Chapter Text
“Dennis… Dennis!” The call of his name brought him out of his thoughts, absentmindedly going through the motions of cooking. Looking over at his mother he scrambles to quickly cover the pot and wipe his hands off on his apron. Meeting the eye of his mother standing at the bottom of the stairs, her arms crossed “I laid clothes out on your bed, go upstairs, change, and pack some of your belongings, your brother is going to take you to the train station.”
She doesn’t wait for a response, just pats Dennis on the hip and takes the wooden spoon from him, attempting to herd him upstairs with some ease. “Come no time to waste. Wouldn’t want you to miss your train would we?”
“Train? Mama, what are you talking about? Where are we going?” He tries to plant his feet, but being as small as he is, is easily pushed up the stairs, his usually mild but sweet scent quickly turning sour with confusion and stress. The old chipped steps creaking as he lets himself be pushed up the stairs.
The older beta just lets out a huff of irritation as she shakes her head, quickly becoming increasingly agitated by his resistance. “We are not going anywhere. You are going to be going and living with your new husbands, they seem to be a fine pair, traditional and a bit rough but it will be good for the farm and good for you to start your own family. Now, we don’t want to keep them waiting now do we?” Not waiting for a response, she pats his hip and smiles sweetly, acting as if she hadn’t just given him life changing information. “Now, be a good omega and follow instructions, you hear me?”
“What? Husbands? Mama, what’s going on? What do you mean ‘good for the farm’?” Dennis tries to keep his mother from leaving, tries to get answers from her, only to have his mother clasp his hands in hers, attempting to soothe the stressed omega before her cold hands cup his cheeks.
“Nothing for you to worry about, my dear. Your father and I have handled everything. All you need to do is be good and listen.” The words sting, why should he be in the dark about the choices they’ve made for him? Obviously there’s something going on, otherwise she would have never mentioned the farm, yet she walked away without giving him any real answers.
Hearing his bedroom door click shut behind him, he just stands with his hands hanging by his hips, the world around him feeling as if it had crumbled by a silly word he would’ve never thought applied to him. Husband. Not just a husband, but husbands. A fine pair, like he believes that.
He stares at the two sets of clothes laid out on the small bed tucked in the corner of the room, looking at them like he had a personal vendetta against them. Next to them laid a new chemise, stockings, a corset, a set of nightclothes and few more miscellaneous items. He turns slowly in his room, taking in all the little things that made it his, the dried flowers on the windowsill, the washstand he had helped his father make before he presented, the pile of old, worn books by the window and the quilt he had been working on for his niece. His whole life being torn apart in a matter of minutes.
Dennis slowly moves to the trunk next to his bed, slowly opening it, so he can begin putting his things in it. It felt wrong to put his whole life in this small trunk. He moves aimlessly around the room, putting stuff in the trunk, reliving silly memories, he sat on his bed for a good five minutes staring at the new clothes his mother made him, it pulled at his heart, both from anger of the situation and yearning to be a young child who didn’t need to think about these things.
He slowly stood up and began undressing, his thoughts wandering about who he was marrying— were they mean, how old were they, and sinfully he wondered if they had pleasant scents. As his old clothes were piled in the trunk before long. Hearing the rustles of the trees outside, he took a moment to breathe and look at himself in the mirror of the now empty bureau, trying to imagine what an alpha would think when looking at him.
He knew he wasn’t as pretty as the other female presenting students but it didn’t help that not only was he the only male omega but also one of three omegas in their whole town. He turns to the side, glancing down his body, looking specifically at his bottom. He’s small, a lot of skin and bone but when it comes to having a butt — it’s the only part of him that’s remotely omega looking.
He forces those thoughts away, it had never bothered him that he wasn’t very omega-like, he was sensitive enough that it was probably obvious even if he dressed as a boy. He quickly gets dressed, not interested in standing naked in the middle of the room any longer. Before he can dilly dally any further, his eldest brother, Noah, knocks on the door, before leaning against the door frame for a second.
“Isn’t our little boy all grown up.” Noah teases, trying to lighten the mood by joking around, his eyes glancing around the now empty room. Noah’s scent betrayed his calm demeanor.
Dennis just stands there just staring off into the distance. “Did you know? About this, I mean.” The words are small, almost pathetic, as Dennis latches the trunk closed.
There’s silence between them for a moment, an answer in of itself but Noah responded anyways, a low, disappointed tone. “I knew of it, but I didn’t think they would have gone through with it. I would’ve told you if I’d known for sure, but I didn’t want you to panic, or get yourself worked up if it turned out to be nothing.” Another brief pause that was filled in by the swaying of trees. “I only found out that they were serious when I was told that I would have to drop you off at the train station on my way home.”
Dennis just nodded, still on his knees in front of the trunk, just blankly at it. The low buzz of hurt in his chest turned into a sting. Why wasn’t he told about this? He wouldn’t have fought it, wouldn’t have disobeyed them and certainly wouldn’t have been so hurt.
He thought his parents trusted him to find a husband on his own, they know he has the farm's best interests in mind but apparently they didn’t feel that he was trying hard enough, they felt the need to do something they promised they wouldn’t. They were marrying him off without a care in the world.