Chapter Text
The wet sand squished beneath Nick’s toes as he walked along the beach in Menorca. He loved exploring the beach; it was one of his favourite things to do on holiday. His family had come here every summer that he could remember, which in his nine years of life was a lot of summers, but he was always surprised by the new discoveries he made on the beach.
Today, he had walked a little ways away from where his mum had set up their umbrella. Spade and bucket in hand, he was off to explore some nearby tide pools on the other side of a large wall of boulders. As he got closer, he realised that there was a beach towel carefully draped like a canopy over a couple of boulders, and even closer still, he noticed a second beach towel sticking out from between the boulders, laid out like a mat. Curious about the set-up, Nick veered off course and wandered over to the little boulder house to investigate.
He peered inside and saw a boy about his age, maybe a little younger, hunched over and arranging some smaller stones along the walls of the little house. He was tan with wild dark hair, and he hummed to himself as he put the stones in some kind of indecipherable order.
Nick cleared his throat to get the boy’s attention, “Hey, cool fort.”
The boy turned and Nick was staggered by the colour of his blue eyes, which matched the colour of the sea behind them. He smiled and explained, “It’s not a fort, it’s a nest.”
“Oh. Cool nest.”
The boy told Nick, “I’m playing house. Do you want to play with me?”
Nick threw down his bucket and spade excitedly, happy to have found someone to play with. Usually, the only kid he had to play with on holiday was his brother. “Sure!”
He began to enter the nest but then the boy called out, “Wait!” Nick stopped in his tracks and waited. The boy shook his head as if he had forgotten something and asked, “Are you an alpha?”
“Um, yes?” This is what Nick had been told by the doctor, he’d heard the doctor say that word many times at his annual health checks.
The boy sighed in relief, “Oh, good. I’m an omega and this is my nest. You can come be my alpha.”
“Okay.” Nick didn’t know what that meant exactly, but he was glad that he could play. He entered the nest and admired the boy’s handiwork, it did feel cosy in here.
The boy continued talking, “My dad is an omega and I saw him build a nest just like this. Now he’s going to have a pup and I’m going to be a big brother!”
“That’s so cool!” Nick smiled, feeding off the boy’s excitement. His own big brother was kind of a jerk, but he thought this boy would make a good big brother.
The boy rose to standing, satisfied with his arrangement. “Okay, I like the rocks the way they are now,” he declared.
“Me too,” Nick agreed. “Now what do we do?”
The boy thought for a moment and then took Nick’s hand. “Let’s sit down,” he suggested, pulling on Nick as he sat on the beach towel.
“Okay,” Nick followed willingly. This boy seemed to know what he was doing and how to play this game the right way, and Nick was happy to go with whatever he wanted. They turned to face each other and the boy smiled shyly.
“Now, I’m going to smell you, okay?”
Nick’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, okay.”
Nick had seen adults do that on the telly when his brother was watching shows he probably shouldn’t have been watching, and Nick was curious to try it. He craned his neck to the side and the boy leaned in, sniffing Nick’s neck and tickling it slightly. Nick tried to hold back a giggle.
The boy pulled back, his eyes half closed, and remarked, “You smell nice, like a cinnamon swirl.”
“Thanks,” Nick replied, his face feeling hot. He didn’t know why he smelled like a cinnamon swirl, he hadn’t had one of those in ages. “Can I smell you now?” he asked tentatively.
“Yes,” the boy nodded with a smile.
Nick leaned into the boy’s neck and inhaled his scent. It was very faint, but Nick thought he smelled like flowers. It made him want to stay close. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around the boy and inhaled again, and the boy leaned back into him to do the same.
“This is nice,” Nick said dreamily.
“Yeah, this is what alphas and omegas do in their nest,” the boy quietly explained.
Nick had heard about grown-ups not leaving their nests for days, and now he understood why. He wanted to snuggle up close to the boy and stay there forever, so he pulled the boy down so they were lying entwined on the beach towel. Nick inhaled the floral scent once more and let his eyes drift close.
“…Nicky!” A voice shouted from far away.
Nick sat up straight, recognition on his face. He must’ve dozed off, or been gone longer than he thought. He could see the light turning golden outside the nest as the sun hung low in the sky. “That’s my mum,” he told the boy, who looked like he had also just woken up from a deep slumber, then shouted to his mother, “In here, Mum!”
“Where?” She called out before poking her head into the nest. “Oh! Hello!” she exclaimed in surprise.
“We’re playing house!” Nick told her happily. “This is our nest.”
“Oh, that’s nice!” She matched his tone before turning her attention to the unfamiliar boy. “And what is your name, dear?”
“Charlie,” the boy replied.
“Nice to meet you, Charlie. This is a lovely nest.” She beamed at them and Nick felt a swell of pride from her compliment, even though Charlie was the one who had built it all.
“Thank you,” he heard Charlie whisper, his face red.
“May I take a picture of it?” She asked, pulling out her mobile. Nick was glad she’d asked, she knew that he loved having pictures to remember special days. But first, he looked at Charlie, deferring to him since it was really his nest.
“Yes!” Charlie answered delightedly, turning to Nick’s mum and grinning. As he turned toward the camera, Nick got another whiff of flowers; the scent stronger this time, and it felt like he couldn’t breathe for a moment. It was heavenly, and he wanted more of it. He leaned back into Charlie and closed his eyes, lost in the aroma.
“Okay, very good!” Nick heard his mother say loudly, snapping him out of his reverie. He looked over to see her putting her phone away, sighing, “Nicky, we have to go, I’m afraid.”
Panic seized up in Nick's chest and he clutched onto the boy. “Noo, Mum, I want to stay in our nest!” he cried.
“I understand sweetie, it’s hard to leave when you’re having fun,” his mum said empathetically.
“No! I want to stay here!” Nick continued to protest, tightening his grip on Charlie.
“Darling, I’m sure that Charlie isn’t going to stay here either,” she reasoned. “He’ll have to go with his parents—”
“I’m here with my abuelos because my dad is going to have a pup!” Charlie interrupted, explaining himself.
Nick’s mum nodded understandingly, “Oh, I see, well, congratulations! But my point still stands, Charlie will be leaving soon too, and we have to go meet your aunt for dinner. But I have a picture so you’ll be able to remember this lovely nest and the nice time you had.”
“Fine,” Nick conceded. He turned to Charlie, a look of disappointment on his face. “I guess I have to go. Can I smell you just one more time?”
“Yes, if I can smell you too one more time,” Charlie replied.
“Yes!”
They both leaned in and Nick inhaled Charlie’s sweet floral scent, committing it to his memory. They leaned back and Nick stood up, brushing some sand off of himself.
“Bye, thanks for letting me play,” he said quietly, reverently. It had been really special, and Nick didn’t want to forget it.
“Bye, Alpha. Thank you.” Charlie gave a small wave as Nick exited the nest and began walking back with his mum.
“I’m glad you found a boy your age to play with,” Nick’s mum remarked as they walked.
Nick smiled, the memory still fresh in his mind. “Yeah, that was fun. I liked our nest, and I liked smelling him.”
Nick’s mum squeezed his hand and asked, “Sweetheart, how did you know how to scent him like that?”
“Scent?” Nick asked, confused.
Nick’s mum’s face turned red, “Like, smell that boy’s neck?”
“Oh, I think I saw grown-ups do it on TV once,” Nick explained sheepishly.
“...You don’t remember your father and I doing that, do you?” she asked, a hint of sadness in her voice.
“No.”
“Okay.” The two of them walked in silence for a little while until Nick’s mum squeezed his hand again and asked, “Did he smell like anything?”
“Flowers!” Nick replied, his face beaming again at the memory.
Nick’s mum stopped in her tracks, looking confused and astonished. “Really?” she questioned. “Not just pretend?”
“Yes, really!” Nick nodded his head emphatically. He knew it was a scent he would never forget.
Nick’s mum looked down at the sand before starting them walking again, muttering half to him and half to herself, “That’s so odd, you’re both just children, you shouldn’t be able to smell each other’s scent. Maybe it was something else…”
Nick took one last glance back and saw the boy peeking out from their nest. Nick gave him a little wave and then turned back to his mum, wondering if he’d ever find someone like him again when he was older, who made him feel so at home.