Archive of Our Own ^beta

With his brother sniffling in his arms, it was getting pretty hard for Taro to hold back tears of his own. But he did his best not to cry, trying to focus on his little brother instead, because without their dad there he needed to be the one protecting Buddy. As time went on, though, it was becoming more and more difficult to stay calm and look after his brother.

The two brothers were terrified. After Buddy had alerted them that there was someone strange outside of the place they were staying, their dad had told them to hide while he went out to investigate, saying that he’d come back when it was safe. But then their dad hadn’t come back. They waited all night for him to return, and Buddy had started to cry, asking where their dad was. Taro didn’t have any answer for his brother. All he could do was assure him that their dad would come back soon, because he wouldn’t just leave them.

Except he hadn’t. And by morning, things got even stranger. In the place they were in, a security guard was supposed to come by to take them to get breakfast, to check in with them. But no one came.

Something was wrong.

“D-Daddy…” Buddy hiccuped miserably. “Did Daddy leave us?”

“Daddy wouldn’t ever leave us, Buddy,” Taro assured. And he truly believed that, so it was some comfort to his brother. But they’d been separated from their dad before, so Taro suspected that someone was keeping him from them. Not by their dad’s choice, of course. It never was. But in the same way they’d been kept at some kind of center for a while until being reunited with their dad after being taken from the Foundation when the auction went wrong. Their dad hadn’t wanted to leave them then, had been going to go get them until the police intervened. Now it seemed like he’d been taken from them again.

Only this time Taro was certain it wasn’t by the police or any authority who would soon return him to them. It had to be someone else. Someone bad.

He was supposed to keep his brother safe, but… They were supposed to keep their dad safe too! If he was in trouble, they needed to go help him! Their dad didn’t have any powers, and there was no one else in the world who would help him if he needed it. Only them, his pups.

So Taro sat his brother upright and put his hands on his shoulders, telling him seriously, “Buddy, something’s not right. The security guard hasn’t come by today. No one else has either, since that person last night.” His brother nodded, confirming it. “Whoever that was last night must have taken Daddy somewhere. We need to go look for him.” He would rather not bring his brother, but Taro wasn’t going to leave him behind. He didn’t know if where they were staying was safe anymore. Not when it seemed like the security guards had been paid off or were in on their dad’s disappearance. It’d be better to keep his brother by his side so he’d know he was okay.

Buddy hesitated. “Daddy said to hide…”

“I think he needs us to help him. He just went out to investigate, and we’re not at Grandpa’s house anymore. Daddy doesn’t have to go do work for a long time like he used to anymore. Daddy always protects us, so now we have to protect him.”

With his brother convinced, Taro could help Buddy get ready to go. As he helped his brother get his shoes on, Buddy asked if he knew where they should look for their dad. Taro didn’t really know where to start, but the twelve-year-old figured that they could check the rest of the center they were in just in case their dad was being kept somewhere close by. Then they would have to figure out how to get out without being noticed.

Thanks to Buddy’s ability and their heightened Alpha senses, it was easy enough to sneak around. And it was even easier to approach someplace and have Buddy go, “Daddy’s not in there.” Taro wasn’t really sure how his brother’s power worked, exactly, but he wasn’t going to question him when the five-year-old looked so sure of it. Buddy always seemed to know when their dad was coming back to their room way before either of them could hear footsteps.

Right when they were starting to run out of places to check, and the older pup was starting to panic, which in turn was setting off Buddy’s tears again, Buddy suddenly perked up. Taro scrubbed at his eyes, determined not to cry, and opened his mouth to start coming up with ideas on how they could escape. Before he could say anything, Buddy gasped and then cried out, “Daddy!”

He took off. For a moment, Taro froze. Then he chased after his brother, hissing, “Buddy! Don’t run! We have to stay together!”

But that didn’t stop the younger pup. He kept going, heading towards the fence around the back of one of the main security buildings. They’d already checked around there first, so Taro wasn’t sure why his brother was heading back there.

“Buddy!” Taro yelped, a bit more desperate. “Wait!”

“Daddy!” Buddy shouted, seeing their dad forcing his way through a gap in the fence.

“Ah- Daddy!” Taro also cried. Then, seeing that their dad was injured, he went, “You’re hurt!”

Though it was difficult to even stand and breathe properly with how much he ached after his beating, Kenta assured his sons that he would be alright, gathering them both close. Buddy latched onto him in a hug, starting to cry, wailing against him that he missed him. Even Taro started to sniffle, tears finally spilling over, and he held onto Kenta as well.

“What are you two doing out here? It’s not safe.” Kenta glanced around as he spoke, not scolding but just worried. He could see how scared they were, and their soft scents were spiked with distress and upset.

“Daddy didn’t come back…” Buddy hiccuped, his voice muffled against him. “Was looking for you with Nii-san.” Taro nodded in confirmation.

Though it was worrying to see his pups out looking for him, Kenta couldn’t help but feel some relief as well. He’d been on his way back to get them, and now he wouldn’t have to worry about being spotted on his way back. It wasn’t safe for them to be there anymore. Kenta had no doubt that his father would want to get his hands on the pups again, since he had tried to get him back. Although he hadn’t had his new henchman grab the kids, probably because he didn’t know that the kids were there with him, it wouldn’t be long until he found out they’d been there. They needed to leave before that information was made known to Tony Chen.

Kenta wished he could take some time to comfort both pups, to grab some things, but they needed to leave. He didn’t know how much time they had before someone would go looking for or stumble upon them. Instead he ushered his sons to the gap in the fence, prying it open so they could fit through easily without being scraped like he had. Taro took over pulling it so he could get through, and then they left, Kenta grabbing their hands tightly and going as fast as Buddy could manage before anyone could spot them.

There was only one place Kenta could think to bring them, only one person he could think to tell about how Tony Chen was still alive. Even if he dreaded the thought of seeing him again, of being forced to bring his pups near him.

Pete.

His former brother would be able to take that information and could do something to protect himself and the X-Hunter team.

Hopefully.

He told his pups just a little, that they’d be going to see someone who could help them. He didn’t dare tell them the truth yet, not when they were out in the open. They needed to get someplace safe first.

It was disturbingly easy to break into Pete’s condo, just like it had been a year ago when he’d gone to stab him. At least this time Kenta just wanted to talk, he thought, or else his foster brother might really be in trouble. There’d be no second Enigma coming to save him from his knife.

Once inside, the pups looked all around. Taro with caution, Buddy with distaste.

“This place looks weird,” Buddy proclaimed.

“I don’t think anyone is in here,” Taro said at the same time. Then he glanced down at his brother. “Buddy…”

“There’s nobody,” Buddy replied, thinking his brother wanted confirmation instead of being exasperated by his lack of caution. Then he tugged on Kenta’s hand. “Daddy, I’m hungry. And you need bandaids.”

Pete would have no problem with the pups taking what they needed, so Kenta had no qualms about raiding Pete’s kitchen and medicine cabinet. He was also sure the Enigma wouldn’t be home until much later, having always worked long corporate hours before back when Kenta was in charge of keeping tabs on him. Once they’d all been cleaned up and had eaten some reheated takeout from Pete’s fridge, the pups herded Kenta towards the couch, and then to the sunken couch in the living room once they spotted that instead, and told him to rest.

“Daddy will feel better after a nap,” Buddy said, though there was no way Kenta was going to risk falling asleep and letting his pups be the ones Pete interacted with first. He planned on making sure Pete spoke to them as little as possible. Before either of the pups could try to tuck him in or insist that he go to sleep, Kenta pulled them both close and told them he had something important to tell them, what he hadn’t been able to tell them while they were out in the open.

First he gave them a bit more detail about Pete. Though he hated to explain it, thankfully the kids easily understood what he meant when he said that Pete was like a brother to him, that he’d been the man’s playmate before Pete had run away from the Foundation. They knew how Tony had tended to stick powerless playmates with the stronger Specials in the Foundation.

“He ran away like Babe did?” Kenta hadn’t expected Buddy to have any clue who Pete was, and the little pup only knew the name Babe because Taro had mentioned it before when telling his brother why they were seeing so little of Kenta before everything went to hell, but he was surprised that Taro had never heard about Pete before. Tony had kept the pup up to date on many things in the Foundation, so Taro had known all about Way and Babe and how things were going. But apparently the man had never mentioned his runaway Enigma even when he was making things so difficult for him in his legitimate business and his underground one.

The Omega supposed he was grateful. All Taro knew was that Kenta had been Pete’s playmate when they were kids, and he would have no reason to suspect any kind of connection between them.

“He did. He came back to Thailand to help X-Hunter take down the Foundation. We’re here because I need to tell him something important I found out when I was taken.”

Realizing that they were about to get an explanation as to where he’d disappeared to overnight, the pups scooted in closer. Buddy wrapped his arms around Kenta’s middle, leaning against him at the reminder of the horrible night they’d just had.

It felt like someone was twisting a knife in his chest, seeing how the pups’ faces fell when he admitted that it was their grandfather who had ordered him to be captured, that the man was still somehow alive and had let him go. He didn’t dare tell them that Tony had said he wanted him back, nor that he had told Kenta that he was looking forward to seeing his beloved grandsons again, just that he was after X-Hunter again.

Scent spiking with fear despite Kenta leaving out that last bit, Buddy asked if that meant that they’d have to go live with Grandpa again. “I don’t wanna… I wanna stay with Daddy and Nii-san. Grandpa hurt Daddy…” Taro ripped away from them, surging to his feet and turning away so Kenta couldn’t see his expression. The older pup’s arms wrapped around himself, and his shoulders started to tremble. His scent spiked as well, a harsh chemical smoke that betrayed how badly he was taking the news of his grandfather’s survival.

First, Kenta adjusted Buddy so he could hug his younger pup, assuring his son, “We won’t ever live with that man again. After Pete gets here and I talk to him, then we’re going to find someplace to live where no one bad can find us. I’m never letting anyone separate us again.” Then he reached for Taro, gently tugging on the back of his shirt. “Taro…” He wished he knew how to comfort his pups properly. But in that sort of situation, Kenta wasn’t sure if anyone would really know what to say. Tony Chen was a monster who was supposed to be dead, but he was back and they had to deal with the reality of it as his targets.

For a moment, Kenta thought to himself that he was glad he’d never told the pups exactly how their grandfather had died. He could never bring himself to admit to them that he’d killed the man.

Apparently he hadn’t done the job properly. The pups didn’t need to know about that either.

When Taro finally turned, tears were streaming down from the pup’s thin green eyes. He hiccupped, trying his best not to cry. But he couldn’t hold back a whimper and a choked off sob before quietly asking, “Grandpa’s really alive?”

“...He is.” Kenta pulled his older pup forward and engulfed him in a hug. Buddy shifted so he could hug his brother as well. “I promise once I’m done speaking with Pete, we’ll go somewhere safe. You won’t need to be scared. I’ll always protect you and Buddy.”

“And we’ll protect Daddy too,” Buddy added, sniffling.

At first, Taro was stiff as they hugged him. But then the guilt he felt for being relieved at the news that his grandfather was alive was drowned out by the fear of his family being hurt again, and he accepted the embrace to assure himself that the two of them were right there with him.

Pete found them like that once he arrived home, huddled together on his couch. If Kenta had been alone, he might have spent his time chain smoking to deal with the stress, but instead he just held onto his pups and did his best to soothe them, promising again and again that he wouldn’t let anyone take them away, not even Tony Chen. Buddy, who had fallen asleep after his long night and their long journey into the city, woke up as an unknown person got close.

“Kenta?”

With the Enigma back, Kenta reluctantly pried his pups off of him and set them down together on the couch. Immediately the two latched onto each other, Taro holding onto his brother protectively in the face of a stranger. Kenta climbed out of the conversation pit and stood between Pete and the pups. He didn’t dare go close to the Enigma.

“You probably heard we’re out of prison, right?”

Pete didn’t look all that thrilled to see him. Understandably. He looked past Kenta, down at the two pups. Kenta glanced back briefly and could see his sons were peeking over the edge of the sunken couch to try to see what was going on. He wished they would stay down, but Pete would have known they were there anyway. The condo had slowly filled with the distressed pheromones of the two pups, pheromones that couldn’t have come from Kenta himself. Only bitter mint belonged to him.

So it didn’t surprise Kenta that Pete’s first question was, “Who are those children? Why are they with you?”

It’s none of your business. It doesn’t matter to you. But Kenta couldn’t say what he wanted to snap back. Though fear of Pete finding out about his relation to the older pup coiled in his stomach, Kenta had to answer. Or else the Enigma would press. “They’re mine.”

Pete blinked, in disbelief. “Yours?” he asked. “From where?”

“I had them in the Foundation.” He needed to be careful. Pete’s ability was good at detecting lies. “It was part of being useful. As an Omega. Tony Chen wanted grandsons.” A truth. Even if it had been an accident the first time, he’d been forced to keep that first pregnancy, making him useful. And then with Buddy, completely orchestrated without his knowledge or choice.

His former brother could draw whatever conclusions he wanted.

“You were in prison. Where were they?”

“The facility I was in had a special program for incarcerated Omegas and Betas with young pups. They’ve been with me, mostly. For a while they were in a children’s home until your lawyers got me transferred.” Kenta knew he should have spent the last year in a normal prison, tossed in alongside Winner and Dean. Inmates charged with crimes against children were supposed to be ineligible for the nursery programs, and Taro was too old for the programs anyway, Buddy almost too old as well. But strings had been pulled and the lawyers had given in when he begged for them not to tell Pete more than his list of charges and how long he’d be convicted for.

To his dismay, Pete directed his next question at the boys. “Are you two alright, being with Kenta?” It burned, to have someone ask his pups if they were fine under his care, if they even wanted to be with him. Kenta often doubted that himself. Maybe his pups would have been better off in foster care, or being put up for adoption like the rest of the Foundation kids who had no family to return to. Maybe he should have begged Pete to take them. But he’d hated to be separated from them those first few months. He needed his pups to be with him.

“Of course we are!” Taro snarled back, bristling. “I won’t let you take Buddy from Daddy!”

“I’m not going to-”

“Daddy’s our daddy… don’t make him leave like Grandpa and the police did…” Buddy whimpered. “I wanna stay with him and Nii-san.”

That made Pete panic a little, upsetting two children. He hurriedly assured the pups, stepping forward and gesturing with his hands to try to calm them. That only made both pups growl softly. “I won’t do that! I just wanted to make sure you’re safe and that you really belonged to him.”

Taro grumbled under his breath that of course they were Dad’s kids. Then he ducked back down with his brother, still glaring daggers at the Enigma.

Sighing, Pete asked Kenta, “Are you working for someone again…? You know about Dean and Winner, what happened?”

“I’m not working for anyone. That’s why we ran here.”

Pete blinked, growing concerned. “You’re running away?”

Kenta itched for a cigarette, even though he hadn’t had one in almost a year, not since he’d gotten his pups back. But he didn’t have one. “I don’t want to be involved with this kind of stuff anymore. I want my pups to be safe.” He needed them to be safe. If something happened to his sons, he would never forgive himself. And if he lost them, his life would be over. However, Tony Chen didn’t know where the pups were. And he’d spared Kenta’s life. They were safe as long as he kept it that way and kept them out of Tony’s reach. “But the reason I’m here… is ‘cause I figured the ones in real danger are you guys.”

Confused, Pete stepped closer. Kenta took a step back, not wanting him too close. “What’s that supposed to mean? Why did you come here instead of disappearing with your pups?”

Maybe he should have. But he couldn’t just leave Pete and the others to the mercy of Tony Chen. He’d been careful to check that he wasn’t followed, that they weren’t discovered. They were safe to warn Pete. And then Kenta could figure out where to go from there. Though he didn’t have much of a clue. Out of the country, perhaps. Someplace upcountry where one could disappear and find work, live a simple life, enough to sustain themselves. He regretted that his pups had never been able to live happily, not even normally, but the facility had kept them sheltered and fed, and the pups seemed content to be with him as long as they had each other.

So he just had to give his warning. “You might not believe what I’m about to say.” Kenta certainly wouldn’t have, if someone like Pete had approached him and told him that Tony Chen was back, seemingly from the dead. Only because he’d seen the man with his own eyes did he believe it, though it was still difficult to wrap his head around. He was surprised his pups had accepted it so readily, but they were young and children trusted their guardians, even one like him. It was difficult to even say, and he couldn’t bring himself yet to say Tony Chen’s name from his mouth as he told Pete, “But the scariest one of them all… He’s back.”

The Enigma didn’t seem to understand. Before Kenta could bring himself to explain more clearly, forcing himself to take a deep breath to gather himself, Buddy answered instead. “Daddy means Grandpa… he took Daddy again. But then Daddy came back and got us and we came here.”

Pete’s eyes went wide. “You mean Tony? But he’s dead. You-”

Before Pete could say something like ‘you killed him’ in front of the kids, Kenta said quickly, “I thought he was dead too. But he was there. He had someone take us. Winner, Dean, and I. He offered Winner and I jobs at his side again. When I refused, he released me. I grabbed my pups and came here before he could search for them too.”

He got Pete caught up on all that had happened, answering the Enigma’s questions and letting him have his own freak out about it. But eventually Buddy yawned quite loudly, and Pete sighed once more and stopped. “It’s getting late. The kids should get some sleep. You can stay in my guest rooms. Wait- have you three eaten?”

“We have.”

“I’ll call the others tomorrow and have them come here so we can tell them as well. The bedrooms are upstairs.”

Though they were in a strange new place with a new person also in the house, just down the hall from them, the pups fell asleep quickly after Kenta got them tucked in, exhausted from everything. Though Pete had offered two rooms, Kenta declined the second, staying with his pups. Even at the facility they’d all stuck together in one bed, like they were used to.

-

When Pete called the X-Hunter team to come over to his condo, Kenta told his sons that he wanted them to stay hidden upstairs. Though it’d been necessary to tell Pete about their existence, since they were in his house, there was no reason for the others to know that he had children. The less people that knew about his pups, the better, in case Kenta’s warning wasn’t enough and Tony Chen got ahold of any of them. The two boys protested, not wanting to leave his side. They’d really gotten it in their heads that it was their job to protect him and not the other way around, and they could not be convinced otherwise. Pete was no help, just smiling fondly at them with a strange look in his eyes. So Kenta tried a different tactic, instead pandering to Taro’s desire to protect his younger brother. With his older pup convinced he needed to keep his baby brother safe upstairs, Buddy was forced to contend with the fact that Taro wouldn’t let him escape the bedroom once they were both in there with snacks and books to keep them occupied.

It was going well, Kenta thought, as the team showed up, one pair at a time, until they were all there. And even when Babe got up to face him, and when the X-Hunter team didn’t trust what he said. His pups were safe upstairs, and he wasn’t afraid of the others, even if it made his heart pound again to say aloud that Tony was back. Even injured, he was sure he could defend himself, especially against Babe who had his arm in a sling. And it helped that Pete voiced his support of Kenta, assuring the others that Kenta was telling the truth.

Upstairs, unbeknownst to Kenta, Buddy started to panic at the sudden surge of heartbeats below him, something he associated with anger and fear. Taro asked what was wrong and squeezed his brother’s hand, but it didn’t help.

“Daddy…” Tired and scared, Buddy started to cry, worried about his dad.

“He’ll be back upstairs soon, Buddy!” Even as the heartbeats below him settled down, Buddy wasn’t soothed. That started to make his brother anxious. “Did you feel something? Is Daddy okay?” he asked, starting to panic as well.

And Charlie, with his stolen Sense, looked up towards the unexpected sound of a child crying upstairs. Kenta felt like his heart was going to stop as the young Alpha interrupted Alan to say, “P’Pete. Is there someone upstairs?”

There was no hope in hiding it. But Kenta still gave Pete a wide-eyed look. The Enigma hesitated, then lied, “There’s no one else here but us.”

“What do you hear, Charlie?” Babe asked his boyfriend.

“It sounds like a little kid crying… No, two kids? One’s crying. The second is also upset.”

His pups should have been fine upstairs. His instinct screamed at him to go see what was wrong. Unable to resist the urge to go check on his pups, Kenta tried to excuse himself to go upstairs to see his sons.

“Hey! Where are you going?!” Babe hurried forward to grab his arm. Kenta yanked it away, feeling a growl starting to build up at the back of his throat. Things were safe, but the Omega was on edge, scared of his pups being taken away from him. He didn’t like to feel like he was being kept separated from his children.

That just got everyone riled up again, until Pete was forced to get between them and loudly said, “Yes, there’s two children upstairs. Kenta, go check on them and see what’s wrong. We’ll talk more once you’re back.”

“You’re going to let that guy go near kids?!” Babe asked, voice almost a sneer. Kenta bristled, but he also couldn’t blame him for speaking like that. After everything he’d done and been involved with, he probably should have been kept away from children.

But he wouldn’t be kept away from his own.

He heard Pete answering the team’s questions as he went upstairs. “No, they’re not mine- they’re Kenta’s. They’re safe with him, I swear.” That set off another wave of shock through everyone, almost as badly as Kenta’s appearance and his reveal had been. Even though he hated that they knew, that fear crept underneath his skin, screaming that it was a risk to his sons’ safety, he had to ignore it to get to his pups. When he pushed open the guest room door, he could see Taro just about to reach for the knob on the other side, and almost crashed right into him.

“Taro? What are you doing? I told you to stay in here.”

“Daddy!” Taro ignored the reminder to wrap his arms around him instead, burying his face against his middle. Then he looked up and said, “Buddy got scared after he sensed something. We were worried about you.”

No doubt his youngest had felt everyone’s shock and outrage. He could see Buddy still on the bed, in the middle of swinging his legs over the edge to hop down and follow after his brother. The little pup’s cheeks were wet with tears, and his hands were trembling.

He stroked Taro’s hair. “I’m okay. No one touched me. They were just upset when I told them what I told Pete last night.”

“Oh.” Taro looked a little embarrassed. “You said you were going to do that. No wonder they scared Buddy.”

He hadn’t thought to warn them that the team would get upset. He still wasn’t used to thinking about how Buddy’s ability worked, how things like that might scare his five-year-old. “I forgot to warn you. It’s alright. Buddy, I’m okay, see?” Taro stepped back so he could go pick up Buddy. The little pup tucked his face against him, holding onto him tightly. “We’re safe,” he promised. Because at least for that moment, in Pete’s condo, they were.