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It started out so cute, too.
Rumi was curled up, desperately trying to ignore the pounding in her head when the sudden intense dip to her right forced her attention. Squinting, trying to hide from the late afternoon light she realized pretty quickly what the giant blue blur was.
Derpy purred, his chest shuddering with it as he clambered awkwardly up beside her. It was genuinely a miracle he could even fit on the couch in the first place. Even more so when you took in mind that he had to spin around in an awkward little turn to face away from the back of it. Rumi wasn’t sure the tiger even had the thoughts to realize he was elevated let alone how to turn himself into a more comfortable position. Maybe instinct really was the most powerful tool in the demon’s arsenal.
The omega hummed and reached out unthinkingly to brush her knuckles across Derpy’s wide skull and smiled when his purr hit thundering intensity. After the last year it was incredibly nice to have the tiger spirit around still. Part of her had kind of assumed he’d vanish along with the rest of the demons but it seemed Celine had been right when she’d squinted at him and claimed, with confidence Rumi still wasn’t sure about, that Derpy was in fact a guardian spirit thus unaffected by their new honmoon.
Of course then the comeback tour had started and so had everything else.
It was, in retrospect, the stupidest little dance of their lives. Two alphas trying desperately to figure out what the omega they’d packed with for almost a decade wanted from them now. It didn’t help that Rumi could smell exactly what they wanted and had made them work for it.
Sue her. She’d been carrying a load for far too long and it had been the final straw that those two had expected her to make the first move on top of everything else. It had been almost entertaining at first. In the end it was, of course, Zoey who’d finally snapped and actually gotten down on her knees in a random recording studio they had rented to get content for the American side of the tour. The alpha had begged, hands in the air clutched together and her head down. Like some sort of comic. Mira had cackled in the background which honestly wasn’t fair considering Zoey had at least chosen to finally be brave.
So Rumi had done what omega’s do when two alpha’s they’d been desperate for for almost a decade announced with feeling that they wanted her. She made them to court her.
And they had.
The thought made her feel almost inappropriately smug. Sure, maybe it made her a bit of a brat, but Celine had never learned to tell her no and her alphas had fallen straight into the same bait. Either way it wasn’t like Rumi hadn’t given back everything she had ever been given. If not more. Mira had said as much, muttered into the side of her neck when they’d finally bitten her eight months ago during a heat that had come scheduled as it always did every four months.
”Let us take care of you for once.”
It was a comment Rumi had gotten used to hearing but not exactly used to actually abiding by.
Some things came easily.
Zoey’s nearly desperate instinctual guarding, for one. It was easy to lean into the smaller woman’s side and let her guide them both through whatever public space they were in. The world might view their rapper as a soft playful alpha but they both knew better. Mira wasn’t the one in charge in those situations. The way the smaller alpha always entered doors last. Making sure her pack was safe before she ever closed the distance. It made Rumi’s omega purr in satisfaction every single time.
Mira’s need to care. To provide. That woman could cook and she was nearly rabid in the attentive flat affect way she did everything to make sure their pack ate properly. Even away she had taken to harassing Bobby into making sure any accommodations had at least a half kitchen. It was lovely and the close way she watched with those sharp dark eyes while they all ate settled something deeply instinctual in the omega. Zoey too, who only ever capitulated to Mira’s alpha when it came to this exact purpose. They both knew where they stood.
Some part of Rumi had worried that entering into proper courting would make the two alphas puff up towards one another but she’d realized fairly quickly that she’d been an idiot to think that. If anything those two goblins were using each other to bounce ideas and plot in every single moment they were separated from her.
Lord help them both when they’d realized how much the half demon could actually hear. They’d looked like hooked fish and had promptly started having their plotting conversations in the sound proofed studio. Rumi realized at some point when she’d walked in to ask a question that they had gone so far as to wedge shoulder to shoulder into the sound booth.
The thought made Rumi giggle as she opened her hand to scratch gently over the top of Derpy’s muzzle. Those two alphas had proven themselves a thousand times over in the years leading up to the courting and they proved themselves over again in those four months. They’d proven themselves all over again during that first heat after it all started; proof in gentle hands, careful care and control held in white knuckles until they were sure she felt safe.
It hadn’t taken very long for them to settle into their new normal. Rumi was of the opinion that it was mostly because nothing had really changed outside of the marks on their necks and how much physical affection she was now allowed. It had taken time to get used to their hands brushing across her patterns. It had taken time to get used to being touched at all. This was a conversation they had all had. A conversation she had had with Celine as well.
It was intoxicating how deeply her world had improved. How much color had flooded in. How many unprompted automatic touches she received just existing in her own skin now. From her alphas. From the omega she had always considered her mother. And now, it seemed, from the giant blue tiger spirit that had decided he intended to occupy all of her personal space.
”You feeling cuddly today, bud?” Rumi hummed, setting her phone down to properly reach for his fluffy cheeks. It wasn’t abnormal for Derpy to be this cuddly but he was normally slower about it. As sweet as the tiger was, he seemingly was still a cat and he felt the need to act unaffected before climbing into all of their skin.
Derpy, predictably just chuffed happily and closed his eyes.
No point in bothering him further. Rumi reclaimed one of her hands and settled. Tucking her legs up onto the couch and leaning into Derpy’s warm body was more comfortable overall anyway. She had no idea how long she’d been doom scrolling in her half dozing state before the soft ding of the elevator brought her attention up.
The scents hit her first, sunwarm lavender and cloying vanilla catching the focus of her omega moments before the pair came into view. Mira and Zoey had been out most of the morning recording their parts of the thank you video to mark the end of their comeback tour and the start of their official hiatus. It was a well earned one and there was no metaphorical gun at the back of Rumi’s head to make her ruin it this time around. In two months they’d deal with the Idol Awards and be done for the rest of the year. It was an intoxicating thought and her omega curled up happily deep in her chest.
After years of working herself to the bone and months of being harassed into relaxing it had been inordinately difficult to convince herself she really needed to work that hard ever again. The honmoon was sealed. The world was safe. Gwima was as close to dead as a creature like that could be. Everything Rumi had ever worked towards had wrapped up in a neat little bow, and now all that was left were two alpha’s perking up and vibrant joy radiating across their bonds.
Zoey’s nose crinkled up the way it always did when she smiled genuinely as her eyes bounced over the pair on their couch. Derpy didn’t even lift his head at the younger alpha’s cooing. Mira, for her part, let her lips tip up in that private smile that had always felt like the sun coming out from behind the clouds to Rumi. She could still remember when she’d noticed those traits so many years ago when they had all been boney, long limbed teenagers constantly at each other's throats.
”Aw you guys are all cuddled up.” Zoey hummed, hurrying towards the couch as she spoke. Somewhere behind her she’d managed to shuck her shoes without slowing down much, reaching her hands out to scrub happily at Derpy’s flicking white spotted ears. He didn’t greet her, Rumi noted after a blip. That was incredibly odd. Zoey had always been the spirit’s favorite when they were home. Mira noticed too, if the way her eyebrows came down was of any indication. She moved to set her grocery bags down before approaching them all.
Apparently choosing to not comment on it for the time being the taller alpha leaned down clearly intending to greet Rumi first and foremost and Rumi sat up a bit straighter letting her phone drop into her lap as she tipped her head to offer her neck-
The rumbling snarl had all three of them freezing in place.
”Uh?” Zoey said very slowly, pulling her hands away from the tiger’s head. He had moved it just out of her reach to press his muzzle closer to Rumi and was staring up at Mira with decidedly less stupidity than he normally did. Worse than all of that his teeth were far bigger than they usually were and they were also decidedly fully bared. “Derpy?”
Mira had completely frozen, eyes locked on the blue tiger’s as much as his were locked on hers. Her hand had frozen where it was reaching for their omega’s shoulder. Some part of her was clearly debating starting something with the tiger but self preservation won as her scent went confused and frustrated. “Is he protecting you?”
Rumi blinked.
“Uhm? Maybe?”
Slowly Mira’s hand came back, her head tipping slightly. As her hand went back the slight transformation of their normally jovial cat vanished with the distance. He just blinked his giant eyes and flicked his equally oversized tail. Mira looked at him for a long second while Zoey looked rapidly back and forth between the tiger and their mate. As far as they were all concerned there was no danger here. Nothing for Derpy to be reacting to. Nothing but the two alphas now huddled in confusion in front of the couch.
Slowly, a little worried she’d trigger him somehow, Rumi slid her legs out from underneath herself and stood. Apparently this was not a trigger for the tiger. Nor was her leaning into Mira’s space herself to scent mark the confused alpha. He let her turn and nuzzle into Zoey’s throat too. Evidently there was just something evil and bad about the couch? Or something?
The tiger stood up, paws sinking into the cushions with his weight, and leaned forward awkwardly to sniff at the air. They all stared back at him with equal parts confusion and worry. He sneezed then, hopping off the couch and going straight to bumping his cheek against both alphas as he wrapped himself along their backs and properly chuffed in greeting for Zoey as she awkwardly reached back out to pet him.
”That was… weird.” Mira finally huffed out.
”Uh, yeah?” Zoey just shook her head and crouched down to properly hug the giant cat and this time he allowed it like he always did. “But I guess he’s just being weird about the couch. He is a tiger after all.” The explanation made as much sense as anything else so they all just shrugged and made mental notes to not crowd him on the couch again.
The problem was it kept happening.
First when Mira came out of a room unexpectedly and went to hug Rumi from behind. The tiger hadn’t growled that time but he had wedged between them before the alpha could properly get her arms around the shorted woman and shoved Mira almost totally against the wall to prevent the contact.
It happened again later that week when Zoey had tried to jump onto Rumi’s back like she did on a regular basis and the demonic teeth made a reappearance and worst of all the giant tiger had swatted their rapper out of the air like she was some sort of nerf dart. He’d calmed the second she’d hit the ground and they had all decided that it definitely had something to do with Rumi herself and not the couch. Which in retrospect felt entirely idiotic of them to not realize faster.
What felt equally stupid, in the long run, was the realization of what Derpy had actually been doing.
Once they’d figured it out Zoey had gotten on her knees and cried into his stupid fat head and promised to give him so many shrimp for his services. Rumi had kind of expected that to get swatted down by the resident ‘he needs to eat healthy’ practitioner but she’d caught Mira handing him mackerel literally six hours later.
So, again, in retrospect it really should have been obvious. The timing was there. The realization should have hit one of them at some point but it had all culminated in a sudden intense pain in Rumi’s stomach and an early morning bolt for the toilet that she just barely made it to. Mira, who could have been woken up by a moth touching the windowsill, was after her in a nanosecond and only left to go wake Zoey up when it was clear the omega had emptied her stomach of anything that was going to come out.
Rumi didn’t get sick. It was the demon heritage, Celine claimed. Not like any of them were experts but it seemed smartest to just hold the older omega at her word. She was the only one with actual experience raising a half demon pup after all. Rumi didn’t get sick, but here she was on her side on the bathroom floor desperately pressing her cheek against the cold tile to try and soothe what felt like a fever taking hold.
It wasn’t a shock when Mira demanded she go to the doctors. The omega reluctantly agreed, because that was something she did now; let her alphas actually take care of her. It was new and it still felt like she was being held at the edge of a cliff and just had to hope they wouldn’t shove her but those two kept proving they wouldn’t.
It started out the way doctors appointments always started, or so Rumi had to assume. She hadn’t been to many but Zoey looked bored out of her mind despite the concern creasing her face and Mira looked like she was only worried not horrified. Mira was always the first one to overexaggerate issues so clearly this was just a normal medical appointment. They’d taken blood because Rumi hadn’t had her levels checked in almost five years, a line from the nurse that had made the omega’s back straighten when twin expressions of horror locked onto either side of her face, and left the room.
”Five years?” Mria deadpanned and Rumi shrank a little bit while she tried to ignore the crinkling noise the white paper under her hands made. “We’re setting you up with a full physical after this.” The alpha went on, though she did reach out from her chair to wrap her fingers gently around Rumi’s ankle so she clearly wasn’t actually made. Zoey made a low noise of agreement from her spot beside her as her quick eyes watched their omega closely.
”I don’t get sick.” Rumi defended, looking away from them because even she knew despite her own stubbornness that she couldn’t exactly say that anymore. The twin snorts told her they knew exactly where her mind had gone and it just made the omega roll her eyes in an aborted attempt at self defense. “Listen I just…“ She huffed. “We were busy and I didn’t think it was-“
Oh. No that was the wrong way to phrase that but it was way too late to suck it back down or try to fix it. Zoey’s eyes were already boring into her face in that nearly manic way they did when she’d found another fucked up little thing about their omega that made her want to rocket into the atmpsophere.
”What was that, Rums?” She hummed, eyes narrowing while Mira’s gentle grip on their mate’s ankle tightened just a little bit in warning. “You didn’t think it was important?” The omega grimaced trying desperately to not chew on her tongue in anxiety. It was a bad habit and they always noticed when she started. Ever since her fangs had grown in properly she couldn’t stop cutting her tongue when she did it and the only thing more embarrassing than being told to stop was having to sit there while they shoved gauze into her mouth.
Luckily the omega was saved from actually having to answer by the door swinging open. A plucky young beta shuffled in, his bright eyes flicking around the room. Something about the beta was excited, nearly vibrating with it and Rumi resisted the urge to squint at him. Who entered a sick room with that sort of energy? Even his scent was peppy. It was grating on her for some reason.
”These are your mates?” He asked and his voice was kind. At the trio of nods the man smiled brightly, clapping his hands together. “Perfect! I have good news. It’s not sickness. Well not traditionally anyway.” His grin got, somehow impossibly wider and Rumi felt the twinge of irritation get stronger. It was hard for her to deal with these weird run around ways of speaking without her already feeling queasy on top of it. Both of her alphas had clearly caught on to her stress because they sat up sharply and Zoey in particular locked a nasty glare onto the poor beta in question.
He faltered, but only slightly. Despite everything else the doctor did turn promptly towards the omega and Rumi did perk up a bit. At least he was polite and not in the fake way so many people would be with two alphas in the room. He addressed his patient first and that at least stayed the omega’s tongue. The beta regained some of his peppy attitude when he noticed Rumi softening and held up the clipboard under his arm.
”You’re in whelp.” And Rumi’s thoughts ground to a halt with a screech. “I can’t tell you much beyond that without a proper exam but I’ve called upstairs and we can get those answers very quickly.” He looked pleased with himself and part of her realized she’d never actually caught his name.
”Oh my god.” Zoey finally said after he’d handed Mira all of the papers and told them to go up two floors when they were ready and left them alone int the exam room. They were all standing in a stupid circle blinking like lost owls. “Derpy knew the whole time.” It earned a low groan out of Mira and a startled laugh out of Rumi. What else were they supposed to do now? Laughing seemed like the best idea. Rumi swallowed after a long silent moment, unsure.
What if they didn’t-
Before she could even start down that train of thought there were suddenly two sets of hands on her and Rumi looked back up sharply. Mira, she realized abruptly was already crying and Zoey wasn’t far behind. “You are the best omega in the world.” The taller alpha sniffled, leaning forward to nuzzle aggressively into Rumi’s throat. “Do you know that?” Zoey laughed at her but she was in no way very far behind if the way she kept wiping her face on the shoulder of her shirt was giving anything away.
”I can’t believe we’re going to be moms.” Zoey finally managed to get out only to send Mira back into tears seconds after she’d managed to swallow them down. “I love you both so much.” She pushed out, overly seriously suddenly which is probably why the more protective of the two alphas immediately started sobbing.
It took Rumi a second to realize they weren’t alone in that part and she reached up towards her own face to wipe at the tears rolling down her cheeks. Thank god she thought desperately, reaching back out to grip at both of her alphas. Her mates. The sires to her pup. When she finally managed to respond it was the only thing she could think to actually get out past the blurry tornado of joy currently beating her brain to smithereens. “Celine is going to strangle both of you.”