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Pre-heats were always the worst, Colonnello decides. He had always hated them, it was just a really big hassle. He also didn’t like anyone knowing he was in heat, it’s weird when people crowd around you nervously, his parents had always coddled him.
Being cursed as an infant for over thirty years was somewhat of a blessing, no heats, and no general bullshit that comes with them. He could just be Colonnello, he didn’t have to follow any of the mafia rules when it came down to his secondary.
People just assumed he was an alpha like the others, since the role of strongest was always taken by either alpha or beta (in Viper’s case). It was freeing in a way he hadn’t even realized, but he still prefers having his basic motor functions back to normal.
They were all living together, Verde’s prerogative of ‘it’ll go by so much faster if we’re in close proximity to one another’ was also pretty fucked in this situation.
Colonnello dragged his bedding over to his closet, he’d be able to fit with no problems - and subsequently rest the entire few days. He had food, he had water, and he had a (very lacking) nest. Something was wrong, but Colonnello couldn’t really focus on it because of how late he had reacted.
He groaned, annoyed, laid down and let whatever came on tv play as he tried to sleep his way through the entirety of it. He woke up a few hours later, completely miffed about something he didn’t know. It was nagging him at the back of his mind but he closed his eyes again and forced himself to just stop thinking.
It was dinner time, when he woke up next. His stomach was killing him , and he curled in on himself. He didn’t think it would hurt, it had never hurt before but this was his first time trying to do this alone, and he can deal with the pain.
It lasts for about an hour as he lays there, and there’s a knock at the door. He ignores it, pushing his head further into the walls of his nest. They knock again and Colonnello really doesn’t want to get up, but he does anyway. The only people at the house right now are Verde and maybe Viper, the rest decided to take a job just to start getting back into the groove of things. Especially since they’ve all decided to go back to working together.
His abdomen cramping, his head killing him and his concentration shaky he opens the door of his room to Verde. He called it, Viper would never knock on the door when they could just teleport in.
Verde steps back, and Colonnello groans. “What do you need?” Verde gapes at him, with a clear sense of horror dripping off of him.
Colonnello frowns, he doesn’t like that at all. He moves closer to the scientist to see what's wrong but a wave of nausea hits and he holds steady. He’s using the door to hold him up, as Verde gently pushes him back into his room.
“Colonnello? Where’s your nest?” He’s looking around his room, almost frantically.
“Um- closet ?” He grimaces as Verde shoots him a look. Not the best place to spend a whole week but it was better than his room, since it wasn’t fully sealed and there were too big windows on the first floor. Horrible spot, if he could choose a different room, he would.
“Right,” Verde echoes, “right.” He pushes Colonnello back into his closet, and Colonnello’s nose twitches at the thought of something being wrong. He didn’t want to be with anyone when he first started his heat but, sighs.
He grabs at Verde, who doesn’t pull away. Verde allows Colonnello to pull him into the closet as well, “you want me to come into your nest?” Verde realizes, and hesitantly slips in beside the blond.
This is a lot more comfortable, Colonnello realizes as he leans into the doctor. He kind of regrets not bothering Lal to join him for a bit as Verde shuffles against Colonnello’s side. She’s the only one who knew of his secondary, and she’s kept it a secret since she found out.
The closet is small, but it’s the safest place he can occupy while in his room. The closet is small, he realizes, which means Verde is uncomfortable. “You don’t have to stay,” Colonnello finally says, but Verde humms pressing closer to him.
“Do you want me to go?” Verde questions and Colonnello doesn’t really want him too.
“It’s too small,” Colonnello huffs, and Verde doesn’t disagree. Colonnello closes his eyes as Verde wraps around him, the pain is gone and he feels nice and warm. It reminds him of when his parents used to join him, they’d spend the week watching tv and laying in bed.
If not for the size restrictions this would have been perfect, the next time he wakes up Verde is running his hands through his hair. He looks up at him confused, “hi.”
“Hello again,” Verde responds easily, scrolling through his phone. The screen is bright on his face as they sit in the dark closet together.
“What are you doing?” Colonnello asks, propping his head on Verde’s shoulder. The scientist shifts and moves his arm around Colonnello to better hold his phone, and let the blond lean in on him.
“I,” Verde starts, “have never done this before.” Colonnello blinks at him.
“Oh cool! same, Kora!” he says, “I mean, without my parents so…” Verde flinches slightly and looks back at him.
Verde humms, “I presume you don’t wish to participate in procreation?” Colonnello blanks, “so do you want me to call someone else to join in on our cramped closet.”
“Where’d you get that from?” Colonnello almost laughs, Verde shrugs. Probably off of some fake advice site, or not safe for work parody. “No one else would fit.”
“We could always move,” Verde offers, “the guest room would be safer than in here.” It would but Colonnello is comfy right here.
Verde relents and they lay down in the closet together, which made Colonnello feel a little guilty since Verde was probably busy with something earlier but he relaxes once more and lefts himself to keep sleeping through it all.
Verde does make them get up and out of the nest just to stretch for a while, and so he can get them actual food to eat but other than that he hasn’t felt this good in a long while.
When his heat finally finishes he knows he should start cleaning, Verde frowns at him oddly again before shrugging and helping him clean up the closet bundle. “I was unaware you took it down afterwards,” Verde says as he grabs a basket so Colonnello can bring it to the laundry room.
He actually doesn’t know either, “we had a small house, so we always got rid of it as fast as we could until the next time it hit.”
“Would you want to keep it?” It’s tempting, he spent most of the hours before his heat scrambling to find blankets and pillows that no one would need in case they got home early and that hesitation is enough for Verde.
“Why don’t we set one up in the guest room,” Verde insists, “we don’t actually have any guests over anyway, it’s safer and a much bigger room.” It would be nice but he already has a room.
“The rest of us would want you to have it,” he says firmly, “had we known you wouldn’t have been given this room.”
Colonnello frowns at that, “it’s fine? Kora?” I mean he doesn’t like the windows but he can protect himself against anyone who tries to get in. Verde obviously doesn’t agree but knows Colonnello is way too stubborn to try to change anything now. It’s kind of stupid to build a nest a year before his next heat will be due.
They do build that nest, and he does get to cuddle with everyone even though he hates cuddling. (He doesn’t) but the house is the cleanest it’s been in forever, and there’s no more smell anywhere noticeable; so it’s fine in his opinion.
Pre-heats aren’t always bad, Colonnello decides a year later, they’re a hassle when you have to rebuild your nest every single time it happens. But, he thinks leaning into Reborn who huffs at him annoyed, but doesn’t pull away; they’re best spent with others. Not alone, in your tiny closet that you can barely fit into.