#balam

You blinked in surprise at the demon before you, confusion written obviously on your face from your scrunched together eyebrows and slightly opened mouth.

It was true that Shichirou had been acting odd lately, but this wasn’t why you had thought so. He was far more touchy than usual, which you hadn’t thought possible and were now being proven wrong. A hand almost always laid upon your shoulder or held around your waist — clawed fingers curled around your stomach — no matter that he had to practically bend in half to be able to do it. His body was guaranteed to be wrapped around you during down times and almost certainly snuggled around you when you went to bed. Large, feathered wings carefully covering your body and hiding you away from the world as you lay wrapped securely in his arms.

Your normally sweet teddy bear of a lover had also gained an attitude lately towards other demons lately. While he was still kind and touchy feely with the students and younger family members that occasionally visited their siblings, he had gotten territorial in regards to your co-workers and even downright hostile to other unknown demons that crossed your path when you went out shopping together with Iruma or to just explore other places in the Netherworld. Exploring that he recently has been denying you, stating that it was too dangerous which had culminated in a fair few fights at this point. You hadn’t appreciated being treated like a wayward child who couldn’t protect themselves and his sudden aggression and overprotection was getting on your nerves.

After an almost two full months of this treatment—you seriously praised your patience with him that was a testament to how much you loved the white gargoyle despite his current attitude. When the latest fight correlated to the words — “I can’t help how my biology reacts, I don’t understand how you can be so blasé about this!”  — your brain suddenly caught on to what, it thought, was happening, and it left you feeling horrible.

The attitude, the territorial-ness, and overprotection combined with his increased skinship were all startingly similar to how he had been acting in his pre-rut a few months ago. A wince hit your face as you berated yourself, after all how could you have forgotten so soon? While you were certain that the book you had read said gargoyle demons hit their ruts once every few years, it made a certain amount of sense that a newly mated one would perhaps have it more often, in an attempt to get their new mate pregnant and carry on their lineage sooner.

You softened suddenly in front of him, all fight leaving you as you grabbed one of his large hands with your smaller ones and lifted it so that it would cradle the side of your face. Nuzzling into the scaled flesh you apologized for not understanding sooner. After all being a slave to one’s biology was nothing new to you, no matter how often humans often tried to fight it, and you could only imagine how much it would distress you if humans still had heats and ruts like their ancestors did. Briefly your minded drifted to the omegaverse that had been such a popular trope in the fanfics you had liked to read. The absolute chaos of it that usually happened in those stories would probably have driven you insane.

You couldn’t imagine how it must be to actually experience it rather than have it regulated to fictional characters that didn’t exist. It must have been awful dealing with all of those rampaging hormones and to lose control of your own body like that. With this thought in mind, you made a decision. If he wouldn’t initiate this rut for fear of hurting you, then you would.

The day after this decision you woke bright and early, a happy thrumming going through your veins and a shiver down your spine at what you imagined the next few days were going to bring you.

You bit your lip as the thoughts started to overwhelm you before shaking your head it clear it. You had a job to do and only the day to do it. You quickly wrote out a very long grocery list, including lots of fruits and high protein jerkies that could be eaten quickly in the low periods so that energies could be kept high. You thought about it for a minute before throwing a couple of different candies on the list that left you salivating, before giving it to Shichirou with a smile and a kiss before shooing him off. Your efforts received a raised eyebrow in response, but you simply claimed a craving before wandering away again.

Now came the hardest part of your plan.

You stood just inside the door of your shared bedroom, surveying where everything stood with a critical eye. Tilting you eye this way and that you vaguely tried to remember the way Shichirou had set it up. You wanted something similar since it had been so secured and comfortable, but you weren’t certain how to achieve it.

Shichirou’s normally made nest was an amalgamation of twigs, vines, branches, and even strands of both your hair woven into a giant circle, much like a bird’s nest would be. When you started sleeping over in your courtship phase, he added a custom-made circular mattress to fit inside along with several blankets, quilts, pillows – anything soft and comfortable that he thought could add to your pleasure. 

When he was in a pre-rut, he truly decked it out with the softest furs, silk, and anything he could find that suggested both wealth and comfort to try and impress you. Since the end of the rut though you had insisted, they go in a closet, to preserve them for a later use, that had apparently come sooner than you thought it would. 

With a reaffirming nod you stalked into the room and started pulling the nest apart. The structure itself was fine, but the placement of everything inside of it rankled you for some odd reason and you were determined to make it right. Once the mattress had been striped of every blanket and pillow on it, divided into piles of each type of item, you proceeded to take out the items that were truly luxurious and oh so perfect in your mind, before also separating them into the already made piles. You were determined to somehow incorporate every single piece, to make the perfect nest for you two to use later on that night.

Even without an image in mind you started you reconstruction carefully, laying each piece just so, moving them repeatedly until you found their perfect place. When Shichirou later returned, groceries bought and put away, it was to the sight of you muttering to yourself about why the nest didn’t feel perfect yet. You couldn’t figure out what was missing and by this point it was like you possessed by the need of a perfect nest.

When he entered the room further, initially intending to help you, he hadn’t made it one step before a low guttural growl left your throat unconsciously, followed by your head turning and jaws snapping at his presence neared your unfinished product. His eyes widened at the territorial display you were posing, taking a slight step back before kneeling before you. Instinct causing his back to bow and wings spread wide before you to show he wasn’t a threat.

Tilting your head as you observed the display, your eyes immediately caught the glinting of the light off the feathers running across his beautiful black wings in contrast to pale skin and the stark whiteness of his hair. Entranced you walked forward, hand lightly brushing through the feathers, feeling the softness before your eyes dropped to the boa wrapped around the collar of his neck.

This. This is what you had been missing from the nest. Pieces of him. A constant reminder of him surrounding you from both above and below. You kneeled before him, the back of your hands brushing against his cheek before going further back to seemingly wrap around his neck as you kissed his mask. The metal stark cold against your warm lips as your fingers worked a bit to unclip the fur before lifting above his head. With a giggle at the confusion on his face, you quickly stole the fur from around his hips as well before telling him to stay there, running the fur pieces back to the nest, laying and stretching them out on the side that you typically slept on before rushing back breathlessly and making your big ask.

He stared down into your eyes with knowing amusement at your actions, seeming to understand what exactly was happening without being told. In a rush of words, you requested some of his feathers, specifically the soft downy ones that grew closer to his back and lacked any rachis or barbules that made up the stiffer ones that covered the majority of his wings.

He didn’t even hesitate to move his wings to the ground before the vines growing up the wall shot out and wrapped around the base of the feathers. Your senses and mind came back to you at the sight, “Wait, what are you—”

You never got finish your sentence as a majority of the down feathers were ripped out without even a flinch, despite the beads of blood that were starting to well up in their place. Your hand flew to your mouth at the sight, tears welling up as the vines carefully deposited the feathers into his hands so that he could offer them up to you. You ignored them however as you quickly whipped off your top and moved to lean over him to put pressure on the spot.

“I meant the loose ones, not to mutilate yourself,” you hissed at him. He shoulders moved slightly at your words, accompanied by another hiss from you, “Do not shrug at me about this! You could have done serious damage to yourself, Balam Shichirou!”

“How could I not give to my beloved mate one of the few things she desires? A few feathers that grow back quickly are an easier sacrifice to make you happy than you think.” His voice rumbled out, not the least bit apologetic about his actions as he gently pushed you away while standing up, slowly directing you back to the nest. “Now,” he said as he once more offered up the soft feathers, “where do you want these?”

The notion would have been sweet if you weren’t going to strangle him with his own vines.

The urge to strangle him rose higher later that night.

After dinner you had grabbed some of the jerky and fruits ranging from bloodberries — aptly named strawberry looking fruit that were as red as fresh blood — to a bowl of what looked like a deep truly purple version of grapes. Grabbing a bag of what looked like skittles but tasted more like chocolate truffles on your way back out, arranging them nicely along the edges of the frame of the nest.

When Shichirou joined you after a few moments, you proudly displayed your finished nest before him, even managing to lure him in for a snuggle that slowly developed into kisses and light touches before he drew away as your hand brushed along his hardening crotch, citing that he didn’t want to go further tonight. You pouted but eased up, if he wasn’t ready to start his rut then he wasn’t ready, and you could respect that.

Your irritation and turmoil however had soon reached its peak. Every attempt at discussing Shichirou's behaviour or attempting to lure him into bed to relieve him sexually seemed to end in frustration and more confusion on your end. The nights he consistently rejected your advances, he still held you close, his breath hot against your neck, you felt his tension in every muscle he had. His body, once a source of warmth and comfort with his arms and wings wrapped securely around you, was now constricting and suffocating.

You had never felt the urge to cry so much in his presence before.

One evening, after another round of Shichirou’s insistence that he couldn’t dare lay with you in such a way now due to his fear of hurting you, you finally decided you had enough. You moved from your nest and planted yourself firmly in front of him, hands on your hips, refusing to budge until you had answers. "Shichirou," you began, voice steady despite the chaos of emotions and thoughts whirling inside you, "we really need to talk."

His eyes, a mesmerizing mix of greys and whites that surrounded a pitch-black pupil, that once had enchanted you, met yours with a look of apprehension, body curling in on itself as if to make him smaller. Lately those words were often followed by a fight, something you both tried to avoid by nature and yet seemed unable to in these past weeks. "What is it?" he asked, his voice a low rumble, anxiety making itself known, mentally preparing himself for another verbal sparring match.

"What's going on with you? You've been acting so strange, and it's driving me crazy," you said, the words tumbling out in a rush. "I thought that you were entering another rut, but this is the fifth time you rejected me when usually you can’t wait to get your hands on me since the first one. I can't keep living like this! I feel like I’m walking on eggshells, not knowing what's happening." You took a shuttering breath, tears gathering in your eyes that you violently wiped away, Shichirou’s chirps of alarm as your displeasure made itself known in the form of angry crying. “Am I not good enough for you now? Do you know how terrible it makes me feel every time you deny the touch of my body where before you couldn’t seem to get enough? Do...do you not want me anymore?”

Speaking those words seemed to break the dam as you fell to your knees and broke into guttural sobs of at the thought, that despite his seemingly over-territorial actions he had made every day, there was every possibility that he was starting to no longer have a romantic interest in you. Where there once was a loving relationship may have turned into him simply protecting one of the few humans in the Netherworld, a source of one of his obsessions that he couldn’t give up even if he was no longer truly interested in you personally.

A startled squawk left him, and you felt him kneel before you, thighs hitting the ground with a heavy thunk. Could feel the air move as his hands reached around you, wrapping around your back and pulling you into his lap. One hand gently wrapped itself in your hair, sharp claws being careful not to cut any strands as they forced your head onto his chest, the other one rubbed and down your back.  

With your ear resting perfectly above his heart, a vibration started rumbling out of his chest that you could barely hear over your crying but could feel, as your whole body started to move in tune with it. His arms lifted you slightly as he readjusted himself so that he was sitting with criss-crossed legs before letting you down into his lap. A sudden whoosh sound was accompanied by a lack of light vaguely entered your senses, his wings had come out and encircled the both of you, hiding the view of your shuttering body from the rest of the world.

A clanking of metal hitting the ground was heard before his head lowered to bury his face in the hair on top of your head, a purring sound now accompanying the vibrations that came from his chest over the sounds of your sobbing.

Slowly, your crying stifled to sniffles and your breathing started to come under control to match his more relaxed one. As his nose continued nuzzling into your hair and large clawed hands went on with the calming ministrations, your hands came up to wipe the last of your tears away as your harsh breathing finally evened out again. 

You felt exhausted with a headache forming and small shivers wracking your body on occasion as a result on your sob fest. It embarrassed you had lost your cool like that, but you were just so tired while at the same time being consumed by so many emotions that it only exhausted you further. It had only been a matter of time before you broke.

With a soft sigh you asked the last dreaded question you had, “At this point it feels like you don’t even want me, don’t love me, anymore. Like you just see me as some human to protect from the Netherworld rather than your lover. Did I do something wrong?”

His eyes widened, jaw slacking at your words before quickly scrambling to reassure you. "No, it's not that, it won’t ever be that. I could never not want you," he admitted, his voice insistent yet softer now, “You’re my mate. My heart and soul, the better half as you humans say. I love you with every fibre of my being and would gladly die before ever having to live in a world without you in it.” His head shook, silver hair flashing about with the movement, his body shivering at the very thought of it. "No, it wasn’t because of anything even close you doing something wrong. If anything, it's because I love you so much with the gifts you have given me. Most recently especially, as you're carrying my youngling."

Your eyebrows narrowed in confusion, as your brain tried to process the information he was passing on. You knew that younglings were, as implied, young demons, the oldest of which were in what was the Netherworld’s version of their first couple years of elementary school. The youngest of that group were infants and…embryos.  The world seemed to tilt on its axis as his words sunk in. Pregnant? You?

The pieces of the puzzle fell into place—his protective behaviour, his constant need to touch you, his refusal to let you out of his sight. It all made sense now. "How... how do you know?" you asked, your hand unconsciously moving to your stomach, finally noticing the small bump protruding from it.

You hadn’t even truly noticed the swelling of your stomach, chalking up your pants slowly not fitting due to the almost sedentary lifestyle Shichirou had forced you into over the course of the past few months. You had never even noticed the swelling of your breasts accompanying it, or how you hadn’t experienced your monthly.  Far too focused on Shichirou’s newly found actions.

"Your pheromones," he replied with a small chuckle, pulling you even closer to him. "I can smell the change in your scent. What is normally a woodsy musk became sweetened like milk and pastries a couple of weeks after the rut. I didn’t realize what it meant until I met with a student’s mother who was carrying their own youngling, though much further along, that had the same cloying scent stuck to them. I didn’t tell you because I assumed you knew. Demonesses and their partners can often tell a few weeks in – by the end of the first month at the latest. I’ve known for a while now and it never occurred to me that humans might not have the same skill."

Tears welled up in your eyes again as you processed the revelation. Shichirou pulled you further into his arms, holding you tightly. "I'm sorry for making you worry," he murmured against your hair. "I just wanted to protect you and our youngling."

You hugged him back, feeling a mix of relief and excitement wash over you, a disbelieving laugh that bordered hysterical left you. "I wish you had told me sooner," you said, your voice muffled against his chest. "But I understand your actions now, and I’m sorry I wasn’t more understanding earlier."

He shook his again, musing up your hair in the process, “No, I should have thought of the fact that humans faced gestation periods differently than demon-kind and approached you about it. You act so much like a demon sometimes that it’s easy to forget you weren’t born one of us.”

“Let’s just agree we were both wrong and move on,” you mumbled.

You settled back in against his chest, snuggling against the warm flesh under his shirt and enjoying the feeling of his arms circled around you before a sudden thought crossed your brain.

“Oh, by the way,” you called to him as you booped the tip of his nose for attention. A light hum and wrinkling of the appendage was your answer. “While I understand your fears, you’re going to have to get over it. Preferably soon.”

He blinked, eyebrows narrowing in confusion at your words before widening again, “I understand. I was a little zealous in protecting you and I’ll try to do better in letting you do your own thing. Though I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to ignore all of my instincts especially with how dangerous—”

“While I appreciate that,” you interrupted him, already knowing he was going to go on a long spiel about the dangers of the Netherworld again, which at this point you could mouth along to word for word. “I actually wasn’t referring to it.” His head tilted like a bird, eyebrows stitching together once more as he tried to think of what you had actually meant.

“Sex, darling.” You declared casually as could be while he visibly startled at your words, a fierce flush spreading across his cheeks to the tip of his ears. “It is a well-known fact among my kind that human females often get extremely horny throughout and especially towards the beginning of their pregnancy.” You shifted in his lap so that you were kneeling in-between his legs, arms looping around his neck to bring his blushing face closer to your own.

“And I propose that we start right now. After all you have a lot of making up to do on that front.” With the plush of his lips pressing against your own, you couldn’t help but sigh up into his mouth at the familiar feeling of his hands lightly gripping your hips, before digging in slightly as you nipped what remained of his bottom lip.