Work Text:
Competition
Eric was having a good day—a really good day, in fact. Everything at work had gone excellently; none of his employees had done anything stupid, the meetings flowed as he had planned, and he even managed to slip out early. Things were going just as he wanted, with the goal in mind of getting home and enjoying the rest of the afternoon with his adorable husband, giving him his full attention, before their little terrors got home from school or daycare.
But all his fantasies of showering his beloved omega with affection, which may or may not could end up between the sheets, went down the drain when, upon entering the house, he was greeted by the devilish giggles, in his opinion, of his eldest daughter and the humming of his younger daughter, who wasn't very good at modulating her voice's volume yet, and Kyle sitting on the couch, clearly exhausted, trying to split his attention between the two demons whenever they suddenly screamed for him. Suppressing an irritated growl at his ruined plans, he dropped his things where he always did and approached, announcing his arrival, heading straight for his husband as he was completely ignored by the younger one.
"Eric, you're home early," Kyle smiled at him, his face lighting up at the sight of him, and immediately the alpha squared his shoulders, basking in the glory of his attention. He was about to lean in for a well-deserved kiss he had been waiting for all day when the redhead straightened up to hold their youngest daughter, who almost tripped in her eagerness to reach him quickly.
"Mommy!" the little one squealed, delighted to be held and carefully lifted into her mother's lap.
"Aren't you going to say hello to daddy?" the redhead asked, adjusting her messy hair.
In response, the girl turned to Eric, smiling broadly, waving her little hand eagerly before turning back to Kyle, presenting him with a sheet of paper they both only then noticed she was holding. Eric didn't have much time to growl in protest for being denied what he had been waiting for all day when his eldest daughter appeared through the dining room door, shouting for her mother to see how "fast she could go" before touching the edge of the sofa, turning around, and running back to where she came from.
It was obvious to Eric that someone was against him that day. What other reason could there be for their normally well-behaved little devils to be so agitated? Surely they had been given more sweets than they should have at that time; a sugar rush was the only explanation for so much energy. Either that, or someone had found out about his plans and divulged them with every intention of ruining them.
"How was your day at work?" Kyle asked, adjusting the little one in his arms so she wouldn't lean too much against his belly.
It wasn't exactly the level of attention he wanted, but it was something, he thought, sitting next to Kyle with every intention of telling him about his day and complaining, even though it hadn't been that bad. But clearly, his daughters had different plans.
"Mommy, look!" the little one waved the sheet more aggressively, dissatisfied with the quick glance the redhead had given it.
"Mama, look!" the eldest shouted, returning to the living room to repeat the process of touching the sofa and running back.
She didn't even stop to greet him. Unbelievable.
"That's very nice, Nadine," Kyle responded with infinite patience, taking the sheet to examine the drawing. "Liliana, darling, stop running around the house; you're going to get dizzy."
"I'm not dizzy, Mama," the girl protested, but she did slow down her running.
They must be doing it on purpose, Eric thought, frowning, his good mood souring quickly with every second that passed and his husband focused on Nadine's tirade or Liliana's comments instead of him. He didn't even get to answer the question Kyle had asked or ask one himself! And much less had he been able to properly greet him or their future pup. The whole day wasted, longing for this moment. It didn't seem fair, and unconsciously, a growl began to form in the back of his throat.
"Eric," Kyle's warning growl pulled him out of his thoughts, and he immediately noticed that his little ones had stopped talking, Liliana looking at him with some apprehension and Nadine with curiosity.
Part of him wanted to apologize; he never intended to scare his little girls. At the same time, the more selfish and petty part of him, the one he had been trying to squash for the sake of his family for years, reveled in what his outburst had achieved.
"Liliana, darling, why don't you help Nadine organize her toys upstairs while Mama talks to Daddy, okay?" Kyle didn't take his eyes off his alpha, giving his daughters instructions with a soft but firm voice.
Eric shifted his gaze from his husband to his daughters. Liliana clearly wanted to protest, but she was a smart girl and simply nodded, helping Nadine off her mother's lap and leading her to the stairs, telling her they could play with the stuffed animals while they organized. The living room fell into a deathly silence once the voices of their daughters faded behind the door to the youngest's room, and Eric had the decency to squirm a little, feeling guilty.
"You're doing that thing again," Kyle finally said, rubbing his hands against his face, the exhaustion from a moment ago much more evident now that he didn't have to keep an eye on the two earthquakes they called daughters.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Jew," Eric replied. Just because he felt guilty didn't mean he would admit it out loud.
In fact, he wanted to add something else, to feign offense that his husband was accusing him of something nefarious and make a whole drama out of it like when they were kids, which would serve the dual purpose of getting on Kyle's nerves and making him forget about his outburst. The redhead, logically, didn't take his response kindly and gave him that look that made him shiver.
"Cartman…" he warned.
Eric could only describe it as "the look." It was so intense and penetrating that part of him, his most basic alpha instincts, wanted to rebel against the clear challenge while another part, probably his more human instincts, pushed him to melt and accept whatever the omega had in store for him. In the past, that look would have led to them wrestling on the ground, trying to hit each other in a childish brawl. Now, as adults, it ended with them rolling around in a different way. Liliana and now their third child were more than clear examples of that.
"Technically, you're Cartman too," he said quietly, clearing his throat softly and trying not to shrink into himself when the look intensified.
"The first time, when Liliana was born, it was cute," Kyle ignored his comment, crossing his arms, and Eric had to concentrate on what he was saying and not on how adorable he looked, ready to scold him. "Adorable even, seeing you struggle with a two-year-old for my attention as if it were the end of the world that I was attending to our daughter."
"I didn't…" he wanted to protest, but the omega growled again, and this time he lowered his head like a scolded pup.
"After Nadine was born, it was much less fun to see you get irritated every time one of them cried for my attention," the redhead narrowed his eyes. "It's not fun at all to see you growl at them just because you haven't had the chance to give me a greeting kiss."
Eric took a deep breath, nodding to his words. As always, his stupid and precious husband was right.
"Eric," Kyle's voice softened, and the omega slid down the couch to take his face in his hands, lifting it so he could look at him. "I'm worried that… whatever is happening to you will affect your relationship with the girls. That things will change irreparably when our pup is born."
He forced himself not to look away, bringing his hands to his husband's waist, gently caressing the edges of his belly.
It wasn't that he didn't love his daughters or the one about to join their lives. On the contrary, considering it was his idea to have more than one child. Eric would die for his kids, he would kill for them with the same ferocity he would kill for Kyle; his family, after all, was the light of his life and the only reason he might not have completely lost his mind.
At the same time, he had never managed well when the object of his adoration didn't return it with the same intensity every damn second of the day. When Liliana was born, he thought he could control that part of him that urged him to orbit around Kyle, but as his little girl grew, he couldn't help but revert to old habits.
Ugh, it seemed he would have to talk to his therapist again.
"I don't do it on purpose," he finally said, leaning in to rest his forehead against Kyle's, rubbing his nose against the other's and caressing his belly until he felt the man relax and let out a small purr. "You know I love the girls with all my life."
"I know," Kyle smiled, pulling back a bit to climb into his lap. Eric quickly helped him settle, stifling a small laugh when the omega huffed at the effort that simple movement required due to the advanced state of his pregnancy.
"I was hoping to spend the rest of the afternoon with you," he whispered when the redhead seemed content with his new position, resting his forehead on his shoulder and moving his hands to hug his belly. "I made sure to leave early. I was going to give you a foot massage that I know you love, and a lower back massage, and maybe shower you with kisses and…"
"The girls," the omega reminded him, laughing softly, trying not to feel disappointed that his stupid and attentive alpha's plan had been ruined. It really did sound pretty good. Eric's hands were magical, in more than one sense.
"By the way, why are they home so early?" Eric asked, looking down.
"Nadine's daycare had an activity today and let out early," the omega growled low, remembering how the administration's call had forced him to finish his work earlier than planned. "And Liliana's school called because they were going to… fumigate? I don't know, something about maintenance, and they had to finish early."
So, yes, something had to be against him, Eric thought, placing a kiss in the tangle of red locks his husband called hair.
"Well… we could go out for dinner instead of cooking something," he proposed quietly, tightening his embrace slightly. "As an apology."
"Hmm, that sounds like a good idea," Kyle agreed, snuggling more into his arms. "You're paying."
"I expected nothing less from you, greedy Jew," he joked, leaning in to kiss him. He growled in delight when his redhead immediately lifted a bit to meet him halfway, responding to the kiss with the same intensity.
His hands slid down Kyle's hips, squeezing gently before moving to his buttocks, smiling against his lips, delighted with the little squeal he elicited. Maybe he could take advantage of their alone time for a few minutes and…
"Yuck!" their daughters' little voices chorused, making them pull apart and look up to see the girls standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking at them with identical expressions of disgust.
"Oh, as if you didn't like getting kisses from Mama and Daddy," Eric protested, and on impulse, stuck his tongue out at his daughters, who immediately returned the gesture.
Kyle laughed at his husband's childish reaction, gently hitting his shoulder before getting up. Eric immediately looked at him, hurt that he had left the safety and warmth of his arms, a pout threatening to form on his lips, and Kyle feared another jealous outburst from the alpha when their daughters ran to the couch, this time throwing themselves at their father.
"Daddy!" they shouted simultaneously, fighting to see who could climb into his lap first.
"Whoa, careful there, munchkins, you might get hurt," the alpha smiled, helping them both up at the same time, receiving the hug they gave him.
"You have to see how we organized the toys," Liliana said, tugging at his hair gently.
"And play tea with us!" Nadine added, pulling at his shirt.
Eric looked at his husband with bright eyes, and Kyle smiled at him, nodding. Immediately, Eric stood up, carrying the little girls, who squealed and laughed delightedly as he placed one on each shoulder, marveling at how "small" everything looked from their new position.
Kyle watched them go upstairs, sighing in relief. Two birds with one stone, he thought, taking the now empty spot on the couch, lying down comfortably. His silly husband would get the attention he wanted that day, even if it was from their daughters, and he could rest before they had to prepare to go out for dinner.
Hmm, he was craving lamb. The good thing was that Eric would be paying.