The Technicality of Teeth

For the Second Time in Two Days

Steve woke up in a space that he did not recognize, his head nearly split in two, and his back in so much pain he nearly couldn't stand up. He also had vicious stomach cramps from politely refusing any food Robin or Chrissy offered him in lieu of holing up in their spare bedroom and doing some good, old-fashioned wallowing. An indulgence that he allowed himself for a further half an hour, burying himself back under hte blankets for one last good cry before he had to show himself to his friends.

When Steve finally roused himself enough to move, however, his whole body screamed at him. An action that should have taken him seconds, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and standing, took almost two agnozing minutes as he lifted one leg and then the other, with the aid of his hands, and manuevered himself so carefully he almost thought he wasn't moving. It only marginally helped the pain in his spine.

When he walked, it was with equal care. The muscles in his lower back screamed in pain, and any impact sent lightning ricochetting from between his eyes to his lower back and and back up again. Chrissy and Robin's home wasn't large, a little townhouse connected to a twin next door, but it may as well been palatial with how long it took Steve to walk from the guest room to the kitchen, following the hushed tones of the two women talking.

" -- the next time I see him..." Steve recognized Chrissy's clipped hissing over the drone of the water, no doubt busying her hands cleaning up the dishes from making breakfast to keep herself as calm as possible.

"Chris, come on, he's scared." Steve also registered the anger in Robin's voice, even as she tried to sooth her mate.

"That only explains the behavior, it doesn't excuse it." Her statement was punctuated by the clattering of a utensil being carelessly tossed into the sink. And while Steve was still so so angry at Eddie for the last night, hearing someone else talking about it sent him into a whole different angry spiral. Which was ridiculous. Chrissy was Robin's mate, and an Alpha to boot. Of course she was going to be angry and territorial. To be totally fair, Steve had seen Chrissy angry before, and Eddie was lucky that the smaller Alpha wasn't kicking down their door to get at him for the way he'd treated Robin.

But Steve's head was nearly tearing itself apart down the center of his skull and his spine was still trying to claw its way out from the skin of his back and he had exactly zero patience or tolerance for anything at that moment. Eddie was still his mate, and in this compromised state, reduced to more base instincts than he was used to, Steve only registered Chrissy as a possible threat to that mate. His mate who, Steve, knew, was very much in the wrong, but still his mate . And if anyone was going to punish that man it was going to be Steve and no one else .

Even without that, even if Steve whole ehartedly cosigned on Chrissy avenging him, he didn't need his pack nipping at each other. He needed their focus on him. On helping keep him afloat and as together as possible. He couldn't cope with the stress of infighting if he was also barely keeping himself together. If an Omega's job was to keep the home, and his home was shambling apart around him, he'd end up dead before the bond had a chance to do any real damage. It was selfish and bratty and terrible, but Steve had never claimed to be anything else.

He pushed the door to the kitchen open with more force than necessary, causing it to bounce off of the wall behind it and both women to jump. Chrissy's reaction filled him with a grim sense of satisfaction. Good. She should be frightened of him after the way she was talking about Eddie. Robin, however, as she cowered slightly over her now visibly cold mug of coffee, broke his heart all over again. Somewhere in the back of his rational mind, Steve knew that he was being ridiculous. That his behaviors was catching Robin in the cross-hairs. He knew he should take a breath and center himself before he made any more moves.