Chapter Text
Hitoshi
God… He feels Denki’s absence like hole in his chest and he’s reaching the end of his restraint. He’s just outside, he tells his alpha, but the beast is howling with rage and indignation and the calcine urgency to be next to Denki, to be with his omega, his mate.
The first few hours after a mating bite are crucial and his skin prickles every second they’re apart.
“Hitoshi…” He looks back at the omega who’s supposed to be his friend, his *best* friend.
“Yeah?” his voice is still rough, from emotion or thread thin restraint, who knows? But he notices Eijirou bristling when he speaks.
“All that shit I said?” Katsuki says, looking down and away. “It was wrong.” He sniffs and glances at Hitoshi and the alpha stares for a moment. This is the closest thing to an apology he’s ever heard from Katsuki and it… It means a lot.
Enough to distract his alpha from the Denki shaped hole in his chest and Hitoshi huffs a laugh, runs a hand through his hair, “Yeah, man,” he sounds more like himself. “Yeah it was.”
“Well, I for one am still-”
Katsuki cuts his mother off, “You need to go.” He glares at Camie, “Both of you.”
“Kats-”
“I ain’t dealin’ with anymore shit tonight,” the omega says, pointing toward the door. “And you dumbfucks have a lot of shit to think about and you ain’t doin’ it here. So go.”
And maybe not so surprisingly, Eijirou steps forward, scenting aggression. Camie steps closer to her aunt and Mitsuki looks from her son to his fiance and then at Hitoshi. She narrows her eyes and then turns to leave, her niece following close behind. The windows shake as she makes her exit and the men stand in heavy silence for half a long minute.
“We have a lot to talk about,” Eijirou says finally, looking from Katsuki to Hitoshi, “But… I think you and Denks need to-”
The back door opens and Hitoshi’s attention is torn from the alpha to Denki who quietly pads back into the room. He leans for a moment against the arch of the doorway, “Where’s Aunt-”
‘I sent ‘em home,” Katsuki says, stuffing his hands in his pockets, purposely not looking at Denki.
He’s hurt.
He doesn’t like that they kept this from him, but that’s a talk for another time, a feeling for another time. Because… Well… Hitoshi’s out of restraint.
He closes the distance between Denki and himself, pulling his mate against his chest, eyes falling closed.
“Go fuckin’ shower,” Katsuki grumbles, slipping his hand into Eijirou’s and tugging his fiance away. “Ya’ll stink.”
Eijirou chuckles softly, “He’s right,” the alpha says as they walk away, “Better get some sleep too.”
There was a warning there, a reminder that there was real talks, real accountability to come… But that was so far away from the forefront of Hitoshi’s mind right now. Because right now Denki was here and… God.. This was real.
Denki was his and-
"Hitoshi," Denki runs his hands up the alpha’s chest, "Take me upstairs."
"Thought you’d never ask," he smiles and scoops the omega up into a princess carry.
Denki melts against him and it's just… Comfort.
Bone deep and soul warming, and just… Fuck, man… It’s everything.
He carries Denki into his room, into the bathroom and sets Denki on the counter while he starts the shower.
He looks back at the blond as he unbuttons his pants and he’s… God… He’s so pretty and small and it reminds him of that first night. Of the gorgeous little omega who was so feisty and sad, but still he shone so bright that Hitoshi couldn't look away. Of the fears that they both had and how didn’t know that love was for him, could be real for him. That Denki could, would become his… Well… His.
Hitoshi stops pants halfway open and moves to stand between Denki’s legs. He smiles up at Hitoshi, that tightness in his chest, that overwhelming weight that threatens to crush him everytime he see his mate is there again, only this time… Only this time, Hitoshi doesn’t push it away. “I know,” he says, cupping Denki’s face, “That your memory isn’t the best right now, but I need you to remember something for me. Okay?”
The omega nods, covers Hitoshi’s hand with his own and he… He looks up at the alpha, his alpha with so much… Adoration, so much love that for a moment, it’s hard for HItoshi to breathe. “You are…” Hitoshi swallows over the lump in his throat, over the tangle of emotion and he… He smiles, “You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever known”
“Toshi…”
He sweeps his thumbs along the top of his mate’s cheeks, wiping away the tracks of tears and makeup. “But you don’t know it. You can’t see it, but it’s there. You’re just… You’re shining your light on everyone, Denki. Makin’ sure that everyone else is safe and happy and you… You shine in the darkest corners, sunshine. Warm them up and chase away the… The dark, the pain. And that’s… That’s how you found me, how you saved me and… How you stole my heart when I thought… When I thought that I’d hidden it away. Hidden it so far and made it so hard that… That nobody’d ever touch it again.”
Golden eyes sparkle with unshed tears and Denki’s bottom lip quivers and Hitoshi can’t help himself, he leans forward and kisses him, just a soft sweep of trembling lips. “You gave me your love without expectation, without… Conditions.” He swallows audibly, “Even though I... I didn’t deserve it.”
“You deserve it,” Denki whispers, “Oh Hitoshi…” He wraps his arms around Hitoshi’s neck, pulls him down and kisses his mate, “You have to know,” he kisses the alpha again, “You have to know that you saved me too.”
And there aren’t… There aren’t words for the feeling in this moment. No words for the warmth that pulses through their bond and Hitoshi deepens the kiss. As he peels the shirt over Denki’s head, as the omega pants his name.
“I’ve missed you,” is all the alpha can manage and it’s not… Not enough. Because it’s more than just these weeks and these months, it’s-Its’... Fuck… It’s forever. It’s his entire life that he’s missed this, missed Denki and its’... It’s just as crazy as everything else about this has been.
Denki
He lets his alpha, his mate, pull him closer, lets him lift him up and carry him over to the shower, set him down beneath the pounding, pulsing stream of water. Hitoshi kisses him, pulls his jeans down and kicks them out the door.
And there under the spray, in Hitoshi’s arms and with his touch, all of the fears and confusion and… Pain… They all seem to wash away.
Hot, rough hands roam Denki’s body. Hungry lips move over his mouth, taking and giving and claiming. And Denki wants this kiss, this touch too much to do anything more than accept it, to return it. His tongue slips inside of Hitoshi’s mouth and he tastes so familiar, but still somehow new. The omega reaches high and tangles his fingers in lavender hair, holding him close, urging him on. Because maybe there’s still a part of Denki that’s afraid that he’s going to wake up and Hitoshi will be gone. That this is just another dream, another half remembered night mixed with a wish and Hitoshi has disappeared from his life.
But the alpha is solid against him, his breath is hot and his words so damn precious.
“Thought I’d lost you,” Hitoshi murmurs as he presses Denki against the glass door.
“Never,” the omega pants, an automatic response as he’s hoisted up onto the alpha’s thigh. He rolls his hips, the residual soreness of their encounter forgotten as his cock hardens and his sex slicks. He slides his hands down Hitoshi’s shoulders, savoring the flex of his muscles, the hidden strength beneath his skin. Denki’s fingers skim Hitoshi’s chest, trace the understated lines of his abs, down the light sprinkling of hair to take him into his hand.
Denki gasps and Hitoshi moans, the alpha moving to suck at his omega’s gland, to nip and lick and suck on the sensitive organ as Denki’s hands encircle his cock, begin to stroke him in time with the fluid wave of his hips.
“Ah… Fuck… Sunshine…” Hitoshi reclaims Denki’s lips, the kiss less urgent. A languid dance of tongues. If he’d been devouring Denki before, he was savoring him, tasting him now. His hand finds Denki’s chest, calloused fingers are tweaking and teasing and squeezing his pink, pebbled nipples, pulling thready gasps from the omega.
Denki’s head falls back and he gives up on trying to control, trying to hold back and lets his alpha work his body like a craftsman. “Hitoshi…” His narrow hips stutter and his alpha presses his thigh up higher, grasps his cock and Denki’s cumming hard, calling his mate’s name. Praising the way his alpha knows just how to drive him over the edge and then bring him back with sweet, searing kisses and whispered praise. “Such a perfect pussy, Denki. So good for me. So fuckin’ perfect.”
He snakes his hand down, sweeps slick onto his fingers and tastes it with relish, the sight so fucking sexy and dirty that Denki almosts wants to hide his face. Instead he closes his eyes and arches his back, wrapping his legs around his mate, letting him line up and slick the edge of his thick cock.
Then Hitoshi growls, low and dangerous, “No…” He kisses Denki softly, “Open your eyes, sunshine. Look at me.”
“Ah… Hah...” It’s hard to focus when the alpha’s holding him up like this, when he’s teasing the tender entrance of the omega’s freshly fucked hole but not entering. “T-Toshi…”
“Look at me, Denki.” Galaxy eyes bore into amber and the omega bites his lip. “I want to see me. I want you to know, to remember that it’s me touching you.” He slips the flared crown of his cock inside, “That it’s me, Denki. That I’m the one fucking you.”
“Ah! J-Jesus! Hi-Hitoshi!”
“That I’m yours.” His deep voice rumbles as he slips another few inches inside, “That you-”
“Oh God!”
“You’re mine.” He growls the last words into Denki’s ear as he seats himself fully inside the omega.
And Denki cums again. His eyes fluttering and little omega claws extending. He forces his eyes open, watches Hitoshi’s slit as he begins to move. As the alpha fucks him slowly, thoroughly through the orgasm and beyond.
He watches his mate’s head dip down as he lifts Denki higher, he hisses through his teeth and curses as the alpha teases his nipples again. As Hitoshi nips and bites his chest, his shoulders, his neck and fucks him into the door. “Love how sensitive you are,” Hitoshi groans, “How hot and slick and needy your little pussy is. How your- Mmmm- How your cock cums so-Ah! So fuckin’ hard for me.”
Denki arches off the glass as he cums. Hitoshi tangles his hand in the omega’s hair and slams their mouths together as he pushes his knot inside and then he’s cumming. His mouth is on the mating mark, sucking hard, leaving a bruise and wringing a final exhausted orgasm from the omega before kissing him again.
It takes another half hour of soft, slow kissing and exploration before Hitoshi’s knot deflated and they were both clean. And then, even though Denki insisted that he could walk (he probably could, okay) Hitoshi wraps the omega in a huge fluffy towel and dries him before drying himself. He carries Denki to the bed and they slip between the soft sheets. Hitoshi traces every line of Denki’s body with his fingers, kisses every freckle. “Never letting you go again,” he says finally, laying his head next to the omega’s.
And all Denki can say before sleep claims him is, “I know.”
Tetsutetsu
The alpha leans back against his father’s headstone, lifts the bottle of whiskey to his lips, and watches the silver light of dawn as it catches the metal of his grandmother’s ring. “Ya know,” Tetsutetsu says aloud, to himself, to his father, to the sunrise, “Ya know why I never went for omegas like Denki? Why I… Why I went for bitches?” He sighs and rests his head against the chilly marble, “Because of you.” The cicadas are singing, a few morning birds are chirping, there’s a distant hum of an engine. There’s the slam of a car door and footsteps on the gravel. But Tetsutetsu isn’t listening. “They’re… They’re too soft. Like Mom.” He wipes his mouth on the back of his arm and watches the morning light burn the evening fog away. “You may not of hit her, but… Words… Words hurt just as bad. And she absorbed every-every insult, every criticism, every damn word you said to her. And even… Even when you left, she thought it was because she wasn’t good enough. Not because… Not because you.”
He takes another drink from the bottle, doesn’t notice the slender blond watching him, standing just behind him, arms crossed over his gently rounded belly. And Tetsu keeps talking. “Denki’s like Mom. He just… He just gives and gives and gives… And I… I let ‘im. I took it all without thinkin’ because he’s so… Good. And maybe I thought he’d make me good too. Yanno? And Neito… Neito’s hard. He’s… Seen too much to be soft like that. He’s too smart to let people get close. He wouldn’t… He wouldn’t let me get close and I thought that because Denki did, because he made me vulnerable. That he’d torn me open that I loved him.”
He sniffs, screws the cap onto the half empty bottle and sighs. “But… That ain’t it, is it?”
The omega behind him moves closer, crouches down to put his hand on the alpha’s shoulder, slings his long leg over his lap. “Tetsu…” Neito whispers as he tilts the alpha’s chin up, brushes the messy strands of grey hair out of his face, “Do you know why… I do what I do?”
Tetsu’s jaw tics, “To hurt me.”
Neito presses on, “Because you… You’re the only person who’s ever made me feel open. The only one who… Knows me. My weaknesses and my secrets. You’re the only person who gives to me more than just a passing glance.” The omega looks down, a bitter tug at the corner of his lips, “Because you’re the only person on this whole stupid planet that had the power to hurt me.”
The alpha stares up, brows furrowed in confusion. “What are you sayin’?”
“God…” Neito huffs, shifts in Tetsu’s lap, “I love you, moron.”
“Yeah,” Tetsu frowns, “You said that before.”
“You make me soft. Make me feel things.” The blond shrugs, “So I… So I thought that by pushing you off, hurting you, you’d… Stop.” Neito clears his throat, “But you didn’t. It didn’t go away and by the time I realized it you had… Moved on. But I think you… I think you still love me.”
“Neito-”
The blond presses a hand over the alpha’s mouth. “You keep ending up in my bed. Calling me when things fall apart. You … You still look at me like you used to, Tetsu. You still do.” He pulls his hand back, leans in slowly, “You still love me.” A presses a soft, lingering kiss on the alpha’s Wild Turkey flavored lips and the alpha still…
He still melts under the gentle pressure. He still sighs in relief when Neito licks inside, still instinctively pulls him in and wants him near.
“Come home with me,” Neito murmurs
And Tetsu nods, “Yeah…. Home.”
Denki
Denki had fallen asleep in Hitoshi’s arms, but when the omega wakes up, his mate is gone. His absence is tangible and for a moment the terror returns and Denki's certain that Hitoshi is gone forever and maybe he was never really here.
But… The bed is still warm and the sheets smell like him. Denki smells like him.
The omega can still feel the heat of his touch, the scrape of his stubbled cheeks on his skin, the comfort of their bond pulsing in his mark.
Their mark.
Denki lifts his hand, brushes his fingers over it and for the first time in weeks, probably months, there’s a sense of peace.
He hadn't realized just how… Heavy his body had felt, how labored just being alive had become until the weight was gone, until the uncertainty was lifted. Honestly, he’d expected to grieve for the life he’d had, the love he’d harbored for Tetsutetsu and the betrayal he’d relearned, but there’s only acceptance, clarity.
Denki hadn’t really loved Tetsutetsu any more than the alpha had loved him, had he?
They'd just been two people who didn’t know better, who thought the other could fix them somehow, make them something they weren’t. And that… That isn’t love.
Denki steps into the shower, smiling to himself as he runs his fingers across the smudged glass and gets ready for the day.
A probably really difficult day.
A day he would have hidden from just a few days ago. But… Not now.
Because in the last 24 hours, Denki had done things, said things, he never thought he could. He’d regained a good portion of his memories, broken up with Tetsutetsu, lost his virginity, mated, and stood up to his aunt for the first time in his life.
There was nothing certain about his future now, about his family or his career but… Whatever the next 24 brought, he could handle it.
Denki steps out and notices a familiar bag on the bathroom counter, his bag. It smells faintly of Camie and inside are a selection of some of his favorite clothes, his make-up, and shoes.
And a Final Fantasy t-shirt that smells distinctly of Hitoshi Shinsou and a little bit like sex. Smiling, the omega holds the shirt up to his nose and inhales deeply.
Nashville.
He’d taken this home after Nashville. He remembers now. He’d wanted to put it in his pillow case, keep his alpha’s scent close. But instead… It’d never made it out of the overnight bag. He’d been torn that night, longing for an alpha that couldn’t be what he wanted and an alpha that he wasn’t sure really wanted him.
He’d put the ring on, just to see. And then his sister and aunt came over and… He’d been too afraid of disappointing them to deny what they’d assumed. But after Aunt Mitsuki had left and Camie had gone to bed, still pouting about their strained relationship, Denki had called his aunt. He’d tried to tell her the truth, that he wasn’t marrying Tetsutetsu, but… She hadn’t listened.
Denki had gotten in his car, his beloved little Pikachu, and driven up toward the house to tell her. Because he couldn’t rest, he couldn’t sleep on the lie. Couldn’t pretend to be Tetsu’s anymore when he was in love with someone else.
He’d been crying, wishing his phone had been charged and he could have called Hitoshi, could have heard the alpha’s voice.
Hitoshi… He’d been thinking about him, about the drive home and how they’d laughed over FaceTime and he’d worked out the song. How… How they’d sang it together until the battery died.
And that’s when the truck hit.
And it all went black.
Denki blinks and tears fall free; he's clutching Hitoshi’s shirt to his chest on the bathroom floor. “She knew,” he says quietly to himself. His aunt had known. He’d told her, but she hadn’t listened and he was driving up to make it clear.
The omega stands up on unsteady legs and sets the shirt on the counter. He washes his face and puts on his make-up. He pulls on a romper that he’d designed (a little white denim number with purple lightning bolts that Camie had helped him print) and he does his make-up. And for once in his life, he doesn’t hate what he sees when he looks in the mirror.
He runs his fingers across his mating mark and smiles at how the outfit shows it off, shows off the claim and the bruise and the fact that… That someone loves him.
Like this.
For who he was.
For his smallness and his quirks and… Doesn’t think he’s stupid.
Hitoshi, this beautiful, amazing, talented alpha… He believes in him.
Denki takes a deep breath and steps out of the bedroom, he can hear chatter and smell food. His stomach rumbles and his cheeks warm.
When was the last time he’d eaten?
"Denki."
The omega turns and sees Katsuki at the bottom of the stairs, a beer in one hand and the other in the pocket of his sweats. Denki takes a breath and lifts his chin, squaring his shoulders. He’s ready.
He can do this.
"Hey, Kats…" Denki starts down the stairs.
Katsuki watches him descend an unreadable expression on his face, patches on his neck. "The Idiot Squad is here," he says. "They wanna see you and yell at you."
Denki smiles to himself, "Yeah… I figured they would." He nods at the beer. "A little early to be drinking, isn't it?"
"It's almost 6, lazy ass." Katsuki takes a sip from the bottle and sets it on a nearby table. He straightens his arms and leans heavy on his palms. The silence is heavy while Katsuski gathers his thoughts, but there’s laughter from the patio, the sizzle of the grill and Mina shouting over Hanta’s protests as she recounts the way he fell in a puddle when he tried to propose.
And there’s Hitoshi’s deep, velvety chuckle in reply. It makes Denki smile, gives him the push to break the tension and speak first. “So you let Toshi live,” the blonde says, walking up next to his cousin.
“Tch,” Katsuki doesn’t look over, “I’m still pissed, yanno.”
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you say somethin’?” Katsuki draws his fingers in, leans heavier on his fists, “To me? You think I was gonna be like the hag?”
Denki looks down at the wood, traces the grain with his fingertip, “No… I didn’t want anyone to know about the break-up. About how… How everyone thought I was so pathetic that-” He stops tracing and bites his lip, “That I couldn’t even make my own decision about an alpha. That they had to… Trick me. That even then… I was so stupid that I fell for it, that I thought I was in love.”
Katsuki looks over then. “Weren’t you?”
Denki’s smile is sad and soft, “No… But I loved him.”
Katsuki scowls, “That doesn’t make any damn sense.”
Denki shrugs. “I wanted Aunt Mitsuki to give him the revitalization grant. His gym is failing and I… I wanted to help.”
“Even after you found out that he fucked around on you?”
The omega nods, “Yeah… I… It was my idea to pretend. That’s why I asked Hitoshi not to say anything.”
Katsuki grunts, looks back at the table, “You still shouda told me.” He picks at the label of his bottle with one nail.
Denki watches the other omega, notices his hunched shoulders and his tight jaw. The way he’s avoiding eye contact. “You’re hurt.”
Katsuki stops and turns to glare at him. “I ain’t ‘hurt’. I’m not some squishy ass pussy, alright? I’m just sayin’ that when some dirty fuckin’ dick slit cucks my little cousin and then my cousin fucks my best fuckin’ friend, I’d like to goddamn know about it, alirght? Jesus.” He takes an angry pull from the beer, “I could’ve helped or sumthin’.”
Denki smiles despite himself, “By beating up Tetsu?”
“Damn straight.”
Denki shakes his head, “You have… You have no idea what it’s… What it’s like, Kats. People treat me different.”
“Bullshit. I don’t-”
“Your mother does,” Denki says, “The people in town. Camie…” He looks over at his cousin, “Even Ei and Mina are careful to not hurt me when we go out. They make sure not to say things about omegas. People will stop stories to explain parts to me because they.. They think I don’t understand. They think I’m stupid, Katsuki. People won’t talk about pups or pregnancy or how they wanna have families.” Denki presses a hand to his stomach, “Because I’m small, because I was sick. Because… Most people don’t think I’m… I’m a proper omega.”
There’s an angry tic in Katsuki’s jaw as he holds himself back, something he never would have done before Eijirou, and Denki knows he wants to argue. That Katsuki wants to tell him that it’s all bullshit and it’s not true. He wants to yell at Denki and tell him that he’s just as much an omega as anyone. It’s what Katsuki’s always done.
How he shows his love, how he protects him.
But Denki needs to tell him, make him understand.
“Since Mom and Dad died, I’ve been told to just be grateful that anyone kept me around. That someone took care of me, gave me a place to stay, or a job. Because… Because I’d never be able to do things like that for myself. That I should be grateful that anyone took an interest in me and not to be picky. Since I was pup I’ve been too scared to be myself, too scared of what people would think. Mitsuki taught me that. That in order to make up for being small and being an orphan and being different that-that I had to… I had to care. That I had to go the extra mile and be more kind, more gentle, more understanding… And to understand that that was the only way for people to put up with me. That… It’s the only chance that someone, anyone might want me.” He picks at the hem of his shorts, “That I never had a chance with the proper alphas, with someone like Tetsu.” Denki takes a breath, releases it slowly, “And until I met Hitoshi, Kats… I believed it. ”
And Katsuki can’t hold it in any longer. “That’s such bullshit, Denki! You’re better ‘n that! You fuckin’ know better.” He slams a fist on the counter.
“I do now,” Denki concedes, “Because…Hitoshi. He… Showed me how to believe in myself.” He smiles at his cousin, at Katsuki. At the one person in his life who, no matter how crass and mean and loud and well… Violent, has never let Denki down. “And I’m asking you to believe in me too, Kats. I’m sorry we-that I didn’t say anything but… I didn’t even know my own place in my life, my family, I thought that I-That I was just there to support, to give and give and give…” He hadn’t realized he’d raised his voice, that his eyes had started to tear up, “But now I wanna take something, just a little bit, Katsuki and… And I’m gonna. I’m gonna be with Hitoshi. I’m gonna make my own choices and… And even if you don’t agree or-Or you’re mad at me or you… Or you hate me now, I’m gonna do it. But I want you to trust me to make the choice.”
Katsuki’s lips are set in a firm line, one ashy eyebrow arched as he reaches for his beer. “Bout fuckin’ time” is all he says before taking a swig. “You gonna talk to the hag? Camie?”
Denki shakes his head, sniffs. “I can’t talk to Mitsuki right now, Kats… Maybe ever.”
Katsuki just grunts.
Denki wipes carefully at his wet eyes, “And Camie…” he sighs, “I just… I need time. I know she thought that she was doing something good, but…” He shakes his head. “I just need time.”
Katsuki nods, finishes his beer and tosses it in the recycling bin.
The door beyond the kitchen slides open and Hitoshi steps inside, stopping mid-step when he notices Denki there. He runs a hand through his long, loose hair and a smirk tugs the corner of his lips. Denki can’t help but wonder if he’s ever gonna get used to how handsome, how… Sexy his mate is.
God… He hopes not.
“Hey sunshine,” he says, indigo eyes sharp and hungry and set on the omega, “I was comin’ to get you up.” He slides a hand across Denki’s stomach, around his wait and kisses his neck, as he siddles up behind him.
Denki relaxes into Hitoshi’s arms, a soft sigh escaping his parted lips. “Hey alpha.” He smiles up at his mate, at the man who’d given him back to himself; and he’s rewarded with a kiss.
“Oi!” Katsuki snaps, rounding the island and pulling open the refrigerator, “I’m right fuckin’ here, you sluts.”
“Sluts? Us?” Hitoshi scoffs, “Hey, Denki,” His hands, travel up the omega’s hips and smooth across his sides, “Did Kats ever tell you about Dublin?”
The refrigerator door slams and Katsuki turns on his best friend with a terrifyingly, murderous stare, “Don’t. You. Fuckin’. Dare.”
Hitoshi is not deterred. “See… Apparently Kat heard there’s a way to suck your own-”
And Katsuki launches himself over the island, “I’mma fuckin’ murder you!” And Hitoshi takes off, the omega hot on his heels. Denki laughs to himself as he follows them outside, sets onto the deck just in time to see them jump over the edge of the balcony. Hanta yells from below and Eijirou releases a long, weary sigh as he fills a platter with BBQ meat.
Denki closes his eyes for a moment as he steps out into the sun. Inhale. Exhale.
He listens to the laughter and the chatter and Katsuki’s growls and he understands… Everything is going to be okay.
Denki-2 years later
“Deeeenkiiii!”
The omega shifts in the bed, opens his eyes and smiles at the little girl stage whispering at the side of the bed. Her silvery hair falls in silky loose curls from the messy bun on her head (a sure sign that Hitoshi got her ready this morning) as she bounces on her tiptoes and grins. :Mornin’, apple cheeks,” Denki yawns, looking over at the bedside table and the clock.
7:45 am.
The omega sits up slowly, thankful he actually had clothes on for once (even if it’s just one of Hitoshi’s shirts and a pair of shorts), and rubs his eyes. “‘Toshi,” he says reaching over to wake his mate, but the bed’s cold. Startled, Denki turns to see the empty sheets and messy pillows.
Hitoshi is never up this early, especially when they were out late the night before. Especially when they were out late the night before AND celebrating Denki’s first fashion line being invited to Bread and Butter in Berlin this fall.
God… He needs to make sure Camie and Yoarashi can come and isn’t Momo and Kyoka’s wedding around then?
But before Denki can think too hard about it, Eri grabs his hand with both of hers. “Denki!” she says again, “Come on! Daddy’s waiting for you!” She tugs him hard and he lets her pull him up. He chuckles to himself as her little furrowed brows smooth and her bright grin returns and she pulls him from the bedroom towards the suite’s kitchenette.
The sweet scent of maple syrup and the spicy aroma of sausage waft on the air and Denki hums in approval. Hitoshi insisted on staying in hotels that provided a kitchenette whenever they travelled, especially if Eri was with them and Denki never argued it. It made it feel more.. Domestic. Normal even.
Or well… as close as a rock star and (apparently) up and coming designer could be.
It was still a comfort, still important to have.
“Wait!” Eri stops suddenly, eyes wide and strawberry stained lips parted. She turns and pushes Denki back a foot. “I forgot! You need to stand here.” She steps back with her palms up like Denki was a wild animal about to sprint away. “Don’t move, okay Denki?” The tip of her tongue pokes out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrates on stepping backwards down the two little steps that connect the hall to the dining area.
Denki stifles a yawn and smiles at her antics. “Did you cook again, Eri?”
She blushes and pauses, her hand on the door way, as though she’s deciding if telling him would ruin whatever surprise she’s got in store. “I helped,” she says proudly, apparently deciding that telling him that much wouldn’t give away her secret. She looks back at the kitchen and nods and then back to the omega and says, with a very serious face, “Don’t move until Daddy calls you, okay?”
Chuckling Denki agrees.
Eri bites her lip and hops down the step and out of sight. “Okay, Daddy!”
Denki shakes his head and tries to sift through his sleep hazy mind to figure out what the pup has planned out this time. Last time, she’d gotten up at 5 am and tried to make a “cake” and decided that shaving cream and whipped cream looked alike, so they should taste alike and mineral oil was an acceptable substitute for vegetable oil…. She learned the hard way that no, no it was not.
“Okay, sunshine!” Hitoshi calls from the dining room and pulls Denki from his thoughts.
“Are you sure?” the omega teases as he creeps toward the corner, “I believe a very strict pup told me to stay here.”
Eri giggles and calls out, “Hurry up!”
Denki opens his mouth as he rounds the corner, another tease on the tip of his tongue, but he stops short. “Hitoshi…”
They’d been together for almost three years and mates for most of that. And happy, so stupidly and so ridiculously happy that Denki wondered if it was all just pretend somehow. That maybe he’d never woken up from the coma after the accident and he was still a scared little omega under his estranged aunt’s thumb but then… Then Hitoshi does stuff like this and Denki knows that… It’s real
The dining table is full of food, pancakes and sausage and eggs and lumpy biscuits, that are for some reason very pink, and set with gorgeous crystal and china like a 5 star restaurant. But there’s streamers and paper flowers hanging from the elegant chandelier and Eri tossing confetti (some of which definitely lands in the food). “Surprise!” the little girl shouts and hops up and down.
Denki can’t speak, can’t form proper words, his throat is tight and his eyes are watering as he takes in the sight of the happy little pup dancing around her father, who is down on one knee offering Denki a ring.
The omega walks closer, tears beginning to fall. They’d never really talked about marriage, being mates was enough, but Denki had hoped that someday, when things slowed down and this tour was over that maybe, just maybe, they could talk about it.
But Hitoshi wasn’t really a patient guy.
“Denki Kaminari,” the alpha says with his sleep rough voice, Adam’s apple bobbing, “From the moment I saw you, all I’ve wanted… Is to make you happy. As… As happy as you make me.”
The omega’s eyes sting with sleep and tears and an ugly sounding sob bubbles up from his chest, “You do, Toshi.” He couches down then kneels in front of Hitoshi, he takes the alpha’s face in his hands. “You do make me happy.”
“Bond with me,” Hitoshi says, and it’s more a plea than a question, “Please, Denki.”
Denki nods, accepts Hitoshi’s kiss, and he cries harder. “Yes,” he hugs his mate tighter, buries his face in the alpha’s broad chest.
Just a few years ago, Denki wouldn’t have been able to imagine this life and now.. He can’t imagine his life any other way. Hitoshi kisses his cheek, pulls his left hand up and slips the yellow diamond onto his finger with a wobbly smile.
“I love you,” Denki says between sobs.
“Yay!” Eri throws herself into their embrace, laughing and bouncing. “I made pretty biscuits!” She pushes between them and whispers in Denki’s ear, “I added glitter.”
And then she squeals with laughter as Hitoshi pulls her up into his arms and tickles her. “You did what?”
The pup squeals and laughs, reaching into her pocket to toss her last handful of confetti at her father and Denki… Denki’s never been happier.