Chapter 26: Family Time, part one

Minor

My litter mates were ready to immediately accept Qualin as part of our group. As we swayed together in our group huddle, something we often did, I felt my partner's amusement mixed with a small sense of sadness and longing. He had spent so much of his life without any real connection.

More than anything, I wanted him to feel at home with my family. I also knew that there was a part of him that wanted, and needed, to at least find out what had happened to his own family. I would make sure he could, when he was ready...

Qualin's knees began to buckle; it was Shooter's fault, intentionally shifting more of his weight from Galaxy to Qualin's shoulders. The imbalance pulled me and Major into him, and Galaxy stumbled forward with Stardust. I tried to help Qualin stay on his feet, but to no avail.

He stumbled back and fell, pulling me, Shooter, and the others all down on top of him. We all laughed, even Qualin. The sense of joy and contentment I felt was indescribable. Then, as my siblings began to move to disentangle, I felt Qualin stiffen and his face reddened. Right. He wasn't used to so much casual contact. My siblings were pushing, climbing, and even hugging on him like we do with each other, but he was clearly uncomfortable.

It wasn't that he was aroused... or even attracted to them... but I was suddenly very aware of the fact that my siblings are attractive, and single, and touching my partner. And he was aware of that... And suddenly that wasn't so ok, so I started roughly pushing them away and climbed onto his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck. I wasn't mad... I just felt the need to claim what was mine.

Qualin relaxed a little, wrapping his arms around my waist again and patting my back. I couldn't hold back a soft purr. My siblings all giggled; Stardust squealed a little, and they all settled down on either side of us, which felt more respectful and comfortable.

***

Qualin

Things definitely got a little awkward. It was kind of cool that Minor's siblings could go from an intense fight to be being playful and friendly. Having them hug and hang on me was weird but alright. Then we all fell over... I'm pretty sure Shooter was trying to knock me down; it was kinda funny and we had a laugh. But suddenly, Galaxy, who had been facing me, was practically in my lap. Stardust kinda tumbled over him, and started climbing onto me while playfully shoving Shooter, who was also half in my lap.

Turning my gaze up, I tried not to see if Stardust's loose shirt showed any cleavage. I also held my breath as her hair brushed against my face to try and ignore her sweet scent that was pretty similar to Minor's. And I just tried not to think about who was touching me...anywhere.

And they all seemed completely oblivious. Like this was completely normal and not weird or inappropriate at all. Until Minor pushed his sister into Shooter, and pulled Galaxy off of me completely. He wasn't growling and didn't seem upset, which was a relief, because I had no idea what to do and was trying really hard not to think or feel anything untoward.

Finally, Minor was the only one in my lap, his legs on either side of mine. He looked up at me with an embarrassed, adorable smile and wrapped his arms around my neck, nestling in under my chin. Much better. I ran my hands down his back and around his waist. It was really tempting to grab his ass. I was wondering if I could at least pull him up for a kiss when his siblings burst into laughter.

Right. They were all, presumably, very innocent. Unfortunately, it might be better to keep anything sexual to a minimum. Damn. Suddenly, I was wondering when we could be alone again.

"So, how's our newest member?" Draco's voice caught my attention as he walked over to us, several baby dragons in his arms and perched on his shoulders.

Galaxy responded, sitting up and seeming more serious again. "He did pretty well. He's got skill and a lot of potential. In absolute power: he ranks pretty low in our family, but not at the bottom. Attitude wise..." he turned and considered me for a moment. "I'd say he's more dominant than Minor and Major."

"Hey!" Minor and his twin both protested. I stifled a laugh.

"What?" Galaxy shrugged at Minor. "You're obviously submissive to him."

Minor looked up at me, considering for a moment, then his ears dropped to the side and he smiled warmly and nuzzled under my chin. He apparently wasn't going to argue. I ran my hands down his back again, this time stroking the length of his tail as well and relishing the shiver it sent up his spine.

"That's because they're partners! Just because Minor and I are usually about the same in dominance doesn't mean I'll also be submissive to his partner!" Major growled a little and turned to me, his ears pricked forward and a determined expression on his face.

Was he going want to fight against me now? I watched and waited for him to say or do something for a few moments, but he just stared at me. Then the light growl deepened in his chest and he snarled a little.

Was he trying to intimidate me? Maybe it should have worked. He probably was stronger than me. But he looked so much like Minor...I couldn't help thinking he looked cute, or fight the smile pulling at my lips.

That seemed to piss him off... because he began to snarl for real and shifted into a more defensible position.

Shit. I didn't want to start anything. I wasn't trying to be offensive.

'Snap at him, or something.'

'What?' I responded silently to Minor's voice in my head.

'Any aggression or sign of dominance.'

'... alright...' I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, but I swiftly leaned towards him so my face was just inches away and said, "Boo!"

He pulled back slightly, his expression dropping to one of surprise and everyone watching laughed. I couldn't help laughing too. It was pretty cute.

"Th-that doesn't mean anything!" He sounded indignant.

"You flinched, you lost, get over it." Galaxy chuckled and ruffled Major's hair then tapped under his chin with the back of his hand.

'Do same thing.' Minor's voice chimed in my head again.

Weird, but whatever. "Hey, don't worry about it." I reached out and ruffled Major's hair and then tried to repeat the same touch under his chin. His expression went from slightly hurt, to embarrassed, to relaxed with a slight smile.

"Humph. Well, fine. But I'm still a better fighter."

"True." Galaxy responded as Major shifted again to sit beside me. "Which is why," he gestured to me, "if you do decide to tag along with us, you'll have to follow our lead. I'm in charge, then Stardust, then Shooter. Major and Minor are technically even, because they've never had a conflict with each other that required establishing dominance between them. But since you're Minor's partner, he'll be responsible for you. And he knows to follow rank, right?" He turned to Minor. "Having a partner doesn't change that."

"Yeah, I know." His reply seemed a little forced. and he looked at me with an uncertain expression. "But...I won't do anything that puts Qualin at risk. He's my priority."

I felt my heart begin to beat faster and my face became hot. "Likewise..."

"Don't worry." Draco commented coolly. "That's natural, and it may change your group dynamic a bit, but Minor," he touched his son's shoulder until he broke his gaze from mine and turned to his dad. "You trust your siblings, right?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation in his voice.

"Galaxy is a good leader, right?"

"Yes."

"And, you know none of us would ever intentionally put your partner at risk or expect you to abandon him, right?"

"Of course!" He climbed off my lap and hugged his dad. Draco repeated the action of patting his head and touching under his chin. Then Minor moved to Galaxy, lowering his head until his brother did the same sequence. Then the other three siblings pilled into a group hug.

It was a strange dynamic. I couldn't help wondering if I was in the way.

A light tap on my shoulder made me turn my head. Draco was smiling at me. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll fit in fine. We're a tight nit family and those five are especially close, but there's room for you, too, if you want."

"...I just... don't want to mess things up." My eyes wandered back to Minor. He was smiling so brightly as he and his siblings giggled, hugged, and ruffled each other's hair. I didn't want to come between them, but I couldn't help feeling a small pang of... what? Jealousy? Inadequacy? It was impossible not to believe I didn't really belong...

***

Minor

I felt Galaxy's heart sink when I said that Qualin was my priority. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings or make him feel like I wouldn't listen or be a part of the group anymore. And I could feel the others were worrying about that as well. I just... needed them to understand that Qualin was my family too, and I didn't know yet how things were going to work.

Thankfully, Dad stepped in and simplified things. This didn't have to be a conflict. I did trust my family. They would never make me choose between them and my partner.

I thanked Dad and gave Galaxy and the others the reassurance they needed. There was no reason we couldn't be as close as always, even if some things would change.

They all echoed the same feeling. All of our older siblings chimed in as well, their thoughts and reassurances mingling in our minds. Eventually, we would all find our partners, just like they had. Family dynamics change, but that's natural and good, and doesn't have to change our bonds with each other.

Feeling much better, I turned to smile at Qualin. Dad was next to him, mom close behind, looking sympathetic. My partner's ears were down and his face looked anxious.

Oh no. I didn't want him to feel left out.

'Don't worry. Do whatever you need to. We're here for you and your partner. We already like him.' Stardust snuggled me and kissed the side of my head.

'Yeah. He's cool, and he makes you happy. So don't worry about us. We'll help make him feel welcomed... even if it takes some time.' Major smiled.

'We'll all have to get used to things changing as our family grows. But we can handle it.' Galaxy's voice boomed with confidence as Shooter gave me a shove towards my partner and I rushed back into his arms and kissed him right on the lips.

Qualin's anxiety melted as he kissed me back, his mouth parting just enough for his tongue to quickly caress my lips.

"Alright, alright!" Dad's voice called out with a laugh, "Tone it down, alright?"

"You know, we were kinda on our honeymoon..." Qualin glanced at my dad with a bit of a wicked look that made me blush.

"Yeah, well, get used to interruptions. All part of being in a big family... especially one that's telepathic and can teleport." Dad waved his hand dismissively.

Mom giggled and hugged Dad around the neck. "Don't worry, you'll get plenty of time together. But right now, we all want to celebrate your new union. So just relax and enjoy."

"Yeah, we brought food!" Runner spoke up cheerfully, standing in her favored form of a dark skinned human mixed with golden, spotted feline features. She giggled and held up a basket; her partner and their kids each had one, too. The smell of baked goods made my mouth water.

'That's one of my older sisters, Runner, and her family standing behind her.' I offered to Qualin as he looked at her curiously.

"Yay! Thanks, babies!" Dad smiled and one of Runner's daughters ran over to him and opened a basket. He took out a pastry then held the basket out to Qualin and me.

My partner's ears pricked forward and I saw his mouth was watering as well. "Thanks." He took out a sandwich with meat. Runner was always thoughtful about bringing food for the non-transformers as well as treats for all of us. And soon, everyone was digging in.

'Your family is pretty cool.' Qualin's voice sounded in my head, intentionally reaching out to me for the first time.

'Yeah.' I smiled as I bit into a cream tart, and let my affection for him and joy at the situation flood his mind.

'I'm good hanging out for a while, but I am gonna get you to myself again soon, right?'

I giggled and felt myself blush. Hopefully nobody noticed. 'Don't worry, we'll sneak away soon, I promise. And we can go anywhere you want.'

'Anywhere you won't have to worry about holding your voice back is good with me.' His mind filled mine with very suggestive images and I had to block him out to keep myself from becoming too aroused... the tingling sensation in my lower region was disconcerting while surrounded by family.

"Careful," Qualin leaned in close and whispered in my ear. "If you keep reacting like that to a little teasing, I may not be able to hold back."

Why did that excite me more!?

I panicked and suddenly transformed into my dragon form and jumped away from him. Someone saw it as playful and tackled me. That was a good distraction, and I began wrestling with some of my nieces and nephews.