Chapter Text
The House of the Hearth was quieter than usual.
Not silent - never silent, not with so many children breathing under one roof.
It was subdued.
Footsteps still padded on the tile floors, but they were much softer. Laughter came more tentatively.
The recent events had shaken them all.
It was supposed to be a simple recon mission, especially for a pair like Lyney and Lynette, who were known for their joint efficiency. So seeing one of them come back crumpled and bloodied, barely being held up by his near-sobbing sister, had created a crack in the Hearth’s facade none could deny.
Arlecchino found herself standing just outside the infirmary door later that day, arms crossed and back pressed to the cold wall. Her posture was rigid. Controlled. Perfectly poised. And yet her eyes kept drifting to the ajar door that was the only thing that kept her separated from the injured Lyney.
He was sleeping. Bandaged and pale, but alive. Lynette hadn’t moved from his bedside since she helped bring him in. Freminet tried taking over for her at some point, doing his best to coax his sister into rest and food, but to no avail. So they both remained by their brother.
Arlecchino, though? She hadn’t been inside. Not fully.
She checked on him once, yes, but that barely counted. It was silent, brisk and clinical - a glance, a hand on the pulse and a nod. But she still found herself lingering right outside the door of the infirmary. She kept on telling herself it was just routine. Observation, making sure her Hearth and her successor remained in good shape.
But still, for some reason, the Harbinger’s fingers itched. To brush the boy’s hair out of his face, to fix the rumpled blanket - hell, get him a thicker one. She could feel her throat involuntarily tighten every single time she heard Lyney make the smallest sound in his sleep.
You’re not his mother. You are his Father. You have to remain strong. Cold. You cannot show weakness. For the good of the Hearth.
She told herself as she exhaled sharply through her nose and turned on her heel to leave the vicinity. And still…
The kitchen was empty when she entered. A blessing. She did not need anyone seeing her like this - sleeves rolled up as she dug out some ingredients from the ice box and got to preparing a pot of simple broth. Like some fussy omega.
Which she wasn’t.
Arlecchino was pretty sure she was a beta, as she’s never presented as any secondary gender in her life. Hasn’t shown any characteristics of any either. She never bothered to get an appointment related to anything like that. She thought it to be futile, since her body most likely worked differently due to her curse.
Who knows, maybe she lacked a secondary gender in the first place because of it?
Either way, beta or nothing at all, the Harbinger didn’t particularly find herself caring about those matters when it came to herself. Of course, she did her proper research as soon as she took over the Hearth officially (Crucabena’s education had been. Lacking, in that regard), so that she could act accordingly whenever any of her children presented or experienced certain parts of their cycles. She had a calendar meant just for keeping track of whether someone was going through a heat or rut so that she could help them prepare accordingly.
Some children would even request their secondary gender characteristics to be removed, and she has never refused them that. Arlecchino herself understood how a heat or a rut could affect a person’s ability to function. After all, she witnessed many unpleasant situations while the Hearth was still under Crucabena’s thumb.
If she had left a dent in the cutting board from pondering over that a tad too much, then she promptly ignored it, settling on focusing on the soup once again.
Even as she finished it up and carefully ladled it into three bowls, later placing them on a tray with careful precision and also adding a few slices of bread from the pantry, she kept on telling herself it was just a matter of practicality - making sure her successor recovered quickly thanks to the proper nutrients, which she made sure the broth had plenty of. And that his siblings wouldn’t go hungry either, because she knew he would have hated to be the only one to get to eat at this hour.
The lie became harder to swallow when she saw Lyney laying still under the blanket. And his siblings’ expressions as they watched her use her elbow to open the door a bit more to comfortably carry the tray in.
She silently set it down on the bedside table and turned to look at the two, still slightly perplexed-looking, children of hers.
“Make sure he eats when he wakes, he won’t heal properly if he doesn’t.” Arlecchino said, voice flat. “There are bowls for you two, as well.”
Her jaw tightened slightly as she watched the two exchange a look. And then Lynette nodded.
“Thank you, Father.”
The Harbinger only nodded in return before turning on her heel. She left, quietly shutting the door behind her.
That night, instead of the crimson moon, Arlecchino dreamed of something else, for once. Of warmth.
She was in the Hearth’s main living space - the atmosphere soft, bathed in firelight coming from the lit fireplace. She could hear the soft laughter of children and the pitter-patter of their footsteps all around, surrounding her like a pull of gravity.
She was seated on the couch, blanket in her lap. Freminet was resting against her side, Lyney was splayed over the back of the couch in a position that was definitely horrible for his back and neck, but she didn’t have it in her to scold him for once. Lynette, meanwhile, was sprawled across her legs, head in her lap. Semi-consciously, Arlecchino found herself carefully brushing her fingers through her daughter’s hair. She could hear and feel the girl purring.
Nothing happened in that dream. It was just that. Softness and warmth.
And yet, she still woke with a jolt.
Despite the gentle nature of her dream, her breathing was sharp, uneven, her mind still reeling - because that was new, unnatural for someone like her. Her dreams weren’t supposed to be like this - fuzzy and vulnerable, not at all. She didn’t get to experience all that after everything she’s done to get to this point in her life. It wasn’t for her - not something she deserved anymore. Not something she could allow herself to have.
Arlecchino was the Father of the House of the Hearth. Nothing more, nothing less.
She pressed her hands to her face, inhaling and exhaling deeply to rid herself of the remaining ache in her chest, doing her best to completely banish the echo of the dream.
But the ache in her chest still lingered, even as she sat there for an hour before finally deciding to go back to sleep.
She ignored the heavy feeling she briefly felt in her abdomen.
The next morning, Arlecchino woke up before the first rays of sunlight even hit her pillow. Got ready before any of the children even thought of cracking a single eye open. Got each of the younger children’s breakfast portions ready early. Readied the training room before anyone had an inkling of an idea to start training that day.
She was as sharp as ever, if not even sharper. Perhaps fueled by the previous night’s dream, as an attempt to come off as the unwavering Father figure even more than usual, especially in the light of the recent events.
What she didn’t realize was the way she came off. And, apparently, she came off as fussy. Again.
But she didn’t even think about it, her hands acting before she thought twice about it, as she fixed Freminet’s hat atop his head as he idled next to her during breakfast.
And as quiet as the boy usually was, even he had to stop, take in his Father’s actions and point out the obvious. Because Lyney wasn’t there to do it, and neither was Lynette, who he knew was currently dead asleep in the chair by her twin’s bed.
“Father?” he looked up at her right after the woman finished smoothing out the hat on his head.
“Hm?”
“Are you… Fussing?”
That visibly made Father pause and think over everything, but he could already see her covering up her fumble by straightening out her posture. He could tell - because Lyney did the same.
“I am only making sure your hat stays in place.” Arlecchino stated simply. “For practicality. You wouldn’t want your hat to drop over your eyes throughout the day, would you?”
“Well… No. But, uh…”
“Practicality, Freminet. It is important. Not only could the hat falling impede your actions, but you could also grow cold.”
Freminet just stared at the Harbinger, eyes as wide as saucers, blinking a couple of times.
Was she… Feeling okay???
A week passed.
Lyney was recovering well, despite the circumstances - he was always quick to bounce back and even this time seemed like no exception. He was all charm and bravado even with most of his ribcage wrapped in gauze and bandages, as well as a limp he was too proud to acknowledge. Lynette obviously stayed near, quieter than usual. And Freminet? He watched. Has been watching Arlecchino ever since the morning after Lyney was brought into the infirmary.
And at first glance? Everything was fine, normal. Father still remained at a respectful distance from them all, respecting their space, only stepping in when required of her. But when she did step in? Well, maybe it was because Freminet has known her since before she even officially became Father, but he could just see there was something… Off about the Harbinger.
Especially when it came to the littles.
It was subtle, because Father has always been a bit softer towards the younger children, understanding their need for comfort and stability more than anyone else. But she never used to do what she did now. And, again, it was a tiny thing - she now knelt down to the littles’ level instead of leaning down slightly whenever they required her attention.
Then came the physical contact.
More often than not, recently, their Father grew a habit of patting them on their heads regularly. When it came to Lynette, he’d even spotted Arlecchino rubbing her ears for a brief moment before retreating back to her office.
And it wasn’t that anyone minded - it wasn’t that a lot of people even noticed these things, but Freminet did. So did Lynette, but as far as he could tell, she was actively choosing to not mention anything. Most likely out of respect for the woman.
Arlecchino’s scent slightly changed as well. Not that he ever paid close attention to it whatsoever - probably because it was never there in the first place. She never carried a distinct scent with her, unlike most people he knew. For example, Lyney and Lynette both smelled like burnt caramel, though Lyney oftentimes also had an undertone of smoke to his scent. But it was most likely due to him being a Pyro user.
Either way, Father has never smelled like anything before. But now, whenever he stood too close to her, he swore he could sometimes catch a whiff of cedar wood out of the blue, though always coming from her direction. At first, it was barely noticeable, but throughout the week it only intensified.
Which got Freminet wondering - because he’d always assumed that Arlecchino was a beta or simply wore insanely good scent blockers. But now… He wasn’t sure what to think. Something wasn’t adding up, yet at the same it was, but the conclusion wasn’t something the boy thought to be very likely.
There was no way Father has been an omega all along, right?
Furina wasn’t planning on visiting the House of the Hearth that evening.
She’d finished all work with her crew, reviewed all the scripts she received in the mail, hell, she even stepped by the Palais Mermonia for a brief chat with Neuvillette! And Arlecchino still dared to call her a recluse, she’d show her-
Admittedly, roughly after everything related to the prophecy had been wrapped up, Furina was fully planning on staying in her apartment until she shriveled up and died of old age. But then the Traveler went and ruined her perfectly good plans.
And the Knave? Also didn’t help.
It started with the seemingly random children showing up at her doorstep with various cakes and pastries weekly. Back then, she’d chalked it up to former fans and those who favoured her even when she faltered in the final act as Fontaine’s Archon merely sending the sweets as acts of appreciation. She indulged in every single one of them, as much as she hated herself for it.
When Lyney showed up? She assumed it was some sort of apology for setting her up with that magic box. Lynette? Somewhat the same.
But when Freminet showed up?
Well, she finally bothered to ask who had been sending the pastries. Poor Freminet nearly had a heart attack as she inquired about it - he looked like he was about to have one, at least. But, in the end, she got her answer.
Arlecchino was behind the sweets all along. As a way to apologize for the attempt on her life.
One thing lead to another, and at this time? Well, Furina considered the two of them good friends. Good cafes and quality time together truly did wonders for their relationship. Was Furina deathly scared at first? Yes. But for some reason, she pushed through. And it was worth it. Once she got to know the Knave better, she found out how much of a softie she was deep down inside, even if the woman denied it. Or perhaps she didn’t even realize that fact.
She did seem like the type to remain oblivious to nothing except that one tiny detail.
To put it crudely - cold and unfeeling Father her ass. Furina was still trying to convince her to open up a bit more, to mixed results. It was like there was some sort of mental block in the other woman’s head nobody could get past, not even her children.
As perfectly poised and stoic as Arlecchino was, even she had her moments, obviously. Her forgetting one of her rings at Furina’s apartment was a tiny victory the former Archon would use at every opportunity to tease the Harbinger. She still had to work out what her remarks would exactly sound like, but right now she had to return the ring to politely let the woman know she would now be using that little slip up (even though it could barely be called one) to her advantage until she herself grew bored of it.
Huh. That oddly sounded like her inner alpha.
She let herself into the Hotel the Hearth was situated in, most children aware of her semi-frequent visits nowadays, so they all just greeted her briefly when she walked in, but disappeared soon enough, while she kept on confidently walking through the halls.
Right. It was late. And she distinctly remembered the Harbinger telling her about the children having a set bedtime.
Obviously she laughed at the idea at first, but also understood - there were younger kids in the House, after all. Remembering that made her weigh her steps a tiny bit lighter. She immediately made her way to Arlecchino’s office - which was also her bedroom, because of course it was. But when she tried the knob upon finally standing in front of it, it wouldn’t budge.
Furina frowned.
Arlecchino told her she never locked her door in case the children needed to reach her quickly.
She remembered that when she mentioned the unlocked door potentially being a double edged sword, the Harbinger only told her no intruders ever survived walking into the first corridor either way.
But now? The door was locked. She tried opening it again, just to make sure. To no avail, but she did hear something aside from the door rattling.
A soft groan coming from the inside of the room.
Furina felt an odd pang in her chest upon hearing it.
“Arlecchino? Are you in there? It’s me, Furina.” the woman said softly, but loud enough to be heard through the door.
No answer. Only quiet shuffling coming from within.
“I, uh-” Furina stammered, not really knowing what to do in this situation. She hadn’t foreseen the Knave apparently having a mood. “You forgot your ring at my apartment, I came to… Return it?”
She wasn’t sure why she worded it like a question.
But the subtle scent of cedar wood and something else she couldn’t identify yet was really distracting her. Or rather, her inner alpha, for some reason.
Furina suddenly realized something. A pit grew in her stomach as the scent only grew more potent the longer she stood by the door.
“Arle, are you okay?” she once again tried twisting the door knob to no avail, a hint of nervousness and concern lacing her voice now. “If you’re feeling unwell I can just go and- wOAH-”
The door suddenly opened, and as quickly as it did, she found herself inside the room even quicker, pulled in by a warm hand on her wrist.
The first thing she noticed?
The scent and the temperature.
The entire room reeked of cedar wood and desperation mixed with distress. And it was so hot she could already feel herself starting to sweat.
The next thing she noticed was the utter disarray the room was in.
The bed had been stripped of its sheets, pillows, blankets and covers, the wardrobe was open with certain clothing articles spilling onto the floor, all distinctly in the Knave’s style.
Some of it along with the bedding was piled in the corner. Into a nest.
And in it? Arlecchino herself, hair damp with sweat, sticking to any sliver of bare skin it could stick to - and there was a lot, as she’d thrown her jacket off to the side somewhere. She couldn’t tell if it was in the pile near the wardrobe or the nest itself, but one thing was clear. Even from her spot near the door she could see the rapid rise and fall of the woman’s chest.
Furina was standing in front of an omega in heat, who just happened to be Arlecchino.
Arlecchino, an omega. In heat.
Luckily, the former Archon could still think straight, but what she now recognized as heat pheromones definitely didn’t help. Well, maybe they did? Because they definitely helped her be more intimately aware of the Harbinger’s distress. Come to think of it - how in the world did she move from the nest to the door and back to the nest this fast??
So many questions, so many answers-
Furina’s train of thought was interrupted by a low, pained moan coming from the nest. That got her attention back to Arlecchino, who just happened to shift her position, and-
Stars, she could hear the slick as she moved because of her still wearing her pants.
The Harbinger was still wearing all of her clothes, sans her jacket and shoes, actually. Because of course Arlecchino would still wear her clothes while in heat.
Shaking that thought off, she quickly walked up and knelt near the nest, though moved much slower when the woman in it quietly growled at her. She was pretty sure that, if threatened, Arlecchino could definitely still very easily hurt her even while in heat. So she remained cautious.
“Hey, it’s okay! It’s just me, Furina, you know me-”
“Stop - Stop talking like that…” the Harbinger grunted out through clenched teeth. “Still… Still lucid… Kind of-”
At that exact moment, Arlecchino seized up with a hiss, a hand clutching at her stomach - a cramp, most likely. Furina would be lying if that didn’t make her hands itch to do something, anything to help the omega. But she couldn’t. Arlecchino would never let her. Surely not.
The former Archon was already struggling to keep her own scent from releasing into the air, knowing full well what an alpha’s scent did to omegas in heat.
“I- Arle, why - how did you-” Furina swallowed thickly, trying not to inhale too much. “You’ve been an omega all along? All while running the Hearth?-”
“N-No…” the woman panted, throwing her head back. “It’s new… I-I’ve never…”
Another pained moan escaped her throat involuntarily.
And that’s when it clicked for Furina.
Arlecchino was a late bloomer. That’s why she hadn’t had a scent up until now. That’s how she managed her cycle - she simply didn’t. She never needed to manage it because she just didn’t have one.
Until now. Because she was presenting as an omega in her twenties.
Even Furina knew that was late.
Hell, the way Arlecchino looked right now made her highly consider taking her to a hospital.
But when she tried getting up, it was like a switch had been flipped. Her wrist was roughly grabbed once again and suddenly, she was literally engulfed in everything Arlecchino.
Her scent entered her nostrils involuntarily the moment her head nearly collided with the woman’s neck as she was pulled into the nest and on top of her. That alone made her dizzy enough, but she could also feel how hot the Knave ran now, bordering on scalding - was she actually overheating??
Before she could dwell on it further, Arlecchino started nuzzling her cheek into her neck, rubbing her scent gland repeatedly, causing some of her scent to leak into the air. Furina bit back a groan as she felt her face grow hotter and her pants a tad tighter.
“Don’t-” she heard the Harbinger whisper at the same time as she felt her legs wrap around her hips. “Don’t… Leave…”
“A-Arle-”
She was barely holding onto her sanity at this point, but she held on. For both of their sakes. Because if she let herself go? Then they would be crossing a line she wasn’t sure either were ready to cross. Admittedly, Furina has always found the Harbinger attractive, but obviously only thought about her in the romantic sense very recently, due to obvious reasons. Which further ensured her opinion that they weren’t ready.
The way Arlecchino forced the two of them to grind against each other made it pretty much obvious that her inner omega was more than ready, though.
The worst part? She could tell her inner alpha agreed. She could no longer hold back her own scent, sea salt mixing with cedar wood made for too good of a combination, she feared. Because it made her involuntarily rock her hips against the omega’s clothed, utterly soaked core.
And Arlecchino whined at that. The Fourth of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers of the Tsaritsa whined. Underneath her.
“Please… Furina…” said woman froze as the omega mouthed dangerously close to her scent gland. But she couldn’t bring herself to jerk her head away. Damn it. “Need you - I need you so much, please-”
“Arle, you-” Furina tried not inhaling too deeply, which resulted in her sounding like she’s choking. “You’re not… Yourself right now, I - I couldn’t do that to you-”
Arlecchino repeated the same sound from moments before - and stars, it made even more blood rush to Furina’s already painfully hard cock as she whined once again. She rolled her hips against her too. Furina could die right then and there.
“I want you - wanted you for a bit… Now.” the Harbinger mumbled into her neck, stifling a moan into her skin as she felt her clit make contact with the former Archon’s hardness even through their clothes. “Please, alpha, I need you so bad-”
That’s when Furina’s mind grew hazy. An omega calling her that… She couldn’t resist that. She just couldn’t.
“P-please…” Furina whimpered, though she was already reaching down to tug the other woman’s lower garments off. “Just - Just don’t hate me for this-”
That was the moment Furina’s alpha instincts completely shattered her restraint.
She kissed her, fully, truly kissed her at the same time as she practically ripped her pants along with the underwear halfway off her legs.
She swallowed the moan Arlecchino let out into her mouth the moment she stuffed three fingers into her pussy, thrusting the digits in and out easily, the movement made easy by the absurd amount of slick the omega has released prior to her arrival, but also kept on producing the more her fingers moved in and out of her.
The wet sound of her fingers slipping inside Arlecchino was already music to her ears, made even sweeter by the sound of her gasps and moans once she finally released her lips from the bruising kiss, a trail of saliva connecting them for a brief moment.
Furina barely registered stripping both of them bare and lining her hard cock up with Arlecchino’s core. She paused for a second, just to watch and admire the way the Harbinger looked under her, lips puffy, face red and sweat making her shine in the most ethereal way.
She gripped the base of her length while leaning down to leave open mouthed kisses along the omega’s neck, causing an immediate reaction in the form of loud whines and grinding on the tip of the alpha’s cock.
“Furina,” Arlecchino gasped, desperate. “Please-”
She interrupted herself with a loud moan as Furina finally started inching her way inside her tight warmth, groaning at the way her walls engulfed her snugly.
Aside from that, the way the omega writhed under her ensured her in one fact that made her inner alpha purr in delight and satisfaction.
That fact was that she was most likely the first one to ever take Arlecchino like this.
Furina didn’t consider herself a possessive person, not at all. But the alpha within her made her have a visceral reaction to that possibility. Of being the Harbinger’s first. The reaction came in the form of fully slamming herself all the way inside her omega’s pussy, which made them both gasp - Arlecchino at the fullness, and Furina the tightness.
Both felt like they were losing their minds respectively.
It was insane how good it felt inside the omega for Furina. She could already feel a knot forming at the base of her cock, which spurred her on to start thrusting. The slick fortunately made the slide easy for both of them, making it possible to only focus on their pleasure.
“I’ve got you - I’ve got you-” Furina managed in-between moans, her cock rapidly disappearing inside the omega’s inner walls.
The room was filled with the wet sounds of skin against skin and filthy moans they drew out of each other. The former Archon was completely focused on bringing the two of them to the peak, somehow managing to speed up her thrusts, while also angling her length so that it would brush against a spot that evidently made Arlecchino see stars, as she always writhed beneath her whenever that happened.
Furina could feel her knot was swollen to almost its full capacity.
Her alpha instincts surged, drowning out every ounce of rationality she had left. She pulled Arlecchino up into another bruising kiss, one hand gripping her hip, the other moving between them, index finger fervently flicking the omega’s hard clit.
Arlecchino sobbed in pleasure.
She rocked down, moaning into Furina’s shoulder, every last shred of pride left behind. Her body was too slick, too hot, taking Furina deep with ease. But it wasn’t just the stretch she wanted - to be fully claimed, filled up and have the spent sealed within her. She needed to be knotted.
“Knot me,” she gasped, biting down on Furina’s collar - almost grazing her scent gland. “Please, knot me, I can’t take it-”
Furina’s rhythm stuttered. She barely held herself back.
“Inside-” Arlecchino whimpered. “Finish inside. Mark me if you want - I don’t care. Just don’t stop-”
That was the end of it.
Furina grabbed her hips, roughly pistoned in and out of her a few more times, before slamming fully in with a loud smack in finality and bottoming out, forcing her knot in, locking them together.
Arlecchino cried out, high and helpless, her nails digging into Furina’s back as her body spasmed with release. Furina followed with a groan, thrusting shallowly, as much she could in their state, as her release spilled deep inside her.
Arlecchino fell back into the nest underneath her, twitching, muttering nonsense. Furina held her through all of it, stroking her hair gently.
“You’re alright-” the former Archon breathed heavily, placing a tender kiss on the Habringer’s temple. “It’s okay-”
And Arlecchino - quiet, exhausted but sated let herself be held.
It all blurred together - heat, sweat, desperate thrusts and soaked sheets of the nest, the scent of slick and mating all-consuming. Arlecchino sobbed as she came, over and over again, furiously grinding back every single time onto Furina’s knot like she couldn’t be full enough, couldn’t be claimed enough.
Every time Furina tried to slow down, tried to pull away, Arlecchino clawed at her.
She couldn’t even say Furina’s name anymore. Just “alpha” over and over, reverent and shaking.
And Furina kept fucking her all week. Hard. Unrelenting. Possessive. Each knot was a further claim on the omega. Her omega.
Furina rutted into her like it was the only thing she knew how to do.
And Arlecchino - her proud, cold, untouchable Arlecchino sobbed beneath her, writhing, begging for more even as her body trembled from overstimulation.
Furina’s rut was triggered somewhere at the halfway point of Arlecchino’s heat.
There was no end.
No mercy.
Only the wet slap of skin, the muffled cries, the scent of omega heat and alpha rut entwined like a noose.
They broke each other again and again.
Until nothing was left but instinct - the unbearable need to be closer, deeper, together.