Work Text:
“Tighnari! Congratulations!”
Tighnari’s ear twitched from the voice who seemed to be calling him. He looked to where the person came from. It’s his best friend, Cyno. The forest watcher, who just finished making tea for himself, poured another cup for his best friend. The General just got back from his duty in the desert, to Sumeru City, and finally came here to visit him so he is probably thirsty now. The white haired man nodded in appreciation before taking a sip.
"Congratulations…? What for?" Said the botanist as he took a sip as well.
"For finally being a dad."
Tighnari pondered. 'Does he mean like me being a guardian to Collei or-'
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Cyno raised an eyebrow.
"Well, Kaveh is pregnant, isn't he?
COUGH! COUGH!
Tighnari got choked from his tea while Cyno looked at him in confusion and concern.
"Ugh-! D-did I hear you correctly?" Said the forest watcher hoarsely.
Cyno widened his eyes now that the situation clicked.
"You don't… know? But he said-"
Tighnari stopped him with a hand as he drank some more to ease his throat.
"P-please- Ahem. Please elaborate."
After quite some time, Cyno finally finished talking about what happened. Apparently this late morning he finished his duty back in the desert and he was going back to meet Lord Kusanali to report as usual. But what was not usual for him was to find his blonde architect friend talking to the archon herself.
By the look of the situation, the taller man didn't expect his arrival. Kaveh looked like he got caught in something and of course, being his nature as General Mahamatra, he was curious on what his business was.
“Kaveh is expecting someone new in his life. That’s all I’m going to say. Hehe.” said the Archon.
It’s easy for the general later to connect the dots, especially seeing how embarrassed Kaveh was and immediately ran away as he told his suspicion. But what he didn’t expect was the fact that Tighnari doesn’t know about Kaveh’s pregnancy after 2 months in , especially when they’re already officially mated for a year. And here he thought that his best friend was hiding such exciting news from him.
‘Oh for the love of Lord Kusanali. Did I mess up? Was that supposed to be a secret?’ thought the electro user. The silence is killing him.
“Tighna-”
“
Where is Kaveh now?
”
Cyno flinched.
Uh oh.
Kaveh felt nervous. He’s walking back and forth in the living room, thinking about his encounter with his friend this afternoon. Heart beating fast and nervous sweats start rolling down his face.
‘He’s going to say something to Nari, isn’t he? I’m screwed.’ thought Kaveh dejectedly. Kaveh raked his hair and groaned out of frustration.
“Will you stop overthinking? It is very tiring to see you being this… agitated.” said his roommate while his eyes never took off his book. Kaveh scoffed at Al-Haitham.
“You wouldn’t understand, you heartless alpha. You’re not the one with a baby inside your stomach and uncontrollable emotions because of it.” Al-Haitham rolled his eyes at Kaveh's antique and sighed, closing his book. He couldn’t read his book in peace if this keeps up.
Ever since Kaveh mated with Tighnari, the couple started living together in their own new house near Pardis Dhyai so there’s no reason for the blonde to stay any longer with him. But a couple of weeks ago, the used-to-be his ex-roommate asked him to stay again in his house for awhile so he could hide from his mate.
Why, you wonder? Well, his reason made the Scribe question the architect’s sanity.
“I don’t know if he wants kids or not! And by the time I realized I was pregnant I’m already one month in!”
"....Are you serious, Kaveh."
And with that stupid claims and conclusion, Kaveh is staying at the alpha's house for a while under the disguise of a 'long term project from Akademiya that requires you to be there everyday'.
He didn't mind for his senior to stay in for a while, it's not the first time anyway since his place is near Akademiya. But it's annoying to see him being in distress. The oblivious omega probably didn't think about it but Kaveh's pheromone is suffocating the room and his distress scent slowly affects him as an alpha. Not to mention it's not good for the baby either.
Al-Haitham pinched his nose and sighed for the umpteenth time. He really doesn't want to fight a jealous alpha fox, but this is getting obnoxious.
The Scribe got up from his chair, still holding his book in one hand. He went to the blonde omega and pulled his hand, startling the other person. Kaveh didn't expect his sudden move nor could he guess what was going to happen next.
Together they walked to the nearest sofa and Al-Haitham pulled him so they could sit down together where it's too close for comfort. But what the alpha did was something that made Kaveh most shocked.
He put an arm around his shoulder, pulled him closer so his head touched the bigger man's shoulder and started to rub his shoulder affectionately.
What . The. Fuck?
Kaveh beyond speechless. The questionable man just reopened his book and started reading again while rubbing his shoulder silently in reassurance. Kaveh wanted to pull away and say something about him already mated but then he could smell a calming and reassuring scent that made him shut his mouth back and breathe in.
This scent… It's been awhile.
Let it be known that despite them having a different dynamic yet ex-roommates, they hold no feelings for each other because of how different their personalities are. But back in the past, there were times where things were hard for Kaveh and he got stressed, which affected his scent. The house was a mess, tears running down his face like waterfalls. There was no bickering between them, just the suppressed crying Kaveh was trying to hold. Of course, Kaveh who didn't know how to conceal his scent made Al-Haitham's whole house smell sour. His alpha instinct immediately went to the need of comforting an omega in distress.
So when everyone believed that they hate each other and bicker a lot, at times like this, Al-Haitham did the unthinkable thing and comforted Kaveh by taking advantage of their dynamic. Alphas are known to be able to give a comforting scent to omegas as long as the omega are comfortable with the alpha. The situation of Kaveh being in distress immediately mellowed down because of him.
Right now there is a similar situation of distress and Al-Haitham does the same thing to Kaveh like in the past.
Kaveh breathed in, calming his shaking body and leaned on the taller man's neck. The smell of comforting old books, library, and nostalgia invaded his nose. It's not as comforting as Tighnari or even Cyno, and Kaveh's pride wouldn't let him admit that this helped, but he never has any close people in his life that comfort him other than his mate and his best friend. Ever since his father passed and his mother left him, he always does things by himself. He was always the one who supported others. The sunshine of people around him.
Not now, though. Not when he’s all cloudy and sad from anxiety. No words were exchanged for a while. Just a comforting atmosphere from the cozy house, the sound of a paper book being flipped and a ticking sound from the clock from afar. Maybe Al-Haitham is not that much of an asshole like he always thinks of him.
Kaveh sighed, feeling a lot calmer now.
"Haitham… Do you think I'm being stupid?" Asked Kaveh absent-mindedly.
"Absolutely." Said the scribe without hesitation, eyes not even leaving his book.
Kaveh scoffed. He took back his opinion about him just now. Of course the alpha would ruin such an emotional moment like this.
"Well, I'm sorry." Said Kaveh sarcastically. "How stupid of me for being considerate and thoughtful of my mate."
What the architect said made the alpha glance at the omega.
"You're not stupid for being considerate and thoughtful." That sentence surprised Kaveh, but the scribe continued.
"You're stupid for underestimating your mate's feelings." Said Al-Haitham with a smirk on his face, making Kaveh even more bewildered.
What is that supposed to mean?
As if on cue, a sound of someone barged in through the door echoed across the room startling the architect. An angry scent that mixed with the smell of fresh forest and lotus immediately hit his nose and Kaveh knows who it is. He snapped his head to the door, heart beating fast again from the sheer panic.
"T-tighnari! I can exp-!"
"Stand up."
!!
The omega's body became stiff as he obeyed the command and immediately jumped up from Al-Haitham's arms. His body shook and tension in the room became thicker since Tighnari used his alpha command. Alpha command is something alphas can use to make omegas submit and obey which sound very mean and forceful if it’s being used wrong hence why the fox rarely used it. He is too much of a softie alpha to use such a voice on people, let alone Kaveh.
In conclusion, his alpha must be really mad.
Tighnari looked at the other alpha in the room, who’s still sitting on the sofa, staring at him. The fox gave him an intense glare in which the taller alpha responded also with glare by instinct. Tension from the silent fight to dominate one or another is very high, making the only omega in the room feel suffocated. Without breaking eye contact, the fox gave the omega another command.
“Come here, Kaveh.”
Kaveh whimpered.
He walked shakily to his mated alpha at the front door with his head lowered, a sign of submission. Tighnari immediately grabbed him by the waist, pulling him closer.
“Sorry for the intrusion.” said Tighnari coldly and with that, the couple took their leave.
Al-Haitham watched as his front door got closed. He sighed. This is exactly why he’s not in the mood to come across the jealous alpha.
“T-tighnari! I… That was… I didn’t mean to-!”
The two of them were walking at a fast pace back to their home. Along their way back, Tighnari hasn’t said anything to him yet and is just ignoring his plea. He is still feeling weak from his command back then that Kaveh just stumbled along the way. The hand that was on his waist now holding tight on his wrist, pulling him to walk faster as they almost arrived home.
Silence greeted him and the comfortable scent of the mix of theirs made him realize how much he missed their nest. He had been away for too long and the guilty feeling from the lie he told his alpha of needing to go away for weeks (almost a month now) is now eating him. Kaveh couldn’t imagine coming home and nothing but silence would accompany you. No one to talk to, no one to eat with at the dinner table, nor someone to hug when it’s time to sleep.
Kaveh’s heart ached. He feels tears start forming in his eyes.
He fucked up. Pregnant or not, he shouldn’t leave the love of his life alone, let alone lied to his face.
“...Tighnari-”
The fox pulled his arm again, shutting his mouth from the slight aggressive move, pushed him inside the house, and closed the door. He brought Kaveh to their comfy bedroom and sat Kaveh down forcefully which made the blonde flinch. There are no words that exchange between the both of them as Tighnari stared down at Kaveh with conflicted look in his eyes. What could possibly Tighnari’s feel right now?
Anger? Betrayal? Sadness? Disappointment?
Hate? Resentment? Regret ?
Is Tighnari… having a regret about him?
Please, anything but that…
A tear rolled down Kaveh’s face, his heart felt too tight.
“I…I'm sor-”
Two arms snaked around his shoulder, stopping him from apologizing. Suddenly he got pulled into a tight hug. He felt a tail went around his waist, a hand go up to his hair, pushing his head to tuck him to the alpha's shoulder, and the other still around Kaveh's shoulder yet the grip on him is hard, as if he would go away and disappear if he didn't hold on tight.
Kaveh took a breath in. He could smell the scent that he never thought he would ever forget. This is not a comforting scent from a friend of his. This is the smell of his alpha who managed to take his heart and who he willingly gave his life to.
This is the scent of his mate.
Kaveh couldn't manage to hold the tears that fell down on his own face. He missed his alpha so much despite the problem he's having. He loves him so much that it hurts. Yet, he couldn't form any sentences for him. Only snivels that came out from his mouth as he put both his arms to Tighnari's back, clutching onto his hoodie.
"I'm sorry, Kaveh."
…what?
Kaveh didn't understand why he's the one who's apologizing.
"W-what? Nari no! I'm the one who did wrong, s-so there is no need for you to apologize. I lied to you…" Said Kaveh in the middle of his crying.
Is he apologizing because he’s going to leave him? Is this it? There’s no way! They had mated!
"No, Kaveh." Said Tighnari as he stroked his golden hair. "I'm sorry for not being there with you when you broke apart and needed a shoulder to lean on."
His voice sounded dejected and it made the blonde's heart shattered into million pieces. Did he… refer to what Al-haitham did?
"Al… Al-Haitham and I didn't do anything? He was only calming me down so please don’t be mad at him." Kaveh's voice is filled with uncertainty and guilt. He wasn't sure what to answer and at the same time he didn't want his alpha to get the wrong idea.
The fox pulled his face to look him straight in the eyes. Gradient emerald eyes full of sadness staring at him. Ears dropping down showing how discouraged he is.
“I’m not mad at him, Kaveh. I’m… I’m mad at myself. It should’ve been me instead of him. As your alpha, I should’ve been the one who’s there for you! But... But I have failed. Not to mention I used my command to you when I promised not to.”
Kaveh is in disbelief, eyes widening from the big misunderstanding. Kaveh thought it’s the other way around! “What?! No you’re not!”
“But you didn’t tell me about you being pregnant and you lied to me. The reason why you did those must be because of how unworthy I am to you and I don’t have your trust.”
Kaveh must have heard him wrong. Tighnari looked like a lost puppy that did something bad (or fox- well it doesn’t matter right now!) and Kaveh looked like he had seen a ghost but in a weird costume. It’s unbelievable and confusing.
Tighnari went back to hug Kaveh again and rubbed his scent gland all over him, erasing every trace of the scribe’s scent that’s left on the architect’s body. Kaveh had enough of this uncomfortable silence. Maybe Al-Haitham is right. Maybe he is overthinking it too much and maybe he doesn’t trust Tighnari’s feelings enough. The omega started to rub his cheek to the alpha, one of the omega ways of showing affection to their loved one. The fox’s ears perked up.
“Tighnari, I-” Kaveh sighed, calming down himself as he wiped his tears with one hand. Here goes nothing.
“I’m sorry. I truly am. I didn’t mean not to tell you. When I found out, it was Lord Kusanali herself that stopped me from what I was doing and asked her to come to her office. When she told me the news, I was happy!” Kaveh gave him a quick sheepish smile, but then it turned back to pout again as he looked down, avoiding eye contact.
“But then I remembered that we never talk about having kids. You were very busy as the Forest Watcher, and you told me to focus on my work. We hardly had time to ourselves before my heat came, how could we have time for our kids?”
‘How could you even have time for me?’ A question that left unsaid from Kaveh’s mind.
The more he speaks the more he feels more and more disheartened. Deep down, knowing that he has a child inside of him has been the second greatest news he could ever have in his life, next to when Tighnari courted him a year ago. But if Tighnari doesn’t want it due to him not wanting to take care of their child because of how busy he is and how many people depend on him, then Kaveh will be faced with a dilemma of choosing his mate or his new loved one that is his own child.
He would be devastated before he could even make the choice.
“But, it’s still my fault that I didn’t ask you nor tell you.” Kaveh looked up to look at his mate who had his eyes focused on staring at him alone, waiting patiently for the blonde to continue.
“Are you okay with me being pregnant? Do you want to have kids with me? Be a family and take care of them together?”
Hope is probably the only thing that the omega have right now. He knows Tighnari loves him, but having kids is a different matter. Two palms of hands cupped his cheeks, stopping his irrational train of thoughts. He looked at his mate who has a smile that speaks thousands of emotions. What he said next made Kaveh’s heart skip a beat.
“Kaveh, I promise you there’s no one I would rather have the pleasure of having a family with and spend the rest of my life with. ”
Tighnari kissed him. Emotions overflowing just through his kiss. The love that poured unto him as well as the promise he told him made him cry again but this time with tears of happiness. Despite everything he had done to him, how could someone still love him as genuine and as passionate as him?
Kaveh kissed him back. He missed everything about him. His sweet kiss, his warm hug, the fluffy tail that keep him safe,their passionate sex at night, the twitch his ears did when Kaveh seduced him-
He missed his mate.
The need for air forced them to separate from each other. Tighnari rested his forehead on Kaveh’s, breathing the scent that he couldn’t get enough of. The omega couldn’t believe he could be apart without him.
Though, Kaveh doesn’t know that the alpha is thinking the same thing.
“And if I have to choose between my work and spending time with you and our future family? Well,” Tighnari kissed his forehead. “I think my subordinates and Collei can handle some of my work from now on.”
Oh Archon, I love this man so much.
“Tighnari, why do you even still love me?” Kaveh smiled sheepishly at him, cheeks reddened and heart beat fast. Years of being with him and he still manages to look like a teenager looking at their first crush.
The alpha just chuckled and gave him his own smile full of adoration.
“Why should I even stop loving you?”
And before Kaveh could busy his mind on thinking anymore, Tighnari shut him up with another kiss.
[Something extra]
“Master Tighnari! Mr. Kaveh! I’m so happy for you two” said Collei happily.
Tighnari, Kaveh, Collie, Cyno, and Kaveh are having dinner together in Tighnari and Kaveh’s house. It is also about time they tell them the big news. Well, officially.
“I can’t believe I found out about it before you, Nari.” said Cyno with a smirk on his face. The fox rolled his eyes, cheeks got a little pink from embarrassment.
“If you want to make it a competition, General, I knew it even before you. Not that it matters much to me.” said Al-Haitham, looking unbothered. Cyno gave him a glare as he munched his dinner.
This time Kaveh rolled his eyes.
“If anything, Lord Kusanali knew even before me so stop this nonsense.”
“Well, as long as Kaveh is okay now. Do not get in distress ever again because you’re not only scaring Nari, but the rest of us too.” said Cyno looking at him with concern. Kaveh shook his head and smiled to reassure him. Tighnari also gave them a grateful smile and said his thanks.
“Thanks guys, for taking care of Kaveh when I wasn’t able to.”
“You know,” said Cyno, “it’s a good thing that not only Kaveh has Tighnari to help him through his pregnancy, he also has all of us.” Cyno nodded his head, hands crossed on his chest. Kaveh nodded happily as well.
“Yeah, you guys are-”
“Because, if Kaveh doesn’t have anyone to help, it will be called a ‘midwife crisis’.”
Collie choked on her food, Al-Haitham stopped his eating, and Tighnari looked at him in disbelief. Hearing no one made a comment, Cyno continued.
“Get it? It’s ‘midlife crisis’ but because Kaveh is Nari’s wife and looking at his age-”
“ Cyno-! ”
A burst of laughter interrupted Tighnari who wanted to smack the General. Everyone at the table is looking at the blonde omega who’s still laughing his heart out. Suddenly, Tighnari’s annoyance is gone when he looks at how beautiful his mate is while laughing happily like he has no stress or pressure. Kaveh looks radiant.
Tighnari blushed, which got noticed by Cyno and Al-Haitham. The electro user smirked and immediately made a comment.
“You better not stare too hard or your eyes will get burnt from how shining our maiden looks.”
The fox gave him a glare. “There is no ‘our’ .”
“Aw, come on! He is very pretty! I would simp too if I won’t get clawed by a certain angry fox.” Cyno wiggled his eyebrows.
“Watch your tongue and it won’t be just claws you’re having.”
“As long as you let me be the funny uncle.”
“Zero chance.”