Chapter Text
Logan has always been kind of a mother hen, but when he's just come off of heat and is still riding high on hormones, it's increased by at least six percent.
He starts obsessively herding the pups together, gathering them in the nest and then perching himself on the edge of it so none of them can leave. And if they do end up leaving, they'll be met with either a pinch on the neck, or a tragically dejected looking Logan standing in the doorway and watching them from afar, waiting for them to come back.
Lia googled it one time and it turns out that Logan gets like this because he didn't get a litter during his last heat, and so he starts treating them as if they're his litter. It's very sweet once they know that, but it also makes them feel ten times worse about leaving.
So, they start calling people to come bring them things, like food or drink if they get hungry, or things to entertain them while they're stuck in the nest with a furious mama bird keeping them there.
One time Franco had George and Lewis move the entire TV setup into the nesting room, lugging the PS5 in there as well so they had something to do. That had been a particularly difficult one, a time where Logan wouldn't hesitate to grab them by the backs of their necks and haul them back into the nest if any if them even attempted to toe their way out.
This time is nothing like that though, thankfully. Logan is more or less aware, talking and chatting with them like normal, he's just a bit more… Anxious, twitchy. At one point, Zak left to use the bathroom and Logan got this dewy look in his eyes like he thought Zak would never return.
He did, obviously. It's not like the bathroom is some black hole they just so happen to keep in their house for emergency situations; Logan seems to think that, though, in this strange, instinct ridden craze.
So they're playing it safe now, because quite frankly, the look on Logan's face when Zak left was devastating. They don't want to have to see that again, if they can help it.
Alex has been their “emergency contact” all day. He's still in the house, he's just been in and out of meetings all day in the next room over, chattering away on his computer about the probability of some business connection through Thailand or something; bits and pieces they've been able to parse through the wall.
It's nothing too serious yet, still in the budding stages, so Alex can more easily step out if anyone needs anything, excuse himself to handle “family business”, a notion that makes all the pups’ feel a little dizzy; the prospect that Alex actually thinks about them as family.
And now, said “family business” is calling to request snacks, because the small refrigerator in the nesting room has begun running dangerously low– only a small handful of protein bars left. All the boring snacks, basically.
Lia has been nominated to call Alex this time, because Luke has done it the last two times and he has not stopped complaining about it since 8 o'clock this morning.
With a groan, Lia brings the phone to her ear, and it rings out a few times before clicking, a small sound from Alex echoing over the other end before Lia starts speaking.
“Yeah, dad, can you-”
All hell breaks loose.
Lia almost throws her phone across the room, burying her face into her hands once she realizes what she just said, and basically everyone else in the nest has been rendered completely incoherent. Even Logan is a little dumbfounded, a quizzical twist in his expression as he looks Lia up and down, almost like he's concerned something is wrong with her.
Luke is the one who attempts to salvage the situation, clicking his tongue and snatching Lia’s phone from on top of the blankets before it gets completely buried.
“Well, we just- hi, Alex,” Luke restarts, shaking his head and pushing himself to the furthest corner of the nest to get away from Franco and Zak, who are currently howling with laughter.
“The fridge is getting a little low on snacks, could you grab some more for us, please?”
The other end stays quiet for a deafening second, only picking up Alex's shallow breathing, “...Yeah, yeah I can, sure. Is there anything else?” He eventually says, and his voice sounds weird, wheezy and drowned in an unnameable emotion.
Luke hums, “No, I think that's it, uhm-” he glances up at his siblings, then, catching the sight of Logan smiling down at Franco who is currently shaking Lia by the shoulders, whisper shouting something incomprehensible at her; Lia's face is beet red.
“Yeah, that's good. Thanks.” Luke has half a thought to hang up before he can utter the word ‘dad’.