Work Text:
Hirose runs all around his home like a headless chicken. He checks every single room, making sure everything looks neat, clean and spotless. There is nothing out of place, there are no embarrassing pictures of him anywhere hanging up (Hirose has taken them all down and stored them in the closet), he has hidden all of the embarrassing things in his room (there wasn’t too many, but there are still secrets Hirose didn’t want his boyfriend knowing about him yet), and made sure to prepare all of Nakamura’s favorite snacks as well.
This isn’t the first time his boyfriend has ever come over to his home. Nakamura has visited several times over the years, so Hirose already has a check-list of what things he needs to take care of and hide before he comes to visit. This is his first time coming over as his boyfriend though and this is the day that Hirose will be introducing him to his sister and mother as such. Saho is the only one home now, but his mother should be coming home from work by lunchtime. Honestly, Hirose thinks it works out better this way. Now Nakamura won’t be ambushed by the two of them together, but will be able to meet and talk with them one by one.
“Aiki, what time is Nakamura coming over again?” Saho asks.
“Any minute now! He texted me he was on his way, why?”
“Oh nothing, just checking. It’s been a long time since he last came over. Has he been busy? Or have you been keeping him away from us, Aiki?” Saho teases.
“Sis, please, you promised you would be on your best behavior. You said you wouldn’t embarrass me, that you won’t embarrass him, that you will leave us alone while he’s over, and not pop in just to say hello in my room–”
“Aiki, Aiki, Aiki, I may have promised you those things, but you must also remember that I am your older sister and I am entitled to do all of said things. It is my duty as your sister to at least embarrass you a little. Besides, Nakamura loves hearing all the stories that I have about you. His eyes sparkle so much and he never interrupts me or is rude, unlike you. I adore your friend.”
He always said he never minded talking to my sister and now I finally know why. I always thought that Nakamura was just humoring her and would always apologize to him whenever she kept him with one of her stories, but it turns out he really did enjoy hearing them since he was in love with me. Hirose sighs and shakes his head.
“Hey, sis, listen. When Nakamura gets here the two of us have something important to talk to you about.”
“Huh? Important? And what is that, Aiki? Did something happen at school?”
“No, it’s nothing bad, it’s just–”
Hirose doesn’t get to finish because the front doorbell rings. His eyes widen and he quickly runs over, shouting at his sister that he’ll be the one to get it. Hirose unlocks the door and opens it up widely. He blinks as he stares at his boyfriend and takes him in. He looks him up and down, admiring the outfit that he has on. He’s seen Nakamura in street clothes before, but he’s never seen his boyfriend in this outfit. He is wearing a black long sleeved sweater tucked in his black pants with a brown belt. His hair appears shorter and styled as well, so he must have gotten a haircut somewhere between yesterday and this morning. He’s also wearing a small side bag, a familiar beaten up octopus keychain hanging on it. Seeing the keychain brings back so many fond memories of the first time the two of them went to the movies together.
“Hirose?” Nakamura calls out his name softly.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I lost my train of thought for a second, hahaha. Hey Nakamura, I’m happy you’re here.” Hirose laughs, quickly diverting his gaze down to hide his face heating up.
“Oh, it’s okay…you weren’t staring because I look bad, were you?” His boyfriend panics for a second.
“What? Are you kidding? You look amazing, Nakamura. I mean, I always think you look amazing, and handsome, but I’ve never seen you wear this outfit before, and you even cut your hair. I was taken aback for a second.”
Now it’s Nakamura’s turn to blush, “w-well, we are telling your family today. I wanted to make sure I looked my best. Kana helped me pick out this outfit and I got a haircut this morning…it isn’t too much, is it?”
“Nakamura, you know my sister already loves you. She might actually fall in love with you now and I’m going to have her for a rival.”
“Th-that-that would be impossible. No one could rival yo-agh!” Nakamura bites on his tongue.
Hirose laughs and takes a step outside. He leans forward and pecks their lips together before making room for him to enter.
“You’re so funny, Nakamura. Come on in, my sister is the only one here right now. I was trying to give her a small warning that we wanted to talk to her, but since you’re here we can just tell her right now.”
“Oh, okay, I-I’m coming in. Pardon my intrusion.”
Nakamura walks into Hirose’s home and takes off his shoes. He slips on the guest slippers that he always wears and walks into the familiar household. Saho is sitting down on the couch when he enters the living room. She turns her head, her face lighting up before she stands up to greet him.
“Nakamura! There you are, welcome! It’s been so long since you’ve last been here, I was afraid Aiki was keeping you away from me.”
“Good morning, Saho. It’s nice-ooph!”
Nakamura grunts as Saho walks over and immediately wraps her arms around him for a hug. He goes completely still, his cheeks growing hot as he suddenly finds himself so close to her. She’s never hugged him before; this is definitely a first. Hirose’s eyes widen before he pouts, a glare appearing on his face. Before he can separate them Saho suddenly pulls away and grabs Nakamura’s shoulders. She stares directly into his eyes and starts sniffing the air.
“Nakamura…you’ve presented? You’re an omega?!” She gasps.
“Ah, oh, yes. It happened a little while ago.”
“Oh wow, congratulations! I am so happy for you! Being an omega is so nice, isn’t it? We’re a lot calmer and more peaceful than alphas, but we still get special treatment unlike betas, hehehe. You know, for the longest time I thought Aiki was going to turn out as an omega because of his size. He’s always been tiny, even when he was a little kid. I thought you might have been an alpha with your size, but it’s nice that you’re an omega. I knew there was a reason we connected so well,” Saho teases and laughs.
“Th-thank you, Saho. I, um, I–” Nakamura stutters a little bit and looks back at Hirose for help.
“Sis, give Nakamura some space. You always hover around him so much whenever he arrives, he doesn’t like that.” Hirose says, coming to the rescue.
“Oh Aiki, I think Nakamura would tell me himself if he liked it or not. Is this the important news that you two wanted to tell me? It really is something big that we should celebrate. Aiki told me that your favorite meals are traditional Japanese food and octopus too, so I did make something special for lunch, but perhaps I should go out and buy a cake now as well.”
Nakamura’s eyes widen before he shakes his head, “oh no, you don’t have to go through all that trouble, Saho. Although I do appreciate the offer and all you’ve done already.”
“Sis, please listen to me. That wasn’t what I had to tell you. If you calm down and just…listen, please?” Hirose asks.
Saho blinks as she looks over at her little brother and hears the desperation in his voice. She calms down a little bit and nods her head.
“Alright Aiki, I’m listening. What is it?”
Hirose lets out a small breath of relief. He looks at his sister and all of a sudden feels a bit nervous. It’s not something hard to tell. Saho already loves Nakamura, so chances are she will be extremely happy for them. She might have already suspected in the first place since Nakamura is the only person he brings around, other than Oomori. Hirose can feel his heart racing inside of his chest though and his throat is closing up on him. Is this how Nakamura felt when he told his mom? He was able to shout it out so loudly and confidently. All Hirose has to do is say it and he finds himself choking up.
Nakamura looks over at Hirose and reaches out his hand. He slowly grabs it and laces their fingers together before squeezing onto it. Hirose looks over at him and sees the encouraging smile his boyfriend gives him. He feels all his worries disappear at that moment. A smile of his own appears on his lips as he nods his head and squeezes that hand back. Saho, obviously not blind and watching this entire moment unfold, gasps a tiny bit.
“Are you two…dating?”
Nakamura flinches as he blushes while Hirose finally finds his courage and nods his head.
“Yes, Nakamura and I have been dating for two months now.”
“Oh Aiki…oh Nakamura…I’m so happy for you two! Congratulations!” Saho cheers.
She throws her hands up and wraps them around the two of them, pulling them both to her chest for a happy hug. Hirose groans and yells out his sister’s name while Nakamura tries not to fall over from losing his balance.
“Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow, this is wonderful news! I was never expecting to hear this! I knew Nakamura was your best friend, Aiki, but I had no idea you had feelings for him as well. When did you confess? Once he presented? How did it happen?”
“Sis, that’s all private!” Hirose yells at the same time Nakamura answers, “no, it was before. I presented after we started dating.”
“Aw, Nakamura, you have to tell me everything. Aiki, I’m borrowing your boyfriend for a little while. Nakamura, can you remind me of your first name again? I don’t feel like I should be calling my soon to be little brother-in-law by his last name. I want us to be closer than that. You don’t have a big sister, do you? From now on you can call me big sis. Anything you need you tell me and I’ll make it happen. You’re a lot cuter than Aiki.” Saho teases.
She steals Nakamura away and leads him to the living room, pushing him down onto the couch before joining him. Hirose grows red as he starts to shout out loudly, telling his sister to leave his boyfriend alone. Nakamura, sadly, doesn’t say a thing or move at all. He’s too overwhelmed with emotions of what’s happening all at once. Gaining a big sister? Her wanting to call him by his first name? It’s all too much. Saho looks so much like Hirose it’s scary. If he can’t handle his own boyfriend calling him Okuto, he definitely doesn’t believe that he’ll be able to have his big sister call him that name either.
“Saho? Aiki? I’m home! Are you guys here?”
Kayoko Hirose calls out to her family as she takes her keys out of the door. She closes it behind her and locks up before taking her shoes off. Footsteps come from around the corner before Saho appears in the hallway.
“Hey Mom, welcome home. Let me get your bag for you.”
“Oh, thank you, Saho.” Kayoko says offering it to her. She starts to take her jacket off and hangs it up in the closet.
“You’re welcome. How was work?”
Kayoko sighs out and shakes her head, “they called me in on my day off saying it was a catastrophe, but it really was only something minor.”
“Hehehe, maybe it was a catastrophe for them, but minor for you since you’re so amazing.”
“Hahaha, oh Saho, you might be right about that. Is Aiki home?”
“Yes, you’ve come just in time. We were all about to eat lunch together. I sent you a text asking if you were going to make it, but you might have not seen it. I’ll set your plate up right now as you get dressed.”
“Thank you so much, Saho. I’m starving right now. I’ll be there in a minute as soon as I change.”
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll give you an extra big serving. I’m not sure if you remember, but Okuto is over right now as well. He and Aiki have some news to tell you.”
“Okuto? Is that one of Aiki’s friends?” Kayoko asks.
“Oh, right! Yes, it’s Nakamura. Okuto is his first name.”
“Nakamura…right, I remember him. It’s been a while, but I do remember him. He’s not the one with the glasses, right?”
“No, Mom, that’s Oomori. Okuto is Hirose’s other friend.”
“Right, right, I remember. Or I’ll at least remember when I come down. You all can start without me, I’ll be down in a bit.”
Saho watches her mother walk past her, a little slower than she usually does. She wonders if her day was more exhausting than she was letting on. Saho places her mother’s bag down and heads back towards the kitchen. Hirose and Nakamura both look up and watch her open cabinets to grab extra dishes.
“Is Mom home?” Hirose asks.
“Yes, she’s getting changed upstairs right now. I’m going to set up her plate, but she said we could all dig in without her. It may take her a while to join us.”
“That’s alright, we want to talk to her and tell her first before starting. To be honest I’m more nervous to tell her than I was with you. I’m not too sure I could eat much right now.” Hirose says, rubbing his belly.
Nakamura nods his head in agreement, although the food displayed on the table looks delicious. The Hirose family outdid themselves making several of Nakamura’s favorite meals. They didn’t have to go to such a length, but knowing that his boyfriend probably begged his sister to cook his favorites, and how Saho took the time and effort to actually make all of them, really makes him feel warm and special inside.
“Don’t worry so much about it, Aiki. Mom has been very supportive with all of your previous partners before.”
Hirose gives his sister a strange look, “what are you talking about? I rarely tell you guys when I’m dating someone.”
“That’s true, but we are your family. We know when something has changed in your life. You’re not as sneaky as you think you are going out, or talking late on the phone, or texting all the time. We always know, not exact specifics, but close enough. I think she’ll be very happy to have you actually telling her this time.” Saho explains as she sets down dishes on the table.
Hirose gasps, “I-well I only don’t tell you because the first time I ever told you I had a girlfriend you both bombarded me with questions and wanted me to bring her over! We had just started dating! It would have been so weird to have her meet my family after a few days! Plus, you guys would not stop interrogating me for a picture or her name and it made the whole experience very unpleasant!”
“Aiki! We’re your family! Of course we’re supposed to know about your business! What if this girl was a bad influence on you? Or what if you didn’t know how to be a good boyfriend? We wanted to know because we wanted to be able to help you out.”
“I’m an adult, sis, I don’t need dating advice from you or Mom.”
“You are seventeen, Aiki. You are not legally an adult until March. You certainly still act like my little brother.”
Nakamura actually feels a tiny bit better and less nervous as he watches Hirose and Saho playfully go back and forth with each other. This entire time, ever since he woke up this morning, he has had this sinking feeling in his gut. It was like a heavy boulder was stuck right in his stomach and it was weighing him down as he got ready for his day and rode his bike over here. That sinking feeling was a little bit relieved when Saho acted so happy for them, but it was still there as he waited. Waited and waited until Hirose’s mother finally came home.
“Aiki, Saho, what are the two of you yelling about? And in front of company as well, I know I taught you two better than that.”
Nakamura takes a sharp breath and sits up straighter in his seat, looking over at Kayoko who walks into the room. She shares the same brown eyes as Hirose does, but her hair is a much darker brown than her children’s. She meets his eyes and smiles softly.
“Hello there, Nakamura. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Go-go-good evening, Mrs. Hirose. Thank you for having me over.” Nakamura stands up from his seat and bows to her.
“Hahaha, oh dear, there is no need to be so formal. Saho, I thought I told you that everyone could eat while I was getting ready?”
“I did, but we all wanted to wait for you to come.”
“Aw, that’s really sweet. Thank you everyone, but I would hate to keep you waiting for any longer. Let’s all dig in.”
Hirose reaches out and tugs on his boyfriend’s sleeve since he was still standing up. Nakamura gasps and sits back down in his seat. He can see the flush appearing on his face and Hirose decides to be the one who takes the lead. Nakamura helped him last time with his sister, giving him strength as he held his hand. Hirose can’t call himself Nakamura’s boyfriend proudly if he can’t even tell the people he loves that they’re together.
“Um, Mom? Before we start eating, there is something very important that I want to tell you.” Hirose starts.
“Yes? What is it, Aiki?” Kayoko smiles at her son as she gets settled in her seat.
Saho takes her seat as well and holds her hands in front of her, giving her silent support to her little brother. Nakamura licks his lips and holds his breath, staring over at Hirose. Kayoko continues to wait and gives her full attention to her son.
“Well, the reason I invited Nakamura over today when both of you were home is because I wanted to tell you that…that we’re dating. Nakamura is my boyfriend. We’ve only been dating for two months now, but it’s serious and I love him and I didn’t want to keep it a secret from you both.” Hirose confesses.
He lets out a long sigh right afterwards, relief flooding through him instantly. There, now everyone knows. Hirose feels his appetite come back to him and a huge smile appears on his face. Nakamura looks proudly at his boyfriend before peeking over at Kayoko. He thinks he sees her smile fall. He isn’t quite too sure if he saw it correctly, but for some reason his instincts react and he feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up a little. Nakamura sits stiffly, feeling the heavy weight in his stomach still.
“Isn’t that great, Mom? Hirose actually brought home one of his partners! Although we already knew Nakamura, I’m so proud of him for not trying to hide it from us.”
“Ugh, Sis, this is exactly why I don’t bring anyone over. You embarrass me and you’re embarrassing Nakamura as well.”
“Hey, I’m allowed to embarrass you both as your big sister and you two are still supposed to love me because we’re family.”
“I’m sorry, Aiki, Saho, hold on for a second. Aiki, you and Nakamura are dating?” Kayoko asks her son.
Hirose stops glaring at his sister and looks back over at their mother, “yes, we are.”
“How long have you two been dating for?”
“Around two months.”
Kayoko blinks and looks over at Nakamura, “please forgive me for asking, but I thought you hadn’t presented.”
“Th-that’s alright, Mrs. Hirose. The last time I came over I hadn’t, but just recently I presented as an omega after I started dating your son for a month.”
“Oh, I see. You’re a male omega then.”
Something about the dining table turns cold. Hirose and Saho both stare at their mother while Nakamura averts his gaze down to his lap. He can still feel Kayoko’s eyes on him and his hands begin to tremble a little bit. He clenches them into fists to get them to stop.
“Um, yes, Nakamura is a male omega. What about it, Mom?” Hirose asks her.
“Huh? Oh, nothing. Nothing at all, it’s just a little surprising. I haven’t met a lot of male omegas before in my life.”
“Oh, yeah, I was a little surprised too since Nakamura is so tall! Remember when we thought Hirose might present as an omega because he had such a late growth spurt? Just goes to show you can never really tell based on looks alone.”
“There are actually a lot of male omegas at my school, Mom. They are a lot more common than you think. It’s weird how you said you haven’t met a lot in your life.”
“Hmm, maybe I’ve never noticed then. Saho, all of this looks lovely. I can’t believe that you made so much.” Kayoko changes the subject and turns to praise her daughter.
“Aw, thank you, Mom. Aiki practically begged me to make Okuto’s favorite since he was coming over. It was so cute. Please everyone, dig in. We’ve been talking so much I’m afraid that it’s gotten cold now. Let me know what you enjoy the most, Okuto. I’ll be sure to give you extra,” Saho teases.
“I can serve my own boyfriend, thank you very much, sis.” Hirose glares at her.
He picks up the serving spoons and starts piling things up on Nakamura’s plate, especially the octopus salad since he knows his boyfriend loves vegetables and octopus best. Nakamura finally looks up from his lap and over at Hirose.
“Is that enough for you, Nakamura?” He asks sweetly.
Nakamura nods his head, “y-yeah, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Let me know if you want anything else.”
Nakamura nods his head again and picks up his chopsticks. Everything looks so amazing on his plate…but his stomach doesn’t feel hungry in the slightest. Nakamura actually feels sick instead. He doesn’t know how he’s going to clear everything off of his plate. He doesn’t want to worry his boyfriend though, or be rude to Saho who prepared all of this for him.
“Thank you for this meal.” Nakamura says before taking a bite out of the salad.
He chews and chews and chews, feeling the texture, but tasting nothing at all. If he eats slowly and tries not to draw any attention to himself perhaps no one will notice.
“How is it, Okuto?” Saho asks.
Nakamura swallows down his bite and smiles, “delicious. Thank you so much for making this for us, Saho. You didn’t have to go through all the trouble.”
“Hahaha, it’s all worth it hearing you say you enjoy it. What about you, huh, Aiki? Have anything nice to say about my cooking?” Saho pokes.
Hirose takes a bite and hums, “hmm, it needs a bit more salt.”
“Ah, you little–”
“No fighting at the table, especially in front of guests. I’ve told you this before.”
“Okuto isn’t a guest, Mom, he’s family now, and Aiki is the one starting it.”
“Regardless, there is a guest in our home and I would rather my children act well behaved in front of him, understood?”
“Yes Mom,” Saho shakes her head a little bit.
“Yes Mom,” Aiki answers, “...it is good, sis..”
“Aw, Aiki, was that so hard to admit?”
“Yes, you don’t make it easy. Nakamura, you have it so much easier. Your little sister doesn’t tease you like this all the time, does she?” Hirose asks him.
Nakamura blinks, “huh? Oh, right, no, she thinks I’m the one who embarrasses her, so she doesn’t like it when I’m in her business.”
“Aw Nakamura, I completely feel your pain. It’s hard being the older sibling, isn’t it?” Saho jokes.
Nakamura makes a chuckle sound, but it sounds off. Hirose shoots him a look real quick and frowns to himself. He wonders if something is perhaps wrong and wishes he could ask, but sadly no matter how quiet he whispers the table is so small that his family would be able to hear it. Hirose reaches out to touch his leg instead. Nakamura looks up and over at him and smiles softly. The smile doesn’t quite meet his eyes though.
“So, you and Aiki are seniors this year now. Have you both started looking at universities to go to?” Saho asks. “I know you think you have a lot of time, but this last year is going to pass you by so quickly without you even realizing it. You’re going to become a teacher, right Aiki? What about you, Okuto?”
“He’s planning on becoming a marine biologist.”
“Oh wow! That’s so exciting! How come, Okuto?”
“Oh, well, I’ve always been a fan of the ocean. I used to love visiting aquariums a lot when I was younger and found marine life interesting. I have a pet octopus at home too that I take care of and…yeah, it’s something that makes me very happy. It’s always been my dream job.” Nakamura shrugs.
“I see, that’s so incredible.”
“Isn’t it? Nakamura knows so many cool facts about the ocean and sea life! Whenever we go to the aquarium he tells me more facts than the tour guide, hahaha.”
“Aw, that is pretty amazing. Now does that take a special type of schooling? Are the two of you going to be going to separate universities when you graduate?”
“No, not at all. Nakamura has actually looked it up and has a list of universities that offer both teaching and marine biology degrees. We’ve been looking them over and deciding what would be the best for both of us.”
“Hopefully nothing too far away from home though, right? That’s also something you have to keep in mind. How much your family is going to miss you.” Saho pouts.
“I had no idea you were considering universities already, Aiki. This is something serious that you’re going to need to discuss with me and your father. It isn’t something that you should be deciding so…hastily.” Kayoko speaks up.
“It’s not, Mom.” Hirose tells her. “Nakamura and I are going through our options and deciding on the best ones. I’ll be sure to tell you and Dad my top picks I’ll be aiming for once we know for sure, but we just recently started doing our research.”
“I don’t want you limiting your options, Aiki. If you’re serious about becoming a teacher and getting a teaching degree then you should go to the best school for that. One that will benefit you and give you an advantage when you graduate. There are a lot of teachers in the world, you are going to have stiff competition when you make it into the workforce.”
“I’m not limiting my options, Mom.”
“Why are you changing your tone with me, Aiki? I’m only saying that this is something that you need to discuss with your father and I, not–” Kayoko glances over at Nakamura, but doesn’t finish her sentence.
“It’s my future, Mom. Why can’t I decide what I want to do with it? I’ll happily get your input, but at the end of the day it is my choice where I want to go.”
“It’s something we’ll discuss more later.”
“Yes, yes, let’s do that, right? I mean, I know I said senior year passes by fast earlier, but you still have some time to enjoy yourself, Aiki! That’s what you should really be doing with your friends.” Saho quickly interrupts.
She shoots glances at her mother, but Kayoko doesn’t seem to notice as she goes back to eating her meal silently. Unfortunately, this is how lunch goes on for the rest of the evening. Hirose and Saho try to keep the conversation flowing, inviting Nakamura who answers when talked to, but doesn’t really offer up anything himself. Kayoko says another comment or two that has both of her children stare at her, and then lunch comes to an end. Nakamura wipes his mouth off with a napkin and slowly stands up.
“Lunch was very delicious, Saho. Thank you so much. Can I help you clean up?”
“What? Of course not, Okuto. Don’t you even worry about it. You and Aiki go ahead and head upstairs, I can handle all of this.” Saho says.
“Actually, I think that–” Kayoko starts, but doesn’t get to finish as Nakamura speaks over her.
“I actually plan on heading home now. Thank you so much for having me over for lunch. Saho, Mrs. Hirose, it was nice meeting you two again. Excuse me.”
“Oh, huh? Wait? So soon, Okuto?” Saho asks him.
“Yes, I’m sorry, but my mother wanted me back home before a certain time.”
“Hmm, well, I guess that can’t be helped then. Would you like me to pack you up some leftovers? There are plenty left.”
“It’s okay, sis. I’m going to walk Nakamura out, I’ll be right back.” Hirose tells her.
He doesn’t leave any room for her to say anything else. Hirose knows his boyfriend wants to leave their home right now and he doesn’t blame him. He makes it easier for him to do so, telling his family not to worry. Hirose follows Nakamura towards the front door and puts on his sandals. The two of them head outside and walk over towards the front gate.
“You don’t have to walk me home, Hirose. It’s still daylight out, I’ll be fine making it on my own.”
Hirose’s eyes widen a little before he gets a small pout on his lips, “I know, but I still want to.”
Nakamura doesn’t respond seeing his pouting face though. His face actually doesn’t show that much emotion at all.
“It’ll be better if you don’t. I rode my bike here, remember? It’ll be quicker for me if I go alone.”
“...Do you not want me to walk you home?”
“It’s not that,” Nakamura quickly tells him. He reaches out and grabs Hirose’s arms, holding onto them. “You know it’s not that, it’s just…I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? I’ll feel bad for you walking me all the way there and having to come back all by yourself. I’ll call you as soon as I get home and I’ll see you again tomorrow, I promise.”
“Nakamura, I’m…I’m sorry. I know lunch was pretty strange. Today didn’t go exactly as planned since Mom was called into her job early this morning. She’s probably all stressed and tired right now. You know she’s normally not like that.”
“I know, Hirose. I didn’t say anything. Please tell your sister again how much I enjoyed her meal, and that I look forward to having another one soon. And thank your Mom for having me over too. I love you.”
“I…I love you too, Nakamura.”
Hirose hugs his boyfriend goodbye, squeezing onto him tightly before letting go. He watches him ride his bike down the street until he just becomes a small speck in the distance. As soon as he disappears Hirose stops holding back the anger that’s been bubbling up inside of him. Another reason he wanted to walk Nakamura home is so that he would have a chance to calm down, but now that he was stuck here with his anger about to bubble over, his common sense stops working at this moment. Hirose lets out a sharp breath through his nose before stomping back to his house. He slams the door behind him close and goes straight to the kitchen, finding his mother and sister there wrapping up the food.
“What was your problem, Mom?!” Hirose shouts out.
Saho drops the food container she’s holding on the counter while Kayoko swiftly turns around and glares at her son.
“Excuse me? Who are you shouting at, Aiki?”
“I’m shouting at you, Mom! I’m shouting at you because I have absolutely no idea why you were behaving that way towards my boyfriend!”
“You better watch your tone–”
“You were so mean to him! You spoke to him so coldly and for what reason?! I know you don’t really care about my friends, but you’ve never treated them cruelly like that before! Tell her, Saho! You could tell she was being mean with her comments as well, couldn’t you?!” Hirose asks his sister.
“Well…” Saho glances between her brother and their mother, “...you were acting a bit strange around him, Mom. I didn’t really understand it either.”
Kayoko huffs, “I don’t care how I act inside of my own house. I am your mother, Aiki. You have no right to yell and lecture me.”
“And you have no right to act like you hate my boyfriend! Nakamura is always kind and respectful whenever he comes to visit! You’ve never had a problem with him before!”
“Well you weren’t dating him before!”
“So that’s it?! You have a problem with me dating Nakamura? Why? Because he’s a boy?!”
“I just don’t understand why you’re dating him! Every other person you’ve ever dated has been a girl! You’ve dated female omegas this entire time, so why are you suddenly dating a male omega? And planning your whole entire future around him? This might all just be a phase for you, Aiki–”
“A PHASE?!” Hirose shouts, not believing his ears at all. His eyes grow wide and his mouth drops open. “Are you telling me that you’re hoping that this is a phase?! Well I have news for you, Mom, this is not a phase! I love Nakamura! I love him with all my heart and I want to be with him for the rest of my life!”
“Aiki, you’re not hearing me–”
“No, you’re not hearing me, Mom! Those ex-girlfriends that you mentioned before, did you know that all of them broke up with me?! Huh?! Every single one of them! Not a single person was ever interested in me until I presented as an alpha and then all of a sudden I had all these girls asking to go out with me, but guess what?! They didn’t want to date me! They just wanted to date an alpha! They didn’t care at all about me, about who I was, what I liked, nothing at all! Each and every one of them broke up with me! Because I wasn’t interesting enough, because I wasn’t as cool as they thought I was going to be, or because I wasn’t alpha enough for them! All of them hurt me, Mom, and didn’t care about me at all!”
Kayoko grows quiet as she listens to her son get worked up. Hirose starts pacing the floor, his scent flaring out of him as his anger rises even more.
“Nakamura was the only one! The only one who cared about me! Who made me feel better, who told me they were wrong, who made me feel like I wasn’t just some boring ordinary person! He fell in love with me before I even presented! He presented as an omega because of me, Mom! He’s my true mate! It shouldn’t matter if he’s a boy or a girl, if he’s an omega, alpha, or beta, what should matter to you is the fact that he makes me happy! While my ex-girlfriends always complained about me, Nakamura tells me he loves everything about me! He has always loved me, always supported me, has done so much for my happiness, even sacrificing his own happiness for my sake because that’s how much of a good person he is! Nakamura is way too good for me! I don’t deserve to date him and I know that fact, but I’m still trying to live up to his love because I have never been this happy as I am now and it’s all because of him. Mom, Nakamura thinks I’m so special. He thinks I’m incredible, he sees things in me that I don’t even see in myself, and I honestly have no idea where I would be right now if he wasn’t in my life, but I know for a fact that I wouldn’t be as happy and confident in myself now without him. You have no idea how much he’s done for me and the fact that you're judging him simply because he was born a male omega, something that he couldn’t help himself at all, is absolutely baffling to me! If this is how you really feel then I had the wrong image of you this entire time, Mom! If what you care about more is your son having a normal typical relationship than being with someone that actually makes him happy then I am done with you!”
Hirose growls out and leaves the room, stomping upstairs and slamming the door behind him. Kayoko grows quiet as she stands there. Her son…has never yelled at her like that before. She’s never seen him ever grow that upset over her, ever shout at her, ever looked at her like he…he hated her. She takes a step back and leans on the counter for support.
“Mom, you know that Aiki was just upset. He didn’t mean what he said at the end. He still has a hard time controlling his alpha side, you know that.” Saho says, going to her side.
“...Did you know all of that? About Aiki’s ex-girlfriends? About Nakamura?”
Saho sighs and shakes her head, “no, not about his ex-girlfriends. I mean, I could usually tell whenever he broke up with them, but regarding Okuto…I always knew he was special to Aiki. I never knew how special exactly and when they told me earlier that they were dating Aiki never mentioned that they were…true mates. If I’m being honest though, Mom, when you see Aiki talk about Okuto his entire world lights up. He’s been happier than I’ve ever seen him these last few weeks and I thought it was because it was his final year of school, but now I know why. It’s because the two of them finally started dating.”
“It’s not nor-...common. The two of them being together isn’t something common. The world isn’t going to–”
“The world is changing, Mom. A male alpha and male omega couple might not have been common in your age growing up, but it is very common now. I see it all the time. People don’t care or judge anymore, or at least not like they used to. There are female alpha and female omega couples too, alpha/alpha couples, omega/omega couples, heck, sometimes even alpha/omega/beta couples. There are all sorts of people with different preferences and the world is open to it all now. Well, mostly open. For Aiki and Okuto though, I don’t believe they are going to have any trouble at all.”
Kayoko frowns as she brings up a hand to her face, “he really makes him happy?”
“Mom, Aiki just told you off so loud that his face turned red.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“You know, during lunch I remembered when we first talked about Aiki perhaps presenting as an omega. I kind of forgot about the whole conversation, but seeing how you acted with Okuto…you sounded the same way when talking about Aiki being a male omega. It bothered you back then, but I didn’t pick up on it, or maybe I just ignored it. Is it really something hard for you to accept? Something that you truly hate?”
“I don’t hold any hatred, Saho, I just…I knew the world was going to treat him differently. I knew it was going to be harder for him being a male omega, so I was hoping for the best because I didn’t want Aiki to suffer. I didn’t want him to have a harder life and I still don’t.”
“I understand that, Mom, but you heard Aiki. He was having a hard life dating female omegas all this time, but Okuto makes him truly happy. If what Aiki says is true, if the two of them really are true mates then…”
“I know, Saho, I know. Thank you for talking with me.”
“You’re welcome, Mom. Let me know if you need any help talking with Aiki.”
“No, no, that’s something I have to do on my own. I think I’ll wait until he calms down a bit.”
“Yeah, that might be for the best.”
Kayoko also needs time to herself to process everything that just happened and to think up what to say as well. She lets out a little sigh as she hopes all of this will have a happy ending.
When Hirose hears a knock on his door he immediately goes still and grows quiet. He rolls around in his bed and stares over at his door, seeing a shadow underneath it.
“I’ll call you back in a second, Nakamura,” Hirose whispers over the phone.
“Ah, okay. You don’t have to if–”
“I will, just give me a few minutes. Love you, bye.”
“Love you too.”
Hirose hangs up the phone and hides it underneath his pillow. He slowly leans up in bed and stares at the door, waiting for it to open up. After a minute goes by there is another knock. Hirose frowns, wondering if it might be his sister instead of his mother. He was expecting one of them to come and see him after his little outburst, but luckily they left him alone for a few hours to cool off. If this were Saho knocking on his door she would have called out his name…but then again his mother would have just walked right in.
“Come in.”
Hirose holds his breath as he watches the door open…and sees his mother stepping into his room. His body immediately stiffens up and he becomes on guard, still feeling a bit agitated from before. He knows that he was in the wrong, but he wasn’t the only one. Hirose has to force himself to breathe as he watches her walk over to him. She sits on the edge of his bed and stares at him.
“Aiki–”
“I’m sorry,” Hirose quickly says.
Kayoko blinks and closes her mouth.
“I’m sorry for raising my voice at you. I know that was wrong. No matter how upset I was, I shouldn’t have done that to you. You didn’t deserve that, so I am sorry for yelling at you, Mom…I’m not sorry for what I said though. How you treated my boyfriend earlier was unfair and mean. If you don’t like the two of us together then I won’t ever bring him over here again, but you have no right to butt in and try to dictate my relationship. We can both just pretend today never happened and never talk about it again if you want. I’m okay with that if you are.”
Kayoko’s face tightens a little bit. She stares down at her hands and clenches them together.
“I’m not okay with that, Aiki.”
“I’m not going to break up with Nakamura. I love him, Mom.”
“I know, I understand that…and I agree with what you said earlier. How I acted today was unfair, to both you and…Nakamura. I’m sorry, Aiki.”
Hirose takes a small breath, his muscles relaxing a little bit. He stares right at his mother’s face, wondering if she was lying or playing a trick on him. She always used to be able to convince him to do things without him realizing it, like she was using mind tricks, but now that he’s older he’s grown more aware of it.
“I wanted to ask for your forgiveness…and also ask if I could have Nakamura’s phone number as well.”
And there it was! Hirose narrows his eyes and looks suspiciously at her, “what for?”
“I believe I owe him an apology too. I would like to invite him over for a proper lunch this time where I have the chance to learn about the boy that loves my son and thinks he is special.”
Hirose’s eyes widen before a huge smile appears on his face, “oh Mom! Thank you! Thank you! Yes, I can give you his number! Just a second!”
“Have you told him about…about what I said before? Do I need to apologize for more than I think?”
Hirose shakes his head, “no. I told him you had a long work day when he was leaving, but I didn’t tell him about our argument. He could tell I was upset, but I didn’t want him to think you actually did hate him.”
“I don’t hate him, Aiki. It’s just…hard for me to understand, since I am so old. The world is changing though, faster than I was aware of. I don’t want to be left behind…and I certainly don’t want to hurt my family or stand in the way of their happiness. I hope you understand that I was only trying to look out for you and do what I believed was best for you, but I wasn’t aware that Nakamura might be what’s best for you.”
“He is, Mom. He is.”
Kayoko tilts her head to the side, “is he really your true mate?”
“I-we both think so. It’s kind of a long story.”
“I see, well it’s a story you can tell during dinner tonight…and it seems like I have some things to tell you about as well. I want to understand your relationship with him and I also want you to understand the reason why I reacted the way that I did. It was never because I hate Nakamura or hate male omegas, but because I’ve seen how challenging it is to be one and didn’t want you to suffer. I’m going to try, Aiki, so I do hope you’ll be patient with me.”
“Thank you, Mom. Thank you so much,” Hirose leans over and hugs her. “I look forward to the conversation. I do want to understand you and have you understand me as well. Thank you so much for being willing to try. I love you.”
Kayoko smiles before hugging him back, “I love you too, son.”
Kayoko stares at the text on her phone that she’s probably rewritten a dozen times and reread more than twice of that. She started one way, then changed to another, not knowing exactly what to say or how to say it. She was a grown woman apologizing to a teenage boy; no one really teaches you how to do that. She settles on being truthful and sincere in the end though. Kayoko knows that’s what her son would have wanted, so she finally pushes send on her text message.
Hello Nakamura, this is Kayoko, Hirose’s mother. He gave me your phone number. I wanted to apologize for my rude behavior at lunch today. I realize that I treated you quite coldly and unfairly and I am sorry for behaving the way that I did.
Aiki and I had a talk and he informed me of how much you not only mean to him, but also how much you’ve done for him. Thank you so much for taking care of my son this entire time. He told me he owes a lot of his happiness to you and as a mother I feel so ashamed of my behavior for treating someone Aiki cherishes so much like they were unwanted.
I would love it if you could come over to our home again in the future, whenever the time is most convenient for you. I would like to have a redo of our lunch and this time I want to get to know more about you if that is something that you would be interested in as well. If not, I would understand. You can let Aiki know.
Thank you.
Kayoko puts her phone down on the table and relaxes on the couch. She lets out a long sigh, happy that she finally sent something. He probably won’t reply to her today. Kayoko understands. She does hope that he at least gives her another chance–
“Ah!” Kayoko gasps when her phone suddenly goes off.
She quickly reaches for it, seeing a reply text back.
“So soon?!” She gasps before opening it up.
Hello, Mrs. Hirose. Thank you for your text, although it was completely unnecessary. There is nothing that you have to apologize for. I did not find your behavior to be cold or unfair as you so put it. Hirose had informed me you had to go into work on your day off, so I understand you must have been exhausted. My apologies for coming over on such a stressful day.
I hope Hirose didn’t talk to you and tell you too many things. The truth is that he’s actually the one who has been taking care of me all this time. You raised a very kind and amazing son that everyone loves being around, myself included. He is such a wonderful person and I know that whatever things he may have said to you weren’t true at all, so I hope you don’t take it to heart.
Thank you for inviting me to come over again. I would love to do so and can’t wait.
“Huh…he really is a nice boy,” Kayoko mumbles to herself.
Now she feels even more terrible for her actions. Well, there is only one way to fix that now. Kayoko smiles softly as she texts Nakamura back.
Thank you so much, Nakamura. I can’t wait either.