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Kaito donned his most charming smile—the one he reserved for captivating civilian pursuers that got a little too close to capturing KID.
Kudou-san peered at him over his glasses with a deep frown— every inch the unflappable detective and unimpressed mother.
Tantei-kun continued to shriek and wail in Kaito's arms—drowning out any other scent with his acrid pup distress.
Kaito smiled wider. Kudou-san frowned deeper.
Tantei-kun's cries increased in pitch and volume.
"You want the literal shirt off my back." Kudou-san deadpanned. "The one I'm wearing right now."
"It's for scent therapy." Kaito said. He repeated his explanation again. "Even if you're trying to wean Tantei-kun, studies show having a caretaker's scent present while feeding should help with the bonding issues."
"Studies also show once a pup rejects a scent, little can be done to force them to accept it." Kudou-san countered. "Even if it's from a parent."
After being pointedly ignored by his caretakers for an extended period of time, Tantei-kun quieted down to despondent little whimpers. The pup began to nuzzle into Kaito's shirt, mouthing at his chest as the scent of spoilt milk lingered in the air. Kudou-san remained firmly behind his desk, expression still stern, but the subtle scent of peaches and cedar wood filled the air in a subconscious attempt to soothe his baby. For all he called himself a horrible mother, Kudou-san's heart was still in the right place.
However, Kaito felt Tantei-kun whine and wiggle even at the faint scent. He quickly disguised the pup's struggles by rubbing his back and faintly emitting the pear top notes of his own scent. The mix was enough to have Tantei-kun visibly calm down while Kudou-san remained none the wiser.
That was the other oddity Kudou-san's situation. While alphas had the strongest scents overall (something Kaito had been specifically trained to control along with learning the poker face), omega scents would spike when they were in heat or nursing. Kudou-san, however, had a scent strength comparable to a beta's even though he was actively breast-feeding Tantei-kun until recently. He didn't even need to wear scent blockers when going out in public. Even with a pup's sensitive nose, it was a surprise that Tantei-kun could even smell anything to reject.
(And Kaito had done his research. While all of Kudou-san's records listed him as an omega now, the fame of his parents and his own teenage detective career meant he was in the limelight from birth until he retreated from the public eye to take on more confidential work—and all those papers and articles reported he was a beta.)
Kudou-san sighed, conceding that continuing their little spat would only upset Tantei-kun further. "You have access to my laundry."
"The fresher, the better." Kaito beamed, pointedly not mentioning the awful scent neutraliser that Kudou-san sprayed over anything he touched, smothering what little scent he left. When Kaito first awoke in the manor, he was convinced it was uninhabited until he came across the nursing nest. "We can even trade!"
Before Kudou-san had a chance to protest, Kaito stripped off his shirt with quick-change ease. One of the few upsides to theatrical larceny was that it gave Kaito more well-developed muscles than just gymnastics and dance could provide. While Kudou-san tried to hide it, there was no missing his appreciative oogling that made both the primal and egotistic parts of Kaito preen.
See how fit and healthy alpha is, omega-sama? See how well alpha takes care of your pup? Alpha would make a very good mate—notice me, accept me, let me bond you when no one else has—
But Kaito missed there was someone else appreciating his newly bared chest. He noticed a moment too late that Tantei-kun was eyeing his nipple before the pup latched on— teeth and all.
"Oi oi oi!" Kaito shrieked while trying to gently pry the hungry pup off. Unfortunately, the suction was tight as Tantei-kun valiantly suckled for a meal. " Tantei-kun, Tantei-kun! Niichan doesn't have any milk for you!"
Kudou-san chuckled, unbuttoning his own dress shirt. "Fitting karma for disrupting the pup's meal time for your shenanigans."
Any witty remark was cut off by Tantei-kun bitting down harder on his poor nipple. "Vicious, Tantei-kun." Kaito said with an exaggerated whine while throwing Kudou-san a pathetic pout. "Won't you have mercy on your poor niichan?"
Kudou-san circled around his desk, dress shirt over one arm and a bemused smirk painted on his face. "On the criminal who delayed his dinner? Never."
But Kaito's eyes didn't stay on his for long. With Kudou-san's own bare torso revealed, Kaito couldn't help his own appreciative oogling. His stomach still carried that post-partum softness, looking as welcoming as a pile of cushions, but there was still an underlying tautness hinting at the hidden muscle built up from years of chasing down criminals. His breasts were surprisingly small for a nursing mother, even for a male omega, barely filling out the cups of his nursing bra—but the looked like the most delightful little handfuls. His dark nipples cheekily peaked out from between his cups, making Kaito wish he could latch on like Tantei-kun.
Kudou-san walked around his desk to Kaito to drape his unbuttoned dress shirt over his shoulders. Even fresh from the source, Kaito could barely smell the peach and cedar wood and he had to strain his nose to smell the base marine notes that should have thickly coated it. "Here, that should scare the pup off."
Before Kaito could counter Kudou-san's self-deprecation, Tantei-kun immediately unlatched. His little face scrunched up as if his own mother's scent was the foulest thing he ever smelt. Kaito adjusted Tantei-kun so the pup was cradled higher on his chest to prevent any more nipple nipping attacks. Tantei-kun continued to squirm, batting at the parts of Kudou-san's shirt that covered him—but that was all forgotten the moment Kaito magicked his bottle from thin air (aka his back pocket).
"Bi bi bi bi!" Tantei-kun babbled, completely focused on bottle out of his tiny reach. When his dinner didn't descend, he gave the cutest little scowl and batted at Kaito's arm. "Dou-dou!"
"I think the pup has had enough teasing, Kuroba-kun."
Kudou-san placed his hand over Kaito's and lowered it just enough for Tantei-kun to pull the rubber teat into his mouth. The pup suckled contently, completely unbothered by the scents around him even with both Kaito and Kudou-san's wrist glands directly above his nose.
Kaito beamed. "See! Tantei-kun is happy with your scent now."
"The greedy little thing will tolerate anything for a meal." Kudou-san said with a defeated smile.
Kaito internally frowned behind a mask of exasperated fondness. They were standing close to close, the baby between them being the only barrier to their bare chests touching. With his arms full with baby and bottle, Kaito's instincts whined for him to reach over and nuzzle his melancholic mate for comfort.
No—not mate. Not yet.
The tender moment ended too soon by Kudou-san turning back to his paperwork ladened desk. Kudou-san had so much unused leave that in addition to maternity leave, he was essentially on paid vacation from his police liaison duties until Tantei-kun's first birthday. Unsurprisingly, the workaholic had found himself more work to occupy him during his break—apparently, famous detectives coordinated the downfall of covert shadow organisations to distract poor parent-child relationships.
"It's late, Kudou-san, and you need your sleep. Also putting Tantei-kun to bed should help with bonding." Kaito said as he eased the empty bottle out of Tantei-kun's mouth. Tantei-kun gave the most adorable little yawn but Kaito hoisted him over his shoulder to make sure he burped before actually dozing off. "Besides, being sleep deprived won't help if something like Akai and Furuya show up bloody on your doorstep."
"It helped a certain phantom thief." Kudou-san was already drifting back—and as much of a magician Kaito was, he didn't have the magic to grow the extra arms to keep him close. "And the pup rarely falls asleep when I'm in the nest."
"At least take my shirt—it is a trade after all."
And before Kudou-san could protest, Kaito clicked and had him dressed in the shirt he was previously wearing (and had half-hung from the back of his pants during the feeding). While the two of them had similar builds, Kudou-san was slightly leaner around the shoulders for the shirt to hang more loosely over him. It filled Kaito with alpha monkey-brained satisfaction to see the pretty omega he fancied wrapped up in his clothing.
"Magicians." Kudou-san shook his head in a poor attempt to hide his smile. "Off to bed with the both of you now."
"Yessir." Kaito said with the best salute he could manage with his arms full of half-asleep baby.
He wanted to insist that Kudou-san kiss Tantei-kun goodnight —but he already pushed his luck far enough.
Luckily, Kudou-san's bedroom was only down the hall from his office—obviously converted from a sitting room of some sort so Kudou-san could stumble from desk to nest.
As Kaito tucked Tantei-kun in, he unconsciously rolled towards the nest walls made of Kaito's clothing. While it made Kaito primally preen with how much the pup gravitated towards his scent, he couldn't help but frown at the pitiful scent profile of the nest. Kudou-san's faint scent notwithstanding, Kaito's was the only other scent in the nest. He could understand reservations about asking co-workers or having few relatives, but he knew Kudou-san's parents were still alive—why hadn't they contributed anything to their grandchild's nursing nest? Did Kudou-san not have any friends that he considered pack?
Then with Kudou-san's weak scent and under-developed omegan features, his previous dynamic record as beta, the absence of Tantei-kun's sire, and most damning of all—the gap in Kudou-san's late teens where he had all but dropped off the face of the earth. Kudou-san also had a similar period of radio silence just before Tantei-kun's birth. Kaito may not be a detective but he was enough of a thief to know a cover-up when he saw one.
All signs pointed to a dynamic transition, a bitching, rather than a late presentation—and the heavy implication that Kudou-san was not a willing participant.
But Kaito was no detective and had no intention of playing one—but even unofficially, he would protect what was his.
Kaito rubbed his wrist glands over the sleeping pup's hair. "Just stay there, Tantei-kun, while I get your mama."
Enough time should have passed for the sleeping patches in his shirt to take effect.
Sure enough, Kudou-san was completely knocked out—fast asleep and slightly drooling over some warehouse blueprints.
Kaito made a mental note to cook more hearty breakfasts as he felt how light Kudou-san was in his arms. He was absolutely getting scolded in the morning, but it was worth having mother and child resting together in the nest.
As Kaito laid Kudou-san in the nest, Tantei-kun's nose crinkled in his sleep and he unconsciously rolled the other way. There had to be something more going on than a simple bond rejection.
If Kaito was remaining professional, he could have easily kept Tantei-kun by his mother's side with some well placed pillows…but—he was going to get a scolding anyway so might as well be indulgent. Besides, what sort of a thief was he if he didn't steal away what he desired.
Snuggling in on Tantei-kun's opposite side, Kaito wrapped his arms around both mother and child—drifting off to indulgent dreams where they were actually a family.