Complex, final
As I was writing a side story for this, I used "who" for kittens (instead of that or which), but Word wasn't happy with that and changed my "who'd" to "which'd" a construction I've never actually seen before.
Title: Complex
Chapter: 11
Length: 1964 words
Summary: Steele's parents ask too many questions.
Master list: lj DW
Steele sat in the diner across from Mom while Dad helped Dal with the order. Steele had wanted to help, but Dad overruled him, which meant either that Dad really liked Dal or, more likely, that Mom wanted to talk to Steele.
"So what's this about a demon I've been hearing about?"
The second then.
"What do you what to know?" Where was he even going to start?
"Everything."
Steele glanced at Dal. "Some of it isn't my story to tell."
"The part that has to do with you."
"I'm now part of a… complex marriage." Onesimus had explained it, but Steele still couldn't figure out how it worked. "It's for political reasons."
"What do you have to do with politics?"
"Demon politics. Or theology or something."
Mom rubbed her forehead. "What does this have to do with you?"
"I love Dal." He couldn't also say he'd started having feeling for Hezekiel when he was so newly married to Dal. And that maybe he only had them because he loved Dal so much. Demon theology was confusing.
"And?"
"Most demons think Dal belongs to a demon named Hezekiel. I married Dal and am having children with him even knowing this, so I need to give him something in return." The giving was getting easier each time and not just because Dal had started looking forward to feeling the back flow of his Mating bond. One of these days he was going to come and watch. After that, it was just a matter of time before he'd join it.
"What are you giving him? Most demons? Like half? Why would they care?"
Steele used this as an opportunity to get into the minutia of demon beliefs and he was still talking when Dal and Dad arrived. The subject switched to the babies, when they were coming, how likely each were to be what species of familiar, whether one might be a wizard like one of Dad's Uncles. Steele wasn't sure if that Uncle was related to him by blood or one of many family friends who may or may not have married into the family.
When Dal waddled off to the restroom at the end of the meal, Mom shot Steele laser eyes. "You. A demon. What?"
Dad raised his eyebrows.
"Since many demons believe that Dal should have married Hezekiel…"
"Not the same Hezekiel Lope is engaged to, right?" Dad was following along too well.
"Yes, the same one. She's going to marry him, like she wants."
Mom nodded.
Steele got a text from Dal. "How long should I stay gone?"
Steele texted back, "rescue me"
"And?" prompted Mom.
"Even though Hezekiel has Lope, I still owe him for taking Dal. To appease the demons who think those two should be together." So clinical when what he wanted was his men tucked against him. His men. He'd need to go over that with Dal before he sprung it on Hezekiel.
The poor demon still didn't understand what Steele saw in him.
"But how are you going to pay him back? Hello, Dal. Ready to go?"
Dal laughed and let Steele help him into a light sweater. "Steele is too shy to tell you, that for legal reasons, as well as personal one, Steele is almost as married to Hez and he is to me."
Mom's jaw dropped, but Dad grinned. "Is he good looking, son?"
"Tolerably," supplied Dal, with just the touch of a smile. "And somehow Pen has got everyone to agree that she'll carry at least one of Steele's babies."
Steele shuddered.
Mom waved his concerns away. "She's wanted to catch your eye for ages."
Steele ground his teeth. "Mom, that isn't helping. Dal, do you need a hand?"
Dal had put his hand over his belly, like he had on and off for months, but this time his pale face was paler than normal. "I think I'm all right."
Steele lifted Dal up. "Mom, can you get Grandma Aella? I'd feel more comfortable with her here."
That was impossible. Mom and Dad had come to visit to try and convince Dal to give birth at their house. Grandma Aella was still at home.
Steele carried Dal across the quad while Dal whisper, "I'm not ready. I'm not ready."
"It okay, Baby." Steele set him gently on a bench. "Turn cat and it will get easier.'
"No!" Dal pushed Steele away then clutched his belly. "Not yet. Not yet."
Feet sounded behind him. Steele turned. Salathiel was rushing over. Steele held out his hands. "Dal's in labor and fighting every contraction, Grandma Allea still at home hours ago. And he won't turn cat."
Arms wrapped around Steele. "Sweet little papa," Salathiel soothed. "Leave everything to us."
"I can't take him home like this!" Steele was helpless. The babies were weeks early. They couldn't be born in his dorm if Dal refused to turn cat. What if he bled to death?
"Pick him up."
Steele did. Bloody water was spurting down Dal's legs.
A hand grabbed his arm. "Take one step. Yes, that's right. One more. Hold still. Now set him on the floor."
Steele looked around. He was in a well decorated house with plush carpets and someone had spread a blanket on the floor. "Please."
"Now set him down."
Steele did.
Two very small cats nosed Dal. Steele's first thought was to move them away, but maybe they could convince Dal to turn cat. "Dal, you can do it. Let go and you'll be a cat. The pain will be less."
"No, no, no!" Dal curled around himself. "I can't."
"Sure you can," said Grandma Aella. "Help me get his clothes off."
Steele spared a glance for whoever had brought her. Hezekiel. Steele nodded and got to work.
Even naked and covered in a blanket Dal refused to changed. Hezekiel got down on one knee. "Doll, why can't you change?"
"I'm so small." Dal gasped and clutched his belly. "Baby porcupines can weight two pounds. As a cat, I just over four. I'll die."
Grandma Aella laughed. "My sweet pet. You're carrying kittens, not porcupettes. And there are four. That's why you're so large. They're all really tiny. They'll need a lot of love and care. You'll have to be a cat to give them what they need."
And then all the sudden Dal was a tiny cat with a round belly and the first little kitten showed itself. Grandma and the two cats had this.
Steele leaned back on his heels and took Hezekiel's hand without looking away from Dal. "Thank you."
Hezekiel squeezed his hand. Steele brought Hezekiel's hand to his lips. A second kitten was born. Dal cleaned it and with the help of the others, positioned it to nurse.
His babies were being born. Steele felt all wobbly. He got on his knees again, but with his back against Hezekiel's legs, and let Hezekiel hold him up.
The third kitten came, followed quickly by the four.
"Identical," announced Grandma Aella. "No wonder that third one confused me."
"Four."
Hezekiel squeezed his shoulders. "If you ever need another set of hands."
Steele sighed. "I'm sure we'll find a way to keep yours busy."
Then Dal meowed at Steele and he curled up on a new blanket with his husband against his chest and his family sucking happily. What more could a man ask for?
~~~~~~
Steele woke to tiny peeps. Hezekiel manage to look about to bolt while lying on the carpet. He bit his lip. "Dal told me to lay here."
"We do what Dal says."
You better.
"Always, my love."
Dal licked one kitten and brought it over and laid it in the small place between Steele's and Hezekiel's faces. Hezekiel moved away. Dal swatted him. He stared at the kitten with wide eyes. "What am I supposed to do?"
"What about…?" Steele carefully put out his hand and petted the tiny kitten with one finger. The kitten peeped in protest. Steele laughed. "Are you our first, princess?"
Dal butted against Hezekiel's hand. Hezekiel carefully laid his hand over the tiny kitten's back. "She's so cold."
She's fine.
Dal picked that kitten up and put it back in the pile against Steele's chest. He place the second where the first had been. Steele held out his hand for Dal to sniff before touching the kitten. "And this one's Dva, right?"
"Dava and…" Hezekiel gestured to the kitten pile with his chin, his hand being busy petting the second kitten. Dva yawned and snuggled into Hezekiel's hand.
"Jeden. But they'll all get new names once their personalities shine through."
"What's a good name that means sleepy?" Hezekiel was sure enough now to protest Dva being woken up to be taken back to the kitten pile.
The third, despite his tiny size and closed eyes tried to get back to his brother until his brother was brought to him. "Tri and štyri."
"Tree and... Say that again."
Steele laughed. "I'm not sure I got it right the first time. Sheteery?"
Dal blinked his eyes.
"We bow to your greater knowledge."
Dal sighed. Close enough.
It wasn't but Steele was willing to be corrected several dozen times until he got it right.
"You know." Hezekiel gave the fourth kitten one last pet before Dal took him away. "These kittens are technically mine as well, socially, so they will all have to have demon names as well as these and whatever they are called later."
Steele covered his face. "I'm leaving that to you."
Hezekiel laughed. He didn't do that enough. Steele tugged him forward and kissed him. Dal started piling the babies against Hezekiel's chest. Steele sat up. "I guess it's your turn for Daddy duty."
"Food's in the kitchen."
Grandma Aella was in the kitchen too, and despite the evidence of his own eyes, Grandma Aella said the birth went well.
"But all that blood."
"Amniotic liquid. It's there to remind to remind you men that no matter who the carrying parent is, having a woman who knows what she's doing around is what's best for everyone."
"True, Grandma Aella." Steele kissed her hands.
Steel got hugs from Hezekiel's parents and curious glances from the two shy cats. There was a story there, but that could wait until later. All Steele wanted to do was be with his family.
He slid back against the couch, but closer to Hezekiel this time. He could kiss him without much trouble and their knees touched. In the space between their bellies, their family lay, the babies eating or sleeping and Dal purring.
As Steele was dozing off again, Hezekiel laughed. "I just had the worst thought. Penelope is going to be so jealous that she missed this."
She can come tomorrow.
"Your wish, my love."
"And when her baby comes it's not going to be quite this tidy."
Steele groaned. "As long as it's not my baby."
"She'll wear you down eventually."
"Nope, unless it's with that spell where the parents don't have to be in the same room to conceive."
Hezekiel yawned. "I vote for that. Doll is generous enough to share you with me, but between the two of us and four kittens, probably more by the time she graduates, I don't think we should spread you any thinner."
Steele groaned. "She can have your kid first."
"I second that. Doll? And the ruling passed unanimously."
They kept up the silly talk until they fell asleep. Steele woke to Lope watching over them. She knew not to try to touch the kittens, so Steele went back to sleep. Once the babies were a little older, he wouldn't be getting any. And really what more could he asked for but to have the ones he loved so close.
Title: Complex
Chapter: 11
Length: 1964 words
Summary: Steele's parents ask too many questions.
Master list: lj DW
Steele sat in the diner across from Mom while Dad helped Dal with the order. Steele had wanted to help, but Dad overruled him, which meant either that Dad really liked Dal or, more likely, that Mom wanted to talk to Steele.
"So what's this about a demon I've been hearing about?"
The second then.
"What do you what to know?" Where was he even going to start?
"Everything."
Steele glanced at Dal. "Some of it isn't my story to tell."
"The part that has to do with you."
"I'm now part of a… complex marriage." Onesimus had explained it, but Steele still couldn't figure out how it worked. "It's for political reasons."
"What do you have to do with politics?"
"Demon politics. Or theology or something."
Mom rubbed her forehead. "What does this have to do with you?"
"I love Dal." He couldn't also say he'd started having feeling for Hezekiel when he was so newly married to Dal. And that maybe he only had them because he loved Dal so much. Demon theology was confusing.
"And?"
"Most demons think Dal belongs to a demon named Hezekiel. I married Dal and am having children with him even knowing this, so I need to give him something in return." The giving was getting easier each time and not just because Dal had started looking forward to feeling the back flow of his Mating bond. One of these days he was going to come and watch. After that, it was just a matter of time before he'd join it.
"What are you giving him? Most demons? Like half? Why would they care?"
Steele used this as an opportunity to get into the minutia of demon beliefs and he was still talking when Dal and Dad arrived. The subject switched to the babies, when they were coming, how likely each were to be what species of familiar, whether one might be a wizard like one of Dad's Uncles. Steele wasn't sure if that Uncle was related to him by blood or one of many family friends who may or may not have married into the family.
When Dal waddled off to the restroom at the end of the meal, Mom shot Steele laser eyes. "You. A demon. What?"
Dad raised his eyebrows.
"Since many demons believe that Dal should have married Hezekiel…"
"Not the same Hezekiel Lope is engaged to, right?" Dad was following along too well.
"Yes, the same one. She's going to marry him, like she wants."
Mom nodded.
Steele got a text from Dal. "How long should I stay gone?"
Steele texted back, "rescue me"
"And?" prompted Mom.
"Even though Hezekiel has Lope, I still owe him for taking Dal. To appease the demons who think those two should be together." So clinical when what he wanted was his men tucked against him. His men. He'd need to go over that with Dal before he sprung it on Hezekiel.
The poor demon still didn't understand what Steele saw in him.
"But how are you going to pay him back? Hello, Dal. Ready to go?"
Dal laughed and let Steele help him into a light sweater. "Steele is too shy to tell you, that for legal reasons, as well as personal one, Steele is almost as married to Hez and he is to me."
Mom's jaw dropped, but Dad grinned. "Is he good looking, son?"
"Tolerably," supplied Dal, with just the touch of a smile. "And somehow Pen has got everyone to agree that she'll carry at least one of Steele's babies."
Steele shuddered.
Mom waved his concerns away. "She's wanted to catch your eye for ages."
Steele ground his teeth. "Mom, that isn't helping. Dal, do you need a hand?"
Dal had put his hand over his belly, like he had on and off for months, but this time his pale face was paler than normal. "I think I'm all right."
Steele lifted Dal up. "Mom, can you get Grandma Aella? I'd feel more comfortable with her here."
That was impossible. Mom and Dad had come to visit to try and convince Dal to give birth at their house. Grandma Aella was still at home.
Steele carried Dal across the quad while Dal whisper, "I'm not ready. I'm not ready."
"It okay, Baby." Steele set him gently on a bench. "Turn cat and it will get easier.'
"No!" Dal pushed Steele away then clutched his belly. "Not yet. Not yet."
Feet sounded behind him. Steele turned. Salathiel was rushing over. Steele held out his hands. "Dal's in labor and fighting every contraction, Grandma Allea still at home hours ago. And he won't turn cat."
Arms wrapped around Steele. "Sweet little papa," Salathiel soothed. "Leave everything to us."
"I can't take him home like this!" Steele was helpless. The babies were weeks early. They couldn't be born in his dorm if Dal refused to turn cat. What if he bled to death?
"Pick him up."
Steele did. Bloody water was spurting down Dal's legs.
A hand grabbed his arm. "Take one step. Yes, that's right. One more. Hold still. Now set him on the floor."
Steele looked around. He was in a well decorated house with plush carpets and someone had spread a blanket on the floor. "Please."
"Now set him down."
Steele did.
Two very small cats nosed Dal. Steele's first thought was to move them away, but maybe they could convince Dal to turn cat. "Dal, you can do it. Let go and you'll be a cat. The pain will be less."
"No, no, no!" Dal curled around himself. "I can't."
"Sure you can," said Grandma Aella. "Help me get his clothes off."
Steele spared a glance for whoever had brought her. Hezekiel. Steele nodded and got to work.
Even naked and covered in a blanket Dal refused to changed. Hezekiel got down on one knee. "Doll, why can't you change?"
"I'm so small." Dal gasped and clutched his belly. "Baby porcupines can weight two pounds. As a cat, I just over four. I'll die."
Grandma Aella laughed. "My sweet pet. You're carrying kittens, not porcupettes. And there are four. That's why you're so large. They're all really tiny. They'll need a lot of love and care. You'll have to be a cat to give them what they need."
And then all the sudden Dal was a tiny cat with a round belly and the first little kitten showed itself. Grandma and the two cats had this.
Steele leaned back on his heels and took Hezekiel's hand without looking away from Dal. "Thank you."
Hezekiel squeezed his hand. Steele brought Hezekiel's hand to his lips. A second kitten was born. Dal cleaned it and with the help of the others, positioned it to nurse.
His babies were being born. Steele felt all wobbly. He got on his knees again, but with his back against Hezekiel's legs, and let Hezekiel hold him up.
The third kitten came, followed quickly by the four.
"Identical," announced Grandma Aella. "No wonder that third one confused me."
"Four."
Hezekiel squeezed his shoulders. "If you ever need another set of hands."
Steele sighed. "I'm sure we'll find a way to keep yours busy."
Then Dal meowed at Steele and he curled up on a new blanket with his husband against his chest and his family sucking happily. What more could a man ask for?
~~~~~~
Steele woke to tiny peeps. Hezekiel manage to look about to bolt while lying on the carpet. He bit his lip. "Dal told me to lay here."
"We do what Dal says."
You better.
"Always, my love."
Dal licked one kitten and brought it over and laid it in the small place between Steele's and Hezekiel's faces. Hezekiel moved away. Dal swatted him. He stared at the kitten with wide eyes. "What am I supposed to do?"
"What about…?" Steele carefully put out his hand and petted the tiny kitten with one finger. The kitten peeped in protest. Steele laughed. "Are you our first, princess?"
Dal butted against Hezekiel's hand. Hezekiel carefully laid his hand over the tiny kitten's back. "She's so cold."
She's fine.
Dal picked that kitten up and put it back in the pile against Steele's chest. He place the second where the first had been. Steele held out his hand for Dal to sniff before touching the kitten. "And this one's Dva, right?"
"Dava and…" Hezekiel gestured to the kitten pile with his chin, his hand being busy petting the second kitten. Dva yawned and snuggled into Hezekiel's hand.
"Jeden. But they'll all get new names once their personalities shine through."
"What's a good name that means sleepy?" Hezekiel was sure enough now to protest Dva being woken up to be taken back to the kitten pile.
The third, despite his tiny size and closed eyes tried to get back to his brother until his brother was brought to him. "Tri and štyri."
"Tree and... Say that again."
Steele laughed. "I'm not sure I got it right the first time. Sheteery?"
Dal blinked his eyes.
"We bow to your greater knowledge."
Dal sighed. Close enough.
It wasn't but Steele was willing to be corrected several dozen times until he got it right.
"You know." Hezekiel gave the fourth kitten one last pet before Dal took him away. "These kittens are technically mine as well, socially, so they will all have to have demon names as well as these and whatever they are called later."
Steele covered his face. "I'm leaving that to you."
Hezekiel laughed. He didn't do that enough. Steele tugged him forward and kissed him. Dal started piling the babies against Hezekiel's chest. Steele sat up. "I guess it's your turn for Daddy duty."
"Food's in the kitchen."
Grandma Aella was in the kitchen too, and despite the evidence of his own eyes, Grandma Aella said the birth went well.
"But all that blood."
"Amniotic liquid. It's there to remind to remind you men that no matter who the carrying parent is, having a woman who knows what she's doing around is what's best for everyone."
"True, Grandma Aella." Steele kissed her hands.
Steel got hugs from Hezekiel's parents and curious glances from the two shy cats. There was a story there, but that could wait until later. All Steele wanted to do was be with his family.
He slid back against the couch, but closer to Hezekiel this time. He could kiss him without much trouble and their knees touched. In the space between their bellies, their family lay, the babies eating or sleeping and Dal purring.
As Steele was dozing off again, Hezekiel laughed. "I just had the worst thought. Penelope is going to be so jealous that she missed this."
She can come tomorrow.
"Your wish, my love."
"And when her baby comes it's not going to be quite this tidy."
Steele groaned. "As long as it's not my baby."
"She'll wear you down eventually."
"Nope, unless it's with that spell where the parents don't have to be in the same room to conceive."
Hezekiel yawned. "I vote for that. Doll is generous enough to share you with me, but between the two of us and four kittens, probably more by the time she graduates, I don't think we should spread you any thinner."
Steele groaned. "She can have your kid first."
"I second that. Doll? And the ruling passed unanimously."
They kept up the silly talk until they fell asleep. Steele woke to Lope watching over them. She knew not to try to touch the kittens, so Steele went back to sleep. Once the babies were a little older, he wouldn't be getting any. And really what more could he asked for but to have the ones he loved so close.