Chapter Text
Max allowed himself to be dragged along by George as the younger Omega led him to the living room. They, along with Pierre and Charles, had been banished by Seb from the kitchen so the pack leaders could make lunch for all of them. Why they had to leave was beyond Max, but he wasn't going to argue with anyone today.
He was taken aback when he saw the nest George had made. Max wasn't one to have a nest in his living room - he kept his hidden away in his bedroom, so no one visiting would be able to judge his nest-making abilities. But this one, it was massive.
Max could pick out items he’d seen before, either at Charles’ apartment or Lewis and Seb’s, or even items of his own, but there were also blankets, pillows, and clothes he didn't recognize. He guessed they belonged to George and Pierre or that they were from the trio’s new apartment.
As he took in the sight of the nest, he felt George tighten his hold on his hand and realized the younger Omega was waiting for his approval.
“I-it looks great, George. Did you do this by yourself?” he brought himself to speak.
George purred immediately in response, a bright grin on his face. Max wasn't lying, it did look like a very comfortable nest. “Yeah, it was all me. Or, well, I mean, I put it together, but we all picked out things to pack and I may have dug through Seb and Lewis’s bags to get some of their stuff.”
Max smiled softly, wanting to comfort him. He never wanted to anyone feel put out or uncomfortable because of him. George seemed to see something in his gaze that calmed him down and he loosened his grip on Max’s hand, realizing he had been telling the truth about the nest.
“I know you and Seb do most of the pack nests, so I wanted to try my best to get it right. You’ve got free rein, though, anything you want to change or add is all up to you.”
George was right. As the only Omegas for a while, and with Seb teaching Max how to be an Omega, they worked together on almost all of the pack nests. It was something Max loved, to be able to work so closely with his pack Omega to bring comfort to his pack.
He wanted to rearrange a few things that he knew Lewis would appreciate - more pillows along the walls of the nest for the Alpha to rest against, changing the location of the blankets so he didn't overheat as quickly - but he didn't want to offend George or make him feel like he had done something wrong. The Omega had done good work putting together the nest, and he would be wrong to change it.
“It looks amazing, George. You did such a good job, honestly. The only thing that would make it better is if we were in it, and I could finally catch up with you all,” he said.
George nodded uncertainly, somewhat unwilling to take Max at face value. He’d seen his attention to detail when putting together nests with Sebastian, and he couldn't think of why he suddenly was going with the flow. But he would never say no to a nest, especially one with both of his mates, so he motioned for Max to enter first, allowing him to get comfortable before joining him and nodding for his mates to enter.
Charles and Pierre had simply been watching the interaction between the two Omegas, knowing the construction of a nest, especially one intended for the whole pack, was important and needed to be handled by the two of them. As soon as they were allowed to join the pair, though, they eagerly followed.
The Alpha was gentle, carefully arranging himself in between Max and George and not disrupting much of the nest’s structure. He pressed a kiss to George’s temple, murmuring a soft “thank you, Omega,” into his hairline.
Pierre, on the other hand, was not as careful. He bellyflopped into the nest, landing half on his Omega and half on the nest itself. Max winced at the destruction of the nest and forced himself not to immediately go and fix it. He watched on as Pierre army-crawled up the nest so he was face-to-face with George.
“Such a good nest,” he praised. He shifted to place a flurry of kisses all over George’s face, only stopping when the Omega was giggling too much to stay still. “Such a perfect Omega, looking out for the pack.”
Max flushed at the public show of affection. He wasn't against it, by any means, but he still wasn't quite used to the overt way the trio showed their love for each other, especially now that they were mated. He swallowed drily at the Beta’s praise for his mate, realizing no one ever thanked him like that when he made pack nests with Seb.
Lewis was pretty good about it, showing him attention and praise when he made a good nest, but Charles and his mates, as they got further along in their relationship, were less and less likely to do so. But as much as Lewis told him he was a good Omega, he had never heard the word perfect used about him.
He allowed them a moment to snuggle together, shifting anxiously so he was sitting just that much further away from Charles. When Charles and Pierre began making out, though, he softly cleared his throat to remind them of his presence.
Max let out an awkward chuckle as Charles pulled away from his mates and glanced at him guiltily. “Sorry, sorry, we got carried away again,” the Alpha apologized.
“It’s okay,” Max said. He was glad his packmate was happy, but he really could do without the PDA right in front of him.
Pierre also murmured a quiet apology as he rearranged himself so he was sitting next to George, instead of on top of him.
Max cleared his throat again. “So, uh, how did yesterday go with Lando?” he asked, desperate to break the silence that had fallen over the room.
---
Sebastian chuckled as he felt his Alpha drape himself along his back, nuzzling in to scent him. Their scents were both so happy that he couldn't blame his mate for wanting to soak it up as much as possible.
“You’re in my way,” the Omega teased. In response, Lewis only hummed and clung tighter to his mate.
He really was in the way, though, and Seb needed to finish lunch for their pack. “Hmm, how about you go see if Max’s laundry is ready to go in the dryer? And then we can actually go be with our pups?”
Lewis sighed deeply before pulling himself away. “I guess you’re right. Promise you’ll be done when I get back?”
“With you out of here, absolutely,” Seb snarked back, but his voice was laced with fondness.
He quickly finished up the sandwiches and snacks he had prepped, hoping that would be enough to hold them all over for a few hours while they properly spent some pack time together.
Just as he wrapped up, Lewis re-entered the kitchen, a blinding smile on his face and Max’s toy lion in his hand. “I forgot I took this with the nesting stuff earlier!” he said.
Seb returned a smile of his own, unable to face his Alpha’s joy without matching it. “Well, lucky days, then,” he teased. “Now, can you please help me bring everything out and actually make yourself useful?”
Lewis stuck his tongue out but dutifully took the larger of the two plates out to the living room, trusting his Omega to follow him. “I made lunch!” he announced loudly.
Max let out a startled chuckle as the Alpha interrupted the group’s conversation, but sent a worried glance to Seb. “Don’t worry, pup, he didn't actually make lunch. Just taking credit for my hard work,” the Omega reassured.
Max felt his face heat up in slight relief. He did trust Lewis, he just didn't trust his weird vegan recipes or his slightly stereotypically Alpha inability to survive in a kitchen. Not that he had much room to speak, he just trusted Seb so much more with food than he did Lewis.
Lewis carefully stepped into the nest, arranging the plate he was holding in the center so they could all reach. Curiously, he had one hand hidden behind his back, which Max could tell was definitely making his job more difficult. The Alpha turned, meeting his gaze, and lit up with a grin. Well, lit up even more, Max supposed, he already seemed pretty happy.
Behind him, Sebastian had also joined the nest, quietly distributing food to everyone and settling in beside Pierre on the far side of the nest. The rest of the pack watched their pack Alpha and Max, and the Omega shrunk in on himself with the attention.
He went to ask Lewis what was going on when the Alpha pulled his hand from behind his back to reveal his lion stuffie.
“My lion!” Max reached eagerly for the plushie, all but making grabby hands for it.
Lewis quickly handed it over, not wanting to tease his pup any more than he had. “I forgot I took him to the laundry room with me earlier, sorry about that, baby.”
Max hummed in acknowledgment, too focused on running his hands through the lion’s mane and smoothing out where it had gotten tangled. Lewis took that moment to settle at his side, pulling Max close and tucking him under his arm.
The Omega purred at the Alpha’s warmth and whispered his thanks into Lewis’ shoulder. He held the lion tight to his chest as he looked back at his pack, grateful when George and Pierre appeared to ignore him and relaxed at the smiles on Seb and Charles’ faces.
“Are you hungry?” Lewis asked. There was no pressure in his voice, but Max knew he was likely worried about how he was faring after yesterday.
He thought for a moment before nodding. He would at least try to eat, he just wasn't sure how much he’d be able to eat.
A sandwich appeared in his line of vision and he smiled gratefully at Charles as he took it into his own hands. He shifted to lean closer to Lewis but paused at Charles’ critical gaze. His hand reflexively tightened on the lion and he quickly scanned the room to see if anyone else had picked up on Charles’ behavior.
“Why haven’t you scented it? That’s usually the first thing you do when you get it, no?” Charles asked. “Is something wrong with it?”
Max held tighter his toy at the implication there could be something wrong with it, that someone would make him give it up. “Oh, um. No, nothing wrong with it,” he stammered. “It just, uh, well, it’s been a while, y’know? So it just smells like me.”
Charles' brow furrowed deeper with every word Max said and he didn't know how to fix it. How had he messed this up? He was just answering questions, what did he do wrong?
“It’s okay, though! It’s been nice just to have it, honestly,” he tried to soothe.
He watched Charles’ eyes skim over his toy and held his breath for a moment. “Do you want me to scent it for you?” he offered.
Max paused for a moment. Behind Charles, George and Pierre were smiling encouragingly, silently urging him to hand over the lion. With their tacit agreement, he carefully passed his stuffie to the Alpha, watching on closely as he scented it.
Without the comfort item, Max leaned even closer to Lewis and sighed in relief when the Alpha scented him quickly. “Why don't you try to eat while Charles has your lion, huh?” he prompted.
He nodded, finally turning to the sandwich he’d been holding the whole time. He kept an eye on Charles as he meticulously scented the toy and beamed when the Alpha passed it to Seb to scent as well. His lion would finally smell like pack again and Charles’ mates didn't even seem upset about him scenting it.
Max listened to the quiet conversation among the rest of the pack as he ate, but he couldn't bring himself to contribute. After not eating much of anything yesterday, his appetite wasn't quite back, and it was taking most of his attention to work through his meal.
He probably could finish it, but with the weight in his stomach already, he knew he’d feel sick if he tried to eat any more. He carefully pulled away from Lewis, reaching to place his leftovers on the plate still in the center of the nest.
The movement allowed him to stretch and he purred as Lewis absentmindedly scratched his back, appreciating the way the Alpha maintained contact as he moved. It also allowed him to be slightly closer to the pack Omega, who still had his lion, and Sebastian held it out, almost as a reward for eating his lunch.
“Here you go, pup. Now it smells like pack again,” he said.
Max grabbed it eagerly, but instead of scenting it like Seb expected, he pulled back quickly to Lewis and shoved it into the Alpha’s chest. He didn't look at the Alpha’s face, but flushed as he both heard and felt the rumbling laugh he let out.
“Want me to scent it too?” Lewis asked, laughter and concern both clear in his voice.
Max nodded, still not looking up at the Alpha. He played with his hands in his lap and took comfort from the weight of his pack Alpha at his side. On his other side, Charles had also kept close, and Max relished in the warmth radiating off of them.
He found himself zoning out as Charles and George regaled Lewis and Seb with their antics on Twitch, racing tracks backward, using lawnmowers, and competing against celebrities. He had kept up with a lot of their streaming but never accepted the rare invitations he had received to join them.
Lando, though, Lando understood that he preferred to take things a bit more seriously and would only invite him when he had a genuine race planned. Or they would avoid racing altogether, and play FIFA or Call of Duty, which Max always appreciated. He loved that Lando didn't ever expect anything more from him than he could give.
As his thoughts trailed off in Lando’s direction, he realized how badly he could have fucked things up yesterday. He knew the younger Omega wouldn't hold it against him once he learned how badly Max had been feeling, but he still regretted letting him down. Hopefully, he’d have the chance to actually talk to him soon and try making it up to him.
He was pulled from his thoughts by a gentle nudge from Lewis and finally raised his head to peek up at the Alpha. Max perked up as he realized his Alpha had actually nudged him with his lion and was now holding the toy out for him to take back.
In an instant, Max grabbed it and held it close to his chest as he breathed in the collection of scents it now held. It was so familiar and so refreshing to finally have this piece of the pack back and he relaxed fully into Lewis as he clung to his lion.
Lewis rumbled soothingly, realizing before Max that the Omega was crying softly at the sheer relief of having his stuffie back in his arms and smelling deeply of pack. He pulled Max into his lap, encouraging the Omega to lean against him so he could wrap his arms all the way around his chest, not disrupting the lion.
Max lost himself for a moment, but when he realized Lewis was actually rocking him to calm him down, he tried to sit up right away. “M’okay,” he mumbled, wiping his tears away clumsily. “M’okay, sorry.”
Lewis shushed him, pulling him even more tightly to his chest. “Nothing to be sorry about. It must’ve been hard without any pack scents here, huh?”
Max nodded before he could stop himself. He cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the sudden thickness there. “S’okay. It’s better now.”
He felt Lewis rumble and heard Charles match it. “I’m sorry we let you down, Max,” the younger Alpha spoke up. “You deserved better than that.”
Max peeked out from Lewis’ embrace to look at his packmate. Sometime in the past few minutes, Charles had shifted to sit between his mates, holding George on his lap and Pierre at his side. The Omega shook his head, not wanting his packmate or pack leaders to blame themselves.
“No, it’s okay. I promise. It’s not anyone’s fault,” he reassured.
Charles looked at him carefully for a moment before nodding to himself and leaning to scent his mates.
Across from Max, Seb had kept a watchful eye on everything and could see his pup had something else to say. “What’s wrong, pup? Do you need me to get something for you?” he asked. He figured the Omega wanted to check his phone, or maybe even fire up his Playstation to keep them all busy.
Max averted his eyes, focusing intently on his lion. Lewis noticed his hands had started shaking where they were playing with its fur, and he reached to cover them with one of his own. Max glanced up at him with a short smile but quickly returned to staring at his lap.
“When are you all leaving?” he asked in a quiet voice.