Chapter Text
“Good job.”
The slam of the bar door behind a casually dressed customer is louder than the brisk voice of the speaker, the wood of the door scratching against the carpet floor. Still, his words come across as clear as day, and the mysterious man grins while he takes a seat in front of the abandoned bar. The wooden stool screeches against the added weight, its worn joints groaning from use.
“You flatter us,” the customer teased, sliding his hips to get into a comfortable position. “We could’ve done a better job with some more heads up, though; pullin’ a quick one on us like that was downright disastrous.”
“I don’t follow,” the bartender answered, bewilderment on his features as he reached for a tan envelope. “Here is your payment, by the way.”
“Pfft, you’re joking, right? Your new tech. The way you hacked the ultrasound machine to make it seem like there was an actual pup. It caught Rei off guard real bad; the way he panicked was almost funny, if we didn’t have a job to do.”
The bartender hesitantly set the envelope on the counter and allowed his dark eyes to connect with the figure’s own amber. “I don’t have the tech for that. You know enough by now; I give you all and any information about the job that I can. I don’t pull fast ones without your request.”
“Uh-huh…” The blond mumbled, seemingly lost in thought. “Well, whatever. Doesn’t matter much anyways if that job’s done.” Absentmindedly, the man separated some of the cash in the envelope and handed it back to the bartender. “The usual place, please.”
The envelope crunched in the bartender’s hand, too much force behind his grasp cashing the paper to wrinkle. His knuckles turned white in frustration as his hazel eyes churned almost the same as the coffee grinder behind him. A soft exhale left his mouth as he opened a drawer and carelessly dropped the envelope inside.
“Kazuki.”
“Hm? What’s with the seriousness, Kyu?”
Placing a steaming drink in front of Kazuki, Kyu narrowed his eyes. “I cannot fake an ultrasound.”
“Yeah, I got that,” Kazuki said with a slow nod, picking up his drink. “What’s the big deal?”
“The ultrasound was real, Kazuki.”
Shattering porcelain followed that statement after a short delay, trembling pale hands hovering in the air stuck in a phantom position where the cup had been cradled in said hands. A soft sigh followed, Kyu lowering his eyes to examine the damage with a critical gaze. He didn’t dare to speak another word, opting instead to grab a broom and begin the clean-up process. Over his glasses, he spared a glare at the shocked blond.
"Sorry, sorry, I'll pay for another cup, but uh..." Hurriedly standing and backing towards the door, Kazuki's amber eyes darted wildly like a caged animal. "I'm busy so I'll be back some time this week for another job, alright? Just... I'll be back some other day. Not today. Or tomorrow."
The bell of the cafe door closing and opening sounded more like funeral music and much less like a "come again" noise.
"I'm home!"
Kazuki's damp shoes hit the mats on the floor unceremoniously, though he paid them little mind as he paraded into the house in nothing but a t-shirt and jeans. The leather jacket he had on to talk to Kyu was mysteriously missing, replaced by the heavy smell of booze and cheap lipstick. The pale skin of his collarbone was tinged an obnoxious color of pink, littered with the streaky remnants of a failed attempt to wash away lipstick stains. To put it frankly, he was returning to his alpha looking like a woozy, obnoxious mess.
Said alpha glanced up from his game briefly at the scent of his omega mixed with some other alpha's smell, jealousy clouding his mind. With a huff of annoyance, he let the smelly omega collapse onto him in a fit of giggles and energetic squirming. Despite the lack of alcohol stench on his breath, the omega was acting uncharacteristically drunk on... something, clearly. Rei rested his hand on the omega's messy hair, detangling it between a match of Morio Kart, sighing as he did so. No words passed between the two, but the questions lingered in the air.
"I'm sober," Kazuki answered the unsaid inquiry. "Just had a shitty day, ya'know? Well, you were there for most of it, but. Day got worse. We should talk when you get a minute."
Rei hummed non-committally, still carding through the thick blond hair in his hands as his rank of 1st appeared on the screen. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't pause his game for anything; not even Kazuki, unless he was in heat, but today felt different. Kazuki knows he doesn't pause his game for shit, and combined with that serious tone, something is definitely pressing and can't be pushed off. His omega needs him, and regardless of why, he's instinctually compelled to respond to the soft request.
"You didn't have to stop now. It could have waited a little longer." Kazuki protested weakly, resigning himself to laying his head on Rei's lap.
"You're stalling." Rei said simply, stating it rather than questioning it.
"'M not," Kazuki stubbornly dug in his feet as he nuzzled his head into Rei's lap. "Just enjoy cuddling with you. It's nice."
"What did Kyu do?" Rei asked instead of responding to the statement.
"Nothing."
"What happened at the club?"
"Gambled my coat away. Was cold."
"You're avoiding the question." Rei accused. By technicality, he wasn't, but he wasn't answering what Rei was really asking. The surface questions were simple enough, but he was searching for a deeper answer. "You wanted to talk. Talk."
Kazuki sighed and allowed his body to go limp in his partner's hold. His mind screamed at him to tell his alpha, tell him how good of an omega we are, we're having pups, he should know, but rationality screamed at him to just get an abortion and not get feelings involved. Their instincts will get in the way of their job if Rei knows, but... A selfish part of him fought that down. Doesn't his alpha deserve to know, at the very least? Maybe he can convince me not to kill it.
A hesitant hand reached out, drawing Rei's own scarred one to rest against his abdomen, right above where his womb rested--right above their child, growing within him, by some disasterous strike of fate. Some part of him wondered if this was a second chance. His first baby, coming back to him, now that his life is slightly more stable (logic says that's impossible, but god, did he wish it were true). Linking his fingers with Rei's and pushing down a little harder, he spared a glance into Rei's eyes. He hoped words wouldn't be needed; he didn't even know if he could come up with any. The firmness of his womb spoke louder than any words he could procure anyways.
"What do you want to do?" Rei asked, straight to the point as always.
"What can we do?" Kazuki asked instead. "Keeping it is a death sentence. Killing it is going to haunt me for the next century."
Damned if you do, damned if you don't, Rei's mind supplied helpfully. He had to watch his words carefully in order to not upset the omega, but god he wished there was something he could say to fix all this and make his Kazuki feel alright. Fate is cruel, though, and no magic sentence could fix this entire situation.
"We deal with it."