Chapter Fifty-Three
Assa
Assa drove to the high school in a hurry, trying not to panic.
The administrator’s voicemail wasn’t specific.
He’d simply said that Ked needed to get picked up immediately, that he’d tried his father and his father’s partner, and that Assa had been next on the list. Assa didn’t know if Ked was in trouble, sick, hurt, or what.
It took a few minutes to get buzzed into the building and then he was directed to the administration office. When he walked in, he saw Ked in a chair next to the door, holding a cloth to his nose.
His very bloody nose.
“Assa?” Ked’s voice sounded rough. “What are you doing here?”
Assa squatted in front of him. “Oh my gosh, are you alright? … They tried to get a hold of your papa, but he’s out on deliveries. And Zinn took Lachie to an appointment.”
The omega admin looked up from behind his desk. “You’re Assa Pashuk, correct? You were on the pickup list. Are you a relative?”
“I’m one of his baby brother’s other half-brother’s fathers.”
Assa stood and winked at Ked.
The admin scrunched his face.
Ked rolled his eyes. “He’s one of my papa’s other partners.”
Assa squeaked softly.
“Oh,” the admin said. “Well, no worries with all that. We are a progressive institution. I’ll just make that note.” He pressed a few buttons on the keyboard. “I’m assuming Wes and Valentin should get the same memo?”
“Yes,” Ked answered before Assa could.
Assa glared at the teen, who shrugged.
The admin typed something else, then said to Assa, “Ked was injured during drama rehearsal. A legitimate accident when another student carrying a backdrop wasn’t very careful.
But since his nose has been bleeding for a while and he complained of pain, we figured he should get picked up in case you want to take him to the hospital. ”
“Thank you,” Assa said. He signed the form that the receptionist handed to him.
Ked picked up his backpack and they walked out. At the car, Assa asked, “Should we get you checked out at the ER to be on the safe side?”
“No. It stopped hurting a while ago, but since they’d already called, I figured I’d just go with it. Sorry if it was a hassle. I thought they would call Zinn.”
Assa was about to ask what Ked meant telling the admin he was Calder’s partner when a familiar SUV pulled up and Wes got out.
“Everything okay?” Wes rushed over to them.
“They called you too?” Ked asked. “Geesh.”
“I didn’t pick up when they called,” Assa explained. “They left a message and probably just kept going down the list.”
“Man, I’m sorry,” Ked said to Wes. “It’s only a bloody nose. No big deal.” He pulled the cloth away from his face. It still looked swollen, but at least it had stopped bleeding.
“No harm done,” Wes said. “I appreciate the excuse to procrastinate on paperwork.” He squeezed Ked’s shoulder. “Sure you’re okay, bud?”
“He thinks his nose is fine,” Assa said. “Although it’s probably about to grow a little after the whopper he just told the school admin in there.”
“Huh?” Wes scratched his brow.
“Ked—” Assa turned to the teen and made a waving motion with his hand as if to say, do you want to tell him or should I?
“What?” Ked asked. He looked at Wes. “The guy asked how we were related, so I told him Assa was one of Papa’s partners.”
Wes’s eyes widened.
“It gets better,” Assa interjected. “He also said that you and Valentin are his partners too.”
“Why would you say that?” Wes asked.
“Why wouldn’t I say it?” Ked countered. “You’re basically his partners in every way that counts, just like Zinn is. And I think of Ryde as my brother, the same as Lachie.”
Assa and Wes shared a look. Assa knew they were both thinking about the one important way in which the Pashuks were decidedly not partners with Calder and Zinn—at least not partners in the sense that everyone assumed when they heard that label being used. Like the admin had.
But Ked wasn’t finished.
“I think it kind of proves my point that you’re both standing here hyperventilating at my high school because I got an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny boo-boo on my face.”
Assa smiled. He loved Ked’s theatrics. He also loved hearing how Ked thought of Ryde as his brother.
What he did not love was that Ked’s official school record now stated that the five men were partners.
Then again, if Ked was in trouble, Assa wanted to be called. Because he would drop everything if Ked, Jordie, or Lachie needed him, the same as he would for Ryde. He supposed that as long as their family knew the truth, it didn’t make a difference what the school thought.
Wes shook his head. “Ked, you realize that when you tell people we’re partners, they assume…certain things. Things that aren’t happening.”
Ked snorted. “You’re talking about sex?”
Assa opened his mouth and closed it again, clicking his teeth. This was going to be a very interesting conversation when they had to explain it to Calder later.
“Did your papa tell you he asked me to talk to your brother? Is that what this is about?” Wes asked.
“He did, and Jordie said it was cool talking to you. And Valentin. But that’s what I mean. I know we live in different houses, but we’re one family, right? I don’t want to think about the sex part—obviously, ew—but we just seem an awful lot like the McGinns. Jordie thinks so too.”
“Okay, it’s true we’re close-knit like the McGinns, but they do share one house,” Wes reasoned.
Ked pffted. “Ryde has a bedroom in both houses. Lachie is at your place so much we keep his portable crib there. You came to career day at my high school and talked about the university. At your house, I’m totally comfortable opening the fridge and grabbing a soda.”
“We want you to feel at home there,” Assa said.
“And I do. That’s what I’m saying. I’m good having you pick me up at school. I like that everyone came to my play. I like that Wes actually enjoys watching games with me. And I like that when Jordie needed advice about Kino, he asked Wes and Valentin, not Papa or Zinn.”
Wes cleared his throat. “Ked, I can’t explain how happy it makes me to hear you say that.
I wanted to be a father my whole life, so having you, Jordie, and Lachie as bonus kids is…
well, it’s a dream come true. But as far as being partners with your papa and Zinn—” He coughed again “The sex stuff does matter.”
“Not to me.”
“No. But trust me, you’ll understand when you’re older.”
“Whatever.” Ked hunched his shoulders. “Look, I don’t remember much about my omega daddy, Denni.
But I remember feeling sad when he died, and I remember all the years before Zinn came.
” He looked at Wes. “You just said that having all this family you never expected is a dream come true. And I’m just saying… ditto.”
He hopped into the passenger side of Assa’s car.
After the door shut, Assa said, “How do we explain this to Calder?”
“We don’t.”
“No?”
“Calder won’t mind what Ked said.”
“You’re sure?”
“Very. Besides, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care if the school thinks we’re a family of five men and four kids.”
Assa’s heart lurched. Was that what they were? Even without the sex part?
Or rather, was it more accurate to say that the evolving chemistry between them was more unspoken than not?
He’d been attracted to Calder ever since that day on the phone.
And although he and Zinn were the closest of friends, there were moments when his feelings for the omega were more than friendly.
“I’m going to take Ked back to our house,” Assa said. “I want to keep an eye on that nose until Calder gets off work.”
“Good idea. I’ll pick up Ryde after school and buy some of that grape soda Ked likes on our way home. I think we’re out.”
***
Later that afternoon, Assa sat with Ked in the den watching a trivia show while the teen tapped away on his phone, holding an ice pack to his face. He looked like he’d been in a bar fight. Both cheeks were bruised, although thankfully, the pain hadn’t gotten out of hand.
“Zane wants to come over after school,” Ked said.
“Oh. Your papa wasn’t going to pick you up until dinnertime because he’s meeting a vendor off site. I suppose I can drop you off since Zinn should be back soon, but fair warning, he texted in our group chat that Lachie got a bunch of shots today and is super cranky.”
Ked shook his head. “No. I mean, can Zane come over here? His daddy can drop him off.”
Assa thought about it. While Jordie and Ked spent significant time at the Pashuks’ house, they hadn’t had friends visit them there, other than Kino occasionally accompanying Jordie to family gatherings. Assa wondered if Ked was trying to prove the point he’d made at the school. Clever kid.
“Sure. You guys can hang out here. I’ll make myself scarce. Ryde and Wes will be home pretty soon, though.”
“Thanks.”
At three o’clock, Ked opened the door, and he and Zane immediately disappeared into the kitchen. Assa looked on the porch expecting to see Teal, but he saw Zane’s other omega father instead.
“Hi, Sorcha. Do you want to come in for a minute?”
“Sure.” He tossed his white-blond hair over his shoulder. “I wouldn’t mind a breather before I have to return to the beautiful chaos at our house.”
Assa brought out coffee and a plate of graham crackers, and the two men chatted about mundane things. Ryde’s latest project in school. The furniture business Sorcha shared with his partner, Jax. Teal’s latest pro-bono omega rights case.
Assa hadn’t spoken with Sorcha very often, but they’d met socially a few times. He wondered if he knew the man well enough to ask some pointed questions.
His indecision must have shown in his features because Sorcha arched an eyebrow. “You look like you might have something more interesting to discuss than legal briefs.”
Assa chortled. “Sorry. Am I that obvious?”
“It’s okay. I’m guessing you have some questions about my family?”
Resting his elbows on his knees, Assa scrubbed his hands over his face. “What makes you say that?”
Sorcha’s answering grin was telling. “Most people have questions. Ones that I would never deign to answer because it’s none of their business.
But in your case, I’ve heard some things from Jordie and Ked that make me think I might be able to provide some insight.
” He put his mug down. “And since it’s you, I don’t mind. ”
“What did they say?”
“Nothing specific. It’s more the way they speak about their family in passing. It sounds a lot like ours.”
Assa laid his head in his palms. “A lot like yours, except for the fact that we are two families. Wes, Valentin, and I are partners. Zinn and Calder are partners. We meld in many ways, but not…”
Sorcha grinned again. “You don’t need to elaborate. I understand.”
“Is it alright if I ask how you came to be a polycule of five? You weren’t always, right?”
“It’s okay,” Sorcha said, patting his knee. “It was Teal and Ronan for a long time, then they added Niall. Then Niall had Jax. Then they had me. Then we all had each other, with lots of stops in between.”
“So it took a while?”
“The connections were there. But fanning the sparks into flames required time and the right circumstances.” Sorcha tittered. “Jax was especially stubborn. Still is.”
Assa swallowed. “I just don’t know how to tell for sure. And I’m terrified to mess up what we have now.”
“A legitimate concern. What I can tell you is that with my men, we’re not just lovers and fathers. We’re five friends. Five supporters. Five confidantes. Five co-conspirators.”
Assa nodded pensively, realization dawning. He, Wes, Valentin, Calder, and Zinn were all of those things, other than lovers of course. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been the three of us and the two of them. We’ve been the five of us for a while.”
“At least you understand that much,” Sorcha said sagely. “You’ll figure the rest out. And if you’re destined for a bigger love, if the stars have decided that these men are your men, you are very lucky indeed.”