Work Text:
“You having fun?” David glances upwards, his vision mostly distorted by the colourful array of butterfly clips and beads decorating his fringe, courtesy of the trio of pups surrounding him. The pups pay no mind to the newcomer, far too focused on the task at hand. Behind David, sits Paige and Eva, each braiding small sections of hair at the back of his head. Brightly coloured hair ties, decorated with different plastic fruits sitting comfortably on their wrists. In front is Liam, Paige’s younger brother and the artist behind the spectacle that is David’s fringe.
He’s been meaning to get a haircut for weeks now. Every morning spent in the bathroom mirror complaining that the back is looking far too much like a mullet for his liking. His mate, however, disagrees.
Without it how would they ever have walked in on such a lovely sight?
“Not a word, angel” David murmurs, being careful to not disturb Liam from his handiwork. There’s a fondness in his voice that’s been more apparent as of late, a lightness to him that was hard found a year ago.
It wasn’t just his voice that appeared softer. Over the past couple of months, his shoulders had fallen from their spot up against his ears. The proverbial tie around his neck finally loosened up. Everyone could see it. More often than not he could be found engaging in pack jokes, now laughing along with Asher’s outlandish comments rather than instantly shooting them down.
The pups felt it too, the gradual shift in their alphas attitude. It’s not as if he was ever rude to them not at all. The pups knew in their hearts that no matter what, they could go to David for protection or advice. However, his standoff persona did make it difficult for the pups to play around with him the same way they did Milo or Asher. Paired with his intimidating height and gruff voice, he was certainly a difficult person to face.
But that had changed too, evident by the scene playing out in front of Angel. David cross-legged on the games room floor amidst a certainly creative hair makeover.
“Room for another hairdresser?” Ignoring their mate, Angel directs their question to Liam as he clips another small pink butterfly into the alpha's fringe. The frantic nodding from the boy is answer enough, emphasised by his shuffle to the side of David to create room for the alpha mate.
“Don’t you dare” The warning itself is fruitless, with his mate already having moved from their spot against the doorframe to kneel next to Liam, the youngest of the Shaw Pack pups.
“Which colour should I use?” Angel asks, rummaging through the little plastic box of clips owned by Paige. Wordlessly, Liam hunches over the box, picking out a glittery blue clip and handing it over to them. Liam has always been more on the shy side of things, opting to mostly hide behind his sister and her outgoing personality.
“Wonderful pick bud” They smile. Moving their hands over to an unclipped section of David’s hair, they ran their fingers through it for a brief moment before pushing the clip near the top of the stands, pinning back some of the hair clouding his vision.
David turns to Liam, hand resting on the boy’s own head as he ruffles his hair slightly. “What do you think kiddo, they do a good enough job of it?” Liam puts his full attention on the clip in question, moving David’s head about as he pleases to study the placement. With a smile and a nod, the boy turns back to the box of clips, searching for his next decoration.
A huff can be heard from behind David, as the two girls move his head to once again face forward, continuing on with their braids. His eyes meet his mates, where they wait with a smile and a specific look in their eyes.
It’s a gleam that he’d slowly started becoming more accustomed to. One that only ever appeared when he was found interacting with the youngest of the pack. David knows what that look means, he’s experienced it himself, on those few occasions when Angel’s niece and nephew have stayed the night at their place. When he walked into their living room to find the three of them cuddled up, chatting at a pace few can keep up with about the Disney movie playing on the tv.
The first time he felt it, it scared him. David’s always wanted a family, wanted so desperately to give the love he received as a kid to his own. After the accident, his priorities changed, they had to. He was the alpha now. A pack of wolves looked to him, for support, guidance and safety. His duty to his pack overpowered any dream that he might have wanted for himself. After all, he’d already resigned himself to not finding a mate, never mind having children. So he locked away the dream. Burying it deep beneath his newfound responsibilities as the leader of this pack.
Angel came into his life with a shovel and determination.
Within months of being together, they unearthed every thought he’d ever had about being a dad. That’s what terrified him. David had become so resigned to the idea of never having kids, to instead put all the care and protection he would’ve shown a child towards the pack, that when the thoughts of starting a family with his mate appeared he was overwhelmed by them. How could he possibly divide his love between being a father and an alpha?
Gabe made it look so easy.
David thought it impossible.
Until one night. The door to their apartment not long closed on Angel’s sister after picking up her kids from a ‘weekend with the Shaws’. David and his mate worked in silence, refolding blankets, cleaning up plates, and picking up the array of legos scattered across their living room floor. Silence broken only by the remaining few minutes of The Lion King 2 coming from the tv. As Angel collected the last couple of bricks that had rolled slightly beneath the couch, they cleared their throat. Throwing the plastic into a nearby tub, before resting on their knees and turning towards David in the kitchen.
“Do you want kids?”
Time stopped for just a second. Hands stilled around a plate, wet and in danger of slipping from his hold, especially considering the shock the question sent through him. This is it, he thought. The moment to bare all to them. Share every secret and dream about one day becoming a father to his own, how he longs for it all, every aspect. Early morning cartoons, scrapped knees, stabilizers and bedtime stories. How for years of his life he’d been convinced he’d never be able to have any of these things.
He has so much that he wanted to say.
Instead, he just says, “Yes”.
Angel knows. They can see in his knuckles, how they turned white as he gripped the plate, before loosening his hold and letting the blood flow freely. They see it in the widening of his eyes as he stares out the kitchen window, before relaxing his gaze and turning towards them, a glimpse of something so new and unfamiliar swimming within them. A gaze they’d see again, the next time their niece and nephew visit, and fully understand the meaning of it. They see him. They know him.
“Me too”
That’s all David’s mind needed for everything to fall into place. Confirmation from his mate that they too, wanted a family. He’d already achieved something he once thought impossible by finding them, an unempowered human who loved him, wolf and all. How they not only cared for him but held a fierce love and devotion towards his pack too, their pack. It no longer felt like an outlandish idea to have children of their own, in fact, it felt right.
Why couldn’t he be both an alpha and a dad?
He often wonders if this is how his dad felt, after meeting his mom and creating a pack together. If the idea of family changed in his brain once he found the one person he wanted to share it all with.
The two of them never really spoke about it directly again, instead opting to make little comments that hinted towards their future family together. Angel walking past the baby section of a store and holding up little boots, cooing over how cute they would look on their kid. David finding a mini plastic gardening set and immediately putting it in the cart to store in the attic for whenever they might need it. It was nice, knowing that the two of them were on the same page. In no immediate rush to extend their family, but acknowledging that it would happen at some point in their shared future.
A brush to the side of his face brings him back from deep within his head. Fingertips gently tracing from under his ear to the tip of his chin and back again.
“You know, if you think any harder you’re gonna hurt yourself” They laugh.
Any response from David is cut off by the excited sounds of the girls behind him. Eva clambered up onto her feet to run to his front, jumping slightly on the balls of her feet.
“We’re done! Go look go look” Small hands grab onto one of his own, attempting to pull him up off the floor.
“Ok ok let’s see the masterpiece” David waits for Liam to slide off of the knee he’d ended up on, then gets to his feet and walks over to the mirror hanging on the back of the door.
His hair, for lack of a better word, was a mess. Several clips bunched his hair up in ways that he knows will leave a knot for him to brush out. Some of the clips even sliding from their original places and falling down certain strands. The two braids were uneven and lopsided with chunks of hair falling out the sides and the hair ties too loose to be holding them together for much longer. God knows what reaction this will illicit out of Asher and Tank, the two most known for giving him a hard time about almost anything. Not to mention Sam, who quickly found himself comfortable enough within the pack to start teasing anyone, given the chance. But right now, behind him stood three kids, with gleaming smiles on their faces awaiting their alpha’s highly regarded opinion. And so he smiles.
“I love it, you guys did a great job”
The praise sets the two girls off on a whirlwind, explaining their reasoning behind the hair ties they chose and why. Liam stands quietly at their side, a small smile on his face as he admires the clip still held in his hands.
David tries to focus on what they’re saying he really does, but his mate catches his eye once again. Eyes soft with a smile even softer.
Handsome they mouth, a laugh threatening to escape their lips, but holding it back out of respect for the pups’ feelings. He can’t help the roll of his eyes.
One day, this will be their everyday.
One day, they won’t have to wait for pack meetings or solstices. Or weekends spent babysitting.
David couldn’t be more excited.