Three figures wrapped up warmly with coats, scarves, hats and gloves and braved the crisp air, walking down the path to a little known park hidden amongst the array of houses. As it happened, the distant sun was shining down upon the three, two adults and a small child nestled between them, as if in approval. Others might glance out the window and smile, watching the child holding the two adults' hands and swinging merrily between them. They appeared a cute family, to those who were unaware of the truth. Jun's scarf hid much of his face and his downcast eyes curled gently only whenever they caught sight of their son, so Kazuhiko couldn't be sure what the omega was thinking. After drinking their beverages, little Kei had asked if they could go to the park. Jun had hesitated, but clearly saw no reason to refuse and he had looked directly at Kazuhiko, his verdant eyes questioning, wanting to know what Kazuhiko planned. Would he insist on coming with them or would he leave and go home? Those expressive eyes were once again burned into his memory, taking their place against the others within his mind. Those darkened with lust, those tinged with sadness and hurt, those overflowing with pure love for their child. It made Kazuhiko long to see more. He had found himself nodding and asking if he could accompany them, Kei had leapt up and wrapped his arms about his father's neck and Kazuhiko's heart was completely captured. Keiichi ran off immediately when the small slide came in sight, his small legs moving swiftly as he ran to climb up the frame to reach his goal. Jun kept his eyes firmly upon the boy, a hint of worry in them, even though there was also happiness. "He's a fine boy," Kazuhiko said, gruffly. "You've done amazingly well." A flicker of what might have been guilt or shame crept over Jun's face, but disappeared within the next moment. "W-what are your intentions?" Jun asked, wringing his fingers together, his heart beating loudly in his chest, almost deafening him. Kazuhiko frowned. "What do you mean, Jun?" He asked. "Are you planning on taking him away from me?" Jun blurted out, turning to stand firmly in the face of whatever truth came to light, although those beautiful eyes showed fear. "I'll not let you! I'll fight you with everything I have!" Kazuhiko placed his hands upon Jun's shoulders, which trembled beneath his palms. This is what a mother should be, he felt, a lioness willing to fight for her cubs, not like Esme who threw her's away just because her son could not live up to her expectations of perfect. Why could Jun not have been Kou's mother? Kazuhiko tried to imagine the smaller man swelling with his child and failed, what a fool he had been to throw away the chance to witness this. The chance to see him hold their baby and love him. "I'll not take Kei away from you, Jun," Kazuhiko promised. "It would break his heart. Anyone with any sense can see how much he loves you." "He does?" Jun's head tilted to one side, before he glanced over at his shoulder to see the boy waving at them before he slid down the slide, arms in the air and a joyful shriek escaping his throat. Kazuhiko brows furrowed once more. Why would he question this? He grasped Jun's hand in his own and tugged him over to the cold, hard wooden bench and had him sit, not noticing Jun's blushing cheeks as he glanced at the connection. "Tell me what happened," Kazuhiko demanded as he sat beside him, his eyes not leaving the man. Jun turned away slightly, choosing to watch Kei as the boy played instead. "When Kei was one week old," Jun said, softly. "The results of his gender check arrived. I'm an omega born to an alpha family. There was another heir, but... my sister lacked the traits my mother desired. Mother decided that Kei was another chance for our bloodline, but she didn't want others to know he was born to an omega and convinced me to sign away my parental rights." Kazuhiko's breath hitched as he observed the obvious pain this memory caused Jun. "I never asked, but I assume then Kei is an Alpha?" Jun paused, but eventually nodded in agreement. "I was naive, I believed that she wanted what was best for him," his small voice broke with a sob. "I thought she would at least let me continue being his mother, but after he was weened, she kept us apart, only allowing me to see him at mealtimes and for lessons. She told him that she was his mum and I was a servant. It wasn't until the woman died that I was able to get him back and truly be a parent to him." His tears were flowing freely down his face. "I'm sorry, I don't deserve your praise for being a good mum." Kazuhiko could not stop himself from pulling the omega into his embrace. "Yes, you do," Kazuhiko assured him. "You thought you were doing what was best for him, did you not?" Jun looked up at him, his tear filled eyes making the green of them sparkle like spring dew upon fresh grass. Kazuhiko gently wiped away his tears. "Mummy?" Little Kei came running back, worriedly. "Why is mummy crying?" "Your mummy is a little sad," Kazuhiko reassured him. "I think he needs a hug, what do you think?" Kei climbed onto the bench and reached for Jun, who automatically scooped him into his arms. "Thank you, Kei," Jun whispered softly. "Should we buy ice cream?," Kei said, startling both of his parents. "Why do you say that?" Jun asked him, curiously. "Because whenever Aunty Hanako got sad," Kei explained, "she would eat a tub of ice cream. She shared it with me too once. She said it always made her feel better. But I prefer chocolate cake." "Well, should we go and eat some chocolate cake instead?" Kazuhiko asked, patting the child upon the head. The boy beamed brightly and Jun chuckled, before wiping away the last of his tears. The three made their way back to the apartment above the florist for cake and hot drinks. Although they hadn't been out long, Kei fell asleep with a full tummy and the warmth of his mother's arms about him, so the two men put the boy down for a nap and continued their conversation in the living room. "I'm sorry about earlier," Jun said, softly. "Don't be," Kazuhiko replied. "You did what you could under the circumstances. I just wished that I hadn't been such an idiot and could have been there for you." "C-can I ask why you did it?" Jun reached for the mark upon the back of his neck and shivered in memory. Kazuhiko's eyes darkened, but his heart was filled with discomfort. His finger's reached out to Jun's neck without thought, but he pulled back, knowing he had no right to touch. He sighed before finally answering. "The mark... I guess it was on impulse. An alpha claiming dominance or some rubbish like that. I felt the need to and I succumbed to that whim. As for my actions afterwards.... "I was feeling the pressure of family commitments, which is why I chose to attend a university so far away from home. One last hooray before I settled down and fulfilled the expectations of me. I would take over from my father as a manager in the family business, I would marry the girl, who likely had already been picked out for me, I would produce an heir so that the bloodline would continue." Jun listened intently, but did not interrupt. He knew about expectations, had seen Hanako forced to try meet them even though she could not. He could not judge Kazuhiko for trying to fulfil the same things. "But then you came into my life, however briefly and it was the most magical night of my life." His face showed no hint of sarcasm nor jest and Jun felt the temperature in his cheeks rise brilliantly as if someone had turned up the thermostat to maximum. "I was a coward. I desired you desperately, but I couldn't bring home an omega and ruin my family's plans, even if I had claimed you and ruined your own future. So I rejected you, turned you away and pretended that I did not care. Then I graduated, went home and continued to walk that path laid out for me as if you had never existed. But I was lying to myself." "You got married?" Jun asked him, trying to push back the pain that this confession was causing him. He had never really believed that Kazuhiko should take responsibility for him, he was a grown man, even if he happened to be an omega, but for some reason, he still felt uncomfortable about the idea of Kazuhiko moving on. "I did," Kazuhiko replied. "I was married to the woman who was picked for me and eventually we had a baby." "Oh," Jun said, looking away. So... Kei had a sibling then and a step mother... "But Esme walked out on us," Kazuhiko continued, startling Jun. "She could not handle the fact that Kou was born an omega, not an Alpha. We are divorced now and I am raising Kou, though I can't claim to be doing a good job of it." He laughed deprecatingly. "Everyone tried to force me to have Kou adopted out, but I refused. I stupidly walked away from one omega who came into my life, I would not walk away from another, especially as he is my son." Jun looked thoughtful for a moment, the blush in his cheeks slightly warm. He was a little overwhelmed, not sure what to think about everything. And what about the woman he had seen Kazuhiko with that time; she was young and he believed she was not the man's ex-wife... "And you still won't take Keiichi away from me," Jun whispered, "even though you now know he is an Alpha?" This was all he could ask at the end of the day, needing Kazuhiko's reassurance more than ever now he knew that the man descended from an Alpha family, like his own. "Keiichi is a lucky boy," Kazuhiko told him. "He has a mother that would do anything for him. Why would I steal that from him? But I hope I can be a part of his life from now on." "Of course you can," Jun blurted out. He couldn't keep Keiichi away from his father now that the boy had met him, doing so seemed too cruel. Keiichi had already accepted this man into his life and so long as Kazuhiko did not hurt their son, Jun would not separate them. "Thank you, Jun," Kazuhiko smiled warmly, while inwardly lamenting once more over lost chances.