"Please, behave ok?" Chloe ran her fingers though Rey's hair. "He's in the same boat you are." She leaned in and kisses his cheek. "Except you know where your daughter is." She rubbed his bicep with a warm smile. "So I ask again, please, behave."
"I will if he does."
Chloe reached and grabbed his muzzle. "You, will, behave. You will treat that boy with respect."
"Goh hi muv muh."
"I love you too." Chloe leaned in and kissed her mate, releasing him.
"And why should I do that?"
"Imagine if things were the other way around, and that your crush had your kid, and you had no say in what happened in their life. How would you feel seeing the man of the girl?" Chloe touched his cheek softly as he sighed, touching her hand. "Now you know I love you, and you know why we did what we did. And don't you think that I don't know why you proposed."
"Because I love you." Rey objected.
"Rey, you love Caramel more than you love me."
"That's not true."
"Rey, please."
"I can't lose you."
"I know, I can't lose you either, but you have all the cards, and if you aren't polite to him, we can lose everything we worked for."
Rey sighed. "You're right. I love you."
"I love you too my silly pup." She rubbed the base of his ear. "Now go."
Rey nodded, and made his way to the door of Alphas house. He took a deep breath, lifted his arm, his knuckles tapping against the wood that parted the outside with the inside of his home. They must have been waiting, the door didn't take long to part. Rey instinctively perked his ears up. He lowered his head just a bit, eye contact not breaking. "Jack."
"Rey." The tall red panda stood at the door frame, almost filling it up himself. He immediately smiled as he broke eye contact with Rey and saw Chloe behind him. He waved at her. "Hello Chloe."
"Hi Jack!" She waved back.
"Are you coming in?" Jack asked her, almost forgetting Rey was right in front of him.
"Sorry, not today. I'm sure Rey and Borealis will schedule something."
"Ok love, be safe." His demeanor changed when he looked back at Rey. "Come on in." He stood aside, letting him, and closing the door behind him. "Dad asked me to take you two to the backyard.
"Hi Rey." A soft voice called out from down the hall.
"Hi Aurora." He smiled as she approached him, the two sharing an embrace.
"Please." She whispered softly, releasing him. "Did Chloe come?"
"She's, outside." Aurora smiled and opened the door, disappearing again. "Where is everyone?"
"Not home." Jack answered. "Come on." He led him out the back, a small picnic table set up with a few chairs. "Wait here." Rey took a seat at the head of the table, facing the door. In what felt like an eternity and an instant, Borealis appeared. Rey stood as Borealis pulled the chair on the opposite side. The two sat at the same moment.
"Where is Sierra?"
"At home with her sister. Emily is taking care of them." He smiled. "They have taken to the family very well." Rey could tell, Borealis was bubbling under the surface.
"I want to see my daughter Rey."
"My daughter."
Borealis shot up and slammed the table. "How fucken dare you?!" He pointed at Rey. "You know damn well that Sierra is my daughter." Jack peaked out, saw it was getting a little heated and walked out behind Borealis. "This is none of your business Jack." No response. "Fine."
Rey tried to keep his cool. "Sierra and Savannah were born into my marriage with Chloe, Bore, and by law, they are my daughter's. Now if you want to see my daughter's, that is acceptable. I mean, we are a pack now right?"
"I heard you blocked the request for a DNA test."
"I have no need for something like that. I know they are my daughter's."
"Sierra is not your daughter!" Borealis's fur began to stand on end.
"Yes Borealis, she is." Borealis's dropped his head. "You're not a father Bore, why do yo-"
"Because you won't let me." He said softly, his voice at the edge of breaking.
"What?"
"How can I be a father if you took my daughter from me? I just want my daughter Rey."
Rey tried to calm himself. "Even if you had a right to Sierra, do you think the best place for her is apart from her mom and sister?"
"Why are you doing this?" Borealis sat down, collapsing, his eyes watering. "I know we've had our differences but, I never took you to be this cruel."
"Cruel? Boy, you don't know what cruel is." Rey began. "You want to talk about cruel? Cruel would have been you sharing Grace with me."
"Watch it Rey."
"No, fuck you're little bitch shit and listen." His voice began to grow louder. "Grace didn't want any part of this, so I was asked and put up against the corner to share my crush." He paused for a moment, trying to regain control of himself. He cleared his throat. "Cruel was feeling like I was going to lose my love, my heart, Chloe, because I know you two have feelings for each other."
"I don't-"
"Don't lie to me Bore, I know you were in love with her in highschool. But guess what bro, I am with her. Cruel is her wanting her cake and eating it too. And I sucked it up for the good of my family. Cruel was seeing my love feel sick, cruel was living with the horror that I was going to lose my mate for months and having to," he paused, he hadn't noticed he was crying at this point. "Having to smile." He smiled, completely in tears. "Having to be happy for her, because she's always wanted kids, and I lived in terror that if the kids were yours, I'd have to lose her. You don't know what cruel is, you weren't there."
"I wasn't there because you didn't want me there."
"Isn't that convenient?"
"Rey, I just want to be a father to my daughter."
"And all I want is to keep my pack together." The two stayed in silence for a moment, processing everything that was just said.
"So, what now?" Borealis finally said. Rey said nothing. "I'm sorry, you're right, about Chloe. That wasn't fair to you. Chloe and I had a little thing, but it never overlapped with you."
"I know."
"But to be fair, you did sleep with 2 of my sister's."
"I, didn't realize you knew about that."
"You know who we are right? We share everything, of course I know about that. I mean maybe some of my younger sisters, maybe, but Aurora, come on dude, she's my best friend."
Rey sighed. "You're right. I've not been fair to you. Your daughter deserves to have her blood father there, and this family in her life, but I'm not stepping down, she is my daughter, Borealis."
"No, I refuse that. I will not play second fiddle in her life. I understand she needs her mom and her sister, and I don't want take them from you, but my daughter is my daughter, and your daughter is your daughter."
"I don't see how this is going to work."
"I don't know either but I need my daughter."
"And, if you were granted visiting rights? You could, bring her here, spend time with her, but the majority of her time is with her mom."
"And what happens when Savannah wants to know why Sierra keeps leaving?" Chloe asked from behind Jack, seeming a little annoyed.
"What are you doing here? I thought you didn't want to be a part of this."
"That's when I thought you were gonna behave like one of the fathers of those girls."
" I AM the father of those girls."
"No Rey, you are my mate, and father to Savannah. In Sierra's life, Bore has a say as her father." Chloe paused. "I know what happened wasn't what we had hoped.." she said softly, pausing for a moment as the tears began to build up in her blue eyes. "But this is where we are now. And I will not let either of you two ruin our family, because like it or not, we are a family now. And if you both can't be fathers to those girls, then I don't know what we do."
"That's, that's it." Borealis's eyes widen with glee. "Both of us." He looked over to Rey. "Look, what if, we three were their parents? To both of those girls."
Rey was quiet for a moment, he could see a lot going wrong with this, but maybe it would be good for the girls to see each other as equals, both with 2 dad's and their mom. "Maybe. Let's try it, but if it doesn't work we will have this talk again."
Chloe walked over and took Rey by the hand, then on her way back, she took Borealis's hand as well. "Come." She led them out the side door of their backyard. Waiting for them, Emily and Caramel, both making goofy faces, each with one pup wrapped in a blanket. They smiled as Chloe approached them, taking one pup in each arm then coming back to the boys. Borealis could feel himself melting. He hadn't held her yet. He had been allowed to be there in the hospital when they were born, but only Rey was allowed to be present, and now, there she was. Chloe approached Rey first, giving Sierra with him, then walking to Borealis who again, began to weep. "You ready to meet her?"
"More than anything." He smiled, he had seen her in pictures, after the quarentine, he thought it best to not risk it, but now, here she was. Chloe extended her arms, handing him the bundle. In it, a little gray face looking back at him she smiled back at him. "Look, she's smiling." He took her into his arms, shaking.
"Oh, is she? Well, you wanna learn how to change her?" Chloe asked, chuckling.
Borealis began to chuckle back. "Is, that what the smile was?" He looked at Sierra, smiling in a way that made Chloe begin to tear up, her hand covering her mouth as it rolled up into a loosely clenched fist. "Did you do that? Did you make a stinky?" He laughed, his eyes watering as well. He finally had her.
"Come, let's go." She took him by the hand and led him inside.
Rey couldn't help but be moved by what he saw. He looked over to Caramel. "Am I in the wrong?"
Caramel was quiet for a moment. "Master." She paused.
"You address my as Rey in matters regarding our family Caramel. Your opinion is valued here more than most. Am I in the wrong?"
"Yes." She replied. Rey felt a cold wave drop on him. "I know this isn't easy for you, this isn't easy for anyone." Caramel felt nervous. "But, Rey, you're making it difficult for Borealis on purpose. He didn't mean for this to happen. Yes, he had feelings for Chloe, but when you two started dating he left it alone. It wasn't until you offered to make amends that he admitted what he felt. Look at him Rey, he loves that girl more than anything."
"But she is my mate." Rey protested.
"Are you blind? I'm talking about his daughter. That boy would give everything for her. Stop fixating on Chloe, he loves her as the mother of his pup but beyond that, I don't see it. Sierra means everything to him right now. You are wrong to keep her from him."
Emily was taken aback, she had never spoken to Rey that way. "Caramel!" She protested.
"No, no no, if that's what she thinks that's what she thinks." Rey looked at his daughter. "She may be right, I can't imagine what I'd do if someone took her from me."
"You'd fight." Jack instantly filled in the silence. "I know you well enough to know you'd fight, only difference is that you wouldn't care what you destroyed to do it. Borealis does care. You and I both know how he can get, and you know he treaded very lightly."
Rey was quiet for a moment, he sighed, looking at his daughter. "Well what do you suggest?" Rey asked Caramel.
"Let him keep his baby." She said softly. "Or let him stay with us until she doesn't need to be with her momma"
"What do you think?" Rey asked Emily.
"I think it's not a bad idea, could be nice to have some help around the house, especially, the father." Emily answered. "Couldn't hurt to ask him, I'm sure he'd say yes to be with her."
"And you?" He turned to Jack.
"I know you are concerned with my brother living with your mates." Jack began. "My brother is many things, but he, nor your girls, would ever do anything without telling you, but the point is moot, your girls love you too much."
"So you think it's a good idea?"
"I think your biggest concern isn't highly relevant."
"I see." Rey sighed, touching his daughters forehead. "What do you think?" The pup in his arms began to chuckle, a bit of drool on the side of her cheek, blinking quickly. "Even you?"
"She's wise beyond her years." Jack joked.
"She takes after her mom." Rey replied. "Ok, we will give it a shot if Bore accepts."
After a few minutes of silence and an intense starring competition between Savannah and Jack, Chloe returned with Sierra in her arms, Borealis following closely behind. "Everything ok?"
Rey took Chloe by the hand, and kissed her cheek. "I love you."
Chloe smiled, a faint blush coming over her. She wasn't used to Rey being affectionate in public. "I love you too."
He then took Sierra from her, in return for Savannah. Borealis felt very uneasy, but stayed a few feet away. "We have a proposal for you Borealis." Rey looked at the gray furred face, looking back at him. Her hair was just like her mother's. "If, you want to take your daughter, I won't stop you, but all I ask is that you let her be with her mom for the next few months, and in exchange, we extend to you, an invitation to stay with us until such time that she doesn't depend on her mother."
"Seriously?" Borealis seemed, perplexed, what was his angle?
"Seriously." He walked towards his nemesis, and extended his arms with the pup still in them.
"I would love to, yes." He took the pup from him, taking her in one arm, and reaching in to hug Rey with his other arm. "Thank you."
"Picture!" Caramel shouted. A picture of the weird family!"
Rey and Borealis ran to either side of Chloe, their respective pup in each of her arms. During the countdown, Borealis leaned over, kissing the back of the head of his pup.

Art  SashaTF
Characters and Story  alphanemesis93