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After so long coping with his circumstances by clinging to false beliefs, Kenta’s therapist had told him he might find it helpful to think of things that were undeniably true when he felt lost. He still wasn’t too keen on the sessions Pete insisted he attend every Thursday, and had managed to get them switched to being virtual, for now at least. The advice had seemed almost condescending at first, as she told him basic things to start with- the sun would rise each morning. The moon would wax and wane. Then she’d told him more personal truths that of course he agreed with- the people who called themselves his friends and family deserved to be safe and happy. It was good that the Chen Foundation had been exposed for harming children and couldn’t do so any longer.
Then, things that were difficult to believe- he deserved to be safe. It was good that he’d escaped from the house. His former foster father couldn’t control him anymore. It was good that he was finding a place in the world, surrounded by people who didn’t want to harm him. His foster brother and the X-Hunter team enjoyed his company and weren’t forcing themselves to interact with him. He could make his own decisions now.
Kenta took a deep breath.
Pete had looked happy when he’d mumbled a few of those ideas his therapist had suggested. And as if it was the simplest thing in the world, Pete had added one that Kenta wanted so badly.
He had a family now, a family that loved him.
At least two of them for sure. Maybe. His brother and nephew. Pete inexplicably still saw him as a younger brother. And Pete’s son adored all of his new family, even Kenta. While he could try to rationalize that Pete just pitied him, he couldn’t really deny that Martin liked him. The pup was terribly shy around strangers but had no problem climbing all over Kenta and telling him stories and asking him to play. Kenta personally didn’t think his nephew should love him, but Martin was a four-year-old boy. He didn’t understand all that Kenta had done wrong.
Neither Pete nor his therapist seemed to appreciate him saying that, but his sense of self-worth was something they were working on.
Currently. His therapist had seen he was getting overwhelmed by their conversation and asked him to go through any mental exercise he wished that was working for him. She probably wanted him to go through it out loud so she could see which grounding technique he was doing and how well he was using the tactic, but he didn’t want to speak at the moment. He took a second deep breath.
Pete believed they were a family. Pete told him that their family loved him.
A third.
They were a family. He had a family.
Kenta looked back at the screen of his laptop. It was sitting on the desk in Pete’s home office. He could have done it in his room, but he didn’t like having anyone in his room, not even through a video call. He’d been told it was good of him to have boundaries, and his therapist had told him he could do the sessions wherever he was comfortable doing them. Pete cheerily offered up his office instead after Kenta had done two sessions sitting out on the balcony and had to stop the second early when it began to rain. Martin had immediately told Pete, as it’d been a highlight of sorts for the day when he’d seen his uncle come inside all wet and sheepishly asking if it would kill a laptop to have gotten rained on.
He didn’t say anything, but eye contact was enough for his therapist to get the hint that he was ready for her to start talking again.
“Kenta, if you’d like, I thought we could go over another grounding technique that you might-”
There was a rush of little footsteps coming down the hall. Kenta looked over in time to see Martin hurrying past the doorway with a big smile on his face and a backpack slung over his shoulders. It was already past the time his kindergarten started and Kenta knew the boy’s school was closed for the day for some faculty conference, so there was no reason for Martin to have a backpack on.
Unless he was being taken out somewhere.
Kenta jumped to his feet and ran to the doorway. He caught himself on the edge of it and called down the hall, “Martin!”
Martin skidded to a halt, almost toppling over but managing to catch his balance at the last second by pressing a hand against the wall. He spun around. Seeing that it was his uncle, he beamed at him. “Uncle Ken!”
The adrenaline rush and anxiety that had just struck him eased up. Seeing his nephew smile at him like that always made him feel warm inside. “Are you going somewhere?”
The pup nodded, almost bouncing with excitement. “Mama’s taking me shopping!”
This was exactly why he’d insisted on virtual sessions. Kenta breathed a sigh of relief that he’d caught this before Martin left the house. “I’m coming with you,” he told the boy, who gasped and somehow brightened up even more. “Don’t go without me.”
“Okay! I promise!” Martin nodded seriously, then laughed and took off again.
Kenta ducked back into the office.
“Is everything alright, Kenta?”
She would probably call Pete to tell him that Kenta had ditched the therapy session partway through, but this was more important. “Yes. I have to go now. Thank you.” He shut the laptop. Kenta made a quick stop at his room to grab his knife, cell phone, and the pre-filled and mostly unused wallet Pete had given him, then went to catch up to Martin.
The little boy was standing at the front door, insisting to his father that Uncle Kenta had said to wait for him. “See!” Martin pointed at him. “Uncle Kenta is coming with us, Mama.”
“Oh. He is.” Way eyed him warily, but didn’t dare protest. He had no real reason to, and Kenta knew Way would rather be shot again or just have Kenta stab him than needlessly argue with him in front of Martin while he was sober and risk making his pup cry. He simply finished getting Martin ready and ushered him outside. Kenta stepped into his shoes and followed the two of them, making sure the door was locked behind him.
He sat in the backseat of the sportscar with Martin, having no desire to be in front with Way for the drive. Though Way knew to hold his tongue in front of Martin to give the illusion that they were friends, the Enigma couldn’t help but be quite expressive. The first and only time Kenta had made the mistake of sitting beside Way in a vehicle, Way had sent him so many irritated looks and dark glares that eventually Pete began lecturing both of them on becoming friends now that they were technically brother-in-laws. If he had to feel Way’s discontented glares the entire ride, he would just hear Pete’s lecture in his head again.
It would be too draining. He needed to be at full strength.
Way made a small ‘tch’ sound and started the car when Kenta double-checked that Martin was properly buckled into his car seat. “Mama already buckled me, Uncle Ken,” Martin told him sweetly, innocently blind to the tension between his uncle and father. Kenta patted his head. He didn’t manage to smile back at the child, but Martin always seemed to get it when he wanted to because the pup gave him a bright smile of his own.
It was probably some kind of Enigma thing.
That, or his four-year-old nephew’s social skills were even more vastly superior to his own than he thought.
The latter was more likely. Surely Martin would have picked up on his father’s annoyance as well if it was some kind of secondary emotional Sense.
“Uncle Ken, are you going to get new clothes like Martin and Mama too?”
Before he could say no, Way cheerfully told the pup, “It’d be great if he got new clothes! All he wears is black. Maybe he can find a store he likes while we-”
“I can help you find new clothes, Uncle Ken!” Martin interrupted his father, excited.
Kenta spared a glance up front. Way’s hands clenched around the steering wheel. No doubt the other man wasn’t pleased that his attempt to get him away from his planned outing had backfired so spectacularly on him. Martin wanted him involved with their shopping trip and was now seemingly more excited about spending time with his uncle instead of his father. Kenta had no desire to shop for new clothes, fine with the stuff he’d salvaged from his old wardrobe, but he would endure it to stick close to his nephew and keep him safe while they were away from home.
“We’ll see what they have,” he told Martin, not wanting to dampen his spirits. Martin wore only luxury brands that Way picked out for him and really seemed to like that sort of fashion with how he always showed off any new clothes he got, so if he had to get something picked out by the child, Kenta was sure it wouldn’t be anything too different from Way’s usual style. The clothes the Enigma wore weren’t anything Kenta would be uncomfortable wearing himself, though he’d be keeping any shirts fully buttoned instead of half or almost fully undone.
He had no desire to expose his chest to anyone. And despite what Pete and some of the X-Hunter team had teased, there was certainly no one that would want him to.
“I’ll pick something really nice, I promise!” his nephew assured him, snapping him out of that train of thought.
The rest of the drive went by fine. Martin chattered away to the both of them and showed Kenta what snacks and water bottle he had in his little backpack. Way cheered up as the conversation gradually shifted to be mainly between him and his pup as Kenta wasn’t talkative, glad to have the boy’s attention back on him.
Kenta wasn’t a fan of Way’s obsessive tendencies, but they at least translated well into his parenting. Instead of being overbearing and controlling as he had been to Babe, he was just very doting and protective of his young pup, a pup that thrived under the endless attention and affection he received from both parents. And even though it was annoying that Way saw him as some kind of rival for Pete and Martin’s love, he appreciated that Way was possessive over the two. He didn’t have to worry about Way hurting them, and when Martin was with Way he didn’t have to worry about anyone else getting close enough to hurt the child. Way didn’t let anyone near the pup under his watch that he didn’t trust, and by his nature Way was not trusting.
As it stood, though, Kenta thought Way could do with being a bit more protective.
Kenta was first out of the car when Way parked it in a parking garage. He glanced around as Way got Martin from his car seat and lifted him out of the car. The Chen Foundation had been toppled and his father wasn’t around anymore, but Kenta couldn’t help but be on guard whenever he left Pete’s house. Old habits from his days as a guard and the ever-present fear that things from his former life would come back to ruin things demanded that he be vigilant.
Pete would reach to squeeze his arm in reassurance if he were there. Way just gave him a dark look before doing a quick look-around of his own.
They were too similar, Kenta thought. Two unforgivable men haunted by their pasts trying to live lives they didn’t think they deserved. When they looked at Pete and Babe they saw everything they could have been if they hadn’t been stuck in the Foundation. When Kenta looked at Way and Way looked at him, they saw only their own reflection, how each of them had failed to escape before they could do horrible things.
It was no wonder that he and Way didn’t get along even if they had no personal quarrel between them.
Well. No real quarrel, at least. Way had his jealousy and Kenta held a grudge for what had happened the last time Way had taken Martin out shopping alone. But Way just had to swallow down his irrationality and Kenta just had to make up for the incident. It was necessary for Way to do so if he didn’t want to upset his mate and their child. Kenta didn’t think there was any way for him to be reassured that what had happened wouldn’t repeat itself except to go along to ensure that it didn’t.
“Martin, do you want to walk or be carried?” Way asked as he checked to see that the boy’s little backpack was properly zipped up.
“Wanna walk,” Martin decided.
“Alright. Don’t let go of my hand while we’re outside, okay?”
“Okay! I promise!” Martin took his father’s hand, and Kenta would rather Way had made the child promise not to let go of his hand at all. He would just have to make up for it by keeping a close eye on Martin for the rest of the trip.
Kenta intended to walk a few steps behind the two, but Martin stopped and turned to look at him after they’d taken just a couple of steps.
He reached out to Kenta with his free hand, going, “Uncle Ken! Hold hands.”
“Okay.” He took Martin’s hand. It was so tiny compared to his own. Kenta felt like he might hurt him if he squeezed his little hand too hard.
“Papa and Mama said I have to hold hands outside so I don’t get lost,” Martin told him seriously. “Uncle Ken won’t get lost ‘cuz he’s holding Martin’s hand.”
Well, now it would be even easier to look after his nephew. He wouldn’t have to worry about Martin getting separated from them if he was holding his hand.
“That’s right. No one is getting lost this time,” Kenta replied, nodding.
Way huffed and tugged Martin along, grumbling, “I’m not going to lose him.” He left the ‘again’ that Kenta would have added unsaid. Kenta ignored the comment. Martin was too pleased about holding both their hands to notice, swinging his arms.
It had been quite a shock to the system when Kenta had walked in on Way almost tearfully admitting to Pete that he’d briefly lost Martin at the mall during their last shopping trip. Martin was mostly unfazed by the whole incident, having spent his brief separation from Way in the company of a friendly stranger who helped him locate his father. But it could have gone badly if Martin had been approached by someone who wasn’t as well-meaning, and Kenta couldn’t bear to think of what could happen if Way lost the pup again.
So he just had to make up for it by making sure Martin wouldn’t go anywhere with Way unsupervised ever again.
Kenta thought his therapist might call that unreasonable or overprotective, even though he didn’t get how it would be when his little nephew needed to be kept safe, so he made sure not to bring it up. Pete hadn’t pressed on why Kenta had switched to virtual sessions, which Kenta had managed to confess to doing over a phone call to avoid any chance of Pete picking up on something with his Sense, so he was content to let the two believe he was just too uncomfortable at the psychologist’s office.
Way suddenly stopped. He gave Kenta a suspicious look, glancing up and down. His eyes settled on his pockets, narrowing. “If you have a knife you need to leave it in the car. I am not getting involved if you set off a metal detector. Martin is too young to see you getting… in trouble.” Getting arrested, rather, but Kenta understood why Way decided not to use that word in front of Martin. It would probably scare him.
After a brief return to the car to toss his knife onto the backseat, they finally made their way out of the parking garage.
“Mama, we’re not going to the mall today?” Martin asked as they walked along the sidewalk of a shopping plaza.
“No, pup. We’re picking up a suit Pete ordered for you from his usual tailor. Their store is in this area.”
“There’s a lot of other stores here too!”
“That’s right. We’ll check out a few of them.”
Kenta couldn’t tell if he was relieved or not that they weren’t headed to a mall. On one hand, Way was far less likely to take his eyes off of Martin if they were mostly outside since Martin would be holding his hand. But on the other, now Kenta had a lot more to guard against. You couldn’t be too careful, even in a luxury plaza. Being outside meant he had to look around a lot more. Not having his knife on his person wasn’t doing his nerves any favors either.
Their first stop was at a boutique where Kenta was immediately recognized by the tailor. “Oh, Khun Kenta! I wasn’t expecting to see you today. Is everything alright with your suit?”
Pete had forced him to come to his office and let his tailor take his measurements after realizing Kenta planned to just wear his normal black outfit to the wedding they’d been invited to. Then again to see if it fit properly once it was done. Kenta had tried to argue he didn’t need a new suit when he was sure other members of the X-Hunter team pack were absolutely not going to be wearing suits to Charlie and Babe’s wedding. Sonic and North were sure to wear something with eye-burning colors and patterns, as usual. But Pete had smiled wide and insisted.
Kenta had trouble saying no to his brother. At least the suit had been fine. It was simple, but somehow not at all like the ones he’d worn for work in the Chen Foundation.
A not-so-subtle hint from Pete that there was someone in X-Hunter who would probably really appreciate seeing Kenta dressed so nicely was absolutely not part of the reason why he’d agreed. He had to hurry away to go try it on before Pete could finish saying the phrase, ‘A certain Korean driver-”
He internally cursed Pete and focused back on what was currently happening rather than the things his brother said to him that made it feel like his whole world was being turned upside down.
“Yes. My nephew-”
“My son Martin is here to try on his suit,” Way interrupted, obviously bewildered that the tailor was talking to Kenta instead of him.
“Of course! Khun Pete’s little one. Hello, Martin, you’re just as adorable as your father promised. I’ll bring it out so he can try it on.”
While the older beta disappeared into the back to fetch the suit, Way turned to Kenta and asked, “Pete bought you a suit too?”
“Yes, for-”
Martin cut him off, “For the wedding, Mama!”
“Wedding? Whose wedding?”
The pup shrugged. “I dunno. Papa said Martin and Papa and Uncle Ken were all invited.”
Kenta silently thanked Martin for interrupting. He’d just assumed Way had been invited or was aware of the wedding and soon would be. Way didn’t know about his former best friend’s upcoming wedding, and apparently, Pete hadn’t told Martin either. Thanks to the overeager pup, he didn’t have to deal with the fallout of Way finding out Pete hadn’t told him about Babe and Charlie getting married.
He would let Way assume it was for some random business partner of Pete’s. This was not his problem to deal with.
Before either Enigma could think to ask Kenta if he knew, and he was fully prepared to lie to stay out of Pete’s potential self-made future hell, the tailor returned with the suit. Way and Martin stepped into the dressing room to try it on. Thankfully, they immediately forgot about the conversation after emerging from the room, Way instead focusing on taking a picture of the pup in his little suit to send to Pete, and Martin beaming as he was told how cute and handsome he looked.
Having been encouraged to start small social interactions on his own during therapy, Kenta discreetly took a picture as well and sent it to the X-Hunter work chat he’d been added to but kept muted. Before he could put his phone back to sleep mode, North had already replied in all caps that Martin was a ‘Mini Pete’ and Sonic was sending a bunch of emojis, most of them hearts or crying faces. Multiple others were typing. Kenta put his phone back in his pocket. He’d check everyone’s responses later.
With the suit packed up in a bag that Way foisted off onto Kenta, the three of them left the shop to find a store for Martin to select something for Kenta so they could get on with the rest of the outing.
To Kenta and Way’s mutual dismay, Martin decided to be very picky about what he wanted to get for his uncle and refused to let Way just grab the first black item that looked like it would fit, insisting that he had to be the one to find something like he’d promised.
After Martin turned down everything in the third store they entered, Kenta was almost ready to grab something himself just so the outing wouldn’t go on forever. Though he was fine with the idea of spending the day hovering over Martin to make sure the pup stayed right with them, he didn’t like being so involved, having Martin ask his opinions on colors and demanding Way hold up clothes to Kenta so Martin could judge whether or not the item suited him. Way gave up after the first shop at giving his opinions, all of which were fake and positive to try to get Martin to select every item he’d picked up, and after the third, gave up on being the one to suggest stores. They both let Martin drag them down the road until he found a different shop that caught his eye.
Kenta was surprised by Martin’s next choice. The first three shops had been suggested by Way, the first two carrying clothes that matched his and Martin’s sense of style, the third carrying clothes that Pete would prefer. But it seemed Martin didn’t want his uncle to match with himself or his parents. This shop, still as expensive as all the others surrounding it, was mostly denim and leather and dark colors. A portion of the shop seemed dedicated to motorcycle riding gear, with lots of different jackets and accessories on display.
It looked like somewhere that the X-Hunter drivers might shop at. Maybe his nephew wanted him to match with his other uncles instead.
Martin let go of their hands and went straight to a rack of jackets that Kenta thought were oddly familiar and started looking through them. He stayed right behind the pup, keeping Martin within close reach. Way meandered behind them but was forced to catch up when once again Way was asked to hold up the jackets to Kenta.
An employee came over and asked, “Hello! Do you and your dad need any help picking out something for your father? Is there anything specific you’d like?”
Way made a noise that was halfway between sounding like a laugh and like he was being strangled. Kenta decided to just ignore them both, refusing to let himself dwell on the fact that someone had mistaken him and Way for a couple. Briefly, though, he let himself regret wearing his usual turtleneck. If only he hadn’t, the employee would have been able to see that while Way proudly showed off his mating mark to the world, Kenta’s neck was bare of any matching bite.
It didn’t matter, though.
“Uncle Ken, is this one big enough? I like this one a lot!” Martin reached up to pull a jacket off of the rack, practically bouncing in his excitement. Way grabbed it for him and held it up.
It wasn’t like anything Kenta had ever worn before, a black and white faux leather jacket with a slight bulk to it. In the white sections in the middle, there were black lightning bolts.
It was really familiar as well.
Way was staring at it. He opened his mouth, then closed it, hesitant. Then he sighed and told Martin carefully, “Pup, I’m pretty sure Babe has this jacket too.”
Instead of upsetting Martin, that only encouraged him. He smiled wide, now actually bouncing. “It’s a race car jacket! Uncle Ken can wear it at work!” the boy cheered.
Work being when he went into the X-Hunter garage. Kenta didn’t bother telling Martin that he wasn’t involved with any of the cars. He usually just spent the whole time sitting in Alan’s little office, using his laptop or going through paperwork. Or, if Kim was there to call him over, on the couch in the break area.
Sonic and North kept trying to force him to take a team jacket even though none of them wore those while at the garage. Maybe now he wouldn’t have to avoid the junior driver duo.
“We have a mirror over here if you’d like to try it on, Khun.”
“See if it fits, Uncle Ken!”
Kenta took the jacket and went to stand in front of the mirror, handing Way the bag with the little suit. He pulled on the jacket, and it fit well. He wasn’t sure whether or not it suited him since it was nothing like the clothes he’d worn for years and he had no idea what kind of style he enjoyed, but Martin looked absolutely thrilled, so he liked it.
“Do you like it?”
“Of course he likes it. It looks great. He’ll fit right in with everyone at the garage,” Way assured Martin, giving Kenta a firm look. A clear cue to make sure Martin knew he loved it, or else risk Martin wanting to find something else.
“I do like it. Thank you for picking it out for me.” Martin beamed as Kenta gave his approval, rushing forward to hug him. Kenta patted his head.
The employee stepped over. Kenta eyed her warily, but she was just doing her job trying to make a sale. She gave him a bright smile. “That jacket looks wonderful on you, Khun! Your nephew has excellent taste.” Martin made a little happy sound at the praise, then tucked his head against Kenta’s side, turning shy. Way looked much happier as well. “It suits your Alpha figure very well!” she added.
“Great!” Way clapped his hands together. “Let’s pay for it and go get-”
“Alpha?” Martin echoed, sounding confused. Kenta glanced down at him and the pup was frowning, his head tilted. “Uncle Ken isn’t an Alpha. Uncle is an Omega. Right, Uncle Ken?”
For a moment, all Kenta could do was stare at him. He had no idea how his nephew could tell what his secondary designation was. As far as he was aware, no one else had told the boy he was an Omega. He was pretty sure that Martin was far too young to be able to distinguish by scent, though Martin seemed leagues ahead of his peers due to his Enigma status. But that wouldn’t have even helped anyway. Kenta’s scent had dulled after his subversion as a teenager, but it still came across as an Alpha’s.
It must have been an Enigma thing to be able to pick out that someone was a subverted Omega. Pete had been the first one to figure out that something was changing about Kenta when they lived in the Chen estate together, and he’d been unable to explain what exactly was off until Kenta had gone through his first cycle. Somehow, Martin had picked up on the same thing and was able to figure out what it meant.
“…Yes,” he replied.
The employee was immediately flustered, stammering out apologies for assuming. Kenta didn’t respond. It didn’t matter to him that she’d assumed he was an Alpha. Either she had been able to pick up on his scent, or she’d thought his height and build were Alpha, which he didn’t mind. It was safer if people thought he was an Alpha. They were far less likely to mess with him, or even approach him. He looked back at the mirror. Even though the employee was wrong about his designation, it was nice to hear that the jacket suited his body from someone other than Martin or Way, who were biased.
Way tugged Martin away from Kenta and sighed. “It’s fine. He gets that all the time. We’ll take the jacket in a bag.” He gently nudged Martin in the direction of a display covered in sunglasses. “Martin, go pick one of those glasses to match Kenta’s jacket and then we’ll go sit and have some water.”
“That’s a great idea, Mama!” Martin hurried over to the display. Kenta took off the jacket and dropped it into the employee’s hands, striding over to Martin to stick close to him again. Once Martin had grabbed a pair of sunglasses and then insisted on Kenta picking a pair of jeans to complete the look, which he grabbed at random the first one in his size, Way paid for the items with a card with Pete’s name on it and the three of them left the store.
With Kenta once again in charge of holding the bags, they found an empty bench to sit at. Way pulled Martin’s colorful water bottle from his little backpack and handed it to him. The two sat together, while Kenta remained standing.
After taking a few sips from his water, Martin asked to see the pair of jeans Kenta had picked out. Setting down the bags on the bench, Kenta brought out the jeans and unfolded them.
Way laughed.
“Wow! It’s all ripped up, Uncle Ken.”
Though they had a gray flannel lining underneath, the jeans were indeed all ripped. There were essentially no knees to them, with the flannel there being ripped as well, and rather sizable rips along the thighs, gaping widest on the inner part, thankfully with the lining intact. Kenta refused to turn them around, lest either of them see that a few rips up near the top went around to the back.
He’d just wanted to get this part of the trip over with. Now he would have to wear this to the garage, because Martin would insist on it, and Kenta was too weak when it came to his nephew.
Kenta put the jeans back into the bag, not even bothering to fold them up again. He would simply have to change in the car before heading to the garage. It would be too embarrassing to wear the jeans in front of everyone. He could only imagine what Pete and Sonic would say if they saw the thigh rips.
With the pup rehydrated and given a snack from his bag to eat while they walked, the outing continued. Kenta was able to hover or walk alongside them without being involved, his only participation being that he carried whatever bags Way shoved at him and gave Martin approving nods whenever he tried on something Way picked out for him.
Soon it was time for lunch, and as they looked around for a place to eat, Kenta saw something in the window of an Apple electronics store and stopped. Martin stopped as well when his arm was tugged. “Uncle Ken?”
Kenta glanced at Way and discreetly gestured to the store with his chin. Way followed his gaze.
In the window was a little display of AirTag bracelets for children, in a variety of bright colors and patterns, the AirTags sitting right next to them.
“We need to get him one,” Kenta said.
Way nodded. “Absolutely,” he agreed, immediately understanding that this was how they could possibly solve some of the tension between them. He lifted up Martin and brought him to the store window. In a cheery voice, he told the pup, “Martin, look at these cute bracelets Kenta found. He wants to get you one as a gift. Let’s go inside and you can pick what color you want.”
Excited, Martin demanded to be put down so he could pull Way into the store and to the bracelets. As the pup decided which color he wanted, Kenta grabbed a box with three AirTags in it.
Martin selected a pastel rainbow bracelet and held it up to Kenta, saying he wanted that one. As the pup told Kenta how he preferred that one over the other colors, Way checked his wallet.
”Do you have enough cash? I don’t want this showing up on Pete’s cards.”
Though the little AirTag was purely for Martin’s safety, Kenta knew they needed to ease Pete into the idea in person rather than let him see it pop up on his credit card expenses. Location tracking was bound to be a difficult topic for the three of them with how it had been abused by the Chen Foundation, so they would have to convince Pete that the little rainbow bracelet didn’t have anything to do with regressing to old negative habits.
It was purely so that the incident with Martin getting lost would never happen again. Kenta was sure if he brought up the fact that Way had cried when he’d lost Martin that Pete would agree. Pete was weak to his mate crying and the idea of Way potentially crying over something in the future. He would surely agree to this preventative measure.
He did have enough cash, so he paid for the bracelet and AirTags with the money Pete had put in his wallet. Kenta wasn’t exactly sure what Pete thought Kenta would be buying when he put so much in, but he was grateful for his brother’s excessive generosity.
They found a food stand that met Way’s standards and took a break from walking for lunch. There was a little area with some tables, so they sat down. While Way and Martin set out the food and started eating, Kenta got the AirTags out of the box and set them up on his phone. Then he held out his hand to Way, who got the hint and passed over his cell phone as well, typing in the passcode. Kenta got them attached to Way’s phone as well, then put one into the bracelet.
Martin eagerly took the bracelet when it was handed to him, and Way put it on for him, telling him how cute he looked with it.
Kenta reached over and grabbed Martin’s backpack, which had been placed on the table. He found a small zipper inside and slipped a second AirTag in there, then put the third one back into the shopping bag. “This one can go in his school bag when we get home,” he told Way.
“Good.” Way lifted up some food before Martin could question why they were talking about his school backpack and putting something into his little one, saying, “Here, pup. This one is for you.”
“Okay!” Martin took it, focused back on eating lunch.
Kenta opened up the location app on his phone and stood up. Both Enigmas looked at him, confused. “I’m going to make sure the bracelet is working,” he told them.
“The bracelet’s doing something?” Martin asked, looking at his wrist to check if he could see it doing whatever work it was apparently doing.
Way patted the pup’s head, telling him, “That’s right! It’s a special bracelet so Kenta and I can find you if you ever get lost again.”
Seeing that Martin clearly wanted to know exactly what it was doing instead of the vague ‘special bracelet’ answer Way had given, Kenta explained, “It connects to our phones using the device inside of it. That way we can see where you are even if you get lost, so we can find you. It’s called an AirTag, and it uses location tracking. I also put one in your backpack. If you lose your bag, we can find that too.”
“Oh! That’s cool!” Way looked relieved when Martin seemed enamored by the thought of the bracelet protecting him from getting lost again.
”You have to wear that bracelet whenever Way takes you somewhere for it to work.”
“Just with Mama? Not Papa?”
Way glared at Kenta. “With both.”
“Pete has never lost him.” Way’s glare turned into a Look. “But… yes. Whenever you go somewhere in public where you might get lost.”
Martin smiled brightly. “Okay! I promise I’m gonna wear it so Mama doesn’t cry if I get lost again!”
Embarrassed, Way offered Martin a bite of his food to distract him from the subject. “Try this too, pup.” Martin opened his mouth like a baby bird so Way could feed him, successfully distracted. A few more bites had Martin totally moved on from the topic of the bracelet. As the pup returned to his own food, Way sighed and told Kenta, “I’m exhausted. Let’s go home after this.”
“Mama’s tired?”
Kenta nodded to let Way know he was also eager to go home, and stepped away to test the app. When it correctly displayed the right arrow and distance for all three tags, he returned to the table to eat his own portion of lunch. Martin looked happy to hear that his new bracelet was doing its job, and Way seemed pleased as well.
“It’s working, Mama!” Martin told Way, even though Kenta had said so to both of them. “Now Mama won’t cry again.”
“Martin!” Way gasped. “Don’t say that in front of Kenta.”
“Why, Mama?” Martin asked, eyes wide and curious.
Way groaned, covering his face with his hands. “It’s embarrassing.”
That didn’t satisfy the four-year-old. ”Why?” When Way just made an embarrassed sound into his hands, Martin pouted and turned to Kenta instead. “Uncle Ken! I wanna know!”
“Don’t tell him,” Way pleaded. “Let’s stop talking about this.”
“Uncle Ken!”
“Kenta!”
Kenta smiled a little as the both of them whined at him. Maybe Pete was right after all, and he did have a family now.
-
Staring out the window, Kenta blatantly refused to look at Pete as the man drove them and Martin to the garage. Kenta had work to do with Alan that required going through physical files somewhere in the Alpha’s office, and with Way busy with a client at his showroom, Pete had thought it would be fun for him and the pup to tag along to visit the rest of the team while Kenta and Alan were busy.
Martin had of course insisted that Kenta wear his new work clothes when he caught him trying to leave in his normal clothes with just the jacket. Now he was stuck wearing the full outfit, since he couldn’t change with them tagging along. Pete had smirked at him as he shuffled out of his room, and Kenta was mortified. He was grateful that his nephew was there to babble on about how nice he looked in the clothes, which prevented Pete from making any comments implying Kenta might be wearing the outfit to catch the eye of a certain X-Hunter driver. Still, the smirk stayed on the Enigma’s face, so Kenta refused to look at him. He tried to keep his thoughts focused on work as they drove, not wanting to give Pete anything else to be smug about.
He planned to go straight to Alan’s office as soon as they got to the garage, so no one else could tease him. But fate was not on his side, as his nephew cheerfully demanded that he hold his hand on the way him, keeping him stuck by Pete’s side as they casually entered the garage.
Martin alerted everyone to their arrival by immediately shouting Charlie’s name and running over to him to get a hug. Charlie was standing by Jeff near one of the cars, talking to his brother as he worked, the hood popped open. Kenta looked over the garage and could see a few other mechanics working, all of the team’s cars in the garage. North was sitting in the simulator, Sonic practically draped over him. Alan was at a whiteboard, in the middle of adjusting schedules.
Everyone turned to look. Charlie beamed and held out his arms.
Kim wasn’t there, and neither was Babe. Kenta was torn between relief and an odd sense of disappointment. Pete turned towards him, and Kenta pointedly looked away. He did not want to know if Pete had picked up on that thought, and did not want to know his reaction to it.
“Khun Pete!” Alan stepped over to greet their sponsor. “You didn’t say you were coming.”
“It’s not for business. Martin and I wanted to visit for a bit after dropping Ken off.”
North and Sonic came over as well. They both turned their attention onto Kenta, North loudly going, “You went shopping without us?! Kenta! You look hot! Those jeans are so perfect for your legs.”
Sonic jabbed him in the side.
“What? He does. You’re hot too, don’t worry.” To Kenta, North said, “You trying to beat out Sonic for best dressed on the team? You’re doing pretty good for your first try, but it’ll take a lot more to defeat him.”
“No, I’m… no.”
Sonic looked him up and down, his eyes narrowing. “Is that Babe’s jacket?”
“No way, Sonic. That looks brand new.” North stepped closer to inspect the jacket, running his hands over Kenta’s arms. “This is new!”
“Huh. I could have sworn it was Babe’s.”
“Martin picked this out a few days ago,” Kenta explained. He glanced over at his nephew. Charlie had lifted him up and was now tossing him up and down while the pup shrieked in delight. Though Martin was tiny, Kenta was impressed with Charlie’s strength.
Sonic and North both lit up. North gave him two thumbs up and nodded. “Nice! Kid’s got style.” He clapped Pete on the back and told him, “Maybe Martin can be an influencer someday! He’s got a good fashion sense.”
“I don’t want you to post pictures or videos of him on social media without my permission,” Pete reminded North.
“He would do numbers on Instagram, though!”
Sonic took North’s place checking out Kenta’s new outfit. “Love the jeans. You should open the jacket.” Sonic unzipped the jacket and adjusted it. He smoothed out the white t-shirt Kenta was wearing underneath, and Kenta almost missed when Sonic and North used to be nervous around him when he was first introduced to the pack. They were so touchy.
But, if he had to admit, it was kind of nice that they were so friendly now. It made him feel like they actually might see him as part of the pack.
The garage door opened again. Before Kenta could turn to see who had come in, Sonic peered around him and laughed. “Hey, Babe!”
“Hey. Oh, Pete and Kenta are here?”
“P’Babe!” Martin and Charlie both called out.
With Sonic holding onto him, Kenta couldn’t turn to see Babe’s reaction to the greeting. Based on the way the two beamed and started waving enthusiastically, he guessed Babe had waved to them. “The kid too? Did I miss some sponsorship event?”
Sonic shook his head. “Nah. They’re just here to hang out while Uncle and P’Kenta do paperwork. Where’s Kim?”
“He wanted to stay at the gym longer. Wait, what are you wearing?” Babe’s voice sounded confused.
Sonic snickered and let go of Kenta so he could turn around. “You guys are twins!”
Sure enough, Babe had on the exact same jacket that Kenta did.
“Martin got this for me,” Kenta explained, again. “He didn’t care that you also had the same one. He thought it was cool.”
Babe just looked kind of smug about it. “Guess that means he thinks I’m cooler than you.”
“He’s really jealous that Martin likes Charlie better than him,” Sonic whispered to Kenta. Babe scowled at him, so Sonic ducked behind Kenta, yelping.
“I don’t get jealous!”
“Sonic, Phi, move out of the way so I can send a picture of P’Kenta to Kim!” North shouted, holding out his phone from where he was still standing by Pete and Alan. He snapped a picture of the three of them. He sent it over text, then cackled as his phone pinged. “Kim says Kenta wears the jacket better!”