Chapter Text
Lohen knew parenthood would not be glamorous, but he didn't expect it to be quite so…messy.
“‘lua…can you get it this time?”
They were on diaper change number three in just a couple of hours. Their little one had woken them up extra early for snuggles and attention, and then promptly soiled several diapers in a row.
One moment their little girl was making adorable cooing noises, and the next she was in her second home on the changing table.
Illuga was now so good at changing diapers he could do it basically in his sleep. And most of the time he happily did the work without complaint. But tonight he had gotten home from a meeting that ran late and was already fairly exhausted.
At the same time though, he could not refuse his wife anything.
The Alpha left their cozy nest and did as he did best, and his omega laid back under the covers and willed the abyss to take him.
Fighting hordes of wild hunt was less exhausting than raising a pup.
Once their little girl had been freshly changed and settled back into her crib, Illuga returned to bed to snuggle his wife, letting Lohen be the little spoon. Said wife couldn't help but feel a bit insecure.
“Am I a bad mother for not wanting to change my own child's diaper?”
Illuga kissed the back of his head, “No, it's a lot for anyone. Raising kids is a full time job.”
Lohen still couldn't help but feel a little bad. He spent most of his time nursing their little one, holding her, and sleeping. Post-partum recovery had been rough on him, and it had made him feel fairly useless.
“I'm glad I have you. You're a natural with kids.”
The lightkeeper smiled, nuzzling into Lohen's neck and kissing their mating mark. “I have helped out around Piramida a lot, so I have some experience. You were an only child, I could never expect this sort of thing to come naturally to you.”
Illuga had the power to make the most upset child settle down. When a new mother couldn't get their baby to sleep, it wasn't all that unusual for Illuga to be seen rocking and patting the baby.
It helped when you were the embodiment of warmth.
“I'm glad I have you too, bunny.”
“You are?” Lohen felt tears threatening his vision.
“Without you going through the process of giving birth to our daughter, which was no small feat no matter what you say, I wouldn't get to let my own skills shine. I mean it when I say that aside from you, she is the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
Illuga kissed his mate's scent gland again and emitted his own calming scent. Lohen whined, but let himself be cared for.
“Thank you…thank you for loving me.”
“Always, my love.” Illuga started to suck on his wife's scent gland a bit. “Besides…I did say I wanted to keep you round with child so you were never empty or alone. How can I make good on that promise if I'm not doing the bulk of the childcare?”
That caused Lohen to flush, already thinking to the next time they would get to try for a pup. He needed to heal and fast.
Maybe this wasn't so bad after all, if he had his husband doting on his every want and need. Lohen could allow himself to be spoiled if it was Illuga.
And just as the couple was falling back to sleep, the baby started to cry again. Sharing a sigh, Lohen got up to take care of her this time. Illuga couldn't help but smile into the warm spot his wife just left. Lohen may not think he was all that good with his daughter, but Illuga thought that the way his wife held her with such tenderness and care said otherwise.
They were going to have so many little tyrants running around soon enough. Illuga could hardly wait.