Sympathy Head Isn't Actually a Thing - A Core-Four Fic (Patreon)

This was the first half of January's core-four fic. As always, the schmexy stuff has to stay behind a paywall. The second part is coming this week so I thought I would put it up for free so you can enjoy a pouting Avi in dad mode. If you do want the spicy stuff you can get it at the $5 OJ content only level and higher.

Avi

“I appreciate you letting me crash here,” Avi said softly. “I don’t want to wake up your other parents just yet. I needed a place to wallow for a while first.” 

He sat on the floor of the nursery, his back to the wall, watching his sons in the dim lights of their animal shaped nightlights. The room was drenched in shadow but they could see well enough without an actual lamp. Though they’d been woken up at two in the morning by their father for purely selfish reasons, they were in good spirits. He’d sprung them from their weighted sleep sacks and the confines of their crib, letting them roam their space freely as he sulked.

Oscar shrieked, wobbling like a weeble-wobble then steadying himself before pulling back and slapping his brother in the face hard enough to knock him off his feet. Avi’s eyes went wide, waiting for his other son to start wailing. Instead, he erupted into a fit of giggles, even as he struggled to return to his feet. 

“Bongus, that’s not funny,” Avi chastised, frowning in a way that made them both laugh. “No matter how much your brother thinks it might be.” 

To West, he said, “I get it, Bingus. The masochistic tendencies start early in this family, but try to rein it in just a little bit longer or your baba is definitely gonna blame it on me.” 

“No,” West said, his face and tone stern just like Felix or Zane’s would be. He looked from his father to his brother. “No. No. No.” 

He shook his head and wiggled his finger for good measure. Oscar gave another giggle at his brother’s words. “No. No. No,” he agreed, then shoved his brother hard once more, knocking him on his diapered butt, causing them both to collapse into peals of laughter. 

Avi picked up Oscar, pretending to shake him, his little limbs wiggling in the air. “Bongus, show some restraint, man.” 

Both West and Oscar squealed with delight, West bullying his way into Avi’s lap to get his own pretend shake from his father. Avi complied, then set them both down on their shaky legs. 

“I came here for some sympathy snuggles, not Baby Fight Club,” he told Oscar. “I know you’re eager to defend your title, but save it for the ring. Only Mulvaney sanctioned violence is permitted in this family and there’s only one Mulvaney who can sanction it. Your grandfather.” 

Right. Thomas. His father. Who he’d spoken to less than an hour ago. 

Avi gave a heavy sigh, remembering why he was there in the first place. “I know you won’t get this yet, because you’re still, like, ankle biters, but having a kill stolen right out from under you really sucks.” 

West and Oscar ignored him, concentrating as they toddled around the sprawling nursery. His chest ached as he watched them go. It was weird to be so proud of two human beings for doing something so basic, but he was. He was convinced his kids were the smartest, cutest, sweetest, funniest kids on the whole planet, maybe even the whole galaxy. Logically, he knew it wasn’t true, but logic had never really been important to Avi. 

The walking was a fairly new development. Up until yesterday, they would only walk a few steps before reverting back to crawling. It wasn’t that they couldn’t walk—they’d mastered that about a week or so ago. It was that they couldn’t walk fast enough to suit them, so they reverted back to what worked for them. Crawling. His sons valued speed and efficiency. He admired that about them. 

West lumbered slowly back over to Avi, his stance reminding him of a sumo wrestler. He wore a black onesie with white cats all over it. One of Felix’s latest designs for his kids collection. Oscar had the same design but in reverse—white onesie, black cats. He was busy systematically dismantling the wall of plushies Zane had carefully stacked during their elaborate—and if he was being honest, time consuming—bedtime routine. 

West grinned at him as he grew closer, his soft tight curls just long enough to reach his eyebrows. He was so pretty. They were so pretty. Just like Felix. 

“Baba,” he said, falling into Avi’s arms. 

“Dada,” he corrected. “Dada.” 

“Baba,” West said stubbornly. 

Avi gave him his widest eyes, lowering his voice into a conspiratorial whisper. “Listen, kid. I know you’re getting new downloads every night while you sleep, but this one is super important. If your baba hears you calling me baba and not him, then I’m the one who’s going to suffer. He really wants you to call him baba. So can you remember that? Can you call me dada and him baba? For me?” 

West slapped him on the chest. “Baba.” 

Avi sighed, then hugged the baby to his chest, burying his face in his hair. The products they used on them at bath time smelled like suntan lotion. It reminded Avi of the beach and it was a little addicting. West allowed himself to be held for approximately forty seconds before he began to squirm. The moment Avi released him, he escaped, crawling at top speed for the plushies that were now scattered about like the victims of some unnamed mass casualty. 

Oscar, seeing his father alone, started walking to Avi, holding a small stuffed dragon in his tiny baby hand. When walking grew too burdensome, he too, resorted to crawling, putting the dragon in his mouth like a puppy. Once he reached Avi, he offered him the stuffed toy. 

Avi’s heart did this complicated flip in his chest. “Thanks, buddy.” 

“Dada.” 

“Good job,” he said, pressing a kiss to the baby’s velvety soft cheek. 

It was hard to believe he had kids. Someone had let him have babies, tiny little beings that depended on him to keep them alive. It was wild. He didn’t have to take a test or anything. They just let him take them home from the hospital. No questions asked. It seemed like a flawed design but who was he to argue?

His boys looked so much like Felix with their wide brown eyes and soft brown hair. The only things they’d inherited from Lola was her pretty brown skin and her distinct cupid's bow. They were perfect. While they may have gotten their looks from Felix, somehow they’d gotten their attitudes from Avi and Asa. At least according to Zane. 

Even though they were only a bit over a year old, their personalities were starting to shine through. They were smart. Fierce. And they shared Avi and Asa’s twin tendencies. They communicated silently, worked as a team to achieve their goals, they refused to sleep in separate cribs and didn’t even like to be away from each other for even a few minutes. Sometimes when they checked the monitors at night or at nap time they would find them sleeping curled together, holding hands. 

Avi knew August loved his kids, but he often talked about them from a purely anthropological standpoint. He was fascinated by everything his children did. They were like his favorite science project. Avi, on the other hand, couldn’t even fathom what kind of chemical his children had emitted to trick his brain into being so fiercely loyal…so murderously protective. 

It couldn’t be simple biology. They didn’t share his DNA. But he would kill for them. He’d die for them. What could cause someone like him—someone who saw most of the world as disposable—to look at these two little creatures and know he’d Thanos half the world away without a second thought for them. It had to be some kind of trick nature played, the same trick that made wolves instinctively want to raise a human baby as its own even though it could easily eat them.

Avi’s head jerked up as the door clicked open softly. Zane. He wore a pair of Asa’s pale blue pajama pants that barely clung to his narrow hips even with the drawstring pulled tight. His hair was a mess and there were creases on his cheek from his pillow. 

One look at Avi’s face and he asked, “Rough night?” 

Avi sighed. “Yeah.” 

Zane moved to sit beside Avi, adopting his same position, back to the wall. Both babies came to investigate their new arrival, but once they’d ascertained that he had no food or toys, he was abandoned for the body farm of plushies once more. While they were playing, Avi let his head fall to Zane’s shoulder. 

“Wanna talk about it?” his brother-in-law offered, his hand falling to his thigh and patting it. 

Avi sighed. “It’s stupid.” 

“It was important enough to wake our children up at two am for a cuddle session,” Zane said. “Besides, you kind of look like a kicked puppy even on the nanny cam.” 

“I was just really looking forward to tonight,” he mumbled.

He lifted his head from Zane’s shoulder, then laid down, resting his head on Zane’s thigh. He immediately began to pet Avi like his favorite housecat. “Was it not as fun as you’d hoped? Did you have something special planned that didn’t work out? He is dead, right? Dad’s not going to come busting in here and give you some kind of verbal beatdown, is he?” 

Before he could respond, the door opened. Asa and Felix stood in the doorway, probably having sensed that Zane had left their nest. Avi took in his husband’s lithe body, accented by the almost scandalously short black silk robe he wore, knowing there was probably very little–if anything–underneath. Asa wore an old t-shirt of Zane’s and a pair of athletic shorts. 

“Having a party without us,” Asa quipped. 

Once inside, Felix scooped up the babies, putting them back in their crib. He tucked them in carefully, and gave each of them their bottles, then gestured for them all to go so the boys could get back to sleep. Would Felix be mad at him for waking the boys? Probably not. Felix rarely got mad at him. 

They kissed the boys goodnight, then left them to go back to sleep. Avi could still hear them babbling to each other over the monitor when they returned to the spare room with their big bed. That’s where they’d fallen asleep after they’d watched a movie together earlier. Well, half of the movie. They’d grown distracted about forty minutes in. 

When Avi had woken up to eliminate his target, he’d left Asa sleeping between Zane and Felix, all of them naked and sweaty. It was clear at some point they’d all cleaned up before returning to sleep. Now Zane and Felix sat with their backs against the headboard. When Felix opened his legs and patted his thigh, Avi didn’t hesitate, crawling between them to press his cheek to the smooth skin there. 

Asa grabbed Zane’s ankles and tugged until he was on his back, then gathered him against him, forcing him to be the little spoon as usual. Zane happily allowed himself to be manhandled, letting Asa do as he pleased as usual.  

Once they were all settled, Felix finally asked, “Why do you look so bummed? Who died?” 

“My victim,” Avi all but wailed, giving a sort of dramatic flop that made it seem like he’d been cardioverted by those big paddle thingies at the hospital. 

Felix gazed down at his husband, his confusion obvious. When he didn’t elaborate, he looked at Zane,who shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I got there just before you did.” 

“Am I missing something?” Asa asked. “Wasn’t the victim supposed to die?” He looked at Felix. “Did we do that thing again…what did you call it? Timeline shifting? Yeah. Did we timeline shift or something? Are we not vigilantes here?” 

Felix snorted. “As far as I know, we’re still in the same timeline.” 

Avi groaned. “I went to kill that pedo fuck. You know the one.” 

They all nodded. The guy had been a total piece of shit–obviously. He was a swim coach notorious for preying on his students, especially his very young students. The courts had to let him go after a cop failed to read him his Miranda Rights during his arrest. Since then, he’d moved jobs, and grown even bolder. Avi had been looking forward to torturing him nice and slow, making him scream until his voice box was destroyed. He’d had so many plans. 

But no. 

“What happened? Was it not what you wanted it to be? Did he bleed out too quickly again?” Zane asked, his brows knitted together. 

“He was already dead!” Avi cried, then huffed out another angry breath through his nose. 

The fucking nerve of that guy to die before Avi could have at him. What a fucking loser. He couldn’t even do that for him. He wasn’t even that fucking old. There was no excuse for this type of behavior. 

The other three were quiet for a heartbeat before Asa burst out laughing. “Wait. Seriously? Your victim was already dead? Like someone beat you to it? After Freckles and Jericho’s meet-cute, I really didn’t think it was even statistically possible for something like that to happen twice.” 

Felix gave Asa a hard look, reaching over Zane to slap his shoulder. “You could at least pretend to be sympathetic. You know he was really excited about this one.” 

Zane elbowed him. “Yeah, be nice.” 

Asa scoffed. “Why should I pretend? He can read my thoughts. Remember? Also, I’m a psychopath. I’m literally incapable of sympathy?” Asa taunted, then stuck his tongue out at Felix for good measure.  

“Very mature,” Zane muttered. 

“Who do you think did it?” Felix asked, his dark eyes lit up with something akin to excitement. 

Zane’s love of a good whodunit was starting to bleed onto Felix. 

“God,” Avi spit. 

 Felix blinked at him, his expression flat. “What?” he asked dully. 

“God or the universe or whoever or whatever it is that controls this shit,” Avi said, waving a hand around wildly. “He died of natural causes.” 

“Natural causes?” Felix and Zane echoed together. 

Avi nodded. “Yeah, found him in bed, tucked in tight, all dead and bloated in his fucking tighty-whiteys. Looks like he had a heart attack or stroke or something. He was in pristine condition, not so much as a black eye or a stubbed toe. He didn’t suffer at all,” he finished glumly. 

They all sat in silence for a moment, now looking as dejected as he felt. It was never fair when anyone got to leave this world without having to suffer the consequences of their own actions. 

“What’d you do with the body?” Asa asked. 

“Nothing,” Avi said. “I just left. Why should I do the universe’s dirty work for them? Body disposal isn’t my job, killing is. Besides, it would look weirder if he disappeared than if they just found his dead body.” 

“On the brightside,” Zane said. “Maybe nobody will find him for weeks and he’ll just rot away in bed. Hopefully he’s trapped there as a ghost, forced to watch it all happen.” 

Zane shuddered at the thought. 

“Did you call Dad?” Felix asked, scritching his nails along Avi’s scalp, making his eyes roll with pleasure. 

“Mm,” he hummed. “He said it was good to leave him there. That someone would find him eventually.” 

“That sucks. I’m sorry, baby,” Felix crooned, still petting him. 

“Me too,” Zane said. “Anything we can do to make you feel better?” 

Avi looked between Zane and Felix, keeping his tone sad. “I mean, I wouldn’t say no to a blowjob.” 

Felix snorted. “Are you asking me or Zane?” 

Avi shrugged. “Both?” 

“You want me to watch my husband and yours give you a blowjob?” Asa asked. 

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Zane said, rolling his eyes. “Hell, Felix and I took care of you while Avi was gone. It only seems fair that he gets something too. No?” 

“That was different,” Asa said. “He wasn’t forced to just watch.” 

“Stop pouting. Nobody said you had to just watch,” Zane scolded. 

“Yeah,” Avi said. “I’m sure one or both of them would happily let you use them in any capacity you like even if I keep their mouths full.” 

Felix snorted. “You seem awfully confident we’re going to say yes.” 

“Of course you are, kitten,” Avi said. He gave them both his saddest puppy dog eyes and pooched out his lip. “I’m sad. I need your mouths on my dick to feel better. Help me.” 

Zane looked over his shoulder at Asa, who shrugged. “Go ahead, Lois. I guarantee I’ll find something to occupy my time back here,” he promised, his hand sliding down the back of Zane’s pants. 

“What’s in it for me?” Felix asked, haughtily. 

Asa chuckled. “Don’t worry, kitten, I can take care of you both. Guaranteed.” 

“You only have one mouth,” Felix reminded him. 

Asa laughed. “Maybe so, but I also have a dick and two working hands. I got you.” 

“See,” Avi said. “Problem solved.” 

Avi dragged his pants down shamelessly. 

“What are you doing?” Felix asked, amused that he wasn’t waiting for their agreement. 

“Taking these pants off. They’re too constricting.” 

He took his cock in hand and began to stroke it lazily while he waited for them to finish playing their little games. 

“We didn’t say yes,” Zane reminded him. 

“But you didn’t say no either.” When Felix gave him a dubious look, Avi pouted again. “Come on, kitten. Just one little sympathy blowjob. Nothing else is going to make me feel better.” 

“Not even me letting you have my target tomorrow?” Asa asked, his lips already pressing open-mouth kisses into Zane’s bare shoulder. 

Avi thought about it for a long moment. “Okay, yeah. That would be nice and all but if you think that trumps a double blowjob then we need to have your head examined.” 

“It's up to you, Lois,” Asa said. “But now that he’s brought it up, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to tongue fuck you and Felix regardless of what you’re doing to my brother. I kind of have my heart set on it now.” 

Avi smiled as Felix and Zane both whined at Asa’s words like they couldn’t help themselves. 

He gave them wide eyes. “I’m not above begging. I’m a weak man.” 

Zane rolled his eyes, looking at Felix, who laughed, then shoved at Avi. “I can’t blow you from here. You have to get up so I can move.” 

Avi reluctantly sat up enough to let Felix free before flopping down on the fluffed up pillows, still slowly working himself to full hardness. 

Felix and Zane repositioned themselves as well, Zane between Avi’s knees and Felix to his side, the moment they dipped their heads towards Avi’s length, they were in the perfect position for Asa to use them any way he liked. He grinned like a kid who couldn’t wait to unwrap his gifts on Christmas morning. 

“Okay,” Asa said, rubbing his hands together. “Who’s first?”