There were very few things Alexei could remember from his childhood like the day he met the person he would come to call brother; the unwavering devotion and love of his father, watching the man he respected the most, hollow out and become a miserable shell of his former self; watching that man go down on his knees and beg his family to accept the son his was now incapable of caring for, only for him to be kicked out and Iris's pure hatred.
Truth be told that was the entirety of his childhood.
As a child, he first person Alexei would see every time he opened his eyes was his father. Xavier would tickle him, toss him in the air while he cackled gleefully. Before Alexei was enrolled in school, Xavier's Office was his nursery. The two would spend the whole day together with Xavier taking care of everything concerning his son from bathing him in the morning to putting him down to sleep at night. There were caretakers but he basically rendered them useless.
When Alexei was enrolled in school, Xavier felt it the most. There was a rumour he cried when he thought no one was looking. It was just a rumour, no one really stepped forward to confirm it and no one was going to ask. He personally sent the boy to school every morning and picked him up every afternoon... when he could, sometimes his work took him out of town in which case he would rush back and make a beeline to wherever the boy was.
As time went on, Alexei could sense that his father wasn't very conventional. Anytime the man entered a room, all the adults became frightened, and he was often avoided by other children, but he didn't really care. All he knew was his father loved him the most and that's all that mattered.
Amidst this heart touching love between father and son was the brewing envy and hatred of Iris. First, Iris simply ignored him but little by little, Alexei could tell that this person detested him. It was obvious just from the way Iris looked at him, so he always made it a point to never interact with that person.
It was fine until the day Iris smacked him. Alexei had never seen his father so furious, in fact he had never seen his father upset. The man he knew was always smiling and playful.
But it didn't stop there. One smack eventually grew into a merciless beating and each time, his father would get so upset Alexei would be too scared to approach him. The day Iris burnt him was the last time he saw Iris in his home. Xavier physically overwhelmed Iris and literally threw him out. That night, while treating his wounds Xavier kept apologizing saying it was his fault he didn't get rid of Iris earlier.
Everything was fine, Iris was gone. Father and son were in bliss again.
But the arrival Xavier's rut revealed something no one could have ever anticipated. He seemed to be exhibiting withdrawal symptoms, constantly searching for Iris or any semblance of him. Even after his rut passed, he didn't get better. Slowly, his sense of person eroded. He became highly irritable, paranoid, his usually sharp mind became unsound. Alexei did not recognize this man. His beloved father was gone and only a miserable husk was left behind.
After that, many things changed. Xavier wouldn't let him out of his sight, so Alexei had to be homeschooled. Not that Xavier paid much attention to him, the man was constantly pining for Iris so maybe just having him nearby was a source of comfort for him.
Overtime, the search for Iris was in full swing. Alexei heard Iris had attached himself to a grieving widower with a child; a son around his age but they had both abandoned the child and fled. Alexei snuck out of the house to find him.
A confused Jason watched the boy his age who just walked in and made himself right at home with a backpack full of snacks. He patted the spot next to him "Sit, I have lots of food."
Jason peeked into the bag "That's a lot of junk."
"I bought enough for both of us until my dad comes."
"Okay... But who are you?"
Alexei inspected the house "Are you alone?"
Jason nodded "My dad and his friend are... No, who are you?" He grabbed Alexei's and started to drag him away "I'm not supposed to let anyone in."
"They're not coming back." He dug his heels into the floor "Iris ruined my dad too; he's been running away ever since."
Jason stopped "Are they really not coming back?"
"Yes."
"Then... Will your dad really come?"
Alexei smiled brightly, "He will, this isn't the first time I ran away."
"You ran away from home?"
Alexei shrugged and walked back to the couch "Sometimes, he forgets about me."
Xavier did find him, after four days... when he finally noticed the child was missing. Alexei was right about the backpack full of snacks.
Xavier's eyes moved from one child to the next, then to the floor covered in wrappers and wrappers of snacks and junk. He puffed out a breath "Alexei, we have discussed this. You can't leave home like that."
"I wouldn't have left if you were paying attention."
"Not a valid defense." He turned his attention to Jason "Why are you here alone? I understand you have an uncle, did he not take you in?"
Jason shuffled his weight from one leg to the other, he glanced at Alexei nervously "He was here but…"
"But?"
"He didn't come back."
Xavier was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of leaving him behind alone.
"He'll stay with us." Alexei declared with a smug grin "Right, Jay?"
"My name is Jason, I have told you like ten times."
"But I like calling you Jay."
"I don't like it."
Xavier watched the two go back and forth about names. He didn't mind taking Jason with them, Alexei would finally have a friend his age that does not scare him. He had to admit, Kate was too hardboiled "Jason, do you want to come with us?"
He became nervous again.
"We can come by every week to confirm your father's or uncle's return."
"We can just adopt him…" he turned to Jason, his smile growing bigger "…we get to be brothers."
"What? Ew. No. You're annoying and weird."
"But I like you."
"Alexei, that is enough." He came to a crouch in front of Jason "Jason, like I said, we will come by often to see if they return for you, but I don't think it would be right for me as an adult to leave you behind."
"My dad's really cool."
To date there are varying opinions on why Alexei did this.
Alexei says he just genuinely liked Jason and wanted him to be his brother.
Jason says Alexei didn't like pressure of his homeschooling, so he dragged him along to shift the focus. He also needed alliances on the battlefront against Kate.
Some staff say Alexei saw Jason as a kindred spirit; others, Alexei was lonely.
Xavier thinks all the reasons are correct.
"What happened?" Jason whispered to the person next to him.
"Dad's brother came again."
They pressed their ears against the door.
"Are they fighting? Why?"
"He keeps trying to get Dad to apologise for leaving the family."
Jason nodded "Then what?"
"We'll go live with my grandparents, but I hate them. They say very annoying things."
"Did you skip out on class again?"
The pair exchanged a look and broke into a sprint before Kate could grab them
Eventually, Xavier found a way to keep his mind clear without any help from his family, his focus shifted from finding Iris to maintaining his condition and raising his two sons.
As they got older, their education got more intense mostly due to the efforts of Xavier's enforcer, a beta named Kate. That woman instilled in them the true meaning of discipline. They still shudder when they hear her name, even worse was the fact that she was not much older than they were.
Iris faded from their minds. Life got better and everyone was thriving. The boys designed and built the Glasshouse for their father, hoping one day he would get better.
Then it happened. Just when Iris had vanished from their universe, he reappeared again. They had been too careless.
The meeting…
Iris's trap and the rest, well...
After a moment, Alexei visibly relaxed "You know the person Yul keeps referring to as a specimen?"
He nodded.
"That's Iris. My omega father." He pulled Ethan closer "He's the reason for Father's condition and he despises me quite a bit." He explained as he laid him in bed "Hard to believe that there is someone out there that hates me, but that's the world. It's an unpleasant history I'd rather not think about but that has nothing to do with you." He dropped a kiss on his forehead "Father prepared a surprise for you tomorrow, you should sleep."
"Alex..."
He turned off the lamp "Yep."
"Do you really not hate me?"
"I don't."
"Do you... Do you like my pheromones?"
"Ethan..." He brought his face close, so close their breaths were tangled "...I love everything about you."
The woman introduced herself as Kate, finally a name to go with the face. She led the group through several checkpoints, after that they were given new pheromone patches.
"The old coot is a bit sensitive, I hope you understand."
They were agreeable, everyone did as they were told. To say they were nervous, that would be a wild understatement, especially Lillian who was currently sweating buckets. Her deep dark eyebags testified to her worry filled nights. What if this man was a creep who wanted to get his hands on Edwin, what would she do then? Her worries were quickly put to rest when they were ushered into Xavier's office or at least that's what it looked like.
"Uncle! Ethan!" Edwin ran over to the two excitedly.
The rest of the group collectively let out a sigh of relief. Lillian's legs turned to jelly, she literally had to be held up by Joshua.
"Little one..." He pinched Edwin's cheek "... you've been eating well, that's good." He glanced at the group behind Edwin, gave a small nod and directed his focus back to the twins.
Kate clapped once, startling them "That's it, off with you."
"Tha-that's all?"
The rest of the group were just as befuddled.
"He likes you; you did good. What more do you want, an award?" She shooed them towards the door "You can explore the place for a bit but try not to cause any issues." With that she shut the door in their faces.
"That was insane." Fred mumbled.
Alexei checked his wristwatch; he was barely making it in time. He needed to find a more effective way to manage his time. Spending only the weekends with Ethan was no longer a feasible option. He glanced at Dawson; the poor soul was working even harder than usual.
"Dawson."
"Sir?" He ushered him into the elevator.
"How do you feel about moving to the Glasshouse with your wife, temporarily. Think of it as a vacation."
"As much as I would love a vacation with the lady, it is not practical."
"Oh... That's disappointing, I thought you would be eager to spend some more time with me outside the office..." He straightened his sleeves, guided by the reflection on the elevator doors "... especially, since you love working for me so much."
Dawson threw him a covert side-glance and said nothing.
"I saw that look."
"I don't know what you mean, sir."
"I know we both know exactly what I mean, Dawson. Do you not enjoy working for me? Is Ethan really the only one that loves me?"
Dawson almost rolled his eyes. He just knew he would bring this matter up as something to brag about.
"Dawson..."
He heaved and forced a smile "Yes sir."
Alexei leaned smugly against the wall "My husband loves me very much."
"That he does."
"See how far he went to keep me, he's really something, no?"
"Yes, he is."
"Does your wife love you that much?"
"I don't think she does."
He eyed him "Tch, you must be really tired. Your heart is not in it."
"It has been very exhausting these few weeks."
"Move to the Glasshouse for a few weeks and relax. The vice president is more than capable to picking up the slack."
The cabin dinged and the doors opened.
"Sir..."
He patted his back "You're so obsessed with work, you should let your hair down once in a while. Don't you think?"
"Will I still work while I'm there?"
"Of course."
Dawson sighed.
"Excuse me."
"Micheal!" Alexei called out, enthusiastically, walking past him without any intention of slowing down "What a nice surprise, do you have business in my building?"
This thing about Alexei threw him off, the same man who had avoided him like a plague was speaking to him like they were old friends reunited. He shuddered; businessmen were the worst "I have been trying to get in contact with you..." He explained, almost breaking into a run to match Alexei's pace.
"Wow... Really? For you, I am but a phone call away."
"Mr. Rockwell, about the issue with husband..."
"Oh, that..." He glanced down at his watch again, by the time he would get back it would be the early hours of the morning "...it was all a misunderstanding. Water under the bridge. Not much about it."
"I really want to offer my most sincere apologies."
"Are you worried that your little stunt cost me a fortune? If so, do you have any way to pay me back?"
The driver got out to hold open the door for him.
Alexei stopped short of getting into the car, finally willing to face him "Well?"
"If you give us some time-"
He smirked "So, no. You have no way to reimburse my losses. How about this? In a few days, you'll receive a nice brown envelope. Don't think too much of it, just sign it." He got into the backseat, but still feeling unsatisfied he lowered the window and added "If you don't mind I have to go lower some food down to my spouse who has been unfairly imprisoned in an undisclosed location, as he has been stripped of his basic human rights." He smiled when he saw the look on Michael's face "See, that's what I do in my private time."
Dawson forced his expression to remain stoic, he had seen the news and rumours that had been spun when this episode started and he had to admit, some people were quite imaginative but still quite far from the truth. He personally believed Ethan was probably the last omega OPS would ever have to worry about. He met Alexei's eyes in the rearview mirror.
"Do you have something to say?"
"No, sir."
"Do you think I have gone too far?"
"Not at all, sir."
"Heh."
The least they could do was make Hanzel some money.
Jason and Lein were dating again, when the former had the time to do so, that is. With Alexei's appearance now being sporadic, he had to step up, and as a result, the amount of time he could spend with his significant other was not that much.
But... where there's a will, there's a way, right?
"A club?" Lein asked when he saw Jason drive into the underground parking lot. Their recent dates had been completely different from what he remembered. The first date was at the racetrack, Jason even encouraged him to try one of the bikes. That was great. He loved it. Then, it was horse riding, that was cool. Next was a shooting range, it was a novel experience. He learned something new about the man, the fact that Jason was a good shot and even had a few guns himself. A gift from his father, he said. He put that in a box to be discussed at a later date. Even more surprising was the fact that they had been apparently stashed someplace in the apartment that they had shared.
Today was a club.
But all of these were not really things they did.
"Tomorrow is your day off, so I thought it would be nice."
"No, but you don't like places like this."
"Oh, it's nice. I know the owner and there's a screening on who gets in so there's not much trouble."
"That's not... That's not what I mean."
They stared at each other.
"I just want you to..." His knuckles were taut as his hands tightened on the wheel "...I want us to do things you like."
"Things I like..." Lein echoed.
Jason nodded.
"I like what you like."
"Rosalein..."
"No, really. I liked the places you took me, and I liked when we went on walks after dinner. I like when you took me camping and our vacations." He also liked when they had sex. That was the best, but he wasn't going to say that right now.
"You don't want to go in?"
"No. People would start checking you out again and then there'll be so real trouble." Lein grumbled.
Jason chuckled "So, you don't want to go in?"
"Maybe another time."
"Then..."
"Then..."
Neither was willing to part anytime soon.
"How about a movie?" Jason suggested.
"Yea, we could watch a movie. Sure."
"Just a minute..." Jason sent a quick message to the owner about the change in plans and pulled out of the basement parking lot "How was your day?"
"Is it okay to talk while you're driving?"
"Mm... I just think we can talk a bit more." He glanced at him "I like it when you talk but I may not be entirely attentive, if you don't mind that."
"I don't really mind..." A lot of things were changing. There was a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Jason was constantly trying to adapt to him, and it was conflicting. He was happy that he was doing so much for him but... but it also felt like he wasn't doing enough and maybe Jason still had doubts about them. He didn't like it "Jay, you…" he glanced around, they had already pulled into the main road "Ethan's brother, Edwin and his band, you know them?"
"Crushed Diamond? Yea, heard some songs." He had heard all the songs, Alexei made certain of it. Ethan liked them, that meant Alexei liked them, hence, everyone had to like them. They were a good band and the songs were good.
"They're having a pop-up concert. Ethan got us some tickets, so Ma and I are planning to go."
"That's nice."
"Will you come with us? I don't think my dad will be there."
"I'll check my calendar, just text me the date, yea?"
"Yea."
If one were to ask Lein what the movie was about or even the name of the movie, he would be unable to give an answer. The reason for this is simple.
No, they weren't making out or anything like that, but Lein spent the entirety of the movie wishing they did.
It was a late night showing and the theater was mostly empty.
The movie pick was random.
They sat in the back, on the seats for couples. It was cold in there, so Jason held him close. The heat radiating off the man, the sound of his breathing and the scent of him left Lein feeling rather... parched. It was distracting and his mind, it went into hyperdrive cooking up scenarios he could only wish would happen from a light sweet kiss to just going right at it on the spot.
Here they were, the perfect recipe but... nothing happened.
Since they got back together, nothing ever happened. Jason was nothing less than a gentleman, frustratingly so too. It made Lein want to pull out his own hair.
Now, now... it is true that Lein thought about sex with Jason a lot but into be fair, it was pretty great. It was the total cat's pajamas, but he did think about other things like living together with him, maybe getting married and having kids, being permanently marked by him, permanently bound to each other so they would never be separated again, dying together, ascending to the astral planes and other basic things but yeah, he and Jason were basically platonic. This was another change he noticed, and it unsettled him.
If not for the still unexplained incident at the Glasshouse that one time and the telltales like his hungry gaze, or the little bulge in his pants that was always quickly hidden and that one time, Jason's pheromones spiked and leaked very briefly, Lein would have thought the other had no interest in intimacy with him.
These were the thoughts whirling around in Lein's mind when Jason stopped in front of his home.
They sat in silent contemplation.
Lein was on the verge of confronting him about sending him back home when he clearly wanted to stay together longer when Jason undid his seatbelt and leaned over to kiss him. He was stunned but only for a brief second. When he recovered, he not only accepted the kiss but returned it with unrestrained enthusiasm.
When he forced himself to pull away, both were panting heavily with Lein's eyes glazed over with lust. Jason was kneeling over Lein in the copilot, in the heat of the moment, he had somehow managed to cross over, the chair had been pushed all the way back and reclined. Their clothes were a complete mess and both had hickeys littering their necks.
Jason took a deep breath before clearing his throat "I think... I'll walk you to the door." He stumbled out of the car through the passenger door, no sense crossing back. He adjusted his clothes before helping the entranced Lein out "I'll walk you to the door." He repeated as he did the same to his clothes. He took him by the hand and started down the path to the front door.
The hand Jason held was so hot, Lein thought it would burst into at any moment. He allowed himself to be led away. The walk was slow, with both wishing it wouldn't end but just how long can the path down to the front door be, if not a few feet?
The night had come to its inevitable end.
How tragic.
"Then..." He caressed his cheek before tugging on his ear "... I'll see you again soon."
Lein obediently leaned into his touch, holding Jason's hand to his face so the warmth he longed for wouldn't disappear "Do you... Just a bit longer."
He chuckled "It's really late. You should go in."
"But you don't want to go either."
He leaned over to brush his lips against his "Be good, don't grumble."
He fiddled with the locks for a minute "Goodnight."
"Yea, I'll call you tomorrow."
Lein shut the door behind him, a wide satisfied grin plastered on his face as he thought back to the kiss they shared, his earlier dissatisfaction eased somewhat. He turned around to meet his father's probing gaze, the smile disappeared, his heart almost found its way into his mouth "Dad!"
"It's just your son sneaking back." He said to Mari over his shoulder. Hank had come out when they heard the door.
"What?!" Mari ran out, tightening her nightrobe "You came back? Why?" She glanced at the wall clock "It's so late, why did he bring you back?"
Hank clicked his tongue and walked away.
"I didn't want to come back either." Lein mumbled.
After reviewing the ruin that was their first attempt at a relationship, Jason decided on doing things a bit differently this time. Slower, and with less passion if possible, as aspect that had now proven itself to be a bit of a challenge to them both, obviously.
But he was determined.
This time they would work out. He would make certain of it.