Chapter Text

“Koron! Stop… Koron!!! You damn mutt, stop chewing on my… Koron!”

Koichi stopped just in time not to kick the little dog when it rushed by, a glove in its mouth, Kyo chasing after it yelling obscenities. Only a few steps after came Ruki, yelling at Kyo.

“Don’t you dare yell at him! If you hurt him, I’ll kill you! Also, no sex for a week, at least!!!! Do you hear me?!”

Koichi looked after them, stunned for a second, before he burst out in giggles. He turned and walked into the dining room, still laughing to himself, looking for his mate. Hazuki sat in a corner talking to Ruka, a newer alpha Koichi had seen around but never spoken to. He couldn’t help it, he was still a little hesitant around alphas he didn’t know well, and so he hesitated and hung back, not sure whether to approach the two or not. Hazuki looked up and saw him standing there, anxiously watching them from a little bit off, and smiled at his lover.

“Come here, babe, sit with me.”

Koichi bit his lip but walked over and sat down in his mate’s lap, leaning into him and putting his head cutely on the other’s shoulder. Hazuki threw his arms around him and pulled him tighter, kissing him on the top of his head, before he turned back to Ruka who was watching them with a smirk on his lips.

“Sorry, you were saying?”

“I said I think there might be something we can do about that roof without tearing all of it down,” Ruka said, and the two alphas got back into a discussion about renovations that Koichi stopped listening to after about three seconds. He was comfortable and happy just curled up against his lover, and so he sat watching everyone else as they slowly sidled in after the day’s work.

Ruki came back in, Koron in his arms and Kyo a step after. The omega’s chin was set firmly and he didn’t even afford his lover a glance, as he was clearly still angry with how the alpha had yelled at his beloved dog. He looked very Ruki-ish in that moment, and Koichi giggled a little to himself as he watched Kyo trailing after him with a snarl on his face, carrying a wet glove with drool dripping from it. He was eyeing the dog viciously, no doubt daydreaming about murder. Koichi was pretty sure Kyo regretted the day he found his boyfriend the puppy he had longed for. If he had anticipated how Ruki would dote on the dog, spoiling it rotten, he would probably have left it be. He was too much in love with his omega to take it away from him though, and so he put up with chewed gloves, a dog trampling around in bed and a cold nose waking him up to be let out in the mornings. It wasn’t without grumbling, though.

Koichi turned his head and looked up at Hazuki, silently begging for a kiss that Hazuki happily provided, before he snuggled back against his alpha’s chest and went back to his observations.

Cazqui came in, looking around, noticing both Shinya alone in a corner and Satochi talking to Kai in another. The omega paled a little, before he turned and walked out again. Koichi frowned at that. He knew why his friend acted the way he did, but he thought it was stupid. Ok, so the omega had the hots for a friend’s ex, and the reunion had been pretty intense for everyone involved. But it was over, and Shinya had chosen Toshiya, so Satochi was up for grabs again, wasn’t he? Koichi didn’t think Shinya would want either of his two friends to stay single because of him, but Cazqui was too much of a chicken to say anything and Satochi was too caught up in the new-ness of this place to notice the omega lusting after him. Koichi huffed a little, taking down a mental note to talk to his friends about this. Someone had to steer them in the right direction.

Hazuki turned his head and nuzzled his mate’s neck for a second, giving him a little kiss on the neck, before he turned back to Ruka. The two alphas had stopped talking about roofs and were now onto the subject of hunting techniques. Koichi quickly decided it was just as boring, and went back to studying his friends.

Aoi and Daichi had made progress, at least. If you could call being all over each other every second of their waking hours making progress. There was no doubt those two had found each other, and they had already declared they planned on moving in together. There was just that tiny problem of them having no more cottages. They were building more, but it would take a while to finish, and they were quite frankly running out of room to build. They would have to take down trees and dig up tons of roots before they could build much more, and it was hard work that took time.

Koichi looked around, counting the people who needed a cottage of their own. They had the new couples and a pair of newcomers, and they would need a lot of space soon as their community grew. Aoi and Daichi, Natsu and Yukke, Hiro and Yuki, Ryo and Nao, the singles alphas Satochi, Aki, Tetsuya and Reika… Things were getting crowded in the big house as well, but not as bad. If Aoi moved out, Natsu could move in with Yukke, but that didn’t help much. Koichi had heard talk of that Satochi would be sharing with Asanao, who was the only alpha to still live alone. He had been allowed to keep his cottage to himself after his mate died, but it was a luxury they could no longer afford.

They were getting to be a lot of people, Koichi thought, looking around. Some he didn’t even know that well, like Ruka, and he was a bit nervous that they would grow too much and let the wrong people in. He had heard some of the alphas discuss the fact that they had apparently become known, and what it could mean for their safety. He wasn’t the only one to notice how there suddenly always seemed to be an alpha down by the boat, seemingly doing some work, but often glancing out across the lake. He had asked Hazuki if they were keeping guard and not saying anything about it to the omegas, but his lover had gotten a sudden urge to be somewhere else instead of answering. That had of course only served to make Koichi more suspicious, and frankly, a little scared. He guessed they didn’t want to worry the omegas, but it was almost worse not to know what they thought might happen that could cause them to need a lookout.

He sighed heavily and snuggled a little closer to his lover, suddenly craving some extra safety, and he felt the alpha react and tighten his grip instinctively around him. He didn’t stop talking, he didn’t even seem to notice he was doing it, but his hand came up and curled protectively around the omega’s head, caressing his hair, while the other maneuvered him closer into his arms, holding him almost too tightly. The omega turned his face up to his mate, wordlessly begging for another kiss, and as Hazuki obliged, Koichi heard Ruka chuckle. He broke the kiss and glared at the other alpha, who was grinning widely at him. Hazuki looked between the two, frowning.

“Ok, what am I missing here?” he said.

“He’s laughing at me,” Koichi muttered, feeling a little like a three-year-old, and Ruka let out another laugh at that before he shook his head.

“I’m not laughing at you, don’t worry,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “I was laughing at both of you.”

Their annoyed looks made him laugh again, before he offered his explanation. “You don’t even notice how you listen to each other’s cues,” he said. “It’s amazing to watch, and a little funny how you just give in to his begging without even thinking about it,” he smirked with a raised eyebrow at Hazuki.

“What do you mean?” Hazuki asked, a little irritated.

“Well, do you realize that every time your mate frowned and thought about something that was probably unpleasant, you hugged him tighter? You didn’t even see his face, you just did it instinctively. And when he begs for a kiss, you give it without even pausing whatever you’re doing,” Ruka looked a little smug at the other alpha’s nonplussed face. He had apparently not noticed.

“And you,” Ruka continued looking at Koichi, “whenever your mate needs to shift his hold on you, you anticipate it and move a little on your own before he needs to ask, and you don’t even notice that you moved your legs a little or whatever. And when he’s upset or happy, so are you, even if you don’t see him and know what kind of a mood he’s in. It’s quite astonishing, really. Not to mention cute,” the alpha grinned.

Koichi blushed. He hadn’t noticed, everything they did just felt natural and he never had to think of how he did things around Hazuki, they just were. From his mate’s face, he guessed he hadn’t really noticed either. Now, all of a sudden, they were self-conscious and noticed everything, and they felt a little awkward. Ruka laughed at them and shook his head.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you two lose your groove. It’s kinda cool to see something so instinctual up close,” he smiled warmly, no teasing now. “I hope one day I’ll have the same with someone, but I’ll settle for half of the magic you two have.” Koichi couldn’t help noticing the alpha’s eyes flicker across the room, and despite his blushing he couldn’t help glancing to see where the alpha had been looking. Who was in that corner? Shinya. Not likely, no alpha would dare go there after all that had happened. Ruki, still pouting, petting Koron who was nestled in his lap. No. Just… no. Only Kyo could deal with that. Who else? Cazqui? Could be. Ryoga? Maybe. Tomo? They would be cute together. Kuina? Hmmm.

So four likely candidates then. But which one? Koichi hoped it wasn’t Cazqui, he was very sure the omega had fallen for Satochi like a ton of bricks and wouldn’t change his mind easily. But Ryoga, Tomo and Kuina were all good candidates. Koichi glanced back at Ruka, as if he could pry something out of him only using his eyes, and the alpha noticed. He suddenly looked a little uncomfortable and excused himself quickly, leaving the room with another glance to the corner.

“What just happened?” Hazuki said, looking after the retreating alpha rather bewildered, and the omega couldn’t help giggling at his mate.

“You’re always so clueless,” he grinned, yelping at the reprimanding tickle that followed. He squirmed away, damning the day his alpha realized just how ticklish he actually was.

. . . . .

Shinya sat on the porch of his and Toshiya’s cottage the next morning, drinking a cup of tea before he had to get ready for the day. He loved being up early to catch the morning light in the quiet before everyone got up and started milling around. He could always focus his thoughts better at this time of day, and today he had something to think about.

He had noticed Cazqui’s awkward behavior around him of course, and guessed the cause after what Koichi had told him when he got back from the heat cabin, before all this Satochi and Toshiya business had started. The thing was, he didn’t know how to feel about it. He had chosen Toshiya, and he wouldn’t change that for the world. He loved his alpha more than anything, and Satochi’s presence didn’t change that. He got along well with Satochi and they talked often as close friends would. The two alphas were a bit wary around each other, but they were both good people and did their best to make things work. Toshiya didn’t try to make Shinya stay away from his friend even though he threw them anxious glances now and then. Satochi looked a little pained when Shinya and Toshiya kissed or hugged, but did nothing to try to come between them. So it was a little tense at times, but really not a problem.

The thing was, as much as Shinya was happy with his choice, he wasn’t really ready to see Satochi with someone else just yet. He wanted the alpha to be happy, and he loved Cazqui and wanted the best for him. But… There was always that but, the little nagging feeling at the back of his head that said that Satochi was his. He knew he had lost all right to claim the alpha as his, and he didn’t even really want to. Not his mind, anyway. His gut and his chest had different ideas, though. It made him feel like an awful person, and he was upset at himself, feeling guilty for not telling Cazqui that he wouldn’t stand in the omega’s way. If Cazqui came to him and asked, he would of course give his blessing, but he couldn’t bring himself to offer it of his own accord. He sighed deeply and took a sip from his cup.

The door opened behind him and a sleepy looking Toshiya looked out, blinking at his lover.

“I should have known you’d be out here,” he yawned. “I woke up in snuggle mode, and found the bed empty and no one to snuggle with. Most annoying.” At the last words, he raised his eyebrow, eyeing Shinya to see the effect his words would have on the omega. He was rewarded with a giggle, and his lover got up, gently shoving the alpha back indoors.

“Ok, ok, I’m coming. Though I’m a little cold now, so you’ll have to warm me up.”

“Oh really?” Toshiya said, suddenly grinning suggestively. “And do I get to choose in which way to warm you up?”

Shinya frowned, pretending annoyance, but soon smirked and let the alpha have his way with him. It didn’t take long before he was warm. Very, very warm.

. . . . .

Yukke eyed Natsu over the breakfast table. The two hadn’t had time to see each other much during the week, and he was getting more than a little antsy. Tomorrow was Sunday, and he had been quietly planning a surprise for the omega. Now, the trick was to lure him in without giving too much away. The omega met his eyes and smiled at him, and Yukke felt his heart flutter at the adorable sight. He also felt his cock twitch, which he did his best to ignore. They hadn’t been dating long, and he didn’t want Natsu to think he only wanted him for sex, he really didn’t. But god, he so wanted to bend the omega over the breakfast table and fuck him then and there. He swallowed harshly and looked away, trying to appear unbothered. In the corner of his eye, he saw Natsu’s smile fade a little, as the omega started to wonder why his lover didn’t want to look at him. Yukke could practically hear the omega fretting over possible reasons from across the table, and he really hated doing this to him, but it was this or doing something very inappropriate in front of everyone.

He waited until breakfast was done. Natsu helped to clear the dishes, looking a little dejected, and when he was done he lingered a little in the kitchen to be alone for a moment, trying to calm his nerves. When Yukke came in, the omega was busy putting things away, his back to the door. He gasped in shock when strong hands suddenly grabbed him from behind, before he recognized the scent of his alpha. He relaxed as Yukke guided his head a little to the side so that he could kiss and nibble at the omega’s neck, licking him lewdly and sucking on his earlobe. Natsu shivered, the alpha’s touch instantly sending electrical currents through his body.

“You’re so fucking hot I can’t believe it,” Yukke whispered in his ear, making Natsu groan and push his ass back towards his lover. Hands started roaming over his body, gripping his crotch and pinching a nipple, and the omega forgot everything he was supposed to do at that second. He mewled and turned his head towards the alpha, trying to get a kiss, which the alpha hungrily supplied.

Yukke was just about to get a bit more adventurous when voices approaching outside the door made him snarl at the interruption but let go of the omega, taking a step back. Natsu was breathing heavily now, his cock hard in his pants, and he tried to mask it as well as he could when Tomo and Ryoga came in. The omegas glanced at the couple but didn’t say anything.

Natsu wasn’t sure what to think. Yukke’s actions confused him. One second, the alpha ignored him, the next, he was feeling him up and making him horny as hell before he suddenly let go and seemed completely unperturbed by what had happened. He was worrying that the alpha was getting tired of him, and he felt a knot forming in his stomach at the thought. He almost expected the alpha to leave without a word, as he so often did, but to his surprise a voice whispered in his ear.

“Tomorrow morning, ten o’clock. Wait for me on the stairs outside.”

And then the alpha was gone. Natsu turned his head just fast enough to see his lover’s back disappear through the doorway, and he blinked. Tomorrow? What was happening tomorrow?

Chapter Text

Cazqui looked at Koichi, disbelieving.

“What, you want me to go talk to Shinya and then throw myself at Satochi? Are you nuts?”

Koichi sighed. “No, I’m not. Listen, if it hadn’t been you who were in this situation, what would you have said? I know you got Yukke and Natsu together, I saw you talk to Yukke, and don’t even try to deny that you had a hand in making Aoi and Daichi glue themselves to each other. Why can you give such good advise to others but not listen to it when it’s about you?”

Cazqui looked away, sniffing a little and throwing his arms unconsciously around his body.

“Because those two have a completely different history together than the others,” he mumbled, his cheeks sporting a decidedly pink color.

“So? It’s over now, isn’t it? I don’t see why you should go around being unhappy when you could have that loving boyfriend you’re longing for.” Koichi reached out and put his arm around his friend’s shoulder, leaning his forehead against the side of Cazqui’s head.

“You deserve to be happy,” he said softly, feeling his friend flinch at the words. The omega shook his head but didn’t say anything, battling the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks. He leaned into his friend, grateful for the comforting hug.

“I just wish… I wish things were different,” he whispered, a lump in his throat.

“I know,” Koichi answered, hugging the omega tighter.

. . . . .

Natsu sat on the stairs ten minutes to ten the next day. He didn’t know if he should pack anything, and so he just brought a jacket in case. His nerves wouldn’t leave him alone, and after pacing back and forth in the room he shared with Kazuki, the omega kicked him out and told him to go wait outside.

He expected Yukke to come from his cottage, and so he jumped in surprise when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The alpha grinned at him before he leaned down for a quick kiss. Natsu closed his eyes at the touch of lips on lips, leaning in and softly begging for more, but the alpha pulled back immediately. In a second, that knot of fear was back in Natsu’s gut. Was Yukke getting enough of him? Wasn’t he a good enough kisser, not good enough in bed, not fun enough to talk to? He tried to mask his fears and smiled at the alpha, looking down at the bag in his hand.

“What’s that?” he asked, curious as to what the alpha had wanted to see him about. Yukke just smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him up.

“You’ll see,” he said, dragging the omega along as he started walking down towards the shore. Natsu let himself be guided down to where one of the smaller boats was tied to a tree. Yukke quickly pulled the boat in by the rope and put the bag in before he offered his hand in support for the omega to climb into the boat. Natsu hesitantly climbed in and seated himself, watching the alpha free the boat from its confines and climb in to grab the oars.

The omega watched his lover as he rowed them across the lake. The alpha had refused to answer his questions with anything else but “you’ll see”, and eventually he settled into watching those strong muscles play underneath the skin instead. Yukke’s arm muscles always made him incredibly horny, but lately the alpha seemed to be less interested in sex and Natsu wasn’t the type to push for it, so instead he watched and longed to feel those arms around him again.

When they reached the other shore, Yukke smoothly jumped off the boat and tied it to a tree before he helped Natsu get out. They were not at the usual beach, but a bit off to the left, hidden among the bushes. Natsu looked around when he got off the boat. This was a pretty spot, the forest old and beautiful and moss growing in a thick layer on the ground. Yukke still held his hand after helping him climb ashore, and the alpha took a step closer, leaning in for a kiss. This time, he let his lips linger for a little while longer, and Natsu felt his pulse speed up as his breath hitched. His eyelashes fluttered up at the alpha, and Yukke bit his lip, stunned for a moment.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, his fingers gently stroking Natsu’s cheek. And then the moment was gone, as the alpha took a deep breath and stepped away, grabbing the omega’s hand and pulling him onto a trail into the forest. Natsu felt week to the knees and even more confused than he had been earlier, but he was too scared to ask why the alpha kept going from cold to hot to cold again. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

They walked on for about half an hour, before Yukke stopped in a small clearing and hushed him, quietly pulling his bag off his shoulder and leaving it under a tree.

“Come on, we have to be quiet now,” he whispered. Natsu curiously followed. What had the alpha planned? He followed Yukke as he quietly made his way through the trees, and then finally stopped at the bottom of a small hill. He put his finger on his lips to show the omega they had to be dead quiet, and then he got on his knees and slowly crawled up the hill, peaking over the edge. Natsu frowned but followed, very curious by now.

He had not expected what he saw when he peeked over the edge of the hill. Not in the slightest. He had to put a hand over his mouth to stifle a sound. The sight was unbelievably cute, and when he glanced over to Yukke with eyes wide open and a shocked expression on his face, the alpha smiled widely, pleased with his reaction.

The fox cubs were playing in the sun, mama fox basking in the sun a bit off, enjoying some peace and quiet for a while as the cubs played with each other. They were completely adorable, and Natsu felt his smile go from ear to ear as he watched them gleefully for a long while. Now and then he turned to Yukke, making cute faces, and the alpha watched his enjoyment happily. After a long while, mama fox decided it was time to break up the rowdy gang, and the whole four-legged family headed down into their lair.

That was their cue to leave, and Natsu followed Yukke down the hill as quietly as he could. They didn’t speak until they were back at the clearing where they had left the bag, but then the omega couldn’t contain his glee any longer. He threw himself around the alpha’s neck, laughing softly.

“Thank you so much for showing me this!!! They were so adorable I thought I would die!” he exclaimed, giving the alpha a big kiss on the cheek. Yukke laughed and pulled the omega into his arms.

“I thought it would suit you, so I’m glad you liked it,” he smiled, kissing the omega back. He hesitated for a second, but he couldn’t hold himself back anymore, and so he slowly deepened the kiss. Natsu melted into his arms, immediately giving in to his prodding tongue, and for a second he felt surprised at how hungrily the alpha kissed him. But soon all his hesitation was gone, and he let his hands and mouth roam free, as he kissed the alpha with a fire he rarely dared to show. Yukke’s hands were caressing every inch of the omega he could reach, slipping in under shirts to feel the naked skin underneath, and they were both moaning by now.

Natsu let himself be undressed, not caring that they were in the middle of the forest (Again. Outdoor sex seemed to be their thing). Then he suddenly felt the alpha pull back, and he whined with the loss. Yukke couldn’t be changing his mind now, could he? That would just be cruel. But the alpha just turned around and pulled out a blanket from the bag, spreading it out over the moss quickly, before he rid himself of his own clothes. The whole thing took maybe a minute, and then he was back at Natsu’s side, skin pressed against skin as the hungry kissing started again.

Natsu felt himself be guided down on the blanket, his eyes closed in pleasure. Soon enough, he was lying on his back, the alpha positioned between his spread legs, a big hard cock pressed against his groin. It felt so incredibly good, and Natsu mewled and bucked up at the alpha, feeling their cocks slide against each other. Yukke groaned in his ear, nuzzling his neck and biting down lightly. It wasn’t enough to break skin, but Natsu felt an exhilarating rush of blood, finding himself wanting it more than he probably should.

But the alpha pulled back and started biting and nibbling on other parts of his torso, strong hands holding the omega down. Natsu felt utterly restrained, and it turned him on to no end. He threw his legs around Yukke’s waist, panting harshly as he begged for the alpha to take him, now please.

Yukke groaned and roughly grabbed the omega’s legs and spread them wider, quickly pushing into the soft heat. In a second, his hands were on the omega’s wrists, holding him down as he fucked him wildly. Natsu mewled and tried to meet the alpha’s thrusts as well as he could in his position, the sensations driving him utterly crazy. The hard thrusts had him moaning louder and louder, and when he felt Yukke’s teeth on his neck again he cried out in want, offering his neck to the alpha.

The omega was so hard it almost hurt, thrashing wildly under the alpha. His movements were entirely involuntary, all guided by the most intense feelings of lust, need and pleasure he had ever felt. Yukke drove into him so hard it almost, but just almost, hurt. And he couldn’t be happier than he was at that moment, giving himself up completely to the alpha.

It didn’t take long for them to reach their end at their break-neck pace, and Natsu came hard onto his stomach almost at the same time as Yukke came deep inside him, the both of them gasping and then groaning loudly as they were swept away by their orgasm. It was so intense the omega couldn’t even think, hot white flashing before his eyes and his body convulsing as he emptied himself.

When Natsu came to again he was lying on top of the alpha, the knot tying them firmly together, and the alpha’s strong arms held him tight. As the omega stirred, Yukke looked at him and smiled widely.

“Hey babe. I almost got a little worried there, you were so out of it,” he said.

Natsu smiled dazedly. “Mmmm, I’m sooo happy right now. That must have been the best sex of my life,” he yawned, snuggling down on the alpha’s chest.

Yukke laughed softly. “I’m glad,” he said, pressing a kiss to the omega’s hair. Suddenly, Natsu thought of something. He tentatively trailed his hand up to his neck to feel if there was a bite there. He had heard it was very painful, so he guessed he would have noticed, but he wanted to be sure. He didn’t know what to hope for, to be honest, but when he felt the neck a little sore but without bite wounds, he felt a small twinge of disappointment.

“I didn’t bite you,” Yukke said, hesitantly, not sure how the omega would react to what he said. “I had enough self restraint, but it was hard, let me tell you.”

Natsu turned his head to look at him, his eyes uncertain.

“Yukke?” he started, slowly and carefully. “What are we? Really?”

“What do you mean?” The alpha frowned, confused. “I thought we were boyfriends. Are you saying… you want us to break up?”

“What?! No!” The omega was horrified. “ God, no, I want to be yours!” He hesitated a little before he continued. “But… Do you? Wanna break up, I mean?”

Yukke shook his head quickly. “Of course not, what makes you say that? Why would I want to let go of someone as wonderful as you?”

Natsu bit his lip, relieved that the alpha had said no to the question he had been dreading to ask for a while now. Yukke watched him with a concerned frown.

“Why would you think such a thing, babe? Don’t you know how precious you are to me?” he asked.

“But you always look away from me, and you never touch me when we’re at the big house. And I… I get confused. I want you, but I’m not sure what you want. And it scares me a little,” the omega said, almost wanting to bite his tongue to stop the words from coming. What if the alpha got mad and decided they should break up anyway?

But Yukke just sighed and shook his head, looking apologetic.

“Oh baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you or seem like I didn’t want to be with you. I really, really do, I promise. You make me so happy. It’s just that you’re too hot.”

Natsu looked shocked at that. Too hot? What kind of an excuse for being distant was that? Yukke chuckled a little at his expression, and let his fingers trail over the omega’s back softly before he grabbed an ass cheek firmly.

“It’s just that I have to restrain myself around you,” he admitted. “If I don’t, I’ll end up fucking you at the worst times, like bent over the dinner table in front of everyone.”

Natsu couldn’t help giggling at the thought, which he had to admit was kind of hot. He felt relieved now that he knew it wasn’t his fault. At least, not entirely.

“So why didn’t you just fuck me then, if you wanted to so badly?” he asked, still not sure of himself.

“Baby, I… I don’t want you to think this is just about sex. I go crazy when I see you, and I want to fuck you so, so bad, but I want the rest as well. I want all of you. And I thought that maybe if I acted on my desires too much you would get the wrong impression. I told you, I’m not good at this. I’m really sorry if I made you think I didn’t want you.” The alpha’s eyes were filled with remorse. “Will you forgive me?”

“Of course I will! I was just scared. I was afraid you were getting tired of me,” Natsu whispered, incredibly relieved and happy, pressing himself to the alpha’s warm, strong body.

“Never, baby, that could never happen,” Yukke whispered back, holding the omega close, kissing him gently.

They lay close for a while, kissing lazily, before Yukke could finally slip out and they got dressed. The sex had left them famished, and the alpha quickly unpacked lunch for them, his lover fawning over him for his thoughtfulness.

. . . . .

The small omega ran for his life. Branches hit him in the face and tore at his arms as he rushed by, but he didn’t care. Behind him, the sounds of the fight were beginning to fade as he got further away. His chest ached and he was out of breath, and his arm hurt where an alpha had grabbed him hard.

All of a sudden, he felt something snap inside. It was so sudden and violent that he gasped and fell on his knees, tearing his pants and getting a gash in his knee. He lay face down in the moss, panting harshly, trying to understand what had just happened. He was feeling strange and light headed, and also a little sick to the stomach. What had just happened?

And then it hit him. The bond. It was gone. He couldn’t feel his mate anymore, which had to mean he had died. The sensation of emptiness in his chest, where something ought to be, made him confused and a little dazed. A sharp noise somewhere behind him startled him, and he shook his head to snap out of it. He had to run, if he wanted to live. So, nauseated and confused, he got up and started running again.

Chapter Text

The lunch done, Natsu packed their bag. It was slow work, since Yukke found ways of steering him off course with sudden kisses, slaps on his ass or simply by grabbing at the omega’s crotch, earning him a gasp every time. The omega laughed and tried to finish the packing, pretending annoyance but (not so) secretly loving the attention. He was almost done when he found himself pulled back and easily manhandled into a position on his back, the alpha looming over him with a sultry expression in his eyes. He couldn’t stop a completely involuntary whimper of need at the sight of his alpha’s eyes, so filled with lust for him, and a second later he was pinned under Yukke with the alpha’s tongue deep in his mouth. He moaned and threw his arms around his lover’s neck, trying to get as much of the alpha’s touch as possible.

The loud crack of a branch nearby made Yukke look up, breaking the kiss, and Natsu whined, trying to get the alpha’s lips back where they belonged. But then he heard it too. The sounds of someone running through branches, breathing heavily and sobbing. He looked to the alpha anxiously, seeking comfort in his strength. Yukke was tense and alert as he sat back up on his haunches, his hand on Natsu’s shoulder in a warning to stay put and be quiet. They tried to pinpoint the direction of the sound as it got closer, and in a few moments, a figure came stumbling through a bush into the small clearing, stopping in surprise when he saw the two on the ground.

It was an omega, small and very pretty, but covered with blood and bruises. His wild eyes stared at the two, out of breath, and he took in the scene of an omega on his back, held down by an alpha. For a moment, they all froze. And then the omega turned on his heels and darted to the left, trying to run, but his bloody knee gave way at the twist and he fell. He scrambled immediately to get up, but by now, Yukke had snapped out of it and threw himself after the omega, catching him around the waist.

He was not prepared for the cry that followed, or the panicked fight to get loose. Eventually he took advantage of his strength and grabbed the omega’s arms and legs, bundling him up and holding him down on the moss. The omega whined in terror, fighting to get away, but he had no chance against the alpha.

“Hey, take it easy, I’m not gonna hurt you,” Yukke tried, but the omega’s response was to try to bite the arm that held him down.

“Let go of him.”

Natsu’s voice from behind stilled the omega somewhat, shocked eyes staring at him, and Yukke threw a glance over his shoulder. “He’s gonna run,” he said.

Natsu smiled at the omega before he sat down next to Yukke and gave the alpha a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m sure if we ask nicely, he’ll stay and talk to us. And if he doesn’t want to, we shouldn’t force him. He’s clearly scared of you, so why don’t you take your alpha self and go fix our bag and blanket and I’ll stay here and talk to him?”

Yukke looked skeptical, but shrugged and let go of the small body. He got up and went over to pack the last of the bag, eyeing the omegas a little from a distance.

The smaller omega stared from Natsu to the alpha and back, not sure if he had actually seen an omega telling an alpha what to do, as well as the alpha obeying. He crawled a few feet away before he stopped and stared, as Natsu made no move to follow.

“Hi,” Natsu said softly. “Are you ok? You look like you could use some help.”

The omega swallowed, still panting harshly. He was extremely dirty, and almost every piece of skin that could be seen was covered in bruises or scratches. He was incredibly thin, and since he was so short he looked even tinier, almost like a child. The big dark eyes were wide open in terror, glancing at Yukke every few seconds, and Natsu felt a stab in the heart at seeing the boy’s distress.

“He’s not gonna hurt you, I swear. And if he does, I’ll kick his ass,” he said and grinned at Yukke’s huff. Still, the alpha made no move to come and punish Natsu for speaking out of turn, and the soft and tender look he threw at Natsu behind his back made the smaller omega breathe a little easier.

“What’s your name?” Natsu asked, trying to ease the omega into relaxing. “I’m Natsu and that’s my boyfriend Yukke.”

The omega’s eyes snapped to him at the word “boyfriend”, and he looked incredulous as he glanced between them. Having heard Koichi’s and Shinya’s stories of how life was out here, Natsu understood where he was coming from, and rushed to explain.

“Where we live, no omega is forced to anything they don’t want. I know from others we’ve met that’s not the case out here, but with us, it’s a serious offense for an alpha to do something to an omega that he doesn’t want to do.” He smiled at Yukke, who looked back and threw him a quick kiss, before he continued. “I’m with Yukke because I want to, not because he’s made me. I’m with him because I love him,” he explained.

The sudden quiet behind him made him turn his head. Yukke was staring at him, lips slightly parted. That’s when Natsu realized what he’d said, and that he’d never said the actual words out loud before. His face suddenly turned beet red, and he started stammering. “I… I mean…” He didn’t get much further before Yukke was at his side, kissing him tenderly. When he finally pulled away, Natsu’s eyes were clouded over, and he was breathing heavily.

“I love you too,” Yukke whispered, giving Natsu another sweet kiss before he got back up and moved away from the two omegas again, leaning against a tree on the other side of the clearing as he waited.

Natsu closed his eyes and licked his lips as if to catch the taste of his lover, before he turned back to the omega, still blushing a little. “It’s… It’s pretty new,” he explained, meeting the omega’s doubtful gaze. He took a deep breath to shake it off and got back to the task at hand.

“Anyway, we have a nurse who could help you look at your wounds,” he continued, smiling reassuringly at the omega. “And we have food, so you won’t have to starve anymore.”

The omega slowly got up, eyeing Yukke warily but a little less frantic now. He looked at Natsu and hesitated, before he finally spoke.

“Are you the ones on the island people talk about?”

Natsu looked up in surprise, and in the corner of his eye he saw Yukke suddenly stand at attention. “We are,” he said slowly, assessing the omega’s reaction to the words. The young man looked suddenly anxious.

“Then you have to go. They are coming!” he said, suddenly scared again.

“Who is coming?” Natsu asked, hearing Yukke move behind him.

“The alphas. A gang of them. They heard about you and came to take everything they could.” The omega looked really scared now, watching Yukke nervously as the alpha came closer, looking at him fiercely.

“Where are they now? How many? What are their plans?” he said roughly, and the omega flinched and took a few steps back. Natsu frowned and waved the alpha away, and he grudgingly took a step back, still eyeing the omega.

“I’m sorry if he seems scary, he doesn’t mean to. It’s just very important we know everything we can so we can protect ourselves. You understand, right?”

The omega looked at him and finally nodded, holding his arms around his frail body as if for protection. “I’m not sure how many. Maybe ten or fifteen. I didn’t see all of them. Back the way I came, maybe half an hour of running. But they were busy fighting when I left, so I don’t think they’re coming right now,” he said, his voice shaky and weak.

Yukke threw the bag up on his back quickly. “We’ve got to get back immediately and warn the others. Come on baby, we need to hurry,” he said.

Natsu looked a little nervous at the news himself, but still turned back at the omega and reached out his hand. “Do you want to come? You’ll be safe there, I promise. We’ll take good care of you.”

The omega hesitated, but eventually took a step forward and tentatively reached out his hand to take Natsu’s. The older omega smiled and squeezed his hand reassuringly before he turned to Yukke and nodded, the alpha quickly taking the lead back towards the boat. They moved as fast as they could without making too much noise in case the other alphas were nearer than they thought. The young omega trailed after Natsu, holding his hand. Sometimes he stumbled, and the older omega did his best to give him support. It was clear that the boy had no energy reserves left, his thin body exhausted from the run. Natsu glanced at his neck, seeing two rows of scars, and he bit his lip a little before he asked.

“Your mate… Is he with the other alphas?”

“Dead,” the omega said. “Just an hour ago or so.”

“I’m sorry,” Natsu said, squeezing the little hand in his.

“Don’t be,” the omega said quietly, looking down at his feet.

Natsu looked at him, concerned. “Did he bite you against your will?” he asked softly, and felt his heart clench and tears fill his eyes at the smaller omega’s short nod. Yukke turned and looked at the two. He had clearly heard the conversation, and his jaws were clenched as his gaze met his boyfriend’s.

They were by the boat in just over twenty minutes, their fast pace getting them there quickly. The omega looked hesitant again as Yukke started fixing the boat and untying the ropes. He took a step back and pulled his hand away, clearly not sure if he could trust them. Natsu looked at him softly, but made no move to grab at the omega.

“It’s ok,” he said calmly. “I swear you’ll be ok with us.”

The omega fidgeted, clearly having a hard time making up his mind. Yukke got in the boat, holding it so Natsu could climb in. “We need to get going now,” he said, looking at the omega, who hesitated for another few seconds before he suddenly made up his mind, quickly getting in the boat. No sooner had he gotten in before Yukke turned the boat around and started rowing towards the island. Natsu helped the omega sit down, putting his arm around his shoulders reassuringly. He felt the small body lean against his, and was shocked at how incredibly thin the boy was.

. . . . .

Aki and Hazuki were on the shore, working on building a bridge they claimed would make it easier for them to get in and out of the boat. Koichi was watching them. There was no doubt in his mind that the bridge was just an excuse to stay at the shore as lookouts, but he couldn’t get his mate to admit it. But there were other things more necessary than a bridge – cottages for example, and the omega was suspiciously watching the alphas to see how much they actually worked and how much time they spent looking out over the lake. He also noted that the poles they put down for bridge pillars also could work as a defense, blocking access to the shore other than through a narrow corridor.

He saw the smaller boat returning with Yukke and Natsu, but it took a minute before he realized there was one more person in the boat than expected. A small omega sat leaned against Natsu, and Yukke was rowing faster than usual. The two alphas seemed to notice as well, as they stood up and watched the boat approaching. Aki caught the rope Yukke threw them, and as soon as the boat was pulled in, Yukke jumped out.

“We need to warn the others. We think an attack is coming,” he said urgently, the people on the shore gasping in surprise. Yukke helped Natsu out of the boat but let the omega help their newcomer, stepping back without touching him. Koichi threw one look at the young boy and understood immediately. He jumped off the log he was sitting on and made his way up to the two omegas while he waved the alphas off. Hazuki got it immediately but Aki frowned in confusion before he stepped aside, and the alphas started talking animatedly between themselves about the new information.

“Hi there,” Koichi said, smiling at the new omega. “I’m Koichi. What’s your name?”

The omega barely looked at him, too busy eyeing the alphas warily. Natsu and Koichi glanced at each other in understanding. Koichi put his hand on the omega’s shoulder, carefully guiding him away up towards the big house.

“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up and checked out, and make sure you get something to eat,” Natsu said softly. The omega let them slowly lead him away, but his whole body was tense and he was nervously looking around for signs of aggressive alphas. He flinched when Yukke ran past them on his way to the big house to warn the others. When they reached their little village, the place was already milling with people, omegas and alphas alike, hurrying to prepare weapons and defenses.

The omega stared at everyone, apparently overwhelmed with all the people and the surroundings, and he leaned heavily on Koichi and Natsu as they led him up to the big house and into the dining room. Shinya and Yo-Ka were in a corner, helping Tatsurou rip a sheet into makeshift bandages. But the new omega only had eyes for Toshiya, Kaoru, Kai, Yukke, Satochi and Kyo. The alphas were at a corner table, staring at a map of the island, pointing at various points where they should put lookouts and what they could do to strengthen their defenses. They looked stern, faces a little grim as they lay out the plans. The omega started breathing heavily, almost panicking at the sight of so many alphas, and with angry looks on their faces.

He whined involuntarily, trying to back out of the room, and when the alphas looked up at him he turned to run. Only to stop dead in his tracks, eyes wide as he stared at Shinya.

“Nii-san?” he whispered.

Chapter Text

The room was quiet for a second while the omegas stared at each other, before Shinya suddenly rose and dropped the bandages he was holding onto the table.

“Hikaru?” he exclaimed, running up to the small omega and wrapping his arms around him. Hikaru was still in shock, but he eventually wrapped his arms around the older omega, leaning into his embrace. Seeing his friend finally broke the dam, and he started crying, clutching at him.

“Shinya? Do you know this guy?” Toshiya asked, coming over to the pair. He stopped quickly when Hikaru flinched and moved away, his hands still in a firm grip on the older omega’s arm.

“It’s ok, Toshiya’s nice,” Shinya said soothingly. “You don’t have to worry here, you have my word that it’s safe. This is my boyfriend, it’s his island.” He put his arm around the omega again, pulling him into his arms, and Hikaru let himself be held, slowly relaxing in Shinya’s embrace. The omega turned to Toshiya and smiled weakly.

“This is Hikaru, the omega I told you about who got bitten and helped me escape.” He looked down at Hikaru in his arms. “Can you tell me what happened to the alpha that bit you?” he asked, refusing to use the word mate as if the bite had been a good thing. Hikaru was still crying, but he nodded and cleared his throat a little before he answered weakly.

“He’s dead. The other alphas killed him in a fight.”

“What was the fight about?” Toshiya asked gently, keeping his distance so he wouldn’t scare the omega more than necessary. Hikaru still flinched, but Shinya’s comforting arms calmed him enough to dare answer.

“Me,” he whispered.

“You?” Toshiya looked confused, but Shinya guessed what the omega was going to say, and his stomach churned at the thought. Hikaru confirmed his fears.

“One of the other alphas wanted me, he said he didn’t care I was mated, he could… he could fuck me anyway.” His voice was weak, and he was sobbing again, Shinya caressing his back gently. “And he grabbed me, hurt me, but then my… the alpha that bit me… he got angry and said the other should stop damaging his property. He said I was his and that the other alpha should piss off, and they started fighting, and no one looked at me anymore, so I ran. And then… I felt the bond snap,” he mumbled, unconsciously rubbing his hand on his chest.

Shinya felt a tear run down his cheek and he held the smaller omega tightly. Toshiya looked furious, and Hikaru whimpered a little and pressed himself to Shinya. The alpha suddenly realized what he was doing, and apologized quickly.

“I’m sorry, I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at the assholes that hurt you. No one’s gonna hurt you here, ok?”

Hikaru looked unsure, looking to Shinya for support.

“Tell you what,” Toshiya said, “we’ll make sure you always have at least one more omega with you, ok? So you’ll never have to be alone with an alpha again. How does that sound?”

The small omega glanced between Shinya and Toshiya before he finally nodded, hugging Shinya tightly. The older omega gave him a quick kiss to the hair, before he smiled gratefully at his lover.

“I’ll stay with him, and I’ll make sure there’s always someone there if I can’t be,” he said, and Toshiya nodded. Then the alpha looked back to Hikaru, smiling softly.

“Can you tell me what you know about the alphas that are on their way?” he asked, and the other alphas stirred, listening intently.

Hikaru nodded, and Shinya guided him to a table to sit down. Toshiya took a chair on the other side of the table, far enough away for the omega to feel relatively safe. While they were settling down, Shinya waved at Yo-Ka to bring Hikaru some food, and the omega slipped out into the kitchen quickly.

Slowly, Hikaru told the story as far as he knew. Ten, maybe fifteen alphas, he hadn’t seen them all as he was held apart and often bound. A handful of scared and beaten omegas that Hikaru was sure wouldn’t fight. They were a few hours away up the road when Hikaru left, and he didn’t know how far they had come now, but when he ran away they weren’t packed yet. They were three different groups that had merged into one, but the group still held tension between the alphas. The group had heard about the island from people that had met a hunting party but hadn’t been invited to join them.

Toshiya nodded at that, he could see how news had spread. There were people they had met and refused because they didn’t support the values of the island. These were often the violent types, the ones who saw omegas as property, and they were rarely told anything of value before they were dismissed. However, it wasn’t impossible that some had snuck after the hunting party and seen them take off in the boat. That they had a good place here on the island was obvious due to their physique – they were among the few After who were not starving.

He sighed before he got up to rejoin the others at the planning table. Before he left he made sure to thank Hikaru, just as Yo-Ka came back with a plate of warm food for the omega. When the plate was put before him, Hikaru just stared in disbelief. He looked at Shinya with wide eyes, as if to ask if it was ok for him to eat.

“It’s yours,” Shinya smiled, “eat as much as you like. Try to eat slowly though, or you will have a stomach ache.”

The small omega made a small sound, still not sure if this was actually real, but then carefully stretched out a hand and grabbed the spoon to dig into the stew before him. When no one stopped him, he took a spoonful and put it in his mouth, feeling the warmth spread through his mouth and stomach as he chewed and swallowed. He looked up to Shinya who smiled and caressed his hair, and all of a sudden he started crying again. Yo-Ka stared at the boy, alarmed, but Shinya just put his arms around his shoulders and held him tight.

“I know,” he whispered, remembering how overwhelming it had been that first time he was given food at the island, after nearly starving to death. ”I know how you feel. Everything will be ok now, I promise.”

They sat close, Hikaru eating his food reverently, until the bowl was completely empty and the omega had finally stopped crying. Shinya carefully pulled his hair behind his ears, looking at the pretty face that was all scratched and bruised.

“Come on,” he said calmly. “Let’s go get you checked out. Our nurse can help you with your wounds.”

Hikaru nodded gratefully and let Shinya lead him to Tatsurou’s room, Yo-Ka tagging along for extra support. Tatsurou was there, arranging the bandages they had made just in case. When he turned to look at Hikaru, however, the omega backed up into Yo-Ka who was behind him, fear in his eyes once again at the sight of another alpha. It took some prodding from Shinya and Yo-Ka to get him to relax enough to step into the room, and he blatantly refused to undress in front of the alpha, no less let Tatsurou touch him. Eventually, they reached the compromise that he undressed but that Tatsurou stayed on the other side of the room, Yo-Ka in the middle between them, and that all the touching that was needed was done by Shinya.

They all gasped when Hikaru pulled his clothes off, leaving only the underwear. The small omega was completely covered in bruises in various stages of blues, greens, yellows and purples. He had several cuts here and there, and only the scratches on his arms, face and knee were new. Shinya swallowed hard and Yo-Ka started crying when he saw the extremely thin, frail body. Tatsurou looked about ready to murder someone when he saw the omega flinch in pain a little for every move he made, but got a hold of himself quickly and started giving Shinya instructions on how to clean the wounds and put on bandages. When they had finished, Tatsurou looked at the small omega with sympathy in his eyes, carefully keeping his distance.

“I know this is hard for you,” he said softly, “and I understand this might be too much for you right now. But I am guessing they hurt you in more ways than we can see now. Am I right?”

The omega glanced at him and looked down quickly, not answering. The shivering was enough to let Tatsurou know he was right, though, and he closed his eyes for a second before he spoke again.

“Ok, if I leave the room, would you consider letting Shinya help you clean your wounds?”

Hikaru was quiet for a long time, looking down on the floor, but then he nodded faintly. Tatsurou smiled without joy, and looked over to the other omega.

“Yo-Ka, could you get him some clean underwear? Shinya, here’s what to do…”

As soon as instructions were given and Yo-Ka was back with a clean pair of underwear and some other clean clothes that were all much too big for the tiny boy, Tatsurou left. Shinya locked the door behind him, so that only the three omegas were left in the room.

. . . . .

Tatsurou looked grim when he came out into the dining room. The alphas were about done with the planning and had sent scouts to all the places they deemed were easy enough to access from the water. Thankfully, most of the shoreline was filled with heavy shrubbery that leaned into the water, making it impossible to land a boat there. That left only four possible landing sites, and the most probable were the usual shore where the boat was or the beach where they used to swim in the summer.

Kai handed out binoculars to a few omegas to bring to the alphas already manning the different landing sites. The alphas around the table looked up as Tatsurou walked up to them, noting his fury.

“That bad?” Kaoru asked, watching his lover intently.

“I swear to god, if one of those fuckers gets near enough I’ll shoot him myself,” Tatsurou hissed. The others looked a little surprised at the nurse’s words. Tatsurou was not one to ever even hint at using violence. That meant what had been done to Hikaru had been really, really bad, and they all felt a surge of fear at the thought of that happening to their own loved ones or friends. Kaoru leaned over to press a gentle kiss to Tatsurou’s cheek, pulling him in for a hug, and his lover leaned his head on his shoulder, breathing deeply.

A few minutes later, Yo-Ka came into the dining room, walking to the kitchen to get more hot water. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and he was sobbing wildly. Toshiya looked after him, and then back to Tatsurou questioningly.

“He’s too scared for me to touch him,” Tatsurou explained between clenched jaws, “so Shinya did it while I directed him from across the room. But I left the room for the most… intimate bits.”

They all connected the dots, and the anger flared up again for all of them. There was no way in hell these guys were getting to the island.

Chapter Text

“When did we get this many binoculars?” Koichi asked his lover as he handed them over down by the beach. Hazuki sighed and shook his head, trying to avoid the question. He should have known that wouldn’t work on his mate. Koichi pouted and glared at him as he very pointedly stood in front of the alpha, hands on his hips. It would have been cute if the subject hadn’t been so serious, Hazuki thought.

“Baby, please. Not now.”

The glare didn’t lessen one bit, but the pouting got even worse. Hazuki gazed at the omega for a moment, seeing that his mate was scared behind his defiant stance, and he relented, nodding towards Hiro who was working with Ruka a few meters away.

“Fine. We gathered some stuff and started preparing, just in case, after Hiro, Satochi and the others came. We hoped we’d never need it, but better safe than sorry.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Koichi asked, his bottom lip shivering. Hazuki reached out and pulled his mate close, hating to see him scared like this.

“We didn’t want to worry you and make you scared of something that might never happen,” he explained and kissed the omega’s hair soothingly. “But it’s good we prepared, because we have a plan ready now when it’s needed. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you babe, I just didn’t want you to worry.”

“I knew something was up though, and it was even scarier not to know what,” Koichi whispered, clinging to his alpha’s chest. “I’m not stupid you know.”

“I know you’re not, far from it. I’m so sorry. I’ll tell you everything from now on, ok?”

Koichi nodded and dried a single tear from his cheek, those big eyes directed at Hazuki. The alpha felt his heart wrench. There’s no way I will ever let them get their hands on him. Never.

Koichi stepped back to let the alpha resume his guard duties, but Hazuki pulled him back in for a hug and a quick but tender kiss before he let the omega go. Ruka and Hiro kept their eyes away from the pair, pretending not to notice their discussion. When Koichi left them, Hiro was keeping his eyes on the lake while Ruka and Hazuki cut down small trees and pulled them out into the water, building a barrier of branches to make landing a boat difficult.

. . . . .

Shinya and Yo-Ka stayed with Hikaru all afternoon, telling the omega of the island and its people to try to make him relax. Soon, the omega was yawning, exhausted by the day’s events. Yo-Ka offered to put him up in his room, he had a good sized bed and slept alone in one of the smaller rooms. Hikaru was hesitant to leave Shinya, but quickly changed his mind when he realized his friend shared his bed with an alpha. Shinya came with them up to the room and helped put Hikaru to bed, and left so Yo-Ka could close the door.

The lock clicked behind Shinya as he walked down the hallway. He was deep in thought, trying to not let the guilt for leaving Hikaru behind that night consume him, but it was hard not to blame himself when he saw the omega’s beaten body. Just before he reached the stairs, he lifted his head and glanced into the room across the hallway, the door only open a smidgen. Guilt of a different kind hit him at what he saw.

Cazqui sat on his bed, his head in his hands, softly crying. He was apparently trying to be quiet, but the shaking shoulders were heartbreaking to watch through the crack in the door. Shinya could wager a guess at what the omega was crying about, and he felt himself crumble inside. He was part of the reason for this, and he couldn’t take any more guilt right now. So, he tentatively went up to the door to knock, Cazqui jumping at the sudden noise and quickly drying his face before he told the omega to come in.

Shinya closed the door behind him, before he sat down on the bed a little awkwardly, fidgeting with his sleeves and looking down on his hands. Cazqui didn’t say anything, waiting for Shinya to say his piece with an anxious look on his face.

“I… It’s been kind of hard for me to let go of him completely,” Shinya said finally, his voice so low his friend could barely hear him. Cazqui felt his heart speed up and a nervous jolt go through him at the words, but he still kept his quiet, waiting for Shinya to finish at his own pace.

“And I know I have no claim over him anymore, but it’s still… difficult to imagine him with anyone else. It’s not anything to do with you, I hope you know that. It’s just…” Shinya blushed as the words trailed off. He took a few deep breaths before he continued. “But I want you to be happy. Both of you. And I think you would be good for each other. So… I don’t know if means anything to you, maybe you think I’m being stupid because it’s not really my place to say anything, but… Anyway, I want you to know I give my blessing. If you want it.”

For a second Cazqui just sat there. And then his breath hitched, and he started crying again, violently. Shinya was horrified – what had he done? But the crying omega soon threw his arms around his friend, leaning his head on his shoulder. Shinya stroked the other’s hair as he cried, and eventually the tears stopped. Cazqui sat back again, looking a little embarrassed at the outburst.

“I’m sorry, I made your shoulder all wet,” he stammered, his voice hoarse from crying. “But I’m just so relieved. Thank you, Shinya. I needed to hear this from you. I know what you’ve been through, and I didn’t want to hurt you, but I… I want him so much. Like I’ve never wanted anyone before.”

Shinya felt a little sting in his heart at the words, but ignored it, smiling at his friend.

“Then go get him,” he said, squeezing the omega’s hand. Cazqui smiled back, his eyes puffy and red from crying.

“I don’t even know if he’s interested,” he said nervously.

“Well you won’t know until you ask him,” Shinya said, feeling a little better about himself now that the guilt had lessened a bit. He would just have to learn to live with this, and if he was going to see Satochi with someone else, it couldn’t be with a better person than Cazqui. He reached over and gave his friend a quick hug, before he got up from the bed and let himself out to go find Toshiya. He felt a very distinct need to be kissed by his lover right about now.

. . . . .

Yo-Ka locked the door behind Shinya and then turned to the bed, watching the small omega snuggle down under the sheets in a warm, soft bed, his eyes wide in wonder. Yo-Ka smiled widely at him.

“Feel good?”

Hikaru raised his head and smiled to the omega, the first real smile Yo-Ka had seen him give all day. He nodded happily and pulled the fluffy duvet around him.

“So are you sure it’s ok if we sleep in the same bed?” Yo-Ka asked, not wanting his new friend to feel uncomfortable in any way. Hikaru nodded and scooted over, making room.

“No alpha’s getting in, right?” he asked, glancing at the door.

“Don’t worry, it’s locked from the inside, no one is getting in,” Yo-Ka assured him as he crawled into bed and settled next to the omega. He marveled at how tiny Hikaru really was, and swallowed as he remembered the marks he had seen on the other’s body. “You’re safe with me,” he added, reaching out to gently caress his bedmate’s cheek. Hikaru blushed a little, but smiled faintly. A big yawn came next, and it didn’t take many minutes before he was off into dreamland, Yo-Ka watching the bruised face for a long while before he too could fall asleep.

. . . . .

Nothing happened that night, and the following morning everything was still quiet. They ate breakfast in shifts, always having alphas keeping watch and omegas running between as messengers. Yo-Ka and Hikaru slept in, the small omega needing his rest. When they finally came down for breakfast, most of the omegas were gathered in the dining room, anxiously waiting for news. Hikaru made eyes at the sheer number of omegas, and hid shyly against Yo-Ka’s shoulder when he was introduced to everyone. When Yo-Ka went to get them food, the small omega quickly latched on to Shinya instead and leaned into him.

His face was even worse looking today, the scratches still red and the bruises going over into a yellowish purple. The omegas didn’t comment, but they all looked horrified and did everything they could to assure Hikaru that he was safe here and that he could always turn to any of them if he needed anything at all. When Masa came into the room, Tora in his arms, Hikaru gaped in shock. He tentatively reached out his hand to the baby, who grabbed his finger happily, gurgling and drooling all over his bearer.

“Is it the first baby you’ve seen After?” Masa asked gently, and Hikaru nodded wordlessly. Tora seemed to both fascinate and scare him, and he reluctantly pulled his hand back when Yo-Ka returned with their breakfast.

“There are four babies here now,” Koichi explained. “And Tsu’s so pregnant I’m scared he’ll burst like a balloon any day now.”

“Hey! Say that to my face, punk!” came Tsuzuku’s voice from the door, and they all laughed as they turned around to watch the omega slowly make his way across the room, falling exhaustedly into a chair at the table. He groaned and held his belly for a second. “But sometimes I think he might kick his way through,” he joked, stroking the baby bump.

Hikaru stared at the newcomer, eyeing his belly, and Tsuzuku soon noticed.

“Hi there,” he said. “Hikaru, right? I’m Tsuzuku. And this here,” he grinned and pointed at his belly with a cheeky glance at Ruki across the table, “is Ruki Two.”

Ruki reached out his tongue at his friend. “You should name him Ruki, so he’s got someone to look up to as he grows up!” he quipped, and Tsuzuku laughed.

“I doubt Reo would let me,” he grinned. “Besides, I think Kou would be a better role model.”

Koichi beamed at his friend, while Ruki sniffed and huffed a little at that.

“Where is Reo by the way?” Koichi asked. “Shouldn’t he be with you in case the baby comes?”

“He’s by the lake, helping out as long as he can. He promised he’d come the second it starts,” Tsuzuku said with a smile. “But you can’t honestly think he’s the type to back down and stay out of a fight if he thinks someone is threatening what is his.”

The others chuckled a little, Hikaru looking around a little uncertain. Shinya noticed his nervousness and realized their words could be misinterpreted.

“Reo is Tsuzuku’s mate,” he explained. “And he’s a little possessive and protective of his lover, especially now with the baby on he way. He’s nice, he just looks strict. You don’t have to worry.”

Tsuzuku looked at Hikaru, smiling widely. “Oh, I just let him think he makes the decisions, and when it really matters I’ll say my piece and he relents and does what I want anyway.” He smiled a little at the small omega’s shocked expression, and was about to say something more when Tatsurou came in. The nurse made his way over to the omegas, making sure that he gave Hikaru some space. The omega curled up closer to Shinya as he watched the alpha warily, and his friend put his arm around him for comfort.

Tatsurou crouched down next to Tsuzuku, glancing questioningly at him and waiting for a nod before he touched the belly carefully, feeling for the baby’s position. After a few moments he stood back up and smiled down at the omega.

“He hasn’t turned yet, so you should still have at least a week or two left I think,” he said, chuckling a little at the omega’s groan.

“Can’t you make him hurry up?” Tsuzuku complained. “He’s heavy and my back is killing me.”

“I’m sorry, you’ll just have to wait until he’s ready to come out,” Tatsurou grinned, and snickered a little as the omega made a face at the news. “Let me know if the pain gets any worse or something feels wrong, ok?”

Tsuzuku nodded, and Tatsurou smiled and went back to prepare the sickroom for the eventuality someone would get hurt. Masa patted his friend’s shoulder, laughing a little.

“At least you get to have your kid in a bed instead of on a dirty floor in the woods like me,” he smiled.

“Yeah, thank god for that. I was so damn scared when I realized I was pregnant. We were at this pharmacy, looking for medicine, and Reo found some suppressants for me. And I suddenly realized I should have had my heat two weeks ago,” he said and shuddered at the memory. “I thought I was doomed, especially since that place we were looking for turned out to be burned to the ground. Even Reo was worried, I could see it on his face even though he pretended everything was ok. Thank god this place didn’t turn out to be burnt as well.”

The others nodded, the mood suddenly more solemn as the thought of what could happen once the attack came went through their heads. Hikaru shivered in Shinya’s arms, and Yo-Ka quickly sat down on his other side, caressing his hair in comfort. They all slowly settled down again, everyone wrapped up in their own thoughts as the waiting continued.

. . . . .

It was past noon when Kei came running in to tell everyone the alphas had been spotted on the shore. The few alphas that were not on shift quickly got to their posts, leaving only Hiro and Aki to be a last line of defense at the house. They still had no idea if the other alphas had an easy way of getting across the lake or not, and they took no chances.

The omegas were all supposed to stay at the house except for one per landing site, who would act as a runner. Kei went back to the boats, and Tomo, Nao and Daichi were already assigned to the other three possible locations.

Koichi and Ruki couldn’t keep from following the alphas down to the boat, the most likely location for an attack right now, and they both completely ignored their alphas’ frowns at them. They watched as the alphas on the shore continued to fortify their defenses, while at least two always were on lookout at any given time. The unknown alphas on the other shore had stopped there, probably trying to figure out how to reach the island best.

“16,” Satochi said, taking down the binoculars and looking over at the others. “I count 16. Anyone else see anything different?”

“I get 16 too,” Ruka said, watching the other shore through the binoculars. “It’s hard to see at this distance, but I think 3 are omegas. They are smaller, and stay close together.”

Satochi nodded. “I think you’re right, but let’s plan as if there are 16 alphas just to be sure.”

The rest of them nodded, keeping on with the work. They tried to keep a good balance between working to get ready but not to the point of exhaustion, so they would still have enough strength to fight in case the alphas found a way to get over to them. After a few hours, Koichi got bored watching as nothing happened, and his stomach started growling. When Yuki, Cazqui and Natsu came down with lunch for them, Koichi and Ruki helped distribute the food.

Koichi brought Hazuki his dinner, snuggling up to the alpha while he could. Hazuki held him close with his left arm while he ate with his right hand, preferring to have a difficult time eating than letting go of his mate. Koichi leaned into his chest and breathed in his comforting scent, feeling nervous and on edge by all the waiting. He glanced around and found Ruki equally plastered to Kyo, and was Cazqui actually talking to Satochi? Yes, he was. Finally, Koichi thought, before he turned his attention back to Hazuki. The alpha was done eating, and licked his fingers before he leaned down to kiss Koichi deeply.

“Go back to the house now and stay there,” he said, leaving no room for debate with his serious tone. “I don’t want you down here in case something happens.”

“But…” Koichi started, but a kiss cut him off before he got any further.

“No,” Hazuki murmured as he pulled his lips away and nuzzled his mate’s hair. “You are going to the big house. Right now. And you will stay there.” His eyes clearly stated that the omega had no choice in the matter, and Koichi felt his heart flutter as the alpha took charge. God, Hazuki was sexy when he ordered him around like that. And this was so not the time to be thinking about stuff like that, he realized, swallowing hard before he stood on tiptoe, throwing his arms around Hazuki’s neck and mewling for a kiss. Hazuki kissed him again, passionately, before he stepped back from the omega.

“Now go,” he said, pointing up the path.

“Be careful,” Koichi whispered, anxiously meeting his lover’s gaze, and at Hazuki’s small smile and nod he finally, hesitantly, turned his back to walk up to the house. The other omegas joined him, Ruki catching up after a while, his passionate goodbye to Kyo making the other alphas half amused, half envious.

Once they had gotten far enough away for the alphas not to hear them, Koichi made sure he directed his steps so he was next to Cazqui, letting the other omegas get some head start.

“So, you talked to Satochi finally! What did you guys talk about?” he asked.

Cazqui went furiously red, trying to hide his face in his scarf. “We just talked about all that’s happening, that’s all,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, well, it’s a start. I’m glad you did something, seeing you pine for him was physically painful to watch,” Koichi teased.

Cazqui reached out his tongue, but couldn’t help giggling at that. They walked in silence for a while.

“Shinya came and talked to me,” Cazqui finally said quietly.

“Oh?” Koichi’s voice was soft as he put his hand on Cazqui’s shoulder. “And what did he say?”

“He… He said it was hard for him, but… that he gave me his blessing if I wanted it.”

Koichi smiled. “See? I told you he would.”

“Mmm,” Cazqui nodded. He was quiet for a few more moments before he hesitantly spoke again. “But what if it turns out Satochi doesn’t like me?”

Koichi sighed. “Well, then at least you’ve tried. And you can’t go around worrying about that. Just talk to him, be around him as much as you can, and try to show him what an amazing guy you are, and he’ll fall at your feet in no time at all.”

“Do you really think he will?” Cazqui sounded doubtful and hopeful at the same time, and Koichi smiled.

“Yes, I really do. Now, come on, we’re almost at the house. Let’s go see if Ruki Two has kicked his way out yet.”

Cazqui laughed, and the two omegas made their way up the stairs together.

. . . . .

Hikaru watched everything nervously from a corner. As the evening progressed, they changed shifts, new omegas taking the places of the runners. Hiro and Aki was replaced by Reo and Reika, who reported that the alphas at the beaches were resting in shifts with someone always on guard. They expected a quiet night though, as they had no indication the unknown alphas had figured out a way to get to the island yet.

Reo came up to Tsuzuku’s chair the second he came in the door, leaning down to give him a hug and a chaste kiss, before he crouched beside him and caressed the big belly. The baby kicked and Reo laughed delightedly, earning himself a glare from his groaning mate.

“This is all your fault,” Tsuzuku pouted as he groaned again at another kick. “I bet he’s gonna be as stubborn as you!”

Reo just smiled and kissed him again before he got up and took his post. Hikaru watched their quibble from a distance. Reo looked very stern, and from what the others had said, he had expected him to treat Tsuzuku roughly. After all, wasn’t that the default mode for a possessive alpha? So he was surprised at the tenderness of Reo’s kisses and caresses, and the love he saw in Tsuzuku’s eyes when he watched his mate go stand by the door, looking out over the village.

Yo-Ka and Shinya had stayed by the omega’s side all day, and if one of them went to fix something, the other always stayed. Hikaru was eternally grateful for the support. At the moment, he was sitting on a bench, leaning into Yo-Ka’s embrace. He was trying to relax, and he did try to listen to the others when they told him he was safe here. But with the alphas he had run from on their way here, and lots of alphas running around, he just couldn’t stop himself from tensing up at every little sound. The only thing that made him feel a little less on edge was when he was held by either of the two omegas.

Subaru had introduced himself and talked for a little while, but he was clearly unnerved by all the bruises, unsure of what to say, and so he eventually left. Hiyuu came and talked to Yo-Ka for a while, addressing Hikaru as well but not demanding any answers, and Hikaru found himself liking the omega instantly. They all seemed nice, and if it hadn’t been for all the alphas it would have felt like paradise here.

Masa, Uruha and Yuuki had brought the babies in with them, not wanting to have the kids sleeping in the cottages at a time like this. They borrowed one of the rooms upstairs as a nursery, and Uruha went about putting Shou and Hiroto to bed. Masa and Yuuki opted for staying downstairs for a while, Tora sleeping soundly in Masa’s arms and Saga still happily waving and slobbering all over a plastic toy in Yuuki’s lap.

Hikaru still couldn’t believe there were actual babies here. And no one even thought it was weird. One of the other omegas in the group had gotten pregnant, and he had been left behind once his belly was so big it was a nuisance for the alphas. He hadn’t been mated, so he didn’t have the pull of the bond to force him to follow them, but Hikaru knew he wouldn’t make it on his own with that belly. The memory made it sting a little extra to see these happy babies, being cared for by both their parents, as well as a whole bunch of other omegas. Shou had tried to climb up into his lap earlier in the evening, and Kuina quickly lifted him off and distracted the boy with a toy when he noticed Hikaru’s panicked look.

He sighed and snuggled closer to Yo-Ka, burying his face in the other’s hair just to escape reality for a moment. He almost smiled when he felt the other’s hands holding him close, caressing him. At least he was warm and safe at this moment, and he tried to enjoy it before it all went away again.

Chapter Text

Toshiya and Kaoru stood looking out over the lake. Darkness had fallen, and the alphas on the other side had built a huge fire.

“They’re trying to show us they’re not scared of us,” Toshiya said.

“Yeah. They seem like the type to wanna show off. They’re pretty stupid though,” Kaoru said, meeting Toshiya’s surprised look. He grinned and indicated to the other shore with his head.

“They built a fire that’s too large. First of all, that makes it too hot to be able to sit closely, and their backs will be very cold while their faces are too hot. Secondly, if they had built a smaller fire the wood could have lasted them through the night. They’re never gonna be able to keep a huge fire like that going all night, so I’d say they’ll be pretty damn cold in maybe four hours.”

Toshiya couldn’t help a delighted laugh from leaving his lips.

“Yeah,” he grinned, “that sounds about right. I’d almost say poor them, but no. It’s just stupid.”

They watched the other side for a while, before he added “But they can still hurt us.”

Kaoru nodded, silently, and the rest of their watch went by without any more words being said.

. . . . .

Another night passed. Eventually all the omegas had gone to bed, reluctantly, and when they woke up in the morning the only thing that was different from yesterday was that Reo and Reika had been replaced by Yukke and Toshiya. Shinya and Natsu stayed glued to their lovers’ sides until it was time for the alphas to go and the next shift to start. It was all very tedious and extremely nerve wracking at the same time. It was almost a relief to hear from Ryoga, when he came back from his runner shift, that the alphas on the other beach apparently had started trying to construct two rafts to get over the lake.

It still took forever for anything more to happen. Two days later, when the rafts were beginning to look complete through the binoculars, everyone on the island was tired and worn out from worry and lack of sleep.

Kyo stood on the beach by the boat, glaring at Ruki.

“No. Not a chance. Go back to the house.”

“But Kyo,” Ruki whined, pouting. He had dressed in what was probably his version of what a fighter should wear, but with a decidedly upscale fashion twist. It would have looked ridiculous if the omega hadn’t paired it with his usual haughty and defiant look. His alpha was not impressed, though.

“No, Ruki. You are not fighting with us. I am here to make sure you don’t get into trouble with other alphas, and so I damn well won’t let you stand in the front line of trouble.”

“But I want to help. I can hold my own in a fight, I’m not strong but I’m tough,” Ruki tried, wanting to convince his lover.

“I know you are honey, I’ve felt those nails of yours. But that won’t be enough now. The answer is still no.” Kyo narrowed his eyes at the omega, ignoring the other alphas snickering at their conversation.

“But I wanna be where you are. What if you’re hurt and I’m not there to help you?” Ruki mumbled quietly, suddenly looking down and shuffling his feet. Kyo tilted his head, watching his omega. He realized they were getting to the bottom of this now, the real Ruki showing his face in one of those short, unusual moments. He sighed and took a step forward, pulling his lover into a hug.

“Babe,” he said quietly in his ear. “I’m really happy you care so much about me. But I care even more what happens to you, and there is no way I’m willingly putting you in front of someone who could hurt you. Remember when I told you that I was the one to decide what you could get away with? Well, you’re not getting away with this.”

Ruki sniffed and hid his face against his alpha’s shoulder, and Kyo realized to his surprise that the omega was actually crying.

“I’m scared,” Ruki whispered finally.

“I know, but I’ll keep you safe and come back to you after. I promise.” Kyo held his lover tight, kissing his hair and caressing his back. “Go take care of Koron, he needs you too now, remember? And we need someone there to protect the other omegas as well. That’s your job now.”

“You’re just pretending I’m tough so I will leave now, aren’t you?” Ruki said, lifting his eyes at Kyo suspiciously. The alpha smiled affectionately at him.

“Only a little bit. You’re the toughest person I know, baby, that’s why I love you. Just not in the ‘fighting off dangerous alphas who are twice as tall and strong as you’ way.”

Ruki huffed, but gave up. His eyes were sincere and still filled with fear when he looked into his alpha’s eyes.

“Don’t get hurt,” he whispered, flinging his arms around the alpha’s neck and stealing a long tender kiss.

Kyo smiled and kissed him back, caressing his cheek, before he let go and slapped the omegas ass gently. “I won’t. Now go, get that gorgeous little butt of yours up to the big house.”

Ruki pouted and lingered a little, having trouble taking his hands off of his lover, but eventually he left, looking back over his shoulder until he was out of sight of the beach. Kyo sighed and turned back to the shore, raising one eyebrow questioningly at the alphas looking his way.

“What?” he asked heatedly, and everyone suddenly seemed very busy, looking at anything but Kyo.

. . . . .

Natsu snuck out to go see Yukke at around ten on the second day. He hadn’t really been able to see his lover more than in passing after their amazing date had been so rudely interrupted, and he was aching for his touch. Today the alpha was stationed at one of the less likely places for an attack. Most of their gang was posted down on the two beaches facing the raft builders, but two alphas and an omega were still holding the fort at the other two possible landing sites. Yukke and Satochi stood talking quietly, eyes on the lake at all times, and Cazqui sat on a small boulder trying to hide that he was admiring Satochi from behind when Natsu arrived.

“Is anything wrong? Are they coming?” Yukke said tensely as soon as he spotted his lover, but relaxed again when Natsu shook his head.

“Just needed to see you,” the omega mumbled, slightly embarrassed. But his lover just smiled and reached out for him, pulling him into a hug.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. I wish I had more time for you. We’ll make sure to have another nice long date after all this is over, ok? And try not to worry too much, we’ll fix this. I know this isn’t easy for you either,” he said softly and kissed his boyfriend gently on his forehead. Natsu looked up, wide-eyed, and Yukke couldn’t help giving him a quick peck on the lips. And then the quick peck got longer and eventually turned into a hungry kiss, the alpha’s hands travelling downward to squeeze his lover’s ass. The pair was panting as Yukke finally broke the kiss and looked guiltily at Satochi.

“Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.”

The alpha threw an amused glance their way, before he turned back to the lake.

“Say, Natsu, do you have any word of what’s happening?”

The omega nodded. “They’re still all there. It seems the rafts are done soon, but they haven’t put them in the water yet so Toshiya says it will take a while.”

Satochi smirked at that. “Cazqui?” he said, the omega jumping at the alpha saying his name.

“Y-yes?” he stammered, quickly coming up to the group.

“Do you think maybe you can take Yukke’s binoculars for a few minutes and help me stand guard for a while?” He grinned as he looked at Yukke and a very embarrassed Natsu. “I think the two lovebirds need some time to… relax… together,” he said, shooting Yukke a meaningful glance.

“Uhm, yeah, of course.” Cazqui had real problems speaking by now, and Natsu looked like he would die of shame. But Yukke smirked.

“Are you sure?” he asked, his arm snaking possessively around Natsu’s waist.

“Yup. If anything happens, me and Cazqui will spot it just as well as you would have. And we promise we won’t tell anyone, right, Cazqui?”

The omega just nodded, stunned. He was going to stand guard, alone, with Satochi. He was too concerned about not screwing up to care that Yukke and Natsu were allowed to sneak off for some alone time. He was getting alone time too, if not as… exiting.

Yukke nodded his thanks to his friend, and quickly pulled Natsu away towards the forest.

“We’ll be quick,” he said over his shoulder, but Satochi just waved his hand and kept his eyes on the job.

Natsu almost stumbled when Yukke pulled him back into the trees, just out of sight of the others. It seemed to be seconds later that he had his back pressed against a tree, his arms around the alpha’s neck, Yukke kissing him aggressively while working on getting their clothes off. Very soon, the omega was hoisted into the air, his legs wrapped around his lover’s hips as Yukke pushed his cock into him. The pace was fast, aiming for a quick release, but it didn’t make it any less amazing, and Yukke had to put a hand over Natsu’s mouth to keep his moans from being heard over the lake.

“Oh god, I need you so bad,” Yukke groaned. “You feel so fucking good on my cock, I want to fuck you every second of every day.”

Natsu moaned even louder at the words, so incredibly turned on by the roughness and urgency of the moment. He felt the tree press against his back, the alpha leaning in and pressing his body against the omega’s as his hips delivered hard, quick thrusts that made Natsu writhe in pleasure. He was close, oh so close, and being wedged between the tree and the alpha gave his cock a delicious friction against the alpha’s stomach. His lover’s scent seemed even stronger than usual, perhaps because they had been so needy for each other. The omega leaned his head back and closed his eyes, just feeling the large alpha cock rubbing against his every sensitive spot, and he had to bite his lip not to scream when those godlike hips sent him over the edge with a final hard thrust.

They rode out their orgasms together, and when they were finally done, Yukke carefully let Natsu down on the ground and supported him until his legs worked again. The alpha leaned his forehead on the omega’s, panting harshly.

“Thank you, beautiful,” he whispered. “I really needed that.”

“So did I,” his lover whispered back, their lips meeting in a tender kiss.

. . . . .

Cazqui had his back to the forest where the couple had disappeared, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t hear them. The two had apparently learned their lesson from last time, the sounds too muffled to be heard further than to the shore. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t hear perfectly every little moan and groan from the lovers. His face was beet red, and he fidgeted, trying to think of something flirty to say to Satochi. But the alpha beat him to it.

“Sounds like they’re having a good time,” he said casually. There was no hint of flirting in his voice, not an ounce of interest in his eyes, just a statement, and it made Cazqui nervous. But this was his chance, and he had to know.

“Yeah,” he said, eyeing the alpha. “They sure love each other.” He paused, willing his pounding heart to be quiet. “So, how about you? Have anyone on the island caught your interest?”

Satochi didn’t even look his way as he shrugged and answered. “Nah, not really. I mean, I’m not really looking for it right now, you know?”

“Mmmm,” the omega whispered, quickly picking up the binoculars so he wouldn’t have to meet the alpha’s eyes. The alpha didn’t say anything else, and Cazqui tried to say something, anything, to make him more interesting and entice the alpha, make him want to look for it. But he just couldn’t form the words. It was as if his own body and mind wouldn’t obey him at all, and it was enough to make him want to cry. He had thought the sexy moaning from the forest would be the perfect way to start a flirty conversation with some heavy connotations. But then Satochi spoke, and his hope died as he heard the words and watched for the signs. And every sign he could read said “not interested”. He finally got past the issue with Shinya, only to stumble when it came to the most important thing. Satochi didn’t want him. He felt the thought burn a hole in him, and he felt like it was hard to breathe.

Very soon, the lovers came back, Natsu a bit wobbly and with leaves in his hair. They both had very relieved and happy grins on their faces, and Yukke leaned down to give Natsu a deep and sexy kiss before he turned him around and sent him up to the house, teasingly smacking the omega’s ass as he went.

Through it all, Cazqui stood with his back to them, trying to contain his emotions. It was just so unfair! Why couldn’t he even bring himself to talk properly to his crush, who by the way didn’t even want him, when Natsu got kissed and groped quite shamelessly by his boyfriend in front of them? Cazqui went back to his old seat again as Yukke retrieved the binoculars and took up his position again, grinning widely at Satochi.

“I owe you so bad for this,” the alpha laughed, and Satochi grinned back.

“I’ll hold you to that,” he smirked.

Cazqui sat on the boulder, a thick lump in his throat, keeping his eyes down. Kuina came to take his place a few minutes later, and he quickly left and went back to the house, stopping along the way to lean against a tree and cry desperately.

. . . . .

“You’re an idiot.”

Satochi looked up in surprise at Shinya who was glaring at him from across the table. The two were the only ones in the dining room at the moment, the alpha there to pick up some lunch at the shift change.

“What?” he said. “Why?”

“That was very insensitive of you,” Shinya muttered.

Satochi stared at him. Had it been too much? He hadn’t wanted to make the omega so uncomfortable, but Shinya told him Cazqui had come back from his watch with tears on his cheeks and his eyes red, immediately locking himself into his room and refusing to come out.

“I… I didn’t realize he was so shy. I didn’t mean anything by it, it was just something to say. I mean, it was kinda weird to stand there and hear them fucking and not say anything, and I didn’t realize he’d be so upset.”

“Shy? He’s not shy. Don’t be stupid,” Shinya frowned. Satochi looked even more confused now.

“Then what did I do wrong? It’s not like I meant it in any sexual way, I wasn’t trying to come on to him or anything,” he said exasperatedly. “I even said I wasn’t interested in hooking up with anyone right now.”

“Exactly. That’s the problem right there. It was cruel to say it just casually like that, without even taking the time to explain yourself.”

“Eh?” Satochi blinked at him, uncomprehending. Shinya sighed, spelling it out for him slowly.

“He wants you, can’t you see? He’s so in love with you, but he’s been too scared you’ll reject him to even try to talk to you about it. And then you two have a perfect flirting opportunity and you choose not to come on to him, and just blurt out you’re not interested. How do you think that makes him feel? He’s heartbroken, you idiot!”

Satochi blinked as it dawned on him what had really happened.

“Oh. Damn.”

Shinya frowned again. “Damn indeed. And here I went and told him I was ok with him trying for you, and you go and break his heart.”

Satochi closed his eyes, pinching his nose. Shit. He hadn’t even thought about meeting someone new since he came to the island. The whole Shinya thing had taken its toll on him and he was still fighting off the hurt in his chest every time he saw Toshiya and Shinya kiss or embrace each other. He honestly hadn’t even thought of the possibility that Cazqui had wanted him, or he wouldn’t have been so insensitive.

And then something the omega had said suddenly clicked.

“Wait… You told him you were ok with him and me together?”

Shinya sighed, looking down onto the table suddenly, letting his fingers play with a fork mindlessly. “Well, yeah. I mean, it still hurts a bit to imagine you with anyone else, but I made my choice and I’m really happy with Toshiya, and I want you to be happy as well. And I want him to be happy, and he was so in love, and it broke me to watch him be so nervous and sad all the time. So… I said it was ok, because he needed to hear it from me.”

And in that very moment, it was as if it finally sunk into Satochi’s mind that he had lost Shinya completely. He felt his chest constrict and his jaws clench. He’d known, of course he’d known. He’d seen the two together, he knew they were happy, and he’d kept his word not to try to come between them. But somewhere, subconsciously, his mind had still hoped that the omega would change his mind some day and come back to him. And suddenly, that hope had died, as he heard Shinya say he had encouraged someone else to try for him. He swallowed hard, and his voice was a bit coarse.

“You’re right. I’ll apologize to him later. But now it’s time to go back to my post,” he said, getting up and quickly leaving the room. Shinya stayed at the table for a long time, alone, breathing deeply.

Chapter Text

It was around two in the afternoon when the rafts were finally in the water, and the runners made sure everyone knew within fifteen minutes, running as fast as they could. They had four omegas stationed at the boats, three with orders to run tell the alphas at the other positions what was happening, and then return to the house to make sure everyone was indoors and stayed there. Tatsurou grabbed his first aid kit and went down to the beach, leaving Kei and Tomo in charge of keeping an eye on Tsuzuku for him.

Kai and Ichirou were stationed at the house, standing guard by the doors, prepared to lock them and defend the omegas at all cost. They were both fidgety, wanting to be part of the fight, but at the same time wanting to stay near their families. Uruha brought both kids to talk to Kai for a bit, before he went into the dining room again, and Yuuki spent a few minutes hugging Ichirou tightly.

The omegas all gathered in the dining room, seeking comfort in each other. Tsuzuku sat in a chair, a pillow behind his back, a pained look on his face. Koichi massaged his friend’s shoulders, partly to help Tsuzuku and partly because he felt calmer by it as well.

Yuki was biting his nails, looking more and more frantic as he gazed out the window. It wasn’t too long ago he was out there in that world himself, and he knew very well the type of people that were coming. Eventually Nao went up to him and drew him into his arms to try to calm him, and the two stood closely together.

Shinya looked between Yuki and Hikaru, both very upset, trying to decide which of his friends needed his comfort more. He decided on Hikaru, as the small omega knew these alphas in particular and would probably be punished extra hard if they ever caught him again. At the moment he was sitting in Yo-Ka’s lap, almost hyperventilating, leaning into the omega’s neck. Shinya sat down next to him, caressing the boy's back, talking soothingly, and he and Yo-Ka exchanged a worried look. Hikaru seemed to feel better with them there, and so they settled down to wait, closely wrapped around each other.

Even Subaru was quiet for once, nervously biting his nails as he waited along with everyone else. Hiyuu sat next to him, pretending to be calm, but even he showed some nerves tonight. It was enough out of character for him to make Kazuki sit down next to him and lean his head on his shoulder. Hiyuu smiled weakly back and put his arm around the other’s shoulders, sighing deeply. Before long, his other arm was around Subaru’s shoulders, the three leaning into each other.

And the waiting went on.

. . . . .

Down by the beach, the alphas all watched closely as the rafts approached. They were all equipped with several weapons, clubs in their hands and knifes in their belts. Die had the rifle in his hands and used an upturned boat as support and cover, ammunition standing at the ready on a boulder next to him.

As they had guessed, the two rafts divided and went for a two-front attack, choosing the two beaches on this side of the island instead of wasting time and energy on going around to see if there were any other landing sites available. The rafts looked hard to control, and the shorter they had to paddle, the better. As soon as they were sure, the two runners were sent for the alphas on the other sites.

Toshiya counted out loud as he watched them through the binoculars. The three smaller figures had indeed been omegas as they had suspected, and they had been left on the other side, probably tied up with ropes since they stayed put in one spot. That left thirteen alphas on the boats, and there were twenty-two alphas in total on the island. Two at the house left twenty. Four on their way from the other sites, that left sixteen here now. Not much of an advantage in numbers. They had to rely on their defenses being better, and hope that the alphas were weaker than the islanders, who weren’t always battling with near starvation.

They quickly divided their numbers between the two beaches. Toshiya, Ryo, Die, Hazuki, Tetsuya, Reo, Yukke and Miya stayed by the boats, with Tatsurou at the ready as a medic. If he could he was supposed to keep out of the fighting, so they didn’t risk their nurse. Kyo, Satochi, Aoi, Ruka, Reika and the two Hiros were at their summer beach, and Aki, Kaoru, Yukihiro and Asanao were on their way from the other side of the island. That was it, the total strength of their defense.

“Should I shoot a few before they even get here? To make our chances better?” Die said hesitantly. The thought of unprovoked (well, sort of) murder wasn’t something he had ever planned for, and his whole being told him it was wrong even as his mind said the rules had changed from Before.

Toshiya hesitated, not sure what to answer, when the decision was made for them. One of the alphas on the raft lifted a gun and fired on the shore, four quick shots. They all ducked as quickly as they could react. Two of the bullets missed, but two hit their targets. Tetsuya fell down and Reo keeled over, clutching his stomach. Tatsurou was there in a second, turning Tetsuya around on his back to see where he was hurt. He stopped for a second, eyes widening in shock, as he looked into the alpha’s open and completely empty eyes.

Oh god, no, no, this wasn’t happening. They were already loosing people.

A whimper to his left pulled him out of his panicked thoughts, and he quickly abandoned his dead friend, moving to help the one who was still alive. He grabbed Reo and managed to get him behind a large tree for cover, applying pressure to the wound as quickly as he could. The alpha was losing blood quickly, and his eyes were glassy and his breathing shallow. Tatsurou just prayed it wasn’t too late for him as well, as he worked to put a tourniquet on as fast as possible.

The second Die heard the shots, he put the rifle to his shoulder, aiming carefully at the raft before he pulled the trigger. The shot hit the alpha in the head, and he dropped his gun into the water as he fell backwards, knocking one of his comrades into the lake. Die managed to hit another alpha, this time in the neck, before he had to reload. The alphas on the raft were very exposed and they knew it, so they paddled as fast as they could to reach the shore where they were on more equal terms.

But to do that, they had to get through the narrow passageway between the poles, and that gave Die time to pick two more of them off. That only left three on the raft and one in the water, and the alphas clearly understood they were outnumbered. Instead of pressing on, they turned around, desperately trying to paddle away, hunching to be smaller targets for bullets. They paddled desperately, not caring to stop and pick up their fallen comrade, who was desperately flailing in the water, apparently not a strong swimmer.

“They’re going to the other shore,” Kaoru said, pointing at the raft curving to the left. Die had reloaded by now and raised the gun, but the alphas reached the tree line and got out of sight too quickly for him to hit another. For a moment, they all stopped and stared at Tetsuya on the ground and Tatsurou desperately working on a bleeding Reo, the reality of what they were seeing slowly sinking in. A loud cry from through the trees made them snap out of the shock and daze.

“Quick, the other shore,” Toshiya yelled, and they ran through the terrain to get there quickly, only leaving Ryo and Yukke with Reo and Tatsurou.

On the other shore, things had been worse. With no gun available on either side, the alphas on the shore had been forced to watch as the raft slowly made its way through the branches and trees they had laid out for defense. It wasn’t easy, but eventually the raft got through and the alphas made it to land, jumping off to start the fight. The whole beach looked like a battlefield when the alphas from the other shore arrived, along with the four from the other sites.

Reika was pinned down by a huge alpha, pulling hard punches, and Satochi was sure to get another scar to his face, blood pouring down his cheek. They had made some damage as well, Aoi had managed to get in a good punch that broke the nose of one of the foreign alphas but had been rewarded with a cut from a knife over his left arm. Kyo looked as if he was a berserker, screaming wildly as he banged his club into the attackers, as hard hitting as any bullet. He hardly seemed to notice when he got hit on the shoulder by a bat, and the offending alpha got a fist punch to the face as a reward.

The arrival of eight new alphas at the shore made all the difference, and it didn’t take long before they were defeated. When it was over, most of the attacking alphas were dead, but three were still alive. They were quickly bundled up and tied up with ropes, guarded by the islanders. The alphas on the raft had quickly realized the fight wasn’t going their way here either, and had turned back to where they came from, paddling as fast as they could. Somewhere on the middle of the lake, their powers ran out and the raft was lying still in the water.

“They’re lying down, probably resting,” Kaoru said as he looked through the binoculars.

“Let them run,” Toshiya said. “They probably won’t try again, but they could spread the knowledge that we’re not easily attacked to others out there.”

“After what they did to Tetsuya? And Reo? And have you seen Reika’s and Satochi’s faces?” Ruka exclaimed, heatedly. “And what about the omegas on the shore? Do we really want to leave them with those guys?”

Toshiya looked tired. “True,” he said, “and I am as upset about Tetsuya and Reo as you are. But it’s one thing to kill someone in self-defense, in the heat of action, and another completely to kill someone in cold blood after the fighting is done. I can’t do it. Can you, Ruka?”

The alpha blinked as he processed what Toshiya was actually asking him. Would he be able to kill these alphas himself, put his knife in them as they were bound and helpless? He sighed before he looked down and slowly shook his head.

“God, I wish… But you’re right. We’re better than them.”

Toshiya took a deep breath. “Yeah. We are. And you’re right, the omegas need to be saved from these sad excuses of alphas, and since the raft is dead in the water and we need to get rid of this filth,” he spat in the direction of the bound alphas, “we should go over there and pick them up.”

They got the alphas on their feet and led them to the boats, a few others running ahead to get the boat in the water and to see if Tatsurou needed more help with Reo. When they got there though, the alpha had already been carried up to the big house by Tatsurou and Yukke, a large blood stain left on the ground where he had been.

Ryo sat on the sand, Tetsuya’s head in his lap, slowly caressing his friend’s hair. He had closed the eyes, but there was no mistaking that the alpha was dead. The bullet had hit his temple, and he had been gone in a second. For a moment, everything was silent, as the still shocked alphas tried to find their bearings. Ryo lifted his head and looked out over the water. There was no sign of the alpha that had fallen off the raft.

“He didn’t know how to swim,” Ryo said, matter-of-factly, not seeming upset about the fact at all.

Ryo and Tetsuya had been the ones who had become closest since Tetsuya arrived, and he seemed to not really be able to take in what had happened, his eyes a little glazed as he mechanically petted the dead alpha’s hair as if his friend was still alive and just resting. Ruka gently went over and put his arms around the alpha’s shoulder, gently guiding him away from Tetsuya. They carefully wrapped the body up in a blanket, and Hazuki lifted him to carry him up to the house. Die helped Reika, who was pretty badly beaten but standing, and the procession walked solemnly away, turning their backs to the battlefield that had claimed their friend.

. . . . .

Tatsurou and Yukke moved as fast as they could, Tatsurou holding pressure to Reo’s stomach as they went up to the big house. This feels familiar, Tatsurou thought bitterly. The second after: I’m no surgeon. How am I going to get the bullet out and sew him back up without losing him?

When they got to the house, Kai saw them coming and was ready to open the doors for them. The omegas gathered by the door to the dining room and watched as the alphas rushed past, their eyes widening in shock at what they saw.

“What’s happening? Who was it?” Tsuzuku’s voice from inside the room made them all freeze. After a few tense moments, Koichi swallowed and turned to his friend, walking over and kneeling next to him, grabbing his hand.

The omega’s screeching cry could be heard into the sickroom, where Tatsurou worked desperately to get the bullet out and stop the bleeding. The shrill sound sent a shiver down his spine as he worked, blood gushing out of the wound.

I can’t fail, he thought, more scared than he’d been his entire life. Oh god, what if I fail?

Chapter Text

When they reached the other shore, they dumped the alphas unceremoniously on the sand, not bothering with them until Asanao and Miya had checked on the omegas. But the sight that awaited them wasn’t what they had hoped to find.

The omegas were bound alright, tightly and inexpertly in a way that had cut off circulation and bent the omegas in impossible positions. They had been weak from the start, and being tied up like this and left in the sun all day had proven too much for two of them. Asanao sighed deeply, looking angry, when he checked for vitals and found none. The last one had made it, though barely. A rope had slid up and pressed against his throat, and Miya hurried to cut it off. The omega coughed, trying to draw big breaths, but his throat seemed swollen. He was clearly terrified, but too weak to move.

“Shhh, we won’t hurt you,” Miya tried, “we’re here to help you. Not like those assholes.” He glared at the bound alphas, and the omega followed his gaze. He glanced back at Miya, questioningly, and the alpha smiled reassuringly.

“The others are dead or running. You don’t have to worry about them anymore,” he said. Then he turned his head to the others. “Do we have any water? He’s dehydrated.”

Asanao handed him a bottle and Miya held it to the omega’s mouth, helping him steady his head so he could drink. He drank greedily, his limbs shaking from the effort to keep his head up.

Miya felt his heart break as he saw the trembling, terrified, omega before him. The things that must have been done to him made Miya so angry, and he knew it would be a long road before this omega trusted an alpha again, if it ever happened. But he figured he had to try and start building trust somewhere, so he settled for something he knew.

“Are you friends with Hikaru?”

The omega froze, staring at the alpha. Miya smiled again.

“He’s at the island with us. He’s fine. He met an old friend there, Shinya. Heard of him? I think Hikaru called him Nii-san at first.”

There was no reaction at Shinya, but Nii-san brought a glimpse of recognition to the omega’s eyes. When Miya leaned forward and gently pulled him up into his arms, the omega whimpered in fear, but was too weak to stop it.

“Let’s get you checked out by our nurse,” Miya said to soothe the omega, “and you need a meal. You weigh absolutely nothing. You’re almost as light as my son.” He kept blabbering about this and that, trying to keep the omega calm, as he and Ruka lifted him into the boat.

Only when they were aboard, Toshiya turned to the tied alphas. “We let you live so you can spread the word,” he said menacingly. “No one comes here and takes what is ours. They will fail. And if you say anything else, we will find out and you will die, just like your friends.”

The alphas nodded desperately, staring up at the alphas looming over them. After what seemed like an eternity, Toshiya nodded. “Untie them,” he ordered, and while Asanao cut their ropes the islanders made their way to the boat, pushing away as soon as Asanao joined them aboard. Behind them on the shore, the alphas struggled to get up, and eventually they managed to stand and wobbled up the road, away from the island. Asanao watched them until they were out of sight, snarling at their backs.

When they passed the raft on the way back, the ropes around the logs had started to fall apart, and the alphas were struggling to keep the raft together. The islanders stopped rowing for a moment and watched them.

“Should we do something?” Miya asked, hesitantly. Toshiya just stared at the alphas on the raft for a while, before he turned his eyes to the bruised and shivering omega in their boat, and then he finally shook his head.

“I might not be able to kill them with my own hands,” he said, jaws clenched tightly. “But killing them by doing nothing to help, I have no problems with.”

The rest quietly agreed, nodding, faces grim as they watched the raft pulling apart more and more, the alphas desperate by now. And then they took up the oars again, pulling away towards the island. The omega watched with wide eyes as they left the raft, still on the edge and scared of every little move these new unknown alphas made. But he still couldn’t help smirking at the alphas on the raft, even reaching out his tongue at them. Miya laughed when he saw the gesture, and the omega quickly closed his mouth and hunched down.

“No, please, don’t be scared of me…” Miya sighed, realizing there was little he could do to stop it. He’d talk to Masa, see if he could take the poor thing under his wings. The omega was beautiful (nowhere near Masa’s beauty though, Miya thought) and he must have had an existence just as awful as Hikaru’s, considering the amount of bruising to his face. That surge of anger was back, and when Miya glanced over at the others, he noticed similarly set jaws. He knew they would all fight as hard as it took to keep this from ever happening to anyone on the island.

When they eventually reached the shore, Kaoru, Kyo and Aoi was there, keeping an eye on the raft.

“It fell apart completely maybe five minutes ago,” Aoi said, binoculars in his hand. “I don’t think they made it.”

They all glanced at the lake, the raft now only logs floating a bit apart. “We’ll stay until we’re sure,” Aoi clarified, and the rest nodded.

“Any news of Reo?” Asanao asked, and Aoi shook his head, his jaws clenched.

It was with heavy hearts they made their way back up to the house, the omega carried by Miya.

. . . . .

“Uta!” Hikaru exclaimed, running up to the omega and hugging him as soon as Miya set the omega down on a chair and stepped back.

A bunch of omegas gathered around the newcomer, gasping at the state he was in. Bright red marks on his throat showed where the rope had been, and it was obvious that he couldn’t speak yet, his throat swollen. He was not much more than a skeleton, and his eyes were dark, bottomless pits of fear and exhaustion. A tear ran down his cheek as Hikaru hugged him, but he couldn’t control his muscles enough to hug back.

Kuina ran into the kitchen to get some food, and the others fussed over the omega, trying to make him comfortable, getting him a blanket and pillows so he could lean back comfortably. Hikaru couldn’t stop crying, and eventually Yo-Ka got him a blanket as well and pulled him into a long hug. Uruha sat down next to Uta and gently helped him eat the soup that Kuina brought, the omega too weak to be able to lift the spoon without spilling.

“We’ll get you checked out by our nurse later, and have a look at that throat,” Uruha said. “Right now, though, he’s busy…” His eyes flickered to Tsuzuku, still crying, Koichi holding him tight and petting his hair. The pregnant omega held his belly, as if he wanted to protect the baby from the news that his daddy might not make it to his birth. It broke Uruha’s heart, and he sniffled before he turned back to Uta, who was looking between him and Tsuzuku.

“His mate got shot on the beach,” he explained quietly. “We don’t know if he’ll make it. Our nurse is working on him now.”

Uta’s eyes flicked back to the pregnant omega, his brows furrowed in confusion. The omega was sad to see his mate die? Things were certainly different here, and he wasn’t sure he dared to believe that a mated couple could actually love each other.

On the other side of the room though, he saw Masa make his way towards his mate, snuggling up to him with Tora on his arm. Miya pulled him in, kissing him fiercely.

“I haven’t been able to relax until I could see you with my own eyes,” Masa mumbled, teary-eyed. “They said you were alright, but…”

“I know, sweetie, me too. But I’m fine. And you know what else?” Miya said, smiling affectionately at his mate. Masa shook his head, puzzled.

“I love you so, so much,” Miya whispered in his ear, and his mate smiled softly and snuggled even closer.

Uta watched in awe from across the room.

. . . . .

Tatsurou was wobbly when he finally stepped away from Reo, the bullet lying on a tray by the bed. He had used Kei and Tomo as nurses, and as pale as they were, the omegas had done a good job. They had worked for hours, and now Reo was finally closed up, but Tatsurou didn’t think too highly of his chances. After Masa, they had learned their lesson and raided hospitals and clinics in the area for everything they had. Tatsurou was eternally grateful for it now, since without an IV, Reo wouldn’t stand a chance. He had lost massive amounts of blood, more even than Masa had when he had complications after Tora’s birth. Even worse was that the bullet had been lodged too near the organs, and Tatsurou was not good enough with these things to be sure if it had done real damage or not. But he had done his best, and after he checked the IV one final time, he pulled his bloodied shirt off and fell to a chair, leaning his head back to the wall, completely exhausted.

“Can I get you something?” Kei asked weakly.

Tatsurou smiled in thanks but shook his head. “No, what you two should do now is go wash up, eat something and get some rest. Send someone else in with some water for me to clean off, and ask Kaoru if he can fetch me a change of clothes. I’ll stay here and watch over Reo.”

The omegas nodded, but didn’t leave immediately, looking a little anxious.

“What… What do we tell Tsu?” Tomo asked hesitantly, and Kei looked terrified at the thought of having to give the omega bad news. The nurse sighed.

“Tell him… Tell him I’ll be out to talk to him as soon as I've changed and washed up, ok?”

The omegas nodded and left the room, and Tatsurou closed his eyes and breathed deeply for a few minutes before he heard the door open again. He opened his eyes to see Toshiya and Kaoru there, holding clean clothes, a towel and a bowl of hot water. Kaoru came up to kiss him, glancing at Reo quickly but soon focusing on his lover instead.

“Hey baby, how are you?” he said, caressing his boyfriend’s exhausted face, his eyes searching.

“Tired,” Tatsurou admitted. “But it’s Reo we need to worry about.”

“And how is he?” Toshiya’s deep voice made him look up, meeting a worried gaze. He sighed and shrugged.

“I don’t know. Take Masa and make it ten times worse. I am not a surgeon, hell, I’m not even a doctor. I did what I could, but…” He suddenly felt all the pent up emotions come over him, and he leaned forward and put his face in his hands as he started to cry. Kaoru made a comforting sound, holding him and stroking his back, and Toshiya thoughtfully left the two alone, seeing there was nothing more he could do here.

“I’ll talk to Tsuzuku,” he said before he left. “You just rest now.”

When he was gone, Tatsurou threw his arms around Kaoru’s neck and just let it all out, his lover holding him tight as he cried.

Chapter Text

The night passed without incident, few of them managing to sleep more than a few hours. Reo was still unconscious, and Kaoru spent the night next to Tatsurou, making sure his lover got at least some sleep while he watched over Reo for him.

The day after, they went to work again, taking the killed alphas off the island to bury them in a mass grave up the road. They made a large but simple cross and put it over the grave, making sure to mark its size. The two dead omegas were buried apart from the alphas, in a pretty spot in the forest, and they got individual crosses marking their names, Arata and Kaito. It was decided that when things calmed down a little, they would hold a small ceremony to give Hikaru and Uta a chance to say goodbye properly. It was with low spirits they returned to the island that evening.

Meanwhile, Yukke and Ryo built a simple coffin for Tetsuya while Asanao and Aoi dug a grave up on the hill overlooking the lake, next to where Akinori was buried. It felt impossible to grasp that another of their own was gone, and so quickly. From the first day of shock, they had now moved on to grieving. The alpha hadn’t been there as long as most of them, but he was a nice guy who had become one of them quickly, and they mourned him just as they would any of the islanders.

The evening was spent in silence, some preferring to stay by themselves to think while others sought comfort in each other. Uta and Hikaru spent the evening being pampered by Shinya, Yo-Ka, Masa and Ryoga, who did their best to make the omegas feel welcome and relaxed. Uta was staying with Ryoga for now, waiting for a better solution once the new cabins were built. But for now the omega just enjoyed sleeping in a real bed with only another omega there, in a room with locks on the door. Hikaru was starting to get used to the island and its people, but Uta was still in complete shock every time someone did something nice to him or gave him something to eat. As he was helped into bed that night, he felt both stronger and weaker than he had in ages, tumultuous thoughts and feelings running through him. That didn’t stop him from going out like a light the second his head hit the pillow, though. He slept dreamlessly through the night.

. . . . .

The funeral was beautiful. They were all there, except for Tatsurou who was watching over Reo, Uta who was too weak to walk that far, and Tsuzuku who couldn’t have walked there even if he’d wanted to leave Reo’s side. Even Hikaru came, more out of respect of the islander’s mourning than anything, since he hadn’t really known Tetsuya. Toshiya said a few words first, and then they all took turns sharing their memories of Tetsuya.

The threat of Reo’s possible death hung over them, and after the service, most went back to their cottages and rooms to think and mourn in private. Two alphas went back to their guard duty by the shore – they were not taking chances anymore, someone would always stay on guard from now on.

In the next few days, their waking hours were filled with work to prevent this from happening again. They planned on completely shutting the other possible landing sites off and building a defense around the summer beach so that they still had room to swim, but it couldn’t be approached by boat. In effect, they made access to the island possible only from the beach where they kept their boats. There, they would build a guard hut and also try to find ways to fortify the beach, making some sort of barrier that could be easily removed whenever they wanted to leave on the boat, but that couldn’t be passed from the other side.

Kaoru was working on the construction plans, and in the meantime the rest prepared by cutting down timber to work with. They used the trees where they needed to build new cottages, killing two birds with one stone. It was hard work, but it also gave them something else to think about.

Reo was still unconscious, and though he seemed stable, there was no way of telling how this had affected his mind until he woke up. If he woke up, Tatsurou thought bitterly. The nurse was worried about Tsuzuku as well. The omega spent his time by his mate’s side, not eating or sleeping. Tatsurou checked him daily, feeling the belly to see if the baby had turned and fixated, and Tsuzuku let him without much protest or, for that matter, enthusiasm. Koichi stayed with Tsuzuku as much as he could, only leaving to go see Hazuki for short moments when someone else was there with his friend. But it was the omega’s gloom and lack of fighting spirit that worried Tatsurou the most. Tsuzuku would need it for his child and himself if Reo didn’t pull through, but he seemed to have given up already. He silently asked Koichi to keep an extra eye on the omega’s mood and let him know if something happened.

The nurse had also looked over Reika’s, Satochi’s and Aoi’s wounds from the fight, and also went through the same examination of Uta as he had with Hikaru. This time he let Hikaru, Ryoga and Yo-Ka be the ones to do the actual touching as he gave instructions from across the room. He was reluctantly allowed to have a look at the omega’s throat, though, as the others didn’t know what to look for. Uta got his clothes back on, and Yo-Ka and Hikaru held his hands and sat next to him as Tatsurou very gently felt along the neck, and asked him to open his mouth so he could look down the throat.

“I think the swelling will go down on its own,” he finally said. “I’ll give you some medicine, but time will be the best medicine here. In the meantime, try to talk as little as possible to let it rest, and when you have to speak, try to whisper instead if you can. And stick to soft food like soups and such for a while longer.”

Uta nodded and leaned his head on Ryoga’s shoulder, his new friend holding him around the waist as he helped him back to his room. The omega was still scared and guarded just like Hikaru, but everyone did his best to make him feel welcome and safe, and he trusted the omegas here instantly. He had to admit, the alphas seemed ok as well, no one had hurt him or tried anything yet. But to go from there to actual trust was a big step, and for now he settled for smiling softly at Ryoga as they climbed into bed together, whispering a soft “Goodnight”.

. . . . .

It took almost a week for Satochi to speak to Cazqui, given all that had happened and needed to be done. He finally found the time and opportunity one night when he noticed Cazqui leaving the dining room to go outside. Meeting Shinya’s gaze from across the room, he smiled weakly and got up to follow the omega out.

Cazqui had wandered to the back of the house, where there was a small herb garden and some fruit trees. The omega had curled up on a bench, hugging his knees and leaning his forehead on them. Now that Satochi knew what to look for, he had noticed what Shinya had already told him. The sad eyes that tried to look away from him all the time, the way the omega left the room when he came in, the hunched shoulders that made Cazqui look smaller than he was. As he approached the bench, walking softly on the grass, he noticed those shoulders shaking now. He realized Cazqui was crying, and he felt a stab at the heart for being the cause of such sadness.

“Hey,” he said softly and sat down on the bench, leaving some space between him and the omega. Cazqui jumped high, and almost seemed to panic when he realized who it was and that he was sitting here with tears on his cheeks. He quickly looked away and dried them off, trying to no use to pretend nothing was wrong.

“Listen, I… I’m sorry I said those things to you that day when… I didn’t realize I hurt you, and it was very insensitive of me. I’m really sorry,” the alpha said, trying to catch the omega’s eyes. Cazqui looked down on his hands though, refusing to meet his gaze.

“It’s fine,” he whispered hoarsely. “You couldn’t know. I assume Shinya told you?”

“Yeah, he did. He also told me what he had told you. But I should have realized anyway, so no, it’s not fine.” He sighed, looking to the omega. “I guess I didn’t even think it was possible for someone to feel that way about me. I was so wrapped up in being new here, and that whole business with… Well, you know. So I didn’t even consider the possibility, and for that I’m truly sorry.”

Cazqui couldn’t help a little sob from slipping out, but he caught himself quickly. “It’s ok. You can’t help what you feel, and… If you’re not interested, than that’s that. I’m sorry. I’ll get over it. I’ll try to keep out of your way in the meantime so it’s not so awkward for you.”

Satochi felt a short flare of anger at the omega putting himself down, caring more about the alpha’s feelings than his own. He scooted closer and reached out to put a hand under Cazqui’s chin, lifting it so he could look him in the eyes.

“No,” he said sternly. “You do not get to apologize for feeling the way you do. That is not something to be ashamed of, and you should not stay out of my way for my sake. Do you hear me?”

The hand on his chin was warm, and Cazqui felt himself fall apart inside, melting at the hands of the alpha. Oh god, he had to give a response to what the other had just said. He had to say something, not just look into those searching eyes.

If he had been able to speak. Or move. Or breathe.

Eventually Satochi seemed to realize that his touch was causing the omega’s brain to temporarily malfunction, and he removed his hand and sat back a little. He gazed at the omega, biting his lips a little, pausing as the omega caught his breath and tried to be able to think again.

“Listen, Cazqui,” he said finally, “I’m not saying no. I’m just saying not yet. I like you, and I’d like us getting to know each other better to see if there is anything more to it, but right now… I’m still hurting. And it’s got nothing to do with you, but I need for this to be slow, and I need for it to happen if it happens without trying to force it. So, can you be ok with that? Just leave it to time and chance, and see if it’s meant to be?”

Cazqui blinked, not being able to keep the tears in any longer. Could he live with that? Well, he had to, didn’t he? The alternative was… what? Give up and lick his bleeding heart until it finally healed and then try to find someone else? That was not an option, he knew his heart and it had already decided it wanted Satochi and no one else. So he nodded meekly, tears running down his cheeks. Satochi watched him for a moment, a pained expression on his face, before he slowly and gently pulled the omega in for a hug, caressing his hair in comfort.

It was such a shock that Cazqui froze at first. Soon, however, he let himself be held, trying to breathe in the alpha and enjoy the closeness he could get, for now anyway. So he molded himself to the alpha’s chest, breathing deeply and letting his fingers rest against those chiseled muscles that he had always admired. They sat close for a while, and then Satochi pulled back. The sudden emptiness made Cazqui shiver, and he pulled the jacket closer. He lifted his eyes to meet Satochi’s hesitantly, and the alpha smiled tiredly at him, bending over to give the omega a chaste kiss on his forehead as he got up from the bench.

“So, see you tomorrow at breakfast then?” he asked, and Cazqui nodded quickly, his vocal chords still refusing to work. As the alpha turned and walked towards his cottage, the omega sat on the bench thinking for a long while until he was shivering in the cold. Only then did he finally get up and go inside, slowly making his way to his room for the night.

One thought kept going over and over in his head. There was still a chance.

Chapter Text

“The baby’s turned,” Tatsurou said quietly, looking around the table at Kaoru, Kai, Hazuki, Die and Toshiya. “That means there’s probably about a week left, maybe even less since he’s not eating and sleeping like he should.”

The alphas sighed, looking tired. “And Reo? Any signs of him getting better? Or… worse?” Toshiya asked.

“No news either way. He seems stable, but I don’t know about his brain. He could suffer from lack of oxygen during the operation, or swelling, or a thousand other things that I can’t see without the right equipment. And I don’t have enough knowledge… I just don’t know.”

Tatsurou looked completely lost for a second, and Kaoru reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly in his.

“You’ve done everything you can. You’re a damn fine nurse, and without you, we’d be lost. So stop blaming yourself,” Kai said, the others humming in agreement.

“We’ll deal with this as it comes,” Toshiya said. “Koichi is being a great support for Tsuzuku, and all we can do is try to help him as much as possible right now.”

Tatsurou nodded, closing his eyes for a second. “I’d better get back,” he said. “I feel better being there.”

“Not without giving me a kiss first, you don’t,” Kaoru said, and Tatsurou couldn’t help smiling weakly at his lover. He leaned down for a kiss, feeling the comfort and strength of the other’s lips on his, and it was with a bit more bounce in his step that he walked back to the sickroom.

. . . . .

They had fixed a room next door as a temporary sickroom, and Tatsurou had secretly asked Kei and Tomo to prepare it for a birthing, giving instructions and asking them to keep quiet about it. The omegas looked shaken, but did what he asked. The nurse had decided to ask them if they wanted to be trained by him – they were doing a good job and he was scared of what could happen if he wasn’t there for some reason. He needed someone else to be able to do at least the basics, and the two omegas fit the job description nicely.

Koichi was equally worried about both the omega and his mate. Reo had been unconscious for a week, and Tatsurou was looking very worried whenever he didn’t think anyone was watching. Tsuzuku just sat at the alpha’s side, and he only ate or drank if Koichi or the nurse practically forced him to.

Ruki came to visit now and then as well, but Tatsurou had said he wanted as few people as possible around Reo to try to keep the risk of infections to a minimum. And so, it was usually Koichi sitting there keeping his friend company. Today, Tatsurou was taking a break for some lunch, and the omega was braiding his friend’s long hair while he tried to chat about this and that to keep their mind off things. Tsuzuku answered with a grunt now and then, but he mostly just sat and watched Reo, lost in his own thoughts.

The braid was suddenly pulled out of Koichi’s hands, as the omega cried out and bent forward, clutching his stomach. The baby was usually kicking rather fiercely, but Koichi could tell immediately that this wasn’t the same as usual.

“Is he coming? Should I call Tatsurou?” he asked breathlessly, staring at his friend. Tsuzuku’s face was twisted in pain for another moment before it seemed to lessen. He met Koichi’s worried gaze, a wild look in his eyes.

“No, he can’t… Not yet. Please, not yet…” he whispered, desperately grabbing Reo’s hand. “Not yet. I need his daddy here, he can’t come now, not until he wakes up. He promised he’d be there...” he rambled. And then another wave of pain hit, and he fell forward against the bed, clutching his belly.

Koichi gasped and ran to the door, flinging it open, but not daring to leave the room to go find the nurse.

“Tatsurou!” he yelled, panic in his voice, startling Yo-Ka and Hikaru who just came down the stairs, arms around each other as usual. “Tatsuroooouuuu!”

He heard the crash of a falling chair from the dining room, and then the alpha was there, kneeling beside Tsuzuku. The omega’s face was contorted in pain, but he still managed to mumble “he can’t, not yet” between gritted teeth. Koichi wanted to cry when he saw the desperate look in his friend’s eyes. Tatsurou looked up.

“Kou! Snap out of it! Go get Tomo and Kei, right now. Come one, go!”

Koichi stared at the alpha for a second before his mind took in the words and he ran into the dining room. Everyone was looking at him nervously when he came in. He quickly scanned the room and found the two omegas at a table.

“The baby’s coming,” he stammered, and he didn’t have to say anything more before the omegas were on their feet, Tomo rushing to the kitchen for water and Kei running to help the nurse. Hiyuu also got up and left, tasked with sitting at Reo’s side while the nurse was occupied with his mate.

All the while, Koichi just stood there, shaking a little from the adrenaline. He wanted to go back in and be Tsu’s support when Reo couldn’t, but he felt like he couldn’t move. Strong arms around him broke the spell, and he leaned into Hazuki’s chest, holding him tightly for a moment to ground himself. His mate caressed his back and kissed his hair, making soothing noises, and Koichi felt himself calm down, as he always did when Hazuki held him.

“You did good, babe,” Hazuki said softly. “Tatsurou will take care of him now.”

Koichi sniffed a little, but then he took a deep breath and shook his head, a determined look on his face. “He’s so scared, he doesn’t want the baby to come now when Reo is… sleeping. I need to be there for him.”

Hazuki looked at him, searchingly. “Are you sure?” he asked, pressing a quick kiss on his mate’s lips. The omega nodded and got up on his toes to steal another kiss.

“Thanks for being there whenever I freak out,” he whispered, and Hazuki smiled lovingly at him.

“Always,” he said, giving the omega another kiss before Koichi turned and went back to Tsuzuku’s side, holding his hand as he screamed in pain.

. . . . .

As the hours passed, everyone got more and more anxious, sitting in the dining room listening to the omega’s screams. The mated omegas cuddled up to their mates, seeking comfort, and the other omegas hugged each other tightly. It was unsettling to hear the screaming, and yet no one wanted to leave until it was done.

Tatsurou worked patiently, Koichi doing his best to encourage his friend and help him through it, but Tsuzuku was crying desperately and he was getting more and more tired. The nurse was starting to worry that he would have to attempt a cesarean, when Hiyuu suddenly appeared in the doorway between the two rooms.

“Tatsurou…” he said quietly, the nurse looking up with a frown.

“What is it?”

“You need to come here for a moment,” Hiyuu said, biting his lip. At that moment, Tsuzuku screamed again and Tatsurou quickly looked to the omega to see what was happening. The omega was sweating profusely, his face contorted in pain. He looked as if he was about to give up, and Tatsurou felt helpless. He needed to make the omega want to fight. But how?

“I can’t leave now, Hiyuu,” he said. “Tsuzuku, breath deeply now and try not to push for a moment.”

“I really, really think you should come,” Hiyuu said, an urgency in his voice that caught the nurse’s attention. He glanced at the omega, who indicated his head a little at Tsuzuku and then to the room behind him.

“Ok. I’ll be right back, Tsuzuku, just try to relax for a second. Tomo, help him breathe like I showed you. Kei, come here and hold this…”

When he followed Hiyuu into the room, he carefully shut the door behind him, not wanting the omega to hear if the news were bad. But Hiyuu went over to the bed and sat down, and when the nurse followed, he was met with another pair of dark eyes.

Reo was awake.

Tatsurou quickly sat down on the bed beside him, looking at Reo, quietly asking the alpha to let his eyes follow his finger as he moved it to the left and right. Reo blinked tiredly and apparently couldn’t speak yet, but he managed to follow the finger’s movements without problems to Tatsurou’s relief. Then he looked up to the nurse urgently, glancing at the wall to the next room, where his mate just screamed again.

“The baby’s coming,” Tatsurou said, smiling at the alpha. “You’d be so proud of him. He’ll be so happy to hear you’re awake, he was trying to order the baby to wait until you were.”

Reo closed his eyes, letting out a breath, a small smile on his lips.

“Go back to sleep,” the nurse said, patting Reo’s shoulder gently. “When you wake up again you’ll have a son.”

Hiyuu looked at him to see if there were any new orders, but the alpha just smiled and shook his head, before he got up and went back into the room next door. Everyone turned to look at him when he came back, Tsuzuku’s eyes wide with fear. Tatsurou walked up to him and grabbed his hand, smiling widely.

“He’s awake,” he said, squeezing the small hand in his before letting go. The change in Tsuzuku was immediate. His whole body relaxed, and when the next bout of pain came he groaned and fought it, instead of giving in to it as he had only moments ago.

“Good,” Tatsurou smiled. “That’s the way to do it. Do you have some more strength left in you, for Reo?”

The omega nodded and groaned through clenched teeth, looking determined now. Tatsurou felt relief flood through him. They were going to make it now, he could feel it, and when the omega pushed he was ready for it.

. . . . .

The screaming had stopped a while ago, but they hadn’t heard any baby screaming yet, and it made everyone on edge.

“He might be a quiet one,” Uruha said uncertainly. “Shou was much more quiet than Hiroto, even when they screamed their lungs out.”

Kai nodded at that. “Yeah, I remember being nervous because I could hardly hear Shou from another room. Maybe that’s it?”

The others said nothing, but held on to the little hope they had. When they heard a door open, they all flinched, and then Koichi stood in the doorway to the dining room. He looked tired, his hair on end, but he had a wide smile on his lips.

“He’s here and he’s beautiful,” he announced, and at the same moment they heard a baby crying faintly through the now open door from the back of the house. A collective sigh of relief swept through the room, and then a few cheers started going up, people getting ready to celebrate. But they quickly quieted as Koichi held up his hand. More news? What was happening? Uruha gripped Kai’s hand hard, staring at the omega. Koichi waited until the room was completely quiet before he spoke, apparently reveling in being the bearer of such news.

“Also,” he said slowly, “Reo woke up.”

This time, nothing could stop the cheering, everyone hugging whoever was closest to them at the moment. Koichi grinned as Hazuki came and gathered him up in his arms, spinning him around before setting him back down for a big kiss.

“He’s asleep again, but Tatsurou says it’s going the right direction,” Koichi told his lover between kisses, and Hazuki hummed happily but didn’t stop his attacks on the omega’s lips.

It took a while before everyone settled down again, and by now Tomo and Kei had come back as well, getting hugs and congratulations from the crowd. Koichi noted with interest that Ruka made his way over to give Tomo a big hug, the omega blushing profusely but not protesting in the least. Ah, so four options had become one. Koichi smiled to himself, happy with Ruka’s choice. He and Tomo would make a nice couple.

“Finally,” Hazuki mumbled in his mate’s ear, and the omega looked up at him in confusion.

“Finally what?” he asked.

“Ruka finally got up the nerve to hug Tomo,” Hazuki said and grinned at his mate’s stunned expression. “See, I’m not as clueless as you think,” he said, pressing his lips to the side of the omega’s head. Koichi giggled, shaking his head a little.

“I guess not,” he smiled and pouted his lips with a little mewl, wordlessly begging for a kiss. He got it tenfold.

. . . . .

Tsuzuku refused to give the baby a name until he had talked it over with Reo, and so it took two more weeks of the tiny alpha being called “the little hooligan” before Reo was well enough to talk for longer than two minutes at a time. He was slowly getting better, though, and the presence of his mate and son worked wonders for his recovery.

“So, not Ruki or Koichi then?” Tsuzuku said, questioningly.

“Definitely not Ruki,” Reo said, grinning a little at the omega’s huff. “You can name him Koichi as well if you like, but it might be a little awkward to yell for our kid and your friend turns up instead.”

His mate snickered a little at that. “Ok, so what do you want to call him then?”

“Hmm, how about Takumi?” Reo said, and Tsuzuku shook his head violently.

“No way. You’ll have to think of something better than that.”

Reo smiled, weakly motioning for his mate to come closer. Tsuzuku leaned down for a kiss before he crawled up into the bed and put the sleeping baby between them.

“What do you suggest then? And no, Hooligan is not a good name,” the alpha said.

The omega giggled and pretended to punch his mate on the arm. Then he thought for a while, caressing the boy’s cheek gently.

“Maybe we should call him Tatsuya,” he said. “It would be sort of a way to remember Tetsuya, but he would still have a name of his own.”

Reo smiled and gave his mate a long, deep kiss before he answered.

“I think that’s perfect.”

Chapter Text

Character Gallery

I tried finding the pictures of my boys that would fit best with the story, the less dolled up versions. Some were easier than others...

Also, the theme song for this series is without doubt Panta Rhei by 9Goats Black Out. I highly recommend reading the lyrics! Song and lyrics can be found here:

Panta Rhei by 9Goats Black Out

Hazuki (lynch.)

Koichi (MEJIBRAY)

Reo (lynch.)

Tsuzuku (MEJIBRAY)

Toshiya (Dir En Grey)

Shinya (Dir En Grey)

Satochi (MUCC)

Cazqui (Nocturnal Bloodlust)

Kyo (Dir En Grey)

Ruki (The GazettE)

Die (Dir En Grey)

Subaru (Royz)

Kaoru (Dir En Grey)

Tatsurou (MUCC)

Miya (MUCC)

Masa (Nocturnal Bloodlust)

Yukke (MUCC)

Natsu (Nocturnal Bloodlust)

Kai & Uruha (The GazettE)

Aoi (The GazettE)

Daichi (Nocturnal Bloodlust)

Asanao (lynch.)

Hiro (Nocturnal Bloodlust) & Hiyuu (Lycaon)

Ichirou & Yuuki (Lycaon)

Hiro & Yuki (Acid Black Cherry/La'Cryma Christi/Rayflower etc)

Ryo (9Goats Black Out / Gullet / Keel etc)

Nao (Alice Nine)

Ruka (Nightmare)

Tomo (BORN)

Reika (D=Out)

Aki (SID)

Ryoga (BORN)

Yukihiro (L'Arc-en-Ciel)

Kei (DIAURA)

Yo-Ka (DIAURA)

Hikaru (D=Out)

Kuina (Royz)

Uta (9Goats Black Out / Sukekiyo)

Atsushi (Buck-Tick)

Jun-ji (Bullzeichen 88 / Acid Black Cherry)

Kazuki (Royz)

Shuse (Trick / ex La'Cryma Christi / Acid Black Cherry)

Gackt

Minase (D=OUT)

Aryu (MORRIGAN)

Kouki (D=OUT)

Yomi (Nightmare)

Characters written out of the story (Don't make me use the D word)

Hitsugi (Nightmare)

Kazuki (SCREW)

Reita (The GazettE)

Tetsuya (L'Arc-en-Ciel)