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"Hana, your dad is here," Shoto called out from the doorway and smiled stiffly at him. He heard his daughter shout for Shoto to give her more time, so the smaller asked him if he wanted to wait inside. "It's nice to see you do well, Haku."
"To you as well, young slayer." Haku nodded to him, before letting Shoto lead him to the living room.
The place Shoto lived was quaint, saved for how some furniture looked a bit expensive. The couch was made out of leather, with a comfy-looking blanket folded on one end. Books and toys were placed on the table, albeit more tidy than messy. The television counter was lined with video games he had seen his ex-husband play before and some other games that he hadn't seen. He saw a round-knitted pouf on the right side, along with a beanbag, and a variety of healthy plants were scattered around. Shoto seemed to live a good life, and it's good to know that his daughter was in a comfortable environment.
"I'll go get her," Shoto told him as he sat on the leather couch. Before he left, he warned Haku, "Don't go anywhere."
Haku just laughed as if he planned to roam around. This isn't his place, and he respected his own ex-husband to a certain extent. However, he did notice some photos were on one side of the room, and he couldn't help but want to check them out.
The first photo was a frame of Shoto and Hana, holding hands at Disneyland, his daughter sporting the biggest smile along with a cute Minnie Mouse headband that matched her own father's. Another was a slightly blurred photo of Hana holding out a frog she picked up. Her cheeks were painted with mud, but her smile remained as she excitedly showed the camera her discovery.
There were more photos around, and Haku couldn't help but notice the existence of another man in some of the pictures. The way the man looked fondly at his ex and his daughter or some collections in which said man is in between four other men.
Haku isn't dense enough to know that this man is Shoto's new significant other. Haku chuckled by himself as he noticed the paleness of the man and the glow in his eyes. Hm, interesting.
"Who are you?" He inwardly yelped and turned to the source of the voice. There stands the man in the picture. He's tall, black-haired, and a little too good-looking even in a ridiculous frilly pink apron that says 'Kiss the Demon' .
Haku introduced himself, with a bit of a strained smile. "You must be Shoto's partner."
Now, the thing is. Haku never met the man. He had heard from his friends that Shoto had been with someone a few months after the divorce, but he stopped thinking about his ex in that light and was only glad that the demon slayer could move on. Still, if there was one thing that he wished that he was informed about, it is that the new partner is a demon too.
Because demons—they can be territorial.
"How do you know Shoto?" The man crossed his arms and raided a brow at him.
Ah, interesting. Haku only smiled, teasingly. "Why do you want to know?"
"I don't have time for your games when you're in my house, demon." The alpha said as he glared at Haku.
Not wanting to aggravate the situation, and potentially damage his right to see his daughter, he raised both of his hands and gave a hearty laugh. "I'm here for Hana, my daughter. Shoto let me in but he went up to go get her."
The man squinted in his direction as if processing what he just said. The pale man then realized something. He blinked, "You're his ex."
"Yes."
"And you're a demon."
"You are too."
They both stood there in silence with one glaring and the other relaxed and waiting. Haku watched as the other man broke his gaze and sighed,
"So, do you like some tea or coffee?"
"Thought you don't peg demons, young slayer." He told Shoto, as the smaller entered the kitchen. He heard the man choke on his own spit, and he laughed at that.
"I told you to stay in the living room." Shoto sighed, "And we literally divorced, Haku. You of all people should know I don't mind some demons.."
He ignored the latter words with a roll of his eyes and said, "To be fair, I did stay in the living room until uh, what's your name?"—He turned to the black-haired demon, before looking back at the smaller.—"asked if I wanted coffee."
Haku shrugged, "I won't pass down the opportunity when I have to drive miles back when my daughter is in the back of the car. Speaking of, where is she?"
"She's still fixing her stuff." Then, he turned to the other alpha. "You didn't even introduce yourself?"
As Shoto playfully reprimanded the man, the guy only let out a teasing grin. "Surprise factor."
"This is Vox." Shoto pointed at the tall guy beside him, while he rolled his eyes. "My boyfriend. Partner. Whatever."
"Whatever?! Listen here, boy."
As the two playfully argued, Haku's mind was still trying to process what Shoto said. Vox. Where had he heard that?
"Akuma."
The two lovers stopped teasing each other and looked at Haku. Vox had his hands around Shoto's waist, and the other looked like he was attempting to get away from the alpha's grip.
"...Yes?" Vox asked.
"Can’t believe I get to see the Vox Akuma himself." He chuckled and looked at Shoto. "I see you still like great challenges."
"What does that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, he loves the challenge."
"Vox!, shut the fu—Hana!" Shoto's attention shifted to his daughter who just entered the room. She had her Mulan backpack, and her colorful hairclips prevented her bangs to cover a portion of her forehead. She now had a missing tooth, and Haku couldn't help but smile brighter, seeing the wide grin she always had, missing a tooth. She looked adorable.
Just like me. Haku cooed in his thoughts.
"Hi, papa." She smiled at him and looked up to meet Haku's gaze. She squealed in excitement, and rushed to the alpha, her eyes glittering, seeing her other favorite person in the world. "Dad!"
"Hey, kid. Are you good?" He picked her up and she booped his nose. “We need to leave now, or else we’ll get home when it’s darker.”
"Yes," Then she gasped, "Wait, da, can you bring me down for a moment?"
So he did and watched her run towards Vox, who knelt so they could meet eye-to-eye.
"Bye, Uncle Vox." She hugged the demon, and gleamed, "Take care of papa for me, okay? I’ll miss both of you."
Vox only smiled, sweetly and nodded. She gave him a kiss on the cheeks and proceeded to walk towards Shoto and kissed him as well. She, however, proceeded to whisper something and Haku watched as his ex-husband turned red.
"I'll see what we can do." Shoto stuttered before he ruffled her head. "Take care. Don't forget to ask your dad to get you to wear the seatbelt."
She sauntered towards Haku, and he smiled at the two lovers. "Enjoy the short break, you two." Then he gave them a cheekier grin, "Might as well give Hana a sibling when you can."
"Leave!"
"Oh, we will."
"Vox, I swear to God."
"The guy seemed alright. I do hate seeing another demon in my own territory, though." Vox said as he leaned on the windowsill, watching the car leave. "If I may ask, why did you end your marriage again?"
"It wasn't working out, just that." Shoto shrugged. "Guess we knew, only after we got married when we tried for our bond, and our alpha and omega just didn't click. We did try, but yeah… it just didn't work out."
Vox nodded in understanding before smirking at himself. He then leaned towards the smaller with a glint of mischief in his eyes. "So, does that mean you liked me because our alpha and omega liked each other a lot?"
"Shut the fuck up, demon." Shoto blushed, looked away, and said in a smaller voice, "You do know that's not the only thing why right?"
"Of course." Vox laughed and then gave the purple-haired man a faint smile, "I am quite surprised how casual you both are, if I may be blunt."
"It hadn't always been like that, I still cried a lot, remember?" He sighed and leaned his side to Vox. "It was tough the first few months, and that's why I could never tell you how I felt for you when Haku and I ended. It was difficult to lose whom you once considered the love of your life, especially when you have a child with them, who's also constantly looking for them. I was afraid that losing Haku, also meant losing Hana. But, I was afraid of losing you too, ‘cause I truly appreciated and loved how you're around the time when I felt alone."
"Now, look at us. You have both me and her."
"Yeah," Shoto happily sighed, and then met Vox's gaze. "I guess after that, moving on has become easier since I finally have you."
There was a sudden tightness in Vox's chest as his cheeks bloom to a nice shade of red. His lover's cheeks were tainted with the same hue and they kept their gaze. Vox was reminded of everything he did in order to have Shoto beside him now, in order to keep him and Hana in his life. At this moment, he fell in love, like how he had fallen years ago.
"You always somehow say the words I wish to tell you every day, my love."
Before he can even allow Shoto time to react, he just wrapped his other arm around the man in a hug and preened. "He was right about one thing, though,
“We might as well give Hana a sibling." He whispered to Shoto’s ear.
Shoto turned red, but whispered back, "Put a ring on my finger first, Akuma."
“Sure,” Vox could only chuckle along. Though, in the back of his head, in his own office drawer, amongst the papers and pens—there is a small velvet box, waiting. “Soon, maybe.”