Omega Teacher’s Secret

show him, Gwen.”
Brad followed them, stepping to the right for three paces, then stepping to the left for four. They practiced slowly for a while, until Brad seemed comfortable with the steps.
“Ready?” Ian asked, looking between his daughter and his alpha. Gwen nodded, grinning. Brad smiled slowly.
“Yeah,” he said.
They danced in a circle in the kitchen, faster and faster, until Gwen squealed. Brad stopped abruptly, pulling them both against himself in a giant hug.
“Oof!” Gwen said.
“Brad,” Ian squawked, tumbling into Brad’s solid chest.
“I need to catch my breath,” Brad said even though he wasn’t panting at all. “It’s too much exercise on a weekday night.”
“It is,” Gwen said, huffing.
Ian froze, worry coiling through his chest. In the joy of the moment, he’d forgotten to watch out for her. He turned to Gwen, rubbing her back. “Doing okay?”
“Yeah.” She nodded, breathing in deep. “See, I’m fine.”
It made Ian wary, though; for a minute, he’d let himself get carried away. Felt like he was letting Gwen down by not looking out for her.
A long time ago, Ian had a pet lizard, a delicate leopard gecko he’d raised for four years. Then he’d forgotten to feed Dilly one day before he left for a week-long camp, and when he’d returned, his bedroom reeked of death. Dilly had decomposed, and Ian had thrown up.
Then there was the time he was supposed to watch the neighbor’s kid, and the boy ran across the road, right into a car’s path. The boy survived, but he’d broken so many bones that Ian had avoided his neighbors’ house for months, unable to look them in the eye.
There had been other incidents, too, big ones and small ones that had all ended in failure. Ian had messed up with more people and things than he could count.
And now he was disappointing Gwen, too.
Maybe he needed another go with the scalpel, just to help him remember.
“Hey,” Brad said, catching Ian’s chin. “Ian. You heard her—she’s fine.”
Ian looked doubtfully at him. But Brad was also watching Gwen, he was looking between them both, and it felt like he was more in control of the situation than Ian was.
The egg timer rang. Ian jumped, his heart thudding.
“Gwen, sit yourself down,” Brad said. “Ian, I’ll get to you soon.”
Gwen sat on a stool to the side of the kitchen. Brad took the pot-holders Ian had left out, pulling the pan from the oven. “Get some plates.”
Ian pulled three from the cabinet. He set them on the counter—there was no space in the kitchen for all three of them to sit and eat. Brad set a chicken drumlet on a plate, glancing at Gwen every so often. Then he brought the plate over, squeezing her shoulder. “Doin’ okay?”
“Mm-hm.” She nodded, blowing on the drumlet to cool it down.
She seemed fine, and maybe they’d gotten off lucky this time.
Brad set a couple of wings on plates for himself and Ian. He handed Ian a plate. Slipped his arm around Ian’s waist, leaning with him against the kitchen counter. “She’s doing fine.”
“But you don’t know,” Ian muttered as quietly as he could. He didn’t want to be paranoid, but when your child had a heart condition… it was difficult not to be.
“Yeah, I know,” Brad said. “But you don’t have to feel like all the responsibility falls on your shoulders. I’m here, too.”
Ian looked doubtfully at him. “You read up on it?”
“Yeah,” Brad said. “I did.”
“Oh.”
“So you don’t have to worry so much when I’m around,” Brad said. “Okay?”
Ian met his eyes. He read the assurance in Brad’s gaze, and his patience. It felt like maybe he could relax a little with Brad around. Ian sucked in a deep breath, then released it. And Brad leaned in, kissing Ian on the lips. Ian was too surprised to respond.
“Ew,” Gwen said.
Ian laughed. Glanced at Brad, his cheeks hot.
“That okay with you?” Brad asked Gwen. “If I date your dad?”
Gwen blinked at him. “Daddy says you won’t stay for long. Even if you’re doing the thing.”
She set her plate down and mashed her fingertips together.
Ian blushed. Brad glanced at him, snorting. “Yeah, I’m staying a long time, all right. So you better get used to this.”
Brad leaned in, kissing Ian again. This time, he lingered, his lips soft, and Ian relaxed a little more.
This was okay. It was normal. Maybe he could allow himself a little bit of leeway, by allowing Brad to be there. Maybe Brad would catch him if he fell.
“Ew,” Gwen said again.
“It’s what adults do when they like each other,” Brad said.
He met Ian’s eyes, and Ian’s stomach flipped. “You like me?” Ian asked.
“Yeah.” Nothing but honesty in Brad’s gaze.
Ian couldn’t believe this was happening to him. He shouldn’t be seeing Brad. Brad used to be his student, Brad was still trying to get back into Ian’s classes.
And maybe Ian appreciated Brad’s presence, too. Maybe he liked seeing Brad again. Liked hearing Brad’s rumbling voice, liked smelling the walnut of his scent.
“I don’t know what I feel,” Ian said.
Brad’s shoulders sagged a little, but he held on to Ian. “That’s fine. I’ll wait until you do.”
It seemed like a lot to ask of him.
Brad was sharing this space with Gwen and Ian, he’d done their happy dance with them. He’d returned after what he knew of Ian, and if that wasn’t special, Ian didn’t know what was.
It was a couple pieces of chicken wings on his plate, fresh out of a store’s frozen section, but eating them here in his kitchen, with Brad’s arm around him and Gwen doing fine, the wings tasted like the best thing in the world.
Ian hoped it would continue to last, but few things in his life ever did.

11
Brad
Brad shut his locker, looking up when the door opened. His team leader, Harris, poked his head in.
“Hey,” Harris said, glancing around the otherwise-empty locker room. “Team briefing in five. Get your ass over to the garage.”
“Will do.”
Harris turned away.
Brad thought about the question he’d been preparing to ask, and