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It wasn’t often that Grian found himself handling bedtime duties all by himself. Normally it wasn’t ideal to wrangle three absolute terrors- er- three rambunctious little scamps that tended to become rather excited before it was time to lay their heads upon pillows. He didn’t mind it though. Even when Sunny splashed bathwater all over the tiles, or when Lilac started jumping off multiple furnishings like an acrobatic, feathered menace, or when Poppy decided that she had to dump out her entire box of lego pieces to look for one very specific brick in particular.
…Okay maybe he minded it very much. By the end of it all, he was just about ready to start pulling out his feathers.
He tried not to be jealous. After all, how many nights had Scar tackled bedtime all alone whenever Grian went out for his HOG nights? It felt he owed his mate this one night for him to go out and have some pack bonding time with his fellow alphas. At least he knew that Scar was living up to the family name and having a good time, if anything were to go by the happy and rather incoherent senses he could feel through the bond.
Didn’t mean he had to be overly thrilled about it, is all.
He had been laying catatonic on the couch for a while now; just regulating himself and trying to ground himself back to earth after a chaotic evening. It was late. Far too late considering bedtime should have been three hours ago for the kids. He just hadn’t been able to bring himself to get up, and he wasn’t too sure if that had more to do with being overstimulated, or fighting the wave of dizziness he caught anytime he sat up.
He scowled a little - wishing he was having as much fun as Scar clearly was.
It was only then, when he finally found the energy to sit up and make his way to bed himself, when his comm buzzed. He brought it up, curious to see if it was his husband reporting back on whether he would be out later than expected (or if he was about to read something to unintentionally give him even more FOMO).
He was rather surprised to see another name instead.
[ZombieCleo whispered to You]
Grian. Need you to come pick up your mate. I’m calling it in for the lot.
[You whispered to ZombieCleo]
Yikes. That bad? Didn’t think anything bad happened? Scar seems happy enough?
[ZombieCleo whispered to You]
Maybe a little *too* happy, if you catch my drift?
[You whispered to ZombieCleo]
Ah
Ill be there in 5
Well… turns out his night would involve putting four children to bed, it seemed.
With a defeated, and somewhat humoured sigh, Grian stood up and quickly went to tug his favourite red sweater over his shirt (he couldn’t be bothered changing out of his pyjamas at this hour, and he had a funny feeling there would barely be anyone coherent to notice otherwise). He took a moment to briefly duck his head into each of his children’s rooms, making sure each of them were sound asleep and safe before finally making his way out of the base and over to Cleo’s.
The night air was crisp and cool against his skin as he flew across the server, though he almost felt like he was bracing himself to fly into a storm. Entirely unprepared for whatever he was about to come across.
“Oi! You heading to Cleo’s too?!”
Grian angled his head, careful not to tilt too much off course, and caught sight of Jimmy in the air joining him. “They messaged you too?”
“Yeah, something about it getting out of hand! I thought it was just Tango though?”
“Nope, I got one for Scar.”
Even over the whistling of the wind in his ears, Grian still managed to hear Jimmy sigh. “Oh gosh…”
The pair landed together, a few feet away from the entrance to Cleo’s main living quarters. From his seat stationed by the door, Joe waved at the avians rather cheerfully. “Howdy, Grian! Howdy, Jimmy! Here for your mates?”
“Joe? What happened?!”
“Oh nothing much,” said Joe, casually brushing aside Grian’s question. “Spirits just got a little too high after too many spirits were consumed, if you catch my drift. Cleo’s worried they’re getting a little too rowdy and might do something rough. We thought it’d be best to call it quits here.”
“Cleo said that?!” Jimmy questioned in disbelief. “I’d have thought X would have made the call?”
Joe just grinned up at the omega. “Our dear leader is just a little indisposed at the moment.”
“...oh you’re kidding me?” Grian groaned, then shortly trailing off into a giggle.
Before he could question the beta any further, they were all startled into attention when the door to the base opened. Grian’s eyes widened at the sight of Bdubs walking out, with a very wobbly, very drunk, and surprisingly giggly Etho in tow. The omega huffed, pausing to make sure his mate’s arm was properly hoisted over his shoulders in support.
He caught Grian and Jimmy’s eyes and rolled his own. “Good freaking luck!” he grumbled to them before pulling the alpha along. “C’mon, Etho! Work with me here!”
“Hehe, you’re so cu- hic- cute!” Etho hiccuped, toppling over as he misstepped and leaned even harder onto his mate. “My Bubsy…”
Even in the dark of the night, Grian could see the way Bdubs’ cheeks flushed dark red. “Goodness sake…”
They all watched for a minute as Bdubs continued to lead Etho away - torn between concern and making sure their friends were okay, and blatant astonishment.
“...oh boy,” muttered Jimmy.
The pair made their way inside, bracing themselves for whatever state they were about to find their mates in.
Though Grian was entirely focused on finding his own, he still glanced around and spotted that Keralis had already made it to the party. The omega seemed quite pleased with himself, laid upon the couch with a rather pliant looking Xisuma in his arms - not wearing his helmet for once, and clearly enjoying the feeling of his mate running his fingers through his short-trimmed hair. He mumbled incoherently as Keralis lifted the hand to wave cheekily to the other omegas, and lifted up his own to drag it back down to the top of his head.
Grian tore his attention away from the pack leaders, and exchanged a look with Jimmy as they walked a little ways away.
“Well,” Jimmy whispered, “where do you reckon ours are?”
Grian didn’t get a chance to answer before a roar of laughter erupted from deeper inside the living space, followed by the unmistakable sound of something clattering and hitting the floor with a loud crash.
He winced. “...I think that might answer the question, Tim.”
They hastened in speed and rounded the corner, only to find Impulse, Skizz and Tango in the middle of Cleo’s crafting room, with armour stands shoved aside and rolls of fabric strewn everywhere. In the centre of all the chaos, stacks of smooth stone slabs had been positioned in place of a makeshift table in order to house an array of cups. Before Grian could question what he had walked in on, Tango pelted a ping pong ball in the direction of the cups closest to Impulse and Skizz… and missed spectacularly, smacking Impulse right in the middle of the forehead.
“I thought this was supposed to be an alpha party?” Jimmy muttered, looking as bewildered as Grian felt.
None of the trio noticed the omegas standing there. They were far too busy howling with laughter while Impulse clutched his face like it was a mortal wound.
“It was.”
The pair turned, spotting a rather exasperated Cleo approaching. Grian wrinkled his nose as the sharp, briny sting of the alpha’s sea-salt scent hit him - unmistakably irritated.
“Apparently Impulse and Tango let slip about the party, and Skizz tagged along,” Cleo began to explain further with a casual shrug. “It was fine, he practically hangs around most of us most of the time anyway. But… well, after a few drinks, we started playing drinking games and it just got a bit out of control.
They began to tick off on their fingers. “X puked. Etho couldn’t stand anymore. Ren and Doc…” Cleo trailed off as their scent clouded thickly in the air in anger. She took a breath to steady herself, then gestured towards the group before them. “These three have just completely lost it, and it’s only going to be a matter of time before there's an accident and someone actually gets hurt.”
Almost as if to prove her point, Grian watched in amusement as Impulse pelted a ping pong towards Tango’s cups and missed entirely. Despite this, both he and Skizz began to cheer and holler as if they had won a world championship - and a very wobbly Tango downed his cup of liquor anyway, none the wiser he hadn’t actually been scored on.
Jimmy giggled in spite of it all. “Oh it’s going to be a nightmare getting him home… I don’t pity Zed trying to get Impulse outta here.”
Cleo scoffed. “About that-”
“YOUR TURN, B-BUDDY!” Tango slurred, staggering backward toward the window behind him.
“Clear!”
They all leapt back as a sudden wind charge burst through the room - carrying a singular ping pong ball. The cups all tipped over, bar one, and spilled contents all over the slabs and floor - and knocked Impulse, Skizz and Tango down on their backsides.
Grian straightened up just in time to watch in amazement as the ping pong landed squarely in the remaining cup.
“OI!” Cleo bellowed, charging for the window to yell out into the darkness. “I CALLED YOU OVER TO HELP DRAG YOUR MATE OUTTA HERE! NOT ADD TO THE CHAOS!”
“...sorry!” came the distant, sheepish reply of Zedaph’s voice.
On the ground, Tango slowly propped himself upright, letting out a hiccup that made his hair flare. He blinked owlishly, shook his head, then finally focused on the two avian omegas watching him. His face lit up like a Christmas tree as he scrambled back upright.
“It’s my R-Rancher!” Tango cheered. Jimmy was quick to rush forward and hold his indisposed mate upright, only to let out a yelp as the blaze-hybrid practically began to climb up his tall and lanky frame.
“Oh, love,” sighed Jimmy with a small, amused smile, trying to adjust his grip as Tango clung to him.. “Had a bit too much tonight, huh?”
“Hey! It’s Jimmy!”
“Jiggles!”
Jimmy let out another cry as he was suddenly swept up into a tight hug - nearly drowning and collapsing entirely under the weight of three quarters of the ZITS.
“I’m surprised you’re still standing upright,” said Grian as Cleo rejoined him, pointedly ignoring his fellow omega’s increasingly desperate pleas for help.
“The burden of being an undead hybrid I suppose,” said Cleo, not seeming too bothered. “Ah, it’s all good fun in the end most of the time. I like watching what these idiots get up to.”
“Speaking of which,” said Grian, looking behind him. “I better go find mine and get him home.”
“Grian!”
“Not gonna stick around for this?” asked Cleo as Grian continued to ignore Jimmy’s cries.
“Nah, Timmy’s got it under control,” said Grian (“HELP ME!”). “I’m sure Zed’ll help eventually. Then he’ll sic the twins on all of them in the morning.”
“Fair,” said Cleo (“I CAN’T FEEL MY ARMS! SKIZZ, YOU’RE CRUSHING ME!”). “Well, last I saw Scar he was in the courtyard with Pearl. Doubt he’s gotten far since.”
“Really?”
Cleo nodded solemnly, looking upon Grian almost in pity. “He lost about five games of beer pong in a row, and that was after he accepted Ren’s dare to drink about three of his… ‘concoctions’. He’s pretty plastered.”
“...dang it, Scar,” Grian muttered, rubbing his face.
“Good luck,” said Cleo, patting him on the shoulder. “Oh, just so you know. Do not go down the hall, or near my bedroom, unless you want to be blinded.”
“...oookay?”
Grian left the room, now heading towards the back end of Cleo’s living quarters. He gave pause as he passed by said hallway and gave a curious sniff. He winced and gagged almost immediately - clearly able to smell Ren and Doc’s unmistakable, sex-laden scents.
He looked back over his shoulder to fix Cleo with a look of outrage. “Seriously?!”
Cleo’s expression darkened, and their scent spiked in anger. “My bedroom.”
“...oh I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” said Cleo calmly. “I’m planning to kidnap Teddy from Beef’s place in the morning. I’m gonna teach the little guy how to play electric guitar.”
“I didn’t know you played?”
Cleo smirked. “I don’t. But I do know how to place speakers against the door and crank the volume.”
Grian cackled. “You’re evil.”
“I know.”
Grian shook his head fondly at Cleo’s wicked grin before turning back around to make his way out, determined to locate his seemingly, very drunk mate. The closer he got to the back entrance, the more he found the air shifting - less alcoholic, and more so filled with the chilly, crisp late night breeze drifting in from the courtyard.
He stepped outside, wings tucking in automatically against the cool breeze. He frowned upon hearing silence at first, then focused on the bond and followed its tug; slowly but surely growing closer to the increasing sense of D ist re s s. A few steps later, he could finally hear voices.
He crossed past a green-hedged wall, shortly spotting Pearl (rather unsteadily) crouching over Scar, who in turn was hunched over on a bench and looking very sorry for himself. He somewhat reminded Grian of a wilted houseplant that had someone had forgotten to water, he thought with mild amusement.
Pearl looked up as the omega approached, swaying only a little. “Thank gods you’re here, mate.” She jabbed a thumb at Scar. “He tried to leave, said he was gonna ‘walk it off’ and then completely stacked it face first!”
Scar groaned into his palms. E m bar r ese d. “The gr- hic- ground came out of- hic- out of nowhere!”
Grian bit back a laugh, softening as he crouched down slightly. “Oh, Scar…”
Scar jolted upright at once, so fast that he nearly headbutted him.
A l ar m.
“W-WHOA! No thank- hic- you!” Scar slurred, scooting backwards like Grian was some sort of threat. “Listen h-here, mister…hic-… whoever you are! I’m a- hic- happily mated alpha, okay?! I ha- hic- have a h-husband! A very c- hic- cute husband! The cute- hic- cu- hic- cutesst! So don’t you even t-try!”
Grian’s eyes widened in surprise. Pearl bent over in a fit of giggles. “He’s absolutely smashed!”
Scar pointed an unsteady finger at him and tilted over. “You lo- look like- hic- trouble… Handsome tr-trouble. And I’m tak- hic- taken!” He slapped his chest proudly, missing the first time, then hitting it on the second attempt. “My m-mate is an- hic- angel! And I’m a fai- hic- faithful man!”
Grian blinked. “...Scar, it’s me.”
Scar narrowed his eyes, leaning forward with exaggerated suspicion shortly before correcting himself before he could completely topple over. “P-prove it.”
Pearl fell sideways onto the grass, cackling.
Grian sighed, unable to believe his night had really taken a turn like this. He debated trying to call Mumbo to wake him and check on the kids, unsure whether or not he would be stuck in place trying to convince his very drunk husband that they were indeed mates. “Scar, come on, dude. Snap out of it. It’s me. Grian. Your mate?”
Scar squinted (then blinked harshly uncross his eyes), then shook his head akin to a dog shaking his coat. “Nope! My Grian’s t- hic- taller!”
“I- Ah- You- I am not short!”
“And his- hic- his hair’s all waffle fr-fries!”
“I only brushed it a little!”
“And he has a red sw-hic- sweater!”
“...I am wearing my sweater, Scar.”
Scar was no longer listening. Instead, he began patting his jacket frantically. “I’ll show you,” he muttered and grumbled. “I’ll- hic- show you I’m ta-taken. I’ll show every- hic- everyone. I have proof!”
Grian watched with growing amusement as Scar dug through his pockets, clearly searching for something despite his lack of coordination. It didn’t take long before he found what he was looking for as he shoved his hand into one of the pockets lined inside of his jacket; one which sat close over his heart.
“Aha!” Scar cried. T r ium p h an t. He held his hand high in the air, brandishing what looked to be a slightly crumbled polaroid. Then he thrust it back down, thrusting in Grian’s face. “Look at my- hic- at my babies!”
Grian’s smile softened in spite of the situation, gazing fondly at the contents of the picture. The photo had been taken a couple years ago, he estimated by how old the children looked to be. It was all three of them sitting around an open storybook, hair still damp from bathtime and dressed in their pyjamas, ready for bed. Poppy had the biggest grin on her impish little face, doing her best to say ‘cheese!’, just like she always did whenever a camera was presented in front of her. Lilac was smiling widely too, though her eyes instead were trained on her older sister, as though trying to gauge what she was meant to do. Between them sat Sunny, one chubby little fist rubbing against an equally squishy cheek as he focused on something over the camera - more than likely at whatever silly face Scar had to have been pulling behind it.
“I have the m-most beautiful babies!” Scar continued passionately. “And- hic- and they look like their mama! And he’s the best- hic- best mama! And I l-love them so much! You- hic- don’t get to- hic- steal me from them just ca-cause you’ve got-” He gestured vaguely at Grian’s face. “-that goin’ on.”
Pearl snorted so hard she choked.
Grian pressed his lips together, trying desperately not to join in on the laughter. “I see…”
Scar nodded seriously, once more tilting dangerously. “Good. Glad we- hic- understand each other.” Then he clutched the polaroid back to his chest. L ov e. “All m-mine…”
Grian’s heart squeezed rather tightly in his chest, though he knew he was never going to let Scar forget this moment. “Sounds like a lucky guy.”
“M’ the lucky one…” Scar mumbled.
Still torn between exasperation and adoration, Grian stepped forth. “Scar? Can you look at me for a second?”
Scar looked up, blinking dazedly with an unfocused gaze. Then Grian watched as his nostril flared ever so slightly, clearly taking in the scent of the omega before him. Until at last, his breath caught and his eyes widened. “Grian?!”
Grian smiled gently. “Hello.”
Scar sagged in immense, drunken R e l ief and lurched forward toward him… and promptly toppled over completely into Grian’s awaiting arms before he could faceplant the ground again.
“M’ so happy you- hic- you’re here,” Scar mumbled into his chest. “You’re so pretty.”
Grian staggered under the sudden weight of his mate, but steadied himself to continue holding him up as best he could. “So I heard. You having fun tonight?”
“Grian,” Scar gasped dramatically, leaning toward him with wobbling intensity, “I’m havin’ such a- hic- such a good t-time. I lost five- hic- five boozey pongs. And Ren gave me a drink that tasted like… like gas- hic- gasoline!”
Still giggling, Pear sat up with glazed eyes. “He’s absolutely plastered.”
“Well aware,” sighed Grian, now running his fingers through the strands of Scar’s hair. “I think you both are. I’m sure Gem will be here soon for you.”
Pearl pouted. “Aww.”
Grian snorted, then tugged Scar into a more upright stance. “Come on, darling. Let’s get you home.”
Scar nodded, still snuggling into him. “Okay. But- hic- you gotta car- hic- carry me. ‘Cause my legs forgot h-how to… leg.”
“Ah huh,” sighed Grian, doing his best to begin to drag his inebriated husband along. “I’ll do my best.”
As Grian guided them toward the courtyard exit, he spotted Gem making her way towards them with a humoured expression. He saw the moment she spotted PEarl sprawled across the grass, and watched as she simply shook her head in disbelief at the state of her… friend.
Pearl perked up instantly. “GEMMY!”
Gem shot Grian a very deadpanned, mutual look of understanding. One which he returned without a word spoken between them. He stepped and dragged Scar aside, allowing the other omega to pass by and collect her bounty.
He gave Scar a squeeze. “Come on, I’ll get you home and tuck you into bed. Sound good?”
Scar’s eyes shimmered, starry and adoring. “You’re gonna- hic- tuck me in?”
“Mmh hmm,” said Grian, smirking to himself. “I’ll even leave the popcorn bowl next to you.”
“Hehe… Popcorn bowl…”
“That’s right. You had quite a bit to drink tonight. I think it’s time to bring it out of retirement.”
“You always- hic- always think of e-everythin’,” mumbled Scar, leaning even more heavily into Grian. “So cl-clever…”
Grian giggled to himself, tightening his hold as he continued to drag Scar along. “And once you’re comfy, I’ll make sure the kids are up bright and early to come wake you.”
Contrary to the omega’s clear plan for revenge, Scar lit up like a lantern. “Our babies?!”
“That’s right.”
Scar made a tiny, happy noise as his scent began to simmer. Ha p py. L o v e. “I love th-them so- hic- so much. I love- hic- I love you sooo much. I told- hic- I told that imposter g-guy that tried to steal me- hic- that I was taken. Did you h- hic- hear me?” He thumped his chest again, nearly falling backwards in the process. “I protected our- hic- family.”
Grian huffed a laugh. “You mean when you told me that you already had a mate?”
Scar squinted. “Was that you?”
“Yep.”
“Oh… Gri?”
“Yeah?”
“We have b-beautiful kids…”
Grian’s teasing stalled as warmth tugged gently at his chest, causing him to slowly melt as Scar drunkenly rambled on about Poppy’s brilliant brain, about Lilac’s fierce spark, and Sunny’s too big of heart. He watched as the alpha’s free hand kept reaching up for his locket and patting at the space over his chest, making sure the photo was still kept close and secure.
For all his chaos and drunken nonsense… Scar’s devotion was unwavering.
Grian leaned even more into the alpha in turn, smile softening. “You’d really fight anyone for us, huh?”
Scar tilted up, eyes half lidded but earnest. L o ve. “Ah huh.”
Grian swallowed a stupidly large lump down his throat, and reached over to press a kiss against his mate’s temple. “Come on then, we better get you back before you collapse.”
“...but I- hic- I want the high g-ground.”
Grian let out a cackle, unable to help himself.
Gods he loved this man…