Chapter Text
I haven’t been here since I graduated…
Opera considered as they sailed around the back of Babyls, speed easily outstripping the smattering of students they’d passed on their way. Nothing much had changed since the last time the omega had been here, and it sent an unexpected pang of heartache through them.
Nonetheless, their young master needed them, so Opera folded their wings and dropped to the grass, immediately opening their stride, head on a swivel.
“Young master Iruma? I’m here!” They called, already reaching for their pocket to produce their hellphone to call and pinpoint Iruma’s location.
If Iruma was actually presenting, time was of the essence. Opera’s mind kicked into overdrive, trying to figure out if they should summon the carriage or simply carry Iruma home. If Iruma’s room could swiftly be prepared for an upcoming first heat, if they had suppressants on hand, if the suppressant they took were even safe for human consumption.
If it is his first heat, I should make a visit to both Asmodeus and Valac’s homes to get items for him to ride through with, is anyone else in his class close enough to get something from? That Sabnock boy…maybe Andro and Shax?
Their thoughts were whirling at such a tremendous speed that, for just a few small fractions of a second, they were distracted enough not to notice the strange softening of the earth under their feet.
Then several things happened all at once.
Firstly, a barrage of cutting wind ripped over the open hill, and Opera’s foot caught against the softened earth. They took a single staggering step back, wings already opening again to take off and regroup. A cacophony of noise came from the tree line close by and Opera’s head swiveled towards it. An explosion of shattering icicles was rocketing towards them, followed closely by a burst of electric magic sent through the softened earth. This time Opera got into the air, narrowly dodging the attacks that were worryingly familiar.
Now what are those kids trying to pull…?
Opera thought to themself, not quite angry considering it had become obvious none of these attacks were meant to seriously injury them.
Well, that is until a loud roar came from above and when they looked up, they were nearly nose-to-nose with a white gorgon snake.
Where did it…?
Opera was as-of-yet unaware of Iruma’s classmates familiars, and so the gorgon snake was out of the blue, it’s pupils dilated.
In retrospect, Opera doubted the snake would have actually unleashed it’s fire breath at such short-range. They figured out later exactly how hard Iruma’s classmates had tried to pin them down for even just a few seconds.
That hardly mattered because in a thunderous crack that temporarily darkened the sky, an eruption of lightning struck the gorgon snake, sending it flying before it dissipated back into the smoke of a familiar summon. Opera heard some heavy breathing as they came down from the skies, slowly taking a landing as the shock of the flurry of attacks wore off.
They turned around.
Kalego was standing there, hunched over, breathing hard.
And it was almost exactly the same as their last moments in love.
“Are you…alright?” Kalego caught his breath somewhat, straightening up. The alpha’s hand came up to grasp at his tie, clawed fingers tugging at it with little clue what else to do.
“Oh, I…yes. I’m fine. Thank you.” Opera nodded to him, and Kalego folded his arms over his chest. It looked worryingly like a defense.
“Those students of mine are going to be in big trouble. They call you over here then assault you for some sort of prank, and trick me into coming over hear after lying to a teacher? I know they love to cause trouble, but this is taking it to far!” Kalego snapped.
Opera tilted their head. “…because they almost hurt me?”
Kalego’s shoulders shot up towards his ears, and his eyes darted off towards the cliff side. “Well…well you’re an important alumnus! They shouldn’t be attacking you for the fun of it!”
He heaved a sharp breath, before turning on his heel. “If you’re here for something, please take it and go…I need to write this up…”
“Wait.” Opera found the word leaving their mouth before they could stop it.
Kalego glanced back at them. “What?”
“…I think I know what they were up too.”
Kalego groaned. “Is it Iruma again? I swear, that brat of yours causes more trouble than anyone and half the time he isn’t even trying!”
Opera shook their head softly, taking a couple steps closer. Kalego took a much more defensive stance…but he didn’t try to run away.
“This time I believe he was certainly pulling some strings.”
“Please tell me he’s not in his evil cycle again, my heart can’t take it.”
“No, it’s not that…it’s just…I believe he figured out about our…ah…previous relationship.”
They said it.
The words hung heavy in the air, and Kalego awkwardly cleared his throat. “I see…well, that’s not a major concern of mine so I…”
“I told him about it. He asked me.”
Kalego’s eyebrows shot up, and his expression remained forcibly neutral. “And as I said, that isn’t a major concern of mine, so…”
“You kept the pictures?”
Kalego’s mouth fell half-open, and the expression on his face betrayed him for just a moment. It was wide, and vulnerable, and still deeply hurt by things that had happened when they both could still have been called nothing more than stupid kids.
“How do you know that?” He demanded.
“I have my sources.” Opera replied vaguely, because while they were also pretty furious with Iruma about plotting this, they weren’t about to out him on breaking into Kalego’s apartment.
Kalego scoffed brokenly, arms still tightly folded. “So what if I did?”
“I suppose I figured you’d burn them or something.”
“I’m not that vindictive.” Kalego muttered, and Opera paused in how they’d been just about to approach closer.
As easily as they once would have ten years ago.
But this was a different life, wasn’t it?
So the omega stepped back instead, keeping a respectable distance between the two of them. They gathered their hands behind them, professional posture returning, a calm expression replacing the glitter of mirth that had tried to shine in their eyes.
“Well, you clearly hate me, so why would you keep photos of me around?” Kalego’s eyes snapped up from where he’d had them firmly fixed on the horizon line, a panic lit behind purple irises. He almost looked offended.
“I don’t hate you. I never hated you.”
Opera felt like the wind got knocked out of them with that statement.
“You…don’t? But you never wanted to speak with me again. Even when Balam tried to get us together, even just on friendly terms.”
Kalego’s eyes turned now from Opera’s face to the tree line, scanning it with narrowed eyes. Probably searching for eavesdroppers, but it wasn’t like he’d be so bold as to maintain his resolve long enough to move this conversation somewhere else.
So the alpha squared his shoulders, dropped his crossed arms, and spoke with a gesturing hand.
“Seeing you…hurt me. It hurts me, Opera. I didn’t want to see you because it only reminded me of everything we used to have. But I never, not once, not even for a single moment, hated you. That couldn’t be further from the truth.”
The implication laid out there was the opposite of the one Opera had heard years and years ago when they stood in this very same place. It was so bizarre, seeing Kalego who had barely changed, and Opera themself who could imagine that time like it was yesterday.
This was the result of two roads traveled, that had intersected for a time, and had run parallel so long.
For some reason, though, Opera found themself at a crossroad again.
And maybe for once in their life, they could decide which road to travel on, instead of just walking what was laid out ahead?
“But the furthest thing from hate is love, Kalego.”
Opera regretted the words as soon as they’d said them, but instead of a volatile reaction Kalego’s face darkened with a blush that ran all the way to the tips of his pointed ears.
The alpha was quiet for a long time, the silence hung for so long it was deafening, before finally he spoke.
Quietly, but in a strange way, ever so confidently. “I told you I loved you back then. And no matter what I’ve tried, that hasn’t changed.”
Opera’s pointed, feline-like ears perked up, and they couldn’t stop the pleasant little bob their tail performed.
Heat burned against their cheeks, and the omega finally broke from the proper posture. Their shoulders sloped in, their head leaned to one side, their arms came out to thread their fingers together in front of their well-pressed red vest.
“Is that so? I’m…”
A thousand scenarios came through their mind, but they landed distinctly on one.
It was the things they’d always wished they’d had a chance to say.
“I wanted to stay with you, Kalego. Forever. But I just…I failed to manage everything well enough, and I never was able to explain it to you.”
Kalego scoffed bitterly. “You were always perfect, what’s there to explain?”
“That I didn’t want to be perfect. That I love you because you aren’t perfect, that I never ever wanted to make you feel like I expected that of you. Because I didn’t. I swear I didn’t. You made me happy…and I thought that was all there was too it…but I had never so much as had a single friend before you and Balam, so how the devi do you tell someone something like that? How to explain that someone is just…”
Opera awkwardly made several gestures with their hands, like trying to jam two puzzle pieces together that wouldn’t quite fit. “…just makes everything feel like…just makes you want to…you made me feel like I deserved to exist! And how do you explain that? How could I ever tell you that?”
Kalego had leaned his chin back slightly, the red glow to his cheeks not fully faded as he raised a hand and raked back his bangs, eyes again seeking somewhere to land aside from Opera’s face.
“…erm…well you just did, so…yeah.”
Opera only looked even more frustrated. “But it’s not…it’s not…”
“Perfect?”
The omega’s eyes shot up, and Kalego had come a step closer than before. One eye squeezed shut, ever so painfully awkward when it came to affection or showing simple joys.
“…that’s not fair.” Opera muttered, and Kalego gave a flat snicker.
“Nothing seems to be, but here we are.”
The alpha let the silence return another few seconds, then gathered his resolve. “I couldn’t help but notice you, um…you were using present tense just now.”
“You really are a teacher, aren’t you?” Opera jabbed.
“Shut it, I’m not wrong.” Kalego bit back.
“No, you’re not.” Opera replied.
Kalego bent his head with another groan, like trying to sort this out was causing him physical pain.
Opera finally stopped his fidgeting and reached out, taking ahold of Kalego’s hands. They were a bit rougher and thicker than ten years ago, but they were still so familiar. Everything about Kalego, from his eyes to his scent felt just as comfortable as before.
“I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you.” Opera admitted quietly.
Kalego’s shoulders dropped, slouching like someone had just cut the strings holding him up.
Opera felt the brush of his lips against their forehead, and his fingers curled tighter around their own.
“I know you didn’t. I’m sorry I ran away.”
“No. It wasn’t your fault. I should have explained myself better.” Opera insisted.
“I should have tried to talk about these things more.” Kalego countered.
“Let me be wrong for once, dammit.” Opera hissed.
“I thought we were trying to get past the perfect thing?” Kalego’s expression was gloating.
They glared at each other a few seconds, before laughter broke the tension and dissolved it into a warm golden glow.
“Are you ok with this? With me, like this?” Opera wanted to clarify, and Kalego shrugged.
“As if the chairdemon didn’t drive me crazy before, he’ll be jumping down my throat when he finds out we’re courting again.”
“Two years…almost three…wait, did we ever even officially break up?”
“No, we didn’t. You didn’t give back your courtship gift or anything.”
Opera’s eyes lit up. “Oh.” They released one of Kalego’s hands and reached for their collar, fishing up a silver chain.
Kalego couldn’t believe the sight of the red pendant still hanging there.
“You…kept it?”
Opera dropped the chain, letting it disappear again under their clothes.
“I never took it off.”
Kalego audibly swallowed as the omega fixed him with an expression that brimmed with enough emotion to spill from the edges, all the while their mouth barely titled upward, their eyes hardly shifted.
But it was a lot for Opera, and besides, their tail was now bobbing back and forth in a frenzy from how happy it seemed they were.
“So…we’re back?” Kalego tried.
“We’re back.” Opera nodded curtly.
His eyes then lit up with the mischief he’d been concealing before. “And I do believe you still owe me dinner from our last race around campus.”
Kalego rolled his eyes. “You have to be kidding, you remember that?”
“I never forget about free food.”
“I know, you made me buy you those awful sugary bread things from the school store all the time.”
“I don’t recall forcing you to do that.”
“You’re hard to buy gifts for, ok!?”
Opera let a hardly audible giggle slip, as the two of them turned to walk back towards the gates, hand in hand.
“Where should we go?”
“We can discuss, but first…”
They turned in near unison, and the combined dark aura was enough to even give Sullivan shivers from where he was sitting in his office across campus.
“You misfit lot are in big trouble tomorrow, you hear me?”
“Young master Iruma, we will certainly be having a talk about your recent behavior when I return to the manor, so prepare yourself.”
“Y-Yes sir!” Lead shouted as he popped down from a tree branch.
“Sorry! We’re sorry! I’m sorry!” Iruma wailed as his head emerged from behind a bush.
“They’re cute! They’re so cute together!” Elizabetta, meanwhile, had just jumped out from behind a tree to celebrate their success, not seeming at all concerned about the upcoming punishment.
Opera’s blush matched their hair and they hid their face with their hands to deny anyone seeing their expression, and Kalego nearly had a meltdown. “Don’t call us cute we’re full-grown adults! Now get to your battlers or go home!” He roared.
The misfit class practically evaporated they fled so quickly.
“Ugh…those miscreants are gonna pay tomorrow.” Kalego grumbled.
“They…certainly should be made aware not to meddle in others affairs but…” Opera finally lifted their head from where they’d bent it to hide behind their hands.
The smallest smile barely tilted up the corners of their lips. “…secretly, I’m quite grateful they set this up.”
“You mean set us up.” Kalego muttered, before he turned towards the sidewalk again.
“I won’t be too harsh on them.”
“What a sweetheart.” Opera’s hand found it’s way into the crook of Kalego’s elbow, and for just a moment it was like nothing had ever changed.
And that certainly wasn’t true. A lot had changed, far more than they could unpack in this single evening having come back together again.
But it was the beginning, as their two long, winding roads came together.
They could worry about everyone else in the morning, for tonight, they’d just settle with the fact that they were together again.