A/N: significantly shorter chapter that I wrote while sleep deprived. I'll worry about fixing typos later. Hope you enjoy ✨

This situation is what most people would describe as...tense.

"Just look at you---the years have been good to you and carrying four pups hasn't seemed to wither you in the slightest. No matter how miserable I was being married to you, I can always admit that you are far too gorgeous to be given to just anyone. Exotic toys must be kept in good condition, after all."

Enji looks as if he's ready to crawl right out of his skin, squirming underneath the scrutinizing gaze of his ex-wife. He doesn't like the way that she's undressing him with her eyes---it makes him feel filthy and dirty. Violated. Humiliated.

Because he knows exactly what she's thinking of doing to him.

Her view is obstructed by Keigo, angry scent swirling violently around them as he steps in front of his mate protectively. Touya almost wants to commend his father for the amount of effort he's using to keep himself from attacking their unwelcome guest right there in the kitchen. It would be a bloody mess for sure; it's amazing that he's able to keep such a level head.

"Don't you fuck with me, Rei, I will put you on your ass." He warns her, stepping forward into her personal space so that she understands that he isn't simply just trying to intimidate her. Keigo is no pushover by any means and though he'd rather not be violent in the presence of his mate, he'd gladly take another alpha to their grave for being so bold as to challenge his authority in his own home.

The dead expression on Rei's face sends uneasy chills down Katsuki's spine and he ducks behind Touya as her gaze flickers onto him with mild interest.

"Oh?" She hums. "What a pretty, tiny thing you are. Do you belong to my son? I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to start breeding you early---"

"Watch your fucking mouth when you tak to him, hag." Touya snarls, growl rumbling low in his throat. "Better yet, don't fucking speak to him at all. You've already disrespected my parents by coming here uninvited. You need to leave, Rei."

The smaller alpha's brow raises in what could either be amusement or curiosity but Touya is willing to bet on the former. A cynical snort of laughter passes through her lips.

"Rei?" She parrots. "My, my, someone's an angsty boy. Are you still angry with me about leaving? I've sent your mother several plane tickets so you could come and see me, Touya. Your siblings and I have long since made amends; you are the only one who hasn't even had the heart to try and forgive me."

"Yeah, well, they don't know what kind of monster you really are either, do they? You think if Shouto knew you tried to kill him that he'd be such a daddy's boy with you?" Touya spits in retaliation and Rei's gaze sharpens almost instantly, cold and unyielding.

"Oh, Touya. You'd do so well to mind your tongue when you speak to me. I don't care who your whore mother marries; I am your father and you will respect me---"

Keigo's fist roughly tangles in the fabric of her shirt and Katsuki ducks further behind Touya at the terrifyingly angry noise that rips itself from the blonde alpha's throat.

"The fuck did you just say about my Enji?!"

Enji is beginning to panic and so is Katsuki, reaching out to grab Enji's hand and pull him behind Touya as well. If a fight breaks out, he'd much rather Enji didn't get caught in the middle. It would be best for him and Katsuki to leave but Katsuki doesn't think that Rei would just allow him to walk away so easily.

Rei goes to shove Keigo off of her but he's solid.

"How embarrassing must it be to have had to try and cover the remnants of my mark with your own? To try and cover the ghost of my seed with your own only to find that even his womb is stained with my mark---trying so desperately to raise my pups as your own? You are pathetic, Keigo Takami."

"K-Keigo-Keigo, don't do it!" Enji pleads, sensing the way that the alpha's body tenses with the urge to strike her. He's nearly foaming at the mouth, livid and snarling with trembling hands so close to the column of Rei's throat. He shoves her away and she stumbles but doesn't fall, adjusting her clothing with a bristling snort.

"Leave or I'm going to call the cops."

"I am not leaving without seeing my son."

"You saw me." Touya snarls. "Now leave. I don't want any dealings with you, especially now that I know what you are. It was bad enough when you chose your stupid cameras and magazines over us but you beat and abused your own mate and tried to kill your own pup---what makes you think you have any right to be here? Any right to sexually harass my mother and challenge my father in his own home? You aren't any father of mine. You simply donated your seed to contribute to my existence. Leave, or it won't be my dad who fuckin' drags you out."

"Fuckin' get out before---"

"I'm hooooome!"

As if things couldn't get any messier, the sound of Shouto coming home makes everyone freeze right in their tracks. Enji's eyes bulge right out of their sockets, head shaking frantically as his anxiety skyrockets but it's already much too late. The half-and-half boy practically comes prancing happily into the kitchen, oblivious to all of the commotion as he goes to set his bag down onto the kitchen table.

"Izuku has a really early field study in the morning so I'm sleeping at home toni---"

He pulls a double-take when he looks up to see Rei standing there, gasping as a glittering smile pulls at his lips.

"Daddy?!" He cries, throwing himself into Rei's arms with a hug. "What are you doing here?! How come I didn't know you were coming?! Are you gonna stay for the weekend?? Please say yes!" He rambles on, bouncing excitedly as his sire ruffles his hair with a fond smile. "I wanted to surprise you, my sweet boy. I can't promise I'll be able to stay the weekend, though, I'm sorry." She says, smile spreading as Shouto's face deflates into a pout. "But you're staying for dinner at least, right?"

"Sho, baby, can you take Katsuki upstairs for a moment? Mommy and I need to have a word with Rei for a moment. Touya, you beat it too, kiddo." Keigo speaks, aggressively clearing his throat as he forces himself to regain his composure. Touya scoffs in disbelief.

"Dad---"

"No buts. Get upstairs. Your mother will come and get you for dinner." Keigo reiterates and Touya, jaw tight with irritation, nods and takes Katsuki's hand to lead him upstairs. He pauses when he realizes that his mother's trembling fingers are still tangled in his shirt and he frowns.

Shouto senses the tension in the air---can smell his mother's terror from where he stands. He doesn't move, looking in between his parents and then to his big brother as if he's attempting to piece something together enough for him to make sense of what's happening when there's obviously something wrong.

"Okay...is everything okay, Papa?"

Keigo doesn't make eye contact with Shouto, even as he nods. "Yeah. Yeah, sweetie, everything is fine. Mommy and I just wanna talk about some things with Rei, that's all."

"You promise?" Shouto presses, not nearly convinced or satisfied enough with Keigo's responses. "Mama doesn't look like he's fine; is he sick?"

"Baby. Mama's fine; I'm gonna take good care of him. I always do, don't I? Yeah?"

A nod. Keigo takes immaculate care of their family. Shouto gets the feeling that it's Rei who's causing so much turmoil but he doesn't understand why that would be. Why would his mother invite her there if he didn't want her to come?

"Okay. But you'll tell me if something is wrong?"

"I sure will, princess. Go on, now, dinner will be ready in a little bit."

"Alright. C'mon, angel, let's go to my room, hm?" Shouto relents, reaching out to take Katsuki's hand. The blonde nervously scurries around Rei, jumpy and jittery with anxiety until she's out of sight. Something about her unsettles Katsuki.

He's unsure that he'd feel comfortable sleeping here tonight if she stays.

#

"Hey. You okay?"

Touya cards his fingers through his mother's hair, scenting him to try and quell his frayed nerves. Enji gives him a shaky nod, unable to make eye contact with him. He's afraid that if he makes even the slightest bit of eye contact with Rei, she'll force him into submission. It's always how it's been with her and even though they have been apart for almost eight years...

Let's just say the old habits tend to die hard.

"I-I-I gave you visitation rights and allowed them to see you whenever you wanted, what more do you want?" He says, voice cracking anxiously. Rei hums, offering herself a seat at the table. "I wanted to see my boys, that's all. Unlike you, Enji, I'm not alright with the idea of never seeing my children. Honestly, how long has it been since you've seen our two eldest pups? A year? Two?"

"Fuyumi works in a completely different country and Natsuo is going to school to be a doctor; we can't very well just demand that they come home whenever we miss them." Keigo counters in disbelief. Rei raises a brow. "Why not? That's exactly what I do. And they listen because I'm their father and they know better than to deny me."

"Do you even hear yourself? You're fucking delusional---not to mention that you're a goddamn psychopath. This is why I never call. I never come see you. How fucking dare you leave us and then have the gall to be angry when we don't come chasing after you? You chose fame; you didn't want a fucking family---"

"Anyone in their right mind would have done what I did. To be tied down young and forced to make children? None of it was my choice but here I am today, a better father than I was then---"

"And how the FUCK do you think my mother felt? You think he was ready to get married as a teenager?! That he wanted to be used up like some sort of machine with four back to back pregnancies by the time he was thirty---let's not forget the three that he lost before he was lucky enough to carry Fuyumi to full term. You didn't think I knew about that, did you?" Touya snarls, becoming antsy as he begins to pace the kitchen in an attempt to keep himself composed.

"You know how fuckin' terrified he was to have to go through all of this on his own? If you kicking the absolute shit out of him on a near daily basis wasn't enough to make you a piece of shit, abandoning your mate and children---especially after trying to kill one of them? It definitely puts you at the top of the list."

Rei eyes him a moment, that flat gaze plastered back onto her face again.

"Are you done?"

Touya scoffs.

"Yeah. So is mom. Get the fuck out."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. You'll upset my Shouto, you know. Unless you want to break his heart by telling him all of the things that I've...allegedly done."

And as much as Touya wants to expose Rei for the disgraceful piece of shit that she is, he couldn't stand to destroy Shouto that way. He'd never be the same again. His mother was right to never tell him. Rei doesn't deserve that grace, that's for sure. But Shouto doesn't deserve that heartbreak, either.

The smarmy little smirk she plays up makes Touya want to strangle her.

"As I thought. I'll be staying for dinner."

"Then you're leaving; you're not sleeping in my house." Keigo clarifies and Rei just snorts out a laugh at him. "Oh? Worried I'll come and breed your precious whore while you sleep? My seed is sure to take, you know. Unlike you, gutter trash, we thoroughbreds don't shoot blanks."

Touya startles the lot of them when he quickly crowds Rei and drags her up from the chair by her hair, free hand around her throat---Enji actually cries out when he sees Rei struggling to breathe. Her facial expression doesn't seem to show that she's very concerned but the slight and desperate gasps she makes is enough to let them know that she definitely can't breathe.

"Touya. Listen to me, son. Put her down. You don't want to do this, you don't want a murder trial." Keigo tried to coax him down but he growls, promptly telling his father to fuck right off. He leans in close to Rei until their noses touch.

Maybe this time she'll hear him a little clearer.

"Call my mother a whore again and you will die." He whispers, squeezing a wheeze out of her to drive his point home before he drops her down into the seat again. She coughs violently, ragged breath after ragged breath as she tries to catch her breath. Touya inhales deeply and pushes out with a sigh.

He needs a fucking drink.

"You're staying for dinner and then you're leaving. You gotta stay at a hotel room for the weekend for your 'visit', then fine. But if you're here to see your sons then I expect you to keep it that way and contain yourself instead of choosing to verbally abuse my mother."

Keigo doesn't seem to hold a word of objection, more impressed than anything. He nods, silently commending him for de-escalating the situation on his own.

"Great. I'm goin' to get the boys for dinner. Feel free to fuck off and never come back at any time.