Work Text:
Sometimes people forgot about Kokonoi because Inui was the center of their attention.
In reality, they were a duo. When you invited one, the other tagged along. Plus, they complemented each other so while Koko was the brain, Inui was the muscle — not that they lacked any. Point was, Inui's mysterious presence and angelic looks made him stand out. As a result, the people around him were overshadowed.
This meant that while Kokonoi had to be protective of his mate and show his claws in the process, Inui often didn’t have to. People were either interested in him or left Kokonoi alone after knowing he was taken.
As a general rule, no alpha fought for a mated omega, since they were considered spoilt goods — an idiotic mentality if you asked Seishu. Even more when applied to Koko, who he considered precious. Who he would fight for even if Kokonoi were taken by someone else.
And apparently, he wasn’t the only one who thought that way because that prick from Kokonoi’s intern job showed up to prove he, too, was interested. Not that Kokonoi told Inui about it, because he didn’t find it relevant enough to share. Yet some insistent alpha was pestering him at work — or flirting, as Koko said to his friends.
Actually, Inui only heard about it when a few of Koko's friends came to their apartment for poker night. He had been watching a movie in bed while the others had fun in the living room, their voices loud and lively. Inui didn't dislike them per se, but he kept his guard up around the ex-Tenjiku members similar to how Koko did with the Touman gang.
Right when his movie credits began to roll, yells, laughter, and shushing sounds erupted behind the door. Curiosity prickled him in a way it usually didn’t, and Inui paused the TV to eavesdrop with newfound interest.
“Shhhh! Stop! You don’t have the context!” Kokonoi’s voice rang, annoyed even if Inui recognized some laughter seeping into his tone.
Rindou’s voice filtered next, “If he brought up courting, he wants to mate you . What’s not clicking?”
“He knows I’m mated, that's impossible.”
“So presumptuous!” Sanzu cackled, “that guy doesn’t give two shits, he wants to get in your pants now.”
Kokonoi didn’t seem disturbed by the possibility, letting out little giggles as he talked. “No, I mean, that’s what I said! He wants to fuck! But he obviously mentioned courting and bonding just to play me, you know? So that I could give in.”
At that, jealousy settled in Inui’s stomach, churning uncomfortably. As much as people liked to believe he wasn't very "alpha-like", he didn't need to be to feel possessive over his partner. It went beyond instincts. He had a long, troubled history with Kokonoi and whoever dared put their stability at risk would have to get through Seishu first. They had worked too hard on their relationship for some stranger to disturb it.
He stood up, walking to his door to listen to the chatter on the other side more clearly. Thankfully, alphas had a heightened hearing sense, so the wood wasn’t much inconvenience. If he tried to use his sense of smell as well, he would probably guess how Kokonoi felt about the whole thing, too (being pursued and so).
“I mean, yeah, he could be pretending,” Izana said, most likely shrugging. “But maybe he means it, like, maybe he wants to court you. Why else would he bring it up?”
They laughed it off but Izana had a point. By popular belief, seducing an omega was as easy as offering a bite. It was a little promise that would eventually expire, but in the meantime gave a false sense of commitment. Thing is, Kokonoi already had a mate and bond, he didn’t need another one. If he wanted to cheat he would, and so the offer he was receiving had to be… genuine.
Oh shit. Who did this alpha think he was?
Inui gritted his teeth and went back to bed to avoid hearing further or getting worked up over nothing. His inner alpha was as restless as him, but he had no action plan. Kokonoi wasn’t cheating, for starters, even if he probably enjoyed the attention (because why wouldn’t he?). And Inui wasn’t offended enough to confront Kokonoi about it or demand explanations. Kokonoi would come to him when he saw fit.
Kokonoi trusted him. He was complicated so not always did he seek Inui’s help, but he still opened up when necessary or at least tried to. And Inui appreciated the effort, always did and always would. He had a weak spot for Hajime, the sharp man who softened his edges only for him.
Maybe life thought pushing this onto them would be funny, like a test . Well, Inui could pass that test. He wouldn’t keep his arms crossed while someone tried to steal what was his - and he sounded like Kokonoi just now, wow, every time the omega explained his jealousy by saying I can’t let them walk all over me…
Seishu might finally understand what Hajime meant all those times. It wasn’t only a matter of respect but also pride. Someone was looking down on Inui's inner alpha, challenging him for his mate. And what was truly offensive, was that this stranger somehow believed he had a chance of winning.
(…)
The other alpha was allegedly nice. Aside from that, he wasn’t just some random guy, he was one of the higher-ups in the company Kokonoi was doing his internship. And that information only made Inui more irritated.
Inui had just finished his admin degree and was currently working with Draken at the Mano sibling's shop. Kokonoi, on the other hand, worked on the more expensive side of town, socializing with the big fish. So not only was he the breadwinner, but now his salary depended on a knothead with ulterior motives?
The power dynamics increased his mistrust. Inui has never felt insecure over his career and life, Kokonoi was always better at handling money, anyway, so Koko wouldn’t leave him for a richer guy. Still, he hated that said richer guy believed his position made him have the upper hand.
And that was what he believed, wasn’t it? Because he was buying Kokonoi gifts - expensive courting gifts. And Kokonoi being Kokonoi, wasn’t exactly protesting.
“That’s new,” Inui pointed out, looking at the golden necklace adorning Kokonoi’s neck and the matching pendants he wore. Inui could play the part of oblivious, but he was well aware of Koko’s taste and knew for sure his mate hadn't bought it.
Kokonoi smiled, taking the delicate chain between his fingers. It glinted under the light of their home’s lamps. “I know, right? One of my boss’ business partners gave it to me, said I was doing wonders at my job. What a bunch of crap, isn’t it?”
“So what was the real reason?” Inui cocked a brow. Would this be the moment Kokonoi told him more?
Hajime seemed to think it over, stopping by the door. He was going out after having carefully done his makeup and hair in that artful way of his that somehow came across as effortless.
He turned around and pecked Seishu on the mouth, even if he usually refrained from doing so after painting his lips. Seishu wasn’t complaining, Koko’s touch was always comforting, and a kiss would never not be welcomed.
“Don’t worry your pretty head over it.” The omega said.
“Uhm, no, I think I will, actually,” Seishu replied, pushing a little. He put his hand around Hajime’s waist to hold him close and stop him from leaving, looking deep into his eyes all the while. “You’re not getting in trouble, are you?” He asked, “giving people wrong ideas?”
Hajime frowned slightly and gave Seishu a little push without real force in it, not wanting to free himself. Seishu wondered if it was a game to him if he would like being the subject of his alpha’s jealousy as much as Seishu liked when it was the other way around. He took a silvery strand of hair in one finger and twirled it as he stared. Hajime was wearing his hair long and light nowadays, and it made him much more dangerously beautiful than they both anticipated.
Hajime softened a bit at the attention and Seishu’s loving expression. “It’s nothing, okay? There’s this idiot who’s interested, but really, I’m not trying to string him along.”
“Didn’t say you were.” Seishu put the strand behind his ear and squeezed his waist.
Hajime shivered at the contact, “but rejecting his presents would be silly… I mean, the jewelry’s pretty, right?”
“Right” Seishu decided to drop it, only because white gold suited Hajime, and Seishu himself wouldn’t be able to afford it. He’s always known Hajime had a bit of a weakness for luxury. It was fine, as long as he was safe and cautious.
Seishu attempted to bring their lips together again, going for a deeper kiss. But Hajime’s hand stopped him, and he only felt the pad of the other’s fingers against his mouth as he opened his eyes.
Hajime looked embarrassed about refusing his advances. “Sorry, you’re just distracting, alpha, and I really have to go.”
The pet-name didn’t go unnoticed by Seishu, so when his fingers slid around Hajime’s wrist and he kissed each of Hajime’s fingers with reverence, he breathed out a “have fun tonight, omega,” that made Hajime’s brows furrow while his cheeks grew hot.
“Tease,” Hajime whispered, barely a complaint.
Seishu nodded, letting go. He left an open-mouthed kiss on Kokonoi’s palm and his boyfriend almost shuddered in response. If Inui knew of Koko’s preference for luxury, he also recognized that his lover had quite a weak spot for touches like these – not necessarily sexual but devoted, filled with so much love it scared him, and threatened to ruin him for everyone else.
It was exactly what Inui planned to do.
(…)
Luckily, Kokonoi got fed up with his suitor one autumn night, about a month later. He came in slamming the door and if Inui weren’t so used to his outbursts, he would have flinched. Instead, he continued doing calculations in his notebook as if nothing had happened.
Nevertheless, something did happen. Inui’s welcome back, baby, was left unanswered and when he looked up, Koko had already locked himself in the bathroom as if he wasn’t able to go any longer without a shower.
He came out ten minutes later, sighing. Inui was slightly intrigued because, after years of living together, he was more than familiar with Kokonoi’s habits, and taking a short bath was definitely not one of them.
Inui should also be able to smell Koko’s mood but, wait. “What happened?”
Kokonoi scoffed, sat on the edge of the bed, and began to put on his clothes. His silence was wrathful, mouth twisted with bitterness.
“Hajime,” Inui asked again, more forcefully, “tell me what happened.”
“Can I have your shirt?” Kokonoi replied, dodging Inui’s question and perhaps getting a hold of himself before explaining. Inui only nodded, and Koko pulled his pajama shirt out from under the pillows and put it on, hiding his face in the cloth when it was only half on.
Okay, weird. Inui pushed his chair back and approached his partner, leaving his work for later. Kokonoi wasn’t letting go of the shirt, hands fisting it with trembling anger. Oh, Inui could smell him faintly, he was pissed.
“Just tell me, baby. What’s a boyfriend for if not to confide in?” He assured him, rubbing a hand on Koko’s back and pulling at the hem of his shirt.
Kokonoi finished changing into the clothes and like a touch-starved cat, curled into Inui’s side as soon as the other sat next to him. Hajime rubbed his nose on Seishu’s neck, threw his legs over Seishui’s lap, and hugged his middle without signs of letting go.
Seishu patted his knee, unable to understand.
“The alpha at work…,” Hajime’s voice came out low, irritated. “That fucking idiot said some fucking shit, got too damn close with no patch on, almost like leaving a claim on purpose, ugh.”
Even though Koko wasn’t talking about harassment in itself, it sure as hell was crossing a few boundaries. Inui held back his annoyance at the situation to avoid worsening his partner’s mood. Kokonoi already seemed bothered by it, seeking Inui’s comfort like a kid when he usually didn’t allow himself to look needy.
Kokonoi began to retell the encounter, more indignant than upset. “After work was over, he found me outside, said he would like to talk. He congratulated me on my work and all that fake stuff. Then he got to the main act, oh did you like the pearls? Did you like the flowers? Last week, he got me flowers…” Koko clarified.
“I told him it was all very nice but I had a mate already, and he said he didn’t mind, he could wait. Ha, as if what you and I had was out of obligation.” In the meantime, Seishu caressed his hair, threading his fingers in it to untangle some knots. “So I showed him my mark, how recent it was, and he said he could give me one, too.”
Kokonoi went on without interruptions, only a few pauses to stop himself from growing heated. “I said he was being pushy, doing so much for just a piece of ass; and he said he took me seriously, he was actually interested, whatever that meant . So I told him not to call me by my given name and then I left, but god, he said I should think it over and now I’m not sure he’ll take no for an answer.”
“Hey, it’s alright, let’s not freak out.” Seishu took him by the shoulder, forcing him to meet his eyes. “You’re Kokonoi Hajime, are you seriously scared of an alpha?”
“I like my job,” Koko confessed sheepishly. “I could make him fucking cry but I don’t want to be fired.”
“That’s not gonna happen. You’re too good for that, they need you.” Seishu assured. “Any idea why he’s so obsessed?”
“You should know, you’re in love with me too.” Hajime grinned a bit, then shrugged, dropping his eyes to the sheets. “I don’t know. Dude’s filthy rich, probably wants a pretty and young omega on his arm, with a potty mouth to spice things up.”
“And the most cunning mind, not just a dirty mouth,” Seishu shushed him. “I’m sorry you’re dealing with an ass who, what, wants to be your sugar daddy?”
“Pfft, no, he wants the emotional attachment. If he was just a sugar daddy maybe I’d be tempted.” Kokonoi replied, although Seishu didn’t laugh, just made a poker face to which Hajime found himself smiling faintly. “Just kidding, I’m your sugar daddy, stupid pretty alpha.”
He leaned in to rest their foreheads together, so Seishu kissed him as soon as he got the chance. Every time he took Hajime by surprise, the other sighed into his mouth as if he had been waiting the entire time to be kissed by him as if he expected a kiss even when they were discussing the fucking weather. Hajime clung to Seishu and parted his lips to taste him, relaxing slowly in his partner’s arms. When they stopped, Seishu did so while licking Hajime’s mouth, and pecking him again as the final touch.
“Want me to do something about it?” He asked, his voice husky.
Hajime studied him to know if he was being serious and even smirked a little when he realized Seishu was. “Like what, busting his head open with a pipe?” He joked, tauntingly.
“Well, if you ask me to.”
He chuckled in response. “No, as hot as it is, you’ve already hit enough people for me for a lifetime.”
“So we do nothing until he steps out of line? If he does. If you reject him.”
“ When I reject him. I will, I just… have to find the way to be charming about it so he won’t fucking fire me-”
“What if you didn’t have to?” The animalistic part of Seishu came up with an idea, much more territorial than what Hajime was thinking . “What if we just showed him.” His hands went to Hajime’s waist to move him onto his lap.
The omega bit his bottom lip with narrow, knowing eyes. “Show him what?” he wondered, playing coy as if he couldn’t smell the lust progressively filling their room.
“That you still want me,” Seishu whispered, leaving a kiss on the tip of Hajime’s nose to then leave another on his mouth and his jaw, lower, until he was sucking the skin on his omega’s neck and mumbling against it. “‘Cause you’re mine.”
“I’ll have you smelling of me until no alpha wants you anymore, ‘till you reek of me everywhere.”
It probably wouldn’t work but Seishu didn’t mind, he had other plans; and when Hajime arched his back with a little groan, Seishu knew his omega didn’t mind either.
(...)
For his master plan, Inui would use his connections to Touman in his favor, but only as an intimidation tactic. He rode his wonderful bike to Kokonoi’s job to pick him up, and he asked Draken, Takemichi, Chifuyu, and Kazutora to come by, just to make sure numbers were on his side.
To be fair, he didn’t plan on getting violent (if the alpha jerk didn’t get violent either), but the point was that he wouldn’t have to. He and his friends’ presence should be enough to scare the other alpha off. Their bikes and uniform jackets should send the message that the strikingly beautiful Kokonoi Hajime was taken by someone ready to get blood in his hands to defend what was his.
It should easily do the trick.
They’d managed to enter the underground parking after sweet-talking the guards outside, and Inui patiently waited, awfully serious while his friends chatted like it was any other Friday. His eyes might have been drilling the elevator door in the meantime, but it wasn’t like Koko would take the stairs.
He had told Kokonui about taking him home today, so he should be there any minute.
When Inui told him not to take the car this morning without really explaining why, his omega purred in response, batting his lashes. “What do I owe the honor?” He wondered, shifting on Seishu’s lap and trailing a finger over his chest. “For such a popular alpha to take time off his agenda and bother with me…”
“Can hear the elevator coming,” Draken said, snapping Inui out of the memory.
As if on cue, the metal doors opened and revealed Kokonoi, who as predicted, was being accompanied by the alpha Inui had never seen before. Koko tried to step out only for a hand to stop him, yanking him back into the elevator by the wrist. Kokonoi moved his foot forward to stop the doors from closing anyway, and it began to ring annoyingly, a constant reminder that they should get in or out but let the damn thing close.
“I’ve been very patient with you, you know?” The stranger said, getting in Kokonoi’s face as if losing his cool. “And you can say you have a mate at home all you want but you still don’t resist me when I follow you around, when I give you shit he can only dream to afford. You want me, you know I’m better. Your alpha knows it, got jealous enough that he marked you again as if that’s going to stop me-”
Chifuyu whistled loudly enough to catch their attention while Takemicchi made his bike roar scandalously. Kokonoi jerked himself free when the older alpha was momentarily distracted and he smiled at Inui, happy to finally see him when his day had only been getting worse.
Seishu leaned on his bike, let Hajime approach him, and seized the other alpha up in a silent dare. He relaxed once Koko came to him with that cute nose scrunch of his, and Seishu thought: see how he runs to me, how he chooses me again.
Hajime was in front of him in a blink and Seishu kissed him on the mouth without prying his eyes away from the stranger. It was a short kiss, barely more than a peck, but enough PDA to earn some teasing from his friends which faded into the background, like white noise to him.
The other alpha didn’t look away from the display, not even when Seishu tucked his omega’s long hair behind his ear and grabbed him by the waist possessively.
He kind of wanted to grab Hajime’s ass to make a point, too, but Akane taught him better than that and Seishu wasn’t a fucking animal.
“You came, and just in time to save me from that asshole,” Hajime smirked, whispering the words in his ear like praise. “Why don’t you give him a piece of your mind?”
“And waste my time over nothing?” Seishu dismissed the stranger, raising his voice to be heard. “It was very nice of your boss to keep you company while I wasn’t here… but now that I am, shouldn’t he go home?”
“Well, boss.” Hajime looked over his shoulder, those mischievous eyes glinting at the stranger, “see you tomorrow…”
He almost stuck his tongue out and would have if it weren’t for Seishu’s sudden whisper against the side of his face. “His was the blue car, right baby?”
Inui had left one long line on the side of said vehicle, courtesy of his keys.
Kokonoi couldn’t even complain, just grinned like the evil minx he was, understanding dawning right away. “You’re so considerate, Seishu, he needed to paint it again.”
“I am considerate.”
He grinned as he saw his boyfriend’s suitor stop in front of his car to probably gape at the scratch. Then he yelled, “Nice meeting you, boss! ”
“Let’s go home before he connects the dots,” Kokonoi suggested, mounting Inui’s bike with ease and taking a helmet, fingers doing the chinstrap. “Who would have thought you had it in you, alpha,” he winked.
“Yeah, who would have thought.” Draken snorted next to them.
Maybe they would tease the hell out of him for going full guard dog around Kokonoi, but it was worth it; how that guy tensed his jaw and went away with his tail between his legs, finally remembering what was his fucking place — far from Hajime, for sure.
Because Hajime had a mate and Seishu was more than happy to remind anyone of it.