"Are you nervous?"
Lucas flinched at the sound of Kenji's voice just close to his ear. Feeling the warm breath on his skin made him shiver, and Lucas had to stop himself from kissing those pink lips so close to him.
"Yeah, a bit. I haven't had a boyfriend in so long. I just want you to like my family."
"Isn't it usually that you should hope that your family will like me? Not the other way around?"
"I know they will so I'm not nervous about that. You're amazing."
Kenji smiled and kissed Lucas cheek, making the alpha blush a bit.
They were at an Italian restaurant close to Simon and Keith's home and waited for Simon to join them. Keith couldn't come, so Simon had dropped him off at his office before driving Eamon and Caoimhe home.
When Simon walked into the restaurant, he saw his son sitting close to a handsome man, dressed in a youthful way. The first thing Simon reacted to was the genuine happy expression on Lucas' face. He was smiling, a sweet smile Simon hadn't seen in a long time, and the look Lucas gave the other man was full of affection. And from what Simon could see, the attractive black-haired man was looking back at Lucas with the same gaze. It made Simon so incredibly happy, and it was with a smile he approached the table. As he got close to the couple, Lucas noticed him and with a grin, the blond man stood up.
"Dad," he said happily, "how was the trip?"
Lucas embraced the shorter man and kissed him on the cheek.
"It was wonderful. The kids were just as fascinated by Stonehedge as you were in their age."
"Perhaps I should take you there as well Luv," Lucas said and glanced at Kenji, who stood beside him and smiled.
"I would like that," Kenji replied and turned to Simon.
"It's nice to meet you, Sir."
Even if the two men were both omegas, they were nothing alike. Simon had the average height for an omega, around 163 centimetres, but Kenji was a lot taller. He was almost the same height as Lucas and just a little bit slimmer. Sure, Lucas wasn't built like the typical alpha, but Kenji was unusually sturdier built that an omega normally was. And Simon had to look up at Kenji.
"Likewise. I'm glad I can finally meet you. Lucas has talked about you a lot."
The two men shook hands and sat down at the table. Kenji tried not to make it obvious, but he glanced carefully at the older man. It wasn't strong, but he could feel a scent on the omega. It wasn't Simon's; it was an alpha's scent. Warm, calming.
But Kenji's thoughts were interrupted when the waiter arrived and asked for their order. While the three men waited for their food, Simon asked how Lucas and Kenji had met. It was with delight Simon saw how the two men across the table flirted and gave each other cute glances. And the more Simon watched Lucas and Kenji, the more he was baffled that they weren't a fated pair. It felt like they were, or at least that they should be.
'It's a shame, really,' Simon thought to himself.
The lunch was enjoyable, and it was a relieved Simon that left the couple. Lucas and Kenji stood and followed the man until they could no longer see him. Simon had said that he looked forward to meeting Kenji on Saturday. Kenji said he did as well. But it was a lie. As Kenji, he was all smiles, but behind the facade, Midori was struggling. He hated these people. So excessively nice and caring. Of course, it was all fake. It had to be. No one was that nice to someone they just meet. And this fool that was holding his hand! How anyone could be so easy to deceive was beyond him. Midori didn't know how much longer he could keep this going. The only person he thought about finally seeing was Shiro. Should he mark Shiro then? Drag him to the toilet and erase the false mark that the alpha wrongfully put there. Midori hadn't decided what to do yet.
But as he walked hand in hand with Lucas, Midori felt uncanny. He hadn't thought about it during the meal, but now he couldn't stop thinking about it��the faint smell of something warm, almost soothing. And Midori was for the first time in his life truly afraid. Who did that scent belong to?
* * * *
By the time the pancakes were all done, the front door had opened up, and they could hear the voice of Caoimhe, all the way to the kitchen.
"Dad, Daidaí! We're back!"
Finian left the napkins on the kitchen table and dashed to the hallway. His little girl, who wasn't that little any more, ran up to him and embarrassed her father. Careful not to hug his stomach too hard. Finian held Caoimhe tightly against him and kissed the top of her head. Her hair red as a blazing flame, and in a long braid down her back.
"I've missed you so much," Finian said, the emotions apparent in his trembling voice.
"I've missed you too Daidaí," Caoimhe whispered and snuggled close, inhaling the comforting scent from her beloved father.
Eamon walked up to them and joined in on the hug, smiling widely. His big arms were embracing both of them.
"You smell like pancakes," he stated, his deep green eyes glistering and Finian chuckled.
"I just made a tower of pancakes for you guys. I hope you're hungry."
"Starving," the boy answered and stroked his father gently on his back.
Finian looked over to the front door and smiled at Simon. The older man was as stylish as ever, in a black coat, black trousers and a black scarf. His long silvery hair went down over his shoulders.
"Do you want to join us for lunch?" Finian asked hos father-in-law, but Simon shook his head.
"No, but thank you, dear, for the offer. I'm on my way to have lunch with Lucas. He wants to introduce me to his new boyfriend."
"What? Uncle Lucas got a boyfriend?" Caoimhe burst out and turned around, gawking surprised at her grandfather.
Even Eamon was shocked. This was the first time they had ever heard of Lucas having a partner. They had been far too young to remember Lucas previous boyfriend and Lucas hadn't managed to meet anyone he wanted to date. Until now.
"Yes and Lucas seems to be really infatuated with this man. I haven't seen him like this for a long time now," Dorian said from behind them and walked into the room.
Seeing their dad, Eamon and Caoimhe quickly ran up to him and hugged him, making Dorian smile widely and put his arms around them.
"Welcome home, my loves."
"I've missed you," they both said, and Caoimhe kissed her father's stubble cheek, which made her wrinkling her nose.
"But you really need to shave."
"Nah, I'm thinking of growing a beard," Dorian jokingly said, and he was met with a unison "nooo".
Dorian burst out laughing.
"Oi, I think I would look pretty awesome with a beard. Don't you think so, Shiro?"
Everybody in the room turned and looked at the newcomer. Shiro entered the room, firmly holding Ikumis hand in his. Shiro looked at Dorian and shooked his head.
"I think you would look a lot older with a beard."
Dorian faked being in pain and held his hand over his heart.
"That hurt, babe."
Everybody was smiling at the friendly banter, except Ikumi who had her gaze fixed on her feet. The young girl was extremely nervous and who could blame her. Ikumi was a bright child; she was fully aware of the rather strange situation going on. And she was scared. She was so happy to be able to be with her father again, that it didn't matter at all that she had to move to a new country. And Dorian was just as great as Shiro described him. Poor Ikumi had been terrified of meeting him. She had heard her grandmother talking about everything, that Dorian never would accept her, and that his real family would surely reject her. Ikumi was after all the child of another alpha. So the young girl had started imagining all different kind of things that could happen. Despite her fathers and Uncle Deion reassurance, that everything would be alright. It wasn't until she went to bed the previous night, that Ikumi began to believe that everything would turn out alright.
Her grandmother had been wrong. Dorian did accept her and Finian even took her shopping and made pancakes with her. But here were the two people that scared Ikumi the most. Dorian and Finians children. Ikumi was a stranger, intruding in their home, and the girl had no idea how they would react. Nervously she trembled as she stood there in the hallway, grasping her father's hand tightly with her gaze steadily fixed on the marble floor.
"Everyone, this is Ikumi, Shiro's daughter," she heard Dorian announce, and suddenly someone was standing in front of her.
"Sweetie, this here is my son Eamon, my daughter Caoimhe and my father, Simon."
Dorian's warm hand gently grasped her shoulder. The softness in his voice made Ikumi look up. She faced the kind eyes of Dorian, who squatted down in front of her. She had come to like those warm eyes.
Feeling brave, Ikumi looked at Caoimhe and Eamon, and she was stunned by the sight of the slightly older teenagers. The ten-year-old Ikumi faced the most beautiful human beings she had ever seen. Wooden Elves, the girl thought, thinking that the tall teenagers in front of her resembled beings out of some fantasy story. Tall, slender, with magical red hair and emerald green eyes. Ikumi was lost for words and just gawked at the two. Caoimhe, on the other hand, quickly acted and smiling brightly, she walked up to Ikumi. The girl had learned her lesson these past weeks, and she had been reflecting seriously over her behaviour towards Shiro. Caoimhe was determined not to make any mistake this time.
"It's nice to meet you, Ikumi. I'm Caoimhe and that there is my brother Eamon," she said and put forth her hand.
The gesture made Ikumi snap out of her amazement, and she carefully took the hand, shaking it slightly.
"Thank you for letting me stay here," she said in her soft voice, repeating what Shiro had suggested her to say.
Being just one year older didn't mean particularly much. Still, Caoimhe was twenty centimetres taller, and sturdier built than Ikumi, and that made the girl instinctively feel like she had responsibility for Ikumi. A responsibility which was similar to that of a big sister. The girl smiled gently at the other girl.
"Dad said that you are going to the same school as me starting next week. It's a great school, and I'm sure that you will like it there."
The kind words made Ikumi relax a little, and she let go of her father's hand.
"Thank you," she smiled, a beautiful bright smile that made all the grown-ups in the room sigh with relief.
It went a lot better than Shiro thought it would. As Eamon and Simon greeted Ikumi, it all felt perfectly natural. Like Ikumi belonged there. And Shiro felt for the first time fully confident that he had made the right decision when he agreed to move in with the McCallisters.
After chatting with Simon for a bit, the three adults and their three children went to the dining room for breakfast. It was a pleasant meal, Caoimhe and Eamon told the others about their visit to Bath and Stonehedge, and then Caoimhe asked Ikumi about her trip to Paris with her grandparents. It was in Paris that Deion had picked Ikumi up, before coming to London. But the girl had been able to stay in the city for several days, and she was captivated by the beautiful French capital.
The atmosphere in the house was friendly and relaxed, and it all felt natural. Like this was precisely how it was supposed to be. And after breakfast, Caoimhe and Eamon took Ikumi out and showed her the neighbourhood. And the moment the three kids left the house, Shiro had to sit down on the couch, as he felt the tension leaving his body and he became exhausted. Dorian was worried, but Shiro assured him that he was fine, he just needed to rest a bit.
Shiro was unbelievable happy. The McCallister family had accepted Ikumi, and he could see that the girl was getting used to the whole situation. Shiro already knew that Ikumi was an amazing girl, very level-headed and bright for her age. But she was also rather shy and quiet. So to see her getting along with the talkative Caoimhe surprised him. But it was a pleasant surprise.
When Shiro and Ikumi left for Shiro's photoshoot a few hours later, Ikumi and Caoimhe were like best friends, bonding over the same hobbies. They played the same online-games, enjoyed watching the same animes and even loved the same K-Pop-bands. Caoimhe was ecstatic. Finally, there was someone she could share her interest with. Her other friends only cared about sports and school. However, in Ikumi, Caoimhe had found a fellow nerd, as the girl proudly called herself.
Eamon had silently tagged along with the two girls, but Ikumi was very shy against the older boy. It hadn't been long since the young girl first started noticing that some boys were attractive, and now there was a boy that was a lot more than just a bit attractive, right by her side. Ten-year-old Ikumi was experiencing her first crush, but she didn't even dare to look at Eamon. And as soon as the boy happened to end up in her field of vision, she became beet red in the face and blushed as she turned her gaze away.
However, Eamon didn't notice a thing. When he looked at the younger girl, he only saw a new little sister. Because what nobody in the family knew was that Eamon already had a girlfriend. He hadn't planned to make it a secret, but the relationship with his classmate started at the same time his father meet Shiro. It never felt like it was the right time to tell anyone about it, especially considering that the girl was a beta. Eamon was a clever kid, he knew that he was most likely to become a prime just like his father, but that also meant that the odds of him meeting his fated pair was higher. And right now the thirteen-year-old boy was head over heels in love with his beta girlfriend, and he most definitely didn't want a fated pair. So Eamon waited for the right time to tell everybody about his girl but was afraid that by doing so would somehow jinx it. That's why he kept quiet, not knowing what to do about it all.
Eamon was unaware of the budding feelings in Ikumi, and Ikumi was still too inexperienced to understand why it felt like she had butterflies in her belly, every time she looked at Eamon.
But she kept quiet and the days that followed were all uneventful. The adults went to work, and Ikumi followed with her father to all his different jobs while the two McCallisters children were in school. And when it was time for the big family dinner, the three adults and the three children were all rather used to each other. The troubled days in the past felt nothing but a distant, unpleasant memory.