As a man working on the wrong side of the law, Kei had seen a lot of disturbing scenes in his life. However, walking in on the battered, unresponsive body of his own fiance was its own category of traumatizing.

Arriving a mere minute after his men, Kei entered the house to find his men struggling to restrain Kojima senior, who was surprisingly strong even with his arm in a cast. Miriko was still pinned under Yoru, beside herself with panic and rage, screaming obscenities at her husband at the top of her lungs. And then there was Yoru, his arms still locked in a death grip around his mother, shirt torn in places to reveal fresh bruises blooming all over his body.

Kei shook as he untangled Yoru's fingers and pulled him off Miriko, into his arms. Nakamura helped Miriko sit up and tried to calm her down as Kei gently inspected Yoru's head. "Is he okay?" Miriko screeched. "Tell me he's going to be okay!"

"He's breathing," Kei said, cradling Yoru's head against his chest. "That's all I can say. We have to wait for a doctor."

"What do we do with him, boss?" asked one of the men gripping Kojima senior.

"I'd very much like to bury him alive," Kei said venomously, glaring at his father-in-law-to-be. The drunk didn't respond - he only stared blankly with one eye, the other glazed over and unfocused. "I'd warned him not to touch Yoru. What should we do, Mrs. Kojima?"

"I don't know," she sobbed, too afraid to say anything because she was the one who'd be left alone with him to face the consequences of today. "I don't know anything. Just help my son."

"Knock him out for now," Kei sighed. Immediately, Nakamura walked over and pressed his fingers into Kojima's carotid artery. Within seconds, the latter sunk to the floor, unconscious. "And bring blankets and ice packs for these two."

Miriko was already shivering. Now that her adrenaline was wearing off, she couldn't bring herself to stand up and pull Yoru away from Kei like she wanted to. So she contented herself with snuggling into the couch and alternating between enjoying the relief of the ice pack on her jaw and glaring balefully at Kei.

She had to admit, however, that Kei was taking care of Yoru well. He tore Yoru's shirt away and placed the ice pack wherever he could see swellings or a growing bruise, keeping the rest of his body warm in the blanket. As he worked, he directed his men as they tossed Kojima into his room, cleaned the mess on the floor, made Miriko some warm porridge and went to retrieve tools to fix the door.

In the middle of it all, the doctor, a young woman named Goya, stalked in. "Already at work, I see," she remarked approvingly to Kei, who was spreading ointment on the abrasions on Yoru's back. "Your boy Hirata told me what happened. What a brave young fellow you've snagged."

"His back took the worst of it," Kei said. "And I think something's wrong with his rib here, on his left."

"Did he hit his head?"

"He did, earlier today," Miriko answered from the couch.

"Again?!" Goya snapped, fixing Miriko with a stern glare. "He was supposed to be resting! How long has he been unconscious?"

"T-ten minutes or s-s-so..."

"That's not good," Goya mumbled. "The longer he stays unconscious, the smaller are his chances of waking up. Good thing I brought my bigger car. Get him inside - we're going to the hospital. Now."

Miraculously, Yoru's brain managed to escape any serious damage. The rest of his body, however, was not that lucky: his kidney was bruised, one rib was cracked and he'd suffered a fair amount of internal bleeding. Kei turned scarlet with anger upon hearing the diagnosis, forcing Nakamura to drag him to Goya's office and lock him in so he wouldn't go do something stupid.

"You're really fond of him, aren't you?" Goya remarked, watching Kei pace up and down, blood boiling and teeth gnashing.

"He's a good man," Kei said. "He doesn't deserve this."

"Sucker," Goya teased, chortling. "Alright, sit down, Romeo. You're injured too."

 Kei sat. "What sucks is that I can't do anything to that Kojima," he grumbled. "For one, he'll be family soon. Then there's the fact that he's the sole breadwinner in that house now that Yoru isn't working."

"Mrs. Kojima could divorce him and get a job..."

"She could, but breaking away from an abusive partner isn't as simple as standing up and leaving. Especially when someone unstable is involved. It's a long process."

"Why won't she? Long process or not, she can still leave."

"Maybe she will. I'll talk to her about it. She'll be more receptive to the idea once Yoru becomes part of my household. Also - do you recognize the name Mori?"

Goya scowled deeply. "I wish I didn't," she said. "He's a high-level debt collector who works for Fujioka Financial Solutions. He's infamous for being ruthless - he's got a spot on the nation's most wanted list."

"You're kidding."

"I'm serious as death. Your sweetheart must have really powerful ancestors if he survived an encounter with Mori."

"He's not my sweetheart, and this makes things very complicated. Fujioka is Suda-gumi's venture, is it not? Yeah? Well, I just butted heads with their most powerful underling - Ito."

"Yeah, if I were you, I'd leave Mori alone. We aren't powerful enough to take on Suda. Sweet little Yoru's in trouble, boss. I don't think they'll leave him alone now that he's with you, and you can't protect him."

"I have every right to retaliate if they try to hurt my wife."

"Don't be stupid. They have every right to attack him - he owes them money. I suggest you drop this kid and find someone else. He's just too much trouble."

"I am not leaving him," Kei retorted unequivocally.

"Is he really worth putting the whole group in danger?"

"I'll work something out, Goya. I'm going to go talk to Suda and try to smooth things out. While I'm gone, I'll be relying on you to keep Yoru safe."
*
Yoru woke up the next day, much to everyone's relief. However, he was severely depressed and refused to see anyone, so Kei decided to use that time talking to Suda.

Contrary to Kei's expectations, Kyouya Suda was friendly and apologetic, although the latter seemed a little insincere. He seemed to have no problem with Kei taking over Ito's territory and making him an underling. "He was starting to become a thorn in my side too," Suda explained, pushing a glass of whiskey into Kei's hands. "The fool seemed to be eyeing my seat, and the police was starting to pressure me because of his shenanigans. I hope the information I provided to the cops proved useful."

Kei nearly spat out the whiskey he'd been drinking. "You gave them all that?"

"Yes. I gave it to the cops, they gave it to you, you did me a favor. I like you, boy."

Suda was clearly a force to be reckoned with. "So..." Kei ventured cautiously, "you're okay with my association with Kojima Yoru?"

"Oh, who am I to interfere with young love?"

"It isn't love," Kei mumbled, flushing and looking away. He wasn't convinced by Suda's jovial manner: the territory Kei had obtained included the port through which the drugs, ammunition and people of many groups were smuggled into the country. These groups used to pay tremendous amounts of money to have their stuff pass through Ito's territory, and there was no way Suda was okay with losing that revenue.

"I do have one condition," Suda said.

That was more like it. Kei sat up straighter, mind in overdrive as he thought of ways to protect his newly acquired port territory. He could not afford to have Suda declare war against him, and -

"I want to be invited to your wedding."

"EH?!"

Kei choked as he accidentally swallowed a large piece of ice and it went down the wrong way. He retched and coughed and gagged and before he could stop it, the ice shot out of his mouth and plopped right back into his glass.

"I've never seen a man regurgitate ice before," Suda remarked, his nose twitching in disgust. "About that invitation - come back to this same address with it."

"But," Kei gasped, trying to think through the burning in his throat. "My superior, Haga-kumichou, will be there, and the complications-"

"Are none of my concern."

"Why? Why my wedding?"

"I'm curious," Suda answered. "What kind of man took down the legendary underdog Kei Tsunoda and not only lived to tell the tale, but also secured a spot as his lifelong partner? What is it about that guy that makes you walk into the territory of your worst enemy without a second thought?"

No, you want to see if Yoru can become my weakness, Kei thought to himself. "I'll come by again in two days or so," Kei said with a bow. "Thank you for understanding."

Kei left with a heavy heart. Every time he tried to clear up the problem, it only got worse. Goya was right - if he broke off his engagement with Yoru, this whole mess would go away. Just thinking about the ramifications of his allies thinking he had dealings with Suda made him feel sick. Still, his heart refused to listen to reason. He would not abandon Yoru.

The omega was in a better mood now, and gave Kei a weak smile as he entered. "I've caused you trouble," he said.

"Not at all. I'm really glad you're okay," Kei responded, settling into the chair by Yoru's bed. "That was quite a scare. The doctor said you're lucky to be alive, you know."

Yoru frowned. "I'm really tired of bad things happening," said he. "It scares me. I don't want to end up dead."

"You won't," Kei promised. "I'm not letting you anywhere near that man until the wedding."

"I don't have anywhere else to go, you know," Yoru argued, smiling sadly. "In fact, I need to find a new job. That debt is far from paid off."

"Please, hold off on that until you get better. You'll be much better by the time the wedding's done. And if you're worried about the collectors coming back in a month, they won't."

"Don't tell me you paid for me, I'd told you-"

"No! Calm down. I just asked them to lay off you. Now that they know you are part of a yakuza boss' family, they'll be a lot more cautious."

Yoru looked troubled. "Why are you doing this, Kei?" he asked. "I'm sure I cause more problems than I'm worth. I won't be able to forgive myself if you end up spoiling relations with someone because of me."

"Not another word." Kei cut Yoru off, grabbing the omega's hands in his own. "Some things don't require a relationship to be understood," he said. "We've spent enough time together for me to know I'd be a fool to not realize how lucky I am to have you - you, Yoru, as a person. Your being omega is secondary. Even without love, you're still my precious wife, and I'd go to any lengths to protect you."

Yoru, who'd been switching colors from grey to white to spotted pink to red, finally broke down in tears. For the first time in a long time, he felt like his existence mattered. For once, it didn't seem like the world would go on like nothing ever happened if he died. So happy was he that a smile spread across his face even as sobs ripped from his throat.

"What, what, what," poor Kei stuttered, frightened. "Are you hurt? Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry! Shall I call-"

"Come here," Yoru sniffed, holding out his arms.

"Huh?!"

"I can't move because of my damn rib. Just come here, would you!"

Now truly terrified, Kei shifted to sit on the bed. The moment he leaned down, Yoru threw his arms around him. "Whoa!" Kei exclaimed, plopping onto the bed. "Be careful!"

"Shut up." Yoru tightened his arms around Kei's neck, still crying. "Hold me."

It took a few seconds for Kei to process what was happening. Once he did, however, a jubilant smile spread across his face and he willingly pulled Yoru against him. The smaller man fit into his arms perfectly, and Kei made sure every line of his arms was against Yoru's, making the omega feel as cosy and protected as possible. Yoru cried and cried and cried, letting out a lifetime's worth of sorrow and frustration in front of the one man who had seen him at his worst. There was no need to pretend to be strong.

Kei said nothing. There was no need to. He simply sat there, his only assurance being his company. That was all that was needed sometimes: not a promise of protection, not even a reassurance that things would be okay - just the knowledge that someone knew and understood one's suffering. And that was all Yoru wanted.

Affectionately, Kei lowered his head and kissed Yoru's temple. The omega jumped, but didn't push him away. Rather, he tugged Kei even closer. Emboldened, Kei brushed his thumbs under Yoru's eyes and kissed his tears away.

More relaxed after his outburst and comforted by Kei's presence, Yoru quickly fell asleep. Kei held him till he started snoring lightly. He was just about to lay him back down when the door flew open and hit the wall behind it, making both men in the room jump out of their skins.

"Nakamura!" Kei hissed. "Keep it down, you fool!"

"Who-" Yoru mumbled, groggily.

"It's my idiot friend, don't mind him. Go back to sleep."

Yoru was more than happy to do so. Kei turned back to Nakamura to find the man's eyes glinting with amusement, eyebrows wiggling and a teasing grin stretched from ear to ear. "What?" Kei snapped.

"Are you sure you haven't been dating that little munchkin behind my back?"

"Of course I haven-" That was when Kei realized that he'd never let go of Yoru, so the man was still snuggled into him and had gone back to snoring contentedly into his neck. Moreover, Kei had been unconsciously patting Yoru gently to help him sleep better.

"Excuse me." With his face as hot as the surface of the Sun, Kei lay Yoru down, tucked the sheets around him and slipped out of the room, grabbing Nakamura by the ear along the way and dragging him all the way to the water cooler. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I need these!" Nakamura whined, rubbing his ear. "Why I put up with your shitty ass I don't know, I even rushed all the way here because it was so important-"

"What is it, then?!"

Nakamura's face turned frighteningly grave. Kei's heart jumped. "It's about your wedding," he said, swallowing convulsively. "There's something serious you should know..."