Overwhelming or not, their omega was going to make it okay for all of them.
Frequently since he’d left the hospital, Zinn had cuddled on the couch next to Valentin, often while he chest-fed Lachie. Zinn also made a point of kissing him, Wes, and Calder whenever they were together, in a definitivewe are more than friendsway.
It didn’t surprise Valentin that Zinn was pushing things forward, fearlessly making sure no one could mistake what was happening while he struggled to trust this new happiness. He had spent the past year understanding that a life with Assa and Wes would fulfill him completely, and while that was still true, his life would now include Calder and Zinn.
In the bedroom.
Because it didn’t matter whose house they eventually lived in, or how their families took care of the kids. Or the chores. Or what they were going to say to their co-workers and friends. They’d been living in each other’s pockets for a year. Most people already saw them as a unit.
The fundamental shift was that now, whenever Valentin looked at Calder, he thought about what it might be like to touch the other alpha’s cock, to take it in his mouth…or have it in his ass. Calder would be bigger than Wes. Valentin knew he’d struggle to take him. Fuck, he could picture it. Sweating and straining. Two alphas being together sexually was still taboo, but Valentin didn’t care. He craved it.
And Zinn.
He still dreamed of the one heat he’d shared with Zeller. How would it feel to be with his omega again? To have Wes, Assa, and Calder there with them? The thought of sharing Zinn with the others made his head spin. He wanted it so much.
And it would be his. Soon.
Once Assa was home from the hospital and they figured out how to officially be a five-man polycule. How to live. How to parent. How to divvy up responsibilities. How to love.
How to fuck.
***
When Assa came home, he was under strict orders to limit his movements. He could not lift anything heavy, including Lachie—something he was particularly annoyed about.
“He needs his de-de Assa! I’ve been gone for two weeks, and he wasn’t allowed to visit me in the hospital. He probably thinks I abandoned him!”
Calder laughed. “And we thought Ked was the dramatic one.”
“Hey, leave me out of this,” Ked complained, bringing a plate of raw hamburgers to Wes at the grill.
“Sorry, kiddo,” Assa said. “You know I love you. I’m just tired of resting.”
They were hanging out on the Rosens’ patio. Felton’s was closed for the day, but with summer fully upon them, there was still plenty of light for an evening cookout.
Ryde and Jordie huddled next to a kiddie pool where Lachie sat in three inches of water, squealing with delight every time his brothers splashed his chest. Valentin smiled at the baby in his floppy sun hat.
“Did Ryde like the water at that age?” he asked Assa.
Zinn leaned in closer. Like Valentin, he was always interested in stories about Ryde’s early years.
“Sure did,” Assa said. “We had him in swimming lessons before he was in school, which is why he’s such a strong swimmer now.”
“Denni taught Jordie the old-fashioned way,” Calder chimed in. “Just threw him in the pool and stayed next to him until he figured it out. He meant to do the same with Ked, but then… Anyway, I got Ked lessons, so he didn’t get the same trial by fire experience.”
Jordie looked over. “I think I remember that. Daddy taking me swimming.” He turned to Ked, who only had a hazy recollection of his omega father. “Daddy brought you too. He held you in the pool and walked around with you when you were a baby.”
“Oh,” Ked said, at a rare loss for words. He furrowed his brow. “Maybe Jordie and I can be the ones to teach Lachie.”
“We’ll hold you to that,” Wes said, pointing the spatula at him.
Valentin noticed, as he assumed they all did, that Wes had just taken responsibility for Calder and Zinn’s baby. And no one blinked.
Valentin gulped. He’d get to be a real father to Lachie.
They sat at the big patio table to eat. Even the baby got in on the action. He’d started solids a month earlier and was mouthing soft crackers.
“So…I was gonna ask…” Jordie began.