Welcome back! Just uh, needed to finish this up. So, everything is very much not alright once the heat is done, as you may imagine. By the way, this contains information that changes the tone of the previous chapter to extremely dubious consent of all parties involved, so please be aware of that. Enjoy!

The smoke feels good in my mouth. The burn, the taste, and definitely the chemical enhancements soothing my nerves. I feel…

Raw.

I shut my eyes, leaning my head back against the window frame and trying not to think too hard. It's pointless; the thoughts keep spinning in my head and I can't get them out. Not ever since I woke up between Roy and Dick, clearheaded for the first time in days and aching, but in a satisfied, workout way. Physically I feel great, whatever that means. But the rest of it…

I just keep remembering teeth on the front of my throat, biting down and drawing blood, shaking me like some kind of prey. I remember Roy sinking down in the face of Dick's anger, letting Dick hold me down even though I told them — god I fucking told them — that they were there to keep each other in line. They were supposed to stop exactly this from happening and Roy didn't. When he was supposed to stop Dick from going too far he just submitted instead, and left me to be the focus of Dick's instincts and need to prove himself as the stronger alpha between them. Even though I told Roy I wanted him clearheaded when Dick took me, just in case.

What was I thinking? Of course Roy wouldn't go toe to toe with Dick; not like this. Why the hell did I expect him to go against the stronger alpha when all his instinct would be telling him not to?

And then I remember anger, and Dick's guilt, and Roy's hands on my arms. I remember them telling me I had to be the one to back down, that I couldn't be myself when the heat was affecting them. I remember accepting that, remember the praise sinking into my bones and easing my anger like it was never even there. Right now, I recognize it as the heat fucking with my head, even though I thought I was clear. But then, it just seemed like the right choice to make. I couldn't come to grips with making Dick leave, not when his reasoning was so good, so right. Of course I was the one who had to change.

I force the breath out of my lungs, and the smoke with it. It scares me how easy it was for them to manipulate me with the heat interfering with my mind. So many chemicals and instincts in my head telling me to listen, to submit, to be good for my alphas. I didn't know it would be like that, and I sure as hell wouldn't have invited them here if I knew that. Why the fuck didn't they warn me? Why did neither of them even think that I wouldn't have a clue what a real heat would be like? Did they want this to happen?

I raise my free hand, touching the still healing bite mark at the front of my throat briefly, and then scrubbing my hand over it. It's still sore; it makes me want to slide over to Dick's side and let him have me again, and that want isn't mine and it fucking terrifies me. I didn't know he could do that to me.

If he pulls that stunt outside of the bedroom, outside of a heat, would it work? Could he pin me down against a wall and bite me, and would I just fold over like I did then? Or is that something I could have controlled, like any other instinct, if my mind was working? I wish I had any of the answers; clearly I need to do some serious research on heats before my next one. If I have a next one. I'm seriously considering going back on the suppressors, indefinitely. I hate what happened in there, it scares the hell out of me, and if I have to go through it every month…? No. I'll take the chance of permanent sterility and damage over that. Probably.

I tilt my head as the sound of footsteps comes to my ears, letting my gaze dart inwards to scan my apartment. Roy, running one hand through his sleep tangled hair, looking both tired and satisfied. He's only in a pair of boxers that look like they might actually be Dick's, and it bares the scratches along his ribs and down one shoulder. Mine, and usually I'd be proud of whatever marks I left on him but right now they sicken me a little bit. I barely remember making them.

Roy's gaze finds me, and his mouth curls in a smile. He heads for me, and I put out my cigarette against the ledge of the window. I flick the last half of it outside as he comes up next to me. His hand slides over my bare shoulder, back to my neck, and he leans in and presses a soft kiss to my temple. I let him, and restrain the urge to flinch away. Usually, I'm pretty damn good at restraining myself.

"Morning," he murmurs. He's warm against my side, breath hot against my ear. In contrast, the chill of the air against my bare torso is welcome. "Want some breakfast, Jaybird?"

"You can't cook," I counter automatically, "and I'm sure as fuck not making it for anyone but myself."

He gives a low laugh, lips grazing over the shell of my ear. "Then come back to bed," he coaxes, his hand lightly squeezing down on the back of my neck, mouth lowering to the side of my throat. "It's warm, comfortable, and I promise to be whatever kind of pillow you want me to be."

His teeth graze my skin, and a part of me goes hot and cold at the same time. I lash out, getting him away from me with a hard, open-palmed strike to the center of his chest from my far hand. He goes down hard, the breath knocked out of him and his back hitting the carpet with a force that has to hurt. His hand goes to his chest, and his expression is somewhere between shocked, breathless, and pained as he starts to push himself back and away from me.

"Don't you fucking dare," is all I can manage for a moment, my mouth twisting to bare my teeth. Then I push myself into enough action to get off the window ledge, climbing back into the apartment and making sure my back is to a wall. "You don't get to touch me like that."

Now Roy looks a little betrayed, and my hands curl to fists as he gets to his feet. Still with one hand to his chest, but it looks like he's mostly gotten his breath back. "Jaybird?" he starts quietly. "What's wrong? You were fine just a couple of hours ago."

"Yeah, when I was high as fuck and not in my right mind," I snap. "You think I don't fucking recognize it, Roy?!" I know my voice has risen to a shout, I know it's too loud, but I'm angry, and I'm scared, and I feel fucking sick to my stomach and I hate it. "Don't you ever use that stupid alpha bullshit to manipulate me, you understand that?! Your teeth or your hands ever fucking come near my neck again and you'll bleed for it!"

"Jason—"

Dick comes around the corner from my bedroom, equally undressed as Roy, but his eyes bright and alert. "What's going on?" he demands, as I stare at him. His gaze slips from me, to my hands, to Roy, and then back. He's still getting closer, even as he meets my gaze and starts with a quiet, "Jason?" The healing bite on my neck fucking throbs, and I take half a step back until my shoulders hit the wall, defensive and scared and I just want to fucking sink down to my knees but that's not me. It's not me. "Jason, what is it? Did Roy do something? Did I? Tell us what's wrong."

He steps up next to me, and I find my voice as he reaches out towards my cheek. "You touch me and I'll beat you into the fucking ground," I get out between my teeth, a shudder shaking my shoulders and instinct screaming in my head. "That's the only warning you're going to get."

Dick's eyes go wide for a second, and he shares a glance with Roy, takes another quick look at Roy's chest, and then pulls his hand away and lowers his arm back to his side. "Jason, tell us what happened. Please? We can't help you if we don't know what's wrong."

"I've had just about enough of your help," I snarl. "Neither of you touches me like that again. Not fucking ever."

Roy sucks in a sharp breath even as Dick recoils an inch or so. "Wait, Jaybird. Look, a lot of times there's an emotional drop after a heat. Don't do anything ra—"

I cut him off with a rumbling growl I pull from the deepest levels of my chest. Dick stiffens, and Roy straightens up and takes half a step away from me like he's really threatened. "Don't you fucking dare try and pin this on some stupid, hardwired, omega thing. I trusted both of you with something I have never trusted someone else with, and you pretty royally fucked it up. If you think I'm ever letting one of you near me during a heat again, you're fucking delusional." I shove out a bark of laughter that grates all the way out of my throat. "If I even decide to ever have one again, which I'm not real sure about yet."

Dick takes a step forward — into my space, the bastard — and I press back against the wall, flattening my palms against it and bending my knees a little bit. He doesn't back down, hands splaying to either side to show that they're empty. "Jason," I hate how fucking calm he is, "you know we were affected too. Remember that?"

"Don't talk to me like I'm having some kind of fucking psychotic break," I snap, "and yeah, I know. Did neither of you think to mention that would happen? Neither of you?" My hands curl back to fists, and anger drives me to push off the wall and step forward, forward into Dick's space and every inch of me coiled to do damage. "Not for one fucking second did you stop and think, 'Hey, maybe we should tell the person who's never shared a heat that it's pretty damn fucked up.' Did that slip your fucking mind?!"

His calm facade cracks at my shout, lip twitching upwards to bare his teeth for just a second. "Jason, stop."

"Or what?" is what I answer with, shoving him back half a step with both hands to his chest. It's barely anything between people like us; a warning shot. "You going to bite me again, Dick? Try it; I fucking dare you."

Dick's hands curl into fists, mouth dropping open just slightly as he takes in a deep breath. "Jason," he finally starts, "can we talk about this? Sit down and just talk? I know I messed up — we all know that — but shouting at each other isn't going to fix this. Just give me a chance to—"

I hit him. It's a sucker punch, but the crack of my knuckles across his cheek still feels good. His head snaps sideways under the blow, and he reels and stumbles back a few steps. I resist going after him, but I do bare my teeth in a snarl and coil in preparation for any counter attack.

"Fix it?!" I almost shout. "I trusted you! I let you near me when I knew I was going to be vulnerable, and you took advantage of instincts I didn't even know I had to make me give into things that you knew I would never let you do otherwise. You don't fucking fix that, Dick! Don't you dare argue that; you knew from the second you decided to do it that you were fucking me over. You knew it was wrong."

Dick recovers, cheek red and his eyes narrowed, hands curled into tight fists. "You didn't give me any choice, Jason! Do you have any idea how difficult it was not to hurt you with how you were acting?!"

"What the fuck were you expecting?!" I demand, meeting his anger with more than the same amount of my own. "Did you think some instinctual breeding frenzy was going to change who I am?!"

"No!" He's coiled too, half a step away from pouncing and I welcome it. "I wasn't expecting you to treat me like I didn't matter, Jason! Why did you even bother inviting me when all you wanted was Roy?!"

His shout has the ring of honesty behind it, but it's not what I was expecting to hear, it's not even close. I take half a step back, glancing over to Roy's very still, very frozen form before looking back to Dick. "What are you talking about?"

He has to take in another deep breath, the snarl on his face smoothing out to forced calm even though his eyes are still blazing, still angry. "Every time I interacted with you, you snapped at me. Every time, Jason." One of his hands flicks in the direction of Roy, but he doesn't look away from me. "Roy's touch you welcomed, you leaned into, you prioritized. Mine you challenged, you snapped at, you reacted to." His mouth falls into a flat line, gaze lowering to the floor for just a moment. "What else am I supposed to think, Jason? Why was I even here? You clearly didn't want me around, so what was the point?"

I stare at him, at a loss for words, until Roy shifts. He quietly clears his throat. "Dick's right." He gives a small shrug, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "I noticed it too; we talked a bit while you were asleep."

"I…" I try and think of what I did. Yeah, I know I gave Dick my attention after he bit me, but before that? Even after, did I just react to Dick's touch or did I actually seek it out? I… I don't know. I can't remember. But of course I wanted him here, of course. Didn't I?

Roy's the one to break the silence. "I think we're all at fault in one way or another," he offers, his voice still quiet. "This didn't go how it was supposed to and we all know that. No one's comfortable with it, and… I think we should talk; all of us." He tilts his head to the side, towards the couch, and gives a tiny smile that doesn't even come close to reaching his eyes. "Hopefully sitting?"

I look to Dick, who looks like he's calming down. His expression is easing from tight control into almost the same uncomfortable as Roy's, and slowly I realize that I have that same look too. I'm still angry, I'm still scared, I'm honestly still freaking out, but I can control that. A conversation would be… Good. Yeah. This was fucked up, I'm not doing it again, and I'm sure as fuck not falling back into their beds any time soon, but it wasn't on purpose. They didn't mean to hurt me, and I think… I think that I might have had a lot to do with why it happened. A lot more than I realized.

"Yeah," I manage. "Agreed."

Dick gives a slow nod, and then a jerk of his right shoulder that might be a lopsided shrug. "I'll sit on the table," he offers. It confuses me for a second, until it clicks together in my head. That couch is only big enough for two people to sit without touching, and with some reasonable space between them. The three of us could fit, but only pressed together; we're all too broad for anything else.

"No," Roy almost immediately counters. Dick's eyes narrow again, his shoulders rising, but Roy doesn't draw away. "I will. You're not the third wheel here, Dick, alright?"

Before either of us can answer that, Roy's turning and heading for the couch. His stride is long, confident in ways that I'm sure are faked, but it's still enough. I follow, though I loop around the side of it instead of leaping over the back like he does. Roy settles onto roughly the middle of my wooden coffee table, I take one end of the couch, and a moment later Dick takes the other. I can't help drawing my legs up, halfway curling into the corner and taking comfort in the press of the couch's supports against my back. The solidity is soothing.

Dick doesn't curl up, but his legs do rise to tuck beneath him, hands clasping together in his lap. Roy's hands are clasped too, but they don't stay that way for long.

"Alright, so this is going to sound really dumb, but let's use some basic communication skills here, alright guys?" For the moment, I let myself focus on Roy. He definitely sounds wary, and worried, but he also sounds a little bit determined. " 'I' statements, okay? No accusations. I want each of us to acknowledge our own reactions and faults, not point them out in other people. We can get to discussing interaction later." My jaw tightens, even though I know that what Roy's suggesting is a good idea. I just haven't talked about my own emotions for a very long time. "Okay then, I'll start." He clears his throat, and then his palms rub together between his knees. "I should have asked why you wanted me here, Jaybird. I should have asked on the way over, or something. When I got here, and found Dick, I should have pulled us both away. When you opened the door, and I knew what was happening, I should have walked away. I wasn't thinking clearly, and I let my instincts get the better of me. I shouldn't have expected you to understand what you were doing, when I knew that you hadn't done it before."

He gives a crooked smile, holding my gaze for a second before he looks to Dick with something like apology. "I should have dragged you out of here with me, Dick, and I should have stopped Jason when he wanted me first. A part of me was just glad to be better for once, and I let it override my common sense. I could have been better about not pressing that I had the advantage, and maybe that would have prevented some of it." Roy clears his throat, and ducks his head down so his gaze is aimed at the carpet. "There's more, but uh… Maybe we come back around to me?"

There's silence for a moment, as both Dick and I digest Roy's words, and then I lower my head. My throat feels tight, but I force the words out anyway.

"Can I ask some questions?"

Dick gives a small smile, and Roy echoes it. "Of course, Jason." Dick's the one who says it, his voice soft and maybe a bit guilty, but Roy nods to back it up.

I stay quiet for a second, trying to organize my thoughts in my head, and then lower my gaze down to my own knees. "When does a heat start?" I ask, my voice cracking somewhere in the middle. "Not the pain, or the—" My throat seizes shut on the word need, and I tilt my head into the back of the couch. It's childish, but closing my eyes makes me feel better. Like if I can't see them, they can't see me. "When does it start?"

There's a moment of silence, one that feels strained, and then Dick answers. "Roughly twenty four hours before the pain starts, an omega's body starts preparing for a heat. Their scent changes to reflect it, and their body starts being flooded by chemicals to ease aggression and increase desire. Twelve hours before the aches start, it starts to noticeably interfere with rational thinking, though most people think it's easier to manipulate an omega within about an hour of that first chemical change." His voice sounds rough, and it makes the uncomfortable knot in my stomach bigger.

"Fuck," I hiss into the back of the couch, clenching my hands into tight fists.

"How far in were you?" Dick asks, and there's something tight and scared in his voice.

I swallow, and then open my eyes to glance between them. Roy looks scared, and Dick looks torn between worry and concern. Both of them are tense. "I…" I wrap my arms around my knees, drawing in tight like somehow that will make all of this better. I can't look at either of them when I answer, "I didn't call either of you until the aching started."

Roy sucks in a sharp breath, and then Dick is moving forward, shifting along the couch and towards me. I watch him, and he looks so damn guilty that I don't stop him when he reaches forward and touches the side of my face. He settles next to my knees, leaning into them as he lightly grips my hair and presses a kiss to my forehead. Almost against my will, I find myself easing out by just a fraction. Dick's touch is comforting, not sexual, and I think that's all I can handle right now.

"I'm sorry," he whispers against my skin. "God, Jason, I'm so sorry. I had no idea— I thought you knew; I thought it was earlier… I never would have come near you if I knew it was that late."

I let him touch me, my eyes closed even though I can feel the heat of his throat just a few inches away from my face. "It doesn't matter," I counter. "I should have realized this was going to happen, I should have done my research. I shouldn't have put both of you in this position."

"Doesn't matter?" Roy echoes, and I open my eyes when I hear him shift. Dick's skin blocks most of my view, but I can see enough to watch Roy move closer and then sink to his knees at my side. "Jason, Dick's right. Legally, both of us could be arrested for rape. The law says that omegas aren't deemed possible of making any important decisions once it's within twelve hours of the start of the cramps, consent included. You can't be blamed for any of this, you weren't in your right mind. We should have realized that."

I tense up a little bit at that choice of word. "It wasn't rape," I grind out, shuddering a little bit. "I'm not a victim."

"Yes it was," Dick answers, and he's slipping down my face and neck, leaving small, chaste, comforting kisses. "I'm so sorry," he repeats. "Please, Jason, I won't do anything sexual just let me hold you, please? Just hold you?"

"Why?" I manage somehow, with a glance down at Roy.

"Because I hurt you." Dick's voice is pained. "I didn't know, I swear I didn't, but I should have realized. The way you felt, the way you smelled; I should have noticed. Even when you asked I should have left; I knew you were inexperienced and things like this are… Mistakes are too easy, case in point. I can't—" He swallows, and his hand flexes in my hair as his face presses down against my shoulder. I can feel the ache of half-healed bite marks. "I can't fix this, Jason, but I can make it hurt a little less. Please, let me."

I shiver, nearly choke on the dual knots in my stomach and my throat, but then tilt myself towards Dick by just a fraction. "Alright," I breathe.

Dick gives a small nod against my skin, and then releases a shaky breath as he lets go of me. "Okay; you don't have to move, alright? You don't have to do anything." I close my eyes as he pulls away a little bit, though I can feel him turning. "Roy, would you grab water and a blanket, please?"

"Of course," Roy answers instantly. There's the faintest brush of fingers along the top of my right foot, and then I can hear Roy stand and move away.

Dick slides himself in behind me, halfway wedging himself between me and the couch. His right arm is around my shoulder, stroking down my arm with long, flat, firm presses, and his left hand comes to rest on my calf, just below where my own arms are wrapped around them and keeping me curled tight. He hums a sound that's soft and still just drenched in guilt, and I can feel his hair brush against the back of my neck before he presses a soft kiss to the top of my shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. "Hey, look at me?" I resist for a moment, but then open my eyes and turn my head enough that I can catch his gaze. "There," he says, with a tiny smile that's more sad than anything else. "I'll never so much as touch you without having completely clear headed consent from you again, Jason. Not ever." He tilts his head away, baring the side of his neck. "Here."

I watch for a second, and then manage to ask, "What? You want me to bite you?"

Dick gives half an aborted laugh. "You can if you want to; I'll take it." He takes a small breath, and then pulls his hand away from my calf and raises it to his own neck. His fingers tap the side of it, and then slide down to the junction of his shoulder and neck. "It's the scent; mine. Having your senses filled with the scent of an alpha — even better one as strong as me — will calm you down a little bit. It won't mess with your head, I swear, but physically you'll instinctively relax a little. It might be enough to help."

I hesitate — I'm so fucking done with my instincts being used against me — and then swallow my misgivings away and give a nod. He told me; that makes all the difference. He let me choose.

I haltingly shift to tuck my head down in against Dick's shoulder, burying my nose in against his neck. The first inhalation catches in my throat, so strong that it feels like it's sinking into every corner of my head and sliding down my throat like something tangible. But he smells good, he smells… Safe. Damn him but he smells safe. So I press a little closer and try for a second breath. This one's easier, less overwhelming, and Dick's right hand gently grips my upper arm. His free hand touches my cheek, then drifts back and lightly threads through my hair. I can feel his head turn as he tilts it down on top of mine.

"Roy's right," he murmurs. "I'm not saying that what you're feeling isn't true, and that we don't deserve all of it, but omegas do tend to emotionally drop a fair amount when they come off a heat. That's probably not helping any."

I swallow, staring blankly at his skin and taking comfort in the light pressure of his fingers across my scalp. "You're right too," I admit. "I— I need to think about all of this, decide some things, but… You were right that I was treating you like you weren't as important." I give a tiny shake of my head, and carefully manage to ease my grip around my knees. "Roy's great, I trust him, and he doesn't… He's always accepted me for what I am. But you…" I can feel Dick tense a little bit, feel his breath catch like he thinks I'm going to tell him something terrible. Instead I press my forehead into his shoulder, and shift a little closer. "Fuck, you're Dick Grayson. I've always wanted you, and you're family. You're pack. And fuck, but you're intense, and skilled, and it's so much easier for me to trust Roy because I know I'd win if things ever…"

My words catch in my throat as noticeably as Dick's breath caught in his, and I force myself to swallow the blockade away and just say the last of what's in my head. "Because of what I am, I have to decide to sacrifice some of my safety every time I let an alpha get close enough to touch me. I have to think of every single fucking one of you as a threat before I decide you can be anything else. I think about it all the time, Dick. I have to." I take in a breath that shakes, and realize I'm shaking. "I'm not sure I can beat you," I admit, nearly choking on my words. "I trust you, Dick — and god do I want you — but if something happens I don't think I can stop you, and that— That makes it hard to let you near me. I'm sorry."

Dick goes tense for a second, almost shivers, and then his hand flexes in my hair and he eases out again. "Don't apologize, Jason," he murmurs. "I can't say I know the feeling, but I think I understand." He takes in a deep breath, and then his lips press to the top of my head for a moment. "I wish I could say I'd never hurt you like that, but considering I just did it would fall kind of flat, wouldn't it? But you have my word, Jason, as long as I'm in control of myself I will never do anything without your explicit permission beforehand. If you never want me to touch you again, I won't. I'd understand if you never forgive me for what I just did to you, and I'd accept it. That's your call."

I squeeze my eyes shut for a second, then give a small nod. "Thank you," I manage.

"Don't." His voice is still quiet, but it sounds like steel. It's enough to make me tense for a fraction of a second, but then my next breath in swamps my senses with his scent and lets me ease out again. "The choice shouldn't have been taken from you to begin with, Jason. I can't apologize enough for this, it should have been…" His arm tightens around my back, and I feel him sigh. "This should have been good for you, Jay. I'm so sorry it wasn't."

I let my grip ease. Somehow, I manage to make myself release my knees, and uncurl a bit. It's pretty tremendously awkward, because there's nowhere for my legs to go but off the edge of the couch or over Dick's lap, but at least they're not pulled tight to my chest anymore. I lean further into him, turning myself so I'm partially facing him, and raise my right hand. I'm not positive what I was aiming for, but my hand ends up resting on the far side of his ribs, and that's good enough. It's high enough up that I can feel the dull thud of his heartbeat.

He's right. I'm surrounded by his scent, by his warmth, and something deep in me that was tight and tense is relaxing. It's enough of a help that I can start to purposefully relax myself as well. I might still feel pretty awful, but it's better than it was, so at least there's that. Maybe this can at least be patched over, even if it can't really be fixed.

I don't move when I hear what must be Roy's footsteps coming back across the carpet, but Dick's head lifts a couple of inches. "Where'd you go to get that?" he asks, with a bit of teasing. "China?"

Roy snorts, equally quiet, and then there's the warm, fuzzy feeling of a blanket settling over me. The protection from the chilled air helps relax me another fraction. "Took me a bit to find where Jaybird stashed his spares; didn't want to bring one out that smelled like sex. Then… Well, didn't want to interrupt." A hand gently presses against my now blanket covered calf, and then I feel what I'm almost certain is Roy's head against it as well. "For whatever it's worth, I'm sorry too, Jaybird. And I'm with Dick; if you never want to be near me again, I'll respect it. I never meant to do anything but what you wanted, and if I'd realized you were that far into your heat I would have left." His head rubs against my calf, and I feel the weight shift as he leans himself into the couch. "Wish I could have given you the first heat you deserved, Jaybird. This is messed up."

I shudder, but it's the pain welling into my chest that makes me grit my teeth together. "You shouldn't—" I swallow, then pull back from Dick's shoulder just a little bit. "Don't," I try and order, even though it comes out as a plea. "You both… You keep talking about how I wasn't in my right mind." My breath catches, but I force myself to swallow through the second shudder and raise my head enough to look down at Roy. "You weren't either. I didn't know— This wasn't all you. I fucked up too."

"Jason, you can't—"

I jerk my head up, pulling away and snarling up at Dick. He cuts off, tenses up a little bit, but doesn't shift away from me. "Don't tell me what I can't do," I spit up at him. "You take your share of responsibility, and I'll take mine. I'm the one that didn't do the research and tried to ignore that any of this was going to happen. I left it too late, I didn't tell either of you what I wanted you here for, and I chose to go off the suppressors in the first place. You didn't have jack shit to do with any of that, and I wasn't fucked in the head quite yet so don't tell me I can't take the blame for putting you both in this position."

Dick makes a face that looks completely unconvinced, and I recognize his tendency to take all of the blame before he even opens his mouth. "Jason—"

"I will bite you," I threaten, with a flash of my teeth to back it up.

He looks surprised for a second, and then his mouth curls into a soft smile. "I know," he says, so quiet I wonder if Roy can even catch the words. "Alright, you win."

Roy gives a quiet laugh, and I look down at him. He's smiling up at me, with something warm and happy in his eyes. "That's the Jaybird I know," he murmurs, tilting his head further into my calf but not enough that he isn't still meeting my gaze. "Constantly bullying alphas into doing what he wants them to, even when they think they're way too big and badass to fall for it."

"Hey," Dick says, sounding just a touch offended, "I don't ever remember making that claim." But then he's laughing, fingers stroking through my hair and his mouth pressing a kiss to my temple. "Not that it's not true. Don't ever think that we don't love how different you are, Jason. We wouldn't want you any way but how you are."

My hands flex beneath the blanket, and I duck my head away from both their sets of eyes. "Say the two alphas to the omega that keeps fighting them," I mutter. "Don't lie to me, alright? You'd be happier if I yielded like any other one of them."

Roy rises up on his knees, leaning in towards me and sliding his hand up into my hair, next to Dick's. "Hey, Jaybird, listen to me. You're talking to the two alphas that fell in love with Kori, remember? She might not have one of our genders but she's an alpha and a half and we all know it." I carefully tilt my head up again, meeting Roy's eyes even though I don't think I see his point just yet. He's got a crooked smile on his face, even though it looks a tinge sad. "And then there was me with Cheshire, which Jesus, you might think you have the monopoly on being an aggressive omega but you are wrong, Jaybird. She'll match you every time. Then there's Dick here with Barbara, who might be a beta but she is bossy as all hell." He clears his throat, looks up, and then quietly adds, "No offense, Dick."

"None taken," he answers, "you're right." Dick's fingers trail across my scalp. "What he's getting at, Jason, is that if you were paying attention you'd have noticed that the two of us kind of have a thing for being challenged. We um," he sounds just a touch embarrassed, "just have to work out how that thing works while we're together. We kind of messed it up this time."

"Understatement of the year," Roy says with a snort. "Might not have been our brightest idea to try it while we were all so high on the chemical rushes."

I can feel myself relax. They're still trading teasing, fond comments over my head, but I let myself stop paying attention to the words. All that matters is the touch, the press of Roy's hand against my calf and the other loosely tangle in my hair, and the warm press of Dick's skin to mine. Not any of it anything beyond comforting, and I can smell them both in the air and that's sinking into my mind and loosening me out more than even their touch. Because I'm letting it. I know I could tense up, shut myself off, and it would stop affecting me in any way beyond my control. I'm sure I could. But why?

I trust them. Even with everything that just happened, I know I trust them. This was a fuck up, but everyone was at fault and no one did any of it on purpose, so I just need to come to terms with what happened and forgive them, if I'm going to. I don't trust people much, I trust alphas even less, but Roy and Dick? Well… I don't want to have to get rid of anyone that's on that small list, especially not two friends as good as them. If I can get past this, if I can be with them again, isn't that worth the chance? They wouldn't hurt me on purpose, I know that.

"Jaybird?" I open my eyes from where they'd drifted shut, looking up at Roy. "You doing alright?" he asks, a moment after I meet his gaze.

I give a slow nod, and then take in a deep breath and shift to face Roy a little more squarely. "I'm not sharing a heat with either of you again," I tell them, my voice soft but I make it firm, "not for a long time anyway, but I'm not going back on the suppressors either."

Roy's still, listening, but Dick tightens his grip on my shoulder and makes a shushing noise. "Jason, stop." I almost turn on him, but then he's easing his grip and letting me turn far enough to look at him instead. "I know it probably doesn't feel like it, but you're still a little affected by all this, alright? Don't make any of these decisions right now; wait until another day has passed, and we're both gone. Anything else won't leave you with a totally clear head, and I don't want you making any choices you'll regret later. Just wait, okay?"

"He's right," Roy says, backing Dick up. "It's not much, but there should still be a little bit of you that wants to please us. Especially Dick. Wait until it's all out of your system, and we're gone so our scents can't mess with you." He lightly grips my calf, and gives a crooked smile. "Might want to give you everything I messed up on this time, Jaybird, but not if it means manipulating your head to get it."

I watch both of them for a moment, and then give another nod. "Alright," I agree. "Not till tomorrow; got it."

We spend another few moments in silence, and then Roy leans in and presses a small kiss to my forehead. I stay still, letting him do it, and his hand squeezes my calf once. "So, maybe a crazy suggestion here, but how about we all go back to bed?" He probably feels me stiffen up, because that hand squeezes down again. "Not for anything. Just, let us hold you, and we can all sleep off the last of this? Clothes and everything; I will even change the sheets if you want, I know they smell."

I stay stiff, watching him and considering. Can I do that? Can I handle both of them in a bed with me, if it's just touch and no sex? I… I think I can. If I can't I can always change my mind, but right now it sounds like a good thing to have them both close. I think it will help.

It's not easy to relax, but I manage it. "Yeah, that sounds good." Roy smiles, and I draw myself away from Dick an inch or two. They let me pull back, letting go until I'm sitting up on my own, the blanket Roy draped over us falling down to my waist. "Not the sheets. It's fine; doesn't matter."

"If you change your mind—" Dick starts, and I cut him off.

"I'll say something." I gather the blanket in my arms — I didn't even know I had a blanket this fuzzy — and shake off the last of their touches as I uncurl. "Sleep sounds good; let's go."

They both stand with me, giving me room to get to my feet without being too close to either of them. At least until I've straightened up, and then Dick's hand lightly touches the small of my back, and he leans his head forward and into my shoulder.

"Anything you want, Jason. Alright?"

Roy smiles, his shoulders lowering, and finishes up Dick's thought process. "Just ask, Jaybird. Happy to give."

I take a deep breath, and then reach out for Roy's hand as I tilt my weight back towards Dick. "Thank you."