Chapter Text
Shouta gets an early morning call from his agency asking him to take over for a patrol that his coworker had to cancel, and in turn someone will take over for his patrol tonight. He usually does his best to avoid daytime patrols, but he’ll make an exception for today. He’s looking forward to spending a night at home with his husband and son. The adoption papers were finalized just the week before, so he can officially call Hitoshi his son now.
The omega quickly gets ready so that he can stop at Hitoshi’s door before he has to leave. He knocks gently, and when the boy calls out to him, he opens the door slightly to peek in. Hitoshi’s lights are off, but his curtains are pushed to the side to let a sliver of light in. Enough light that Shouta can see his son sit up on his bed and look up expectantly. He closes the door behind him and sits at the edge of his bed, still giving him plenty of space.
Hitoshi rubs the sleep out of his eyes as Shouta speaks. “Good morning, Hitoshi.”
“Morning,” he croaks. He’s not going to laugh, but the crack in his voice reminds him of when Hizashi’s voice would crack in high school. Hitoshi scoots over and leans on Shouta’s shoulder. For so long, he’s been so touch starved and never knew it. Ever since he’s gotten a taste of parental affection, he hasn’t let it go and yearns for it at every opportunity he gets.
“I was called in for patrol this morning, so I have to go to work,” Shouta tells him as he rubs his arm and nuzzles him with his chin. After saying this, the omega immediately knows that something is wrong by the way his son tenses and clings to his jumpsuit like he never wants to let go. “Hitoshi?”
“You don’t usually do this. It’s not in the schedule.” Hitoshi presses his face into Shouta’s chest. “Today is Saturday, and you’re home on Saturdays,” he mumbles.
He’s gotten used to their schedule, and he likes the consistency of it. He likes that there’s no surprises. On Saturdays, he gets to spend time with both of his parents, and he’s okay with Hizashi since Shouta’s omega scent usually overpowers and neutralizes the alpha scent. When he’s with both of them, he doesn’t get the tight feeling in his chest and the pressure between his eyes. Hitoshi likes Hizashi’s scent more than most people’s scent, the vanilla and sage comforting and calming; however, it still has the underlying hint of an alpha that sets him off. He likes Hizashi, he just doesn’t like that he’s an alpha.
Shouta lets the boy snuggle up to him and brushes his hair back while trying to comb through the wild violet tangled waves with his fingers. Shouta’s not blind. He can see the way that Hitoshi is more nervous around Hizashi sometimes, and he understands. He’s read his file, afterall.
“I understand that it can be a little nerve wracking that we’re altering our usual routine, but sometimes it’s a good thing to switch things up and be flexible. It’ll only be for the morning, and I’ll be back for lunch, okay?” So far, it’s going better than he thought it would go since Hitoshi’s breath starts to calm from the fast paced breaths he was taking moments ago, so he continues. “And if you want, you can stay in your room until I get back and then we can spend the rest of the day together with Hizashi. Are you going to be alright?”
When Shouta explains it like that, it makes more sense, and Hitoshi feels better about the situation. He nods his head when he pulls back.
“Then, I’ll see you a little later. You can go back to sleep if you want, you look a little tired.” Again, the boy nods his head and lays back down in bed.
“Stay safe!” Hitoshi calls out when he sees Shouta at the door. He wants to tell him that he loves him, but it’s too scary. He can’t remember the last time he’s actually loved anyone or anything for that matter, and he’s still a little too nervous that something’s going to happen. He always looks forward to Shouta and Hizashi telling him, though.
Shouta turns back around. “I always am. I love you.” Shouta has always been a little intense and scary when he’s on patrol or gone on missions, but now he’s much more cautious to make sure he gets home.
Hitoshi feels like he closes his eyes for just a second, but when he opens them he’s met with his alarm clock telling him it’s already eleven in the morning. Only one more hour until Shouta gets home. He’s planning on waiting in his room until he stomach growls. He knows that he could just eat some of the snacks he has in his room, but he kinda wants something real.
Downstairs, Hitoshi is met with music playing in a clean kitchen. Hizashi has cleared the counters and is scrubbing away at the sink, making the kitchen sparkle. In all of his time in foster care, he’s never met another alpha that cleans up after himself, nevermind go above and beyond to actually take care of the house. The first time he saw Hizashi pick up a vacuum, it was a little off putting, but now he’s gotten used to it.
Hizashi perks up when he sees Hitoshi round the corner. “Good morning, little listener! How’d you sleep?”
“Umm, good.” Hitoshi shrugs, but he’s telling the truth. He has never had so restless sleep before he moved here.
“Great! You know, you’re supposed to be getting at least eight hours of sleep every night, especially at your age, and lately I think you’ve been getting more than that which is awesome. It’ll help you grow up and stay healthy!”
Hitoshi has never heard this before. On the off chance that he was able to sleep, his old foster parents would force him up early to help around the house with the other kids, claiming that if they don’t get to sleep in, neither does he. But if it is true, then it’s a huge relief.
Hitoshi’s train of thought is interrupted by Hizahi’s cheerful voice. “Can I make you some breakfast, or I guess brunch at this point. I can make some scrambled eggs, and I have some leftover pancake batter that I can whip up?”
“Oh, yes please.”
“Coming right up!” Hizashi gets out all of the ingredients as Hitoshi takes a seat at the kitchen counter.
The teen can’t help but keep scratching at his nose with his sweatshirt sleeve and fidgeting in his seat. He tries to sit still and just ignore Hizashi’s scent, but he can’t. His constant moving and the way he covers his face catches the alpha’s attention.
“You all good there, Tosh?”
Hitoshi can’t help but feel a little guilty. The blond is so nice to him, so why can’t he just be cool around him? Hitoshi knows why, but still. The boy can’t meet Hizashi’s eye.
The alpha stops his stirring and sets the mixing bowl down on the counter to give his son his full attention. “If something’s wrong, then you can tell me, bud.”
“I don’t want to make you mad,” Hitoshi admits. He’s trying to be honest, but he’s so scared. Even though he’s known the man for several months now, he’s still never seen him angry and doesn’t want to see it. His voice is so quiet, but so strained.
Hizashi doesn’t want to push him. “I promise that I will listen and be understanding, but if it would make you feel better, then we can wait until Shouta gets home.”
Hitoshi just quickly nods his head and rushes back upstairs, leaving Hizashi in the kitchen.
Hizashi is frustrated. Not with Hitoshi, never with Hitoshi for being anxious around him. More at himself. He doesn’t know what else he can do to make his son more comfortable around him, so he stands there and thinks. He’s been teaching and working with kids for long enough to figure out why Hitoshi doesn’t like to be around him besides the obvious. Not to mention, to become a hero he’s taken multiple psychology classes. He so badly wants to be a resource for Hitoshi to help him learn and grow, and he wants for the boy to always be comfortable in his own home, but Hizashi just can’t seem to provide the loving environment correctly.
Hitoshi has gone to Shouta to tell him that he has experienced physical abuse from alphas in the past through foster care, so Hizashi completely understands that he needs space, and he will give him all the time in the world to warm up to him if he needs it. But he still wants Hitoshi to like him. He’s also had extensive discussions with his husband about what to do, and they decided that Shouta would be the only one who enters his room and the only one to initiate affection in the form of cuddling or scenting. Hitoshi visibly loves parental affection from Shouta, and the kid goes to Shouta to talk about sensitive topics, Hizashi only joining is Hitoshi says it’s okay. And they’re going to keep it this way until Hitoshi initiates otherwise.
Many times, Hizashi has consulted his moms since they’re pretty much fostering pros, and every time they tell him to give the boy time. But, he still feels like he’s missing something.
Think, Hizashi, think.
The alpha continues to make the breakfast for him even though he went back up to his room. He knows that Hitoshi could just snack, but he doesn’t like that he hasn’t had a good breakfast. Hizashi tries to think back and recount what just happened.
Okay, Hitoshi was itching and shoving the bottom half of his face in his sweatshirt like he didn’t like the smell of something. The cleaning supplies? No, he’s never had this type of reaction before when they clean. He knows it wasn’t the cooking because the boy essentially scarfs down food whenever he gets the chance. Hizashi lifts an arm and smells himself. He doesn’t think he smells bad since he just took a shower this morning.
But now that he thinks about it, Hitoshi acts like this a lot around him. Whenever it’s Hizashi’s turn to pick him up from school, he slinks down and lifts his sweatshirt over his mouth and nose. He wonders if the boy does that when Shouta picks him up, but he’s seen the two of them together. That would leave him with his scent.
Hizashi’s eyes widen at the revelation and wants to slap himself for taking this long to figure it out. Of course! He knows that Hitoshi’s had bad experiences with alphas, so of course he doesn’t like an alpha’s scent.
He quickly finishes and plates the food and heads upstairs. He sets the breakfast down outside of Hitoshi’s room and gently knocks to tell him that it’s there. He then goes to his bathroom and opens the mirror cabinet to pull out the box of extra strong scent patches that he usually wears when he’s in pre-rut. These particular patches are designed to neutralize the distinct alpha scent. He lines the patch up with his scent gland and securely presses it down before covering his neck by pulling a hoodie over his shirt. These scent patches always irritate and annoy him, but he’ll use them if they make Hitoshi less anxious.
As he heads back downstairs, he’s happy to see that the plate is missing from in front of Hitishi’s door. He goes back to the kitchen to finish up the cleaning.
A little bit later, the blond is so deep in thought that he doesn’t notice his mate is home until Shouta slides his arms around his waist and sticks his face in his neck, looking for the comfort of his scent. He pulls back in confusion over why it’s so muted.
“I think I figured out why Hitoshi doesn’t like to be around me!” Hizashi whisper-shouts at his mate. Shouta is all ears as he listens to Hizashi's theory and reasoning.
The omega finds no reason to argue, so he goes upstairs and knocks on Hitoshi’s door. Hizashi smiles when he immediately hears quick feet patter on the floor above him along with Hitoshi’s excited voice at Shouta being home. They both come downstairs and take seats at the kitchen island across from Hizashi.
Instantly, Hitoshi notices that something is different. Besides the ingrained scent of Hizashi in the house, he can’t smell the alpha. He looks up at Shouta for an explanation who just gestures towards his husband. Hitoshi shifts his gaze to Hizashi.
The alpha scratches the back of his neck, now a little shy that he’s about to tell him what he realized. “I’m going to start wearing scent patches to minimize my alpha scent. I understand that it can be a little uncomfortable being surrounded by an atmosphere permeated with an alpha scent when you are recovering from bad experiences linked to alphas, so I’m going to try to make it a little easier for you.”
Hitoshi doesn’t know what to say. He’s shocked that an alpha would do that since the only one’s he’s ever known have been aggressive and prideful.
“Is that okay?” Hizashi asks him. Hitoshi starts to nod his head rapidly, which allows for Hizashi to let out a breath that he was holding in.
Shouta softly places a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Now, it’s unhealthy to wear scent patches for an extended period of time, especially ones meant for ruts because they can mess with the scent gland. Hizashi is going to wear these patches during the day, and he’s going to gradually wear thinner and thinner scent patches until you’re comfortable around his scent, okay? So, we need you to continue working with us and your therapist.” Again, Hitoshi nods his head and agrees.
Hizashi sees a change over the next week. Hitoshi appears more calm being closer to the alpha even when Shouta isn’t with them. He doesn’t seem so uncomfortable on the days he picks him up from school as he doesn’t sit as far away as possible from Hizashi, and he even chooses to sit between them during their movie night instead of only on Shouta’s side.
It’s progress.
---
The thirteen year old sits at the bottom of the stairs with a pack of pretzels and watches the door, waiting for Shouta to come home. Hizashi picked him up from school today, and while it wasn’t his favorite, it was a lot better with him wearing the scent patches. He’s definitely warmed up more to the alpha over the past few months, but he still feels like he has to keep his guard up around him.
The man is … atypical.
Hitoshi has never met an alpha like him: nice, calm, cheery. It’s weird, but he’s getting used to it. He doesn’t actively avoid Hizashi, but he doesn’t go out of his way to spend time with him.
Anyways, He likes to wait on this staircase, and sits here everyday when Hizashi picks him up from school after he gets his snack. Hitoshi likes that there are walls on both sides so that he’s not completely out in the open, but he can still see the door directly in front of him for the moment that Shouta gets home.
Hitoshi sits and eats from the platter that Hizashi made for him and just enjoys some quiet time after a busy day. He thinks about all the things he’s going to do when Shouta gets home. He’s going to get up and get some snuggles from Shouta because he craves it and the omega loves to give it, then he’s going to follow him upstairs and wait outside his door while he gets dressed into home clothes, then they’re going to sit next to each other and work side-by-side on casework and homework. It’s so simple, but Hitoshi gets so excited just thinking about it.
He’s so deep in thought that he doesn’t notice the crawling feeling up his leg until he sees the fuzzy, dark bug on his thigh.
“AHHHHH!” He can feel his heart rate skyrocket as he sees the spider crawling up him. He doesn’t like the look of the bug and immediately tries to brush it away while standing up. He unintentionally spills his snack all over the floor in his panic.
Hizashi comes rushing around the corner, already on alert for danger. “Tosh! What’s wrong?”
“Spider,” he whimpers, pointing to the bug running around on the floor.
Hizashi then also freezes and quickly steps up onto the stairs with his son as they both keep an eye on the spider. The alpha then takes a deep breath and tries to encourage himself to do something heroic.
“Okay, can I have that cup?” Hizashi motions to the empty cup beside him. When Hitoshi hands it to him, he scoops the bug up, opens the door, flings his hand around so that the spider falls outside, and quickly closes the door behind him. Hizashi lets out a shaky breath when it’s all done and can feel his hands wobbling.
“I’m sorry,” Hitoshi whispers.
That makes Hizashi snap to his senses. “What are you sorry for?”
Honestly, Hitoshi is a little scared at the moment, not knowing how the alpha is going to react to the spilled snack on the floor, and he’s a little ashamed of himself for being so scared over something as silly as a bug. In the past, he’s experienced alphas telling him to suck it up and act like a man, and he doesn’t want to hear that again.
Hitoshi backs up and lowers himself to the ground, hunching his shoulders and starting to pick up the mess. Hizashi very slowly gets down on the floor, too, lower than Hitoshi, and starts to help him clean up.
“I’m sorry for being scared. I promise I’ll do better next time,” he whispers.
“You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for, Hitoshi. I was pretty scared myself.”
That makes Hitoshi look up with big eyes. “You were?”
“Oh yeah!” the alpha laughs. “I’m terrified of bugs, and that’s okay, but this time I had to get over my fear, protect you, and get the little bug to safety.” He doesn’t tell his son this, but if Hizashi was by himself, he would have squished the bug instantly or made Shouta come get it, depending on how big it was. Never in his entire life has he let a bug, especially a spider, outside. “Actually, I think that was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done.”
Hitoshi’s still overwhelmed with the situation and doesn’t know how to react. He can feel the pressure building behind his eyes. “I’m still sorry that I yelled.”
“That is a completely normal response to a scary situation, and it’s a good thing that you did so that I could get to you quickly. It’s a good thing to express your emotions, and fear is an emotion.” Hizashi gives him a wide and bright smile.
This is the first time Hitoshi hasn’t been punished for being scared, and he doesn’t know what else to say.
They get the floor all cleaned up, and just as Hizashi is about to stand, his phone dings. “Oh, it’s Shouta! One of his students is having a hard time with some math, so he’s going to be a little late today.”
Hitoshi’s a little disappointed, but he knows that Shouta’s not abandoning him and that he’ll be home soon.
“Well, Tosh, I have a new puzzle that I was going to work on. Do you want to do it with me? I can put on some music and we can wait for Shouta together.”
He was getting a little tired of sitting on the stairs by himself, and he’d still be able to see the front food from the dining room table, he reasons, so he nods his head and follows the alpha to the table.
Shouta is presently surprised with the scene he is met with when he gets home.