Chapter Text
Makoto awoke to the sound of the buzzing alarm clock distantly. He groaned, keeping his eyes shut as he tossed his arm to the side, out of the safety of the warm blankets, fumbling for the disturbance. He heard a crash, felt something cold and wet brush against his fingers, and his eyes shot open. He flung himself upright in his bed and looked over at the bedside table. The glass of water he had brought in last night was tipped over, spilling what little water had been left in it all over the wooden stand.
“Shoot,” he grumbled, scanning the floor around the familiar bedroom he and Haru shared. Hadn’t they left their clothes on the floor last night? There had to be something he could soak up the water with. But the floor around the bed was empty; Haru must have cleaned up before he had gotten up to go to the pool.
Makoto heard the quiet drip of the water falling to the floor. Cursing under his breath, he tossed the blankets to the side, shivering as his bare, warm skin met the cool August morning air. It was still too warm during the day to turn on the heater, which meant mornings were especially chilly, something the cold wooden floors beneath his feet attested to as he sprinted for the bathroom and hunted down a small towel to clean up the water. Once he found one, he hurried back to his bedside and began to mop up the water, quickly shifting his phone, the alarm clock, and the framed photo he kept there to the bed to stop any water damage. Once the worst of the water was cleaned up, he wiped down each object, clearing them of any water droplets they’d collected. Once the phone and the clock were back on the stand, he grabbed the photo and glanced it over carefully. Luckily, the photo was clear, untouched by the water, though it looked like the fame had collected some along the bottom. He wiped it away, then sat on the bed, looking at the picture.
It was his favorite of the numerous pictures taken at his and Haru’s bonding ceremony. Haru had complained when Makoto had framed it and given it the crowning spot on his nightstand, saying that it was a horrible picture of him, but Makoto disagreed. The Haru in the photo was breathtaking: his eyes were shimmering pooling of emotion, laughing in relief that the ceremony was over, that the three weeks of stressed planning and hurried decisions to make sure that everything was ready for their day had been worth it. Behind him, the ocean sparkled green and blue and orange against the setting sun, making the Omega’s eyes seem to dance along with the waves. His hair, which had started out neatly style, was windblown by the cool ocean breeze. It had been a March ceremony, only six months ago, and Gou had been worried it would be too cold to have the ceremony outdoors, but Makoto and Haru had insisted. Their spot on the Iwatobi beach was too important to them for them to be bonded anywhere else, and nature must have agreed; despite the cool breeze, the rest of the day had been mild, not so hot that they were dying in their suits, but not so cold that they spent the day shivering. It had been, to be completely honest, perfect.
Looking at the picture brought back so many memories from that day, like how Haru had looked at him while Amakata had walked him down the aisle, acting as his protectors, the same role Haru had had for Rin’s ceremony. The Alpha woman had been unsure about taking on the role, since it was usually meant for family, and ever since the Board of Alpha and Omega Affairs had been arrested and Chairman Nanase had been forced out of office, divorced by his wife, and charged with domestic violence, along with his many medical crimes, Haru’s mother was a free woman, and had been using that freedom to see her son as often as possible. She also stepped in and helped to rebuild the board, replacing its previous members with doctors with a better understanding of and less hatred towards Alphas and Omegas. Without a college degree, she couldn’t act as true member of the board, so instead, she became the liaison, often traveling to meet Alphas and Omegas who were bonded and outside the estate, ones that had chosen not to live there, and visiting the estate as often as possible to help prepare its staff for the changes to come. This meant that she and Haru had been spending more time together, growing closer and making up for the years they had been kept apart. When Haru had asked Amakata to act as the protector in the ceremony, the woman had been surprised, sure that Haru would want his mother to have the role. It wasn’t until both Haru and his mother had cornered her one day, a week before the ceremony, and told her that she was the only one who was ever considered.
“You’ve been there for him where I couldn’t, Miho,” Haru’s mother had said. “You’ve been more of a mother to him than I could ever be. Nothing would make me happier than to see you in my son’s bonding ceremony, and I won’t hear a word otherwise.”
In the end, Amakata had been the one in the ceremony, while Haru’s mother had sat in the front row, tears of pride and joy in her eyes as she watched.
The picture brought back other memories too, ones that set butterflies in Makoto’s stomach just thinking about them. The way Haru had felt in his arms at the party afterwards, the way they had barely even danced to the music, and merely swaying in place, lost in each other. The way, later that night, when the bonding serum took effect, they lost themselves to the heat, the need to be together, and when they came to themselves, Makoto had spent what felt like a blissful eternity in Haru’s arms, marveling at the matching marks on their shoulders that linked them together physically.
At the memory, Makoto’s hand went the mark, feeling the indentations, how it ran just a few degrees cooler than the rest of his body, to match Haru’s temperature. It was more useful than he would have thought, knowing Haru’s temperature, mainly when it came to trying to find him around the Estate. If the mark was warmer than usual, then he was usually wandering outside. If it was cool, Makoto could usually find in him in the pool.
Of course, the most reliable way to find him was through their bond. Since the bonding ceremony, their Truemate connection had grown even stronger. Instead of just feeling what Haru felt, it often felt like a chord, tugging lightly at his chest, trying to lead him back to Haru’s side. It wasn’t distracting; in fact, unless he focused on it, he wouldn’t have even known it was there, but it was always reliable, thumping like a light pulse ready to lead him back to his heart.
Makoto smiled gently and set the photo aside, stood and stretched. It was almost nine; Haru would be waiting for him.
He dressed quickly, throwing on a t-shirt and his red and black plaid shirt button up over it. He quickly dug through his drawers in search of underwear and pants, leaving the clothes unfolded and piling out of the drawer afterwards, making it impossible to close. He tried to straighten things, but only managed to make it worse. Oh well, Haru would probably get on his case, but that was a problem for a later time. He finished dressing, brushed his finger through his hair quickly to make it look a little less flat, and hurried out the door, closing it behind him.
As he stepped into the hall, he could hear the thumping beat of music to his left, and he sighed. Had Asahi even gone to sleep last night? The boy seemed to be awake no matter the hour, and whether it was through his speakers or his headphones, he was always blaring music. Makoto didn’t really mind that in particular, if only–
“Hey Makoto!” Makoto jumped as the boy in question poked his head out, screaming loudly. The music, which should have gained clarity since the door opened, still just seemed to be a loud, thudding beat.
Makoto gave a quiet sigh as the beat began to pound its way into his head. If only Asahi didn’t have to yell anytime he needed to say something to be heard over his music. “Hi Asahi. You coming down for breakfast?”
“What’s Glasses making?”
“Rei. His name is Rei. And it’s pancakes.” There was a small headache now. It was almost like the beat had given up pounding, and was now drilling into his head.
“Sweet!” The young Alpha punched the air dramatically. “At least it’s not fish! I don’t know how Hard U can eat that stuff so early in the morning!”
The noise didn’t seem to be a beat anymore, just a constant, heavy thrumming. Makoto wondered if it was even music at all. “Uh huh,”
“I’ll be down in a bit!” the boy yelled a final time, then slammed the door shut, dulling the sound of the thumping, and Makoto blinked as his head cleared. He didn’t know how Asahi could stand that noise, but to each his own.
Makoto turned his back on the noisy room and headed downstairs. He glanced down the hallway towards the pool room, where the door was partially open, making Makoto smile. It looked like Haru’s little shadow had paid a visit. With a chuckle, Makoto made his way to the door and peered inside.
Haru was the only one there, happily swimming laps, blissfully unaware of anything except the water splashing around him, just like every morning when Makoto came to get him.
The morning swims had been Makoto’s idea, something that, when Haru’s therapist had heard about, she had enthusiastic about. She had encouraged Haru to start setting up a routine to follow every day, not something so strict that it could easily be broken, but more of a schedule that acted as a backbone for the rest of the day: swim for at least an hour in the morning, a walk around the estate with Makoto at three, a relaxing bath every evening. Just a few moments every day that, no matter how stressed Haru got, would give him some time to ground himself.
Haru had been unsure of the need for the routine in the beginning. The morning swim was always fine with him, and it was something he did with such a zealous delight that Makoto couldn’t help but feel a little proud that he had been the one to suggest something that could bring the Omega so much joy, and the bath in the evening never bothered him.
Haru had grumbled for the first few weeks whenever Makoto would pull him away from whatever he was doing to take the afternoon walk, muttering that it was unnecessary, but then, three weeks after the charges were brought against the board, when the new doctors were taking over management of the board, Haru’s mother showed up at their door, shivering in the cold February air, apologies on her tongue and a monumental stack of papers and folders in her arms.
“I’m so sorry, Haruka,” she’d gushed the moment that they’d let her in. “I didn't realize just how messy this was going to be. I didn’t realize what I would be asking from you when I asked for your help.”
“Mom, it’s fine. I said that I’d help. What’s wrong?” Haru and Amakata had led the woman into the dining room, Makoto on their heels, Sasabe hurrying to the kitchen to get the exhausted-looking woman something to drink and eat. Haru’s mother set the mounds of papers down on the table, and then haphazardly started separating them into piles.
“They’re wanting to make more changes that I thought they would right off the bat.” She collapsed into a chair, her elbows going up on the table as she rested her head in her hands. “They want Amakata and Sasabe back in Tokyo. Not permanently, mind you. They won’t run the Estate anymore, but they will be the head medical staff here. They want to lighten your responsibilities; have you only worry about the medical side of the Estate. You’ll be running completely voluntary exams on Alphas and Omegas. Basically, the board wants to go back to what this place was supposed to be. It’s going to be a place where Alphas and Omegas are brought together to form a community, to find mates or help or anything else they need, and a place to actually explore how we can help you. It will be voluntary. No one will ever feel like they have to be a part of anything. I refuse to let that happen.” She raised her head, and Makoto was struck once again by just how similar she and Haru looked. The look in her eye, the fierce, protective set to her gaze was one that he saw so often in his Truemates eyes.
“Wait,” Haru had spoken up then, brow furrowing in confusion. “They want to take control of the Estate away from Amakata and Sasabe? But who would run it then?” His voice was carefully guarded, but he didn’t hide his emotions through their bond. Fear, panic, suspicion, doubt. They raged through Haru, and Makoto reached out and took his hand, squeezing it in reassurance.
“They want another Mated couple to take over. One that has proved to have leadership qualities, who already has the trust of the Alphas and Omegas at the Estate.” She looked at Haru with pleading, apologetic eyes. “They want you and Makoto to take over.” They had argued, saying that they weren’t right for the role, but by the time she left, Haru and Makoto had piles of paperwork stacked in their arms and a promise from Haru’s mother that she would be back in a week to collect the stacks.
With the stress of learning everything they needed to do to take over the Estate, Haru had begun to see the merit in taking time out of his afternoon to get away. These days, Makoto would often find Haru waiting anxiously for him, taking Makoto’s hand as soon as he arrived and whisking them outside, desperate for some time away from the responsibilities he now found placed on himself.
Makoto watched him now, slicing through the water intensely, and Makoto took a little time to admire Haru, noting just how relaxed and beautiful he looked in the water. It really was his natural element. Finally, he cleared his throat, trying to get Haru’s attention. “Morning, Haru.”
Haru swam towards him, and Makoto stepped towards the edge of the pool, offering out a hand to pull him out. “Ready to face the day?”
Haru grasped at the edge of the water and looked up at him, eyes shimmering like the water that surrounded him, and he blinked as the water streamed down from his hair into his eyes. “No, not really.” But he reached out and took Makoto’s hand anyways. Makoto pulled him up and out of the water, staying far enough back to keep himself dry, but leaning in to press a kiss his forehead.
“Feeling okay today?”
“Yeah, I’m good.” Haru gave him a gentle smile and released his hand. “I’ll go get dressed, then we can go.”
“Need any help with that?”
Haru laughed as he walked off towards the changing room, and Makoto followed behind him. “I thought you wanted to make it to breakfast? We both know what will happen if you try to help me get dressed.”
“Hey! Who said I was gonna start anything? Maybe I just want to be helpful?”
Haru turned to face him, a hand on the door to the changing room. “Makoto, when was the last time that you saw me take my clothes off and didn’t try to start something?”
Makoto couldn’t really argue with that. Even after they’d had their bonding ceremony, Makoto had been able to keep his hands to himself for the most part. But lately, there was just something magnetic about Haru that made it impossible for him to stay still. Of course, Haru never once complained. In fact, Makoto was pretty sure that Haru was the one who instigated some of their riskier and possibly embarrassing times lately. There had been the round in the downstairs bathroom last week, and they had gotten rather frisky beside the pool late one night. Then there had been three days ago, when Amakata and Sasabe had gone to Tokyo for the night, and Rei and Nagisa had decided to go with them. They’d had the house to themselves. Considering how… active they were when there were people around, people who wouldn’t hesitate to tease them at the sight of a hickey or some mussed hair, it wasn’t like Makoto didn’t expect something to happen. What he hadn’t been expecting was for Haru to make them a wonderful, romantic dinner… and serve it wearing only an apron. Needless to say, dinner had gotten very, very cold that night.
Haru gave him knowing smile and disappeared into the changing room. When he came out, he was fully dressed, hair still damp. Makoto gave him a smile and, no longer at risk of getting soaked, reached out to slide his arms around Haru’s waist, pulling his Omega closer. He pressed his lips against Haru’s neck, immediately taken in by the intoxicating scent of his mate. Over the last few weeks, Haru’s sent had shifted, the lemony scent growing sweeter, luring Makoto in and making him want to bathe everything he owned in Haru’s scent, so he was never without it.
“God, Haru… are you sure that you’re scent only changed because we’re bonded?” He murmured, lips moving involuntarily as they trailed up Haru’s neck, then down into the crook of his shoulder, where he latched on. Haru shivered at the touch.
“Makoto,” Haru’s voice tremored as he halfheartedhalfheartedly tried to shrug Makoto away, but Makoto felt Haru’s fingers begin to slide into his hair, tugging impatiently to guide Makoto up to his mouth. Makoto hovered just a breath away from Haru’s lips, trying to remember why he couldn’t just take his mate, right here, and Haru surged forward, gasping into Makoto’s mouth as their lips met.
The heat was exhilarating; Makoto was sure he would never get tired of the way Haru’s mouth moved on his, the way he tasted, the quiet noises Haru made when Makoto kissed him just right. Or the noise, the almost half gasp, half laugh sound the fell from Haru’s lips when Makoto pushed him back against the door, one hand going to tangle in Haru’s hair, tilting his head back so Makoto could kiss him deeper, his other hand pulling at Haru’s neat shirt, tugging it out of the way so he could reach the smooth skin beneath. He traced patterns along the now familiar skin of Haru’s side, reveling in the way it still made the Omega tremble beneath him. He slid his hand further down, and Haru sighed his name and Makoto’s hand slipped passed the waistband of his jeans, just barely loose enough for Makoto’s large hand to fit, and slide down the back, until he was gripping Haru’s ass. Makoto moved closer, giving himself a better grip as he fit one of his legs between Haru’s, keeping them pressed as close as possible together.
Makoto heard the creak of a door, and then a loud, horrified gasp, but by the time Makoto regained himself enough to pull just barely away from Haru and glance towards the door leading out into the hallway, all he caught sight of was a flash of green. The sound of footsteps sprinting down the hall echoed over his and Haru’s labored breathing.
“Shit,” he groaned, head falling back. “I forgot the door was open. Poor kid didn’t need to see that.”
“Ikuya?” Makoto nodded. “Well, it’s not that bad. We could have been naked. It looks like you were headed that way anyways.” Haru nodded down between them, and Makoto stared at their clothes. Haru’s shirt was a mess, half tucked in, half pulled out, his pant and underwear shoved down just enough to be scandalous. Makoto’s own clothes were untucked, and somehow, it looked like Haru had managed to unbutton his shirt and pull up the t-shirt underneath until Makoto’s stomach was visible.
“It looks like we were mauling each other!”
“Well, at least I made it out of this mauling fairly unscathed.” One of his hands slid free of Makoto’s hair for Haru to run a finger along his own neck, Makoto’s eyes following the trail it made hungrily. “Actually, most of my bruises are in other places today. You really went crazy last night, you know?”
Makoto groaned. “Did I hurt you? Is it bad?”
“Not horrible, though it does look like you wrote out your initials on my back in hickeys. Not small either.” Haru took Makoto’s hand in his and guided it carefully until Makoto’s fingers were gliding down Haru’s back to where the shirt was pulled up, then back up along the bare skin, tracing Haru’s spine. Makoto felt his knees weaken at the touch. “You turned my back into a canvas.”
“God, Haru. I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s going on with me. It’s just… so hard to keep my hands off you. I don’t know what it is, but I just–” Haru hushed him, a hand going to caress his cheek.
“I know. I’m sure it’s nothing, Makoto. We were just… really stressed after our Bonding ceremony, and we had so much going on, and then… maybe my heat a few weeks back just kind of set things off. Most couples going through a period of time where they want to be close constantly. When Rin and Sousuke first got together, I walked in on more blowjobs than I ever, ever wanted to see.” He sounded almost convinced himself, but Makoto felt his confusion through their bond. It seemed Haru didn’t know what was going on any more than Makoto did.
Makoto just sighed and, after untangling his limbs from Haru, face bright red as he did so, Makoto stepped back, holding out his hand. “Well, we should probably go. We’re going to be late for breakfast.”
“That’s probably what Ikuya was coming to get us for.”
Makoto groaned at the reminder of who had seen them. “After everything that kid’s been through, the last thing he needed to be scared by is seeing a big, scary Alpha mauling his idol.”
“First, Makoto, you are not big and scary. Big, yeah, maybe, but scary?” Haru huffed a laugh. “I’ve seen more intimidating fuzzy socks than you. I doubt you scare him even a little bit.”
“You sure know how to boost my ego, you know that?”
Haru nudged him in the side as they made their way out into the hallway. “Not my point. And second, I’m not his Idol. He just wants to learn to swim. I figure, after everything my family has done to him, it’s the least I can do,”
Makoto frowned at that. “Haru, that was not you, and it wasn’t your mom. That was the Chairman. No one knew what he was doing to those kids. No one could have even guessed.”
Haru frowned. “It’s still… I can’t believe they would run those kinds of experiments on kids.” Makoto nodded. He still remembered the sickening feeling that stayed with him for days after finding out the truth.
Asahi and Ikuya had been the last, most well-kept secret of the board. Most of the documents about the experiments had been destroyed by them as soon as Haru’s mother and her group of doctors brought the charges against them, but some remained, and they were the most sickening documents that Makoto had ever read.
The boys had been part of an experiment to try and determine the secondary gender of people while they were still children. They had taken children from group homes and orphanages, ones that wouldn’t be missed, and administered drugs meant to force Alphas and Omegas to present. Of the almost five hundred children tested over a three-year period, Asahi and Ikuya had been the only ones to present. Asahi had presented a little over a year beforehand, at the age of eleven. Ikuya, who had been one of the first tested, presented two years earlier, at the age of nine.
In the months since gaining their freedom from the hospital that had been their home since presenting, Asahi seemed the quickest to adapt back to a normal life, aside from his penchant for loud, mind-numbing music. Amakata had said that that was probably just his way of working through everything that had happened, but she had set him up with Haru’s therapist immediately after getting the boy settled in, and with every day that passed, he seemed to fit in with the rest of the household a little better.
Ikuya did not start recovering the moment he left the hospital. In fact, for the first few weeks, the boy had only seemed to stagnate. He never talked, never actually responded to any questions posed towards him. It was as though the boy was nothing more than an empty husk. The only things that ever seemed to rouse him from his empty state was whenever Asahi talked to him, or tried to mess with him, always giving his friend an almost exasperated, but fond, look.
The only other time he seemed to show any emotion was when Haru was in the room. Makoto had watched the boy watch Haru, his gaze always careful and confused. The way he watched Haru was almost like a tiny child, looking to an older sibling or parent for guidance. Occasionally, he almost seemed to mimic Haru’s actions, trying to copy the way he held himself, or how he ate at the dining table. Haru never seemed to notice, but when Makoto had brought it up to him, he only shrugged.
“I think he’s the one mom told us about, a while back. The one she had to make sure was okay before she did anything about the board? Rin said that Ikuya reminded him of how I was when we first met. Maybe that’s why he looks at me? Maybe mom told him something.”
Makoto wasn’t sure if that was the case, or at least it wasn’t the whole truth. He couldn’t help but feel that his suspicion was confirmed when Haru, who never pushed him to talk, who just sat by his side silently, waiting for Ikuya to make the first move, was the first one Ikuya spoke to.
Makoto still remembered the surprise in his Truemate’s eyes when the boy asked Haru, in a voice that was harsh and broken from not being used, if he would teach him how to swim. He remembered how Haru had seemed more distant than usual for the rest of the day, wandering in a stupor as he realized just how much Ikuya must have trusted him to talk to him. He remembered the blush on Haru’s cheeks when he had complimented him later that night, praising how well he was able to handle the kid, and the embarrassed tone of his voice when he had thrown a pillow at Makoto and told him to shut up.
Ikuya still didn’t say much of anything, and when he did, it was often only to Haru or Asahi. Makoto had seen the way the boy seemed to light up with life in the water, much the same way Haru did, or how his eyes would spark whenever someone talked to him, like he wanted to respond, but still wasn’t sure if he could. Makoto didn’t know what exactly had happened to the boy during his three years in the hospital, but the idea that something had happened that was bad enough for him to fear talking, or feel like he couldn’t say anything at all, made Makoto want to hunt down the doctors and punch them in the face, hard.
Makoto turned to his Truemate, pressing a kiss to his forehead in reassurance as they reached the door to the dining room. “It’s awful, but that’s why we’re doing this, right? To make sure stuff like that doesn’t happen again? To keep these kids safe?” Haru nodded, squeezing Makoto’s hand, before taking a deep breath, and opening the door, ready to face the chaos of the day.
Chaos was the only way to describe the dining room. Even with Sousuke, Rin and Gou in Australia, the bonded couple wanting to live with Momo and Ai while Gou was being paid to plan a bonding ceremony there, the room was still loud and bustling. Rei was bringing in the food, stacks of pancakes and eggs filling the table, while Nagisa and Asahi gushed over a game on Asahi’s phone. Occasionally, Asahi would lean to his left to show Ikuya the phone, and while the boy didn’t seem to be paying too much attention, much, like usual, his eyes steadily avoided looking at Makoto and Haru, which wasn't like usual at all. Makoto found himself unable to look the boy in the eye either. What was it about that pool that made him act stupid and embarrassing when kids were in the vicinity? First, he’d kissed Haru there, in front of his siblings, and now Ikuya had walked in on them too.
Maybe, he thought, we should just stop doing stuff like that near the pool… but then an image of Haru filled his mind, soaking wet, emerging from the pool, jammers accentuating his long, powerful legs… or maybe no jammers at all. Just Haru, in all his beautiful, distracting glory.
There was no way he would be able to stop himself from touching Haru by the pool. It just wasn’t going to be possible.
Trying to redirect his thoughts before things got even more embarrassing, Makoto turned his attention to Amakata and Sasabe, who sat next to each other, a computer set up in front of them. Amakata caught their eye as they made their way into the room, and she waved them over. “Haru, Makoto, come say hi to Rin.” She turned the computer, and there was Rin, alone at a table, the background behind him the living room of his and Sousuke’s apartment in Australia. The Omega grinned toothily and waved.
“About time you guys showed up.”
Makoto waved back. “Sorry, we got... held up” He swore he could feel Ikuya’s eyes on his back, boring a hole in it, and he shift his weight, uncomfortable.
“Yeah, I’m sure you did. God, it’s a wonder anyone would be able to sleep in that house now that you two are bonded and don’t have to sneak around. That loud new kid lives a couple doors down from you, right? I’ll have to enlist him to get some blackmail material.”
“Good luck with that,” Haru muttered, then said, a little louder, “How are things down there?”
“Good. Sou and I are helping out at the Estate here a lot, spending any free time we get with Ai and Momo. Momo turns eighteen in a few months, so they’re going to be planning their bonding ceremony soon. You guys will be there, right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Makoto answered brightly.
“Good. I miss you guys like crazy, so they’d better hurry up with the plans so you guys can come here.” There was a loud crash in front of the computer, and Rin cursed, turning behind him to shout, “Winnie! Stay out of that!” They heard a quiet whine, and the nose of Rin’s dog poked up onto his lap.
“She’s gotten so big!” Makoto gushed leaning in to get a better look as the dog moved to rest her whole head on Rin’s lap. “She was so tiny last time we saw her.”
“I don’t get it really. Two months, and she’s become a monster.” He laughed, scratching the Winnie behind the ear lovingly. Then he sobered, still petting the dog, and asked, “Hey Haru. Any news back on that paperwork you were telling me about?”
Haru stiffened, and Makoto felt the rush of nerves vibrating their bond. Haru cast a cautious glance at Makoto, but then asked. “I’m not sure. Amakata, any word back on that?”
“Oh!” She exclaimed, face going a little pale as she turned to him. “I completely forgot. It arrived yesterday. We can go look at it after breakfast.”
“Some new forms we have to fill out to take over the Estate?” Makoto asked, and Haru shook his head.
“You were concerned about the change in my scent, right? Well, I had Amakata do some bloodwork and run some tests, just to make sure everything was okay.”
“Oh. Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, it should be nothing. I’ll tell you tonight if there’s anything weird.”
Makoto nodded, easily reassured. Haru had gotten better about keeping secrets and dealing with things on his own over the last few months. If he promised to talk about it, Makoto had complete faith that they would. Hopefully, it would be nothing, just a delayed reaction to the being bonded and mated, like Haru had said.
“Hey!” Rin’s voice crackled over the computer, making Makoto jump. “I’m still here, ya know. Make sure you text me, Haru, and let me know what’s going on.”
“I will.” Winnie whined again, loud through the computer’s speakers, and Rin groaned.
“Look, I have to go. Winnie needs her walk, and it looks like Sou’s skipping out on his turn. I’ll call again soon, okay?”
They all agreed, and said their goodbyes, Nagisa and Asahi choosing to shout theirs from across the room, leaving everyone else flinching at the noise, and Rin leaning in to try and make out what they said. Then the computer was shut down, and Haru and Makoto took their seats.
Breakfast was delicious; since the household had unanimously agreed that Rei should cook for them, there had been far less cases of mysterious meals, questionable ingredients, or cases of illness after a particularly creative meal. She did go in to help Rei occasionally, and every once in a while, they would eat some sort of dessert that Amakata had cooked up, most of which were actually rather tasty.
Breakfast was also fairly noisy; Nagisa and Asahi, and occasionally Rei when Nagisa got him wound up, always made sure the morning was filled with chatter. Today the discussion was about the college classes Nagisa was taking. He and Rei had started up college courses just a few weeks earlier, going to a local college nearby. It had been a first for the Alphas and Omegas. Previously, in order to keep Alphas and Omegas away from the masses, the board had provided only for online classes for colleges or for private classes, but Rei and Nagisa traveled almost every day to take classes on campus. Of the two of them, Nagisa seemed the most excited for the chance, and came home almost every day to talk about the people he had met. Now, he was chattering on about meeting his friends from class later that afternoon while he waited for Rei to get out of class.
“Mari-chan said that there’s a great coffee place in town, so we’re going there.”
“Well, you’ll have to let us know how it is. Haru and I are needing a new date spot,” Makoto commented in between bites of his third helping of pancakes. Haru was finishing up his own helping, using a pancake to wipe up the syrup still on the plate.
“Ugh! You can’t! It’s where all the cool college kids hang out. If you guys go there, you’ll be like an old married couple. It will be cute for a minute, until you get confused trying to order the coffee.”
Makoto frowned at him. “Hey, I’m taking college courses too. And we’ve only been bonded for a few months. We’re not quite an old married couple yet!”
Nagisa shrugged. “Fine, you can go. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb though.” He pushed his plate aside, and stood then, giving his Alpha a grin. “Hurry up Rei! We’re going to be late!”
Rei set his own plate aside, and stood. “Yes, we’d better be off.” They walked towards the door that led to the hall and waved.
“See you guys tonight!” Nagisa chipped, and they were gone.
Makoto was the next to stand, and he started gathering the dishes to take to the kitchen. The Estate staff would wash them later, but he figured the least he could do would be to gather the dishes for them. As he walked passed, he leaned down to press a kiss to the top of Haru’s head. “See you later?” Haru nodded, handing Makoto his plate. “Yep. You off to study?”
Makoto nodded. In the last few weeks, he’d started taking online finance courses, trying to prepare himself to help Haru run the Estate. It was boring work, but Haru preferred paperwork to numbers. Besides, if things had been different, Makoto probably would have been pursuing a degree of that sort at a college in Tokyo anyways. At least this way he was working towards something he really wanted, instead of a boring desk job in the city.
Haru nodded and leaned up to press his lips lightly against Makoto’s, pulling away after just a second to mummer, “Work hard, okay?”
“I will. Just watch, once I start really helping out around here, we’ll save so much money, I’ll be able to heat your pool.”
Haru lit up at the suggestion, a smile playing around the corners on his mouth. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Makoto gave his Truemate a gentle smile, shifted the plates in his hands to one so he could wave, then took the dishes to the kitchen, ready to start his day.
Makoto collapsed on the bed, groaning as the muscles in his back stretched. It had been a long, hard day. He had spent hours slaving over his books and the computer, trying his best to finish his homework for the week. The class was supposedly just a basic finance class, just the fundamentals, but Makoto had never been phenomenal with math to begin with. It had taken him close to two hours to finish one spreadsheet, and he had three to get through today. By the time he had gone to get Haru for their walk, Makoto had been ready to tear out his own hair in frustration.
Haru’s mood wasn’t much better. When Makoto had walked into his and Amakata’s temporarily joint office (Haru would get his own once Amakata felt he was fine to take over completely), Haru’s had all but jumped at the chance to escape the paperwork and heavy manuals surrounding him.
The walk had been a short one, and not very quiet, since Asahi had apparently decided that he wanted to spend his day out in the garden, blaring his music loudly, chatting at an equal volume at Ikuya about the new artist he was listening to. But it had been enough, just to get out of the house and spend a little time alone with Haru again. When they were ready to part ways, Makoto had given him a quick kiss, which had slowly devolved into them making out against the back door, only stopping when one of the wild cats who patrolled the garden had tangled itself between their feet.
The rest of the afternoon had passed slowly, dragging out as Makoto tried to learn another new formula. It was grueling, but he thought of the promise he had made Haru, about heating their pool, and he pressed on, finally sending an email to the professor, asking for more clarification on the subject, then emailing his online tutor. If all else failed, the internet had so many guides, he was sure he could find one that helped him make sense of the jumble of lines and letters and numbers.
Supper had been just as loud as breakfast, Nagisa returning from class with Rei, talking about how his quiet coffee with his friend had practically turned into a party at the coffee shop, with all of Mari’s friends coming to join them, eventually packing the coffee shop full of exhausted college students all surviving on instant ramen and caffeine. He had suggested inviting some of them to the Estate sometime, so everyone could meet them, and after some concerned glances and hushed whispers between Amakata and Haru before gaining their approval, had sprinted off to call his friends. Makoto had talked to Rei about classes, thrilled when Rei had offered to help him with his finance homework. After the light supper, everyone had dispersed. Makoto went up to take a shower, while Haru took Asahi and Ikuya to the pool to give them swimming lessons. Asahi struggled, despite claiming that he had practically been a fish before he had presented. Ikuya, on the other hand, actually was a fish. Haru always lit up when he talked about the way the boy was improving, describing how Ikuya had even been able to teach Asahi where Haru had failed.
By the time Makoto had gotten out of the shower, Haru was back, soaking wet, only wearing his black hoodie and his jammers. With just a quick smile and kiss for Makoto, Haru hurried to the bathroom, ready for his bath.
That had been almost half an hour ago, and now that he was in bed, letting the muscles in his back relax, Makoto found himself tuning to their bond, expecting to feel Haru’s peace and comfort from being in the bath.
Instead, he found that the bond was shaking, frazzled and panicked, and Makoto shot out of bed, crossing the room in three quick strides to knock on the bathroom door. “Haru?”
“I’m okay,” Haru’s muffled voice was quiet, more so than it should have been, and Makoto had a hand on the door, ready to break in, when Haru continued. “I’ll be out in a minute. I just… give me a second, okay?”
Makoto hesitated, but nodded, only to realize Haru couldn’t see him. So, he said, “Alright… but I’m here.”
“I know.” Makoto could hear Haru pacing behind the door, the footsteps thudding as he moved. Makoto took a deep breath, and sat back down on the bed, facing the door. After a minute, the door squeaked open, and Haru peaked out, eyes red, and he walked straight for Makoto, taking the hand the Alpha held out for him.
“What’s up?” He asked.
Haru shook his head, moving to sit beside Makoto on the bed. He took a deep breath, and then another. When he opened his eyes, the blood in Makoto’s veins froze at the watery look to them.
“I… I was so busy today, I didn’t get a chance to read the test results that came in. I… just looked at them in there,” he gestured vaguely towards the bathroom.
It felt like razors were slicing through Makoto, like every cut had been doused in lemon juice. He squeezed Haru’s hand, trying to be supportive and positive, but the thoughts swimming in his head were anything but positive. He knew there was something wrong.
What if Haru was sick? Was it something they could fix? Maybe it was some sort of strange illness that only Omegas could get? God, he should have said something earlier, back when he’d first noticed the change in Haru’s scent.
He didn’t say any of this out loud. Instead, he gave Haru what he hoped was a reassuring smile and said, “It’s alright Haru. Whatever’s it is, we’ll get through it. We’ve got access to some of the best doctors, and now you’ve got your mom, and she’d move heaven and hell to help you. I will too.”
Haru groaned at this, moaning, “Oh god, my mom. How am I going to tell her? I was just trying to figure out how to tell you, but mom’s gonna be a million times worse.”
Makoto felt like he was going to be sick if he had to wait any longer, so he just asked, “What it is? Is it treatable? You know that whatever happens, I’ll make sure you’re oka–”
“Makoto–”
“And I’ll pay any price. We’ll go wherever it takes to get you help–”
Haru just held up a hand, sighing. “You really need to calm down, Makoto. If you freak out, I’m going to freak out even more, and I’m the one with the little thing growing inside me.”
“Growing inside?” Oh god, it was a tumor. He remembered how one of his friend back in high school had a relative with a tumor. They were treatable, but scary. At least they could work through it.
“Yeah. It’s not a bad thing, really… unless you weren’t wanting one yet.” Haru wouldn’t quite meet his eyes, but Makoto wasn’t really listening. He was already trying to work out what to tell Amakata, or Haru’s mom. God, he was supposed to take care of Haru, and yet this had happened. A tumor…
“Makoto?” Haru’s worried tone brought him back. “Are you okay? I mean, I know it’s sudden and everything. We haven’t been bonded for all that long… I’m guessing we just weren’t careful enough during my heat a few weeks back.”
That gave Makoto pause. “Wait, your heat? Why would us not being careful during your heat cause this?”
Haru stared at him dumbly for just a second. “Um… Makoto? How exactly do you think babies are made?”
It was Makoto’s turn to pause. Baby? “What baby?”
“What baby? Our baby! I’m pregnant, Makoto!”
Everything stopped, the words echoing inside Makoto as he stared at the Omega . Baby. Pregnant.
Our Baby.
“Makoto what are you–” Haru began to ask, but he cut off with a gasp as Makoto leapt off the bed, tears burning in his eyes as he lifted Haru off the bed and into the air, spinning him around, only to curse loudly, setting Haru down gently and shoving his hands behind his back.
“Oh my god, your pregnant. I shouldn’t have done that. Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Either of you?”
“I’m fine. Makoto, what the hell did you think I was talking about this whole time?”
“You were scared and you looked like you were about to cry… I thought you were sick, like with a tumor or something.”
“Where the hell did you get an idea like that?”
Makoto shook his head. “I don’t know, you just looked so scared–”
“Of course I’m scared, Makoto. I’ve got a tiny, soon-to-be-person inside me! I’m only twenty, you won’t turn nineteen for couple months, we’ve got all these new responsibilities with the Estate, and I didn’t know how you would respond… I’d be crazy not to be scared.”
Haru had some good points of course. The idea of being a father was something he couldn’t quite process yet. He stepped closer and, carefully, took Haru’s hand with one of his own, the other one going to rest on Haru’s stomach. “That makes sense. Sorry I was being a little stupid.”
“A little?”
Makoto laughed. “Okay, a lot stupid. But Haru… even though I thought you were sick when I said it, I meant it. Whatever we face, I know we can make it through it. Whether it’s sickness or a baby, anything. We can do it. We can be scared together, but we’ll get through it, and we will raise the best damn kid the world has ever seen, with your eyes–”
“And your smile?”
Makoto couldn’t help but laugh at that, and he reached to cup Haru’s cheek. “Sure, but I like yours better. Honestly, our kid could look like an elephant, and it would still be the most beautiful child I’ve ever seen, because it’s ours. We’re young, we may be new at all this, but I believe in us.” Makoto paused, thinking for a moment. “Wait. Was that too cheesy?”
Haru laughed, and the sound was like bells, making Makoto’s heart soar. “I think you crossed the cheesy line a while back, but I’ll take it.” He took a deep breath. “We’ve got this, right?”
“Of course. We’ve always got it. It may be messy, it may not go smoothly, but we’ve got this.”
Tears were falling from Haru’s eyes then, and Makoto’s face was just as wet, but it didn’t stop them from leaning in, kissing gently, tasting the tears as they moved, the feeling so familiar, it was like breathing. When they broke apart, they rested against each other.
“Makoto?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
Makoto chuckled, pressing his lips to Haru’s forehead. “I should be thanking you Haru. You’ve completely changed my world, and I’m not sure I can ever thank you enough for everything you’ve done.
Haru just hummed, not saying the words, but Makoto could feel it. He couldn’t tell if it was the bond, or if it was just Haru, but he felt the warmth, the love, the safety, the complete conviction that they could do this. Run the Estate, help carve a place for Alphas and Omegas in the world, and raise their child, and any others that came after it.
Bound together, they could do it all.