home at last

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/32519143.

Rating: Explicit
Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: M/M
Fandom: 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Manga)
Relationship: Getou Suguru/Gojo Satoru
Character: Gojo Satoru, Getou Suguru, Sukuna | Ryoumen Sukuna, Fushiguro
Megumi, Ieiri Shoko, Hasaba Mimiko, Hasaba Nanako, Original
Characters, Kenjaku (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Additional Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Omega
Getou Suguru, Friends to Lovers, Memory Loss, Miscommunication,
Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, Reconciliation, Light Angst,
Happy Ending, Explicit Sexual Content, Vaginal Sex, Omegas with
pussies, Mentions of past abuse, Mildly Dubious Consent, Alcohol
Abuse/Alcoholism, Recovery
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2021-07-12 Updated: 2023-07-10 Words: 127,040 Chapters:
14/?

home at last
by cxscas

Summary

During a spontaneous visit to his hometown, Gojo Satoru reconnects with his childhood
best friend. A lot has changed about Geto Suguru since the last time they saw each other.
Suguru's hair is longer, his body is godly, and he has twin daughters who look an awful lot
like the best friend he ghosted five years ago.
 return
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Gojo Satoru has it all.

That’s what an outsider would think. It’s what he used to think until he realized that the only time
he’s ever happy or even content these days is when’s staring down a bottle of alcohol.

Happiness used to find him easily whenever he was on the court; rather it was during solo
practices, scrimmages with other teams, or with an audience cheering him on.

People make jokes about this often but Satoru is dead serious when he says that ‘ball was life’ for
him.

He doesn’t even know when he stopped enjoying his career. He wouldn’t go so far as to say that he
no longer enjoys it. He just doesn’t get a buzz from it anymore.

From the age of nine, Satoru knew that basketball was going to be it for him. By the age of
fourteen, he had his life mapped while other alphas his age were looking for the nearest omega to
knot. It came as no surprise to himself, his family, or his friends when he received a full-ride from
his dream university.

Then he was drafted to a professional team based overseas in the middle of his sophomore year of
undergrad, and that was when his life truly began.

Now, after only two years, it feels as though his life is at an end.

Okay, that’s far more depressing and dramatic than Satoru intended.

Yes, his life isn't as fulfilling as it used to be but he’s certain that he’s merely experiencing a
natural case of temporary dissatisfaction.

He’s been drinking heavily but that’s mainly because his team had a shitty season. He doesn’t even
like alcohol so he knows this is just a rough patch.

After all of that drama surrounding him being traded, he accomplished nothing spectacular on this
new team. The only good thing that came out of that whole ordeal was that he was finally able to
return to his home country, and he made a new friend.

“How many times are you going to watch the same highlights?” his new friend, and teammate,
Ryomen Sukuna asks as he puts on a sleep mask and makes himself comfortable. “We lost. What
is there left to dissect?”

They’re twenty-five hours away from a much-needed vacation in a beautiful place, populated by
beautiful omegas. That’s how long the trip from Tokyo to Aruba is. During their terrible season,
thoughts of this vacation have kept them sane.

“I want to see where we messed up, obviously,” Satoru replies as he stares at his screen. “You have
the whole flight to catch up on sleep.”

Sukuna puts in his AirPods. “I didn’t get any sleep last night because someone wanted to party
until 3 in the morning.”

Satoru felt like celebrating despite there not being anything to celebrate. He thought he lost his
appetite for partying after living in Los Angeles but he guessed he was wrong. After watching
himself fumble the ball for the millionth time, he turns off the highlights and opens his neglected
inbox.

Scrolling through the hundreds of unread messages, he sees a message from his mother that’s from
days ago. He always tells her to call instead but she seems to think that texting is more convenient
for him.

She wants to know when he’s going to come home to visit, considering it's almost been a year.
When he was in Los Angeles, he had an excuse for not visiting, but now that he’s only less than
four hours away what’s his excuse?

Satoru has plenty of excuses as to why he doesn’t go home often. None of which are good enough.

His mother also sent him pictures of her plum orchard that his father planted for her.

That’s another reason why Satoru doesn’t like to go home. He doesn’t like to be reminded of his
father.

The man was one of Satoru’s biggest supporters, and he did everything in his power to help Satoru
achieve his dreams. His father passed away a few months after Satoru moved to Los Angeles.
Because he was in the middle of training and there were complications with scheduling, he didn’t
get to go home for the funeral.

It’s something that he always regrets.

All of the guilt and the longing for home hits Satoru at once. He knows how lonely his mother is in
that estate, and it can’t be easy for her not to hear from her only son often.

Finally, he has time off and he’s going to spend it in Aruba and not with his mother. That feels
wrong. Perhaps that is why Satoru has been off his game as well. He’s restless because he knows
he should be looking out for his mother more than he is.

Satoru checks the time.

He has at least half an hour to talk himself out of what he’s planning to do. That’s more than
enough time to think of a better solution to his current problem. More than enough time to talk
himself out of buying two plane tickets to Sapporo; his hometown is too small for an airport so
they’ll have to take a ferry the rest of the way.

Sukuna is going to murder him.

But Satoru is too dead set on this new plan to change his mind. It’s impulsive and probably foolish
but it feels like the right thing to do in order to figure out why he’s been spiraling as of late.

“Please don’t hate me,” Satoru whispers to Sukuna after he purchases their new tickets.

Some kind of deity has to be on his side because Sukuna is too drowsy to notice a thing while
they’re boarding a flight that’s definitely not set for Aruba, and the alpha falls back asleep once
they’re seated.

The past season was rough for them both. It makes sense that Sukuna is so tired.
He prays that the same deity will have his back when Sukuna wakes up later.

It comes as no surprise that when Satoru needs the mysterious deity most they vanish.

Sukuna’s anger is a slow build.

It takes the man several long and tense, silent, seconds to even ask the question of whether or not
Satoru is genuine when he says that they’re in Hokkaido.

Satoru doesn’t make it better by adding, “Off the coast of Hokkaido, to be precise.”

One look outside of the windows of the ferry, they can see the mountain ranges in the distance as
they draw near a small fishing island.

“This is taking us to the resort,” Sukuna says, chuckling. “You tried to pull a fast one on me.” He
turns his head from side to side to get the kinks out of his neck. “But it’s surprising that all of the
signs on the walls here are in Japanese…”

Satoru waits for the lightbulb over Sukuna’s head to blink alive.

5…4…3…2…

“You piece of shit,” Sukuna says in a voice full of betrayal. The fact that he isn’t shouting makes
him appear scarier, too. “Why in the fuck are we in Hokkaido?”

“Sukuna, let me explain.”

“Chop, chop.”

“When life isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be-”

Sukuna closes his eyes, sighing deeply.

Being an alpha, Satoru can smell the shift in the other alpha’s scent. That’s how he knows what’s
coming next

“You sabotaged my vacation for fucking Hokkaido?! Are you insane?!” Sukuna shouts, drawing
the attention of the few people who are also on the ferry. Glaring at the onlookers, he growls at
them, forcing them to turn their heads away. Then he turns back to Satoru. “Give me one good
reason why I shouldn’t rip your limbs off one by one!”

“I’m the point guard,” Satoru says in a manner far too casual for the occasion. He knows Sukuna
won’t really murder him. Maybe. “The leader of the court.”

“You can be replaced.”

“Ouch.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sukuna tries to calm himself down. He’s been taking anger
management classes ever since he was benched for “mistakenly” hitting a referee in the face with a
basketball.

No one has proof that it was intentional but everyone on the team knows that Sukuna has anger
issues.
Perhaps Satoru should’ve taken that into consideration before dragging Sukuna along for his not-
so-mid life crisis-inspired trek home.

After cursing Satoru out and making more threats, Sukuna tries to look up a new flight to Aruba.

“I don’t have any service,” Sukuna says flatly.

Satoru was waiting for Sukuna to realize that. “And you won’t until we reach the island.”

“If you wanted to visit home you could’ve done so alone.”

“You remember where my hometown is? Aw Sukuna!”

“I hate you.”

Hate can’t exist without love, so that’s something. Satoru will take it.

A ferry ride, a bus ride, and a cab ride later and they arrive at the Gojo estate that’s nestled inside
of the town’s largest mountain.

Only two families call the mountains their home.

That’s the Gojo family and the Kamo family, making them the Kings of the Mountains according
to locals. It doesn’t help that they’re the wealthiest families in the town.

Once upon a time, Satoru’s family owned the town but decades before he was conceived the Kamo
family took over.

Their families aren’t on the best of terms due to centuries of petty feuds, but his mother and the
Kamo matriarch are actually twin sisters who have never allowed the feud to ruin their
relationship.

“You’re telling me all of this because?” Sukuna asks as he begrudgingly carries his two suitcases
up the steep steps leading up to the estate’s gates.

“Because I want to give you more insight into my life. You know, like friends do.”

“I will be cutting you off once this nightmare is over.”

“You don’t mean that, Sukuna. We get along so well!”

Sukuna looks ahead. “Is that your mother?”

Sure enough, Satoru’s mother is standing outside the gates, clutching the front of her shirt as she
watches them walk up the steps. She has a bright smile on her face and happy tears in her eyes.

His mother is petite with a short, grey bob that has strands of silver in it. Her eyes are light grey and
adorned by crow’s feet. When she smiles, whoever is in the receiving end feels as though they were
standing in front of a bright light.

Any kindness or sincerity that he possesses comes from his mother.

Satoru drops his suitcases and runs to her, without caring that Sukuna is witnessing him like this.
He’s missed his mother more than he realized.
They share a warm embrace, and Satoru tries not to squeeze her too tightly because of how frail
she appears. She starts sobbing in his arms, and Satoru’s eyes sting with tears.

They don’t say a word. They just linger in that moment for a little while longer before breaking
away.

“You’re home!” his mother says as if she can’t believe it. She peeks around him because he’s too
tall for her to look over his shoulder. “And you brought a friend!”

Sukuna kept his distance initially, but when she looks at him he smiles pleasantly and bows. He
even picks up Satoru’s suitcases and carries them the rest of the way.

That means Sukuna doesn’t hate him, right?

“This is my teammate, Ryomen Sukuna.”

His mother smiles at Sukuna and then turns her slitted eyes on Satoru. “I don’t have any food
prepared. A warning would’ve been nice, Satoru.”

Satoru even misses being scolded by her. Outside of his coach and Sukuna, no one bothers to scold
him, and sometimes he needs that. There used to be one other person outside of his mother who
kept him in check, but that's something he doesn’t want to dive into right now.

“Don’t worry about that,” Satoru says to his mother with a shrug. “We’ll manage on our own.”

“Nonsense,” his mother says, opening the gate. “I’ll make a trip to the market. First, let’s get you
boys settled in.”

Settling in takes the remainder of the day.

His mother has the groundskeeper run into town for her because she has to ensure the rooms Satoru
and Sukuna will be sleeping in during their stay are up to her standards.

They used to have servants but his mother let them all go for an unknown reason.

While Satoru is freshening up, his mother gives Sukuna a tour of the estate and takes time getting
to know him. She even shows off the room where she has the walls covered in Satoru’s grade
school trophies, newspaper clippings, and covers of magazines he’s been featured on.

Satoru is glad that Sukuna is respectful toward his mother, not that he had any worries. He knows
how to pick friends.

They take short naps before dinner is ready and they all sit down to eat and catch up. His mother
wants to know everything about their past season and how they’re both enjoying Tokyo.

Of course, Satoru leaves out all mentions of him drinking, partying, and fucking around. He keeps
it nice and sweet, and Sukuna doesn’t rat him out despite how pissed he still is.

But after freshening up, having a hot, home cooked meal, and finding out that there are no
available flights to Aruba for the next week, Sukuna isn’t as violent anymore.

“Your mother is your only saving grace,” Sukuna says to Satoru much later that night when they’re
preparing to turn in.

Their rooms are right across from each other.

“Look, Sukuna, I’m sorry about all this. I just…I don’t know…”

Sukuna gets on the futon. “You have a week to figure out what the hell is going on with that
noggin of yours.” He yawns. “Make good use of it.”

That’s the closest he's going to get to an acceptance of his apology and his actions. He’ll take it.

“Goodnight, Sukuna.”

“Hm.”

Satoru will have to think of a way to make this up to Sukuna. First, he should start by finessing a
refund for their rooms at the resort. It’s the very least he can do, honestly.

In the meantime, he will take full advantage of his week at home. He’s sure that by the end of his
visit he’ll be back to his old self.

With a population of 1,812, the small island of Gomari is a nature lover’s dream getaway.

Its location along the Sea of Japan grants it a perfect view of the sunset, and many couples who
have gazed upon the glorious sunset on outings are still happily together. The power of the magic
sunset is one of the many beliefs widely shared in the village.

“There’s also the mating rituals, the Alpha King’s Bride Festival, and ghost weddings-”

Sukuna turns the map he’s holding upside down. “You said there was a spa here,” he interrupts.
He frowns. “Did you lie to me?”

Satoru sighs. He was really having fun playing tour guide. “There is a spa that’s part of the onsen.”
He points out of the window of the outdated sedan he rented. “It’s up in those mountains. We can
go tomorrow.”

“Why not today? I need a massage.”

“I want to give you a tour and…um…” He lowers his voice. “We have to prepare for the
ceremony…”

“The what?” Sukuna raises his brow as if he’s challenging Satoru to further tick him off.

Okay, there are a lot of things that Satoru has never told his friend about. He was honestly just
waiting to see how long Sukuna stuck around before he went into details about his island’s culture.

“Technically I’m royalty…” Satoru says, not knowing how else to put it. “I’m a direct descendant
of the Alpha King-”

“The Alpha King? Like from history?”

“…yeah…”

Sukuna’s eyes widen a fraction. Then he sighs. “Considering this is a small town and all small
towns have their traditions…” He drops his head in defeat. “Please just tell me there won’t be a
parade.”

Satoru is quiet.
Sukuna glances over at him expectantly.

“Well, you told me not to say…”

“Fuck!” Sukuna all but rips his hair out. “I will not be part of that parade as your guest of honor.
Don't even ask me!"

“You know about the ceremonies?”

Sukuna looks exhausted. “Don’t tell a soul,” he says threateningly. “I’m from a small town too.”

Satoru gasps. “The whole team thinks you’re from Tokyo.”

“I’d like to keep it that way. Now tell me more about this ceremony…”

It’s not as over the top as their other traditions.

Since Satoru is considered royalty, there will be a procession to alert the villagers that he has
returned home. His mother has already told her sister and her friends. Food is being prepared and
he can already tell that certain areas are being blocked off for the parade that will take place
tonight.

No one on his team, outside of Sukuna, knows that Satoru is royalty. He never saw it as a big deal,
and it’s not like he has any ruling power. It’s just a fancy title he can’t do anything with.

As Satoru continues to drive Sukuna around while pointing out landmarks and places of interest,
he’s hit with nostalgia. He remembers sneaking down the mountain to ditch his tutoring lessons to
ride bikes with the other kids, go swimming, and take mini-adventures into the forest.

Gomari is truly a charming place with its green mountain ranges, dense bamboo forest, and shrines
and temples. All of the homes have traditional architecture as well.

Street vendors still sell everything at a low price rather than feeding into the tourism cash grab.

“Think of it this way, we’re still on an island,” Satoru says with a cheesy grin. He gestures around.
“Look at this beautiful scenery, breathe in that fresh air!”

As he says that, they drive by the fish market and the rancid scent of sea life assaults their nostrils.

Sukuna crinkles his nose. “Please tell me there are at least beautiful omegas around here.”

“Of course!”

The population is made up of mostly the elderly and infants. Most of the young adults leave as
soon as they can just to end up coming back once they’re older.

All it takes is a look outside of the sedan’s windows to get an idea of what the island’s
demographics look like in terms of babes.

“So, there are no beautiful omegas here?” Sukuna asks after having a look out of the window.
“Except for your mother, of course.”

Satoru slams his foot down on the brakes. “I will murder you.”

Sukuna laughs. “I was tired of seeing you smiling and acting as if all is well. Now I’m satisfied.”
Sighing contentedly, he looks out of the window again. Someone catches his eye. “Maybe this
island does have something to offer…”

Still ticked off about the comment about his mother, Satoru reluctantly follows Sukuna's line of
sight.

It’s easy to spot the person who caught Sukuna’s eye. Even though their back is turned, Satoru’s
full attention is on them. The person is wearing a peach-colored maxi dress that clings to deep
curves and wide hips.

Definitely an omega.

Long black hair stops in the middle of their back which is exposed. Their skin has a nice tan to it.
Most of the native villagers are tan like this.

Satoru always wished he could tan like everyone else around here does but he can never grow out
of the whole Casper look he has going on.

They’re both waiting for the omega to turn around so that they can see if their face matches their
body but then someone shouts at Satoru to quit blocking the road, startling him.

He forgot they were sitting in the middle of the road. He starts to drive off, but he keeps checking
the omega out in the rearview mirror until he has to pay attention to the road to avoid driving them
off of a cliff.

“I think that was a tourist,” Satoru says in regard to the omega they saw at the market. “There
aren’t any omegas with a body like that here.”

“Not even your high school sweetheart?”

Satoru snorts. “I didn’t have a high school sweetheart.” He had a steady girlfriend, that’s it. “I’ll
show you the main beach and the secret beach-” His phone rings. “Hold up.”

It’s his mother calling. She wants them to pick up a couple of things from the general store, and she
has news for him. Hearing the news that she has, Satoru nearly drops the phone.

“…did you hear me, Satoru? Suguru is also in town! How nice!”

“Yeah, great, mom,” Satoru says numbly.

“Stop by the Geto residence and speak,” his mother says. “I saw Shiori recently and she asked
about you..”

“Okay, will do. See you soon.” He ends the call.

Suguru.

Now that’s a name he hasn’t heard or thought of in a long time. Geto Suguru used to be Satoru's
best friend. Honestly, it felt like they were siblings. That was how close they used to be. At least,
he used to think they were close.

Considering that they lost touch after Satoru went off to university, they clearly weren’t that close.

“We need to make a pit stop,” Satoru says, still numb. “Remember I told you that I used to be best
friends with an omega?”

Sukuna nods.
“He’s in town apparently. My mom wants me to go speak. If I don’t, she’ll know.”

“Small towns,” Sukuna says knowingly. “When was the last time you spoke to him?”

“Our high school graduation.”

Sukuna is confused. “You didn’t talk to him after graduation or before you went off to university?”
Satoru shakes his head. “What about when you moved overseas?”

Another head shake.

“Then what’s the point of going to go speak?”

“My mom wants me to be cordial…”

His mom doesn’t know how bad things are. She just thinks they naturally lost touch but are still on
good terms. She doesn’t know that Suguru ignored his calls and texts for days before blocking his
number. She doesn’t know that Suguru blocked him on every social media site and practically fell
off the face of the earth.

“You want closure, too,” Sukuna says knowingly. “Is that why you did all this?”

“No, Suguru…I mean Geto wasn’t even on my mind when I made that decision.” At least not
consciously. “I’ll make it quick. I’ll just speak and leave. There isn’t much to talk about anyway.
It’s been almost five years.”

“If I was ghosted by my best friend for five years I’d be pissed," he says off-handedly.

Satoru used to be pissed and hurt, but most of all he was confused. It was unexpected. The last
thing he remembers is them planning to meet up at the graduation party but Suguru never showed.

He used to spend hours trying to figure out what went wrong and even tried contacting Suguru’s
older sister, Shiori, to see if she knew anything. He thought something terrible happened to Suguru,
but Shiori just told him that Suguru cut her off as well.

What could’ve happened for Suguru to even cut off his sister? He adores her. Well, he used to.

Satoru used to know everything about Suguru. Now he doesn’t know a single thing.

They stop by the drug store first. Both of them need to pick up a couple of things as well. Then
they head further into town to the residential area.

“You can wait in the car if you want,” Satoru says to Sukuna after he parks in front of the Geto
residence. “I won’t take long.”

“This is sure to be an awkward affair. I’ll stay here.”

That’s fair.

It goes without saying, Satoru and Suguru are from two different worlds.

Nothing expresses their class differences more than where their family resides on the island.

Satoru’s family is in the mountains, Suguru’s family is in the lower level in an area where the
working-class lives. Despite how small the island is, they were never meant to meet, honestly.
The Kamo and Gojo families have always kept to themselves whilst the rest of the village was like
a different universe.

But because Satoru and Suguru refused to be separated, Satoru’s family befriended the Geto family
- a royal family befriended a commoner family which was unheard of in their village.

Their parents saw no point in interfering with what most locals deemed the gods’ design. Everyone
was convinced that they were fated to be together in some sense.

Their parents even thought that one day they would get married but as much as Satoru loved being
around Suguru, he didn’t see his best friend in that way.

Putting it plainly, Suguru wasn’t his type.

Satoru has always been into omegas with soft features and sweet scents. While Suguru was cute, he
was rugged and carried himself like an average male beta. He always wore baggy clothes, rarely
styled his hair, and he didn’t have a scent at all.

It was why Satoru initially thought Suguru was a beta for years until that one time he saw Suguru
changing after they went swimming.

Boy, did he have a lot of questions after that…

Back then, Satoru was sure that he and Suguru would be friends forever. Then out of the blue
things just changed.

“How long have you been in town?” Suguru’s mother, Jun, asks after they share a hug.

“I just got in last night.”

Jun smiles. “I know Choi is ecstatic.” That’s his mother's name. She walks to the hallway. “Hold
on. I’ll go grab Suguru.”

Stuffing his hands inside his pockets, Satoru takes a deep breath to steady his pounding heart. His
stomach is all in knots and his throat feels tight. He didn’t even consider the possibility of seeing
Suguru again during his time here. He’s unprepared, and a little nauseous.

So much for him having moved on.

Hearing a floorboard squeak, he looks over to see two small heads peeking around the corner of the
den. He smiles awkwardly at the pups who appear to be twins.

One has dark hair and the other has a unique shade of blonde. Both of the girls’ hair is in cute
pigtails.

Did Shiori have kids? She’s an omega who used to be every young alpha’s crush at one point in
time. Satoru is even guilty of being one of those alphas. But that was short-lived.

The twin girls disappear around the corner, making Satoru wonder if he imagined them.

“What are you doing here?”

Satoru turns toward the sound of the voice and has the wind knocked out of him.

Suguru is standing there, confused and also…afraid? More startling than his facial expression is his
overall appearance.
This is not the same Suguru from high school at all.

This is…

Peach maxi dress and long black hair.

This is the omega from the market?! Suguru is the omega from the market who Satoru was staring
at so hard he almost drove off of a cliff? When and how did Suguru fill out like this? Puberty hit
him hard as hell.

Even his posture is different. He’s not slumped over as if he’s trying not to be noticed. His skin is
smooth and clear, his hair is healthy and glossy, and his scent…

Suguru has a scent now?

“Hello?” Suguru asks impatiently. He crosses his arms, drawing attention to the muscle he has
there.

His body is still toned but it’s far curvier than it used to be.

Satoru licks his dry lips. “Um…I heard you were in town. I came to speak.”

“Oh,” Suguru says, and he relaxes a little. He glances around. “Let’s talk in the tea room.” He turns
to lead the way.

Once again, Satoru is reminded of how much Suguru has filled out. Was his ass always this nice?
And his back is so smooth and blemish-free. Old Suguru would’ve never worn something like this
with his entire back on display.

Suguru's hair was never this long either. He used to talk about cutting his hair all of the time, and
Satoru would beg him not to.

They sit in the tea room. Suguru is staring at his hands that are placed on his lap and Satoru is
staring at Suguru.

“You look good,” Satoru blurts out.

Suguru lifts his head in surprise. He smiles, and the beauty marks under his eyes temporarily
disappear. “Thanks. You too…” He lowers his head again.

Pity. Satoru wants to see Suguru’s pretty, purple eyes.

Upon a closer look, Satoru can see how Suguru is anxiously chewing on his bottom lip and his
scent is off. He still can’t believe Suguru has a scent.

When did that happen? When did Suguru decide to have a makeover? What is Suguru up to these
days?

Most of all…

“Why did you cut me off?” Satoru asks because he can’t take this anymore.

Suguru closes his eyes, sighing. “I think you should leave-”

“Fuck that, Suguru! You owe me an explanation! Almost five fucking years?” His anger is too
much to rein in. It’s not only anger, either. He’s hurt, too. “I needed you! I was in a different
country where I barely knew the language and I felt so out of place and lost…I needed my best
friend so many times these past couple of years and where the fuck were you?!”

“Lower your voice-”

Lower his voice? Is that all Suguru has to say to him right now? Lower his fucking voice?!

Satoru growls, his eyes flashing a brighter shade of blue as instinct takes over. “From the look of
things, life has been fucking sweet for you! So, what excuse do you have for abandoning me?”

“You don’t understand…” Suguru’s eyes water and he starts fidgeting with his dress. His scent is
laced with bitter anxiousness and he keeps looking at the door like he wants to make a run for it.
“I…I…”

Any other time, the sight of a distressed omega would’ve implored Satoru to reel it in, and calm
down. But years' worth of pain is hard to let go of, especially when the source of that pain is finally
in front of him.

Satoru hits the top of the table angrily, cracking it. “What don’t I understand? I’m curious to know
what bullshit excuse you have!”

When he hit the table, Suguru flinched as if he was the one hit. He touches his chest as his eyes
water and he starts breathing heavily.

From experience, Satoru knows that Suguru is having a panic attack. As rightfully angry as he is,
he isn’t heartless. And this person used to mean the world to him.

Satoru reaches over to pull Suguru into his arms in order to comfort him but Suguru recoils away
and puts distance between them.

Is Suguru...afraid of him?

Yeah, he blew up just then but Geto Suguru isn’t a wuss. He will fight an alpha or anyone if it calls
for it. He has kicked Satoru’s ass once or twice, too. He has to know that Satoru would never hit
him.

So, why is he so afraid?

The door of the tea room opens and the small twins from earlier come rushing in.

“It’s okay, mommy!” the twin with the blond hair says as she and her sister hug Suguru.

Wait…

“Mommy?” Satoru asks in confusion.

It’s like a switch is flipped.

Suguru’s scent changes from distressed to full-on territorial. He shields the twins with his body,
keeping them out of Satoru’s line of sight. Then he looks at Satoru over his shoulder, purple eyes
flashing violently.

“Get out!” Suguru snarls.

Nothing is scarier than an omegan mother protecting their pups. And Satoru is too stunned to say
another word.
 He leaves the tea room.

As he’s stepping out into the hallway, Yua and an omega with short, dark hair and green eyes
come rushing toward him.

The unknown omega glares at Satoru before running into the tea room to comfort Suguru while
Jun gives Satoru an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry, Satoru. A lot happened and…” She shakes her head. “It’s not my place to tell you.
Thank you for stopping by.” She walks him to the door.

As Saotru is stepping out of the house, he can hear Suguru sobbing loudly. He wants to leave and
never come back to this place but at the same time, he has a strong urge to run back inside and
console Suguru. But he'll leave things alone for now.

All of this is too much.

Satoru doesn’t say a word during the drive to his family’s estate, and thankfully Sukuna isn’t the
type to fill the silence with mundane chatter.

On top of the mountain of questions he’s always had for Suguru following being ghosted by him,
he now has even more questions.

And he won’t be satisfied until those questions are answered.

Chapter End Notes

thanks for reading! please let me know if you enjoyed this first chapter and are
interested in seeing where this story goes!
 revelation
Chapter Notes

tw; angst, brief mention of past self harm

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The King’s Parade is one of Gomari’s many traditions.

It is said that centuries ago, the Alpha King fled to an unassuming island after his snow palace in
modern-day Hokkaido was successfully besieged by enemy forces.

He wanted to die fighting as a true warrior should but his mother’s dying wish was for him to
survive so he did.

Nearing death, the Alpha King stumbled upon Gomari’s shores and fell into the arms of one of the
island’s natives; a young and beautiful omega by the name of Aimi.

The beach where the young king found a new home and met the future love of his life is where the
parade starts. The parade ends at the base of the island’s largest mountain.

Dressed in traditional garbs, Satoru, along with his unwilling guest of honor, sit in a drawn carriage
as they make their way through the island.

All of it feels like a blur to Satoru who is still reeling from his encounter with Suguru. Even though
he’s smiling and waving and portraying himself as happy-go-lucky, on the inside he’s anything
but.

On the inside, he’s a twisted and gnarled ball of negative emotions. He feels sick and his hands are
clammy but he just keeps smiling.

It reminds him of his time in Los Angeles.

During post-game interviews, press conferences, and even outings with his teammates, Satoru
never showed his true feelings. He was always high-spirited, the life of the party. He was the
person everyone liked.

At least he thought he was that kind of person. But seeing that Sukuna and a few people from
university are the only close friends he has, perhaps he wasn’t as well-liked as he thought.

Actually, Satoru knows for a fact that he wasn’t as well-liked as he thought he was.

There was a time when he used to think that as long as Suguru liked him, nothing else mattered.
Maybe that's why losing Suguru was as impactful as losing his father was.

Satoru’s eyes sting. He stretches his smile until the corners of his mouth hurt and he blinks rapidly
to keep tears from falling.

No, he can’t open that door. He’d rather not.

He should focus on the parade instead.

The island looks beautiful at night especially with lit lanterns lining the main road and Ezokanzos
scattered about. There’s a lot to love about Gomari, and it took him leaving for a while and coming
back to realize that. He used to count down the days until he could kiss Gomari and its close-
minded people goodbye.

But in retrospect, the people aren't close-minded for not ever wanting to leave this island. After
seeing what the world has to offer, Satoru can see why people would prefer to stay right where they
are.

Did Suguru ever leave? If so, where did he end up going? Did he get pregnant in university?

Satoru has to take a moment to let that sink in.

Suguru was pregnant at some point.

Suguru carried twin girls for nine months - possibly more because male omegas tend to have longer
pregnancies than female omegas - and he gave birth.

It’s still a hard pill to swallow. Had he not heard the twins call Suguru ‘mommy’ he wouldn’t have
believed it.

Who is the father of Suguru’s twins? Is Suguru still with him? What if the twins’ father is some
lowlife?

Is that why Suguru cut him off? Was he afraid that Satoru was going to judge him for getting
knocked up by some loser?

“That wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be,” Sukuna says, his voice pulling Satoru out of his spiraling
thoughts, leaving him dizzy.

Satoru blinks hard to adjust his eyes.

He looks over his shoulder, feeling like he’s fresh off a Saturday-night bender. They’re already at
the base of the mountain with the lit island at their backs.

“I told you it wouldn’t be bad,” Satoru says, putting on a forced smile. “Don’t act like you didn’t
bask in all of that attention.”

“Hm. What about you? I know you enjoyed this little ego stroke.”

Truthfully, the parade is already a distant memory. But he doesn’t tell Sukuna that.

Soon they’re approached by some of the locals, mainly old folks who talk about how much Satoru
has grown since they’ve last seen him. Naturally, he’s scolded for not visiting more, and his father
is brought up more times than he can stomach.

He knows that they’re only trying to keep the mood light by speaking of his father in a positive
light but even the good memories sit bitterly on his stomach.

By the end of it all, Satoru needs to escape.

“Head in. I’ll meet back up with you later. There’s something I need to do.”

Sukuna looks away from the wooden gate that leads into the Gojo estate, staring at Satoru
blankly.

“Meeting up with an old fling?”

Satoru puts on his cheesiest grin, wagging his eyebrows for added effect. “Possibly.”

Sukuna looks as if he wants to say more but he doesn’t. He definitely knows Satoru is lying. But
instead of prying, he nods and then enters the gate, leaving Satoru alone with his overbearing
thoughts.

There are only two bars on the island, a family-owned convenience store that sells alcohol, and a
shady Wine & Spirits store that is more than likely a front for money laundering.

Since Satoru doesn’t want to run into anyone who will know him, he goes to the shady
establishment. He pops in, gets what he needs, and leaves.

Gomari has a secret beach that’s not really a beach at all. It’s a cove on the far east side of the
island that’s nestled inside crescent-shaped rocks.

According to the etchings on the walls of the nearby caves, the Alpha King and Aimi met at the
secret beach nightly. Because of this, the cove is considered one of the most romantic locations on
the island.

He and Suguru used to hang out at the secret beach a lot. The romantic aspect never played a part
in why they visited, obviously. They just needed breaks from their families sometimes. It was their
safe haven, and most of Satoru's fondest memories took place at the secret beach.

It makes sense for him to go there now. He sits on the cool sand, beneath the moonlight, drinking
straight from a bottle of vodka because he’s feeling desperate.

He hates this feeling. What he hates more than this feeling of desperation is what it turns him into.
Gojo Satoru isn't a drunk. He isn’t a smoker. He isn’t a sexual deviant or anything of the sort.

Cut, clean, and put together — that’s what Satoru is. At least that’s how he used to be before
everything went to shit.

He hates that something has this much control over him to the point where he can’t function
properly without it. It didn’t use to be like this, and whenever he tries to pinpoint the moment in his
life where things went south his memory is all fuzzy.

Was it his father’s death? Or was it Suguru’s departure from his life? It was possibly both reasons.
He lost two major support systems. Two people who meant everything to him.

They still mean everything to him. Even though he and Suguru are on the worst terms right now
and he didn’t make things better by blowing up earlier, he can’t find it in himself to hate Suguru or
even wish ill on him.

He just wants to know why.

A million and one reasons run through his head as he slowly poisons his body. His eyes are blurred
and watery as he stares at the rolling waves as they playfully push and pull against the shore.

But he can’t really see the waves. All he sees are two young boys full of bright energy, swimming
and laughing.
Their second genders never interfered with their friendship. Class differences didn’t mean a thing
to them, either.

So what could’ve come between them?

Maybe something happened at the graduation party. Then again, Suguru didn’t show up to the
party. Maybe something happened at graduation.

But what?

Every scenario, every possibility all ends with Satoru being the main cause for why Suguru felt the
need to cut him off.

What in the hell did he do to Suguru?

After a while, Satoru can no longer feel his face nor can he form a coherent thought so he has no
choice but to put an end to his incessant thoughts about his former best friend.

He lays down on the sand and closes his eyes to steady himself, the gentle sea breeze a welcome
caress on his skin. He tells himself that he’ll only rest his eyes for a little but he ends up falling
asleep.

“I had a feeling you would be here…”

Satoru’s eyes pop open. His vision is blurry at first but gradually he can make out the picture
before him. Seeing long black hair, he smiles slowly and closes his eyes again.

“Is that why you came?” he asks. He licks his lips, and a small knot forms in his throat before he
swallows it down and whispers, “Suguru.”

Suguru is quiet for so long that Satoru thinks he left him again. Afraid, he opens his eyes.

No, Suguru is still there. Thankfully.

He’s staring down at Satoru with an unreadable expression on his pretty face. He looks like an
angel with the moon at his back, the silver rays outlining his form like a halo of light.

This is a dream, Satoru tells himself. Suguru isn’t really here. All of his overthinking and
overanalyzing of past events has conjured this mirage of Suguru.

“When did you start drinking?” Suguru asks. He kneels beside Satoru and pries the bottle of vodka
out of his hands. He sniffs the bottle and scrunches up his face. “You almost finished this whole
bottle off by yourself…” He looks surprised and even disappointed.

Satoru smiles like an idiot when Suguru dusts sand out of his hair. “Suguru...you haven’t changed
one bit.” Suguru is still caring and considerate, that is. “Well...you sure don’t look the same.
You’ve always been cute but now...but now…” He tries to sit up to get a better look at Suguru.

“Easy there,” Suguru says, placing gentle hands on Satoru’s shoulders. “You’re drunk. No sudden
movements, okay?”

“Okay.” Satoru basks in the feeling of Suguru’s hands on him for as long as he can, which isn’t
long because Suguru’s hands don’t linger longer than necessary. The loss of contact sends him
panicking. “Please...don’t leave me again...Suguru, please stay.”

Again, Suguru is quiet.

Satoru fears that Suguru has already left and his eyes begin to prick with tears. Good dreams never
last long. Every time he has a good dream, he ends up waking up sooner than he’d like but
whenever he’s having a nightmare, it’s difficult to wake up.

Satoru won’t allow this dream to end, however. He holds on to it for as long as he can. He reaches
through the thick haze of his mind and pulls Suguru back to him.

It takes a lot out of him to do so. He’s dizzy and nauseous from the strain but it’s worth it because
soon his nostrils are filled with the sweet scent of honeysuckle.

This is Suguru’s scent. At least that is what it smells like to Satoru.

“Suguru…” Satoru murmurs as he feels himself being carried. Blinking rapidly, he adjusts his
gaze. He’s no longer on the beach. He’s on a road that has a single streetlight lit. He has his arm on
Suguru’s shoulders and they’re both walking; he’s stumbling. “Where are we going?” he asks.

“I told myself I’d never do this again. Yet here I am being stupid...again…”

Do what again? Satoru has never been drunk around Suguru. Satoru has never been in a state where
Suguru had to help him anywhere. What is so stupid about what’s happening now? Perhaps Suguru
is referring to something else entirely.

Dreams never make sense so he shouldn’t bother trying to make sense of this dream. He’s just
happy that Suguru is here and they’re not fighting. Closing his eyes, Satoru breathes in Suguru’s
scent and tries his best to keep his feet moving. He’s afraid that if he trips and falls he’ll force
himself to wake up.

“Do you remember...do you remember when you were chosen to play Aimi in the school’s play?”
Satoru asks, smiling to himself as the memory plays on in his head. “And Kamo Noritoshi was
chosen as the Alpha King...when we learned that there was a kiss scene, we devised a plan to make
sure that scene never happened.”

Right at the moment when Suguru and Kamo were about to kiss, Satoru and some of his friends
released two cages full of chickens into the auditorium.

It took nearly an hour for the teachers and some parents to collect all of the chickens as well as
calm down those who were worked up over the fiasco.

Even though Satoru was suspended for a couple of days and his father made him do yard chores
for two weeks as punishment, it was worth it.

“You devised that plan on your own,” Suguru says. It’s difficult to tell if he’s amused or not. His
face is shrouded by his hair and his voice sounds as though it’s coming from far away. “I told you
not to do it.”

Now that Satoru thinks about it, he did come up with that plan on his own and made his other
friends carry it out with him. Suguru told him not to do it but Satoru did it anyway because…

“You didn’t want to kiss that asshole,” Satoru says because that’s how he remembers it. “I was
doing you a favor.”

“No, you didn’t want me to kiss him.”

Is that what it was? If that’s the case, Satoru obviously didn’t want Suguru to kiss Kamo because
deep down Suguru didn’t want his first kiss to be with someone he didn’t like in front of half of the
island. And Satoru knew that. He interfered because that’s what good friends do.

Wrong, a voice in the back of Satoru’s mind says. That isn’t why you interfered, and you know it.

“Why did it matter to you anyway?” Suguru asks.

Satoru feels as though the world is tilting. He opens his eyes and is met by Suguru’s face. They’re
no longer walking on the road, but he doesn’t have a clue where they are now. He feels like he’s
laying down on a rocky surface.

“Why did you care if Kamo and I kissed?” Suguru shakes his head. “Forget it. None of that matters
anymore.”

“I didn’t want him to kiss you,” Satoru blurts. “I... I didn’t like it…” He didn’t like the idea of
Suguru and Kamo kissing. He didn’t like the idea of anyone kissing Suguru. “It’s not right…” He
stares at Suguru’s lips.

Were they always this full and pink? Did they always look this soft?

Suguru sighs as if he’s at his limit. Yet, he still asks, “What isn’t right?”

“You kissing people…” Who aren't me. “It’s just not right…” Satoru reaches out and curls his
fingers through Suguru’s hair, bringing the ends up to his nose for a sniff. “How did you get this
scent, Suguru? You didn't use to have one."

For a moment, it looks as if Suguru is going to cry. His eyes are watery and his mouth is pinched.
But then his eyes crystalize, turning into cold amethyst. Sadness is replaced by anger in a literal
blink of an eye.

“You gave it to me,” Suguru says.

Then he leaves, and everything is dark and cold.

The dream ends.

In the morning, Satoru has a nasty hangover and a pissed-off Sukuna who’s giving him evil eyes
during breakfast.

His mother made sure food was prepared for them before she left to attend a meeting with her
Shogi club. They have a full spread in front of them, and Satoru has black coffee with painkillers
on the side.

An All-Star breakfast.

He has no recollection of the night prior but he can faintly remember his dream. When he woke up
earlier that morning, he was in his room, laying on top of his covers, still dressed in the traditional
clothing he wore in the parade.

After showering, he found Sukuna already in the kitchen eating.

Sukuna hasn’t spoken a word to him but the mean looks he’s sending Satoru’s way say a lot.
Deciding that he can no longer take the silent treatment, Satoru decides to see exactly what the
issue is.

“What did I do this time?” he asks, sighing. He pops his painkillers and washes them down with
coffee.

“How are you so lucky?”

“Excuse me?”

“You have a lovely mother who doesn’t give you crap, a small town that you can be proud of, and
the ability to have beautiful omegas carry your drunk ass home!”

Satoru has no idea where all of this is coming from. “Are you envious of me?” he asks, snorting.
“Okay, my mom is great and Gomari isn’t nearly as embarrassing as some small towns are but that
last part has me confused.”

“You don’t remember a literal goddess dropping you off at home early in the morning? I helped
them carry you through the gates and…” Sukuna stops himself. Smiling, he says, “Actually, if you
don’t remember I won’t bother refreshing your memory because who forgets something like that?”

To be fair, Satoru was piss drunk last night. He only remembers going to the cove and having a
dream of Suguru.

Did he end up stumbling into a bar and picking someone up? That sounds like something he would
do, honestly. He wishes he could remember what happened.

It’s not wise for a professional athlete to be careless like that which is why he’s been actively
trying to quit drinking. He recognizes that he has a problem and wants to fix it.

“Sukuna, you act as if you can’t get anyone you want,” Satoru says, laughing the whole thing off.
He’ll figure out who the mysterious goddess is later. “How many goddesses have you bagged
yourself?”

“Zero. I’m still single.”

“Do you even want a relationship? I thought you loved the bachelor lifestyle.”

“You’re confusing me with yourself.” Sukuna picks up his coffee mug and sips. “Anyway, we’re
going to the spa and the beach today. I’m still in need of relaxation.”

It’s not that Satoru loves the bachelor lifestyle. For now, this lifestyle is safer for him. He doesn’t
have to worry about attachments and responsibilities to anyone else but himself, his family, and his
career. A relationship would be too much to juggle.

Has Satoru thought about one day settling down and having a family of his own? Of course, he
has.

He used to think about it a lot when he was younger but these days he can’t envision that future for
himself as easily as he used to. Still, there are rare moments when he sees himself as a father with
pups running around the place.

The face of his wife is always blank but the likeness of them is always reminiscent of a person he
used to know.

...

“While it’s not Aruba, it’s not half-bad, I suppose,” Sukuna says as he makes himself comfortable
on his beach towel. He wears a content expression as he looks around the beach.

With it being a weekday, the beach isn’t as packed as it is on the weekends but there’s a decent
amount of people out. Satoru and Sukuna are under a big, blue umbrella, lounging on their newly
bought beach towels, sipping on refreshing drinks from their faux coconut cups.

Blue skies without any chances of rain, a fine breeze constantly blowing in from the sea, and the
delectable scent of grilled meat in the air make for a great day at the beach.

Their trip to the spa was good. They both got full-body massages, and Satoru beat his hangover.
For the remainder of the day, they’re going to lounge on the beach, drink, eat, and enjoy the
scenery.

Since Satoru didn’t get much rest last night, he dozes off after an hour or so passes.

When he wakes up, the beach is livelier than it was when he fell asleep, and Sukuna is no longer
around.

He assumes Sukuna went to grab food or maybe he’s out swimming. He checks his phone to see if
anyone has messaged him.

There are a lot of alerts from sports and news apps with a handful of messages from the team’s
main group chat. In the group chat, some of his teammates are sharing pictures from their
vacations. Satoru will have to force Sukuna to take a selfie with him later so that they can send it in
the chat. No one will be able to tell if they’re in Aruba or not, he reasons.

Eventually, Sukuna returns.

“Are you going to go over and speak?” Sukuna asks as he sits down on his towel.

Satoru looks up from his phone. “Speak to who?”

“Your goddess from last night.”

Sukuna points to an umbrella that is further down from where they are but close enough for them
to get a good look at the occupants. Leaning forward, Satoru has a closer look. When he sees
Suguru in a bikini with a sheer wrap around his waist that only barely covers his ass, his jaw
drops.

“Damn,” Satoru mutters to himself. “He’s really changed…”

“Who?”

“Suguru...I mean Geto.”

Sukuna does a double-take. “Which one is Geto?” he asks.

Now Satoru notices the omega who was at the Suguru residence yesterday. He’s never seen him
before. He’s attractive as well. Both of the omegas are wearing bikinis but Suguru’s friend is
wearing a full mesh cover-up that doesn’t hide a thing. What makes the omegas so sexy is that
they’re clearly not trying to appear sexy or draw attention to themselves.

“Long hair,” Satoru replies to Sukuna’s question. He sees Suguru bend over to take a towel out of a
big bag. “Nice ass…” He unconsciously licks his lips.

“That’s your childhood best friend who you said you weren’t attracted to?!” Sukuna asks, his voice
louder than it needs to be. “That’s him?!”

Satoru shoves Sukuna to quiet him down. He doesn’t want Suguru to notice that he’s here just yet.

“Yeah, that’s him. I’m not sure who his friend is...”

“Another goddess,” Sukuna says, sounding ticked off. “You do not deserve anything that you
have.”

“What the hell?” Satoru asks incredulously. “What did I do this time?”

They’re both still watching the omegas because it’s hard to look away. Now the omegas are both
laying out beach towels, and sitting out a colorful set of beach toys; a bucket, a small shovel, and
plastic seashells.

Sukuna says, “You mean to tell me that he was your best friend for years and you weren’t attracted
to him?”

“He didn’t look like that!”

“How did he look? Show me because I’m about to get pissed off.”

Satoru takes out his phone. He remembers his mother sent him an old picture of him and Suguru
when they were just entering high school. He couldn’t look at the picture without his chest aching
so he replied with a generic response and closed out of the message thread. It takes a lot of
scrolling but he finds the picture.

“He looked like this all throughout high school,” he says, showing the picture to Sukuna. “He
always wore loose clothes, never styled his hair, and didn’t like that he was an omega. The only
time he got all dolled up was for a school play.”

That was actually the first time Satoru say Suguru in a dress with his hair styled and his face done
up. He looked beautiful on that day, and Satoru was too embarrassed to admit it.

Slowly, Sukuna looks away from the picture to stare blankly at Satoru’s face. A visible vein can be
seen twitching on his neck. “All I see is an attractive omega and an idiot.”

Satoru sighs. “I never said he was ugly. He never has been. He just...wasn’t my type, I guess.” He
shrugs.

“He’s your type now, obviously. Is that why you hooked up with him last night?”

“What?!” Just then, Satoru remembers what Sukuna said about Suguru being his ‘goddess’ from
last night. “Wait...Suguru...Suguru was the beautiful omega who helped me home last night?”

Sukuna rolls his eyes. “Yes, he helped your heavy ass up all of those steps. I was going for a walk
and saw him struggling to open the gate while keeping you from falling over so I ran over to
help.”

So, that dream Satoru had last night was real? Satoru doesn’t remember much of it but he
remembers enough to make him want to disappear off the face of the planet. Another thing…

“We didn’t hook up,” Satoru says, wanting to make that painfully clear.

“Never?”
“No, of course not.”

“Hm.” Sukuna appears to be in deep thought as he continues to stare at the unsuspecting omegas.
“But his scent... never mind.” He moves to sit up. “Well, since you’re not going to make a move, I
will. Before I do, are you sure you won’t care if I fuck your old best friend?”

Satoru’s brain short-circuits. “What?” he asks quietly. Because he knows that isn’t what he really
heard. “You want to...fuck Suguru?”

“Why wouldn’t I want to?” Sukuna tilts his head curiously. “If you don’t want me to, I’ll lay off.
But you don’t seem to care so I assumed-”

“I don’t care,” he cuts in irately. “We aren’t a thing and we’re not even friends anymore. I
just...well, he has kids.” Satoru doesn’t know why he’s even sharing this information. What does it
have to do with Sukuna and Suguru hooking up? It’s just sex, not a committed relationship. Even
still. “Twin girls, to be precise.”

Sukuna thinks it over. Then he shrugs. “I love Milfs,” he says, smirking. “Besides, I hear omegan
mothers have the best pussy-”

Satoru bares his fangs before he even realizes it, and he snarls deep in his chest, his eyes burning
electric blue. “Stay away from Suguru,” he says threateningly.

The tension in the air is thick enough to cut through it with a knife. Satoru’s aggressive scent fills
the air, catching the attention of nearby alphas and omegas. Even Suguru and his friend are looking
around trying to figure out where that intimidating scent is coming from.

“I knew it,” Sukuna says with a smug grin. “Honestly, I think Geto-san is gorgeous but his friend is
more my type. I was going over there for him. But it’s fun seeing you show your true feelings like
this.” He calmly removes Satoru’s hand from his arm; his nails are digging into Sukuna’s skin.
“With the way you’re prepared to rip my throat out over this, one would think Geto-san was your
mate. Are you sure there isn’t more between you two?”

Satoru blinks, and he retracts his fangs. Now that he knows Sukuna isn’t going to make a move on
Suguru, he’s more relaxed than he previously was. He laughs good-naturedly as though none of
that just occurred. “No, we’re just ex-friends. That’s it. I just...Suguru seems to be afraid of alphas
these days...I didn’t want you to frighten him.”

“Hm. He didn’t appear to be frightened of me last night but what do I know?” Sukuna gets up and
dusts sand off his swim trunks. “Anyway, I’m going to go try my luck with his friend.”

“Godspeed.”

When Sukuna walks off, Satoru takes a deep breath and combs his fingers through his hair. He
really lost it back there. There was a strong part of him that wanted to rip Sukuna’s arm off, too. He
hasn’t been that outwardly aggressive toward another alpha since...well, he honestly can’t
remember. He’s never been that territorial either.

Satoru just thinks he’s on edge. He decides to go grab himself some food. Maybe he's just hangry.
It’s been a while since he had breakfast, after all.

The food lines aren’t that long, luckily. While Satoru stands in line, he thinks about last night.
Suguru helped him home. He shouldered him from the secret beach all the way up the mountain.
That isn’t something a person who hates him would do. It makes him wonder how Suguru feels
about him now. He wants to try to talk to Suguru again but it feels like a bad idea.
“I heard you were in town but I couldn’t believe it.”

Turning around, Satoru smiles at the sight of Geto Shiori. Then he looks down and sees two pups
standing on either side of Shiori. Suguru’s twins are peeking up at him. The blonde one is glaring
at him and the black-haired one looks away quickly when she sees him looking.

“Shiori, how’s it been?” Satoru asks, still staring at the blonde twin. Both girls are adorable in their
swimsuits and their arm floaties.

“Good,” Shiori says. “How long are you in town for?”

Satoru finally looks back at Shiori. She’s still pretty like she was in high school but he has to admit
that Suguru has surpassed his older sister in terms of looks. Shiori has her black hair cut short and
her eyes are brown instead of purple like Suguru’s.

“Just for a week. You?”

“I live here now. I moved back a month ago to work at the onsen.”

“My teammate and I were there earlier. You’re a masseuse?”

Shiori nods. “Yeah, the whole modeling thing didn’t work out and I dropped out of university and
never went back.” She glances down at the twins. “But we can catch up later. I promised to take
the girls out on the water.”

“I won’t hold you up then. I’ll be seeing you.”

“Heard you dropped by the house yesterday,” Shiori says. She grimaces. “I also heard it didn’t go
too well.” She looks as if she has more to say but she shakes her head. “We’ll talk later. See you,
Satoru.”

Satoru watches her walk off with the twins.

Obviously, Suguru’s mother and his sister want to talk to him more. Since they don’t hate him that
either means he isn’t the reason why Suguru cut them all off or they don't know the full story.
Maybe if he sits down with Shiori he can get down to the bottom of all of this.

Then again, Satoru doesn’t want to get the scoop from anyone else. He wants Suguru to talk to him
directly but that seems highly unlikely.

After ordering food - he gets some for Sukuna too - Satoru returns to their umbrella. Sukuna is
back from his daring attempt at hitting on Suguru’s friend.

“How’d it go?” Satoru asks, handing Sukuna his food.

Sukuna gratefully accepts the food. “I was rejected,” he says, smiling.

“You don’t seem too upset about that.”

“I haven’t been rejected since junior high. It felt good to be humbled.”

“You’re very strange, Sukuna.”

The remainder of their time at the beach goes according to plan for the most part. Soon, some of
the local men ask them if they want to even up the teams for a volleyball match and they agree to
join.
While they play, Satoru occasionally looks over to where Suguru and his friend are helping the
twins build a sandcastle. He doesn’t know why he’s so drawn to what they’re doing.

It could be because he misses Suguru and wants to know more about what he’s been up to but this
level of watching is a bit much. He even messes up during the game a couple of times because his
attention is elsewhere.

When one of the players hits the ball too hard and it flies over to where Suguru and his daughters
are, Satoru immediately rushes over to warn them. The ball is hurtling toward the twins, and
something inside of Satoru kicks into protective mode.

But thankfully, Suguru notices the ball in time and he smacks it out of the way, protecting his girls.
He smacks it hard enough to send it flying perfectly into Satoru’s hands.

They share a look after that. It’s full of unspoken words and unreadable eyes and so much tension.
Then the twins clap their hands excitedly, putting an end to the trance.

A “So cool, Mommy!” from one of the twins can be heard.

And Suguru looks away from Satoru to smile at his girls. Numbly, Satoru walks back to where
everyone is waiting to continue the game.

He was genuinely afraid that the ball was going to hit those girls. It wouldn’t have killed them
obviously, but it would’ve hurt like hell and the idea of them being hurt…

Shaking his head, Satoru focuses his full attention on the game from that point on.

The game ends. Sukuna’s team wins, and Sukuna brags about it all the way back to their umbrella.
Neither of them is particularly good at volleyball but they know the basics enough to play the
game obviously. Sukuna wants to play again tomorrow, and he wants to stop by the recreational
center as well to see what other sports activities they offer.

“Incoming,” Sukuna suddenly says, bringing Satoru’s attention back to him.

Looking up, Satoru’s heart skips a beat when he sees Suguru approaching. He’s wondering if
Suguru is here to yell at him about the ball incident from earlier or if he’s ticked off that Satoru
kept staring at him.

“Can I talk to you?” Suguru asks, looking at Satoru.

Nodding, Satoru gets up. He follows Suguru away from the umbrella. They walk near the entrance
of the beach, far away from everyone else.

“Thank you for last night, by the way,” Satoru says as an ice breaker of sorts. “Sorry, you had to
put up with that.”

“It’s fine.” Suguru shrugs. “That isn’t what I want to talk about, though. About yesterday...that isn’t
how I wanted things to go. I was surprised by your visit and also overwhelmed.”

“I understand. I’m sorry for blowing up like that.”

Suguru crosses his arms, and when he does so it draws Satoru's attention to his body. He catches a
glimpse of a pink scar on Suguru’s lower abdomen. He stares at it, trying to make out what
could’ve caused it.
Noticing his stare, Suguru self-consciously covers his stomach by pulling up the wrap he’s
wearing. He shifts uncomfortably. “Well, that’s all I wanted to talk about,” he says. He looks like
he’s going to make a run for it.

“Suguru,” Satoru says quietly. He takes a step closer but still keeps enough distance between them.
“Do you have any plans tonight? I’d like to take you out to dinner. We could catch up…”

Suguru looks as if he’s about to turn his offer down.

So, Satoru continues, “We don’t have to talk about anything heavy, okay? You don’t have to share
anything you don’t want to. I just...I want to know how you’re doing. I want to talk to you in a
comfortable setting.”

“Okay,” Suguru says. He nods as if he’s trying to further convince himself that this is an okay idea.
“We can do that, sure.”

“Can I have your number? It’d be easier to make plans that way.”

“Just tell me the time and place.”

Satoru kind of figured that Suguru wouldn’t give him his number. “I hear they opened up a new
restaurant on the west beach.” That’s where most of the tourists go. “Meet me there at 8?”

“I’ll be there.”

The restaurant is nothing special. Not to Satoru who has seen a lot of the world and wined and
dined at Michelin restaurants, but in terms of Gomari’s standards the restaurant is practically high-
end.

For privacy’s sake, Satoru makes sure they’re given a table in the back where the lights are
dimmer. They also have a view of the beach from the full wall window.

Satoru was worried that Suguru was going to stand him up but Suguru showed up a couple of
minutes after 8, dressed in a little black dress that hugged every dip and curve. His hair is pulled up
in a top bun, drawing attention to his long neck. His jewelry is simple and tasteful.

There’s a gold, heart-shaped locket around Suguru’s neck. Satoru assumes that there’s a picture of
each twin inside of the locket.

Wow, Suguru is really a mother. He doesn't think he's ever going to get over that.

“I ordered a bottle for the table already. I hope that’s alright.”

Suguru raises a fine brow. “Do you drink often?” he asks.

“Casually.”

“I remember when you didn’t drink at all.”

“Life happened,” Satoru says as a joke. “Have you picked up any new habits?” He wants to get to
know the person Suguru is now.

Suguru shakes his head. But then he smiles to himself. “Actually, I’ve developed a sweet tooth.”

“You? Really? That's my thing." He chuckles.

“Yeah. Nanako has one and I’m trying to break it but it’s hard because I also can’t resist whenever
we pass a bakery.”

“Nanako?”

“My daughter…” Suguru stares at him, face giving nothing away. “She has light hair. Mimiko has
dark hair.”

Satoru wants to ask about their father but he doesn’t. He has to take very small baby steps. “Cute. I
hear sweets make kids really hyper. You see what happened to me when I had my first cookie at
your house that one day.” He smiles.

“My mother had no idea that you couldn’t have sweets. She unlocked a new world for you.”

"And I thank her for that every day."

This is going pretty well, Satoru thinks.

He just has to keep the conversation light, and he can’t ask too many questions about Suguru
directly. Omegas are like injured animals whenever they feel cornered. They’ll viciously lash out
and/or close themselves off. He has to dig without making it obvious that he’s digging.

Soon, their server comes and takes their orders. Satoru is happy to see that Suguru ordered the
exact thing he expected him to order. Some things are still the same despite how much that has
changed.

He still knows Suguru but there is a lot that is unrecognizable to him. For example, Suguru is
fidgety now. He’s constantly tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear or chewing his bottom
lip. Is he only nervous about dinner or are these nervous traits he’s developed over the years?

“I work for a television series doing costume designs,” Suguru says after Satoru inquires about his
career. “The show wasn’t renewed and there are only a couple of episodes left so I’ll be moving on
to a new project next month.”

“That’s great. It sounds right up your alley, too. Did you study that in university?”

“I’m still completing my degree. I got this job because Megumi has connections in television.”

“I’m assuming that’s your friend who’s here with you.”

“Yes, it is.”

Their food is brought out. Suguru doesn’t touch his wine but he drinks a lot of water. He doesn’t
seem to have an appetite either but he eats albeit slowly. At least he doesn’t smell distressed or
anxious. He’s a lot calmer than he was yesterday which is a relief.

“How did you two meet?” Satoru asks, taking a sip of his wine.

Suguru stares at his food. But he’s clearly not seeing the food. His mind is elsewhere, in a different
time and place. “Three years ago, Megumi did a lot of volunteer work at...shelters. That was how
we met.” He picks up his wine glass with shaky hands and brings it up to his lips for a drink.

Frowning, Satoru reaches across the table. His hand stops short of where Suguru’s hand is. “What
kind of shelter?” he asks.

“He volunteered at a lot of shelters.”

“But the one where you two met was for…?”

Suguru takes another sip of wine before answering. “Omegas who were fresh out of abusive
relationships.” He looks at Satoru, his eyes watery. “I need to powder my nose. I’ll be back.”

“I hope you mean that in a metaphorical way,” Satoru says with a nervous chuckle. He’s still
allowing what Suguru just told him to sink in. “When I was in L.A. that phrase was rarely said
metaphorically.”

“I bet,” Suguru says as he eases out of his seat. He turns and heads toward the front of the
restaurant in the direction of the restroom.

For whatever reason, Satoru’s eyes immediately go to the nape of Suguru’s neck rather than to his
ass. To be fair, he’s admiring all of Suguru but there’s something about an omega’s exposed scent
glands that's going to always catch an alpha’s attention over anything else.

Even though Suguru has loose strands of hair partially covering his scent glands, enough is left
exposed for Satoru to see a deep scar on the glands.

Does Suguru have a mating mark?

Well, that sours Satoru’s mood nearly as much as the idea of Suguru living at a shelter for abused
omegas does. Was Suguru in an abusive relationship or was he also there volunteering? He didn’t
specify. But his change in mood when he talked about that is an obvious hint at it being the
former.

Every piece of food, every sip of wine, sits bitterly in Satoru’s mouth before he swallows. Did
some asshole really abuse Suguru? And who in the hell marked him? Satoru tries to reel in his
anger for Suguru’s sake.

That’s if Suguru actually comes back.

Minutes tick by. Satoru is starting to get antsy. Maybe he pushed too far. Maybe this whole
“catching up” thing isn’t going to work out for them, after all.

Satoru is considering ordering another bottle to take home when Suguru returns.

“Sorry about that,” Suguru says as he sits down. “I had to check in on my girls.” He tucks hair
behind his ear and offers Satoru an apologetic smile.

“I thought you ditched me, honestly.”

“I almost did. This is...really hard for me.”

“Is there any way that I can make it easier?”

Suguru shakes his head. “No, this is good. We need to talk.” He looks around. “This just isn’t the
best place. I thought it would be but…”

“Suguru-”

“Please don’t address me that way.” Suguru closes his eyes and sighs. “Please, let’s keep it strictly
formal.”

It’s now that Satoru notices that Suguru hasn’t addressed him by name once.
That’s what really drives the harsh truth home for him. They’re no longer friends. They’re not even
acquaintances. All they have left is shared memories that don’t hold an ounce of weight in their
lives now.

“Okay, cool.” Satoru looks at Suguru’s plate. A lot of the food remains untouched. “You clearly
don’t have an appetite. So, how about I close the check and we go somewhere else and talk?”

“You don’t have to pay for me.”

Disregarding that, Satoru flags down their server. When the woman comes to their table, he tells
her that she can charge his card for the entire meal. She walks off to take care of that.

“I see you still do whatever you want,” Suguru says under his breath.

“It appears that between the two of us I’m the one who’s changed the least.” Aside from the
drinking, Satoru is the same as he used to be.

Suguru snorts. “That’s one of the reasons why I don’t want to bother talking to you about this. If
you’re the same Gojo Satoru from back then…” He clenches his jaw shut. “Nevermind. Actually,
let’s just forget about all this.” He scoots his seat back with force.

Hostile, defensive, and irritable on top of being akin to a brick wall in terms of conversation right
now. What in the fuck is going on? Why is Suguru so angry at him?

As Suguru is walking off, his heels clicking on the shiny floors of the restaurant, Satoru sees the
server heading their way. He gets up and follows after Suguru. When he passes the server, he
politely takes his card out of her hand.

“Initially, I wasn’t going to pry anymore,” Satoru says once they’re both outside the restaurant.
He’s standing right behind Suguru, close enough to have a better look at the nape of his neck. “I
was going to let you slowly open up to me but that didn’t get me anywhere. So, I’ll ask you straight
up, who marked you? Is that same alpha the reason why you had to live in that shelter?”

Suguru whips his head around sharply. “I never said I lived in that shelter!” he snaps. He turns
back around and tries to flag down one of the few taxis that are on the island.

“Suguru, who are you trying to fool here? You’re exhibiting all of the signs of an omega who's
suffered past abuse.”

“Mr. Basketball star is also a psychologist. Who would’ve thought?”

“Sarcasm is another indicator-”

“Fuck you, Satoru!”

“Oh, wow. So, you do remember my name?” Satoru fires back.

A taxi pulls up to the curb. But Suguru doesn’t immediately get in. Instead, he turns around and
faces Satoru again, his gaze piercing.

“That’s not the only thing I remember either,” Suguru says, taking a step closer, getting up in
Satoru’s face. This close his beauty is unshakeable, and it leaves Satoru momentarily speechless. “I
vividly remember you groaning your girlfriend’s name in my ear while you fucked me.”

Satoru frowns deeply. “Huh?”

 Suguru smirks and shakes his head incredulously. “I thought alphas could recognize their own
mark. I guess not.” He shrugs. “No matter how deep I cut, I couldn’t remove it. But I can see it
didn’t take much for you to cut the memory of that night out of your mind!”

And then Suguru leaves on that brutal note.

Satoru watches the taxi cab drive down the road and eventually disappear around a corner. He
continues staring until his eyes burn. Long after that, he just keeps staring.

Because that’s all he can do after being hit with that revelation.

Chapter End Notes

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this chapter lmk <3

 revisit
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Step one is admitting you need help or something along those lines.

Instead of making another trip to the shady Wine & Spirits store, Satoru goes home to his mother.
He finds her and Sukuna in the tea room that has a window that overlooks the orchard.

His mother is in the middle of boasting to Sukuna about how her plum trees are thriving under her
magnificent green thumb when Satoru walks in.

Sukuna is admiring the plum trees and asking for tips on how to maintain his own orchard, and
while it’s wholesome seeing the usually agitated alpha being calm around his mother, Satoru can’t
take the time to even appreciate this moment.

Suguru’s words are still echoing in his head.

Choi takes one look at her son, and her smile fades. “Satoru?” she asks, setting her teacup on its
saucer. She rises to her feet. “What’s wrong?”

There is so much wrong that Satoru doesn’t know where to begin. Every time he tries to speak, his
throat tightens and his eyes burn. He shakes his head, unable to form a word.

Choi walks over to Satoru and takes him by the arm. “Excuse us, Ryomen-san.”

“Take your time,” Sukuna says.

As they leave the tea room, Satoru tries to calm his breathing down to no avail. His heartbeat keeps
rising higher and higher, thundering in his chest, making it impossible for him to gain control. His
palms are sweaty and it feels as though walls are closing in on him.

He doesn’t want to put his full weight on his mother but his legs are trembling and he fears he’s
going to fall over at any moment. But Choi is stronger than she looks. It’s a fact he’s always
known. She shoulders him without issue and they walk down the hall.

This was bound to happen.

All of this has been building inside of him long before the revelation from Suguru. Ever since his
father passed away he’s been tip-toeing on the line of “barely making it” and “fucking losing it.”

Choi guides him into the closest room. Once they’re inside, Satoru’s nostrils are filled with his
father’s scent. Even though his vision is distorted and he’s mentally spiraling, he can recognize the
smell of his father’s study.

Oddly enough being in this room is calming. Satoru supposes that isn’t too odd. His father, for a
long time, was his anchor. He was the anchor of the family; a true pack leader.

With the help of his mother’s soothings and his father’s lingering scent, Satoru is able to calm
down. He and his mother are kneeling on the floor in front of his father’s desk. He’s resting his
head on his mother’s shoulder while she pets his head.

“You haven’t had one of those since you thought you missed the bus to basketball camp the
summer before you graduated high school,” Choi says.

That’s the last time she witnessed him have an anxiety attack. He’s had a dozen or so in the past
five years but he won’t mention them to her.

“Do you want to tell me what caused this?”

Satoru closes his eyes, sighing. “I do. But I’m not sure how or where to start.”

“Okay, let’s start with the easy stuff. Does it have something to do with Suguru? I know you two
met up for dinner tonight.”

“Ma, it has everything to do with Suguru.”

“Are you two still fighting?”

Satoru decides it’s time to come clean. If this was something minor he would continue to allow his
mother to believe that things are decent between him and Suguru but now he knows that he has to
tell the truth.

“I haven’t been completely honest with you about this whole situation.”

Choi doesn’t stop petting his hair. “Jun and I have tried to figure out what’s been going on between
you two but we’re both in the dark. I’ve been waiting for you to talk to me about it.”

Jun is Suguru’s mother.

“I’m sorry I never told you the truth. I was hoping things would be resolved but we went five years
without talking to each other.”

“Five years?” His mother leans back so that she can look at his face and see how serious he is.
They only have a dim light in the study to help them see each other. She sees the truth in his gaze.
“Oh, Satoru. What happened?”

“That’s the thing. I don’t really know what happened.”

Well, according to Suguru they had sex and Satoru groaned his girlfriend's name in Suguru’s ear
like a total asshole but he isn’t going to tell his mother that. He just needs help trying to piece
together what happened that night. His mother has a sharp memory. He’s hoping she can help.

“Do you remember anything weird about graduation?”

Choi furrows her brows. “The ceremony or afterward?”

“Afterward. I can’t remember anything from that night.”

“Were you drinking?” Choi gives him a look. “I won’t scold you for a past offense.” She jokes to
lighten the tense mood.

Satoru appreciates her efforts. He really does. “I didn’t drink at all back then,” he says. “I was
always cautious. I didn’t want to do something stupid that would ruin my basketball career.”

Choi nods. “You were very careful, never got into serious trouble outside of your school pranks.”
She looks as if she’s in deep thought. “Did Suguru mention anything that might hint at what
happened?”
“...”

“What did he say?”

“...”

“Satoru, I can’t help you unless you disclose everything!”

Satoru groans. The thought of telling his mother that there’s a possibility that he and Suguru had
sex makes his stomach do a somersault. There are just some things he would never want to tell his
mother and this is one of them.

“Was it a lover’s quarrel?” his mother asks in all seriousness.

“Lovers? Suguru and I were never lovers.”

Choi’s expression is disbelieving. “Maybe not outright but you were very territorial of him and you
never wanted other alphas to so much as look at him for too long.”

Satoru doesn’t remember it going down like that. Perhaps he did get ticked off when Suguru
started to catch the attention of alphas in their class after he hit puberty. And perhaps he did go out
of his way sometimes to interfere when one of those alphas would try to court Suguru.

But Satoru was only being protective of his best friend. Suguru’s shitty father abandoned the
family for a younger woman when Suguru was ten, and because there was no other alpha in the
immediate family, Satoru felt as if he had to protect Suguru himself.

Satoru explains all of that to his mother.

“Satoru, why are you afraid to admit that you’ve been in love with Suguru since you two were
children?”

Okay. This isn’t going to get him anywhere. This isn’t about him supposedly being in love with
Suguru since they were children; it’s not true.

This is about trying to fill in the holes of what happened on graduation night.

“Ma, can we please stay on the topic at hand,” Satoru says. “Something went down on graduation
night and I can’t remember what. If you remember anything from that night please let me know.”

“There was a lot going on that whole day,” Choi says as she stares off into space. “Your father and
I were preparing to send you off to university the following day because training camp was starting
that coming week. We also had to attend a memorial service for the freshmen girl who drowned a
few days prior.” She pauses to pay silent respects to the lost soul. Then she continues. “On the
mainland, there were reports of that one popular brand of suppressants having a recall due to it
causing alphas to have false ruts-”

Satoru listens closely as his mother continues to list key events that occurred on graduation day but
nothing really sticks out to him. He’s amazed by how sharp his mother’s memory is. She’s always
had the memory of an elephant which is why his father entrusted her with the family’s finances and
other important documents.

“Oh,” Choi says, snapping her fingers. “I do remember you and Suguru butting heads at the
graduation ceremony. That girl you were dating...Hitomi-”
“Haruka.”

Choi pretends as though she simply forgot the name. “That’s right.” She smiles tight-lipped.
“Haruka.”

His mother also remembers what she chooses to remember. She wasn’t fond of Haruka because she
was convinced Haruka was a gold digger but that’s beside the point.

“What about her?” Satoru asks. They broke up shortly after he started university. He was too busy
trying to figure out where Suguru was to maintain a long-distance relationship. “Suguru and I
fought because of her?”

“I only caught the tail-end of the argument but from the sound of it, it had to do with what I
mentioned earlier.” Choi shakes her head. “You always kept a girlfriend, Satoru. You dated around
until you got serious with Haruka. But Suguru never dated…”

Satoru shrugs, not getting the point she’s trying to make. “Suguru was tomboyish. Hate to say it but
back then alphas weren’t looking at him like that.”

“Suguru wasn’t the stereotypical omega but that didn’t matter. He was beautiful and kind. I hear he
still is.” The way she always smiles when she speaks of Suguru will probably never change.
“Young alphas were looking at him as a prospective mate, they were just too afraid to deal with the
threatening alpha who was always lurking about.”

“Wait, you mean that I’m the reason Suguru never dated in high school?”

“You didn’t like the idea of him spending time with anyone else while you had other relationships
of your own. Perhaps Suguru was tired of you being territorial without a desire to claim him. Not
that I could blame him…”

That could actually explain why Suguru hates him now. Omegas will hold a lifelong grudge if an
alpha treats them like a mate but never claims them. Did he unintentionally lead Suguru to believe
that he would be his mate someday? Did he mark Suguru during sex but then abandoned him in the
morning?

There are too many holes to fill, and he also needs to know more about Suguru’s twins. How old
are those girls? Satoru is certain they’re not his because he took his suppressants religiously. He
didn’t want to knock anyone up and risk ruining his basketball career.

He hasn’t had a rut since he presented, either.

“I’m concerned about your loss of memory,” Choi says, frowning. “Your father bought you new
suppressants immediately after we heard the news about your brand of rut suppressants having a
recall. But if you failed to toss your old bottle..."

Satoru’s mouth goes dry. “Whatever happened with that situation?” he asks, keeping his voice
steady.

“It was a whole mess. Several lawsuits were filed because the suppressants not only failed to block
the user’s ruts but they intensified them. There were cases of upstanding alphas jumping omegas in
public. You know alphas can be cited for that and registered in the Untamed Alpha Database…”

Over two decades ago, new laws were placed to grant more protection to omegas. Now, any alpha
who fails to take proper precautions prior to their rut is at risk of facing public scrutiny for the rest
of their lives as well as missing out on major career opportunities.
Any alpha looking to be successful in life does everything in their power not to be added to the
Untamed database. The database basically lets the world know that those listed on it are no better
than feral beasts. It’s humiliating. Sometimes it’s deserved but sometimes mistakes happen.

Choi continues. “During their court trials, a lot of alphas reported not having any recollection of the
night they had that false rut. Their lives were ruined and some can’t even remember what took
place. Thankfully, once proof was submitted that it was the company’s fault those alphas were
removed from the database and handsomely compensated. But they still have to live with the
consequences of jumping a random omega...”

Actually, Satoru remembers hearing about those trials that took place a couple of years back. It
was a major scandal. But he didn’t think it was his problem so he didn’t dive too deep into it.

“Please tell me you got rid of those suppressants like we told you to, Satoru. A lot of the victims
reported memory loss as one of the side effects and you are exhibiting that…”

Satoru blinks and stares at his mother. It’s funny how it’s at this very moment that he remembers
that twins are common in his family.

His own mother is a twin. The gene skipped Satoru so he isn’t a twin but it’s highly possible for
him to have twins of his own.

Twin girls for instance.

“Ma...I messed up,” Satoru says. “But I need to talk to Suguru to know exactly how royally I
messed up.”

Choi grimaces. “Oh boy.”

“You’re a little too late. Suguru and the gang left about an hour ago.”

Satoru closes his eyes, sighing deeply. He didn’t even sleep last night because he wanted to stop by
first thing in the morning. After taking a moment to mentally regroup, he opens his eyes to see
Shiori giving him an apologetic smile.

“Back then when you said Suguru cut you off,” Satoru starts, "that was a lie?”

Shiori steps aside, opening the door wide. “Want to come in so we can sit and talk?”

He came all of this way down the mountain at the crack of dawn for answers. There’s no way he’s
going to leave here empty-handed. They quietly make their way to the tea room and sit down
across from one another at the round table.

Shiori offers to grab him something to drink, Satoru declines.

“Okay, well to answer your earlier question, that wasn’t a lie,” Shiori says. “It wasn’t the whole
truth either. Suguru used to tell us that he was swamped with classes. Every time we tried to visit
him or have him visit home, he always had some kind of excuse…”

It became so bad that Shiori decided to visit Suguru at university. She missed her brother and was
starting to worry that something was wrong.

“The administration office informed me that Suguru dropped out two months after classes started,”
Shiori says, laughing dryly. “This is the same Suguru who never skipped a class or played hooky.
He had the top grades in high school and because of that he was given enough scholarships to fund
his college career.” Her smile fades and her eyes water. “Suguru was supposed to do what I
couldn’t…”

Satoru can’t believe what he’s hearing. But Suguru dropping out would explain why he’s still
completing his degree now.

“But he went back,” Satoru reminds Shiori. “I hear he’s finishing up his degree.”

“Yeah, he is. Suguru still has a good head on his shoulders. But back then I thought he was into
some heavy shit. I wasn’t sure what it was but all of this was too out of character for him.”

“When did you find out about the twins?”

Shiori crosses her arms. “I’m not sure how much I can share with you, Satoru. I want to tell you
everything I know but not at the expense of having my brother pissed at me.”

“I’m only trying to figure out why my best friend ghosted me for 5 years. I’m not here to cause any
trouble for you or Suguru, Shiori. I just want answers.”

“I told Suguru that he couldn’t keep everything a secret forever.” Sighing, Shiori combs her fingers
through her hair. “Suguru was in an abusive relationship with an alpha about three years ago. When
he ran away, he ended up at some shelter. That’s when he broke down and called me. I learned
about the twins then.”

Satoru’s fists are balled so tight that his nails are digging into his palms, tearing the skin. He
assumed that Suguru was abused in the past but to have it confirmed…

“Who was it?” Satoru asks. His words are laced with a growl, and his blood is boiling. “Who’s the
asshole who abused Suguru?”

“Suguru won’t tell me. Trust me, I’ve tried to find out for years. I would very much like to shove
my foot up their ass.”

And Satoru would very much like to murder them.

Satoru curses under his breath. “Where is Suguru now?” He needs to go directly to the source.
He’s tired of dragging this whole thing out.

“I can’t tell you, Satoru.”

“Shiori-”

“Suguru begged me not to tell you. He knew you would come here which is why they left earlier
than planned. Before he left, he made me swear that I wouldn’t tell you where he lives. Satoru, I’m
sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’ll find him.”

Satoru really didn’t want to take this route but he’s left with no choice. He’ll have to ask a favor
from one of his less-than-upstanding contacts.

“I’ve got one last question.”

Shiori nods. “Is it about the twins?”

“Do you know who their father is?”

“No. Suguru won’t tell us. My mother and I are happy just to have him back in our lives so we
don’t press him about it. But…” Shiori stares at Satoru pointedly. “When we look at those girls, we
both see the same person.”

Satoru doesn’t have anything else to say. He thanks Shiori for her time and then he excuses
himself.

How did a spontaneous trip back home turn into an investigative soap opera?

Had Satoru known that things would turn out like this he never would’ve dragged Sukuna along.

Satoru ruined Sukuna’s vacation twice. Sukuna was pissed about Aruba but was getting
comfortable in Gomari when Satoru told him they’d have to leave early.

On top of that, he felt terrible having to tell his mother that he would be leaving earlier than
planned. Even though he has every intention of visiting her more often, he still wishes he could’ve
spent more time with her while he was home.

However, all of that aside, Satoru really has to get down to the bottom of this whole mystery
involving graduation night. He won’t be able to focus on anything else until he has the full story.

“I promise to pay you back in full for your ticket to Aruba and cover the cost for the resort,” Satoru
says as he and Sukuna leave Haneda Airport with their luggage in tow. They get into the car Satoru
called to pick them up while the chauffeur places their luggage in the trunk.

Sukuna glances over at Satoru. “Pay me back by telling me what the hell is going on,” he says.
“What happened during dinner with Geto?”

Satoru is prepared to feed Sukuna a half-assed explanation that reveals nothing at all but gives the
alpha enough to not press for more.

But then he remembers that he doesn’t have anyone else who he can talk to about this. He won’t
dare tell his mother about what Suguru revealed to him after dinner nor is he ready to discuss the
possibility of him being a father with his mother.

His other close friend is in a different country and this isn’t the kind of conversation he wants to
have over the phone.

“Suguru dropped a major bomb,” Satoru says. Already he feels lighter getting this off his chest.
“Apparently, we fucked sometime during high school and I moaned my girlfriend’s name in his
ear.”

“I knew it.”

Satoru whips his head and stares at Sukuna. “You knew what?”

“That you two fucked. What I didn't know was that you treated Geto-san like crap." Sukuna gives
him a disapproving look.

"There's more to the story." At least he hopes there is. "How did you know we had sex?"

Sukuna taps his nose with his index finger. “Same reason why you know Coach does a shot of
Scotch before every game. Superior senses.”
“Small town phenomenon,” Satoru snorts. “But Suguru doesn’t smell like me. He smells like
honeysuckle.”

“To you. To me, he smells like lightning.”

Lightning doesn’t have a scent, obviously. What Sukuna is referring to is the smell of the air after
lightning strikes. It’s heady and earthy, and only a dominant alpha would carry such a scent.
Coincidentally, Satoru’s scent has been described as smelling like lightning since he presented.

“My territorial scent being on him didn’t stop another alpha from…” Satoru stops himself. He
won’t disclose anything about Suguru’s past abuse to Sukuna. It doesn’t feel right to do so.
“Suguru smells like that because I marked him...but I don’t remember doing so.”

“Was it during your rut?”

Sukuna is being awfully chill about all of this. Where's the shock, the gasps, and the incredulous
stares? It makes Satoru curious to know more about Sukuna's backstory. That can come later.

“I don’t know. That’s why I have to find Suguru and get the story from him.”

“So, where are we going?”

“You don’t have to come with me, Sukuna. Besides, this isn’t some kind of Bro Trip anyway.”

Sukuna rolls his eyes. “I’m trying to be a supportive friend. Just shut up and let me do that.”

Hearing Sukuna, of all people, say that to him means a lot. But of course, Satoru can’t let Sukuna
know that.

“Aww, I knew you didn’t hate me forreal!”

“Where are we going?” Sukuna asks again, ignoring the faux sappy look Satoru is giving him.
“We have two more weeks before we’re supposed to start pre-season training. I have plenty of time
to relax. But if this journey takes longer than a couple of days I’m ditching your ass.”

Satoru takes out his phone and looks through his contacts. “It won’t take that long.” He finds the
number he’s looking for. “I’m going to have one of my...friends...figure out where Suguru is
living.”

“You’re more interesting than you look. How did a guy like you get friends like that?”

When Satoru was in Los Angeles he was desperate to have some sense of familiarity so he hung out
around Little Tokyo a lot. During one night, he stumbled across an unassuming lounge that didn’t
get much traffic. There he met a few Japanese-Americans who were ecstatic to meet him.

After months of hanging out with his new friends, he finally saw them without long-sleeves
covering their arm tattoos.

“I never questioned them about their work and they never pressured me into joining them. We
lived in two different worlds and we kept it that way.”

“You’re one of the few people who can get chummy with the yakuza without having to either get
your hands dirty or die for knowing more than you should.”

“Anesan took a liking to me.”

Sukuna raises a brow. “You’re even using their lingo.” He smirks. “Are you sure you’re not
secretly affiliated?”

“And risk losing my basketball career?” Satoru snorts. He dials the number of his contact.

The phone rings twice before a woman with a sultry voice answers. Satoru knows she’s going to
try to flirt and catch up but he gets straight to the point.

“Mei Mei, I need you to look someone up for me.”

In half an hour, Satoru has an address.

Osaka is a six-hour drive from Tokyo but it’s half that on the train. They go to the train station,
purchase tickets, and board the next outbound train.

Sukuna sleeps during the trip. Even though Satoru knows he needs to get some sleep he can’t get
his mind to stop racing.

Something tells him that this confrontation with Suguru is going to change his life forever. As
desperate as he is for the truth, is he ready to actually face the truth? He supposes he’ll find out
soon enough.

Once they’re in Osaka, they book a hotel suite for two nights. Satoru only stays long enough to
drop his suitcase off. He hails a cab to the address Mei Mei provided him.

Satoru doesn’t want to pop up on Suguru unannounced but he no longer has a choice.

By the time Satoru reaches Suguru’s apartment, the sun is starting to set. It’s going on two days
since he’s been trying to track Suguru down to get answers.

He hasn’t slept. He can’t remember eating anything. He would very much like a cold bottle of
vodka - hell he would even take room temperature - to drown in. But he’s too hyper-focused on his
goals.

That’s why he doesn’t hesitate once he’s standing in front of Suguru’s door. He knocks two times,
hard enough to be heard but not hard enough to frighten anyone inside. He doesn’t want to blow up
either. He didn’t come here to yell or cause a fuss.

Seconds tick by. Soon a minute passes. Satoru is about to knock a third time when the door opens.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here.”

Satoru wasn’t expecting Megumi to open the door. He looks at the pissed-off omega who’s staring
daggers at him and shoves his hands in his pockets. “Is Suguru home?” he asks.

“No. Fuck off.” Megumi tries to slam the door.

Reflexively, Satoru puts a firm hand on the door to keep it from closing. His jaw clenches. “I’m not
leaving until I talk to him.”

Megumi looks at where Satoru’s hand is gripping the door and then back at Satoru. “You’re going
to break the door, asshole!”

“Then stop messing around and let me see Suguru!”

“How about I call the police instead? It won’t look too hot if Mr. Basketball star is arrested for
harassing two omegas in their own home-”

A new voice interrupts. “That’s enough, Megumi. You can let him in…”

Satoru and Megumi look to see Suguru standing there with his arms crossed. He’s wearing a
cropped shirt and yoga pants, looking as if he’s fresh out of a workout.

Reluctantly, Megumi steps away from the door to let Satoru in.

“Can you take the girls to your place?” Suguru asks Megumi. But his eyes are still on Satoru. “I’ll
come pick them up later.”

Megumi looks as if he’s going to protest. Instead, he sighs. “Sure thing.” He gives Satoru a
threatening glare. “Behave yourself or I’m going to hunt you down and defang you.”

Satoru’s fangs ache as though they’re afraid of the omega’s threat.

“I don’t want them to see you,” Suguru says. He walks over to Satoru. “Follow me.”

They slip into the first door on the left inside the short hallway. It’s a small office with only a desk,
a laptop, and a fashion board hanging on the wall. There are two framed pictures on the desk but
they’re facing away from Satoru, and he’s too antsy to have a peek.

Suguru tells him not to touch anything or leave the room. When Suguru steps out of the room,
Satoru takes a deep breath and shakes his tingling hands as if that’s going to stop the tingling. He’s
about to start pacing when Suguru returns moments later.

“Did Shiori give you my address?”

“No.”

“Then how did you get it?”

“I have my ways…”

Suguru’s nostrils flare but he reels in his anger. “What do you want?”

“What happened between us on graduation night? I’ve tried to remember but I can’t. Can you
please just tell me?”

“If you don’t remember then obviously nothing important happened.”

“Is that part of why you hate me now?” Satoru asks. “Because the morning after...I didn’t recall
any of it?”

Suguru closes his eyes. “Not in here. Let’s talk in the living room.” He turns around and leaves the
office.

The living room is a decent size but not big enough for two pups to comfortably run around and
play. Satoru wonders if the twins are rowdy or if they’re more on the quiet side. Do they prefer to
play with toys or be read to? Possibly both? He finds himself curious about them just as much as
he’s curious about the boy he used to know.

Suguru sits on the couch and Satoru sits on the love seat.
“Look, I don’t care if you remember it or not,” Suguru starts, anxiously fiddling with his hands. “I
was upset back then but I’m over it now.”

“You’re saying that you’ve been ghosting me all of this time because when we hooked up, I called
out for someone else and I forgot all about it the next day?”

“Yes. It was immature and petty but I was hurt.”

Then does that mean the twins are the product of Suguru’s relationship from three years ago?

“How old are your daughters?” Satoru asks.

Suguru looks up at him in surprise. “Why do you ask?” He crosses his arms and starts to chew his
bottom lip. “They’re old enough to get curious when an alpha they don’t know keeps showing up
and distressing their mother.”

“I’m not trying to distress you. I apologize for doing so.”

“Don’t you have basketball training or some endorsement to film for?”

“Off-season.” Satoru knows that Suguru would rather leave the past buried than have it dug up.
But that’s too damn bad. “Are they 5 or are they 3?”

“Can you just let it go? They’re mine. I birthed them. The end.”

“Unless this is some kind of immaculate conception, you didn’t conceive them on your own. I’m
only asking if they were conceived 5 years ago or 3 years ago.” Satoru folds his hands as he stares
at Suguru, his expression deathly serious. “I do not want to further invade your privacy but if I have
to dig up their birth certificates, I will, Suguru.”

Anytime Suguru’s daughters are brought up, he turns into a completely different person. Then
again, omegan mothers are fiercely protective.

Suguru bares his fangs. “Get out!” he shouts. He stands abruptly. “Get out of my house!”

Satoru remains seated. “I’m not going anywhere until you stop lying to me.”

“Lying to you? What have I lied about?”

“Everything! I don’t believe anything you’ve told me!” He lies just to get Suguru to stop giving
him pieces of the truth.

“Then why in the hell are you here? If I’m just lying then why bother?”

“Because I want the truth!”

“I don’t give a fuck about what you want. This isn’t Gomari, you don’t run shit in Osaka! You
don’t run shit in my den!”

The last thing Satoru wanted to do was come here and get into a verbal fight with Suguru but in the
past, the only time they were able to knock some sense into each other was by approaching a
situation like this. Suguru can be stubborn and headstrong. The only way to get him to open up is to
be stubborn and headstrong right back.

But Satoru forgets one important thing.

Back then, they were different people. Back then, Suguru didn’t carry his mark.

Satoru doesn’t consider how different an argument between them would go now that Suguru is
technically his mate. That’s why he stands up and gets in Suguru’s face the way he does.

“Stop trying to push me away! Stop fighting me!” Satoru shouts, and without realizing it, his eyes
brighten and he bares his fangs.

Instantly, Suguru whines quietly and lowers his head. He submits to Satoru; his mate.

Satoru’s eyes widen. “Suguru...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” He touches Suguru’s trembling
shoulders and tries to comfort him. “You don’t have to obey me.”

Suguru sucks in air and exhales. Then he starts crying. “Why can’t you just leave it alone?” he asks
quietly. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

Because they were best friends for over a decade. Suguru used to know all of his secrets and vice
versa.

No one understands Satoru the way Suguru does, and sometimes it feels as if they’re made for each
other. They were meant to always be together in some way. And the fact that Suguru bears his
mark is proof that they’re bound by more than just where they’re from or who their family is.

“I’m tired of living a life without you in it,” Satoru says, thinking those words sum up everything
he’s feeling. “I miss my best friend and I want to make things right.”

Suguru shakes his head slowly as he cries. “I tried so hard to forget and move on but you were
always there in the back of my mind. I hated you for marking me but sometimes…”

“Sometimes?”

Suguru looks up at him. His long lashes are damp and clumped together. “Sometimes I wonder if
you knew that it was me that night or if you really meant to mark Haruka…”

Satoru can’t remember anything from that night. But he remembers most of his high school career
as well as his relationship with Haruka.

No amount of denying his feelings will change the fact that whenever he and Haruka had sex he
had to make an effort not to imagine Suguru or utter Suguru’s name.

When he and Haruka broke up, Satoru didn’t feel sad or even regretful. He brushed it off and
focused all of his free time on getting a hold of Suguru. Not once has he thought about
reconnecting with Haruka or tracking her down. But here he is, risking being indebted to the
yakuza just to talk to Suguru and try to salvage their relationship.

It’s obvious who he cares more about; who he’s always cared more about.

But Satoru keeps all of that to himself for a reason he can’t begin to explain.

“Can you tell me how that night went down from your perspective?” Satoru asks. He walks Suguru
over to the couch and they sit down.

Suguru wipes his eyes. “You really don’t remember?”

“The rut suppressants I was taking were faulty. There was a major recall but I didn’t swap them out
in time.”
“You’re one of the Omicron victims?”

Omicron used to be the top brand of rut suppressants. Now the company is bankrupt because they
didn’t properly test their suppressants after adding a new ingredient.

“I suppose I am,” Satoru says. “I went to my mother seeking answers and she reminded me of those
court trials. We think that’s why graduation night is a black hole for me.”

“Oh god…” Suguru covers his mouth, looking as if he’s about to be sick.

Satoru wants to rub Suguru’s back or hold him in his arms but he knows he’s way over his
“physical contact” limit for the night. He just remains close and waits for Suguru to calm down.

“I figured it was your rut but it took a month to conclude that,” Suguru says. “That night…it wasn’t
rape but I felt violated all the same…” He closes his eyes. “Let me start from the beginning.”

5 years ago

“See, I knew you had a banging body under those layers,” Shiori says, admiring her handiwork.

Self-consciously, Suguru pulls down the body-hugging dress. He wishes it stopped past his knees
but it seems that his sister only owns short dresses.

Even as he tries to alter the dress to accommodate his comfort level, he can’t help but admire the
dip of his curves and his hips. Since he has more of an athletic body he always thought he would
look ridiculous in a dress like this but that was him just being ignorant.

The only minor issue is that the top area is kind of loose. But that’s because it's Shiori’s dress and
his sister has sizeable breasts. Shiori takes note of that and uses a safety pin to tighten the dress on
both sides. Now it’s a perfect fit.

“Think you’re ready to do eyeliner too or is this too much for one night?”

Suguru tucks hair behind his ear and immediately regrets it when he sees Shiori glare at him. He’s
not supposed to mess up her hard work. It took her hours to flat iron it. He untucks his hair and
sighs.

“What’s the point of a makeover without fully pushing me out of my comfort zone?” he asks
sarcastically. He plops down on his sister’s vanity chair.

“You came to me, remember?” Shiori walks over to the vanity and looks through her makeup
caboodle. She picks up what she’s looking for and smiles. “Can’t believe my little brother is finally
going to confess tonight!”

Suguru touches his stomach to quiet the butterflies fluttering about. “Should I even bother? He has
a girlfriend.” At the thought of the perfect and popular omega who is everything that he’s not, he
feels a lump forming in his throat. “And Satoru made it very clear that he doesn’t care about me.”

Shiori instructs him to tilt his head back. “Why were you two fighting at the ceremony?”

They were fighting because Suguru told Satoru that he fucked a random tourist on the beach two
weekends ago.
It’s a lie, obviously. He only told that lie because Satoru wouldn’t shut up about how he was going
to leave the party early tonight to spend the night with Haraku since her parents wouldn’t be home.
Then Satoru made a joke about making sure Suguru got home safely since he obviously didn’t
have plans after graduation.

One insult led to another insult and the next thing Suguru knows he lied about not being a virgin,
hoping to get a rise out of Satoru.

But that didn’t end well for Suguru.

“He got pissed at me,” Suguru says, remembering the way Satoru glared at him earlier. “He can
talk about hooking up with his girlfriend all day but the one time I mention hooking up with
someone he treats me like crap.”

“Alphas are territorial.” Shiori moves over to his right eye to add eyeliner to it next. “But that
doesn’t give Satoru an excuse to be a jerk. He needs to admit he likes you already.”

“He doesn’t like me. Not like that.” Suguru feels like crying. “I can’t do this, Shiori. When he
rejects me, it’s going to ruin our friendship and-”

Shiori puts a firm hand on his forehead. “If you don't be still you’re going to get liquid eyeliner in
your eye. Trust me, it’s not fun.”

Suguru gets really still. But that doesn’t make his anxiety go away.

“Satoru loves you Suguru. Everyone sees it,” Shiori says.

“Then why does he keep dating everyone but me?” Why did Satoru once tell him that he sees him
as a younger sibling? He doesn’t see the point in going through with this. “I don’t want to risk our
friendship over this.”

“I understand why you’re afraid to confess but you both will be heading off to different
universities. If he does reject you at least you won’t have to see him every day.”

Suguru groans. “That’s not helpful at all.”

“Done. Look at my masterpiece!” She steps away from the mirror so that Suguru can see himself.

Suguru’s eyebrows raise when he sees himself. Not only did she give him a sharp, cat-eye but she
added clear lip gloss to his lips, making them look pouty and plump. Whenever alphas around the
island told him he was pretty, he always thought they were just sweet-talking him to get something
out of him.

But maybe they had a point.

Shiori touches his shoulders gently. “If you don’t want to then don’t,” she says. “But we both
know that you’re tired of holding all of these feelings inside.”

Suguru is so tired of holding his feelings for Satoru in. At times, it feels like he’s suffocating.
Whenever he sees Satoru with Haruka or hears him talk about Haruka, he wants to cry because he
knows Satoru doesn’t see him that way.

Still, he has to stop pretending that these feelings don’t exist.

“Let’s get this over with,” Suguru says, sighing. He stands up and shamelessly tugs his panties out
of his ass. “These stupid panties keep riding up my ass.” This is why he prefers briefs or boy
shorts.

“That’s because your ass is fat,” Shirori says. She laughs when Suguru gasps and covers his ass as
if he’s scandalized. “I was blessed with big boobs and you were blessed with a nice ass. I don't
make the rules. Here, put on these heels.” She walks over to pick up a pair of black heels.

“No way. I’ll just wear my boots.”

“Your crusty Doc Martens aren’t going anywhere near my dress!”

“The crustiness adds charm!”

They bicker some more until it ends with Suguru not wearing the heels. Shiori complains about it
all the way up until they’re at the front door and Suguru is picking up his bomber jacket off the
coat rack.

“You’re trying to murder me tonight, Suguru,” Shiori groans. “That dress is meant to be seen. Not
hidden or ruined by whatever the hell aesthetic you’re aiming for!”

“Oh shut up.” Suguru wraps the jacket around his waist and laughs when Shiori looks as if she’s
going to pass out. He unwraps it from his waist and puts it on. At night, the island can get chilly.
“Better?”

“No. Not at all.”

“That sounds like a personal problem.”

Shiori rolls her eyes. Then she hugs him. “Good luck,” she whispers. “If you need me, call me.”

“Thanks, Shiori.”

Suguru thinks about telling his sister how much he loves and appreciates her but he’ll save that for
when he leaves for university next week.
.

“I’ve been looking all over for you,” Suguru says as he walks into the cove.

It’s a cloudy night so the moon doesn’t grant them as much light as it normally would. Suguru can
only make out Satoru’s form sitting on the sand with his head lowered. At the sound of Suguru’s
voice, his head rises.

“What are you doing here?”

“That’s my line,” Suguru says. He walks over to where Satoru is and sits on the sand next to him.
“Everyone is already at the party.” Reluctantly, he adds, “Haruka is looking for you, too.”

When Suguru showed up at the party, he mingled with some of his friends and got hit on more than
he’s ever had in his life before he decided to look for Satoru. He figured Satoru was somewhere at
the party keeping a low profile but his search came up short.

Then he bumped into Haruka who assumed Satoru was with him.

“I don’t care,” Satoru mutters. He leans over and rests his head on Suguru’s shoulder. “I don’t want
to leave…”

Suguru assumes Satoru is finally reaching that point where he’s anxious about moving to a big
city. It’s understandable, honestly. Even Suguru is afraid of leaving the only home he’s ever
known and his family and friends. Whenever Suguru asked Satoru if he was nervous, Satoru would
play it off and pretend as though everything was fine.

But the truth always comes out when they’re at the cove like this.

“You’re going to be fine,” Suguru says. “You’ll be scouted by sophomore year and playing
professionally before you know it. The National team won’t be too far behind.”

New laws are in place that allow professional athletes to compete in the Olympics.

They’ve also extended the age requirements since the country believes winning Gold is the
priority. Also, history has proven that age doesn’t always stop success where sports are concerned.

Every time Satoru stresses over his future, Suguru reminds him that he doesn’t really have a time
limit to achieve his goals.

Satoru is muttering something quietly. So quietly that Suguru can’t make out what he’s saying. He
leans closer so that he can hear. When he does lean closer, Satoru loudly sniffs his hair. Laughing,
Suguru playfully shoves Satoru away.

“Gross,” he says, turning away to hide the blush on his face. He completely forgets that it’s too
dark in here for Satoru to even see his blush. But Satoru’s senses are ridiculous. He would
probably be able to smell the blood rising under his flesh.

Suddenly, Satoru hugs him from the side, pressing his nose close to Suguru’s face. “You should be
mine,” he whispers. His voice is deeper than it usually is, and it’s making Suguru shiver. “My
omega…”

Suguru’s heart races. His skin prickles from the feel of Satoru’s breath caressing it. He regrets
putting the bomber jacket on because he’s overheating now and it makes him itchy. Usually, he
would shove Satoru off and make a joke but tonight is different.

Tomorrow, Satoru is setting off for Tokyo. With his busy training schedule, there’s no telling
when they’ll be able to meet up again.

Besides, Suguru can’t think of a more perfect opportunity to speak from his heart.

“I wish I was yours,” Suguru whispers back like it's some dark secret. “I wish I was your omega,
Satoru. I’ve always...I’ve always wanted to be yours…”

“Mine?”

“Yes. I...I love you, Satoru.”

Suguru isn’t sure what he expected to follow that confession.

He just knows that it isn’t how he wanted things to play out but he can’t say that he’s disappointed
by the outcome. He’s always wondered what it would be like to kiss Satoru. Even though it’s a lot
rougher and far too hasty, he can’t deny that the feeling of Satoru’s lip against his is satisfying.

When Satoru starts to pull his jacket off, Suguru’s heart races.
Are they going to do that?

He’s been saving himself for Satoru; yeah, he’s been waiting around for his idiot best friend to
notice him. But he always thought it would be...well, special. For starters, it would be in a bed with
some candles lit, not on the coarse, cool sand with the scent of the sea clinging to them.

Suguru always thought they would start off slow. He would want to because he’s never even
kissed anyone before and he wants to savor every moment. He always thought Satoru would speak
to him softly and whisper sweet nothings to him.

For a person who seems to be anti-anything romantic, he’s a major sap underneath all this grunge.

“Satoru, let’s slow down,” Suguru tries to say in between sloppy kisses. But Satoru is too much -
he’s too forceful and all-consuming. Suguru can barely get a word out.

But Suguru decides to speak up when Satoru tries to tear his dress off.

“Shiori will kill me if I ruin this dress!” Suguru shoves Satoru off. “Let me take it off first.” His
hands tremble as he unsnaps the safety pin on one side of the dress. “I want to do this but...maybe
we should go somewhere else…”

Where would they go?

They can’t go to their homes. The Gojo estate is big but there are too many servants around for
them to have a quiet place to go to. Suguru's place is too small and was never an option. There's a
love motel around here but if they go anywhere near that place their parents will know by
morning.

Honestly, this is the only place for them to go. In a way, this is a special place. It’s their special
place.

That’s why Suguru doesn’t protest when Satoru hugs him from behind and rips off his scent patch.
Suguru presses his thighs together, moaning and whimpering, while Satoru sucks on his scent
glands. It feels amazing but Suguru can’t really enjoy it like he wants because he’s not
comfortable.

He doesn’t even have the dress off all the way. It’s pooled around his hips. He wants to take it off
and toss it far away from them to keep the scent of sex off of it but Satoru’s hands are everywhere
all at once.

Whenever Suguru tries to break free, Satoru tightens his hold. He’s acting as if he doesn’t want to
let Suguru go. At that moment, Suguru assumes that Satoru is worried about leaving him behind so
that’s why he doesn’t want to let him go now for even a second.

Even though Satoru’s aggressiveness is making him uncomfortable, Suguru stops resisting. He tells
himself that this is how it’s supposed to be. Alphas are rough and they’re impatient. It’s supposed
to be this way, right? All of that stuff about passionate first times is just in movies and novels.

In the back of his head, he knows he’s only making excuses. Isn’t that what he always does for
Satoru anyway?

“Satoru, I want to see you,” Suguru says when his face is pressed into the sand and Satoru is
tugging his panties down. He tries to sit up. “Are you seriously going to mount me?”

Maybe Satoru actually believed that lie Suguru told him earlier about him having sex with a
random tourist. Maybe Satoru doesn’t think it’d matter if they were facing each other. Does Satoru
think Suguru is promiscuous and easy?

Even if Satoru thinks that about him that doesn’t give him the right to treat him like this.

“It’s...it’s my first time,” Suguru says. He tries to turn around but then Satoru growls at him, and
the sound of it ripples through Suguru’s body, forcing him to submit…

Present

The story ends with Suguru covering his face and sobbing uncontrollably. Every time he tries to
explain what happens next, he gets choked up.

Satoru has heard enough, and he won’t dare push Suguru any further than he already has. He pulls
Suguru into his arms and hugs him.

“Suguru, I’m so sorry. It was my rut. It was those damn pills. I never would’ve done that to you
otherwise…” That doesn’t make him feel any less terrible.

“It hurt a lot,” Suguru says with some effort. He buries his face in Satoru’s chest, his body shaking.
“But I thought it was supposed to hurt since it was my first time…”

According to Suguru, it started to hurt less after a while, and he was starting to enjoy it but then
Satoru’s knot started to form. The pain returned but by that point, he was numb and could only feel
the knot expanding inside of him.

“The worst part,” Suguru says, sniffling, “was you groaning Haruka’s name while you knotted me.
I wanted...I wanted to die. I’d just confessed to you, it was my first time, and you called out for
someone else while you knotted me!”

Then Satoru marked him. He claimed him while his mind was on someone else.

Satoru can’t remember any of it. He can’t even defend his actions because how can he defend
something so horrific. The faulty rut suppressants are to blame but that won’t change the fact that
he hurt the person who means the world to him.

“I couldn’t leave you there,” Suguru says quietly. He’s no longer sobbing but he’s still resting
against Satoru’s chest. “The sand crabs would have bit you in your sleep...that’s why I...even
though my body was sore I walked you up the mountain…”

“Just like you did when I was drunk the other night…”

Suguru nods. “That night...graduation night...I told myself that I was done with you. I dropped you
off at the gates of the Gojo estate and I cleaned my hands of you.” He chuckles derisively. “Then
like the idiot I am, I did what I needed to do to hide your mark and I went to send you off to Tokyo
alongside your parents.”

But when Suguru saw Satoru and Haruka embracing, he felt nauseous and couldn’t go through with
it.

Suguru continues. “I told myself that I would wait for us to meet up again and then I was going to
confront you and give you a piece of my mind. Every time you texted me, I ignored you, thinking
I’d make you suffer a little…”
Then a month into university, when Suguru was at a campus event, he fainted and was taken to the
clinic by his roommate at the time. That was when he learned that he was pregnant. That revelation
shed light on a lot of things for him. The most important thing is that on graduation night, Satoru
was in his rut.

“Sex education failed me, I’ll admit,” Suguru says. “But Gomari’s sex education classes are crap.
It took me reading pamphlets at the clinic to learn that you knotted me that night and that knots
form during an alpha’s rut or an omega’s heat.”

Their Sex Ed at high school only told them that alphas and omegas have mating cycles. They never
went into detail about what happened during those cycles which was why Heat porn was big
around school. Satoru might’ve watched it here and there but Suguru obviously never bothered
with any of that.

It’s also a tradition on their island for omegas to be given a thorough lesson by their mothers or
elder omegas the night before their wedding so that they’ll know what to expect.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Satoru asks. He’s caught in between being remorseful, understanding,
and furious.

Suguru was alone and scared and Satoru had no idea. Of course, he’s furious.

“You have always only cared about one thing,” Suguru says. He looks up at Satoru, his eyes are
bloodshot. “Since we were kids I heard you lay out your life plan. A mate and pups were never
part of it."

“You think I would’ve picked basketball over you...over our pups?”

“I never wanted you to make the choice at all. I was too afraid of you picking basketball.” Suguru
sits up and puts distance between them. “I also knew that if it got out that you jumped an omega
during your rut, you’d be put in the database and your future would be over.”

That was during a time when Suguru had no idea about the Omicron Suppressant trials. He was
making decisions based on what was right in front of him, not that anyone could blame him.

As much as Satoru doesn’t want to admit it, he knows that the person he was back then wouldn’t
have been overjoyed at learning he was going to be a father.

Basketball was - is - important to him.

However, was he really going to turn a blind eye to Suguru? It’s scary that Satoru doesn’t know the
answer to that question. He was different back then. He was selfish. Honestly, he’s still selfish. But
how selfish is he? Is he too selfish to step up and be in his pup’s lives - his mate’s life?

“You were trying to protect me,” Satoru says. He sighs. “Suguru, you didn’t have to do that.”

“I wasn’t trying to protect you. I was protecting myself and my daughters.”

“What happened three years ago?”

Suguru’s eyes widen. “I...I was vulnerable and stupid…” He’s staring off into space as if he’s no
longer mentally in the present. “He courted me for months and I thought...he was nice and…” He
hugs himself. “Not today, Satoru. I’m too drained to dig up another painful memory and I need to
pick my girls up.”
 “Our girls…” Satoru notices the way Suguru’s entire body tenses when he says that. He decides to
fall back for today. “I know today has been heavy. I’m sorry for all of this. Truly.”

“Can you never show up here unannounced again? How did you even get my address? If it’s easily
accessible, I need to know so I can move.”

Now Satoru is wondering if the alpha from three years ago is still keeping tabs on Suguru. Has he
been stalking him? He wants to ask but he’s poked enough for one day. Suguru probably wants to
de-stress before he picks the twins up which is understandable.

“If you give me your number I can call before coming.”

Suguru shakes his head.

Sighing, Satoru retrieves a card from his pocket. “This is the hotel I’ll be staying at until next
week.” He’ll just extend his reservation. “When you’re ready, come see me.”

Taking the card, Suguru doesn’t even glance at it. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

At the door, Satoru is hesitant to step over the threshold. Because he has this sickening feeling that
once that door closes, he’ll never see Suguru again. He hasn’t even taken the moment to allow
everything that Suguru revealed to him to sink in but he at least knows that he simply can’t live a
life without Suguru in it.

“What room are you in?” Suguru asks. “Just in case the receptionist gives me trouble…”

Satoru smiles softly. That gives him hope. “Penthouse suite.”

Suguru rolls his eyes. “Why did I even bother asking?” he mutters under his breath.

Chapter End Notes

I think it's time for Geto's POV next chapter.

thanks for reading!

 regroup

“Mommy, was the scary man here?” Nanako asks, wrinkling her button nose as she sniffs around
the living room.

Suguru was in a hurry to pick the girls up after Satoru left because he didn’t want to be left alone
with his thoughts. He forgot to use a neutralizing spray to rid their nest of Satoru’s dominating
scent. It’s a careless mistake that he never would’ve made if his thoughts weren’t a jumbled mess.

Kneeling down, Suguru touches the top of his daughters’ heads delicately and he smiles. “That
man is named Satoru. He is a very old friend of mommy’s. He isn't scary,” he says, hesitating on
the last sentence. “Satoru and I had a disagreement, that is all.”

Mimiko says nothing; she often doesn’t. But Nanako shakes her head stubbornly, making blond
strands fall from her top bun. When Suguru gave birth and saw the light hair dusting Nanako’s
head, he burst into tears because he knew that she got her unique hair color from Satoru.

She has Satoru’s temperament as well.

“No, no, no!” Nanako says, pouting. “He made mommy cry, and mommy’s scent wasn’t good!”

“I know,” Suguru says, keeping his voice level. He kisses Nanako’s cheek. “Mommy was upset but
Satoru apologized and I forgave him. Remember how important it is to apologize when you hurt
someone?”

Mimiko nods.

Nanako scrunches her face, and reluctantly says, “Yes…”

“Good.” Suguru hugs them both, and already he feels better.

The girls pick out what they want to wear for daycare tomorrow while Suguru fills the tub with
water for their bath and sprays neutralizing spray around their den. He’s happy he spent the extra
money on this high-quality brand. The cheap stuff he used to buy wouldn’t have succeeded in
masking a scent like Satoru’s.

Bath time is always quite the task. Nanako likes to splash water while she plays with Squeaky-san -
a pink rubber octopus - and Mimiko giggles at her sister’s antics so Suguru never has the heart to
ask Nanako not to splash water.

He just accepts the fact that he’s going to be doused in water during this time. He’s sure to put on a
big t-shirt and shorts or lounge pants he doesn’t mind getting wet.

Suguru takes time shampooing each twin’s hair and cleaning behind their ears. Whenever he cleans
behind their ears, he’s gifted with a cute purr that warms his soul.

The time he spends caring for his daughters, and the time when he is in their presence is a time
when he is most at peace. He's worried that with these new revelations as of late their peace will be
disrupted. He doesn't want that to happen because for a long time they didn't have the luxury of a
healthy environment.

He supposes he has to just prepare himself for this situation with Satoru ending great or terribly.
“Nanako, I’ve told you that special outfits are for special times,” Suguru says as he looks at the
green dinosaur costume laid out on the rug. He picks up the costume and folds it neatly. “I promise
that you can wear this for Spooky Day. It’ll be here before you know it.”

The promise of being able to wear her favorite costume soon softens the rejection of her selected
outfit. She takes the costume from Suguru to return it to the closet and pick something new.

Next, Suguru examines Mimiko’s selection. She picked out a simple sleeveless dress that has a
panda face printed on the front and white leggings.

“What shoes do you want to wear, Mimiko?”

Mimiko stares down at her feet and points at them. Suguru knows that this is her way of saying
that she would like to wear the same pair of shoes that she wore today. He kneels in front of her,
smiling warmly.

“Can you help Mommy understand better?”

“...” Mimiko’s mouth opens but nothing comes out. She closes her mouth and drops her head
again.

Suguru pats her head. “Can you bring me the shoes so that I can see them?” he asks instead.

Mimiko nods slowly. She leaves the room to go get her shoes that are on the rack by the door.
Suguru watches her leave, his eyebrows furrowed.

Alphas and omegas develop slightly faster than the average beta child. That can be shown by how
Nanako can say most words without issue and how well her motor skills are. Mimiko’s motor
skills are at the same level of development, and she does well in school. Well, for everything
except oral communication.

And it’s Suguru’s fault that she never speaks. He never should’ve allowed his daughters around
that bastard from three years ago.

“What about this, Mommy?” Nanako asks, laying out a new outfit on the rug. She looks up at
Suguru, looking proud of herself.

Suguru stares at the bright pink tutu, striped leggings, green alien shirt, and pink sandals. He loves
that she’s comfortable expressing herself and tries his best to create an environment where she can
do just that. It doesn't matter if he thinks the outfit could use some improvement. It's not for him to
wear.

“Yes, Nanako, that’s a great choice.”

Nanako cheers happily. Then she runs off to finish the coloring she was doing before Satoru
showed up and Megumi had to take them to his place for a bit. Suguru has to remind himself to
treat Megumi to lunch tomorrow for feeding the girls dinner. He knows he doesn't have to do
things like that but still, he can't allow Megumi to always take care of his daughters without paying
him back somehow.

But then again, how can he repay Megumi for all of his kindness? That kind of thing is priceless.
He tries his best to be a good and supportive friend, and not to burden Megumi with his issues all
of the time. That doesn't feel like enough, however.

Maybe he and the girls can do something nice for Megumi this Christmas or for his birthday. He
makes a mental note to do just that. But he should probably write it down considering his head is
full of tiny, mental notes.

Mimiko returns with a pair of black sandals. Suguru thanks her for showing them to him and puts
her outfit in the cubby next to Nanako’s for tomorrow morning.

The girls color for the remainder of the night. When they’re done, Suguru compliments their work,
frames it, and adds it to their art wall. Then he tucks them in for bed.

“Mommy, don’t forget to keep the light on,” Nanako says. She reminds him every night. “Mimiko
will get scared.” They both will get scared but Nanako pretends as if nothing scares her.

Suguru smiles. “I’ll remember.”

They - as well as their favorite plushies - get a kiss on the cheek when he tucks them into their
separate beds. He turns off the room’s light but keeps the nightlight on and the door open as he
slowly makes his way out of their bedroom.

Suguru follows up on a couple of work emails before retiring for the night himself. He takes a
long, hot shower and tries not to think about his talk with Satoru but he fails. For years, he’s held a
grudge against Satoru for how graduation night played out.

Now that light has been shed, he isn’t sure what to think about anything.

He’s wondering if he made all of the wrong choices in the past. He’s wondering if he had just told
Satoru the truth from the start if he would’ve avoided meeting him. That monster used to tell him
that it was all his fault, maybe he was right.

Getting out of the shower, Suguru wraps himself in a big towel and grabs a medium-sized towel for
his hair. He wraps it up and walks over to the steam-covered mirror. He wipes the mirror clean, his
reflection becoming clearer, and he stares at himself.

Three years ago, he was unrecognizable.

Not because he still had the added weight from his pregnancy - which he still somewhat has - or
unkempt hair that had horrible split ends. It has nothing to do with looks. He was weak and
hopeless three years ago. He imagines that’s why he was preyed on.

These days, Suguru puts a lot of work into his physical appearance to exhibit the confidence he
wishes he actually had. He wears makeup, shapewear, and religiously uses cream to lighten the
stretch marks on his hips to no avail. Underneath the nice clothes, styled hair, and painted face,
he’s not worth a second glance.

Megumi often tells him that his abuser altered his perception of himself, and his therapist says the
same thing but Suguru isn’t at a point where he can agree with them. He’s still working on
himself.

The first thing on his list after he escaped that nightmare three years ago was to strengthen his
bond with his daughters. He accomplished that, thankfully.

Now, he’s in the phase of working on his self-esteem. Things aren’t going too well on that front,
unfortunately.

Scowling, Suguru looks away from his reflection. He leaves the bathroom and heads into his
bedroom that always feels cold around this time of night. He slips on a pair of plain panties and
throws on a big t-shirt.

Even though his bed is big enough for two people to comfortably fit, he always curls up on the side
furthest from the door. He tells himself he does this in case the girls wake up in the middle of the
night to get into bed with him but that isn’t why he does it.

Suguru stares at the empty side of his bed, wishing someone was there.

That night, he ends up dreaming about the time he barely escaped his ex-boyfriend’s house with
the girls in tow. He wakes up in a cold sweat, clutching onto his pillow as though they were his
girls. He remembers holding them close to his chest long after they were out of that house and for
the first week of their time at the shelter.

Constantly being told by that man that any wrong decision he made would end with the girls being
harmed in his place made him too afraid of letting them go.

Months - no, years have been spent looking over his shoulder in fear. There have been close calls
in the past but lately, there hasn’t been any word from that man.

But a person that powerful has a way of finding anyone he’s looking for. Suguru fears that it's only
a matter of time before he finds them again.

Unable to go back to sleep, Suguru checks on the girls out of habit. They’re sleeping peacefully,
and that brings him some relief. He stares at them, at how small and delicate they are and he
recalls a time when they were no bigger than the plushies they’re clinging to.

Sometimes he stares at them in awe because he can’t believe that they’re his.

And Satoru’s, a small voice inside his head reminds him. Suguru couldn’t deny that if he wanted.

He goes to the kitchen and has a glass of water before returning to bed. He tries to force himself to
fall asleep but he ends up scrolling aimlessly on Twitter.

Nothing on his timeline catches his eye. He goes to the Trending page thinking that he can distract
himself with celebrity news until he gets sleepy again.

It turns out that Gojo Satoru is at the top of the Trending list. How could he forget that Satoru is
also a celebrity?

Some random account made a post about how attractive Satoru is and now thousands of people are
tweeting their favorite modeling shoots he’s done as well as pictures of him on the court.

Suguru scrolls through all the pictures and reads the thirsty captions with uneasiness in his gut.

He thinks he’s irritated because he went years blocking out any mention of Gojo Satoru. But after
seeing countless people wish Satoru was their alpha or wish for a night with him, Suguru realizes
why he’s uneasy.

He doesn’t like that others are looking at his mate like this.

Damn this mark on his neck.

Annoyed, Suguru stops lurking through the posts. He gets off Twitter and puts his phone back on
the charger. Sleep doesn’t find him for some time so he holds on to his pillow and thinks about
what it would be like to have those dazzling blue eyes only on him and no one else for the rest of
his life.

It’s a pretty picture that belongs strictly to the temporary moments of a dream.

Satoru has beautiful and successful people clamoring over him constantly. Once he sees what
Suguru is like without his makeup and false confidence, he's going to wish he never re-entered his
life. The thought of it makes Suguru sick to his stomach.

If Suguru had never been in the same room as Megumi and Dr. Shoko, he would think they were
the same person. His best friend and his therapist are always on the same page.

After telling them both about his conversation with Satoru they’re in agreement that Suguru should
do what he thinks is best moving forward.

“I suppose I’ll cut him slack since those faulty suppressants made him act that way,” Megumi says
over lunch the next day. He met up with Suguru following his session with Shoko. “But what
excuse does he have for calling out someone else’s name?”

Suguru hates being reminded of that. His stomach twists into a bitter knot, and he loses his
appetite. “We didn’t dive into that part. He also doesn’t remember…”

Even Dr. Shoko confirmed that memory loss was one of the main side effects of the failed
suppressants. Satoru was a victim of that company like countless others.

“What will you do?” Megumi asks. He looks all about his business in the slate grey pantsuit and
cream blouse. “I’ll support whatever decision you make.”

Suguru has never doubted that. “I want to make the best decision for the girls,” he says.

“Suguru, you have to make the best decision for all three of you. If you’re not comfortable or
happy the girls will notice.”

“I’m comfortable and happy as long as they are.”

Megumi sighs and puts his chopsticks down. “They were comfortable and happy when you lived
with Kenjak-”

“Don’t say that name,” Suguru says, his tone clipped. “I never want to hear that name again.”

“Sorry. It slipped.”

Suguru hates how his entire body reacts to that name even after all this time. The reaction is always
negative but it’s the fact that he reacts at all that upsets him. When will he not care at all?

Megumi tries again. “They were comfortable and happy because of the financial stability that
person had and the way that person presented himself to them. You admitted you stuck around for
as long as you had because they were oblivious to the truth…”

His ex-boyfriend is a wealthy and powerful man. Suguru went from barely affording a hot meal for
the girls let alone himself to them all being fed three times a day, clothed in designer labels he was
once unfamiliar with, and treated to other small luxuries. His pups were in what they deemed a
stable environment while Suguru was living in hell. But he would live through hell over and over
just for their happiness alone.

Sometimes he thinks that had that certain incident not occurred, he would still be with that
monster.

“Sato...Gojo has his faults but he’s not like that person,” Suguru says confidently.

“You haven’t known Gojo-san for 5 years…”

“I know but…” Suguru stops himself. He looks stupid trying to defend the character of a person he
truly doesn’t know anymore. “Before I can make any definite decisions, I want to see where
Satoru’s head is at.”

For all Suguru knows, Satoru probably doesn’t want anything to do with him or the girls. He’s at
the height of his career with endorsement deals lined up, and there have been whispers of him
landing an acting role soon. Satoru is also considered to be one of the most desirable bachelors in
the country.

They don’t fit in Satoru’s life. Satoru doesn’t fit into their simple life either.

“Maybe it’ll be easier to keep things the way they are,” Suguru says, feeling drained.

Megumi nods, and for a moment it looks like he’s going to agree. But then he poses the question
that changes everything.

“What are you going to tell the twins when they want to know why they don’t have a Papa like
their friends do?”

It’s not the first time Megumi has asked him this question. It’s just that in the past, the question
wasn’t important because Suguru wasn’t in contact with Satoru at all. But after hearing Satoru’s
side of the story and hearing that Satoru wants to be in his life, he has to acknowledge the question.
How will he be able to face his daughters in the future if he knows he intentionally kept their father
out of their life without even giving him any other option?

Megumi takes Suguru’s silence as an answer. “Take your time and think on it,” he says, reaching
across the table to place his hand on top of Suguru’s hand comfortingly. “Mr. Basketball Star can
wait a couple of days until you’re ready to talk.” He always uses heavy sarcasm when using that
nickname for Satoru.

It used to make Suguru chuckle whenever he heard it but he's in no laughing mood now.

Playing the waiting game is never fun or easy but Satoru keeps himself distracted.

Osaka is Japan’s second-largest metropolitan area after Tokyo which means it offers an array of
attractions for tourists and locals alike. Also, the nightlife scene is decent. Satoru and Sukuna can’t
do too much without the risk of being noticed by a fan or the media but they make the most of their
time here.

They’re not always together, either. Sukuna does a lot of sightseeing on his own or he’ll disappear
from his room at night to do only God knows what. Satoru suspects he’s met someone to occupy
his time with.

While Sukuna is off on his own, Satoru is constantly checking his phone to see if Suguru has tried
to contact him. He’s been anxious ever since he left Suguru’s apartment days ago. He wants to tell
his mother that he has children with Suguru but he doesn’t think that’s something that should be
said over the phone.
He also wants to wait and see if Suguru will come to see him.

Satoru didn’t tell Sukuna anything but Sukuna figured it out on his own when Satoru returned to
the hotel in complete shock. He was decent when he and Suguru split ways with the prospect of
meeting up again but during the drive to the hotel, reality hit him hard.

By the time he arrived at the hotel, he was a mess. He hadn’t sobbed like that since his father
passed.

Learning that Suguru went through all of that alone and was abused on top of that broke Satoru’s
heart. He feels like he’s failed Suguru, and himself, and his parents.

Satoru wonders if that’s the reason why he’s felt discontent for the past couple of years. Did his
soul know that his other half was out there all of this time suffering without him? Was he unable to
have a stable relationship because his soul was yearning for Suguru?

During this waiting period, he’s been doing a lot of thinking about the past, too. He had to come to
terms with a lot of things, and even though graduation night is a black hole in his mind, he can at
least remember how he felt the days leading up to graduation.

All of his uncertainty and anxiousness was tied to the fact that he would soon be leaving Suguru
behind. None of those worries were linked to Haruka. He thinks that says enough.

On the fourth day, Satoru contemplates extending his hotel reservation for another week while he
goes for a run at the park across the street. He keeps on a baseball cap and dark shades so that no
one will recognize him. He runs until his lungs are sore and he’s drenched in sweat. His body
burns and aches but it's welcome.

Walking back to the hotel, he peels off his wet shirt and drains the sweat. A couple of people stare
at his bare chest as they pass and one older woman even whistles. Satoru chuckles to himself.

“Excuse me,” someone says, stepping around him to get to the automatic doors of the hotel.

Catching a whiff of the person’s scent, Satoru looks over his shoulder. He sees someone with long
black hair stepping through the door.

“Suguru…”

Suguru doesn’t hear him, of course. Tossing his shirt on his shoulder, Satoru follows after him.
The cold air from the hotel is welcome on his heated skin. Even with his long legs and a big stride,
he isn’t able to catch up to Suguru before he walks up to the front desk.

How is Suguru able to move so fast in a maxi dress? This dress is powder blue and hugs all the
right places. He isn’t trying to check Suguru out, either. His eyes just latch on to certain things
before he can stop them.

To be fair, this is his mate. A mate he hasn’t had the pleasure of being with in five years. Now he
understands why his instincts go crazy whenever he sees Suguru.

Suguru is speaking with security at the front desk. “Hello, I’m here for-”

“For me!” Satoru says, stepping up to stand beside Suguru. He looks over at Suguru, noticing that
they have a noticeable height difference. When they were in high school it felt like Suguru was
only one centimeter shorter than him. Now several centimeters separate them. “I at least hope he’s
here for me.”
The security guard chuckles and Suguru rolls his eyes.

“I am, unfortunately,” he says without any real heat behind his words. “Thank you.” He looks at
Satoru’s face and very discreetly his eyes lower to Satoru’s chest. “Of course it was you who was
blocking the door earlier. That was rude.”

Satoru smiles. He missed being scolded by Suguru. “I had to wring out my shirt,” he says. He starts
walking to the penthouse elevator and Suguru falls into step beside him.

“You don’t own the sidewalk.”

They get on the elevator, standing side by side with a big distance between them. Satoru looks over
at Suguru, at his exposed shoulders and his collarbone.

“Did you see the billboard up the block?” Satoru asks. He's in a teasing mood despite knowing this
visit isn’t for pleasure. “My face is plastered on it. Technically…”

Suguru looks around as if he’s trying to figure out who Satoru is talking to. “There’s a billboard
with your face on it?" He fake gasps. "I had no idea.”

Satoru laughs. He can see that the corners of Suguru’s mouth are tilted upward faintly. He wants to
smile but he won’t.

“How many more floors?” Suguru asks suddenly. He puts a hand up to his nose.

This elevator is meant for the penthouse suite. It doesn’t show any of the other floors.

Satoru makes a guesstimate. “15,” he says. “Is it my scent?”

Suguru nods.

“Sorry.”

He puts more distance between them by standing on the far left side of the elevator while Suguru
moves to the back corner on the left side. He keeps his nose covered.

Sweat makes their scents more potent. It doesn’t help that they’re in this closed-off space together.

Suguru’s tanned shoulders are flushed and his erect nipples are poking through the fabric of his
dress. His eyes are hooded and his thighs are pressed tightly together. Beads of sweat collect on the
tip of his nose. He looks feverish, but it's more than that. His body recognizes that his mate is in
close proximity. At the end of the day, they're slaves to their flesh.

Still, they're both holding back and staying away.

Satoru’s tongue aches to taste even an inch of Suguru’s skin. Without realizing it, his fangs start to
elongate, their desire to mark and marr his omega’s flesh again taking over. His eyes brighten with
hunger and a bulge forms in his gym shorts. He can't believe he's getting aroused from the way
Suguru is reacting to his scent.

Suguru is looking right at him now - at the obvious print in his shorts - with clouded eyes. He’s
leaning against the wall, panting lightly, and gripping the rail behind him.

“Suguru-”

The elevator dings and the gold doors spread open. Immediately, fresh air is filtered into the
elevator. Luckily, the maids use scent masking products when they clean so Suguru isn't
bombarded with more of Satoru's scent.

Quickly, Suguru steps out of the elevator first and takes a deep breath, and he shakes his trembling
hands. Satoru wants to comfort him but he knows better than to touch Suguru right now. Alphas
have a lot of control over their mates outside of mating cycles. After that first incident, he's being
extra careful about that. Well, he's trying at least.

“I’ll go shower,” Satoru says. “Make yourself comfortable.” He hurriedly walks to his room.

After a freezing cold shower, Satoru changes into casual clothes and returns to the den. Suguru is
sitting on the couch no longer looking as if he’s nearing his heat which is a good thing.

“Would you like some water or anything?” Satoru asks.

“Water is fine.”

Satoru grabs two bottles of water from the kitchenette for them. This suite is set up like a two-
bedroom apartment. It’s perfect.

“Thank you,” Suguru says, accepting the water.

“No problem.”

Satoru sits down on the couch close to Suguru. He’s nervous. They both are. As an ice breaker, he
asks the one question he probably shouldn’t ask right now.

“Where are the girls?”

Suguru looks over at him, his expression blank. “Daycare,” he says. He clears his throat. “It’s still
my vacation time but I went into work this week.”

“I see.”

“Is your teammate staying here too?”

“Yeah, but he won’t be back until this evening probably.”

Suguru nods.

“How are you holding up?”

“Fine.” Suguru closes his eyes, shaking his head slowly. “Actually, I’m anxious. Can we just get
this over with?”

“Depends on what you came here to say.”

Suguru puts his bottled water on the coffee table, and then he wipes his hands on his thighs to get
them to stop shaking.

Wordlessly, Satoru takes one of Suguru’s hands into his own and gives it a gentle squeeze. He
can’t just do nothing when his mate is distressed.

“We’ll work through it together,” Satoru says.

Suguru stares at their joined hands. “Okay…” He squeezes Satoru’s hand back but lets it go. “It’ll
be easier if things stay as they are. It took a long time for me and the girls to find stability. I don’t
want our peace disturbed…”

The way Suguru sees it, Satoru’s life is too inconsistent for him to enter the girls’ lives now. They
need consistency and a reliable father who’s fully dedicated to raising them in a healthy and
supportive environment. Nanako and Mimiko are sensitive girls who get attached easily.

It’ll break their hearts if Satoru entered their life and later decided that being a father isn’t what he
wants. And so on and so on...

It’s not that Satoru disagrees with Suguru. He agrees wholeheartedly. What irks him is how Suguru
doesn’t once talk about what he needs or wants.

“I understand all of that,” Satoru says, weighing his words carefully. “But what about you?”

Suguru frowns. “What about me?” he asks, genuinely confused.

“You’re my mate, Suguru-”

“That means nothing. You didn’t mark me on purpose. You wanted to mark Haruka-”

“Where is Haruka right now?” Satoru asks, trying not to raise his voice. But it’s clear he’s irritated.
He looks around the den as if searching for someone. “She’s not here. She hasn’t been anywhere
near me for five years. If I wanted her as my mate, she’d be my mate.”

Suguru’s nostrils flare. “Then why did you say her name?” He fists his hands at his sides and now
his hands are shaking for a new reason. “That was supposed to be...our moment and you said her
name, Satoru!” He always says his name whenever he’s pissed, and Satoru loves it so much. “You
knotted me while thinking of her and I’m supposed to believe-”

“Every time I fucked her or anyone else in high school, I thought about you,” Satoru says, the
confession spilling out of his lips before he can stop it. It’s too late now. “I had to force myself to
repeat Haruka’s name to keep from calling out for you during sex because how in the fuck was I
supposed to explain that to her?”

“You...what?”

“I marked who I was meant to mark that night. I’m not proud of how it played out and I’ll spend
the rest of my life apologizing for it. But I didn’t mean to mark Haruka.”

Satoru never wanted to tell Suguru that he thought of him during sex in the past. He didn't even try
to think about Suguru. It would just happen. Then it got to a point where he stopped fighting it and
accepted it. He was just extra careful not to say Suguru's name and it worked. It also appears that it
backfired on him.

Suguru stares at him with wide, watery eyes. He blinks. “This isn’t what I came here for,” he says,
swallowing. He looks away. “If you want to be in your daughters’ lives you need to be 100 percent
sure that’s what you want.”

Of course, Suguru is going to ignore everything he just said. He always does that when he isn’t
sure how to respond to something. They’re both different now yet some things will never change.

“Do they know who I am?” Satoru asks.

“Nanako refers to you as the ‘scary man’ because of that first confrontation.”
Satoru winces. “And Mimiko?”

Suguru looks surprised that he remembers their names. “She...she and her sister are usually on the
same page.”

“Is there something you’re not telling me?”

There are loads of things that Suguru probably isn’t telling him. But the way he hesitated just then
suggests there’s something going on with Mimiko. Satoru has zero experience with any of this so
he’s trusting his instincts.

“Mimiko was diagnosed with selective mutism. She used to only speak when we were at home but
recently she started only speaking when...when she has nightmares she’ll speak in her sleep…”

Satoru’s frown deepens the more Suguru explains. “When was she diagnosed?” he asks.

“It’s been on and off for two years. It lasts for two months at most each period.”

“So, she reverts back to not speaking at all randomly?”

“Yes, we’ve been documenting her episodes. This one is the worst.” Suguru hugs himself. “It’s not
easy to deal with but I will do anything to make sure she has what she needs in order to grow out of
this. Do you understand why I can’t just allow you to enter their lives?”

“What caused it?” Satoru asks.

Suguru stiffens. He starts to dig his nails into his forearm anxiously. Reaching over, Satoru makes
him stop and he holds Suguru’s hand again, rubbing his knuckles with his thumb. He patiently
waits for Suguru to decide he's ready to speak.

“The night before I ran away,” Suguru starts, his voice cracking, “Mimiko overheard him. Before
that, the girls never heard any of the threats he made…”

Of course, Suguru is referring to his ex-boyfriend. Satoru wants to ask Mei Mei to look into the
guy but he promised that he wouldn’t invade Suguru’s privacy anymore.

“What kind of threats did he make?” Satoru asks, trying to keep himself from getting pissed off. He
doesn’t want it to come off like he’s pissed at Suguru because he’s not.

Suguru sighs. “The usual stuff,” he says, pretending to be nonchalant. “If I didn’t do as he said,
he’d make me regret it. Mimiko was terrified because his entire demeanor was different from how
it was when he was around them. She burst into tears and I tried to comfort her to no avail…she
cried herself to sleep.” He wipes a tear as it falls down his cheek. “I couldn’t stay there anymore
after that. His voice alone terrified my baby girl...if she or Nanako actually saw what he was doing
to me…”

Fuck everything Satoru said before about not invading Suguru’s privacy. He needs to find out who
this son of a bitch is and make sure they’re wiped off the face of the earth. Suguru was abused, and
their daughter was traumatized. Satoru can’t allow that to be forgiven or forgotten.

Suguru starts sobbing, and Satoru pulls him into his arms. Smoothing Suguru’s hair to the side, he
exposes his scent glands that bear his mark. He’s happy that Suguru isn’t wearing a scent patch but
he also wonders why he isn’t wearing one. He supposes that's unimportant at the moment.

Licking his lips, Satoru lowers his mouth. He wants to comfort his mate. That's the only thing on
his mind.

But Suguru pulls away. “Don’t,” he says; pleads. “I’m very sensitive there.” He scoots back and
covers his neck. “Also, need I remind you that I’m not yours?”

“But you are mine,” Satoru says without hesitation. He files away that part about Suguru being
sensitive in that spot for later observation. “You carry my mark and you carried my pups.”

Suguru crosses his arms against his chest. “I need to make something crystal clear. If you decide
that you want to be in the girls’ lives that doesn’t mean that I’ll be your partner. I’m not part of this
agreement. I have no interest in alphas anymore.”

“You’re saying that you don’t want us to raise our girls together and be a family?”

“I’m saying that I would like for us to co-parent.”

“Co-parent? That’s for two people who don’t want to be together.”

“I don’t want to be with you, Gojo. High school me loved you, but I’m not the same person.”

The use of his surname stings but not as much as Suguru telling him he used to - past tense - love
him. “What if I want to be with you?” he asks.

Suguru doesn’t hesitate. “I don’t care. I’ve had bad experiences the two times I’ve been with an
alpha. Forgive me for not being thrilled about dealing with your kind again.”

“Are you comparing me to your abuser?" Satoru is hurt, not angry by this.

“I’m not! I'm only speaking the truth. My sexual encounters were not the best. Regardless of if that
night was your fault or not, that fact remains the same. I just want my girls to be loved and cared
for. This isn't about me. If you’re not in agreement with that then never contact me again!"

Satoru doesn’t think Suguru understands what he’s getting at. “You want me to just forget that
you’re my mate?”

“It would be great if you did.”

“Do you know that to other alphas you smell like me?” Satoru asks, thinking about what Sukuna
said about Suguru’s scent.

“How could I not know? He would never let me forget that. He did his best to make me not smell
like you!”

“And he fucking failed because you still do.” Satoru’s possessive side celebrates that. “Now that I
know I have a mate and two daughters, do you honestly believe that I’m going to live a life without
either of you in it?”

Suguru closes his eyes and sighs. “You can’t always have things your way.” Even though he says
that his body language suggests that he’s no longer hostile.

“Some people say I have a king’s temperament,” Satoru says, teasing. “When can I meet my
daughters?” he asks.

“After you’ve taken the time to think this through.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing this week? I refuse to be a deadbeat father, Suguru. I refuse.
There’s nothing for me to think about.”

Suguru frowns but it looks more like a cute pout. “We’ll have to take this very slowly. You can
visit with them starting once a week, preferably on the weekends since you live in Tokyo, and not
Osaka. I’ll monitor each visit and gauge how they react to you.”

“That’s agreeable.” He’ll have to move some things around on his schedule but it’s doable. “I want
to tell my mom but only if you’re fine with your family knowing, too.”

Suguru looks sick. “Let’s see how things go first.”

“Okay. What about us?” Satoru asks, smiling. “Can I take you on a date once a week as well? Oh,
I could take all three of you out.”

“For one, you’re a celebrity. I’m not ready for your rabid fans to know anything about the girls.
Secondly, you need to get all ideas of us being together out of your head. It’s not happening.”

If the media catches wind of the twins, they’re going to broadcast it on every news outlet. He can
agree about keeping them a secret outside of family and close friends for now. As for the second
thing Suguru mentioned, Satoru simply isn’t going to give up.

Suguru carries his mark. Suguru is his mate. No other alpha, outside of Satoru, is going to touch
him ever again.

“So, I’ll stop by this Saturday?” Satoru asks, taking out his phone. He has to get Suguru’s number
or these weekly meetings will be difficult to schedule.

“This Saturday won’t work. Megumi and I promised to take the girls to Disneyland to make up for
us leaving Gomari early. Sunday is an option.”

“Would you be opposed to me joining you all at Disneyland?”

“Did you forget that you’re a celeb-”

“I’ll wear a cap and shades. You didn’t even recognize me earlier. It’s easy.”

Even Suguru has to admit that he genuinely didn’t recognize Satoru earlier. He gives it some
thought. “It’d look less suspicious with Megumi there I suppose.” What he means is, it’d look less
like an alpha and omega out with their pups if Megumi was there. “I wish Shiori was here to
balance it out more…”

Already, Satoru has an idea of how Saturday will play out. That demon Megumi is going to snap
his teeth at him any time he tries to get close to the twins or Suguru. He's trying to spend quality
time with his mate and his pups, he doesn't need to deal with a nuisance.

“What if I bring my teammate?” Satoru asks. “It’ll just look like a group outing. You won’t have to
feel like I’m hovering over you. Also, I can stop by Sunday to have a more personal interaction
with them, too.”

Suguru is surprised how good of an idea that is. He obviously didn’t think Satoru was serious
about any of this. “Okay...and if your teammate gets out of line, Megumi will humble him again.”

Satoru snickers. “Then it’s perfect,” he says extending his hand.

“What?”
“It’s an American thing. Well, I guess it’s a business thing too. We shake hands to seal the deal.”

“I know what a handshake is…” He takes Satoru’s hand.

Instead of shaking it, Satoru just holds Suguru’s hand. “I’m really happy we were able to come to
an agreement about this. I’m serious about wanting to get to know Nanako and Mimiko and be a
constant in their lives as well as yours.”

Suguru’s eyes water but he doesn’t cry. “There won’t be a second chance, Satoru. The first time
you hurt them even a little, you’re out of here. You're willing to try and I respect that but you also
have no idea what it's like to be a parent which is why I am trying to give you time to think this
through...."

"My mind is made up," Satoru says, without an ounce of uncertainty in his voice. "I want to be in
their lives." He wants more purpose in his life outside of basketball and depthless relationships. He
wants to step up and do what's right.

"Okay." Suguru decides there's nothing left to do but see how Saturday goes. “I have to pick them
up from daycare soon.”

“I’ll walk you out.”

When they’re standing by the elevator, Satoru is reminded of their height difference again. He
steps up to Suguru, smiling.

“When did you get so short, Suguru?” he asks, staring down at the annoyed man.

Suguru tilts up his chin but he still only comes to Satoru’s chest. It’s at that moment that he also
takes their noticeable height difference into account. He used to be able to tilt his chin up and come
eye-level with Satoru. Also, Satoru's chest is wider and his muscles are prominent even through his
shirt. A faint blush spreads across Suguru's nose and his high cheekbones.

“You were on an American diet at one point,” Suguru says, glancing away to mask his blush.
“That’s why you sprouted up like this. Everyone knows they have enhanced food over there. Look
at Captain America!”

“Because Captain America is a real person,” Satoru says sarcastically.

“Shut up!” Suguru turns around and hits the button for the elevator. “Goodbye-”

“Not so fast. Give me your number.”

The elevator dings open and Sukuna is standing there wearing a black baseball cap and a black and
white tracksuit. He takes one look at Suguru and then glances over at Satoru before reaching over
to close the elevator door and send it back down.

“No worries, I’m going down,” Suguru says to Sukuna before the door closes. He turns around and
looks at Satoru. “Give me your phone.”

Satoru hands over his phone without hesitation while Sukuna keeps the elevator door open for
Suguru.

While Suguru keys his number in, Sukuna looks over his head at Satoru silently conveying his
confusion. But Suguru doesn’t take long to put his name and number in. He gets on the elevator
after that and Sukuna gets off.
“I’ll talk to you later then.”

Suguru nods as the door closes.

Once he’s gone, Sukuna asks how everything went.

“Fine,” Satoru says. Immediately he asks, “Are you cool with going to Disneyland Saturday?”

Sukuna scowls. “Do I look like I want to go to fucking Disneyland at my big age?”

“Fushiguro-san will be there.”

“You know, I’ve been thinking to myself that a trip to Disneyland is much needed," Sukuna says,
his tone instantly changing to one that's warm and pleasant. "Saturday sounds perfect!”

Satoru laughs. He knew Sukuna would agree to it.

 reinforce
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

If it were up to Suguru he would remove every single bone in his body that carried even an iota of
attraction toward Satoru.

He thinks that would make his life easier. That way he wouldn’t be stealing glances at his… ? He
doesn’t even know what Satoru is to him anymore. They’re in this weird limbo currently.

That’s besides the point.

The point is, Suguru is still attracted to Satoru despite everything; misunderstandings,
disagreements, and the years spent apart. It’s very frustrating.

One of Satoru’s highlight features are his eyes.

Everyone knows it, everyone comments on them. But for Suguru, as it stands now, he can’t get
enough of Satoru’s jawline. He knows a jawline in comparison to sparkling blue eyes is lackluster
but from where he’s sitting now on the bright yellow bench in the food plaza Satoru’s jawline is
stealing that top spot.

When they all met up in the Disneyland parking garage, Suguru thought Satoru’s baseball cap and
dark shades were inadequate as far as disguises go.

He didn’t notice Satoru the other day because he simply wasn’t paying attention to the lanky jerk
who was hogging up the walkway. Surely, dedicated fans of Gojo Satoru would notice him, is
what Suguru thought.

So, he spent most of their first hour at Disneyland observing the people around them, trying to see
if anyone recognized Satoru. Somehow throughout what he told himself was for the girls’ safety -
rabid fans are the last thing he wants around his daughters - he ended up realizing that with
Satoru’s eyes covered more attention is drawn to his attractive bone structure.

In high school, Satoru was good looking, obviously, but more on the boyishly handsome side.
Now, however, now-

“Mommy, can I have more ketchup?” Nanako asks, tapping on Suguru’s thigh to get his attention.

Blinking hard, Suguru swallows. “Sure, sweetie…” He looks around the table for the condiments.
Eyeing the red ketchup bottle, he reaches for it.

A large hand blocks his line of sight as Satoru picks up the ketchup bottle and places it in front of
Nanako. His arms are so long that he was able to reach across the table without any difficulty.

That’s another thing; Satoru is very tall now.

Nanako scrunches her face at Satoru. “I asked my Mommy, not you-”

Suguru cuts in. “Nanako, what do we say when others are helpful to us?” he asks in a gentle yet
stern tone. It took him a while to master that balance.

“Thank you, Gojo-san,” Nanako grumbles.

“You’re welcome, Nanako-chan,” Satoru says with a bright smile. He glances over to where
Mimiko is quietly eating her food. “All good, Mimiko-chan?”

Suguru tenses up; it’s instinct, mostly trauma.

Mimiko stares at Satoru for several seconds before nodding her head slowly.

“Good deal!” Satoru says, giving her a thumbs up. Then he looks at Suguru, seeing his barely
touched food. “Did Mommy not enjoy his lunch?” he asks.

Hearing Satoru refer to him as ‘mommy’ makes Suguru’s body react in a way he can’t decipher.
He only knows that it’s not bad, per se, but he still gets irritated. Later, he’ll tell Satoru not to call
him that.

“My lunch’s okay,” Suguru says, picking up a french fry and eating it. He hasn’t really touched his
food because he’s been checking Satoru out ever since they sat down. “What about you?” He only
asks because it’s the proper thing to do.

Satoru pouts, and somehow that makes him look even more attractive; it’s very unfair. “I should
have gotten more french fries.” He looks down at his french fry-less plate. “They’re so good!”

Because Suguru doesn’t want to have to endure a grown man whining and drawing attention to
their table, he is prepared to give his french fries to Satoru.

But then something shocking happens. Without uttering a word, Mimiko slides her plate closer to
Satoru and turns it around to where her fries are. She looks up at him and points at the fries,
silently offering them to him.

“Thank you for the offer, Mimiko-chan,” Satoru says. He nudges Mimiko’s plate back to her with a
smile. “But I’ll go buy some more. You eat up and get your strength. We have a lot more things to
see and do here!”

Suguru watches Satoru stand up, towering over them and casting a shadow over the table. “Want
anything, Suguru?” he asks.

Numbly, Suguru shakes his head.

“Okay, I’ll be back.”

Suguru watches Satoru walk over to the venue where they ordered food from. His eyes notice the
way Satoru’s track pants fit his toned backside, and he quickly looks away.

Is this a side effect of prolonging his heat for too long? Or is his body excited about being this
close to his mate?

Whatever it is, Suguru wishes it would stop.

“That was very nice of you, Mimiko,” Suguru says. He’s still stunned that she did that considering
she is usually stand-offish even with people she’s familiar with.

Mimiko smiles and returns to her food.

“Mommy, where is Megumi?” Nanako asks.

“That is a great question, Nanako. I’ll text him and see.”

Suguru knows that Satoru only invited his teammate as a way to get Megumi out of the way. Even
Megumi himself picked up on that which is why he kept his distance from Sukuna and put all of
his attention on the girls.

But Suguru could tell that Satoru was growing agitated. He would try to suggest an attraction that
the girls may want to see and Megumi would interject with a suggestion of his own and of course
the girls were more interested in whatever he had to say.

Eventually, Suguru pulled Megumi aside and told him to ease up.

They already agreed that as long as Satoru put forth an effort, they wouldn’t hinder his interactions
with the girls. It wouldn’t be fair to do so, in Suguru’s opinion. Satoru is trying, and his efforts
shouldn’t be ignored or belittled, especially not this early.

Megumi decided to go see some attractions on his own for a little bit. When Suguru returned to
where he left Satoru and the girls, Sukuna was no longer around. He thinks Satoru told him to get
lost.

Suguru wanted this to be a group outing but now it’s just him, Satoru, and the girls just as Satoru
hoped for. As much as Suguru didn’t want this he has to admit it’s not so bad.

Nanako isn’t happy about Satoru being here but she’s constantly distracted by everything inside
the theme park. Meanwhile, Mimiko doesn’t seem bothered by Satoru’s presence at all.

After lunch and a bathroom break that takes longer than it should - helping two pups go potty and
wash their hands is always an event - they continue their exploration of Toontown.

Whenever they get on a ride, Suguru and Nanako sit together while Satoru and Mimiko sit
together. Initially, Suguru tried to sit with both girls but after Mimiko’s sandal slipped off during
one ride, Satoru suggested they split them up to keep a better eye on them.

Satoru even bought Mimiko a new pair of sandals that have her favorite princess - Jasmine -
printed on them. Of course, Nanako wanted new sandals too so Satoru bought her a pair as well.
She was so happy to receive her Ariel sandals that she thanked Satoru on her own, albeit
reluctantly.

“Okay, next on the map is either Fantasyland or Tomorrowland,” Satoru says. He has the paper
map unraveled as he skims his eyes over it. “Where to?”

“Where are the teacups?” Nanako asks Satoru.

Satoru blinks owlishly. He looks over at Suguru and then down at Nanako, surprised that she’s
asking him a question. "Um… Fantasyland…"

Seeing him flustered like this brings a smile to Suguru’s face.

“I want to go there!” Nanako takes Mimiko’s hand. “Do you want to see the teacups, too, MiMi?”

Mimiko shakes her head.

Frowning, Nanako stands in front of her sister, looking at her face. “Why not?” she asks, putting
her hands on her hips.

Mimiko only shakes her head again much to Nanako’s frustration. Before things can escalate,
Suguru pulls Nanako away from Mimiko and assures them both that everyone will get to see and
do what they want today. They’ll just have to take turns.

“What do you want to do, Mimiko-chan?” Satoru asks, squatting down so that he’s at her eye-
level. He shows her the map. “Can you show me?”

Suguru holds Nanako's hand and watches Satoru interact with Mimiko. He’s always anxious where
Mimiko is concerned because people don’t usually have the patience to deal with an unresponsive
child.

Mimiko’s former teacher even suggested that she be moved to a different class because she was
“too much work” and after giving that person a piece of his mind, Suguru found a teacher willing
to put in that extra work.

He wonders if Satoru did some research into selective mutism after they discussed it yesterday.
Satoru is acting as if he did.

“You want to go to Fantasyland too but you don’t want to ride the teacups?” Satoru asks, double
checking. When Mimiko nods, he smiles. “That’s fine. I don’t like the teacups either so we don’t
have to do that.”

With that settled, they head to Fantasyland.

But Suguru is curious now.

Did Satoru come to Disneyland before? If so, with who?

He thinks about Satoru coming here on a date with a pretty woman on his arm, and his stomach
twists into bitter coils. He hates this feeling. He hates getting jealous over a person he swears he
has no interest in.

It doesn’t help that he has Satoru’s mating mark.

Physical distance helped Suguru convince himself that he was over Satoru. But now that they’re
breathing the same air again, Suguru worries that his sensitive heart and touch-starved body will
get in the way of his better judgment.

He reminds himself that he’s not a naive teenager anymore but an adult and a parent. He can’t
afford to be stupid this time around.

On their way to Fantasyland the girls see a lot of beloved characters and they ask to have their
picture taken. Suguru snaps the pictures. He can tell that Satoru wants to snap pictures as well but
he doesn’t. He’s very mindful of boundaries.

“I can send you the pictures from today,” Suguru says after he takes a picture of the girls with
Minnie Mouse.

The girls look adorable in their Minnie Mouse ears. Even Minnie complimented them.

Satoru grins. “Thanks. I’d love that.” His teeth are pearly white and straight, making for a beautiful
smile.

Suguru can’t stare at him for too long. He glances away. “Look, there’s the teacups!” he says,
happy for the distraction.

Nanako squeals excitedly, bringing a smile to both parents’ faces.

While Suguru waits in line with Nanako, he watches Satoru take Mimiko to a sitting area where
they’ll wait for them.

This feels surreal. Five years without contact just for them to meet again less than two weeks ago
and now they’re spending a day at Disney with their girls.

Most surprising is how well the day is going.

Suguru hardly slept last night because he was nervous about today. He knows Satoru has zero
experience with children and that the girls are not fond of strangers, especially Satoru after their
first encounter with him.

Despite some awkward moments, it’s not so bad.

It’s not bad at all really.

Suguru has to remember that Satoru is a big kid at heart. He can be mean, spiteful, and
argumentative but in the time that he’s known him he’s never been unnecessarily cruel. His main
concern was Satoru’s impatience and tactlessness. But Satoru is doing fine for their first outing as a
pack; a family.

This doesn’t mean that Suguru is ready for Satoru to move in with them or anything like that. It’s
far too early to even consider that.

Besides, the day is far from over.

If it were up to Satoru he would put another baby in Suguru.

That isn’t what he meant to say. That’s the possessive and territorial side of himself talking.

What he means to say is that…actually that is what he meant to say. No point in him denying it. He
wants to knot Suguru again but this time he’ll be damned if he forgets about it and the only name
he’ll be saying is Suguru’s.

He has been watching the way other alphas watch Suguru throughout the day, and he has had to
stop himself from starting an altercation with every last one of them. The most he has done is shoot
a death glare at one of them with his fangs bared and his eyes threatening. The alpha hurriedly
walked off in fear.

Mimiko saw Satoru do that, and he was worried that he scared her but instead she smiled at him.
Apparently she doesn’t like alphas staring at her mommy either.

The crazy thing about all of the attention Suguru has been getting is that he isn’t outwardly doing
anything to gain it. Outside of being gorgeous, that is.

Suguru is wearing shorts today. They stop right above his knees so they’re not revealing and are
very appropriate for the family-friendly amusement park.

It’s just that Suguru has a very nice shape and pretty legs that the shorts draw attention to. His
outfit is very simple, too. Khaki shorts, navy blue collared shirt, and white, comfortable sneakers.
His hair is up in a ponytail and his shades are pushing his bangs back.

He looks like a stereotypical soccer mom and Satoru wants to tell him that so bad but he knows
Suguru will smack him.
Omegan mothers are often curvier because their bodies go through changes to accommodate their
pregnancies. They also have a natural glow on their skin while pregnant.

Usually that glow goes away with time but Suguru still has his, making him desirable to other
alphas despite his mating mark. It doesn’t help that other alphas can tell that Suguru’s mate hasn’t
been lavishing him with attention.

In their eyes, Suguru is a neglected omega; free real estate.

Satoru knows Suguru’s ex-boyfriend noticed that as well. Every time he thinks of that asshole he
sees red.

One day he’ll get Suguru to tell him who that person is. In the meantime, Satoru will focus on
building a bond with his pack and keeping alphas away from his omega.

“Do you want a snack?” Satoru asks Mimiko.

Suguru and Nanako are part of the group that’s next in line to board the teacups from hell. When
Satoru got on that ride years ago — yes, his big ass got on the teacups — he almost emptied his
stomach.

Mimiko nods her head. They get up and look around the area for a food stall. Testing the waters,
Satoru offers her his hand. She stares at it before wrapping her hand around his index and middle
finger. Satoru is so happy but he contains his celebratory smile.

I’m holding one of my daughter’s hand! he thinks instead.

He tells Mimiko that if she sees something she wants to just let him know.

The teacups are a very mild ride but Satoru has never been able to stomach amusement park rides
that much. He has been trying his hardest not to get sick throughout the day for the sake of
everyone having a good time without having to worry about him.

Satoru tends to overthink whenever he’s on rides, wondering if something will go wrong; a loose
screw or faulty wiring. It’s hilarious that an alpha with his stature and rank has a weak stomach.

There are no amusement parks on Gomari so this is something he didn’t learn about himself until
university.

He was lonely one day, which was a common occurrence and came to Disneyland to cheer himself
up. It was a nice, solo adventure overall minus some of the rides. He wonders why Mimiko doesn’t
like the teacups.

Feeling a soft tug on his fingers, he looks down.

Mimiko points to an ice cream cart that’s up ahead. As someone with a permanent sweet tooth,
Satoru is happy that she chose ice cream over something like a pretzel or popcorn. That’s what
Suguru would have chosen.

Nanako is the one with the sweet tooth if Satoru remembers correctly. Could she have gotten that
from him? Can things like that be passed down to children?

Because Satoru is starting to learn that if he buys something for one twin the other one will want it
too, he has Mimiko pick out an ice cream flavor for her sister. She points to one of the advertised
flavors on the cart’s poster.
Non-verbal communication is just as important as verbal communication so it’s good that she is
comfortable communicating with him in some way.

Satoru stayed up late last night reading up on selective mutism and its various causes as well as
helpful tips to keep in mind while dealing with a child who has the condition.

He spots a vendor selling savory foods so he stops by there on their way back to the sitting area.
The line is long but it doesn’t move at a snail’s pace so he isn’t worried.

“Mommy loves freshly baked pretzels,” Satoru says to Mimiko to explain why they’re in this line.
“I want to get him something to snack on too.”

Mimiko nods and smiles as she licks her ice cream cone. She looks adorable with her blue jean
overalls and Minnie Mouse ears. To think that he and Suguru have two, adorable daughters. He
doubts he will ever get to a point where that doesn’t blow him away.

When they return to the sitting area, Suguru and Nanako are there. Suguru is looking around, his
expression worried. As soon as he sees Satoru and Mimiko approaching, he closes his eyes and
sighs in relief.

“Where did you two go?” Suguru asks, hurriedly walking over to them. He bends over and looks at
Mimiko as though he were examining her.

“We went to get snacks,” Satoru says. He wants to tell Suguru to relax but he’s not stupid or
careless enough to tell an omegan parent to relax when their pups are involved; he also read about
that last night too.

One of Satoru’s perks is that he can retain a lot of information after only reading it once. He’s no
expert or anything as he knows experience will always trump whatever he read in a book, but he
knows way more than he did prior to his research on parenting.

Suguru is still bent over, wiping ice cream off of Mimiko’s chin with his fingers. He’s scolding
Satoru because Mimiko got ice cream on her clothes but Satoru is too busy looking at the way a
passing alpha gawks at Suguru’s ass. The alpha is holding the hands of two of his pups yet his eyes
are glued to Suguru.

“Suguru,” Satoru says, his voice low. “Straighten up.”

Looking up at him, Suguru frowns in confusion. “Hm?” He straightens up and takes a napkin out of
Satoru’s hand. Then he takes sanitizer out of his bag to clean his sticky fingers. “What’s the
matter?”

Once Suguru straightens up, the gawking alpha notices Satoru, finally. He quickly looks away and
continues walking. Satoru wants to rip that guy’s throat out.

“Is that ice cream cone for me, Gojo-san?” Nanako asks.

Satoru blinks, snapping out of feral mode. “Oh, yeah! Mimiko-chan chose the flavor.”

Before he can hand the cone to Nanako, Suguru takes it. “Let’s sit down first, Nanako.” He wants
to prevent another mess.

Since Mimiko is too occupied with her ice cream cone, Satoru lifts her up by the sides and sits her
on the bench next to her sister. While the twins eat their ice cream, Suguru pulls Satoru to the side.
“What was that about?” Suguru asks.

“We only went to grab a snack. Sorry for worrying you.”

“Not that. I’m not upset about that. That was just a natural reaction I had.” Suguru shakes his head
dismissively. “Why did you use your commanding tone on me just then? You told me you
wouldn’t do that.” He crosses his arms, fuming.

Satoru stiffens. He didn’t even realize he did that. “It slipped out. All day alphas have been
drooling over my omega,” he says, his mouth downturned. “I had to assert dominance to make
them back off.”

“What are you talking about?” Suguru’s frown deepens and he glances over his shoulder in
disbelief. “No one has been looking at me.”

“Suguru, I’ve caught at least six alphas checking you out.”

“Oh, please. They were probably trying to see if you were Gojo Satoru or not. Did you forget that
you’re a celebrity?”

“No one even recognizes me!”

“How do you know?”

While they go back and forth, whispering loudly, the twins continue to look on as they eat their ice
cream.

Satoru sighs. “Has anyone walked up and asked for my autograph?”

That’s a good question, and it’s obvious Suguru thinks so, too. But he is too damn stubborn at
times. “Maybe they were too afraid to approach the intimidating alpha.” He reasons with a wag of
his finger.

It’s irritating how Suguru is willing to accept any other explanation outside of the fact that people
find him attractive.

“They were looking at your fat ass in these shorts, Suguru,” he says, keeping his voice down so
that the twins don’t hear. He’s always been candid even as a kid. No point in sugarcoating it.
“You’re hot. Why is that so hard to believe?”

A blush spreads across Suguru’s face. He opens his mouth but then closes it again. Fists his hands
and raises one of them as if he’s going to pommel Satoru. Instead, he huffs out an indignant breath
and turns on his heel. He walks over to where the twins are oblivious to what’s going on.

“Finish up your ice cream girls and then we’ll go meet up with Megumi,” Suguru says, keeping his
voice cheery. But Satoru can hear the edge to it. “He got fast passes for us!”

Satoru walks over. “Suguru-”

“You should find your teammate, Satoru,” Suguru says without looking at him. “I’m sure he’s
been rather lonely considering Megumi has been enjoying the park on his own this entire time.”

That means Sukuna will be irritated because he came here for nothing. Great. Suguru is upset with
him because he told the truth and now Sukuna will be pissed at him for dragging him to
Disneyland for nothing.
“Let me walk you all to where Fushiguro-san is waiting,” Satoru says.

What if an alpha tries to hit on Suguru? In front of their pups, no less? Satoru can’t have that.

“We’ll be fine. Get going.”

Satoru remembers the pretzel he’s been holding this entire time. It’s cold now. “But I got you a
pretzel,” he says as if that’s going to save him from banishment.

“Thank you. But I’d hate to add more weight to my backside.”

Fuck. Satoru didn’t think his compliment would be received negatively.

He attempts to apologize to Suguru but he stops himself. If he keeps pushing right now, in front of
the twins, Suguru will be less inclined to talk to him later.

After Satoru and Suguru go their separate ways, Suguru and the girls spend a few hours with
Megumi, going on rides, taking pictures, and snacking on way too many sweet and savory foods.

Megumi spoils the girls with Minnie Mouse backpacks that match their ears and Suguru gets them
a pin to add to the bag as decoration.

Satoru and Sukuna are always a step behind the group, keeping a protective eye while also making
the most of the day. The former even convinces the latter to wear Mickey Mouse ears with him for
a selfie that is never to be shared with anyone else.

Of course, Satoru will show their teammates the first chance he gets.

As the sun is setting, everyone eventually meets back up again at the front of the grand castle.

Suguru and the twins are posing for a picture that Megumi takes for them while Satoru looks on
with longing.

“Go over there,” Sukuna says, the Mickey ears still perched on top of his head behind his Armani
shades. “I’ll take the picture and send it to you.”

Satoru chuckles, trying to brush off how badly he wants to take a picture with them. “It’s fine.
Besides, Fushiguro-san will get in the way.”

“You’re going to let someone take this memory from you? Wow, when did you become a
pushover?”

That shouldn’t work as well as it does. Satoru really wants to take a picture with his pack in front of
the castle so that’s what he’s going to do. He walks over there with the adult-sized Minnie Mouse
ears that he bought in hand.

After he hears Megumi say that he got the picture, he moves in.

“I got this for you,” Satoru says, offering the ears to Suguru.

Suguru looks at the Minnie Mouse ears. “I prefer Mickey,” he says.

Without a word, Satoru removes his Mickey ears and puts them on Suguru’s head, mindful of his
shades. Then he puts the Minnie ears on himself. The twins look up at them curiously. While they
stare at each other; Suguru is glaring, actually, Sukuna takes the picture.
“Got it!” Sukuna says, looking smug when Megumi scowls at him. He doesn’t pay Megumi any
mind. “Geto-san, would you like to see it before I send it to Gojo?”

Suguru doesn’t decline. When Sukuna shows him the picture he took, his eyes soften but he doesn’t
say anything other than a simple “thank you.” He takes the girls by the hands and they walk over to
Megumi to look at the picture he took.

“Good looking out, Sukuna,” Satoru says as he looks at the picture.

It came out perfect. He and Suguru are staring at each other while the twins are looking up at
them. Even though Suguru is glaring there’s an obvious blush on his face, and their height
difference adds a layer of endearment to the photo.

Later, on their way to the area where the parade will be held, Suguru discreetly asks Satoru to send
him the picture Sukuna took.

“Sure thing.” Satoru takes out his phone. He glances over at Suguru. “Can you send me the one
Fushiguro-san took?”

Megumi is ahead of them, holding each of the twin’s hands while Sukuna walks behind them,
looking at the buildings and stalls they pass by with quiet observation.

“Why? You’re not in it.”

But his important people are in the picture, Satoru wants to say.

Thankfully, Suguru sends him the picture anyway without explanation. Satoru takes one look at
the picture and decides to make it his screensaver. Everyone is smiling at the camera, looking
happy, and Satoru wants to always see them look that way.

He always wants them to be happy, too. Not just in appearance.

When the parade starts, Nanako complains about not being able to see anything. Without
hesitation, Satoru picks her up and places her on his shoulders. She’s too enthralled by the floats to
resist his kindness.

Suguru is tall, but in order for Mimiko to get the same view as her sister, Sukuna asks permission
to put her on his shoulders.

Both Suguru and Megumi are surprised by the question. Suguru asks Mimiko if she would like that
and Mimiko nods. She’s more interested in seeing the parade than anything else right now.

Mimiko and Nanako end up with a perfect view of the parade from on top of the alpha’s shoulders.
Whenever something exciting happens, which is often, Nanako hits Satoru’s head.

“MiMi, look!” she’ll squeal as if Mimiko isn’t watching along with her.

Suguru feels bad for Satoru because he gets whacked on the head multiple times, but Satoru says
he doesn’t mind it at all.

As the parade draws to an end, fireworks start to go off, and both alphas have their heads excitedly
slapped as both girls overflow with joy.

But they both take it in stride and allow the girls to enjoy the moment.

“Sorry, Ryomen-san,” Suguru says as he takes a sleeping Mimiko into his arms. She dozed off as
the parade was closing along with her sister. “My girls get too excited sometimes.”

“It’s no problem,” Sukuna says coolly.

Satoru is holding Nanako while she rests her head on his shoulder. She’s fast asleep and hugging
his neck. Tomorrow she’ll probably be back to disliking him, though.

The Magical Kingdom’s enchantment will have worn off by then.

They all leave the park together; the parents carrying their sleeping pups while the other two walk
on either side of them.

Since they came here in seperate cars, Sukuna goes to where he parked while Satoru helps Suguru
put the girls into the backseat of his red jeep. It’s an old model but it’s clean on the inside and out,
and looks like it’s in decent shape.

Still, Satoru is already thinking about getting Suguru a new SUV despite this. He wants Suguru to
have something new, more reliable, and kid-friendly. But he’ll save that suggestion for later.

“It’s going to be a long drive back to Osaka,” Satoru says. “We’ll follow close behind. If either of
you get sleepy let me know and I’ll put you all up in a hotel.”

Suguru’s back is facing the driver’s door and he’s looking away from Satoru who is invading his
personal space. In Satoru’s eyes, he’s just being protective. He puts his hand on the door beside
Suguru’s head, caging him in.

“Suguru, look at me.”

Reluctantly, Suguru looks up at him. “We’ll be fine, Satoru. Thanks for the offer though.” He
glances away again. “Today was nice. The girls had a lot of fun…”

“I’m happy to hear that. Did you have fun too?”

Suguru nods.

“I’m still coming by tomorrow to hang out. If that’s fine…”

“Yeah that’s fine.”

Satoru wants to know why Suguru is acting this way; his shoulders are tense and his arms are
crossed. Perhaps the Magical Kingdom’s enchantment has worn off for Suguru already.

Stepping away, Satoru shoves his hands into his pockets awkwardly. “Okay, I’ll see you
tomorrow. Drive safely.”

“Thanks,” Suguru says. He looks at Satoru before looking away again. “You too.”

He stays and watches Suguru pull out of the parking spot and drive out of the garage. He worries
his comment about Suguru’s body landed him in the metaphorical dog house.

Hopefully tomorrow he can redeem himself.

Bright and early Sunday morning, Suguru wakes up with a dilemma.

His head is hazy as the remnants of his dream linger in his mind, his skin is flushed and his neck is
sweating. He can still hear Satoru’s voice clearly, groaning in his ear as he moves inside of him.

Unlike his past dreams — nightmares — of his night with Satoru in the cove, things play out
differently this time around. Satoru only calls out for Suguru, he praises him, and says all manner
of lewd things that mainly revolve around Suguru’s ass that he can’t take his hands off of.

In the midst of his arousal there’s annoyance because he hasn’t had a wet dream in such a long time
that he can’t even remember the last time he had one.

Suguru turns his head to the right, staring at his locked nightstand. The drawers come with an
antique lock that has a key. Initially, he purchased it for the aesthetic but
now it’s mostly used to store his only sex toy. He takes suppressants so he hasn’t had a heat in
years so he doesn’t have a lot of toys like most omegas do.

He hasn’t really used his vibrator, either. He sleeps with his door open in case the girls want to
sleep with him and his mornings are too hectic to take time for himself. At night, he has to prepare
for another busy day, and he’s too tired to do anything but sleep.

This morning would be perfect, though.

The girls are wiped from their fun-packed day yesterday and will more than likely sleep in. Suguru
knows Satoru is going to sleep in too. He has some time to scratch this itch and get it out of the
way.

But his drawer is too far away. He’s still sleepy and not ready to move. He has just enough energy
to slip his hands inside his panties.

Even that feels like a task.

What would it be like if Satoru were in bed with him now? Suguru reasons that he only thinks of
Satoru specifically because who else is he going to think about? His experiences are not the best
but out of the two at least Satoru is redeemable.

Right?

Nevermind that. Back to the fantasy.

Satoru would be able to smell Suguru’s arousal. His senses are sharp and their proximity would
assist too. So, Suguru wouldn’t have to say anything.

Would Satoru tease him?

Yes. Yes, he would tease him, playfully.

“Do you need me, Suguru? Tell me where you need me, baby…”

Would Satoru call him that? Would he call him baby? Or maybe some other pet name. Suguru
would be into that, he thinks. There is still a lot for him to explore in terms of what he likes during
sex; not what anyone else likes.

Satoru wouldn’t bother waiting for a reply. He would disappear under the covers and settle
between Suguru’s legs, kiss and suck on his thighs, drawing it out. Suguru would tell him to stop
teasing or maybe he’d whimper because he’d be too overwhelmed to speak. And Satoru would
chuckle, maybe soothe him with a kiss and let him know that he’s going to take care of him.
While the fantasy plays out, Suguru slips his hand inside his panties. He rubs his slit with his
middle finger, surprised by how wet he is. He wants to know how tight he is. It has been ages-

Suguru’s cell rings and he jumps as though he were caught red handed. Heart pounding, he pats
around the bed for his phone. He picks it up once he finds it and hurriedly answers it because he’s
an idiot. He could have just silenced it.

“Hey, I’m outside,” Satoru says on the other end.

Eyes widening, Suguru stares at his phone before putting it back to his ear. “It’s early,” he says, his
voice raspy from sleep.

Satoru is quiet for a second too long. He clears his throat before he speaks. “Uh..want me to come
back later? You sound-”

“No, it’s fine! Just give me a moment. I’ll be right there!”

Ending the call, Suguru gets out of bed. He’s a tad disoriented due to the suddenness of Satoru’s
call so he rushes out of his bedroom, makes a pit stop to make sure the girls are still asleep, and
then he goes to the front door to open it.

Satoru doesn’t look like someone who is recovering from a full day. He looks…fuck, he looks very
handsome today. The bright morning light makes Suguru grimace so he knows he looks like a
gremlin.

He doesn’t have time to take in whatever Satoru is wearing because flowers are being shoved into
his face.

“I got sunflowers for the girls,” Satoru says, holding up the two potted sunflowers. Then he
gestures to the bouquet of Forget-Me-Nots. “Got these for Mommy.” He smiles a dazzling smile.

Attractive bastard…

As someone who loves flowers, Suguru is moved by the gesture. He takes the flowers from Satoru,
smiling as he sniffs them.

“Thanks. This is nice, Satoru.” He turns around and heads to the kitchen. “You can take the guest
slippers on the right. No one has ever used them…”

Suguru’s head is still fuzzy from sleep and now he has pretty flowers to put in his kitchen so he is
humming to himself as he bends over to get the vase from under the kitchen sink. Hearing Satoru’s
footsteps, he tells him that the girls are sleeping so he should be mindful to keep his voice down.

“Suguru.”

Gasping from how close Satoru’s voice sounds, Suguru looks behind himself. He only sees
Satoru’s long legs. Grabbing the vase, he straightens up and faces Satoru who is staring at him with
dilated pupils. Suguru drops the vase, shocked by the sheer desire in Satoru’s eyes.

Satoru saves the vase from crashing to the floor. He doesn’t look at Suguru as he brushes past him
and walks up to the sink. His scent is electrifying.

Suguru gulps.

“I’ll take care of the flowers,” Satoru says as he fills the vase with water, his voice strained. “You
can go freshen up. Sorry for waking you…”

Frowning, Suguru looks down at himself. Realizing he’s in nothing but a tank top and panties the
color drains from his face. He hurriedly leaves the kitchen, muttering curses. Inside of his
bedroom, he leans on the closed door, breathing heavily, thighs pressed together.

What just happened back there? Well, he bent over with his ass all out, unknowingly giving Satoru
a nice show and instead of jumping him, Satoru calmly held himself back. Calmly isn’t the correct
word. Nothing was calm about Satoru’s scent. Even now, Suguru can smell how badly Satoru
wanted him at that moment.

Suguru pushes himself off the door and goes to his bathroom to shower and freshen up. His heart is
pounding like crazy.

Did Satoru smell his arousal as well? Does he suspect that Suguru was touching himself before he
arrived?

This is humiliating.

How did Suguru go from flinching when an alpha so much as stands close to him to being
comfortable around Satoru?

It’s this cursed mating mark.

His body, his instincts — desire Satoru. In their eyes, Satoru has the green light to do whatever he
pleases. That’s why Suguru’s mental guard has to stay up. This is harder than he thought it’d ever
be.

Why couldn’t Satoru be as shitty as Suguru convinced himself he was following that night in the
cove? Why can’t the made-up version of Satoru that he held onto for years be his true self?

Suguru has his work cut out for him.

After a shower and making sure his hair and face are presentable, Suguru plays it safe by putting
on blue jeans and a striped shirt.

Subconsciously, he checks himself out in the mirror. Lifting his shirt, he scowls at the stretch
marks on his stomach. He has some on his thighs as well.

They’re lighter than they were when he was pregnant but still prominent.

There’s also the scar on his lower stomach.

Did Satoru notice his stretch marks earlier? Suguru grimaces at the thought. He knows Satoru
probably finds them gross. He likes pretty omegas without any scars or blemishes.

Pretty omegas like Haruka…

I marked who I was meant to mark that night. I’m not proud of how it played out and I’ll spend the
rest of my life apologizing for it. But I didn’t mean to mark Haruka!

Suguru has replayed that over and over inside his head ever since Satoru said it. Too bad the things
Kenjaku used to tell him continuously make him doubt himself.

The jeans are tight, making Suguru’s thighs look massive. Turning to the side, he sees how his ass
pokes out.
Sighing, Suguru changes his pants. He puts on loose lounge pants that are comfortable and not as
eye-catching.

When he leaves the bedroom, he sees that the girls are still down for the count, and Satoru is
sitting in the living room now. His back is ram-rod straight, his hands are clasped, and his jaws are
clenched.

“Do you want coffee, tea, or water?” Suguru asks as an ice breaker as he enters the living room.

“Water’s fine.”

Suguru grabs water for them both. He sits on the loveseat and turns the TV on for some
background noise but he keeps the volume low. Satoru sips the water and stares at the TV with
empty eyes.

Okay, this is awkward.

The tension in the air is thick, too. Suguru wonders if he should ask Satoru to come back later. If
the girls were awake they would serve as a distraction.

That way Suguru wouldn’t have to acknowledge the high sexual tension between him and Satoru.
Sexual tension is surface level though.

“Suguru…” Satoru says after several long and silent minutes have passed by. Thankfully, he
sounds normal again. “Do you have any pictures from when you were pregnant?”

“I didn’t like how I looked so I didn’t take any.”

Satoru nods. “I just…I think about all that I missed with you and the girls and I know I can never
get that time back.”

Suguru’s guilt starts to eat away at him. He stares at his lap. “Satoru, I’m-”

“I don’t blame you, Suguru. Sorry if it came out that way. I know you were hurt and afraid during
that time. I’m not angry at you.”

“You must resent me, though…”

They look at each other. Satoru’s eyes are the prettiest when they’re sincere.

“No, I don’t. Besides, now I get to make up for lost time, right?” He smiles warmly.

Suguru smiles in return. “Yeah, we can make new memories with…our girls.” He isn’t sure if there
is something in the air or what but he decides to be merciful. “I have a Polaroid from when I was
late in my pregnancy. My friend took it… do you want to see?”

Satoru doesn’t hesitate. “Yeah can I?”

“It’s in my office. Hold on.”

In the Polaroid, Suguru is sitting down, wearing only a sports bra and yoga pants as he rubs his
belly. His hair is down, framing his round face. He thinks he looks like a whale in this picture with
his rosy cheeks but Satoru doesn’t seem to agree.

“Suguru…” Satoru holds the polaroid delicately as though it were a sacred treasure. His eyes get
glassy. “You’re beautiful.”
 Suguru blinks. “I…” He rubs his hands together. “Thank you. I didn’t feel beautiful then.”

His back ached always, his feet were swollen, and his nippled were sore and irritated. He also had
to get used to the idea of having to wear sports bras. It was a nightmare at times, and at times he
just wished he had someone there to comfort him. But he got through it.

“Suguru,” Satoru says, his voice thick with emotion, “can I keep this? Please.” He holds the
Polaroid in his palms.

Considering that it’s a picture that Suguru has never shared with anyone because of how he looks
in it, he’s prepared to say no. But Satoru’s sincerity is hard to ignore.

“You can keep it.”

Satoru smiles. He looks at the picture again and his smile widens. “I’m going to get it framed!”

“Don’t show anyone!”

“I have to show my mom at least. She’ll be so happy!”

One day they’ll have to tell their parents that they have kids together; that they had sex. Suguru
would rather die. His mom and sister will never shut up with their “we always knew it would
happen” nonsense.

The day he returned home with the twins his mother assumed they were Satoru’s.

“Why do you think he’s the father?” Suguru asked.

His mother replied, “If not Satoru, who else?”

And even though Suguru profusely denied her claim, he couldn’t help but think the same thing.

Who else, if not Satoru, would he want to have a future with?

No one.

“Do you want to see their baby box?” Suguru asks.

Satoru blinks owlishly. “Baby box?” he asks.

“I have a box of stuff from when they were babies. Like their baby shoes and the sonogram from
my ultrasound…”

Satoru’s excited smile is blinding. “Yes, show me!”

While the girls spend their Sunday morning asleep, their estranged parents spend that time sitting
on the living room floor, bonding and making up for lost time through the collected memories the
baby box contains.

Chapter End Notes

Thanks for reading!

Adorable Fanart of Suguru’s Polaroid
 resonate

“How was Aruba?” is one of the first things that Satoru is asked Monday morning when he arrives
at the gymnasium for a team meeting.

Satoru flashes a smile; it’s one of the smiles he wears in advertisements or when he’s doing a post-
game interview. “Aruba was great,” he says, keeping it simple. “What about…where did you go
again?”

His teammate falls for the diversion tactic easily and starts to tell Satoru about the weeks he spent
in Milan with his wife as they head to the board room. Since his teammate and his wife don’t have
any pups yet they had a romantic trip that helped rekindle that spark that brought them together in
the first place.

Most of Satoru’s teammates are bachelors, and the ones who are married don’t have any kids. The
consensus is that none of them are at a place in their lives where they’re ready to start a family.

They’re at the height of their careers. Any day a scout will come to one of their games and draft a
lucky soul or two to the National Basketball team.

Being drafted to the National team and representing his country at the Olympics is one of Satoru’s
dreams. It is even rumored that out of everyone on his team only he and two others have a chance
at being drafted.

But that’s just a rumor.

“What are the omegas like in Aruba? Are they as beautiful as the postcards suggest?” his teammate
asks. They’re outside of the boardroom, standing out of the way of the open door so that their
teammates can enter. “I know I’m tied down but a guy can dream.” He laughs.

Comments like that used to amuse Satoru. Now he doesn’t find it amusing at all for some reason.
He’s not even married.

“Beautiful omegas are abundant,” Satoru says with a shrug. “But when you have the right one, the
others don’t matter. They’ll never suffice, you know?”

His teammate is startled by the response, and even a little flustered. “Yes, of course. I do love my
wife,” he says, scratching the back of his neck.

They enter the board room and his teammate makes a quick bee line and takes a seat where there
aren’t any open chairs next to him. It’s clear his conversation with Satoru just now has him feeling
guilty or perhaps uncomfortable overall. Unbothered by the other alpha’s actions, Satoru spots
Sukuna and he goes over to sit next to him.

“If one more person asks me about Aruba…” Sukuna mutters under his breath as Satoru sits down.
“How am I supposed to tell them that the only tail I’ve chased this off-season was fucking Goofy’s
when he helped me find my way to the restroom.”

Satoru snorts. “Did you get lost at Disneyland?”

“The park was too crowded.” Sukuna crosses his arms against his wide chest. He’s staring straight
ahead, looking bored. “You’re in a good mood so I assume yesterday went well.”
Yesterday, Satoru spent the day with Suguru and the girls. It was another relaxing Sunday at the
apartment because Suguru had to do homework for his online courses and the girls were occupied
with a puzzle for the most part.

They were curious to know why he was there yet again. He was just there last Sunday and prior to
that he went to Disneyland with them. But Suguru is an expert at changing the subject and drawing
their attention elsewhere, but that won’t work forever.

“Yesterday was good,” Satoru says. He watches as their coaches enter the board room and stand at
the podium. “We’re still in that awkward phase of things…”

With a look from their head coach, they all stand up and bow their heads in unison before returning
to their seats. The meeting begins after that so their conversation is put on hold. It’s a standard
meeting that serves to brief them on the team's objectives for the upcoming season.

The new season starts in exactly one month so Satoru will have to train a lot until then. They’ll
have team practices three times a week and then they can undergo their own athletic training two
days out of the week.

Their weekends are free so Satoru will be able to go to Osaka and see his pack then.

Satoru catches himself. Technically, they are his pack but right now they’re far from that. There’s a
lot of catching up to do and he has to familiarize himself with the girls better as well as relearn
different things about Suguru.

Five years is a long time, after all.

“Gojo-san, Head Coach would like a word with you,” the assistant coach says to Satoru as the
other players are leaving the boardroom.

Sukuna tells him that he’s heading to the gym and that he’ll see him at practice tomorrow. That’s
Sukuna’s way of saying he doesn’t want to see anyone until he has to see them. As someone who
prefers to train alone as well, Satoru understands.

“You wanted to speak with me, Coach Yaga?” Satoru asks as he enters the office.

He sits down in the chair in front of Yaga’s desk when he’s silently instructed to do so.

Coach Yaga is reading over a file. It’s obviously Satoru’s file that contains his stats. He has a
feeling what this conversation is going to be about but he’s still waiting with bated breath. Could
today be the day?

“I won’t waste your time, Gojo-san,” Yaga says. He looks at Satoru. “We’ve been in contact with a
few well-known scouts. They’ll sit in on one of our later games this season…”

If Satoru knows which game they’ll be sitting in on he’ll know what goals he needs to work
toward. He’s watched so many highlights that he knows how he needs to play in order to best each
rival team.

“Do we know which game?” Satoru asks, trying to mask the excitement in his voice.

Yaga can hear it anyway. He grins. “Not yet but we’ll know well ahead of time.” He gets serious
again. “I’m telling you now so that you don’t get yourself wrapped up in any trouble or anything
that may tarnish your media image. The National team wants the best of the best in every
regard…”
That means no arrests, no getting kicked out of clubs, or losing his cool in public. He’ll have to
keep himself excluded from any kind of drama as well. Some professional athletes end up involved
in the craziest things and it ruins their careers.

But despite a minor drinking problem that the media isn’t even aware of, Satoru’s record is
spotless. He may have connections with the yakuza but they’ve never given him money to help
with his career so he’ll be fine.

“I’ll keep my head in the game, Coach,” Satoru says with a reassuring smile.“You have nothing to
worry about.”

Yaga nods, sighing in relief. “You’re lucky you’re unmated and single,” he says off-handedly.
“You’ll need to devote all of your time and attention to this sport if you wish to win gold!”

Satoru is mated, though, and he has twin daughters he wants to connect with and a relationship he
wants to restore. But he can’t tell Coach Yaga any of that. He’ll think that Satoru doesn’t have his
priorities in order or that he’s incapable of balancing everything, and neither of those things are
true.

Balancing his work and his personal life won’t be an easy task but he’s confident that he can pull it
off.

Following the team meeting, Satoru has a meeting for his new endorsement, and it’s his biggest
brand deal thus far.

He’s going to be the face of a luxury car brand. His contract has him secured for two years and all
he has to do is film a few commercials and pose for some advertisements. The financial payout is
going to be insane and it’ll help him become more of a household name.

In total, he has three endorsement deals. He’s the spokesperson for a line of cosmetics that he never
uses and he does ads for a popular sports drink.

Satoru is also one of three options for an upcoming role in a drama series, and he may be able to
grab another endorsement by the end of the year. His career is doing well. Better than well,
actually. He hasn’t quite reached all of his goals but he’s getting there.

By all rights, Satoru should be happy. But is he?

The thought hits him when he’s sitting inside his condo late that evening, watching the sunset
through the floor to ceiling windows.

Even if, by some stroke of shitty luck, he was incapable of playing basketball again, he would still
be well off financially because of his family.

With his looks and charisma, he can maintain some of his endorsements and possibly gain new
ones. He’ll never be truly down on his luck unless something cataclysmic happens.

So with all of the odds moving in his favor why does Satoru still turn to alcohol when he’s alone
like he is now?

On his coffee table there’s a bottle of vodka that’s unopened and he has an empty glass sitting next
to it, waiting to be filled.

Satoru doesn’t even want to drink right now but he feels like he has to in order to get some decent
sleep tonight. One glass is usually enough to settle his nerves and keep his mind from racing yet he
always has three glasses for an added safety measure.

He wonders what Suguru thinks about his new drinking habit. Remembering how Suguru had to
carry his drunk ass home when they were in Gomari recently is embarrassing. He can’t even
excuse that as a one time slip up because that’s how drunk he usually gets when he doesn’t have
anything else to do.

But Suguru isn’t here to see him now. He’s six hours away in Osaka, him and their girls.

Satoru pours himself a drink. To limit himself only one drink he goes to his bedroom and leaves
the vodka in the living room.

He thought after reconnecting with Suguru and learning about the twins that his dependency on
alcohol would disappear.

Actually referring to it as a “dependency” makes it seem as if Satoru needs alcohol in order to

function which isn’t the case.

Setting the empty glass on the bedside table, Satoru lays in bed, staring up at the white ceiling. His
chest still burns from the vodka but it’s a good burn. Already he’s craving another glass but he
doesn’t feel like getting up to go get it. Looks like his plan worked.

With the alcohol out of sight he’s less inclined to drink it. Of course, that’s just his hypothesis.
He’ll have to go the remainder of the night without another drink to prove if it's factual or not.

Satoru decides to watch the highlights from a past game so he takes out his phone. The moment the
screen lights up he sees the picture and Suguru and the girls at Disneyland and it brings a warm
smile to his face. He stares at the picture, staring at the smiles on all their faces, and he’s grateful
to have been a part of this memory.

Suguru, from what Satoru has seen, is a wonderful mother. He may not agree with that but the way
the girls act around him is proof.

Every time he thinks about how Suguru was all alone while pregnant, Satoru blames himself.

The morning when he left for university, he should have gone to Suguru’s house like he planned on
doing when it was clear that Suguru wasn’t going to come and tell him goodbye. Had he
confronted Suguru then he probably would’ve seen his mark and put two and two together.

How different would his life be? He imagines an alternate reality where he and Suguru never fell
out of touch and he was present from the very start.

His father would have still passed away, he’s sure.

But he would’ve been able to attend the funeral because he would’ve been home taking care of his
pregnant mate. He never would’ve moved to Los Angeles and he probably never would’ve picked
up the bottle because even though his father’s death devastated him it was his loneliness that drove
him to drink.

Satoru would’ve been able to rub Suguru’s back and his feet when they were sore, and he would’ve
been present at every doctor’s appointment and stayed up-to-date on his pups’ development pre-
birth. When Suguru had morning sickness he would’ve held his hair for him and helped him get
cleaned up afterward.
The fantasy is innocent for the most part but how innocent can it remain when Satoru keeps
thinking about Suguru pregnant with their pups. He sits up and opens the top drawer of the bedside
table, taking out the polaroid Suguru gave him.

He has looked at the polaroid more times than he can count. Suguru’s face is chubby and his round
cheeks are rosy, making him look extra kissable. His stomach is smooth and round. If Satoru looks
closely he can see light colored stretch marks as well.

Satoru has never been into pregnant omegas. He never saw the appeal but now he knows why an
entire subgenre of porn is dedicated to pregnant omegas.

It’s rare to have videos where those omegas are being fucked because most times they have a mate
who isn’t going to let them fuck on camera. But there are some who do solo cam porn. Satoru used
to hurriedly click out of the videos when they would pop up on the porn websites he visited which
is how he knows they exist.

The more he stares at the polaroid, the more curious he starts to get. He sees that Suguru is wearing
a sports bra and it looks filled out a little. Did Suguru develop breasts during his pregnancy in order
to breastfeed their pups?

Before Satoru knows it he has his phone out again and he’s using his web browser to do some
research.

It’s common for male omegas to develop breasts during their pregnancy but they’re very small and
only there to store milk. Some standard medical images pop up as well as porn screencaps.

None of it does anything for Satoru because none of the omegas are Suguru. He wants to know
what Suguru looked like with breasts.

The polaroid only gives him a glimpse but he wants the full picture. His imagination is vivid but
there’s nothing like the real thing. He’ll just have to get Suguru pregnant again…

Satoru glances down at the bulge in his sweatpants. His cock is straining against the gray fabric all
because he thought about impregnating Suguru. Again.

Groaning in annoyance, he rolls over on his stomach, pressing down hard to make his cock stop
throbbing. He’s so turned on right now. It could be the alcohol. Only a drop is needed to get his
hormones going.

Or it could simply be Suguru; Suguru with his pretty face and his sexy body. He has more weight
on him than he did in high school, and his stomach isn’t flat like it used to be and he has a small
pudge. He has thighs that touch, stretch marks, a nice ass, and the cutest fucking toes.

Satoru has never been this attracted to anyone before.

It’s startling. He spent most of his life lying about his feelings for Suguru because he was afraid of
loving him and then leaving him when his basketball career took him. But now that they’re mates
he doesn’t see any point in keeping up the ruse.

He also doesn’t know why he’s acting like he’s above jacking off to thoughts of fucking his knot
into Suguru. It sure as hell wouldn’t be the first time.

He rolls over on his back and slides his sweatpants down to free his cock. He thinks about the
Sunday before last when Suguru bent over to retrieve a vase for the flowers he gave him.
There was a wet spot on his panties and it was obvious what the wetness was, and to make Satoru
even more feral, he saw how plump Suguru’s pussy print was. He almost jumped him while they
were in the kitchen. His instincts were demanding that he reclaim his mate…

It probably is terrible to do this but damn does it feel good to think about mounting Suguru on the
kitchen floor and slapping his ass to see it ripple and get all red. He wonders if the ass slap would
make Suguru wetter or would he look over his shoulder and flash Satoru a sexy glare; maybe both.

That would only make Satoru slap his ass again and fuck him harder. Suguru would bite his lips
and try not to be too loud but it would feel too good for him to keep quiet. He’ll probably cry in
frustration because he’d be flustered, and humiliated by the smacking sounds that’ll fill the kitchen.

Is Suguru a squirter?

Satoru loses it at the thought of Suguru squirting. His vision burns white for a millisecond and then
everything is dark again.

“Fuck…” Satoru mutters as he’s panting for air. He waits for the high to go down.

Despite how horny and depraved his thoughts about Suguru are, he does want to make up for that
night at the cove. To think that he contributes to Suguru’s bad sexual encounters is a hard pill to
swallow. And he doesn’t even remember having sex with Suguru. He wants to say that night never
counted but they have twins that prove otherwise.

Satoru knows he can make it up to Suguru if given the chance.

That’s if he’s given the chance.

After washing up, Satoru puts the polaroid of Suguru on his nightstand, using his alarm clock and
the lamp to keep it propped up. He lays on his side, staring at the picture as he drifts off to sleep.

And he doesn’t have any more alcohol that night. It’s almost as if all he needs in order to feel
remotely sane is Suguru.

“Mommy, I want that,” Nanako says as she points at a colorful box of cereal.

Suguru continues to roll the shopping cart down the aisle, passing by the wall of cereal. “We
already have cereal at home, Nanako,” he calmly reminds her. He looks up and reads the signs to
find the aisle he’s looking for. They’re not at their usual grocery store so he’s having trouble
finding where everything is. “Help Mommy decide…chicken or vegetables?”

“I like both!” Nanko says. She looks over at Mimiko who is quietly playing with a stuffed animal.
“Mimi likes both, too. Right, Mimi?”

Mimiko nods.

Suguru smiles. “Okay, I’ll do both,” he says.

He usually tries to plan dinner ahead of time but sometimes life is too hectic to maintain
consistency.

Eating out is always an option but Suguru is budgeting, and he doesn’t want the girls to eat too
much fast food. So even though he’s exhausted after work and he’s drowning in assignments for
his online classes, he tries to cook every night.
Once the girls start kindergarten in a couple of months he’ll have to make them bento lunches
every night as well. Currently they get free lunch at the daycare they attend. Well, the lunch isn’t
free as it’s included in their pricey tuition.

They’ll be attending public school so that will cut the cost of academic fees but soon Suguru will
have to hire a child psychiatrist for Mimiko. Her selective mutism is due to social anxiety, and it’s
best to treat that early on.

The price of her sessions is estimated to be a hefty sum. Suguru is thinking about dropping out and
finding a second job to cover everything. He can always go back to school some other time.

“Excuse me, miss.”

Suguru looks up from the zucchini he’s examining to see an alpha standing in front of him. He’s
the standard alpha; tall, well built, thick neck, and prominent canines. He has dark hair that’s cut
short and dark blue eyes.

“Can I call you, miss?” the alpha asks, looking uncertain. “I know some male omegas prefer sir…”

“Either or is fine,” Suguru says, shrugging. When he was younger he hated being referred to as
miss or anything along those lines. He never thought he would want to be called “mommy” either
but the first time his daughters said it to him, he warmed up to it. “Can I help you with something?”

The alpha gives Suguru a once over before smiling. “Sorry for being intrusive but I can tell from
your scent that your alpha is no longer in the picture…”

Suguru blinks owlishly. “And…” He puts two zucchini in a plastic bag and adds it to the lower part
of the shopping cart. The girls are sitting at the top, staring at the alpha blankly.

“He must have been an idiot to walk out on you. You’re exactly the kind of omega I’ve been
looking for. Can I take you out sometime?”

The question is unexpected, leaving Suguru speechless. He can’t remember the last time an alpha
approached him this way. Alphas approach him but they’re never this direct, leaving him to believe
that alphas aren’t interested in him romantically.

Naturally, he can’t help but to think about Kenjaku during a time like this, and how nice he
pretended to be. His palms begin to sweat as he tries to think of a way out of this conversation.

Suddenly, Mimiko bares her small teeth at the alpha and lets out a noise that sounds like a grumpy
kitten expressing its annoyance. It’s almost as if she’s trying to snarl.

“Mimiko,” Suguru says, surprised by her actions. He touches her shoulder gently. “It’s not nice to
do that…” He looks at the alpha who is looking amused. “Sorry, she isn’t normally like this.”

“Are you trying to protect, Mommy?” the alpha asks, bending over to smile at Mimiko.

Mimiko frowns at the alpha, and once Nanako sees this, she starts frowning as well. That’s the
only cue Suguru needs.

“As you can see I have my hands full,” Suguru says, laughing it all off. “I appreciate the gesture
but I will have to decline.”

“These little rascals need a pack leader to keep them in check.”

“My daughters don’t need anyone to keep them in check,” Suguru says, no longer laughing or
smiling. He steps forward, getting in the alpha’s face. This guy isn’t nearly as tall as Satoru so he’s
able to look him dead in the eye. “I’m not interested. Leave us alone.”

“Good luck finding another alpha interested in someone else’s trash,” the alpha says, his voice
heavy with bitterness. He walks off after that.

Once he’s out of sight, Suguru sighs and turns around to check on the girls. “Are you two okay?”
he asks, kissing them on the forehead one by one. “Let’s hurry up and go home.”

Despite their earlier displays, the girls are fine. They even seem happy now that the alpha is gone.

Suguru is still shocked by Mimiko’s actions but he’s not upset with her for snarling at that asshole.
He’s just curious to know where she learned that from. Could it just be her instincts?

Suguru is relieved once they make it back to the apartment safely. He was worried that the alpha
would approach him again because alphas hate rejection.

There are countless stories about alphas reacting violently when their advances are not received
fondly. He used to think his mating mark would keep alphas away from him but a lot of them can
tell that his alpha doesn’t dote on him so they see him as free real estate. It’s aggravating.

The easiest solution would be to allow Satoru to scent mark him.

“Mommy, I’m so full,” Nanako says. She has sticky rice on her chin and her eyes are droopy.
“So…full…” She touches her tummy.

Suguru wipes her face. “You’re so sleepy, too.” He teases.

Nanako blinks hard to wake herself up. “I’m not sleepy!” Her eyes are still hanging low and her
words are blurring together. “I want to watch Shima Shima!”

Shima Shima Tora no Shimajiro is an animated series that the girls love to watch. It’s not being
broadcasted this late but Suguru has some recordings that he could put on. He knows that as soon
as he turns it on, both of the girls will fall asleep. They already had their bath so that’s fine.

“Mimiko, are you done eating?” Suguru asks.

She nods and pushes her plate toward him.

Suguru has them both go potty and then he washes their hands before taking them to the living
room.

They sit on the couch and he puts on Shima Shima. He sits and watches it with them until they
eventually fall asleep as expected. After tucking them into bed and kissing their temples, he returns
to the kitchen and cleans up.

While he washes dishes, he thinks about the encounter at the grocery store. The alpha called him
someone else’s trash. At the time, it didn’t mean anything to him but the more he thinks about it,
the more upset he gets.

He’s not Satoru’s trash. Satoru didn’t abandon him. Their situation is just unique. The alpha made
it seem like Suguru was undesirable and that the alpha who marked him left him for another
omega.
Well, he didn’t say that but that’s how Suguru took it.

It also makes him wonder how differently things would’ve gone had he told Satoru everything
before he left for university.

Suguru used to think that Satoru would’ve chosen basketball over him; that he would’ve pressured
him into getting an abortion or claim that the pups were someone elses. But perhaps he had been
too harsh on Satoru in the past.

This Satoru — this surprisingly mature and competent Satoru — doesn’t seem like the type to
abandon his responsibilities.

Granted, Satoru is older now. He’s lived overseas, seen different people, places, and things. He
isn’t the same sheltered boy who was far too arrogant for his own good. He’s changed a lot.

He’s also way more attractive than he was in the past, and that’s saying a lot.

Suguru has been attracted to Satoru for over a decade.

Ever since Satoru promised to protect him.

It was after Suguru’s father walked out on them. Suguru overheard his parents arguing and he
heard his father say that he didn’t want to deal with two omegas; Suguru and Shiori, so he wanted
out.

Hearing that left Suguru devastated. He ran all the way up the mountain, seeking Satoru for
comfort, and he sprained his ankle when he tripped over a rock. He was crying so much and not
paying attention to where he was going. He just wanted to see Satoru.

Suguru had to stay at the Gojo estate for a few days until he recovered. During that time, Satoru
stayed by his side even though his parents scolded him and told him to give Suguru space, Satoru
slept in the same room as him and kept him company.

In the dead of night when Satoru thought Suguru was asleep he would whisper to him, “You don’t
need your worthless father. I’ll protect you, Suguru.”

Suguru thinks his crush on Satoru developed around that time.

As he’s making himself comfortable in bed, he gets a phone call from Shiori. From the sound of
her background she’s on the beach. She likes to walk on the beach at night and smoke a joint. Their
mother doesn’t allow smoking in the house.

“Are you sleeping?” Shiori asks.

“No, I’m just laying in bed.”

“Where are my nieces?”

“Sleeping.”

Shiori whistles. “You keep them on a schedule. Mom couldn’t even do that with us. You’re really
good with them, Suguru.”

“Thanks, I do my best.” Suguru smiles to himself. His sister doesn’t give out compliments freely.
He’s always grateful to receive one from her. “How’s mom?”
“Do you remember Hiroshi-san, the widow? Mom went out on a date with him earlier.”

“Shut up.”

“No, I’m serious. They looked cute together.”

Suguru asks Shiori more about their mom’s date. He’s surprised she agreed to go on a date, and
happy that she’s getting back out there and enjoying herself. Hiroshi-san owns a small business and
he’s a nice guy all around. Hopefully things work out between them.

“How did the talk with Satoru go?” Shiori asks after they joke around for a bit about their mom
and Hiroshi-san. “Please tell me you’re not still avoiding him.”

“Actually…” Suguru chews his bottom lip, debating on if he wants to spill the beans or not.
“Satoru has visited with us these past two Sundays…”

Shiori squeals like that’s the best news in the world. “Finally! My favorite duo is back on speaking
terms! Does this mean…”

“Does this mean what?”

“That I can finally refer to Satoru as my brother-in-law.”

Suguru frowns, and he also blushes at the idea of being married to Satoru. He can’t believe that
still makes him flustered. He’s not a teenager anymore. “No. That’s never happening. And we just
got back on decent terms-”

“What do you mean never going to happen? Are you going to keep pretending that he’s not the
father of your kids and your mate?”

“...I never said that he was either of those things.”

“Me and Mom already know. We’re not stupid, Suguru.”

Suguru splutters. “Satoru isn’t…what are you talking about?” he asks despite knowing it’s a waste
of time at this point. He sighs in frustration. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not interested in alphas.”

Shiori snorts loudly. “Whatever. Don’t pick ugly bridesmaid dresses for the wedding. I love you
but I won’t participate if the dresses are ugly.”

“Funny. There isn’t going to be a wedding.”

“Sureeee.”

Suguru hangs up. Then he feels bad like he always does when he hangs up on Shiori. He sends her
a text message telling her that he hates her.

[Sister:] Love you too!

He doesn’t respond.

Ever since that encounter with the alpha in the grocery store, Suguru has been trying to figure out
why Mimiko snarled like that.
He’s never seen her do that before, and from what he’s gathered from his talk with Shoko, it’s
highly likely that Mimiko picked that up from someone else.

It wasn’t Megumi, it wasn’t his mother, nor was it Shiori. Mimiko could’ve picked it up from one
of the other kids at her daycare but Suguru can’t be sure.

The only other person he can think of is Satoru.

“Something funny happened the other day,” Suguru says to Satoru the following Saturday. They’re
at the park having a picnic with the girls who are currently playing in the sandbox nearby. “We
were at the grocery store and this alpha approached me-”

Satoru looks away from the twins. “An alpha approached you?” he asks, frowning. He has on a
baseball cap and dark shades to hide his appearance. The blue t-shirt he’s wearing is a size too
small drawing attention to his broad chest and toned biceps. “I fail to see how that’s funny…”

Suguru rolls his eyes. “That’s not the point. When he approached me, Mimiko bared her teeth and
snarled.” He shakes his head, still in disbelief. “I couldn’t believe it.”

“That’s my girl,” Satoru says, looking proud.

“So, it was you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you teach her how to do that?”

“What? No!”

“Have you ever done that around her?”

“...maybe.”

Suguru lightly hits Satoru’s arm. “They’re very impressionable. Watch what you do around them!”
He makes sure they don’t see him hitting Satoru otherwise he’d be a hypocrite.

Satoru rubs his arm, pretending to be in a great deal of pain. “I don’t see the problem with it. She’s
protecting her mommy.”

“Even still. It’s rude, Satoru.”

“It’s rude for alphas to approach my omega!”

Suguru opens his mouth to tell Satoru that he isn’t his omega but then Nanako comes running over
to them crying. “I buried Mimi’s shoe in the sand and now we can’t find it!”

Mimiko is sitting in the sandbox crying as she tries to use the plastic shovel to dig up her shoe.

Hurriedly, Suguru and Satoru rush over to her with Nanako right behind them. While Suguru tries
to console Mimiko, Satoru uses his hands to dig through the sand.

“How did you get the shoe all the way down here?” Satoru asks. He pulls a purple sandal out of
the sand, holding it up for everyone to see.

Nanako sniffles. “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay,” Satoru says, smiling at her. He shakes the shoe to remove the sand to no avail. “I’ll go
wash this off.” He looks around. “Is there a restroom here?”

Suguru nods as he pets Mimiko’s hair. “Yeah, near the front. There’s a sign. You can’t miss it.”

When Satoru leaves to wash the sandal off, Suguru takes the girls back to the picnic blanket. He
cleans their hands with sanitizing wipes and dusts their clothes off. Their food is packed up because
they already ate.

“I’m sorry, Mimi,” Nanako says. She takes her sister’s hand and kisses the back of it. “Nana is
sorry.”

Mimiko hugs Nanako, and Suguru’s heart melts. Burying a shoe in the sand isn’t the end of the
world but the way they’re both reacting to the situation would make someone believe otherwise.
Suguru touches the top of their heads, reassuring them that everything is okay.

Then he notices the sand in Nanako’s hair, mainly her scalp.

“How did you get sand in your hair?” Suguru tries to brush the sand away with his hand but of
course that doesn’t work. “Okay, we’re going home.”

This happened when they went to the beach in Gomari. He turned his head for two seconds and
when he looked at them again they had sand everywhere.

“But mommy!” Nanako protests.

Suguru shakes his head. “It’s not good for your scalp, Nana. I have to get you both cleaned up.” He
picks Nanako up and kisses her cheek repeatedly.

Nanako starts squirming and squealing like a little piglet. “Mommy…stop…stop…Mommy!” She
doubles over with laughter, trying to hide her face.

Mimiko starts giggling, and Suguru turns his attention to her. When she sees him leaning over, she
tries to crawl away. “Not so fast, Mimi! Let mommy kiss you too!” He scoops her up into his other
arm with ease.

Suguru hugs them both, tickling their sides and smothering them with kisses while they laugh and
laugh. He’s having so much fun with them that he doesn’t hear when Satoru walks up.

“Mommy, no more!” Nanako wheezes as she sits up. Her hair is all over the place and her face is
red. “I ‘render! I ‘render!” She means to say “surrender.”

“I suppose I’ll let you off easy,” Suguru says. He looks at Mimiko. “Do you surrender as well?”

Mimiko nods excitedly. Then she glances up and smiles.

Suguru follows her gaze and sees Satoru standing there with a soft smile on his face. He was
watching them this whole time.

“Did I miss all the fun?” Satoru asks, kneeling down to put the clean sandal on Mimiko.

She offers her foot without any hesitation, making Suguru speechless. Now that he thinks about it,
she’s very warm toward Satoru. Even Nanako is starting to soften up to him. They’ve only been
around him a handful of times.

“…mommy gave us kisses, Gojo-san,” Nanako says.

Satoru chuckles. “I’m jealous.”

“Why?”

“I want Mommy to give me kisses, too.”

Suguru rolls his eyes.

Nanako crosses her arms, shaking her little head stubbornly. “Mommy’s kisses are only for me and
Mimi. Right Mimi?”

Surprisingly, Mimiko shakes her head, disagreeing with her sister.

“Who else can Mommy kiss?” Nanko asks, raising her eyebrows. She looks like she’s ready to
argue. “Megumi?”

Mimiko shakes her head and points at Satoru.

Suguru splutters. “What?!” He looks at Satoru who is just as stunned as him. “Girls, that’s enough.
Let’s go home…”

Not wanting to linger on the topic, he gets up and starts to pack up their remaining things. Satoru
offers to help but Suguru is too flustered to allow him. He packs up the entire picnic blanket and
basket by himself, and then he attempts to carry everything while holding the girls’ hands.

“Suguru, let me help,” Satoru says. He takes the picnic basket and blanket from him.

Suguru doesn’t protest or put up a fight. He just walks to his jeep. He puts the girls in their car
seats while Satoru puts everything in the back.

“I’ll drive,” Satoru says, taking the keys out of Suguru’s hand.

“Do you even know how to get back to the apartment?”

“Yeah.”

Suguru feels like pouting but he doesn’t because that would be immature. It won’t kill him to let
Satoru drive. Honestly, he’s still flustered. Why would Mimiko point at Satoru? It makes him
wonder if Satoru has been scheming behind his back and is trying to enlist his daughters for
whatever plan he has.

But would Satoru do that? It depends on the plan, he supposes.

“I like this song,” Nanako says in regards to a mainstream pop song that’s playing on the radio. It’s
always playing in the morning when Suguru takes them to daycare.

Satoru turns the radio up a little as he drives. “I do too, Nanako-chan!” He starts to sing along.

Then Nanako joins him.

Both of them are singing along to the song, and Suguru wonders if he’s trapped inside of a dream.
He turns around to see Mimiko bobbing her head along to music, leaving Suguru as the only
oddball in the car.

Satoru reaches over and grabs Suguru’s hand while he continues to sing. They’re sitting at a traffic
light behind several other cars so he’s able to look at Suguru while he sings the cheesy love song.
“Stop,” Suguru says, his face tingling. He looks away to mask his building blush. “You’re so
corny, Satoru…”

That only makes Satoru amp up the theatrics. He kisses the back of Suguru’s hand, and Suguru has
to yank his hand away after that because of the way his body reacts.

Satoru laughs, making Suguru want to pommel him.

Thankfully the light turns green so he starts driving again and paying attention to the road. He’s a
very cautious driver or maybe he’s being cautious because the girls are in the car with them.

That makes him even more attractive in Suguru’s eyes, unfortunately.

The remainder of the drive to the apartment is spent with Suguru staring out of the window to keep
from staring at Satoru, and clasping his burning hand that still tingles from the kiss.

When they make it to the apartment, Suguru wastes no time drawing a bath for the girls.

“Mommy, is Gojo-san coming to the ‘quarium with us tomorrow?” Nanako asks when Suguru
returns to the living room for them.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Suguru starts. “Gojo-san has to practice—”

Satoru interjects. “Actually, I don’t have any major plans for tomorrow…”

But the season will be starting soon. That means Satoru will have to train a lot and he’ll have
practice. That’s why Suguru is fine with him visiting for one day out of the week. He doesn’t
expect Satoru to drop his career completely.

“Well if you want, you can join us at the aquarium tomorrow, that's fine with me. ”

“Cool. I guess I could book a hotel for tonight.”

Suguru nods. “Okay girls, bath time.”

While Suguru gives them a bath and cleans their hair, he mentally scolds himself for not offering to
let Satoru stay here for tonight. It seems wasteful for him to book a hotel room. Even though
Satoru can afford it, it still feels wrong.

In Gomari, if someone needs a place to rest their head for the night, so many people will open their
doors for them. The crime rate on the island is non-existent, and people genuinely look out for each
other.

So, that’s how Suguru was raised though he had to forget about all of that while living in a city like
Osaka.

But Satoru isn’t some random guy off the street.

“Girls, can you please be honest with Mommy?” Suguru asks as he rinses out Mimiko’s hair. “Do
you mind if Gojo-san stays with us for one night?”

If they’re uncomfortable or unsure he won’t allow Satoru to say.

Nanako frowns. “He’s too tall for our bed. Where will he sleep?” she asks.

It’s a very good question. It’s also funny to note that Suguru’s bed isn’t even an option in her mind.
“I have a spare futon,” Suguru says. “He can sleep in the living room.”

“Okay,” Nanako says, not showing any negative or positive reaction to the suggestion. “Mimiko
likes Gojo-san so he can stay.”

“Is that true, Mimiko?“

Mimiko smiles and nods.

Suguru still can’t wrap his head around that. She dislikes alphas more than Nanako does because
she saw Kenjaku’s true nature. But she’s already a fan of Satoru. How?

“And what about you, Nanako?”

Nanako shrugs. “He’s funny looking.”

“Funny looking?”

“His hair is…it’s like a sheep.”

Suguru covers his mouth to hide his smile. “Nanako, that’s not nice.” She reminds him so much of
Satoru when he was a kid. “Please never say that to him. It’ll hurt his feelings.”

“Yes, Mommy.”

“Since you invited him to the aquarium I'll assume you like him, too.”

Nanako wrinkles her nose. “I did it for Mimi!” She says stubbornly.

Suguru knows his daughter well enough to know that’s an excuse. Yet again, she’s acting so much
like Satoru. He’s always noticed that about her but now that he sees how the two interact with each
other there’s no denying it.

As for Mimiko, his mom and sister often say that she acts exactly like he did as a child. Suguru can
agree with that. He and Mimiko have similar personalities.

But the girls are also their own people. Suguru enjoys watching them grow more into themselves,
and he just hopes to be here for them always, to witness their journey into adolescence and
adulthood.

Damn, he’s making himself sad.

“Mommy, do you like Gojo-san?” Nanako asks suddenly.

Suguru blinks. His face heats up, and he feels like how he did when his mom asked him a similar
question when he was thirteen. And he answers the question the same as he had back then.

Some things never change.

“I…we are friends,” he says, clearing his throat. “So, naturally I like him. As a friend.”

The twins stare at him, blinking curiously.

Suguru suggests that they watch their favorite Disney film after their bath and that puts an end to
the awkward silence that he created.
He can’t believe that innocent question made him act that way. Maybe it’s because Suguru is
ashamed to admit that he still likes Satoru.

“Have you booked a hotel yet?”

Satoru is in the middle of looking for a hotel that’s not too far out. “Not yet,” he says.

The girls are in the living room watching an animated film. Before Satoru leaves for the day he’s
hoping to spend more time with everyone even though he’ll be with them tomorrow. He finds
himself wanting to be around them a lot.

So much that instead of training tomorrow like he should he’ll be going to the aquarium.

“How about you just stay here tonight?” Suguru asks.

Satoru looks up at him, noticing the faint blush on his high cheekbones. “Is that really fine?”

“Yes, I already asked the girls. I have a spare futon…”

“Where will I sleep?” Satoru feels like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that he can’t pass up.
“Can I sleep in your room? On the floor, of course…”

He’s really trying his luck here. But if there’s even a chance that he can sleep in Suguru’s nest, he
has to take it.

“The living room is a better option. It’s bigger and you’ll have more space. But it’s up to you…
you’re the guest.”

“I think I’d sleep better with you close by.”

Suguru scowls. He’s so cute when he’s pretending to be annoyed. “Whatever. Just mind your
manners in my nest. Got that?”

“Yes, Mommy.”

Satoru sees the smack coming a mile away and he doesn’t evade it because it’s earned. Suguru
smacks the back of his head to draw attention away from his crimson face.

The girls are too engrossed in their movie to pay attention to what the adults are doing in the
kitchen. Satoru rubs the back of his head. It doesn’t hurt because Suguru never uses his full
strength during times like this but he likes to act like it hurts to garner sympathy.

But Suguru doesn’t have any to spare for him today.

“Don’t call me that you’re not my kid,” Suguru says as he walks off to start putting away the
leftover food from the picnic.

Out of habit, Satoru stares at Suguru’s ass as he walks off. He’s wearing another maxi dress today.
This one is gray with thin straps on the back. His ass looks phenomenal, making Satoru think about
his “kitchen fantasy” which is kind of fitting considering where they are.

“Let me help,” Satoru says, getting up and walking over to where Suguru is.

“It’s fine.”
Satoru slides up behind Suguru. He wants to hug him, feel his body against his, but he doesn’t
close that small distance.

“Suguru, why are you acting like this?“ he asks, keeping his voice low; mostly to keep the girls
from overhearing.

But his low cadence obviously affects Suguru.

Suguru’s back is rigid and his shoulders are squared. “Acting like what?” he asks tersely.

“Irritated. Am I really annoying you?”

“...”

Satoru moves closer to see Suguru’s face, wanting to see his cute blush again. When Suguru looks
up at him, and they both notice their close proximity, it’s like the lighting of a match. He doesn’t
know who makes the first move. It happens so fast, and before he knows it his tongue is down
Suguru’s throat and his hands are full of Suguru’s ass.

Suguru’s hands are fisted in the front of Satoru’s shirt and he’s pressing his body against Satoru
and whimpering quietly. If it weren’t for the counter behind Suguru they would probably be on the
floor dry humping.

The kiss is electrifying and dizzying, making the hairs on Satoru’s neck raise. Suguru’s lips are
soft and his mouth is so sweet and hot and the sounds he’s making…

“I want you so fucking bad,” Satoru whispers hotly, sounding drunk. He starts to tug up Suguru’s
dress, smelling how wet he already is.

Suguru touches the front of Satoru’s pants, rubbing his bulge. The bold action startles Satoru. But
he just smirks. He kisses Suguru quickly before pulling the top of his maxi dress down, exposing
one of his nipples. It’s pink and erect, looking so damn good.

Satoru swipes his tongue over it before sucking on it, and Suguru curls his fingers in his hair and
muffles a moan. He’s so sensitive.

“Mommy!”

Abruptly, Suguru pries Satoru’s hands off his ass. He pulls up the top of his dress, covering his
nipple. The nub is poking through the fabric, and somehow that’s sexier.

“Yes?” Suguru asks breathlessly as he hurries out of the kitchen.

Nanako is asking for a snack from the sounds of it. Satoru is still reeling from what just transpired
so he isn’t really listening. He fixes himself a glass of water and tries to get his erection to go away.

Suguru returns to the kitchen. He avoids Satoru’s gaze as he peels and slices apples for the girls.
His back is facing Satoru; his pretty back. Satoru wants to kiss down his spine as he mounts him
and knots his pussy…

“Satoru, can you stop?”

“Stop what?”

Suguru slams the knife on the counter in annoyance. He walks over the cabinets, taking out some
peanut butter. Then he tries to open one of the drawers to retrieve a spoon but it’s stuck. He tugs on
it, trying to pry it open. Every time he moves, his ass wiggles, making Satoru feel feral.

“Let me,” Satoru says. He walks up and yanks the drawer open with one pull.

“…thanks.” Suguru retrieves the spoon. He glances at Satoru. “Maybe you shouldn’t stay
tonight…”

Satoru’s soul is crushed. “Wait, why?”

“You need to work on controlling your pheromones around me, Satoru. I’m your mate so I’m
easily susceptible to them.”

“Is that the excuse you’re going to go with?”

“Excuse me?”

Satoru leans closer, his mouth touching Suguru’s ear. “You were wet before I even kissed you,
Suguru.”

Suguru shivers but he shoves Satoru away and returns to where he left the apple slices. “Yeah
because like I said…you need to control your pheromones.”

He adds peanut butter to the apple slices and then he takes it to the girls. When he returns to the
kitchen shortly after, he gestures for Satoru to follow him.

The girls don’t even look at them as they pass by the couch as they enter the hallway that leads to
the bedrooms. Satoru has a feeling they’ll be asleep soon.

Once Suguru’s bedroom door is open, Satoru is hit with his scent; the scent he gave to Suguru.

“Listen, Satoru,” Suguru says as he closes the door behind them. He leans against it, putting
distance between them. “Regardless of what my body may say, I don’t want to be in a relationship
with you. I don’t want that with anyone.”

“So that kiss was just a product of instinct?”

“Basically.”

Satoru wants to call bullshit. “Okay, fine, if a relationship is off the table then at least let me take
care of your body’s needs.”

“My body doesn’t need anything.”

Suguru is a really bad liar. He always has been.

Ever since they were kids he would deny himself the things he wanted because he was too afraid of
having them taken from him.

Better to not have it at all than to have it taken from him, is how Suguru has always seen it. But
they’re adults now, and Satoru wants Suguru to know that they both can have what they want.
Nothing is stopping them.

“What are you doing?” Suguru asks as Satoru kneels down in front of him. “Satoru…”

Satoru touches Suguru’s hips. “Tell your alpha what you want and I’ll give it to you…”
Suguru laughs nervously. “Cut it out,” he says, his voice squeaky.

“Do you want me to kiss you here?” Satoru asks, leaning forward, putting his face close to where
Suguru wants him most. “Has anyone ever kissed you here, baby?” He looks up at Suguru,
waiting.

“…no.”

Hearing that pulls a mixed reaction out of Satoru.

Obviously he’s happy to know that he’ll get to be the first and last person to eat Suguru’s pussy.
But he’s also annoyed that the worthless ex-boyfriend never ate Suguru’s pussy.

What in the fuck was he good for anyway?

“Never?” Satoru sucks his teeth in annoyance. “That asshole didn’t deserve you, Suguru. I’ll show
you how good it feels…”

Suguru touches Satoru’s shoulders to stop him from pulling his dress up. “Satoru…it’s too bright
outside…”

“What does that have to do with anything? Are you worried the girls will hear? Just keep your
voice down and I’ll make it quick—”

“I’m not comfortable with you…seeing me.” Suguru balls his fists at his sides. “You won’t like
it…”

“I highly doubt that, Suguru.”

Suguru’s eyes prick with tears and he starts breathing heavily. Satoru gently pulls Suguru down to
the floor with him, helping him rest his back against the door.

“Tell me what’s really wrong,” Satoru says.

“I need to go check on the girls.“

“They’re asleep. We both know that.”

Suguru doesn’t argue. He sighs and covers his face. “You can have anyone you want, Satoru.
Some model or actress…you don’t have to pretend-”

“Suguru, you know, it sounds like you’re about to say something that’s going to piss me off. Let’s
avoid that entirely, okay?” He pulls Suguru into a hug. “That abusive fuck made you hate yourself,
is that it?”

“It’s annoying how you know everything without me having to tell you,” he says through tears.

“You love it because it prevents you from saying the things you’d prefer not to say.”

Suguru hugs his neck and cries on his shoulder. “I’m scared, Satoru. I’m scared that you’ll see the
real me and leave us…”

“I’ve known the real you all my life and the only time I left was when you shut me out. But I was
still one call away. Nothing is keeping me away from my mate or my pups.”

“You say that now because you see me with makeup and…and…”
“Are you wearing makeup now?“

“No but…”

Satoru laughs, and Suguru sits up in surprise. “Do you hear yourself, Suguru? You’re not wearing
makeup now and I still almost jumped you in the kitchen.”

Suguru sniffles. “Because of pheromones.”

“No, because the mother of my pups is gorgeous and I want to give him more pups.”

“Do you always think with your knot, you horny alpha!” Suguru shoves him away.

But Satoru just laughs and hugs him again, pulling him close to his big chest. “I’m serious.” He
kisses Suguru’s cheek and nuzzles him. “I like you, Suguru. Even though you don’t like yourself
right now, I still want to be with you.”

“Satoru…” Suguru looks up at him with red, puffy eyes.

“So give me a chance to prove myself. I want to court you.”

“Court me? We’re already mates…we have pups together.”

Satoru figures this is the best way to show Suguru that he’s serious about them. “Things didn’t
play out how either of us wanted. We have a chance to do it right.”

“Are you serious?”

“I wouldn’t toy with you like this, Suguru.”

Suguru considers him. He stares at him for several long seconds. “I’ll need to think it over.”

“You mean you need to run it by Fushiguro-san.”

“Yes…and my therapist.”

“Neither of them know me like you do.”

“And that’s why I need an outside opinion.”

Satoru supposes he understands why Suguru would want to consult his friend and his therapist
first. But he still gets irritated when other people try to come between him and Suguru; it’s his
instincts.

Alphas are territorial about some of the silliest things.

“Okay, that’s cool.”

“If we’re going to be courting, that means you can’t sleep in my nest tonight.”

Fuck, Satoru forgot about that. Courting rules are kind of strict now that he thinks about it.

“But I thought you needed to consult your friends first!”

“A true gentleman would respect my boundaries until I’ve made a decision.”

Satoru groans. “Fine, I’ll sleep in the living room tonight. But can we at least cuddle while the
girls nap?“ He allows himself to be a little vulnerable out of desperation. “I miss you a lot…”

They’ve been slowly getting to know each other again for a few weeks. It’s not like this is their
first time seeing each other after five long years. But Suguru understands the sentiment all too well.

They used to do everything together. They used to look up at the same stars and wonder what the
other was up to. They can’t pretend like that longing doesn’t exist.

“I want to put the girls in bed first.”

“I’ll help.”

As expected, the twins are out cold. Suguru carries Mimiko, and Satoru carries Nanako. They tuck
their daughters into bed and Suguru gives them a mandatory forehead kiss while Satoru looks on
fondly.

Then they return to Suguru’s bedroom.

Satoru washes up and takes his shirt off because he always sleeps without it. When he leaves the
bathroom, Suguru is now dressed in striped pajama pants and a tank top. He looks at Satoru’s
muscular chest but says nothing.

They get into bed, staying on opposite sides until Satoru can’t bear it anymore. He grabs Suguru
and pulls him into his arms.

“When did you get so strong?” Suguru mutters. His face is planted in Satoru’s pecs.

Satoru cups the back of Suguru’s head, feeling like he’s finally home. “The Captain America
serum is real,” he says teasingly.

“Oh shut up.”

They lay in silence for what feels like eons. Just enjoying each other’s company.

There’s a lot Satoru wants to say but he doesn’t know where to start. But of course, Suguru can
always read his mind when they’re together like this.

“I’m sorry about your father, Satoru.” Suguru whispers. “I didn’t learn about it until years later…”

Satoru closes his eyes. “I couldn't make the funeral because of scheduling conflicts…I’m never
going to forgive myself…” A lump forms in his throat and he tries to swallow it down. “But it’s
life. It’s whatever.”

Sitting up, Suguru touches his face. “Satoru…it’s me.” He reminds him.

That shouldn’t be as effective as it turns out to be. It’s been five years, for fuck’s sake. But right
now feels like any old night at the cove when it’s just them with the sound of crashing waves
surrounding them.

Satoru blinks, and the tears start to fall. “I miss him so much, Suguru…”

Quickly, their positions change. Suguru holds Satoru against his chest and pets his hair as he cries
on his shoulder.

Satoru has cried over his father before but not like this because he usually only allows himself a
tear or two. He’ll even go so far as to tell himself that he doesn’t deserve to mourn. That he doesn’t
deserve to shed any tears. He should’ve been at the funeral. He should’ve been there for his
mother…

“I should’ve…tried harder…he did everything for me…”

Suguru hugs him tightly, serving as his anchor as he spirals into a pit of deep regret and shame.

No one else.

Satoru can’t do this with anyone else.

Only Suguru.

“The next time we’re in Gomari, let’s visit his grave. You haven’t done that, have you?”

Satoru shakes his head. He holds on to Suguru like he’s a baby. He doesn’t feel weak or
embarrassed, either. This is Suguru. His Suguru.

“Then we’ll go together, and you can tell him everything you want him to hear, okay?”

“What if he hates me?”

“Do you genuinely believe that, Satoru? Knowing who your father was and how much he loved
you?”

Satoru sighs. “No, I don’t believe that.” He nuzzles Suguru’s cheek affectionately, needing to
express how grateful he is to have him. “I felt so lost without you…”

Suguru is quiet for a long time. So quiet that it’s as if he’s sleeping. But from the way his breaths
come and go, Satoru knows he’s awake.

“I felt the same way…”

“Do you ever think that we’re soulmates?”

“If we are then why does fate hate us so much?”

“We’re too powerful together. We threaten the universe.”

Suguru laughs.

They used to joke about being a dynamic duo when they were children.

Any time their parents tried to seperate them so that they could turn in for the night, they would say
that the universe was trying to ruin their fun and keep them separated. It used to be a silly joke but
considering how things played out maybe they were right.

“Nothing's going to seperate us again, Suguru.” Satoru promises. “You mean everything to me.”

Suguru doesn’t verbally respond but that’s how he is. His actions are more honest than his words.

He touches Satoru’s face and kisses his lips softly to show that they’re on the same page.
 respite
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

It’s one of those mornings where Suguru wakes up an hour before his alarm clock goes off.

His body is exhausted, still holding on to the remnants of an eventful weekend, but his mind is
wide awake. He tries to quiet his thoughts, tries to tell them to shut the hell up and let him get more
sleep before another long week.

But it’s all to no avail.

Just because he’s awake that doesn’t mean he has to get out of bed, though. So, he just lays there
and tries to do a mental run through of what his morning is going to be like with getting the twins
ready for daycare and preparing for his last day of work before he has to look for a new project but
his thoughts are elsewhere entirely.

Satoru. The only thing on his mind right now is Satoru.

It’s difficult to think of anything else when the scent of him is still lingering on the bed; the pillow,
the sheets, and the duvet. Suguru bets Satoru intentionally scent marked the pillow he laid his head
on so that when Suguru is all alone, just like now, he’ll have no choice but to think of him and wish
he was here.

Saturday night was hell.

The object of his silly childhood crush as well as the object of his embarrassing adult infatuation
was sleeping in the other room, close yet still too far away. Instead of giving in and begging Satoru
to come to bed like he wanted, Suguru held his ground and contained his emotions — mainly his
lust.

He tries to contain it even now but the more he thinks about Satoru’s perfect physique and his
handsome face, the needier he gets. He rubs his thighs together, squeezes them tight to offer
himself some form of relief but that ache won’t go away.

Eyes still closed, nostrils overwhelmed by the scent of a forest after a thunderstorm, Suguru grabs
the pillow that still holds Satoru’s scent. At first, he just hugs it, rubs his nose against it and
imagines that he’s cuddling with Satoru again.

They ended up taking a nap Saturday afternoon after their short heart to heart. Thankfully, they
woke up before the twins could find them in bed. Suguru isn’t prepared for the kinds of questions
the girls will have after seeing something like that. He still has no idea how to tell them that Satoru
is their father.

Before he can even open up that can of worms and explore the endless possibilities, he’s thinking
about how Satoru is his mate, his alpha, the father of his pups. He’s so strong and gorgeous and
capable. It felt amazing to be held by him, to have his hand caressing his back, to feel his muscular
body against him, sturdy like a pillar of stone.

Whimpering quietly, Suguru keeps his eyes closed as he slowly rolls over and straddles the fantasy
version of Satoru. In the fantasy, he doesn’t care that it’s bright outside and that Satoru can see all
of his disgusting flaws. He’s more concerned with how good it feels to rub against Satoru while his
big hands grip his ass.

Suguru squeezes his thighs around Satoru’s hips, rolling his body and rutting against his cock,
using him to find his pleasure. And Satoru allows him. He’s biting his pretty lips, his white teeth
digging into the skin while his eyes are rolled back.

Suguru licks his lips. A quiet, “Satoru,” slipping out as he gets wetter and his movements become
faster, more desperate as he chases that much-needed release.

How long has it been? Not since the last time he had sex. He remembers that time vividly despite
how much he’d rather not, and nothing about it conjures feelings of desire and longing the way
Satoru’s scent does. What Suguru is interested to know is how long it’s been since he’s
successfully pleasured himself like this.

He hasn’t felt the urge to do so until Satoru re-entered his life, to be honest. He used to have trouble
getting aroused. The reasons for that are obvious…

“Don’t think about him when you’re with me,” fantasy Satoru says, his blue eyes burning
possessively. “Focus on me, baby.”

Suguru nods and mutters a raspy, “Okay,” as he dismisses all thoughts of that asshole and focuses
on his body’s needs and the pleasure Satoru gives it.

He starts to move faster, biting his lips to muffle his moans. It feels like pressure is continuously
building in the pit of his stomach, rising higher and higher at increasing speed. Fantasy Satoru is
sucking on his neck now, his tongue hot and wet, his teeth painful as they nip at his flesh. It’s like
he’s trying to mark him, claim him for all to see.

He would only do that if he thought Suguru was worth something, right? He would only do that if
Suguru was everything he wanted and needed? And in this moment that’s believable. It’s
acceptable, and it’s partially why Suguru orgasms as hard as he does. He buries his face in fantasy
Satoru’s soft, cushiony pecs to mask his moans, and he hugs his body tightly as he soaks his
panties.

Feeling exhausted, Suguru mewls quietly. He’s panting and sweating, feeling like he just did a
couple of laps around his apartment complex. As his heartbeat slows and his head becomes less
fuzzy as reality sets in, he tries to hold on to the fantasy longer but it slips away from him.

Opening his eyes, he first sees how bright it is inside of his bedroom. Sunlight is beaming on his
face, making his skin hotter, and he can see dust particles floating in the air. Gradually, he starts to
realize that his “fantasy Satoru” was the pillow Satoru used during their Saturday afternoon nap.

He humped his pillow like a horny teenager. Even when he was a horny teenager, he never did
anything like this. Even more mortifying is the stickiness between his legs. Sitting up, he looks
down and sees that even the pillow case is soaked.

Suguru grimaces.

Well, it felt good while he was doing it, he’ll admit. He also will admit he feels satisfied right now,
and knows he won’t have any overwhelming urges like that for a long time. He’s broken, after all.
For a time, he couldn’t even get wet enough. Penetration terrifies him because it always hurt in the
past, making him believe it will always be that way for him.

God, why is Satoru wasting his time trying to court him? He’s better off with someone else,
someone better.
Suguru can’t even enjoy a successful masturbation session without his trauma reminding him why
he’ll never be the pretty and desirable omega Satoru prefers. Feeling annoyed with himself, he gets
up and takes the pillow case off of “fantasy Satoru.”

Of course the pillow is wet too.

Damn, he’s really wet…

Hearing his phone buzz on the nightstand, he assumes it’s a notification reminding him of his
therapy session with Shoko today. But a glance at his alarm clock tells him that he has another
twenty minutes before his alarm and all of his reminders start to kick in.

Frowning, he grabs his phone to see who’s messaging him this early. He bets it’s Shiori sending
him a silly meme or something. Seeing Satoru’s name on the screen gives him pause. Why does it
feel like Satoru contacts him every time he’s pleasing himself? Now Suguru is paranoid,
wondering if Satoru can somehow sense that his omega is wet and yearning for him.

Suguru opens the message. There’s a sweet ‘good morning’ attached to a picture of Satoru. He’s in
what appears to be a gym, taking a picture in a wall mirror. He’s shirtless, sculpted body glistening
with sweat, and his gym shorts are hanging low on his hips, showing off his deep v-cut and the
white happy trail…

Pressing his thighs together, he nibbles on his lips as he stares at the obvious dick print Satoru is
sporting. It isn’t fully erect from the looks of it but it’s still massive. Gorgeous body aside, Satoru’s
smile is cocky, his face still manages to leave Suguru speechless. It really upsets him that this one
person is this good looking.

Satoru is looking at the camera as if he’s staring right at Suguru. As if he’s saying “this is all
yours.” His nipples are pale pink and hard. They’re pretty, fitting his skin perfectly.

Locking his phone, Suguru hides it under his pillow as if that will help him delete the picture from
his brain. He covers his face with both hands because he’s blushing so hard that he thinks he may
pass out. He’s thinking about that moment in the kitchen when they kissed. Satoru was gripping his
ass while his tongue was inside of his throat and Suguru boldly touched Satoru’s dick.

What in the world got into him? He actually thought about getting on his knees and sucking Satoru
off despite how much he hates doing that.

That was mostly what Kenjaku wanted out of him in terms of sex. He always made it rough and
humiliating because he enjoyed making Suguru suffer. One of the dumbest things Suguru has ever
done was open up to Kenjaku about the traumatic first time he had. It was after several dates,
months of being romanced by the older, distinguished man. Suguru felt as if Kenjaku cared for
him. But when they finally took the next step and had sex…

Suguru’s alarm clock goes off before he can send himself spiraling. Wasting no time, he gets up
and starts his morning routine because if he allows himself to lay in bed any longer his anxiety will
leave him momentarily crippled and unable to function properly for possibly hours. Megumi isn’t
here to offer him platonic support by scenting him either, and he can’t afford his girls seeing him
like that.

The photo of Satoru is forgotten. At least until two hours later after the girls have been dropped off
at daycare. Suguru is sitting in the parking lot of his job, putting on makeup using the car’s
compact mirror on the driver’s side. Since today is their last day on set, it’ll be a half day.
Absently he’s thinking about how much Satoru’s muscle mass and height has grown since high
school. It still amazes him. So naturally, he thinks about the gym picture again. Finishing up his
makeup, he looks around the parking lot to make sure no one else is around before he unlocks his
phone and returns to his message thread with Satoru.

He stares at the picture, unable to decide what his favorite part about it is. Everything about the
picture makes his heart race. He wants to respond. But not with any words, he would like to send a
picture back.

It’s just that he’s not very photogenic.

“Is that the truth or is it an excuse?”

Suguru shouldn’t be surprised by the question.

This is Shoko, after all. Part of her charm, and a constant source of his vexation, is her ability to
always ask the questions he doesn’t want to answer. He is never able to lie to her which is why he
loves their bi-weekly sessions. Honestly, he’s also able to talk to Shoko in between their scheduled
appointments because she was his friend before she was his therapist.

Yes, their relationship breaks several codes of conduct but that would only be an issue for them if
Suguru was actually a legit patient. These sessions are pro-bono; a friend helping a friend.

“It is the truth,” Suguru says adamantly. “I’m not photogenic.” He gives it some thought. “And
maybe it’s also an excuse…”

Shoko smiles knowingly. She has a very pretty smile despite perpetually looking sleep-deprived.
“If you want to send him a picture back you should. Even if it’s not as revealing or suggestive.
Have you responded to his text at all?”

Suguru shakes his head, and he feels bad. Hours have passed since Satoru texted him. “I don’t
know what to say back but I know I want to talk to him.”

“I’m surprised to hear you admit that you want to talk to him. What do you think about his courting
offer?”

“I don’t know why he wants to waste his time courting me.”

“Did he tell you why he wanted to court you?”

“He did but…” Suguru can tell from the smug smile on Shoko’s face that she’s already proven the
point she was trying to make. “I guess I just have a hard time believing that he wants to be with
me.”

“And that’s what we’ll focus on for the next two weeks.” Shoko scribbles something on her
notepad. They’re in her downtown office sitting in the cozy lounge area. “Last time we met, I
suggested that you rely on Fushiguro-san and your sister for moral support. Now would be the
perfect time to do so…”

Suguru feels like he’s burdened Megumi with his problems enough and he doesn't want to bother
Shiori. But Shoko pushes him to start a groupchat with the two. She doesn’t tell him what to say to
them specifically. She just wants him to have a support system at all times.

“From what you’ve told me of Gojo-san and his recent actions, he appears to be sincere. I do
understand why you are apprehensive, Geto, but you, yourself, said you were tired of allowing that
person to dictate your emotions.”

Every action and decision Suguru makes is somehow influenced by Kenjaku. He wants to break
free of whatever spell the monster has him under. He wants to take another shot at love, feel
beautiful, and be courted. It’s not wrong for him to want these things.

After they talk about Suguru’s other worries; his financial situation and Mimiko’s persisting
selective mutism, the session ends. Before Suguru leaves the office, however, Shoko has parting
advice for him.

“The father of your children is wealthy,” Shoko says. “You should swallow your pride and ask him
for help, Geto.”

Suguru doesn’t feel right asking others for money but he lets Shoko know that he will consider her
advice. Besides, it won’t be for him, it’s for their daughters. For them, he is always willing to
swallow his pride.

...

Soon, he has to pick the girls up from daycare.

Since he’ll be jobless until his company picks up a new television series, he’ll keep them at home
with him starting next week. He’s already paid their tuition for this month so they might as well go
for the remainder of the week. In the meantime, he’ll use his free time to knock out a lot of his
class assignments to get a headstart on things.

But does it even matter? He’ll have to drop out soon in order to get a second job.

He considers what Shoko said about asking Satoru for financial help. If Satoru even helped a little
that would take a major load off of Suguru’s back. But he’s so afraid to ask for help.

“Mommy?”

“Yes, Nana?” Suguru asks as he helps Mimiko out of her shoes. They’re standing in the small
genkan of the apartment.

“Can I have some of my gummies that Gojo-san got me?”

Yesterday when they were at the aquarium Satoru bought a big bag of gummy fish for Nanako and
a whale plushie for Mimiko. They were each allowed to pick any souvenir from the gift shop and
that was what they went for. Mimiko even wanted to take her whale plushie with her to daycare but
Suguru didn’t want another toy of theirs to come up missing so he sadly told her no.

“After dinner, sweetie,” Suguru says.

Nanako knows they can’t have sweets before dinner but she asks to see if Suguru will change his
mind. She pouts a little when he tells her no but she doesn’t throw a tantrum or cry. He is lucky in
that department. His girls are easy to manage for the most part.

They watch half an hour of television and then the girls play in their room while he cooks. He tries
to think of what to do about the picture Satoru sent him. He has yet to reply to it but he still wants
to.

Suguru decides to make use of the newly formed group chat he has with Megumi and Shiori. First,
he sends a message telling them that Shoko made him create the group chat for moral support, and
then he asks them for their help about the picture situation.

Shiori replies first. Her first message is full of love and support. Before Suguru can get emotional,
however, she sends another message.

Sister : Send a pic of your ass and watch Satoru propose the next time he visits!

Rolling his eyes, he puts his phone away. He’ll wait for Megumi to chime in with real advice since
he’s always the more serious of the two. When he’s finished helping the girls wash up for dinner,
Megumi responds in the group.

Megumi : I agree. You do have an amazing ass.

Suguru reads that message three times because he can’t believe Megumi is agreeing with Shiori.
This feels like a betrayal.

Megumi : But if you’re too shy to do that, a pic of you in a t-shirt and panties will work just as well.

Sister : I’ll send some examples of sexy poses!

His sister knows him too well. He was just about to ask them what kind of poses he should even
do. All of his poses in photos look awkward.

“Have you thought of a name for your new plushie yet?” Suguru asks Mimiko. He’s getting them
ready for bed now.

“She named it Gojo,” Nanako says with a little eye roll. “I told her to name it whaley.”

Suguru laughs. “Is that true Mimi? Did you name your plushie Gojo?”

Mimiko nods. She hugs her plushie tightly.

The girls often communicate with one another in a way that Suguru doesn’t even understand. But
he is happy that their bond is strong. He also likes that Mimiko is fond of Satoru though he only
hopes Satoru remains a constant in their lives for both of the girls’ sake. Nanako acts uninterested
in him but she is fooling no one.

Suguru tucks the girls into bed. Both of them are wearing pajama sets. Nanako is wearing a yellow
set with white bunnies on it and Mimiko is wearing a purple set with black bunnies on it. Megumi
bought these pajamas for them just last week. He’s always buying clothes and toys for the girls. He
takes his role of godmother very seriously.

Suguru doesn’t have anyone in mind for the twins’ godfather. He wonders if down the road, Satoru
will appoint someone. It’s not that it’s required but it’s a nice thought to have; the girls having
multiple people that they can rely on.

“I love you,” Suguru says, kissing them both on the forehead. “Sweet dreams.”

“Love you, Mommy,” Nanako says.

Mimiko smiles warmly at Suguru. Her love shows in her eyes. Then she lifts up her whale plushie
expectantly.

Suguru always gives their plushies goodnight kisses so he doesn’t hesitate to kiss “Gojo” either.
But he thinks about that time at the park when Mimiko said the only other person that he can kiss
is Satoru. It makes him wonder if there’s a small chance that Mimiko knows he’s her papa.

Pups are said to know who their parents are by smell alone. But that’s only if their parents were
around to nurture them as babies. There’s no way Mimiko should be able to tell that Satoru is their
father.

After taking a long, hot shower and towel drying his hair, he takes time selecting something to
sleep in. He usually throws on an old t-shirt and calls it a night but he wants to swallow down his
insecurities and send Satoru a sexy picture. He has a makeshift cropped shirt that draws attention to
his curves but also to his stomach and his stretch marks.

Suguru gave birth to healthy twin girls. Naturally, he has stretch marks, and he still hasn’t gotten
rid of all of his pregnancy weight. If Satoru is going to court him, he needs to see what he’s trying
to obtain.

Maybe this picture will serve as a test to see if Satoru is really accepting of his body. When this test
backfires on him and Satoru disappears from his life he’s going to never show anyone his body
again.

Putting on the shirt, he puts on a simple pair of black bikini panties. They have a subtle, sexy cut
that he never paid attention to until now. He stands in front of the full mirror that hangs on the door
to his closet. He takes one look at his body and he grimaces.

Suguru looks at the examples Shiori sent him.

Once again, his sister is a life saver. She sent him photos of curvy male and female omegas instead
of some generic pictures of skinny lingerie models. No shade to them but Suguru isn’t shaped like
that. It’s good to see people who have a similar body type as him look effortlessly sexy. It gives
him some hope.

He decides to kneel in front of the mirror and play around with some of the poses. He loves that he
can keep his face covered by his phone because he doesn’t know how to make sexy faces. At least
not intentionally. When he has about six pictures with different poses, he sends them to the group
chat.

Unsurprisingly, he’s never sent anyone a lewd picture of himself before. He’s never even sent
anyone a cute selfie or anything like that. Shiori and Megumi are way more experienced in terms
of relationships and sexting so he’s glad they’re helping him.

This may not seem like a huge deal. It’s just a picture. But for someone who couldn’t look at
himself in the mirror without having a breakdown mere months ago, he is proud of himself for
even considering this.

Megumi : This is the one.

Megumi : attachment.

Sister: Omg I agree! You’re so hot Suguru!!

Megumi : Mr. Basketball Star is going to die when he sees this. RIP!

Then Shiori sends a ton of heart emojis. Suguru is blushing so hard from all of the praise.

He thanks them and tells them that he’s going to send it to Satoru. Before he can do that, he gets on
his bed, turns his lamp off, and burrows under his covers. His heart is pounding like crazy as he
opens his message thread with Satoru. He sees the gym picture; he’s looked at it at least fifty times
today. It never gets old.

With another mental pep talk, he sends the picture to Satoru. Then he hides his phone under his
pillow and stays buried under the covers. He wants to just fall asleep but he’s too anxious to do
that.

So, he’ll just wait for Satoru to respond.

That’s if he responds.

“Should we all fight to the death then?” their teammate, Zenin Naoya, asks in a joking manner.
“There’s no way I’m going to endure being on another team with you losers. I’ve suffered
enough!” He’s using the mirror that’s inside his locker to put his nose piercing back in; he had to
remove it for the roster photos they took earlier.

Sukuna snorts as he brings his water bottle up for a drink. “You’re not guaranteed a spot on the
National team,” he says. “None of us are.”

It’s highly likely that all of them will be selected considering their stats, however.

Coach Yaga has already pulled each of them aside to let them know that scouts will be sitting in on
some of their games to watch them play. By the end of this season, they’ll know for sure if they’ll
be selected. It’s a major deal for the three alphas who have dreamed of this day since they first
decided to choose professional basketball as a career path.

Satoru peels off his sweaty shirt and tosses it inside of his gym bag. After the photoshoot, they all
came to the gym to work out for a second time today. He’s been out all day so he knows once he
makes it back to his place he’s going to pass out. Maybe he’ll call Suguru and ask him why he
didn’t reply to his message this morning. He’s been bummed about that all day.

“...strippers and contortionists galore! I’m pumped!” Naoya slams his locker to punctuate the
sentence. “I expect both of you to be there. Celebrating the life of a god is nothing to miss out on.”

“Last year your birthday party got too crazy even for my tastes,” Sukuna says. He’s putting on a
clean shirt and packing his gym bag so that he can leave. “You should be careful. One wrong move
and you’re going to be benched this season. That means you can kiss the National team goodbye.”

Naoya sighs loudly. “I know how to keep Coach and the papz off my back!” He actually is pretty
good with hiding his bad habits from their coach and paparazzi. “Gojo, I know I can count on you
for a good time. You were the life of the party last year!”

Last year, Satoru showed his ass off at Naoya’s birthday bash, and he ended up fucking two
women that night. It was incredibly reckless of him, too. He cringes whenever he thinks about that
time in his life. Alcohol has made him do a lot of crazy things.

Satoru can hear his phone vibrating inside his locker. He looks at the lit screen, seeing Suguru’s
name. His heart leaps for joy. “I may have to pass this year,” he says, unlocking his phone.

While Naoya whines and complains about how Satoru can’t ditch his party because he “owes him
big time” or whatever, Satoru is gawking at the picture Suguru just sent him. He expected a cute
and shy reply or maybe even a joke about how he’s showing off. What he has instead is a million
times better.

Fuck, Suguru looks amazing.

“Who’s the babe?” Naoya asks.

Sukuna adds, “I hate you, Gojo. You have the life I want.”

Looking up, he sees the two nosy jerks are standing behind him, peeking over his shoulder. He was
too enthralled by the picture to even notice them. Gritting his teeth, he holds his phone against his
chest possessively, blocking their view of his omega.

“None of your business,” Satoru says to Naoya. Then he looks over at Sukuna. “It’s not my fault
Fushiguro-san rejected you!”

“Who’s Fushiguro-san?” Naoya asks.

Sukuna and Gojo ignore him. The former picks up his gym bag in annoyance. “Being rejected by a
goddess is nothing to be ashamed of,” he says in his defense. “I just have to put in extra work.”

Naoya looks between them both, clearly ticked off that he isn’t in the loop. “Sukuna, you know, for
a guy with serious anger issues, you’re such a sap.”

“Shut up, Naoya,” Sukuna says. He looks at Gojo pointedly. “Mess up this perfect opportunity and
I’ll end you.” With that he takes his leave.

This isn’t the first time Sukuna has threatened him in regards to Suguru and the girls. When Sukuna
thought that Satoru was going to abandon his responsibilities as a father and a mate, he looked like
he was going to murder him. What Naoya said is true, too. For a guy with anger management
problems, Sukuna is a sap. And he absolutely despises deadbeat fathers and alphas who neglect
their omegas.

That’s something a lot of people would never guess about him.

“So, are you going to answer my question?” Naoya asks. “Who’s the babe?”

Satoru keeps his phone close to his chest. He wishes Naoya would leave so that he can look at the
picture again. He didn’t even get a chance to dissect it fully. “My future wife,” he says because it’s
the truth. “Now get lost.”

“If you and Sukuna end up settling down, I’m ditching you both! No one wants to hang out with
family men, ew.” He picks up his gym bag and puts on a pair of ridiculous Dolce and Gabbana
shades. “Catch you later, Gojo!”

“See ya’, Naoya.”

Once Naoya is gone, Satoru hurriedly unlocks his phone. No one else is inside the locker room but
him. He still needs to take a shower. But before he does that, he examines the picture closely.

Sukuna has every right to envy him now that he thinks about it. The mother of his children is
putting a lot of top models to shame with his natural curves and wide hips. He has an ass that
people would spend thousands of yen to have, thick thighs that look soft and supple, and deep
curves at his waist.

Satoru wishes he could see Suguru’s face in the picture but he’s not complaining one bit because
this is more than he thought he would get, and it’s everything he never knew he needed.

Suguru’s pudgy stomach is sexy, too. Satoru loves the physical markers that further prove that for
months Suguru carried his pups.
Of course, the thought of Suguru carrying his pups plus the sexy picture has Satoru’s dick rock
hard. He hearts the picture to let Suguru know that he’s seen it and he loves it. Then he goes to take
a shower and quickly rubs one out just to get it over with so that he can hurry home.

When he gets home, he kicks his shoes off, and hurries to his bedroom. He drops his gym bag by
the door and gets on his bed. He looks at the picture one more time, zooming in close to look at
Suguru’s hips, his stomach, and his juicy pussy print.

“Fuck,” he says under his breath. He’s already getting hard again.

Instead of rubbing one out a second time, just yet, he calls Suguru. The phone rings several times,
and he worries that Suguru is asleep by now. Luckily he answers.

“Hello?” Suguru says in a hushed voice.

“Did I wake you?” It sounds like he did.

“No.”

Satoru loves how gentle Suguru’s phone voice is. It makes him lower his voice an octave to match
him. “What were you doing?”

“Just laying here…”

“Where are my girls?” he asks, smiling cheekily.

Suguru makes a sound that suggests he either rolled his eyes or made a face. “They’re tucked into
bed, sleeping.” He laughs a little. “Mimiko named her plushie.”

“Yeah, what’d she name it?”

“Gojo.”

Satoru’s smile is big, and his heart swells. “I guess that means she likes me.” He knows that she
does. “If only I could win Nanako over as easily.”

“She’s just like you. It takes you a while to warm up to others, too.”

Hearing that she’s just like him is very rewarding for Satoru in a way he can’t decipher. He never
thought that he would be this open and accepting of the idea of being a father yet here he is.

“What about Mommy?” Satoru asks. “Has he thought about my courting offer?”

“I’ve told you not to call me that!”

“Why? We both know you love it.”

Suguru sucks his teeth. “I’m hanging up.”

“Please, don’t! I came straight home and called you after seeing that sexy ass picture you sent me.”

The other end gets so quiet he thinks Suguru hung up but one look at his phone tells him that the
call is still ongoing. He bets Suguru is blushing and that’s why he’s quiet.

Smiling, Satoru decides to keep going. “Did you get all sexy for me, baby, or is that how you
always sleep?”
“It’s just a shirt and panties…not a big deal.”

Yeah, he’s definitely blushing. He’s so cute.

“Not a big deal? Suguru, I wish you knew how much I want you right now…how much I want you
in general.”

Suguru’s breath hitches but he says nothing.

“Do you want to know what I did the moment I saw that picture?” He waits for a response he
doesn’t get. He keeps going. “Do you want me to tell you about how I got so turned on that I—”

“Satoru…stop,” Suguru says half-heartedly.

“Huh? Why? I just want you to know how badly I want you. I wish I was there right now…kissing
all over your beautiful body…” He’s rubbing his hard cock through his sweatpants.

“I…I still have baby fat and stretch marks. It’s not beautiful.”

Satoru will give Suguru a pass because, realistically, he’s probably never had phone sex before,
and he’s insecure. Partially, Satoru is to blame for how he treated Suguru during high school. But a
bulk of Suguru’s insecurities are due to his abusive ex.

“I love your baby fat and your stretch marks,” Satoru says because he genuinely does. He gets
really turned on when he thinks about Suguru’s natural body. “I’ll tell you a secret…”

Suguru sighs. “What secret?”

“Back in Gomari the day after I arrived I saw you at the market. I didn’t see your face, I just saw
your body so I had no idea it was you…and…” He chuckles at the memory. “I almost drove the
rental car off the cliff because I was staring so hard.”

“Are you serious?” He can hear the smile in Suguru’s voice.

“Yeah. When I realized you were the peach maxi dress omega from the market it blew my mind.”

Suguru laughs, and Satoru smiles because he has always loved the sound of Suguru’s laughter.

“Let me court you, Suguru,” he says, no longer rubbing his dick and letting his pervy thoughts rule
him; for now. “Let me prove myself to you.”

“I want to be courted by you, Satoru. I’m just…I remember what it was like when he courted me
and how he tricked me. I know you’re not like him, I just worry about making the wrong choices
again.”

Satoru can understand Suguru’s fears and his hesitance. Abused omegas often never recover from
past abuse, and something tells him the abuse Suguru suffered was emotional and physical,
meaning it’ll be doubly hard for him to heal from that.

“We’ll take it slow,” Satoru says reassuringly. “We’ll move at the pace you set, okay?”

“Okay…”

“What are your plans for tomorrow?”

“Production has ended so I don’t have to work. I’ll stay home and catch up on homework.”
That means Satoru can arrange to have roses delivered tomorrow. He’ll place the order online
tonight.

“I’ll let you get some sleep,” he says even though he would love to stay on the phone all night just
to hear Suguru’s voice. “Thank you for the picture. It’s going to get me through the week.”

Suguru snorts quietly. But then he says, “Thank you for your picture, too. I better not see that on
your Instagram like the other ones, either!” The possessiveness is such a turn on.

Satoru smiles smugly. “You lurk my Instagram?” He has a lot of gym pictures on there; thirst traps.
“Don’t worry, baby, that picture is for you only.”

“Goodnight, Satoru…I’m happy you called.”

“I wanted to hear your voice. Goodnight. Give my girls a kiss for me.”

“Okay. Talk to you soon.”

The call ends. Satoru misses Suguru already. He wishes it was Saturday so that he can be in Osaka
with his pack.

The mention of his Instagram has him wondering if he can find Suguru’s social media. He doubts
he’s using his real name because he’s the private type, and his ex-boyfriend may try to get in touch
with him again.

Satoru is dying to know who that person is. If Shiori doesn’t even know, the chances of Suguru
telling him are slim to none. He doesn’t want to invade Suguru’s privacy again but he wants to
ensure his pack is protected from any potential threats.

If he at least knows who the person is, he’ll be better prepared for if he shows up again.

With that in mind, Satoru gives Mei Mei a call.

“Ma, you’re too close to the camera,” Satoru says, trying not to laugh at his technology-illiterate
mother. “Pull back a little.”

His mother leans back. “Can you see me?” she asks.

“This is much better.”

“I didn’t know my phone could do video calls. I’m not sure if I like the set up but it’s good seeing
your face, son. Did you eat today?”

“Me and some of my teammates went out for dinner.” Satoru is feeling uncharacteristically
homesick this week so he called her after he made it home. “Anything big happening on the
island?”

“We’re getting a new venue. I’m not sure what it will be yet. The Kamos are being secretive about
it…”

Satoru listens as his mother fills him in about the happenings on Gomari. None of it is anything
major but it’s nice hearing about his hometown and its occupants.

“…going on and on about how beautiful Suguru is and asking if he’s looking for a mate—”
“What? Who said this?”

His mother’s grin is coy. “Were you not listening? The Kamo patriarch ran into Suguru when he
was visiting and he won’t shut up about how his eldest, Noritoshi, needs a wife.”

The same asshole who was cast as the Alpha King in their school play. Satoru is happy he
intervened before Kamo could have Suguru’s first kiss.

“Suguru is taken,” Satoru says stubbornly. “Can you please let the islanders know?”

“Taken?” His mother leans into the camera again. “Is there something you’re not telling me,
Satoru?”

He wanted to tell her the next time he visited but his territorial nature kicked in before he could
hold himself back. Why is he even worrying? Suguru isn’t even in Gomari, and Noritoshi will be
up to his neck in omegas once word gets out that he’s looking for a bride.

“I plan on courting Suguru,” he says. “Well, I’ve already started.”

He sent Suguru blue roses the day before last. Then Suguru sent him a picture of the girls sniffing
the roses. It made his entire day.

His mother lets out an excited squeal. “I’m happy to hear that!” She’s beaming. “Please, Satoru, do
this right. You and Suguru are perfect for one another!”

“I know, Ma. I really want to be with him.” It feels good to admit that after years of lying to himself
and everyone around him. “There’s also this other thing…”

“What other thing?”

“It’s about Suguru’s twin daughters…”

Satoru really wanted to tell her this in person, and he isn’t sure if Suguru is ready for his mother to
know. But it’s hard not telling her the truth. He tries to find the right way to tell her but every time
he opens his mouth, the words get caught in his throat.

What will his mother think of him when she learns about the incident with his suppressants? He
even has trouble thinking about what Suguru told him about that night in the cove without feeling
sick to his stomach. Even if the faulty suppressants are to blame, he still brutalized Suguru and
traumatized him.

“I can tell that this is hard for you, Satoru,” his mother says, her soothing voice interrupting his
thoughts. “How about you, Suguru, and the girls pay me a visit soon. And we can talk then.”

Satoru likes that idea a lot. “Sure thing. I hope to see you soon.”

They talk for a little while longer but soon his mother is rushing him off the phone so that she can
go play Shogi with her club. He’s happy that she isn’t sitting around in that mansion alone all the
time. She has her own life which is good.

Perhaps one day, the twins can visit her during the summer. His mother would love that.

Satoru looks around his big and quiet condo, feeling incredibly lonely. There’s a bottle of vodka
with his name on it but he really doesn’t want to drink it but how else is he supposed to get some
sleep tonight? He goes into the kitchen to pour himself a glass but he stops himself.
He’s stronger than this. Stronger than this addiction that he hates to admit is an addiction at all. But
even as he tries to convince himself of this, he can’t stop thinking about the buzz the alcohol will
give him. He likes how three glasses can numb his mind and free him from his anxiousness. It
won’t be the end of the world if he gets a little drunk tonight, either.

No.

This isn’t a good habit to have. He needs to break this habit once and for all.

Feeling weak and desperate, Satoru calls Suguru. He just needs a distraction. A healthy one. He
leaves the kitchen and walks to the den while his phone rings.

When Suguru answers the phone, Satoru’s ears are flooded with the sound of Nanako talking
loudly in the background and Suguru trying to get her to quiet down.

He smiles to himself. “Did I call at a bad time?”

“Nanako is just giving a very animated retelling of her day,” he says, laughing. “What are you up
to?”

“Mommy, is that Megumi?” Nanako asks.

“No, sweetie, it’s Gojo-san.” Suguru makes a gasp of surprise. “Mimiko, don’t run…” He laughs.
“Looks like someone is very happy to know you’re on the phone.”

Satoru’s eyes prick with happy tears. “Put me on speaker.”

“Sure. Hold on.” Suguru puts him on speaker. “They can hear you.”

“Hey, Mimiko-chan,” Satoru says. “Hey, Nanako-chan.”

Nanako responds with a dry, “Hey, Gojo-san.” But he smiles anyway because he knows how she
is.

He wishes he could see Mimiko's face right now. He’s about to ask them about their day but then
Suguru is laughing again.

“Mimi’s face got so red when you spoke to her and she ran to their room,” Suguru says. “Nana just
ran after her.”

Satoru chuckles. “She’s just like you,” he says. “You’re both so shy about everything.”

“What’s wrong, Satoru? The girls aren’t around anymore and you’re off speaker. You can tell
me...”

Of course Suguru would notice that something is wrong with him. He doesn’t want to tell him
about his toxic relationship with vodka. He wants Suguru to think that what happened in Gomari
isn’t a common occurrence for him to be worried about because he plans to break this addiction
soon.

“This is just a long week,” Satoru says.

“Just two more days until the weekend.”

“Two more days until I can see you and my girls. I’m counting down the days.”
He can tell Suguru is smiling when he says, “Yeah, me too.”

Satoru doesn’t want the call to end.

“How’s training going?” Suguru asks, giving them a reason to stay on the phone longer.

The longer they talk, the less Satoru thinks about that vodka that’s in the kitchen, and by the end of
the phone call he doesn’t feel like drinking at all.

Normally, Satoru wakes up early Saturday morning and takes a train to Osaka since driving takes
too long. But after practice that Friday evening, he called Suguru and asked if he could come over
early. He’s even fine with sleeping on the futon in the living room, too.

With Suguru’s permission, he got on the road around four. He arrives at the apartment a little after
ten, overnight bag in tow.

Suguru answers the door with a yawn, and then a warm smile. “Mimi tried to stay up and wait for
you but they both fell asleep half an hour ago.” He takes Satoru’s bag for him.

Hearing that the girls are already sleeping is disappointing but he’ll see them first thing in the
morning.

He takes his shoes off and puts on the pair of slippers that he has already claimed for his own.
Looking around the living room, he doesn’t see the futon laid out. He doesn’t mind laying it out
himself, though.

“Where’s the futon?” he asks.

Suguru gives him a look. “Well, you drove all this way…and that futon can be uncomfortable…”

Satoru doesn’t want to celebrate prematurely but it sounds like Suguru is going to allow him to
sleep with him tonight.

Seeing a golden opportunity, he rubs his back and winces. “Yeah, all of this training has worn me
out, too,” he says.

“I’d hate to be the reason why you’re not in top shape when the season starts,” Suguru says,
looking off to the side. “Just for tonight you can sleep with me. But behave yourself.”

Satoru almost jumps up and down in excitement. “I’ll behave!” he says far too loudly. He lowers
his voice when Suguru gives him a scolding look. “I’ll behave,” he says quietly.

Before they go to Suguru’s nest, they pop their heads into the girls’ bedroom. Satoru sees Mimiko
clutching the whale plushie he bought her and Nanako is hugging a pink godzilla doll. They’re
adorable, and so small. He wants to be here every day with them and Suguru. Unfortunately, they
live too far away for him to do that.

“Why Osaka?” Satoru asks. He’s already in bed, watching as Suguru moves around to tidy up the
already clean room.

He’s anxious no matter how much he tries to act otherwise. They’ve taken a nap together but that
was during the daytime. Sleeping in the same bed overnight must be a big deal for Suguru but it’s
clear that he wants to do this.

“Megumi was moving here for a job and suggested that we come with him,” Suguru says. “I
wasn’t fond of it at first but it grew on me.” He steps inside of his closet.

Satoru can’t see him but he can hear him moving around. “Have you ever thought about living in
Tokyo?” he casually asks.

A moment later, Suguru steps out of the closet. He was wearing sweatpants but now he’s wearing
shorts that might as well be panties due to how short and tight they are, and a tank top. He doesn’t
look at Satoru as he walks over to the bed and gets in.

Satoru was fortunate enough to see how Suguru’s ass cheeks are hanging out of the shorts and the
way they fit in the front before the duvet hides everything from him. He loses track of whatever
the hell he was talking about just seconds ago.

“I get hot when I sleep,” Suguru says quietly, offering up an excuse that no one asked for.

“Yeah, me too,” Satoru says. That’s why he took his t-shirt off before he got into bed. “Hey,
Suguru, can I ask you something?”

Suguru has the covers up to his neck and he’s all the way on the other side of the bed. “Hm?”

“I read somewhere that male omegas develop breasts while they’re pregnant? Is that true?”

“Yes, we have to feed our pups. The best way to build a bond early is through breastfeeding.”

Satoru nods. “Wow, that’s interesting…” It’s safe to assume that Suguru does have breasts in the
polaroid that he has and it’s not his horny mind playing tricks on him. “I bet they were heavy and
sore a lot…”

Suguru, bless his heart, thinks this is just a casual conversation. “My nipples were sore and
sensitive all of the time.” He laughs. “One time I brushed my hand against my breasts accidentally
and milk spilled out.”

The things he would do to be able to go back in time to that moment and witness that with his own
eyes.

“I heard if the mother’s diet is bad the milk will be toxic. Did you taste the milk…for safety
measures?”

Suguru gives him a sly look. “No, my friend tasted it for me. He would have to suck it out of my
nipples.”

Satoru frowns. “What friend?” Alpha, Omega, or Beta, he doesn’t give a fuck. No one else but him
needs to taste his omega’s breast milk. “Who was it?”

“My friend from university. This alpha named—”

“You let another alpha taste the milk that was meant for our pups, Suguru?!”

Suguru bursts out laughing. “I can’t believe you fell for that, Satoru. This is what you get for being
a pervert.”

Feeling like a dumb ass, Satoru pouts. “That’s not funny. I was really upset over here!” He scoots
over and reaches out for Suguru. “Why are you all the way over there?”

“I sweat in my sleep...”
“I don’t care. I want to cuddle.” Satoru pulls Suguru closer and has him lay on his chest. It feels
good to be close to him like this. “You smell good.”

“It’s called a shower.”

“Ha ha, funny. I mean your pheromones smell good.”

The side of Suguru’s face is squished against his right pectoral muscle. “Yours too. That’s why I
need you to behave tonight.”

“I’ll be on my best behavior.”

“Satoru.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re rubbing my ass.”

And it’s so soft and round. He wants to use it as a pillow or eat it like it’s his favorite dessert. But
Suguru pries his hands off and tells him to keep his hands above the waist or he’ll have to take the
couch.

It’s hard to be good when Suguru is this sexy without even trying. But he’ll respect Suguru’s
boundaries.

“I want to take you out, Suguru. On a date. A real one.” He’s working on getting a courting gift,
too. “How about next weekend?”

“I’ll have to find a babysitter.”

“Keep me posted.”

“Okay.” Suguru yawns, and makes himself comfortable on Satoru’s chest.

He’s obviously sleepy so Satoru will let him sleep. But first, there’s one more thing he’s curious
about.

“Is this the same pillow from last week?” It feels sturdier and it has that “new” scent clinging to it.
He purposefully scent marked the pillow he used last time so he’s disappointed to learn it’s been
replaced. “What happened to my pillow?”

“It’s not your pillow.”

“Did you toss it out because it smelled like me?”

“What? No…I…spilled juice on it and it left a stain.”

Satoru glances down at Suguru. “Since we were kids you never liked food or drink in your
bedroom or anywhere near your bed.”

“People change.”

“Okay. Well I want a snack. I’m going to go grab a sandwich. I’ll be back.”

“Gojo Satoru, if you bring food to my room I’m going to kick you out.”
“People change, huh? Funny, I remember you saying the same thing to me when we were kids.”

Suguru sighs in exasperation. “Yes, I tossed the pillow out. It’s not a big deal. Go to sleep.”

“Why’d you do it? Come on, tell me.” He looks down and sees Suguru glaring up at him. His face
is also crimson and his eyes are watery. “Look at how flustered you are. Now, I really have to
know.”

“You’re so annoying!” Suguru moves off his chest and turns his back to him. “Leave me alone.”

Not letting him off that easily, Satoru hugs Suguru from behind. His plush ass feels like a fucking
cloud against his groin. “Baby, tell me. I promise not to laugh no matter what it is…”

“…”

Satoru already has an idea of what happened based off of Suguru's actions and how flustered he is.
Omegas are known to hump things when they’re close to their heat or horny in general. Pillows are
the main things they hump during these times. Or if they have an alpha, they’ll hump them and beg
to be fucked.

“Did you think of me while you did it?” Satoru asks, his lips pressed against Suguru’s ear. He
starts to caress the window of exposed skin on Suguru’s hip. “The pillow smelled like me so I
know you did.”

“…I didn’t mean to.”

“Mean to what? Think of me?”

Suguru shakes his head. “Do that to my pillow…it just happened…” He sounds mortified.

“It’s okay, baby. Your body had a need and you fulfilled that need. I only wish I could’ve taken
care of you instead.” He also wishes he had that pillow so he could take it home. “Did you make a
big mess?”

Suguru nods.

Closing his eyes, he tries to picture Suguru desperately humping his pillow, rubbing his wet pussy
against it and sobbing from how good it feels to pleasure himself that way. He wants Suguru to use
him like that; rut against him like a mindless animal until he obtains his release. He doesn’t have to
get off either. Just knowing that he took care of Suguru will be satisfying enough.

Smelling sweetness in the air, Satoru kisses the shell of Suguru’s ear. “Do you need me?” he asks.
He can smell how wet Suguru is.

Suguru turns over on his back. His face is even redder and he’s pouting. He doesn’t shove Satoru
off when he pulls the covers down nor does he stop Satoru from slipping his hand under his shorts.
Satoru kisses Suguru to muffle a loud moan. He’s so damn wet and sensitive. He’s rubbing
Suguru’s clit through his panties but he might as well be touching him directly at this rate.

But even though his cock is painfully hard and watching Suguru writhe and squirm while he
stimulates his clit makes him feral, he’s still holding back. He pulls away from the kiss, and
Suguru immediately covers his mouth with both hands to keep himself quiet.

Satoru kisses his sweaty forehead, whispering praise and encouraging words against his skin. He’s
not even thinking about himself right now. Getting Suguru off is his pleasure, as he already said.
 He can see that the panties are soaked and sticking to Suguru. He catches glimpses of how soft and
pink Suguru’s pussy is. He’s dying to pull the panties aside and have a full look at him but there’s
something very enticing about this small peek he’s given.

Suguru suddenly clamps his thighs shut, holding Satoru’s wrist in a vice grip as he cums. He
squirts a little, pearly slick wetting his thighs and lower stomach.

“Fuck,” Satoru mutters. He wants to lick it up.

Suguru is whispering something as he blinks tiredly. Before Satoru can try to decipher what he’s
saying, he’s soon snoring.

Satoru smiles. “Sleep tight, baby.” He kisses his forehead.

Not wanting to leave Suguru like this, he goes to the bathroom and grabs a wet towel. He just
cleans Suguru’s thighs and his stomach; he doesn’t peek under his panties. Cut him some slack. He
can be a gentleman when it calls for it.

While he’s cleaning off Suguru’s lower stomach, he sees the pink scar that he’s been curious
about. He used to think it was a C-section scar but while going through the baby box weeks ago,
Suguru offhandedly mentioned that he had a natural childbirth.

Satoru thinks about the scars some of his yakuza friends have from past street brawls. They’re
nothing like the precise cuts of a surgeon’s scalpel, and neither is the cut on Suguru’s stomach. It
looks like someone dragged a switchblade across his belly. They dug it in deep, too.

Did the abusive ex do this?

“Satoru…” Suguru murmurs in his sleep.

Putting the towel away, Satoru gathers Suguru in his arms and holds him while he sleeps. He
thinks about how Mei Mei is in the process of finding out who Suguru’s ex-boyfriend is. He can’t
wait to know the name of the person whose life he intends to ruin.

Chapter End Notes

thanks for reading! sorry for any typos this is once again unbeta'd.
comments are always appreciated ❤️
 radiate
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“I wasn’t sure if you preferred gold or silver,” Satoru says as he opens a jewelry box. “Back then,
you never wore jewelry…so I hope this is fine…”

Suguru stares at the gold ring; the courting ring. Courting rings are given to omegas from alphas
who have every intention of marrying them once the courtship concludes.

“This is an engagement ring,” Suguru says but it sounds more like a question.

Satoru nods. “Technically…yeah…” He shifts from one foot to the other anxiously.

“Oh.”

Oh?

That isn’t the reaction Satoru imagined when he pirchased this ring from the jeweler yesterday
after morning practice. Days and nights were spent trying to think of an object that would best
express his true intentions for Suguru. They’ve been best friends for most of their lives, they’re
mates, and they have twin girls. Obviously, Satoru wants to marry Suguru.

But perhaps he should’ve taken more time to consider what it is that Suguru wants.

Suguru glances over his shoulder to look down the hallway. The twins are in their room, and
Nanako can be heard talking loudly and excited about ‘birthday cake’ and ‘lots and lots of games’
and Satoru worries that today is their birthday.

One of the first things he asked while he looked through the baby box with Suguru was the date
and time of their births because he wanted to know for obvious reasons, and because he wanted to
know what he had been doing when Suguru was alone while giving birth to their daughters.

But their birthdays are months away.

“My co-worker is throwing a birthday party for his younger brother and he invited the girls,”
Suguru says when he turns back around to face Satoru. He doesn’t look at the ring at all. “It’s very
last minute so I understand if you don’t want to tag along…”

Even though Suguru didn’t outright decline his courting gift, Satoru deflates. His heart hurts as
though it were stomped on, making his throat feel tight and his eyes burn. He blinks, forcing a
smile as he closes the jewelry box and pockets the ring.

Suguru immediately looks remorseful. “Satoru, listen—”

“Mommy!” Nanako shouts as she and Mimiko come barreling out of their bedroom dressed in
denim overalls. “We’re ready!” They stop when they see Satoru. “Oh, Gojo-san is coming, too?”

At the sight of the girls, the pain in Satoru’s heart is momentarily numbed. He sees the way
Mimiko smiles at him and how Nanako isn’t frowning, and that’s enough to raise his mood again.

Suguru looks at Satoru. “You’re more than welcome to join,” he says, and it’s clear he wants to
add more but he keeps it at that.
“I’m here to spend time with you all. So sure!”

Although it is odd for a kid’s birthday party to be on a Friday evening. Satoru wanted to spend the
evening and night with his pack before he took Suguru out on a date tomorrow night. He wonders
if their date is still on.

Does Suguru really want to be courted by him?

“We can take my car,” Satoru offers once they’re outside in the parking lot.

Suguru and the twins look over at his shiny car. He specifically chose the sedan for the weekend in
case he had to drive the girls and Suguru around. It’s the most kid friendly vehicle he owns.

“Ooh pretty!” Nanako says, and Mimiko nods in agreement. “Gojo-san are you rich?”

Satoru chuckles. Well, he is very wealthy but he doesn’t tell the girls that. Before he can respond at
all, however, Suguru suggests they take his jeep instead since it’d be too much work to move the
girls’ carseats and all that. He throws out a remark about not wanting the girls to mess up Satoru’s
leather seats or something along those lines.

It’s ridiculous but Satoru doesn’t argue.

He does insist on driving, however. He just feels like he should be driving his pack that way if
anything goes wrong he can protect them. It’s weird, honestly. While he’s always been protective
of those he loves, this is intense even for him. When Suguru tries to drive, Satoru can feel himself
getting agitated.

And Suguru can sense it, too.

“Okay, you can drive,” Suguru says, not wanting to make an argument of it. “Come on girls.”

Satoru helps him put the girls in their carseats. When he goes to buckle Mimiko in, he playfully
pokes her cheek. Hearing her cute giggle makes his heart double in size. He loves the sound of her
laughter.

“Can you put the address in your GPS?” Suguru asks. He shows Satoru the phone mount he can
use. “I’ll text Choso and let him know we’re on the way.”

The ease at which Suguru says that name catches Satoru’s attention but he doesn’t say anything.

After putting in the address and placing his phone on the mount, he turns around to double check
the girls and make sure they’re secured. He and Suguru actually do this at the same time so when
they turn to face forward, they bump heads.

“Ouch!” Suguru exclaims over the twin’s laughter. “Satoru! Be careful with that jughead of yours.”
He’s smiling to show that he’s teasing.

Satoru smiles in return, feeling as if things are still good between them despite the earlier rejection.

Maybe Suguru was just caught off guard. He doesn’t know how to fake a reaction to save his life.
Too honest for his own good sometimes. So, maybe he was just unsure of what to say.

That’s not a bad thing. Right?

“Says the person with the fivehead,” Satoru jokes as he starts the jeep.
“Who was it that got their big head stuck that one time?” Suguru asks, keeping the question
intentionally vague.

When they were in junior high, Satoru was horsing around with some friends and ended up with his
head stuck in a fence during gym. Gomari has a very small fire and patrol squad that rarely has any
serious emergencies to deal with. His head being stuck was the most exciting thing to occur in
years.

Suguru is laughing now but Satoru vividly remembers him sobbing when he thought Satoru would
be stuck forever.

“I don’t recall that,” Satoru lies just to annoy Suguru.

“Sure you don’t.”

Their destination isn’t that far but traffic is heavy around this time of day. The radio is on and good
songs are playing back to back. Satoru loves to listen to the radio while he works out so he knows
most of the songs that play. Coincidentally, Nanako knows a lot of them as well so they sing along
a lot.

While waiting for one traffic light to change, Satoru looks through the rearview mirror to see
Nanako bobbing her head the same way he’s doing while Mimiko is staring out of the window the
same as Suguru.

He starts to wonder how many random quirks they both share with their daughters.

“The light’s green,” Suguru says, touching Satoru’s thigh gently to get his attention.

Satoru returns his attention to the road. Feeling Suguru’s hand pulling away, he quickly grabs it to
keep it in place. He rubs Suguru’s knuckles idly while he drives, and Suguru is relaxed the entire
time. It’s domestic, making Satoru long for moments like this to be a constant in his life instead of
a random occurrence.

The person, Choso, lives in a nice condo and that's where the birthday party is being held. Before
Satoru’s suspicions can settle in, he sees several other pups holding wrapped gifts while their
parents guide them into the building.

He was starting to think this Choso guy was lying about a birthday party to lure Suguru to his
place.

“Mommy can I hold Itadori-kun’s gift?” Nanako asks as they’re walking up the sidewalk.

Mimiko is holding Satoru’s hand. Well, his two fingers. It’s just like how she held on to him at
Disneyland. Suguru is holding Nanako’s hand and the gift bag that contains a present for the
birthday boy.

“It’s too heavy for you to carry, Nana,” Suguru says. “But I signed his card with yours and Mimi’s
name so he’ll know it’s from you two.”

“Okay!”

Soon Suguru and the twins encounter a mother and daughter they know so they strike up a
conversation as they all board the elevator.

A brief introduction is given to explain who Satoru is but before more questions can be asked,
Suguru quickly changes the subject. So, the mother and daughter as well as the other people they
run into once they're inside of the condo only know Satoru as Suguru’s “friend.”

It doesn't bother Satoru.

Well, it does, but he understands that Suguru isn’t ready to explain the full extent of their
relationship to people.

“Geto!” an alpha says with a gentle smile as he approaches them. Like most standard alphas he’s
shorter than Satoru but he’s nicely built with broad shoulders. “And MimiNana, the princesses.”
He does a dramatic bow that makes the girls and Suguru laugh.

Satoru immediately gets a bad feeling about this guy.

Noticing Satoru’s silence, Suguru turns and looks up at him. “Oh, Choso, this is…Gojo-san,” he
says. “He’s my friend who’s in town visiting with us. You said I could bring a plus one so I
assumed…”

Choso looks at Satoru and smiles. “Yeah, the more the merrier!” He bows to Satoru. “Nice to meet
you Gojo-san. I’m Itadori Choso.”

Keeping it cordial, Satoru bows and greets him. In an attempt to break the ice, Suguru explains
how he knows Choso. On the last television show Suguru worked on, Choso was a supporting
actor. The two met on set and became “fast friends” apparently. Satoru can see right through the
other alpha, though.

When Choso noticed him walking in with Suguru, his face deflated. He probably wanted to spend
the evening hitting on Suguru and finally gaining the courage to ask him out or something along
those lines.

Believing he has it all figured out, Satoru feels smug. Good thing he’s here tonight.

Soon, the birthday boy, Itadori Yuji, runs up to excitedly greet the twins. From what Satoru
gathers, the girls have had several play dates with Itadori before, meaning Suguru and Choso have
also spent a lot of time together.

Satoru doesn’t like the sound of that one bit.

“Did you decorate on your own?” Suguru asks as Choso leads them to a table that is covered in
finger foods and beverages.

The condo is a decent size and it’s covered in streamers, balloons, and a grand birthday banner.

There’s some kind of superhero theme going on. Satoru thinks it’s for the DC comic book heroes.
He’s not paying that much attention, honestly. He’s keeping an eye on the twins who are now
sitting with a group of pups playing a board game, and he’s tuned in to the conversation Suguru
and Choso are having.

“All by myself,” Choso says with a chuckle. “Since production has ended and I’m in between
work, I have more free time…”

Suguru goes on to mention how he’s been using his free time to focus more on his studies. That
reminds Satoru of something he’s been meaning to bring to Suguru’s attention.

The way he sees it, Suguru shouldn’t have to work at all. He can focus on school and the girls if he
just moves in with Satoru in Tokyo or at the very least allows Satoru to pay his bills and give him
some kind of bi-weekly allowance.

Satoru doesn’t see why Suguru should be stressing himself out when his mate is loaded but of
course he knows how proud Suguru is.

“And what about you, Gojo-san?” Choso asks after handing each of them a beverage. “What do
you do for a living?”

“Sports,” Satoru says, keeping it simple.

Choso smiles and nods. Then his facial expression changes from pleasant to one filled with
recognition. “Oh! I’ve seen you before! Your face is plastered on a lot of billboards downtown. For
some kind of luxury car…”

“Yes, that’s me,” Satoru says. “I’m the brand ambassador for Lexus.” Among other major brands
but he isn’t here to brag or anything. “But I play basketball professionally.”

“Amazing!” Choso looks at Suguru. “You sure know how to pick your company.” He jokes.

Suguru laughs, and then they both laugh, and Satoru has to suppress an eye roll. More people
arrive and thankfully Choso leaves them to go play host. They sample some of the food, and Satoru
has to admit that everything tastes good. Whoever catered did an exceptional job.

“Choso cooked all of this,” Suguru says after Satoru compliments the caterer. “He was in culinary
school when he was scouted.”

“You mean to tell me he decorated this place and cooked everything?”

“Isn’t it amazing?”

“I guess,” Satoru says, shrugging. “People can do anything with more free time.”

“The girls are having fun.” Suguru smiles as he watches the twins laugh as Itadori tells them
something funny. “Itadori-kun goes to daycare with them. They’ll be starting school together, too.”

Isn’t that just perfect, Satoru bitterly thinks. Choso has a thing for Suguru, obviously, and his little
brother is close with the twins, too.

“So, he’s raising his little brother by himself?” Satoru asks.

“Yeah, they have the same mother. Sadly, she passed away shortly after birthing Itadori-kun…”

Handsome, successful, can cook, decorate, is raising his younger brother, and he has a tragic
backstory - isn’t that just great? That means this guy is actual competition. Is that why Suguru
didn’t want to put the courting ring on? He didn’t want Choso to know that he’s seeing someone?
Is that why Suguru insists on referring to Satoru as his “friend” to everyone they meet?

“Do you know where the bathroom is?” Satoru asks Suguru.

It’s a rhetorical question. He doesn’t expect Suguru to know where this guy’s bathroom is because
he doesn’t think Suguru has ever been to his condo.

“Oh, yeah, it’s down that hall, first door on the left…”

Satoru looks over at Suguru, and he tries to mask his disappointment. “Been here before?” he asks,
trying to sound casual.

“Plenty of times,” Suguru says offhandedly. He’s watching the twins and not paying attention to
Satoru.

Hearing that, Satoru walks off and heads to the bathroom before his territorial scent turns the happy
birthday party into an uncomfortable environment. In the bathroom, he closes the door behind him
and locks it. One look around the place has him curling his lip. It’s always the artsy types. From
the way Choso decorates his condo, he gives off the “carefree” and “creative” vibe.

Of course, Suguru is drawn to someone like this.

After getting his scent back to normal, Satoru washes and dries his hand then he leaves the
bathroom. As he’s walking back to where he left Suguru, he sees Choso laughing and rubbing
Suguru’s arm while Suguru laughs with him. His eyes zone in on the hand that’s rubbing Suguru’s
arm and he starts to see red.

Why in the hell does Choso feel comfortable enough to touch Suguru like this or at all? And how
come Suguru is allowing him to do this? Balling his fists, Satoru thinks it’s time to let Choso know
that Suguru already has a mate.

Then Satoru feels a soft body collide into his legs. Looking down, he sees Mimiko hugging him.
She’s staring up at him with a small smile and her cheeks rosy.

Satrou’s anger melts away instantly. He touches the top of her head. “Hey, Mimi. Are you having
fun?” he asks, smiling down at her.

She nods. Then she lets go of his legs and makes a hand gesture he doesn’t understand. He squats
down so that they’re eye level, hoping he can grasp what she’s trying to say better that way.

Mimiko makes the gesture again where she touches her throat.

“Is your throat sore?” Satoru asks, frowning in concern.

“Mimi’s thirsty,” Nanko says as she walks up to stand next to her sister. She does the gesture
herself. “This means thirsty. We made it up together!”

Satoru’s eyes widen. “Really? That’s amazing! You girls are so smart!” He stands up and takes
them both by the hand, and secretly he celebrates because Nanako lets him hold her hand. “Let’s
get some punch!”

How awesome is it that they created a way to nonverbally communicate with one another?

Satoru is smiling from ear to ear, no longer angry about stupid Choso. And he has always
recognized Nanako as the one who feels responsible for the care of her older twin and their mother.

Nanako’s coldness toward him is just her being protective of her pack. It’s how Satoru is. That’s
why he doesn’t take her distrust of him to heart as he also needs time to warm up to others. He likes
to call it his “vibe check” and a lot of people never pass it.

At the snack table, he pours a little bit of punch into two plastic cups and gives one to each of the
girls. While they drink, they stay next to Satoru and he keeps a watchful eye on them. He’s always
been curious about Nanako’s hair as well.

His hair and eye colors are very rare even within his family line, and it appears Nanko has a similar
mutation with her hair color. It’s not white like his but she’s a natural blond.

Neither of the girls have adopted either of their parents’ peculiar eye colors; not blue or purple, but
instead their eyes are brown like Shiori’s.

From afar, they don’t look like they could be Satoru’s at all but up close they look like him and
Suguru, and their mannerisms are the same as well. He bets if he brought the girls around his
mother without explaining where they came from, she would know the truth immediately.

Mimiko and Nanako are undoubtedly their girls. For some inexplicable reason, that makes Satoru
feel on top of the world.

“Thank you, Gojo-san,” Nana says. She takes Mimi’s empty cup and hands them both to Satoru.
“We’re going to go play some more!”

“Okay. Have fun, you two!”

Satoru disposes of their cups while they scurry off back to where the other kids are. He sees a tray
of cupcakes and his sweet tooth gets excited.

As he’s making his way around the table, he catches Suguru walking up to him. He’s wearing blue
jeans and a simple blouse with some of his hair pulled up and the rest down; his usual style. He’s
such a mom that every time Satoru sees him in settings like this — when the girls are present — he
has to stop himself from making a slew of mom jokes.

“I knew either you or Nana would find your way to the sweets table,” Suguru says, laughing.

With the girls gone, Satoru’s jealousy returns. “Didn’t think you’d notice what I was up to at all…”
He inwardly cringes after he says that. Is he a toddler? “So, you and Choso are good friends…”

Suguru nods. “He was one of my first friends when I moved here. He helped me get a job in
costume design.”

“I see.” Satoru picks up a cupcake that has Superman on it. “Oh, the coolest thing just happened!
Mimi and Nana came up with a gesture to help Mimi express when she’s thirsty!”

“I know. They showed me Tuesday night! I was curious to know how they were able to
communicate without words…”

While he speaks, Satoru slowly loses his appetite and his happiness because Suguru has known
this for days and didn’t even mention it to him. Why does it feel like he’s being shut out of
everything? Perhaps he’s being dramatic. Perhaps he just assumed that Suguru would share every
small and big moment with him from now on.

“That’s amazing,” Satoru says once Suguru is finished. But he feels numb. “I um…I need to step
outside for a bit.”

Suguru frowns. “Are you okay?” He tries to step forward and put a hand on Satoru’s shoulder.

But Satoru steps back. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just need to make a call…”

Suguru isn’t buying that from the looks of it. He opens his mouth to probably press for the truth but
then Choso is calling his name from across the room and asking him to come be his partner for a
card game that’s about to start.
“You should go. I’ll be back after the call,” Satoru says and he walks off before Suguru can stop
him.

He’s still holding the uneaten cupcake as he stands outside on the sidewalk. He no longer has an
appetite.

Suguru is acting distant, and Satoru doesn’t understand what he did wrong to push him away.

This week has been busy and he hasn’t been able to call in as much as he’d like but they talked on
the phone Thursday night. Everything seemed fine then. They were both just exhausted so their
conversation was short.

When Satoru asked Suguru if anything exciting happened, he didn’t mention anything about the
girls, though.

It would be easier if he could be here with his pack every day. That way, he’d know what’s wrong
and will be able to fix the problem without taking stabs in the dark. Now he’s just feeling hurt and
confused. The courting ring is still in his pocket and he wonders if it’s too late to return it.

He can give Suguru a bracelet instead, something thoughtful yet not as binding as the ring is. That
way Suguru doesn’t have to feel like he’s trapped in something he isn’t ready for.

By the time Satoru returns upstairs, Itadori is opening his gifts. He’s a very happy and polite boy
who thanks every single person for their gift. Afterwards, more games are played and then the
cake is cut and eaten. Soon, the twins start to act fussy which means they’re sleepy.

Suguru thanks Choso on all of their behalf and Choso makes a very bold move.

“I’m going to be taking my boat out Sunday,” he says. “Yuji will be with our grandfather…it’ll be
a lot of day drinking.” He laughs. “If you’re free maybe…”

Satoru interrupts. “Suguru and I have plans,” he says, putting his hand on the small of Suguru’s
back as he starts to lead him out the door. “Enjoy your boat day though.” He adds a cheeky smile.

With that, they all leave.

On the elevator, it’s quiet but Satoru can practically hear Suguru scolding him for how rude he just
was. The only reason he’s not yelling at him is because the girls are present. Thank god for them,
Satoru thinks. Even he feels like an idiot for what he did. Not because he was rude to Choso.

An alpha trying to close in on his omega is more than enough reason to react violently. His
rudeness was deserved.

The reason why Satoru is worried now is because Suguru is going to kick his ass for sure.

“Explain yourself, Satoru,” Suguru says about an hour later. The girls are tucked into their bed, and
they’re sitting in the living room.

Satoru sighs. He knew this was coming. “I was jealous,” he says without beating around the bush.
“Itadori-san clearly has a thing for you.”

“Not anymore. We’re just friends!”

“Pause. You already knew?!”

“It’s all in the past, Satoru. Choso knows that I’m not…well, when he was seeking a romantic
relationship last year, I told him I wasn’t interested in that.”

Satoru knew his hunch wasn’t wrong. It’s like he can read other alphas’ minds when he’s around
Suguru. Perhaps it’s his inner alpha that can sense when another wants his mate. Despite having
sexual and romantic experience with omegas, being mated to one opens new doors of possiblities.

So, there’s a lot to get adjusted to.

“I knew it,” Satoru says, clenching his jaw. “He wants to be with you, Suguru. He still wants that.”

Suguru closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. “It doesn’t matter what he wants. I don’t
want to be with him and it has nothing to do with him, personally. I think he’s a good guy I just…”

“You just what?”

“Want to be with you, you idiot!” Suguru gets up and walks off toward the kitchen. “You were
rude and jealous for nothing!”

Satoru follows him into the kitchen. He watches Suguru grab juice from the fridge and pour
himself a glass.

“Then why did you reject my courting gift, Suguru.”

Suguru stops pouring. “I didn’t reject you. I…it caught me off guard and it’s just a lot to take in.”

“I assumed as much but why didn’t you just say that? I’ve been worried all night, wondering if you
really want to be with me or not. Then I learned that the girls found a way to communicate non-
verbally which is something I would’ve liked to know sooner.”

“You know for a majority of our lives you made me feel the same way. I was constantly worrying
about if I was good enough for you or not.”

Satoru immediately feels like shit. He opens his mouth to apologize but Suguru stops him.

“And I wanted to tell you about the good news but you seemed so tired when we talked on the
phone. I didn’t want to bother you.”

“I don’t care how tired or upset you think I am, that’s something I want to know.”

“I know. It’s just that when I would share good news with him, he would make me wish I’d kept it
to myself,” Suguru says, setting the juice aside. “And when he wanted absolute control over me, he
tried to marry me and when I refused…” His eyes water and he shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Satoru,
but it’s difficult to just jump into your arms when I’ve been burned before. By you and someone
else.”

Satoru is at a loss. He never wanted to disregard Suguru’s trauma yet he ended up making
everything about himself and his own hurt feelings without considering the true reason behind
Suguru’s actions.

“Does this mean you don’t want me to court you?” Satoru decides to start there.

“I do. I’m just afraid that I’m once again making a bad decision. I know you’re not like him. I’m
not saying that you are but…”

“You’re afraid of being hurt again.”

“Yes.”

“I can understand that. That’s why I’m doing my best to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Can you start by not being jealous about every little thing?” he asks, sighing. “Alphas can desire
me all they want but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be with them. Don’t insult me!”

Satoru scratches his neck, feeling like an even bigger idiot. “I just get so worked up thinking about
them claiming my omega.”

“You were giving off a territorial scent all night. I’m sure everyone there knows I’m yours.”

“I tried really hard to contain it, Suguru!”

Shaking his head, Suguru chuckles. He picks up his glass of juice and has a sip. “The girls had fun
so that is all that matters.” He glances away. “And I’m sorry for not telling you about their non-
verbal communication sooner. I’ve been very anxious about our date tomorrow and I’ve been
thinking of things that happened in the past with him…” Groaning, he squeezes his eyes tightly to
send away an image in his head. “Forget it. I’ll have to work through this on my own.”

Satoru moves closer to Suguru and touches his shoulder. “You don’t have to do it alone. If I knew
more about what he did, I would have a better understanding of your triggers…”

“Satoru, no. I can’t tell you ever. You’ll think I’m weak and disgusting…you’ll hate me…
you’ll…” He starts breathing frantically and his eyes begin to water.

Pulling Suguru into his arms, he nuzzles his cheek and rubs his back to get him to calm down. He
doesn’t want the girls to wake up and be scared. They seem to be able to tell when their mother is
distressed even in their sleep, and vice versa. That’s how close the trio is bonded to one another.

Now Satoru hopes to become a piece of their completed puzzle. He knew all of this wouldn’t be
easy to achieve.

They walk back to the living room and sit on the couch while Suguru calms down. He got himself
so worked up in such a short span of time. Satoru knew Suguru was traumatized but this is truly eye
opening.

“You can share things with me only when you feel comfortable, Suguru. I will never force you to
do anything.”

Suguru nods.

They sit together for a while longer until Suguru is breathing as he should and he isn’t sniffling
anymore. He hugs Satoru tightly to show his gratitude.

“Are we still on for tomorrow?” Satoru asks. “I understand if you want to wait.”

“I want to go on a date with you.”

That makes Satoru smile. “Then I'll be here tomorrow to pick you up at 7.” He pauses. “Or I could
stay…”

He booked a hotel room for tonight because he wants to actually pick Suguru up and make it feel
like an actual date from start to finish.

“No, it’s fine. You should head to your hotel before it gets too late.” Suguru gives him another hug.
“I’ll be ready at 7.” He promises.

After more reassurances are exchanged, Satoru takes his leave. He checks his phone to see if Mei
Mei has gotten back to him with the name of Suguru’s abusive ex-boyfriend but she hasn’t.

He’ll just have to be patient then.

“Why isn’t she picking up?” Suguru asks out loud. Chewing his bottom lip, he ends the call and
tries to text his sister instead. “Shiori, this is an emergency…”

Looking around his bedroom, at the piles and piles of clothes he’s rummaged through in an attempt
to find something that doesn’t make him look fat or frumpy, he feels his eyes watering. But he
refuses to cry.

It’s ridiculous to be this worked up over something like this. Satoru has seen him in his pajamas
before. Is it really a big deal if he isn’t drop dead gorgeous tonight for their date?

Yes.

Yes, it actually is.

Because this isn’t a lazy day around the apartment or a picnic in the park. This is a date. A real date
with someone who wants to court him and eventually marry him. Not in a way to control him or
anything malicious like that. This is Suguru’s first real date, and he isn’t as prepared as he thought
he’d be.

He woke up in a good mood until he noticed that his end’s are split, he’s long overdue for a
manicure and a pedicure, and he needs to wax. Well, waxing is the last thing on his list but it would
be nice to have that situated as well.

The sad reality is that even a normal trip to the salon is way out of his budget. Any extra money he
has goes to the girls and he doesn’t want it any other way. They always come first in his book.

Suguru has clothes but most are from the thrift store or off the clearance rack. He’s worn
everything at least thrice. Satoru is wealthy and attractive and deserves a date who suits him well…

“Mommy!” Nanako runs into the room with Mimiko right behind her. Both are still in their
pajamas. “What are you doing?“ They cautiously walk around the piles of clothes.

On Saturdays if they don’t have any plans, Suguru just has them wash up and they usually stay in
their pajamas for most of the day. If they want to dress up, he’ll let them.

“Remember I told you how Satoru and I are going out tonight alone?” he asks.

Nanako wrinkles her nose. “The grown ups only play date where Mimi and I can’t come?” She
pouts.

Suguru laughs because this isn’t the first time she’s made it clear that she does not appreciate being
excluded from the date. But Suguru promised both girls that Satoru will take them all out one day.

“Yes, well I am trying to find something to wear tonight.”

Mimiko looks around and picks up a maxi dress. It’s peach. She hands it to Suguru. He’s worn this
peach maxi dress so many times the color has faded. But he smiles and thanks Mimi.
“Mommy just wants to look very pretty for tonight. So I’m thinking of something new.”

The twins frown. “But Mommy is the prettiest!” Nanako declares and Mimiko nods her head
vigorously. “If…if Gojo-san doesn’t think so…I’ll…” She balls her little fists. “He better be nice to
Mommy!”

She’s so angry she can’t even form her words properly and Mimiko is just as angry. She likes
Satoru but she loves her mother. That makes Suguru smile.

He hugs them both and assures them that Satoru is never mean to him. He tells them that he’s just
being hard on himself and reminds them that that isn’t a good thing to do. They continue to help
him look through clothes he could possibly wear for later and just having them around helps him
feel better.

“Have you two decided on what movies you want to watch with Megumi tonight?” Suguru asks
some time later as he checks to see if Shiori has texted him back.

She hasn’t. He sucks his teeth.

Nanako and Mimiko sort through their DVD collection for movies to watch. Suguru found a box of
popular Disney films at the thrift store and most of them were unopened. Some of the films are in
English audio only so he uses them to teach the girls a second language because that’s how he
learned some English words; through watching films.

He didn’t have a fancy tutor like Satoru did but that never made Satoru look down on him.

Hearing his phone ring, he gets excited because he thinks it’s Shiori but he sees Megumi’s name on
the screen. He’s still excited for the call because at least Megumi can talk sense into him.

“Open your door,” Megumi says on the other end.

Suguru frowns as he heads over to the front door. “You don’t have to be here until 6:30.” He
doesn’t want his best friend to waste his entire Saturday with him plus babysitting.

It’s still so early. Just a little past noon to be precise.

When he opens the door he sees Megumi, and Shiori standing there toting an overnight bag and a
rolling suitcase. At the sight of his sister, Suguru’s eyes grow double in size and he forgets what he
was going to say.

“Surprise!” Shiori exclaims. “Help has arrived!!” She nudges Suguru aside after quickly kissing his
cheek. “Where are my nieces?!”

Suguru is stunned. He just stands there staring at Megumi’s smug face as the girls giggle and hug
their aunt.

“Aunt Shorey is here!!” Nanako says loudly. They both adore Shiori, unsurprisingly. “Are you
here to play with us?!”

Megumi smiles and walks past Suguru. “And you said I wasn’t good at surprises,” he teases.

Snapping out of his stupor, Suguru turns around to see both Shiori and Megumi putting on guests
slippers. Thankfully they avoid Satoru’s slippers though anyone with keen senses can tell which
ones he often wears.
“Okay, let’s get started,” Shiori says. “I’ve brought my entire kit with me. Let’s remind Satoru that
you’re a diamond in the rough!”

“You came all this way to help me get ready for my date?” Suguru asks in disbelief.

“Duh. I knew you’d need my help.”

Usually Suguru would reply with an insult or pretend as if he doesn’t need Shiori or her help but
this time he walks over and quietly hugs her. She laughs and hugs him back.

“Fushiguro helped me plan it all. Go love on him, too.”

And Suguru does. He hugs Megumi next and tells them both how grateful he is to have them in his
life. Before he can start crying and get too mushy, Megumi allows the girls to drag him over to the
living room to see the movies they picked out while Shiori pops out a bottle of champagne.

“Let’s start with a mani/pedi!” she says. “Pretend it’s a regular day at the spa!”

Suguru watches as his sister takes a fruit tray out of the shopping bag she has and walks to the
kitchen like she owns the place. She gets to work filling a flute with champagne and putting some
fruit on a plate for him.

“I don’t know if I should drink...”

“Just a sip or two, Suguru. Loosen up!” She pauses. “You’re not on antidepressants anymore,
right?”

Suguru shakes his head.

“Then drink up, babes!”

Reluctantly, Suguru has a sip of champagne. It tastes really good. He hasn’t had alcohol in so long
because he isn’t much of a drinker. Discreetly, he has another sip.

“Okay, so I assumed you wouldn’t know what to wear so I bought a few items. What mood are you
going for tonight? What’s the vibe?” It’s obvious that she’s enjoying this.

Suguru and his mother have tried to tell Shiori that she should open her own salon because she
loves to make others feel good about themselves through self care. She’s a natural with this sort of
thing and now he feels loads better with her here.

“I want Satoru to take one look at me and regret every time he chose someone else over me in high
school,” Suguru says quietly. He feels ashamed to hold on to something that happened years ago
but it always hurts him to think about. “Then I want him to feel lucky for this second chance.”

Shiori smirks. “I love my brother-in-law but he has to pay for that,” she says good naturedly. “I
know exactly the look to go for.”

“He’s not your brother-in-law! Satoru and I are not married!”

“Yet.” Shiori says. “Anyway, please tell me you have sexy panties. None of the dresses I have are
suited for granny panties.”

Suguru gasps. “For your information…” He stops himself. Wait, he actually doesn’t have any
‘sexy underwear.’ He laughs sheepishly. “Well, it’s not like Satoru will see them…”
Shiori looks scandalized. “Oh, no! We’re going shopping!”

Even after developing an appreciation for cosmetics and dressing up, Suguru still doesn’t have a
passion for shopping. He wants to protest but when it comes to Shiori’s makeover projects, she’s
immovable, and he knows Megumi isn’t going to pick his side in this.

So, he sucks it up and leaves himself in Shiori’s capable yet terrifying hands.

Satoru arrives at Suguru’s apartment ten minutes early because he’s anxious and excited. He could
only pace around his hotel room so many times before he couldn’t wait another second.

The florist already had his order ready so he just paid and left. Gathering the bouquet of blue roses
and smaller bouquets of daisies, he heads to Suguru’s door.

Outside of the door, he can hear loud chattering coming from inside of the apartment and it sounds
like an animated film is playing. From the sounds of it, Megumi is already starting his babysitting
duties.

Taking a deep breath, Satoru knocks on the door. He can hear the way everyone grows silent inside
the apartment and he chuckles under his breath. Knowing Suguru, he’s a nervous wreck right now.
He’s probably running around the apartment still getting ready.

Their dinner reservations are for 7:30 and they have a private room so there’s no rush.

Satoru knocks once more.

“Coming!” someone says.

The voice he hears doesn't sound like Suguru or Megumi. It sounds a little like…

The door opens and Shiori is there smiling at him. “You clean up nicely,” she says, nudging her
head toward the flowers. “Those for me?” She jokes.

Satoru chuckles. “These are for my pack,” he says. “I didn’t know you’d be in town.”

Shiori steps aside and lets him in. Since he’ll remain in the small genkan, he keeps his dress shoes
on. From where he’s standing he can see the girls sit up on the couch and peek their heads over it to
look at him. He waves at them and they hurriedly duck their heads to hide.

“Satoru has a gift for you girls,” Shiori says.

That has the twins bouncing off the couch and running over to him. Smiling, he squats down and
presents each of them with their bouquet of daisies.

“I promise to take you both plus your mommy on an outing some other time,” he says

Mimiko sniffs her flowers and then her entire face gets so red she has to run away.

“Mimi is shy,” Nanako says. “And she thinks you’re very handsome. I think you’re just okay.” She
shrugs. “Thanks for the flowers.”

Satoru snorts, and Shiori and Megumi laugh out loud. “You’re welcome, Nanako-chan.”

“Have my Mommy home at a good time,” Nanako continues to say, “And…next time bring me
candy…lots of candy or you can’t see my mommy again—”
“Nana, what have I told you about bribing people?”

At the sound of Suguru’s voice, Satoru looks over Nanako’s head to see Suguru stepping out of the
hallway. He nearly drops the roses out of his hand.

“Ooh, Mommy! So pretty!” Nanako screams.

She and her sister run over to Suguru to hug his legs and tell him how pretty he is. While Suguru
quietly thanks his girls, Satoru tries to remember how to speak. He was relaxed just moments ago.
Confident, even. What happened?

Suguru happened.

This is far from Satoru’s first date. But now that he thinks about it, how many dates has he had
where he was with someone he could imagine having a future with?

Zero.

Shiori and Megumi are trying to get Suguru to take a picture but he refuses because he swears he
isn’t photogenic. He’s also intentionally not meeting Satoru’s gaze. But Satoru is thankful for that
last part because he knows he looks like a fool with his mouth hanging open.

“Then you and Satoru take one together,” Shiori says.

Hearing his name, Satoru blinks and shakes himself out of his trance. He straightens up, clears his
throat, and shakes the nerves out of his hands.

Finally, Suguru looks at him and their eyes meet.

Satoru wants to pick Suguru up, carry him over his shoulder, and take him to his nest. If he wasn’t
so adamant about taking Suguru out on the town and showing him off, he would do just that.

“Let’s take one picture for memory’s sake, Suguru.” Satoru offers a smile.

Suguru nods. “Fine.” He rubs his left arm anxiously. “Megumi, can we use your phone? You have
a good camera…”

Is there something different about Suguru’s hair? The style is one he’s never seen him wear before.
All of it is down with a short part in the middle and it’s glossy and full of volume. He’s always
known Suguru’s hair was long but with it like this it looks longer and thicker; healthier. It frames
his pretty face well, too.

The black dress he’s wearing fits every curve just right and he’s showing off his legs which are
one of his best assets. They’re blemish-free, toned, and smooth.

When Suguru stands in front of him, Satoru gives him the roses.

Suguru smiles and thanks him. Just like Mimiko did, he sniffs them and blushes. But he doesn’t
run away. He stands next to Satoru albeit awkwardly until Shiori makes them pose properly.

Satoru puts an arm around Suguru’s waist and Suguru rests his face a few inches away from his
chest. Without meaning to, Satoru stares down at Suguru, finding him to be absolutely breathtaking
and before he can look away the picture is taken.

“Okay. All done. See you two later! Have fun!”

“I need to put these in water!” Suguru says, gesturing to his roses.

Megumi takes the bouquet from him as Shiori continues to usher them out of the door. “I’ll take
care of that. Enjoy your date.”

“Have fun, Mommy and Gojo-san!” Nanako says as she and Mimiko wave them goodbye.

And before Suguru can get all of his “i love yous” and reminders out, the door is closed on them.

“Did I just get kicked out of my own apartment?” Suguru deadpans, glaring at the door.

“Sounds like they have a fun night planned that we’re not invited to,” Satoru says, offering his arm
to Suguru. “Guess we’ll have to make our own fun then?”

“I suppose so,” Suguru says, linking their arms together.

They walk to his car. He opens the passenger door for Suguru and helps him get in. Once he’s
seated, Satoru goes out of his way to buckle Suguru’s seatbelt for him, making Suguru laugh.

“What a gentleman,” he jokes.

Satoru smirks. “My date is so beautiful I want to do anything to please him.” He isn’t just saying
that either. Seriously, he can’t keep his eyes off of Suguru. “Did you use a new shampoo?”

“Some expensive brand Shiori brought with her…”

Satoru nods. “I love your hair.” He wants to run his fingers through it. “And your dress. Suguru,
you look stunning. I kinda want to keep you hidden tonight. Is that weird?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

Then Suguru laughs. “I’m teasing. It’s sweet. Thank you, Satoru. Now get in the car, too.”

Satoru forgot he was just standing on the passenger side staring at Suguru. Feeling like an idiot, he
laughs and closes the door. As he’s walking over to the driver’s side he gives himself a mental pep
talk.

Yes, Suguru is gorgeous.

Yes, he wants to build a time machine and go back to junior high and confess to Suguru on New
Year’s Eve instead of losing his virginity to someone he never cared for. He wants to reclaim all
the years that were spent with someone else instead of Suguru but he can’t.

He also has to play it cool tonight. He wants to impress Suguru and show him a great time. Not
drool over him and say things he should keep to himself.

Getting in the car, Satoru puts the address to the restaurant into his built in GPS system.

“Can you crack the windows?” Suguru asks, covering his nose.

Satoru cracks the windows. “Sorry about my scent.” He pulls out of the parking lot. “I can stop and
get spray if you need.”

“That’s fine.“
“So, Shiori’s in town…”

That gets the conversation rolling and helps break the ice. For the entirety of the drive, they talk
about Shiori’s surprise visit, random news about Gomari, and how their day went up until now. It’s
like the usual conversations they have during their phone calls.

The more they talk, the more at ease Suguru becomes. He’s smiling and laughing, making it harder
for Satoru to keep his eyes on the road. He keeps stealing glances at Suguru and fighting the urge
to kiss his cheek.

Sometimes Suguru will catch him looking and he’ll smile. Then it’s Satoru whose face is heating
up. He feels like a pup with a crush, not the adult who has loads of experience.

At the restaurant, they enter through the back door due to Satoru’s celebrity status. He made the
reservation under a pseudonym he uses in public to keep the paparazzi from being called. He
doesn’t want anyone or anything to ruin this date.

“Order anything you want,” Satoru says once they’re seated. “I looked over the menu and made
sure they had a lot of things to choose from.”

The private room is dimly lit, making for an intimate setting. There are a few oil paintings on the
wall but the decor is minimum. Nonetheless, it’s a lovely place. Satoru combed through hundreds
of reviews to make sure he selected the best restaurant.

“We can get a bottle for the table, too.”

Suguru nods. “Okay. I’m not an expert so you pick which bottle is best.”

“Will you eat fish, chicken, or beef? That way I can find the best wine to pair with your meal.”

“I see you are an expert.”

“Something like that.”

No, Satoru is just a secret alcoholic.

They discuss the menu some more until they each decide on an entree. The choice of wine is left
up to Satoru who selects a bottle after the server takes their food order. While they wait, Satoru
strikes up a random conversation.

He can tell Suguru is nervous which is why he probably agreed to order a bottle. But his scent is
tame. There is some awkward tension in the air but it has nothing to do with the date, per se. He
can’t really place the feeling, honestly.

It’s as if there are a lot of words that are being left unsaid between them. Then again, there is still
the issue of the courting ring that he now has inside of his suit’s inner pocket. He will exchange it
when he returns to Tokyo even though a large part of him wishes Suguru would accept it.

“This wine is very good,” Suguru says, savoring it. “Sweeter than I expected.”

Satoru has some wine. It’s not nearly as sweet as he would prefer. “How does it pair with your
steak?”

“It’s perfect. I’ve never even heard of this restaurant. How did you find it?”

“I asked some of my teammates.” Naoya actually suggested this place. He has good taste in
restaurants. “I told them how special this night was to me so they pitched in.”

Suguru lowers his face to mask his smile but Satoru still catches him. “You’re quite the charmer,
Satoru. Who would have thought?”

“Did you forget how the older women in Gomari gave me free food from their market stalls?”

“Because you’re the Gojo heir, not because you were charming.”

“Is that what it was?”

“Yes.”

“You were the one everyone liked. How could I forget?”

“Everyone didn’t like me.”

“Suguru, please, you never got into trouble and you always got free stuff.”

“Because I helped people with chores while you pulled pranks all the time.”

Satoru was a prankster when he was younger. He doesn’t even remember why he acted out like
that. Maybe it was because he wanted a certain someone to notice him. He used to like being
scolded by Suguru — he still likes it — and every time he pulled a prank, he knew Suguru would
scold him.

Suguru laughs at another memory. “You were the reason I ended up in detention for the first and
last time. My father swore you would ruin my life…”

“How’s the second divorce treating him?”

It’s a crude thing to say, and he immediately regrets it.

It’s not a secret that he hates Suguru’s father with a passion and that he laughed out loud when he
heard the young woman he ditched his entire family for cheated on him with someone her own age
and left him. At the time, Suguru got mad at him and wouldn’t talk to him for two days.

“No idea,” Suguru says, and to Satoru’s surprise, he’s still laughing. “Did I tell you he tried to get
back with my mom?”

Satoru audibly gasps. “No way!”

Suguru fills him in on the story.

The server returns to refill their water and place the idea of dessert in their heads. Satoru definitely
wants dessert but he has something else planned so he declines the server. As they continue their
meal and finish off the bottle, they chat more about the past and the present, going in and out of
order based on whatever comes to mind first.

In the end, dinner is a success.

They’re both in high spirits when they leave the restaurant. Satoru asks Suguru if he feels like
walking off their food and he says that sounds like a good idea so they walk across the street to a
park where there is a garden and a fountain.

Suguru shivers a little.

Taking off his blazer he places it on Suguru’s arms.

“Thank you,” Suguru says as if sniffs the blazer. He closes his eyes and purrs quietly.

Feeling like a king, Satoru puts his arm around Suguru’s back and they follow a trail through a
small bamboo forest where there is a moon bridge and a koi pond nearby. He also looked into this
park as well to make sure the layout would fit a romantic theme.

“That cart over there sells sweet ice,” Satoru says, pointing at a small, colorful cart that an elderly
man is working behind. “Like authentic sweet ice!”

“Really? I want to try some. If that’s okay…”

“Of course it is!”

Satoru is happy that Suguru developed a sweet tooth after birthing their daughters. Finally they can
enjoy sweets together. They each get a different flavor so that they can try each other’s. Satoru gets
cherry and Suguru gets blueberry.

They sit on one of the benches that’s in front of the koi pond. There are white lantern lights
dangling above their heads and they can see other couples walking the trail.

Suguru is watching them as they pass by with a longing expression on his face but then he looks
over at Satoru and he smiles as if remembering that he no longer has to envy others and their
relationships. When he leans closer, placing his head on Satoru’s shoulder, Satoru’s heart stops
beating.

“Hey, Satoru?”

Satoru swallows. “Yes?”

“Thank you for tonight…”

It sounds as if he was going to say something else but this is just as good to hear. Satoru tells him
that he’s welcome and that he’s happy he had a good time.

They finish their sweet ice and chat some more before they walk back to the car, hand in hand.

Satoru wishes the night could go longer but he also knows that Suguru doesn’t like to be away
from his daughters for too long.

Besides, this is only the first date. There’ll be plenty more outings. It’s nearing 10pm, anyway.
Any later and Suguru will be up way past his bedtime. He’s not a night owl like Satoru.

The drive back to the apartment is quiet aside from the radio that’s turned down. But the silence
isn’t awkward whatsoever. Suguru is still wearing his blazer and he looks like he intends to keep it.

Omegas love to keep things that carry their alpha’s scents, too. He might as well kiss his blazer
goodbye.

“Do you think the girls are sleeping?” Satoru asks as they walk up to the apartment.

“Megumi and Shiori will keep them up so I doubt it.” He stands in front of his door and faces
Satoru. The moonlight is on his face, and his purple eyes look like jewels. “Satoru…do you have
the courting ring with you?”
Satoru touches Suguru’s shoulders, dragging them down slowly to the front of the blazer. He slips
his right hand inside and retrieves the jewelry box.

“I do,” he says.

Suguru offers his right hand. When they marry the ring will be moved to his left hand.

“Are you sure?” Satoru asks. “I can get you a different gift.”

“I want to be yours, Satoru.” Suguru is looking him right in the eye even though his voice trembles.
“I’ve wanted that since I was twelve.” He laughs quietly. “If you truly want me too then give me
that ring and never take it away.”

Satoru pops open the jewelry box. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” He takes out the ring and places it on
the finger closest to Suguru’s pinky. “When you’re ready, and only when you’re ready, I’ll put this
on your left hand…”

Suguru raises his hand and stares at the gold band. Then he looks at Satoru and smiles warmly.

Everything immediately following that is literally a blur. Just like that day in the kitchen when they
practically jumped each other. Something just comes over Satoru; he can’t explain it.

But he has Suguru pressed against the door before he can stop himself and Suguru’s fingers are
curled in his hair, tugging the strands as they share a messy kiss. Satoru slips his hands under the
blazer, rubbing Suguru’s back and trying not to drag them lower.

It’s futile because Suguru keeps gasping and moaning and pushing his body against his, driving
him crazy. So, he grabs a handful of Suguru’s ass. Hearing Suguru’s startled gasp makes him groan
in response and deepen the kiss.

Suguru pulls away from the kiss to catch his breath and Satoru immediately goes for his ears.

“Satoru…we should…” Suguru moans quietly when Satoru sucks his earlobe. He doesn’t finish
his sentence.

Hearing the door creaking open, Satoru quickly pulls Suguru against his chest to keep him from
falling back. He has one hand on Suguru’s back and one still gripping his ass when Shiori and
Megumi peek out the door to stare at them.

Suguru’s entire face and neck is scarlet. He hides his face in Satoru’s chest and Satoru kisses his
cheek.

“You two should go to Satoru’s hotel room and spend more time together,” Shiori says, keeping
her voice down. “The night’s still young and we’re all enjoying a movie night. We don’t need you
lovebirds interrupting.”

Shiori is hands down the best wingman ever. Sukuna may have a run for his money.

Suguru turns around to protest.

But then Megumi shushes him. “We’re in the middle of Aladdin. I’ve never seen it before,” he
says, looking really upset that his relaxing night of sipping champagne and watching Disney films
was interrupted. “Shiori and I are sleeping over so don’t worry about coming back tonight.”

An assist from Fushiguro? Well, Satoru wasn’t expecting that but he’ll gladly accept all the help he
can get,

The gods are on his side tonight. But it all depends on what Suguru wants.

“You both are kicking me out of my own apartment again,” Suguru says, pouting. “Where are the
girls? Are they okay? Did they eat? They can be picky sometimes—”

“Satoru, please get this Milf out of here. He’s totally ruining our fun,” Shiori says with a loud sigh.

Megumi nods in agreement.

Suguru looks like he wants to fight them both but Satoru wishes them a good night and he starts to
drag Suguru off.

“Come on, Suguru, we can go to my room and have our own movie night,” he says. Once they’re
out of earshot he adds. “But only if you’re comfortable with that…”

Suguru doesn’t meet his eyes. “Okay…”

They return to the car and head to his hotel.

The hotel room is actually the Emperor’s Suite with a seperate bedroom, a dining area, and a den.
Satoru offers Suguru something to drink and he chooses water because his mouth feels dry and his
skin feels too hot.

He took off Satoru’s blazer when they entered the hotel room so now he feels weirdly exposed
with his arms and legs out. It’s silly, he knows. He wore booty shorts to bed that one time Satoru
stayed over. He also allowed Satoru to pleasure him.

Good thing he passed out right after. There wasn’t the usual, uneasy aftermath of him worrying
about if his facial expressions were terrible throughout. He’s overly self-conscious about trivial
things like that when it comes to intimacy. He’s always thought there was a reason why Satoru
took him from behind and why Kenjaku insisted on taking him that way every time as well.

People say that it’s an alpha’s nature to mount an omega but Suguru always saw it as them not
wanting to look at his face during sex. He’ll give Satoru a pass due to the circumstances but
unfortunately his self-esteem is still scarred.

Now he feels like the hotel room is too bright, that he won’t be able to hide as easily as he’d like to.

They relax on the bed and watch a random movie on the flat screen that’s mounted on the wall.
Satoru is keeping a respectable distance and he’s keeping the conversation going probably because
he can tell that Suguru is anxious.

“If you get sleepy you can change into one of my shirts,” Satoru eventually offers.

“Did you want to freshen up?”

Satoru nods. “I feel weird wearing clothes like this in bed.”

At the Gojo estate, they would often have to wash and change into yukatas whenever they entered.
So, Satoru has a thing about being fully dressed while in bed. This isn’t something new basically,
therefore, Suguru isn’t suspicious about his intentions.

Satoru gives him a big t-shirt to change into and they take turns washing up inside of the bathroom.
One look at Satoru’s bathroom space reminds Suguru of how well-kept he is.
He always flosses, uses mouthwash, brushes twice a day, and keeps his face clean with only soap
and water. Some people are just born fortunate.

After brushing his teeth and washing off his makeup, Suguru undresses. He sees the lacey panties
Shiori bought for him and he’s thankful the hair he forgot to wax isn’t that visible.

As an omega he doesn’t grow that much body hair anyway but he hasn’t waxed in years so it’s
more than what alphas are known to prefer. But it doesn’t matter. He and Satoru will just sleep
tonight.

Suguru puts on Satoru’s t-shirt and immediately concocts a plan to steal it and add it to his nest
during his next heat. He loves Satoru’s scent so much. The shirt stops just above his knees. It’s a
good fit. He’ll definitely sleep in this a lot.

Satoru can kiss this shirt and his blazer goodbye. Suguru will be claiming them both.

Leaving the bathroom, he sees Satoru is sitting on the edge of the bed, shirtless with only his dress
pants on. He smiles at Suguru and gets up.

“I won’t be long,” he says before entering the bathroom.

Once he closes the door, Suguru looks around the room for the light switch. The bedside table
lamp is also too bright. He wonders if there is a way to dim the lights. His search doesn’t take too
long. He finds the main switch and adjusts it so that the room has a warm hue. He’d prefer the dark
but this will do.

Right after he gets on the bed, Satoru leaves the bathroom. He notices the lights but doesn’t
comment.

He’s still shirtless but this time he’s wearing a pair of black briefs.

Goodness, his thighs…

Suguru licks his dry lips.

“Do you want to pick a different movie?” Satoru asks as he lays on the bed. He’s on his side,
facing Suguru.

“This one’s fine.”

“Okay.”

Suguru yelps when Satoru suddenly grabs him and pulls him closer. No matter how far away he
tries to place himself, Satoru’s long arms will always reach him. He always wants to cuddle Suguru
and kiss on him which makes Suguru think that his body doesn’t bother Satoru as much as he
thinks it does.

Satoru is sculpted like those marble statues of Greek gods, he’s in top shape, and millions of people
view him as one of the most attractive men in the world.

Yet he wants to settle down with someone who has love handles?

And Suguru doesn’t care what others look like. He doesn’t judge people based on that. His
criticism is of himself, no one else. He just remembers what his body used to be like and he thinks
Satoru would want him more if he looked like that.
But when Satoru is holding him like this, rubbing his pudgy stomach, and kissing his cheek, he
thinks that maybe he’s wrong.

“Satoru?”

“Hm?”

Suguru knows what he wants to ask but he doesn’t know how to put it into words. He’s been
insecure and vulnerable enough as it is.

“Nevermind…”

Of course he should’ve known Satoru wouldn’t accept that.

“Say it,” Satoru says, kissing Suguru’s cheek. “You can tell me. Am I being too touchy?”

“No, it’s not that!”

“Then what’s wrong?”

Suguru wants to hide under the covers. Instead he covers his face with his hands. “Do you
really…” This is humiliating. “Do you really like my body as it is?” He holds his breath.

“Suguru, I adore your body.”

The words and their sincerity throw Suguru for a loop. He pops his head up and stares at Satoru to
see if he's teasing him but there isn’t a hint of amusement on his face. Only fondness.

“Why?” Suguru asks.

“Why not? This body gave me my daughters and it belongs to someone I hold very dear…”

It’s that simple then?

“Want to know something else?” Satoru asks, moving so that he’s laying on top of Suguru.

Suguru feels Satoru slowly nudge his thighs open with his knees and he allows it because he’s
immobilized by how intensely Satoru is staring at him.

“What?”

“When I look at you, I wonder how lucky I am…” Satoru lowers his face and he kisses Suguru
softly. “You’re going to be my wife someday. You know that, right?”

“Is that so?” Even as Suguru tries to challenge Satoru, he can’t deny what he feels. “You have to
earn my hand in marriage, remember?”

“That’s what I intend to do.”

Suguru wants to touch Satoru’s chest and his abdomen. He looks unreal like this. Glancing further
down, he sees the prominent bulge in Satoru’s briefs and he quickly looks away.

It looked like Satoru’s cock was hanging over his hip.

That’s definitely going to hurt but sex always hurt for him so he better just suck it up.

“Until that happens, I feel obligated to show you how much I want you, Suguru…”
Satoru kisses him right then, and the kiss says more than words ever could but Suguru can tell
from how Satoru is moving against him that his demonstration won’t end here. He loves kissing
Satoru, though. He’s a very good kisser who knows how to make the pleasure hit his sweet spot
with just a suck of his tongue or a nip of his lips.

When Satoru starts rubbing up his thighs, inching closer to his hips, Suguru stiffens.

“I just want to kiss you there, too,” Satoru whispers against his lips. His voice shouldn’t be this
seductive but it is. “Will you let me?”

Suguru continues kissing Satoru, fully prepared to let him remove his panties and kiss him down
there.

That is until he remembers a very important detail right as Satoru is tugging his panties down.

“Satoru, wait!” Suguru brushes his hands away. “I…” He laughs, trying to make light of the
humiliating ordeal. “You’ll laugh at me…”

Satoru kisses his forehead. “What is it?”

It’s a shame he won't be able to kiss him anywhere else tonight.

“I forgot to wax,” Suguru says. “There’s too much hair…”

Satoru stares at him before chuckling. He kisses Suguru’s forehead again. “Suguru, look at me.”
He waits until their eyes are locked, and then he asks, “Do I look like I care about some hair?” He
doesn’t wait for an answer.

Perhaps if this was them in high school, Satoru would’ve had a different reaction. He was rather
immature especially when it came to what an omega was supposed to look and act like. Body hair
was one turn off Suguru vividly remembers which is why he was worried to begin with.

But once again he’s reminded that Satoru is no longer an immature pup who thinks he knows
everything.

He’s a man now, and if he wants to eat, he’s going to eat as proven by how quickly he kisses
Suguru's body, not bothering to even remove the t-shirt. He pulls it up just enough to see Suguru’s
panties.

“Can I keep these?” Satoru asks, sniffing Suguru before kissing him through the panties.

“My panties?”

“Yeah.” He hooks his thumbs in them at the waist and starts tugging. “I thought about just taking
them, honestly. But I figured I’d ask first…”

Suguru wants to scold him but he also plans to steal Satoru’s clothes too so they’re even, actually.

“You can take them,” Suguru says, sitting up slightly so Satoru can slide the panties down his
thighs. “What will you do with them?”

“You really want to know?”

“No.”

Satoru brings the panties up to his nose and sniffs them. His eyes are closed and he looks like he’s
enjoying himself. Before Suguru can laugh and tease him, Satoru’s eyes are open again and they’re
a darker shade of blue.

Gulping, Suguru no longer sees this as a laughing matter. It looks like Satoru is nearing his rut. He
puts the panties down and he lays between Suguru’s thighs. Suguru gasps the moment Satoru starts
kissing and nipping his inner thighs. He’s already wet but each kiss makes him wetter, and Satoru
can smell his arousal.

“Satoru…” Suguru tries to cover himself because he is nervous and unsure of what to expect.

Satoru kisses his fingers and gently brushes them away with his nose. If he’s patient enough to do
that then he’s not nearing his rut. Then why are his eyes like a raging storm at sea and why is his
scent so electric? The thought process that tries to form in is mind is abandoned the moment Satoru
licks him.

Suguru is embarrassed by the sound he makes but his feelings of humiliation are overridden by the
way Satoru’s tongue makes him feel. He tries to peek down to see what Satoru is actually doing
because everything is too hot, too wet, too good for him to grasp what’s left from right. But
Satoru’s entire mouth is covering his cunt and he’s looking up at Suguru with those dark, hungry
eyes.

Giving up, Suguru snaps his eyes closed and throws his head back. He squeezes his thighs around
Satoru’s head, trying to make him stop because the pleasure is building inside of him at such a
rapid pace he feels like he’s going to explode and die.

“Satoru!”

Satoru presses his thighs back, and with them pushed back like this he has better access to Suguru’s
clit and he wastes no time putting all of his attention on it. He sucks on it and alternatively presses
his tongue inside of Suguru. Initially, Suguru flinched because he’s been taught to be wary of
penetration but Satoru’s tongue doesn’t hurt when it enters him. It feels amazing, actually. So
amazing that he’s curious to know what Satoru’s finger would feel like inside of him.

“Satoru…touch…” Suguru pats his head to get his attention. But then Satoru starts flicking his
tongue over his clit so he instead fists his hand in Satoru’s hair and shoves his face closer.

“Never...mind…this…like this….” He murmurs.

Satoru knows what he’s doing. Suguru should just enjoy this new experience for what it is. He just
wants to orgams so badly and he worries that he won’t be able to do it this way.

Not long after Suguru thinks that, his back is arching off the mattress and his vision is burning
white. He’s sweating and he feels incredibly hot like his skin is burning. He can hear himself
begging Satoru but he doesn’t know what he’s begging for.

He just keeps saying, “Please, please, please,” all over again.

Satoru grunts as if to acknowledge his pleas and he puts his mouth over Suguru’s cunt again,
sucking on his clit harder than before.

Hot tears roll down Sugru’s face. He wants Satoru to stop because he’s afraid of the pressure that’s
building inside of him but at the same time he wants more of it, he wants to know where this ends.

Digging his heels in the bed, he arches his back again and this time that pressure releases with a
force that knocks him unconscious. He comes to shortly after, panting heavily and feeling
disoriented.

Hearing loud smacking, he blinks his eyes open and looks down to see Satoru licking slick off his
fingers. His chin and the bottom half of his face is wet.

Grimacing, Suguru looks at his stomach and he sees the state of the covers. It’s all soaking wet.

“I’m sorry!” he says, trying to sit up. But his head feels light. He only manages to prop himself on
the pillow.

Satoru ignores the mess on the bed and gets on top of him. “Sorry about what?” he asks, his voice
deeper than Suguru last remembered. “You only squirted in my face.”

Only? Suguru wants to disappear.

“I want to do it again,” Satoru says, and it sounds like he’s begging. His hardness can be felt on
Suguru’s stomach. “I want you to sit on my face…”

Suguru touches Satoru’s stomach. “What about you?” he asks. He moves his hands lower.

“Don’t,” Satoru says in a voice that sends a chill down Suguru’s spine. He clears his throat and
clenches his jaws. “If you touch me there, Suguru, I don’t know what I’ll do…”

The meaning is clear. He may not be in his rut or actually nearing it but he’s close enough. He’s
afraid he’ll jump Suguru, and Suguru is honestly afraid of the same.

“Maybe we should stop for tonight,” Satoru says. It sounds like the hardest suggestion he’s ever
had to make, too. “I’ll go take care of this.”

Suguru wants to help Satoru, though.

“What if we bind your hands,” Suguru says. “That way I can take care of you, too.”

“I’ll break through them. Trust me. Nothing will stop me from getting to you.”

“But you don’t want to hurt me again, right? So you’ll hold yourself back.”

“I’m not willing to risk that, Suguru. It’ll never be worth hurting you.” He sits up to put distance
between them. “I’ll be back.”

Suguru watches him walk off to the bathroom. While he wants to protest further, he doesn’t. What
happened on the night of graduation is something that shattered them both. It can’t be easy for
Satoru to live knowing that he brutalized someone, especially someone he cares for. His trauma is
valid as well and Suguru won’t ignore it.

Even though he’s exhausted, he waits for Satoru to return to bed. Hopefully one day they can get to
a point where they can pleasure one another and finish together without any worries.

Despite that, Suguru is very happy at this moment. Satoru gave him pleasure like no other and he
seemed to love doing it; seemed to love taking care of Suguru. Satoru also didn’t demand anything
in return or guilt trip Suguru. He truly feels like his emotions as well as his pleasure, are being
prioritized, and it’s a new experience.

“Do I really get to keep these?” Satoru asks as he folds Suguru’s panties.

They’re snuggling under the covers. Suguru is laying on top of Satoru.

 “Yes, they’re all yours.”

Satoru looks like he won a prize at a carnival.

They find another movie to watch but end up falling asleep before the opening credits end.

All in all, Suguru considers it to be the best date ever and the only one that matters to him.

Chapter End Notes

thanks for reading! I think this story has about 6 more chapters at least could be more
idk
 interlude
Chapter Notes

thanks for all the comments on last chapter. so sorry i couldnt respond i’ve been
writing so much these past days to wrap things up! pls know comments help my muse
thrive so thank u ❤️❤️

And special thanks to my beta for this chapter @getossimp

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Gomari isn’t only known for its rich history surrounding the esteemed Alpha King. The island also
has a reputation for getting hit with nasty tropical cyclones during this time of year. Due to the
inclement weather, Shiori is bound to Osaka at least until next Sunday.

Having his sister in town for the week actually keeps Suguru in high spirits especially during the
first half when he’s usually still recovering from a long weekend. They have always gotten along
despite their opposite personalities, and he genuinely misses her.

One of the hardest things about cutting off everyone after learning he was pregnant was being
away from the older sister who he had always depended on.

His love and respect for Shiori aside, Suguru does get annoyed by her constant teasing.

“Did Satoru get on one knee when he popped this baby out?” she asks, glossing her index finger
over his courting ring.

Suguru snatches his hand away from her. “Get out of my bed,” he says, knowing she won’t leave.
“This courting ring doesn’t mean we’re getting married.”

“Your stubbornness is actually inspiring.” She picks up her phone that she had casually resting on
her breasts and she opens her Instagram. “Want to see Ruichi-san’s new boyfriend?”

He’s the stubborn one, but she insists on waking up every morning, leaving her futon in the living
room, and getting in bed with him despite him telling her to leave him alone. But Shiori knows he
secretly enjoys these bonding moments between them which is why she keeps doing it.

And there was a time when they shared a small futon one summer because both of their bedrooms
had major leaks from bad storms and they couldn’t afford repairs because their father left them
damn near penniless.

“Let me see,” Suguru says, always in the mood for some Gomari-centered gossip even when he
pretends not to care.

Ruichi-san is one of their childhood acquaintances. She had a singular goal of leaving Gomari,
marrying rich, and living as a glorified housewife. She’s still trying to obtain that last goal but
she’s been doing decent on the other fronts.
Suguru takes one look at the young and attractive woman who is hugging a man who looks to be
triple her age and he makes a face. But then he remembers that it’s not nice to pass judgement.

“If that’s what she’s into,” he says. He wants to leave it at that but Shiori always pulls out his
messy side when they’re together like this. “Do you think they have sex?”

“God, I doubt his heart can take it!” Shiori laughs.

Suguru laughs too, and he feels bad about it. Only a little. “How wealthy is he? I know you’ve
already checked his net worth.”

“You know me so well, baby bro!”

She pulls up the older man’s net worth and shows him. He gasps. They gossip some more about
things that aren’t their business but that’s the fun in harmless gossip. None of it impacts their lives.
Besides, Ruichi looks happy and is doing what she wants. More power to her, Suguru thinks.

His internal “mommy alarm” goes off soon. He has about fifteen minutes before the girls wake up.
With him out of a job, he doesn’t bother with daycare since it’ll be an unnecessary expense. Plus, if
he needs to go to the library to do homework or do an odd job for quick cash, Shiori is here to
babysit.

Sometimes, Suguru wishes he had an extra hand around the place. But he is content with providing
for his girls on his own; at least he tries to be.

And he knows he doesn't have to do this on his own. Satoru is trying to get to a place where he can
be in all their lives full time, but until that time comes Suguru is on his own for the most part.

“Shit,” Suguru curses when he gets a notification from a group chat he’s in with Megumi and some
other mutual friends. “I forgot about this…”

“About what?”

“Remember I told you a friend of mine asked for Mimi and Nana to be flower girls in her wedding?
Well, her bachelorette party is this Saturday.” He curses. He hates that he’ll have to flake. “She just
sent a reminder for it. I need to think of an excuse…”

“For what?” Shiori asks, looking at her own phone. “And I thought that wedding was weeks
away.”

“I’m not going to be able to make it. And the wedding is next weekend but Emiko-san wants to
party hard on Saturday and get it out of the way.”

“You can totally make it! I’m not flying out until Monday morning. I’ll babysit.”

Suguru sees that Megumi sent him a message outside the chat. He’s really excited about the
bachelorette party because it’ll be at a hot nightclub and he’s been so swamped with work that he’s
dying for some fun. And he hopes Suguru can make it, too, but he understands if he can’t.

“Oh, now you have to go!” Shiori is resting her head on his shoulder, reading his messages like the
nosey person she is. He swats her away but she doesn’t budge. “Even Fushiguro wants you to go
but he doesn’t want to pressure you.”

Suguru knows that, and he feels bad. But he already spent last Saturday out and Satoru will be in
town. He doesn’t want him to drive all the way here and have to sit around his hotel while he’s out.
He tries to explain this to Shiori.

“Satoru and I can babysit together,” she says with a shrug, “I’m sure he’d like to spend some
quality time with his daughters.”

“I don’t know if the girls will like that,” Suguru says, but he knows he’s just making excuses.
“What if something goes wrong?”

Before Shiori can reply, they hear small feet hitting the carpet. Seconds later, the girls come
running into the room. They jump on the bed, smiling and giggly, because they like cuddling with
Suguru in the mornings and now it’s even better because Aunt Shiori is here.

The girls crawl over Shiori and settle in between them. Suguru smiles and scents them both, one by
one, by bumping his nose against their faces and leaving his calming scent on them.

“Mommy,” Nanako says, rubbing her tired eyes. She touches Suguru’s hair. “Can we have
Pancakes and Nanas for breakfast?”

Suguru came up with “recipes” that he named after the girls. Pancakes and Nanas are just pancakes
topped with thin banana slices. Another special recipe is Mini Mimis which are small rice balls that
are decorated to look like Mimiko.

He knows that’s probably cheesy but his daughters adore his recipes, and that’s all he cares about.

“Sure, sweetie,” Suguru says. He hugs Mimiko against his chest while Nanako cuddles with Shiori.
“Mimi.” He kisses her cheek. “How are you this morning?”

Mimiko gives him a thumbs up and a smile. There are more hand signals that she and her sister
made up and he’s written them all down with illustrations to assist so that he can give it to Satoru
and help him learn them.

“I’m happy to hear that!” Suguru hugs her tightly.

“Hey girls,” Shiori starts, “what do you think about me and Gojo-san babysitting you this
Saturday?”

Suguru glares at her but she purposely ignores him.

Mimi gives a thumbs up without a second thought. She looks at Suguru, her eyes begging him to
let that be a real thing. Meanwhile, Nanako isn’t so agreeable.

“Where is Mommy going?” she asks, sitting up and crossing her chubby little arms. “Does Gojo-
san even know how to babysit?”

Shiori laughs. “Good question, Nana. But I’ll be there to show him the ropes!”

“If you’re not okay with that then it’s fine to say so,” Suguru says just so it’s known. “It’ll be okay
either way.”

Nanako shrugs and acts unbothered. “Mimi likes him so fine.”

“What about you, Nana?”

“He’s okay.”

That is as much as she’s going to give Satoru for now. Honestly, it’s leagues better than her saying
she doesn’t like him which is something she has vocalized about people before.

Shiori hugs Nanako and smooches her cheek, making her blush and giggle quietly. “You know,
Gojo-san, is really fun! And you two can give him a makeover and invite him to your cute tea
parties…”

While she lists off all the fun things they can do Saturday, working overtime as Satoru’s PR
Manager, Mimiko and Nanako are all smiles.

That puts Suguru at ease. He knows how Nanako can be towards new people, and Satoru is doing
a good job of being consistent so it will get better as time passes.

Besides, maybe this could be a good thing? He can see if Satoru can handle being around the girls
without him hovering around. Also, he promised to give Satoru a chance and this will be the
perfect opportunity to start easing him into eventually having the girls for an outing on his own.

Suguru sighs. “I’ll need to find something to wear,” he says as he texts Megumi and lets him know
he’ll be attending the bachelorette party.

“You know I’ve got that covered!” Shiori says.

Basketball practice was grueling. Coach Yaga is being a hard ass more than usual because their
first game of the season is fastly approaching.

With Satoru being one of the top players, he’s also responsible for whipping the others into shape
so after practice ends, he stays at the gymnasium to go over the plays.

Sukuna and Naoya are there as well since they’re both also Team Leaders.

All three of them are standing on the sidelines, watching their teammates closely to ensure they
don’t make any careless mistakes.

“Can you believe this?” Naoya asks, and initially Satoru assumes he’s referring to how one guy
keeps making the same screw ups. “Onyx was shut down temporarily for ‘illegal activity'! Since
when is it a crime to snort a line or two at the club?” he asks, sounding scandalized.

Sukuna gives him a deadpan stare. “Since forever…”

Rolling his eyes, Naoya groans. “That means I’ll need a new venue for my birthday party.”

“You partied in Tokyo last year, pick another city this year,” Satoru says offhandedly, not really
invested in the conversation.

He’s taking his role as Team Leader seriously. He’s also thinking about how Suguru squirted so
hard he fainted when he ate him out last Saturday. God, every night since then he’s jacked off to
the memory.

Suguru’s pussy is so pretty and his slick has the most delectable taste and—

“Osaka it is!” Naoya suddenly declares. “They have this three story club and there are stripper
poles and cage dancers. It’s perfect.”

“Are you flying us out on your private jet?” Sukuna asks.

“Duh,” Naoya says. “Why else would I have a jet if not to fly my friends out?”

He and Sukuna high five.

Satoru might’ve been pumped about joining them but every weekend is dedicated to his pack. He
looks forward to it, too. Because otherwise he’s all alone and fighting against the urge to drink and
forget his loneliness, if only for a little while.

“Are you really not coming, Gojo?” Naoya asks, looking put out. “It’s my birthday!”

“I’ll get you a good gift. But sorry I can’t make it.”

“What are you going to be doing anyway?”

Naoya is pushy. He won’t accept a vague answer. That’ll only make him burn with curiosity until
he’s willing to go to great lengths to get the answer he wants.

Satoru doesn’t need him digging too much and learning about his pack. Not because he wants to
keep them hidden, either. He just wants to respect their privacy.

“Just drag Gojo to the Opera as a way to make it up to you,” Sukuna says, coming to Satoru’s
rescue.

And it works like a charm.

“You have to come with me the next time I go,” Naoya says. “That can be my birthday gift!”

Naoya loves going on Thursday nights, too. So Satoru won’t have to miss a weekend with his pack
to uphold his end of the bargain. Even though he’s not a big fan of the Opera, he’ll take this over
telling Naoya why he’ll be missing his party.

“Okay, just let me know when,” Satoru says.

That keeps Naoya happy.

Crazy shenanigans aside, Naoya is a dependable friend and a supportive team player. He’s also a
hell of a good time for someone who is single with nothing to lose which is the opposite of what
wave Satoru is on these days.

Naoya always claims he’ll ditch them if they become family men but he’ll just be that drunk uncle
who travels alot and always sends money for birthday gifts.

“Good looking out,” Satoru says to Sukuna later that day when they’re in the training room lifting
weights.

Sukuna nods. “No problem. How’s the courtship going?”

“Great. Suguru is making me work for it and I love that.”

“As he should. A mother who puts their pups first is a great catch. You’ve got a good one.”

Hearing that makes Satoru feel proud. He already knows that Suguru is an amazing catch but
having it confirmed is always good.

“If you aren’t careful, he’ll end up with someone else,” Sukuna says, smirking as he does a pull up.
“Like who?” Satoru asks. Because he’d like to know who his supposed competition is so that he
can end them. “Suguru isn’t going to just have anyone around our daughters anymore.” Not after
what his ex did to him.

“You never know.”

Satoru ignores Sukuna because he knows he’s just trying to get in his head and make him jealous
of an imaginary opponent. He has enough issues as it is worrying about real, potential competition.
He doesn’t need to make up random scenarios and imagine himself ripping people's throats out.

Taking a selfie in the mirror following their weight lifting, he thinks about sending it to Suguru.
Today he’s wearing compression tights under his gym shorts and a sleeveless shirt that clings to his
muscles.

Maybe he’ll send it tonight when he’s home in case he gets something back. Excited, he looks
through his notifications to see if he missed anything important.

Seeing a text from Suguru, he smiles before he even opens it.

“God, I hate you,” Sukuna says. “It’s unfair!”

Satoru laughs at his misery. “Don’t worry, Sukuna. One day you’ll have a pack, too.”

“Go to hell.”

Laughing, he opens Suguru’s message. Before he finishes reading it, he’s already bubbling with
joy.

Suguru wants to know if he’s fine with helping Shiori watch the twins this Saturday while he goes
to a bachelorette party. Because he’s thrilled about the idea of spending time with his daughters,
he’s not too worried about the idea of Suguru attending a bachelorette party.

Besides, Suguru will be going with Fushiguro who is a walking Alpha repellent. Anyone tries to
make a move on them and he’ll make them regret it.

Suguru also isn’t the type to go around flirting with people. It’ll be fine. He’ll probably even come
home early too, since he’s a homebody.

He lets Suguru know that he’d love to babysit alongside Shiori. Then he heads to the shower with a
spring in his step.

“Here is the emergency contact list in case you can’t reach me,” Suguru says, handing over a piece
of paper. Then he smiles and presents Satoru with a hand drawn booklet. “And this is a dictionary
of the non-verbal signs Mimiko uses.”

Satoru pockets the emergency contact list and takes the booklet. He opens it, smiling from ear to
ear, as he sees Suguru’s carefully drawn illustrations and his explanations. This is a major deal for
him because being able to communicate with Mimiko will help him bond with her.

“Thank you, Suguru,” he says, leaning down to kiss Suguru’s cheek. “As for the emergency
contact list, I already have your mom’s number but I guess it’ll be good to have Fushiguro’s too.”

“I’ll have my phone on me all night so you should be able to reach me. But just in case…”

“Okay. Anything else?”

Shiori chimes in, “Do you want to repeat the same things we already know one more time for us,
dearest brother?”

To be fair, Suguru has told them some of the same things over and over, but he’s just worried.
Satoru rubs Suguru’s right arm to calm him down. He looks like he wants to have a verbal fighting
match with his sister.

They’re always bickering but it’s never serious. Satoru has actually missed being around the
siblings.

“It’ll be fine,” he says. “Shiori is here in case I mess something up.”

“I’m not worried you’ll do that. I trust you.”

“You’re just worried in general. I understand.”

Suguru takes a deep breath. He’s already kissed the girls and told them to behave but he looks like
he wants to go to their room and do it all over again. But instead, he hugs Satoru, wishes him luck,
and gets ready to head out.

Not wanting him to leave without a kiss, Satoru tugs on Suguru’s hand, rubbing his knuckles as he
gives him a puppy dog stare.

Shiori quietly makes herself scarce, giving them privacy. With her gone, Suguru hugs Satoru again
and they share a kiss. Satoru tests his luck and he touches Suguru’s ass. He wants to know how it
feels in the jeans he’s wearing; it feels amazing as always.

Suguru gasps quietly, and he touches Satoru's chest. “Okay, that’s enough from you.” He laughs.
“I’ll see you later.”

“Have fun, baby.”

He feels the way Suguru stiffens, and he wonders if the pet name was a poor choice. But then he
sees the faint blush on Suguru’s cheeks.

“I’ll try,” he says with a smile.

He grabs his overnight bag that has his change of clothes for tonight and he leaves.

Satoru takes a deep breath. A part of him is nervous but the other part is excited about spending
time with his daughters.

During the handful of times he thought about settling down and having a family, he always
imagined himself with a son because that’s what is mostly instilled in young alphas.

Growing up, finding a suitable mate, and having a healthy pup; a son who will also be born an
alpha, is the usual gist of things. But he was never dead set on that ending for himself. He was
never adamant about having a son, or even a daughter.

He just knew that he wanted to have a family. The fact that he and Suguru have daughters instead
of sons means nothing to him. He’s happy either way.

“Gojo-san, you’re late!” Nanako says when he walks into their bedroom.

The girls have a small table in the center of their room and a plastic tea set laid out on the table.
Shiori is already seated with a tiny hat on her head that has lace trimming on it. Mimiko is wearing
a feather boa and Nanako is wearing a white top hat.

Satoru smiles. “My apologies,” he says with a bow. He walks over to one of the toy chests where
some costumes are and looks for his “attire” for the tea party. “Is there a dress code or theme?”

“Fancy pants!” Nanako says.

“Got it.” He finds a pink hat that has a large feather on it and he puts that on. “Is this to your liking,
Lady Nanako?”

Nanako smiles when she sees how willing he is to play along with them. But then she quickly
recovers and looks at him with an air of indifference.

“Yes, now come and sit!”

Satoru kneels at the table with Shiori to his left and Nanako to his right and Mimiko is across from
him, smiling as she looks at the spread they have set out.

All of their cups and plates are empty but he knows they’re supposed to pretend so he says nothing.
With Lady Nanako’s permission they all have a sip of tea after she does.

“Lady Mimiko,” Nanako says, adopting the title Satoru used for her. “You look very lovely
today.”

Mimiko smiles and points at Nanako before holding up the victory sign. She’s telling Nanako that
she looks lovely too.

Satoru wishes he had time to read over the booklet Suguru made for him. But he at least knows
that much.

Nanako then asks Shiori if she is enjoying her tea and Shiori says that she is. When it’s Satoru’s
turn to have the attention of their esteemed host, she looks at his silly hat and laughs quietly.

“Gojo-san, is that your real hair?” she asks.

Shiori snickers and Satoru splutters. He knew she wasn’t going to compliment him but he also
wasn’t expecting that question.

“It is my real hair,” he says.

Mimiko reaches up with her hand, and he lowers his head for her to touch his hair. She pats his
head before combing her small hand through the strands.

She makes a quiet, “Ooh,” sound as if she’s amazed by his hair.

“Would you like to touch my hair, too?” Satoru asks Nanako because he can see how she’s
watching his interaction with Mimiko.

Nanako hesitantly touches his hair. Then she gasps. “It’s soft!” She says that as if she expected it to
be hard. “How is it white? Did you get really scared?”

Satoru laughs; she is so much like him as a kid. “No, I was born with this hair.”

“And those eyes?”

“Yes.”
“Wow.” Nanako leans closer to stare at his eyes. This is the closest she has willingly gotten to him.
“They’re like the sky!”

Satoru smiles because that’s the nicest thing she has ever said to him. Mimiko pats his arm and he
looks over at her. She leans in closer too, to look at his eyes before she blushes and moves away,
turning her head to look to the side.

“Mimi, what is it?” Satoru asks. He gently touches her shoulder. “Do you want to tell me
something?”

Mimiko looks back at him and she makes a heart shape with her hands.

“She loves your eyes,” Nanako says.

“Thank you, Mimi,” Satoru says, patting her head gently. “I love your eyes, too. You and Nana
have the prettiest eyes.”

Nanako and Mimiko giggle. “Aunt Shorey says we got them from her!” the former says.

“That’s right!” Shiori says. She has been quiet most of this time, allowing Satoru to have his
moment with the girls.

The tea party resumes, but not for long as the twins are obviously excited about showing off their
other toys and making the most out of today. They show off their doll house and introduce him to
their “dollies” while Shiori stays off to the side, watching their interactions.

Satoru asks them the names of each doll and how they came up with the names. Nanako, of course,
does all of the talking but Mimiko communicates in her own way. He never grows bored of
interacting with them either.

Things he might have never shown interest in are interesting to him now and each question is
genuine instead of forced. He wants to know everything about his daughters.

Soon, Satoru is pretending to be a scary dragon who is holding Princess Mimi hostage and it is up
to the noble Knight Nana to save her.

“Let Princess Mimi go!” Nanako shouts, using the handle of a toy vacuum as a sword.

Crawling around on all fours, Satoru does his best dragon impression while his captive giggles
uncontrollably.

Nanako lowers her “sword” and huffs. “Mimi, you have to act scared!!” She stomps her foot.

Mimiko continues to laugh.

Satoru turns to face her and tries to scare her for the sake of the fantasy. When she just giggles and
hugs his neck, he stiffens completely.

Still in shock, he hugs her back, cherishing the moment for as long as he can. He smiles to himself
as he sniffs her hair. The hug is warm and cozy, and his eyes water a little from how wholesome it
is.

“The scary dragon and Princess Mimi became friends!” Shiori declares. “Perhaps the noble Knight,
Nana, can make peace with the dragon as well?”

Mimiko pulls away from the hug but remains close to Satoru. She looks at her sister.
With an eye roll, Nanako drops her “sword” and she walks over to them. “Only if the scary dragon
promises to never fly away with Princess Mimi again!”

“I promise,” Satoru says with a smile.

Nanako perks up again. “Okay!” She looks around the room for something else to do.

“Girls, it’ll be time for dinner and a bath soon. Let’s clean up,” Shiori says.

“But Aunt Shorey,” Nana starts.

“You two can play with Gojo-san some more after you eat.”

That works.

Satoru helps the girls with cleaning up though he doesn’t need to. They’re very efficient and seem
to have their own system. When Shiori comments on how well Suguru raised them, Satoru has to
agree. Even though Nana isn’t necessarily warm toward him, she isn't rude. She’s just a typical
child, and it’s obvious she has good manners.

Suguru was eighteen, alone, and had zero experience as a caregiver. He beats himself up a lot when
he should cut himself some slack for being as strong as he is. He is an amazing parent.

Just thinking about his resilience and competence has Satoru feeling proud and even more attracted
to him.

He’s lucky to have him as a mate.

“Do you want to help with bath time?” Shiori asks. “I can order dinner.”

The girls are in the living room watching a show while they’re in the kitchen looking through
takeout menus.

Satoru scratches his neck, feeling flustered. “I…I don’t want to invade their privacy like that…”
He wants to help care for them but giving them a bath feels like overstepping. “I don’t want to
make them uncomfortable...”

Shiori blinks at him. “Satoru, you are so darn cute. Aww, you’re such a Girl Dad. I never would
have thought.”

“Hey, what does that mean?! I just think you, Suguru, and Fushiguro-san should only do that. And
their grandmothers, of course.”

“So omegas only.”

“Yes. Only those I listed.”

There are sick people in the world, and he wants to kill them even though they haven’t even done
anything to his pups. He doesn’t even want to think of that happening. His stomach starts to twist
with knots and he can feel his anger building.

How is he this worked up over something that hasn’t occurred? Well, it is a natural fear of any
parent. He’s sure Suguru has the same fear. And he will do everything in his power to protect his
girls and their mother from any future harm…

Shiori laughs, and it’s clear she isn’t teasing him this time. “I can’t wait for you and Suguru to get
married.”

Satoru smiles. Now he’s flustered for a different reason. “Yeah, me too…”

With Shiori taking charge of bath time, Satoru orders dinner. He finally checks his phone after
making the call and sees that the group chat he has with his teammates is full of messages.

Scrolling through them he sees them boarding the jet and then landing in Osaka. Naoya looks as if
he’s already drunk as shit. Smiling to himself, he sends a message to wish Naoya a happy birthday
and to wish them all a fun night.

Then he puts his phone away again.

He wants to text Suguru and check in but he also doesn’t want to be overbearing. Suguru deserves a
night out without any worries so he’ll leave him be.

Dinner is fun because Shiori tells the girls stories about when Satoru and Suguru were kids running
around Gomari. The twins are amazed to hear that their mommy was once as small as them.

“Gojo-san, were you Mommy’s bestest friend?” Nana asks.

“Yeah I still am,” he says, not wanting to admit that their relationship was strained at a time.

“Do you like Mommy?” Nana asks. She tilts her head curiously.

Satoru nods. “Yes, I like your mommy very much,” he says.

Mimiko beams when she hears that and Nanako continues eating her food without a reaction. She
already has an insane poker face.

Satoru can’t help but feel proud either way. She’s a smart girl who is wary of new people. Nothing
is wrong with that at all. But he can tell she’s warming up to him.

After dinner, Satoru sits on the floor of the living room with his back against the couch to stretch
his long legs. It’s getting late so he knows the girls will be asleep soon. He’s looking at his phone
when he hears someone approaching.

Looking up, he sees Mimiko dressed in her cute pajamas; they’re lavender with white clouds
printed on them. She’s holding the whale he bought her when they went to the aquarium and a
small children’s book. Smiling, she sits on his lap and hands the book to him.

Satoru puts his phone away.

“You want me to read to you?” he asks.

Mimiko nods.

Nanako and Shiori sit on the couch behind him. The former scoots over so that she can look over
his shoulder while he reads and the latter makes herself comfy under a blanket. Once again, Shiori
allows him to interact with the girls freely.

Satoru has never read to a child before or anyone for that matter so he’s a little nervous. He just
keeps his voice low yet loud enough for them to hear and he does his best.

His best must be good enough because both girls are listening quietly. Mimiko is hugging her
plushie and resting against his chest and Nanako soon has her chin resting on his shoulder.
The story is about a Mama Bear and a Papa Bear who adore their two cubs, but it’s told from the
perspective of the cubs. As Satoru reads, he wonders if perhaps Mimiko knows who he is to them.

Did she pick this book as way to tell him that she knows?

Satoru wants to ask her but he promised Suguru he wouldn’t tell them the truth until they both
agreed on the time and place. However, if one of the girls outwardly asks, he said he wouldn’t lie
to them.

Besides, what he feels is just a hunch. Maybe his desire to openly claim them as his daughters is
making him have these assumptions.

The twins are smart but they’re still pups who are too young to comprehend certain things.

Before he finishes the book, the girls fall asleep. Nanako is hugging his neck now, his face
smushed in the crook of his neck and Mimiko is curled up on his lap. Setting the book aside, he
picks Nanako up and holds her against his chest and he lays there with them in silence.

Shiori is looking on with a smile. “Suguru has nothing to worry about,” she says quietly. “Test
passed.”

“Of course you’ve been grading me this whole time.” He stares down at his pups, smiling softly. “I
want them all to move in with me in Tokyo. You think Suguru will be in?”

“No. Not yet anyway. Give him more time.”

Satoru nods in understanding.

He tucks the girls into bed eventually. Then he returns to the living room, fully prepared to wait for
Suguru to come home. Shiori is having a glass of wine, and they’re watching trashy television
when he gets a text message from Sukuna.

It’s odd for Sukuna to text him. If he wants to meet up to work out to hang out, he calls. He doesn’t
even talk in the team’s group chat that much.

Satoru assumes something crazy is happening at Naoya’s birthday bash. When he opens the
message thread and sees a video, he turns the volume on low and then plays it.

The phone camera’s flash is on, making it easier for him to see the recording that was obviously
taken inside of a packed nightclub. He thinks Sukuna is trying to show him one of their teammates
humiliating themselves, but once he sees what the video actually is, his eyes widen.

Suguru, dressed in a body hugging, little black dress that has an open back, is on a stage dancing to
what sounds like a Western Hip Hop song. Most startling of all is how well he’s moving his body
— mainly his ass.

For a moment, Satoru is mesmerized by long, pretty legs, deep curves, and the juiciest ass he’s
ever seen. The way it’s bouncing… how in the hell can Suguru even move his ass like that? He’s
known him for years and has never seen Suguru dance, let alone dance like this. He has rhythm,
and it’s a fact Satoru is sadly just discovering.

Satoru brings the phone closer to his face, wishing he could lick Suguru through the screen. Damn,
he’s sexy…

His mood takes a drastic shift when he finally pays attention to the crowd that is gathered around
the stage. Recognizing several of his teammates, and other random alphas who are hyping Suguru
up and whistling provocatively, his vision burns blood red.

“Satoru, control your scent or you’ll scare the girls out of their sleep!” Shiori says, her startled
voice grabbing his attention. “Whose throat do you want to rip out anyway?”

“I’ll be back,” Satoru says, getting up.

“Where are you going?”

“To get my mate,” is all he says; he’s too pissed off to say more.

And Shiori can tell from his scent and his tone of voice that he is dead serious.

“Oh shit, what did Suguru do?” she asks.

“I’ll explain when I get back.” Satoru puts on his sneakers, grabs his Nike jacket and car keys and
heads out the door.

When he’s in his car, he texts Sukuna and asks for the club’s address. Moments later, he’s sent the
exact location.

Experience should have taught Suguru to check his overnight bag before leaving the apartment, but
no, Suguru just had to have blind faith in his sister.

It wasn’t until he was in the hotel room that the other partygoers were using to get ready that he
saw the skimpy ensemble.

He was very close to just not going to the club at all but once Megumi convinced him to try the
dress and heels on and everyone else saw him dressed up, they peer pressured him into going
because he supposedly looked “smoking hot” or whatever.

Suguru didn’t believe them at the time. Even after one of his friends curled his hair, brushed it out,
and made him look like a film star from the Golden Age, he still felt hideous. Make up, big hoop
earrings, and two shots later, he felt decent enough to stop fretting over how much skin and back
rolls he was showing.

“You don’t have back rolls,” Megumi said with a sigh. “The only thing fat back here is your ass.”
Then he handed him a shot, and that was that.

He had another shot on the party bus because it was mandatory. But while everyone was having
the time of their lives, Suguru was gulping down water and eating fruit to keep himself sober.

He wanted to check in on the girls but Megumi was dead set on him “enjoying himself” and not
stressing over every little thing. So, his phone was temporarily confiscated.

Not wanting to be a wet blanket, he put on his best smile and tried to make the most of things. He
had only been clubbing twice before; each time was for a birthday party and was never his idea.

Clubs aren’t his scene at all. They’re too crowded with too many scents mingling, making his head
spin.

That’s why when another round of shots were passed out, Suguru begrudgingly accepted. Then
some guy offered to buy them all cocktails to celebrate the future bride so he had one Screwdriver
and thought it was very good and had another.
More shots were passed out and Suguru noticed that the more he had, the less aware he was of his
discomfort.

When more people, people he didn’t even know, complimented his looks, he started to feel better
about himself. The better he felt the more shots he accepted, and seeing Megumi smiling and
having fun prompted him to do the same.

Suguru starts to lose track of the alcohol he’s consuming and how many times he thanks someone
for telling him how amazing he looks. But he’s in a great mood and every song that comes on is
his favorite song even though he’s never heard the song before.

Then the D.J. announces that for the next hour they’ll be playing Old School “classics” that hail
from the West.

When the first song comes on, Suguru gets really excited and nostalgic, thinking back to the time
Shiori went through a phase where she wanted to wear Baby Phat and acrylics. She would blast this
kind of music all of the time to the point where he and Satoru started to listen to it, too.

One night at the cove, they had a stereo playing the mixed tape Shiori made for them and the song
that’s playing now was the song Suguru secretly chose as his song for Satoru.

“Got me lookin’ so crazy right now!” Suguru screams as he dances with Megumi on the dance
floor. “Your love’s got me lookin’ so crazy right now!”

“Queen Beyoncé!” Megumi screams. His face is red and his smile seems permanent. “She’s so
hot!”

“Right?!!”

The song’s lyrics — once Suguru translated them — resonated with him so deeply when he was
going through puberty and trying to put his feelings for Satoru into words.

His eyes water as he thinks back to those days of feeling invisible and hideous.

Then the song changes to Janet Jackson, according to Megumi who has a massive music library
with various genres in it, and Suguru is smiling and dancing again.

All for you, is the repeated phrase that he picks up on in the song. Wow, another song that makes
him think of Satoru…

Some alphas approach them and try to dance with them. Annoyed, they dance away, losing them in
the crowd. But during that escape, Suguru loses Megumi, too.

“Goddamn, you’re fine as wine!”

Suguru stares down at the beta who barely reaches his shoulders. He smiles at him. “Thank you!!
Have you seen my friend?” He asks as loud as he can, looking around for Megumi.

“No, but I can be your friend.”

Suguru could pick this guy up and toss him across the club if he wanted. He finds that funny.

“I have enough friends but thank you!”

He walks off, trying to find Megumi through the dense crowd. More people, mostly alphas, try to
stop him to chat and all of the attention makes him feel as beautiful as Queen Beyoncé.
But the only alpha he wants to dance with is Satoru. He wants Satoru to see him while he’s
beautiful and confident like this.

Pouting, Suguru makes his way through the writhing bodies and random wet stains on the sticky
floor. All of that alcohol spilled…what a waste.

Somehow, he comes up to a stage where scantily clad men and women are grinding to the new
song that’s playing. Suguru doesn’t know this song and Megumi isn’t around to tell him, either. He
likes the beat so he starts dancing to it.

One of the women on stage points at him to get the attention of the others, and when they all see
him they start cheering.

Suguru has no idea why they’re doing that but he smiles back and waves.

“Come join us!” the woman says, reaching out to help him on stage. “You’re killing it!!”

“Okay!!”

Suguru happily gets on stage and dances with them.

Without realizing it, his dancing alone has more people approaching the stage. He’s too busy
enjoying himself to notice the cameras recording him or the pack of famous athletes who are
whistling and begging him to “give them a chance” and let them “show him a good time.”

The atmosphere is electric, causing goosebumps to rise on the flesh of his arms and neck,
especially the area around his marked scent glands. Feeling his blood cells pulsing, invigorated by
a new presence has him opening his eyes to find the source of his body’s alertness.

Satoru is standing in front of the stage, dark blue eyes watching him hungrily. There is a big space
around him because other alphas and even some betas are too afraid to approach him when he’s
giving off a territorial scent like this.

Omegas are drawn to it, however. Drawn to the scent of a dominant alpha, an elite who stands out
amongst the rest.

Not wanting any omega near his mate, Suguru jumps off the stage and into Satoru’s arms, allowing
himself to be carried off Princess-style away from the stage, the crowd, and the mind-numbing
bass of the music.

Satoru takes him to a secluded lounge area and they sit on the couch.

“Satoru!” Suguru is happy he’s here. He hugs his neck and nuzzles his cheek. “How did you get
here?” He kisses Satoru’s neck, loving his scent.

Gods, Satoru is strong, too. Taller than him now and well built. He never thought the lanky man
could fill out like this.

“Suguru…” Satoru’s voice is strained. He sounds furious. “What in the hell do you think you were
doing up there on that stage?”

Suguru giggles, overflowing with excitement. “Dancing! It was fun!” He has no concept of how
much trouble he’s in. He’s just ecstatic to be in Satoru’s arms. “The song told me to back my ass up
so that’s what I did!” He laughs. “Did you see?”
“The whole damn club saw! My teammates are here and they were catcalling you…I wanted to
break their fucking legs…”

Satoru keeps going on a tangent and it creates a brutal and sexy imagery in Suguru’s head. His
beautiful and powerful mate cracking skulls, breaking limbs, and claiming him for others to see.
He stares at Satoru’s face while he rants, a dopey smile on his face the whole time.

He kisses Satoru’s cheek and runs his fingers through his hair. “Satoru, take me to the dance floor
and show everyone that I’m yours then!”

“Baby, I want to. I’m dying to. But if the paparazzi catches wind, you and the girls won’t have your
privacy anymore. Me having a mate and kids would be a major scandal…”

Suguru pouts, his eyes watering. “You’re ashamed of us…”

“We’ve talked about this, Suguru.”

Maybe they did talk about this. Suguru can’t really remember right now. He only knows that his
feelings are hurt and he no longer feels as beautiful as Queen Beyoncé.

Covering his face, he starts crying. “I’m never good enough, never pretty enough…if I was Haruka
I bet—”

Satoru doesn’t allow the ridiculous sentence to end. He grabs Suguru by the throat, not roughly,
pressing his fingers into his scent glands possessively. It’s an alpha’s way of staking a claim and
reminding their omega of their bond. Even with theirs being incomplete it still exists.

Suguru whines, wetness pooling in his panties. “Alpha…” He swears he can feel his scent glands
pulsing in anticipation.

“Suguru, do not piss me off,” Satoru says, his voice thick and maddening. He presses his nose
against Suguru’s cheek, breathing in his scent. “I won’t allow anyone else to belittle you so why do
you think you can belittle yourself around me, huh?”

Suguru starts squirming, wishing he would just rip his dress off and mount him on this couch.
“Satoru…”

“Shh,” Satoru whispers, kissing his cheek. “I know what you want…I can smell it. I want the same
thing, Suguru, trust me but you’re drunk as fuck.”

“Drunk thoughts are true thoughts, right?”

Satoru kisses his cheek again and this time he licks and sucks on it while dragging his big hand
down the exposed skin on his back. Suguru spreads his thighs open, wanting Satoru to touch him
down there, too.

But Satoru won’t.

Frustrated, Suguru shoves him away. Satoru smirks at him, and he looks so damn good with his
hair covering his forehead and his eyes partially obscured.

“Fine, then I’m going back to the dance floor,” Suguru gets up.

Satoru grabs his wrist, keeping him there. “If you don’t want the dance floor to turn into a
bloodbath I suggest you stay put.”
A song with a hypnotic tempo is playing now. Suguru smiles at Satoru as he allows the music to
move through him and control him.

When he starts swaying his hips slowly and rolling them seductively, Satoru’s eyes darken and his
pupils dilate. He stares at him, unblinking, captured by Suguru’s charms.

Feeling like a goddess, Suguru closes his eyes and continues dancing. He turns around at one point,
bending over enticingly to give Satoru a good show.

It feels like his ass is hanging out but he doesn’t care. He’s feeling all over his body, wishing his
hands were Satoru’s hands. Soon his wish comes true when Satoru grabs him by the hips and pulls
him down to his lap.

Suguru is sitting with his back touching Satoru’s chest. The position does nothing to stop them
from sharing a hot and messy kiss. Satoru is holding him by the neck tenderly as they kiss and he’s
pressing his erection against Suguru’s ass while his free hand is gripping his left thigh.

Suguru starts grinding against him. “Give me two more pups, Satoru,” he moans. “I want to carry
your litter…”

“Fuck!” Satoru hugs his waist and drops his head on his shoulder. “God, I am not your strongest
warrior…” He sounds as if he's going to cry. “Suguru, let’s go home.”

Does that mean they’re going to have sex? Suguru gets giddy. He turns around and kisses Satoru’s
face.

“Okay!!”

Unable to locate Fushiguro, Satoru has Shiori send him a message and let him know that he’s
taking Suguru home. Hopefully, his teammates are too shit faced to have noticed him showing up
and carrying Suguru away.

Had he known Suguru would be at the same club, he would’ve taken better precautions. What’s
done is done, though.

“Sa-to-ru~” Suguru beligerently slurs as he leans over the seat and hugs his neck. “Are we home
yet?” He’s very loud and probably has no idea.

“Almost. We’re ten minutes away.”

They’re at a traffic light. He tells Suguru to lay back down and try to rest. He doesn’t want them to
get pulled over. It takes a lot of chastising to get the drunk man to obey. He keeps pouting and
mouthing off, acting like a completely different person.

Satoru finds it cute.

This side of Suguru is startling but not in a bad way. Who would have thought the shy and modest
mother could party this hard? He’s still singing one of the songs that he must have heard at the
club. It sounds familiar but Satoru can’t pinpoint the name.

“…lookin’ so crazy in love…got me lookin…got me lookin’ so crazy in love!” Suguru sings off-
key. “Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh…” He starts humming the lyrics and moving his body.

If only Satoru could record all of this.

“Baby, the girls are sleeping. We have to be quiet when we go inside.”

Suguru sits up and leans on the console. “My babies! I want to tuck them in and give them kisses!
They love mama’s kisses~”

“I know they do but you don’t want to disturb their sleep, right?”

“Nooo!”

“Then we have to be extra quiet.”

Suguru whispers loudly, “Okay!”

But when they’re standing in the genkan, after Satoru struggles to help Suguru out of his heels, he
asks if he can tuck the girls in.

“Baby…” Satoru says, remaining patient. “They’re sleeping. I tucked them in earlier.”

“Aww…then let me just poke my head in.” He starts walking off before Satoru can stop him.

Shiori is sitting on the couch, watching her drunk brother walk past. She covers her mouth and
laughs when she smells the alcohol on him. Her laugh gets Suguru's attention.

He smiles big at her. “Shiori!” He kisses her cheek. “I love you.”

“Love you, too, Hot Mama.”

“Gonna’ go check on my babies. Bye bye!” Suguru continues down the hall.

Satoru is close behind.

He’s relieved when Suguru only stands in the girls’ doorway instead of going into the bedroom.
They stand there together, looking on as their pups sleep. Smelling salt in the air, Satoru looks over
and sees that Suguru is crying.

“Suguru?” he asks quietly.

Sniffling, Suguru looks at him and smiles softly. “Look at our babies, Satoru. They’re precious.”
He wipes his eyes.

“Yeah, they are.” Satoru leans over and kisses the top of his head. “You did a phenomenal job
raising them…”

Hearing that, Suguru starts sobbing. His shoulders are shaking and he’s hunched over. Satoru
hurriedly ushers him to the bedroom, closing the door behind them. They sit on the bed, and
Suguru cries in his arms.

“He tried to take our babies…your babies…he hated that you marked me…” Suguru’s words come
out broken and thick with emotion. “When they wouldn't call him Papa he would hit me and try to
make me force them to see him that way. I refused so he kept…he kept punishing me…”

Satoru clenches his jaw and keeps a strong hold on Suguru as he listens to the confession.

“…I tried to remove your mark, thinking that would make it better, make him happy because I
thought no one else would want me anyway…but it didn’t work…” Suguru sniffles. “To keep him
from hurting them I did whatever he wanted, even if I didn’t want to. Gave him whatever he
wanted…my attention, my body…even when I didn’t want…” He shakes his head and continues
sobbing.

Satoru starts nuzzling him and leaving his scent on him to calm him. “Suguru, baby, tell me…did
he do this to you?” He touches Suguru’s stomach where he knows the scar is.

“…yes…when I rejected his proposal. He said he would make sure no one would want me again…
that he’d ruin me for good…”

“Please tell me his name. Please.”

The silence goes on for a long time, and it makes Satoru assume that Suguru isn’t going to give him
a name.

“Kenjaku.”

Even though it’s not a full name it will be enough for Mei Mei who has been having some
difficulty uncovering Suguru’s life during the years he dated Kenjaku. It sounds like the guy
intentionally made it that way. He kept Suguru isolated as a way to easier control him.

Satoru kisses Suguru and thanks him for sharing all of that. He tries to be strong for him but he
can’t stop his own tears from falling.

“Why are you crying?” Suguru asks, looking concerned. He wipes Satoru’s eyes and kisses his
face. “Don’t cry, Satoru.”

“I’m crying because I wish you never went through any of that. I wish I could have protected you
and our girls.”

Suguru hugs his neck. “You’re here now,” he says.

“That’s right. Suguru, look at me.” When Suguru does so, he holds his gaze. “We will never do
anything unless you’re ready or unless you want to. No matter how drunk you get or how sexy you
look when you give me a lapdance…”

“Okay…” Suguru nods. His eyes are glassy and red from crying but also because he’s still very
drunk. “I’m happy you’re courting me. I…I used to daydream about it…” He blushes and glances
away. “Sorry I don’t act like it but I am happy you’re trying…”

“Thank you for telling me that.”

A couple of minutes pass of them hugging it out.

“Satoru?”

“Hm?”

“I’m hungry.”

Satoru laughs. “I’ll heat you up leftover take out while you take a bath. Do you think you can
bathe yourself?”

“I got this!” Suguru says cheerily, kissing his cheek before he gets up. He turns around. “Unzip.”

Now that they’re under good lighting, Satoru has an even better view of how well this dress fits
Suguru. He doesn’t have much to unzip as only his ass and some of his thighs are covered. As soon
as the dress is unzipped, he can feel his dick getting hard all over again.

“You’re wearing a thong…”

“Tight dresses show panty lines.” Suguru stays facing him as he pulls the dress down all the way.
“Thank you—”

Satoru hugs his ass and kisses it. “You’re perfect, Suguru. One day, I’m going to spend hours
worshiping your body.” He gives it another kiss, feeling grateful for even being able to do this. “I
was stupid back then. So fucking stupid…”

Wasting his time with people he hardly cared for and ignoring the one he loved all because he
wanted to play basketball without anything holding him back. He was selfish back then. He can see
that now.

“Did you ever consider us as a couple back then? Be honest…”

“Of course I did. I just…” He doesn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry, Suguru. You deserved a better
best friend.”

Suguru turns around and straddles his lap. He has to be drunk if he isn’t trying to hide his body
from him or refrain from eye contact. And Satoru is fortunate for shy Suguru because if he was
faced with this version of Suguru constantly he would be an irredeemable simp without any shame.

He’s currently a modest simp. There’s a difference.

“I didn’t fall for you for nothing, Satoru. You were and still are an amazing friend to me.”

Satoru feels like crying again. Every time he’s alone with only Vodka as his company, he swears
he’s a terrible friend to everyone and that he’s unworthy of even this second chance with Suguru.
But Suguru thinks he has value.

“Suguru, I…” He wants to tell Suguru how much he loves him but he wants to tell him when he’s
sober. “I’m grateful for this second chance.”

“Me too!” Suguru says, being loud again. His mood keeps changing. “I want more babies, and to
raise them all with you!” He purrs as he hugs Satoru and rubs himself against him.

Satoru has to fight a boner. Suguru is soft and he smells amazing and he’s so fucking wet. He’s
kissing Satoru’s neck and sucking on his ears which are very sensitive.

“Baby…” Satoru groans, biting his lip. “We need to stop…”

“Make love to me, Satoru,” Suguru begs.

Okay, that is Satoru’s last straw.

“I’m sorry, Suguru,” he says, kissing his temple. “I’m not as strong as you think…” He grabs the
back of his neck, applying pressure to his scent glands.

Suguru moans as his eyes fall shut and his body goes limp. He collapses and Satoru catches him
before he can fall backwards. He’s snoring loudly as he sleeps.

Feeling like he just fought a long battle, Satoru lays on the bed with Suguru in his arms. He stares
at the ceiling fan, watching the blades spin as he idly pets Suguru’s poofy hair. The sweat and
humidity ruined his hairstyle, making him now look like a prized poodle; he’s gorgeous even like
this.

After ridding his mind of horny thoughts, Satoru removes Suguru’s earrings and puts him in one of
his t-shirts he packed.

Then he tucks him into bed. He goes to the kitchen to get two bottles of water and painkillers. He’ll
need them in the morning.

Shiori is asleep on the couch. Satoru turns off the television, double checks the front door locks,
and then checks in on the girls. They’re still sleeping soundly.

With everything in order, he gets into bed with Suguru.

“Turn off the light,” Suguru groans, squinching his eyes shut as he clutches his head. “Too
bright…” His frown deepens when the light remains on. “Satoru!” He whines.

Still, nothing happens.

With a frustrated sigh, he sits up and looks around the room he’s in. Seconds pass before it dawns
on him that he is in his bedroom and the “light” is the sun. Its rays are beaming through the
window, making him feel overly exposed.

Burrowing under the comforter that smells strongly of Satoru, he tries to recall the events that led
to him waking up in only a thong and a team shirt for the basketball team Satoru plays for. Blurred
memories flood his brain, some tame and others too embarrassing to even think about.

Did he beg Satoru to get him pregnant? And what are these memories of him crying about Kenjaku
and sharing things he swore he would never share?

“Ugh,” Suguru groans. His stomach burning with mortification. He thinks he’s going to be sick.

He grimaces and peeks from under his comforter when he hears loud talking coming from
somewhere in the apartment. He would know Nanako’s voice anywhere. Curious to know what is
going on, he buries the memories of last night and gets out of bed.

Brushing his teeth and washing his face is a must. His breath feels tart; gross. When he sees his
reflection in the mirror, he wants to die.

His hair looks a mess and his mascara is smudged. It takes a while to make himself look
presentable. After checking on the girls, he’s going to shower and wash his hair.

Throwing on some sweatpants and tying his hair up in a messy bun, he leaves his room.

“Gojo, Mommy makes them better!” Nanako can be heard saying.

Suguru halts. Did she drop the honorific?

“Sorry, Nana. I’ll have to ask Suguru for his recipe,” Satoru says. “But at least I didn’t burn them,
right?”

“I guess so! You tried your best!”

Satoru chuckles. “Thank you! Okay, Mimi, what do you think about my pancakes?”

Peeking around the corner, Suguru sees Mimiko give Satoru a double thumbs up with a big smile
 that shows all teeth.

‘Very good!’

“Thanks, Mimi!”

Nanako eats another slice of pancake. “They’re not bad. Just not better than Mommy’s…”

All of it feels like a dream Suguru never wants to wake up from. His eyes water as he watches
Satoru move around the kitchen, wearing his powder blue apron that looks too small on his big
frame.

Suddenly, Satoru turns around and catches Suguru peeking. He smiles warmly at him. “Good
morning, sleepy head.”

The girls look over at Suguru and wave at him.

“Mommy!” Nanako says. “Aunt Shorey went to get you a um…um…remy!”

“A remedy,” Satoru says. For his hangover. “She figured you would need it.”

Wordlessly, Suguru walks over to Satoru and cups his face. He stares at him in awe before kissing
his cheek. Satoru gives him a dopey grin, and he wants to kiss him again; on the lips this time. But
instead he goes over to his girls and kisses their foreheads.

“Did you two have fun with Satoru?”

The girls nod. And Nanako starts telling him about their fun-filled time yesterday while Mimiko
nods and silently cosigns.

All of them together like this gives Suguru hope for a happy future as a family.

As a pack.

Chapter End Notes

thanks for reading!

also nana calls shiori “shorey”! it’s not a typo lol

 retrograde 1

“Who is that?”

“That’s you.”

“Me?!” Suguru looks at the video that’s playing on Satoru’s phone. He sees the person who is
most certainly not him move their body in a provocative way and his face burns. “That’s not me! I
don’t know how to dance!”

They’re in bed; Suguru’s bed. Satoru has to leave and head back to Tokyo soon since it’s Sunday.
He’s supposed to be “resting” before his long drive. They tucked the girls in about half an hour
ago.

Satoru looks at the video that clearly shows Suguru dancing on stage at a nightclub. “Do you see
yourself?” he asks, pointing at the screen. “Look at how your ass is bounc—”

“Delete it!” Suguru screams, reaching out for the phone. “Delete it now, Satoru!”

“No way! You look super hot!”

“It’s embarrassing!” Suguru grunts in frustration. He straddles Satoru’s stomach and keeps trying
to grab the phone from him“Why are your arms so long?”

The moment Suguru straddles him, Satoru becomes aware of their proximity. He’s still keeping his
phone out of Suguru’s reach but his attention isn’t really on that. The pajama shorts Suguru are
wearing are soft, thin, and tight around the best places; around his upper thighs, on his ass, and
between his thighs. He’s also wearing a tank top, showing off his toned arms.

To top it all off, his hair is fully down. Satoru loves it when it’s like this.

He puts one arm around Suguru’s waist to keep him steady. But Suguru is too occupied with
obtaining his phone.

When he presses his chest against Satoru’s face, Satoru completely blacks out long enough for his
phone to be snatched from his hand.

With a celebratory smile, Suguru taps the phone to light it up. He pauses when he sees that he and
the twins are on the screen. His eyes soften, a warm smile gracing his face.

“What’s your lock code?”

“It’s the same.”

Suguru glances at him, and he seems to finally notice the position they’re in. “My birthday?” he
asks, frowning. “Did you recently change it back to that?”

As a “joke” he made his lock code Suguru’s birthday when they were in high school.

“No, I’ve never changed it. Even when I got a new phone.”

“Even though I…” Suguru doesn’t finish the sentence. He gives the phone back to him. “I’m going
to teach Ryomen-san a lesson about snitching!” The subject change is intentional.
Satoru puts his phone down and places his other arm around Suguru’s waist before he can get off
of him. “I’m still pissed that my teammates were hitting on you but I don’t blame them.”

“They were all drunk too, probably.”

“Even if they were sober they would’ve wanted you.”

Suguru sighs. “I doubt it.” He smiles and leans over. “I don’t care either way. You’re the only one
who matters.” He tries to kiss his cheek.

But Satoru turns his face in time to make the kiss land on his lips. The way Suguru sighs and
immediately kisses him back lets him know that he wanted this in the first place.

The kiss is getting better by the second, and Suguru’s metaphorical walls are slowly tumbling
down, making him more expressive and assertive. He sucks on Satoru’s tongue and grabs his
hands to place them on his ass. When Satoru squeezes it, Suguru moans into the kiss and grinds on
him.

Satoru wants Suguru to do this sexy move on his face. He’s getting ready to suggest that when his
alarm goes off.

The initial plan was to nap before hitting the road but once he and Suguru got into bed they started
to talk about his drunk antics and eventually they got here.

“Time to go,” Suguru says, trying to mask his disappointment. “You don’t want it to get too late.”

“This weekend flew by…”

Every weekend flies by. The deal was to spend one day with them in Osaka but now he spends two
days with them at most, and that isn’t enough at all. He’s been annoyed by this set up but now it’s
downright frustrating.

Having to leave his pack and go back to his lonely condo always hurts.

“Yeah, it did. Next weekend will be here before you know it.”

“This would be easier if you and the girls moved in with me…” Satoru holds his breath. “I’d be
home more. I want that so much.”

Suguru glances away. “Moving in with you would be a major step. I don’t think we’re ready for
that.”

Satoru knew that would be the response. Even Shiori told him that it was too soon to suggest that.
But he had to at least put it on the table.

“Okay. Well, my Accountant will be in touch with you sometime this week.”

“Huh?”

“I had some accounts set up. Three separate ones. For you, Nanako, and Mimiko. The twins have a
trust fund they can’t access until they’re eighteen. But you’ll have enough in your account to take
care of you all until they’re older.”

Suguru looks like he’s going to faint. “Wait…why? Satoru!”

“What do you mean ‘why’, Suguru? You shouldn’t have to work and worry about money when
I’m this well off.”

He’s prepared to argue with Suguru about this. He may even go as far as to use his dominance as
Suguru’s alpha to make him accept the money. Even when they were kids, Suguru was stubborn
when it came to letting him pay for things. It was as if he had to prove that he could carry his own
weight.

But then again, this Suguru has two daughters to look after.

“Thank you, Satoru,” Suguru says, his eyes watery. He hugs him and buries his face in the warm
crook of his neck. “I was too nervous to ask…but Mimiko’s therapy is going to be expensive and
they’ll be starting school soon too.”

Satoru smiles to himself. He rubs Suguru’s back. Taking care of his pack in any way always
improves his mood. He loves providing for them.

“You can ask me for anything, Suguru. You don’t ever need to be nervous.”

“Anything?”

“Yeah.”

Suguru sits up. He traces his finger between Satoru’s pectorals. “Can you take your shirt off then?”

That look in his eye makes Satoru feel like trapped prey. Without a word, he takes his shirt off and
waits for his next orders.

“How much do you lift?”

“84 kilograms.”

Suguru licks his lips as he openly stares at Satoru’s chest. “Wow…you used to be lanky with
stringy arms in high school.” He laughs.

“You still liked me.”

“I was in love with you,” he says, laughing quietly. “You and your bird chest.”

Satoru laughs. “Hey! I filled out a lot in senior year!”

“Because you had three hairs on your chin and called it a beard? Oh please!”

His mom made him shave that off immediately because he looked “unkempt” but it was definitely
because he looked ridiculous.

“Well, look at me now,” Satoru says, putting his arms behind his head to emphasize how ripped
his body is.

During the years spent missing Suguru he put a lot into his training. That’s why he’s so bulky now.

“I am looking at you,” Suguru says, appraising him. He touches the top of Satoru’s sweatpants. “I
know you have to leave but…I feel like being selfish.”

That’s rare.

“Be selfish, Suguru.”

Suguru starts to tug on his sweatpants. “Can you stay with me tonight?” he asks.

This is the first time Suguru has asked him to stay. They both know that the week is busy for
Satoru who has a ton of obligations, and Suguru wouldn’t want to inconvenience him in any way
but tonight he’s being selfish. In reality, it’s not selfish at all because Satoru also wants to stay.

“Of course. I don’t want to leave at all, honestly.” He touches the waistband of Suguru’s shorts.
“Take these off…”

Ever since he’s started staying over, Suguru keeps his bedroom door closed. But he turns around to
check it just in case. Then he turns back to Satoru and gets off of him.

“We have to be quiet,” he says, taking off his shorts. He’s wearing boyshorts underneath.

Satoru stares at Suguru’s plump print. “You’re going to be the one making all the noise.” He sits
up and touches Suguru’s hips. “You should tell that to yourself.”

Whatever retort Suguru had prepared is silenced when Satoru kisses his print. He cups it next,
feeling the heat on his palm. The boyshorts come off next, and Satoru kisses him there again.
Suguru cups his face, leaning down to kiss him hotly. He seems to be obsessed with sucking on his
tongue and his lips.

It feels possessive. As if Suguru is making it known that he belongs to him.

When they lay on the bed again, Suguru tries to straddle his stomach but Satoru lifts him up and
places him on his face.

Suguru thinks he’s heavier and bigger than what he is. Picking him up like this takes hardly any
effort. That isn’t to say that Suguru is flimsy, though, because he's far from it. People look at them
and assume that Satoru is the one they don’t want to meet in a dark alley.

In truth, Suguru’s punches hurt more than Satoru’s. It’s pure, brute strength that he possesses. Had
Suguru hit that abusive asshole he dated back just once, the man would’ve never hurt him again
that’s for sure.

But Satoru won’t start thinking about him and ruin this perfect night with Suguru riding his face.
As soon as Satoru starts sucking on his clit, he covers his mouth with both hands to muffle his
moans. He’s still loud, though.

Satoru can still hear how sexy he sounds when he’s not holding back and is allowing himself to
enjoy the pleasure.

His slick is so sweet and addictive. Satoru can’t get enough of it. He tries to push his tongue inside
of Suguru to appease his need to have his cock inside of him but he's incredibly tight.

“Satoru…more…” Suguru whines. He starts bucking his hips and tugging on Satoru’s hair. “So
close…”

Satoru gives him exactly what he wants by returning his attention to his clit, sucking and nibbling
on it until Suguru is sobbing and shaking. He sits up, tries to get off of Satoru to spare him. But
Satoru cages him in place and happily allows Suguru to squirt on his face.

“I’m sorry!” Suguru is still moaning, still rolling his hips and seeking his pleasure. “Sorry…I’m…
sorry…”
“I’m not sorry,” Satoru says dazedly. He’s literally seeing stars. “I’m not sorry at all.” He licks his
chin and wipes his face with his hand before licking it clean.

Suguru starts tugging off his sweatpants and his boxers in one go. “I still feel bad,” he says. “Can I
make it up to you?”

Again, Satoru isn’t mad at all but the way Suguru is acting right now has him pretending as if he
deserves some kind of compensation for being on the receiving end of Suguru’s delicious juices.

“How will you do that?” Satoru watches how Suguru fists his cock, and he clenches his jaw. His
fangs are itching. “Suguru,” he says, the warning clear in his voice.

Suguru ignores the warning. He strokes his cock slowly, wrapping his fist tighter around it when
it's around the head. Satoru, in his horny mind, thinks Suguru is going to finally let him inside but
his rational brain knows Suguru isn’t quite ready for that.

So, it isn’t too shocking when instead Suguru rubs his wetness on his cock.

When Satoru tries to grab his ass, Suguru pins his hands above his head and tells him to stay put.
Then he leans forward, hugging Satoru’s neck as he continues to grind on his cock. His folds are
gripping it nicely, giving him the exact friction he needs to be satisfied.

Suguru starts to suck on his neck and his earlobe, occasionally moaning his name right in his ear.
It’s all driving him crazy.

That animalistic urge to pin Suguru on the bed and knot him is stronger than ever but he’s too busy
melting into the mattress to try to dominate.

“Please…let me touch you, Suguru…”

“No. Close your eyes.” Satoru’s eyes fall shut. He feels Suguru sit up and lean back. “How does it
feel? Do you like it?”

Satoru nods. He loves it. He especially love Suguru’s newfound confidence.

Frottage has always felt like something young alphas and omegas do when they’re getting the hang
of things and are curious. It never occurred to him, as an adult, that this could feel this satisfying.

Opening his eyes a fraction, he can see Suguru biting his lips while his own eyes are closed. His
hair is damp from sweat and his face and chest are flushed. The tank top is still on but it’s low
enough that Satoru can see his hard nipples. He looks so fucking good riding him like this, hips
moving fluidly as though they were water.

Looking down, he groans when he sees where their bodies touch. Suguru’s pussy is so pink, so
pretty. He wants to taste it again.

Satoru can’t wait to give him more pups, too. Maybe next time they can have triplets. That’s the
last coherent thought on his mind before he comes so hard his ears are ringing. As the buzz wears
off, Suguru kisses his face and rubs his cheek against his to scent mark him.

He’s being awfully affectionate tonight and that’s going to make it harder for Satoru to leave in the
morning.

“I’ll go get a wet towel,” Satoru says.

Suguru shakes his head. He hugs Satoru tighter. “Don’t leave the nest.” His scent smells sweeter
than usual.

“Baby, when is your heat?”

“It’s irregular. So maybe in a couple of months.”

Satoru wonders if there’s another explanation for Suguru’s behavior then. Could it simply mean
that he’s more comfortable around him? Omegas tend to be like that; it takes time for them to be
clingy like this. Plus, Suguru has loads of trauma.

But if he’s acting like this, that means he trusts Satoru more. That makes Satoru smile. They’ve
come a long way from the day he showed up at the Geto residence when he was visiting Gomari.

They have a long way to go still but this is major. It’s also crucial for him to be around more than
he has been. His omega and his pups are warming up to him, and soon they’ll look to him for
protection and other things pack leaders are known to provide.

He can’t give them what they need while he’s in Tokyo, though.

Suguru starts purring happily, and Satoru’s heart aches with longing. He already misses him and he
hasn’t even left yet.

That’s how he knows this week will be long.

For the first time ever, Satoru is late for practice.

He woke up that morning with Suguru’s arms and legs latched onto him like a koala bear. It was
the most adorable thing ever so naturally he wasn’t ready to unattach him and ruin the moment.

So, he went back to sleep with the hope of waking up in twenty minutes max. Had he been sleeping
alone, he would’ve woken up before his alarm even went off. But because he was with Suguru, the
last thing he wanted was to leave that bed.

He ended up sleeping for another hour and a half, and even though Suguru tried to wake him, he
wouldn't budge.

“I’m sorry,” Suguru kept saying as he helped him rush out of the apartment. “I’m really sorry!”

Satoru doesn’t blame him one bit, honestly.

To make up for what he felt was his mistake, Suguru packed him a bento box for lunch.

No apology was needed but Satoru happily accepted the bento. He’s taking a picture of the “mini
Mimi’s” and the floral shaped fruit when the assistant coach tells him that Coach Yaga wants to
speak with him.

They just broke off for their hour break before they wrap up practice for the day. He knew this was
coming, too. When he arrived at practice everyone was staring at him in disbelief because they
couldn’t believe that he of all people was late.

Satoru eats some of his bento before putting it away. Some of his teammates who are in the
cafeteria with him murmur under their breaths as he gets up and walks out. It’s like he’s been called
to the principal’s office.
Despite how strict Coach Yaga can be, Satoru isn’t too worried because being late isn’t the end of
the world. It’s also not a frequent occurrence for him. He’ll definitely get off with a warning.

“Coach, you wanted to see me?” Satoru asks as he enters the office and sits down in front of the
desk.

Wordlessly, Yaga opens his top drawer and takes something out. His face is blank, and his scent is
masked by blockers as usual, making it impossible to discern his mood. He tosses a stack of
pictures on the desk and the scattered pile slides over to Satoru.

One look at the pictures has Satoru’s heart racing. He can see Suguru standing on stage waving at
him in one picture and the next picture shows Suguru jumping off the stage and into his arms.
There’s a picture of them sitting in the private area of the club and one of him carrying Suguru like
a bride.

The pictures are out of order but he sees the full picture clearly.

Sukuna wasn’t the only one recording the events of that night at the club.

“Coach,” Satoru starts.

Yaga cuts him off, “Three major tabloid magazines are trying to extort money out of the
organization in order to keep these photos buried,” he says, his voice far too calm for the situation.
“Our sponsors will have to fork over the money.”

Satoru can already imagine the rumors these pictures will create. People will assume everything
from a secret relationship to him spending the night out with an escort. Then they’ll try to identify
who Suguru is, and that’s when things will get really bad. He can deal with dating rumors because
they’re nothing new.

The organization, its sponsors, and the scouts will think his head isn’t in the game and that he’s not
focused enough on what’s important. But he can shut them up by winning games easily.

What he can’t deal with is his fans and non-fans learning about Suguru. Because outside of
harassing him non-stop they’ll dig until they discover the existence of the twins. Once rumors start
to circulate about the twins being his, it’s going to be a nightmare for all involved.

The timing isn’t good at all. Satoru would need to publicly claim his pack before the media
uncovers it in order to lessen the backlash. But neither he or Suguru are ready for that yet. They
haven't even confirmed with their family.

“Your silence makes me hopeful,” Yaga says without a smile. “That means you’re thinking of a
way out of this mess that doesn’t cost a fortune.”

“I’ll pay off the paps with my own money.”

Yaga sighs disappointedly. “So, the person in these photos are that important to you then? Who are
they?”

“Coach, I’d like to keep that to myself for now.”

“You’re throwing your talent away, Gojo. You know new relationships are a time consuming
distraction that you can’t afford. You’re so close to Gold!”

Satoru is overcome with the urge to defend his courtship of Suguru, but he keeps his mouth quiet
on the matter. “I’ll pay off the media,” he says, showing that he has no intention of continuing the
conversation.

If he allows the organization to pay to cover up this they’ll think they own him and will want him
to work hard to make up the money “wasted” on his fuck up.

Yaga shakes his head slowly, his disappointment obvious. “They’ve already paid,” he says.
“You’re the Team Captain. We can’t have you of all people in the middle of some scandal.”

Satoru stops himself from calling Yaga a manipulative bastard. He was trying to get more
information out of him all while having him believe that the media needed to be paid for their
silence despite it already being taken care of.

Well, Yaga has to be that way in order to keep so many unruly players in check. But Satoru has
never been one of the unruly ones. It goes to show that he’s not above being placed on the
chopping block.

Noted.

“What’s my punishment?” Satoru asks begrudgingly.

“Saturday morning you will coach the rookies and get them game ready,” Yaga says without
hesitation. “The first game of the season is around the corner.”

That means he can’t go to Osaka Friday evening like he planned. He tries not to get discouraged.
He’ll just go after practice on Saturday.

Satoru nods, accepting his punishment. “Thanks, Coach—”

“I’m not done,” Yaga says, smirking. “Saturday night you will represent the team at the
Beneficiary Banquet. Our sponsors want to start this season off right!”

The Beneficiary Banquets are usually attended by new recruits so that the sponsors can see what
their handsome donations are paying for.

Also, it gives the rookies the chance to network for potential endorsement deals. Despite how
uptight and dull the whole affair is, it’s helpful for those who want a bright future in this industry.

Considering Satoru already has a successful career, attending would be pointless for him. He’s also
known to hate these sorts of events, and hasn’t had to attend one of them in so long.

“Coach, could I do something else?” he asks.

He needs to be in Osaka, not at some banquet. Suguru and the twins have warmed up to him.
They’re used to him being there and expect that out of him. He can’t mess up the pattern because
consistency is important for pack bonding.

Most importantly, Satoru needs to see them. He feels like he’ll spiral if he doesn’t. They keep his
head above water and keep the loneliness from eating him whole.

Yaga glares at him. “Be lucky you won’t be riding the bench first game and be grateful for this
opportunity,” he says.

Satoru clenches his jaw. “Thank you, Coach. I am honored for your kindness,” he says. Then he
gets up. “I’d like to finish my lunch before practice resumes.”
“You’re excused.”

The hardest part now will be breaking the news to Suguru.

“You can just come Sunday, right?” Suguru’s hopefulness is apparent. Still, he’s considerate. “If
you can’t make it I understand.”

“I can make it Sunday. Don’t worry!” He can easily leave after the banquet and drive to Osaka.

Suguru doesn’t seem to like that suggestion, however. The girls are in the background playing.
Satoru can see them running around behind Suguru who’s sitting on the floor of the living room.

Lowering his voice, Suguru says, “I don’t want you to get on the road too late. You’ll be tired.
Then if you come in the morning you’ll only get to stay a few hours.”

Understandably, Suguru doesn’t want him to waste a trip here. But in Satoru’s opinion, no trip to
see his pack is ever a waste.

“I want to see you all,” Satoru says. “I even promised the girls I’d take them out.”

When he first called, they had their faces in the camera and greeted him with big smiles that
showed some of their missing teeth. Satoru is excited to tell them tales about the tooth fairy and
sneak money under their pillows in exchange for their teeth. One day, he thinks.

Suguru smiles. “You never promised what day you would do that, though.”

“The deal was for me to come every weekend.”

“No, the deal was to never break a promise—”

“Gojo!” Nanako and Mimiko run over and stick their faces in the camera. The former says, “Mimi
and I want to try the um…creepies you told us about!”

Satoru smiles. “The crepes! Yeah, I want to take all of you this Sunday!”

The girls grin and look at Suguru, silently asking for permission. With him being on the spot now,
Suguru is backed into a corner. He hugs the girls and assures them that they can all go if Satoru is
able to come Sunday. Before Nanako can ask why he won’t be able to come, Satoru promises them
that he’ll be there.

When the twins run off to continue playing, Suguru gives Satoru a look that conveys everything he
needs to know.

“Don’t worry, Suguru,” Satoru says. “I’ll fly there if I need to. It’ll be fine.”

Suguru nods. “Okay. I hope the rest of your day is better. Again, I’m sorry you were chewed out.”

“Thanks. And it’s nothing really.” Satoru looks over Suguru’s shoulder to make sure the girls
aren’t paying attention. He lowers his voice, too. “I keep thinking about last night…”

“Oh…” Suguru glances over his shoulder. Then he gets up and leaves the room, making sure the
girls know he’ll be right back. “I’ve been thinking about it too.” He’s in his bedroom now.

“I noticed a shirt was missing from my bag.” He chuckles.

“Wow, how did that happen?”

“I know you stole it, Suguru.”

“Maybe you misplaced it, Satoru.”

He knows for a fact that Suguru has developed a habit of stealing his shirts. It’s really cute, and
further shows that he’s starting to see Satoru as his alpha.

“It’s fine. I took a couple of your panties, too.”

Suguru’s mouth drops open, a gasp escaping. “You did what?” He looks over at his dresser as if he
can see what panties were stolen. “When did you go snooping in there?”

“Guess you’ll never know.” He teases.

“You’re lucky I have to go make dinner. We’ll continue this discussion later. I’m not letting you
off that easily!”

Satoru’s plan worked then. “Thanks for the bento, by the way. It was delicious.”

Suguru’s eyes soften. “I wish I could make you one everyday.” He sighs. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Once the call ends, the silence in his place is suffocating. Looking around the massive den at the
chic decor and other expensive things he doesn't even remember purchasing, he thinks about how
Suguru’s small apartment is more ideal.

Hours later, while he’s in bed tipsy, Suguru sends him a picture. He’s wearing his stolen shirt and a
pair of his boxer briefs while holding the victory sign and smiling at the camera. He looks like a
sneaky fox.

Satoru immediately saves the picture before calling Suguru to end his lonely night on a sweet note.

The Beneficiary Banquet is an exclusive affair held at one of the sponsor’s five-star hotels. Per the
attire preference, Satoru wears a tuxedo and polished dress shoes.

When he arrives at the hotel, a small red carpet is rolled out and there are a few people from the
media outside snapping pictures. He has to be cordial with them and do a short interview about the
upcoming season.

Once that’s done, he enters and goes straight to the ballroom. There are some performers spread
out around the place, female contortionists mainly, and servers are carrying trays with champagne
and hors d'oeuvres. He declines what he’s offered as he looks around for Coach Yaga to show his
face before he ducks off into a corner for the night.

“I can’t remember the last time we were dragged to one of these.”

Satoru is surprised when he looks over and sees Sukuna walking beside him. “You’re here? Why?”
he asks.

Sukuna is also wearing a tuxedo and a look of boredom on his face. “Coach is punishing me for
not keeping a better leash on you at the club.”

“You’re not my keeper.”

“I’m not but as Co-Captain I get blamed for your shit. Nothing new.”

“Sorry about that.”

Sukuna shrugs. “Naoya’s birthday bash was a riot. I had fun.”

“Do you still have that video of Suguru on your phone?”

“Maybe.”

Satoru stops walking to see the playful smirk on Sukuna’s face. He plays so much that it’s difficult
to tell if he does have the video saved or not. Getting under Satoru’s skin is his favorite pastime,
after all.

“Delete it if you still have it,” Satoru says as they draw closer to where Coach Yaga is talking to a
group of sponsors.

“I think I’ll keep it. You know I’m single and desperate and all…”

“Don’t piss me off!”

Sukuna snickers.

When they reach Yaga, they straighten up and act as if they weren’t just being immature moments
ago. They’re introduced to all of the sponsors who are present, one by one. There are some new
faces, too.

“And our newest member, Noritosai Kenjaku…”

From the moment the man smiles, Satoru vision burns crimson because he knows exactly who the
guy is. Mei Mei just sent a file about him earlier that day.

When he gave her the name Kenjaku she was able to locate him easier. He skimmed the email
during a photoshoot just enough to notice the last name.

How much of a coincidence is it that the Noritosai family are directly related to the Noritoshi’s
from Gomari? It makes him wonder if this Kenjaku asshole knew who Suguru was before he
preyed on him.

The guy is wealthy and influential in Kyoto but apparently he wishes to expand his business
endeavors to Tokyo which is why he purchased shares in the team. But this is something Satoru is
learning now during Yaga’s introduction.

Naturally, he’s wondering if Kenjaku did this on purpose to fuck with him. Did Suguru tell him that
he’s the twin’s father? There are so many questions running through Satoru’s head, mixing with his
hatred and rage.

Noritosai Kenjaku is nearly two decades older than him and Suguru but he’s healthy for his age
with only a patch of silver in his otherwise shiny, black hair. He has a neatly trimmed beard, short
hair that is slicked back to reveal a widow’s peak, and crow’s feet adorning his brown eyes. He’s
not hideous; on the surface at least.

Kenjaku bows at him and Sukuna, and stiffly Satoru bows back but not in a proper or polite
manner. His hostility is apparent, making the air around them tense and suffocating.

Everyone notices it.

“Control your scent,” Coach Yaga says under his breath.

Satoru turns his glare on the man and sees the way his eyes widen with temporary fear.

It’s known that Satoru is a superior alpha and it’s times like this that his Coach is too tongue tied to
reprimand him. But for the sake of professionalism and respect, Satoru has never behaved this way
toward Yaga.

“Is something the problem?” Kenjaku says, sounding worried but there’s a glint in his eyes. He
likes the reaction he’s getting. “Have I offended you Gojo-san?”

Sukuna grabs Satoru’s balled hand before he can raise it and punch Kenjaku in the face.

“His rut is approaching,” Sukuna says with a bow. “Alcohol and suppressants don’t mix well as
you all know. I’ll give him a stronger blocker. Excuse us.” He forcibly drags Satoru away.

“Let me go,” Satoru says under his breath. His voice is unrecognizable to his own ears. He’s
grinding his teeth so hard that his jaw aches. “I’m going to murder that son of a bitch!”

“Everyone can smell that, too. You need to calm down!”

Satoru blacks out momentarily. His rage is too much to bear.

When he comes to, they’re standing on the roof of the hotel while he paces and mutters curses.

Sukuna is standing there silently, purposefully blocking the path to the door that will take them
inside to keep Satoru from running back in and fulfilling the dark thoughts that are swimming in
his head.

“Get the fuck out of me way,” Satoru says, shoving Sukuna back.

Sukuna shoves him back. “Are you out of your fucking mind?! You want to murder a sponsor…in
public?! Why?”

“I’ll take him someplace private then. I know people.” One phone call and Mei Mei will send
someone here to help him carry out his revenge.

“Your Yakuza friends? You sound crazy! Asking favors of them never ends well!”

Satoru isn’t trying to hear this shit. “I don’t give a fuck! That asshole is the reason why Suguru is
so traumatized and why my daughter is too anxious to speak!” He shouts.

Just thinking about it has his blood boiling. It’s also the reason why Nanako is so protective and
wary of every new person. She can’t even fully be a child because she feels compelled to protect
her mom and sister.

Sukuna frowns. “Wait, what?” he asks. “Okay, tell me what’s going on.”

“That guy is Suguru’s abusive Ex,” Satoru says, clasping his hands to keep them from trembling.
“I’m going to fucking kill him! The things he put my pack through, he deserves what’s coming to
him!”

Satoru tries to step around Sukuna but Sukuna grabs his arm. “You can’t go in there and kill him,”
he says. Before Satoru can curse him out, he adds, “Your pack needs you. You can’t do shit for
them behind a prison cell! Be smart about this!”
“Do you have any idea how useless I feel right now?!” Satoru thinks about how close Kenjaku was
standing to him only a moment ago. “I always told myself that if I ever saw him I’d kill him on the
spot!”

“My father physically and emotionally abused my mother for years and I felt helpless as a pup,”
Sukuna says, his voice empty of emotion. But it’s all in his eyes. “When I was old enough to fight
back, she finally kicked him out and we moved. She didn’t want me to throw my life away over the
likes of him.”

The confession knocks some of the anger out of Satoru, leaving him motionless. His shoulders sag.
“Sukuna…I had no idea…”

“I understand exactly how you feel but I also know that your pack needs you more than they need
vengeance. If you want to make him pay, be smart about it at least.”

Covering his face with his hands, he allows Sukuna’s words to wash over him. He feels like
screaming and doing something violent and reckless. But he knows that he can’t return to the
ballroom and murder Kenjkau in front of so many people. He’ll be thrown in prison, left to rot, and
his pack will be abandoned, which is the last thing he wants.

“I’m cool,” Satoru says, dropping his hands. “Let’s go back.”

“Nah, no way. Go home. I’ll tell Coach your rut couldn’t be contained.”

If he returns to the banquet and sees Kenjaku there's no telling what he’ll do. Leaving would be for
the best. He already feels close to exploding.

“Fuck,” Satoru says but with resigned sigh. “I’ll go home.”

Sukuna walks him to his car and watches him drive away. Before going to his place, Satoru does
something so stupid. He stops by the liquor store because he needs a drink.

Desperately.

The remainder of his night is a dark hole.

Suguru still can’t believe how easy the process was. All he had to do was sign his name — after
reading over the documents, of course — and he was given access to the account Satoru set up for
him. He was also shown the amount that was in each twins’ Trust.

There were so many zeroes that he felt dizzy from simply looking at them. Now, he has enough
money to continue to not work. Honestly, staying at home with the girls has given him the
opportunity to spend more time with them which is something that’s very important to him.

Had it not been for Satoru taking the initiative, Suguru probably would’ve waited for the last
minute, for his anxiousness to make him sick, before he finally asked for financial help. It’s
something he’s always struggled with. He remembers how his father would look at him as though
he were a burden whenever he asked for help. That’s why he’s hesitant to do it.

However, Satoru has never treated him that way. He should’ve known it would be fine.

“Mommy, I want to wear this for creepies today!” Nanako says as she runs over holding a floral
dress that has pink ribbons as the sleeves.
Suguru smiles. “Okay, that’s a good choice.” He looks over to where Mimi is still rummaging
through the dresser.

Mimiko pulls out a powder blue dress and holds it up.

“That’s a good choice, too! You girls will look very pretty in your dresses.”

Suguru will need to figure out what to wear as well. He kind of wants to do something different and
better than the usual. He’s really thankful for Satoru and he wants to show him that. He tried to call
him first thing this morning but he didn’t pick up.

While the girls choose the shoes they want to wear, Suguru calls Satoru again. His phone goes
straight to voicemail, and his heart throbs painfully.

Something is wrong, is what his instincts tell him.

He decides to text Satoru and tell him to call as soon as his phone is back on. That only quells his
nerves a little bit. Not wanting to go into distress over nothing — he hopes it’s nothing — he puts
his phone on the carpet next to him and focuses on the girls.

When his phone rings, he gets excited because he thinks it’s Satoru. Instead, it’s a call from a
number he doesn’t have saved. He’s always wary of unknown numbers due to the threat of Kenjaku
but he answers this call. Again, it’s his instincts.

Satoru’s mother is on the other end. She apologizes for calling out of the blue and she doesn’t
bother with small talk.

Apparently, Satoru called her early this morning and left two long voicemails that are worrying.
She wants to know if Suguru can go check on Satoru, and she says that she would if she could but
another storm is expected to hit Gomari by nightfall.

It sounds like she assumes they live in the same city. Instead of clarifying their distance, Suguru
tells her that he’ll go check on Satoru.

“Mommy, is something wrong?” Nanako asks.

Mimiko is watching expectantly.

Suguru isn’t sure what to tell them. He doesn’t want to worry them or say the wrong thing. There’s
also the fact that he’s fighting back tears. Is there something seriously wrong with Satoru? His lips
tremble but he picks himself up.

“It looks like Satoru is under the weather. I will go to Tokyo to take care of him.”

“Can we come too?”

Mimiko runs over to their arts and crafts table and takes out construction paper. She folds the paper
to make a card for Satoru.

Suguru blinks away tears.

“Sorry, but Mommy has to go alone. Don’t worry, I'll see if Megumi can come over!”

Nanako frowns. “But I want to see Gojo!” She pouts.

“I know, Nana. Please just be patient and good for Mommy, okay?” He looks over at Mimi. “Your
sister is making him a get well card, do you want to make one too?”

“Yes.” She walks over to the craft table, dragging her feet and making her anger known.

Suguru feels bad but he isn’t sure what’s going on and he doesn’t want to pull them into an
unpredictable environment. He also feels terrible for bothering Megumi at such short notice.

Of course, Megumi is fine with coming over but Suguru still feels guilty for interrupting his
Sunday.

Satoru’s mother sounded as if she had been crying and it made Suguru wonder what the voicemails
sounded like. He’s a nervous wreck while he packs and talks on the phone with Megumi who is
trying to keep him calm and level headed.

He just hopes everything is okay; that Satoru is okay.

Four hours later, Suguru is standing at Satoru’s front door. His mother gave him the address and
the code that the security requires for entry.

Taking a deep breath, he knocks on the door.

Silence greets him. He knocks again this time louder than the first time to no avail.

“Satoru!” He knocks again. “If you’re in there please open the door!”

Faintly, he can hear grass breaking followed by a loud curse. Heart racing, he listens carefully to
the footsteps that become louder with each second that passes.

“Who in the fuck is it?”

The harsh voice makes Suguru flinch. “It’s me,” he says. He clears his throat. “Suguru.”

Inwardly he’s pissed at how jumpy he gets these days. Raised voices and even a hint of anger from
an alpha gives him bad memories.

Moments later, the door creaks open. A blue eye trimmed in bloodshot peeks at him before
widening in recognition.

The door flings open, revealing Satoru who looks like he just woke up. He’s shirtless with his
pajama pants hanging low on his lips. There are dark bags under his eyes, bruises on his ribcage,
dried blood on his knuckles.

Suguru hurriedly moves closer to him. “What happened?” He cups his face.

Satoru’s grin is big and dopey; unfitting for the moment. “You’re really here this time,” he says. “I
kept seeing you but you weren’t there…”

It’s now that the scent of vodka slams into him. He can’t believe he didn’t notice it before. From
the look of things, Satoru is still drunk too. He touches Suguru’s hands and leans down to kiss him
on the lips.

Groaning, he licks into Suguru’s mouth. “Baby…I need you…” He grabs his ass and pulls him
closer, letting him feel his hardness.

Suguru tries to tug Satoru’s hands off but they won’t budge. “Satoru, stop. You’re drunk.”
“Missed you.” Satoru kisses his neck before sucking on it hard enough to bruise.

Despite himself, Suguru moans and that only excites Satoru. He’s being very aggressive, making
Suguru wonder if he's also nearing his rut. While Satoru sucks on his neck, he looks over his
shoulder and sees the state of the condo.

The place is trashed and there are empty bottles scattered around. Alphas have a high tolerance for
alcohol. Even still, it looks like Satoru had way too much.

“Satoru, how many bottles did you drink alone?”

Satoru shrugs. “Lost count. Take these off.” He’s tugging at Suguru’s jeans.

“No, stop.” He yanks Satoru’s hands off of him this time. “Your mother called me—”

“Is that why you came? You didn’t come just because you missed me too?”

His words are slurred and he looks like he’s about to pass out at any minute. Suguru takes him by
the hand and tries to find his way around the trash and broken furniture. Following Satoru’s scent,
he eventually finds his bedroom. They sit on the bed together and Satoru immediately tries to get
on top of him.

Suguru keeps a firm hand on his chest. “Because you’re drunk you don’t realize how serious this
is. Your mother called me worried, Satoru. She said you left her two concerning voicemails early
this morning.”

“I can’t believe you’re finally in my bed with me,” he says. “I don’t have to be alone anymore.” He
drops his head on Suguru’s shoulder. “Never leave me again, okay?”

“I’m here, Satoru.” Suguru’s heart is breaking from the pain in his voice. “You need water and
some bread to sober up.”

Then they can talk about what led to all this.

Satoru refuses to let Suguru leave the bed without him so he hugs him from behind while they
walk to the kitchen. There are more empty vodka bottles here and some are full.

“Maybe we should go to the hospital. I don’t want you to have alcohol poisoning.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Satoru, all of these bottles…”

“They’re old. It’s okay.”

“How old?”

“A week? A month? I don’t know.”

Suguru looks around the kitchen again. If that's true then Satoru drinks quite often and he doesn’t
keep his space tidy. That can’t be right. Satoru is very put together when it comes to cleanliness.
And is he really an alcoholic? Is this really how Satoru has been living?

Of course, he was concerned when Satoru was drunk in Gomari but he assumed their unexpected
reunion spurred that on.
Now he’s beginning to wonder if this is deeper than that.

“Here, drink this,” Suguru says, raising a cup of water up to Satoru’s lips.

Shaking his head, Satoru groans. “No. Don’t need it. Only need you.”

“Satoru, please, this is serious.”

“I’m being serious! I don’t need that. You’re here now.” Satoru knocks the glass out of Suguru’s
hands, spilling water all over the floor and chipping the glass. “Shit! Sorry, ‘Guru. Let me—”

“And what about our daughters?” Suguru calmly asks. He disregards the new mess on the floor
and stares into Satoru’s unfocused eyes. “They were so excited about you taking us all for crepes
today.”

“That’s Sunday.”

“Today is Sunday.”

Satoru’s eyes triple in size and they begin to water. Staggering back, he leans against the kitchen’s
island. “Sunday? I thought…” He closes his eyes and hits himself on the head. “Fuck, I broke my
promise. I l’m such a fucking screw up!” He hits himself again.

“Stop!” Suguru grabs him by the wrist to stop him. “You’re not a screw up—”

“No! I am! It’s my fault…all of it is!” Satoru shouts, tears streaming down his face. He roughly
jerks his arm away.

And when he does he accidentally hits Suguru in the face. On the nose, to be precise. Blood
trickles from it. Suguru cups his nose to keep it from spilling on his shirt. He looks around for a
paper towel. It hurts like hell because Satoru is strong but he knows it was an accident.

Sober Satoru would’ve never made this mistake, though. And that’s the problem. Suguru needs to
help Satoru get this liquid poison out of his life.

Satoru starts crying and fretting over Suguru, mumbling apologies and endless insults about
himself. Has he always hated himself like this?

It pains Suguru to see him treat himself this way. How blind has he been to Satoru’s struggles?

“It’s fine, Satoru,” Suguru says walking over to the sink where there are paper towels.

Satoru hugs him from behind tightly. “I’m so sorry, Suguru! I would never hurt you! I’m not like
him…I’m not like him!”

This is a lot. It’s way more than Suguru was expecting when he came here, and even though he
feels overwhelmed, he knows that Satoru needs him.

“I know you’re not, Satoru. Let me wipe my nose and we’ll go lay down.”

Satoru keeps apologizing the entire time, his voice heavy with remorse and self-loathing.

When they return to the bedroom, Suguru removes his jeans before getting under the covers with
Satoru. He hugs Satoru and kisses his forehead to let him know that he’s here for him.

There is clearly a lot for them to discuss and a lot to dissect but they can’t do that while Satoru is
like this.

Suguru will wait for him to sober up. He won’t leave until they get to the bottom of this. Soon,
their daughters will need them both. Mimiko’s therapy will also be hard on Nanako, too.

While Satoru sleeps, Suguru quietly cries. He just hopes he’s strong enough to give Satoru the help
he needs.

TBC
 retrograde 2
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Last night, Satoru had a dream about high school back in Gomari when he thought himself
invincible. He was arrogant as hell and it’s a wonder how anyone put up with him, especially
Suguru who was often the victim of his childish antics.

Not much of the dream is remembered when he opens his eyes to an unfamiliar room but the
emotions the dream conjured linger with him. He feels nostalgic and also sad because he can never
get those years back nor can he fix his past mistakes.

The past can’t be changed. Perhaps that is why he’s so damn depressed.

Looking over to his side, he sees a head of long dark hair, and he immediately smiles. He moves
closer to Suguru and nuzzles his warm cheek. They must be in Osaka, in Suguru’s bed. Soon, the
girls will wake up and demand attention that they will gladly receive.

Waking up to Suguru is the best thing but he has to say that he enjoys waking up to their daughters
just as much. Not wanting to disturb Suguru, he kisses his cheek softly and plans to get up to start
breakfast.

But when he kisses Suguru that makes him move in his sleep. Now his face is no longer pressed
into the pillow. He’s facing Satoru now, giving him a view of the dried blood in his nostrils.

Frowning, Satoru gives it a closer look. His heart starts to ache when an image enters his mind. He
can see a distorted memory of Suguru being backhanded hard enough to make his nose blood. He
looks at his own hands and sees the bruises and cuts on them and he feels nauseous.

Did he hit Suguru?

No. There’s no way. He would never do anything like that. No matter how angry he is. No matter
what. Even when they wrestled as kids he was hesitant to hit Suguru in the face or really at all. It
was innocent grappling and biting that never left a mark.

Alphas and omegas are rowdy like that. But never has he assaulted Suguru or anyone for that
matter.

Satoru’s eyes prick with tears. Why can’t he remember anything else from yesterday at all?

Sitting up, he looks for his phone to get an idea of what day it is. It’s then that he realizes that they
are not in Osaka. They’re in Tokyo in his condo…his filthy condo that’s riddled with trash and old
vodka bottles from binges.

Suguru saw all of this?

“Good morning,” Suguru says in a groggy voice. He lays his head in Satoru’s lap and kisses his
stomach affectionately. “How are you feeling?”

Satoru is too stunned to speak. He never wanted Suguru to see him like this, to see the truth. How
did he even get here? What is going on?
The unknown continues to eat away at him and create absurd scenarios that only increase his
anxiety. He feels sick, physically sick and disgusted with himself.

“Satoru, it’s okay,” Suguru says calmly. He sits up and hugs him so tightly that it hurts. “I’m here
and I’m not leaving you. Ever. Okay?”

“Did I hit you?”

“It was an accident—”

“Don’t make excuses for me,” Satoru cuts in. “Did I hit you, Suguru? Did I make you bleed like
this?” He gestures to his nose.

Suguru touches his nose and tries not to wince but Satoru can see how his eyes water. “Not
intentionally. You just…you yanked your arm away and bumped my nose. It’s fine.” He smiles.
“Really.”

“I hit you.” Satoru looks closer. “There’s some bruising too.” He curses and reaches up to tug on
his hair. “Suguru, I’m so sorry. I’m a piece of shit!”

“Stop talking about yourself like that,” Suguru says, and he’s no longer being nice. “I wouldn’t let
anyone else insult my best friend. What makes you think you can do it, huh?”

Satoru is reminded of a time when they were younger and how defensive they would get about
each other. He sighs and hugs Suguru. “I’m sorry,” he says.

“Go shower. I’ll make breakfast.”

“Suguru…yeah, okay.”

The state of his bedroom, much like the rest of the condo, is so bad that Satoru avoids everything
as he walks to his bathroom.

In the shower, he cries and punches the tile as a way to punish himself for hitting Suguru and
allowing himself to slip up like this. As more time passes, the more he remembers from the last
couple of days.

Kenjaku was at the Beneficiary Banquet, and he’s one of the team’s new sponsors which means
that he’s untouchable. If Satoru openly makes an enemy out of Kenjaku, the team will suffer.

To hell with that, though. His pack comes first.

Even though he probably won’t have a pack after this. Suguru knows he’s a mess now.

There’s no way he’s going to allow him to continue visiting them in Osaka or being in the girl’s
lives. He said he would never leave him but that could simply mean that they can keep in touch but
never be together the way that he wants and needs.

All of his crying leaves him exhausted, and his head is pounding. He dries off, his movements
sluggish and lethargic. He feels like a walking corpse, and a part of him wishes he were dead.
There’s no more hiding or pretending now that the cat is out of the bag.

He’s nothing more than an alcoholic with a mountain of unresolved issues. That’s too much
baggage for Suguru and the twins to have to put up with. He will just do them all a favor and
remove himself.
“There isn’t any food in here,” Suguru says as he walks around the living room with a trash bag.
He’s already tidied up half the space. “I ordered us something.”

Suguru is wearing nothing but a t-shirt, biker shorts, and guest slippers. He looks comfortable
despite everything, and it makes Satoru want to cry again because he doesn’t want to give him up.
He doesn’t want to lose Suguru after getting him back or lose his girls who are just starting to
warm up to him.

“You don’t have to do that,” Satoru says. “I’ll clean it.”

“I don’t mind. Besides, you should rest.”

“I made this mess and—”

“Through sickness and in health, right?” Suguru asks. He kneels down to pick up a few vodka
bottles. He stares at them, his expression blank. “Do you know of any recycle drop offs nearby?”

Satoru wants to point out that they’re not married so Suguru doesn’t have to clean up his messes or
put up with his shit at all but he doesn’t say anything. Better to enjoy this while it lasts.

“There’s a drop off on this floor. I’ll take them.”

“Okay. I’ve already started putting them in boxes.” He looks up at Satoru. “The empty bottles and
the full bottles, too.”

That means he’s getting rid of his entire stash, and that’s great. But there is a small part of Satoru
that is irritated by that because throwing out the alcohol would be a waste.

Wouldn’t it be better if he just had one last night to drink as he pleases?

That small part of him is his addiction talking, it’s a sickness, and he’s thankful that he can
recognize it. If only he knew how to make it go away completely.

“I’ll take care of the full ones.” Satoru chuckles and scratches the back of his neck. “I’m sure some
of my teammates would want them.”

Suguru doesn’t crack a smile. “We’re throwing it all out today,” he says.

“That vodka isn’t cheap. Let’s just give it away.”

Quietly, Suguru stands up. He puts the trash bag down and he walks to the kitchen.

Satoru was afraid he was going to head for the front door and leave him without looking back so
he’s relieved when that isn’t the case. After pulling himself together, he goes into the kitchen.

There is a case of vodka on the counter and a bottle of Japanese whiskey that cost more than his
rent. Suguru is at the sink pouring out one of the bottles.

“This isn’t like you to be so wasteful, Suguru,” Satoru says. He walks over to him and he smells
tears. “Hey—”

“You care about this crap more than me, is that it? Is this poison worth more than me and our
daughters, is that it?!”

“No. Hell no!”

“Then why are you still holding on to it? You can’t have both!” Suguru stops pouring and he looks
at him. Tears stream down his face but his eyes and his voice are hard, unwavering. “Choose.”

“What?”

Suguru picks up the half empty bottle of vodka, holding it up to Satoru’s face. “This crap…” He
lowers the bottle. “Or me and our daughters. Choose. This is your last chance.”

The answer is easy.

At least it should be. He should’ve already given his response by now despite it only being a few
seconds, but this is more than what’s in his heart. His heart may choose Suguru and the girls but
it’s his mind —or whatever part of him that controls his addiction — that may stray elsewhere.

If he messes up after this, he’ll never get this ultimatum again because Suguru will rightfully cut
him off. He’s not going to risk his or his daughter’s safety again. For anybody, not even Satoru.

“I will do my best to never drink again, Suguru.”

Suguru’s face breaks. “So, that’s your decision then?”

“I’m choosing you and our girls, you know it’s always going to be you three. It’s just that I’m
afraid of breaking another promise.”

“It’s just an excuse and you know it. I’m not asking you to be better overnight. I asked you to make
a choice and you couldn’t just pick one!”

Satoru sighs. “I pick my pack.” He takes the bottle from Suguru and continues pouring the vodka
out.

When his hand begins to tremble because the addiction is fighting back, Suguru holds the bottle
with him, giving him the support he needs to take the first step to recovery. They pour the rest out
together, even the expensive whiskey.

While Suguru puts the glasses in boxes to be picked up later, Satoru cries in the bathroom. He’s not
crying about the vodka. His tears are for himself.

This is pathetic. How can he face anyone now?

Gojo Satoru is a drunk and a disappointment underneath the good looks, charm, and talent. If his
father were alive to see him now he wouldn’t want to claim him as his son.

He has done poorly by his mother in his lack of communication over the years while knowing that
she grieves his father daily. He assaulted Suguru, and no amount of excuses can change that,
because he failed to switch out his rut suppressants like he was supposed to.

That was on him, not the company that manufactured them. That was Gojo Satoru doing what he
does best which is fucking up every single thing.

His father died and he didn’t choose him over stupid fucking basketball so he missed the funeral.
His mother needed his support and he just let her down.

How many times is he going to let down the people who care about him? Will he eventually hurt
his daughters too?

Satoru can’t breathe.

His throat is tightening and the walls are closing in around him. Darkness swallows him up until he
can’t see or feel anything.

“…scared. I’ve never seen him like this…I want to be strong for him but what if…what if I’m not
strong enough…”

Opening one eye, Satoru sees that he’s back in his bed. He’s alone this time. The bathroom door is
cracked open enough for him to catch a glimpse of Suguru sitting on the floor while he talks on the
phone.

“I’m not leaving him, Megumi,” Suguru says, his voice stern. Then he cries. “I love him. I want
him in our lives. That option is out of the question. No. I’m staying.”

Satoru closes his eyes because his head is ringing. His stomach is empty, his mouth is dry, and his
throat is sore. He can’t remember the last time he’s eaten or drank anything that wasn’t alcohol.
Suguru’s voice becomes a dull background noise as he tries to remember what led to him being
back in his bed again

All he can remember is spiraling.

Again.

Wash, rinse, repeat; fuck up, fuck up, fuck up.

How is he supposed to lead his pack and protect them when he can’t even hold it together? He can
hear Suguru crying in the bathroom, crying for him. Or maybe he’s crying because he thought
things would be better than what they were with Kenjaku yet here he is again dealing with a
damaged man-child.

Everything feels worse once he stands up. It feels like he’s been hanging upside down for hours
with all of the blood rushing to his head and now everything is making the descent down his
exhausted body. He staggers and nearly falls back on the bed but he keeps himself upright.

“Suguru,” he croaks, resting his pounding head on the bathroom door, pushing it open wider
without trying to.

Suguru quickly gets up and opens the door. His eyes are red and wet but he’s no longer crying.
“You need to eat,” he says.

Satoru needs to fix this. That’s what he really needs.

But he’s too weak to even protest. So, he allows Suguru to take him by the hand and guide him
into the den where he sits on the couch with a warm blanket wrapped around him. He sits there,
staring out the skyscraper windows. It’s night time, and he has no idea how many days have
passed.

If it’s Monday then he’s missed practice, a photoshoot, and a load of meetings. Just one encounter
has him throwing all of his hard work away. What a fucking waste.

“Ryomen-san dropped by earlier,” Suguru says as he carries a tray of food from the kitchen. “He
told your coach that you’re dealing with your rut. He also contacted your agent and let him know
so any business meetings should be taken care of.”

Satoru closes his eyes and sends a silent ‘thank you’ to his friend. That’s one problem solved for
now. But it’s not as important as his current stance with his pack.

Does Suguru still want him around after all of this? Now that he sees the ugly truth he’s tried to
hide, does he want to be with him and raise their daughters together?

Suguru urges Satoru to sit on a floor pillow in front of the low table. Then he makes sure the
blanket is secured around him before he starts to feed him. He’s being so gentle and patient. He
blows off hot rice to make sure it’s the right temperature before Satoru eats it and he feeds him the
entire time like he would do the twins.

Satoru’s eyes are watery as he chews and stares at the side of Suguru’s face.

“Have some water, too,” Suguru says quietly as he helps Satoru drink.

Obediently, Satoru drinks the water. After all the trouble he’s caused he decides to not give Suguru
a hard time by being stubborn or bringing up things they aren’t ready to talk about right now. He
eats all of the food he’s fed; the rice, the miso soup, and the scallion pancake. He drinks all of his
water and even the tea that’s prepared afterward.

“I’ll draw you a bath,” Suguru says as he carries everything back to the kitchen.

Satoru simply nods because he doesn’t know what else to say. He stares out the window again as
the city lights begin to blur into one heap of distorted colors.

It startles him when Suguru undresses him for the bath and helps him into the tub without a
comment on the bruises on his torso or a nervous joke about his nudity. Even more startling is how
Suguru starts bathing him. He has his long hair pulled up into a messy bun, there are bags under his
tired, red eyes, and a calm smile on his lips.

He looks happy. He actually looks happy to be taking care of Satoru.

Then when Suguru starts to wash his hair and massage his scalp, Satoru can’t hold it in anymore.

How can Suguru still love him this much after everything?

“I know,” is all Suguru says as he kisses his temple. “I know, Satoru. Let it all out…”

Satoru’s shoulders begin to tremble and his throat tightens and burns. He cries and he cries and he
stops pretending. His tears are silent yet the weight of them leave him incapicitated while Suguru
soothes him and continues to wash his hair.

After he rinses out the shampoo, he adds some other product that makes it easier for him to comb
through. The teeth of the comb feel amazing on his scalp, and he’s never felt more loved than he
does in this moment.

“Suguru…” Satoru sniffles. “I’m sorry…”

Suguru is towel drying his hair now. They’re in the bedroom. Satoru is sitting on the side of the
bed in only a pair of briefs and Suguru is standing in front of him. He hugs Suguru’s waist and
kisses his stomach.

“I’m so sorry, Suguru.”

“I’m sorry too,” Suguru says. “I’m sorry that you’ve been hurting like this for so long. But I’m
here now.”
And Satoru cries all over again.

“Tell me what happened…”

Suguru waits.

In the darkness of the bedroom, with the shades covering the windows to block out the city that
never sleeps, he can barely make out Satoru’s silhouette. They’re lying side by side, facing one
another with only a breath between them.

Earlier, they fell asleep together just to wake up at the same time without saying a word until
Suguru decided to break the ice.

Now he waits.

The silence stretches on like a stream without an end to the point where he worries that Satoru
won’t say anything at all. Is it too late? Suguru keeps wondering about that. Did he take too long to
notice what was right in front of him?

Satoru has been suffering in silence for a long time. Meanwhile, Suguru has been wrapped up with
his own problems; the girls, his past relationship, and his past in general. He feels like part of this
is his fault. Perhaps in his efforts to guard himself, he made Satoru believe that he couldn’t confide
in him.

He knows he shouldn’t blame himself. Or at the very least he shouldn’t try to shoulder all of the
blame because that will help nothing. But without a response from Satoru, that makes him want to
fill in the blanks on his own and find a solution for the problem. He’s spent years blaming himself
for everything.

This is nothing new.

Except that it is. It’s not just about him. This is about Satoru and the demons he’s battling.

“I saw him,” Satoru says after minutes tick by. “Kenjaku is one of the benefactors for my
basketball team.”

Hearing that name nearly sends Suguru into a panic. The first thing that comes to mind is that
Kenjaku is in Tokyo. Did he see him at the airport? Does he know that he’s also in town? He used
to seem to always know where Suguru was when they were together. A part of him even thinks that
Kenjaku has always known where to find him, too.

“See, this is why I wanted to kill him when I saw him,” Satoru says as he pulls Suguru into his
arms. “The way the mere mention of his name causes you distress…I hate him.”

Suguru feels like laughing. He thought he was keeping it all together but hearing Kenjaku’s name
did in fact send him into a panic.

“Satoru, tell me what happened,” Suguru says. He allows Satoru to nuzzle him because he needs it.
“Did he say anything to you?”

“Sukuna pulled me away before I could react violently.” Satoru pauses. “Does he know the twins
are mine?”

“No. I never trusted him with that information. I feared he would report you and it would ruin your
career…”

“I left the banquet after that. I don’t remember much…”

Suguru thinks about the bruises on Satoru’s body. “Did you get into a fight with anyone?” he asks.

“Myself.”

“So the bruises…”

“…self-inflicted…”

Suguru’s eyes water. “Satoru, do you hate yourself?”

Another long silence passes. Suguru holds his breath the entire time until his throat and eyes burn.

When a soft ‘yes’ is whispered in a broken voice, he exhales.

“Why?” Suguru asks. “Tell me all of the things you hate about yourself.”

Once Satoru starts talking, he doesn’t stop. The truth pours out of him as though it were dying to
come out and be heard.

Satoru sees himself as an imposter, like a puppet who talks, laughs, and smiles like a real person
when on the inside he feels dead and decayed. People look at him as some kind of hero who can do
no wrong, as a well put together individual with life all mapped out.

But he sees himself as a broken and worthless thing who fails everyone he loves and is cursed
enough to love him.

It’s not easy for Suguru to hear all of this. But he holds in his tears because he doesn’t want Satoru
to set his needs aside to accommodate his feelings.

“I don’t deserve any of you,” Satoru says after shedding his skin and revealing all of his secrets.
“Yet I don’t want to be without you all.”

“Then become the person you think we deserve,” Suguru says. No point in sugar coating and
walking on eggshells. “It’s going to take more than putting on an act and trying to be on top of
everything. You know what you need to fix.”

Satoru hugs him tighter. “I thought I could fill in my father’s shoes. I thought I could do it all just
as he did…”

“You and your father aren’t the same person, Satoru.” Suguru feels around until he has Satoru’s
face in his hands. “Talk to him. Talk to your father.”

Suguru doesn’t explain what he means by that because they both know what he’s suggesting. The
next time a wave of silence hits, Suguru is at ease because he knows Satoru is contemplating his
words.

“Okay,” Satoru says. “I want to talk to him. It’s time I stop running…”

“I’m proud of you for admitting that.” Suguru knows his smile can’t be seen but hopefully Satoru
can hear it in his voice. “The sooner the better.”

“Can you come with me?”

Three days have passed since Suguru left the girls in Megumi’s care. He’s checked on them every
day; three times a day to be exact. Of course, they’re doing fine but he has separation anxiety when
it comes to them. Still, he knows Satoru needs him right now.

“Yeah, I’ll come with you.”

Satoru holds on to him for the remainder of the night. Neither of them fall asleep until the sun is
beginning to rise and signal a new day.

They catch a flight to Gomari later that day, still exhuasted and scrubbed raw from the past couple
of days. The weather is finally mild enough for travel so they wasted no time.

All of Suguru’s apologies were ignored by Megumi who has already told him a million times that
he never needs to apologize for having him watch his god daughters because it’s part of the
“godparent agreement” that Suguru swears Megumi made up.

Satoru’s mother picks them up from the airport.

She doesn’t ask any questions or pester them about anything. She just hugs them both as if she’s
happy to see them and she takes them to the Gojo estate where they wash up, change into yukatas,
and enjoy a hot meal.

Dinner is quiet but not unpleasant. They’re both tired, and Satoru’s mother is aware of that. When
Suguru calls her “Gojo-san” he gets a stern side eye followed by a warm smile.

“You know you can call me Choi-san,” she says.

Suguru smiles sheepishly. “Sorry, Choi-san.” He remembers being here all the time as a child and
being treated like family. He worried that would change but it hasn’t. “The food was very good.
Thank you again for preparing everything.”

“You’re still as kind and polite as ever, Suguru,” Choi says. “I’m told your daughters are just as
well-mannered…”

“You’ve talked to my mother?” Suguru asks knowingly.

The women are good friends, after all.

Choi nods. “May I see them?” she asks. “I’m sure you have a picture of them…”

Without meaning to, Suguru looks over at Satoru who is looking at his mother. They both know
that the woman is up to something. Choi is always up to something.

Suguru sees no reason to deny her request so he takes out his phone and opens his camera roll. He
finds a picture of the girls wearing matching short sets that are different colors. They’re both
grinning at the camera with their snaggletoothed smiles.

“Here they are,” Suguru says, handing her the phone.

Choi sighs and smiles. “Just look at them…” She adjusts her glasses. “Oh, this one, with the light
hair…”

“Nanako,” Satoru says, smiling.

“She has Satoru’s mischievous grin. And her twin…”

“Mimiko,” Satoru quips again.

“Yes, Mimiko. From a first glance she’s your spitting image Suguru but she has those Gojo
features.”

“Ma—”

Choi ignores him and hands Suguru his phone back. “The next time you two visit, I expect my
grand babies to accompany you,” she casually says. “I made a lemon pie for dessert! I hope you
two saved room!” She gets up and leaves the dining room without another word.

Suguru and Satoru stare at one another with their mouths hanging open.

Of course someone as wise as Choi would recognize her son’s children. Suguru’s mother had the
same knowing look on her face when Suguru introduced her to the twins. His mother and Shiori
were afraid of him leaving without a word so initially they said nothing. But he knows what they
say when he’s not around.

The secret he’s tried to cling to being easily uncovered by their family is actually hilarious. Suguru
can’t help but laugh, and it feels good when Satoru laughs with him.

When Choi returns with the lemon pie, they all dig in and act as if that revelation wasn’t just
uncovered.

Choi doesn’t ask them why they took years to tell her or anything like that. It’s obvious that there is
a lot to sort out so she probably doesn’t see a point in adding more pressure on them.

After dinner, Suguru and Satoru convince Choi to let them wash the dishes. It’s a tough battle but
they win in the end. While Suguru washes, Satoru dries. A comfortable silence hangs over them
with the occasional clatter of the dishes as Satoru sets them in the tray.

Suguru is exhausted. It hits him in the middle of washing a saucer but he holds his yawn in.

“You can sleep in my room,” Satoru says. “I’ll take the guest room.”

“I don’t mind the guest room.”

Satoru lowers his head, and it’s a reminder of their annoying height difference that Suguru secretly
likes. “But I want you to sleep in my room,” he says quietly.

Hearing that makes Suguru’s heart flutter the way it used to when Satoru would hold his hands
when they were kids “to keep him from getting lost” during their adventures. Will he always be
weak to Satoru?

“Okay,” Suguru says, looking away because it feels like he’s blushing.

While they were washing the dishes, Choi prepared the rooms for them. This place used to be
crawling with servants but after Satoru’s father passed, people in Gomari said Choi let all the
servants go after paying them handsomely for their years of service.

People worried that she would hold herself up in the estate, and for a short time it was like that. But
now she’s always at some club meeting, visiting with some friend, or involved in some kind of
local event.
Perhaps staying busy is what helps her cope.

“Thank you again for coming,” Satoru says later. He’s sitting beside the futon where Suguru is
laying with his arm over his torso. “It means a lot to me.”

Only a single candle is lit, bathing the room in a yellow hue. Somehow, Satoru’s eyes are even
more vibrant and they’re solely on Suguru’s face. He feels so seen like this.

“Of course. I want to help you get through this.”

Satoru brushes hair away from Suguru’s face and then he skims his fingers down the curve of his
cheek, down to his chin. “You know, I used to fantasize about this…”

Suguru hates — loves — that voice Satoru is using now. It’s deep and raspy. He glances away
because he feels trapped like this.

“About what?” he asks.

“You in my futon wearing my clan’s sigil on your back.”

“Really?” Suguru laughs because he doesn’t know what else to do. “I’ve always changed into the
standard yukata whenever I visited.”

“Yeah but you’ve never slept inside my room.”

Satoru still has his hand on Suguru’s chin. He turns his face toward him and holds it there as he
lowers his head. “This is different,” he says, breath fanning over Suguru’s lips. “Like this, it’s
easier to pretend…”

“Pretend what?” Suguru asks so quietly that he can hardly hear himself.

“That we’re already married.” Satoru kisses his forehead. “Goodnight, Suguru.”

Suguru closes his eyes. He has to stop himself from pulling Satoru on top of him. It’s such a bizarre
thought to have considering everything they’ve been through the past couple of days. Now is not
the time to be horny.

Choi is in the same hall as them, and he’ll die of embarrassment if she ever overhears them doing
anything remotely intimate.

“Goodnight, Satoru.”

Luckily, Satoru doesn’t linger after that. Even though he’s a little worked up now thanks to Satoru,
his exhaustion soon wins. He falls asleep with Satoru’s scent wrapped around him like a cozy
blanket.

The initial plan had been to hold it off until the very last minute, until he had no other choice but to
do what he came here to do. But after sending Suguru and his mother off to bed, Satoru travels
deeper into the mountain to where his ancestors are resting.

The path is always lit and easy to follow with a rock path that sways through a thick bamboo forest.
Despite not coming here often, he finds his way. His father’s grave is clean and there are fresh
flowers from his mother’s garden laid out along with used incense.

There’s also a chair in front of it. He pictures his mother sitting there talking to her deceased
husband about her day and the comings and goings on the island.

It’s a pity that this is Satoru’s first time coming here. He’s been too ashamed and too afraid, but
that ends tonight. He has to cross this bridge before he can fully heal.

Satoru sits in the chair and he reads the epitaph over and over until his eyes blur with tears.

Loving husband, father, and clan head; a true leader in his community.

Those words are hardly enough to acknowledge his father’s greatness and commitment to his
family and the people on this island. But words are simply that; words. Everyone knows the truth
and his father is missed by all.

Even though it hurts to have him mentioned, it feels good to hear how fondly people speak of his
father from time to time. His shame has always made him feel bitter about that and he can
recognize that now.

“The entire island was at the funeral, I’m told,” Satoru says. “I wish I could have been there, too. I
can’t change the past, Dad, and I know you don’t hate me. I've been projecting this entire time…”

Thinking that his father hates him or is disappointed in him has been how he’s felt about himself
all of this time. It’s not fair to pin that on the person who has always believed in him.

How could he forget all of the encouraging words his father shared with him throughout his
lifetime or the man’s constant reminders of his unconditional love for him? The scary thing about
self-loathing is how it can make all the positive in one’s life disappear.

“You never made me feel like I wasn’t good enough and I am grateful to be able to say that,” he
says. “A lot of people aren’t blessed with good fathers. I’m sorry for forgetting about that…”

The more Satoru sits here and talks, the more it all comes back to him. His father telling him that
even if he fails and doesn’t accomplish all of his goals, he’ll still be proud of his journey thus far.
His father telling him that his happiness and well-being is what matters most to him and his
mother.

All of that love and support doesn’t just go away because he missed a funeral. His connection with
his father doesn’t become invalid. Even now, in this quiet graveyard, he can feel the warmth of his
father as though the man was patting him on the shoulder after a job well done or comforting him
after a nightmare.

“I have two daughters. Suguru and I.” Satoru wipes away a few tears. “I wish you could meet them.
They’re so beautiful, Dad. It took a while but they’re starting to warm up to me. I want to protect
them, and Suguru, too, like you always protect mom and I…”

Nobody is perfect, and even though Satoru’s father seemed that way in his eyes, he’s sure the man
dealt with his fair share of issues as well. But he never took it out on his family or made others deal
with his mess.

Satoru will strive to do the same. His daughters shouldn’t have to bear the weight of his addiction.
No one should.

“It’s not even the alcohol that I like,” Satoru says. It’s a secret that is even new to himself. “I just
like how it makes me forget some things for a short time. I like the temporary peace that it gives
me…but…”
He’s had a taste of real peace. When he’s with his pack or with his mother, he experiences true
peace. Instead of driving people away and putting up walls, he wants to be surrounded by his loved
ones.

“I thought that if I pretended to have it all together, Suguru would run into my arms and I’d have
everything I’ve ever wanted. I wasn’t being honest with myself…”

He can’t use his pack as a crutch while pretending as though he’s the one holding them all together.
It’s a joint effort. He relies on Suguru who relies on him and their daughters rely on them while
being a source of comfort at the same time.

“That’s how it was with us, wasn’t it?” Satoru asks. “I didn’t understand it back then but now I do.
You were as strong as you were because you had mom and me.”

That strength didn’t just manifest out of thin air. Alphas are strongest when they’re with their pack.
The lone wolf never survives.

“I’ve been so blind this entire time,” Satoru says. He stares up at the sky, at the twinkling stars.
“But like you’ve always told me, mistakes happen, we’re all only human. What matters most is
how we learn from our mistakes and improve…”

At the time, his father said that in regards to his basketball training, but the same logic can be
applied to life.

Satrou can feel the weight being lifted from his shoulders. It feels like he can finally see clearly
now.

“I’m going to check myself into rehab and seek therapy,” Satoru says and it’s the hardest thing to
confess. “It’s going to damage my spot on the team, Coach Yaga will lose faith in me, and I’ll miss
out on the opportunity of being scouted for the National team this season…”

But…

“The Olympics will be there in four years and I’m just reaching my prime,” Satoru says with a
confident smile. “I can train and recover from this setback. You taught me how. What I cannot do
is ruin the bond I am trying to build with my pack in favor of maintaining my career. They’re more
important and I can’t have it all.”

Better to be temporarily absent in order to fix himself than to bring his baggage into the twins’
lives. He knows Suguru will understand.

Satoru sits at his father’s grave for another hour or so before heading back to the compound.
Instead of going to sleep, he does some research on discrete Rehab facilities.

During the day, Suguru visited with his mother while Satoru and his mother caught up. Shiori was
at work but he took her lunch and hung around long enough to annoy her, and get a free facial.

Then he returned to the Gojo estate for another amazing dinner and dessert. He and Satoru washed
the dishes together like last night, but when it was time for bed, Satoru asked him if he wanted to
go to the cove.

So, that’s what they’re doing now. They’re walking along the empty beach like they used to do as
kids.
“Before that night a few months ago, when was the last time you went to the cove?” Satoru asks
out of the blue. He’s been very different today.

Then again, they’ve only been around one another for dinner and while washing the dishes. Suguru
even missed Satoru today, and he felt annoyed with himself for being so damn clingy.

“Graduation night,” Suguru says, staring out at the black waters and how the moonlight reflects off
the surface. “For the longest time, I hated the feel of sand on my skin…”

Satoru squeezes his hand but says nothing.

Smiling to himself, Suguru says. “Our daughters taught me how to love the beach again.” He
remembers the first time he overcame his fear for their sake and helped them build a sandcastle.
“It’s like they were born in love with sand.”

Satoru chuckles. “They’re our daughters so that makes sense. Did you do the Gomari Swimming
Method with them?”

“You mean dump them into the pool when they were babies and let them figure it out naturally?
No way!”

“Our parents did it to us and we’ve always known how to swim.”

“Our parents believe we’re descendants of merpeople. Please!” He laughs as he remembers all of
Gomari’s customs and folklore. “People still think Aimi was a siren who lured the Alpha King to
our shores.”

“Remember when you were chosen as Aimi for the school play?”

How could Suguru forget? It was the first time Satoru called him pretty without adding some lame
excuse behind it.

“Your chicken prank ruined the production,” Suguru saya pointedly. He can see the rocks that form
the cove up ahead. “The kiss scene never even happened.”

“Just as I planned,” Satoru shamelessly says. “I was jealous.”

Suguru is happy to hear that confession. He looks at Satoru and smiles. “I thought you were too
busy with basketball to care about a stupid play.” He teases.

“I tried out for it.”

That makes Suguru stop in his tracks. “What?”

Satoru stops walking as well to look at him. “I tried out for the role of the Alpha King when I
learned you were chosen as Aimi because I knew there would be a kiss scene. When I bombed that
audition and Kamo-san was cast, I planned the prank.”

“Satoru…you wanted to kiss me back then?”

“Yes, I wanted to kiss you back then.”

Suguru looks away from him and they continue walking toward the cove. “You still won, you
know? You were still my first kiss.”

Kamo Noritoshi only kissed his cheek during rehearsal as instructed by their teacher. He was
respectable and never tried to steal a kiss on the lips. At the time, Suguru thought he didn’t like him
but after the entire fiasco with the chickens, Kamo asked him out on a date.

Suguru had his head too far in the clouds for a certain someone so he didn’t accept. He doesn’t
share that, though. No point in bringing it up.

“I lost actually,” Satoru says as they enter the cove. The nostalgia hits them immediately. “You got
all pretty for me on graduation night and I don’t even remember it.”

Somehow it’s easier to discuss that night without feeling like he’s being sucked back in and
traumatized all over again. Even being in the cove with Satoru now doesn’t make him anxious or
afraid. They sit on the cool sand, shoulders touching, like they did so many times before.

Suguru closes his eyes and listens to the crashing waves. “So, rehab?” he asks.

They discussed it very briefly during dinner. Satoru had already ran through it with his mother, and
Suguru didn’t need further explanation on the decision as he saw Satoru’s addiction up close.

“They suggested a two week program,” Satoru says. “There’s a facility overseas. Very discreet.”

Suguru nods. “I’m happy you’re doing this.” He’ll miss Satoru and the girls will too but this is for
the best. “Me and the girls will be waiting for you to get out.”

“I’ll work hard for you all and myself.”

“You’re very brave, Satoru,” Suguru says, opening his eyes. “That’s one of the things I love about
you.”

Satoru blinks like an owl and it makes Suguru laugh. “You think I’m brave?” he asks. “I hid like a
coward for years.”

“A minor setback yet you faced your fear head on last night,” Suguru says. “You’re stronger than
you think and I’ve always loved your resilience.”

“Suguru…”

“Hm?”

“Are you doing this on purpose?”

“What? Telling you what I love about you to remind you that I’m in your corner? Yes.”

Satoru kisses his cheek. “No, making it hard for me to behave myself,” he says. “Two weeks away
from you with minor contact is going to feel like an eternity.”

They spent five years apart, Suguru wants to say. But those five years weren’t easy even when they
weren’t on good terms. Now that they are on good terms any time apart will feel too long.

“I know. But you’ll be home before you know it,” Suguru says, remaining positive. “The girls
want their ‘creepies’ too.”

Satoru laughs. “Creepies will be the first thing on the agenda.” He sighs. “I’m going to hang up the
cards they made me in my room at the facility.”

Suguru showed him the ‘get well soon’ cards before they left Tokyo. Satoru keeps them folded up
in his wallet despite how bulky it makes it look.
They lay down on their backs and stare up at the opening in the rocks that grants them a view of
the stars. So many nights they’ve spent in here; the place where Aimi gave herself to the Alpha
King, the place where their daughters would eventually be conceived.

And yet tonight feels so different for some reason. Maybe it’s because they’re different and they’re
no longer keeping secrets from one another.

Everything is laid bare.

Satoru sits up on his side with one hand propping his face up while the other cups Suguru’s face.
Keeping his eyes closed, Suguru savors his touch and his scent. Even the salt water in the air can’t
drown out Satoru’s natural scent.

It doesn’t surprise him when Satoru kisses him nor is he surprised by how quickly he returns the
kiss. This is all surreal. Being kissed like this — slow and gentle — while Satoru is untying his
yukata with the patience of a saint. He knows Satoru is giving him time to set the pace or pull back
if he needs to.

Instead of devouring him the way he wants, Satoru is keeping his comfort in mind. Maybe that’s
why Suguru doesn’t put an end to things or maybe the timing just feels right.

Satoru sucks on Suguru’s bottom lip and grazes it with his teeth, and Suguru starts untying
Satoru’s yukata while he gasps into his mouth. He doesn’t keep Satoru’s yukata hanging on his
shoulders the way his is, he hurriedly removes it, giving himself a great view of Satoru’s muscled
chest. When he sees the bruises, he loses some of his haste.

“Here, take this,” Satoru says, folding up his yukata neatly. He’s only wearing thin white cotton
shorts now.

Suguru lifts his head just enough for Satoru to secure the folded yukata under it like a pillow. He
opens his thighs to make room for Satoru as he settles on top of him and resumes the kiss. He
could kiss Satoru for hours. Literally. Every time their tongues touch or their teeth graze, tiny
electrical sparks set off throughout his body and make his head spin.

He’s lost count of the amount of times he’s fantasized about this same scenario where they sneak
out to come to the cove and kiss under the stars.

It’s sappy and cliche he knows but for a young boy who had never left his island, and all he had
were books to fill the void, those fantasies were a major deal. And they still are now even though
he’s seen more of the world and experienced his fair share of pain. The fantasies are real now, too.

Satoru’s desperation is starting to become more apparent the longer they kiss and their hands
wander. But he’s still holding back enough for Suguru to really enjoy this and not feel rushed or
shoved into a corner with no way out.

Suguru sucks on Satoru’s neck, right over the vein, and he swears he can feel it pulse on his
tongue. The way Satoru groans in response to his actions makes him suck harder with more
confidence. He wraps his legs around Satoru’s waist and moves against him, pressing his core
against the hardness that straining against the shorts.

The sounds Satoru makes are near feral after that. He starts kissing Suguru again. On his lips and
all over his face and neck until Suguru’s arms go slack, allowing him to move lower to his chest,
mainly his nipples. All he does is suck on them and Suguru feels on fire.

Satoru kisses his upper stomach and looks up at him. “We’ll stop anytime you want,” he says.
“Just tell me.”

Suguru nods. His heart is pounding so hard it feels like it’s going to burst.

He watches Satoru continue to kiss down his body and remove his shorts. Once they’re gone, he
looks away, face heating up as if Satoru hasn’t done this to him before.

It’s impossible to think that anything can be better than that first time after their date and yet Satoru
proves otherwise. He eats him out similar to how he kissed him earlier. Taking his time, savoring
the moment, and drawing it out all for Suguru’s sake and pleasure.

Feeling a finger rubbing his slit, Suguru stiffens. He glances down and sees Satoru looking up at
him. There’s a question in his eyes that’s easy to decipher.

Suguru thinks about all the times he’s been penetrated and how every time hurt or was just an
uncomfortable experience altogether. But a finger is small.

Besides, this is Satoru. He’s in his right mind and he’s being so careful and considerate.

“Yes,” Suguru whispers.

He’s still tense so Satoru kisses his inner thigh before sucking on his clit and making him forget all
about his apprehension. The finger goes in easily, surprisingly enough. Suguru swears he’s wetter
than he’s ever been so maybe that’s why.

Suguru’s pleasure is tripled when Satoru starts curling his finger inside of him while he works his
tongue in tandem. He hears his own moans of Satoru’s name echoing off the cave walls. As a
passing thought he wonders if anyone can hear them. But no one comes out here. It’s as if people
just know that this is their place.

Another finger is added before he knows it and he’s moving his hips, searching for more of that
intense fire that is trying to consume him.

The fire finds him first. He orgasms so hard that his mind goes blank for a few seconds.

When he opens his eyes again, Satoru is on top of him, kissing his face and hair. He’s whispering
something that Suguru is too delirious to understand. He only knows that he wants Satoru.

So, he pushes Satoru’s shorts down and takes hold of his cock. It’s so big and hard that he nearly
comes back to his senses and allows his fear and uncertainty to hold him back. But then he meets
Satoru’s eyes and sees how full of love and want they are.

“Sorry,” Satoru whispers against Suguru’s lips. He’s moving his hips slowly, pushing into him an
inch at a time. “Suguru…”

Suguru’s eyes sting but he’s not in pain. Not really. He hugs Satoru’s neck and kisses his ear. “…
it’s okay…I’m okay…”

Satoru kisses him, and he keeps it up as he moves deeper inside of him. It’s a good distraction for
Suguru. He tries not to think about the stretch or the slight burn around the edges because he
knows that Satoru will make all of that go away and that he’ll show him what sex is really
supposed to be like.

This is what their first time was supposed to be like, Suguru thinks. He used to think he wanted
candles and slow music but all he really wanted was Satoru to make love to him and mean it.
That’s exactly what this is.

For Satoru, this is probably boring, though. Moving at a snail’s pace, kissing and making eye
contact, and feeling each other’s heartbeats due to how close they’re touching.

Suguru shuts up that negative side of himself. He’s Satoru’s mate. He can feel how much Satoru is
enjoying every moment of this.

They’re perfectly in tune despite their mating mark not being complete. Suguru wants to claim
Satoru, too. He’s thought about it in passing but now that Satoru is inside of him and making him
feel so good, it’s the only thing he can think about.

He wants everyone to know Satoru is his, that he’s off limits. He wants to marry Satoru and
perhaps one day give him more pups. He’s close to saying all of this, too, which is insane because
he’s only that forward when he’s drunk it would seem.

But now he wants to tell Satoru everything that he keeps inside of his heart.

“Satoru…” Suguru bites his lips and closes his eyes shut because Satoru is moving faster now and
it feels amazing. “Satoru…I…”

Satoru kisses him, and it makes Suguru lose his train of thought. Then when Satoru puts his hand
between their bodies and thumbs his clit, his brain melts completely.

He thinks they orgasm together. He can’t be sure. They stay like that, panting and joined together,
for so long that Suguru falls asleep.

When he wakes up and Satoru is no longer on top of him, he panics for a half second before he
realizes that he’s laying on Satoru’s chest. Then he relaxes and smiles to himself.

“You okay?” Satoru asks, rubbing his back.

Suguru is smiling so hard he can’t even meet Satoru’s eyes. “Yeah,” he says.

“Did you like it?”

The question catches Suguru off guard. Most surprising is how uncertain Satoru sounds. Could he
be insecure about this?

“I loved it,” Suguru says, looking up at Satoru. “I’ve never…It’s never felt anything like that. I
actually enjoyed every minute of it…”

Satoru looks relieved, and not cocky like he normally would after hearing something like that. “I’m
happy to hear that,” he says.

“…did you like it? Was I…good?”

“Suguru, you were perfect.”

Suguru looks away.

When will he stop blushing like a teenager? He’s such a sap. Only a moment ago he was thinking
about claiming Satoru and what their wedding colors would be. Even now after the euphoria has
passed he still wants all of those things. He’ll just wait for Satoru to return from rehab. He knows
leaving will be hard enough as it is.
 “The sand crabs will be out soon,” Suguru says to change the subject. “And we’re covered in
sand…”

“I want to lay here with you a little longer.”

“Okay.”

Satoru continues rubbing his back. It feels so good and calming that Suguru falls asleep again.
They don’t leave the cove until it’s nearing sunrise and they wash off in the ocean before returning
to the Gojo estate.

If Choi heard them leave last night she makes no mention of it during breakfast.

Chapter End Notes

Thanks for reading!

 resurface
Chapter Notes

Thanks for all of the comments from last chapter. Comments are one of the reasons I
always return to this story no matter how busy life gets.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Mommy, can we watch Gojo again?” Nanako asks as the three of them lay in bed, preparing to
turn in for the night.

For the past week, the girls have been sleeping with Suguru every night. They’ve been very clingy
as of late, not that he minds it. He just assumes they are beginning to miss Satoru more and more as
each day passes.

The other night, he showed them one of Gojo’s team highlight videos to let them see what he does
for a living.

Nanako and Mimiko watched it as though it were one of their favorite cartoons, full of smiles and
excited giggles whenever Gojo flashed one of his signature, confident grins.

“Of course,” Suguru says, taking out the iPad he recently purchased.

Satoru told him to treat himself during one of their biweekly phone calls so Suguru decided to
finally do as he was told. He treated himself to this iPad and nothing more despite being able to
splurge quite a lot now that his financial situation is stable.

As long as the girls are happy and Satoru is on his healing journey, Suguru desires nothing more.

“Mommy, Gojo is so tall!” Nanako squeals as they watch Gojo run drills with his team.

Suguru laughs. “He is. Can you believe that we were the same height in junior high?”

“Mommy, you were tall too?”

“I was.”

Technically, he still is.

Satoru had a growth spurt over the summer before they entered high school. They had an average
height difference, nothing like the major one they have now, but it was enough to make Suguru
feel as if he was finally at a place where he could look up at Satoru whenever they walked side by
side.

Even though back then Satoru never looked down at him the way he wanted him to.

Since the video is meant to introduce Gojo Satoru as the team captain, it shows a lot of clips of him
leading the team in practice and on the court during official games. It also shows glimpses of his
endorsement deals, magazines he’s been on the cover of, and the way the internet fawns over his
good looks.
Thankfully, none of the explicit thirst tweets are included in this video.

Mimiko points at the screen to where Sukuna is standing next to Satoru.

“Yes, Ryomen-san is on the same team,” Suguru says. He’s surprised the girls still remember him.

“Can we see Gojo and Ryomen-san play basketball for real?”

Suguru wonders if it would be fine for them to go to one of Satoru’s games. It’s not like people will
take one look at them and conclude that they’re Satoru’s pack. Still, he’ll run it by Satoru to see
what he thinks.

“I’ll have to see about that. Okay, time for bed!”

The video is over now, and the girls express their disappointment. Unfortunately, it’s well past
their bedtime and they have to get up early to catch their flight to Tokyo.

“We’re going on vacation in the morning, remember?” Suguru asks as he kisses their foreheads and
tucks them into bed with him. “We’ll need all of our rest.”

“Will we see ‘zilla?” Nana asks, yawning. “Doesn’t ‘zilla live in Tokyo?”

Suguru still can’t believe Shiori had the girls watching Godzilla the last time she babysat them. At
least neither of them had nightmares from it. In fact, they loved it.

“Maybe,” Suguru teases. “Maybe not. Who’s to say?”

He doesn’t want to lie to them nor does he want to dash their hopes so he settles for that response.

Nanako and Mimiko accept that answer. They curl up close to Suguru like they’ve been doing
every night, and eventually they doze off. Suguru is physically exhausted but mentally he’s wide
awake.

With the push from Shoko, Megumi, his mother, and Shiori, they’re going to stay in Tokyo with
Satoru for a trial period. Mostly it’s to help Satoru readjust to life after rehab while also seeing
how well the girls react to him being a constant part of their day to day routine.

Also, there is a child therapist in Tokyo that has very high ratings. Suguru wants Satoru to be
present for Mimiko’s therapy sessions and he doesn’t want Satoru to be alone anymore.

Mimiko hasn’t said a word in so long and this is the longest period where she’s been like this.

The professionals say that it’s only a phase and that she’ll come out of it on her own. But Suguru
would like for her to get to a point where she no longer has to return to states of voluntary mutism.
He wants her to be fully healed and happy.

The girls understand a little bit of what’s going on.

They know that they’ll be visiting Satoru for an extended period of time. Suguru wishes he knew
how to explain to the girls who Satoru actually is to them.

Sometimes it feels like the girls already know.

Call it a hunch or parental instinct but Suguru just has this feeling that they’ve always known. Or
that could be his optimism talking. If they already know, that relieves him of the responsibility of
breaking it all down for them in a way they’ll understand.
Suguru doesn’t think they’re not smart enough to understand. They’re very bright for their age.

He just worries that they'll feel lied to. He wanted to wait before telling them the truth because he
was afraid that Satoru would walk into their lives just to turn around and walk right out. He was
trying to protect the girls and himself.

A part of him still worries that something will go wrong and the happy ending that’s within arm’s
reach will disappear out of sight.

Suguru has been like this ever since Satoru left for rehab. But he’s managed to hide it well.

Obviously not well enough if the girls are being so clingy lately. He just feels restless and anxious
but he isn’t quite sure why that is. Other times he feels irritable, and then there is the random
horniness that comes and leaves without warning.

When he’s taking a bath or doing random chores around the apartment, he thinks about that night
between them in the cove.

He vividly remembers the feel of the coarse sand against his skin; a sensory memory that once sent
him into a panic is now comforting as well as arousing.

The way Satoru gazed into his eyes while he moved inside of him always has Suguru in need of a
cold bath and private time with his vibrator. He’s used it more in the span of two weeks than he
ever has during the years prior to Satoru returning.

Maybe he just misses Satoru.

Of course that has to be the reason. It’ll be fine soon. Satoru will be home tomorrow and all of
them will be together again.

With that in mind, Suguru falls asleep with a smile on his face.

They arrive in Tokyo ahead of schedule the next day, giving them enough time to pick up a couple
of things from the store before heading to Satoru’s condo.

The cleaning lady stopped by earlier this week to ensure everything was clean and no alcohol was
in sight. Still, while the girls jump on the bed in the guest room, Suguru does a quick sweep of the
place.

He’s been reading up on how to assist a loved one in adjusting to life after rehab. He’s going to
ensure that Satoru isn’t around any temptations and that his stress levels remain low. Suguru knows
how badly Satoru wants to remain sober.

Finding no sign of alcohol, Suguru sighs in relief. While he’s checking the cabinets and the fridge
to get an idea of what needs to be picked up from the grocery store, he realizes that the bed is no
longer squeaking and he can no longer hear the girl’s laughter.

Nothing scares a parent more than a long silence followed after playful noises. Hurriedly, he rushes
to the guest room, worrying that something horrible happened. He can feel his fangs aching as if
he’s prepared to chew someone’s head off for harming his pups.

When he sees that the girls are only sleeping, he touches his chest to calm his rapidly beating heart.

“Dramatic much,” he whispers to himself, heavy on the sarcasm.

They couldn’t sleep on the plane so naturally they’re tired. All of that jumping didn’t help either.
His girls can fall asleep in an instance, too. He smiles as he puts a blanket over them and uses a
remote to close the skyscraper window’s shades.

Keeping the door open, he leaves the bedroom and heads to Satoru’s room. He can’t believe he was
ready to murder an imaginary foe because he actually thought his pups were in danger.

Suguru puts his suitcase in Satoru’s walk-in closet. He can’t help but take a moment to look at all
of Satoru’s clothes, organized shoe shelf, and the displays of expensive watches and cufflinks.
Walking over to the clothes, he runs his hand over the soft fabric and breathes in Satoru’s scent.

Before he can register what he’s doing he has his face buried in the clothes, smiling and purring as
he imagines that he’s hugging Satoru. He wishes he were here right now. How long before he
comes home?

Sniffling, Suguru wipes tears as they fall down his face.

“Satoru…” he cries. “I miss you…”

As ridiculous as it all seems, he sits in the closet, surrounded by Satoru’s scent and cries like a
baby. He cries so much that it annoys him.

“Stupid Satoru,” he grumbles as he gets up and wipes his face. “Making me cry like this…”

Irritated, he leaves the closet and goes to the bathroom to freshen up. He sniffs Satoru’s body wash
a couple of times just because he loves the scent of it. Feeling anxious, he gets in Satoru’s bed and
burrows under the covers.

Should he build a nest?

But why? That doesn’t make any sense. Suguru laughs to himself. He’s slowly losing his mind in
his longing. For heaven’s sake, it’s only been two weeks.

Two weeks without seeing Satoru in person, having his strong arms around him, or hearing him
say his name in that teasing way. Their phone calls have been short and Satoru always sounds tired.
Suguru hopes everything will be okay when Satoru gets home.

Absently, he takes the pillow that smells most like Satoru and he puts it between his thighs because
it just feels right. He can’t really explain it. He tries to sleep but it’s too stuffy under the covers. His
cheeks are burning hot and his throat is dry.

Popping his head from under the covers, he revels in how good the air feels on his hot skin.

He lays there staring at the ceiling until his eyes burn, and that’s when he realizes that he’s been
unconsciously humping Satoru’s pillow for about ten minutes.

Embarrassed, he removes the pillow from between his thighs and clamps them shut tightly to stop
his clit from throbbing. He didn’t pack his vibrator because he didn’t want the airport attendants to
see it during the x-ray scanning. How embarrassing would that be?

Now he wishes he had it. Better yet, he wishes Satoru were here.

Sadly, he’s not. So Suguru takes a long, cold shower. It helps a little. To put an end to the
weirdness he’s been exhibiting lately he takes a suppressant. They don’t only combat heats. They
deal with all of the inconveniences of being an omega.
Suguru just thinks he’s missing his alpha which is something new for him. Maybe the suppressant
will balance things out.

Being the glutton for punishment that he is, Satoru can’t resist catching himself up with Sports
related news involving his sudden leave of absence from this basketball season.

Coach Yaga expressed his disappointment as well as his understanding when Satoru came clean
about his addiction. The man made no promises of Satoru being allowed to rejoin the team but he
assured him that if he truly cleaned up his act, he would have a career when the new season
started. Even if that meant being on a different team.

Per the contract he has with his team, none of the pesky sports journalists were told the true reason
behind why he left. They only know that he’ll be taking a personal leave until further notice.

None of the notorious gossip sights have uttered a word about his stint at rehab and that’s how he
knows the facility really does have tight security. There are some fans of rival teams who are
spreading immature and baseless rumors about Satoru being too chicken to go up against their
favorite team.

Typical fan trash talk doesn’t bother him. He’s just happy that his privacy has been protected
during this sensitive time.

He still has his endorsements and his reputation hasn’t suffered too much. A lot of fans were let
down, naturally, but he’ll make it up to them next season.

Now that he’s clean, he feels loads better and more focused than he was two weeks prior.

Knowing that everything is fine outside of his personal life, makes him feel more at ease as he
takes the elevator up to the condo where his pack is waiting for him. He’s nervous. He hopes the
girls aren’t too mad at him and he hopes Suguru hasn’t decided that he can do better than him in
the time he’s been gone.

Satoru knows he’s probably being silly but when one has fumbled the bag as many times as him
and finally has everything he could hope for, it’s natural to worry.

Before entering his condo, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Everyone is probably already
in bed. His flight was kind of late. Regardless of if they’re up or not, he’s happy that they’re here.

“Welcome Home!!!”

The moment he steps foot in the condo, the words are shouted at him, and before he can take in his
surroundings, two little pups are running toward him with the biggest smiles on their faces. Eyes
stinging, Satoru drops his duffle bag and falls to his knees just in time to intercept their hug.

They’re happy to see him. They’ve missed him, too. Satoru can’t believe it. He thought they would
be mad at him or standoffish, and he was prepared for that. This is a welcome surprise. They
squeeze their small arms around his neck as if they’re afraid of letting him go; or him leaving
again.

It’s a sentiment that is shared.

Opening his eyes, he sees Suguru standing at a distance holding a balloon in his hand. He looks
like he was in the middle of adding finishing touches to the decorations that they have up.
When their eyes meet, they share a smile.

The girls each take hold of Satoru’s hands and escort him into the den where there is a cake and
some food laid out on the low table. Nanako is chatting excitedly about the surprise dinner they
planned for him and how “Mommy cooked everything and even baked a cake that we all
decorated…” While Mimiko nods alone.

Satoru thanks everyone for putting this together for him. He wants to hug Suguru. He wants to spin
him around and kiss him and promise that he’s never leaving again but their daughters are latched
onto him and he has to admit that it’s a great feeling.

As they all sit around the table, Satoru and Suguru share a look.

They’ll reunite properly later. For now, it’s about the girls.

“You made all of this, Suguru?” Satoru asks as he takes in the spread. “And you girls helped
decorate the cake? This is amazing!”

“Mommy missed you so much, Gojo!” Nanako says.

Suguru sputters and tries to deny it, but the girls only laugh at his reaction, and Satoru just smiles.

“I missed him too,” he says, holding Suguru’s gaze. Then he looks down at the girls. “I’ve missed
all of you.”

Satoru helps set the plates out. There aren’t any chopsticks because Suguru forgot to grab some. He
hurries to the kitchen to get them. While he’s gone, Nanako asks Satoru if, “zilla lives in Tokyo for
real.”

“Well, I’ve never seen him, personally,” Satoru says with amusement. “But…some people say…”
He glances up when Suguru passes by the table with his duffle bag.

As he’s walking down the hall to his bedroom, Satoru unintentionally checks him out. He noticed
the sundress prior to sitting down at the table but now he’s taking note of how it clings to Suguru’s
body.

“People say what?” Nanako asks, hanging on to his every word.

Satoru blinks. “Um…that they hear noises in the sewers…” They do hear noises but it’s most
likely rats. “You can never be sure if Godzilla is really out there.”

Nanako and Mimiko gasp in wonderment.

“There’s a Godzilla museum on Awaji Island,” Suguru says as he returns to the table with
chopsticks and napkins. “Maybe we can all go one day.”

“Sure,” Satoru says, trying not to stare at Suguru too hard.

There’s something different about Suguru. Naturally, he looks great, but there’s this glow about
him that Satoru can’t pull his eyes away from. He has to force himself to look at anything but
Suguru.

Thankfully, Nanako has a lot of things to catch Satoru up on, and the girls show him different
foods they want him to try. Before long, it’s time to cut the cake and Satoru has a weakness for
sweets so he hopes that will keep him occupied for the duration of dinner.
“Mommy!” Nanako exclaims suddenly. Then she laughs. “You made a whoopsie!”

Suguru glances at his chin where some icing is. Laughing sheepishly, he scoops it up and licks it
off his finger. The action isn’t sexual at all, at least it isn’t meant to be. But in Satoru’s mind the
entire moment passes in slow motion, and he hones in on how Suguru’s pink lip wraps around his
finger.

Thankfully, no one notices the way he gulps down a full glass of water after that.

After dinner, the girls are drowsy so while Satoru clears the table, Suguru takes the girls to wash
up. They’re very pouty which means they’ll be asleep soon.

Satoru decides to start on the dishes. Being alone in the kitchen also helps him clear his head. He
can’t believe he was two seconds away from jumping Suguru at the table during family dinner with
their children present.

Is this what happens when an alpha reconnects with his mate after years and then leaves for a
couple of weeks? Is this some form of separation anxiety? Perhaps that isn’t the correct definition.

“You don’t have to do that,” Suguru says as he walks into the kitchen. His long hair is pinned up
and his cheeks are flushed and his eyes are sitting low. “Go wash up. You had a long flight.” He
looks so sexy right now.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

Suguru stands next to him at the sink, their arms nearly touching. The space between them is
charged like that little space between batteries. Something about kitchens seems to ignite a fire
inside of him because why does he want to bend Suguru over the sink? This feels like deja vu.

And why does it still feel like Satoru has to hold himself back and be on his best behavior around
Suguru? They’ve overcome that already, but still there’s restraint between them both.

“How was your flight?” Suguru asks casually, making small talk.

“Long. I slept through most of it.” The sleep was terrible though. “Were you able to get into the
condo okay? Security can be strict.”

“The guy at the desk remembers me.”

“Good.”

“Yeah…”

Well, this is awkward.

The tension between them isn’t bad, either. Satoru can tell that things are good between them; call
it a gut feeling. Still, he wants to know why they’re not jumping into each other’s arms and
expressing how happy they are to be reunited.

The last time he saw Suguru was the morning after they made love in the cove. He took the next
flight to New York that same day because he knew if he lingered for even another day he’d find an
excuse not to leave Suguru.

Glancing out the corner of his eye, he sees the way Suguru is biting his lower lip as he tilts his
head to one side as though he were trying to get crooks out of his neck. Lowering his eyes, he sees
how a bead of sweat rolls down Suguru’s neck, down his collarbone, disappearing into the top of
his sundress. Peeking lower, he can see how hard Suguru’s nipples are and how they’re poking
through the fabric of the dress.

“Want to turn on the A/C?” Satoru asks, mouth dry and head spinning. “It’s starting to warm up
outside…”

Suguru blinks in surprise.

What was he thinking about just then? Now Satoru is curious.

“Huh? Oh…yeah that’s fine…”

“I’ll go do that then…”

“Okay…”

Satoru stares at Suguru’s side profile but Suguru continues washing the dishes as though he’s lost
in his own thoughts. He goes to turn the A/C on and then he pops his head in the guestroom to
check on the girls. They’re already fast asleep. Usually, he would just check in and leave but
tonight he takes the time to kiss their foreheads and whisper to them how much he loves them.

They can’t hear him but hopefully they’ll have good dreams.

By the time he returns to the kitchen, the dishes are all done and Suguru is nowhere in sight. Satoru
goes to the bedroom to look for him. Hearing water running in the bathroom, he stands in the
doorway and watches Suguru place a stack of clean towels on the sink for him.

“Suguru.”

Suguru jumps in surprise. Again, he looks like he was lost in thought.

“I started your bath for you,” Suguru says, pointing at the bathtub. “Wash up and come to bed.
Okay?” He hurries out of the bathroom without a backwards glance.

Okay, that’s it. After this bath, Satoru is going to get down to the bottom of this. This tension
between them is obviously sexual, and he’s sure that Suguru is too shy to make the first move so
he’ll gladly do it.

Following his bath, Satoru takes a shower to rinse off. He has his head down as the hot water
washes all over his body. Feeling a prickle across the back of his neck, he lifts his head and turns to
the side, seeing Suguru standing at the shower door in only a towel.

Smiling softly, Satoru opens the shower door. Wordlessly, he leans his head out and Suguru meets
him halfway. He’s surprised that Suguru made a move like this but he’s not complaining one bit.
It’s nice to know that he’s not the only one so desperate for the other that it makes him impatient.

Suguru wraps his arms around Satoru’s neck and deepens the kiss. Water is getting all over the
floor but neither of them pay it any mind.

Kissing Suguru has to be one of his favorite pastimes. To think, he could’ve been doing this all of
the time in high school, probably even junior high if he wasn’t too busy hiding from his true
feelings.

The past is the past, that’s true, but every chance he gets, he’s going to ridicule himself for passing
up on Suguru so many times.

Satoru kisses Suguru’s nose repeatedly, silently apologizing again for making it bruise during a
time he would like to forget. Suguru seems to know what he’s doing, and he kisses his lips as if to
tell him everything is okay.

“I missed you so much,” Suguru whispers in between kisses. “Satoru…I…can we…” He makes a
frustrated noise and shoves Satoru away.

Satoru stumbles back into the shower, surprised by how strong that shove was. When Suguru gets
in the shower with him, removes his towel and tosses it out of the shower door, Satoru chuckles.
Soon, he’s silenced by Suguru’s lips, and he’s the one being pressed against the wall while Suguru
takes the lead.

Suguru must have missed him more than words can express because this is a new side of him that
Satoru has never seen but is happy to get acquainted with.

“Suguru…” Satoru practically whines when the kiss ends. But then he’s happy again because
Suguru is kissing his chest and rubbing all over his body greedily. “Fuck…did you miss me that
much?”

As if to show him rather than tell him, Suguru slowly sinks to his knees. The action startles Satoru
and momentarily snaps him out of his trance. He looks down at Suguru, and immediately regrets it
because nothing in the world could’ve prepared him for the sight of Suguru fisting his cock with
both hands while his head is tilted and his eyes are boring into him.

This doesn’t even look like Suguru. He looks possessed almost. His pupils are dilated, favoring
Satoru’s own eyes when he’s intune with his Alpha.

Suguru swipes his tongue over the head of his cock, and Satoru nearly sheds a tear. Never in a
million years did he think that Suguru would do something like this unprompted. When he takes
the head into his mouth, Satoru touches the side of his face gently.

“Take your time,” he says, because for some reason he thinks this is Suguru’s first time doing this.

“It’s okay,” Suguru says, teasingly licking around the head while stroking it slowly. “I don’t have a
gag reflex.”

Satoru nearly blacks out from that revelation. “Say what?” he asks, completely dumbfounded.

Any other time Suguru would have replied with a shy nod of the head to confirm or he would tell
Satoru to shut up and hide his embarrassed blush.

Further pushing Satoru over the edge, mentally and emotionally, Suguru just gives him a
demonstration.

He takes the entirety of Satoru’s cock into his mouth without so much as wincing or even blinking
his eyes. He stares up at Satoru until his nose is pressed against the patch of white hairs on his
crotch.

An, “oh shit,” might have been muttered by Satoru but then everything is fuzzy and he can’t tell up
from down. The only thing that his melting brain can comprehend is that Suguru is sucking the
literal soul out of him and it’s the best damn thing he’s ever experienced next to their recent night
in the cove.
Suguru’s mouth is hot, tight, and incredibly wet. If it weren’t for the glimpses of Suguru’s mouth
wrapped around him, Satoru would think they were already fucking.

Did he really almost miss out on the absolute package that is Geto Suguru? This kindhearted,
headstrong, intelligent, beautiful, no gag reflex having perfect human being is his mate? Like
seriously?

Satoru will never fuck this up again. Ever.

And he thinks he actually mutters some of that despite meaning for it to remain inside the confines
of his mind, but that’s okay. He doesn’t care if Suguru knows how whipped he is.

He would be ashamed under different circumstances for finishing in less than five minutes but he
could care less.

Suguru swallows every last drop and continues sucking despite how sensitive Satoru’s cock is, and
he’s so numb and spent that he just allows it.

“I want to marry you,” Satoru thinks he hears himself saying. “Like…right now…”

He already has the ring, too. It’s his mother’s ring. She gave it to him before he left for rehab so he
would have a visual reminder of what he was fighting for. He will go grab the ring right now and
get on one knee right here in the bathroom. He’s so serious.

Suguru laughs with Satoru’s cock still in his mouth and the vibrations from it have Satoru rock
hard all over again.

New kink unlocked.

“Satoru, I want you,” Suguru says after pulling off his cock.

And even though Satoru is still out of it, he somehow manages to turn the shower off and make it
to the bedroom with Suguru in tow. Their skin is flushed and they’re shivering from how cold the
water got but all of that seems irrelevant once they’re in bed.

Suguru pushes him down on the mattress and straddles him. They share another kiss, this time it’s
hurried and messy. Satoru holds Suguru by the hips as Suguru grinds against his cock. He’s so
fucking wet. Wetter than Satoru assumed.

It’s kind of startling because it’s almost as if…

“Fuck!” Satoru loses his train of thought when Suguru sits on his dick without warning.

It hurts him, too. Suguru’s eyes are watery and his nails are digging into Satoru’s shoulders. He
bites his lips and keeps going despite the pain. Still, Satoru soothes him and tries to get him to
move at a slower pace. But Suguru doesn’t seem to acknowledge any of that. He pins Satoru’s
hands above his head, setting his own pace.

Satoru was not prepared for any of this.

Suguru is one thing, but a confident Suguru is deadly.

He isn’t trying to hide himself from Satoru, his movements aren’t unsure or self-restrained. He’s
taking full control, and Satoru is enjoying every moment of it.

Maybe this is just Suguru being out of his shell finally.

Suguru rides Satoru fast and hard until he orgasms, his beautiful moans echoing around them. He
looks as if he’s going to pass out after that as if he’s coming out of a trance. But Satoru catches him
before he can fall back. He lays Suguru down with his head facing the edge of the bed, and they
share a kiss as Satoru slides back in.

Now that Satoru has the reins he tries to take things slow because in his mind Suguru is all out of
energy. The slow pace lasts for about two minutes. Then Suguru is clawing at Satoru’s ass and
begging him to fuck him faster, deeper.

Being the simp that he is, Satoru gives Suguru what he wants. Anytime Satoru worries that he’s
being too rough, Suguru proves otherwise. He keeps biting his neck and his shoulder and
scratching up his back.

“Fuck me…Satoru…” He keeps moaning in Satoru’s ear. “Fuck me…”

Satoru grunts. He moves his hands to grab hold of the edge of the mattress to keep them from
wrapping around Suguru’s throat. Because the rougher sex gets the more excited Satoru gets,
meaning his Alpha is getting worked up and eager to make an apperance.

When Satoru mistakenly tears a piece of the mattress, he stiffens when Suguru looks over his head
to see what the loud noise was. Satoru is worried Suguru will notice the brightness of his eyes and
be brutally reminded of the night he took his virginity.

The sound of Suguru’s airy laughter brings a smile to Satoru’s face. They laugh together and then
they kiss.

All is well.

In fact, everything is perfect.

Suguru stares into his eyes without a hint of fear, his own eyes blown wide. There’s only a thin,
purple circle around a depthless void. This is the closest either of them can be to their true nature
without tapping into their mating cycles.

At this moment, it feels like their souls are melding together. If Satoru wasn’t somewhat in control
of himself he would knot Suguru tonight. He wants to so badly but he’ll never do that again until he
and Suguru explicitly talk it over.

He can’t bring himself to force another pregnancy on Suguru while he’s still in the midst of
healing from the past pregnancy’s trauma.

Satoru focuses on Suguru’s needs, and only that. He sends him over the edge a second time and
then he soon follows.

Fearing his heavy body is crushing Suguru, he tries to roll off after some time has passed.

“No,” Suguru mutters tiredly, squeezing his thighs around Satoru’s hips with his remaining
strength. “Don’t leave me…”

“I’d rather die,” Satoru whispers so quietly he doubts Suguru even heard him.

He’s already asleep.

It’s freezing when Satoru wakes up a couple of hours later. Worried that the other occupants of the
condo are experiencing the same thing, he decides to go turn off the A/C.

“Baby…” He pats around for Suguru but doesn’t feel him. “Suguru.”

Maybe Suguru went to turn the A/C off. Did he also take the covers with him? Satoru is wondering
as he looks around the bare bed. No wonder he’s so cold. All of the bedding is gone, even the
pillows.

Satoru sits up, and the moment he does, all of the drowsiness leaves his body. Fully alert now, he
looks around the bedroom for the source of the tantalizing scent of his omega. With his keen
senses, he’s able to hone in on where the scent is most potent.

Staring at the closet door, he gets out of bed and walks over to it. Kneeling in front of the double
doors, he knocks quietly. It’s best not to startle omegas during this stage of their heat.

“Baby.”

Suguru sniffles. “…Toru…”

The sound of his distress has Satoru snatching the closet doors open abruptly. Even in the dark he
can see the makeshift nest Suguru made out of his clothes and the bedding.

Satoru has always underestimated the attributes he has as a descendant of the Alpha King. Not only
are his senses superior to most alphas but he can usually sense when an omega’s heat is due days in
advance.

So, how is it that he missed all of the signs of Suguru’s heat? Suguru who is not only his mate, but
also his best friend. How did it go over his head?

“Satoru…”

That can wait. Suguru needs him. He crawls to the back of the closet where the nest is and asks if
he can enter. Suguru reaches out for him and Satoru pulls him into his arms. He’s still naked,
smelling like sex and mostly Satoru. He’s shivering too, and his skin is icy cold.

This is the first stage. Suguru is in pain but not nearly as much as he will be in a few hours. Satoru
grabs what feels like a trench coat and he wraps it around Suguru who immediately starts sniffing
it.

“I’m going to take care of you, Suguru,” Satoru says, rubbing his back. “You don’t have to be
afraid, baby.”

Suguru hugs his neck tightly. “What about our pups?” he asks, crying. “They can’t be here…”

That’s true.

Satoru thinks about calling Shiori or maybe even Megumi. By the time either of them get here,
Suguru will be too deep in his heat for Satoru to leave his side. He gets an idea.

“I’ll be back. I’m going to check on our pups. Okay?”

Suguru nods but he doesn’t let Satoru go. His grip is ironclad. Satoru moves Suguru’s hair away
from his neck to access his scent glands. He kisses the throbbing glands before nipping at them.

The reaction is immediate. Suguru’s entire body goes slack, a low whimper falling from his lips.
Now that he’s more relaxed, Satoru can leave for a little bit. He puts on sweatpants and leaves the
bedroom.

First he pops his head in the girl’s room. Suguru’s scent hasn't taken over the condo yet so the girls
are still sleeping peacefully. Stepping out on the balcony, Satoru gives Sukuna a call. It’s about the
time that Sukuna goes to the gym everyday so it’s perfect.

“Congrats on completing rehab,” Sukuna says when he answers. “What do you want?”

“I need a babysitter.”

“And you’re calling me because…”

“Sukuna, listen—”

“Absolutely not. The last time you said those two words to me I was promised a trip to Aruba, the
land of beautiful omegas.”

Satoru holds in his laugh because it’s funny that Sukuna will never get over that. “This is an
emergency. I just need you to watch my daughters for a few hours. Their aunt or Fushiguro-san
will pick them up. Suguru’s in heat, he needs me.”

“Your daughters need you,” Sukuna says matter-of-factly. “Take them to a resort for a few days.
Geto-san will be happier that way.”

“Happier?” Satoru asks, his eyes narrowing. Because in his mind another alpha is trying to keep
him from his omega; sometimes their true nature can be silly like that. “My omega needs me!”

“Are you ready for more pups when you barely have a relationship with the ones you have. Think
with your brain and not your dick.”

On that note, Sukuna hangs up.

Satoru loses a lot of his anger.

Just last night, he refrained from knotting Suguru because they haven’t discussed the idea of more
pups or even spending a mating cycle together. Most mates don’t bother because obviously they’re
spending it together but Satoru wants Suguru to trust him and rely on him during the toughest
times.

This is one of them. Until Suguru, in his right, heat-free mind, and gives him permission to nurse
him through a heat, he shouldn’t do it.

Satoru calls his agent. Before the man can start kissing ass and bombarding him with new brand
deals, Satoru gives him a list of items to pick up and he tells him that if he doesn’t bring them to
his condo within the hour that he’s fired. Satoru is still a high profile client regardless of his
uncertain basketball career. The agent promises to be there in forty-five minutes.

Suguru is curled up inside of his nest when Satoru returns. He whines when he sees him and tries
to pull him inside of the nest with him. He’s being so cute and needy, and rejecting him will kill
Satoru but he has to do it.

“I’m scared, Satoru,” Suguru says as he straddles Satoru’s thigh. “My last heat…I’m scared…”

Hearing that crushes Satoru. What happened during Suguru’s last heat? Did Kenjaku do something
cruel to him?
Satoru wants to ask Suguru about it but he’s already distressed. “Everything will be okay, Suguru.
I’ll make sure you’ll have everything you need and our girls will be safe.”

“You’re a good alpha, Satoru…”

“I just want to take care of my pack.”

Suguru hugs his neck and starts humping his thigh. “Good alpha…” He’s getting himself off.

His body temperature is steadily rising, and his skin isn’t as cold as it was previously. The longer
Satoru is around, the faster Suguru will succumb to his heat.

“I’m sorry, Suguru,” Satoru says, feeling like shit for having to abandon him like this but their
daughters will need him while Suguru is absent. “I’m so sorry…”

“Alpha?”

Satoru squeezes Suguru’s scent glands before he has second thoughts. He never realized how weak
he would be to his omega addressing him that way until now. Suguru goes limp in his arms, and
then he starts snoring.

“God, I don’t know why you keep throwing all of these challenges my way. I am not your
strongest soldier,” he whispers as he places Suguru inside the nest carefully.

He’ll make sure Suguru will have everything he needs and that the condo is secured. There’s a
hotel a block away that he’ll rent for a few days.

He just hopes the girls will be okay with only him for that long.

“Where’s Mommy?” Nanako asks almost immediately after she and Mimiko wake up a few hours
later.

The twins are sitting on the edge of the bed staring up at Satoru curiously. They’re still dressed in
their pajamas. He rented a presidential suite that has a massive bed and a sitting area. As requested,
the minibar was cleared out prior to check in to keep him from any temptations.

Satoru smiles nervously. “Mommy needed some alone time…for his…special time so…” He sees
the way Nanako and Mimiko share a look before turning their eyes on him again. They’re very
intimidating. “We’re going to have a mini-vacation!”

“Mommy’s not coming?” Nanako asks, frowning. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah! He will join us when his special time is over and we’ll continue the vacation together.”

Satoru feels like he’s doing something bad when he knows that he isn’t. Maybe it’s because the
girls don’t look convinced by his story, and technically he doesn’t have Suguru’s permission to
have their daughters. Then again, what choice did he have? Leave them in the nest while Suguru
went through his heat?

That wasn’t an option. Pups shouldn’t be exposed to that sort of thing for obvious reasons. Suguru
will be happy he stepped up instead of leaving the girls to someone else. Besides, this could be a
fun bonding moment for him and the girls.

“Okay,” Nanako says, seemingly fine with the current state of things. She takes Mimiko by the
hand. “It’s bath time and then we can eat breffast!”
Satoru smiles at the way she says “breakfast.” He’s always found it cute. Then he remembers what
she said before that.

“Bath time…” Satoru forgot all about that aspect of babysitting. “You girls bathe yourself, right!?”
he asks, hopeful.

Even though he knows Suguru gives them baths.

Nanako and Mimiko giggle. “Silly Gojo, we're too small. Mommy said when we’re bigger we can
bathe ourselves. But we're too small now.”

“That’s right!” Satoru says, smiling despite his internal panic.

He’s not comfortable with giving them a bath. It feels intrusive to him. Yeah, they’re his pups and
all but he’s relatively new in their lives.

“Stay here,” Satoru says, taking out his phone. “I’ll be right back!” He steps into the lounge area
and calls his agent.

An hour later, the girls are changed into swimming suits and given floaties for appearances sake.
He had them pull the swimming suits up all the way while his back was turned and then he helped
them put their arms through the sleeves.

They giggled at him the entire time because in their eyes he’s just being Silly Gojo. At least they
like him.

“Okay, think of this as swimming time and bath time,” Satoru says as he carries them to the
bathroom.

The jacuzzi tub is filled with just enough water to cover their legs and he added bubbles and some
toys. The girls squeal happily as he puts them in the tub. Now all he has to do is monitor them
while they splash around and play in the water. They’ll be getting clean in the process too.

Wow, he’s so smart.

Bath time goes by without a hitch. He even washes their hair for them and helps them dry off
afterward. The girls assure him that they can dress themselves so he brings some clothes from their
suitcase and lets them get changed while he orders room service.

“What’s for breffast?” Nanako asks as they run into the sitting area.

Satoru has to hold in his laughter. Both of their shirts are inside out and Mimiko has both legs in
one of her short’s legs making it look like a weird skirt.

“I ordered pancakes.” He walks over to them and kneels down. “Hold on, Mimi.”

He stares up at the ceiling as he fixes her shorts. When they’re fixed he looks down and sees that
she’s smiling at him. Her smile is infectious. Whenever he sees it he just has to smile right back.

They eat breakfast at the circular dining table and because Satoru forgot to cut their pancake into
small pieces the girls end up eating holes in the middle of them. They still eat so it’s not a big deal.

Satoru is just amazed by how much goes into taking care of kids. To think that Suguru took care of
them as babies by himself, at only the age of eighteen, long before Kenjaku came into the picture
and provided financial help. But outside of that Suguru did all of the parenting and nurturing. He’s
truly something special.

Following breakfast, Satoru washes the girls’ hands and then they watch a couple of cartoons
together which is an easy task. Soon, however, they grow bored.

Good thing he made his agent pick up a lot of things for them to do. He lets the girls decide. When
they pick up a case of nail polish, he starts wondering if Suguru is fine with them wearing it.

“Gojo~” Nanako says in a sing-song voice that reminds Satoru of the voice he uses whenever he
tries to annoy Suguru. “Can we paint your nails?”

If he says no they’ll probably jump him or worse, cry. Satoru doesn’t have Suguru’s talent of
telling them no without repercussions. Honestly, he doesn’t mind if they paint his nails anyway.

“Sure,” Satoru says, sitting down on the floor. He starts taking off his socks.

“I’ll do your left hand,” Nanako says, “and Mimi will do your right hand.”

“You want to paint my hands?”

The girls nod.

He expected them to do his feet instead. That way no one would see it. Then again, it’s fine if it’s
his hands. Who cares if anyone sees? It’s just nail polish.

Of course, Nanako picks the brightest color in the case. It’s a bright, neon green. Mimiko picks
pink glitter. They make him lay his hands flat on the glass coffee table on top of a paper towel.

When his phone rings and he tries to get it, he gets scolded. He has to be still while the
“professionals” work, apparently.

How do people sit still for this long?

“Gojo, can we do your makeup next?”

Satoru looks at the play makeup set that his agent picked up. It seems tame.

“Sure,” he says. He smiles. “Give me a makeover!”

...

They give him different colored eyeshadow on each eye, glitter stickers all over his face, and
greasy, purple lipgloss on his lips. Deciding that he might as well take it a step further he allows
them to put a big, pink bow in his hair.

They take a couple of selfies together. He looks ridiculous but they’re so happy. Whatever.

When his agent stops by to give him the Godzilla DVDs he requested, he stares at Satoru’s face
and tries not to laugh.

“Babysitting for a friend?” his agent asks.

“Do I pay you to ask questions?”

“My apologies, Gojo-san. Call me whenever you need me! You’re my top star, bye bye!”
Satoru enters the hotel room where the girls are laying on the floor palette he made. They have
their popcorn and juice boxes. As requested, they’ll be watching Godzilla movies for the remainder
of the day.

What surprises Satoru the most about their time together today is how relaxed the girls are around
him. They haven’t asked about Suguru since he explained the situation to them earlier and they
haven’t shown any signs of wanting to get away from him.

If anything they seem to want to be with him.

While the opening credits of the movie are playing, Nanako and Mimiko sit on his lap, making
themselves comfortable. They feed him popcorn and point at the screen whenever their favorite
scene plays. It feels so natural, like he truly belongs here with them.

The only reason why he doesn’t hold a press conference tomorrow and share the twins and Suguru
with the world is because Suguru isn’t ready for that, not that Satoru can blame him.

Once the world knows, they’ll have a spotlight in their faces for the rest of their lives. Satoru is a
relatively secretive celebrity. One taste of his personal life will have people digging up more and
more until all of his secrets are public knowledge.

He doesn’t want to treat his pack like a dirty little secret but he also likes his privacy.

Midway through the second movie, all of them are down for the count. Satoru doesn’t even
remember dozing off. He just wakes up to a blue screen and Nanako asleep on his lap. When he
doesn’t see Mimiko, he panics for half a second until he notices her sitting up next to him.

Not wanting to disturb Nanako’s rest, Satoru signs to Mimiko using the hand signals Suguru taught
him.

He asks her if she's okay and she tells him that she is.

Satisfied with that answer, he takes out his phone to get an idea of the time. It may be time for
dinner soon. He also hopes Suguru is doing fine.

“…Go…go…Gojo?”

Looking down at his lap, Satoru sees that Nanako is still asleep. Very slowly, he turns his head and
looks over at Mimiko who is staring at him. The call of his name was uttered so softly that he
wonders if he imagined it. Then he hears a tiny rasp as Mimiko’s mouth opens.

“Go…Gojo…” Mimiko glances down at her fiddling fingers. “Are you….Nana’s and Mimi’s
papa?” She peeks up at him through her bangs, her eyes big and watery.

A tear rolls down Satoru’s face and he barely registers it. This is something that Suguru wanted
them to tell the girls together in a controlled environment, preferably after Mimiko’s therapy.

However, he can’t lie to her. He refuses to, especially when she has decided that he’s someone she
can speak to. Outside of Suguru, no one else has been around when she decides she no longer wants
to be mute. Not until now.

Satoru swallows hard. He nods. “Yeah,” he says quietly. “I’m your papa…”

Mimiko lifts her head, staring at him as if to see if he really means it.
“I’m your papa, Mimi,” he says again with conviction.

When she hugs him, he starts crying, the tears just pour out of him. This is the first time he’s ever
heard her voice, and it’s a lot to take in. And she knows. She knows who he is to her. He puts one
arm around her while the other arm keeps Nanako secured on his lap.

Mimiko buries her face in the crook of his neck and he nuzzles her.

“Papa,” she says, and he can feel her smile against his skin.

Everything makes sense now.

The reason why Suguru was moody and irrationally horny at random intervals last week was
because of his heat. It had been a while since his last one and the symptoms weren't that bad in the
past so it caught him off guard.

He spent the last three days nursing himself inside of Satoru’s closet. Some designer clothes were
torn to shreds, and he feels horrible about it.

Hopefully, Satoru wasn’t too fond of any of the items.

Suguru is tired and starving when he crawls out of the closet the morning of the fourth day. Most
of all he’s missing his pups and his alpha. When he doesn’t sense anyone else in the condo, he
starts to panic. The day after a heat is when he’s the most neediest, honestly.

Aftercare is important. Because he never received that in the past, he should be able to gather
himself on his own.

Satoru isn’t Kenjaku, though.

Suguru knows he’s in good hands. That point is further driven home when he sees the note Satoru
left behind for him in case he doesn’t see the text on his phone. He took the girls to a hotel that’s
just a block away to give him privacy. He’ll be back sometime today.

Before his heat really settled in, Suguru wanted Satoru to stay and take care of him. Now that he
can think clearly he’s so happy Satoru was responsible for both of them. They’re not ready for
another pup by a long shot. Suguru would like to make sure the girls are their top priority before
they start expanding their pack.

Not to say that he wants their pack to expand. It’s just an important conversation to have, that’s all.

Since the girls are with Satoru, he knows that they’re safe. He wants to tidy up the place before
they come back but he needs food on his stomach first. He needs more than snacks and the
leftovers from their dinner are no longer good.

There’s a ramen place on the corner that he can walk to. He takes a shower and puts on
comfortable clothes. His hair is thrown up into a bun and he puts on Satoru’s Nike slides because
they’re convenient.

And wearing his alpha’s stuff makes him happy.

Outside, it’s a pretty day, making him think about them all going out for crepes finally. As he’s
walking out of the building, he hears a group of people talking loudly nearby.

“There he is! That’s him!”

Suguru looks up and sees the crowd looking right at him. A camera’s flash goes off in his face,
leaving him dumbfounded.

“That’s the mother of Gojo Satoru’s illegitimate kids!” someone in the crowd says.

More pictures are taken and soon the crowd is drawing closer to Suguru who feels like he’s
trapped in a nightmare.

This can’t be happening, is what he’s thinking. There’s no way in hell this is real.

Not wanting to just stand there and find out if the crowd is real or a very vivid figment of his
imagination, he turns to head back inside of the building. But he sees another crowd closing in on
his other side, and some of them are already blocking the door to the building.

Suguru’s throat goes dry and his hands begin to sweat. He can feel the panic building in the pit of
his stomach. Hurriedly, he moves so that the crowd doesn’t swarm him and he starts to walk
straight ahead toward the crosswalk.

His phone is in his pocket but he’s too stunned to take it out.

This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.

“Is it true that you and Gojo-san had a one night stand in high school?” someone asks.

Another person asks, “What do you have to say in regards to the rumors about Gojo-san being
engaged to an actress?”

Suguru tries to drown it all out as he walks across the street with the crowd following him. He’s
nearing a panic attack, and it’s making it difficult for him to form a plan of action. He feels like a
sitting duck. He hates this.

Think. Think. Fucking think!

“You don’t look like the women Gojo-san typically dates,” some asshole says. “Is that why he kept
you a secret all of this time?”

Suguru feels sick to his stomach but he keeps walking.

These people don’t know shit. They don’t know what they’re talking about.

“Enough!” A loud voice shouts over the crowd.

For a split second, Suguru believes that Satoru is there to save him. Hope rises and falls in his chest
in the same breath. His blood runs cold when someone links their arms together. He feels like
puking.

“Make a scene,” a voice that haunts his nightmares says, “and I will make you regret it.”

Suguru knows Kenjaku is smiling without even looking at him.

The crowd starts questioning how they know each other, their voices become louder and frantic as
they continue to follow them. Kenjaku walks Suguru over to a black Bentley and he opens the
passenger door for him because people are around.

Suguru contemplates running. To hell with what the paparazzi will say. But he knows Kenjaku will
really make him regret it. All of this time spent trying to build himself back up just for him to
 crumble at the sight of the man. It’s pathetic. He’s pathetic.

He gets in the car, making sure he’s facing the cameras so they can get a good shot of his face.

If he turns up dead at least Satoru will know who did it.

Chapter End Notes

:(
 rescue
Chapter Summary

happy new year ❤️

Chapter Notes

tw; domestic violence/violence in general, mentions of rape, non-explicit molestation

“Okay, Nana! Now it’s your turn!”

Grinning, Nanako throws her arms up over her head. “Gojo!” she squeals.

Satoru immediately deflates while Mimiko collapses into a laughing fit on the floor.

They’ve been over this three times, and no matter what he says or what bribes he tries to offer her,
Nanako refuses to join Mimiko in addressing him as Papa. He knows she’s trolling him because,
just like him when he was her age, she’s a little menace.

“You’re a tough cookie, Nana,” Satoru says all in good spirits. He pats the top of her head, smiling
when she grabs his hand and keeps it in place. “I’m just happy you both know who I am.”

Satoru has been floating on a cloud for a couple of days. Ever since he heard Mimiko’s voice and
she recognized him as her father, he’s felt more comfortable in his role as caregiver.

He can’t wait to tell Suguru. They should still make an appointment for Mimiko’s therapy session
even though she’s talking again just to be on the safe side.

“I am curious to know how long you girls suspected the truth,” Satoru says more so to himself.

They’re sitting on the bed getting ready to check out of the presidential suite and return to the
condo where Suguru is waiting for them. Satoru texted him to let him know they were coming
back today since it’s the last day of his heat.

Since Suguru hasn’t responded yet Satoru will find something for the girls to do in the meantime.

“You came to Sobo’s house,” Mimiko says. Her voice is like a gentle breeze.

Nanako nods. “You scared Mommy and Mimi when you yelled!” She wags a finger at him
disapprovingly. Then she smiles. “But you’re not a meanie like we thought!”

Satoru blushes with embarrassment. He remembers the girls peeking around the wall when he
entered Suguru’s mother house during his initial visit to Gomari. And he remembers them running
into the tea room to console Suguru after his outburst.

Hearing them call Suguru “mommy” for the first time is something he’ll never forget.
That singular moment changed the trajectory of his life.

“You girls knew I was your Papa even back then?” Satoru asks, surprise written all over his face.

Mimiko and Nanako tilt their heads from side to side as they think. They shake their heads in
unison moments later.

“When did you know?” Satoru asks. “Or when did you have a feeling?”

Nanako points at Mimiko. “She knew at the ‘quarium but I didn’t believe her.” She makes a face.
“You don’t look like us.”

Satoru laughs.

He’s amazed by how fast Mimiko pieced everything together. Those who are quiet are often more
observant than others.

“My mother thinks you two favor me,” Satoru says. He opens his arms, and has to fight back a
goofy grin when the girls instantly crawl over to him and sit on his lap. “She wants to meet you
both soon. Would you like to meet your other Grandmother?”

The girls nod.

“Is her hair like yours?” Mimiko asks.

“No. My dad had lighter hair but it wasn’t as white as mine.”

Nanako tilts her head back and smiles at him. “We have a Grandpapa too? Our Mommy doesn’t
have a Papa…”

Satoru’s heart aches. “Actually, my father…” He stops himself. He doesn’t know if Suguru has
talked to the girls about death or anything along those lines. “My father is still with us but we just
can’t see him…”

He inwardly winces at the way he worded that. It’s sure to open the door to more questions and
even more confusion.

“Just like Iron Man?” Nanako asks. “Mommy said he’s here in um…”

“Spirit,” Mimiko adds.

“Yes! Is that the same for Grandpapa?”

Satoru almost forgot how much Suguru loves Marvel. He prefers DC comics but he does love a
good Marvel film. He probably had to explain to the girls what happened to Tony Stark in a kid
friendly way. He would’ve loved to be present for that conversation.

“Yes, it’s the same,” Satoru says.

The girls seem content with that answer.

“I’ll go check and see if Mommy is awake now,” he says as he places them on the bed. As he
stands up, he grabs the remote. “We should have cable in this room…”

He finds a channel where an animated commercial is playing and he assumes a cartoon will play
once the commercial is over. The girls are immediately glued to the television screen so he can slip
into the bathroom where his phone is charging.

It kept blowing up with texts this morning and since none of them were from Suguru or his family,
he ignored them in favor of serving as a body pillow for his daughters. They cuddled close to him
all night while they slept, and Satoru felt on top of the world.

Pups are very selective about who they get close to. It made Satoru feel like a true pack leader. He
can’t wait for Suguru to join the mix again.

Satoru frowns as he scrolls through the mountain of notifications on his phone. Everyone from
Sukuna to Coach Yaga has tried to contact him. His agent has called him at least twenty times, and
a few journalists have texted him too. He gets a sick feeling in his gut.

Something major has to have happened.

Right as Satoru is unlocking his phone to get an idea of what’s going on, he hears some
commotion coming from the room where he left the girls.

“Papa!” Nanako and Mimiko both scream. “Mommy’s on TV!”

Satoru’s knees go weak because his immediate thought is that a tragedy has occurred. He imagines
Suguru lying still, no longer breathing, and he nearly collapses on the floor.

Then logic quickly swoops in to offer him some relief.

None of his teammates outside of Sukuna know who Suguru is. Even Coach Yaga doesn’t know.
None of these people would be contacting him for that.

With that in mind, he rushes into the room where the girls are no longer on the bed. They’re
standing in front of the TV, their faces nearly touching the screen. Satoru can smell their distress
despite their scents being underdeveloped and that sends him into protective mode.

“It’s the bad man…” Mimiko whispers.

Nanako grabs her sister’s hand and holds it tightly. “He has Mommy…”

Satoru is stunned to see a swarm of paparazzi outside of his building as Suguru is ushered into the
passenger’s side of Kenjaku’s car.

The media seems to have interrupted the broadcasts on a couple of channels to report the news of
Gojo Satoru’s “secret family” and “the mother of his pups being connected to a millionaire.”

That would explain all of the phone calls he’s been getting, but fuck that. Satoru doesn’t care that
the world will now know that he has a pack.

Why is Suguru with Kenjaku?

There’s no way Suguru willingly went anywhere with him. He would rather face the media’s
incessant and intrusive questions than get in Kenjaku’s car, Satoru knows that much. That leads
him to believe that Suguru was frightened and felt like he had no other choice.

Feeling a gentle tug on his pant’s legs, Satoru looks down and sees his daughters are looking at
him with tear filled eyes.

“Papa,” Nanako says, no longer refusing to address him properly. She looks so scared. They both
do. “That man is bad and he has Mommy…”
Mimiko hugs his other leg but she says nothing.

He didn’t think they would remember Kenjaku because they were very young when they lived
with him but apparently he was wrong. Suguru always blamed himself for taking them out of an
environment where they were taken care of, but has he ever considered that the girls wanted him to
be happy too?

Pups can sense more than people think. They seemed happy and content even in their tiny
apartment in Osaka because their mother was in a much better place, mentally, than Kenjaku’s
mansion.

Satoru kneels down and hugs them both. “Don’t worry, girls,” he says, rubbing their backs as he
holds back his rage for their sake. “I’ll take care of this.”

They hug him tighter.

They’re both shaking. They’re so afraid, and he feels useless because Kenjaku should’ve been dead
weeks ago. But he was the bigger person and decided to fix himself instead of taking out the trash
known as Kenjaku first.

He won’t make the same mistake twice, though.

“You’re not eating your food.”

Suguru doesn’t look up from the untouched plate that’s in front of him. The appetite he did have
prior to being in Kenjaku’s presence has diminished. He regrets not running away when he had the
chance. Getting into the car with Kenjaku was stupid and careless—

Kenjaku slams his fist on the table. “Eat!” he shouts.

Instinctively, Suguru picks up his chopsticks. He starts to pick at the food on his plate, taking
small bites of it here and there. From experience he knows that it’s best to just run on autopilot
when around this maniac.

Pleased with himself, Kenjaku picks up the newspaper he’s been reading. “Our flight boards in an
hour,” he says conversationally. “Would you like to do some shopping beforehand?”

They’re in a hotel that’s close to the airport. A couple of high end stores are inside of a strip mall
nearby. If Suguru thought for a second that Kenjaku would allow him to go shopping alone he
would eagerly accept the opportunity to do so just to escape.

“No, thank you,” Suguru says. He glances down at the dress he was forced to wear. “You’ve
already spent so much money on me.”

After cornering him near Satoru’s condo, Kenjaku took Suguru to his penthouse in Tokyo and
forced him to shower and rid his body of Satoru’s “stench” and change into clothes of
Kenjaku’schoosing.

He always dresses Suguru as though he were a doll, forcing him to play the role of his obedient
house wife.

He made comments about Suguru needing a haircut; something more mature and sophisticated.
Suguru knows that Satoru loves his hair long, and he’s grown to love that as well because of him.
He doesn’t want to cut it.
To prevent Kenjaku from taking the courting ring Satoru gave him, Suguru took it off. He keeps it
hidden on his body because the first chance he gets, he’s making a run for it without a care for the
items Kenjaku bought him. He only wants to ensure his ring doesn’t get lost.

Kenjaku hasn’t asked about the girls either, which isn’t surprising as he’s never cared for them.
They were just there to make him seem like a pack leader around his wealthy friends.

He hates that he’s incapable of knotting an omega. That’s his greatest flaw. He’s an alpha who
can’t form a knot. So, during Suguru’s heats he would punish Suguru for daring to go into heat
when he knew “his alpha” couldn't provide for him.

In Kenjaku’s eyes, Suguru experiencing a natural mating cycle was his way of mocking his
impotence.

Omegas are highly sensitive during their heats, and Kenjaku was always his cruelest during those
times. Suguru had to pass the bruises off as typical “love bites” from an alpha who doted on him
too much whenever other people saw them. The truth is too much to repeat.

Suguru thinks his father’s absence is what pushed him into Kenjaku’s arms. Some part of him
believed he would be safer with an older alpha. He even fell into the trap of believing that “older
alphas are more mature.”

All of Satoru’s faults in the past were due to his immaturity so someone older would be better was
Suguru’s line of thinking.

They were both immature back then. They were kids, for fuck’s sake. Suguru just hates how long it
took him to understand all of this.

“You’ve yet to apologize to me,” Kenjaku says as he folds his newspaper. “Shame on you, Geto.”

Suguru glances at the newspaper, taking note of the date. That will be his only way to keep up with
the days. Kenjaku already took his phone away and turned it off. He likes to fuck with Suguru’s
head, and preventing him from keeping up with the dates is one of his favorite games to play.

“I’m sorry,” Suguru says, knowing that Kenjaku will get angry if he doesn’t respond. “What do I
owe an apology for?” He looks at Kenjaku.

Kenjaku places his folded hands on top of the table. “You left me, in the dead of night, without a
word. After I took you and those…rodents in.”

“Do not address my daughters that way,” Suguru says sternly. “They’re not rodents. You’re just
mad because they’re not yours.”

In the past, a comment like that would’ve landed Suguru in the basement for the night. He’d be
forced to sleep in the dark and cold until morning, and then be let out in time to make breakfast for
everyone.

Now, Kenjaku just sits there silently fuming.

This is new.

“We have a flight to catch,” Kenjaku is all he says.

Suguru has a plan.

The airport will be packed. He can make a scene, draw a lot of attention, and make a run for it
during the ensuing chaos. He runs through the scenario several times through his head as he and
Kenjaku leave the hotel room. Their suitcases are already inside the limo.

Kenjaku packed everything for Suguru. He always makes him wear what he wants him to wear and
eat and drink what he wants him to eat and drink. He’s a controlling narcissist.

They take a back way to the airport to where the private planes are, meaning they won’t have to
enter the high traffic airport.

“Do I look like I fly commercial?” Kenjaku asks with a sly smile.

Suguru curses under his breath. He’s stupid for not considering this. He looks around, trying to see
if there are any employees around. Anyone who can help him.

Kenjaku places his hand on the small of Suguru’s back as if to warn him against doing anything
foolish. He keeps his hand there as they board the plane.

“It’s a long flight to Gomari,” Kenjaku says as they take their seats. “There’s a bed in the back.
You can rest after take off.”

“Gomari?” Suguru asks in confusion. He assumed they were going to Kenjaku’s home. “Why are
we going there?”

“I intend to meet with my relatives to discuss business. That poor island could make a great profit
as a resort.” He smiles wickedly. “Of course after I do a little makeover and force all of the poor
residents to relocate…”

Suguru knows that this is essentially what Kenjaku does for a living. He just never thought that
Kenjaku would set his sights on Gomari.

“You can’t do that!” Suguru shouts. “The islanders won’t allow that!”

Allowing Kenjaku and his moralless business partners to buy up all the land and drive the locals
out will displace a lot of people who will be unable to relocate elsewhere; Suguru’s family
especially.

Kenjaku remains silent, and Suguru can’t do much because soon the plane is taking off. But once
they’re informed by the captain that they can leave their seats, Suguru unbuckles his seatbelt at the
same time as Kenjaku.

“Why are you targeting Gomari—”

The slap comes without warning though Suguru should’ve expected it. Kenjaku has been too
“calm” considering anything can make him blow a gasket. He doesn’t stop after that slap, either.
As blood fills Suguru’s mouth, Kenjaku grabs him by the neck.

“How dare you question me!” Kenjaku screams. “How dare you ridicule me! Have you learned
nothing?”

Suguru knees Kenjaku in the stomach as hard as he can. When he doubles over and lets his neck go,
Suguru hits him again. His daughters aren’t here so he doesn’t have to worry about their safety. He
can retaliate now.

Kenjaku wraps his arms around Suguru’s waist and tackles him, making them both collide into a
nearby seat.

The captain can be heard over the intercom but Suguru can’t make out what he’s saying. He keeps
hitting Kenjaku in the face and the chest as Kenjaku struggles for control.

“You don’t own me!” Suguru screams, hot tears running down his face. He punches Kenjaku in the
chest repeatedly. “I’ll never be yours!”

Cursing harshly, Kenjaku reaches into his pocket and takes out his favorite pocket knife. The same
one he used to slice Suguru’s stomach open when he rejected his marriage proposal.

Suguru instantly freezes as he remembers that pain.

Kenjaku puts his hand around Suguru’s neck to hold him in place and he aims the knife between
his thighs. Suguru’s dress is torn and pulled up high enough for his underwear to be exposed.

“You’ve forgotten your manners, Geto,” Kenjaku says, breathing heavily. His hair is no longer
slicked back and he looks like he’s been through hell. “Reuniting with Gojo-san makes you think
that you’re worth more than what you are!”

Suguru grits his teeth but says nothing. He eyes the knife warily.

“You are still my property,” Kenjaku says. He brings the knife up and presses it against Suguru’s
throat as the hand that was just there lowers. “This still belongs to me!”

Tears stream down Suguru’s face while Kenjaku gropes him. He tries to disconnect his mind from
his body so that he can’t feel the man’s dirty hands on him but he can feel everything.

“Anything?” Sukuna asks, hopeful.

Satoru puts his face in his hands, sighing deeply. “No,” he says quietly. “I’ve got nothing. His
family hasn’t even heard from him.”

In the background, the news is replaying a clip from the press conference Coach Yaga held this
morning. He basically said that he has no idea about the rumors that are swirling around Satoru,
and that if he did he still wouldn’t tell the media “a damn thing.”

It was reassuring to hear him say that, and it even lifted Satoru’s spirits albeit faintly.

It’s already been three days without any leads to Suguru’s whereabouts, though. News channels are
still covering the story about Satoru’s secret family and over the past couple of days more
information has come out about Suguru.

Mainly his name, age, and former occupation. Some of his old coworkers in Osaka have given
interviews. A reporter even tried to get information out of Fushiguro but was rudely ignored as
expected.

Had it not been for Suguru covering his tracks in order to hide from Kenjaku, the public would
know that he’s from Gomari by now.

But people from Gomari are probably not even watching the news about this because it isn’t being
covered in their area and if it was they wouldn’t be calling in to give Suguru away.

They’re loyal people.

Thankfully the media doesn't have a picture of the twins yet. Satoru has taken safety measures to
make sure they remain hidden from the public.

Satoru refuses to answer any calls from reporters. He’s debating on contacting his mother but he
doesn’t want to worry her.

Sukuna glances at the couch where the twins are sleeping next to Satoru. They’re all at Sukuna’s
place since the media is staked outside of Satoru’s condo.

“They can sleep in the guest room,” Sukuna says in regards to the twins.

“They feel safer when they’re close to me.”

Sukuna nods in understanding.

The room grows quiet again. Sukuna steps out to grab some food for himself while Satoru tries not
to think about the worst case scenario.

Suguru is alive. He is alive. He isn’t dead somewhere. He’s safe and…

Eyes pricking with tears, Satoru swallows the lump in his throat. Standing up, he starts pacing the
floor anxiously. He needs to know that Suguru is okay.

If anything were to happen to him…if he were to lose him after everything…

Taking out his phone, he pulls up Mei Mei’s contact information. He is already in debt with her for
his last favor, and the only reason why she hasn’t asked for a favor in return is because she’s
waiting for this moment. She’s waiting for him to ask her for a big favor; the kind that requires the
shedding of blood.

That way she’ll own him forever.

That’s how the yakuza operates.

Looking someone up is nothing to them. Locating someone and putting a bullet in them? Well,
that’s going to cost a little more than a fucking I.O.U.

Whatever the price is, Satoru will pay it for Suguru. He’ll pay it tenfold if it means he can have
Suguru back safe and sound and their daughters can be put at ease.

He’ll give up his entire basketball career and spend the rest of his life doing dirty work for the
yakuza if it means he can have Suguru back.

Sukuna isn’t around to talk him out of it, either. Nothing is holding him back.

Nothing.

“Papa.”

Satoru feels as though he was caught in the act.

Guilt-ridden, he hesitantly looks to where Nanako is sitting up on the couch. She cried herself to
sleep along with her sister and her eyes are still red.

Putting his phone away, he goes to her. Before he can even sit on the couch she’s trying to jump
into his arms. He picks her up and hugs her.
Nanako always came off as standoffish, sometimes mean to those who can’t see through her act. In
reality, she’s just a sensitive and overprotective girl who loves her mother and sister dearly. She
sees herself as their protector the same way Satoru saw himself as Suguru’s protector when they
were kids.

“Is Mommy back?” Nanako asks.

Satoru feels like a failure every time he has to answer this question. “I’m working on it, Nana,” he
says.

Mimiko is still fast asleep. She hasn’t spoken a word in days and Satoru worries she never will
again.

Everything was going great until Kenjaku showed his ugly mug again.

Nanako doesn’t say anything after that. She just holds onto Satoru while he rocks her back and
forth. The action comforts them both, and he nearly doses off along with her but his nerves are too
bad for him to sleep.

He can’t even revel in the fact that Nanako calls him Papa now. He can’t enjoy being united with
his pack because the most important piece to the puzzle is missing.

And it’s all Kenjaku’s fault.

Satoru gently places Nanako on the couch next to her sister. He pets both of their heads before he
steps out on Sukuna’s balcony to call Mei Mei.

Then divine intervention occus.

His mother calls him. The call is so sudden that Satoru answers without thinking.

“Satoru?” his mother asks, sounding upset. “Are you there?”

“Yeah, I’m here.” From the sound of her voice he believes the news has somehow reached
Gomari’s shores. “What’s the matter?” he asks anyway.

His mother huffs. “I just left a committee meeting,” she says. “You’ll never believe what the Kamo
are getting up to.”

Local drama in Gomari has her upset, not all of the fuss about his private life.

Satoru is nearly relieved.

Usually he would allow his mother to rant but he is too concerned about Suguru’s well being now.
He’ll tell his mother everything when he fixes this. But for now he needs to call Mei Mei.

His mother is oblivious to his dilemma. So, she continues. “I have never had the displeasure of
meeting a man as terrible as that Noritosai-san!”

The surname gives Satoru pause.

“Noritosai?” he asks. It can’t be. “Noritosai who?”

“Noritosai Kenjaku! He’s a relative of the Kamo.” His mother is livid. “He intends to gentrify the
island and turn it into some tourist hot spot. Countless people will lose their homes if that
happens!”
Satoru only hears Kenjaku’s name. Everything else is just white noise. “He’s in Gomari now?”

His mother hesitates. “Well, yes. He mentioned he would be here for a few days. He is trying to
convince some business owners to sell.” A pause. “Satoru, do you know this man?”

“It’s a long story but I promise to tell you. Make sure he doesn’t leave, Ma. This is important! I’m
on my way there!”

“What? Satoru…you’re on your way to Gomari? This is sudden—”

“Yes. Please, trust me. Make sure he doesn’t leave!” Satoru feels terrible for raising his voice at
her.

Thankfully, his mother knows him well enough to know that this is a very urgent matter if he’s
acting this way.

“I’ll make sure he stays put, son. See you soon.”

Satoru ends the call.

As soon as Sukuna returns, Satoru tells him about the phone call.

“Do I have enough time to pack or are we just winging this?” Sukuna asks.

Satoru doesn’t want to drag Sukuna into this any further. “That’s okay, Sukuna. Can you just give
us a ride to the airport?”

He was going to leave the girls behind for their safety but Gomari is their home too. They have
family there who can look after them while he beats the shit out of Kenjaku and gets Suguru back.

Even if Suguru isn’t with Kenjaku, Satoru will force Kenjaku to tell him where he is.

“You think I want to miss out on a chance to beat that abusive asshole into a pulp?” Sukuna asks.
“I’m coming. End of discussion.”

They’re too pressed for time to argue. Sukuna is coming too.

Oftentimes Suguru would wonder what he did in his past life to deserve the things that have
happened to him.

It must have been something terrible for Kenjaku to enter his life. He even tried to convince
himself that he deserved everything that was happening to him.

Suguru is ashamed of how self loathing he used to be but he won’t be too harsh on his past self. He
was still a child in some ways and had never known life outside of Gomari.

He may have been naive enough to believe Kenjaku was a good person during their courting stage
but his naivety did not deserve to be punished as harshly.

Abusers like Kenjaku want the victim to blame themselves because it takes the blame off of them
but Suguru has moved past blaming himself.

It took a lot of therapy for Suguru to understand that.

Before therapy and reconciling with Satoru, Suguru would have given up by now. He wouldn’t
have put up a fight on the jet or talked to Kenjaku the way he had. Hitting Kenjaku back felt good,
honestly. It felt good to show the bastard that he isn’t as weak as he made him think he was.

Suguru hates that the appearance of the knife awakened his trauma but that’s expected.

After Kenjaku tried to remind him that his body still belongs to him, he left Suguru alone until they
arrived in Gomari.

They were picked up from the airport by a representative from the Kamo clan. When the person
saw Suguru there was recognition on their face but they said nothing.

Suguru has never been inside of the Kamo compound. He doesn’t get to see much of it because
Kenjaku has him taken to a secluded area of the estate where no one else from the clan can see
him.

The Kamo compound’s layout is similar to that of the Gojo compound with vast differences in their
interior design. They’re both high in the mountains on different sides of the island. It would take
Suguru a day and a half to hike to the other side where the Gojo compound is without the proper
gear.

The area he’s in doesn’t have anything useful he can use, either. He’s alone in the secluded area,
trying to think of a way out, for hours before Kenjaku returns from a meeting.

“Depending on how difficult it is to convince these people to sell, I may need you to persuade
them,” Kenjaku says once they’re alone inside of the room.

“Did you know I was from Gomari before you approached me?” Suguru asks.

Kenjaku smiles. “Did you know that my cousin keeps a photo of you both in his room?” He adjusts
his red tie as he speaks. “I believe it was from a school play you two were in. I may have seen that
picture before I came across you.”

Suguru didn’t know that there were any pictures from the school play he was in with Kamo. The
play never had a full production due to Satoru’s prank.

“I didn’t approach you because of that though,” Kenjaku says. “I wasn’t even interested in buying
property on the island at that point.”

“Then why?” Suguru asks.

He always assumed it was because Kenjaku saw him as easy prey. Now he isn’t so sure.

Kenjaku cups Suguru’s chin, and Suguru has to fight the urge to break his arm. “I knew you were a
mother,” he says. “I was hoping we could be a happy pack but you ruined that.”

“I wasn’t the abuser.”

“No, but you made me act ugly toward you, Geto. You wouldn’t just let the alpha who marked you
go. I tried to make you love me but you only loved him.”

Suguru shakes his head. “I tried to open my heart to you! You were mean and nasty at every turn!”
He refuses to be lied to.

Dropping his hand, Kenjaku places them in the pockets of his dress slacks. “I didn’t know Gojo-
san was the father of your pups until he tried to murder me the night we met.” He laughs to
himself. “I thought that maybe I had offended him without knowing but then I followed him and
his teammate up to the roof and overheard an interesting story…”

So, all of this was by chance.

Kenjaku didn’t have any ultimate goals when he initially approached Suguru. He wanted an omega
who already had kids to cover up his impotence. When it was made clear that Suguru was never
going to get over Satoru, Kenjaku reacted violently.

And now Kenjaku just sees Gomari as another profit. He has Suguru here as an added safety
measure in securing land, and maybe he’s hoping to hurt Suguru by turning his beloved home into
a resort overrun by tourists who care nothing for the locals or the culture of the island.

Suguru understands now.

“If you take me to your next meeting I can convince everyone that selling their land will be the
best option for them,” Suguru says.

That may be the only way he can get away from this compound.

Satoru’s mother should be a member of the committee that discusses development on the island. If
she sees Suguru she’ll tell Satoru. Perhaps Suguru can out Kenjaku as a monster in front of the
committee and get him arrested.

Suguru is too lost in his own plotting to notice how angry Kenjaku is getting.

“Do you think I’m stupid like you, Geto?” he asks. He grabs a fistful of Suguru’s hair and hits him.
“You don’t want to help me! You want to leave me again!”

In the past, Kenjaku never hit him in the face so that the girls wouldn’t see any bruises. Now it’s as
if he only wants to hit him in the face. Suguru’s head is throbbing and he can taste blood in his
mouth. He lifts his head and glares at Kenjaku.

When Kenjaku raises his hand again to strike him, Suguru kicks him in the legs to move him away.
Kenjaku looks surprised, like he never expected Suguru to hit him back again.

The moment on the plane may have felt like a one time act of defiance to Kenjaku but now he sees
that things will not be the same as they were in the past. If he hits Suguru, he’s going to get hit
back, harder.

Before they can start fighting again, there’s a tap on the shoji screen.

“It is supper time,” one of the servants says. “Kamo-sama would like for you and your guest to
attend.”

Kenjaku lowers his hand but Suguru stays in a fighting stance. “Tell Kamo-sama that I will attend
alone.” He looks at Suguru and whispers. “You will starve tonight for your disobedience.”

Suguru wants to spit in Kenjaku’s face.

He bottles up his anger instead. The next time they fight, he’s going to end this. He watches
Kenjaku leave to head to supper and when Kenjaku’s gone, he grabs a pillow off the futon and
screams into it.

He’s furious.
For the first time ever, murder crosses his mind.

He thinks about killing Kenjaku in his sleep tonight.

Whatever consequences that await him, he’ll accept them if it means ridding the world of the man
and freeing him from him. He thinks about his daughters though. Then he thinks of his family and
friends and he gives up the thought.

They’ll be devastated if he gets thrown in prison, and his life will be ruined. Wouldn’t Kenjaku still
win in the end if that happened?

Suguru decides that it’s not worth it. He’ll need to find another way out of this mess.
As happy as Satoru is about finally introducing his mother to the twins, this is yet another moment
he wanted to share with Suguru.

Mimiko’s first time speaking in months, the girls’ first time calling him papa, and his mother
meeting her grandchildren — these are precious memories that Suguru should be present for.

Granted, Suguru’s heat was why he was absent for the first two moments, but Satoru wanted to
share the news with Suguru as soon as he was done with his heat.

Had Kenjaku not been in the picture they would all be eating crepes and having a fun time as a
pack.

“I should’ve gotten rid of him at the banquet,” Satoru says under his breath as he rubs his forehead
tiredly. He hates just sitting around doing nothing. “None of this would be happening now had I
done what I needed to do.”

The girls are sleeping in his room on his futon. They’re too distressed to do much of anything else.
His mother didn’t take it to heart when the girls shyly greeted her. Once Satoru filled her in, she
was so overwhelmed with worry for Suguru that she had to sit down and take a moment to gather
herself.

Now she’s on the phone with the local authorities to file a missing person’s report for Suguru. This
will get the ball rolling for a search of the Kamo compound. Something in Satoru’s gut tells him
that Suguru is there. He wanted to storm the place but his mother made him see reason, albeit
temporarily.

As more seconds tick by, the less reasonable Satoru’s thoughts become.

“I’m sorry,” Sukuna says. They’re in the tea room with cold cups of tea sitting in front of them. “I
should’ve let you kill him that night. You would be in prison and your career would be over but
Geto-san would be safe and with his pups.”

Satoru thinks about Sukuna’s mother and how she was abused by his father. He needs a
momentary distraction from his concerning thoughts, and he is genuinely curious.

“Do you regret not getting rid of your father?” he asks.

Without hesitation, Sukuna says, “Every single day. My mom is happy now and he hasn’t shown
his face in years but I still despise him.”

“Why did you stop me that night?”

“Had I let you do that you would’ve lost everything you worked hard to get back. Geto-san, your
daughters, and your career…you worked hard for it. Why throw it away for someone like him?”

“Doesn’t the same apply to you and your father.”

“Yes.”

Satoru would call Sukuna a hypocrite if he didn’t understand where he was coming from.

Vengeance is not as easy as it seems. There are consequences for every action. Even though Satoru
is well in his rights to defend and protect his pack by eliminating Kenjaku, he’ll end up
involuntarily abandoning them by doing so.

He needs to figure out what he’s going to do now because when he sees Kenjaku again he knows
his mind will go blank and all he’ll know is his rage.

“He’ll just keep coming back like a rabid dog if I don’t put him down,” Satoru says after giving it
some thought. “Suguru will never feel safe again, my girls will have that fear in the back of their
heads that one day Mommy is going to be taken again. I can't have that.”

Sukuna considers his words carefully. He looks resigned when he looks at Satoru again.
“Whatever you decide, I’ve got your back,” he says. “And before you get started, I’m not doing
this for you.”

Satoru nods in understanding.

Moments later, his mother comes in to tell them about her talk with the local authorities.

“They have to get permission from the judge. It’s the weekend so we can’t get a warrant until
Monday.”

“Fuck that,” Satoru says, and he looks at his mom to applogize for his language.

But she holds up her hand to stop him. “I second that,,” she says. “I will look after the girls. Do
what you need to do to get Suguru back home safely, Satoru.”

Satoru and Sukuna don’t waste another second.

They pick up the wooden bats they got out of the garden shed and leave the compound in search of
Kenjaku.

“Your children’s grandmother is a difficult woman,” Kenjaku says the next day while they have
supper in their room. “She refuses to sell me her shares in Gomari.”

The Gojo clan may not be in power anymore but they still have a major piece of Gomari, and can
decide on what can be built, renovated, or demolished on the island. Choi sits in the seat her
husband once sat in and one day it will be Satoru who takes her place.

If the universe is on their side, the twins will inherit the shares when they are of age and they will
always have a home no matter where life takes them.

That is why Choi refuses to sell to someone like Kenjaku. She is looking out for her family as she
should.

“Choi has more balls than you,” Suguru says, hoping to rile Kenjaku up so that he can stab him in
the eye with the chopsticks he’s holding. And because he doesn’t like how Kenjaku is speaking on
Satoru’s mother. “She’s a strong person. She won’t sell you a thing.”

Kenjaku chuckles and shakes his head. “What does Gojo-san see in you? I’ve done some digging
into the families around here. Your family is among the poorest.”

His family are descendants of the indigenous people of Gomari. They were here before the Alpha
King landed on their shores.

Suguru was asked to play Aimi in the school play because his teacher told him that he looks the
most like how Aimi and the other indigenous people would have looked based on the writings and
murals they’ve uncovered. Him being able to read the lines well and show emotion through his
actions was just icing on the cake.

Suguru’s point is, he’s proud of his family heritage despite how poor they are. What they lack in
monetary wealth they make up for with their rich culture and history but of course things like that
mean nothing to a man like Kenjaku.

Kenjaku continues. “How did you two even meet? Did your mother work as a servant to his
family?” He jokes.

They met the day Satoru ran away. He was tired of clan lessons and being cooped up inside of the
mansion with no other children around. But he had never ventured outside of the compound so he
got lost. He was afraid, and the sound of his crying led Suguru to him.

Of course Satoru denied being afraid and he blamed his tears on a “sand allergy.”

Suguru wanted to tease him but then he saw Satoru’s yukata and the Gojo clan emblem on his
back. He was worried that if he upset the heir his family would pay the price.

Due to his social status, Suguru has always tried to stay out of trouble. His father constantly told
him that he couldn't afford to bring shame to the family because they weren’t wealthy or
prestigious enough to clean up any messes he created.

That’s mainly why Suguru didn’t participate in Satoru’s pranks despite how fun some of them
looked.

His father shaped his view on a lot of things before he walked out on them, and he’s the reason
why Suguru was terrified to tell his mother that he was pregnant.

To prevent getting in trouble with the Gojo clan, Suguru took Satoru to his house and his father
contacted Satoru’s father. While they waited for Satoru’s parents to travel down the mountain, they
sat outside and asked each other a million questions about the other.

When it was time for Satoru to go home, Suguru worried he would never see Satoru again.

Initially, he found Satoru to be funny looking because of his pale skin, white hair, and blue eyes.

Most of the Gomari people have sun kissed skin and dark hair and eyes that range from brown to
different shades of purple with Suguru having the rarest shade according to the older locals.

Despite their physical differences, Satoru and Suguru liked playing together. Satoru even begged
his parents to let him thank Suguru for his help in getting him home safely but that was just a ploy
for him to see Suguru again and play with him.

Their friendship developed naturally from then on.

When Suguru had his first heat their families worried they would drift apart because that tends to
happen when pups of different second genders hit puberty. But it was as if they wanted to be
around each other more.

None of this is shared with Kenjaku.

Suguru doesn’t want to share memories he holds dear with a person he despises. However, there is
one fact he will share with Kenjaku.

“Satoru fell in love with me first,” Suguru says with a smug smile. “He went through the extremes
just to have my first kiss.”

Suguru knows that Satoru loved him the night he promised to protect him. It was the same day
Suguru’s father filed for a divorce from his mom and a devastated Suguru sought out his best
friend.

Satoru loved him long before that. It just took a while for him to realize it.

Shortly after that, Suguru’s platonic love for Satoru blossomed into more because finally he
allowed himself to see Satoru as his equal, not someone he had to bow down to due to his social
status.

Kenjaku hates hearing this. “Alphas will say anything to make omegas open their legs,” he says,
getting worked up. “Gojo-san has been using you. You’re just convenient.”

Suguru pretends to yawn. “Someone has never been loved and it shows,” he says, unbothered.
“Anyway, don’t you have a meeting to get to?”

“Ah yes, I have a meeting that is of more importance than you.”

None of this hurts Suguru like it used to. He is important. Satoru, his daughters, his mother, his
sister, and his friends think he’s important.

Who cares what Kenjaku thinks? He just hates himself.

“When I get back I will break you in again,” Kenjaku says as he gets up.

Suguru thinks about the first time Kenjaku “broke him in” and he feels sick to his stomach.
Breaking an omega in is esentially rape.

When Kenjaku leaves, Suguru starts looking around the place for a way out that doesn’t take him
to the main corridor that's filled with servants.

Up until now, Kenjaku has only hit him and there’s been some unwanted touching. All bad, of
course, but when Kenjaku taps into his Alpha and assaults Suguru, it’s a living nightmare.

Suguru will fight back. He’ll fight with everything in him but he knows he won’t come out
unscathed. He’s been through this before and he doesn’t want to go through it again.

Out of habit, he checks to make sure his courting ring is still in his pocket.

Throughout the day, he touches it as a reminder that Satoru loves him and wants to be with him
and no matter how dirty Kenjaku makes him feel, Satoru will make it all better when they’re
together again.

Hearing a tap on the shoji, Suguru halts. The servants never stop by when Kenjaku leaves. He
more than likely tells them not to in case Suguru tries to ask them for help escaping.

“Yes?” Suguru asks, standing close to the shoji.

“Geto-san, is that you?”

“Kamo-san?” Suguru watches the shoji screen pull back. When he sees his old classmate, he
smiles. “I thought you were in Kyoto.”

The Kamo patriarch, Noritoshi’s father, has been hosting Kenjaku. Noritoshi is taking over after he
marries.

Kamo takes one look at the bruises on Suguru’s face and he frowns. “Did Kenjaku do this to you?”
He enters the room and closes the shoji behind him. “My father told me that he was keeping an
omega in here. By the description a servant gave, I thought of you but had hoped I was wrong.”

Suguru has been avoiding the mirror so he hasn’t seen his face. “Are the bruises that bad?” he asks.

“There shouldn’t be any bruises at all!” he says, angry on Suguru’s behalf. “Is that why Gojo-san
flew in yesterday, I wonder.”

At the mention of Satoru, Suguru’s eyes water. “Satoru is in Gomari?” he asks.

Kamo nods. “There was supposed to be a parade to welcome him home per the tradition but Choi-
san said he was here for a short time.” He touches Suguru’s hand. “Is it true you and Gojo have
pups together?”

“Have you seen the news?”

“Right before I left Kyoto,” he says. “The media is having a field day.” He smiles sheepishly. “I
had always hoped Gojo would continue his immaturity until you got tired and accepted someone
else.”

“Like you?”

“Possibly.”

They both laugh.

Then Kamo gets serious which isn’t surprising as a majority of his personality is serious and
reserved.

“I’ll take you to where Gojo is,” Kamo says, taking Suguru by the hand. “We can go to the
authorities as well. I will have the servants serve as witnesses to Kenjaku’s abuse. He’s no family
of mine. I do not claim him. My father only cares for his business expertise.”

In big cities, the authorities are hesitant to punish alphas for abusing omegas. But in Gomari
Suguru is practically everyone's child, meaning they look out for him and care about him.

Kenjaku is an outsider regardless of who he’s related to: He won’t get off easy for hurting him.

Suguru is also relieved to be leaving the compound with a trusted friend. He’ll be more at peace
when he can see his pack again, though.

“Do you know where Satoru is?” Suguru asks as he and Kamo leave the room.
No one can enter or leave Gomari without the Kamo knowing. They also know the latest gossip
and happenings on the island within minutes of the news breaking.

“He, another alpha, and your sister are all out looking for Kenjaku right now.”

Suguru just knows that the other alpha is Sukuna. He doesn’t know much about Sukuna so he
doesn’t know if he can serve as a voice of reason for the two hotheads he’s with.

Because if Satoru and Shiori get to Kenjaku first they’ll kill him.

They know from a few of the locals that Kenjaku is going around trying to get the major
landowners to sell their land to him.

So, Satoru, Sukuna, and Shiori who they picked up along the way are riding around the island in a
pick up truck that belongs to a local gardener that let Satoru rent it for the day.

Shiori finds a shovel amongst the tools in the back. She intends to use it as a weapon when they get
their hands on Kenjaku.

All of them have an unspoken understanding of what’s about to go down. All of them are willing to
get their hands dirty if it means Suguru will never have to be in this situation again.

That’s if Suguru is still alive, a low and taunting voice in the back of Satoru’s head says. No one
that they know of in Gomari has seen Suguru.

Kenjaku seems to be the only one people have seen around town on multiple occasions. Satoru just
hopes Suguru is being kept out of the public eye. That’s a much better alternative to what his
thoughts are trying to make him believe.

Before Satoru arrived at the compound with Sukuna and the girls in tow, Kenjaku had sat down
with his mother to discuss his plans for Gomari.

Naturally, she told him, in a very polite and professional way, to fuck off. Because the Gojo family
has major shares in the island, Kenjaku needs Choi to sell to him or collaborate with him at the very
least.

That’s why Kenjaku will stick around for at least a week. Satoru doesn’t plan on letting the bastard
last that long in his hometown.

Satoru drives around every location Kenjaku was spotted at during his time in Gomari while all
three of them are on the lookout. About an hour ago the sun descended into the waters and the
street lamps turned on and they help them scope out the area at night time.

With the sunset came Satoru’s anxiety. He doesn’t want another day of Suguru not being found to
go by. The longer this all takes, the more Satoru fears the worst. He refuses to go back to their girls
without any new developments, either.

Suddenly, Shiori taps on the back window to get Satoru’s attention. “On your right,” she says.

As soon as he looks to his right, he spots Kenjaku walking in the distance. Satoru tells everyone to
hold on as he takes a sharp turn and speeds toward Kenjaku.

The pick up truck is very loud and draws attention to them. Kenjaku looks up. When he sees that
Satoru is hurtling toward him like a bat out of hell, his eyes widen and he takes off running.
“Fucking coward,” Sukuna mutters under his breath. He picks up the bat that’s laid across his lap,
gripping it tightly.

In the back, Shiori moves to the side closest to Kenjaku with her shovel at the ready. She’s going
to hit him with it the first chance she gets. Satoru even drives closer to the sidewalk to give her a
better opening.

The pick up truck has seen better years. It doesn’t accelerate properly, it sounds like it’s going to
give out on him at any minute, and a dark cloud of smoke is billowing out of the exhaust pipe.
Satoru drives it like it’s one of his sports cars, regardless. He refuses to allow Kenjaku to get away.

This area isn’t as busy as other parts of the island. It’s miles and miles of farmland and rice
paddies. They have enough privacy to do whatever it takes to get Suguru back, and Satoru has
made his peace with what he’s planning.

Once Satoru starts gaining on Kenjaku, he cuts through a small alley to get away from the truck.
Satoru knows this island like the back of his hand so he just hits the block and gets on the street
where the other end of the alley is.

The nerve of Kenjaku to come here of all places. He has to have a death wish, and if that’s the
case, Satoru will gladly grant that wish.

As Kenjaku is running out of the alley, Satoru parks the truck in front of him and they all jump out
without closing any doors.

“Where is Suguru?!” Satoru demands as he starts chasing Kenjaku down the street with his bat in
hand. “You can beat on omegas but run when an alpha approaches you, huh? Stop running,
coward!”

For an alpha who is much older, Kenjaku is in good shape. He runs hard and fast, looking for a
home or a business to run into for help but it’s just a wide stretch of agriculture. The only other
place to go is the beach and that’s where Kenjaku goes.

They all run after him. Satoru and Sukuna are in the lead but Shiori is right on their tail.

Under any other circumstances, Satoru would be pissing himself laughing at the entire situation.

Kenjaku is terrified. The guy who abused Suguru and traumatized their pups is too chicken shit to
face them like the man he carries himself as.

Surprise, surprise.

Suguru has dealt with bullies worse than the likes of Kenjaku in junior high. He could’ve handled
this old geezer easily.

It’s crazy the way fear can alter a person’s reality.

Tired of running, he holds the bat like a javelin and hurls it at Kenjaku’s back.

Kenjaku groans in pain as he hits the sand face first. He reaches for the bat with one hand while
the other clutches his sore back. Satoru rushes him, kicks the bat away before he can touch it, and
punches Kenjaku in the face hard enough to knock a tooth loose.

“Where is Suguru, you piece of shit?!” Satoru doesn’t recognize his own voice. It’s deep, guttural,
and hateful. He fists his hands in Kenjaku’s blazer and jerks him up roughly. “Answer me!”
Despite being in deep shit, Kenjaku grins and shows his bloody teeth. “Your career is over,” he
says. “Throwing it all away for my spoiled goods…I expected more out of you, Gojo—”

Satoru punches Kenjaku again, and his nose cracks. Blood wets his fist and the stench of it fills his
nostrils. “You should be lucky Suguru even gave you a chance. You never deserved him,” he says,
dragging Kenjaku over to where the others are waiting for their turn. “But fuck that, you’re going
to tell me where he is one way or another.”

Kenjaku’s eyes grow double in size when he looks up and to all three of them looking down on
him.

“Where is my brother?” Shiori raises the shovel and aims it at Kenjaku’s groin, going right for the
most painful area.

“Shiori, no!”

All of them whip their heads to see Suguru running toward them with Kamo Noritoshi behind him.
Satoru nearly falls to his knees when he sees Suguru.

He’s alive! He’s here and he looks fine minus the bruises on his face and cut over his eye.

Satoru looks back at Kenjaku. “You hit him?!” He raises his bat again.

“Satoru, stop!” Suguru tugs on the back of his shirt to pull him away. “Please!”

Kenjaku sits up and clutches his bloody nose. “Geto, these thugs attacked me! Notify the
authorities this instance!”

Hearing Kenjaku order Suguru around like that makes Satoru snap again. He’s going to beat this
asshole up until there’s nothing left. He tries to break away from Suguru’s hold without hurting
him in the process but it’s hard because Suguru is using his full strength.

“Suguru, he hit you!” Satoru shouts. He turns to look at Suguru, and this close he can see how
painful the bruises look. “He’ll never hurt you again and I’m going to make sure of it.”

“No,” Suguru says, shaking his head. “Move away from him, Satoru.”

“What?” Satoru thinks he misheard that. “You’re protecting him now?! Suguru, did he brainwash
you?”

Kenjaku laughs smugly. “Geto knows who his true alpha is. I’ve trained my bitch well.”

Satoru is too stunned by Suguru’s actions to speak.

He’s at a complete loss until Sukuna quietly steps up and offers his bat to Suguru who accepts it.
Then Suguru walks past Satoru and approaches Kenjaku.

“I want to do this myself, Satoru,” Suguru calmly says.

And Kenjaku’s face falls as realization hits him like a ton of bricks.

“Geto, wait—”

Suguru swings the bat and cracks Kenjaku in the head.

The sound rings throughout the beach and in the distance birds fly out of a tree and take to the
skies.

That’s only the beginning to an onslaught of hits to different areas of Kenjaku’s body as the man
howls in pain and begs Suguru for mercy.

Everyone else watches in amazement as all of Suguru’s hurt and anger is unleashed on his abuser.
They all wanted to get their own lick in but watching Suguru do this is much more rewarding.

A proud smile breaks out on Satoru’s face.

Even when Suguru starts sobbing as his emotions overwhelm him, he keeps beating the absolute
shit out of Kenjaku.

“…this is for all the times you’ve hit me….and belittled me,” Suguru says in between strikes. “…
all the times you’ve made me do it when I didn’t want to….motherfucker, I hate you!” He shouts.
“I fucking hate you for making me hate myself for so long.” Another hit. “You’re nothing. You’re
nothing…”

Satoru only goes to Suguru when Kenjaku’s movements become staggered and it sounds like he’s
gurgling on his own blood.

They could probably still rush him to the emergency room. Alphas are tough to kill.

But Satoru’s not allowing Kenjaku to see another day.

“You’ll kill him,” Satoru says, successfully taking the bloody bat from Suguru. He hugs him and
kisses his cheek. “Go with Sukuna and Shiori. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Suguru hugs Satoru’s neck. “I want him dead,” he says quietly. “But I can’t let you do that, Satoru.
You’re not a murderer.”

“For you and my pack, I’ll be anything.”

Suguru cries harder.

Sukuna and Shiori walk up to Suguru to take him back to the truck. During all of that chaos, Satoru
forgot Kamo was here watching it all. He didn’t even attempt to help his relative while Suguru was
beating him up.

Knowing Kamo, he’s definitely on Suguru’s side. He’s not the kind of guy to play nice with
abusers. But letting his cousin get rightfully beat up is one thing.

Now Satoru is talking murder.

As if reading his mind, Kamo walks over to where they all are. Suguru is now hugging Shiori and
crying on her shoulder while she pets his hair. He’s mentally and physically exhausted.

“I was never here,” Kamo says to Satoru. He looks down at his battered cousin with disgust. “That
is all I will say on the matter.”

Satoru nods. He looks to Sukuna to give him the signal to take Suguru away from here because he
doesn't want him to see what he’s about to do.

“What are you kids up to?”

The hairs on Satoru’s neck rise at the sound of the voice. They all look over to where three older
islanders are standing on the beach. None of them heard them approach.

Satoru wonders if this is his karma when he sees the farmer who chickens he stole for his
infamous school prank. The old woman who sells sweets at the market and always gave him and
Suguru free stuff is there along with Hiroshi-san, a widowed shop owner who has been old all of
their lives.

The elders assess the situation.

First, they look at Suguru, seeing the bruises on his face and the tears in his eyes. When their eyes
land on Kenjaku, an understanding passes between them.

“That’s the man who tried to buy my shop,” Hiroshi-san says in a soft voice that carries on the
breeze. “I don’t know why these outsiders won’t just leave Gomari alone.”

Satoru and the others are worried about what the elders will do. They’ve basically caught them red
handed.

The other old man, the farmer, sighs as he folds his hands behind his back. “They never learn,” he
says. Then he smiles at them. “Well, you kids better run along. It’s getting late out.”

The older woman adds, “And don’t worry about the trash,” she says, looking at Kenjaku
specifically, “the tide will carry it away.”

Satoru blinks in surprise but doesn’t voice his thoughts.

The implications, albeit surprising, are crystal clear. Once the initial shock wears off, Satoru bows
at the elders respectfully and turns to leave.

No one needs an explanation on what’s about to take place, either. Relief floods all of them,
Suguru mainly.

Kamo is the first to step away, followed by Sukuna who smiles to himself as he quietly mutters,
“small towns.”

“Oh, Gojo-kun,” the farmer says before Satoru can walk away with Suguru and Shiori. He smiles.
“Keep making Gomari proud!”

Satoru thought the man was still mad about the chickens he stole but he supposes not. He returns
the smile. “I’ll do my best,” he says.

The elders smile at him.

Gomari’s silent protectors were once thought to be another one of the island’s myths but it appears
those protectors are indeed real.

Kamo takes his own car while Sukuna drives the pick up truck. Shiori sits with him in the cabin to
offer directions, and Satoru and Suguru sit in the back, embracing one another.

“Where are the girls?” Suguru asks.

“With my mother.”

Suguru closes his eyes. “I can’t wait to hold them in my arms again.” He kisses Satoru’s cheek.
“Missed you.”
“I missed you too. Suguru, I thought…” Satoru’s eyes water. The mere thought crushes him. “I’m
happy you’re safe. I’m so happy.” He nuzzles Suguru and starts scent marking him.

Before they return to the compound, Suguru asks Shiori to cover the bruises on his face with make
up so that girls won’t see them. Satoru hates that Suguru even has to do that. But what’s done is
done.

Kenjaku got what he deserved, and he’ll never bother Suguru again.

Gomari’s protectors will make sure of that.

“Mommy!” the twins scream as they bolt out of the front door and run toward them.

It’s surreal to see his daughters dressed in yukatas with their father’s clan emblem stitched into the
fabric.

More surreal than that is how he heard two voices instead of one call out for him just now.

Did he hear that correctly or is he still in shock about everything? It almost sounded as if Mimiko
called out for him too. He looks at Satoru who is unable to contain his laughter.

“Your ears aren’t deceiving you, Suguru,” he says. “Mimiko is talking again.”

That’s unexpectedly good news. It’s amazing news, in fact. Suguru kneels down in the grass and
opens his arms wide. When the girls collide into him he nearly falls back. He hasn’t really eaten or
slept in days and now that he is back with his pack he’s no longer ignoring his body’s needs.

Luckily, Satoru puts an arm out to catch him, and the girls don’t notice a thing. They’re crying and
telling him how much they missed him, and Suguru is also crying because he missed them too and
it feels good to hear Mimiko’s voice.

“Did Papa save you from the bad man?” Nanako asks. She looks between Suguru and Satoru.

For the second time that night, Suguru is thrown for a loop. He imagines he looks like stunned owl
what with all the blinking and staring he’s doing.

“Papa?” he asks quietly. “Did you tell them?” He looks at Satoru accusingly.

Satoru smiles. “They already knew, Suguru. I didn’t have to tell them anything.”

“I missed so much…” Suguru is crying now for a different reason. He’s only been gone for less
than about a week and yet it feels like he’s missed years with them. “And I assume they officially
met your mother?”

Reluctantly, Satoru nods. “Suguru, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Suguru hugs the girls again and kisses them each on the forehead. “I’m home
now and that’s all that matters.” He has to be strong in front of his daughters. “Did you girls eat
yet?”

“Grandma made us soup dumplings,” Mimiko says.

“I missed your voice, Mimi,” he says, caressing her cheek. She smiles at him and he just has to hug
his girls again.
“There’s more than enough food left,” Choi says. She and Sukuna had been quietly watching the
reunion. “Suguru, come freshen up and I’ll set out the food.”

Suguru can tell from the look in Choi’s eyes that she wants to say more. She more than likely
knows all about the terrible things Kenjaku has put him through, and she wants to comfort him but
all of them are mindful of the girls.

The make up he’s wearing hides his bruises well and he washed up at home to get the scent of
blood off of him. But he still feels Kenjaku’s filth on him.

With a lot of reassurance, Suguru gets the girls to stay with everyone else while he goes to freshen
up. They’re afraid he’ll disappear again so he doesn’t take too long. He wants to gather himself and
sort through the mess in his head but that can wait.

Now that Suguru is back with his girls he’s able to put distance between himself and Satoru. He
missed Satoru and wants nothing more than to spend at least a week isolated from the world with
no one else but his alpha and their pups.

It’s just hard to face him after Kenjaku’s unwanted touching. He fought back more than he ever did
in the past yet there’s still that guilt of not fighting back hard enough. No one but Satoru should
touch him, and he just allowed Kenjaku to do so.

Suguru stiffens when Satoru touches his thigh under the table. They’re all sitting down in the
dining room eating.

He’s not looking at Suguru. He’s too busy telling the twins the myth about the merpeople who still
call Gomari home, but he could somehow sense Suguru’s internal distress.

Suguru touches Satoru’s hand, and Satoru turns his palm up and clasps Suguru’s hand. That small
gesture makes Suguru feel loads better.

After the hearty meal, Suguru is exhausted. He keeps nodding off at the table and the girls think
it’s the funniest thing.

Satoru has him and the girls sleep in his room while he and Sukuna take the guest rooms that are
on the next corridor. They’re not sleepy; their adrenaline is still pumping. So, they stay up to fill
Choi in on everything.

“Mommy, are you okay?” Mimiko asks.

They’re cuddling on the futon that smells of Satoru. His scent helps them all rest easier.

“Yes,” Suguru says. “I’m with my girls. I’m as happy as can be.”

The twins purr happily as they snuggle closer to him. They make him happier than he can put into
words.

At one point, he did worry that he would never see them or Satoru again, and despite swearing to
himself in the past that he could live without Satoru, he can’t picture a future without Satoru in it.

Kenjaku may have left a stain on him but that’s okay. In the end, it’s Suguru who will get
everything he wants.

“If we all stick to the same story, it’ll be fine,” Sukuna says. They’re sitting in the back of the
compound with nothing but the mountain range in front of them. “But I have a feeling that it’ll be
as if this night never happened.”

“I agree,” Satoru says.

Every last one of them is possibly an accessory to murder. That should make Satoru paranoid or at
the very least worried about the coming days.

Surprisingly, he’s finally at ease because he knows the Gomari elders have it all under control. Just
like Sukuna always says, small towns are just like that.

Even Satoru’s mother assured them that the elders they encountered will take care of everything.
The way she spoke of them makes Satoru believe that they have a history of ridding Gomari of
unwanted pests.

Gomari has a small police force and a lack of resources. But their crime rate is non-existence with
the greatest offense from a local was drinking too much and being a public nuisance.

Now Satoru understands why Gomari is as safe as it is. The people protect their home.

Sukuna chuckles and shakes his head. “What a day we’ve had.” He crosses his arm over his chest.
“Now, of course, you owe me big time.”

“Anything you want and it’s yours.”

“Geto-san.”

“Why do you always push my limits, Sukuna?”

Sukuna laughs good naturedly. “I had to test the waters,” he says. It’s all jokes. He just likes to
push Satoru’s buttons. “You don’t owe me anything, by the way. Seeing that prick get what he
deserved was more than enough.”

“Seeing Suguru like that really was something.” Satoru thinks about how Suguru took revenge into
his own hands. “He’s amazing.”

“It was amazing to witness, too. I wish my mother could’ve done the same. But she’s not
complaining.”

“Sukuna, where are you really from? I won’t tell the team you’re not from Tokyo.”

“A small town called None of Your Damn Business.”

“That embarrassing, huh?” Satoru laughs when Sukuna cuts his eyes at him. “Fine. You don’t have
to tell me. Just plan a vacation to Hawaii or something and take me there instead.”

“Deal.”

They laugh.

Satoru wants nothing more than to be with Suguru right now but he knows the girls want him all to
themselves for now. So, he’s being patient. He needs to figure out what he’s going to do about the
media and their current obsession with him and his pack.

A press conference is the best route. He’ll have it set up when he returns to Tokyo. In the
meantime, he’ll have his agent inform the press that he intends to address the allegations publicly.
That’ll keep people from digging too much into Suguru’s background, but only temporarily.

All of this is for Suguru and the twins. If it was just Satoru being talked about, he’d ignore it and
let it blow over.

“On a serious note, I will admit that I’m happy you tricked me into coming here.” Sukuna is
looking up at the starry night sky with a content expression. “This situation helped me understand
my anger issues better.”

“You’re angry you didn’t get to defend your mom like you wanted,” Satoru says knowingly.

Sukuna nods. “But whenever I visit her, she’s always smiling and happy. She is living her life now
and doing what makes her happy. That’s what matters. Not my pride or the grudge I can’t let go.”

Satoru was initially upset that he wasn’t the one to put an end to Kenjaku but what Sukuna said is
right. It’s not about his damn pride. It’s about Suguru being able to live without looking over his
shoulder and Suguru finally being able to heal properly.

Without even knowing it, Sukuna just helped Satoru a great deal with his words.

“The other night, Suguru and I were talking about how he hasn’t picked a Godfather for our
daughters. He told me that because he already picked their Godmother that I could do the honor.”

“Naoya’s going to be so happy.”

Satoru doesn’t even entertain that joke. He’s not going to let Sukuna joke his way out of an
emotional moment. He knows all of his tricks. They’re definitely best friends now.

“I want you to be their Godfather, Sukuna.”

“You want the angry jerk who hates everyone to be your kids’ Godfather? Gojo, do better.”

“You can’t fool me, Sukuna. I know you’re a big softie! Besides, the girls like you, and you’re
fond of them.”

Sukuna doesn't deny any of that because he can’t. “If Geto-san is fine with it then I accept,” he
says, smiling. “If something happens to you two, God forbid, does that mean Fushiguro-san and I
can play mommy and daddy?”

“Good luck with that.”

“Your enthusiasm is motivating,” Sukuna says sarcastically.

Hours later, Satoru is laying on the guest futon, staring into the dark room. He should be tired after
the week he’s had but he can’t sleep.

It feels good to know that Suguru is one corridor over, safe and sound. The bruises on his face will
take weeks to disappear and there are skin deep wounds for him to heal from as well. They’ll get
through it together, of course.

Satoru isn’t worried about that.

He isn’t worried about anything, honestly. He just feels restless. There’s a lot for him to take care
of but at the same time he doesn’t know what to do or where to start.
This feeling of discontent keeps him up all night. So, he’s wide awake when Suguru slips into the
guest room at an ungodly hour.

A sliver of moonlight allows Satoru to see half of Suguru's face when he straddles him.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Satoru asks. He touches Suguru’s hips. The sleeping yukata he’s wearing is thin
and soft.

Satoru is only wearing cotton pants without any boxer briefs underneath so the moment Suguru
straddles him he starts stirring. He tries to think about a million of his turn offs to keep himself
from getting aroused for Suguru’s sake.

But Suguru starts kissing him and grinding against him. He takes Suguru’s hands, moving them
from his hips to his ass. Groaning into the kiss, Satoru squeezes Suguru’s ass and starts to rock him
back and forth to create friction. Before long they’re both panting and groaning, and kissing
messily.

Many adolescent fantasies went similar to this. Satoru had never had sex within the walls of the
compound, and even though he’s an adult now, doing this with Suguru while his mom is under the
same roof is very risky.

And also very exciting.

This is great and all, but something feels off.

“Suguru,” Satoru tries to pull away.

Suguru kisses him harder. He rubs Satoru’s chest, pinching his nipples as his hands glide over his
pecs.

Satoru’s cock twitches in response.

He’s gone days without seeing Suguru. The last time he saw him, Suguru was nearing his heat and
all but begging him to fuck him. Naturally, that means Satoru has a lot of tension built up.

That’s why he’s more aggressive than usual.

When Suguru bites his lower lip and rolls his hip, mimicking the way he would ride him if there
were less clothes between them, Satoru grunts. He rolls them over and starts to untie Suguru’s
yukata.

“Fuck me,” Suguru says; demands. He moves Satoru’s hands away and turns over. “Mount me…”

Satoru can feel his sanity slipping, can feel his inner Alpha trying to tear a way out of him. It’s not
his rut but he bet he could make his knot form regardless. He wants to breed Suguru that badly.

But, again, this doesn’t feel right. Something feels wrong.

“You want that?” Satoru asks, rubbing his erection against Suguru’s ass. His face is buried in
Suguru’s hair. “I know you don’t like it that way.”

“I don’t care. Just do it.”

Satoru sobers up a little. “Suguru, I’m always going to want to fuck you cross-eyed when you ask
me to but it feels like you don’t really want that,” he says.
Suguru stops rocking back on his dick. He turns back over. “Should I have woken you up with
head instead?”

That would have been a treat, Satoru isn’t going to act otherwise. But he knows Suguru too well to
not suspect something is wrong.

“Suguru, talk to me,” Satoru says. He lays on top of Suguru, his elbows resting on either side of his
head. “Tell me what you really want.”

It would be easy to mount Suguru, fuck him hard and rough like he’s asking for. That just doesn’t
align with the healthy and mature relationship they’ve built together though.

Even when Suguru would rather hide, Satoru wants him to be able to confide in him no matter
what.

“I want to stop feeling his hands on me,” Suguru whispers.

Satoru has tried not to think about the things Kenjaku did to Suguru these past few days. He didn’t
want to entertain the thought. Now he’s faced with the full extent of what Suguru had endured.

“Did he…” Satoru can’t bring himself to say the word. “You don’t have to tell me. It’s okay,
Suguru.”

“No, actually. I think talking about it will help. I usually keep it all inside but Satoru…I feel so
dirty and disgusting and I just need to purge him out of my system.”

“You can tell me any- and everything, Suguru. I won’t judge.”

All of it is difficult to hear, and even more difficult for Suguru to say out loud. Satoru just listens.

Any negative opinions he has about what Suguru tells him are all aimed at Kenjaku. He doesn’t
wonder why Suguru didn’t do this or did that.

He’s never been in Suguru’s shoes so he can’t say what he would or wouldn’t do in the situations
Suguru has been in. If anything, Satoru is yet again in awe of Suguru’s strength.

A lot of people become angry, spiteful, and mirror images of their abusers in order to cope or have
some semblance of control in their life.

Then there is Suguru who is still kind, generous, and loving.

Kenjaku has a special place in hell, and Satoru would spit on his grave if he had one.

When Suguru is done talking, it’s obvious that he feels better to have that off of his chest. They lay
together in silence for several moments, just reeling from everything. Then Satoru can’t hold it in
anymore.

“Suguru, I love you,” Satoru says, and it’s the first time he’s ever said it. “I’ve loved you since I
was a boy, and I’ll love you even when I’m too old to do anything for myself.” He’ll love Suguru
in death. “I don’t feel any different about you now that I know all of that.”

He knows that Suguru can read him the same way he reads Suguru but he also knows that Suguru
needs to hear him say that.

“You love me?”

Satoru smiles even though Suguru can’t see him that well. “You sound surprised, Suguru.”

He’ll bet his trust fund that Suguru is blushing mad right now.

How long has he fantasized about Satoru saying those words to him? Probably as much as Satoru
has fantasized about Suguru saying it to him.

In this day in age, those words have lost their meaning. They get tossed around too much, without
any genuine feelings behind them. But things are different in Gomari.

Words have deep meaning here. Those three words aren’t even said in serious relationships half the
time. It takes a lot for one of them to say that.

Suguru understands the weight of those words for their people.

That’s why he’s stunned.

Satoru kisses Suguru’s face. “Love you,” he whispers. He can feel the heat on Suguru’s face. He’s
definitely blushing. “Did you hear me, Suguru?”

He gets his answer in the form of a kiss that tastes like tears. They’re happy tears.

Suguru is taking the lead even though Satoru is on top, and he’s more than willing to follow. He
keeps his hands on Suguru’s face while Suguru unties his yukata, opening it just enough for Satoru
to have easy access.

Then Suguru tugs Satoru’s pants down and strokes him while they kiss until he’s hard and
throbbing in his hand.

Satoru loves eating Suguru out. He could do it for hours if only being overstimulated didn’t make
Suguru sob uncontrollably. When he tries to lower his head to do his favorite kind of foreplay,
Suguru stops him.

Silently, he fists Satoru’s erection again and shows Satoru what he wants most.

Every time feels like the first time — the first time that Satoru can remember — when he sinks into
Suguru. He always has to take a moment. He doesn’t move or try to urge Suguru to move against
him. They just lay there, basking in the feel of each other.

Satoru can’t stay like that for too long, though. Suguru’s too tight, too wet. If he doesn’t get the
ball rolling he’ll finish too fast without Suguru getting his pleasure, and that’s out of the question.

They’re still very aware of where they are. They keep their lips locked to muffle their moans but
here and there it becomes too much for them. Satoru has to keep pulling away to bite Suguru’s ear
or tease one of his nipples between his teeth because he feels like he’s going insane.

Suguru is scratching up his back and moaning his name in his ear and tightening his walls around
him as if he’s trying to send Satoru into an early grave.

He has to know how crazy he makes him. What if this whole time Suguru has just been fucking
with him? Playing the role of the cute, shy, and modest mother who is oblivious to his own charm
and sexiness as a way to mindfuck Satoru.

That isn’t the case but sometimes it feels like Suguru knows good and well the power he has over
Satoru.
At this rate, Satoru is going to end before Suguru and he can’t have that. He tries to pull out but
Suguru cages him in, and when he tries to put a hand between them and thumb Suguru’s clit, he’s
met with further resistance.

“Baby, I need to make you cum,” Satoru says, whining just a little.

Suguru drags his nails down Satoru’s back and grabs his ass to make him keep moving. “I want
you to do it inside…”

Satoru starts moving at a steady pace to keep from finishing. “Do what?” he asks.

“Cum inside of me,” Suguru says, whispering the words directly in his ear. “I love it…when you
do that…makes me feel like I’m all yours…”

See? That has to be intentional. No way Suguru is just innocently telling him this.

Regardless, it works like a charm.

Satoru sits up, presses Suguru’s thighs back, and fucks him just a tad on the rougher side because
as he suspected, Suguru enjoys the switch up.

Even when Satoru is too deep, hitting Suguru’s sweet spot repeatedly, and Suguru has to touch
Satoru's stomach to get him to slow down, Suguru gets even wetter. He likes it because it’s Satoru,
and he knows he’s in good hands.

Satoru bites down on his bottom lip when he comes because Suguru orgasms at the same time and
keeps squeezing his walls around him, milking him.

Satoru collapses on top of Suguru, and before he can utter an apology, Suguru is kissing his face
and neck, and nuzzling him.

It feels good to make his omega happy.

“Satoru.” Suguru still has his legs wrapped around him. “I’m ready to be your wife.”

Satoru was prepared to wait years for this moment to come so it’s surprising to hear Suguru say
that. The feeling of discontent dissipates, too. Perhaps this is what he’s been waiting for; the final
step of securing their bond.

“Yeah?” he asks just to be sure.

“Yeah.”

That’s all he needs.

“Let’s get married tomorrow then.”

“Tomorrow?” Suguru laughs. “We have to plan our wedding. I want a traditional Gomari wedding
so the islanders will need to know ahead of time.”

“I’ll get everything together first thing in the morning.”

“I want Megumi to be here.”

“I’ll fly him out. He’ll be here just in time for the ceremony.”
Suguru keeps laughing at Satoru’s antics. “We need to inform the caterers, the live band, and I
need ceremonial attire, you too!”

“Then I’ll start planning now.”

“Satoru, please,” Suguru is laughing so much he can’t finish a sentence.

“We can honeymoon anywhere in the world. I’ll get our tickets and hotel right now.”

“There’s no need to rush.”

“Be honest, how long have you wanted to be my wife?”

Suguru sighs. “For too long.” He admits.

“We’ve both waited long enough. I’ll be patient so you can have the wedding of your dreams but
I’m not waiting longer than a month to give you my last name.”

“Who said I want your last name anyway?” Suguru says just to be stubborn.

“Your old MySpace password.”

Suguru’s reaction is hilarious. “Who told you that?” he asks, mortified. “Was it Shiori?”

It was Shiori but Satoru’s not a snitch.

He kisses Suguru’s embarrassment away, and they celebrate their engagement with another round.
 rabid
Chapter Notes

Thanks for being so patient everyone!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The authorities spend two days on Gomari, going from door to door with questions about Noritosai
Kenjaku.

No one saw anything, heard anything, or knew anything.

The Kamo family thanked them for their hard work but told them that they preferred a private
investigator to oversee the continuation of the investigation.

With a lack of solid evidence to even suggest foul play or a body to confirm worse, the detectives
have no choice but to leave the island empty handed.

Since Kenjaku doesn’t have a wife or a child, and his only relatives who are alive are the Kamo
clan, they have a right to make that call. As an active clan, they also have the right to decline
assistance from the authorities if an initial investigation proves fruitless.

It goes without saying that Kamo Noritoshi is doing his part to ensure that no one outside of those
who were present learn the truth about Kenjaku’s disappearance.

Satoru will forever be in his debt though it’s obvious that Noritoshi is simply doing this to protect
Gomari and its residents like the Village Leader should. He may be doing this for Suguru as well
but he won’t openly confirm nor deny that.

Weeks after the Kenjkau situation was resolved, Satoru returned to Tokyo to hold a press
conference about the revelation of his secret family.

With Yaga’s backing, and Suguru’s assurance, he told millions of fans half of the truth.

He didn’t tell them how his twins were conceived despite being prepared to reveal that to the world
and accept whatever punishment he was given. Suguru specifically asked him to withhold that
information so he listened. But he did publicly claim the twins and Suguru as his pack and asked
everyone to respect his privacy.

Soon, his fans took to Social Media and bashed journalists for potentially harming Satoru’s pack by
insensitively leaking the information. Any pictures of Suguru that were uploaded online were soon
deleted.

His fans, for the most part, loved the idea of Satoru being with a childhood sweetheart. So, the
general consensus is positive. Any negativity is stamped out by dedicated fans without Satoru
having to lift a finger.

His PR agent was right when she said his fanbase would do the heavy lifting if he remained sincere
and humble during his press conference.
Honestly, after everything that transpired, Satoru was going to give it to them straight and let it be
known he didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought about him or his pack.

Good thing he didn’t write his entire speech by himself.

A lot of questions arose about Suguru’s involvement with Kenjaku since Kenjaku was seen picking
Suguru up when the media ambushed him outside of Satoru’s penthouse.

Yaga released a statement that made it seem as if Kenjaku was only acting in the team’s best
interests. He simply went there to pick Suguru up before the media could force information out of
him. That is the only connection between the two that is publicly known.

After everything with rehab and then the press conference, Satoru fully expected Yaga and the
other team managers to wipe their hands clean of him. He caused enough trouble.

However, after the press conference ended, Yaga ordered Satoru to enjoy his hiatus but not to
become lazy because he expects to see him next season.

Satoru promised Yaga that he would be the first one in the gym.

“My sincerest apologies for the long wait, ladies,” Satoru says with a gracious bow as he opens the
door to the Café.

The twins excitedly skip through the doorway, their floofy dresses swishing. Both girls are wearing
a strawberry printed dress; pink for Nanako and blue for Mimiko, and matching bows in their
heads.

Prior to coming to the Café the four of them went to a photography studio for family photos so all
of them are dressed up.

“My fairest lady,” Satoru says as Suguru walks through the door.

Suguru smiles. “You're laying it on thick today,” he says, patting Satoru’s cheek lightly. “What are
you up to, Satoru?”

“Oh nothing.”

He’s just the happiest he’s been in years, that’s all.

Satoru steps in behind Suguru, and they each take hold of a twin’s hand and walk over to the
hostess to be seated. As requested prior to arriving, they have a spot reserved in the back out of
sight. He doesn’t want anyone to interrupt their quality time as a family.

Everyone is still talking about the press conference despite it occurring days ago.

“Let’s look over the menu,” Suguru says, tucking hair behind his ear. His dress is the same style of
the twins’ but it’s white with pink strawberries. The twins picked it out for him.

Mimiko and Suguru are seated on one side of the booth, looking over the menu while Nanako and
Satoru are seated across from them doing the same thing. Since this is one of Satoru’s favorite
places in Tokyo, he already knows what he wants.

Unsurprisingly, Nanako wants the same kind of crepe as him. It has the most toppings and three
different flavors of syrup to top it all off. When Satoru reads the description aloud, Suguru and
Mimiko grimace.
Alternatively when Suguru reads off the description of the crepe he and his splitting image
ordered, Satoru and Nanako pull faces and stick out their tongues.

“You barely got anything on it,” Satoru says when their order comes out.

Suguru and Mimiko have light filling and thin slices of strawberry to serve as garnish on their
crepe without any drizzle.

“You and Nana have the entire pantry on yours,” Suguru says, laughing. “I’m surprised you don’t
have cavities, Satoru.”

His dental health is superb, and he’ll make sure Nanako’s will be too.

“Nana!” Mimiko giggles, pointing at her sister. “You have ssomething on your face!”

There’s chocolate syrup on Nanako’s chin and whipped cream on her cheeks. Her eyes go cross
when she tries to look at her own face, and that just makes Mimiko giggle harder.

Satoru takes out his phone. “Nana, say cheese!”

“Cheese!”

He takes a picture and shows it to her, making her grin.

Before she can try to wipe her face with her hands and make a bigger mess, Suguru already has a
wet wipe at the ready. He hands it to Satoru who cleans her face.

No matter how small Suguru’s bag is he always seems to have everything in it. Yesterday all he
had was a small backpack but somehow he had all the things the girls could possibly want and need
aside from food.

They took their daughters around Tokyo yesterday to take pictures with the Godzilla statues that
are spread out around the city and they went to the Godzilla museum on Awaji Island where they
were approached by some of his fans. No pictures were taken of him or his pack per Satoru’s
request, but he did sign autographs.

It was a long, fun-filled day reminiscent of their trip to Disney. But this time Satoru played an
active role in helping Suguru with the twins.

He’s getting the hang of this whole parenting thing.

Last night, he even helped Suguru shampoo and detangle the girls’ hair and he’s slowly mastering
the ‘gentle yet stern’ voice Suguru uses when the girls get too rowdy in public.

He doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to end a temper tantrum with only one look the way Suguru
does though. That’s a talent that only mothers possess because his mother has the same gift.

The girls love the crepes so much that Suguru promises to look up a recipe online so they can make
them at home someday.

Speaking of ‘home’ they’re going to have to find a house in a great neighborhood that has a top
school in the area after they get married next month.

Soon they’ll take Mimiko to a consultant for a screening to see if therapy is still necessary.
Depending on how that goes they may have to put their wedding plans on hold.
“Papa, I have to potty,” Nana says, tugging on Satoru’s sleeve.

This is one area that Satoru still has zero experience with. Thankfully, Suguru swoops in to save
the day. He suggests taking both girls to go potty while Satoru takes care of the check.

As they’re leaving the shop, an elderly couple compliments the girls' dresses, and tells them they’re
a beautiful family.

They really are one big happy family. Sometimes Satoru just has to sit back and reflect on what it
took for them to get here, and what he’ll do to ensure things stay as they are.

They thank the elderly couple and have the girls say thank you as well.

When they’re in the car and the girls are buckled up in their carseats, Suguru kisses Satoru’s cheek
without warning nor prompting, and gives him a sly look when he pulls away.

Satoru is grinning like a Cheshire cat as he drives out of the garage because he knows he’s going to
get very lucky tonight. But then hours later, when the girls have had their baths and are tucked into
bed, he and Suguru pass out on the couch without so much as feeling one another up.

They’ll make it up to one another some other time.

Living together is a new experience.

They’ve known one another all of their lives, have shared secrets that no one else knows, and yet
they have never shared a space like this. Having the twins in the equation makes for an interesting
lifestyle shift.

There is also the fact that Satoru is taking a break. With him on a hiatus, he no longer has
basketball taking up the bulk of his day or endorsement deals to fill up the rest of it, he’s at home
more than he ever has been.

Every morning, he goes for a jog around his neighborhood. Returning to the condo, he showers,
and has breakfast with everyone. On slow mornings, he showers and returns to bed to lay next to
Suguru. Depending on the mood, they get in a few kisses and touches before the twins run into
their room.

Satoru suggested they lock the doors at night to prevent the girls from running in during a bad
time, but Suguru doesn’t want them to feel shut out or if there’s an emergency for there to be a
delay.

That’s one rule that Satoru doesn’t agree with but he leaves it alone.

They do some bonding activities together since that’s essential for packs, lots of arts and crafts and
day dates to museums or picnics in the park. Maneuvering through big crowds to avoid the media
snapping photos of them is the most challenging part of any outing but Satoru doesn't allow it to
damper the mood.

Most times Suguru handles the cooking because Satoru, despite excelling at anything he puts effort
into, doesn’t know how to cook. Simply because he never put any effort into it. He takes care of
the dishes after Suguru cooks, and whenever Suguru is not in the mood to cook, they order in.

After dinner Suguru always gives the girls a bath. Then they all usually end the day watching a
movie or a show together until the twins fall asleep. Satoru helps tuck the girls in as part of the
bonding process. Sometimes he’ll read them to sleep. Nanako thinks Suguru’s voice acting is better
than his but he’s working on that.

Establishing a routine isn’t the difficult part of sharing a space, in fact, they fall into their new
lifestyles fairly easily.

What Satoru struggles with is letting go of old habits.

“Satoru, can you please not leave your dirty clothes on the bathroom floor,” Suguru says one night,
walking across their bedroom in only a towel. His hair is wet and his face is rosie.

Laying in the bed with his feet facing the headboard, Satoru watches Suguru until he disappears
into the walk-in closet. Satoru hangs his head off the edge of the bed, catching a glimpse of Suguru
slipping on panties under his towel.

Rolling off the bed, he smiles. “Suguru,” he coos. He hugs Suguru and kisses his soft cheek.
“Don’t bother getting dressed…” He grabs a handful of ass.

“Did you hear me?” Suguru places his hands on Satoru’s chest, giving him a stern look. “I’ve lost
count of the times I’ve had to pick your clothes up off the bathroom floor.”

Satoru kisses Suguru’s pouty face. “Yeah, yeah, I won’t do it again.”

Today was taxing, and the night prior they didn’t get much sleep because Nanako had a nightmare
and it was a hassle getting her back to sleep.

Understandably, Suguru is tired. They both are but Satoru can always find the energy, especially
since they’ve been unable to have as much alone time these days. The last time they had sex it was
a quickie in the bathroom just a day after they returned from Gomari.

Suguru initiated it. He hopped up on the sink, spread his legs, and told Satoru to “come here” and
the double entendre was taken very seriously by Satoru who fulfilled both requests.

“And another thing,” Suguru says, turning his head to the side to accept neck kisses. “If you know
I cleaned the kitchen please don’t go in there and leave a mess...”

Satoru is only in the kitchen to make protein shakes or grab a snack. He may or may not have a
habit of not cleaning the counter when he’s done because he’s used to having a housekeeper. The
lady who cleans the place is on vacation though, so Suguru keeps everything tidy. He’s efficient to
the point where even if Satoru wanted to go back and clean up a mess he made Suguru has already
taken care of it.

“Yeah, sorry.” Satoru can tell Suguru is agitated tonight. He kisses his cheek and rubs his arms.
“I’m used to living like a bachelor.”

Upon closer inspection, Suguru’s exhaustion looks more than just physical. His scent was neutral a
moment ago but now it is faintly sour. Putting his horny thoughts on hold, Satoru cups Suguru’s
chin and has him look up, into his eyes.

“Suguru, what’s really wrong?”

The two things Suguru pointed out aren’t nitpicky in Satoru’s opinion. He doesn’t want to think he
has to cook and clean up after him, and he’s always known that Suguru is borderline a neat freak.
But it feels like there’s a bigger issue that Suguru is trying to bury.
Suguru smiles; it’s tight around the lips. “Nothing’s wrong. Sorry for nagging.”

“You weren’t nagging.”

They walk to the bed and sit on the side of it. Satoru holds Suguru’s hand. Maybe Suguru is still
harboring negative emotions from the Kenjaku situation. He was held captive by his abuser, beaten
and assaulted, and it’s all still fresh. His bruises have healed. He also opened up to Satoru about the
horrific details of his abuse but perhaps that isn’t enough.

“It’s me, Suguru.”

Hearing that, Suguru looks at Satoru, really looks at him and his expression softens. “I’m very
anxious about Mimiko’s upcoming appointment,” he says. His smile falls. “And I think Nanako
should be evaluated as well.”

Even though Mimiko is talking now they want to be on the safe side. They’re meeting with a
specialist next week.

“I’m not disagreeing. I would only like to know why you think that.”

“We were all in that house with that madman. It was a shared experience and the three of us walked
away from it with different kinds of trauma. I thought I was protecting them but I was stupid.”

“You can’t blame yourself for his actions.” Satoru nods in agreement to the rest of what was said.
“Nanako sees herself as the pack protector and she’s a pup. I do think they both need to see a
professional.”

Suguru visibly sighs in relief. “I thought I was overthinking.”

“You’re not.”

“Thank you.”

“You know, we’re both in this together. If something is bothering you, don’t hold it in.”

“Okay.”

“Suguru, I’m serious.”

“I know.” Suguru stands up and faces Satoru. He drops his towel. “Now that that’s settled…”

Satoru opens his arms and Suguru straddles his lap. While they’re kissing, and Suguru is stroking
his cock, he realizes that he foolishly fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book. This is Suguru’s
way of changing the topic without making any promises on his end. He’s very sneaky.

And Satoru forgets all about this realization once he’s buried inside of Suguru.

“How is everything coming along?”

Satoru is at the gym helping Sukuna train for an upcoming game, and the twins are taking their
nap. No one is around to eavesdrop yet Suguru still looks over his shoulder to triple check.

After confirming what he already knew, he looks at Shoko again. She’s on his laptop’s screen.
They’re having a video call.
“The girls have adjusted fairly quickly,” Suguru says with a sincere smile. “You know I expected it
to be a long process but they warmed up to Satoru easily.”

Shoko nods, looking smug because she predicted this would happen. “How are the bonding
activities coming along?”

The bonding activities have been going very well. Possibly too well. Once the girls start preschool
he worries they’re going to have difficulty being away from them for that long. Then again,
everything makes Suguru worry these days. He thought he would shake out of that habit, that he
would be magically fixed after Kenjaku was out of the picture and he opened up to Satoru but that
isn’t the case entirely.

He tries to explain all of that to Shoko as best he can.

“Kenjaku wasn’t the only issue you were faced with.”

Well, Satoru was a source of stress for him initially. There was the trauma from that night in the
cove, and built up resentment from their childhood years. Constantly being made to feel
insignificant hurt.

However, Satoru has made up for everything in Suguru’s eyes, and he continues to be a loving and
supportive partner. Suguru can’t wait to marry Satoru either. They haven’t been able to make any
solid plans yet because they both decided to prioritize their daughters. Their time to tie the knot
will come and when it happens Suguru knows he will cry so much because it’s truly a dream come
true.

Shoko starts scribbling something in her notebook. The sound of it snaps Suguru out of his fond
fantasizing about Satoru carrying him off bridal style.

Anytime Shoko writes in her notebook Suguru knows that he’s about to hear something he isn’t
prepared to hear. He braces himself.

“I’m referring to the relationship between you and your daughters.”

That is the last thing Suguru expected Shoko to say. It’s almost comical how he reacts to hearing
that. His face is frozen in between two states; disbelief and offense. Everything in his life was
crumbling around him yet his relationship with his daughters remained solid. Shoko has even
praised him for being able to build a strong bond with them despite being young, inexperienced,
and struggling financially.

A lot of parents take their frustrations with their unfair circumstances out on their children. Suguru
never did that and he never will.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Suguru tries and fails to keep his tone polite. When it comes
to his daughters he is automatically defensive. “Our relationship is fine.”

With quiet calm, Shoko scribbles in her notebook again.

Suguru grits his teeth.

“Before you curse me out,” Shoko says, still writing, “let me clarify. I’m not saying your
relationship with your daughters is toxic. What I mean to point out is your guilt.”

“My guilt.”
“You are under the impression that Mimiko resents you. What happened to her…you blame
yourself for it and you think she blames you too.”

Suguru’s eyes sting, he opens his mouth to speak but he gets choked up. That’s one thing that he
does fear. When Mimiko or even Nanako reflect on this point in their lives will they blame Suguru
for Mimiko being too anxious to speak or Nanako feeling like she has to protect them all? His
biggest fear is his daughters growing to despise him.

“Have you talked to Gojo-san about it?”

“It’s not important right now,” Suguru says. They have to get the girls through therapy and plan
their wedding afterward. He took up enough of their time with the whole Kenjaku ordeal. “You can
stop taking notes about it.”

Shoko gives him a disapproving look. “Do you ever consider that both of your daughters love you
as much as they do because you took them away from that place?” she asks.

“It was my fault they were there in the first place!”

“According to your version of the story, the moment Mimiko’s fear became apparent you
immediately ran away with them.”

“I did.”

“Mimiko saw a monster. Kenjaku. And you took her far away from that monster. You saved her
and I am sure she sees it that way. She doesn’t resent you. Neither of them resent you.”

“I resent myself!” Suguru is startled by his own outburst. But the cat’s out of the bag. “I don’t think
that will ever change. They shouldn’t need therapy. Had I been smarter, they wouldn’t need to go
through this at all.”

For some reason, Suguru can’t see it that way. He will always blame himself, sadly. The reason
why he won’t bring it up to Satoru is because he doesn’t think it’s worth bringing up. He isn’t
allowing his resentment of himself regarding past decisions hinder him from being an amazing
parent or being with the person he has always loved.

Shoko meets with him free of charge so they have to end the call soon. She has to meet with the
people who actually pay her.

“We will revisit this next week,” Shoko says. She gives him a pointed look. “Don’t be a baby. I
expect you to answer when I call you.”

Suguru almost sticks his tongue out. That would be too much like Satoru when they were in high
school though and he was always telling him not to do such an immature gesture. He shouldn’t
stoop that low.

As he’s stepping out of Satoru’s office, he sees Mimiko walking down the hallway from their
bedroom. She’s holding her whale plushie and rubbing her eye.

“Mimi,” Suguru walks over and picks her up. “Do you need to potty?”

Mimiko nods. She lays her head on his shoulder because she’s still drowsy. He kisses the top of her
head and takes her to the bathroom. She’s nodding off on the potty, and Suguru has to help her sit
up.
When she’s done, he helps her wash her hands and then they return to the bedroom to collect Nana
who is knocked out. She doesn’t even budge when Suguru picks her up. All three of them go to the
main bedroom that smells mostly like Satoru.

Suguru isn’t tired, necessarily. That session with Shoko has him feeling emotionally raw, though.
Cuddling with his napping daughters helps. His mood improves, but it improves greatly when
Satoru comes home later and lays down with them.

Unfortunately, that mood enhancement provides only temporary comfort. Throughout the week,
the conversation with Shoko lingers on his mind like an aftertaste in the mouth.

The bonding activities continue and their daily routine goes on without a hitch, but when Suguru is
left alone because Satoru is at the gym or the girls are napping or playing together in their room, he
turns into a metaphorical dark cloud.

Once the girls enter therapy and their trauma is looked at with a magnifying glass, Suguru will be
seen as the problem. He’s the idiot who didn’t realize he was being courted by an abusive asshole.
He’s the coward who couldn’t leave because they had a roof over their heads and three meals a
day. His daughters were safe until they weren’t, but from the very start it was a risky gamble.

Sometimes when Suguru is called a “good mother” he doesn’t agree. If his daughters grow up to
resent him, he won't hold it against them. It’s what he believes he deserves.

“I think the plate is clean by now, Suguru.”

Gasping, Suguru almost drops the plate into the dish water. He was zoned out, not realizing he was
washing the same dish for that long until Satoru popped up behind him to point it out.

Satoru hugs him from behind. “Sorry for scaring you,” he says, chuckling. “But you are up at 5am
washing clean dishes so I am concerned.”

“They’re not clean. You had them crammed in the back of a cabinet for who knows how long.”

“Okay, new approach. You’re up at 5am rummaging through cabinets.”

Suguru can’t very well deny that. He was unable to sleep and couldn’t lay in bed staring into the
dark. He tried to watch something but felt too restless to sit down. The dishes he’s washing look
expensive, and they were just collecting dust so he decided to clean them. He can argue that it’s not
a big deal to do that but maybe if it wasn’t 5am he’d have a better chance at proving his sanity.

“Sorry, I couldn’t sleep,” Suguru says, leaning his head back on Satoru’s shoulder. “I didn’t want
to wake you because you looked too peaceful.”

Kissing his temple, Satoru touches his wrists and gently urges his hands out of the sink water. “If
you keep this up Suguru I’ll have no choice but to send you to an asylum. The whole hysterical
wife thing is hot but we have kids, ya’ know.”

Suguru rolls his eyes, fighting a smile. “Wife? We’re not married, Gojo-san.”

“Ouch, too far.”

“You referring to me as hysterical is fine but I call you Gojo-san and you’re crying?”

“Yes, I’m very sensitive,” he says, fake pouting as he kisses his temple again. “You wash, I’ll
dry.”

There aren’t a lot of dishes left. They finish not too long after, and then return to bed.

Satoru spoons Suguru and without a word he begins nuzzling and scent marking him, sucking and
nipping on the glands at the nape of his neck. Omegas exhibit distress in various ways, and it isn’t
always noticeable to them, but their alphas can sense it. Even when they’re dead asleep.

Satoru more than likely sensed that Suguru left their nest and was having a mini spiral in the
kitchen.

“Are you finally going to tell me what’s bothering you?” Satoru is still nuzzling him, and now his
hands are under his shirt. “I don’t want to force it out of you, Suguru, but I’m concerned.”

Forcing the truth out of him would mean tapping into their mating bond and commanding Suguru
to open up. Suguru is honestly surprised Satoru hasn’t done that yet. Sometimes Suguru does need
a bit of rough love. It makes him wonder if he ever would have told Satoru about graduation night
had he not pushed him into a corner.

“Nothing is wro—”

Suguru cries out.

Satoru bit his scent glands. To apologize he licks over the aching skin, whispering softly, “Suguru,
let’s try that again. Okay?” He waits for Suguru to nod. “What has been on your mind?”

All of this is very cruel because Suguru is really turned on now and Satoru’s erection is hot on his
lower back but Satoru won’t move his hands lower, he won’t touch Suguru the way that he wants.

“Satoru,” Suguru whines. “Touch me.”

“No. You’re not wiggling your way out of this again.”

Suguru loudly sighs. “You’re being very unreasonable. I know you want ro fuck me, Satoru.” He
starts to ‘wiggle’ against Satoru to bait him into it.

“I always want to do that. Now I’m prioritizing. Quit stalling.”

This is awfully mean of Satoru, but Suguru knew he wouldn’t be able to hide anything from him
for too long.
He decides to lay there in still silence. He’s being difficult and he knows it, but he would like for
this all to blow over and not be blown up.

Satoru is persistent.

“Are you having nightmares about Gomari? I know a lot happened…”

Suguru frowns. “No, actually.” He looks over his shoulder to look at Satoru. “What about you?
We…”

Killed someone.

Not necessarily but they were all complicit in Kenjaku’s murder. That kind of thing can weigh
heavily on the soul. At least it’s supposed to.

“No. I haven’t thought about it since really.” Instead of questioning each other’s morals, they carry
on, figuring there’s no use in pretending to care that a dirtbag is no longer around. “Then what is
it?”

It does seem silly to hide anything from Satoru at this point. Suguru doesn’t do it because he
doesn’t trust Satoru to understand his worries. He does it so as not to burden Satoru. But he can tell
that he’s hurting Satoru with his silence.

“I can’t forgive myself for what happened to Mimiko,” Suguru says, closing his eyes to fight back
tears. “Or Nanako. They’re too young to be experiencing any of this. They shouldn’t need therapy
at all.”

Satoru kisses his cheek as if to silently thank him for finally opening up.

“Do you worry that they’ll resent you when they’re old enough to understand?”

“That is exactly how I feel. How did you know?”

“I feel the same way. I always worry they’ll wonder where I was when their Mommy was being
hurt and they were afraid…”

Suguru takes one of Satoru’s hands from under his shirt and kisses along the knuckles. “I’m sorry,
Satoru. They won't blame you. They adore you so much and will always remember you kept your
promise and brought me back home.”

“They adore you as well and will always know that you took them away from that bad place,
Suguru. We’re both worrying ourselves with ‘what ifs’ that may never happen. The best we can do
is never let them down again from now on.”

After talking to Satoru, Suguru always feels like he wasted time being anxious and afraid when he
could have sorted everything out a long time ago.

Suguru turns over, circling his arms around Satoru’s neck and hugging him with force. The hug
feels inadequate so he wraps his legs around Satoru’s legs. Satoru chuckles and cups his ass even
though he doesn’t need help staying latched on to him.

“We’ve got this, Suguru,” Satoru says.

“Yeah…neither of us are alone anymore.”

They can rely on one another as well as their families. One of Suguru’s biggest regrets was running
away and shutting everyone out so he shouldn’t continue to do so even with something he deems as
unimportant. It’s just that being emotionally dependent on himself for that long is a hard habit to
break, but he’s getting there.

“Let’s go out tomorrow night,” Satoru says sometime later. “We can grab dinner, see a movie, just
us.”

A date night with only them does sound nice. They haven’t been on a date in a while.

“We don’t have a babysitter.” Suguru reminds Satoru. “It’s too last minute to find one. I’d like to
interview them and do a background check.”

“The girls have a Godfather who lives in the city.”

How could Suguru forget?

“Are you sure you can handle them, Ryoumen-san? They can be a handful.”

Sukuna is calmly sitting on the floor of the living room while Nanako puts different costume hats
on his head and Mimiko is wrapping a feather boa around his neck. They’re getting him ready for
the tea party.

“I’ve got it,” Sukuna says with a shrug. “You two enjoy yourselves.”

Pursing his lips, Suguru considers the pros and cons, and reminds himself that the pros outweigh
the cons significantly. He opens his mouth to once again list all of the rules for dinner and bedtime
but Satoru quickly kisses him.

“I don’t want to miss the trailers,” he says. “Sukuna’s got this.”

Suguru sighs. “Okay.” He walks over to the living room. Again. He’s already given them their
goodbye kisses. “Girls, be respectful with Ryoumen-san. We’ll be home later.”

The girls barely spare him a glance. As soon as Sukuna entered the condo they flocked to him,
asking a million questions about everything from basketball to what his house looks like. They
even asked him if he liked Godzilla. He answered every question, too, without a sign of annoyance.

Feeling put out, Suguru allows Satoru to drag him out of the condo. When they’re in the parking
garage, Satoru presses him against his car and kisses him.

The kiss is unexpected but welcoming. Suguru hums when Satoru’s hands go straight to his ass. He
picked these jeans because they make his ass look and feel great, and as always Satoru shows his
appreciation.

Satoru sucks on his lips before pulling away. “You’re pouting like you don’t want to go out with
me, Suguru,” he says in a husky voice.

“You know that isn’t the case.” Suguru kisses Satoru’s chin. “Come on, let’s go. I know you want
sweets from the concession.”

“I do want sweets.” From the look in his eyes he isn’t referring to candy, either. “But let’s get
going.”

Reluctantly, he lets go of Suguru. He opens the passenger door for him and kisses him one more
time before closing the door. The movie theater isn’t that far from them so the drive isn’t meant to
be long but at every red light, Satoru is leaning over the console to tongue kiss Suguru. At one
point, Suguru reaches over and grabs Satoru’s cock through his pants, squeezing it as they lick into
each other’s hot mouths.

One of the cars behind them has to honk their horns to get their attention. Satoru almost flips them
off but Suguru grabs his hand to stop him, laughing the whole time.

The movie theater’s parking lot is packed.

They find a spot in the back where one of the street lights is broken, making this area of the lot
darker.

Satoru definitely noticed that before he parked the car. He grabs the back of Suguru’s head, pulling
his face closer as he meets halfway for a sloppy kiss. Suguru returns his hand to Satoru’s cock,
happy that it’s fully hard now. He fumbles with the zipper of Satoru’s pants.
Satoru helps him out. Once his cock is freed, Suguru bites Satoru’s lip to end the kiss and lowers
his head to his lap. He almost forgets that they’re technically in public, almost forgets to care.

Their location has nothing to do with Suguru’s urgency, either. Having Satoru’s cock in his mouth
feels like a life or death event. He needs it like he needs air.

“Fuck!” Satoru grunts, grabbing a fist full of Suguru’s hair. His voice is broken the next time he
speaks. “You’re too damn good at this...”

The praise makes Suguru take Satoru’s cock deeper, if that’s even possible. His nose is being
tickled by the patch of white pubic hairs at the base of Satoru’s cock. Satoru’s scent, his rich,
earthy, alpha musk fills his nostrils, intoxicating him. He starts moaning around Satoru’s cock, and
gagging, not because his throat can’t handle its girth, but because he wishes he could take even
more into his mouth.

Suguru doesn’t pull off until Satoru slaps his ass and grips it roughly. He lifts his head for another
kiss, alternating between Satoru’s lips and his cock like he just can’t get enough of him. Because he
can’t. It’s a mutual feeling.

It’s also worth noting that neither of them are in their mating cycles nor are they nearing their
mating cycles. They’re both taking suppressants.

This is all them.

“Hotel?” Satoru asks.

So much for dinner and a movie.

They’re glued at the hip while Satoru charges the Emperor’s suite of some high end hotel on his
credit card. On the elevator, Suguru has Satoru back into a corner, hands up his shirt, scratching at
his chest, while he sucks a hickey on his neck. Satoru is gripping his ass, massaging it, slapping it,
and pushing on it to bring their bodies closer.

Suguru has to stop himself from getting on his knees and finishing what he started in the car
earlier. But the elevator has a camera and they’re already being indecent. He gets a chance to
follow up on that once they’re inside the suite. They make it to the end of the short hallway that
connects to a lounge area. Satoru towers over him, cupping his face, fucking his mouth.

With his jeans no longer in the way, Suguru can rub himself through his panties that are soaked.
That friction is nice but it isn’t quite enough. While Satoru uses his mouth as he pleases, Suguru
slips two fingers inside his panties and starts fingering himself. The way his walls flex around his
fingers, make him eager to have Satoru inside of him.

Satoru goes from watching how his cock stretches Suguru’s mouth, to watching how he fucks
himself. It’s as if Suguru can actually see his balls tightening; they’re so heavy and full like a
healthy alpha’s sack should be, and he gets overwhelmed with the intense urge to suck on Satoru’s
knot.

“K…knot…” Suguru moans around his cock.

“Want me to knot your throat?” Satoru asks, voice deeper than usual. His eyes are different too,
electric. “Baby, I can’t get you pregnant that way.”

But they can try though, right?

Suguru wants Satoru’s knot. Either in his throat or his pussy or his ass. He just wants it. No— he
needs it.

On second thought…

Maybe one of them is entering their mating cycle.

Satoru ultimately makes the decision for Suguru.

They shed their clothes, leaving them in the hall. Satoru carries Suguru to the adjoined bedroom,
carrying him ass naked over his shoulder as though he were a caveman’s conquest. Suguru is giddy
when Satoru lays him on the bed, grabs hold of his ankles and tugs him halfway off it.

Suguru is already moaning before Satoru’s mouth even touches him, already creaming around the
finger that’s pumping inside of him. Every curve of that finger has slick pouring out of him, and
Satoru greedily licks it up every time.

“Satoru…touch…” Satoru takes Satoru’s other hand, mainly the thumb, and guides it lower.
“Please…I need you here too...”

This is the first time either of them have even talked about anal in any regard. They’re not
“talking” about it now, either. And it’s not something that needs to be discussed. Not now.

Satoru has long arms. Long enough to reach up and push his thumb into Suguru’s mouth. Suguru
gets his thumb nice and wet, and Satoru sucks on his clit as he presses that thumb into his tight
asshole. The whole of it is barely in and Suguru is squirting all over the damn place, digging his
heels on the mattress.

The action forces him down further on Satoru’s thumb. He squirts again, screaming Satoru’s name
at the top of his lungs.

“I’m going to fuck my knot into you,” Satoru says, and that’s all he says. All he needs to say.

He has Suguru flipped over on his stomach, ass high in the air, sensitive nipples pressed against the
sheets while everything under the chest is left hovering. Satoru has him held up somehow but
Suguru is too busy sucking on his fingers and whining for Satoru’s ‘fat knot’ to know how he’s
managing that.

Being mounted was one of Suguru’s biggest fears until about five seconds ago when Satoru
entered him in one thrust. Being knotted again used to scare him too but he can’t stop begging for
Satoru to knot him, to fuck him pregnant because that is the only thing he wants or needs right
now.

Suguru hands are fisted in the sheets, a delirious smile on his face as Satoru’s balls slap against
him. He’s already imagining himself barefoot and pregnant on a beach in Gomari. It’s insanity.
Pure, blissful insanity.

One of them missed a daily dose of their suppressants.

One of them has triggered the other’s mating cycle by entering their own cycle unexpectedly.

And they may never know who.

Satoru’s knot eventually catches, making Suguru squirt every time he rolls his hips and fucks it
deeper into him. Satoru is grunting and biting Suguru’s shoulder, and Suguru is reaching behind
their heads to tug on Satoru’s hair. He wants to bite him too; wants to mark.

Satoru presses him on the mattress, big body forcing him to lie flat, to submit. Instead of holding
him there, breeding him, and depriving him of what he wants, he lowers his head, tilting it as far to
the side as he can.

In actuality, Satoru is submitting to Suguru.

Eyes lighting up, Suguru licks his lips and then bares his fangs. He bites down on Satoru’s neck,
completing their bond.

They lay together, nuzzling and purring, until Satoru’s knot deflates sometime later. They seperate
long enough to change positions. Both of their eyes are bright as they continue fucking like
animals. Suguru rides Satoru, clawing at his chest, leaving angry red scratches on the pretty skin.
The headboard is knocking against the wall, leaving dents, and they’re both too absorbed in one
another to care.

Every time Satoru tries to dominate again, Suguru pushes him back down on the bed. His goal is to
milk his cock for another knot and not even his beloved mate will get in his way.

Satoru growls, and Suguru growls back, louder, more aggressive, and Satoru can only grunt in
compliance and watch Suguru bounce on his cock.

But Satoru doesn’t always play fair. He presses a thumb in Suguru’s ass, making him squirt so hard
he loses his balance. Grinning, Satoru grabs hold of Suguru and starts slamming him on his cock
until he’s cross-eyed and drooling down his chin.

Suguru makes Satoru pay for that later.

After the second knot catches and eventually deflates, Suguru rides Satoru backwards, giving him
an amazing view of his deep spine, his wide hips, round ass, and juicy pussy as it sucks around his
cock. Every time Satoru tries to sit up to mount him or thumb his ass, Suguru sits down hard
enough to push him back on the mattress.

Satoru knows when to accept defeat, and they both know that he loves being challenged like this.
They both love it.

It goes on for hours. Suguru takes Satoru’s knot so much that his stomach begins to bloat from his
alpha’s seed. Yet he still wants more, and Satoru wants to give him more.

“Well, this explains everything.”

Sukuna picks up an empty bottle of heat suppressants from behind a doll house in the twins’
bedroom. They were introducing him to their “dollies” when he noticed the opaque bottle.

Hearing a small gasp, he looks up to see both twins are covering their mouths.

“Mind explaining?” Sukuna asks with a gentle tone that he only ever uses on rare occasions. He
never thought babysitting would be one of those occasions.

Nanako drops her hand, staring at the carpet with a crimson face. “I spilled Mommy’s special pills
in the toilet by accident. I only wanted to use my ‘zilla toothbrush!”

Judging from Mimiko’s expression, she was present for this adventure into the bathroom’s
 medicine cabinet. From what Sukuna can tell, this condo has been kid proofed. All of the
hazardous supplies are in a locked pantry and other harmful things like kitchen knives are stored
high up. To reach the medicine cabinet they had to get creative.

“The cap thingy was loose!” Nanako pleads her case.

Sukuna has to hold his laughter because despite the upsetting circumstances surrounding the twin’s
conception one has to acknowledge the irony of an innocent mistake made by said twins that will
most certainly lead to another accidental rut and eventual pregnancy.

He was wondering why Geto smelled that way earlier and why Gojo was looking at Geto with a
more obsessive gaze than usual.

“I suppose it can’t be helped,” Sukuna says under his breath. He chuckles.

Looks like he’ll have to cancel his plans for the next few days since the twins will need a
babysitter while their parents are off making them a sibling or two.

Or maybe even three.

Chapter End Notes

This story was going to end at 14 chapters but I didn’t want to rush the ending so it has
been extended to possibly 20.

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