Chapter Text
“He’s an omega…” the man says, looking at his paper in shock. A Nijiku being an omega? That was unheard of. Hell, even a beta Nijiku caused a bit of shock in the family. “B- but don’t worry,” the man starts, sensing the tension in the room. “I found these suppresents the other day. They’re strong, really strong, so I don’t recommend-”
Before the man can finish his warning, his father grabs the bottle from his hand and opens it, forcing one of the pills down his son's throat, ignoring the way he gags at the sudden intrusion. “H- his body still needs time to-” the doctor begins to warn, but he’s cut off by a slap to the face by his father.
“Get me as many of these as you can,” his father says, his pheramons filling the air. It makes everyone cough, but the newly presented omega nearly keens at the sudden amount of pheromones in the air. “If you fail… Well, I don’t think you want to know what will happen to you and your family…” he adds, and the doctor nods quickly, pulling bottle after bottle out of his bag, handing them to the alpha.
“I- I’ll g-get more,” he stutters, and his father dismisses him, eyeing the pill bottles before releasing his son from his grasp.
After that day, every time he did something that could be considered “omega-like,” his father shoved two or three of those pills down his throat. It was traumatic, preventing his body from presenting in the way it should. He remembers when he first joined the Cleaners, when Enjin brought him to Eishia and Alice. Both of them agreed that it was highly unlikely that he would ever be a “normal” omega.
“We don’t have any other omegas in the Cleaners,” Enjin tells him. “Most of us are betas or alphas, but no one that I know’ll make a big deal outa ya bein an omega,” he adds reassuringly.
But just because he didn’t have heats or strong pheramons didn’t mean he didn’t have omega tendencies. He remembers when he had the sudden urge to steal some of his packmates' clothes to make a nest. It was weird to him, sure, but none of them seemed to care when he confided in them about his urges. In fact, they gave him old clothes that they didn’t wear anymore that were covered in their scent before giving them to the omega, even going as far as making sure to re-scent any items that had begun losing their scent.
“Zanka,” his sister said, voice firm enough to send a chill down his spine. He doesn’t respond, instead looking up at her with a furrowed brow. “No one can know you’re an omega, ok?” She asks, but she says it more like a statement. He nods his head, though he isn’t really sure what the big deal is.
That memory lived rent-free in his mind every time someone new found out about his secondary gender. But, after a while, he stopped caring as much. People didn’t really ask him about it anyway, most assuming he was a beta based on the fact that he was basically scentless.
.
.
“You’re an omega, right?” The Spherite, Rudo, asks.
“What’s it ta you?” Zanka asks defensively, watching as the boy curls into himself slightly.
“It’s just… I’ve never met an omega like you before…”
“What’s that supposed ta mean?” He asks defensively, suddenly incredibly irritated by the boy.
“It’s just… I’ve been here for a while now and have become a part of yer pack, but ya haven’t gone inta heat like all the other omegas I’ve met…”
Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of dread washes over him, and he just wants this conversation to be done with. Luckily for him, Enjin seems to catch on, dragging the boy away, defusing the situation before Zanka can get any more irritated than he already is.
.
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He wakes up sweating, his body feeling overly hot. He clutches onto one of the shirts that Enjin gave him, inhaling the scent unconsciously, curling into a ball. Something’s wrong. He’s too hot, too sweaty, and his body feels sore. He whimpers, trembling as he curls into himself more and more.
He reaches for the water on his nightstand but fails, groaning to himself when he spills water on the floor. He’s thirsty. Whining, he gets out of bed and picks up the cup before leaving his room and walking to the mess hall to get water. His legs feel heavy as he walks, and he can’t stop sweating.
“Wow, there,” a voice says once he enters the mess hall. He looks up and spots Bro, who now has a hand on his shoulder. “Easy, kiddo,” he adds before a different voice joins in. “Holy shit, is that Zanka?” The new person says, and he’s able to identify it as Enjin.
Enjin takes over Bro’s spot, a hand on his shoulder, a concerned look on his face. “Hey, kid, c’mon, let’s get you back to your room,” he says, but Zanka doesn’t move, still thirsty. Enjin seems to take notice of this, grabbing the cup from his hand and giving it to Bro before picking him up and leaving the mess hall.
Enjin releases some pheromones, trying to both cover Zanka’s scent and to calm him down, noticing how he seems to be growing increasingly panicked.
Finally, they make it to Zanka’s room, and Enjin places him in his nest, but Zanka keeps a firm grasp on the man's arm, trying to pull him into his nest with him. “One sec, Zanka,” he says, and the boy is too tired to argue, still upset that he hasn’t gotten his water yet.
Enjin makes a call on his choker to someone, but Zanka can’t understand who he’s talking to or what they’re talking about.
Suddenly, his whole body feels like it’s on fire, and his whole body hurts. He moans painfully, keening at the combination of heat and pain coursing through his body. His stomach hurts to the point that he starts to gag, and Enjin glances over, worry in his eyes, before he hangs up the call, walking over to the pained omega.
“Enjin…” he mumbles, almost asking if it’s really him. “Right here, kid. I’ve called…”
Enjin keeps talking, but everything feels and sounds like static. He practically pulls Enjin into his nest, nuzzling into him and not letting go as his pain increases. “Hurts…” he mumbles, and Enjin wraps his arms around him protectively, releasing some of his pheramons in hopes of calming the pained omega.
A knock on the door makes Enjin try to leave, but Zanka’s grip is tight, and every one of Enjin’s instincts is telling him to comfort him, almost as if Zanka were his pup. In a way, he is his pup, but this usually happens when someone is still an actual pup and not almost fully grown.
He remembers reading something about someone's first cycle being more and more painful depending on their age. None of them had ever thought that Zanka would fully present due to how fucked up the meds his family pumped into him made him.
The door opens, and Riyo and Gris enter the room, Rudo hiding behind the pair. Gris has a bottle of water in his hand, and Enjin tries his best to gesture for the group to come in, but it’s hard when his instincts are telling him to comfort Zanka.
“How is he?” Gris asks, handing him the bottle of water. Enjin sighs, unscrewing the cap and placing the bottle to Zanka’s lips. He drinks the water like he’s been dehydrated, and he probably has been, seeing how much he’s been sweating.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Enjin responds, and Gris frowns.
“I could smell him from the hall…” Riyo says, and Rudo nods his head in agreement.
Enjin wonders when Eishia will wake up. It’s incredibly late, so it’s no surprise that she’s asleep, but he can’t stop worrying about Zanka.
“Should we call Alice?” Gris asks, but Enjin shakes his head. “It’s too late. I’ll have Eishia come over when she’s awake, and I’ll probably have her call Alice.”
By now, Riyo has crawled into the nest with both of them, Rudo following behind. Gris takes the now-empty glass from Enjin, heading to the bathroom to refill it.
Packs work this way. Everyone’s instincts are screaming at them right now. Enjin, especially, seeing how he’s the pack leader and substitute guardian of Zanka and the other random strays he picks up along the way. He remembers when Riyo presented. Alphas and omegas present two completely different ways, but his instincts were never this prominent with Riyo.
Riyo nuzzles into Zanka, who whines, tears streaming down his face as he hugs Enjin, almost like a lifeline. She releases some pheromones, creating a blanket around Zanka. Rudo’s sitting on the edge of the nest, fiddling with his gloves, but releases some of his own pheromones, following what the others are doing.
Rudo never dealt with omegas before. Regto was an alpha, and Chiwa was unpresented when they met, so all of these pack dynamics are new to him, especially helping an omega in heat.
Another wave of pain crashes into him, and he cries out, burying his face into Enjin’s shirt, not caring how he looks.
“Enjin, I think we should wake Eishia…” Gris suggests, feeling his own instincts kicking in.
.
.
Everything hurt. God, it hurt so bad. His lower stomach was on fire, and he felt sticky with sweat. He wants to apologize to Enjin and the others for being such a mess, but he can’t form words, only whimpers and cries of pain. His head hurts from all the crying, adding to the extreme pain he’s in.
“Shit, he’s burning up,” Enjin says, pressing a hand to his forehead. Enjin could feel the heat radiating off of Zanka due to how tightly he was holding onto him. Riyo and Rudo have fallen asleep by now, but Gris and Enjin haven’t been able to sleep, worried about Zanka, who hasn’t gotten a lick of sleep since this whole thing started.
“Enjin, how much longer are you gonna wait until you call someone?” Gris asks, sitting on the floor close to Enjin and Zanka. “What time is it? Enjin asks, and Gris looks at the clock. “Six in the morning… Semiu’s gotta be awake by now,” Gris suggests, deciding to go get help for Zanka.
He’s lost track of how long it’s been since Gris left, nodding in and out of sleep, waking up to small whimpers and sobs coming from Zanka. “It hurts…” he complains, his voice barely above a whisper. Zanka never complains about being in pain, so those words crush him. “I know, kid… It’ll pass…” he says, rubbing Zanka’s back as the omega chokes on a sob.
.
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“Zanka? Fully presenting?” She asks, laughing a bit. “You sure he ain’t just sick or somethin?” She asks, the sheer thought of Zanka fully presenting sounds like the funniest joke she’s ever heard.
Gris practically growls at her, making her pause. “I’m bein serious, Semiu… He’s in pain, said it himself. He’s burning up, and his pheramons are all over the damn place!” He insists, and the receptionist starts to believe him.
She sighs, adjusting her glasses. “I’ll call Alice. I’m assuming Eishia won’t really know what to do in this situation,” she says, making a call on her choker.
“WHAT’DYA WANT?” A voice screams, complaining about how early it is. “Hey, Alice,” Semiu starts, cutting Alice off from her rant about how early it is. “Uhh, ya member Zanka, right?” She asks, and the pair hear a groan come from her choker. “YEAH, I REMEMBER HIM… THE OMEGA THAT COULDN’T AND WILL NEVER PRESENT CAUSE HIS FAMILY’S A PIECE OF SHIT!”
“Yeah, so, about that… He’s presenting, according to Gris, and he doesn’t know what to do. Figured it would be better to call you instead of Eishia, simply based on the severity,” she says, moving her head away when Alice shouts “WHAT?” so loudly that the two are sure the whole building can hear her.
“I’LL BE DOWN IN AN HOUR, CALL ME IF ANYTHING HAPPENS!”
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“Alice is on her way,” Gris tells him, taking his spot back on the floor with a dramatic groan. Usually, Enjin would make a joke about Gris being an old man, but he can’t when Zanka is like… this.
People are starting to wake up, and Bro knocks on the door to Zanka’s room, a large bottle of water in his hand, when Gris opens the door. “How is he?” He asks, peaking past Gris slightly, frowning at the boy's state.
“Alice’ll be here in a bit…” he says, yawning as he takes the bottle. Bro hums slightly. “Y’all want me to bring some food for y’all? I figure their instincts won’t want them leaving him at all,” he notes, and Gris nods his head, a sigh of relief leaving him.
Riyo and Rudo have begun waking up, albeit very slowly, and Riyo wraps her arms around Zanka and Enjin, instincts shouting at her to comfort her friend. Rudo just stares at them, not really knowing what to do, but Riyo pulls him in between her and Zanka.
“Just do what feels right,” she tells him, yawning. He nods, burying his face into Zanka’s back, rubbing his neck on him.
Enjin is completely knocked out, at least for now. Zanka’s still clearly in distress, but both he and Enjin are too tired to do anything.
Gris finally sits on the bed, running his fingers through Zanka’s hair before Bro knocks on the door. “Let me know if y’all need any more,” he tells Gris, handing him the large tray filled with food. “Will do. Thanks a lot, Bro,” Gris says, smiling at the other. “Don’t mention it.”
Rudo and Riyo perk up when they notice the food, and Gris motions for them to sit on the floor to eat before tapping Enjin on the head. “Bro brought us some food,” he tells the man, who yawns, covering his mouth. “I don’t think he’s gonna be moving anytime soon,” Enjin says.
“I’ll bring you two something.”
“Thanks, Gris. Y’er the best.”
“Just takin care of my pack.”
Enjin moves so that he’s sitting upright, Zanka in his lap like a puppy, not letting go of him at all, whining a bit when Enjin stops holding him so he can eat. Enjin tries to get Zanka to eat something, but it’s clear that he’s not going to eat any time soon.
“How much longer until Alice gets here?” Enjin asks, but Gris shrugs his shoulders, looking over at the clock. “She said an hour, but we all know that means something closer to five hours,” he says, and Enjin groans, not knowing how much more of this he can take.
“He needs a bath…” He notes, and Gris nods in agreement. “Not sure how cooperative he’ll be, though, and I’m worried about how he’ll react afterwards,” he adds, and Gris frowns, understanding where Enjin is coming from, but still hating it nonetheless.
Rudo and Riyo end up fighting over some food, courtesy of the sudden, intense pack dynamics going on at the moment. Gris grabs both of them by the scruff of their shirts, moving them away from each other. Eventually, Gris removes the two from Zanka’s room,
“I’ve gotta go to the bathroom,” Enjin mumbles, trying to escape Zanka’s grip. It’s easy to get out, but it’s just the thought of leaving him that makes his stomach churn. “I’ve got him,” Gris says, waving the other off. “Go get some air, Enjin.”
.
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“Man, you look like shit,” Semiu notes, but he just groans, lighting another cigarette. He hadn’t smoked since Zanka’s heat started, unable to leave him alone and not wanting to get yelled at by Gris. “Is he actually presenting?” She asks, and he just sighs, nodding his head. “Unfortunately…”
“Shouldn’t this be a good thing?” She asks, but Enjin shakes his head. “His body’s already fucked up enough from all the meds his family shoved down his throat. Presenting at his age is also incredibly painful and longer than someone who presented at a normal time. Not to mention this also means that he’s going to go through all the hormonal changes of a young pup at his age.”
Semiu almost physically recoils at that, realizing just how chaotic this is going to be. She remembered when Riyo and Guita first presented, and that in itself wasn’t fun. Now, placing all of the emotions and sad and anger of a presenting Riyo onto a seventeen-year-old Zanka? “Yikes…” she says.
“Yeah, and because he’s a male omega, he’s gonna develop a uterus. The reason it’s so important to let a pup fully present is so any biological changes can happen as quickly and painlessly as possible. It’s a lot easier to grow a uterus when you're still growing, but when you’re seventeen… He’s gonna be in a lot of pain for a while…”
.
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He was having a slight moment of lucidity, so he had gone to the bathroom and started eating, something Gris was grateful for. He didn’t feel like having to haul the kid to the bathroom, but he would if he had to.
“How’re you feeling?” He asks, sitting down next to him. Zanka responds with a whine, taking a few more shaky bites of food before giving up and falling into Gris’s lap, tired from all that he’s done, and his pain was coming back. Gris frowns, wrapping an arm around him, watching as the boy relaxes slightly.
After a while, Enjin returns to the room, and Gris passes Zanka back over to him. “How’s he doing?” He asks, practically cradling the boy in his arms. “Got him to go to the restroom and eat a little, but other than that, still the same.”
“Has he gotten any sleep?”
Gris shakes his head, causing Enjin to frown slightly.
The three sit in silence for a while, both Enjin and Gris starting to fall asleep, when the sound of gagging causes them to wake up. “Shit,” Enjin mutters, practically dragging Zanka to the bathroom. As soon as he’s in front of the toilet, he vomits. Enjin keeps an arm on his back, trying his best to help him stay somewhat steady.
.
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Everything hurts. It’s not like anything he’s experienced before, and he can’t stop vomiting. It’s worse than when his father forced him to purge his food because he ate without permission.
After who knows how long, his gagging subsides, and he practically collapses on the floor. Or, he would have if it weren’t for Enjin grabbing him to make sure he didn’t fall. “Easy, kid,” he tells him, but everything sounds a bit muffled. Almost like static.
With the help of Enjin and Gris, he makes it back to his nest, collapsing onto it before covering himself in blankets that are now fully covered in the scent of his packmates. He’s still in pain, sure, but the tiredness cancels it out. He hasn’t been able to sleep at all, so he gladly gives in to it.
.
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Zanka was finally asleep, and both men let out a sigh of relief, both collapsing next to Zanka. “How long is he gonna stay asleep for?” Enjin asks, but Gris shrugs his shoulders, not having the energy to speak.
The door opens, and Riyo and Rudo enter the room, both giving each other a knowing look before getting into the nest, Riyo squeezing herself between Zanka and Gris, while Rudo gets in between Riyo and Zanka.
Pack dynamics are strange. The sudden urges are usually easy to dismiss, but instincts become impossible to ignore when someone in the pack is in such a sorry state, especially when it’s because a member is presenting. Because Zanka, the member they needed to take care of, was finally able to relax, it set off a ripple effect in the pack, lulling all of them into tiredness.
Enjin’s pack doesn’t just consist of Gris, Rudo, Riyo, and Zanka, but the five of them tend to be the ones that stick with each other the most. Tomme and Follo are both technically a part of the pack, but they’re both betas, so they don’t have the same instincts. Well, at least their instincts can be managed easily enough.
Eishia was also a part of their pack, but Enjin knows that she’d have a massive inner conflict if she were here right now. Enjin gave her a rundown of the situation and also suggested that she stay away, and she agreed, knowing just how hard it would be to balance both her instincts and her need to help in the medical way and not the pack way.
Bro eventually comes back during lunch, bringing the group dinner. Zanka and Enjin both stay asleep while the others eat, and Gris makes sure to save some food for the two of them, snarling at Rudo when he tries to take food from what he was leaving for the two.
“Meanie!” He complains, and Riyo chuckles, ruffling his hair. Rudo will never admit that Riyo ruffling his hair makes him calm down a bit, but everyone can tell just how much the Spherite looks up to her. Hell, he looks up to all of the Cleaners a lot. Well, except for Dear and Guita, who look up to him instead of the other way around.
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No good thing lasts long, and everyone is awoken to the pained sounds of Zanka, who is biting on a pillow, trying not to scream.
“Where the hell is Alice?” Enjin snaps, causing Zanka to flinch at the sudden noise, a migraine wracking his brain. “Enjin, be quiet!” Gris snaps, gesturing to a pained Zanka. Riyo and Rudo take this as their sign to leave, Rudo whining a bit before following Riyo.
“It’s been a whole day and that woman still hasn’t come!” He shouts, not listening to Gris’s words about being silent.
Everything hurts, and the screaming isn’t helping his pain.
“I’m about’a drive over to her fuckin place and drag her ass over here!” He shouts, and the pillow can’t stifle the gut-wrenching sounds that escape Zanka. He’s trembling, pain coursing through his entire body. Enjin finally realizes that, maybe, it’s not a good idea to yell right now, going back to trying to comfort Zanka.
He was starting to gag again, but this time, they had a bucket ready, placing it next to him before he started puking stomach acid.
.
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“WHERE THE HELL’S THE KID?” She asks, and Semiu has to cover her ears a bit.
“WHAT’S UP, BOSS GIRL!” August shouts, having been out with his grandma for a bit while Eishia stayed back.
“He’s in his room,” she tells the pair. “I’m sure August can bring you. Although apparently he hasn’t been doing well with loud noises lately, so please try and keep the volume down,” she notes, but Alice rolls her eyes before storming off, August right behind her, giving her directions.
Once they make it to the room, August dips, leaving Alice to murmur something under her breath about “damn brats” before knocking on the door.
Gris opens the door, quickly ushering her in when he opens the door. The sight would be cute if you didn’t know what was going on. Zanka was under a ton of blankets, holding tightly onto Enjin, who was sound asleep, likely having passed out from exhaustion.
She sets up her supplies, drawing blood from the boy before putting it in a machine. He yelps slightly, his voice raw from crying. Riyo and Rudo are also there, asleep on the floor next to Zanka’s nest.
The sample shows extreme pheromone levels, and a quick look under the blankets confirms that he hasn’t fully begun the cycle. “I would guess this will be over in a week and a half,” she tells Gris, who frowns, not having expected this. “I can give some stuff to lower his fever, but other than that, his body’s gonna do what it’s gotta do.”
“No pain killers?”
Alice shakes her head. “Those’ll mess with the fever-lowering meds I’m giving ya, and I’m more worried about that fever than anything.”
“Thanks, Alice…” he tells her, clearly having expected a bit more, but still showing gratitude when she hands him the pill bottles. “Semiu’ll pay you up at the front.”
“She’d better… I had to come all this way just ta give ‘em some damn meds,” she says, but it’s clear that she was fascinated by what she saw.
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“Zanka, you need a bath,” Enjin tells him, not wanting to have to take care of a sweaty, bloody, and sticky Zanka for longer than he has to. “What was that about not wanting to embarrass him?” Gris jokes, a grin on his face that makes Enjin scowl. “That was before I found out this was gonna last so long,” he says, finally hauling Zanka out of his nest and dragging him to the bathroom where a nice, cold bath awaits.
Enjin knew how omegas worked, simply because he knew how women worked, but what he wasn’t prepared for was for Zanka to start bleeding from his ass and for said ass to become sticky with slick. That was too much for him to handle.
Riyo brought over some pads, laughing when Enjin explained the situation. “It’s really not that funny,” he insisted, but Riyo didn’t stop laughing.
Thankfully, Zanka doesn’t seem to mind the bath. In fact, it seems like the cold water is helping him cool down. He’d go as far as to say he actually seems relaxed now. The water seems freezing cold, but it seems like that’s what his body needs right now.
“I’ll bring my heating pad and chocolate,” Riyo told him. “I don’t know if he’s gonna eat…” he noted, but Riyo simply hushed him, insisting that she knew best.
The water eventually became room temperature, and Enjin hauls Zanka out of the tub, getting him in the clothes that Gris brought, as well as the boxer with a pad already in them, courtesy of Riyo not trusting him to handle something like that.
Enjin already knows about the scars that litter the teen's body, but that doesn’t make them any easier to see. Gris brought a t-shirt and some shorts, saying that Zanka would get too hot in his usual clothes, but that made the self-inflicted scars easier to see. It just reminds him of how hard he had it before Enjin found him. Sometimes it was easy to forget the hard life Zanka lived when you remember who his family is, but it seems like that family was the worst thing to ever happen to him.
Riyo is already waiting at the edge of the nest, heating pad already plugged in, a few chocolates and some fruits on the nightstand. “Aww, look how cute you two are,” she jokes. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say y’all were a father-son duo.”
Enjin rolls his eyes, plopping Zanka back down on his nest, and he immediately gets under the blankets, curling around a pillow that Riyo had been using while he got a bath. Riyo grabs one of the chocolate bars from her stash, handing it out to Zanka, who, to Enjin’s surprise, eats it.
“Told ya,” she tells Enjin, giving him a goofy face that makes him roll his eyes. “Trust me when I say the weird period cravings are the only things he’s gonna wanna eat for a bit,” she says, picking up the bowl of assorted fruits, handing them to Zanka, who starts devouring them.
While he’s busy eating, Riyo places the heating pad on his lower stomach, aka the place where he was developing a uterus. Enjin wants to protest, to say that he’s already hot enough, but to his surprise, he basically passes out after eating half of the fruit Riyo brought him.
“Now give me twenty bucks,” she tells Enjin, extending a hand in expectation. “We never agreed on making this a bet!” He protests, whisper-shouting so he doesn’t wake Zanka. “Maybe not, but I still want the twenty. I need some new hairspray,” she tells him, and he reluctantly hands her the cash.
“At least you aren’t a sore loser,” she jokes, blowing a kiss at him before leaving the room. He groans, glaring daggers in the direction she went in before getting resituated in his spot in Zanka’s nest.
He places his hand against his forehead, noting that his fever is no longer as high as it was before, meaning that he was having more random bouts of lucidity here and there, where he would always seem incredibly embarrassed, hiding under his blankets no matter how much they insisted that he was fine.
” M sorry…” he mumbles, and Enjin yawns, looking at him, brows furrowed. “Huh?” He asks, not understanding what he’s saying because of how tired he is. “Y’er havin ta take care of me… ‘m sorry bout that.”
Enjin was used to Zanka’s self-sabotaging thoughts, but the thought of him worrying about others rather than himself during something as traumatizing and draining as this is.
“Stop apologizing, Zan,” he insists.
Zanka opens his mouth to protest, but a new wave of pain crashes through him, and he lies back down, curling into Enjin, his lucidity no longer existing. Usually, when Zanka has bouts of consciousness that end when everything starts back up, he feels terrible for the kid. But right now, he’s glad to just take care of him when he’s not complaining about being a burden to everyone.
“Fuck…” Zanka mutters, his voice hoarse from crying. He whines, and Enjin pulls him closer, releasing some of his own pheromones in a comforting blanket around the omega. “I hate this…” he complains, choking on a sob. Enjin can’t tell if he’s getting better or if his body’s just too tired to properly react to the pain he’s in.
“I know, kid, I know,” he tells him. He remembers when he first presented. The people who– He shakes his head, not wanting to think about that right now, wanting to focus on Zanka. He’d talked with his friends, aka the other older members, about his past, but he never talked about it much with the younger ones. Zanka is the only one he’s talked with, but it was just a little bit, his way of trying to say “I see the pain you’re in because of your past and I won’t judge you for it…” but it never worked.
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“Have you heard?” One of the kids whispers to his friends, all of them getting closer to each other. “I hear that Zanka’s actually an omega!” The kid says, and Zanka freezes, having been listening in on the conversation. He wasn’t one to believe rumors, but he could admit that some of them could be entertaining. He can only imagine what his sister would say if she heard that he was finding humor in those stupid rumors that his peers spread.
But this? This wasn’t a rumor. And this was something that could ruin his life. He decides to pay closer attention to the conversation, still doing his exercises but making sure he’s close enough that he can hear them without it being obvious that he’s spying.
“What? No, that can’t be!” One of them exclaims, getting shushed by one of the other girls who are gathered around in the circle, whispering a small ‘sorry.’ “That can’t be possible, can it? His whole family is alphas with a beta or two every now and then… Are you sure he isn’t a beta?”
The kid who started this whole conversation shakes their head aggressively. “I saw a pill bottle in his locker… It’s something used specifically to suppress omegas, preventing them from being… well, an omega… I’m pretty sure it’s an illegal substance, but I need to look into it a bit more.”
Zanka feels his heart plummet into his stomach. Did he really get that careless and leave the meds in plain sight?
“Are ya sure someone didn’t plant it? People can be a bit competitive and would do anything for a spot on the Golden Throne, even if it means sabotage…” one suggests.
He had to tell his parents before this got any worse. He had to tell them before shit hit the fan and he was kicked out.
.
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He wakes up in a cold sweat despite how hot he is. He remembers that day vividly. He also remembers it being one of the worst days of his life. He doesn’t want to remember it, but it’s hard when he’s been cooped up for the past few days. He tries his best to stifle his sob, but it doesn’t work. The memory of his father beating him black and blue makes him tremble in fear, despite knowing that he’s safe.
Enjin stirs slightly, but thankfully, no one else wakes up from the slight tantrum he’s throwing.
“Zanka?” Enjin asks, causing him to flinch at the sudden noise. “Uhh, yeah?” He asks, hating how weak he sounds. Usually, it’s easy for him to suppress his cries, but he assumes that the intense hormonal changes are making it hard for him to do that.
“Uhh, yeah, sorry… just a bad dream…” he mumbles, hoping that that’ll be the end of it, especially when a wave of pain wracks through him, making him curl in on himself as he sobs.
He hates this. Hates every part of this. He hates feeling so useless. Hates being so vulnerable, relying on others to help him out. “Maybe it would’ve been better if I never stopped takin those meds…” he thinks, knowing deep down how wrong that sounds, but feeling too useless to care.
The pain only intensifies, and he buries his head in a pillow– or maybe it’s Enjin’s chest? – trying to cover his pained cries, but it’s hard. He’s never been in this much pain before. It hurts worse than anything he’s ever felt before, and he practically screams in pain, waking everyone else up.
“Shit,” Enjin says, looking around the room until he locks eyes with Gris. “Can you call Alice? Hell, get Eishia if you have to,” he tells him.
“Enjin, they can’t do anything about the pain,” Gris tells him, yawning. “Why the hell not?” He asks, but Gris just rubs his eyes. “'Cause it’ll interfere with the meds that are keeping him from turning into a melted trash beast.”
“So we just sit here while he’s screaming in pain?”
Before Gris can answer, Zanka starts gagging, and Enjin quickly grabs the bucket, positioning Zanka’s head over it, watching in pain as the kid vomits the little he’s eaten as well as blood, stomach acid, and saliva.
Once the gagging has subsided, Gris hands him a bottle of water that has an electrolyte pack in it, essentially forcing it down Zanka’s throat before he passes out again.
Riyo and Rudo are staring in shock at the three, mostly at Zanka, but still. “I- is he gonna be ok?” Rudo asks, his voice wobbly. Enjin sighs, nodding his head. “He’s gonna be fine. He’s survived worse,” Enjin responds, but both he and Gris know it’s bullshit. Zanka’s never gone through anything worse than this, and he probably never will…