Chapter Text
Gen. Wanted. To. Scream.
As if a day full of work calls with various booking agents rushing to secure venues for summer tours wasn’t enough, his son’s school somehow managed to instate new regulations out of nowhere. Well, the possibility still remained that it wasn’t entirely out of the blue as the school’s weekly newsletter had a habit of landing in his junk folder, where he left it because what could possibly be happening on a weekly basis at a private elementary school? When he first enrolled his son Hiro, he would read the newsletters diligently, wanting to be a good, informed mother. With time, though, he realized that the newsletters were next to useless, and the real “newsletter” was the moms group text, which he’d never been added to because of his status as a single, unbonded omega mother.
He rolled his eyes at high school level bullying, several years after high school.
Of course, he didn’t care so much about what a bunch of bored parents thought or said about him. If Gen was an entirely selfish parent, he’d be grateful to be shunned from the group of parents, whom he found to be as interesting as a concrete wall. Despite all of his self-aware vanity, though, he cared a lot about what they thought and said about his son, and was aware of the friendships they were robbing him of. Since he’d enrolled Hiro in this school, he had to attend meeting after another with the principal and parents who insisted that he was a dysfunctional, stunted child because of a lack of alpha presence in his life. Conveniently for them, they brushed past the several alphas that existed in his and Hiro’s lives: his aunt, Kohaku, his grandfather, Stanley, and his uncle Chrome, all of whom were a near constant alpha presence. It was all stupid, but it still upset him to see his son be singled out by some other children who’d been influenced by their parents’ immature prejudices.
Everyday, he fantasized about grabbing one of the other omegas and dragging them through the dirt by their hair, threatening them to say another word about his son. He’d be concerned about these fantasies if he didn’t know that they were a natural side-effect of being the son of Xeno Wingfield, unarguably the scariest omega he or anyone ever had to encounter. But he always did what his father would want him to do: take a deep breath, count to ten, and step out of the car to receive his son with open arms.
Unfortunately, his zen was about to run out as the school administrators decided that the parents could benefit from building an atmosphere of trust by chatting and bonding for 10-15 minutes before the kids would be let out. Supposedly it had something to do with feeling safer around each other when they came to grab their child.
Gen had never heard of such a useless, idiotic idea and he texted his family’s groupchat as much to inform them that he and Hiro would arrive a little later than usual to Friday dinner, knowing that Stanley tended to jump to pretty intense conclusions whenever one of them was late. Years of accumulating combat trauma and an intimate knowledge of what people were capable of doing to others in a matter of seconds. And so naturally everyone decided to appease to his paranoia by wearing trackers after years of meltdowns, bursting into classrooms in a panic or Xeno’s work meetings. This had helped, along with years of therapy and a particularly soothing gardening routine. But they still texted anyway, a habit hardwired into their subconsciousness.
He pocketed his phone after Stanley thumbs-upped his text, sighing dramatically. He wrinkled his nose, studying the too-short mini bleachers that the school kept for the children’s sports matches that had the bones of his butt hurting and his knees begging to be released from their tiny prison every time. He took a moment to consider whether he wanted to possibly stain his satin pants on the dusty metal (and then be scolded by Xeno when he tried to sit on his furniture later) and decided he was better off standing.
He was a healthy distance away from the other parents, hoping to avoid their serious internalized sexism by appearing busy. And he was busy. His email inbox was flooding and he rushed to respond to each email, fingernails tapping on the hard surface of his smartphone. As he sent each response, he felt the tight clutch of work anxiety loosen from around his neck. Maybe he’d be able to sleep tonight without having nightmares about disastrous concerts.
“You know, I heard that parents who spend too much time on screens tend to raise emotionally stunted children.” He heard one of the omega parents pipe up loudly to the others, a lazy jab meant to bother him.
“You read that in one your braindead anti-vax blogs, Kai?” He responded, giving the other omega a tight smile that did not reach his eyes.
“I wasn’t talking about you.” Kai sneered as he rounded to look at him, gigantic designer bag in his lap that looked hardly touched or used.
“I know,” Gen replied. “You’re too pussy to say anything to my face.” He stood straighter, crossing his arms against his torso, challenging the other man to take him on. He wondered idly if his heat was coming up or something, because he wasn’t used to this short of a fuse.
“Woah, okay, let’s go walk around the school yard, bestie.” Ukyo’s voice called from behind him as the omega’s slender fingers landed on Gen’s shoulders. He allowed Ukyo to pull him back a few steps, then turned to look at his friend.
“Hey, what was that?” Ukyo giggled a little as he accepted a boneless hug from Gen. “Okay, get off of me, I’m already carrying a football here.” He struggled until the other mother released him.
“I am so glad to see you, bitch.” Gen clasped Ukyo’s face between his palms, allowing Ukyo to shove his arms away with a roll of his eyes.
“You are so dramatic.” Ukyo groaned, tugging him to walk with him in the opposite direction from the group of other parents.
“You love me for it,” Gen bumped his hip into his friends, sighing with real relief to see his friend who he hadn’t seen in months. “Tell Ryusui I love him but I will never forgive him for getting you too pregnant to come to pickup anymore,”
The scent of his friend’s milky, toffee-caramel scent relaxed him, a side-effect that anyone felt around an omega nearing their delivery date. He was a little sad to have missed several months of his second pregnancy, this time because of how busy his own family had gotten with prepping for Ruri’s bonding ceremony to Chrome. Ryusui had told him that Ukyo’s pregnancy was a bit harder this time and was instructed to rest as much as possible during it. That meant either the driver or rarely Ryusui picking Suika up, which was a brief affair given the alpha’s insanely busy corporate schedule.
“Aw, it’s almost over.” Ukyo cooed, rubbing Gen’s arm in that sweetly maternal way of his. “I cannot wait to catch up over mimosas soon.” He squealed, sparking excitement in Gen as well. His email app chimed and he stopped them so he could check it, allowing Ukyo to lean over and look with him. “Work emails, ewwww.” He joked childishly before his eyes widened.
“Olivia Rodrigo?” He sing-songed, poking at Gen’s side, “I see you making moves.”
“Stop, you’ll jinx it!” He whispered urgently, locking his phone so Ukyo couldn’t read the remainder of the email. “But yeah, I’m trying to pull it off.” He put both his hands up, fingers crossed and eyes closed in a prayer to the universe.
“Oh, you’ve got it, relax.” Ukyo said. “Wait. Let’s sit, my feet are killing me.”
Gen allowed the pregnant mama to pick the spot, the ease he sat with contrasting with Ukyo’s labored groan. “So… why are you out here? Ryusui give up on kiddo duty already?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Ryusui give up? No way.” Ukyo snorted. “He’s just super busy trying to close a deal today but the other guy’s being a huge pain in the ass, apparently.” He shook his head. “I don’t think the buy is worth all the trouble, but you know Ryusui when he zeroes in on something.” Gen nodded in understanding. He’d seen the man in action before, and it was like watching a predator stalk a prey in a nature documentary. Of course, he was the same: When he set his mind on a project, he had to see it through.
Not that he could hope to begin to understand the worlds that Ryusui and Ukyo occupied in their respective industries.
“Anyway,” Ukyo continued, pulling him from his thoughts. “I’ve been so bored and had a last-minute cancellation so I wanted to surprise Suika.” He smiled fondly at the thought of his daughter. His green eyes scanned the yard with curiosity, then he frowned in confusion. “Why the hell are we still sitting out here, though? Where are the kids?”
“We’re supposed to be bonding as a group so we can trust each other more.” He helpfully supplied in monotone, his excitement painted all over him. “What, you didn’t see it on their little group chat?” He joked, knowing full-well Ukyo did not have the time for that.
“Gen, baby, you know I have that shit muted.” Ukyo waved his hand in the air dismissively, drawing an amused snort from Gen. This was why Gen loved him so much, another omega that lived by his own rules, did things his own way, and had a permanent fuck you directed at the rest of the world.
The two omegas’ stories weren’t so different either, at least the way Gen saw it. Ukyo was close to his age, unbonded and a mom, and if fate had dealt him different cards than the Ryusui Nanami, he probably would have faced the shunning that Gen faced. Unlike Gen, though, he had the burden of dating the Nanami heir and dodging the public’s gossip and the Nanami family’s impossible expectations. When they had announced their pregnancy with Suika, pop culture Tiktok accounts had a field day, throwing accusations of withcraft, brainwashing and hypnosis, and gold digging theories his way.
Gen had thought it all ridiculous. Regardless of his relationship with Ryusui, Ukyo was a force to be reckoned with. A two-time Grammy nominated producer and songwriter, his music production career had already blown up before he met Ryusui. And besides, Ryusui had publicly separated from Nanami Corps a year before that, announcing his new water vessel engineering company, which had quickly become a luxury and commercial vessel production powerhouse.
A power couple, through and through.
Still, having an alpha partner, even if unbonded, shielded Ukyo from the stigma Gen received from the world. And when one added billionaire heir alpha to that, very few people had the balls to do anything more than typing up absurd theories about Ukyo behind anonymous online accounts.
With this pregnancy though, the pressure to bond was growing. Speculations about Ryusui’s uncertainty about Ukyo were rampant, because why else would he not bond him if he truly loved him. Gen knew the reasons: Ukyo didn’t believe in the institution of bonding and was more than happy to help Ryusui piss his parents and grandparents off for just a little while longer.
“How’s Suika feeling about the new sibling coming?” He followed-up on the mention of Suika, shifting restlessly in his seat. Had it been 15 minutes yet? He wanted to grab his baby and go relax on his parents’ couch.
“Oh, she’s so excited.” Ukyo answered excitedly. “I don’t think she realizes the baby won’t be able to immediately play with her, though.” Ukyo’s tone grew fond and he rubbed his belly absentmindedly. Gen softened at the sight and was reminded of how fuzzy and warm it felt when he had Hiro all cozied up in his belly.
“She’s been telling Hiro to ask for another brother so they could both be older siblings.” Gen informed Ukyo, laughing along with his friend. “And it’s been hopeless trying to convince Hiro that I can’t just create a baby on my own.”
“They’re so funny.” Ukyo shook his head in amusement. He sighed, picking at fuzzies on his long-sleeve sweater. “You guys really should come visit at some point, we miss you.” Ukyo bumped his shoulder with Gen’s. That was his bad. He’d stopped letting Hiro go to Ukyo and Ryusui’s place at some point. Not a conscious decision, just a maternal instinct to keep their goings on restricted to school, work, home, and his grandparents’ house, after Hiro’s bio dad left him a few emails asking after them. Nowadays, Hiro was to stay with his grandparents whenever Gen was working late. He hadn’t told them about the emails (he preferred not to see their reactions to the alpha emailing him from jail) and hadn’t told Ukyo either, not wanting him or Ryusui to freak out or offer one of their body guards to walk around with his son.
It was probably a little dumb of him, but he just didn’t want to sit through another lecture from Xeno or live in a makeshift fallout shelter when Stanley decided that he had to keep them under his supervision at all times.
“I’m sorry, we’ve been so busy with the ceremony prep.” He lied, rubbing his own arm unconsciously. “And mom and dad have been complaining so much about not seeing him enough so I felt guilty”. He added to make his lies extra believable.
Ukyo seemed to buy it, or maybe he didn’t want to push Gen when he nodded sympathetically. “I get it, Ryusui’s family have been on our ass about Suika staying with them for the winter holidays.”
“He’s back on speaking terms with them?” Gen asked, knowing this was a sensitive territory for the couple. The Nanami family was all about tradition, and the couple’s decision to have not one, but two children outside of a bond did not sit well with them at all.
“He’s trying to keep it amicable.” Ukyo shrugged. “Felt bad keeping Suika away from half of her family, you know? She doesn’t understand all that complicated family drama, so why punish her for it.”
A pang of guilt hit Gen in the chest and he tried to breathe around it. Hiro constantly questioned him about his bio dad, who had left before Hiro could remember him - or his nastiness. Gen just shut the conversations down as gently as he could, not wanting to expose Hiro to the mess that was his parents’ fucked-up relationship.
“Yeah.” Gen said detachedly, his mind wandering off to ruminate about his last relationship. Nearly eight years since Hiro’s father, and Gen was still avoiding any kind of interaction with alphas that did not belong in his pack. It was probably trauma, but he also just wanted to spare himself the drama. “How’s Ryusui, though? Aside from family and douchebag clients.” He prompted, wanting to distract himself.
The closer his ex’s release date got, the more he found himself consumed by the past, fighting ghosts of a life he’d barely saved himself or his son from. He wished he could be like his parents, his father’s ability to turn sins and horrors into life-giving community care, or his mother’s ability to see every problem as an opportunity to push the envelope and shoot for the stars. Instead here he was, feeling ridiculously guilty for being such an imperfect mom to Hiro, the most perfect boy that ever existed.
“He’s fine,” Ukyo started and Gen urged his brain to close the floodgates that had accidentally opened. He turned his attention back to Ukyo just in time to catch his next words. “He’s so excited that Senku’s in town now, even though they won’t have the time to hang out for hours like they used to in college.” Ukyo rolled his eyes as a thought occurred to him, an affectionate smile growing on his lips. “He actually wanted me to try and pressure Senku today to come visit us, but I’m obviously not going to do that.”
Senku, Ryusui’s old college friend. From what Gen had gathered from the couple, Ryusui had majored in engineering with Senku, although each went their separate ways in terms of industry. Ryusui entered marine engineering (where he eventually met Ukyo during his sonar operator beginnings) and Senku adopted aerospace engineering - Gen’s mother’s field, coincidentally.
Weirdly enough, Senku was currently the new elementary science teacher at this school, probably as a result of Ryusui praising him to the board of directors eager to keep Nanami money in the school. Not that Senku seemed to be the type to struggle to get such a position himself, based on the homework and lessons he’d seen Hiro march home with him each day. Whatever the man was doing, he had Hiro raving about school, which spared Gen the maddening task of convincing an 8-year-old to do his homework.
Gen had heard some of the other parents chatting about Senku before, usually when Hiro took several rounds of “Oh wait, I forgot my x” and rushed back to his classroom for the nth time, but he never saw the legendary man with his own eyes. Judging by the way the omegas around him giggled when they discussed him, he figured this Senku must be at least a little attractive.
“Oh, they’re coming out!” Ukyo said, slapping Gen’s knee to draw his attention to the double-doors as they swung open. “Oh look, it’s Senku this time!” He exclaimed excitedly, pointing out the man that emerged before the kids, his instructions inaudible from this far away.
And yeah, Gen could see where everyone was coming from now. This man was cute.
Gen watched Senku scan the yard where all the parents were scattered -probably pitying them- when he spotted Ukyo and gave a lazy wave, a self-assured smirk on his lips. Ukyo waved back, watching Senku return his attention to the children he was guiding out into the yard.
“You gonna go say hi?” Gen asked curiously, feeling the rush of curiosity tingle its way through his spine.
“Maybe after everyone grabs their kids. I don’t really feel like being pushed around by the wannabe Ashleys.” Other parents started making their way to where the kids were rushing to play, some starting arguments about going straight home that Gen could predict but not clearly hear from where he sat. “Do you mind if we stay here until it clears up a little?”
“I don’t mind, Suika and Hiro are in the same grade anyway so we’re going to have the same turn.” The school had the parents take kids from oldest to youngest, which combined with today’s failed bonding was a huge time-killer.
Gen leaned back, basking in a rare sunbeam that reached them from in between the clouds. He was so not ready for fall to take the summer away entirely. The two chatted away as they waited for fifth and fourth graders to clear out. He stood up once they watched the last kid leave.
“Our turn.” Gen sang, excited to be released from their school yard jail. He offered Ukyo a helping hand as he rose from his seat.
“About time.” Ukyo sighed, taking two unsteady steps before his feet remembered their purpose. Gen joined him, close by his side in case the omega grew tired or lost his balance. He still wished Ukyo had stayed home to rest, he could have driven Suika home for him, but he wasn’t going to pester Ukyo with his concerns.
They stopped at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for Senku to usher the third graders out the doors. Gen momentarily sympathized with how maddening the task of rounding up energetic eight year olds must be.
“Mommy!” Suika emerged first, probably having won the spot in line for best behavior, and rushed down the stairs to embrace Ukyo.
“Hi baby!” Ukyo’s smiled brilliantly and hugged her close to his round belly.
“Wait. I thought daddy is supposed to pick me up.” She adopted a thoughtful expression, causing Gen to chuckle at how cute she was.
“What, no hi Gen for me?.” He teased, accepting a rushed hug from her.
“Hi Gen.” She grinned up as she released him. “Hiro’s at the back of the line again.” She informed him, giggling as he huffed in fake exasperation.
It was no surprise that his hyperactive son was the biggest troublemaker of his class; he was his son afterall.
“What a surprise.” He deadpanned as the end of the line came into view, revealing an eager Hiro chatting away with none other than Senku. He softened privately at the scene, not missing the admiration in Hiro’s round eyes.
And then he started to get annoyed when Hiro seemed to forget he existed. He tapped an impatient finger on his forearm, eyes narrowing the longer his son pretended not to see him for the sake of continuing his conversation. He caught Senku follow Hiro’s line of sight and give him an apologetic look as the child went on and on. He decided to be merciful and save the man from his son’s neverending barrage of questions and wonderings.
“Hiro Asagiri, I know you saw me.” He called flatly, feeling like a child playing adult himself and thinking about how Xeno and Stanley were much better at this tough love stuff than he was. Well, maybe just Xeno - Stanley had a huge soft spot for his grandson.
“Mom!” Hiro complained, “We’re talking here.” Of course, Hiro rarely responded how other kids would to Gen’s attempts at strict parenting. He knew that Gen really only did it for the theatrics most of the time. Gen sighed, rolling his eyes at the diva in the making. Not that he had anyone to blame except himself. And Xeno. And Stanley. And his sisters.
They really all spoiled him too much.
“I think you should go see what your mom wants. We can talk more about black holes next week.” Senku said to Hiro, ruffling his fluffy hair.
“Ugh, fine.” Hiro sighed dramatically, trudging over to Gen. “Hey, mom.” He greeted amicably, bypassing Gen’s fake-mad expression. An expert at escaping a lecture he did not want to hear. Like mother, like son.
“So you wanna tell me why you’re at the end of the line again?” Gen raised an eyebrow, trying to dust dirt off his son’s sleeve. Leave it to Hiro to get every single one of his school uniforms dirty midweek so Gen would have no choice but to wash it. His heart stretched in that way that it did when he was around his son. He loved him so much.
“It’s just school drama, mom.” Hiro brushed him off and Ukyo released a laugh at that, reminding Gen that they were still in others’ company. His own resolve broke at that point and he shook his head at his son’s mannerisms. He was clearly spending way too much time with the adults of their household, and catching their nonchalant approach to the world at the young age of eight.
At that, Suika tapped Hiro’s shoulder, drawing him into their own conversation as Senku approached Ukyo and Gen, finally done with letting the third graders out.
“Haven’t seen you in ages.” Ukyo started and Senku slid his hands in his pockets casually. He didn’t lean in for a hug, even when Ukyo stepped closer to poke him, and Gen figured the alpha wasn’t big on physical touch.
He settled into his role as an observer, knowing that Ukyo was sparing him a tortuous conversation with an alpha when Gen hated them all as a rule. He busied himself with splitting his attention between Ukyo and Senku’s conversation and the kids playing on the swings, if only to give himself something to do.
From where he stood, he could single out Senku’s smooth scent, the grassy sweetness of a matcha latte. His middle warmed, fuzzy at the comforting scent, and didn’t notice himself staring at the man until Senku’s eyes flickered to him, sharp and calculated, but kind and inviting.
He startled and reached for his phone to scroll through the messages that had arrived from his siblings, mostly memes and updates about Ruri and Chrome’s flight landing.
Ukyo, however, caught the eye contact between the two and shifted his attention to introducing them.
“Oh, where are my manners.” He feigned slapping his forehead then gestured in Gen’s direction. “I’m not sure if you two have met before, so I’m sorry if this is redundant. This is Gen, Hiro’s mom.”
Senku extended his hand to Gen, surprising him. It was rare for an alpha to shake an omega’s hand unprompted, as if they were equals. “Senku. Hiro’s a great kid.”
“Thanks,” Gen said as he took his hand in his, trying to keep his handshake firm. Don’t show weakness, show them you’re the boss. Xeno’s lessons echoed in his mind, prompting him to maintain confident eye contact with Senku. “He’s a big fan of yours.” He added, wanting to return the compliment somehow.
At that moment, Ukyo’s phone rang, disrupting them as he looked down and simply silenced the call.
“Oops, sorry. That was Ryusui, I think Suika’s grandparents are at our place so we gotta run. Senku, please come over some time this weekend. I’m almost due, and Ryusui is acting like he might die tomorrow if he doesn’t see you.” He pleaded with Senku, then turned to Gen. “You and Hiro should come too! It’ll be fun.”
“Um-” Gen started as he released Senku’s hand, wanting to back out and escape before Ukyo roped him into anything.
“This weekend’s a little tough…” Senku started at the same time, giving Gen a look that cried help, but the omega was as powerless as he was when it came to fending off a pregnant Saionji.
“How about Sunday? If the weather is good we could do coffee and brunch in the garden while the kids play!” Ukyo rushed, taking both their hands and squeezing them. His phone buzzed again and he released them, calling Suika over. “Okay, it’s a plan? See y’all Sunday!” He waved, hurrying away with Suika’s little hand in his.
“Oookay…” Gen said, meeting Senku’s eyes before they both laughed at their friend’s tactics.
The alpha rested his hands on his hips, shaking his head with a sigh then raising his head to look at Gen again. “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you Sunday.” He said, giving Gen a smooth smile.
Hiro was marching towards them, then stopped to stand between them, panting after all the running around he had just engaged in with Suika. “Sunday? What’s on Sunday?”
“Glad to have a fellow hostage there with us.” Gen replied, bypassing Hiro’s question for a second as he tried to smooth his sweaty hair instead.
“Guys, what’s Sunday?” Hiro demanded, pulling both the adults attention to him.
“We’re going to Suika’s, and Senku is too.” Gen explained, rolling his eyes as Hiro cried in delight, hopping around with all his energy restored. He looked back at Senku, mouthing I’m so sorry to him. He doubted the man wanted to spend his weekend with kids when he had just spent his entire weekdays with them.
Senku huffed through his nose at that but was smiling as he watched Hiro spin away while singing about visiting Suika. “I have to go grab the second graders.” He threw his thumb behind him at the double doors and Gen’s eyes widened as he realized they were holding him up.
“Oh, of course, we’ll get out of your hair.” He gestured to him to go on. “Hiro! Come on, we’re leaving.” Hiro surprisingly apparated beside him on the first try, raising a hand to salute Senku.
“See you on Sunday, teach!”
Senku saluted him back with an amused smile, then tilted his head in acknowledgment to Gen. His gaze lingered on the alpha’s for a second longer than would have been perceived as platonic, and felt thrilled to find Senku hold his. He was the first to break it, turning to guide Hiro out of the yard. He chanced a glance back and caught Senku strolling back into the building, gait confident and relaxed, and shook his head at the crush that he’d somehow managed to build in a matter of minutes.
“This is Earth to Mom. Earth to Mom. Report in, Mr. Asagiri.” Hiro’s voice pulled him from his trance. They were already in the car, but he hadn’t left the parking lot yet.
“Just waiting for some traffic to clear. You got your seatbelt on?” Gen lied and changed the subject, turning to check that Hiro’s seatbelt was buckled in.
"Yes!"
"You ready for the dentist?"
"Wait, dentist?" Hiro asked, his face falling, endearing him to Gen. The omega laughed softly, reaching over to cup Hiro's cheek in a loving gesture.
"I promise it'll be over before you know it."
"Oooor we can go get ice cream after?" Hiro asked. Gen cocked his head curiously at his son's suggestion and a colluding smile slowly grew on his lips. Hiro lit up, knowing exactly what was coming.
"And that's how I know you're my kid." Gen tapped the tip of his index finger on Hiro's nose, then faced forward again and finally buckled up. He started the engine, the music that he'd been playing resuming, and fell into the familiarity of his life with Hiro.
The late afternoon flew by once Gen was with Hiro, as all his days did with his son. An hour-long appointment at the dentist (who had generously squeezed them into his 5 PM slot) was followed by a visit to the ice cream shop, where he enjoyed his ice cream float while Hiro inhaled three scoops of ice cream that were going to come back and bite him in the ass when the kid couldn't settle down and sleep. They made a quick grocery run after that, getting the ingredients they needed for dinner.
Standing in the kitchen, cooking with Hiro there helping him, both of them singing along to Gen's playlist, was so mundane and peaceful that it jarred Gen. Moments like this were so vastly different from his life with Hiro's father that he just felt like he was in a dream.
But it was all real. Their apartment was nothing fancy, a one-bedroom with a half kitchen that did the job for the most part. Xeno had, of course, tried to persuade him to rent a bigger place, in a part of town that was closer to them, begging Gen to let him cover rent, but Gen refused. His parents were already covering a majority of Hiro’s tuition, and were constantly showering him with gifts and trips and all sorts of pricy things. But he didn’t want to completely rely on his parents, not when he was making headway in his career on his own, although the salary ladder was a slow climb.
“Hiro, hand me the bok choy from the fridge.” Gen instructed, wincing when Hiro flung the fridge door open. The two were making a hot pot for the family dinner after Hiro had glimpsed a photo of it on Gen’s Pinterest feed and couldn’t stop begging him about trying it.
“Okay, if you’d told me how long this takes I would have just voted for sandwiches.” Hiro sighed as he rested his chubby cheek on his open palm, his legs dangling from the island chair.
“I told you.” Gen sang, scrolling with his knuckle to keep his phone screen on as he followed the recipe.
“Can I put music on your phone then?” Hiro asked, ignoring Gen’s nodding until he had to articulate his yes to the inattentive child.
“Yay!” He cheered, grabbing the phone and opening his mom’s music streaming app. Hyper-pop filled the kitchen as he placed the phone back down, jumping off the chair to bounce around on the balls of his feet.
“Okay, I see you’ve got taste.” Gen smirked, dancing along as he maneuvered the veggies to the pot. He hummed the words to the song as he dropped fish balls, octopus dumplings, shrimp, and various other seafood items into the pot, allowing Hiro to stir it as he cleaned the kitchen surfaces and utensils. He did not want to return to a catastrophic kitchen later that night. Once he was done, he turned off the stovetop, handing Hiro the lid they’d be using to transfer the dish.
“Alright. Let’s go change so Xeno doesn’t think we’re nasty.” He wrinkled his nose and grinned when Hiro laughed. The kid thought it was absolutely hilarious when Gen called Xeno by his name instead of mom or grandma. He grabbed Hiro from the step stool he had been standing on to stir, lifting him and placing him on the floor.
“You gotta stop picking me up, mom. I’m super old now.”
“Oh are you?” Gen challenged, tickling Hiro’s sides before running to escape Hiro’s counterattack.
“I am!” Hiro jumped onto the bed, planting his feet and puffing his chest with pride. “And I’m taller.”
“Sure.” Gen teased and threw clean clothes on the bed beside him. “Get dressed, big guy.” He instructed then went to the bathroom to change out of his own work clothes. He slipped into a monochrome loungewear set he’d forgotten he had, kicking his platform dress shoes off and sliding into white platform sneakers instead.
He noticed his phone lighting up and checked it quickly. “Hurry up, Hiro. Granddad just texted asking where we are.”
“Give me?” Hiro asked, accepting the device from Gen and sending a curt recorded message using Gen’s bitmoji. “We will be there at 19:00 sharp, sir.” He hit send and returned the phone to his mother.
“You’re welcome.” Gen said dryly at the lack of a thank you. He really needed to drill some manners into the boy.
He ignored Hiro’s attempt to let him carry the pot down to the car, which could only end in disaster. He did allow him to strap the pot into one of the seats using the seatbelt, then ordered Hiro to buckle up.
“Let’s go!” Hiro cried as Gen pulled out of their building’s parking lot, and then they were on their way to his parents house.
“Oh, thank god. Mom is being so extra.” Kohaku said when she saw them at the doorstep, taking the heavy pot from Gen before he could protest.
“Hiro, Gen!” Xeno called from where he was standing near Stanley, letting the alpha finish cooking while he busied himself with assessing two different wine bottles for the grown ups. “What took you so long? The appetizers your dad made are cold by now.” He put the bottles on the counter to embrace Hiro tightly, accepting a cheek kiss from his son.
“Hi, parents.” Gen greeted, shuffling past Xeno to place a kiss on Stanley’s cheek as well and accepting the warm side-hug he received in return.
“Hey, kiddo.” Stanley rubbed his upper back gently, the paternal scent of pack alpha settling like a blanket around Gen. “And hello to you, cadet.” He said when he separated from Gen, squeezing Hiro tight until he had him lifted off the ground.
“Hey grandpa.” Hiro returned the hug quickly, starting to hop in place between his parents. “Are you guys ready to eat? Because I’m hungry.” He sang the last word at the top of his lungs, causing Gen to wince and cover his ears.
“What, your mom isn’t feeding you?” Xeno asked jokingly as he seemed to finally settle on a bottle, raising it to Stanley’s field of view and waiting for his husband’s nod of approval.
“More like he goes through the entire fridge before I get a chance to eat anything.” Gen ruffled Hiro’s hair roughly.
“Where’s my wrestling rival?” Kohaku called as she walked into the kitchen from wherever she had been, grinning at Hiro when she spotted him. “Come over here, dude. You dare not say hi to the current heavyweight champion?” Hiro laughed evilly in response, jumping over and starting to ramble away with Kohaku. The wrestling championship was a backyard game between Kohaku and Hiro, and sometimes Stanley when he wasn’t feeling too much somatic pain from his service days. Of course, Gen and Xeno wanted no part in the roughousing.
“Animals.” Xeno muttered to him as Kohaku and Hiro’s voices rose ever louder, and Hiro was placing his shoe on Kohaku’s thigh to climb up and over her when Xeno interrupted. “Uh-uh. No acrobatics in the kitchen.” He gave Kohaku a look that said don’t encourage this you are a grown ass adult.
“Grandmaaaa.” Hiro groaned, sliding down to the polished floor in angst. “You’re always bossing us around.”
“Yeah, ‘cause I’m the boss of this house.” Xeno retorted, carrying trays full of food past Hiro and tapping his socked foot with his house slipper. “Come on, time to eat what grandpa made you.”
Hiro jumped up at that, forgetting all about his woes as he rushed after his aunt and grandmother.
“Oh my god, is this what peace feels like.” Gen sighed in relief as Hiro remained in the dining room with Xeno, his voice a distant echo now.
Stanley chuckled, turning around and handing him a piece of garlic bread that Xeno must have deemed too ugly to serve (even to his own children). “How are you, kid?”
“Same as usual.” Gen shrugged and accepted the food offering. “You?”
“Not too shabby. Just wrapped up that project for community health workers at the refugee center. It went well.” He began serving each person’s portions, accepting Gen’s help in garnishing.
“Aw, congrats! You worked so hard on that one.” Gen nudged him in the arm then leaned to rest his head on his shoulder for a moment.
He was proud of his father. After a traumatizing career being exploited by politicians to fight their wars, his father had gone through a period of disillusionment when he was sent on a mission that targeted civilians. He’d retired abruptly, focusing his energy on community empowerment before pivoting to work with organizations that helped child refugees integrate into their new homes after years spent in war torn regions, ones that Stanley had witnessed first hand. Gen still remembered the hundreds of nights he’d wake up to Stanley alone in the living room, reading and taking notes and absorbing all that he could about the history of the institution he was involved in.
This always had him feeling nervous when Hiro joked around with his grandfather with military references, but Stanlry always accepted them with patience and grace. According to him, he knew that Hiro saw the soldier in him even if that was an old tortured part of him, so he didn’t like to hold it against his grandson.
“Yeah. Thank you for helping with writing the proposal, we wouldn’t have been able to pass it for otherwise.”
“Anytime, dad.” Gen kissed his cheek again. He’d helped out when Stanley’s collaborator had gotten caught up in a community-level emergency abroad and couldn’t contribute her parts anymore. He could still feel the relief of the proposal passing despite the panicked, caffeine-induced state that the two of them were in while writing it. “Here, let me take those.”
He took the plates that Stanley had laid out to the dining table, placing them on the spots that were prepared for them. He noted that two more seats were prepared and frowned, remembering that Ruri and Chrome were supposed to be there. He turned to Kohaku, who was huddled over her phone with Hiro, watching what sounded like a streamer. “Where’s Ruri?”
“Late.” Kohaku said without moving her attention from her phone.
He returned to the kitchen, finding him and Xeno fussing over the hotpot they’d made.
“Gen, we don’t have a sterno to keep this hot.” Xeno said as he held the hotpot pot.
“Fuck, I forgot.” He ignored Xeno’s glare at his cursing. “Maybe Chrome and Ruri can grab it before they get here?” The bell rang just as he said that and he slumped in defeat. “Nevermind.”
He went to open the front door, figuring his son and his sister were both too engrossed in their video, and he wasn’t going to make his parents do more labor than they already had.
“Gen!” Ruri cried with joy and drew him close for a tight hug. He breathed in the airy rose on her scent and scented her back fondly, letting her go so she and Chrome could step inside.
“Hey, Gen.” Chrome greeted easily, leaning in to give Gen a quick hug. Chrome had been a member of their family for several years at this point, what with his long friendship-turned-romance with Ruri, and was one of the few alphas Gen could trust with anything.
“Hey, guys. You look so cute.” He stepped back to appreciate their outfits, watching Ruri twirl in a circle to show him the full outfit. “Our perfect little couple.” He teased, laughing as Ruri pinched his arm.
“Yeah, I’m sure you of all people absolutely love this romance.” She joked. “Where’s lil Hiro?”
“I’m not little!” Hiro shouted from the dining table, causing Gen to sigh while the two grinned and rushed to the greet the boy.
He rushed back to the kitchen and found his parents reheating the hotpot on the stove. Stanley was leaning against the counter while Xeno watched the contents of the pot intently.
“Let’s just serve it how it is.” Gen announced. “I’m starving.”
“What the hell?” Gen exclaimed as he looked over Hiro’s homework. The two of them had spread out on the living room rug and had all of Hiro’s homework packets from the past week open for Gen to examine. Despite his hyperactive nature, his son usually had perfect or near perfect scores on all his assignments (thanks to Gen’s unlawful assistance). But that was no longer true, apparently, as he stared at the corrections made on Hiro’s most recent science homework. For some reason, Hiro had asked Senku for advanced homework because he was bored, and Gen ended up needing to search things up multiple times that night.
“It’s okay, mom. Senku said that one’s a common mistake.” He patted Gen’s shoulder with chocolatey hands and Gen quickly checked his sweatshirt for stains before realizing what Hiro was saying.
“Hiro, this is your homework. Shouldn’t you be a little more upset about all this red ink?” Gen felt irritation creep up. No matter how cute Senku was, he was offended that Senku seemed to think all of his answers were wrong and wrote over them in red ink. He was no science genius, but he wasn’t dumb enough to mess up third grade science.
“You didn’t let me finish it on my own so it’s kind of on you, mom. I did tell you that one didn’t look right.” Hiro shrugged and Gen scowled.
“I’m not the one who only remembers he has homework at midnight.”
“Wait, let me see.” Chrome said from where he was seated next to Ruri, curiosity piqued by the mother-son back and forth. He placed the green tea Xeno had served them for digestion on a side table.
Gen sighed and handed him the packet, waiting to be backed up. After all, Chrome was a mechanical engineer himself, so this should be a piece of cake to him.
He heard Chrome whistle, which drew everyone’s attention to him. “You copy these answers from Quora or something, Gen?” He grinned in amusement and handed the sheet to Kohaku as she demanded to see.
“I don’t get it.” She frowned. “This is third-grade science? When did school get so hard?”
“No, there’s a few of us who do advanced stuff because we asked Senku.” Hiro helpfully supplied. “I think he’s gonna make a club for us.” He grinned.
“Please no clubs.” Gen raised his hands in protest. “You barely do your homework, baby.”
“It’s good to encourage his scientific curiosity, Gen.” Xeno interjected as he half-heartedly gestured for Kohaku to hand him the packet, finally becoming intrigued enough by the conversation, or too annoyed with their endless bickering. Gen yelped when he was slapped with the homework packet upside the head. “Gen! You tanked my poor grandson’s grade.”
“Yeah, you tanked me, mom.” Hiro stuck his tongue out at him and Gen had to resist mirroring the action, trying to be an adult instead.
“Hey. We don’t point our tongues at people.” He warned, trying to imitate his parents’ strictness. Ruri, Chrome, and Kohaku cracked up as Hiro kept pointing his tongue. “Don’t encourage him, you guys!” He sighed in defeat.
“Hiro. Respect your mother.” Stanley said sternly and the boy quickly corrected his behavior, feigning innocence.
“So this Senku is your teacher?” Xeno asked as he flipped through the homework package, uninterested in the arguing occurring around him as he glanced over the pages through reading glasses. Hiro nodded, jumping to sit beside his grandma and nearly spilling his tea in the process.
“Yeah, he’s almost as smart as you!” Hiro exclaimed, gesturing above his head to depict a giant, invisible brain.
“Smart as Xeno? No way, bud.” Stan said teasingly and grabbed Hiro from his sides, pulling him to sit next to him so Xeno could safely place his mug back on the coffee table.
“I swear! We’re gonna simulate two black holes colliding on the computer on Monday.” He informed them enthusiastically. “So you,” Hiro started, nearly touching Xeno’s clothes with a sticky finger but stopping an inch away when Xeno shot him a warning glare. “should pick me up Monday so I can show you.”
Xeno pretended to consider the proposition, narrowing his eyes at Hiro as he tapped a finger against his lower lip. “What’s in it for me?”
“I’ll...sleep over tonight?” Hiro said slowly, turning to look at Gen and pouting when Gen raised his eyebrows at him.
“Oh you decided that on your own now, did you?” Gen pushed back, mostly because he absolutely did not want Xeno to meet Senku. Something told him they would hit it off, and then Gen’s crush would only grow, and he did not have a good track record with alphas that he crushed on.
“You guys should totally sleepover! We are.” Ruri jumped in to back Hiro up. “We could all have Saturday breakfast together and mom can burn it like old times.”
“Don’t wake me up for breakfast on a weekend or you’re dead.” Kohaku threatened, and Gen had to agree. They could never forget the pain of being woken up at 8 AM by their mother whenever Stanley was deployed. Now that he was older, he realized that Xeno must have been desperate to distract himself from his fears and worries, was even willing to spend his entire day with three children over being alone. Gen glanced at Xeno and found Stanley’s steadying hand already resting on his knee with tenderness.
“I did not burn it.” Xeno sniffed into the air. Everyone exchanged a look while his eyes were shut, knowing that the one thing their mother wasn’t talented at was cooking. Thankfully, Stanley filled in that gap for him. “Anyway. I’ll take you up on your offer, Mister Hiro Asagiri.” He offered Hiro a hand to shake before remembering Hiro’s sticky fingers and retracting it. “Nevermind, the handshake is implied. Go wash your hands!” He slapped Hiro’s shoulder with the homework packet lightly, which had Hiro giggling and hurrying away.
The night’s conversation traveled to other topics, from Xeno’s work -which reminded Gen to inform the omega that he was trending on Twitter for his most recent press conference- to Ruri and Chrome’s plans for their wedding ceremony in the summer.
Hiro spent the evening switching from one person to the next, eventually running out of juice and passing out in Stanley’s lap after a lengthy conversation about military-grade weapons, one of Hiro’s newest fascinations. Gen sighed and went to take him from Stanley, readying himself to suffer through carrying the growing boy up to his old bedroom.
“It’s okay, I got him,” Stanley assured him. “You should rest, you’ve been dealing with this guy all day.”
“You sure?” Gen asked and watched Stanley nod. “Thanks, Dad.” Gen sighed, resting his chin on Stanley’s knee and closing his eyes. He stayed aware of the conversation around him but didn’t participate, and at some point must have dozed off to dream about matcha lattes.
And then he was shaken awake.
“Gen. Gen.” It was Kohaku, who was kneeling down beside him on the floor as he blinked dumbly at her. “I think it’s a wrap on tonight for you, bud.” She helped him to his feet, holding him steady as he stumbled a little. He looked behind him to see Stanley gathering Hiro up and following them, with the other trailing behind and separating into their own respective bedrooms.
“Wait, where’s Hiro?” He blinked, more awake when he didn’t feel the weight of Hiro settling beside him like he’d expected.
“I think he’s sleeping with them.” Kohaku tossed her head in the direction of their parents’ bedroom and stifled a yawn. “They probably miss having little kids. Don’t worry about it.” She waved him off then trailed to her own room.
He sighed and stood to his feet, making his way back down the hallway to where the master bedroom was located. “Mom.” He started as he stood in the doorway, watching Xeno carefully clean Hiro’s palms and feet with some baby wipes to avoid having to wake Hiro up. His mom was a huge softie in the funniest ways, sometimes. “It’s okay, I can take him.”
Xeno shooed him away as Stanley took his place beside Hiro on the bed. “He’s fine here, go to sleep.” the older omega whispered, settling down on the bed and rolling his pajama pants up to lotion his legs.
“He kicks a lot, you won’t get any sleep.” He argued. His parents had had their fair share of back cramps from sharing their bed with him and his sisters. He felt guilty when they felt obligated to do so with Hiro.
“Hiro’s an angel. Don’t worry, Gen.” Xeno assured him and he sighed in defeat as he hovered at the doorway. He felt a strange anxiety every time he was away from Hiro. Funny, that he was the one with separation anxiety, and not the eight year old that was currently snoring away peacefully.
“Well, if he wakes you up too much just bring him to me, okay?” He whispered, blowing them a kiss and closing the door behind him. He lingered there in the dimly lit corridor, unsure of what to do with himself. He walked himself back to bed at some point, landing on the mattress with a sigh.
Two months. Fear struck Gen, chilling his core. What am I gonna do?
Sleep was an unwilling guest that night, but it visited Gen eventually, freeing him temporarily of his worried thoughts.