Chapter Text
Sougo’s face was burning bright red as he walked briskly down the street, eyes cast down towards the sidewalk, but he wasn’t really looking at anything. He had the handle of Tamaki’s leash clenched tightly in his fist, and he was walking so quickly that he didn’t notice the leash becoming taut the faster he walked. His head was spinning and his heart was racing. The words he spoke to Iori during his hasty retreat from Iori’s home were repeating in his mind like a broken record.
“Remember, a human mate is better than nothing in the eyes of a hybrid, so don’t worry about taboos or crossing a line too much in a situation like this! We won’t say anything about it! Good luck!”
Why did he blurt that out to Iori!? His face felt hotter than ever before. Iori was a smart guy, so surely he would realize what Sougo meant and put the pieces together that Sougo had unconventional ways of dealing with his hybrid’s hormone cycle. But what if Iori was disgusted by Sougo and didn’t take the matter of Riku’s heat into his own hands? What if he reported Sougo to hybrid control? Worse, what if Iori contacted Kujou to tell the breeder about the way Sougo was using one of his own dogs in such a degenerate way? What if Kujou decided to take Tamaki back and rehome him or—
It was only when Tamaki raised his voice in a bark that Sougo finally snapped out of his mental spiral.
“Sou-chan!” Tamaki barked. “It hurts! Slow down!”
“I-I’m sorry, Tamaki-kun!” Sougo whirled around to face him, immediately apologetic now that he realized he’d been dragging Tamaki behind him, tugging far too hard on his collar. He stepped closer, delicately raising his hands to assess how Tamaki’s neck looked, checking for any mark of irritation on his skin around the collar. Thankfully, he didn’t see anything alarming. Sougo let out a shuddering sigh as he asked, “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” Tamaki brushed him off, one tall, pale blue ear flicking to the side irritably, as if he were dismissing a pesky gnat. “Are you okay?”
“Huh?” Sougo blinked at Tamaki a few times, as if he wasn’t just storming down the street with his head spinning out of control all while flustered beyond belief. He hated showing any sign of weakness to Tamaki, though. He was Tamaki’s owner, so he had to be Tamaki’s stable force at all times, no matter what. That was why he steadied himself and fixed Tamaki with a firm, confident gaze. “Of course I’m okay. Why do you ask that?”
“Well…” Tamaki glanced off to the side awkwardly. He reached up to scratch at the back of his neck—a nervous habit. “You smell like you’re thinking too hard. Calm down, Sou-chan.”
Sougo had to adore Tamaki’s way of expressing that he noticed Sougo’s anxiety. He was absolutely the type of hybrid to use fewer words and more actions to communicate, having relied on his animalistic traits to communicate more than the parts of him that made him human. It was why his vocabulary was so limited, but Sougo was working on it, teaching him new words and commands every day to try and keep his mind stimulated. Sometimes it didn’t work; Tamaki would often prefer lounging around, getting belly rubs from Sougo all day instead.
“You’re right,” Sougo conceded with a small nod. “I’m sorry, Tamaki-kun. I’ll relax now. I just got nervous. Relationships between hybrids and their owners are, well… um.” Sougo felt heat prickling his cheeks again. “A-Anyway, we can talk about that more later. It’s complicated. Do you understand?”
“Kinda,” Tamaki responded with a small shrug. “I don’t really care. I just want to be with Sou-chan.”
Sougo’s gaze softened as he looked at his husky with a swell of affection in his chest. “Right… I want to be with you, too.”
Tamaki perked up at that, but it seemed as soon as his mood lifted, it sank back down again. Before Sougo could ask what was bothering him now, Tamaki took initiative to express himself.
“We left Iorin and Rikkun so fast,” Tamaki said solemnly, ears drooping with disappointment. “I didn’t say ‘bye’ or ‘see you later.’”
“You’re the one who wanted to leave so desperately…!” Sougo reminded him with a sigh. But the more Sougo thought about it, of course that would have bothered Tamaki. Sougo had trained Tamaki to understand the importance of greetings and parting words. Tamaki might feel like he let Sougo down by not properly bidding farewell to his new friends.
Tamaki blinked at him with a small whine and a pout that Sougo couldn’t resist. He smiled sweetly, reaching up to pat Tamaki’s head and scratch the base of his ears, something that always made Tamaki’s blue husky tail wag back and forth at a rapid speed. Sure enough, Sougo’s heart fluttered when he saw the familiar blur of sky blue begin to wiggle behind Tamaki.
“I’m sorry that we left so early,” Sougo apologized with a tender smile. “I promised a fun playdate for you and it didn’t last very long. Let’s visit another time when Riku-kun isn’t in heat, okay?”
“Okay!” Tamaki agreed, already back to his usual self. “Thanks, Sou-chan!”
“You’re welco—”
And before Sougo could complete his sentence, Tamaki had leaned in, connecting their lips in an eager, adoring kiss. Sougo’s eyes widened, heat rushing to his face, only growing more flustered as Tamaki’s tongue lapped at his lips. He tried to gasp, but Tamaki pressed forward, filling the gap of Sougo’s mouth with his tongue. His tail was wagging wildly behind him, and though his hands gripped Sougo’s waist, they wandered around to his lower back to tug their bodies closer.
Sougo reeled back just as their hips bumped together, heart racing wildly. We’re still in public!!
“T-Tamaki-kun!” Sougo sputtered as he pushed Tamaki away, the tips of his ears pink with embarrassment. He looked around frantically, feeling lucky that the only other pedestrians he could see were far enough down the street that they likely didn’t notice their kiss. He turned his attention back to Tamaki pleadingly. “We can’t do that outside, remember? People will look at us weird!”
“So what?” Tamaki challenged, eyes sparkling with joy as he looked down at Sougo adoringly. “I want the world to know that I love you, Sou-chan.”
God, how did Sougo even respond to such a heartfelt confession…?
“Honestly, Tamaki-kun… how am I supposed to argue with that?” Sougo wondered out loud. He curled Tamaki’s leash around his wrist again and stepped out of Tamaki’s arms, angling his body in the direction of home. “Come on, let’s go to the park by our house and play for a bit.”
“Yeah!!” Tamaki cheered, rushing forward to lead the way instead. Sougo allowed the tension to bleed away from his body, allowing the alpha to take control as he naturally wanted to do, regardless of Sougo’s status as the owner between the two of them while Tamaki was technically the pet.
Sougo always had his hands full with Tamaki, that was for sure. Ever since the day he brought Tamaki home, he knew that his new life as a hybrid-owner would be a roller-coaster ride, but he didn’t expect all the things that happened ever since.
Right—Sougo realized that it had been about a year now since Sougo adopted Tamaki. So much had changed in that time, and Sougo certainly hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.
In fact, the day that Sougo brought Tamaki home, it was a peaceful spring day, just like this one.
***
One Year Ago
Kujou Takamasa was particular about his hybrids. He was not just any breeder—he scouted only the most purebred, elite, and healthy to enter into shows and win competitions. Judges were always in awe of Kujou’s talented eye, and to this day, his former hybrid named Zero was still the national record-holder for a whole slew of categories across the board.
It was a gut-wrenching story to hear that Zero had disappeared one day. To this day, no one—not even Kujou—knows where Zero could be, if he were alive or dead. He was such a famous show dog that surely, anyone would be able to spot him on the streets, yet somehow, Zero had managed to avoid being seen by anyone since the day he vanished. Kujou had restlessly tried to pursue the glory he experienced with Zero ever since, and he was still trying to find his ideal replacement for the gap that Zero left behind.
Rumor had it that Kujou also had a beautiful omega female named Aya. He was training her to perform in competitions, but since she was still so young, she had yet to make her official debut. She truly was Kujou’s pride and joy and there would not be another pup quite like her; unfortunately, the mother dog passed away, and the father dog ran off to become a stray despite Kujou’s insistence to rehome him properly.
Sougo was only aware of Kujou Takamasa due to his father’s involvement in hybrid shows. Though he did not own a hybrid of his own, there was significant money to be earned when sponsoring well-bred hybrids, so naturally, Osaka Soushi was involved. It was only from a distance, of course—otherwise, he looked down at hybrids, regarding them as nothing more than filthy mutts and abominations to mankind.
Sougo had to disagree. As a young boy, whenever Sougo went to hybrid shows with his uncle, who participated in competitions with a hybrid of his own, he found himself in awe of their amazing intelligence and beauty. Because of this, Sougo had always known he wanted a hybrid, in particular a dog. He grew up admiring all the winners of hybrid competitions, Zero included. Sougo couldn’t wait until the day he bonded and raised a stunning hybrid of his own.
Now that Sougo was on his own with a stable job and a nice place, he was finally ready to take care of a hybrid, and he knew just where to go to find the dog of his dreams. Even though he’d been disowned by his father, Osaka was still his surname, and Kujou absolutely knew which family he belonged to. That was why Sougo’s inquiry for adoption was not immediately disregarded by the infamous breeder.
Thanks to Sougo’s connections, he knew about Kujou’s star-in-training, Aya. He also knew that Aya had an older brother that Kujou planned to put up for adoption.
“He’s temperamental,” Kujou said over the phone when Sougo had called to ask about the dog in question. “Stubborn and unwilling to learn tricks or obedience. This is why I don’t like to keep alphas if I don’t have to… and I’m afraid I have no use for him. The only omega I have is his sister, who he should not mate with, so he will be quite a handful if I keep him for too long, I’m sure.”
Sougo had insisted that he was qualified enough to train the alpha brother. He had studied extensively and he was good with children, so he surely would be fit enough to take care of a hybrid. Even an unruly alpha one.
Kujou was just happy to get some wealthy Osaka money in exchange for an alpha hybrid nobody wanted. Besides, he wasn’t totally heartless—he refused to kick a hybrid out on the street. Especially since he had no idea what happened to his beloved Zero.
So yes, Sougo was expecting this dog to be a little rambunctious when they first met, but he was still taken aback with how vehemently he was rejected.
At first, Sougo thought he made a good first impression. When he entered, dressed cleanly without any powerful scents so as not to upset the hybrid’s sensitive nose, Sougo was polite and calm. He knew hybrids were sensitive to strong scents, loud sounds, and heightened emotions. Even though alphas were usually able to handle more than omegas and tended to mask any vulnerabilities, it was not always true. Some alphas were just as quick to feel threatened as omegas, and though the emotion of fear was the same, their response was different—alphas tended to respond with aggression, choosing to bark and snarl rather than cower and whine like an omega might.
And when he first met the hybrid— Tamaki was his name—he thought that this might be easier than he initially expected.
Tamaki’s ears had been lowered with anger at first, and he seemed to be on edge… but when Sougo entered the room, those tall, pale blue ears perked upright with intrigue. His eyes widened and he stared at Sougo silently, observing, nose twitching to smell the air. Sougo went still, heart fluttering with anticipation as Tamaki walked forward, inspecting, curious, weary. He tried to keep himself calm, wanting more than anything to come off as non-threatening to Tamaki. He wanted Tamaki to like him.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Sougo said as Tamaki came to a pause in front of him. Sougo had to stand his ground firmly despite the way Tamaki totally loomed over him—god, he was tall and so big. His shoulders were wider than Sougo’s without a doubt. Sougo raised his chin to keep their eyes level, a gentle smile on his face. “I’m Sougo Osaka.”
“Mm…” Tamaki hummed as he leaned in, casting a shadow over Sougo’s face. Sougo stayed put, knowing this was an alpha’s instinctive way to express their interest and assert their dominance. Although Sougo was going to be in charge between the two of them, he didn’t want Tamaki to misinterpret his gentle guidance as Sougo treating him as if he were an omega. He still had to respect Tamaki’s nature and allow him a sense of control.
As Tamaki stood in front of him, studying him, Sougo felt flustered to be so close to such a stunning hybrid. Tamaki was gorgeous and it appalled Sougo that he still wasn’t quite up to Kujou’s standards. His eyes were a vibrant shade of blue, almost glowing in the dim light, and his hair was a beautiful compliment to his eyes. His sky-blue hair was just long enough to reach his shoulders, appearing soft to the touch, and his pointed husky ears matched the color perfectly. Behind him, his tail remained cautiously still.
Sougo felt his cheeks pinken slightly with embarrassment as he cast a nervous glance at Kujou. He didn’t want the breeder to think he was weird for demonstrating hybrid body language, but he felt that this was the best way to communicate with Tamaki, after all. With his mind settled, Sougo averted his eyes and tilted his head to the side to expose his neck, knowing that this sign of submission was a gesture omegas usually showed to alphas upon first meeting.
It seemed to work. Tamaki’s tail immediately began to swish from side to side as he leaned in and sniffed along Sougo’s jaw, nose brushing on Sougo’s neck. The sensation was ticklish and Sougo felt his skin heat even more, but he endured it until Tamaki pulled back, seemingly satisfied with the greeting.
“I’m Tamaki,” he finally introduced himself with a broad smile. Sougo couldn’t help but to notice his pointed canines—he could leave a nasty bite if he bit with purpose.
“You two seem to get along well,” Kujou commented fondly. “Good. Do you like him, Sougo?”
“Absolutely!” Sougo responded, maybe a little too eagerly. He got a bit embarrassed, reminding himself to keep his emotions at bay so he did not overwhelm Tamaki with any strong scents. “Ahem—um… so what—”
Before Sougo could ask what the next steps were, Tamaki suddenly grabbed Sougo’s hand. Sougo blinked down at where his long fingers curled around Sougo’s wrist, startled by how much bigger his hand was than Sougo’s. He swore, he never felt so tiny before in his life until this point.
“Come meet my sister!” Tamaki insisted as he tugged Sougo towards another room. “Aya!”
Sougo cast an apologetic glance at Kujou, but he didn’t seem to mind. Compared to the rambunctious alpha that Sougo had his eyes on, the omega in front of Sougo was his total opposite. She was small, pretty, and impeccably polite, dressed in high-quality lace and ruffles like a little porcelain doll. She bowed her head, her blue ears a slightly darker shade than Tamaki’s and even somewhat smaller.
“Aya is cute and kind!” Tamaki explained with clunky, simple vocabulary. Even though he was the older between the two, he behaved more like a child than Aya did. “I protect Aya and I always will. I am her big brother!”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Sougo Osaka-san,” Aya said, her voice clear with every word accentuated. It was obvious that she took her schooling seriously and practiced diligently. “I hope you will take care of my big brother from now on.”
“You can count on me,” Sougo said to her with a warm tingling sensation in his heart. Seeing the way that Tamaki’s tail wagged at the sight of her made him want to watch the siblings play together.
Except… Aya didn’t quite return his enthusiasm. She looked a bit troubled—anxious, even—as she stood at a perfect posture and tried to mask her emotions with a pleasant demeanor. Sougo did the same thing all the time, which was why he saw right through her act. His own smile faltered a bit, for Aya must be aware that they were going to be separated. Sougo would have loved to keep the pair together, but of course, that was out of the question. Kujou would never allow it.
“Tamaki, I have an important question to ask you, but I must let Sougo go home,” Kujou said as he entered the room, as if he could tell that Sougo was thinking about him. Tamaki frowned and let out a heavy, loud sigh, his ears and tail drooping with visible disappointment. Sougo couldn’t resist smiling; his reaction was cute. He was so transparent with his emotions—Aya’s total opposite.
“Kay…” Tamaki sighed as he looked towards Sougo. “You’re going home?”
“I am,” Sougo said, and after a beat he added, “for now. I’ll see you again soon, Tamaki-kun.”
“Yay,” Tamaki said with a small wag of his tail. “Sou-chan’s pretty. I want to see you again.”
S-Sou-chan!? Sougo thought with a flush blazing across his cheeks. Belatedly, his mind comprehended the other part of his statement. Pretty!?
At the very least, it was a good sign. Sougo exchanged pleasantries with Kujou on his way out, and they soon thereafter arranged for a pick-up date for Tamaki’s adoption. Sougo was unaware of how Kujou handled the conversation with Tamaki and breaking the news that he would no longer live with his sister, but since the adoption wasn’t called off, he assumed it went alright.
Sougo had assumed wrong. When he returned on the day of Tamaki’s adoption, feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness, Tamaki was the very definition of furious and devastated. Sougo even asked Kujou if he still wanted to go through with the adoption given the way Tamaki was reacting, but Kujou insisted it was necessary, for he was planning to search for more hybrids to enter into competitions soon.
Kujou stood beside Aya as Tamaki whined and said his final goodbyes, at least until he could visit again. Kujou made it clear that visits were not to be a frequent occurrence; Tamaki and Aya could see each other occasionally, but Kujou intended to enroll her in fancy, overseas training camps, an exclusive and elite hybrid school, and many more faraway activities. Her schedule would be very busy and Tamaki would have to learn that they would not have as much time together as they once did.
Sougo tried to soothe the sting of the news. “There, there, Tamaki-kun. I’ll make sure you can see Aya-chan when she’s free.”
“It’s not the same!” Tamaki expressed, ears still flattened. “I live with Aya! I promised I will always protect Aya! If I can’t be here, then who will protect Aya now!?”
“I’ll be okay, onii-chan,” Aya assured him with a small whine of her own. Despite how well-mannered and behaved she was, it was clear that she loved her brother and would miss him just as much. She took Tamaki’s hand with both of her own and gazed up at him with a sweet smile. “Kujou-san will keep taking care of me. He will make me a famous show-dog, remember?”
“Aya…” Tamaki trailed off, tail hanging between his legs sadly. He looked at her with distress and frustration, not able to understand why she was so loyal to the man who was so willing to give Tamaki away. But, upon seeing that she wouldn’t back down, Tamaki sighed heavily with resignation. “Being a show-dog… is that what you really want?”
“It is!” Aya responded. Her fluffy tail wagged at the thought. “I’ll become the best show-dog there is. I’ll become even better than Zero. I’ll make you proud of me, onii-chan!”
Though reluctant, Tamaki left Kujou’s residence with Sougo at last with a small bag of his things included. After his first visit, Kujou had handed Sougo a folder of important information, including Tamaki’s health records, his rut cycle, and his favorite foods and activities. Sougo had prepared his home for Tamaki in accordance with that folder in hopes of making the space a little more welcoming to Tamaki.
Sougo was nervous, of course, but he tried to hold himself together for Tamaki’s sake. He wanted Tamaki to feel safe and secure with him, not off-put by his anxiety.
“I know it’s not the same without Aya,” Sougo said when they entered his— their —new home. “But I hope you can be comfortable here. I’ll do my best to make you feel okay here.”
“Eh…” Tamaki trudged inside, weary but not fearful of his surroundings. He looked around, ears swiveling to figure out the dimensions of the space he was in, and he sniffed the air experimentally. Sougo gave him a moment to process, then stepped in and headed to Tamaki’s room. Previously an office space, Sougo rearranged his things to allow Tamaki his own room in hopes that it would help Tamaki settle in.
Once Tamaki trailed after him, Sougo opened the door and gestured to the room with a small smile. “This is your room now, Tamaki-kun. We can pick out things to decorate it and make it look however you’d like.”
“My own room?” Tamaki’s eyes rounded with amazement. “Whoa…!”
“Did you not have a room of your own at Kujou-san’s residence?” Sougo asked, a little surprised to hear that when Aya was an omega. Surely, when they presented, they’d have to be separated, right…?
“I shared with Gakkun and Ryuu-aniki,” Tamaki explained vaguely. Sougo blinked; it took a moment before he recognized those names.
“Oh, right, Kujou-san does have other hybrids…” Sougo murmured.
Since Aya was Kujou’s pride and joy, he forgot that Kujou had a few alphas he had begun entering into competitions to re-establish his name after Zero’s disappearance. Kujou’s primary goal was having an omega showdog, one that could win the ultimate prizes in competitions. Omegas were the winners when it came to obedience and agility while alphas usually won strength and endurance competitions. Kujou was forever chasing the high of having a champion like Zero, so it was no wonder that he wasn’t as focused on perfecting his alphas, instead having them ready to breed his omegas when the time came.
Sougo wondered which alpha would be selected for Aya. She was still so young that surely, Kujou wouldn’t try breeding her so soon. An omega’s body had to stay in its prime for as long as possible according to breeders like Kujou. Sougo understood that once an omega had a litter or two, they were usually less likely to win the highest awards.
“It’s so soft!” Just then, Sougo focused on Tamaki again as the alpha flopped onto his bed with a laugh. Tamaki seemed pleased with his surroundings, which brought a sense of relief to Sougo. At least he’d done something right.
“I’ll let you unpack while I get dinner ready,” Sougo promised as he stepped out of the room. He didn’t miss the way Tamaki’s tail wagged at that—he saw from Kujou’s notes that Tamaki had quite the appetite. It gave Sougo a sense of purpose as he tied an apron around his waist, smiling contentedly, heart fluttering with excitement. He hummed to himself, proud and full of warm fuzzies as he prepared the meal, set the table, and called Tamaki over to eat.
That feeling didn’t fade as Tamaki happily scarfed down the meal, big blue tail thumping the chair the entire time. Sougo was finally able to provide and care for a hybrid of his very own. His dream was coming true!
Now, everything was bound to fall into place.
***
“I said I don’t want to! I hate you, Sou-chan!”
Slam.
… or maybe this whole ‘owner’ thing was going to be a lot harder than Sougo initially thought.
He let out a heavy sigh as he looked at Tamaki’s firmly shut door, where inside, Tamaki was likely sulking under the covers. This was the fourth argument they had and Tamaki had only been there for two weeks.
The first time was because Tamaki was not a fan of rules, and when Sougo sat him down to talk about the basic rules of the house, Tamaki began nodding off right in front of him. The second time was because Tamaki wanted an unlimited supply of pudding, to which Sougo told him that pudding was a treat, which meant he had to earn his pudding and he couldn’t just eat it for no reason. The third time was because Sougo tried to tell Tamaki to clean his room. And now, Sougo told Tamaki they had to go to the vet for vaccinations and a physical.
Sougo pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to think of what to do, how to handle this situation. He knew conflict was going to be part of being an owner, but to deal with so much so early on in their relationship was unexpected, to say the least. Sougo knew he wasn’t perfect, but he thought he’d read all the recommended books and listened to tons of podcasts from hybrid owners. He swore he’d prepared for this for years.
So why was nothing working?
Sougo tried to stick with rigid discipline, which, admittedly, was probably learned from his own father. It was all Sougo had ever known, but he should have realized by now that relying on his own terribly unfortunate experience was bound to fail. Especially since Tamaki was not the type to bow his head and admit he was wrong about something, nor was he the type to stay quiet when he disagreed with something. Tamaki would loudly declare he didn’t want to do something and then actually refuse to do it—Sougo would have been severely punished by his father for acting so crudely if he dared to behave the same way Tamaki did.
And, well, that caused a slew of internalized issues that had Sougo in therapy for years, and he still carried trauma from his upbringing, not to mention how it warped and shaped his character permanently growing up… so maybe he shouldn’t rely on his father’s disciplinary methods to help train his hybrid.
This brought Sougo back to the drawing board. What might work with Tamaki? He didn’t want to patronize Tamaki and treat him like a child, but developmentally, he wasn’t that far along. Using simpler methods may prove to be the key here; something that appealed to Tamaki’s instincts. Sougo recalled researching the bond between alpha and omegas, a connection that only hybrids truly experienced with each other, but certain behaviors could be imitated by humans to communicate to hybrids nonverbally.
Sougo glanced at the clock, knowing he only had a few moments to spare before they would risk running late to their appointment. He had to make up his mind sooner or later, and though the thought is slightly taboo, it’s nothing super strange, right? He was just trying to connect with Tamaki and help Tamaki feel more comfortable. If using hybrid body language would help, then so be it. Sougo was willing to do anything to help make up for all the miscommunications they’ve had.
With a small sigh, Sougo knocked on the door. “Tamaki-kun—”
“Go away!” Tamaki snapped. “I don’t want to talk to you!”
Though he expected the harsh words, Sougo still flinched. He managed to calm himself down with a small sigh. Although Sougo would usually respect the request and walk away, they had to make amends quickly. Sougo bowed his head a bit.
“I’m sorry, but I need to come in,” Sougo said, then opened the door.
Tamaki had his back to the door when Sougo entered. Sougo saw his tall blue ears flatten against his head with anger, and his tail bristled as he turned around. He glared at Sougo, looking as if he were considering letting out a growl, but thought better of himself. Instead, he just narrowed his eyes at Sougo and then turned his back on him again.
Kujou had warned Sougo of his temperament, so Sougo proceeded with caution. He didn’t think Tamaki would go that far and truly hurt Sougo, but he wanted to prevent injury—both physical and emotional—if possible. Sougo waited for a moment, then walked into the center of Tamaki’s room. He kept a safe distance so as to not intimidate Tamaki, then crouched down onto the floor and knelt down.
“I’m sorry that you’ve had bad experiences with the vet,” Sougo said, his voice soft and consoling. He lowered his eyes even as Tamaki’s ear pricked up and swiveled around, no doubt sensing that Sougo’s voice was coming from a physically shorter point than usual. “I’m not trying to take you there to harm you. This is just so that you stay healthy.”
“‘s scary…” Tamaki muttered. “They always put the…” Tamaki paused, likely trying to think of the word he was searching for, before gesturing with his hand in a gripping motion around his face. “The cage on my face.”
Ah… a muzzle. Sougo frowned at the sound of that. Getting one of those forced on can be traumatizing to a hybrid. It takes away their primary defense mechanism, especially for an alpha. They are more likely to lash out when afraid rather than curl up and hide like an omega usually would.
“When you go to the vet with me, I’ll talk to them and make sure they don’t do that,” Sougo promised. He lifted his eyes for a moment, then recalled that he was trying to show his submission like an omega would, so he ducked his head back down. “You just have to trust me.”
“Easier said than done,” Tamaki muttered, tail tapping apprehensively against the floor.
“Can you try?” Sougo asked softly. There was a pause before Tamaki shifted and turned around, now regarding Sougo with silent contemplation.
Sougo sat up slightly and tilted his head, showing the side of his neck to indicate his vulnerability to Tamaki. He blushed a bit, knowing that it was a gesture usually reserved to courting, but Sougo wasn’t actually an omega. So surely, Tamaki wouldn’t misunderstand. Or at least, that’s what Sougo hoped for.
Recognizing that same gesture from when they first met, Tamaki leaned in closer, sniffing along the edge of Sougo’s jaw. Sougo shivered at the feather-light touch, lashes fluttering, and tried to ignore the way his heart quickened its pace in his chest. Tamaki was gentle despite being so much larger than Sougo; he could easily overpower Sougo if he wanted to, but Sougo had faith in Tamaki that he wouldn’t hurt Sougo on purpose. Briefly thinking about this, Sougo couldn’t resist stealing a glance at Tamaki’s sharp teeth and the edges of his claws. His muscles always seemed to strain in the clothing he wore, Sougo noted, and he was still young and growing, too. How much bigger would he get?
Satisfied with the gesture, Tamaki then sighed and settled back onto his haunches. “Fine. I’ll try.”
Even though he strained when saying the word “try,” like the word itself was being pried from between his teeth, Sougo’s face blossomed into a genuine smile. That was a huge gesture from someone like Tamaki. Relief flooded Sougo’s chest at the knowledge that they would be able to get to the vet without a huge incident, after all.
“Thank you!”
***
What was a desperate last measure to calm Tamaki down once unexpectedly became a routine. Truth be told, Sougo was torn about imitating omega body language to connect with Tamaki. Some part of it felt… off. Unusual. Taboo —even though nothing inherently sexual was going on. It wasn’t like Sougo was nesting and gesturing for Tamaki to mount him, nothing of the sort, but when Tamaki was getting too anxious and apprehensive, he seemed to relax once Sougo soothed him in a way that an omega mate might do.
If this method was working and it wasn’t hurting either of them, then was there really an issue? Sougo wanted to do further research on the subject without tainting his search history. He didn’t want anything weird showing up regarding hybrid and human relationships.
The other issue was that he didn’t know many people who owned a hybrid that he could confide in. His friend Mitsuki had a hybrid with his partner, Yamato. Earlier that week, Sougo brought Tamaki over to meet their hybrid—a dog named Nagi—and they had gotten along well, but Sougo didn’t notice any sort of unusual behavior between Mitsuki and Nagi. Sougo doubted Mitsuki went as far as to mimic omega behavior with Nagi for the purpose of bonding. Besides, would that even be necessary for Mitsuki? Nagi was such a friendly, loving dog—he wasn’t as prickly as Tamaki. Surely, he didn’t need that sort of method to connect to his human owner.
Sougo tried to think about others he could talk to about this. Iori, Mitsuki’s brother, was interested in a hybrid, but he still hadn’t adopted one. Besides, he expressed interest in an omega-type hybrid, and that would be a whole different discussion than the one Sougo wanted to have.
One might confide in a parent during a time like this, but Sougo knew he could never speak to his father, a man who was revolted by hybrids, about Tamaki. That left Sougo with no one besides his deceased uncle to rely on.
“If only you were still around, ojisan.” Sougo sighed heavily as he contemplated this subject one night. But if his hybrid felt more connected to Sougo because of this behavior, then maybe it wasn’t so bad. Sougo had to rely on his instincts in this case, and so he made no immediate move to change his ways.
Thankfully, as the weeks passed by, Tamaki settled down quite a bit. It took a lot of effort and patience on Sougo’s end, but once he got a better understanding of what made Tamaki happy, he learned how to adjust his own behavior. For example, Tamaki viewed his room as his “den” or territory, so he disliked it when Sougo went inside to tidy up and move Tamaki’s things around. As long as there was no food spoiling or attracting pests in the room, Sougo could allow Tamaki a little bit of disorganization in his own space.
He started to truly see Tamaki’s intelligence for the first time. Though Sougo had always respected and admired hybrids, he was not immune to the inherent prejudice he felt towards them in believing they were not quite “as advanced” as humans due to their animal traits. This prejudice didn’t go away when he got Tamaki, especially since Tamaki wasn’t the type to use as much complex vocabulary and seemed to act upon his instincts and primal urges more than anything else. However, as time went on with Sougo getting to know Tamaki even more, he noticed things that Tamaki said and did that deeply impressed him.
It was obvious that Tamaki was kind and gentle with children wherever they went, and he seemed to easily get along with other hybrids whenever Sougo took him to the local park. Though he wasn’t the most interested in books or any academic subject, Tamaki was highly emotionally intelligent, blunt like a child at times. His curt and honest way of speaking may come across as uneducated to others, but Sougo was quickly learning that Tamaki was just as sharp as anyone else; he just chose to preserve his energy most of the time.
But honestly, Tamaki’s intelligence didn’t quite click with Sougo until Sougo was too far gone down the path of self-destruction to see what he was doing to himself.
Perhaps seeing it that way was incredibly dramatic, but Sougo had a tendency to spiral badly when stress got the best of him. He dug himself deeper and deeper into holes of suffocating anxiety whenever he looked at his finances, his career path, and his future plans—he would be fine one day and off-kilter the next, thrown off by one small thing that reminded him of his father, or perhaps even a call from his father’s secretary whenever they needed Sougo to sign off on some paperwork. Sougo was good at budgeting, but sometimes he second-guessed himself over his choices.
More importantly, Sougo tried to look at the bigger picture occasionally and ask himself what he really wanted to do with his life. He would try to come up with some sort of answer, something that seemed grand and dream-like and fantastic, but his mind would draw up a blank every time. Sougo would then find himself in a state of existential crisis, wondering what on earth he was even alive for if he couldn’t answer a simple question such as what he wanted to do with his life.
One day, while actively burying himself into one of these pits, Tamaki had been lingering in the doorway of Sougo’s office. He froze, standing on the edge of the room as if there was an invisible threshold he feared to cross. His ears were pricked up, alert and anxious. Sougo didn’t even know that Tamaki was there until he was suddenly looming over Sougo from behind, fingers extended to press down on the back of Sougo’s hand, pausing the frantic tapping of his pen abruptly. Sougo hadn’t even realized he’d been tapping his pen. He jerked at the sensation of Tamaki’s long fingers curling over his small hand, eyes re-focusing after being blurred for who-knows-how-long.
“Tamaki?” Sougo asked, turning to try and look up at Tamaki behind him. There was an attempt to ignore the sudden awareness he felt of their size difference—of how big Tamaki looked standing behind him like that, how big his hand was when pressed right up against Sougo’s—but Sougo found it difficult to forget what was very obviously in front of him. He cast a small, sad smile towards Tamaki, hoping his spinning thoughts were masked well for once. “I’m sorry, was the sound bothering you?”
“Too noisy,” Tamaki said, voice gritted out between clenched teeth. Sougo frowned apologetically.
“I’m sorry, I’ll stop it now,” Sougo said as he set the pen down, but Tamaki shook his head. He pulled his hand back and curled his fingers into a frustrated fist.
“Not the pen,” Tamaki corrected, eyes fixed down onto Sougo. His brows were tense, like he was really struggling to focus and figure out exactly what was upsetting him so much. He released the fist he gripped to instead point at Sougo’s forehead as he said, “You’re being too noisy, Sou-chan.”
“M-Me?” Sougo stammered, feeling embarrassed that he might have been shuffling around or talking to himself. Rather than responding immediately, Tamaki leaned down, angling his head to sniff around Sougo’s head and neck. Though he was used to the awkward pauses that sometimes came in between their conversations, Sougo felt his face warm when Tamaki came closer. He was careful not to move so as not to disturb Tamaki’s investigation.
Just then, Tamaki’s nose crinkled and he pulled back, his expression a mixture of anger and worry. “Sou-chan, you smell bad.”
“I-I’ll take a shower straight away!” Sougo blurted out, humiliation making his face burn bright red. Had he really neglected his hygiene so badly? He jumped to his feet in his haste to get to the bathroom, to put on deodorant or something—
But then, Sougo’s vision did the one thing it really shouldn’t do: it tunneled.
Fuzzy blackness encroached into the edges of Sougo’s sight, quickly taking over, causing the whole world to tilt on its axis. He felt his legs go wobbly as he tried to force his body to move, but the ringing in his ears disoriented him, and he wasn’t sure what happened until his heartbeat slowed down and he was clearing away the fogginess. It took Sougo a moment to process that he had fallen down, for he was suddenly much closer to the ground now, and Tamaki was leaning over him with an anxiously wagging tail.
No, wait—Sougo didn’t fall, not onto the ground at least. He was in Tamaki’s arms now. Tamaki was shaking him and shouting, his voice slowly getting louder and louder until Sougo could hear him clearly.
“Sou-chan!!” Tamaki cried out, frantic with his ears laid back against his head. “Sou-chan, you need help! You need the white coats! You need the white walls!”
“White… walls?” Sougo repeated gradually, trying to piece together what Tamaki was saying. What place had people in white coats within white walls? He blinked a couple of times before finally making a guess. “The hospital?”
“Yes, that!” Tamaki nodded quickly, his grip on Sougo tightening nervously. “I-I hate it there, but they can help you, right? I can’t… can’t help!”
“I’m alright now,” Sougo struggled to assure him as he shifted, trying to sit upright, but Tamaki shook his head and suddenly scooped his arms underneath Sougo, lifting him in his arms in a bridal-style carry. The position caused Sougo to yelp with surprise, but he didn’t even have it in him to blush—he was pale and more sickly than he’d realized, forehead covered in the sheen of a cold sweat.
“No!” Tamaki barked authoritatively. “You’re not alright! I’m calling Mikki and Yama-san!”
Sougo was silently impressed, unable to argue as Tamaki carried him into the living room, gently set him down, and then navigated Sougo’s cell to call up his friends. Sougo had always told Tamaki that in case of an emergency to always reach out to Mitsuki and Yamato, knowing well that his best friends would be there for him no matter what.
A warm, comforted feeling grew in Sougo’s chest as he watched Tamaki try to explain what was going on. He really must have cared about Sougo if he was this worked up over Sougo’s wellbeing. Maybe Sougo was doing something right as a hybrid owner, after all.
Tamaki’s panicked expression was the last thing he saw before he dipped into unconsciousness with a small, slightly contented smile on his lips.