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Before common sense could reverse his decision, a familiar voice, laced with sleep and grogginess that didn’t do well in hiding the annoyance ringing through the phone, sounded too loud to relieve his nerves.
"Jaekyung? The hell are you calling in so late?"
Jaekyung gulped down the throbbing anxiety clumping down his throat. Something was purposefully resting down there to make his life harder than it was already.
"Sooha is sick," Jaekyung passed a hand through his hair, gripping it hard at the back in a fit of frustration, "She was fine when she fell asleep two hours ago then she woke up crying. Impossible to calm her down, we— Dan took her temperature. For the past fifty minutes, her 40°C fever hasn’t fucking gone down. Help me, hyung. Please. I—Please, I beg you."
Jaekyung was panicking.
His daughter was crying her lungs out and felt like she was struggling through the worst type of pain. The alpha experienced tenacious thousands of needles slashing his heart, trying to rip it into two, three —thousand pieces. His bond with his daughter was a mess. Between pain and desolation, hurt and confusion, Jaekyung honestly wanted to cry too, to scream, exit the room, or just punch something. But he needed to stay strong.
Because Dan… well.
His omega first tried to bring down her fever by stripping her tiny body, leaving only her diapers on, just like he had read on the internet a couple of times —in anticipation of the day when it would eventually happen. Calm and composed, his tears well held back until they realized that — nothing was working. The little girl’s parents’ gentle pheromones were useless, let alone Jaekyung’s usual special skills to soothe her cries. The medication to alleviate her pain and fever the doctor gave them weeks ago after her first vaccine, useless back then, only made her grimace from the bitter taste and cry harder because of the overall unknown of the situation.
Nothing worked and Dan was a crying mess next to him, seconds away from hyperventilating and having a panic attack which didn’t help the distraught state of their precious daughter.
His hyung was oddly silent on the other side of the phone to the point where Jaekyung wondered if he had not fallen back asleep. Worse, dared to hang up. What a damn example for the medical profession. As the alpha was about to shout, he heard his name being called again. The doctor who was always a bag of nerves and stressed him out whenever he had to intervene in Dan’s health related stuff, this same hyung was not even panicking when he finally answered him, as if Sooha’s state were not even alarming to begin with.
In a calm and gentle tone, he asked to be put on speakers before his voice came through the phone again. "First, you need to calm down. Both of you. Is she showing any sign of breathing difficulties? Look at her legs, do you see any marbling marks? She is not all limp, right? Does she still react to your pheromones? It’s normal if it’s not working since she’s a bit grumpy because of the fever, but do you feel like she is seeking comfort from you?"
At Jaekyung’s quick reassuring answers to the interrogation, except for the last part, his hyung pursued, "When was her last meal? Did you try to give her a bottle since it started?"
"I‘ll go make another one," Dan looked and sounded heartbroken to have to leave his little puppy bean. But he knew it was needed. Jaekyung was the one to cradle her inside one of his arms because Dan’s were shaking too much.
The omega has never felt more… useless.
Looking at his devastated mate walking away, Jaekyung sighed. Before he could join him back, Sooha broke down in a new outburst, louder than the previous ones, interrupted by a coughing fit. Jaekyung checked down on her and gingerly shushed her down, "We gave her medicine immediately and she refused to eat since then. Fuck. Fuck it. What are we supposed to do?"
Despite the frustration, the cruel anxiety invading the alpha’s mind and soul when he sensed his two loved ones desperate, he still got a clear mindset and followed his lover quietly to the kitchen.
"I’ll be there in ten minutes Jaekyung-ah, okay? In the meantime, try to feed her. What can work better to appease her is a skin-to-skin with her omega father. Whether Dan produces milk or not, it comforts pups to latch on their parents’ nips, he should try it."
No sooner said than done. While the bottle was heating up, Dan immediately threw away his large sweater that belonged to Jaekyung and turned to look at his crying baby. The alpha left a soft kiss on the crown of her head before gently lowering her down for Dan to pamper their baby at his own pace. Sooha’s tiny face and chest were all red from the required effort to show her discomfort and Dan bit back a sob as he took her shaking hand, stretched in what looked like a painful way, to gently stroke her silky skin to his own cheek.
Strong pheromones and gentle words murmured by the alpha wrapped them in a cocoon where only their family existed.
The omega was too lightheaded by all of this to notice how he ended up seated on the couch with his baby fussing louder than ever in his arms. He heard what the doctor said, and in all honesty, he had heard about it too before. Women and men in maternity were speaking a lot about this important bonding process during his prenatal classes but he gave up on this idea the moment they were told Dan couldn’t produce any milk. Any other alphas would probably have held him accountable for their four-month-old baby’s weakness due to the lack of breastfeeding and its immune support, but Jaekyung never once complained. He has only been as supportive as possible, knowing how such details were heavy on Dan’s mind.
"Dada is here, Sooha. Let’s try it, mh? The kind doctor is coming soon…"
Dan patted her little diapers-butt to soothe her loud cries and, with a hand supporting her head, he slowly directed her towards his left nipple, hardened by the chilly room. After he made sure that her mouth was close enough to him, he squinted his eyes tight, dreading the fateful moment maybe a bit too much.
Her cries ceased, and a buzzing silence muffled the room.
At least, until her little gulping and humming sounds resounded to his ears as they did beneath his ribcage.
Dan couldn’t believe his eyes.
"Kyu—Jaekyung!"
He didn’t need to call for the alpha, really. The silence had been too frightening for him and he was already running towards his family with a warm bottle in one hand, a baby bib in the other. What lay in front of his very awakened eyes almost made him drop everything.
Dan was—feeding their baby?
"Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Is she… nursing? For real?" Jaekyung quietly sat down but a long sigh came out of his mouth as he slumped down on his lover’s shoulder, a way to have a clearer view of whatever was happening, the relief was palpable in the loosening of his frown.
The couple cooed when their daughter’s little hand came to grip Dan’s chest, closing and opening her little fist above his heart as if she were controlling its loud pumps.
"I-I don’t feel like there is any milk… she is just sucking." Dan, smiling so wildly, turned blind as he reduced his attention to his daughter only. He didn’t even see nor feel the gentle kiss dropping on his cheek.
"When I tell you she is a spoiled girl for her little Dada, I mean it. How does it feel?"
The omega shyly grinned at his alpha and diverted their gaze towards the warm milk inside the alpha’s right hand.
"It’s… weird. But I’ve never felt this complete since I gave birth."
Dan felt immensely grateful to have his alpha to help him because he would have turned back to his panic state the moment he had to detach his child from himself to actually feed her.
She fussed, a lot.
But her unfocused gaze to where her alpha father’s pheromones were the thickest calmed her a bit and she took the bottle head between her dehydrated gums, humming in content as the first few drops collected upon her small tongue.
One, two, three, four, five long gulps until the large hand was pushed back by Sooha and they both watched the pup eagerly coming back to Dan’s sore nipple, sucking it like it was the most delicious meal she has ever tasted.
"She loves it. But am I to bla–"
Dan cut him, "Don’t you even dare. Don’t mess it up for me, please."
"Hey! I was going to say that I get it, too. Your scent is so strong there, your heart is happy, you are all bouncy through the bond… She is loving every single second of it."
Embarrassment got the better of him at his lover’s words and Dan elbowed his side with cute side-eyes. Jaekyung was ridiculous acting like it hurt, protecting his body and whining away. But it was worth it. If acting like a stupid clown would get him to make the cute omega giggle like he did right now, he would do it again and again.
"Do—Do you think she’ll resent me later on? To not be able to do this for her every day? She is so vigorous and… it hurts. I’m not sure if I can do this daily when we cuddle."
"Resent you for what? Giving her unconditional love and protection?" Jaekyung scoffed at Dan’s unbelievable messy thoughts, "She is your first and last thought of each day, she is inside your mind 24/7. She feels it, you know. Your love. Whether it is through a bottle or your cute nipple, it doesn’t change anything for her. She loves you."
There was a minute of silence, a comforting one where their love echoed back from one another with an unspeakable strength before Dan added in a gentle whisper, "Why are you always so patient with me?"
"Mh? I am not patient, I am just," Jaekyung covered his nervous gulps by gently rubbing his mouth over the side of Dan’s shoulder, "I’m the luckiest bastard to have mated with someone with so much love to spare. My children will turn out to be great human beings growing up beside you."
Children?
Plural?
Jaekyung never once talked about having a second child since they had Sooha. Not that Dan thought much about it—he definitely imagined himself pregnant again with another beautiful baby beyond reason. Hormones; dopamine — whatever it was, it was strong and he still sometimes looked at himself in the mirror missing something there.
Jaekyung had gone through it all, too?
"You want another baby? With me?"
Sooha was back on her meal and Dan was glad she did or he would have died from embarrassment for her to feel exactly how frantically his heart was beating inside his chest when Jaekyung murmured against his ear, "You’re such an idiot. Trust me, you’d already have our second child in you if it were not for this little cock and rut blocker."
•••
Later, hours after Sooha got examined roughly by their old friend who decided to keep her at home for the moment, "I’m not that worried. Keep a close eye on her for the night, I’ll be back at the first hour in the morning" were his last words to act as the most soothing balm for the parents’ hearts, their bedroom found them wildly awake. The dim lighting coming out of their bedsides.
Dan has refused to leave his side of their shared bed where he previously sat down, his bedrobe tightly wrapped around his waist but loose around the chest, the vacant print of a little baby’s body extending its fabric. His palm couldn’t seem to leave the top of Sooha’s head spread across soft yellow sheets in her portable crib made of mahogany hardwood.
Her soft and tender baby hair. Her forehead was still a bit warm but the reassuring numbers on the thermometer kept the father’s heartbeat in check. Her familiar uneven breathing. All her slightest moves. Her little hummings. The way out of her dreams got her to whine lowly then suddenly go quiet as she let beautiful dreams welcome her back in. Dan felt all better this way. Plus, she had magically stopped squirming in discomfort the moment he put his hand there—more reasons to not expect him to move away.
Jaekyung scoffed under his breath. Not only did his daughter feel way better second after second, but she was shining through their special bond under all the love she received and thickly poured out her clean linen musky pheromones to give back all the love she felt towards her happy-happier Dada. Not once did she ask for him. Everything was about Dan and how precious he was for their little family. And the worst part of it—Jaekyung felt nothing but proudness and love upon the matter. Not an ounce, a hint, the tiniest crumb of jealousy could soil the way he was feeling.
His inner alpha was jumping all over the place, seeking to protect and love his omega deeper, larger, better, more and so much more.
"Are you sure you don’t want to move into your nest? You always say how nice and warm you feel there. Sooha loves it, too."
Dan silently shook his head, no longer having the strength to argue on how he didn’t want to sue his and his daughter’s —sometimes Jaekyung’s too— happy place with such terrible memories. The little pout appearing on pretty lips made the omega too cute in his stubbornness that Jaekyung gave up. But his heart didn’t and went back to its frenetic pace. How precious that small man could be?
Perhaps that’s why the alpha’s arms and long legs hadn’t come off from their guarded places encompassing the omega’s small body as he hugged him from behind, his nose deeply buried in his mark, seeking to breach the skin and simply dive inside the tenderness lying underneath — all the damn koalas in Sooha’s children books were probably green with envy.
"Can you—Can you do your thing, please? She is truly okay now, right?" asked Dan for the fiftieth time of the night.
"She is, babe. You can stop worrying, you know. Tomorrow, she’ll be all recharged to annoy the shit out of me to feed her every ten minutes or to put her socks back on every two minutes. Gripping at my hair, trying to tear my ears apart, and so on," his annoyed tone was tamed down to a quiet, endeared sigh at the size difference between his beautiful daughter’s belly, slowly pacing up and down, and his large hand when he came to gently rock her.
"Hey, she is not annoying… She must be so tired, my baby," Dan focused more on his daughter, his voice sounding softer, smoother, so much more beautiful, "Right, Sooha? Sweetie. You fought your fever like a little champion, didn’t you?" Dan whispered adoringly to not disturb her, his voice still tinted with worry, "Dada was so afraid."
Even if he couldn’t see his face, Jaekyung guessed that his lover’s beautiful iris must be blurred by another bunch of teardrops. Nothing in his scent told him off. Jaekyung simply felt it.
"Me too," the alpha admitted right over his mate’s ear as if it would prevent their sleeping daughter from knowing about his secret, as if she hadn’t felt it rubbing off of him from the start. And for the first time in a while, Dan finally looked back at his husband. His eyebrows met in the middle of his soft forehead in the cutest worried frown, "I hate it when you cry."
Jaekyung was so gentle and delicate swipping away the stray tears rolling down his mate’s blushing cheeks. Those beautiful hazel eyes met his and the alpha felt his heart miss a beat or two.
"How can you be so beautiful," asked but not truly asked Jaekyung, love written all over his face.
The little shy smile brightened the beautiful face made Jaekyung tighten his arms around its owner. Dan has never been gifted at hiding his emotions from him, more times than enough he showed his vulnerability to Jaekyung and let him deal with it.
The delicious flowery scent sought comfort, and begged attention from the alpha.
The heavyweight inside his chest left as soon as Dan noticed the enamored grin Jaekyung offered him. Patience and affection fused together and formed the perfect attentive man laying his love bare for him. A desperate need shook the omega and Dan nibbled his bottom lip, searching for the right words; the right way to ask for it.
"What do you want, you idiot?" Jaekyung whispered, honey dripping out of his voice muffled down when he sowed soft kisses along the side of the omega’s neck.
"Why are you always calling me an idiot… You’re the idiot for marrying one, you know," Jaekyung laughed back loudly and Dan gazed down in panic at their daughter who almost woke up from his husband’s stupidity. The omega felt an unusual sense of anger rising from deep within, his protective sense firing back up, added in frustration since he couldn’t let it seam in a satisfying outburst and had to limit himself to a whispered scolding, "Jaekyung! I swear if you wake up our bab—"
"I love you."
A warm wave of fresh citrus scent coats Dan both from out and inside.
"Should call hyung back. Is that normal that I want to devour you, right now?" Jaekyung pointed out his words by harmlessly bitting over the edges of the mark he left on Dan so many years ago. Dan pushed his head against his in answer as he arched his back beautifully, the hand that wasn’t on their daughter reached to claim the back of his head and push his alpha further down in his neck. "You still haven’t told me what is it you want from me."
"Hold me."
This came out as the gentlest whispers bracing through their large bedroom.
"Aren’t you gonna cry if I separate you from Sooha?" Jaekyung softly asked against Dan’s neck. His fingers were already working on the knot of his mate’s robes, unfastening it slowly so as to not rush his beautiful lover. Jaekyung knew what Dan needed. He got it the moment their eyes met. It wasn’t sexual, per se. Even though Jaekyung could definitely feel himself reacting to the love of his life enjoying his treatments, Dan was far from wanting it. His omega needed affection. Him. Their bodies clumped on each other, the smaller one stealing all his warmth while Jaekyung rubbed soothing circles all over his back. Dan was a goner for this and Jaekyung learned to live with it long enough ago.
Dan seemed to ponder over his wants and the difficulties it could invoke to answer his daughter’s needs. He pouted hard and Jaekyung snorted in adoration. A simple flick on the omega’s forehead somehow soothed down the void in his chest when Jaekyung gently put his hands away from their baby. The little girl didn’t react more than a frown with a swipe on her closed eyes with her cute little tight-clenched fist.
Two wardrobes were thrown at the end of their bed, leaving the two men half-naked. The smaller one was manhandled until he hovered perfectly still on his mate’s chest. Hard, steady, warm. The alpha was breathing slowly and shared so many good soothing pheromones that the omega started to purr against his neck. Hiding there, he felt like all the energy drained away by the day’s events was instilled anew back into him while his personal heater relaxed all the tension and knots aching all the way down his body.
"I’m going to check on her for the rest of the night, just sleep."
Huge palms roamed the omega’s back in sync with what Dan imagined and was tempted by earlier. Jaekyung knew him, knew where to press and dig to roast his skin with thousands of shivers. If his sides were sensitive, it was nothing compared to the little dimples decorating his lower back. The combination of familiar warmth and tenderness there was enough to make him lose it and Dan was heavenly close to join his daughter in the dreamland.
He was truly close.
If it were not for the tiniest slap his butt has ever received and two large arms soon covering the expanse of his back, his chilled arms and exposed neck in a tight embrace.
"My cute little idiot."
When even sleepiness couldn’t fight her cuteness and her favoritism, Sooha defended her father from his ’new’ title by repeatedly closing her mouth around the air in loud drooling sounds, snapping her tongue as if she were reprimanding her mean Daddy.
And Dan enjoyed that even more at the hint of the faint blush contrasting over two cute scarred ears of an alpha dealing with the shame to have been caught up.