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It’s one of those slow nights in between one crazy mission and another, and Vax is, for once, sitting out the heavy drinking and Scanlan’s inappropriate anecdotes while Grog and Pyke screams at each other drunken challenges in the background. It is nice to watch them from the outside for once. It took a while to admit, but he’s glad they became a pack with him and Vex. And it’s the best pack they could have wished for too, accepting, insane and willing to go the extra mile for each other, so much that even his alpha instinct has started shutting up during fights. It recognizes how strong their pack is. It’s nice. Even now, he can feel the familiar energy of their bonds resonating with each other in harmony, their scent intertwined as their fate. It’s so comforting he could purr out loud, and if he doesn’t it’s only because he knows Grog would tease him into exasperation and he honestly does not want having to crush the other’s thick skull, at least for tonight. And even if they don’t speak about it often, he knows that Vex feels the same way for them, he sees it in the way she makes sure everyone is thoroughly scented, or in the way she always puts herself up ready to support everyone, just like she did for Percy during that awful, awful period of them going after the Briarwood.
Percy. He finds him sitting between Kayleth and Scanlan, looking both embarrassed and tipsy, but smelling so safe and content that sometimes Vax feels the urge to scream in a pillow because he can still remember the sweetness of the other’s heat on his tongue and the little, breathy whines. The memory alone is strong enough to hunt him, making it a little harder to remember he is not normally allowed that much familiarity, no matter how much the blond is staring at him and Vex lately or how much prettily he blushes when someone mentions that first, glorious and unexpected heat. Vax himself sometimes still feels absolutely amazed it actually happened in reality instead of just existing in his own fantasies. And yet his scent still lingers on Percival like a warm embrace even weeks after. They did not even have the occasion to speak properly about what happened, afterwards, both of them completely exhausted and still too raw on emotions, but at least there are no strains of sorts on their relationship or pack bond, and for that alone Vax is grateful. Afterwards, Percy spent some time getting reaccustomed to his second gender and, apart from the occasional awkwardness, it is going more smoothly than any of them thought it could. Probably because it doesn’t make much difference for them in the first place, scent and heat related problems aside.
“What’s on your mind, brother?”, Vex’s good-humored voice comes interrupting his line of thoughts. She is smiling as she comes to sit on the floor next to him, bumping shoulders as she leans back to the wall behind them. “You shouldn’t think so hard, dear, you will strain that pretty brain of yours for nothing.”
“I haven’t gotten any concussion this week, I think my brain will survive.”, Vax snorts at her, bumping her shoulder in retaliation. “I just needed a break. I think I heard enough filthiness from Scanlan to make up for the day.”
“Just a day? Then you must have missed the ballad with the horde of nuns in abstinence. I had to ask Pyke to pray for my soul afterwards.”
Vax chuckles and finishes up his last sip of his already warm beer, relishing in the comfort brought by her scent, so strong and safe. She smells like a coniferous forest after rain. It’s rare for two alpha to share as much as they do, but it’s not so unheard of either. And yet, Vax knows he needs her in his life, he needs her strength and vitality around him.
“Given how close Percy seems to detonate himself on the spot, I think Scanlan just outdid himself again, by the way.”, Vax muses, catching the scorching embarrassment on their newly presented omega, who seems very close to sticking the lute down’s the bard throat, while Kayleth just falls out of her chair, giggling and wheezing, probably already thrashed even though she only had one beer in the whole evening.
“So many awful stories in such a tiny little man.”, Vex sighs, but it sounds fond.
“Not so tiny everywhere, though, if his stories are to be trusted.”
“Ugh, shut up!”, Vex makes a disgusted face, shoving him away, this time more roughly, “I heard too many details about that already!”
Whatever Scanlan just said from the other end of the room, though, is apparently enough to make Percival get up and execute a tactical escape in their direction, because Vax’s nose is suddenly full of the blond’s caramel scent as he comes to a slightly staggering stop in front of him and Vex.
God, he’s so fucking pretty.
“In case you’re wondering, I’m 100% using my ‘omega in distress’ card.”, Percy sighs rather dramatically, even if he smells a bit nervous, like his joking tone is a safety net in case he gets turned down. Which is a very stupid thing to be nervous over when your scent is so mouthwatering good to be borderline maddening, but Vax can’t bring himself to comment on that. He’s too scared he will end up purring for how happy this situation is making his inner alpha. The blond’s pale cheeks are rosy, maybe for the alcohol, maybe for the embarrassment, but his eyes are clear. He does a twirly noble-looking bow at them. “Please grant me shelter before my ears start bleeding, oh mighty alphas.”
“Aw, darling.”, Vex coos at him before Vax can even thinking of saying something. She grins at him, maybe with a little more malice than usual, and scoots over, clearly making space for Percival to sit down between them. “Of course we will protect your precious ears from the little bad man.”
Percival flushes a bit more, but after maybe half a second of hesitation, he sits on the offered spot, leaving himself to being surrounded. It surprises him a little how ready the blond was to sit down there, so clearly exposed to both of their scents. Vax has to actively stop himself from crooning at him and fuck, he’s not even nowhere near his rut this time, he doesn’t have any excuse. He’s got to get a grip, damnit.
“Don’t worry Perce, we don’t bite.”, Vax smirks at him instead, trying to distract himself from the distinct need to touch him. That sudden shyness is probably the most entertaining and adorable thing of the evening so far, and he just can’t leave all the fun to his sister. “Unless you ask us too, of course.”
Percy goes completely scarlet at that, so much that Vax finds himself contemplate the possibility of having to witness a spontaneous combustion, especially since he knows how much black powder the other has on his person. The omega groans with one hand covering half of his face like he’s done of everyone’s shit and not at all like he is trying to hide his flush.
“Why is everyone in this group so terrible? You two are lucky you’re still better that Scanlan’s sex rumblings and Grog’s insane level of alcohol intake.”, Percy scoffs, managing to sound exasperated, even though the tips of his ears are still crimson red. He has to disagree with Percy here: the only terrible thing in this situation is that he can’t nibble at them. But al least the blond has taken his hands of his face, now significantly paler and calmer.
“Terrible people but still decent alphas, I want to hope.”, Vax smiles, light and affectionate. Her scent is like a comforting blanket around them. Vax wonders if his scent feels the same, mixed as it is with hers. “Since it seems we are at least a better company than Scanlan.”
“At least?”, Vex grumbles, hiding a smile. “I knew the bar was low, sister, but now it’s on the fucking floor.”
But Vex just rolls her eyes at him and snuggles closer to Percy like it’s an everyday occurrence, feigning innocence. Bitch.
Percival stays silent for a few moments, but he doesn’t seem to mind the closeness. If anything, he relaxes into it a bit more. He keeps looking at them like he wants to say something that he doesn’t know if he has the courage to speak it out loud. But eventually he takes a breath and seems to decide to just go out with it.
“Actually, I also wanted to thank you about something.”, he starts, looking everywhere in the room but at them. “I know that humans and elves have slightly different customs regarding packs, but I still wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your…pack-oriented approach? I suppose. I don’t think I would have coped with this so well otherwise.”
“Oh no, brother. He’s thanking us for not tearing each other’s throats out in the frenzy to breed him through the floor.”, Vex whines, as poor Percy splutters yet again. She keeps her tone light and jovial, but her eyes are a bit soft and sad. “Told you we should have presented gifts.”
“Well, excuse me if I didn’t have anything appropriate at hand right after we almost died fighting in the bloody resistance.”, Vax answers back, scooting closer to Percy as well because fuck her, that’s why. If she can, so can he, right? Percy has yet to comment on their unusual intensity of clinginess, and omega or not, the blond artificer is usually very clear on his own boundaries, especially when crossed. So, Vax is going to take it as a ‘keep going’. “Let’s go shopping tomorrow. I’m sure Gilmore can point us towards some nice bookshops. ”
“Uhm.”, Percival smells confused as hell, but also a little content now that he is tightly sandwiched between the two of them. If anything the closer they get the less nervous he feels and the sweeter his scent turns. It’s absolutely amazing and Vax would jump of the King’s Tower if he ever does something to discourage this closeness. “What gifts are you talking about?”
“Traditionally, any alpha that wishes to join an omega during their heat is supposed to gift them something nice to show their good intentions and respect.”, Vex explains, managing to sound well informed and composed, even as she teasingly rests her head down on Percy’s shoulder, so close to his neck glands that she is practically scenting him. Clearly someone here is exhausting her will to take it slow. “Well, it’s mostly an elven thing, but I always thought it is one of their nicer ones.”
“Oh, I’ve never heard of it. I think I only really interacted with the human nobility side of things…which I guess it’s a bit more on the conservative side.”, Percy grimaces and pauses again, slightly baring his throat in Vax’s direction, as if inviting him to get closer. It’s probably not even a conscious gesture, but Vax finds himself responding to it, resting on his hand on Percy’s thigh and starting to rub circles in it, as he scents him. The blond doesn’t flinch, shifting his leg to give Vax more access to touch.
Uh.
Well, that’s a little more interesting than simply accepting physical touch.
“You don’t need to get me gifts, though. You already were kind enough to step in and help me again. I know it was probably not…ideal, especially after I dragged all of you in my personal mess…”
Silence.
Vax looks at Vex, who raises her eyebrows. Vax frowns at her in response. Then they both look at Percy, so smart and well-read, but also apparently so convinced that sharing his heat and comforting him was such a big sacrifice. That very Percy that is, at the moment, very much cuddled between the very two alphas that proposed him during his heat, sprawled like they’re nesting and smelling like this is the most content he is been in a while. And still seemingly not noticing the very unsubtle flirting, the scenting of Vex and the rubs he is getting from Vax.
“Oh, poor dear.”, is all that his sister manages to say before starting to aggressively scenting the shit out of him, rubbing her wrists and neck on all the availed skin.
“What…Vex?!”
Vax leans in too and breathes long and deep against the other’s neck. They’re so close he can feel him shivering, but even if caught by surprise and clearly confused, Percy’s natural reaction is still baring his neck to give both of them better access. Vax wants to scream. And punch something. Instead, he locks eyes with his twin, he nods to her sister, who backs off, leaving him the maneuvering space to take Percival by the wrist and throwing him over his shoulder with a fluid movement.
“Vax! Fuck, put me down!”
Vax ignores him and also the cheering and whistling from the rest of the group as he carries the stupid idiot to his room, followed by Vex. It’s also very telling that even in all his agitation, the omega’s scent never really turns bitter and frightened. If anything, there is a small trace of arousal that Vax is actively trying not to address until they can sit down and have a talk. Stupid Percy and his stupid, stupid tendency to bottle everything up. Did he had the intention of waiting until he managed to get possessed by a lust demon or something, this time? Gods, Vax really hates stuck-up nobles and their sense of dignity and melodramatic resignation.
“For such a smart person you can be really stupid sometimes, Perce.”, he swears between his teeth, acting like his heart isn’t beating like crazy just from having the blond so close. Behind them, Grog is whooping and Scanlan…well, better to pretend that no one of them can hear him. “Now, we are going to cuddle you a bit, talk, and possibly organizing a trip to the city tomorrow to the shops.”
Vex opens the door to Percy’s room, wait for them to enter and then shuts it behind the three of them. His scent is turbulent, like a forest immersed in a violent storm. It feels…electric.
Vax dumps Percy on his own bed, which interestingly enough has so much more blankets and pillows now that he had a heat again after so long. He then goes waiting near Vex, since neither of them is disrespectful enough to corner their pack omega in his own nest. But gods, it is still a test for his willpower. Especially because the whole room is overwhelming full of Percy’s scent, it’s so strong that not even the black powder that probably covers half of the surfaces can cover its intensity. And Vax is discovering a whole new taste for caramel syrup and spices, that’s for sure.
“You do know that neither of you is making any sense, right?”, Percival hisses at them, seemingly irritated by the rough treatment, even if his scent still smells deliciously fine. There is no anger and no fear. It’s just mild irritation and bratty attitude. “Weren’t we talking perfectly fine a second ago? And why the shops?”
“Oh, so you’re not questioning the cuddles, are you?”, Vex can’t help to purr, smiling, getting maybe a little too close. Her pheromones are the ones all over the place, for once.
And maybe that’s the reason Percy’s eyes widen and he whines, loud, and eager and a little desperate. It catches everyone by surprise, Percy himself included. He flinches, dropping his gaze, uncomfortable and ashamed, like a kid caught with his hands in the jam jar. Like he’s expecting a rejection of sort after having revealed too much.
Yeah, a talk is definitely needed.
“Why don’t you start with inviting us on the bed, Perce?”, Vax tries to sound as calming as he manages, even though his blood is thrumming in his every veins. He briefly wonders how much longer was Percy thinking he could get away with the pretense he is fine keeping his distance, if Vex agitated pheromones could be enough to force out a whine that desperate. “Do you want us there?”
After a few seconds of tense silence the blond nods, even though he still can’t bring himself to look at their faces, tense and visibly uncomfortable.
“Don’t close yourself up, darling. I was just teasing, I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable.”, Vex hums, low and deep, as she crawls on the bed, stopping right near Percy. Her scent reversed back to a comforting blanket after her earlier brief lack of management. Vax hasn’t even noticed before, but her earthy undertones really match Percy’s own salty sweetness. It’s cute, really. Vax follows her, mirroring the positions they had just few moments before, in the hall, except now Percival is hugging his knees, curled on himself. “We just wanted to keep talking somewhere a bit more private. Can I get a little closer, dear?”
Percy scoffs, bitter.
“I’d say I obviously don’t mind.”
“And you think we do?”, Vax is so close to just shake the blond until al the black powder he probably inhaled stops messing with his brain. Fuck this, seriously. Is it a cultural problem? Maybe full humans have other ways to communicate this kind of things? Or is this lack of understanding only Percy being too unused to this kind of attention? “Are you gone deaf and nose-blind?”
“Percy, darling. We’ve been scenting you so much that Scanlan has been going on and on with stories about rut-crazed alphas for a week. I had to threaten to smash his lute the next time he slips the word ‘knot’ in a conversation.”
Vax remembers well that particular conversation. In fact, he is still kind of awed that their bard managed to insert that particular word so many times over breakfast.
“But you scent the whole pack! And Scanlan is just being the usual annoying ass with the whole sudden second-gender reveal.”, the blond artificer objects, even though he is slowly getting less uncomfortable, uncurling his long body between them. “It’s nothing deep, he’s just an ass.”
“We offered to share your heat, Perce!”, Vax is honestly close to stab him. Very close. “You sent me straight into an early rut in a matter of minutes!”
“That’s just the pheromones! Aren’t they supposed to effect every alpha a kilometer radius??”
“Yeah, but not quite at that level, Perce.”, Vax groans, leaning until he can hide his face into their pack omega’s back. “Normally, it only makes us slightly horny. The deeper the bond, the greater the effect, stupid.”
“Percy. Percival. Darling.”, Vex takes his face between her hands, forcing the blond to look at her. She looks firm and threatening sweet, as she does when she’s serious. “We like you. Both of us. We’ve liked you before we’ve knew you were an omega, that’s why we offered to share your heat with you. Now, you try to telling me I’m just succumbing to the irresistible scent of your magical pheromones and I swear I’m going to get Scanlan to explain to you how heat pheromones actually work. With examples. And a lot of graphic details, I’m sure.”
Percy shuts up immediately, eyes widened and mouth hanging open. He looks at Vax, who can only nod in acknowledgement against his back, grateful to have an excuse to hide the burst of heat lightening up his face, and then at Vex, who is smiling.
“Both of you?”
“Yeah, dear.”
“Yep.”
“Wait, is this what you meant during my first heat?”, Percy sounds strangled. “I thought I hallucinated it!”
To be fair, that had been a week full of emotional highs and demoniac hallucinations for Percival, uh.
Nonetheless, Vax uses the present mental breakdown to wrap himself around Percy, hugging him tightly from behind and crossing his legs over his. This could go on hours, okay? Might as well get comfortable.
“Percy, honey.”, Vex croons, coming closer and closer. She pets his face, rumbling a bit, protective and sweet. “You could’ve asked, after. We thought you weren’t interested in anything more than our usual pack bond.”
Percy makes another strangled sound, like he can’t believe he ended up being the cause of his own problems, again. Vax nuzzles his nape, inebriated by the salty yet sweet scent coming from the blond artificer.
“Told you, Perce.”, he rumbles, deep in his chest. The other shivers in his arms, a little surprised even, like he hasn’t even noticed Vax being so close. He feels so right. So grounded. Sweet omega scent and fresh, familiar alpha pheromones mix in the small room, it feels like he’s getting high from it alone. “For a genius, you can be pretty fucking stupid when you want.”
Percival has already opened his mouth to protest, when Vex gets finally close enough to lean in and cradle his face between his hands, nuzzling his clean-shaved cheeks with hers, practically oozing comfort and protectiveness. She then cuddles against his chest and between his legs, with his head against the hollow of his neck.
Percy meanwhile is literally vibrating out of his skin, his scent turning sweeter and appeased the more contact he gets. He seems still a little lost, like he is rethinking his whole series of life choices of the last few weeks. Vax can honestly relate.
“You can still say anything and we will back off, though.”, Vex hums against his neck, “We can still be your pack alphas if you prefer space. Maybe just think it over a bit, mh?”
“Fuck space.”, Percy almost sobs. “Hug me tighter.”
Vax smiles, holding him, and closes his eyes, letting himself drift in the comfort of their physical closeness, lulled by the way their scents mix together so naturally. They will probably need to come back to the subject and explore it better, but for now it’s fine to just enjoy the moment, relaxing on the soft but Percy’s uncertain purring. It starts uncertain just to grow into something soft and comfortable.
Yeah. For now, it’s fine like this.