The Reluctant Omega

Family Craziness

Since they both went back to work like normal that week, it wasn't until Saturday that Grey finally saw Jaxon again. He was going to meet Grey at his apartment and then they would drive over to his parent's house together. Grey hadn't heard anything from his brothers saying if they were going to be there too. He was hoping it would just be a casual dinner with Jaxon and his parents. He could handle that.

Grey felt his stomach drop when he noticed Parker's and Declan's cars parked behind his parent's as they pulled up to his childhood home. He wouldn't say his family was rich. His dad ran his own construction company. They built mainly residential homes. Every summer his brothers would help out on site and get paid a little. Grey never got the chance since he was an Omega and there were just too many Alphas working for his dad. They weren't bad guys at all. Grey knew most of the older men and their families, but his dad didn't want to risk something happening around the new younger guys that were just there temporarily. His dad or brothers couldn't always be around to keep an eye on him.

Grey climbed out of Jaxon's truck and hesitated by the passenger door. Was everybody going to be here? He knew it could get pretty noisy and overwhelming if all his nieces and nephews were here, too. Jaxon came around to his side and took his hand, lacing their fingers together.
"I don't think anybody saw us," Grey said quietly, looking up at him, "let's go now and I'll make up an excuse to my parents later." Jaxon chuckled softly, glancing at the extra cars. He was assuming Grey's brothers were here as well.
"I think I can survive one dinner with your brothers." He said smiling, meeting Grey's eyes. Grey frowned up at him and suddenly leaned forward, resting his forehead against Jaxon's shoulder. He stilled instantly at the affectionate contact. Grey was anxious and he was looking to him for comfort whether he realized it or not. Jaxon lifted his free hand and tentatively placed it on the back of Grey's head, gently cupping it and holding Grey against him.
"Hey," he murmured, "it's ok." Grey pulled back slightly, narrowing his eyes.
"Don't believe anything they say about me," he muttered, "everything they say from when we were younger are all horrible lies, ok?" Jaxon laughed, sliding his free arm across the back of Grey's shoulders and pulled him into a hug.
"Ok, got it." He said softly.
"I'm serious," Grey murmured, "my brothers are pathological liars," he drew back slightly to look up at him, "also if Declan's partner, Avery, is here don't get cornered alone with him...he's a psychologist and he won't hesitate to analyze you."
"Thanks for the heads up." Jaxon said, smiling. Grey finally pulled away but still held his hand while they walked up to the door together. Here we go, Grey thought, please let this go ok...I really don't want Jaxon scared off.

Everybody was here and it was loud. As they stepped through the door, Grey was relieved when silence greeted them at first, but then two bundles of energy went careening by wielding foam swords and yelling. Aiden and Liam were chasing each other, followed closely by Sophie wearing a big, fluffy princess dress. She noticed Grey and ran towards him. He barely had a chance to brace himself before she was launching herself into his arms.
"Uncle Grey!" She squealed happily, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Sophie pulled back and curiously eyed Jaxon.
"Who is that," she whispered, "is he a prince?" Grey chuckled softly, turning towards Jaxon.
"No, this is my boyfriend, Jaxon," he replied, "Jaxon, may I present her royal highness...Princess Sophie."
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, your majesty." Jaxon said, bending at the waist in an exaggerated bow. Sophie giggled, wiggling free from Grey's arms.
"He's funny." She said before taking off. Parker appeared, holding Aiden upside down on his shoulder, the little boy laughing happily. He glanced at Jaxon before setting Aiden down.
"Hi Unkie Grey!" Aiden called out and took off again. Parker made his way over, extending his hand to Jaxon.
"Parker McLane." He stated firmly. They shook hands.
"Nice to meet you," Jaxon said, "I'm Jaxon Pace...we spoke on the phone awhile back."
"Hmm...yes," Parker said, frowning, "although you failed to mention your intentions concerning my baby brother."
"We just made it official last week, Parker." Grey said, glaring at him.
"Why the hesitation," Parker asked, folding his arms tightly across his chest, "I mean, if you were interested in my brother, why did it take this long for you guys to start dating?" Grey wanted to punch him.
"Well, Grey and I decided we would get to know each other as friends first," Jaxon replied simply, seemingly unaffected by Parker's attitude, "I was more than willing to patiently wait until Grey was ready to date." Grey looked over to him, smiling. Parker hummed.
"So where do you work, Jaxon?" He asked.
"He owns Mickie's it's a bar." Grey replied. Parker's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So you must enjoy drinking then?" He asked, frowning.
"Where's mom and dad?" Grey finally demanded glaring at him. Parker motioned towards the kitchen with a vague wave. Grey tugged Jaxon's hand and led him through the house. His parents, Shannon, Avery, and Declan were all hanging out in the kitchen. Avery was sitting on a stool at the island, a hand resting on his very visible baby bump. Declan stood behind him, gently massaging his shoulders. Shannon was by the stove, holding Kayden and bouncing him on her hip, while she helped Grey's mom. His dad was standing by the counter nearby, sipping his drink. It was a very normal sight. But this time, Grey wasn't alone. They all stopped talking and turned to them when Grey and Jaxon walked in. Grey hesitated for a second, feeling overwhelmed by the sudden attention. Jaxon gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Hey," Grey said, his voice wavering slightly, "so this is...everybody." His dad chuckled softly, stepping forward and extending his hand.
"Hello Jaxon," he said smiling warmly, "it's good to see you again." Jaxon finally released Grey's hand and stepped closer, shaking his hand.
"It's good to see you as well, Mr. McLane," he said, smiling back, "thank you for having me."
"Please call me Henry." He said, patting Jaxon's shoulder before releasing him. Grey introduced him to the rest of his family.
"So...," his mom asked smiling, glancing at both of them expectantly.
"Oh...um...we're dating." Grey murmured, glancing at Jaxon, his face instantly heating up.
"Don't you think it's a little too soon to meet the family?" Parker asked as he walked in.
"Well it just happened suddenly," Grey replied, "Jaxon met them when he took me to the ER...," but he didn't have a chance to finish before Parker was interrupting him.
"What," he demanded, frowning, "ER...why did you go to the ER?"
"Sweetie, don't worry about it," his mom said, "Grey is fine...Jaxon helped and Grey was here for a couple of days afterward."
"But why am I just hearing about this now?" He demanded angrily.
"Because I knew you would make a big deal out of it." Grey replied glaring at him. Parker opened his mouth to say more, but Shannon walked over to him and deposited Kayden into his arms.
"Kay needs a diaper change." She announced smiling. Parker grumbled something under his breath, but thankfully turned and headed towards the den. Grey gave her a grateful smile.
"Well dinner won't be ready for a little while," his mom said, "why don't you show Jaxon your old room?" Grey grabbed Jaxon's hand and didn't hesitate dragging him upstairs. Grey sometimes felt overwhelmed when his whole family was around so he could only assume how Jaxon was feeling right now. He ushered Jaxon into his old room and closed the door behind them, sighing deeply.

Jaxon glanced around, excited to learn about Grey when he was younger. His room was surprisingly simple and neat. There was a single bed pushed against the wall with a handmade quilt on it done in blues and greens. A bookshelf stuffed full of books was next to the bed. A dresser and desk were along the opposite wall. A large bay window with a window seat overlooked the backyard. There weren't any posters or pictures on the walls, but there were a few photographs taped to the dresser mirror. Jaxon made his way over to look at them. They were mostly of Grey's brothers when they were younger and he recognized a younger Casey in a few of them. There weren't any of Grey except for what looked like a group shot of a basketball team. He noticed him right away and middle school Grey was just as adorable as he was now.

"Sorry about that," Grey said softly, making his way over to Jaxon, "they can kind of be...a lot." Jaxon chuckled softly, shrugging.

"It's fine," he said smiling, "my dad's family is Italian so when they all get together...that's a lot." Grey could only imagine what that could be like. Was he going to meet all of them someday? It was strange seeing Jaxon wander around his room. He couldn't really describe how he was feeling right now. Jaxon was the first person besides his brothers and Casey that came to his room. Grey played basketball all through middle school, but he quit when he started high school. He wasn't nearly as big or as fast as the other Alphas that made up the team.

He was never really close to anybody else except Casey. When he had to do group projects for school, he usually met his partners at school or the library. Even though he didn't have heat cycles or released pheromones at that time, his parents were still cautious about letting him meet up with Alphas on his own. Grey heard about a few incidents at school where an Alpha would unexpectedly go into rut or an Omega would go into heat while at school, but the teachers and nurse were quick to get them help.

"How did your other boyfriends handle your brothers?" Jaxon asked, sitting down on the edge of his bed. Grey hesitated for a second before answering.

"I didn't have any boyfriends growing up," he finally replied, "you're the first person I've dated." Jaxon wasn't sure how to feel about that. He had been pretty certain that Grey had little dating experience or maybe even had a few bad relationships in the past with how reluctant he was at first, but he never assumed that he was the first person Grey ever dated. Jaxon patted the empty spot next to him on the bed and Grey walked over, sitting down. He slipped his arm across Grey's shoulders and flopped back, pulling Grey down beside him. They both squirmed around until they were laying side by side. They laid in silence for a few seconds before Jaxon rolled onto his side to face him, propping himself up on the arm underneath Grey's head. Grey gave him a confused look, staring up at him.

"We should make out." Jaxon murmured softly. Grey's cheeks darkened to a light shade of pink.

"What...why?" He asked. Jaxon shrugged.

"It's like a rite of passage or something," he replied casually, "if we had dated when we were younger, I would have definitely made out with you in your bedroom." Grey chuckled softly, shaking his head.

"What makes you think I would have dated you when we were younger?" He challenged him playfully. Jaxon's jaw dropped and he gave him a fake hurt look. Grey reached up and slipped his hand onto the nape of Jaxon's neck, drawing him down for a kiss. Jaxon pulled back slightly to gaze into his eyes. Grey was probably right. He would have been way out of Jaxon's league in high school. Jaxon pressed his lips back to his, deepening the kiss. He was sure he would never get tired of kissing him. It felt so good. Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door. They both flinched, jerking away from each other.

"Dinner is ready." Avery's voice filtered through the door. Grey scrambled to his feet, raking a hand through his hair before opening the door. He smiled up at Grey, a knowing look on his face.
"Just a heads up, but I'm extremely sensitive to pheromones right now," Avery said softly, "they probably can't smell them downstairs yet so you might want to calm down for a few minutes or Parker will flip out." Grey felt his face heat up.
"Oh...um...ok thanks." He managed to mutter. Avery nodded before heading back downstairs. Grey hadn't even realized they were both emitting pheromones. He couldn't even smell them. That part of his Omega brain probably wasn't active yet. He turned back to Jaxon.
"Dinner is ready." Grey said softly. Jaxon nodded, taking his hand as they headed downstairs together.