Tatsumi felt as if he were walking on air. Spending their time camping swimming, lying around in the sun, and having sex, his husband had pampered him. The sex soft and sweet. Kisses and touches filled with love. Long moments spent stuck together talking about nothing. Food spilt with laughter and his husband never more than a few metres away. When he’d fallen asleep in the sun, Maki had made it his mission to find his glasses. He hadn’t, but Tatsumi didn’t mind. The fact he’d tried, and the omega knew how hard he would have, was enough. His poor husband had been pretty upset to tell him that he couldn’t find them, so Tatsumi had pulled him in close and kissed away his sorrows and guilt.

Taking their hike back to civilisation slowly, Maki held his hand despite how sweaty it was. He felt good knowing Maki also felt good. They hadn’t really touched on C3 as much as he would have liked but the mood felt right between them and he didn’t want to force his husband if he wasn’t ready to open up. He had learned that Ranchel was completely incapable and that his husband had to school him thoroughly in the ways of being “common”. If only he could go back and show all the people who looked down on his alpha who Maki had become.

“What are you smiling at?”

Snorting at his husband, Tatsumi didn’t know he’d stopped

“You, naturally”

“Mhmmm. Good things, I hope?”

“Just thinking about those losers from Rage Fire and how they missed out on being friends with someone pretty damn incredible”

“Fuck the lot of them”

“Do I have to?”

“Don’t you dare”

“I wouldn’t. I have my alpha and he satisfies all my needs”

“It’s funny that. I was thinking how my omega was the best ever. If I only took the two years we could be out here doing this more often”

Tatsumi narrowly kept himself from stumbling

“Do you regret it?”

“Yes and no. Yes because it means I can’t spend more time with you and no because I like making my own living. I hate the paperwork, but I don’t miss being shot at and I know I can be called back at any time. So many things you said in the past make so much sense now”

“I did kind of have more experience outside of Terra”

“Yeah. I miss Mina and I miss Eve… I even miss Samara a little”

“Don’t bother missing him. Thankfully he no longer tries to parent me. It’s all about Kenta now”

“Man, he’ll be getting big”

“He is. Fuck if he hasn’t started growing into his features. He looks completely like Samara now except for the hair”

“He got lucky there. You’ll have to show me the photos”

“Yeah. I had to make a whole new album to keep up with the incoming. Mizune’s so in love she’s given up half her workload”

Maki tugged on his hand

“I expect the same from you”

“If I give up half my work load I’m not going to have any left. We’ve got testing in two weeks”

“Did you get to set the tests?”

“Nope. I’m quietly hoping for a C average. They already knew how things worked but now they have the ability to figure out what goes into making them work. They’ll probably be marked down for sloppy writing but who cares how sloppy it is if it’s something that’s going to keep improving?”

“I thought you teacher mobs hated untidy writing?”

“I’d rather that than them not understanding”

“That’s true. You’re really good at teaching”

“I think it’s because I did the military first and learned how to cope with giving orders and adjusting to get the best results I could in the field. I figured that out pretty early”

“They’re kind of the same… without the mechs and the bad guys”

“Yep. Though some days it’s definitely a battlefield in the classroom. I’m still waiting for the day it’ll be truly safe to sit on my chair without expecting to be glued to it or for some sort of alarm to go off”

“They’re coming around on their own terms. That’s better than being tolerated and bad mouthed behind your back”

“I’m sure it’s a bit of both. I did ruin their free time when they were supposed to be studying”

“You did it for their own good. Man, I wish I had tomorrow off too”

Tatsumi wished that too. And that their hiking trip didn’t have to come to an end. Maki would have a fit if he knew some of the trails Tatsumi planned to hike

“It’ll just make the next trip more enjoyable”

“I don’t know. I enjoy myself plenty and I got to see you go skinny dipping”

“Only because no one else was there. It’s okay to be myself with you”

“Fuck yeah, it is. I think technically I was supposed to try to be back on base by now, but I’m going to be buried in paperwork”

“On the plus side I’m back at work tomorrow too and I wouldn’t be able to keep distracting you, sir”

His husband pulled him into his arms

“Don’t go riling me up again. You’ve got too much power when you go about calling me “sir””

“This old grandpa apologised sincerely to his grandson”

“That’s a load of shit”

“Yep”

Laughing as they separated, Maki swung their hands lightly between them

“Is there anything you want to do in Attle before the bus home?”

“Coffee…? We could see what we see and then go home”

“Sounds good to me… and then maybe we can continue our dirty weekend away”

“Does that mean we’re going to clean the apartment?”

“We could, or you could sit and let me do it”

“My dear husband, you seem to forget I have a system”

“And you, my just as dear husband, seem to have forgotten that I know your system. Then again, we’ve left Li alone there for so long that we might both need to clean up”

Tatsumi suddenly shuddered. He had the feeling his kitchen wouldn’t be the same as how he’d left it. Maki laughing 

“Why do I feel like you just worried about the kitchen?”

Shooting his husband a half hearted glare, he joked back

“I don’t know whether to be scared or impressed that you know me that well”

“Even at home I try to respect the kitchen. I don’t know why, but somehow you have a near psychic link when it comes to them”

“I wouldn’t say that”

“Babe, you totally do. Now I triple check every single time I do something that I haven’t left a mess”

“I’m not that bad”

“No, you’d never pull me up on it. You’re too nice to me to do that”

“You’ve never left it like Li would”

“Because I value our relationship. It’s fine. Your thing is the kitchen, my thing is my mech”

A mech and a kitchen were two totally different things. He wouldn’t lose his shit if his husband decided to leave the dishes until the next day. Pouting, he had to know

“Am I really that bad?”

“It’s fine”

“So I am?”

“What? No… I mean… it’s like common sense right? To keep it clean and useable for everyone”

“A few dishes won’t change that”

“Unless someone else wants to use those same dishes”

“I really am that bad. I’m sorry, I didn’t know”

“I told you it’s not big deal”

Maki was missing the bigger picture. When he was home the only thing he should be focusing on was relaxing

“But it’s your home too. You shouldn’t have to fear the wrath of your husband over a few dishes”

“I don’t fear your wrath. Come here, I’ll let you clean the kitchen when we get home”

Tugged back to Maki, Maki kissed him to the cheek. Tatsumi not amused

“I feel like this is a thing”

“It’s only a thing if you make it a thing”

“It’s bad enough for you to notice”

His husband sighed heavily at him 

“Will you stop it? It’s not a bad thing. I’ve been out the big wide empire too. A clean kitchen is a nice thing”

“Let me think about this some more”

“Don’t or you’ll overthink it”

“I feel like I should be”

“And I’m telling you don’t need to. I love you and your kitchen link”

“But when you come home you have the right to act in your own kitchen how you want”

“I do. At first it was because I wanted to make a good impression and because it was your kitchen in your home. That’s gone and changed. I like having it clean because it makes it easier for all of us”

“You started strong then stumbled on the ending. I want the time you have to relax to be relaxing and not spent worrying about the dishes”

“I don’t. Seriously, this isn’t an issue. I wouldn’t have made the joke if I knew it’d make you feel upset”

“I’m not so upset as… okay, I’m a little upset, but I’m going to get over it. I’m more upset that I made you feel obligated”

“Nonsense. It’s my home too now. I love our weird family and I’ve never had things better”

Tatsumi conceded defeat, knowing that when he tried to sleep he’d be thinking about this for the foreseeable future 

“Okay. I’ll drop it. I didn’t know I was so fixated on it”

“It’s fine as long as you know I’m not having a go at you”

“I know. Still, I’m wondering what we’ll be coming home to”

“Me too. If it’s a mess we’re sleeping at the base until he cleans it”

“How about he sleeps at the base and thinks about his actions and I get to keep my comfortable bed?”

“Deal. Let’s stop talking about this. I want to be happy”

“So do I. I had a great time with you”

“I did too. I’m not going to focus on taxes. At the moment all my work revolves around closing the old mines and I think that’s what I should focus on”

Tatsumi nodded. Maki still thought he wasn’t full aware of all the choices that had led his alpha to the Desolate Belt

“You can only keep doing your best. It’s not unusual to take 6 month postings or be moved on after 6 months. If it comes to an end, I’ll support you no matter what you decide next”

“You always do”

“I do. I never was on this side before, but I think about a lot of things different now. I’m happy working and I’m happy to move if they decide you’re being reassigned. Wherever you go, I’ll follow and wait”

“That means throwing your life into turmoil too”

“No, it means chasing what makes me the happiest. And if something was to happen, I’d be waiting for you no matter how long it took. Right now J10 is our home and I’ll wait at our home as long as it takes for you to come back”

“I thought we just agreed not to talk about heavy topics?”

Tatsumi laughed happily

“It’s not a heavy topic. It’s a reminder that I love you, idiot. Seriously, you keep doing your best and I’ll keep being proud of you. I guess I wanted to say that before I possibly get cranky when we get home”

“You don’t get that cranky”

“Sometimes I do. I was super cranky when I came out of my estrus. You dodged a bullet there”

“Nah, I love it when you get all cuddly. Like when I came back. You could have been mad I woke you up but you wanted cuddles right away”

“I’d never be mad at you coming home. I missed you like mad”

“I missed you, too… So what would you do if I ever got lost?”

“I’ve told you before I’d come find you, so don’t go getting ideas. I might have to actually get mad and neither of us want that”

“I have none at all… I mean ideas about getting lost. It’s probably a good thing that the transport trucks all have GPS”

“Yeah… Maybe it’s a good thing you’ll have a tracker. I can secretly stalk you”

Maki ducked his head, suddenly embarrassed and mumbling

“You can openly stalk me. I won’t mind at all”

His alpha was too damn cute. If they didn’t have a bus to catch and apartment to clean, Tatsumi would have blown off going home to spend more time being dumb and in love. Pretending to be serious, he knew he failed because he really couldn’t stop smiling

“I’m not really going to stalk you. I trust you”

His husband laughed 

“Maybe I want to be?”

“Should I go undercover and sneak up on you?”

“Only if you’re going to kidnap me”

“Mmm… though I can’t demand a ransom from myself”

“Babe, do you ever wonder if we’re weird?”

“I know we are and I wouldn’t change a thing”

“Neither would I”

***

With the apartment in better condition then they thought it would be, Maki put their washing off then latched onto his husband. They’d come home, unpacked, showered disappointingly separately, then Tatsumi’s urge to clean kicked in. Picked up and put on the kitchen counter, Tatsumi tried to put him in a time out but he wasn’t having that. Camping had been everything right in their relationship. Telling the truth, coming up with a plan, being open with each other and the sex had been so nice. Now he was home and had his comms again, he remembered what he needed to check. Confusing his husband, he opened up his comms and let Tatsumi go back to scrubbing the kitchen sink.

Going through his kept files, he found what he was looking for

“Babe, how many days are left before the end of September?”

After a moment Tatsumi looked up

“46 days”

Okay… Now to do the maths…

“My shot’s due near the end, but I think it loses effect a little earlier”

“Shouldn’t it end in October?”

“That’s kind of what I thought but I opened my medical file and the date of the next one is listen for September 25th”

“Which shot is this?”

After their camping trip, how could his husband not know?

“My shot… you know… that shot”

The sponge slipped from Tatsumi’s hand. His husband looking like a deer in the headlights 

“You… mean…”

Why wouldn’t Tatsumi want to try? Wasn’t that the plan? Maki needed a long moment to remember that October came after September and October was hard

“I wanted to to if you want to, but I also understand if its too close…”

“It’s not… I don’t… Can I have a moment?”

Sliding off the counter, Maki wrapped his arms around his omega

“I’m with you. I want to try. I know it… I know how fucking much it hurt so if you don’t want to try that close… I’m not going to love you any less. I swear that to you. I was just thinking that I don’t want our life to keep waiting and waiting”

“I realised that it’s been about a year now and it took me by surprise. Time seemed to go so slowly”

“Two months turned to seven and now we’re out here. If you wanted to wait until after you’ve been to Terra I understand, but I also wanted you to know when it wears off. It was bad, but you know, our first wedding anniversary is coming up too”

Tatsumi sighed. Turning in his hold, his husband kissed his forehead

“Come with me for a minute”

Letting go, his omega took his hand and led him to his office. Maki kind of felt like the office was his husband’s safe place and didn’t understand why he was being led there. Opening the door, the space was much messier than expected and the room smelt strongly of him rather than his husband. Tugged over to the fold down bed, Tatsumi pulled him down to sit awkwardly in his lap

“Don’t mind the mess. It’s my work in progress”

“I’m more confused why I’ve been kidnapped. The office is your space”

“It feels like a baby conversation should be in this space”

The alpha didn’t understand why, so he waited until Tatsumi was ready. Softly his omega started explaining

“When I went to the hospital I was sick, I thought I’d missed a shot coming out here and picked up a virus. I had heat sickness again that’s why they gave me a shot to speed it up. I didn’t know I was scared until you pointed it out. I thought I’d send you a funny photo of my feet and that would be it. I came home and I found myself emptying out your wardrobe. I’ve never been a nesty omega type, and it was… extreme. It was movie trope over the top more clothing than me extreme. Suzu’s system worked to a degree, but it was your scent that helped me calm down and helped me stop fighting the sedation and tube in my throat. My body wants it. I want it. And I’m still scared. If we have a baby, this would their room. It’d be a lot of work and a lot of responsibility for the both of us. If you get your shot renewed I’ll understand. We need to move at a pace right for the two of us. A baby is my dream and you’ve said some things that make me thing maybe you’re not ready and that’s okay too”

“If this is about the kitchen…”

Tatsumi snorted

“No. But you did say “when I have my baby…” and “I’m going to give you the baby you want””

Ohhh… Yeah, that didn’t sound the way Maki had meant it

“I only meant because you have to do the hard work of carrying them. We make it, then you do all the hard work and it’s not like I could carry it… I want a baby with you that’s our baby, but I really do get the easier and much more fun job in this”

“Making it is the fun part until they’re about three. And then when they’re about 9 we finally get to have some actual sleep. You’ve always simple agreed with my wanting to have a baby and never asked me why. It’s not because I’m an omega it’s perceived for us to be more paternal. I wanted a baby to be happy. I wanted to be loved. I wanted a baby because I wanted to prove that I could keep moving on in life… and I prayed to die while wanting that next big thing to take my focus away… I wanted to be loved even a forced love like that of a parent and child so I wouldn’t be left all alone again… so that’s why I wanted a baby. Now I want a baby with the alpha I treasure. Not to bind you to me forever, or so if I lost you I’d still have a part of you. I want to be disgustingly in love with you build a safe and happy family with you… I want to see your face light up at being called “daddy”. I want to experience all of it with you and only you. Even if I do have other options, I want this with my husband”

Maki nuzzled into Tatsumi’s cheek. He really hadn’t given much thought into why Tatsumi had wanted a baby and had blamed it solely on his omega being an omega. Now he could see why. Tatsumi was healing and his mindset much more healthier… though, Maki would be lying if he didn’t say that part of wanting a baby was so his husband would have that part of him forever bound to him

“I want this too. And like I said, if it’s too close to that day, I get it. I totally get it”

“Yes and no. I would like to do something for our wedding anniversary”

“Like empty my wardrobe?”

Squeezed tightly, his husband groaned

“It was so embarrassing. I came out completely covered in your clothes and with your clothes completely covered. I was going to hide it from you and never speak of it again”

Maki wished he’d seen. Tatsumi wearing his clothes or snuggling them was too damn adorable in contrast to the fact that his husband was a trained killer. No one from his husband’s old life would believe it and Maki didn’t want to share the news anyway

“I think it’s adorable”

“You didn’t have to do all the washing”

“I would have”

“Mhmm. If I freak out, can you be patient with me? If I keep saying the time is wrong or I get too worked up, I need you be patient and remind me. I’m not sure the time is right with your work and my blindness… See, this is what happens…”

That was because he’d left him waiting so long. Maybe he was swamped with work and maybe the timing maybe could have been better but… Tatsumi deserved to see the face of their baby…

“Only if you’re patient with me. Remember we remembered all the good things in life that shouldn’t have to wait while we were camping”

“And if it happens it happens, and if it doesn’t and if you decide to wait longer then that’s okay”

Maki ignored the second half and wrinkled his nose at their future child being an “it”

“Not “it”. Yingtao. And when you’re pregnant with Yingtao we’ll both be freaking out together because they’re our baby. I didn’t mean… I did mean it because it’ll be you carrying and you had that dream first and now it’s our dream”

Tatsumi kissed his neck then nipped at his ear, before whispering 

“Want to practice making our baby in our future nursery?”

“We do have the apartment to ourselves”

“Mhmm…”