Age 12, Maryann
Maryann POV (Leah Age 12)
Leah had always been much like her as a child: soft-spoken, reserved, and particular. But with her daughter, that was magnified so much that she rarely came out of her shell.
She never had a friend over and rarely talked about other children at school. Her daughter became fussy or emotional with the slightest changes, meaning that their household had always been methodical. They began cooking certain foods and following routines without so much as a thought to it, because both she and Kurt had always been different with their routines too.
Not once did they seek to diagnose their daughter because Leah was just Leah. She was different, but in a way that they both loved and adored.
The diagnosis had jarred them both. Autism. The label scared her because neither she nor Kurt knew a thing about how to handle such a diagnosis. Until it finally dawned on them that nothing had changed, they had been managing for years and altering their routines for Leah without even noticing it.
Maryann felt some guilt for having missed it, knowing that though they already did their best at home Leah could have received more help in school. She likely would have had the tools available to help her with social skills or sensory things she struggled with from a much earlier age.
The odd thing though, was that the best help arrived as not a doctor but in the form of another twelve-year-old girl.
Fatin.
When Leah had found her mate Maryann had been shocked, to say the least. Fatin was the exact opposite of her daughter; loud and confident, and always grinning from ear to ear. Maryann had expected that Leah would find her mate far later on and that it would be a shy boy with tastes similar to her own.
Somehow, Fatin made more sense than she could have ever comprehended. Fatin would arrive each morning as Maryann or Rana took them to school. In those moments Maryann would get a glimpse of what her daughter felt like at peace. Her shoulders would relax, a small smile would occasionally appear on her face, and her cheeks would tint red whenever Fatin teased her.
The school’s offered help was irritatingly minimal. Leah was doing brilliantly in classes now but struggled socially, as such they tried to get her to look into clubs that she may like.
Leah had been begrudging it until Fatin offered to go with her, the same way Leah attended most of Fatin’s soccer practices.
And with that, her daughter finally began to open up the slightest bit.
She had even seen her talking with a group of people when collecting her, something Maryann had never seen before (other than when Leah would talk to groups of pensioners when Maryann took her on some of her shifts.)
However, what surprised her most was that Leah was just as good for Fatin. Even as an omega she was protective, but she grounded her. Rana and Maryann spent most Sundays having coffee to avoid their husbands talking about sports. Rana was protective of Leah but also seemed to value just how much she helped Fatin.
“Your daughter was right- again.” Rana laughed over her coffee. “Fatin is doing brilliant with soccer, it’s completely settled her. She still has an occasional alpha teen moment where she’ll snap at me, but soccer is settling most of her emotions.”
“I swear those two read one another like a book.”
“Leah especially. I know omegas tend to note things early, but she picked up my pregnancy before my doctor could even sense it.”
“She’s always had heightened senses; Leah notices a lot. We gave up trying to hide most things from her; it’s almost as if we placed her in some mad science experiment on an island without her knowledge, she’d sniff it out by day two.”
“It’s helping Fatin. Whilst I love her father, I hear from his mother that he was a nightmare in his youth: massive mood swings, punching walls, screaming matches. I think his side of the family struggle with hormone regulation during changes, and it appears Fatin is similar. I don’t know what we would have done if she didn’t meet Leah so early on.”
“I was worried when Leah met her mate so young. There are so few resources online about how to manage things.”
“Tell me about it,” Rana laughed. “I think their teen heat and rut will be a nightmare. They already cling to each other like they’re one person before all the major protective instincts kick in.”
“Have you noticed how they always hug each other now? Leah barely lets us hug her.”
“Oh, they’re inseparable. I had to tell Fatin off the other day, Leah couldn’t do her homework because Fatin wouldn’t let her go.”
“They’re sweet.”
“For now. When they reach sixteen or seventeen it’ll be harder subjects to broach.”
Maryann coughed out a laugh. “I’m fearing that talk more than anything.”
“I think they’ll wait,” Rana said. “Neither of them tends to rush anything in life. Certainly not Leah, and Fatin's only want for her is to be happy and comfortable. She already helps her with building nests. The amount of pillow forts I’ve deconstructed in the past month is slowly driving me insane.”
“I will take pillow forts over having the sex conversation any day.”
“I will have to check that their high school gives education on mated couples as well as non-mated. So many curriculums assume you will not meet them until you’re in adulthood. I’ve read some things and they say it can cause pain and strong emotional changes far worse than in later mated adults.”
“I read that too. It worries me, Leah is already a very emotional omega without the worry of period heats. My first ones were a nightmare.”
“They’ll be okay. I will consult our doctor though; he may also be able to add Leah to our family plan for emergencies as they’re mates.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Maryann, we are all family.”
“You know one thing about them meeting early is we have plenty of material for ridiculing them later on.”
“Oh, we do. Like the time Leah said she enjoyed boiled eggs, then Fatin boiled a single egg every morning for a month.”
“Your daughter is certainly a provider.”
“Don’t tell her that she’s cocky enough already,” Rana mumbled with a laugh. “They’ll be okay.”
“They will.”