doing. The rage that had just been smoothed over by Jannik came back in full throttle, the audacity of this guy!
Being the mature and calm adult that he was, Carlos called Jannik again. The line connected, and before Jannik could even get a word out, Carlos beat him to it.
“Did you know that 4 out of 9 of his latest posts on Instagram have you on it?”
“Hello to you too. And no I did not know. Were you stalking him?”
“No. Yes. Maybe.”
“Carlos.”
“Ugh, this guy clearly has a crush on you.”
“Well he did ask if I wanted to have dinner with him after the match.” Jannik said casually.
“What?? He did what??? That is so inappropriate… so bad… asking your opponent that… after touching him all over the place…” Carlos rambled furiously.
“Right because of course you’ve never done that either.” Jannik said teasingly.
“But… But… We’re different… It’s us.” Carlos was totally not whining.
“Ok I’ll stop teasing, I said no, I told him I was already in a happily committed relationship.”
That subdued Carlos a little bit, only a tiny bit, what he really needed was Jannik wrapped in his arms so he could shield him from the prying eyes of all the greedy Alphas out there.
“And what did he say?”
“He was cool about it, said he wanted to be friends.”
Friends my ass, Carlos rolled his eyes.
“But he was like, rubbing himself all over you. Totally not friend behaviour if you ask me.” Carlos said irritably.
“You are exaggerating. He was not rubbing himself all over me. It was just a friendly pat.”
“And he sniffed you! In front of everyone and all the cameras!” Carlos exclaimed. “Do you remember how long it took for me to smell your real scent? Why does he get to smell it without working for it? This is not fair.” Carlos’ original plan of staying calm and mature was clearly not working, he could only suppress his emotions for so long.
“Aww, my little puppy is jealous. You know I’m all yours baby.”
“Only I should be able to sniff you”, Carlos mumbled under his breath.
“Carlos, you really are a puppy huh?” Jannik said endearingly with a hint of delight in his voice.
“Jannik! Stop babying me.” Carlos always felt a little chastised when Jannik called him puppy, but also a little turned on.
“But you are a baby aren’t you, my puppy Alpha. Getting territorial over what’s his. You don’t share well, do you Alpha?”
Hearing Jannik call him Alpha shot a hot shock of desire to Carlos’ core. “Jannik…”
“Hmm?” Jannik replied, sounding like he knew exactly what he was doing to Carlos.
“So… What are you wearing?” Carlos’ fingertips drew lazy circles on his stomach, and he slowly inched his hand downwards.
A laugh filtered through the speakers of his phone. “We are not doing this.”
“Why not?” Carlos whined.
“You should be resting, your ankle is still not 100% and you have a match to play tomorrow. And I’m tired.”
“I’m 22 years old, I always have too much energy. It’s gonna help me sleep better, really.” You were the one that started it! Carlos wanted to yell.
“Shhh… patient puppies will get their rewards okay?”
“You are so mean to me.”
“I’ll see you in a week yeah?”
“Ughh fine. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Carlos ended the call with a smile on his face. He proceeded to go through his nighttime routine, changed into more comfortable clothing, brushed his teeth, and when he returned he saw he had a new message from Jannik.
Maybe this will help you sleep better, yeah?
Sent along Jannik’s message was a photo attachment, Carlos’ breath hitched and he braced himself before clicking into the message.
The photo only showed the lower half of Jannik’s face. He was on his back, the soft white sheets of the hotel bed as backdrop. Jannik’s t-shirt was pushed up, bunched together near his collarbone and held in place by his teeth, just like the way he liked to do when changing shirts on court. Or the way Carlos liked to make Jannik do while fucking him just because Carlos sometimes thought it was even hotter than Jannik not wearing anything at all. The soft hotel room light cast a warm glow on Jannik’s pale skin, showing off the sculpted planes of his abdomen and pink nipples. The lower half of Jannik’s body was hidden under the covers, but it was clear he was wearing nothing underneath. The naked curve of his hipbones peeked just above the covers. As a final touch, Jannik’s hand disappeared beneath the covers, leaving Carlos to imagine what he was doing down there.
You are so evil.
Carlos replied, groaning into the pillow before reaching a hand into his shorts.
A few minutes later, another image was sent through.
Can’t wait for you to fill me up and show me who I belong to, Alpha.
The new photo featured Jannik in a similar position as the previous photo, only this time, his hand was splayed across his abdomen, fingertips glistening suspiciously under the light and his stomach splattered with white, sticky fluid. His previously pale pink nipples were now red and puffy, clearly having been played with after that first photo was taken.
So, so evil.
:)