Page 26 of Full Body Hit, Part 1 (Alpha Omega Hockey #5)

“Okay. Go to sleep now. I’ll be right here.”

Charlie hummed, letting out a slow, even breath.

Silence.

There was something strange in Auston’s heart as he listened to his baby sleep. Something beautiful and heavy and perfectly placed, like a growth that enhanced him somehow, made his blood rush cleaner, made his heart beat stronger.

He put earphones in so he’d know the moment Charlie woke up.

He prepared a quick meal and ate it. Made himself a new food-delivery account without any of his personal information on it.

Took a shower, his phone on speakerphone, popping his earphones in again when he got out.

An hour ticked by. Two. And then something moved on the other end of the line—Charlie smacking his lips and humming as he woke up.

“Daddy?” And fuck, was that sweet, the first word that dropped from Charlie’s mouth.

“Hey, baby. How’re you feeling?”

“Good. Sore, but good sore.”

“Yeah?” Auston rumbled, pleased about the lazy note in Charlie's voice.

“Mmhm.”

“You can stay in bed as long as you want, but I’m gonna give you some login info for Deliverbag. Order yourself something, okay? You can go in and erase the address after. And go drink a glass of water when you’re ready.”

“Okay,” Charlie said quietly.

Minutes passed. When Charlie was ready, he told Auston he’d ordered some food, a bulgogi bowl, and got his water.

He left the plugs to soak in a tub by the sink, cleaned up his room, and then returned to clean the plugs, all while chatting happily, obviously waking up.

“Okay, but the start of the dating show is so nice, though! They talk through the walls and can’t even scent each other and they’re falling in love.”

Auston had never watched the show, although he felt like that would change soon, with how insistent Charlie was being about it. “Wait, they date without scenting each other? How the hell does that work? When do they meet?”

“Well, they get, like, a few weeks of just talking to each other, so it’s nice, you know? They’re away from their normal lives. They don’t have to worry about how they look or their scents. They just get to fall in love with who they are .”

Auston wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, but—” he stopped short. He’d been about to argue that it was silly to date someone without knowing their scent, to know if they’d truly be compatible.

But…wasn’t that what they were doing? The wildest part of Auston was sure that Charlie would smell perfect, but he didn’t actually know that.

What if they met, and their scents weren’t compatible? As things stood now, he couldn’t imagine that getting in the way. He’d fight against his own fucking biology to keep Charlie.

His own fucking issues with scent, too.

This wasn’t the same as with Hunter, though. Not connecting with a scent was completely different than resenting someone wilfully controlling it to manipulate people.

And wasn’t that a goddamn clue to how deeply he was falling for the man on the other end of the line?

“But what?” Charlie prompted.

Auston shook himself. “But nothing. You’re right—scent and looks shouldn’t matter if you’re in love.”

There was a long pause.

Auston could hear his pulse. He could hear his baby breathe, too, a little shaky.

“Really? Because…I know what I said before, but a lot of the couples break up because they don’t like how the other person smells after they meet up.”

“Then they weren’t really in love. Not the way love can really be.”

Another silence, softer this time. “I knew it,” Charlie claimed.

Auston’s eyebrows bunched. “Knew what?”

“That you’re a total romantic.”

Auston barked out a laugh. “ Hmm . Maybe for the right person.”

“Well, that’s how a true romantic would work.”

“Then I guess I’m a true romantic,” Auston allowed.

Auston prompted Charlie into a hot shower, the food arriving not long after Charlie got out.

He listened to Charlie eat—something which would have sounded absurd and vaguely gross a few weeks ago but now filled him with a deep, animal satisfaction. They turned on the dating show Charlie had been talking about after so they could watch it together, settling on their respective couches.

In a way, they spent the whole day together. Auston made absolutely sure that Charlie didn’t feel lonely or overwhelmed after such an intense experience with the plugs. They continued the call through dinner, and getting ready for sleep and getting into bed.

He set the phone on the pillow next to him, wishing with every inch of him that it was Charlie right there, close enough to touch.

“Daddy,” Charlie mumbled sleepily.

“Yes, baby?”

“Today was…I think it was the best day I’ve ever had.”

Auston’s throat closed up. His fucking ribs hurt, the feeling glowing behind them was so intense. “I can’t remember having such a good day, either.” Not in anything non-hockey related, anyway. Winning the Cup had been something else entirely.

“Yeah?” Charlie whispered.

“Yeah.”

“I’m so glad I met you.”

“I think the same all the time, baby. All the fucking time. Don’t know how I got so lucky,” Auston murmured.

“ I’m the lucky one,” Charlie protested.

“Nope. Sorry, you’re not gonna win this argument.”

Charlie snorted. “Agree to disagree.”

Auston hummed in mock discontent.

“Think I’m gonna fall asleep soon,” Charlie warned.

“Okay. Get some rest. I’ll stay on the line until you’re asleep.”

“Night, Daddy.”

“Night, honey. Talk to you soon.”

***

Sometimes, Auston really, really missed being part of the Baltimore Beasts. His role as captain meant that he got the sort of respect that let him have a say over which PR stunts he was pulled into.

Apparently, that was very much not the case with the Spirits.

Chase looked small waiting for him at the corner of an old, peeling building. It was kind of ridiculous—the kid was a hockey player, broader and taller than the average Omega, but there was something about the way he was hunched, or his oversized sweater, that shrunk him.

Auston had fought not to roll his eyes when PR had announced everybody would be paired up and assigned popular New Orleans sights to visit and make videos of. ‘You can film them yourselves…but we will make you do it again if the footage is not good’, they’d warned.

The idea was silly, like all PR ideas were silly to Auston, but he hadn’t actually explored the city much, and it was a definite plus that there weren’t going to be any cameras following them around awkwardly, so it didn’t sound too bad.

Until he found out who his partner was.

Apparently, it was cute to pair the oldest and youngest guys on the team. Auston had bitten his tongue and agreed to the date and time suggested for Chase and him to meet up.

Which brought him to the French Quarter on a cool, sunny Wednesday on what should be his day off.

Chase had his nose practically in his phone, sleeve-covered hands tapping away somehow. Auston cleared his throat pointedly as he stepped onto the sidewalk beside him.

“Oh.” Chase startled, taking a step back. His cheeks were red from the cold—the kid really should be wearing a coat.

“Oh,” Auston repeated a little sarcastically. He didn’t know why he did that—why there was an ever-present urge to poke at Chase that he couldn’t seem to curb despite being like a decade and a half older.

It was getting pathetic. Even he could admit that. His sister would probably say it had something to do with the ‘trauma’ his ex had left him with—the fear of being around people who could control their scent so thoroughly. How it was manifesting in Auston wanting to stab a hole in that control.

But Auston didn’t have trauma. What had happened with his ex was old news. The stress, the loneliness, the guilt that had plagued that year—it wasn’t like he was feeling that anymore, so it shouldn’t affect him.

So there was no reason to be so rash towards Chase. He could just not like the kid, be civil, and ignore him when he could.

Auston cut in before Chase could say anything. He had to be mature here. Concentrate on the task at hand. “So. I was thinking one can film the first half, one the second half, and they can put that together.”

Chase nodded, mouth still pouting slightly. “Sure. We should take some pics together, too.”

Auston managed not to wrinkle his nose. He’d always hated posing for pictures, but it was a necessary part of modern living.

Unfortunately.

“Sounds good. I can film first if you want.”

Chase shrugged, putting his phone away.

Auston took out his.

God, this was going to be a nightmare. He was shit at filming things, and it was just weird to do it in public as they walked along as if they were influencers or something.

Chase was visibly uncomfortable too, face still red, turning away from Auston at every opportunity. He looked shorter than he was, shoulders all bunched up as his gaze fluttered around uneasily.

“Let’s walk without the camera for a bit,” Auston suggested.

“Yeah,” Chase agreed, loosening up as the phone was put away.

They strolled for a bit, Auston inspecting the differently-coloured facades, the iron balconies, the decorative signs hanging in front of stores.

Apparently, the area was lively and crowded at night. During the middle of the day on a Wednesday, the area was awake and moving, but there weren’t that many people.

“Oh!”

Auston stopped as Chase made a sound of surprise. He was peering into a shop, its large French doors open and letting the light in. Auston took a step closer, peering at what was so interesting.

For a second, Auston was convinced there was a massive bird in the store. Auston was no expert, but judging by the funny little feathers on its head, it was some kind of albino peacock.

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered when he realised it was just taxidermy.

Those beady eyes were surprisingly realistic.

There was a table by the door, covered with a seemingly random assortment of objects. There was an animal skull, a weird ball that looked like it was made of eyes, a stack of tomes, a set of dice in a see-through, purple bag.