in shapeshifters AU i headcanon Marc to have the most dramatic animal possible, even maybe some mythical creature, if u like (because he himself is dramatic af, uknow)
and because he can't freely shift to, lets say, something huge or aquatic or dangerous or anything else in the middle of the paddock, he doesn't build his image around his animal form as many other riders do (imagine vale and his puns about being the fastest turtle alive). moreover, he decides to keep it a secret (maybe we can state that myth creatures attracts too much unhealthy attention from public)
so when he starts to have some sort of proper relationship with Bez, Bez asks Marc why he can't shift and cuddle together like every day. and Marc realises that he want it, that he doesn't want to keep his creature a secret from Bez, when the younger looks at him with pleading puppy eyes, or when he's asking him probing questions during breakfast
so one day when they're at home, Marco wakes up and doesn't see Marc near him in his bed. it's strange and Bez goes looking for Marc only to find out that the man had finally shifted and he's now standing face to face with the most miraculous creature he had ever seen
and Bez is OVEREXCITED
Omg anon. You have no idea how much you speak to my soul rn. I've never put this prompt on paper but it's been HAUNTING ME AHHHHHHHHHH THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
Ok so listen, we'll start from the beginning (this is serious to me) the Márquez brothers are dragons. The moment their parents realize, they urge the boys to hide it. After all, being a mythical creature is often more trouble than it's worth. Marc is a pretty red dragon; he loves sunbathing and he can breathe fire, although Julia definitely scolded him about using it wisely. As for Álex, he's a beautiful silver and blue dragon, a bit more lean and with scales that reflect the blinding sun like armour. Absolutely stunning (like a flashbang lmao). Dragons are proud and loyal creature that will protect fiercely what is theirs. It simply seems fitting
They are Cervera's secret. Their own little treasure. They fly above the city and its resident smile secretly and act like they've seen nothing.
But then it's time to join motogp, and the bothers do not speak of their second forms at all. They're too big to shift in the paddock, and they definitely don't want the extra attention, so they keep it lowkey. Sometimes, Marc can feel his fire trying to crawl out of his throat, and he lets a few scales appear on his arms. It's a soothing half-shift, something to lessen the pressure that comes with not shifting for a long time.
But this has other consequences, too. People see the scales, and they wonder what they belong to. Are they fish scales? Or maybe some kind of lizard? Marc always avoids any kind of questioning, so it's quite hard to find out. But at the end of the day, no one but the gossipy journalists care much whether Marc is a gecko or a salmon.
But then 2015 hits, and Valentino happens. It's Philips island, and the Italian is accusing Marc of helping Jorge. He's saying he's a backstabbing bastard. A snake. Marc stands there as Vale calls him names, and he watches as people start to believe him.
Then he's just Marc Márquez; the snake shifter who doesn't want to transform fully so he can hide his true hideous nature.
It hurts. Especially since he refuses to fully shift. Then it kind of proves Valentino's point, doesn't it?
He lives like that for a long time, and no one cares to see his true form anymore. What interest is a snake, after all?
But then Bez happens. The same man who insulted his nature and called him a viper a few years back. He's now warming up to Marc in a way the Spaniard never expected. It's even more surprising when Marc starts to like the Italian, too.
They've been going steady when Bez asks him. He'd let the younger man brush his scales and see his slitted eyes before, but not much than that.
"You don't have to answer, but why do you never shift? We could cuddle still, I really don't mind!"
(Bez has started to question if Marc is truly a snake. Vale said so, but he himself said he never saw Marc shift fully, so how could he know? But even if the Spaniard is, Bez needs him to know that he'll accept him whether he's a wrinkly snake or an ugly fish or a grumpy lizard. He doesn't care, and he never will when it comes to Marc.)
Marc then realizes that he wouldn't mind shifting to his animal form around Bez. There is no alarm of danger ringing in his mind at the prospect; he knows Bez would never use this against him. The younger man has been probing for a while, and he can see an expectant light in his eyes whenever he shifts to a dog.
A relationship is all about trust, and Marc trusts Bez.
So yes, one day Marco does wake up without Marc at his side, and he momentarily panicks. But then he hears noise coming from the backyard and he goes out to check.
He stops at the door, his eyes wide.
Here stands Marc, in the shape of a beautiful red and orange dragon, with scales glowing under the sun. He's tall; enough that he could pick up Marco with one hand and fly away with him.
Marc opens his eyes to reveal beautiful golden irises, like a molten crown. There are small scars around the right one, and Marco freezes at their sight. He knows that their animal shapes often wear more injuries than their human forms, but...
(The diplopia, he remembers faintly.)
Marc slowly stands up, and Marco is still staring with his mouth agape.
Truth is, Marc is the most beautiful creature he's ever seen. Marco has always wished to be a dragon when he was younger; everyone did, but to see the real thing in front of him like this?
Marc is no snake. He's a dragon.
(So many things start to make sense in his head.)
Marc approaches him with a huff, avoiding to put much pressure on his right front leg and bowing his head down to smell Marco.
The puffs of air hit his face, and he giggles, raising an almost trembling hand to brush Marc's snout. It's warm to the touch; the scales almost soft under his fingertips.
"You're a dragon," he breathes out, feeling excitement fill him at once. Fuck, his boyfriend is a dragon.
Marc lets out a deep rumble as if he were laughing, his pupils becoming rounder as he stares at Marco.
So warm...cat shifters must love him.
He doesn't see the way Marc's tail flutters in relief at his position reaction, or the way a small flame leaves his nose at the visible enthusiasm.
Marc's simply glad he gets to be himself around Bez.
And Marco? Well, he's definitely getting his race helmet and finding a way to ride his boyfriend one of these days.
(Marc laughs when Bez proposes it, but he doesn't say no. He finds it hard to say no when his lover looks at Marc like he's the greatest gift the world ever gave him.)
I honestly don't think we could ever understand how Valentino Rossi affected Marc and his family. We often discuss the kick, the public humiliation... But most of the time other, more personal things, get relegated to something secondary. I mean, everyone knows reporters got into Marc childhood home but we as a community don't really seem to care enough about this. I'm writing something about this particular incident so It's baffling to me how this isn't talked enough; two guys from 'La Lene' break into his home (with his father, mother, brother) to record him and to give him a plastic cock trophy???? And then complain when Julia broke their camaras-??. Or the fake tomb thing in 2018?? If you go to Marc's twitter from 2015 many Italians comments are calling him Lorenzo's bitch. He was 22.
It's crazy how that's not even the surface of what Marc's had to suffer. So, I don't think Marc should forgive Valentino that easily, MAYBE, in the past, before the injury and all the pondering that came alongside that, he would have. I don't think that's the case anymore.
Anon you are absolutely right. We often only make allusion to the kick, and what happened at the races, but that's only scratching the surface of fucked up things that happened. I met so many people who thought all of this was nothing but "jokes", it's actually baffling.
I'm actually going to join you with a little educative essay of my own, because I do agree that it's often ignored, or ppl simply do not know about it.
And slight trigger warning for sensitive content, none of this is pretty.
I don't think we will ever manage to fully understand the psychological damage caused by Valentino and his fans to Marc and his family. We can be aware of it, we can understand it, but we'll never come close to the feeling of actually living through it. The point stands that what happens on track should stay on track and in the paddock. This went way too far, and this entire thing is quite honestly one of the most horrifying unsportmanlike behavior i ever had the misfortune of witnessing in my decade of sport watching.
Valentino, in his refusal to condemn anything his fans were doing, actually gave the the green light to basically do whatever they wanted. I have heard many people say "but even if he spoke up against it, they are crazy fans so they wouldn't listen"
You would be surprised at how much fanatics can hang onto the every words of their idols. We have seen a big chunk of the hate against Bez calm down once Marc spoke up about it. Perhaps not all of it, but it helped. The fact remains that he did not do anything to stop them, there is no defending that. He was fully aware of it; the articles were everywhere back then. This helped create a unhealthy climate in the sport and there is no excusing that.
In Mugello 2016, the heart of Italy, some fans hung a mannequin wearing a 93 jersey and lit it on fire. There is still a video of this on YouTube to this day.
People joke that some of Valentino's fans are like a cult, but there is some truth to it. The saying "God forgives, Mugello doesn't" legitimately fills me with horror every time I hear it. These are people who see Valentino as...almost a deity. This amount of worship is never healthy in sport, and again, Valentino was fully aware of what some of his fans were like.
And then we can mention that they burned a coffin too, and the makeshift grave of course. With his name and his birthdate. The date of death coincides with the upcoming sunday race. Did you know that the people who did this put a cup beside the grave, which had for purpose to collect money? A "make a wish" cup for people to wish on his death. And let's just say that it was not empty.
The pig's head in HRC hospitality, a clear death treath in plain sight in the middle of the paddock. Spanish riders had to be given extra security, and the organizers started considering tightening the video surveillance. These fans were also ruining the image of the sport, and of the Italian races.
Then we get to Le Lene, a group of italian "journalists" who broke into Marc's house with camera and clearly nothing but bad intentions. Things got violent after they refused to leave, and Marc apparently suffered scratches on his neck after the whole thing.
Let me reiterate. Marc was 22. Yes, he was VERY well PR trained and knew exactly how to handle himself in public and not make things worse. And thank god for that tbh. Valentino was his idol 14 years his senior. After 2015, he stopped using social media as much due to the sheer negativity in there, which good for him because that's hard on anyone's mental health. He was sent death threats, mailed death threath, and people came knocking on his door with bad intentions. He was called a slut and most probably every variation of the word, and there is probably a LOT of things that we are still not aware of to this day. How much of it went under the covers, I wonder.
"This could have been avoided". There is no forgiving this, there isn't even any explaining this, or rationalizing this. Valentino isn't the first man who suffered an "injustice" he isn't an isolated case. The way he reacted afterward says a lot about him. Just him saying "i wanted to kill him" in that recent sepang documentary is absolutely mad. I can't even believe it. How much of that can you really blame on adrenaline and move on, I wonder. Some people will say "But Marc wasn't innocent". Marc raced hard and he was a little shit, yes. That does NOT excuse everything that followed. "He deserved it" no he did not. Not even Valentino himself deserves to go through something like that, no one does, and I think that's what people are not understanding. Some were criminal actions, this. Is. Serious.
Even to this day, I think some people fail to realise how bad it was, or told themselves it must have been exaggerated as they were not constantly living in it. We saw that in 2025, with Marc joining Ducati. In Mugello he got booed, as per atp, yet he said it was one of his best year at the circuit. Despite that, the entire team was outraged. Perhaps they thought that Italian fans cared more about Ducati than their hatred for Marc. But again. "God forgives, Mugello doesn't"
"È rosso" but they do not care that he is. No matter the leathers, that is Marc Márquez, and nothing he can do and no team he can join will change the "crimes" he committed.
It's heartbreaking, how much he had to deal with since he was 22. He grew up with that negativity around him and shaped himself to counter it. His insane PR is there for a reason, he's had the most practice out of everyone. No one should have to go through that, and I'll forever be grateful that Marc just so happened to be a bit insane already and knew how to handle himself and fight back against some of it. Pros of being a little crazy too sksksksks
And then you as an individual are aware of all of this, of all that happened, even if it's probably not even half of the things that unfolded.
Then someone tells you, "Marc would/should forgive Valentino"
Forgive.
I wholly and fully believe they can, and probably will be cordial with one another if they meet at legend dinners or at whatever event. At the end of the day, they're grown ass men who know how to act in public.
But forgiving Valentino? No, I don't think so. Marc's family suffered, he suffered psychologically and even physically, it was horrible and Valentino didn't say anything about it. Marc was miserable because of him and his fans, and he did not seem to care at all.
Now you are Marc Márquez, you are 33 years old, got over an injury and are a nine time world champion. You've quite literally moved on from all of this.
You do not want to be affiliated with Valentino anymore, you are your own person, and that man has rejected any offer of peace you have given him.
No, you will not forgive him. Even better, you do not care about him amymore. You are so fucking over everything that you just want people to stop talking about it. You did your documentary adressing some of it, you called it out for what it was, and now you're done.
Marc Márquez doesn't want anything to do with Valentino Rossi anymore. He knows their names will always be tied together, but apart from that, he's done.
He's done.
Do I believe he will forgive Valentino? He might say he does for PR, but no, I don't think so. He's being very mature about it actually. No apparent resentment or anything. But again, Marc has always been good at this; he's not helpless and he knows how to take care of himself. Now it's just about looking forward to finish his career the best way possible :)
I feel like i could have perhaps worded all of this better, but I suppose it will do, thank you for coming to my informative tedtalk
Poor Alex getting bullied by his big bro😂😂but if I remember right the last one was revenge after Alex scared marc awake😂😂so he's not completely innocent. Classic little bro behaviour 😝
Álex learned this shit from Marc 😭😭 man was traumatized as a kid and he's now making his big bro suffer as much as he did
He's having fun taking his revenge that's for sure 😭
now i am soo thinking about cele’s role in ur pack au!!😭
just finished reading all of it 👅 and man i wonder how marc would react to cele when they finally meet or if he sees this little kid who’s trying his best to get to his friends in the upper class and keeps falling short but keeps up this front of always being soo happy go lucky and how marc sees through it and starts being extra nice towards cele and helps him alot.
(which also makes bez jealous😉)
Cele time!!! Ngl I think this is the first time I write proper feels for him 😭 I've neglected that poor man sksksk. Now it's cele's turn to interact with Marc...
(This is part 9 of this series!! Go here for all the previous parts and some more context)
ALSO! Sorry this was supposed to be posted like three weeks ago i suck so bad at writing with self applied deadlines<////3
*
The past few months have not been...
Easy. Yeah.
Celestino feels like his world is crumbling around him.
He would love to say his troubles started when they all decided to court the Márquez brothers behind Vale's back, but it would be a lie. He's not had a nice time in a while now.
Moto2 is not going as well as it should be. No matter how hard Cele seems to try, he never gets any results. His goal—his end of line, his entire life purpose—is to make it to MotoGP. To be like the rest of the pack and have the opportunity to hang out and joke with them more often.
But every time he takes a step forward, it's also two steps back. It's always been like that with him, and as much as he loves to tell himself he won't give up...
It's becoming harder to believe.
(Some things are just not meant to be. Maybe Cele reaching MotoGP is simply one of those things.)
It's not the first time he feels like this, and usually he would go find his pack and distract himself with their jokes and kidness. But now, they're busy with their newest addition to the pack. Marc and Álex. Especially since Vale found out about the whole thing; it's been a whole lot of smoothing out and slow steps.
Cele should be there with them. He should've been there for a while now.
And yet here he stood, under the shadow of a hospitality building, watching Marc and Pecco interact with something akin to longing in his chest.
It's not that he didn't try, but every time he became determined to interact with Marc or Álex during a race weekend, he was tugged away by his team members for rider obligations.
He doesn't have as much free time. He has to work harder, if he wants to make it to MotoGP. Harder than anyone.
But because of this, it feels like his opportunity to blend in has just...passed. He sees the pack acting so kind and happy with him far away, and the ugly part of his mind wonders if he was ever needed at all.
He's not being replaced by the Márquez brothers. Just...forgotten.
It's not their fault, really. Cele's seen this coming for a while, now.
(He just doesn't compare to the rest of his pack.)
He knows Marc noticed him staring; he has seen the older man look back at him from a distance, his eyes weary yet open in an odd mix of things Cele isn't sure he really understands.
But the Spaniard never approached him. And so he stayed away.
(The more he reasons with his decisions, the more they start to sound like leaking water that can't be contained by any dam.)
He curls into himself. Dazedly, he wonders, if he'd presented an alpha or an omega, would his pack finally notice how much he needs them? Would they be able to smell it on him? As it is, Cele probably only stinks of sweat with a unique taste of disappointment hiding under it.
"You know, I had a bet with myself. On how long it would take you to come around and approach us."
Cele startles as he looks at Marc, who settles on the chair next to him without a care in the world. He didn't notice the man; couldn't smell him out like most.
"...a bet?" He asks quietly, an ugly feeling swarming his chest.
Cele's used to being the butt of the joke already. This shouldn't sting so much.
Marc smiles calmly. "Not a bad bet, don't worry. Technically, I lost. I've been wondering why you stayed away all this time, so I figured I'd finally ask you."
Cele shifts uncomfortably. "Why do you care if I approach you or not? We're not friends." But he wishes they were. The Italian wants Marc to like him, because he admires the man, and he's liked by his pack. He just...doesn't really know how to go about it.
"We're not, but your pack loves you, and I'm...I'm a part of it, now. I think." Marc shrugs with one shoulder, and Cele stands up straight.
"You are! They all love you, you know. We don't go against Vale for just anything. And he'll come around, too," he finds himself saying in reassurance. He doesn't want Marc to think he's unwanted when it's pretty much the opposite. Cele's sure Bez would cut his hand off for the Spaniard.
(Alphas in love get stupid, that's one thing he's learned.)
"Thank you, it means a lot to hear that from you," Marc says kindly. "Why aren't you with them, Celestino? They miss you, you know."
"Do they really?" He doesn't mean to make it sound sarcastic, but it does. Marc doesn't take offense to it, or if he does, then Cele can't smell it.
(He feels blind to most cues that the other dynamics have. Like he's missing a sense, a nerve ending. Cele hates it.)
The Spaniard looks at him. "You're joking, right?"
Cele snorts. "I wish I was. Listen, man, you'll see if you keep hanging around, but I'm not like the rest of them. I'm not in MotoGP, I can't stay with them much during race weekends, and they have other things to worry about. It's not like they ever really notice when I'm gone." Or when I'm sad. Nothing to smell, right?
Marc stares at him for a long while, and Cele hates the way his eyes turn full of understanding. The man doesn't understand; he's an omega. He might face terrible biases from dumb people, but at least he's something. Cele might as well have nothing to his name.
(He's tired of fighting for the love of other people. If they're not willing to fight for him, then why should he?)
He just wants to be loved unconditionally.
Finally, Marc opens his mouth to speak, a weird light in his eyes. "Can I hug you?"
Is that too much to ask for? He's not like Franky. He doesn't know how the older man does it.
Cele freezes. "Huh?"
"Can I hug you?" Marc repeats as if the Italian didn't hear him clearly the first time.
"Why would you want to hug me?" What the hell.
Marc blinks at him. "Why do you care? Do you want a hug or not?"
Cele, stupidly enough, feels his bottom lip tremble. He doesn't remember the last time he hugged someone. He gives a small nod, bowing his head like it's something to be ashamed of. Marc doesn't even know him, yet he want a hug of all thing. Cele doesn't understand.
Arms wrap around his midsection slowly, pulling him against a hard chest. His face is pushed in the crook of a neck, and Cele wishes he could smell Marc's scent right now. All he gets is the faint smell of home, something his nose can at the very least pick up. He remembers picking it up in that hospital room, too.
I wouldn't mind getting a hug from that scent, you know, he told Bez back then, trying to understand in a deeper level what was going on around him.
Now that Marc is hugging him?
He wants to stay there, in the embrace of that virtual stranger who is now his packmate. He also wants to cry for some reason.
Fuck, he doesn't want to cry.
"I got you. It's going to be fine, I promise."
Marc doesn't sound like he believes himself when he says it, and Cele's aware that the man and his brother are facing their own insecurities within the pack. Yet the Spaniard is still saying it. To reassure him.
He lets out an ugly sob and presses his face harder in that neck. It's embarrassing to break down in the arm of someone he doesn't really know after a few well placed words.
(Cele really is at the end of his straw.)
"I'm sorry," he sobs. He wishes he could be enough.
"There's nothing to apologize for." Hands cups his cheeks and force him to look the older man in the eyes. "You need to tell them how you feel, okay?"
He tenses.
"Why? It's stupid anyway—"
"It's not. Your comfort isn't a stupid concern, and trust me when I say that the rest of the pack will spend the next year making it up to you," Marc murmurs, but Cele is already shaking his head.
"No, no. They didn't do anything wrong! This is my problem. I'm..." I'm the problem.
Thumbs swipe at the skin under his eyes, wiping off the tears. "That's what your brain is telling you, but it's not true. As far as I know, you're a resilient rider who doesn't give up on his dreams. Anyone would be lucky to have you in their pack, and I can promise you that they all notice when you're gone."
He sounds so sure of himself. It's almost enough to break Cele all over again.
Hands shakes his head lightly. "Talk with them. Please."
He finds himself nodding. He has no idea what he'll say, but Marc looks like he really wants him to, and there's something inside of him that doesn't want to disappoint the man.
"I never properly welcomed you in the pack, by the way. I'm sorry."
And I'm glad you're here.
Marc grins. "I was starting to think that you didn't like us joining you."
Cele chokes on his spit. "No! Of course not! I'm sorry, I—"
"Stop apologizing, it's just a joke," the Spaniard laughs, hitting him lightly on the head. Cele knows that's a lie.
That's something he'll have to fix. He has a lot of things to fix.
"Hey, Marc?" He calls out when they part and the older man makes to stand up.
Marc looks at him curiously.
"Thank you," Cele says, feeling lighter than he could remember being in a long time. Hard conversations still need to happen, but that's a problem for future him.
"Always, Celestino!"
He cringes. That sounds wrong.
"We're packmates now, you know. You have to call me Cele," he points out with a wobbly smile.
Marc only blinks. "Sure, Cele."
Ah, that's better.
He looks at his hands. Talk to the pack, huh? He doesn't remember the last time he truly shared his feelings with them. He wonders if they care about his feelings at all.
(Marc said they did. Marc hugged him.)
It's worth a try.
*
"You've been hanging out with Cele a lot, you know," Marco points out, trying to look as unbothered as possible.
Ever since Cele came to them and ended up yelling how they were failing him, the Moto2 rider decided that Marc was his new favorite member of the pack without a single glance back.
Which...they deserve that. Marco still feels bad about the whole ordeal. They assumed Cele wanted space due to his less than perfect season.
As for himself, Marco decided to grovel the best that he could, which means that he has no right to complain about the truly unfair amount of time the man he's courting and Cele are spending together.
They assumed wrong. And now they'll spend a lot of time making it up to their pack member. He already knows Pecco is cooking the younger man's favorite food.
Marc raises an amused eyebrow. "Yes. I like him."
He pouts. "More than me?"
(And yeah, maybe it's dumb, but he misses when he was Marc's and Cele's favorite.)
(Pecco would call him greedy.)
Marc barks a laugh, slapping his thigh in amusement. "Are you jealous, Marco?"
He blushes, immediately turning away. He's not jealous, just curious. It's not the same thing.
(Yes, he wants Marc to give him racing tips too, yes he wants the man to spend so much time with him, too. Can he really be blamed, though?)
"I'm not!" He argues, still not looking at the omega.
Marc grabs his chin and turns his head so they can look at each other, a smirk dancing on his lips. The Spaniard smoothly settles on his lap, freezing him in place. "I like when you're jealous," he murmurs against his lips.
Marco feels himself give a growl, unable to control himself. He swallows the sound with a pang of guilt, looking up at Marc with wide eyes. He didn't mean to do that—
Except that Marc's eyes are as dark as the night.
Oh that's...that's something.
"Want to show me how jealous you are?" Marc purrs, the sound wrong and broken but so fundamentally Marc that it makes him moan. Fuck, he didn't expect this.
Saliva pools in his mouth, and he forces another odd growl down his throat.
Vale's feelings about Marc and Bez are not surprising honestly, he must feel conflicted like, it's obvious he had something going on with Marc, and, for the better or for the worst, he isn't really over him either (it feels like he still had been hoping for something else with Marc?) Bezs feelings must be a mess too lol, that confrontation with Vale will be awkward, imagine your mentor still has has some weird love/hate obsession with the guy you are courting. All of this while Luca and Alex healthy communicate their feelings to eachother
(This is part 8 of this series! Go here to see all the previous parts and have some context!)
Ouggh yeah it's not easy in Vale's mind let's say it like that 😭 he's feeling very conflicting emotions and he has a hard time dealing with them since his whole thing is bottling shit up and losing the key....thing is, his mind is a mess. He doesn't hope that marc will come back to him, because in his head marc has always been inherently tied to him. It's more....the realization that Marc has never been his to begin with, despite what he thought. And now he's losing him to Bez, but he still hates Marc so why should he care?? Except he does and that's where the problem is. Lots of feelings and instincts all bundled up tgt...that doesn't bode well...
But he's trying! He's actually being very good too! For now :D
Now unto some Bez pov while he's freaking out!
Marco remembers where he was when Luca gave him a call. In his motorhome, baking some dark chocolate cookies because Marc was craving them after his heat. He was whistling some unknown song and trying to convince himself not to steal a cookie for himself while he was at it.
But then his phone rang, and Luca uttered seven simple words to him.
"Valentino knows, he went looking for Marc."
He remembers the way he clutched his phone, he remembers the way he wasn't able to say anything to Luca in answer. He also remembers the piercing rage that went through him at the time.
When Marc and Álex first started to avoid them, it hurt Marco like a physical wound. He doesn't know how many time he tried to call Marc, but it must be above the hundred. He just couldn't believe that they would cut all the bridges like that without giving a proper explanation. It didn't make any sense.
Marco loves Marc. He loves Marc more than anything in the world, and he didn't even get the chance to tell the omega before they were torn apart. And now he's being avoided like the plague.
Does it hurt? Yes, it really does. But the last thing he needs is to make this whole thing about him. Because he knows Marc by now, and he knows that the older man doesn't run away like this unless he's really hurt. It's Marco's job to try and fix that. To prove to Marc that he would go from above and beyond for him.
Except he doesn't get to, because the brothers manage to avoid them like it's their specialty. That is, until Luca manages to figure it out.
And Marco? Marco's angry. He's angry at Vale for...doing whatever he did, he's feeling guilty for putting off telling their pack alpha, he's scared that this means he'll lose both Marc and Vale in some way.
He doesn't even know where to start.
Fuck, how will Vale react to his and Marc's relationship...
He doesn't know. He doesn't know, so he does what his instinct tell him to, and he runs for Marc's motorhome. Luca said...he said he told Vale to go talk with Marc. Marco couldn't leave them alone to hurt each other all over again. He couldn’t.
Except when he gets there, it's to the faint scent of Vale and Álex lingering in the air, and Marc sitting all alone on his couch, a blanket thrown over him and his legs to his chest. He's clutching his phone with both trembling hands, Marco's contact open.
Oh, Marc...
He makes a whining sound at the back of his throat, making the older man look up in distress. He smells panicked; he smells like he needs Marco.
He doesn't waste any time to bridge the gap between them and engulf the omega in a tight hug. Marco doesn't say anything; all of that can wait when Marc doesn't look to seconds away from breaking down.
"I'm here, I'm so sorry this happened Marc. I'm so, so sorry," he murmurs in the man's hair, inhaling his scent. It wasn’t very long since they last talked, all thing considered. It still felt like an eternity to him.
(He missed Marc, he missed him so much.)
Marc drops his phone and immediately clutches back with the sams desperate intensity clinging to him. He buries his face in Marco's scent gland and makes a small little noise that breaks his heart all over again.
"Marco...I'm sorry. I know I was—"
"No," he interrupts Marc softly, caressing his cheek with all the tenderness he wishes he could convey with words. Marc looks so scared, his eyes wide like he's waiting for the Italian to hurt him. That's unacceptable. "You have nothing to apologize for. I don't know what Vale said but...it probably wasn't very nice, and I'm sorry for that. I'm the one who suggested we wait, Marc. I'm the reason why Vale had to find out like this. This all could have been avoided had I not been so stupid—"
"You are not stupid! And you were scared, Marco; it's normal. You care about Valentino, of course this was hard for you too. I do not blame you," Marc says, biting his lips.
But I blame myself, he doesn't say.
"And besides," the omega continues, "he was not fully wrong by saying what he said. I do bring a lot of trouble, no?"
Marc gives him a sad smile, so damn resigned it's painful to look at. Marco quickly gives the man a kiss.
"I don't care about what you bring and what you don't. I just want you," he insists, looking Marc in the eyes. He sees the way his message lands right through the cracks of Marc's armour, and Marco is here to catch him when he comes undone.
"I thought you would all be better off without me," Marc sobs in his neck, and the admission is so raw Marco can feel it in his bone. A few tears escape his own eyes because since when had Marc thought like that?
Marco thought the Spaniard felt like he belonged. How wrong he was to assume such a thing.
"Never, never. Do you hear me? Never," he promises shakily. In that moment, he finds himself hating his pack alpha just the littlest. He made Marc like this, he made him so insecure and scared. Marco wants nothing more than to stay there, hugging Marc for the rest of eternity. He doesn't think any apologies will ever manage to make up for all of this, but he will try for as long as he has to.
Marc looks up at him with disbelieving eyes.
"Sometimes I do not understand what I did to deserve you."
Nothing. Everything. You deserve whatever you want to have, and if that's me, then I'll be there for you until the rest of my life.
He simply kisses Marc and hopes it's enough to convey all of his feelings. The man melts in his grip and fuck he missed this so much...
Still...
Marco lowers his eyes after a while.
"If I call you, will you answer?" Because that's one thing he's afraid of; that all of this will go back to terrible avoidance once they part from each other. Marco can't do this again; he can't be kept in the dark, thinking Marc is forever done with him.
Marc makes a noise, "Of course! I'm still sorry I never answered. I wanted to, but..."
"No, it might have hurt, but I'm glad you didn't if it felt safer for you. I don't want you to do anything you don't want to," he says softly, stealing another kiss.
Marc gives him an exhausted look. "You're too good for me, you shouldn't forgive me so easily."
"But you did."
Marc's eyes widen.
Marco continues, "You forgave me for being an asshole, and I never even apologized for it because I was scared that bringing it up would make you realize who you're spending your time with. You're good to me, and I still don't understand how it's possible after everything."
It keeps him awake at time; how much of an asshole he was to Marc, yet how willing to forgive him the man was. It fills him with so much guilt he can barely breathe.
"Marco," the Spaniard whispers, cupping his face. "I forgave you for all of this the moment you started making up for it. You don't need to feel guilty about this anymore, it's in the past"
He did try to make up for it silently, hoping but never believing Marc would understand why he was doing it. He was so scared of mentioning it pit loud, it felt like a taboo.
But now, it's like a weight lifted off his chest.
"And you say I'm too good for you," he says, choked up.
"Maybe we deserve each other, then," Marc giggles, making him laugh.
Deserve each other, huh?
Maybe they really do.
*
The next thing he has to do is trickier, but just as necessary.
"He knows about the two of us, Marco. He seems to be willing to let us in the pack, but I don't know about this. When he left...he didn't look good."
Vale knows.
He knows about him and Marc.
His head is a jumble of emotion; mad at Vale, scared of his reaction, happy he's allowing the brothers in their pack, and guilty for hiding it because he love Vale as much as he does his own family. It won't be easy, and it's why he's so glad that the next time he sees his teacher, it's at the ranch.
They can...they can be adults about this, right? Surely Vale wouldn't actually be at at him for that...
...right?
(He doesn't know and it's killing him. He hasn't often been scared of his pack alpha, but he finds that right now, he is.)
He doesn't know how it will go, and that's why he corners Vale when the rest of the pack are busy getting ready for training.
"Vale," he calls out hesitantly. The older man pretty much refused to look at him since he got here, and it hurt.
He wants them to be alright. He really, really does. He wants to be able to cuddle with Marc and have Vale near, not hissing at them.
(Is that even possible?)
"Ah, Marco. Why aren't you with the others?" Vale asks with a smile. It feels forced. It looks forced.
"No, Vale please let's not do this. Talk to me. Please," he all but begs. Marco wants Vale to yell or growl or reassure him. Anything but this stiffling silence that haunts their every interaction.
Vale frowns, opens his mouth, only to close it right after.
"What do you want me to say, Bez?" The older man asks, raising his arms helplessly before letting them fall to his side. "That I approve of your—your courting of Marc? You know I can't do that."
Marco whines, "But you let them in! You...You were fine with them in the pack! Why is that so different?" He pleads softly, not daring to reach for his pack alpha. He's scared Vale will recoil, and he really can't take that on top of everything else.
"You know why!" Vale hisses and clamps his mouth shut like he didn't mean to raise his voice.
Marco flinches.
Vale takes a step forward.
"What do you even see in him?" The older man asks quietly, scanning Marco up and down like he's expecting to find an alien in his stead. It hurts.
He's the exact same person he's always been.
"He's—he's my world, Vale. I see everything in him; I love him. I want to spend his heat with him, and my ruts with him. I want to spoil him, and cook for him and make him smile and laugh and look happy and..." He trails off, looking up at his teacher.
Vale is staring with wide eyes, an odd expression twisting his face. It looks like a mix of fear and understanding. Marco doesn't like it.
"Why do you love him?" Vale asks.
Marco doesn't know what overtakes him.
"Why do you?"
Vale stops breathing.
(He might have just crossed the imaginary line every single one of them know is here, yet refuse to acknowledge by respect of Vale's wishes.)
"What I'm trying to say—" he keeps on saying to avoid losing his head, "—is that I can't help loving him, and I don't want to stop either. He's it for me, Vale. I just want to make sure you won't hate me for it."
He understands, in a way. He too feels a bit of resentment over Vale's feelings about Marc, even though he doesn't really understand them.
"I could never hate you, Marco! I just, eh..." Vale shrugs.
"It is hard for me, no? I think you all want to leave me, then I learn you want the Márquez brothers to join our pack. I say yes because it is important to you, and I learn you have already been courting them. What am I supposed to say to you? I cannot approve and you know it."
Yes, Marco knows that. But...
"I'm not asking for your blessings, I just want to know if you are fine with...us."
'Us' as in he and Marc. As in them. Marc and Marco.
Vale closes his eyes.
"You are not bringing him home yet. I do not want to see him yet. I am trying, Marco. I am," the older man says, and it makes Marco relax a bit.
He reaches for his teacher's hand, taking it in his. He can't smell him with the scent blockers, but he wishes he could.
Vale lets him touch, and doesn't move away when Marco hugs him.
"I love you Vale, you know that, right?" He asks because he has to. Vale is his pack alpha, his teacher, his hero.
"I do, i do," Vale whispers and hugs back like a child desperate for any sort of contact. It makes Marco heart break in two all over again.
"We can take our time with this."
He feels Vale smile in his neck.
"Thank you, Marco. You are too good for me."
He said that too, he doesn't say. He said that, and he sounded just like you.
Marco only hugs back and lets himself hope for a future where everyone gets along.
*
"You're brave to have comforted him like this," Luca says as they stop for a water break. Marco huffs and settles on his bike.
"I needed to! And it was very scary," Marco tells his friend with a shiver. An important talk, but one that almost made him throw up from the stress. Logically, he knows Vale wouldn't have done anything drastic, but his mind wasn't the most rational back then. He was so focused on setting things right between them he forgot to yell at Vale for going to see Marc and scaring him like that.
He supposes he can have his revenge during the week. That should be sufficient payment.
"And? Did it go well?"
Marco shrugs, "All things considered? I think so, yeah."
He turns to look at Luca, "What about you? Was it hard with Álex?"
Luca didn't really tell him. He knows Vale learned about them first, and that Álex and Luca talked last race weekend, but nothing more.
"Oh, Vale was very understanding! And I made up with Álex right after. I can feel he still thinks he's guilty, but we talk a lot about our feelings now, so we're getting there."
Marco blinks at the man.
...One would have thought that an alpha relationship would lack several braincells. Or at least that's what the internet said.
Marco might just be a little jealous of how easy these two have it.
"Don't look too jealous, it's not my fault you settled for Vale's romantic arch-nemesis."
He squawks, "Like I could control it!"
Luca laughs freely, clutching at his stomach, and Marco finds himself joining him.
He feels lighter than before. He wonders if it's a sign things will finally settle down.
omega/omega marcmarc… waow… my eyes are OPEN…. Marc being confident about his designation while Bez is more closed off and uncomfortable about it, even if he postures like he isn’t… BJWJWOWKHWIW WAOW
HEAR ME OUT ANON HEAR ME OUT
Older omega Marc who's just about gone through everything and who's a bit of a loner in the paddock. He's got his brother but not much else. He's the oldest omega on the grid. Actually, he's one of the first rider to openly assume being an omega in motogp. He's faced every insults possible at this point, but he's managed to take the burn of it, and now other omegas have it quite nicer.
Still, most people on the paddock stray away from him, because he's Marc Márquez. Bez has done the same all of his life. He doesn't really care about this fellow omega, he'd even go as far as saying he used to dislike him because of his feud with Vale. Still, there's always been....something about the older man. He's almost always on scent patches, like everyone else really, but sometimes after a race they'd wear off, and Bez would get a whiff of that foreign scent. It's unlike anything he's ever smelled before. It's good, it's familiar in an odd way. It makes Bez squirm and want to investigate the scent even more. Especially since they'd become somewhat friendly this season.
Bez isn't ashamed of being an omega. Like every other one in the paddock, he's fully out as one. It's not as much of a problem as it used to be. Still, he's always felt...wrong footed about it. Maybe because he's always surrounded by alphas and very few betas. It's like he doesn't really know what his instincts are telling him, and even when he tries to follow them, it always ends up being a mess. His nests are not the best, nor is his ability to comfort his pack. It makes him insecure in a way very few things do.
Is there something wrong with him?
He tries to pretend like there's isn't, but the thought always nags him at night.
Then one day his heat gets triggered during a race weekend, and Bez honest to god panics. He doesn't have his nesting material, and he feels too out of it to even call anyone. His heats are never pleasant affairs, like his body is wary of an alpha's touch, but he has to make due.
Except he doesn't have to, because there's a scent getting close to him. It's warm and comforting and Bez remembers smelling it before.
Marc.
The older man grabs him, and Bez all but melts at the touch. He gives a whine and presses himself closer to the Spaniard. He can feel slick dripping down his thighs, and he has no time to feel embarrassed by it.
Marc brings him back to his motorhome and shoves his nose right in the crook of Bez's neck to calm him down. He's never been scented like this before, never felt the effect of it so strongly, but it's like Marc knows exactly what do do, where to touch. It sends him over the edge more times than he's willing to admit.
He's aware Marc tried calling his pack for help and leave Bez to them, he also remembers knocking the phone out of the man's hands and climbing on his lap, hot and panting. Marc hadn’t refused him, and that's something Bez is going to have to think about later on.
And he does, when he wakes up in a perfectly made nest, more fucked out than he can ever remember being and with a smell so intoxicatingly good around him he wants to drown in it. He goes home to his pack feeling like this was the best heat he ever had. Marc had taken care of him in a way no one ever had before. Heats aren't such a socially unacceptable thing anymore, it's normal to have friends help, but he never expected Marc to want to.
But he had. Bez remembers his face. Marc had enjoyed himself too. He doesn't know what to do with this information.
He and Marc had gotten closer over this season, but now he finds himself unable to look away from the older omega, from how fucking...perfect he seems. He watches him and he craves something he doesn't understand or even knew he was missing all along.
Bez wants Marc to look at him for more than just one urgency heat. He doesn't know if that's even possible between omegas, or if Marc would even want it, but Bez grew up and trained around alphas. He may be a shit omega, but that doesn't mean he's useless.
He wonders how Marc would feel about another omega courting him.
He really doesn't know, but for Marc, he finds himself willing to try. Maybe he'll even get to learn more about being an omega along the way....
OK, but in the abo universe you're building through our asks(😝) , how do u think valentino finds out? 🤔
Do they straight up tell him? Or does he find out when he smells the márquez brothers on the rest of the pack members when they visit the ranch? Or maybe he comes to a gp and realises what's happening
Or! Maybe after mandalika when bez panics!
The possibilities are endless. But I think they'd want him to know before the winter break because they'd want to spend time together without sneaking and hiding
Also we haven't seen much of cele so that would be a good addition😜I think he'd get on well with marc and alex
IT'S FINALLY HEREEE!!!
Hi Multi!!! Thanks for the ask, and you are right! There are so many possibilities omg how do i even begin approaching this....
As for Cele, I think the problem is that Marc and Álex only see the pack during race weekends, and their schedule happen to clash at some point. But I imagine Cele has been whining about it very loudly 😭 Bez probably had to start choking him when he tried complaining about it in front of Vale (old man was very confused)
But he will make a proper appearance fear not!! And with that, here we go
(See these parts 1 2 3 4 5 if you want the full story and some more context!)
Valentino isn't a naive man.
Unlike what his pack seems to think, he hasn't been completely clueless. To some degree. He knows something is going on, but the boys seem to stubbornly want to stay silent. It's starting to annoy him.
It's been going on for months now, and at first he'd blamed it on Franky's incident shaking them up, but then...
They started sneaking out, spending less time in his motorhome, coming back at odd hours and stinking of that fake nothingness that came with scent patches. Their behavior shifted as the months went on, and Vale became even more curious and worried.
Because something is going on with his pack, and Vale can't have that. He hates hates hates how Bez started biting his nails during moments of silence, he hates how Pecco took to staring solemnly at him when he thought Vale wasn't looking, he hates how distracted Luca is acting all the time now, as if there's something on his mind. Even Franky, always so calm and passive started to become more shifty.
He tried to ask Pecco after a while, his lack of understanding killing him like a slow acting poison.
"There’s nothing going on," Pecco lied to his face without remorse.
He'd stiffled a growl back then.
(He doesn't like this. He really doesn't. Vale feels like he's being left behind by his pack, like they're all in on a secret and can't bother telling him. His inner alpha snarls and growls in anger, but really, Vale knows it's only to hide how fucking scared he's feeling.)
He feels every bit his age as he watches his pack whisper to each other as they walk away from him, leaving him in the dust.
It's fine. Vale doesn't care. He has a 24h race to win in Le Mans.
(That's all that matters.)
He knows he's acting weird. He knows he's worrying his team, but he can't stop thinking about his pack even during a race. He can feel the distance between them like a string pulled taut and it physically drains him of every ounce of fight he has.
"Do you need me to call someone?" Kelvin asks him quietly. The Lexus driver found Vale lying on his makeshift bed looking like death warmed over. Why he decided to come over, he has no ideas.
He lets out a scoff.
"I am fine. Leave," he growls softly at the younger alpha. He can't bother to put on a show right now; can't bother to look at Kelvin with anything other than exhaustion.
"You think you can make me leave? You look like you can barely stand, man. What the hell is going on?"
That's what I'd like to know too, he almsot spits at his future teammate before remembering that Kelvin didn't ask for any of this. It's not his fault Vale can't handle being left out of the loop by his pack; not his fault Vale isn't strong enough to pull himself together.
He gives a sigh and straightens back up. "Do you have a pack?"
Vale has no idea why he's prodding, or why he even wants to entertain this conversation. Uccio told him he was imagining things, that the boys would never set him aside, but Vale...
He doesn't know that, does he?
(They've gotten all one could ever want from Vale. He's not much use anymore, is he?)
He watches Kelvin's eyes brighten before he coughs awkwardly.
"Yes, I do," he says with a small smile.
And how happy he looks. Valentino doesn't think he's ever seen Kelvin look this soft. While he's not the most bull-headed alpha out there, he's definitely as stubborn as Vale. And yet here he is, smiling like a lovesick fool.
"Did they ever keep secrets from you?" He hears himself asking. He's glad he's wearing scent patches; he probably smells awful by now.
"My mate did."
Vale's eyes fly to Kelvin's face.
He forces a smile on his face. "Allora, Kelvin. Have you been keeping secrets for yourself? A mate?" He teases as his teammate huffs a laugh.
"Yeah, obviously. It's a secret," he emphasizes, making Vale frown minutely.
"Then why tell me at all?" He wonders.
Kelvin pauses a bit before shrugging.
"I don't know. You looked like you needed it."
Vale stiffens at that.
Kelvin doesn't let him continue as he barrels on. "He's an alpha, and he's this absolute asshole of a driver that makes me want to take my car and run him over. He lies to me about a lot of things, but..."
Vale waits with bathed breath. He doesn't know why this feels important.
"But, I believe he does so because he loves me. He's an idiot, but I'm not much better, aren't I?" Kelvin gives him a mean grin.
Vale finds himself barking an incredulous laugh. "No, you are not."
They stay like this for a while right until Kelvin is being called for his night stint. Vale watches him leave and wonders about what he's just learned.
Lying out of love.
It really does sound stupid, that's for sure.
*
The season is tense, and Vale hates it so much his jaw hurts from grinding his teeth together.
He had put up with it as best as he could, he'd tried being a reasonable alpha who let his pack have a social life and who isn't too overbearing. He's never considered himself as such, but clearly the boys found him stiffling if they were so adamant on getting away from him.
He scratched his scent gland again. He hated hated hated.
Vale really did try to be level-headed about this. He did; even if it meant he drowned in misery for months and felt the absence of his pack straight in the middle of his chest. But then Luca disappeared during his rut a week earlier. He disappeared, and Vale hadn’t even known it was his rut. He didn't know where his little brother went, or if he was safe, and when he asked the boys about it?
He was fed lies.
Vale feels a growl threaten to rip through his chest. He's here, almost at the end of the season and they are acting as they have taken to do since the beginning of the year. He's been so patient throughout many mistakes, a stiff summer break and so much more as the 2024 season went all kinds of wrong.
But this time he won't let it slide.
He sees the pack gather that night, and he hides behind a door like a thief. How funny, that he now has to spy on his own pack to get any kind of information.
"—tell him! It's been long enough! We've been ready to do it for months now! This has dragged on for way too long," he hears Pecco say in a hurry and Vale frowns.
Tell him? Are they talking about him?
"I know, Pecco, I know! But how are we meant to do that? You know how Vale gets!" Bez whines.
Vale feels himself grow cold.
His pack is leaving him.
They've been trying to distance themselves for more than a year now, and they want to properly leave him this time. Bez is leaving the team, Pecco is becoming more and more independent, Franky has always been self-sufficient, Maro...
(He bites his lip to swallow a whine and clenches his hands hard enough to make himself bleed with his nails.)
They can't leave him. Vale...
(He doesn't want to be alone.)
Then Maro speaks up, "I'll talk to him, everything will be fine."
"Maybe after the championship we tell him? So it doesn't—you know."
Vale is about to barge inside and demand a proper explanation out of his pack when he smells it.
A earthy smell, laced with rain and petrichor. Like the scent of a wet race after a win with something hidden deeper in there.
Roses.
He closes his mouth that had instinctively opened to take in more of the smell and rips himself away from the door.
That scent...that scent.
He knows it.
Vale gives a loud snarl and locks himself in his room.
He doesn't know why his pack smells like this, but he'll find out.
Trust Márquez to be at the root of his every problems.
*
He should have known Márquez was somehow involved. Thinking back on it, everything started after Franky's injuries, when the room he'd been resting in had smelled so potently of Marc Valentino almost gagged on it.
He gets his chance in Australia, and by then he feels like ants are crawling all over his body. He wants to yell at everything and everyone, so when he finally spots Márquez ahead of the sunday race?
Maybe he loses it a bit.
Before he knows it, his hands are fisting a Gresini polo and slamming the younger man into the side of a motorhome away from prying eyes. The Spaniard starts to speak, but he gives a growl in warning.
"Now, I do not know what you are playing with, Márquez, but stay away from my pack," he snarls, pressing the rider harder against the metal in his back.
Marc's face goes ashen white, and Valentino insanely thinks that this proves all of his suspicions right. The bastard has something to do with it. He's messing with Vale's pack.
He won't let him. He'll protect them from the horrors that come with Marc Márquez.
"I'm not doing anything," Marc gasps, and he looks almost sick under the harsh light of the sun. He looked sick before, too. The aftermath of a heat, maybe. He probably threw up in his motorhome right before this.
Vale barks an ugly laugh.
"Do you think I cannot see? They have been smelling like you," he accuses.
Marc snarls right back at him. This is something he used to lo—like about the younger man; he may be an omega, but he never backs down from a fight.
Right now? Vale wants to rip his throat open and watch him bleed out on the hot tarmac. No one fucks with his pack.
"So what? Do you control everything they do? So what if they've been talking to me? Is that a crime?" Marc spits angrily. He's looking at Vale like he's a threat.
Him, while Marc is the one trying to steal everything good from his life.
"A crime?" He laughs airly, "No, of course not. But I am their pack alpha, and it's my duty to keep them safe. Away from trouble."
He watches Marc's face give a twitch and feels an ugly sort of satisfaction curl in his chest.
Yes, be hurt. Be as hurt as I am. Then we can match just like we always do.
He pushes his index on Marc's chest and goes to whisper in his ear. "And you're nothing but trouble, Marc. You make everyone's life miserable and complicated. Nothing is ever simple or easy with you. Do you really think they want to waste their times with you? To ruin their lives simply by being near you?"
Marc makes a choked sound and Vale hates hates hates him and how it makes his inner alpha purr.
"You're a waste of their time, at the end of the day," he repeats one last time to nail his point across and draws back. Vale watches Marc's blank face and gives a smirk he hopes looks in control and not as angry and terrified as he really is.
"You—"
"Stay away from my pack," he cuts the younger man off. He can't stop growling, and his eyes widen as he realises he almost used his voice on Marc.
Vale clamps his mouth shut and leaves without a word, not daring to look back at the omega slumped against a motorhome.
It's fine. It's better that way.
Now both of them are bleeding.
*
"What the fuck did you do?" Luca asks him in Thailand, and Vale has the ugly urge to gloat.
"Eh, nothing much, is there something wrong?" He asks with a wide smile. It feels forced; he knows it is.
"Yes, Vale. What did you say to Marc?" His brother hisses, and he looks angry and sad. He looks like he's grieving.
Vale doesn't understand.
"Nothing that wasn’t true," he sneers in distaste. He'd thought that Marc staying away would mean his pack going back to normal, but instead it had the opposite effect.
It's worse now. They smell distressed every moment of the day, Maro and Bez even more. Valentino feels like everything is crumbling around him no matter how hard he tries to fix it.
Maro gives him a cold look. "Vale. What the fuck did you say to him? Why is he avoiding all of us like he's scared he'll kill us?"
He swallows and gives a smile. "Why do you care if he's ignoring you, Maro? I have been patient with all of you, I have let you lie to me like it was easier than breathing. And you come here to ask me what I have done wrong?"
His brother gives a small flinch, and Vale spares a moment to feel guilty. He doesn't want to hurt them, but they do not care about hurting him.
He can't...he can't always be nice. Not about this.
"Vale, we wanted to tell you, I swear—"
"Tell me what?" He snaps, "How you are leaving me? Or maybe how much you can't stand to stay by my side? Did Marc tell you what an awful fucking racer I am? Did you believe him and his lies like everyone else?" Vale asks in rapid succession, and it feels like a weight off his chest. The accusations are laid, and he can only hope Maro will prove him wrong.
(Marc's face flashes in his mind, his scared features as Vale slammed him in a wall. How he'd looked not guilty, but instead resigned. Like he knew this was coming.)
"What? What the hell are you talking about, Vale? We're not leaving you!" Luca yells, his eyes bright and confused.
"Another lie. If you so desperately want to get rid of me, then leave!" He hisses and feels the hurt in his chest like molten lava. Vale wants scream, kick and cry like a child. He wants Luca to hug him and tell him he's imagining things. He clamps down the wave of emotions and softens his face into a blank mask.
Luca looks at him in horror.
"Vale, do you know why we've been acting weird?" His brother asks softly. His voice is trembling, and Vale can see his neck twitch with the urge to submit. He must smell like hell right now.
He opens his mouth to answer obviously, but something in Maro's face makes him stop. He looks tired. And terrified.
A bit like Vale.
"The reason why—" Maro starts quietly, his eyes down, "—is that we've been courting the Márquez brothers."
"What?" Vale echoes numbly.
"We want them to join our pack, but we didn't know how to tell you, or to get you to agree. It's been tearing at us, Vale. We want them, and we don't want to lose you because of it, but..."
He can only stare.
"But I found someone, Vale. And I'm not giving him up no matter what," Maro finishes, his shoulder squared for a fight. Vale...
Vale can't give him a fight. He feels empty.
"You want Marc Márquez and Álex Márquez to join our pack," he says.
Surely this can't be right.
"We all want it, Vale. We don't want to leave you, or whatever you've been thinking. We love you. But we also love them."
They didn't want to give up on him for a Márquez. Instead, they wanted to invite the Márquez brothers into their lives.
"How could you possibly want these two in your lives?" He asks dumbly. He doesn't have any strength left, he only feels beat. How did this happen, he wonders.
"Vale, they care so much more than you could ever know. If you gave them a chance you would see," Maro pleaded softly, grabbing his hands.
Vale blinks back tears. He imagines his pack, and the Márquez brothers somewhere in there, and he feels a shiver of disgust go through his spine. But then...
They'd saved Franky, and Vale remembers all the times he saw the boys come back home looking all soft and smiling. Happy. The Márquez brothers made them grin like that while Vale only proved to be a source of apprehension.
They took care of his pack better than he did this year.
"Maro, where did you spend your last rut?" He asks quietly, making his brother blush.
"With Álex. We're, we're working on it," his brother explains awkwardly, looking every bit as much in love as Vale was with this young and reckless omega who smelled like salvation.
"You love him."
Luca nods. "I do."
Vale tries to imagine his nest again, but this time with Álex cuddling his brother and Marc standing in the middle. He wonders if the freckles on his chest changed with the years. He wonders if Marc would let him see.
"I can't just accept that," he whispers, because he can't. He can't look at Marc and pretend everything is fine. He can't invite someone he hates in his pack like this.
"I know, I know Vale," Luca cups his cheeks. "Talk to him? Please?"
He hears it nonetheless. Fix this.
And his brother is in love, and his pack wants the brothers. The only one causing a problem is Vale. And Marc...
Why would Marc want to join his pack?
He hates Vale. He's made it very clear over the years. Why would he subject himself to this?
"Oh and before you get any ideas," Maro starts, making him look up in confusion, "We were the ones who approached them. It took them months to accept the idea of joining our pack. They didn't force us to do anything."
"Well, you never know," Vale jokes weakly.
(He'd been thinking about it, yes. Sue him.)
Maro rolls his eyes. "Talk to them."
Vale waves his hand, "Bah! It will be fine, don't worry."
It won't be. But he has to believe it will.
Otherwise he may just lose everything.
*
He sees Marc the next day and decides with an approach slightly less aggressive than the last.
This time he follows the man inside his motorhome and slumps down on his couch before he can get a word in.
"Rossi? What the hell are you doing, get out of my motorhome," Marc growls. He's not wearing his scent patch, and Vale's nose is assaulted with the smell of wary omega. It makes him want to choke.
"We need to talk," he says.
"No we don't. Get out."
Vale runs a hand over his face and sighs.
"Fine, I'll get out. But at least stop avoiding the boys," he snarls. Vale doesn't want to be here either. Marc seems to be thinking something that isn't.
Marc stops pacing and stares. "Why would you want me to do that?" He asks blankly.
He bites his lip. Why indeed. Why, when it's tearing at him to let his pack near Márquez.
"Because they love you, even if I don't," he mutters in defeat. At the end of the day, it's why he's doing all of this. Because his boys are happy with the Márquez brothers, enough to want them to join the pack, and Vale has brought nothing but stress on them because of his feud with Marc. He knows his battles are not theirs, and he doesn't want them to feel like they have to fight for him. They are free to love whoever they want, even if one is a bastard Vale hates.
As long as he doesn't lose them, he can compromise. He can do it. He can.
"—tino? Valentino?"
As long as he isn't alone, as long as they don't give up on him for being the bitter old asshole that he is, he can compromise. Even if Marc makes him want to tear his hair out, even if Marc's scent makes his brain shut off in that way he hates, even when Marc's whole being tugs him in after all these years and he hates hates hates it so fucking much he hates Marc so much—
"Vale!"
Warm hands make contact with his cheeks, cupping his face and he stops breathing at the calming scent in the air.
"Just breathe, yeah?"
Breathe. He can do that.
He looks at Marc with wide eyes and sees himself staring back.
"I hate you," he chokes out, wrapping his fingers around Marc's wrists and holding his hands there. They haven't touched in—in a while. Vale hates that too.
"I know," Marc says with a sad smile, "I think you always have, even deep down."
"I didn’t," he blurts out. "Not at first."
I loved you, he doesn't say.
"I don't think it makes much of a difference now," Marc says with a small laugh. He smell anxious, as if he's trying to calm Vale down while brushing aside his own panic. Maybe he was scared of the reason he was here.
Vale wouldn't blame him.
"Just—talk to the boys, Márquez. They have been miserable," he grumbles and pushes his face away from these hands. He can't touch Marc any longer; all it brings are memories.
Marc looks hesitant for a while before nodding. "I will. And for the record, I don't want anything from them, I promise. We don't want to screw them over."
"Yes—yes, I know that. I know now. Maro lectured me about it," he says as he gets up on uneven feet. He doesn't remember the last time he had such a long conversation with Marc. Years ago, surely. He finds that he's missed it, oddly enough.
Marc frowns at the mention of Luca, shifting on his feet.
Vale immediately catches on it.
"What now?" He growls in annoyance.
"Did he tell you about him and Álex?" Marc asks carefully.
"Yes. I assume it's why he's been acting like a corpse all week now. He and Bez were being very—"
He stops.
Marc gives a small flinch. Almost unnoticeable.
Vale bites straight through his cheek and feels blood fill his mouth.
"Marc," he warns. Anything more and he might—he doesn't know.
"Don't take it out on him," the Spaniard immediately says.
Vale only shakes his head. He can't—
He can't.
"Talk with them," he says and goes to leave.
"Wait—Valentino!"
He doesn't turn. Marc can be in their pack, that's fine. He doesn't mind the younger Márquez at all either. It's just...
