#wilstrome

Lately, Tom’s been making nests for Ryan to nap in, and it’s the best. Both Tom and Dylan seem to know when Ryan wants to be alone, and they’ll leave the room to go somewhere, presumably on dates or something, he doesn’t know. They always bring back food for him.

Most times he wakes up on his own, but sometimes they’re a little too loud when they come back into the room, waking him from his nap. He pretends to keep sleeping just to listen to them talk, maybe peek his eyes open and watch them float around each other with practiced ease, fitting perfectly together in their daily lives.

They don’t showcase their courtship out in public or around the team, something Ryan’s always found odd. Courting is supposed to be possessive, with excessive scenting and the Alpha showing increased aggression towards anyone who so much as looks at their future mate, but he sees none of that with Tom and Dylan. Dylan doesn’t have an aggressive bone in his body and shows no signs of jealousy when Tom is around other Alphas outside of their team. If anything, Tom is the aggressive one. He’s seen him gnash his teeth at anyone who gets a little too handsy around him, which, surprisingly, aren’t even Caps fans–it’s other NHL players and their fans, which Ryan thinks is hilarious.

The more he hangs out with them though, the more he understands their dynamic. Tom is obviously a very different Omega, and Dylan easily navigates through those differences fluidly, allowing Tom to be who he is and never stepping on his toes. If he does, it’s on purpose; Ryan’s noticed that Dylan can be a little shit and likes to poke the bear a lot, just to see Tom’s snarl. Ryan thinks it’s some sort of enrichment.

He’s learning a lot from them, especially Dylan. Watching him do his Alpha duties in ways that cater to Tom’s needs has done wonders to Ryan’s perception of Alphas and their roles, a realization dawning on him that maybe he doesn’t have to be like the Alphas he’s grown up seeing. He doesn’t have to be the dominant one. Maybe he can just love his mate and have that be enough.

So he kind of starts practicing.

He starts with nest building, because Dylan actually knows how to build one and Ryan wants to know, too. It makes sense–what if their Omega is sick, or injured? Who is going to build the nest? It’s stupid that the expectation solely relies on them, and nests are good for everyone.

It’s a little awkward though when Dubie first catches him doing it.

When Dubie knocks on his bedroom door one day, Ryan calls out his permission to come in before thinking that actually, maybe he shouldn’t. It’s too late to backtrack, Dubie was opening the door, eyes immediately darting to the bed.

“Huh,” Dubie muses after an awkward moment of silence. “You’re not usually this messy. Something wrong?”

“Uh, no. I’m just.” Ryan’s face heats up as he thinks up an excuse, before deciding there is nothing wrong with being honest here—Dubie’s seen worse and never judged. “I’m trying to build a nest, actually.”

He doesn’t know why he feels embarrassed by it, it’s not completely unheard of for an Alpha to make a nest. He just can’t help but feel stuck in time, the instincts he’s always been expected to have clashing with the new things he’s learned that are actually okay and he won’t be struck down for doing them. Plus, he’s living in Dubie’s house, and he doesn’t want to be weird.

Dubie settles his inner turmoil by simply not caring.

“Oh, okay,” is all he says, though he still looks concerned. “Is there a reason, or…? Like, are you feeling down or something?” He’s obviously tiptoeing here, not wanting to intrude but trying to understand. Ryan shakes his head.

“Nope, just practicing.”

Nodding, Dubie accepts that and says, “Okay, well there’s food downstairs if you want any.”

And that’s kind of it. Dubie doesn’t comment on the nest any further than that, not even when Ryan continues to practice and practice in the weeks following. He does help him sometimes, offering advice when passing by, donating older towels and blankets so Ryan isn’t constantly wrinkling his clean clothes. Ryan would use his dirty clothes, but Dubie is a Beta and human scents aren’t as appealing to him. He doesn’t want to be rude by practicing with a pile of stinking shirts and pants.

Also, he kind of wants Dubie to lie in his nests, so clean material it is.

There’s no real reason why Ryan wants Dubie in the nest, none that he wants to think hard about, anyway. He just tells him he needs a guinea pig, someone to test on. Ryan can easily make one to the shape of his own body now, but he wants it like how Tom does it, where he can just look at someone and know what to do.

When he asks Dubie if he can be that test subject, avoiding eye contact and face burning a bright red, Dubie once again quells his nerves with his nonchalance, shrugging like Ryan just asked him if he wanted to watch a movie.

He lies down gingerly in the nest, a little awkward at first, and Ryan realizes this may be his first time in one. That settles something ticklish in his stomach, and he shakes it off, ignores whatever it is, and helps arrange Dubie properly. Which only makes his stomach feel weirder as he touches him.

“It’s kinda nice,” Dubie says, surprised, and Ryan is preening from the praise. Dubie looks around a bit more, moves a thing or two from behind his back. Then he looks at Ryan with a soft smile. “Yeah, this is nice. Good job, Kiddo.”

Ryan smiles back at him, his Alpha singing.

As his time with the Caps shifts into the playoffs, he’s pretty good at making nests for Dubie, who seems to appreciate the effort. The games are intense, far more intense than anything Ryan’s experienced, and at home he gets to spend his cool down time with Dubie in his very own nest. And all the while, Ryan continues observing Dylan, picking up on his tricks.

Dylan watches Tom a lot, and Ryan realizes that he’s looking for new quirks and behaviors, paying attention to how he reacts to situations and what sorts of things can affect his mood. Dubie mentioned that they started courting a few weeks after the season started, so they’re still getting a feel for each other. That’s almost hard to believe–they’re so comfortable already, sharing their space, shoulder to shoulder, flashing smiles in each other’s direction whenever they’re separated. They’re subtle around the guys, but in closed quarters they’re attached to the hip.

Ryan absorbs as much as he can from them, and the playoffs is a great atmosphere for more learning content, both for hockey and growing up. There’s a lot to focus on though, more than his young brain is used to, and while he is trying his best to be more observant in others, he overlooks one major thing.

Everything he’s learned from Dylan, he projects onto Dubie.