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“Lhung, if I don’t make a pack nest today, I’ll die!” was the first thing Kenta heard as he walked into Alan’s house. Hearing North’s distressed cry, he almost wanted to turn around and take his pups back out again so the three of them wouldn’t have to be around for whatever chaos had started while they were out getting groceries. But the groceries they were carrying were for the pack dinner that Alan had insisted on having, and his pups had started to stare a little ravenously at the groceries while they were out finding everything, so there was no getting out of having to walk past the pack nonsense on their way to the kitchen. The pups were expecting food, soon, and Kenta didn’t really want to force them to wait much longer or be forced to deal with even more public social situations than they’d already had to by taking them out to eat somewhere.
Neither of them had liked the crowd at the stores they’d visited. It had been draining for them. Kenta also didn’t like having to deal with crowds either, especially not while he was out with his pups. He just worried about them the whole time, scared that Buddy would get overwhelmed or that Taro would get anxious.
After an afternoon out being socialized, the pups deserved a nice dinner as a reward.
Even if it seemed that Kenta might have to cook it instead of Alan, if North didn’t stop fussing at him.
“North, you’re not going to die. I told you we should wait until everything calms down before you start stealing everyone’s stuff to make a big nest in the living room.”
“It’s not stealing! It’s gathering supplies for a nest that we can all enjoy. And everything is totally calm now-”
Kenta managed to sneak his pups and the groceries past the two without being spotted. Alan looked like he was on the verge of caving to North’s demands. Undoubtedly, a pack nest was going to be created in the house that day.
As Taro helped unload the groceries onto the kitchen counter, Buddy tugged on Kenta’s hand and asked, “Daddy, what’s a pack nest? Is it for birds?”
North made a sound that was something between a mix of a strangled scream, a laugh, and a triumphant ‘ah-HA!’ before telling Alan he had to make a nest for the pack pups to all enjoy. They all glanced in the direction of the sound. Taro muttered under his breath in typical eleven-year-old fashion that North was weird.
Kenta briefly considered sending Taro to go lock their bedroom so North couldn’t get in there and take their things. But he was sure North would just unlock it somehow or come bothering them to open it, and that would be a much bigger hassle than just letting him do it.
“Daddy?” Buddy repeated.
“A nest is…” It occurred to Kenta that neither of his pups had ever seen a nest before. Kenta had never made one, and the pups always slept in the same bed as him. He didn’t have any nesting instinct after being subverted. Not that any Omega had been allowed to nest in the Foundation anyway. “It’s something that a lot of Omegas can make. It's something they can sleep in, made out of pillows and blankets and clothes and things like that, usually scented by their family members.”
“Oh… so it’s like a kind of bed?” Taro asked after thinking for a moment.
“Most of the time it’s on a bed.”
“Is our bed a nest?” Buddy tilted his head.
“No. I don’t make nests. And a pack nest is just a bigger nest, for more people to sleep in. North must want to make one that everyone in the pack can sleep in.”
Buddy’s eyes went a little wide. “That’d be a really big bed,” he said seriously.
“Yeah.” Taro counted a bit on his fingers. “That’d be like… eleven people in the big nest tonight.”
Buddy nodded along to the number his brother came up with. “That’s a lot.”
It… didn’t seem like the right number. Kenta quickly counted in his own head. Taro was off by four. He wasn’t sure who Taro was missing. If he was off by three, he would have thought the pup was excluding their little family from the pack, as Taro still had trouble adjusting to the idea of being part of one. But who was the fourth?
As difficult as it was for Kenta to adjust as well, he knew from therapy that it was important to make sure the pups always felt secure in their place in the X-Hunter family. “There’s fifteen people in the pack.”
“I know.” Taro looked a little miffed to be misunderstood. “But we always sleep in our bed. And Kim. Fifteen. Eleven people in the ‘pack nest’ bed, and four in our bed. That’s fifteen.”
“North might take blankets and pillows from our bed for his nest. I’ll put new ones on,” he warned them, so it wouldn’t freak them out. A thought occurred to Kenta. Maybe he couldn’t send Taro to go lock their door, but there was something North might take for the nest either on purpose or by accident that might upset the two boys. “Before North goes to our room, you two should go grab your stuffed animals so he doesn’t take them by mistake.”
The pups scampered off to go rescue the two plushies Kim had bought for them before North could steal them for his nest, as well as Buddy’s teddy bear. Kenta got to work preparing for dinner. Soon he was joined by a sighing Alan, who had indeed given up and gave North his permission to create a big pack nest in the living room. Eventually, the rest of the pack started to arrive at the house. Others joined to help with making dinner or by bringing in food or drinks they’d brought along themselves, and when Pete and Way arrived with Martin, Kenta spotted the youngest pack pup running up to his cousins to go play with them.
He smiled a bit seeing as Martin got excited seeing that Taro and Buddy both had Pokémon plushies, asking them what their names were and if they were their favorites.
“I don’t know what mine is,” Buddy said about his plushie.
“Mama, do you know its name?” Martin asked Way.
“Why would I know what it is…?” Way asked, confused as to why Martin would be asking him.
All the while, North worked hard on gathering everything for his nest, dragging Jeff into making it with him. Things were as peaceful as they could be for their group, until North made Way scream by trying to steal the jacket right off of his body when he didn’t have enough things with his scent for the nest. With some intervention from others and Way’s grumbling soothed by Pete, things calmed down.
After dinner and talking for a while, North started encouraging everyone to move to the nest. Pete and Way took Martin to brush his teeth and get ready for bed before heading to the nest, as the youngest pup was already starting to doze off.
Kenta… did not want to spend the night in the nest. Even after living in Alan’s add-on for a while, he still was particular about protecting his pups at night. Though having Kim in the bed most nights had eventually started to make their bedroom feel more comfortable, the nest that North made was setting off so many alarm bells in his head.
He’d assumed the nest would be in the middle of the living room, but instead it was over by the large windows looking out at the pool. Totally exposed. There was no way to shield the pups. And everyone would be so bunched together. He’d also sort of figured that the pups would be in the middle to protect them, but it was clear that North had made spots for the kids near the edges. They would not be in the safest part. It looked like Alan would be in the middle.
“P’Kenta! I gave you guys a little extra space, ‘cause it’s your first nest!” North gestured to a part of the nest near the edge with bedding and clothes from them and Kim. Said Alpha was already getting into the spot, chatting with Sonic and Charlie. It was somehow the most exposed part of the nest, aimed towards the front door.
He was not going to sleep well. But if the kids wanted to try it, he would have no choice. There was no way he was going to let them sleep apart from him all night, even if they’d be right with Kim and the rest of the pack.
And nesting was probably good for pups. To be with their pack all night, in a big, cozy nest… Surely there was a reason for Omegas to have the nesting instinct. They wouldn’t have it if it wasn’t important for pups. North had seemed to think it was vital, and Jeff must have agreed, since he had helped out.
Kim noticed them and gave them all a smile. He got up and stepped out of the nest. He held out a hand for Kenta to take.
Resigning himself to an uncomfortable night, Kenta walked forward and put one foot in the nest. He gently tugged Buddy’s hand.
Taro pulled Buddy back. Not hard, but enough for him to stumble backwards and let go of Kenta’s hand. Taro had obviously intended that, easily wrapping his arms around his brother to steady him.
“Taro?”
“What are you doing?” Taro asked, bewildered.
“…Getting into the nest?” Kenta wasn’t sure why his son was looking at him like he was an alien or something.
The look didn’t go away. Buddy also stared at him. “No?” Taro’s brow furrowed, the boy looking even more perplexed.
“Yes…?”
“Why? Kim got out. We don’t have to say goodnight to him now, so we don’t need to get in.”
“I just stepped out so you guys can get comfortable,” Kim explained.
Taro frowned at them. “Oh,” he said simply, sounding disappointed and oddly hurt. It set off warning alarms for Kenta. Something was wrong. Even Buddy looked disappointed. The two of them were upset about the same thing, and Kenta didn’t know what it was that was upsetting them. Then, Taro steeled himself. He lifted up Buddy and said, frustrated and even more hurt, “Fine. We’ll sleep by ourselves, then, if you two are sleeping here. Goodnight. Come on, Buddy.”
Before Taro could take more than a few steps, North got up to block them. “Hey, hey! Where are you little guys going?”
“To bed. Buddy is tired.”
“You guys are supposed to sleep in the nest!”
“No way,” Taro said flatly. “We looked at it. Now we know what it is, like you wanted. There’s too many people and it’s way too exposed. We can’t sleep here.”
Exactly Kenta’s thoughts. He felt proud of his pup. But he couldn’t believe that his sons thought he would willingly sleep apart from them.
Buddy nodded his head, agreeing with his brother that he didn’t like it either. He didn’t say anything, sulking in his brother’s arms about how they thought they’d have to sleep by themselves instead of with their dad and Kim.
“At least try it!” North tried to herd them back towards the nest.
Kenta intervened, stepping between them. “They don’t want to.” Even though he knew North didn’t mean any harm, Kenta didn’t want anyone to force his pups to do something or to start overwhelming them.
Also, he was secretly relieved that they didn’t want to. Maybe he was supposed to try to convince them… but he didn’t want to get in the nest either. It was the perfect excuse to get out of it.
“We’ll just sleep in our room tonight,” he told North. North complained, but gave up, slinking back to Sonic’s side. “I can carry Buddy, Taro.” He took the younger pup. Both boys also looked relieved, Buddy resting his head on Kenta’s shoulder and yawning. Taro took his hand, letting out a breath and shuffling closer to him.
Kenta thought that was the end of it. The pups would calm down as soon as they were in bed. Taro turned to Kim. “Are you coming too?”
“I’ll be up in an hour or so. I haven’t been in a nest since I was young.”
“You can sleep in it if you want.” With that, the two said goodnight to Kim and they headed off. On their way, though, Taro suddenly muttered, “Nests are stupid,” and let his plush toy from Kim fall to the ground before tugging Kenta’s hand so they would walk faster. Kenta spared a glance at the tree shaped Pokémon as they walked away from it. Taro and Buddy had really liked being allowed to pick out stuffed animals for themselves off of Kim’s laptop. Buddy had picked one that he thought was cute and somewhat bunny shaped, something different than his teddy bear he already had, but still similar enough. He hadn’t named the toy at all, and could never remember what the actual name of the Pokémon was. Kenta thought it started with Mimi or something.
North and Sonic had snickered when Kim opened the package the toy had come in, telling him that a horror themed Pokémon was perfect for Buddy. Kim had whacked them both for it, which Kenta had appreciated. His pups were absolutely not creepy or scary like others in the pack had claimed. They were just normal eleven and four year old boys. Even with their powers, since practically half the pack had special abilities. The toy didn’t even look horror themed. It just looked like it was meant to mimic something homemade, with a nice big smile and a face like a child had drawn it on. It seemed perfectly suitable for little kids, something they could easily draw or make themselves.
And Taro had been especially happy to receive his toy. While picking one out, he’d been most interested in the plant shaped ones, and had lit up when he realized that one of them was based off of a bonsai tree. Then, ashamed to have that interest, he’d just told Kim to get him the one that looked like a yellow, fatter version of the one Buddy picked out, apparently the game’s mascot. When Kim had pulled the vaguely bonsai tree shaped stuffed animal out of the package instead of the yellow one, Taro had been so surprised, then beamed, giving Kim the smile that the Alpha claimed he’d inherited from Kenta, which Kim described as heart-shaped.
The two pups took good care of their toys, keeping them in their bedroom so nothing would happen to them. It wasn’t like Taro to just abandon his Bonsly plush.
He must have been mad that Kim was choosing to stay in the nest rather than going to bed with them like usual.
And he was definitely mad as he quietly got ready for bed and then curled up in his spot silently. Kenta wanted to remind him that Kim had said he’d join them in an hour, but he had his own doubts. If Kim fell asleep in the nest, he might not wake up in time to join them.
Except Kim did come back. A little later than he’d said, but only by a few minutes. Kenta woke up immediately as the door opened, but then relaxed as he recognized Kim’s scent. Kim slipped into bed with them, which woke up Taro. Before the pup could even realize he was awake, Kim reached over and smushed the Bonsly toy against the boy’s face.
“You dropped your plushie.”
“Kim…?”
“Who else would I be? North?”
Taro grumbled at the idea and hugged his plushie. He looked much more relaxed now that Kim was where he was supposed to be.
-
As Buddy patted the spot next to him, Taro began to rapidly lose his determination to remain stubborn. He’d tried to avoid the nest and keep his brother away from it as well the next day, but when he sat down to do his online schooling, he could no longer keep suggesting to Buddy other places to go to play with each other and Martin. So when he’d finished his morning session and went looking for his brother, he was dismayed to find both kids in the nest.
Apparently Martin had really liked being in it, and had dragged Buddy in to make a fort in the middle, also dragging in lots of toys for them to play with amongst all the blankets and pillows on the huge inflatable mattress that made up the base of the nest. And once Martin left with his parents and Taro finished his afternoon session, there was hardly anyone left in the house. Kim had a break day scheduled, and he’d chosen to stay at home to watch the pups after Way and Pete had left. So their dad had gone out with Alan and Jeff to the garage, and everyone else had gone out to practice or train or just go home.
So with no one around and Kim outside doing light exercises and swimming, Taro and Buddy were left alone next to the nest.
And Buddy had insisted that Taro play with him in it. He tried protesting, saying he was tired after doing his lessons, but Buddy had simply suggested they nap instead.
“It’s nice. I brought your toy. Daddy’s blanket is right here. You can have it, nii-san.” As Buddy generously offered him their dad’s blanket and dug out his plushie from where it was tucked in next to Buddy’s, Taro gave in.
“Fine…” He climbed into the nest and sat down next to Buddy, determined not to like it. He took his plushie. Even though Buddy had offered him the blanket, Taro made sure Buddy was also tucked underneath it before he got himself tucked into the nest as well, the both of them in the portion that just smelled like their family and Kim. Despite not wanting to like it, Taro soon drifted to sleep after watching his brother doze off.
-
Kim finished up outside and went in to check on the kids after a while. He’d told them to call for him or come out if they needed anything, and they hadn’t, so he assumed they were fine. Taro took looking after Buddy very seriously, and was perfectly capable of doing so on his own. Buddy was an easy kid, and Taro was plenty old enough to mind both his brother and himself.
Still, he didn’t like that there was no answer to him calling their names. But he just figured they were in the add-on in their bedroom instead. So he started to walk past the pack nest North had left behind in the main room.
Then he spotted Buddy’s Mimikyu plushie sticking out of the nest. “Buddy dropped his too? First Taro, now him…” Kim went to go grab it, but then paused. “Oh.” He was surprised to see a little arm sticking out of the nest as well, which the plushie had clearly rolled away from. And after spotting the pup’s arm, Kim realized that both kids were actually in the nest, deeply snuggled into the pile.
He smiled, happy to see them finally in the nest and enjoying it all to themselves.
But then he got a little worried. Though Buddy always slept soundly, Taro was a light sleeper like Kenta, and Kim had been saying their names pretty loudly from close by at the other side of the nest when he first came back inside. But neither of the kids had stirred. And as he stared at them for any signs of life, he couldn’t even tell whether or not they were breathing, since they were both so buried in the nest.
Surely they’re fine, he thought to himself, and decided to wait another ten seconds to see if either pup would move a bit. Children were supposed to be wriggly sleepers. Even if he could sleep through a lot, Buddy was four. He kicked Kenta all the time in his sleep, or jammed his hand against his brother’s face.
Neither moved. He carefully knelt down next to them, heart pounding with anxiety as he moved a pillow aside to expose Buddy’s face. He held a finger under his nose, and sighed with relief when he felt air being exhaled from the pup. He did the same to Taro, and felt like he’d collapse from the relief that both had not somehow suffocated themselves in their sleep.
For good measure, he gave them each a poke on the cheek. Cheeks that had gotten rounder with regular food and less stress. Seeing their faces scrunch up a little really cemented for him that they were okay. They weren’t dead, just dead asleep.
He chuckled softly, even though the brief experience felt like it had shaved a few years off of his lifespan. “You two must be cozy, huh? I’ll let you keep napping.”
-
The pups slept for hours. Kim had to check that they were still breathing more times than he cared to admit. Parenting was stressful. He’d never seen them remain so motionless for so long.
He both wanted to praise and curse North’s nesting skills. The Omega was obviously very good at making comfortable nests that suited the tastes of all sorts of pack members, including fussy and nervous pups. But he was also too good at it, since Kim was now having to check whether or not Kenta’s pups were actually alive in the nest, they were sleeping so soundly.
Kim didn’t try to wake them up until dinner. He’d heard Alan complain that Martin got really grumpy if he napped for too long, but Kim didn’t see how that could actually bother a kid. Taro definitely needed the extra sleep, and Buddy looked so cute when he was sound asleep that Kim couldn’t bear the thought of waking him unnecessarily. By then, Kenta had returned, along with Alan and Jeff. But when the takeout Jeff wanted was delivered, it was time to get the kids out of the nest.
It gave Kim a warm feeling and made his inner Alpha purr seeing Kenta smiling fondly down at his two pups as they knelt next to them, seeing them tucked away in the nest sleeping so well. Kim reached and moved the nest bedding aside to uncover the two pups. Both tried to nestle further into it as the extra warmth was pulled off of them. Kim couldn’t help but smile fondly as well.
Rousing the two pups from their deep sleep took longer than normal. Kim had to shake Taro’s shoulder for a while, repeating his name from almost right above him before the boy started squirming and reached up to rub his eyes. He grumbled as he squinted up at them. With Taro in the process of fully waking up, Kim moved to let Kenta do the same to Buddy.
Taro and Buddy blearily blinked up at the two as they smiled down at them, waiting for them to get up. The pair of adults both thought it was cute how disheveled the pups looked, hair all messy and clothes all wrinkled, eyes half closed and with dried drool on their faces from sleep.
Sitting up first, Taro could barely keep himself upright. Kenta lifted up Buddy, and the pup just lolled against him, making a small and indiscernible sound.
“Ready for dinner, guys?”
“Nngh,” Taro mumbled in response. Kim took that as a yes to his question. He stood up and held out his hands to the older pup. Taro stared at them for a moment, then upon comprehending what he was looking at, plopped his hands into Kim’s and let himself be hauled up.
As Taro stumbled after Kim as he was gently tugged along, Kenta also stepped out of the best. He set Buddy down on his feet. The little pup yawned, and then also stumbled.
If Kim and Kenta did not find it cute, they would have realized that the two pups looked like zombies, still half asleep, making weird noises, and both being a mess after sleeping so well for so long. Typical of children, of course, and a testament to just how comfortable they’d been, but still very reminiscent of the undead.
Alan certainly thought so when he walked in to see what was taking them so long to come to the dinner table. “Everything alright in here? Whoa! Are the kids okay? Did someone leave beer out or something? They look hungover!”
“They just slept really well in the nest.”
Alan looked at Taro swaying on his feet, blinking with total unawareness at his surroundings. Then at Buddy, who had slumped against Kenta’s leg with his eyes closed. After taking in their rough appearances, he winced and gave Kim a questioning look. “Are you sure they didn’t drink alcohol?” he asked.
“They just woke up!”