A/N: TRIGGER WARNING FOR RACIAL SLURS AND RACIALLY MOTIVATED VIOLENCE ft. an OC! This isn't just filler and yes, the OC is relevant to the ✨plot✨

Shota is a stubborn man that takes every single aspect of his life as what most may argue is a bit too seriously. 

Raising his children. 

Committing to his work. 

Committing to his marriage. 

There never seemed to be any room for mistakes or errors---no room for hypotheticals or the unpredictable. He can admit very well that he's never given himself the same grace and patience that he's offered to others---the same forgiveness. There isn't any excuse for it other than the fact that he's simply afraid. Of what, he's always been unsure. Of failure, maybe? Failure of being a shitty mother. Failure of being a shitty detective.

Failure of being a shitty wife. 

Toshinori (as delicately as he could) has suggested that Shota maybe see a therapist about his such tendencies. He'd called them self-destructive. Self-loathsome. Shota would deny them---had they not have held any truth---but then he'd just be lying to him. And, in turn, lying to himself. 

Hitoshi understood. He'd tried to accommodate his mother as best that he could. 

Eri was confused, wondering why her mother was so stressed---so absent most times---but she loved him abundantly, nevertheless. 

Hizashi had often called him selfish. Shota can't really remember being angry about it, mostly because Hizashi called him selfish most days for anything that he did. Sleeping in. Working late. Taking time off. Nothing was ever good enough for him. Numb, Shota supposes, is the best way to describe how he'd felt about him. 

Masaru seemed to be the only one who'd ever been able to pull Shota out of his head. It's odd in a way---how Masaru often finds Shota's mannerisms quite endearing until, inevitably, they aren't. 

Thankfully, he's rather adept at handling all of Shota's frantic, restless mind and his unpredictable mood swings---especially as of late. He understands that current events have put the raven on edge and (if the chronic nightmares are anything to go by) made him incredibly anxious. The last thing he wanted was to invalidate Shota's well-placed worries by telling him that he's overreacting or that he's being much too sensitive. Instead, he finds soothing and productive ways to keep him occupied and, hopefully, relaxed. 

It's a little difficult to do that when Shota's drowning himself in work to try and distract himself. It's counterproductive considering the fact that work is where all of his anxieties are stemming from anyway but telling him that just makes him upset so Masaru avoids doing so as best he can. He was trying to be patient and wait for Shota to realize that he'd needed a break---or for Shota to tucker himself out---but each passing day simply proves to him that Shota will work until he drops dead if Masaru allows him to. They're three days away from the ball and Shota hasn't gotten even close to a decent amount of rest.

As much as he hates to do so, Masaru has decided to put his foot down.

"Shota." 

"Hm?" 

"Where do you think you are going, love?" 

Shota pauses midway through pulling his panties on, eyes wide and confused as they meet Masaru's honey brown gaze. He's just gotten out of the shower---they both have---but instead of climbing back into bed with Masaru, he's started digging through the drawers and closets to get fully dressed for the day. Slacks. Button up. Tie.

Boy, is Masaru about to rain on his parade.

"I-I'm...getting dressed for work?" 

"Incorrect. Get dressed if you would like, but you aren't going to the precinct today."

His confusion seems to increase as he slides his underwear all the way up his thighs but tosses his bra onto the dresser. 

"I...don't think that I understand. I have some work to do; I have to check in with the PSI to make sure---" 

"You've done that every single day this week. What you haven't done is sleep, eat properly, and spend time with your family. You need to relax, honey. No work today. Come back to bed; it's still very early." 

This doesn't sit very well with Shota.

"Masaru, I don't have time for this. We can't afford any slip-ups or mistakes on this, you know? I know that you're just worried or whatever but I promise that this is for our own good---"

"Now you listen here, little one." Masaru counters with an exasperated huff, though his eyes are sharp and unwavering. He needs for Shota to know that he means business. "You are running yourself ragged. How much help do you think that you are actually going to be when you're hardly able to keep up and have inevitably collapsed from fatigue? You certainly will not be doing this family any favors by neglecting yourself. And I am not going to stand by and watch you do so. I have already spoken to Captain Tsukauchi. He will make sure that everything is in order and Yagi will be there to double check. They have agreed that what you need, more than anything, is a day off." He continues, feeling his own heart shatter at the way that Shota's face curls into a panicked frown---his hands are trembling at his sides---but he can't let himself be weak to this. 

"M-Masa, I'm just trying to---" 

"I know, baby. And Katsuki and I are so lucky to have someone like you---someone who'd go through all of this just because they were afraid of losing us. But we love you, honey, and we need you safe and healthy as well. I need you to trust me when I say that taking these next few days off to center yourself is for your own good. Everything will be fine, my love. So please come back to bed? For me?" 

Shota sucks in a deep, shaky breath. Masaru can only imagine how difficult this must be for him. 

"O-Oh...okay." 

His scent rapidly begins to sour.

"Are you upset with me, baby?" 

"I-I...no. No, I'm not upset, I'm just---"

"You're uncomfortable." 

He nods feverishly, shifting his weight on the heels of his feet. 

"I understand. Not being able to have control over situations like this stresses you out, doesn't it? It's okay, lover, I know that you're scared. Come here, darling, let me hold you. Is that alright? For me to hold you?" He doesn't want to frighten or freak him out any further---doesn't want to send him spiraling into a full-blown panic. 

Shota nods but he does, however, seem rather stuck. Masaru can see the way that Shota's legs twitch, struggling to move him forward. 

Poor baby. 

"Okay. Can I come and get you?" 

Again, Shota nods but he's unable to hold back the unmistakable sound of him trying to swallow the whine that rises up in his throat. Masaru quickly raises up from the bed to hurry to his side but he's careful not to make any movements that might startle him. His hands gently rest at Shota's side as he stands directly in front of him, coaxing Shota into his arms. He doesn't move him---not right away. 

"Shhh, you're alright, honey. I'm fine. You're fine. The kids are all fine. We're all okay." He assures him, Shota's nails digging into the bare skin of his back as he sobs against Masaru's shoulder. 

"B-But she---" 

"Won't be able to hurt me anymore. We're not doing this alone, my love. You're not doing this alone. So you don't have to be so afraid. I'm not going to leave you. And after this, I'll be able to live out my days with you forever. We can even get married, you know? Would you like that? For us to get married?" 

"Y-You would marry me?" 

Masaru tightens his embrace, lifting Shota into his arms to carry him back to bed. "Of course, darling. We're not getting any younger, you know. I'd like to at least experience a loving marriage once in my life before I kick the bucket." He says, draping his body over Shota's as they settle among the mess of sheets and blankets. He's scenting him quite a bit heavier than he'd initially intended when he sees that Shota's condition hasn't begun to de-escalate just by talking him down alone. He doesn't stop until he feels Shota's body go lax and slump against the pillows beneath him. 

"Better, sweetheart?" 

"...Yes." he sniffles. 

"Okay. I'm going to---" 

"No! No, no, don't leave, please! Just---"

"Okay, alright. I won't go anywhere; I promise. Tell me what you need, honey." 

"Hold me tighter. Please?" 

As if he'd ever have to beg. 

Not ideal, but it seems like Masaru may have succeeded in getting Shota to take the day off. 

#

Four months. 

Four short, gleeful months in Sapporo that had been practically free of violence and hate crimes. Four short, gleeful months that were void of reported assaults against omegas. Four short, surreal months of people on this island acting as if they'd understood the concept of common decency. 

Four months of relative peace in their little tourist town. 

Toshinori will be the first to admit that this era of peace has been granted through the power of vigilante justice---justice at the hands of a young alpha who'd made a name for himself in this city since he was old enough to know what injustice was. Some called him a civil right activist. Most viewed him as some degenerate psychopath with a real passion for breaking bones and stirring up trouble. But the truth? 

The truth is that Touya Todoroki has been the one to single-handedly save this town from their misguided way for years now. 

Most famously, he's managed to scare the everliving fuck out of every biggot and rapist within a fifty mile radius by beating Yoarashi Inasa within an inch of his life with a lead pipe and tearing his jaw off with his bare hands for the entire world to see. 

That video (and the message that Touya had sent with it) had gone viral within minutes of it being posted---they'd even talked about it on foreign talk shows---and it had impacted their city a lot more than any of them could have imagined it would. It made the SPD's job much easier---gave them much more room to focus on the dilemma of closing what could be the biggest case they've ever taken on before. 

In fact, their crime rates have never been so low before. Save for a few purse snatchers and peeping toms, the most they'd had to deal with in the last several months have been car accidents and small fires. 

If anything, they owe Touya his thanks. 

In fact, Toshinori had every intention of taking the time to go and personally treat Touya not only for his dedication but also for his good behavior, he's managed to keep his nose relatively clean within these last four months as well. He'd deserved at least a drink or two, courtesy of Yagi. 

At least, he did. 

Now, as Toshinori walks into the precinct only to be greeted by a rather peeved Captain Tsukauchi, he's not so sure. 

"Good morning, Captain. Everything alright? You seem a little...distracted this morning." 

Tsukauchi snorts. 

"Yeah, well, we had to break up a two on ten, all-out goddamn melee brawl in the middle of fucking Susukino at the literal ass crack of dawn. Take a wild guess at whose ass we had to bring in." 

And just like that, Toshinori's subjectively good mood is ruined. 

He sighs. 

"...is it Touya?" 

"Bingo." 

"God-fucking-dammit." 

Tsukauchi offers him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder as he passes him by. "He and his new friend have been pretty damn cozy over in one of the interrogation rooms---you know we have to keep him in there to keep the risk of a brawl breaking out in the station to a minimum. Nobody wants to beat the shit out of a handcuffed little degenerate but Touya's got a mouth on him. Figured you'd wanna be the one to handle this." 

New friend? 

"Ah---wait a second. You brought someone else in with him? And they're in the same room?! Captain, are you sure that was a good idea? That other kid could be dead in there…" 

Tsukauchi huffs out a genuine chuckle. 

"Remember when I said it was a two on ten brawl? I get the feeling Touya and this other kid are pretty tight. You won't have to worry about them going at each other." 

"Oh. Then...what happened, exactly?" 

"Nobody knows but those two. We didn't question anyone." 

"And the other ten?" 

"Dispersed upon squad car arrival." 

Convenient that Touya would be the only one not to run. 

And, Toshinori supposes, whoever this other kid is. 

"Kid's all yours, Yagi. Have a ball." 

He hasn't had his coffee yet. 

"Ah...yeah. Thanks." 

#

"Morning, boys. I see that you two have had a rather eventful morning." 

Despite that, the two of them seem to be in rather high spirits---smiling and stifling a laugh with one another as Toshinori seems to have walked into the room at the tail end of a joke. They seem rather comfortable in those cold metal chairs, sprawled out and slouching back in them even as Toshinori takes a seat in front of them. Only one of them is even the slightest bit bruised---the boy that somehow seemed to get dragged into Touya's mess---but Touya is practically splattered in blood. 

Toshinori can guess that it doesn't belong to him. 

"Sorry, we haven't met yet. My name is Detective Toshinori Yagi. What's your name, young man?" He greets the stranger---an alpha foreigner. Toshinori takes note of the blackening bruise forming just along the jaw of his otherwise unmarred, unblemished dark skin. 

If that's the least of his injuries, he wonders just how badly the other ten guys got the absolute shit beaten out of them. The only thing that seems to have bruised on Touya are his knuckles. 

"Justin. Justin Booker. But most folks just call me Jay because for some reason my name is too difficult to be pronounced correctly so, you know… just call me what you want, I guess." 

"What would you like to be called, son?" 

"Jay. Justin. Booker. It's all the same to me, my guy. But I appreciate the, ah, consideration. Sorry in advance if I come off as rude; I mean no disrespect. I'd call you sir but my mans here says you're not real big on that. Tryna keep cultural differences in mind, you know? " 

"I understand, kiddo. No need for disclaimers and formalities. You're human just like the rest of us."

Booker snorts out a cynical laugh. 

"In a perfect world, Mr. Yagi." 

The air begins to feel a great bit heavier. Toshinori decides to steer the conversation back to the topic at hand, unsure of just how far the rabbit hole will go if they continue with things as they are. The last thing he wants is to make Booker uncomfortable.

"I hear that you boys got into a pretty nasty brawl this morning. The both of you up against two others, I'm assuming?" 

"Yup." Touya and Booker reply in unison, visibly unbothered. 

"Touya. What did you do?" 

Touya sputters indignantly, feigning offense and he raises a hand up to his chest. "Me? C'mon, Nori, that's not fair. I've been a good noodle for the last few months and you're just gonna assume that I'm the troublemaker this time?" 

"Well, you were involved." 

"I wouldn't have had to be involved if fuckers would just learn to be decent people. You know me, Nori---you know how much I fucking hate biggots and bullies."

"Biggots? Were you breaking people's windows and burning their property again?" 

"Nah. But I'ma break my foot off in their asses if I ever catch them on the street again." 

Toshinori sighs, offering Booker an apologetic smile. 

"This is a little embarrassing but I take full responsibility for whatever mess my boy here has gotten you dragged into. He means well most of the time and just wants to do the right thing so---" 

"Nah, man, Touya's solid. I dunno what I would have done if he didn't show up when he did. I could only ignore those fuckboys for so long and I'm not sure I'd have been able to take them all on if I'd have been alone when they jumped on me." 

Toshinori's brain short-circuits for a moment, stalling as he finally begins to piece the situation together. 

"I---sorry, I haven't had my coffee yet and my head's still a little foggy. Just so that I'm understanding this all correctly, could you tell me what happened? What happened that was bad enough to piss you off enough to pick a fight with ten other alphas?" 

Booker raises a curious brow. 

"I dunno about you, Mr. Yagi, but I personally feel like being called nigger by a bunch of pussy ass fuckboys first thing in the morning while I'm minding my own business every fucking day gets real exhausting, real fast." He replies, fully expecting the cowed expression that plasters itself to Toshinori's face at such liberal use of the slur. "And to be fair, I didn't respond to them calling me names and shit because I'm used to it---I've been living here for so long and the shits not any different back home in Brooklyn. I got tough skin when it comes to shit like that. But then they started pushing up on me and pulling my hair and shit---calling me an ape and shit. One of them fuckers spit on my kicks and I blacked out." 

"I'm pretty sure that you can figure out how things went from there." Touya chimes, casually folding his arms behind his head. 

Yeah. It's pretty much what Toshinori was expecting. 

"I mean, I only really got one good swing in on 'em before Touya jumped in---like literally jumped in! It's like he dropped out of the fucking air and next thing I know, he's tossing these guys twice our size around like it's nothin'! They seemed pretty scared of him already when he showed up but he wouldn't let them go when they tried to run away. This man's a real hero." Booker chuckles and Touya reaches over with a smile to playfully punch him against his shoulder. 

"Not a hero. Just a shitty guy with good intentions, man." 

"I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty scared when the cops came. I mean...I'm already at a disadvantage here and I really thought that they'd just shoot me dead on arrival but Touya stayed with me and told me that I had nothing to worry about. He even stood in front of me the entire time so I could feel safe. Told me that if anyone opened fire, they'd hit him before they hit me. I dunno what your relationship to Touya is, Mr. Yagi, but...those guys probably would've beat me to death if Touya wasn't there to help me." 

Toshinori doesn't know what to say. For the first time in a long time, he's actually quite speechless. 

But, then again, Touya's always been around to stand up for those unable to stand up for themselves. 

"I see. Did you know any of those fellas who assaulted you? Names? Distinguishable markings or tattoos?" 

Booker offers a sullen smile. 

"Nah. And even if I did, I doubt that pressing charges against them would change anything. I doubt that those particular guys'll be back to bother me anytime soon but there's a hundred other niggas out there who'll treat me just like they did. It'd be pointless. But I appreciate the sentiment, Mr. Yagi. Quite frankly, your boy is tired as hell and I'm just ready to move past it already." 

As much as it pains Toshinori...Booker is right. 

He wishes that he could do more. 

Touya, however, is not at all satisfied with accepting that. 

"Nah. Nobody's gonna fuck with you with me around. There aren't too many bastards left around this shithole city who actually have the balls to try and square up with me and as long as they know that you and I are boys? You'll be just fine. If you still don't feel safe, though, I can send one of our personal drivers to take you to and from work just to make sure that you're safe. All you have to do is shoot me a text." 

Booker's smile widens into a grin. 

"Seriously, man?" 

"Hell yeah, man. You've got steeze. I like that shit. And you don't back down from anyone tryna make a bitch out of you. That takes a lot of heart---to do what you did in your situation instead of just running. I've got hella respect for you." 

If the way that Booker visibly swells with pride is of any indication, then the feeling is definitely mutual. 

It doesn't look like they needed Toshinori to interfere at all. 

"Tell you boys what. It's been a rough morning for everyone. Why don't we go and grab something to eat and then I'll make sure that both of you boys get home without having to fight anyone else?" 

"Aw, hell yeah!" 

"Nice. I was gonna ask you to take me home anyway; I'm pretty sure Captain Asswad had my car towed when they sent SPD to come pick us up." 

"Touya. What have I told you about picking fights with the captain? If he decides to throw your butt in a cell one of these days, I won't be able to help you. What were you even doing in Susukino anyway? Susukino is a red-light district!" 

Touya rolls his eyes, finally sitting up in his seat as he figures that this entire ordeal is finally over. 

"Other than minding my own grown ass business? I was picking up some, ah, special gifts for my baby boy from a shop that he likes. Guess I was just in the right place at the right time." He replies, curiously glancing over at Booker as they begin to file out of the room. 

"Jay, what were you doing there?" 

"Me? I work there." 

"Doing what ?!" 

"It's probably better that you don't know, Gee." 

Toshinori hopes that he and Touya stay friends for a while, at least. Everyone needs someone that they can count on.