Chapter Text
Today was the day.
Keigo sighed, packing up the few things he was taking with him. He was leaving most of his belongings in Endeavor, visiting his niece and nephew for a month and watching as their lives settled for a time. The Queen of Creati would also be visiting, apparently happy to meet her mate’s uncle. While he was happy to see his family, to remember them and remember his brother, he almost didn’t want to go. Enji was his soulmate – despite all of his hesitations about such a thing, he knew better now. He wanted that bond, wanted his mate and all that implied. The children already present and the life and the possibility of more. Keigo closed his bag, sighing again, then smiled.
He would be back soon.
He swam out of the room, looping the bag around his waist. Tying it off, he looked around until he saw Enji settled on his workbench, his hands almost blistering red as he shaped something metal. Touya was watching him, seated next to Shouto, from several feet away.
The three of them had been working on finite control of their fire, lately. Enji had spent so long suppressing it around his children that the instinct to continue to do so was strong. Touya and Shouto needed instruction, however, and he was the only one they could get it from. They were watching as he worked, asking questions when they needed to know something. Shouto had a small piece of metal in his hands as well, bending it just like his father was. Shaping it into something different and new – from the look of things, he was making a gift for his own mate. Touya was mostly observing, today. His tolerance for the flames his father produced was lower, though he could still wield them for an impressive amount of time.
“Dad,” Touya spoke up first, gesturing with a movement of his head when Enji’s attention caught. With two pairs of bright blue eyes on him, Keigo drifted closer. His smile grew when his mate studied him with wide eyes and a flushed face. “Heading out soon?”
“There was a message from a guard who went ahead,” Keigo nodded. “My nephew should be here in about an hour.”
Enji’s hands kept working, even as he continued to watch Keigo’s every move. “You’ll be careful?” he asked, his voice rough with something Keigo wasn’t going to name. It was too much like fear, too much like the terror of what had happened before. He couldn’t blame him – the last time he had separated from Enji and left his Kingdom, he had been captured not too long after and held captive for sixty years.
“I’ll be careful, big guy,” Keigo watched as the heat around his mate’s hands died down, the skin paling once more. He waited until they looked normal to dart forward, wrapping his arms around Enji’s neck. “Promise. Won’t leave my nephew’s castle without a guard, won’t go anywhere without a weapon. I mean,” he patted his bag, shrugging. “I’ve got the knife you gave me.” He cackled when Enji’s cheeks flushed a bright red, his hands wrapped tightly around the object he’d been working on the prevent the heat of the metal from touching Keigo’s skin. “I don’t think anyone will be able or willing to attack me with how paranoid I’ll be, how guarded my niece and nephew will be, how protective I’ve heard the guards of the Queen of Creati are, or the fact that my shiny new dagger has the emblem of the royal family of Endeavor on it.”
Enji ducked his head and hid his face in Keigo’s shoulder, letting out a contented sigh as he nuzzled against Keigo’s gills.
Shouto was watching them with a neutral expression, his hands folded calmly around what he’d been working on as well. It looked like a cuff, one meant to go around someone’s tail. From the shape of it, and the way it flared out, Keigo could tell it would complement Izuku’s fin shape extremely well. “Oh, he’s going to love that,” he told the younger mer, grinning now.
With a snort, Touya nodded. “I made this,” he held up a ring, showing off the bright blue stone set into the center of crisscrossing strands of metal. The stone matched his eyes almost perfectly.
“Touya’s control has a shorter time limit but his ability to handle higher temperatures easily allows for finer detail work,” Enji muttered into Keigo’s skin. He fell silent again, one hand moving from his work to Keigo’s back, his fingers running up and down Keigo’s spine. With a huff, Enji settled his hand between Keigo’s wings, fingers spread to accommodate the base of them. It was their favorite position to settle in and Keigo loved the warmth of his mate pressed against him. “Shouto’s control and time spent seems to be on par with mine.”
“Ooh, absolute control, then?” he looked back at the youngest of the three, grinning. “Good.”
Shouto nodded, running his thumbs over the cuff and smiling. Keigo had heard the story of the two of them, had heard how determined Shouto was to find Izuku once they had been separated.
Enji was so proud of his son.
Keigo leaned down and pressed his nose against Enji’s temple, letting his eyes drift shut as he soaked in the warmth of his mate. His soulmate. This was his future – this mer and his odd habits and broken heart. They could heal together, move towards something brighter and better as a pair. “I am leaving today,” he muttered, quiet and just for Enji. He could feel his soulmate stiffen up, his hands clenched out of fear. “But I’ll be back. Sooner than you even think. I’ll be back and you’ll be here and then everything will just slot together and we can figure our stuff out. We’ll figure it out,” he pulled his head back enough to meet Enji’s eyes. “We’ll figure it out together.”
Enji’s shoulders softened, the expression in his eyes hopeful and warm. “Together,” he swallowed his nerves visibly and nodded. “Once you get back.”
“Trust me, between my own paranoia and my nephew’s, I’m not leaving the company of any of the guards, anytime soon,” Keigo grinned. “None of us want a repeat of the thing that left us both alone and miserable for sixty years.” He stroked his hands over Enji’s hair, tucking the loose strands back. “I’ve got things to return for, I don’t plan on letting anything ever keep me from you again.” He leaned in, nudged their noses together, then sighed contentedly. “Shouto, Touya, can you keep an eye on him for me? I’ll be back pretty soon, but I need to know he’ll be okay.”
“We will,” Shouto nodded, expression solemn. He took everything so seriously.
Keigo swam close to both of them for a second, patting the tops of their heads, then turned away, heading for the entrance of the room.
He wiggled his fingers in a last goodbye to them, swimming to meet his nephew.
X
It had been a month.
Enji had stationed himself at the entrance of the palace, waiting with as much patience as he could muster – admittedly not much – to see the arriving formation of his soulmate’s traveling group. He had been sent a messenger ahead of them, told to expect Keigo home soon. Shouto was next to him, speaking quietly with Izuku. His son’s green-haired soulmate was wearing the cuff Shouto had made for him, his tail twisting every so often to admire the glint of it against his scales. Enji clenched his hands together, waiting for a sign of his own soulmate.
He had never had much patience.
After what seemed like an eternity, Enji felt the pattern on his arm warm up, comforting and familiar. He gasped, his breath catching.
There.
Just past the furthest edge of the palace’s boundaries. Enji felt like he was going to lose his mind if they did not start swimming faster – He knew Keigo could swim unimaginably fast. His soulmate had proven that several times. “Dad,” Shouto’s voice was a quiet murmur of sound, his hand chilled as he put it on Enji’s arm. “Swim out to him.”
“What?”
“You want to,” Izuku spoke up, smiling. “We can tell you do. I’m pretty sure there’s no reason for you not to do so,” he shrugged. “And it would probably make the both of you happier. A month away from Shouto would have me going insane. The bond between the two of you is still pretty new, despite the fact that it has existed for a good amount of your life. Swim out to him,” he gestured towards where Keigo was. “I don’t think anyone is going to blame you for being excited to see him and nervous about his return. You two spent more than sixty years separated because he swam away one time.”
His heart pounding in his chest, Enji nodded slowly. His hands were shaking. “What if—”
“Dad,” a different voice spoke up from behind him. “Just go meet him.”
Turning, Enji saw Touya. His eldest was staring at him, eyebrows raised, his hand clasped with his mate. “I—” Enji took a deep breath. “What if…”
“Nope, no what if,” Touya kissed the back of Tenko’s hand, letting go slowly to swim over to Enji. He shoved both of his hands into Enji’s back, pushing him forward. “Your insecurity needs work, and we will figure that out later but right now your soulmate is coming back home. Go, swim out to him, take him back to your rooms. Curl up together. Rejoice in being back together again.” He shoved once more, and Enji nodded.
He swam out to meet the arriving party.
Or rather, he tried to.
About halfway to them, he was hit with an impact of warmth and wet feathers. Keigo’s arms wrapped around him, both of them tumbling to settle on the sand. Enji brought an arm up, sliding his hand against the base of Keigo’s wings, before he nuzzled into his soulmate’s hair. Closing his eyes, Enji breathed in his scent, twisting their tails together. “Fuck, I missed you,” Keigo muttered. “Niece and nephew are safe and sound, both are happy, that’s great and good and all that,” he dug his claws into Enji’s shoulders like he was trying to anchor himself. “I am never going anywhere without you again if I can avoid it.”
Enji felt something in his chest loosen and he wrapped himself tighter around Keigo, trilling softly. “I never want to leave your side,” he nudged his nose against Keigo’s ear. “I just wanted you to have time with your family after so long away from things.”
“You’re dumb, sometimes,” Keigo moved his head so he could meet Enji’s eyes. “You’re a part of my family. Part and parcel of being my soulmate.”
His cheeks burned as he watched Keigo grin.
“I have been told to take you back to my room and spend time with just you and me,” Enji muttered. “I would, truthfully, appreciate that right now. Would you?” he rubbed his thumb between Keigo’s wings, watching his soulmate shiver before he dropped his head to Enji’s chest, trilling happily. They sat there for a few minutes longer, Enji combing his fingers through Keigo’s hair, continuing to press heat into the muscles of his back. Keigo’s tail swished from side to side, eventually gently whacking Enji’s arm.
“C’mon, let’s go,” Keigo purred, pressing a quick kiss to Enji’s mouth. He pushed himself up and off, taking Enji’s hand in his own. As they swam back to the palace, the guards Keigo had traveled with staying behind to speak with Rei and the children, Keigo leaned into his side.
“We will be back up for dinner,” Enji spoke as he passed Rei. She grinned, waving him away.
Keigo laughed, fluttering his fingers at Touya and Shouto. “Hey kids, bye kids!”
They swam inside followed by laughter.
When they made it to Enji’s rooms, Keigo pushed him inside before following after. He wrapped his arms around Enji’s neck, leaning into him. Enji leaned his head down, putting their foreheads together, watching as Keigo’s ears twitched. “Fuck, I missed you,” Keigo groaned out, darting in and kissing Enji gently a few times. “New bond, really recently fully established after it was denied that ability for decades, Enji. I’m not joking, by the way, I really am going to refuse to go anywhere without you in the future. It didn’t want me leaving and I fully agreed with it but I needed to check in on my niece and nephew. Kyouka is doing well, as the mate of the Queen of Creati. They’re not going to have their own kids for a while, they want to make sure their throne is stable first.” Keigo hummed, his wings stretching out. “I told them to approach you, make some offers and see if you’d consider them.”
“Trade offers?”
“Import, export,” Keigo shrugged. “I promised nothing, just told Kyouka and Momo to approach you.”
Enji nodded, kissing Keigo’s face until he had lowered his head enough to tuck it against his mate’s gills. His hands were curled around his hips, holding him close. “Missed you,” he muttered. “Missed you so much.” He groaned, squeezing Keigo for a moment. “Nephew?”
“Also doing well,” Keigo’s grin was obvious in his tone. “I think there was something he was worried about, near the end of my visit, but he didn’t tell me, and I didn’t push. His mate is all bright smiles and laughter – Fumikage seems to have trouble speaking around him, sometimes, his cheeks burn red when he watches his mate move around. I am glad I got to see them.” He swam backwards, pulling Enji with him. When they landed on the bed-spot, Keigo dragged Enji’s body to cover his own. “I am glad I got to see Shadow, as well. I remember her, now. Memories are still a bit patched up, here and there, but I recognized her.”
Enji trilled, contented, then stopped.
He was actually happy, he realized. Keigo in his arms, in his rooms, content to hold and be held. “I never thought I would be this happy,” he whispered. He remembered the flames dancing between his hands as he tried to voice his fears, tried to beg Izuku to watch over Shouto and love him. Enji had been willing to go off to die if he knew his children would be cared for, loved, and cherished. They had not seen him much, growing up, and he knew they would probably have mourned a short while before moving on.
He had never expected any of this.
“Okay,” Keigo lowered his voice, twining his tail around Enji’s. He breathed in, deep and slow, and Enji felt his own breath pacing to match. “We have time to work on everything.”
That they did.
Enji leaned into his soulmate, closing his eyes and curling around him. They had enough time for everything.
There was no threat in the form of their fathers. The people who had stolen Keigo away were either dead or unable to retaliate against what he had done to be free. There was a chance they would come back but the entirety of the ocean would be ready for them.
For now, he was content to learn what their life would be like.
Together.