Ichigo had slept on that couch till the next day, and only woke when his kittens started to cry. They were probably hungry. He yawned, stretched, and curled around them a bit more, really wanting to go back to sleep. His attempt to go back to sleep was interrupted by Tensa poking him repeatively.
"W-wha..." Ichigo yawned and folded his ears back.
"Eat," Tensa demanded as he practically shoved a plate of eggs, toast, and bacon at Ichigo. "You didn't have dinner last night and your kits are hungry too."
"... I can't give them anything..." Ichigo mumbled, staring at them.
"You eat it, your body will make milk from this food."
"It's not that... They were taken away from me for over a week... and they were so young, so my body thinks that they died... so it won't make anything anymore..."
Tensa paused. "You eat anyway, I will be right back," he stated as he set the food down and disappeared from the room. Ichigo watched him go.
A few minutes later, footsteps sounded nearby. "Tensa! Can you stop stealing my mate!" a voice snarled.
Ichigo looked up and frowned, wondering what the small hybrid had done. Tensa half dragged Hel's mate, Roshi into the room. Hel followed behind with a glare at the small hybrid. "Roshi can feed them," Tensa stated.
"H-he can?" Ichigo asked.
Tensa nodded. Roshi smiled and crawled onto the couch next to him. "Yea', I can!" he chirped. "I was doin' tha' before Shiro-sama brought ya here, and when I was done I wanted ta' take a nap.. but then he called us to th' livin' room. 'S why I was sleepy. … An' th' reason yer confused 's cause tiger hybrids develop nutrients fer the cubs early on, so tha' when they are born th' cubs can get fed with th' best."
"So... you are using it for mine instead of your's... y-you shouldn't be doing that... s-save it for your own..." Ichigo said.
"Then they'll die." Roshi shook his head. "I need th' release anyways. M' developing too fast now tha' there'er cubs aroun'."
"Tensa, can you go wake Shiro... I will stay and watch them," Hel stated.
Tensa followed the order from the alpha and disappeared off again. Roshi took Timmy first, since he was the smallest. He nuzzled the hybrid's forehead to stop his squirming before loosening his robe and letting the little boy feed. Hel sat on the couch, wrapping his arms around his mate with a soft purr. Roshi nuzzled him. "Bou' five min' fer each... tha's all I can do fer now... but I think s' enough."
"They are young enough that that should be more than enough," Hel stated.
"Guess so." Roshi blinked and tilted his head. "A week, right?" he asked, and Ichigo looked up. "Ya said they took 'em from ya fer over a week. Sounds horrible. Wha' 'bout yer mate? How'd it go with 'im?"
Ichigo looked away. "I don't k-know. I've never had a mate..."
"Who's kids are these then? Just a random alpha?" Hel asked.
"S-sort of... M-more or random alphas... B-besides being used by master the other ones liked me and m-master let them use me to stay in line..."
"... That's horrible," Hel stated.
Roshi was frowning. "Used?" he asked, not understanding.
Hel sighed, he moved closer and muttered something into Roshi's ear. From the expression Roshi gave, he understood and he didn't like it. The tiger huffed and scowled a bit, resting his chin on top of the newborn's head. After about another minute he eased the child away and gave him back to Ichigo before picking up Hope.
Tensa came back in with Shiro who was leaning on the smaller male with arms around Tensa's waist, still half asleep. Ichigo watched them before starting to lick Timmy's face in a cat bath. The child squirmed.
"... They don't seem to know your scent." Roshi said. "He's squirmin', an' normally they don' mind baths."
"They were taken from him when they were only a few days old, not around him for over a week," Hel put in.
"Still. A child shoul' imprint th' mothers scent righ when they are cleaned fer th' first time, an' never forget th' scent."
"The place smelled horrible, it probably hurt their noses so they can't recognize their mother," Tensa explained.
Roshi huffed. "S' unfair!" Hel wrapped his arms around Roshi, kissing the beta's head, muttering soft words to his mate.
Ichigo was trying to ignore him and the little bit of squirming Timmy was giving him. It hurt more than it should, even if this was his first litter. He sighed and gave up after only being able to get the boy's face and ears clean.
After dragging Shiro to the other couch, Tensa tried to dislodge him. Shiro simply smirked and sat down, pulling the beta onto his lap. Tensa lit up pink, not expecting the half dead to the world male to do that.
Ichigo watched them for a few seconds before taking Hope back when she was held in front of his face, now full and asleep. Roshi took Alek, who seemed to like him more than his own mother. The half-tailed hybrid snuggled into his chest. Roshi purred softly, not really noticing.
"... Shiro-sama! Yer gonna be late for work!" Roshi suddenly said as he handed Alek back. He pulled his robe on right and climbed off of the couch.
"No I'm not..." Shiro responded.
"Yes you are, get up," Hel demanded.
"No!" Shiro huffed, only to get elbowed hard by Tensa.
"Ya got new... things to work out over there." Roshi stated. He didn't like his master's company but he liked his master.
"I don't want to go to work... it's boring and stupid," Shiro stated.
"It's your company... your dad's dead so you can easily change it if you want," Hel stated.
"He already got th' new thin's though," Roshi said. "An' the thin's will get killed if ya send 'em back..."
Hel sighed, taking his mate's arm and tugging him along. "Let's go get something to eat, okay?" the alpha stated. Roshi scowled but let him lead him away.
Shiro sighed as he got up to go get dressed, Tensa following him.
Ichigo found himself alone again. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not. He wasn't alone too long, Roshi and Hel ended up coming back after they got some breakfast. Hel ended up between the two betas. After staring up at him for a few minutes Ichigo shifted away from him. He'd only ever had bad experiences with his kind. Hel frowned but didn't press the oranget.
"Ichigo-sama, don' worry 'bout gettin' used ta Shiro-sama. Takes some time t' get used to 'em since he's kind ta us. An' don' worry about it bein' a trick, either. 'S not."
"..S-sama?"
"He uses sama for everyone, don't worry about it... Shiro prefers to be just Shiro but Roshi never listens," Hel stated.
"Okay..." Ichigo said, but started to cough before he could finish the word. It took a few seconds to calm down.
"You okay Ichigo?" the alpha asked, turning to face the oranget more. The oranget nodded a bit. "I-it's just a side effect..." he murmured.
"Of?"
"U-um... i-it just has to do with why I can't r-really speak..." Ichigo mumbled. In reality the coughing was part of that, and it was because his basically useless vocal cords got inflamed and overly irritated just by speaking at that point.
Hel seemed to have a basic idea of why Ichigo couldn't speak but didn't voice it in front of his mate. "You should try to eat," Hel suggested, gesturing at the plate of food Tensa brought in earlier.
"I'm not r-really hungry..."
"You need to eat... Don't know when the last time you ate but you didn't eat dinner so you need to eat breakfast," Hel commanded.
Ichigo flinched slightly and after a moment he started to eat. Hel watched for a moment before he glanced at his own mate. Without the usual supervision Roshi had managed to drench his pancakes in syrup and some of it was dripping off of the plate, and he didn't seem to care or notice. Hel chuckled, wiping the side of the plate with his finger before raising his sticky fingers to his mouth. Roshi glanced at him, half of a drenched piece of pancake sticking out of his mouth. Hel smirked, leaning over towards his mate. Their lips met and Hel took a bite out of the pancake. Roshi only blinked before swallowing so he could speak. "Ya can jus' ask fer some pancakes if you want it." he said.
Hel just rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he leaned back against the couch. "You got syrup... like everywhere on your face," he stated.
"I do?" The tiger tilted his head before simply wiping it all off on his sleeve.
Hel chuckled. "You are too adorable sometimes," he purred as he kissed his mate's nose.
Roshi only blinked and tried to pour more syrup on the already drenched pancakes. Hel grabbed the bottle. "No Roshi... you got enough on your plate and lap than you need," the alpha shook his head.
The tiger pouted. "But I want more."
"You have enough... finish all your food and I will give you more for more pancakes," Hel bought up a deal. Roshi smiled and nodded before taking another too-big bite of his food. Hel chuckled and rolled his eyes again.
"Shiro... you don't have your briefcase," Tensa stated as he and Shiro passed the living room.
The albino stopped in his tracks. "Oops." he muttered.
"Also your tie is crooked," Tensa added.
Shiro pouted. "Oh."
"...How did he dress himself before he got Tensa," Hel shook his head and sighed.
Tensa fixed Shiro's tie and went upstairs to get Shiro's bag.
"A-are they mates?" Ichigo asked quietly, shifting his bound arm around to try and get comfortable. The numbness had started to go away.
Hel laughed for a minute. "Tensa probably wishes they were... but they aren't," He replied.
"Oh..."
Tensa came back down, giving Shiro his bag. Then he spoke quickly, informing Shiro of his schedule for the day. "What are you? A housewife from the 50s?" Shiro teased. Tensa blushed, childishly sticking his tongue out at the albino.
After Shiro had left with a laugh Ichigo sat up, the triplets curled up on the couch still. "Umm... can I... h-have a change of clothes?" he asked quietly, unsure of what they would say.
Tensa looked over at him. "Oh yeah, sure" he nodded. He went upstairs and came back with a handful of clothes.
Ichigo took them, staring at the times for a moment before looking up. "U-um.. where can I..."
"Bathroom down the hall," Tensa responded.
Ichigo nodded a bit and looked down at his kittens before pulling the blanket over the back of the couch over them. He then got up and went to the bathroom to change, limping slightly.
Roshi held his plate out to Hel, syrup spilling over a bit. Hel rolled his eyes but took the plate, leaving the room to get more pancakes and syrup for his mate. When he returned, he snatched a kiss before handing over the plate. Roshi smiled before starting to devour the pancakes. Hel smiled lovingly at the messy eater.
"Th' cubs wan' all my food..." Roshi pouted. He was still hungry even after his second plate.
Hel kissed his mate's nose. "I will get you some more, okay?" he stated, taking the plate. Roshi nodded and grinned. Hel returned with a bigger stack of pancakes, drenched in syrup. Roshi happily took the plate, making a mess like he always did. Hel sat down next to his mate, licking the side of the tiger's face clean of the sticky substance on it. Roshi glanced at him and held his fork out with a bit of pancake on it. Hel ate it. Roshi giggled slightly and went back to eating.
A few minutes later Ichigo came back, now dressed in a clean white shirt and blue night pants since he was expected to rest and heal up. "I would move to the other couch since Roshi made a mess on the first," Tensa stated from the opposite couch where Hel and Roshi were. Tensa had moved the kits already. Ichigo went over to him, sitting down on the floor instead of the couch so he could place his head next to his kittens.
Roshi yawned and set his plate down, finally full. He stretched out over the couch, not noticing all the syrup. Hel wrapped his arms around his mate lovingly, not minding the fact they were covered in syrup, it just meant they could take a bath together later.
Ichigo looked up at Tensa, who was staring at him and his kits curiously. Tensa looked away again.
"... Th-thank you for caring for them..." Ichigo murmured.
"Uhh... you're welcome, it's no problem" Tensa replied.
"He likes kittens, 's not even a bother to 'em." Roshi said, reclined against his mate.
"Though be warned... he might steal them since he doesn't have a mate to have his own kittens with," Hel added with a chuckle.
"I don't think he'll be able to take them away f-from me," Ichigo smiled very slightly and looked back to his kittens.
"Don't underestimate him," was all Hel said.
The littlest one, Timmy, whimpered and wiggled away from his brother and sister, searching for his mother, who gently picked him up and held him close to make sure the other could smell him. He had to try and imprint his scent on them, no matter how hard the task was going to be.
Alek started to wiggle around, looking for Roshi. He ended up moving towards Tensa. The brown haired hybrid turned the infant around to face his mother and retreated from the couch. He didn't want to ruin the imprinting to their true mother. Ichigo leaned forward and touched noses with him, purring softly and letting out a warm breath to show him where he could be really warm. The purring hurt and was slightly broken, but he managed to keep it up. Eventually Alek wiggled over to him and his warmth. Hope followed her brothers, wiggling to her mother. Ichigo picked them up and held them close to his stomach, one of the warmest places on his body. Tensa watched Ichigo and smiled, he was glad the oranget's children were accepting him more.
Ichigo carefully got up and climbed onto the couch, his kittens close.
FLUFF! Expect lots of that to come xD
Okay so you actually get to see Roshi's personality here... god he's adorable... Hel and Roshi are like our fluff pairing =D most of the time
Next on the brain, Tensa is adorable too xD He's loyal and cute and Shiro uses that for lots of teasing
Ichigo might have a bit of trouble understanding this crazy family xD
Also, yay for Ichi and kits bonding time
Please review