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“Thank you so much for your help Tetsuya-san!”
The 26 year old man finished washing the last plate before putting it on the rack to dry. He turned to the older woman with a gentle smile on his face.
“It was nothing. It’s the least I could do for allowing us into your home, Sakura-san. “
Tetsuya and Taiga Kagami, along with his father-in-law, were visiting Kagami’s family back in Japan. Unfortunately, the visit wasn’t due to happy circumstances. One of Taiga’s cousins had passed away and while Taiga hadn’t spoken to her in years, he and his father still felt obligated to come. Thankfully Taiga’s coaches were understanding about the family emergency and allowed him a week off despite it being NBA season.
“You’re too kind Tetsuya-san. I’m grateful that a beta as thoughtful and polite as you has also joined the family.”
Nothing about Kuroko’s face revealed how uncomfortable that comment made him.
Kagami-san had mentioned that this side of their family tended to be more conservative. Their family mostly consisted of alphas and betas and if there was an omega, not only were they frowned upon but they were also expected to behave like a docile, perfect housewife.
Tetsuya’s pheromones were faint to non-existent, and with the turtleneck covering Taiga’s bite mark behind his neck, the family assumed Kuroko was a beta.
No one had asked and merely assumed, which is why neither Tetsuya, Taiga nor his father, corrected them.
Laughter boomed from some of the alphas in the living room. Taiga and his father were also in there, though he didn’t hear their voices at all.
He did find it strange they were laughing after coming back from a funeral.
The man of the house, Sakura-san’s husband, called from the living room, demanding that she bring them more drinks.
“Of course.” She turned back to the blue haired man. “Excuse me for a moment Tetsuya-san.”
As the older woman moved, something outside the window caught his attention.
It was a shed. However, it had the light on.
‘There shouldn’t be anyone in there,’ The blue eyed man thought. ‘It’s too cold and it doesn’t look like it’s meant to house someone inside.’
It didn’t take more than two seconds for the door to open.
A little head with black and hair peered through the door. The boy, who was probably around 8-9, looked around, not noticing Tetsuya staring from the kitchen window. Thinking that no one was watching him, the kid exited the shed and made his way to the front of the house.
He knew he should probably ask Haraka-san why there was a child in the shed; however, he knew from his years as an educational instructor that parents/guardians aren’t always honest and that he needed to investigate throughly.
Tetsuya left through the back door quietly; it would be an issue if Haruka-san noticed he had left.
The 26 year opened the front gate and saw that the child was already a few yards away.
He was grateful that he continued to have a low presence, otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten as far as he did following him in this quiet residential area.
However, he realized he wasn’t as quiet as he thought with that last step as he saw the boy twitch, almost resembling a cat before he turned to glare at him.
“What do you want? Why are you following me?” The boy hissed, clenching his fists as he continued to stare him down with a piercing gaze.
Kuroko noticed two things at the moment.
In addition to his split colored hair, the boy had also had heterochromia.
The second thing he noticed was the pheromones he was releasing.
He, too, was an omega.
The child was so young Kuroko figured he probably didn’t know how to control his scent properly.
“I mean you no harm.” He raised his hands up to show he had no weapons on him. “My husband is a relative of yours. We came to pay our respects, and are currently visiting your home. I saw you leave, and I was worried since you weren’t wearing proper attire for this weather.”
“You…were worried?” The child muttered slowly; his gaze changed from hostile to one of disbelief. He clearly didn’t believe Tetsuya.
“I am. I teach Kindergarten in America so I tend to worry a lot about children, especially those who walking around in winter with a thin jacket.”
The child still looked at him in distrust, as if Tetsuya couldn’t possibly be worried about someone like him.
It made the teacher’s heart ache.
The adult moved one of his arms towards the boy’s direction. It put the child on edge but once Kuroko released some of his pheromones, his expression changed to one of bewilderment.
“Yes, I am also an omega.” Kuroko smiled at him. “My name is Kagami Tetsuya. May I ask what your name is?”
A pink hue appeared on the boy’s cheeks. While avoiding his gaze, he muttered, “S-Sakura H-Haruka.”
“What a beautiful name. It’s a pleasure to meet you Sakura-kun.”
Normally he would use a child’s first name but he had a feeling Haruka would not feel comfortable with that just yet.
“T-thank you.” His voice was quiet, as if embarrassed to speak. Or maybe he wasn’t used to kindness.
A gust of cold wind blew past them, causing both males to shiver. Tetsuya realized he left his own jacket behind to follow Sakura quickly.
The older omega patted his front pocket and was relieved to still feel his wallet.
“Sakura-kun, would you like to join me for a warm meal?”
The two omegas found a ramen shop not too far from their location. Their walk had been quiet; Tetsuya suspected Sakura still didn’t fully trust his intentions.
Once at the restaurant, the man who served them was rather rude. He had sneered at the pair, glared as he took their order (more specifically at Haruka), before practically slamming their ramens on their table.
They were the only two in the restaurant; Tetsuya would have assumed he would have been more grateful for the clientele.
Tetsuya watched as Sakura glared back at the man before turning to his meal. He had a brow of confusion as he held his chopsticks.
Another red flag, the adult noted. Children at a very young age learn to use chopsticks and it was concerning that a 9 year old held them in his hand as if he was infant.
Before the blue eyed adult could offer to teach him, he felt a wave of panic wash through him.
He knew these weren’t his emotions; what he was feeling were Taiga’s through their bond.
“Oh no.”
He ignored Sakura’s worried gaze as he pulled out his phone.
Before he could mark Taiga’s number, his phone was already ringing.
“Hello?”
“Where are you? You know how worried I was when I couldn’t find you at the house?”
“I know; I’m sorry.” He should have sent a message when he left. “I had the urge to take a walk.”
“A walk? In this weather? Without telling me?” It wasn’t hard to pick up the disbelief in Taiga’s tone.
“It was urgent.” He lowered his voice, hoping his husband picked up how much Tetsuya didn’t want his family to know. “Please Taiga-kun; I can explain everything once you’re here. I’ll share my location with you in a bit.”
His husband sighed. “Okay. I’ll be there in a few minutes.“
“Thank you Taiga-kun. I love you.”
“I love you too. Stay safe and I’ll see ya in a bit.”
After the call ended, Kuroko shared his location with his husband. Once that was taken care of, he turned back to the child, who was blushing from head to toe. Sakura couldn’t even hold his hold spoon properly without shaking.
“Ah Sakura-kun, is something wrong?”
The 9 year old shock his head rapidly before taking a spoonful of broth into his mouth.
It didn’t take long for Taiga-kun to meet them at the ramen shop. Call Tetsuya petty but he secretly enjoyed watching the owner flinch when he saw a muscular, 6ft 5in (195cm) alpha bend down in order to get through the restaurant’s door.
“Man, I forget how tiny some places are in Japan.”
“They’re not tiny. Taiga-kun is just ridiculously tall.” Was always his comeback.
“Whatever shorty,” is how Taiga teased him back. “Here…I brought your coat and gloves. Don’t want you catching a cold. Oh, and your scarf too.”
“Thank you.” He smiled, grateful for his husband’s thoughtfulness. The redhead returned the gesture and he’s sure they would have spent a moment longer staring into each other’s eyes if it wasn’t for the sound of soup splashing.
Once again, the dual colored haired boy was blushing immensely.
“Woah! Who’s the kid?” Kagami asked as he took a seat next to his husband.
“His name is Sakura Haruka. Sakura-kun, this is your relative I was telling you about.”
“My relative?” The alpha raised an eyebrow, and blue haired man grabbed Taiga’s hand from under the table.
“Yes…I saw Sakura-kun leaving your cousin’s home from their shed.”
“Their…shed?” Taiga’s eyes widened as Tetsuya tightened his grip on his hand.
‘ Why is there a kid living in their shed? Also, don’t they only have the one son? ’ They both wondered.
“Who are your parents, kid?”
“W-what’s it to you?” Sakura muttered as he narrowed his eyes.
“We were told that they only had 1 son.” Tetsuya interrupted before Taiga could possibly snap at the child for his attitude. “That’s why I was surprised to see you come out of the shed Sakura-kun.”
Haruka avoided their gaze, and remained silent. For a moment, they weren’t sure if the boy would answer.
“They’re…not my parents.” He finally answered.
“Are you visiting then, Sakura-kun?” Kuroko inquired softly. He didn’t want his questions to come off as judgmental, and for Sakura to bring his walls up again.
The boy shook his head no; he didn’t add more.
The married couple looked at one another and decided it pause on their questions.
“Man, I’m starving.” Taiga grumbled instead. He raised his hand. “Yo old man! Can I get a menu?”
The owner, who had been observing them quietly from the corner, flinched before rushing over to their table. He set down the menu and was about return back when the alpha started sharing his order.
“Alright, I’ll do 5 of Shoyu ramen, 5 Tonkotsu, 2 Miso, and 3 Shio. Extra meat on everything.”While ignoring the restaurant owner’s shocked expression, he turned to the two omegas. “You guys want anything?”
“I’m fine, thank you. Would you like something else Sakura-kun?”
The 9 year old looked more lost about the options than concerned about Taiga’s gluttonous stomach. “Shoyo? T-Tonkatsu? Shio?”
Kuroko had ordered him a tonkotsu ramen when the boy had been having difficulty reading the menu.
“Why don’t you finish your Tonkotsu ramen first Sakura-san, and if you’re still hungry, we can order you another one? We can even sample some of Taiga-kun’s dishes to see if you have a preference.”
“Oi!”
The boy looked like he wanted to say yes but hesitated and answered with “No thanks” instead.
However, once all the bowls came in and the table was filled with delicious noodles, Sakura couldn’t stop drooling at all the ramen. Kuroko was pleased to say he was able to get Sakura to try some.
Even if his response was “well…if that’s what you want…,” Kuroko still found it adorable.
Like a cat who’s afraid to approach you until you offer it food.
“Taiga-kun really took advantage that his coaches weren’t here, didn’t he?”
“Damn right. Look I get my diet is important but I need protein too! Next time we’re going to an all-you-can eat barbecue.”
The three walked back to the Sakura resident. Tetsuya tried to give Sakura his jacket to wear but the child insisted he was fine. However, the blue haired man was stubborn and refused to leave the restaurant until the 9 year old at least wore his scarf.
He was certain Sakura was still pouting as he walked in front of them but to his surprise, Sakura slowly turned his head towards them.
“What….what do you do at your job?” He didn’t look at them, and he sounded embarrassed for asking Kagami.
However, both adults internally beamed. Kagami even shot him a giant smile.
“I’m a professional basketball player. I play for the NBA back in America.”
“N…B…A…?” It was clear the child didn’t understand.
“Are you familiar with basketball, Sakura-kun?”
“O-of course! You…play with a ball right?” His cheeks reddened, as if embarrassed he was caught lying and not knowing what the sport was. But neither adult minded.
“Hey, don’t sweat it! We can show you tomorrow. We don’t have any plans, right babe?”
Kuroko nodded. “That’s correct. We’re not from this town so we weren’t planning to do anything but visit Taiga-kun’s family. Perhaps Kagami-san would also like to join us.”
“Oh…oh okay. Sure…I mean….if that’s what you guys want to do…”
Sakura tried not to show it but it was clear he was happy about the plans for tomorrow.
When they reached the house, Sakura stopped at the front gate. He hesitated, his dual colored eyes looking panicked as if he wasn’t sure what to do.
“Sakura-kun, what’s-?”
“Haruka, what are you doing out?”
The three flinched, not noticing that Taiga’s cousin was at the front door. He was the man of the house, and he could see his wife and Taiga’s father peering through the door frame.
It wouldn’t surprise Kuroko if the rest of their relatives were trying to try what was happening over Kagami-san’s shoulder.
“What’s going on?”
“Ah I apologize uncle. My nephew knows he shouldn’t leave the house without permission. He’s an omega and with most of our neighbors being alphas, we don’t want him causing any trouble.”
The blue haired man clenched his fist. He didn’t like the tone he was using and based off their bond, he knew Taiga-kun didn’t either.
“He was with me.” Tetsuya said as he stood next to the child. “I apologize for not asking prior; you must have been very worried. With your permission, we would love to take him out again tomorrow.”
As the shorter man bowed, he hoped he sounded sincere.
The older black haired man looked momentarily stunned. However, he quickly regained his composure. “There is no need to apologize Tetsuya-san but we appreciate the gesture. That won’t be an issue but I would like to discuss matters further.”
He gestured for the group to enter his home. Once inside, his eyes turned to the youngest member. “Haruka, go to your room.”
The boy hesitated; he slowly turned his head to the Kagami couple.
Both gave him reassuring smiles. “It’s okay Sakura-kun.”
“Yeah, we’ll see you later.” Taiga even patted his head, surprising the young boy.
Sakura turned pink and looked like he wanted to say something but it was hard to ignore the narrowed look his uncle was giving him.
Instead, he pouted and nodded before going to the back of the house.
The only one who looked confused was Kagami-san.
“Isn’t that the way to the kitchen?”
“Apparently he lives in the shed.” Taiga had no issues throwing his cousin a questioning glare in front of his other relatives.
“What?!”
Tetsuya observed the crowd. Out of the other adults, none of them looked surprised and only 1 or 2 looked slightly shameful.
“Uncle, Taiga-kun, please allow me to explain.” The older man started. He sighed loudly before continuing. “Haruka was Momo’s child.”
Sakura Momo was the relative who passed away recently.
“I didn’t know Momo had a child.” Kagami-san looked shocked, and Taiga had a matching expression. Tetsuya’s own eyes had widened as he didn’t recall seeing Haruka at the funeral.
It was despicable for a child not allowed at his own mother’s funeral.
“Neither did we. We learned about the omega’s existence 6 months ago when he was dropped off at our door by the authorities. Momo had disappeared, and recently turned up dead.”
He rubbed his temple. “Regardless of how Momo betrayed her family, he is still my sister’s child so they placed the burden on me.”
“How could you say that?” Tetsuya asked as he took a step forward. His typical neutral expression was replaced by a fierce gaze. “Haruka is just a child, and he didn’t choose this anymore than you did!”
“Tetsuya-san,” The older man gritted his teeth. “With all due respect, you’re not the one enduring the financial and social burdens of raising that omega. You are in no position to judge us.”
“But-”
“Tetsuya.” An older but still strong hand landed on his shoulder. “I know you are concerned with Momo’s child but let me handle it. They are my family after all.”
The omega looked like he wanted to respond to his father-in-law but another hand manifested on his other shoulder.
“Babe,” Taiga whispered by his ear. “I know you care. I do too but let’s trust dad to handle it.”
Tetsuya, though feeling reluctant, nodded and allowed the older Kagami to take over. The alpha wrapped his arms around his mate and nuzzled the back of his head, hoping to make his omega feel better with his warmth and scent.
It did.
“Now, I understand that Haruka’s sudden appearance must have been quite the shock. It wouldn’t surprise me if having an additional child you didn’t plan for has stressed your finances and living situation. Alpha and omega children especially since they need additional care.”
Haruka’s guardian practically beamed, as if he delighted that his uncle was seeing it through his perspective.
“However, that doesn’t mean you can send that child to live in a shed. You think I didn’t notice the thin jacket he wore, despite this weather?”
The blue haired man was glad to see the smile disappear from Taiga’s cousin’s face.
“You should have informed me of Momo’s disappearance 6 months ago and when Haruka was brought into your custody. Bring that boy back in. He’ll sleep in the guest bedroom I’m currently in and I’ll take the couch.”
“But uncle-”
“Tomorrow, while Taiga and Tetsuya take Haruka out, you and I will have a long discussion about finances and anything else needed to ensure that boy is safe and happy. Do I make myself clear?”
No one in the room objected. While some were also alphas, none of them came close to the same dominating aura that the older 6ft 2in (188cm) redhead radiated.
“Good.” He turned towards his son. “Taiga, it’s getting late. Best to call it a day and take Tetsuya back to the hotel.”
“You got it. Thanks pops!”
“Thank you Kagami-san.”
The married couple walked out the front door; since neither of them had a Japanese driver’s license, Taiga ordered a taxi. Though it was going to be a 10 minute wait, both decided it would be better to wait outdoors than back inside.
The professional athlete leaned across the light post while his smaller spouse leaned against his chest. Long arms wrapped around the omega with Tetsuya resting his hands on top of his.
“How are you feeling now?” The alpha asked while resting his chin on top of Kuroko’s head.
“I think Taiga-kun is still heavy.”
“Hey!”
“But, if Taiga-kun is referring to the situation with Sakura-kun, after seeing Kagami-san handle it, I think everything will be alright.”
The two spent the remainder of their time going over their plans for tomorrow. They decided they would take Haruka out for breakfast before showing him how to play basketball. Tetsuya would give verbal instructions while Taiga would demonstrate.
They chatted away even when the taxi arrived. Both of them excited for the next day, not knowing their little family was about to grow, thanks to a child with dual colored hair and eyes.