Bringin' home the... rabbits?

 Whooooofff.... he'd had a ruff day today. He had worked with Harper's deer-boy to catch her some tasty prey. After all, she was a proud mama and he --was he a proud dad too? did he get to be?-- was working hard to make sure she felt loved and pampered and well taken care of. Towards that end, he'd gone out to help round up some food for her.

 After a full day, they had a few rabbits and mice and Mordecai had managed to help by gathering some tasty berries. Now, he headed back to the den along with the stag. Which, he would be weirded out by it but he remembered when the stag was a fawn in Event Horizon and had grown used to it then.

 So, when he came to the den, he slipped inside while Hawking set up shop on the outside. Watching the entrance and "guarding" while Mordecai would carefully try to go appease Harper. "Harpeeerrr we got food for you..." He said softly in case the littles were sleeping. The last thing hew anted was to wake them up and upset Harper.

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^^Harper’s first original attempt to tell Mordecai that he had a paw in siring this litter had gone over so totally fine that she had originally thought that he was trying to ditch her. He had proved otherwise, shockingly, and Harper wondered how the lovable warrior would feel to know if he had children or not.

She was whisper-singing nursery lullabies to her children in russian when the boys, her two favorites, stopped by the den; Mordecai bringing in some more food for her, and Hawking guarding the den like the protective champ that he was.

Harper lifted her head as Mordecai entered, with the wag of her tail. Would he keep up this loving routine if he discovered one of these children was his? Crux and Harper had addressed such things, but he was gone now, and she never actually… talked to Mordecai about anything serious.

She had come to wonder why that was.

“Please don’t tell me you’re normally up at this hour.. ”

^^
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 He wasn't exactly really her mate but.... he hoped he could comforting and help out with the kiddos. He loved the kiddos, they were adorable! Even if he wasn't the actual father and he was just filling in to help out where he could. He would try to shimmy in closer, trying to lay next to Harper and allow his body to be used as a pillow if she wanted. "Not all the time! But it took a while for us to catch you all this stuff! I hope you like it." He eyeballed the berries and then the rabbits, he couldn't help the little bit of drool that started to form around his lips.

 "Buuuttt sometimes I am up doin' some patrols this late. I don't want nothin' gettin' in to hurt you guys." Not Harper, not the babies, not the whole of Elysium. "I know I'm not the real dad or nothin' but I still care about all of you guys." He sounded completely happy with his lot in life. He had his own little family here. What more could he possibly hope for?

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^^They weren’t married & they weren’t mates, yet Mordecai had put himself in overdrive caring for Harper and her brood. He came to her side, and Harper did not hesitate to lean into him, inhaling his scent and nuzzling into him.

He had always been so good to her, even from the first time they’d met. Even better, at her wedding, when he realized who she was. She came to roll back over, nibbling on the rabbits, and sliding the berries over to him.

“Do… you want children of your own, someday, Mordecai?” A slow, easy question, Harper turned to look him in the eyes. Slowly, she would come to bring her eldest son between her paws, in wonder if she ought to tell him the truth.

His response would be the determining factor.

^^
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 Ah, this was the life. He felt like he truly had a family as Harper leaned into him. If he were a feline he would have been purring at this moment. As it was, his little nubby tail just thumped happily around while he closed his eyes contentedly with a grin.

 Until he smelled the berries coming in front of him, provided by the beautiful Harper herself. If it was possible, his tail wagged even harder and he waisted no time in getting them into his mouth. Quite undignified as Harper asked him her question.

 He looked back into her eyes, brown meeting purple as he stared into that mystic ocean. Getting lost for a moment before answering, "Of course I do... I'd love to have a family." He paused and then almost shyly, he munched on the berries in his mouth and swallowed. "That's why it's kinda nice to get to hang out with you guys, I get to pretend like I have a family." He hoped that was okay.

 His gaze shifted down to little Rigby as he leaned to try to boop the little guy on the nose. "And these guys, gosh I know they're not mine, but I love'em so much." He grinned, looking at the little guy and then over at the other pups and then back to Rigby. "And it's so funny that this one, he looks so much like me!" Like whatever deities above thought that it would be nice to put a little resemblance into him.

 Almost as if he had helped to make this one.

 Almost as if...

 Hmm...

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Rigby had been enjoying his sleep, incoherent dreams with abstract shapes and proportions played out in his head. He felt secured and warm with his family. Not an inkling of trouble or harm upon his senses as of now. Still he slept as Harper put him between paws, little maw opened as his body softly rose up and down. It was only when the wet and slightly cold nose of Mordecai touching him did he awake with a tiny whine of protest, being a little tired and grumpy. Purple eyes fluttering open to look straight at Mordecai. Familiarity, he identified this wolf as family. It felt natural to see him. Previous disgruntlement thrown to the wind, Rigby now focused on gnawing Mordecai's nose with his baby teeth, tiny paws grabbing onto it to hold him in place.

"Mordiy" He would chirp out as he mouthed the giant.
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^^Of course I do, I’d love a family.

Her ears lowered; it had never occurred to Harper that Mordecai didn’t have anyone. Harper had lost the majority of her family at an early age. At one point in time, she’d even lost Valeska, when she and her mother had been exiled.

The, though short, time away from everyone, after her mother had died; the loneliness and realization of having no one was heartbreaking. How on earth Mordecai was holding up on his own was beyond her, though she reasoned looking to Crux as a brother of sorts might have been all he needed.

Crux was gone now; now it was just Harper and her children.

Their children.

I get to pretend like I have a family.

“Mordecai, we are your family. ” There was a certain firmness to her voice, though it quivered softly. She didn’t have the heart not to tell him; didn’t have the heart to watch him long to be an actual father, when his son was right here.

Right here, holding Mordecai’s face like an infant with a bottle, nibbling his nose. He spoke, a little chirp of a name, and Harper growled to correct him.

“No, honey; you may call this one отец — Father; father.”. She included the english word as well, you know, for Mordecai’s sake.

She paused briefly, meeting Mordecai’s gaze with an arch of her brow; would he understand now, or would he think that she’d just want all of her kids to call him that.

But in case he didn’t..

“Mordecai, I’d like to introduce you to our son, Rigby.”

^^

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 His heart.

 He felt like the whole world came crashing down around him and then was rebuilt in this tiny pup's image. This. This was his whole world right now... Rigby. Even if this wasn't his biological child, this tiny defenseless creature was his own. There was so much love in his heart that he felt it might burst. He smiled and he could feel the images around him starting to blur as tears formed in his eyes.

 He never knew it was possible to love something this much.

 And then Harper spoke, causing him to look --without moving his head because little Rigby could use him as a chew toy all he wanted-- at her as he blinked, and the happy tears fell. Her words really caused the water to flow as it affirmed everything that he felt. He sniffed. Partly because of the chewing and partly because of the tears. He didn't speak because he was all choked up but his eyes said everything that he felt in his heart at that moment.

 And then, it just got better.

 Father.

 He was a father.

 Everything clicked into place. This child looked like him... because he was a part of him. Biologically. His own child.

 "Our... son?" He felt like the biggest dummy in the world. Because he was the biggest dummy.

 But he was also the happiest dummy.

 "My son... I have a son." The words were spoken in wonder and then again, "I have a son." In pure joy as he really started to cry. He wrapped a paw around Harper and then his son, hugging very gently. He pushed his face into her neck, forgetting that Rigby had been chewing on him. "Can... can they all be mine? I wanna be a dad to all of them, Harper... I want..." He looked up at her.

 "I want to be your husband. I know I'm not Crux and I'm not smart or nothin' but... but you're all my family and I love all of ya'll so much. I just wanna be here for all of you and make you happy and smile and everything... Please, Harper?" And he meant it with all of his heart. He wanted to do right and be hers completely if she'd allow it.

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Rigby's ears perked as his mother spoke, quickly he searched for the source and stared at her with astute attention. For a moment, he had paused in his assault to process what his mother had said, mouth opened wide as if it did not know what to do without containing a piece of Mordecai to chew on. "MAmachka, O-kei! — Okay, Mother! He spoke back the harsh language with an ever-growing ease. He was still getting the sentence structure of English and Russian words a bit mixed up due to the latter's more lax rules, but he was adapting well.

Rigby didn't understand what the big deal with all the names. Mordecai was Mordecai, safety, familiarity, warmth. He was what he had always been in the pup's short life. Emotions were sharp between the adults and yet the kid was just happy to be next to his two favorite said adults. Brushing aside the matter, he went back to snacking on poor Mordecai's muzzle.

More words were exchanged, but he only half-listened until he picked up on father's even more elevated mood. He absorbed it like a sponge, smiling and giggling as Mordecai wrapped himself around him and his mom, causing the puppy to be squished into the fluff of her neck. Remembering what Mom had just told him, Rigby tried to make the mood even better, to please the parents he loved. Letting go again, he would proceed to nuzzle the muzzle that held him against his mother, finding comfort in the embrace that allowed him to be squished by both. "FAh-therr!" He said to Mordecai with a happy giggle.

Then Mordecai was saying weird things he didn't really understand and in all honestly; grew bored of. Such matters did not matter to Rigby. What mattered was all the positive attention he was happily getting. He would instead start to drift off again, his mother's fur always relaxed Rigby into a clam state of mind.
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^^Watching Mordecai in these moments, before he came to realize that this boy was his son, — their son — was priceless. Even before he’d known that he was his boy’s biological son, Mordecai had taken the mantle of their father.

After the realization took him, the wonder, the awe, and the pure absolute joy in his voice when he spoke again had told Harper that she’d made the right choice. Thank goodness she hadn’t killed him over the little misunderstanding they had shared after Harper had tried to (and failed) to tell him the first time that he was one of their fathers.

Harper came to nuzzle him as he hugged the three of them and then he spoke words that Harper honestly didn’t think that she would ever hear him speak. He wanted… so much more. Slowly, Harper came to stare at him as he looked up at her.

He wanted to be the dad to them all, which was fine. It wouldn’t have made much sense for only one of her children to call him Dad, now would it? But then… his request became, somehow, a proposal and a confession of love, all in one.

And Harper had so many fucking questions.

Slowly, Harper came to lick over her own lips, as her ears lowered; she could literally hear the drumming of her own heartbeat as time seemed to slow. The way he looked at her; the way he asked so politely, at the end, Harper wasn’t sure she could refuse him.

Hell, she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to. It felt very much like her heart had flung open its doors, and was calling to him. Take me, Mordecai, it sang out to him. Could he feel this, almost, magnetic pull, too? She whimpered softly, swallowing hard.

She needed to set the foundation, because if he thought she’d really let him get away with calling himself dumb like that, especially in front of their boy, he had another thing coming.

“F-first of all, милая — honey,.. ” Harper started softly, slowly; finding it almost difficult to breathe. “Not only am I going to need a proper proposal,” Harper smirked at him, narrowing her eyes and winking at him — she was a closet romantic, after all & no girl wanted to hear the words 'I want to be your husband' versus a romantic, showy display.

Imagine that. "Hey Mom, tell us the story of you and dad," and her response would be: "He said to me one day: I want to be your husband. The end." No, no; that simply would not do.

“but I know you’re not Crux, and the best thing?”

She leaned in closer, pausing a moment to readjust Rigby and give him a kiss on the forehead, then back to Mordecai, bringing her nose inches in front of his.

“You don’t have to be anyone but Mordecai. All that I would ever ask of you is to love me, which by the way I love you too, and to love our children, and our family… and to never, ever insult yourself like that again, while in my company, or the company of our children.” Harper growled softly, arching her brows that told him just how serious she was.

Clearly, it would be Harper who wore the pants in this marriage.

^^
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 Father. The little one said, and he let out a loud sniff as his emotions overcame him once again. He was so proud and so happy.

 He was even happier when Harper sort of reassured him and accepted. Sorta...

 He tilted his head to the side, his broken ear flopping over to the side as he looked at her almost dog-like in his uncertainty. Proper proposal? How did she mean? He ducked his head almost shyly, grinning and thumping his tail. Gosh, she had such a cute way with her facial expressions that he loved. "You mean like romantic stuff? Like gettin' some flowers or somethin' and askin' for your paw in marriage in front of the pack?" Why, that actually didn't seem like a terrible idea at all! He would be so happy to let everyone know that he was going to be her husband.

 And then she was leaning in after giving their son a quick kiss. Her nose was inches in front of his as she spoke in a very serious tone. Her tone brokered no argument... not that he'd dream of arguing anyway. He was more of the "yup, I'll do it right away" type. Which was why he argued absolutely none against her and instead flashed his tongue out to give her a loving --and submissive-- lick on the nose. "Yes, Harper." And he smiled because... gosh she was so awful nice.

 And hot. Couldn't forget that.

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