A/N: here's an angsty one with a dab of fluff. shits gonna get both spicy and depressing hella fast after this chapter.

"Give them to me. Now." 

It isn't very often that Izuku finds himself in this position---not with Shouto, at least. He holds his palm out expectantly, fingers flexing impatiently as the mismatched teen seems to ignore him the first time he asks. He does eventually relent with a sharp huff, slapping the half empty box of cigarettes into Izuku's palm. The freckled man pockets them and quickly reaches out to pluck the one poised between Shouto's lips, flicking it over onto the sidewalk. "We said this---we said it years ago that you wouldn't touch that shit again, didn't we? Hm?" He prompts but Shouto doesn't grace him with a response, eyes glued to his feet from where he's seated on a bench on the campus courtyard. He's ashamed to have been caught, Izuku can tell. 

He squats down with a sigh, his expression softening as he takes Shouto's fidgeting hands in his own. 

"Hey. Baby, I'm really worried about you. You can talk to me---you know that, don't you? What's goin' on with you that's got you messing around with this stuff?" He tries again with a more gentle approach. Something tells him that this isn't just Shouto going through some sort of rebellious stage or a random relapse; he's been triggered. "How long have you had these? Don't tell me you went through all of these in a day." 

Shouto shakes his head, jaw tight as he squeezes Izuku's hands with his own. 

"Bout a week, maybe, I dunno. Been keepin' it in moderation, at least. Just...stressed out, is all." He responds in a murmur. He lifts his head, finally gathering the nerve to look Izuku in the eyes. "Sorry I haven't been texting you or coming over, I just---I needed some time, you know?" 

The implication of this seems to make Izuku a little uneasy, brows pinched together in obvious concern. 

"Did I do something to upset you like this or make you need to have time away from me? If I did, you have to tell me so I can fix things---" 

"God---no, Izuku, it's not you." 

Izuku relaxes a bit but his worry doesn't dissipate. 

"...is it about your parents? Did something happen at home?" He presses. "I overheard Touya and my dad talking about yours some time ago. Nothing specific but it didn't sound good---not with the tone in Touya's voice. He seemed to be fairly upset and worried about you but you seemed fine so I didn't bother you about it. Guess I should have listened to my first instinct and asked." He feels as though he's neglected his duty as an alpha---his duty to make sure his mate is well in mind, body, and spirit. Something has obviously gone horribly wrong for Shouto to be chain smoking first thing in the morning. 

The omega's past relationship with nicotine was a rather violent one that left him volatile and, after a while, physically sick. Izuku had helped him rid himself of such a nasty addiction. It had felt like a slap in the face to see him smoking upon first glance but now---assessing further? He realizes that his lover must be incredibly troubled. 

"That woman is not my father, that sick fucking bitch." Shouto hisses with a discerning amount of disdain that makes Izuku rear back a bit from the sheer amount of venom dripping from his boyfriend's tone. 

"Whoa, hey---" 

"Did you know that she tried to drown me as a baby? Or that she was with Katsuki and his parents the night he'd gone missing? That she only came here because she heard that Katsuki had been found and she's been trying to get her grimey ass fucking paws on him?!" 

Izuku feels as though he's just been given whiplash, bombarded back to back with information he'd had not the slightest clue about until that very moment. It's enough to make his stomach turn, uncomfortably tight with disgust. 

"...what?" 

Shouto offers him a bitter laugh. 

"Oh, no, but that's just the tip of the fuckin' iceberg. Did I tell you that my mom was pregnant? Probably not but...my da---Rei. Rei found out and she...she attacked my mom. Tried to rape him and cut the baby out." 

Izuku jumps to his feet.

"What?! Fucking hell---" 

"Apparently that's not the first time she's done it. Only this time, she didn't get to stab him through the fuckin' womb cause Keigo walked in on her and caught her red-handed." 

When Shouto had found out that Rei had nearly killed his mother for carrying her child when she was the one to purposely try to breed him, he'd been sick for days---cried in his mother's arms until he'd run out of tears. He couldn't eat. Couldn't stomach a meal to save his life. If she was so unhappy then why didn't she just leave? His mother grieves three children because of her. His mother will be scarred for the rest of his life because of her.

And the fact that she was going to presumably buy and groom a fucking baby to do the exact same thing to Katsuki that he'd done to his mother? 

Shouto feels the bile rising in his throat again simply thinking about it. 

He's so ashamed---so disgusted to have been born from the seed of a person so despicably heinous. He can't believe that he'd been so blind---to truly have believed that she had changed. 

He owes Touya an apology. 

He'd apologized to his mother until Enji had begged him to stop. 

"...Sho…" Izuku seems to be a bit green in the gills, but he's able to swallow it down for the sake of being strong for Shouto. It's bad enough that his poor darling has been forcing himself to try and wade through this alone. He'll have to take a moment on his own time to be appalled. 

"I'm so sorry, babe---hey. Look at me." He whispers as he sits next to Shouto on the bench and pulls him into his lap to hold him tight. He's shaking like a leaf in the wind, visibly trying his hardest to keep his tears at bay. "I can't believe I just closed my eyes to the suffering of people that I love just because I wanted her to love me so bad---how could I do that to my own mother?" He whimpers, hands frantically going to wipe at his eyes. Izuku can't remember the last time he's seen him so distraught, taking Shouto's face in his palms to lift his head and press his lips to his tear-stained cheeks. 

"Shouto, you can't blame yourself for what your sire did. You can't blame yourself for wanting to build a relationship with her. And I can guarantee you that no one else blames you, either." He assures him. He's sure that he's parents have done the best they can to assure him of that as well. "You didn't know. And that's no fault of yours. They kept that from you; they just wanted to protect you. I don't think keeping it from you for so long was a good idea but I get why they did. Nobody's a perfect parent and your mom did everything he could to try and keep you happy because he loves you. Not because he wants you to beat yourself up over something you had no dealings in or any control over at all, for that matter.

"It's better you found out now than later down the line when something horrible could have potentially happened. At the end of the day, with or without Rei, you have a family that loves the hell outta you. If your mom and Keigo are able to move on and try to live happy lives in spite of how shitty everything is, I think maybe we should focus on getting you to do the same." 

It might be difficult but Izuku is prepared for it to take quite some time. It's not his place to tell Shouto how long he should grieve or how he should be doing so. He just wants to be there for him as best as he can. 

 Shouto nods his affirmation. He wants to be happy again and he knows it's not really his fault but he feels like he should have known when all of the signs were there that she was no good. He'll forgive himself eventually. He just knows that it won't be today. 

"O-Okay. I love you, Izuku." 

"I love you right back, babe. Always. You know that, don't you?" 

Shouto manages a smile. If nothing else, he knows that Izuku will love him and take care of him until they're dead and buried. 

"Yeah. I know." 

"That's my baby. C'mon, you look like you could use some nice warm cuddles and a hot meal. What do you say we go back to my house so I can cook you something, get you a nice hot bath, put you in something comfy and snuggle you until you're not so sad anymore?" He suggests even though he's already lifting Shouto up from the bench to carry him. He holds on tight but he knows very well Izuku won't drop him. He'll never be safer than he is when he's in his arms. 

#

"Yagi." 

Toshinori nearly jumps out of his skin, head shooting up from his desk and swiveling around in confusion as his eyes try to orient themselves. He sighs, resting his forehead in the palm of his hand when he realizes that is just Shota. "Christ, Shota, you nearly gave me a heart attack." 

"Not hard to do to someone your age, I assume." The omega quips in rebuttal and Toshinori grumbles, hand wiping over his face in exasperation as he looks down and realizes that his pile of paperwork from earlier was still very much splayed out over his desk. "Fuck me, I must've fallen asleep before I could finish this shit. Goddammit, my freaking back is killin' me---" 

"That's because you're entirely too fuckin' big to be bent over this little ass desk---you should be sleeping in a bed." Shota points, sliding a large coffee on the desk in the only clear spot he could see. "Did you sleep here last night? Inko called me this morning; she's been worried about you working too much." 

"Don't you start nagging me too; I gotta make some sort of leeway here." 

"Listen, you stupid blonde bastard. You don't think I'm exhausted, too? We've got way too many leads, not nearly enough intel and the fucking PSI isn't doing a dog's shit worth of work in this fuckin' case---which, mind you, has branched off into three more adjoining cases since the kid was found. I'm so fucking tired that my eyebags have eyebags---for fuck's sake, I just stopped nursing Eri a month ago. So quit your bellyaching, go home to your wife, and take a fuckin' nap."

Kayama hoots as she walks past them. "You two love birds at it this early in the morning?" She teases and Shota unceremoniously flips her off. "Fuck you. Yagi wouldn't know what to do with me if he had the chance." 

"That's 'cause you're a goddamn hand full. I don't see how Hizashi does it." Toshinori mumbles but still thanks Shota for his coffee nonetheless. "Eri just turned three, didn't she? I didn't know you were still nursing." 

"I nursed Hitoshi until he was almost four. Lot of benefits for the kids in breastfeeding, ask your wife about it." Shota takes a seat atop of Toshinori's desk as the older man begins to gather his paperwork again. "Did you find anything?" 

"Other than a migraine? No." 

"You know, for you to be one of the greatest detectives this island has ever seen, you're doin' a shit job at detecting." 

"Leave me alone, Shota. Please." 

"No, I'm not gonna leave you alone---know why? Because I actually found a fuckin' name last night and still managed to get a few hours of proper sleep in my own bed." 

"Are you seriously shaming me?" 

"Yep." 

Toshinori almost gives into the urge to shove Shota off of his desk. Instead, he sighs and chugs down half of his cup. It's not scalding, thankfully, or he'd be having a worse morning than he'd anticipated. It's refreshing in a way; it almost brings a bit of life back to him. 

"So what do we have?" 

"Did some research on the Bakugous to find some of their close acquaintances and see if we had a match for any of the information we were given. Scoot over, lemme show you something." Shota moves in front of Toshinori as the alpha slides his chair back to give him access to his computer. He types something into the search bar and waits for the results to come up---an image search, apparently. 

It's Mitsuki Bakugou arm and arm with a man who isn't her husband. About 6'3" with dark hair and light eyes. They're on a red carpet---both dressed rather dramatically but the man is wearing what seems to be a decorative 'plague' mask that is exaggeratedly large and covered in jewels. 

"Meet Kai Chisaki. Billionaire philanthropist and close friend to the Bakugous. This is a Met Gala photo from...2016. You can Google literally either of their names and find a shit ton of photos of them together dating all the way back to 1996. There was even speculation at one point that they were having an affair." 

Toshinori raises up in his seat, leaning forward to get a better look as Kayama walks around to peek around him as well. 

"And it's a direct match to the description. Every photo you see of him, he's in a mask." 

"Definitely not a coincidence. Check this out, I found a photo of him from the early 2000s and look who's in the background." 

Toshinori can't believe his eyes. 

"Well, I'll be damned. Tenko Shimura." 

It's a candid photo of them walking down the street, both of them wearing masks that cover the lower halves of their faces but it's not hard to tell that it is, in fact, Tomura. Chisaki had a tight arm around his waist that, at first glance, would look like he's trying to protect his husband from being bombarded by paparazzi but Tomura looks nervous. It's the only photo they can find with Tomura in it but the headline of the article is titled Secret Wife Revealed: Chisaki Spotted with Mystery Omega on the Streets of Sapporo! 

"This has been under our noses literally the entire fucking time?!" Toshinori exclaims incredulously, throwing his hands up in the air. 

"It's not our fault. Whatever little weird ass cult shit they've got going on, it's obvious they've made a vow of silence. They probably didn't count on Fujiwara acting like a fucking nutcase or for Masaru and Shimura to spill as much as they did. The biggest advantage we have right now is that neither Chisaki or Mitsuki are aware that we know." 

They'll have to keep it that way until they're able to make an arrest if they're gonna keep Masaru and Katsuki safe. 

"Right. What's our next move?" 

"Well, I'm going to bring my findings to the captain and figure out how to get warrants for these, find out some more info on Chisaki's involvement with the Bakugous. You, on the other hand, are going home and going to bed. I've already texted Inko. She said if you're not home in the next thirty minutes that she's coming to drag your ass outta here." 

Toshinori pales. "Seriously?" 

"Yup. And that was ten minutes ago." 

Toshinori quickly grabs his paperwork as he scrambles up from his seat. The last he wants is to piss Inko off; it's never pretty when she's angry. 

"Fine, fine, I'm gettin' the hell outta here."

Shota pats him on the back. 

"Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out." 

#

"Hold still, honey, I'm almost done." 

Katsuki tries to hold his excitement while Masaru finishes hemming the gown that he's wearing. He can't get over his reflection in the mirror, standing on top of a platform that rotates when Masaru pushes a button at his side. 

"It looks beautiful on you, sweetheart." Mitsuki says from where she's standing by the door. She and Touya are kept significantly far apart from each other on opposite sides of the room to avoid conflict. So far, the two of them have managed to be cordial thanks to Touya making a considerable effort not to punch her in the lips every single time she opens her mouth to speak. 

Katsuki intends to reward him for it later. This time spent with his mother is very important to him, so much so that he's willing to endure Mitsuki just to have it. Being able to openly spend time with Masaru without having to be sneaky makes him happy. He begins to wonder, however, if it's as lovely for Masaru as it is for him. 

"How do the gloves fit? They aren't too tight, are they?" Masaru's tone is soft and timid as if he's worried he'll say the wrong thing in Mitsuki's presence. Katsuki gives him a reassuring smile and a shake of his head as he raises the matching, bicep length gloves up so that he could see them. Masaru did an amazing job designing and making the dress even down to the color and measurements. No wonder they've won awards for what they do. 

Masaru stands up right, smiling even though he's shifting anxiously on his feet. "Do you like it, sweetie? I tried to make it as best as I could; I really wanted you to feel special in it." 

"I love it!" Katsuki giggles, hugging himself as he stares at his reflection in the mirror. It's a floor length ball gown that flares at the waist---he remembers Masaru saying that he'd made it from tulle. He said he'd almost made the top in a sweetheart cut but since Katsuki is, in fact, flat as a board, he just made it in halter style instead. He'd wanted to accentuate all of Katsuki's most prominent features and had even chosen the color because he thought it complimented Katsuki's skin tone---crimson red with the gloves to match. "It makes me feel like one of those fairy tale princesses that I read about as a child."

"You're most certainly a little princess, sweetheart." Mitsuki coos and Touya, from across the room in the seat closest to Katsuki, scoffs. "You kidding me? My baby boy puts all those little fairy tale gals to shame. You look absolutely ethereal, baby." He counters and Mitsuki breathes out an annoyed huff. "It's not as if we're having some sort of competition of compliments." He says and he simply replies with a shrug. 

"But if we were, I'd win." 

"I beg your pardon?" 

"Touya. That is quite enough, love. Please behave---you have already promised me that you would." Katsuki intervenes and Touya relents with an annoyed groan. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I'm gonna go back to bein' quiet; I'm a good boy." He assures and Katsuki sighs, exasperated. At least they're being cooperative---much easier to settle down. 

"Masaru, go and get the jewelry that we bought for him. I want to see it on him with the dress." Mitsuki demands, snapping her fingers when Masaru stalls a bit. The omega rushes off to do what he's told but seems to trip over his own feet in a frantic attempt to be quick about it, reaching out to catch himself on a nearby mannequin only for it to go tumbling down and triggering a chain reaction of mannequins following suit. They eventually knock a crystal lamp from its stand and it goes crashing and shattering to the ground. 

Masaru's skin goes pale. 

"I-I-I'm---"

"Are you fucking blind or just clumsy, you dumb fucking slut?!" Mitsuki turns feral on him in a millisecond and Masaru scurries away only for her to advance on him like a wild beast. 

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, it was an accident!" 

"You are a fucking accident---do you get a fucking kick out of pissing me the fuck off?! Hah?!" 

"No! No, I wasn't---I didn't---" 

"Fucking clean it up, you stupid whore, or I'll make you regret it!" 

"Father, stop it!" Katsuki yells, jumping down from the platform when he sees Mitsuki raise a fist to his mother. He flinches away with a cry as she goes to strike him but Touya's maneuvered the room fast enough to catch her by the wrist. He slams her against the door frame and Masaru ducks from beneath her, scrambling out of the corner and out of the way. 

"The hell is the matter with you? You call yourself a real alpha, putting your hands on him like that? You get a kick out of bullying people of the weaker gender, don't you?" Touya's voice is tight, just as his grip tightens on her every time she makes a move to pull herself free. 

"Mind your business, boy! You've no say in the way I discipline my mate and I've no doubt you're not going to pay for all of the damage he's caused!" 

"Damage? Those fuckin' mannequins are fine and you're fucking rich---why do you give a shit about replacing a lamp?" 

Masaru is absolutely trembling. "Touya, just let go of her---please. " He begs, worried that this will only serve to make things a hundred times worse for him once the two of them have gone. No one's ever had the gall to intervene before. In fact, most of their company would commend her for keeping such a tight handle on him---something about keeping his behavior in check. 

He's afraid she'll do more than just punch him this time. 

Touya, however, does not seem to want to budge. 

"If I let her go she might swing on me; I'm not doin' that cause I don't want to fight her in here and ruin all of the pretty dresses you made. It's alright, I got it." The raven assures him, keeping as gentle a tone as he can while speaking to him. 

"M-M-Maybe we should leave." Katsuki suggests, even as his mother clings to him in fear. 

Please don't leave me; I don't want to die… 

"Maybe we should." Touya agrees, "But I think maybe Mama Masa should stay with us tonight until your dad gets her shit together, hm? Take a little break from one another; how's that sound, mama?" 

"Fine, take him and get the fuck out before I get angry." Mitsuki agrees before Masaru even has the chance to respond. Touya scoffs, gradually releasing her from his hold. "What? You're not already angry?" 

"Fuck you." 

"I would like to l-leave, please!" Katsuki reiterates and Touya nods, motioning for the two of them to leave first. He wants to make sure to put a barrier between Mitsuki and the two of them. He doesn't want to have to do this and cause trouble in the middle of them running this case but he can and he will give Mitsuki blunt force trauma if she tries to hurt them again. 

Masaru says something about getting something to wear but Touya ushers him in the opposite direction and towards the car. "Don't worry about that, we'll go buy you something if we have to. Let's just go. You're fine, you're safe with us." 

Katsuki's beginning to think coming over today was a horrible idea. 

#

Enji relaxes with his back against Keigo's chest, the warm water of the bath incredibly soothing on his aching joints. His alpha is humming some soft tune in his ear, calloused hand rubbing slow circles on the tiny swell of his tummy. The doctor said he was going on close to 19 weeks---just a little over four months---and Keigo couldn't have been more happy than he was upon noticing Enji's little baby bump. 

He takes the fingers of his free hand and laces them with Enji's own, lifting his hand from the bubbles to press a series of kisses to his knuckles. 

"You know, I meant to tell you earlier but you've been absolutely glowin' lately." He murmurs against the redhead's ear. Enji gives him a disbelieving snort. 

"Really?" 

"Really really." 

"You're not just saying that because I'm pregnant?" 

Laughter bubbles up well from within Keigo's chest. "Course not, sweetheart. I mean, you should already know by now that I've always thought you were absolutely stunning on the eyes---" 

"For whatever godforsaken reason." 

"It's because you're a sexy little cutie pie, that's why." 

Enji finds himself nearly cackling at that. "You need to be stopped." He says and Keigo snickers, pressing a kiss to the top of his lover's crown. "I don't want you to think I wasn't happy with our family the way that it was; I love you and I love all of our kids more than anything on God's green Earth---you know that, don't you?" 

Of course Enji does. Never in all his life did he think he'd ever meet someone who loves him as much as Keigo does. He doesn't know very many alphas who'd have done what Keigo did, especially when I came to raising four pups that didn't belong to him simply because he wanted to. Enji was prepared to be single for the rest of his life until Keigo came along. 

He couldn't have counted a better blessing than him. 

"I do." 

"I'm just---I'm really happy that we get to have this new addition. Not that I thought we'd ever separate but to have created a life together with you---a legacy with you? It feels like I'm on top of the world, baby." 

The corners of Enji's lips curl into a smile, head tilting back to allow his alpha to press a kiss to his lips before he settles back against his chest again. There's not a lot for Enji to say he knows very well how much this means to him. 

"I know, honey." 

"I just want to thank you, you know? I know that carrying has been difficult for you in the past---traumatic, even---but you're carrying this to term for me and there won't ever be anything I can do to amount to that. But I swear, I'll take care of you and make sure you're safe this go around. Anything you need." 

"Oh...Kei. You don't have to do that. I want this baby too, you know. It's not just for you." 

"I know but---" 

"Keigo. I can't believe I'm the one who has to tell you this but just relax, okay, baby?" 

Keigo chuckles, gently squeezing around Enji's middle in a hug. 

"Alright, sure. After I get you out of this tub and get dinner ready." 

"You are not going in my kitchen to ruin my good pots and pans." 

"Ruin? Jesus, babe, I'm honestly offended here. You don't like my cooking?" 

"Maybe I would if you weren't in my kitchen cooking fucking emu meat and bay bugs . " 

"Fine, fine. I'll order takeout. Should see if the kids are coming home tonight first." Keigo relents, getting up and out of the tub to go and get a towel for Enji. "Come on now, love. Let's get you comfortable." 

#

"This is bad---this is bad. You have to take me back---" 

"We're not fucking taking you back; are you out of your mind?" 

"She's going to be livid when I come home; don't you understand?! It's only going to make it worse---" 

"Then we just won't take you home." 

"Touya! This is not a joke, young man." Masaru is trying to keep himself leveled but he's beginning to feel faint, heart pounding rapidly in his chest. 

"That's right, this isn't a joke. This is your life that we're talking about and I'm not going to go take you back to her knowing what she's gonna do to you---I'm sorry." Unlike everyone else, Touya isn't afraid of Mitsuki Bakugou. He's only using this last resort option to keep from having to kill her before they get a confession out of the bitch. "Listen to me. I know you're scared and I know she's literally beat it into your brain that you have to just let it happen in order for you to be okay but that's bullshit. Okay? Call it kidnapping or whatever the fuck you want but I won't allow you to go back to her and that's just it." 

"Y-You can't just---it isn't going to work out that way, Touya. I can't just go stay in a hotel; she'll still find me." 

"That's why you're not staying at a hotel; you're coming to stay at my parents' place with us. We've got more than enough room---plenty of guest rooms with their own bathrooms so you can have your privacy and no one will bother you." 

"You can't just promise me that, Touya. You can't just invite some random stranger to your parents' home---" 

"Well, you're not just some stranger now, are you?" Touya counters, making eye contact from the rearview mirror. "You're my future mother-in-law. You want to be able to come to our wedding, don't you? To live long enough to see your grandchildren be born? Then you can't fight me on this. Please just let us help you."

If Katsuki had even the slightest doubt of whether or not he was in love with this man, he knows for sure that he is---right now, in this moment. 

Masaru is losing the battle against his tears. 

"God, this is so embarrassing." 

"Don't be embarrassed. You're family; we're supposed to help each other." 

# 

"Of course he can stay here." 

Enji knows that look anywhere, head down and much too timid to look anyone in the eyes because he's afraid he'll be punished for it. He'd known that Katsuki's father hadn't been a nice woman---she couldn't have been if she'd associate herself with someone like Rei. If what he's heard about the connection between Rei and Mitsuki Bakugou is true, then they should have gotten this poor soul out of there much sooner. 

"I-I'm sorry that this is how our first meeting must go. I tried to get Touya to take me back but---" 

"Masaru, right?" Keigo interrupts him, sure to watch his tone as not to startle the poor thing more than he already has been. "It's a good thing that he didn't. We'd much rather give you refuge here than have to hear about your death on the morning news. You don't have to be embarrassed. And you sure as hell don't have to be afraid to hold your head up here. You're safe with us." 

Masaru sniffles with a nod, raising a hand to wipe at his eyes as a sob manages to escape him. 

"T-Thank you. For everything---especially for taking care of my Katsuki and accepting him when I couldn't protect him." 

Keigo smiles at him, reaching over to ruffle Katsuki's hair. "No sweat. Katsuki's our baby now, too. The moment our boy brought him home, we knew we had to look out for him." He says, smile spreading as Katsuki goes to hug him. "I dunno if Touya told you but Enji's been in your shoes before. You can stay here as long as you need to; we'll make sure you're safe up until we're sure that they're gonna put her ass in prison." 

Hopefully for life, if they're able to get enough dirt on her. 

Enji approaches Masaru carefully, reaching out to gently coax his head up from where his gaze is plastered to the floor. Such a gentle creature brought to ruin. How could anyone really be so cruel to someone who's mothered their children? 

Then again, it's not as if Mitsuki has the best track record with treating children all that well either. 

He offers Masaru a sympathetic smile. 

"Why don't we get you settled and comfortable? We're going to have dinner in a bit. I'd like it if we got to know each other better---what with talk of matrimony between our sons and all. Are you hurt anywhere? I can take a look at them for you." 

Masaru shrugs, unsure if he's got any bruises worth checking on. The longer he looks into Enji's eyes, the more he feels the tension ebb away from his wound up body and his fragile nerves. 

He's being scented. 

It's been so long since he's been scented. 

"T-They're mostly just scrapes and bruises...some of them are a couple of days old---they're on my back and sides. I think I'll be alright. But...thank you. And I would like that---to get to know you better. All I really want is to be a part of my Katsuki's world." 

Enji can relate to that. It feels like just yesterday he and Touya were miles apart even though they lived in the same home. 

"Alright. I'd still like to check just to be sure nothing is fractured, broken, or infected. Is that okay? We just want you to be okay." 

Masaru relents with a nod, slow and hesitant but he never breaks eye contact with Enji. 

"O-Okay." 

He has to try and make the best of this. Spend as much time with Katsuki as he can. There's an ominous feeling brewing somewhere deep inside of him and that ugly sensation swirling around in his core tells him that he hasn't won just yet. 

Mitsuki doesn't like to lose.