Jun woke up to an unexpected warmth curled up against him beneath the duvet. Lifting the thick cover, he glanced over his beautiful son with a loving eye and his heart was filled with joy. This was not the first time that he had watched the boy sleeping, he had often risked his mother's wrath to sneak along the corridor at midnight when the older woman would be sound asleep in her own room, just so that he might be able to savour the precious gift he had been given. Yet this was the first time that he needn't skulk about nor hide himself from the boy. And this was the first time Keiichi had sought him out instead. He kissed his son upon his forehead and called softly his name. "Kei, it's time to get up," he whispered. Keiichi's beautiful brown eyes fluttered open and he yawned broadly, before coming aware of where he was. He sat up abruptly. "I'm sorry!" He cried out, causing a rise in panic to surface within Jun. "It's alright, it's alright," Jun tried to gently reassure him. "But Mama said I wasn't allowed to crawl into bed with her!" Kei said, his eyes beginning to fill with tears. "She'll tell me off again!" "Kei, sweetheart," Jun said, pulling the nearly frantic child into his arms. "You've done nothing wrong, I swear. Your 'Mama' might not have been happy with it, but she is no longer here and I say it's fine." "Really?" Kei said, peering up at his biological mother and Jun nodded. His small arms wrapped about his mother's waist. "Was it a nightmare?" Jun asked him and stroked his soft, golden hair and felt him nod, rubbing his face against Jun's chest. "Bad dreams are scary. I don't mind if you want to escape them here, with me. You are welcome anytime." "Thank you, mummy," he whispered softly and Jun felt tears beginning to form in his own eyes. It was the third time Jun had referred to him so since Akiyama's death and Jun could not help but feel choked each and every time. It was almost as if everything he had gone through to get to this point had been worth all of the pain and heartache, all so he could hear his son call him 'mummy.' After he had reunited with Eiko, she had apologised that the position she had advertised had been taken by two part timers. Jun had said not to worry about it, that he was just thankful that he was able to meet with her again. However, it must have been weighing her down as the following day, when he was reconsidering his options, Eiko had phoned him once more and offered him a job. As it happened, the two part timers had little or no experience as florists, but just as he had been pressed to find a job due to his gender, she had struggled to find workers due to hers. She and her husband, Hideaki, had talked about it and while Eiko could not offer him the sort of wages that his skills should command, she could instead offer him a greater gift; a place to live. There was no doubt that even with Eiko's furnishings and ornaments removed, there was very little space in the flat. It's kitchen was filled with cupboards, with a sink, cooker and washing machine, but there was no room for a dishwasher nor tumble dryer. The living area was for both reception and dining, the master bedroom had room for a double bed, but not a lot else and the small second bedroom was for a lone occupant to sleep in only. There was a small bath, fortunately, it would be hard to live with just a shower. Especially now that Kei had come to realise that such things as bath toys exist. Hanako had let him take whichever furnishings that he wished to keep, but Jun had just taken their beds, Kei's few toys and any pictures of Kei that Jun could get his hands on. Anything else just reminded him of his incarceration in that house and he wished to start afresh. Eiko, who he felt had already been far too kind, had helped him find a couple of things for the living area from a second hand shop; a square dining table with two odd wooden chairs and a two seater sofa. She had also convinced him to keep her old television. He hadn't watched television since forever and Keiichi had never the opportunity before. For a whole weekend, the pair had watched silly amounts of cartoons, curled up upon the sofa, only rising when their belly's rumbled in protest. Jun smiled at the memory and gave Keiichi a small squeeze before asking his son; "What would you like for breakfast this morning?" "Can I have a breakfast muffin, like the ones you made before?" Keiichi asked quietly. "Of course," Jun agreed. "With yoghurt?" Keiichi nodded and smiled, his curved lips parted slightly to reveal his small white teeth and his cheek dimpled. Jun kissed his forehead once more. He had been doing that a lot lately, as if reminding himself that this was not a dream. "Go get dressed for school," Jun instructed and watched as the little boy jumped out of his bed and ran to his own small room. Jun did not hang around, making the muffins would take a little time, but he was too delighted that Kei was expressing his wants now. Before, Jun had to coax such out of him. Akiyama was very controlling, even with her grandchild. He had a routine that was very unlike what a four year old should experience. His breakfast would be a balanced, freshly produced meal, no cornflakes nor boxed muesli allowed in her house. He would wash and dress, walk around the garden twice and then read quietly until his lessons. His lessons included simple arithmetic, calligraphy and ikebana, which Jun had taught him as the only member of the household with the skills. He would then have to show his 'Mama' what he had learnt and if she was satisfied, only then did she allow him some free time to play with his few toys in his room. Otherwise she would make him practice one of his lessons until she was satisfied. Jun prepared equally nutritious, Japanese styled meals with sourced rice and numerous side dishes for his lunch and dinner and then he would be sent to bed for the evening. Jun was determined that any routine they developed now would include having fun, whether it be messing around outside in the rain or watching way too much television on a weekend or splashing about in the bath until the floor was soaked, anything that his son wanted (within reason!). Jun finished blending the bananas, honey, milk and eggs and poured the mix into the bowl of dry ingredients and stirred the mixture before adding a handful of chopped pecans. He was just scooping the mix into the muffin cases when Kei appeared in the kitchen door. "The muffins will be ready in about twenty minutes," he told the boy. "Do you have everything ready for school?" He popped the tray into the oven and turned to notice Kei nodding gently. "Okay, then, if you like, you can read or watch television." Kei grinned and disappeared around the corner. Jun heard the opening tune for a popular cartoon blare through the living area in the next minute. He could only hope that he hadn't sat too close to the set. While Jun waited for the muffins to cook, he prepared Kei's lunch, keeping it simple with a sandwich, raw carrots and cherry tomatoes and a flapjack that he had made yesterday. He chose a carton of juice from the cupboard and filled Keiichi's water bottle and tucked it into the small compartment to the side of the lunch box. He placed the lunch on the table so that they wouldn't forget it, before scooping thick yoghurt into two small bowls and removing the muffins from the oven. Their sweet scent summoned Kei and the scrapping of wood upon the floor could be heard as the child struggled with his chair so he might sit up the table. Jun cut Kei's muffin in half so it might cool quicker, then took the sweet breakfast to the table. "It's hot," he warned, but noted that Keiichi barely heard him as he reached for the steaming cake. The heat of it against his fingers warned him more and he pouted as he waited for it to cool. Meanwhile Jun shook his head with a smile and handed him fresh juice in his cup. After breakfast, the pair descended the outer stairs into the real courtyard and left via the back gate. Keiichi tucked his small hand in Jun's larger one as they walked side by side towards the school. Jun savoured these moments, wishing to burn them to memory as each one was an experience he never thought he would be able to have. He had already lost out on so much of Kei's past, the first time he had crawled, the first time he had walked, the first word, none of these moments felt as if they belonged to him as his mother, they had been taken by a deceased woman who only cared about his bloodlines. She had tried to get him to tell her just who the father was, of course, especially as it turned out Kei was an Alpha. That suggested that so was the father. But Jun refused to give her what she wanted. In truth, he did not know much about that stranger himself, just that after their tryst, he had learned his given name; Kazuhiko. He didn't want to remember that name, in the end, but he also did not want to allow his mother further ammunition against him so he had lied. He had told her that Kazuhiko, while an Alpha, was born from a common, Beta family. But that was all he knew. Well, it could have been true... Jun saw his son off in the school playground, the boy ran to join a couple of playmates and waved shyly in goodbye to him. The childrens' mothers and fathers gathered in gossipy groups, but Jun wasn't part of their crowds, they had gathered together over the former school year and Jun was a newcomer in their midst. Kei had joined the school in September, at the start of the new school year. Three weeks had passed since then. Jun was just glad that Keiichi was not affected by this. Leaving the school grounds, he felt their eyes upon him, most probably viewing an omega for the first time. As if he looked so different to anyone else, he scorned inwardly, but ignored their glances. Returning to the florist, Jun quickly opened the shop's front grill, so the window displays could be viewed and unlocked the front door. Buckets of flowers were placed out front, several viable arrangements from the day before as well as a few flowers whose buds were just beginning to bloom, Jun found these especially lovely. He glanced at the calendar and saw that a delivery truck was due and he dug out the order so that he might confirm the delivery once it arrived. After counting the float in the till, he stretched out his limbs and glanced about the array of flowers. He suddenly felt the urge to practice his craft.