Warning : preschool for part of the fic, love at first smell, Au where your mate smells like your favorite memories, baby Ash is super shy. Drinking, playing pool, mention of a supernatural murder & missing person, a bit of fear, Ash feels the need to be protective. Double break is a big time jump.
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He remembers it like it was yesterday. He was, what? Four, maybe five years old the first time he smelt it. He hadn’t wanted to go, fought his parents the whole way, wanted to stay home with his mom. They were standing at the gate, tears in his eyes as he begged her not to make him go inside, and then suddenly the tears stopped. He could smell something, something like he’d never smelt before from another person.
He looked around, searching for it. A girl skipped past him, the smell of fresh baked cookies and peanut butter and jam sandwiches filling his nose as she did. His two favorite things. Her eyes were big and bright, her smile wide as she let go of the hand she held and hurried through the gates without a look back at her parent, and he couldn’t tear his eyes off her.
“Ash?” He looked up at his mother, her knowing smile softening her face. “You ready to go in now?” He nodded. “Go on. I’ll be back to pick you up later.” He started for the gate when she called out to him again and he turned. “There’s cookies in your lunch bag, in case you want to share them with someone special.”
“Thanks mama.” he grinned with a wave before rushing past the gate, into the yard and towards the door.
Inside the building, he saw her again, putting her bag in her cubby. He stood where he was, just watching her. Her scent lingering in his nose. She smiled at other kids who said good morning to her, and he found himself wanting to talk to her too, but not knowing what to say. Then she turned to him and smiled. His whole damn heart melted.
“You must be Ash.” A voice from above him grabbed his attention and he looked up at the woman who stood there with clasped hands and a friendly smile. “I’m Miss Emily. I’ll be your teacher.” Ash looked from his new teacher to the girl he couldn’t stop watching, but she was turned away again, skipping her way into the classroom. “Come on. I’ll show you where you can put your stuff, and then we’ll go inside and meet everyone. I’ll even let you pick the first activity we do today, how does that sound?”
“Do you have clay?” he asked softly.
“We do.” She smiled wider seeing him open up just a little. “Do you like working with your hands, getting them dirty?” Ash nodded. “Then we’ll start with arts and crafts today.”
When lunch time rolled around, Ash wasn’t sure where to sit, until he saw an empty seat next to the one person he’d wanted to talk to all day. Quickly, but quietly, he moved to the seat and sat in it before anyone else could, not that anyone else seemed to be running for it like he was, but he had to be sure. She looked up at him and smiled again, and Ash ducked his face away, blushing profusely.
She just turned back to her lunch.
It was quiet as she ate, Ash too shy to even look at her. He opened his lunch box and smiled seeing his favorite, peanut butter and jelly with the crusts cut off.
“You don’t like crusts either?” Ash’s head snapped up, surprised she was talking to him. Then he looked down to the sandwich bag that had torn crusts in it. “I told my mom, but she keeps giving me crusts..”
Ash was quiet again, surprised she’d spoken to him and unsure what to say. He looked down at his lunch again, at the snack bag tucked in next to his juice box. Home made chocolate chip cookies that his mother had made last night to cheer him up about going to school. He remembered the words she’d said to him before he went inside.
He slid the small bag over, and she looked up at him again. “My mom made them.” he whispered quietly. “D-do you want one?”
“Really?” Ash nodded. “Yeah!”
The way her face lit up, the way she moved just a touch closer to him, Ash was done for. He happily opened the bag and gifted her the biggest, chocolatiest cookie he had. He watched as she disregarded the rest of her sandwich and bit into the cookie, quick to tell him it was the best cookie she’d ever had.
It was in that moment that Ash decided this, this girl was his best friend in the whole world.
And if he ever took a mate and married, it would be her.
He’s not sure how many PBR’s he’s knocked back at this point, as Ash leaned over the table and lines up the shot, breathing a moment before taking it. The person he’s playing against grumbles and he laughs as he reaches for his beer. “You should have known better.” he teased.
“Though you were drunk enough to beat this time.”
Ash is about to take another swig when the smell hits him. It smells like home, like his childhood. All his best memories and the past he’d long ago moved on from. The bottle comes down, and he swallows down nothing in particular and turns, eyes on the door. It stands open and he's frozen watching the person standing there.
“You sure you’re in the right place, sweetheart?” someone calls out from a corner table, and Ash feels the need to go over there and deck them when he sees the way you duck your head to hide your face. He’s scared you're going to leave.
“Can I get you anything, sugar?” Ellen calls from the bar, and he’s grateful at the way you look up with mild relief before heading over and take a seat in a stool. He sees the way you hesitate to drink the beer she hands you.
He hasn’t seen you in so goddamn long that he’d almost forgotten. How beautiful you were to him. How great your scent was. The Omega of his damn dreams. He needs to do something, say something, before he loses you again.
“Ellen.” he starts forward, getting the older woman's attention. “It's on me. Her drinks, they’re on me.”
“I can pay for my own drinks.” you try to interrupt, but he just gives Ellen a look, and she nods, walking off down the bar. You’re looking at him now, really looking at him. “You look familiar..”
Ash smiles. “We went to school together once. Kinda had a crush on you.” he chuckled awkwardly.
“Pb&J!” Ash’s smile fell, as he watched your face. “Pb&J and cookies, every day, right? That’s you! You, wow you look so different.” you chuckle. “Ash, I think, right? What are you doing here?”
“I work here.” he smiles. “Well, and live here..” he casually glances around, and he feels almost ashamed at the state of the place. It’s not dirty, not at all, but it’s not exactly pristine. Probably far from what you’re used to.
“That’s cool.”
“What are you doing here? This place ain't exactly your usual dive bar..”
“I-” He sees the smile fall from your lips and you look away. “I was told I could come here for help…”
“Help with what?”
You swallowed. “My dad.. So-something killed my dad, and my brother.. he’s missing.”
“That’s something you should call the police about-”
“No!” you looked at him, fear in your eyes. “They don’t believe me, they think I’m crazy! It wasn’t a person! It was… I don’t.. I don’t know. I’m scared.. I’m so scared.”
“Hey, it’s okay.” He tried to soothe you. “Dr Badass is in.” he gave you a reassuring smile. “I think I know who can help. Best of the best. I’m going to make a call, okay?” You nodded, and he left you to your beer. He was back a few minutes later. “They’ll be here day after tomorrow. You got somewhere to stay?”
You gave him a small nod. “Motel in town.” Ash nodded. “I uh- I had a crush on you too, you know.”
“What?”
You nodded and smiled. “You gave me cookies. How could I not like the boy who kept feeding me the best cookies in town.” He smiled softly at that. “What happened? You just stopped hanging around, you vanished on me.”
“You were an omega.” He shrugged. “I ended up being just a beta.”
“The best smelling Beta I ever met.” He gave you a confused look. “You smelled like smores over a campfire.” you smiled at him. “And root beer. God, I loved root beer.” you chuckled at that.
“You smelled like my lunch.”
You furrowed your brow at that and laughed. “Like your lunch?”
He nodded. “Peanut butter and jelly no crusts, and cookies fresh from the oven.” he smiled. “Reminded me of home, of mom, all my favorite things. I’ve been in love since I smelt it that very first time.”
You chewed on your bottom lip for a minute before pulling a receipt out of your pocket, checking to make sure it wasn't something important, then asked Ellen for a pen. Once you got it, you started writing.
“What’s that?” he asked, when you held it out.
“My room number. And my phone number.”
“Right, for when my friends get here.” he takes it and looks down at the paper, committing the number to memory.
“Or, in case you ever want to share cookies with me again.” As scared as you were about everything that had happened in your life in the last few months, it felt so good to see him again and have your nose filled with a scent that had always made you smile.
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