Welcome To Fatherhood, Brother
* Long Chapter Alert
[KAWAI]
Lord Sadako was freaking out by the time he got to Tamiko and the Lycan king. He looked like he had seen a ghost, one he wasn't sure he could ever be able to hold for long.
He looked worried, scared, and somehow, in the midst of all that, the Lycan Lord was excited to see where this would take them all. It was ironic really, how he had fumbled with the Lycan chief and here he was, running around the kingdom as if that wasn't suspicious enough.
"What the fuck has gotten into you, you almost scared the shit out of me!" Tamiko said to his uncle who was bent over, clutching his knees as if he had run the marathon when in reality he had barely run a mile.
"Me? Oh please, go on, and scold me. But it's you who's going to lose if you're not careful," Lord Sadako said with a pout as he looked at his best friend and his son. They looked so done with him but someone had to make it make sense, right?
"What the fuck does that even mean?" King Zaffuto asked when his brother finally looked like he could say sensible words to the both of them instead of tripping on his words. It was interesting how they had gotten to this point, but it had to be important, right?
"The Chief thinks you left his ass, and his scent is bitter as fuck. He's going on a bounty hunt, and I know this isn't what you want to hear from me, but the last time he went on a bounty hunter, he was out of Kawai for fifteen years.
"You, Tamiko, brought him back home after fifteen long years. We're even surprised that he stayed home for this long. He never stays, ever. He usually comes for a day and disappears for years and years.
"So, if he's leaving again, and with a broken heart, you might never see him again, unless the king summons him officially, though I doubt that is how you would want to be reunited with the man you love, now, kid, or do you?" Lord Sadako rambled.
Tamiko sighed.
"Screw this," Tamiko said before he ran to where Kosta was. He wasn't sure where the Lycan chief was at, but wasn't going to be the reason his Erasthai was going to leave and never come back. He loved him far too much.
"Now I know this kid didn't just leave me with all of this for his Erasthai!" the Lycan king sighed as he plopped on the ground. He had been woken up early by Tamiko, a little earlier than dawn.
Hell, he had spent that entire time trying to understand whatever the fuck Tamiko wanted, and now that they finally understood it all. After a thousand and one trials, he was left standing because the kid had better things to do.
Well, that was crazy, but wasn't that what they both were?
"It is his Erasthai…" Lord Sadako defended softly as he sat beside his brother. They had suffered for this since midnight and here they were, left with all their hard work.
"Yeah, lucky bastard. What do we do with all this? Hell, I didn't even know I could cook this much food?!" King Zaffuto whined as he looked at the food and then at his brother, before they burst out laughing.
"Welcome to fatherhood, brother,'' Lord Sadako said and the king let out a laugh again. He had hoped to be the father to his son and now that he was, he was loving the adventure. In all his life no one had woken him up for such and now he was doing errands.
The king was running errands for a son he couldn't tell the truth to and the son was doing everything to include his father who he couldn't be truthful to. They were both trapped in the unknowns and maybes with the underlying wish for happiness for them.
"I'll just sleep here, who knows what he might come up with?" Zaffuto said and the Lycan lord bellowed in laughter before they packed the food and the camping tools they had struggled to make on the side, and then lay on the ground to sleep.
Anyone who didn't know them could see two random men lying on the ground and talking about their lives and possibly their future in a kingdom whose king was worse than the devil. But then up close, they were simply the devil and his sidekick.
Funny how right now, they were just a father and an uncle who had been deprived of sleep to prepare a lot of things for camping, only for them to be left with all the work they had done, even though they had loved the entirety of the bonding process.
"Good fucking idea, now shut up, I want to sleep," Sadako said and Zaffuto snickered, and that was also how they knew there wouldn't be any sleep for them. They always got chatty whenever they were together so this wouldn't be surprising anymore anyway.
"Kosta!!!" Tamiko's voice could be heard as he shouted around the kingdom like a madman. Maybe he had lost his mind because no one, in their right mind, would go around causing so much noise in Zaffuto's kingdom.
"I guess that's the bell we need to run, yeah?'' King Zaffuto said to his brother who got up and ran after him, only for Lord Sadako to double back and grab the food they had prepared, making his brother stare at him disbelievingly.
"What?" Sadako shrugged before continuing, "We lost sleep because of all that food, the least we could do is eat and not die of hunger," Lord Sadako defended.
"Kosta!!'' Tamiko continued calling out unrelentingly. He knew this was something unheard of because everyone was staring at him wondering if he had gotten a little too crazy like the people he hung out with.
"If you don't fuckin' show up, then Kawai will have to hear me sing my love for you, sweetheart," Tamiko shouted and the Lycans stared at him, this time, they were sure he had gone bonkers.
"Alright then, Petal, this is me calling out for you one more time, before the entire Kawai knows just how shameless I am in my love for you, my precious," Tamiko insisted and the crowd awed at him.
Granted, they were still sure that he was a little too nuts, but they admired his desire to let the entire world know that he loved his Erasthai.
If they were in his position, other Lycans would risk prison for noise pollution, while him? Well, he had a father who stayed at the high table and an uncle so fond of him that he had nothing to worry about this time, right?
"Good morning, Kawai. This song is about my beautiful Erasthai. He will kill you if you look at him fondly. Hell, I will kill you if I see you staring at him because that crazy Lycan chief is mine alone. I don't share," Tamiko began and the Lycans started.
"That's not a song!" the Lycans reminded Tamiko who sighed before he cleared his throat.
"I know, man. I don't know shit about singing, all I know is how to love my Erasthai. I think I fucked up this time, but I can explain I swear. Just listen to me this time, sweetheart, I won't leave even if you're mad at me!'' Tamiko professed earning claps.
The Lycans were interested in how much this would yield and frankly, it was crazy on all fronts soon enough, the entirety of Kawai knew what Tamiko was doing and most of them gathered to see the king's favorite make a fool of himself.
"I love you, Kosta. I love you more than I love my life, and I do love my life a lot. I love you more than the king loves the people of Kawai, more than the goddess loves her creation— now that's mad cheesy, but whatever man.
"I love you, Igor Konstantin, and I'm sorry I fucked up, I didn't mean to but I hurt you and I'm sorry. I really am, petal. Here in front of all these souls I promise to be a better Erasthai, and never to do anything stupid that could upset you.
"I promise to be the Erasthai you can be proud of in Kawai and beyond. Fucking hell, I love you… what did I leave behind… Umm… I wish I could kiss you again, just one more time, and then another time, and another time.
"I hate to think that I'm the cause of your discomfort, so I'll do whatever you want me to do. Anything, other than leave you here. Anything for you, my precious," Tamiko said as he struggled to rack his brain for proper words.
He knew he probably sounded like an idiot, but then what else could he do when he wanted his Erasthai back? Kosta was the only one that mattered here today in the midst of all these Lycans.
Just his precious Kosta.
"I bear your mark, my precious, everyone knows I belong to you, and I know I've been putting off marking you, but I can do that, so you know I'm never leaving your side, ever! I'm sorry… please don't leave my ass here," Tamiko sighed defeatedly as he hung his head low in shame and defeat.
"You're crazy," Kosta's voice came through and Tamiko didn't even wait to pinpoint where it came from. Instead, he followed the sweet caramel scent he had wished to breathe in since the day had begun.
"Only for you, my precious, only for you," Tamiko said when he got to Kosta, only to smash his lips against Kosta's earning cheers from the crowd, a possessive growl from Kosta, and exciting cheers from a particular duo in the distance that was busy stuffing their mouths in approval.
"I guess our work here is done," the Lycans who had come to give Tamiko moral support in his confession and appeal for forgiveness chuckled as they made their way away from the couple that was too engrossed in sucking each other's face off to pay any of them any heed.
"You really are crazy," Kosta said when they pulled back and he was feeling his legs wobble. Well, Tamiko was there to make sure his Erasthai wasn't hurt.
"I meant it though," Tamiko said, kissing the Lycan chief's cheeks.
"Meant what?"
"Everything I said, including marking you. I don't care what anyone thinks, I will definitely get my revenge on Grealor just as much as I want everyone to know that you're mine and I am yours."
"I… I love you."
"I know, my precious… Can I?" Tamiko asked as he looked at Kosta's neck, where his mark would be, and when the cyan chief nodded, Tamiko didn't waste time dipping his fangs in Kosta, thus completing the mate bond.