On the drive home, Gen and Mika sat close together in the backseat, earphones split between them, listening to music, whispering and giggling together, their hands locked together. Donovan glanced at them every now and again in the rearview mirror, and Kana looked back a time or two just to smile at them. Neither of them were going to interrupt their reunion, which they both knew would heat up once they were home and alone.
Kana looked out the window, thinking about their parting from their grandparents’ house. Uncle Charlie, Aunt Heather, Ty, Abby, and Grandad all saw them off at the airport. Gran stayed behind, pleading her health, but they all knew the real reason; she was too disappointed in Gen to want to see him again, at least not for a long time. Given what Kana had overheard her say to Grandad, Kana was fine not to see her again, either.
“The boy is wrong,” she had said to her husband. “I don’t know what Cynthia did while he was in the womb, but he came out all wrong. His silent demeanor, his appearance as a demon with all those tattoos and piercings, and now this homosexuality of his,” Gran shook her head. “The devil has taken his soul, Douglas. That is not our Eugene. A demon dwells within that body, corrupting it. As far as I can see, our Eugene is gone and dead.”
Grandad had tried to reason with her, tell her she wasn’t seeing things for how they were and not thinking clearly. He understood the news was a shock to her but Gen was still Gen, he wasn’t possessed by any demon. Georgia wouldn’t hear any of it. Her mind was made up. She would continue to pray for his condemned soul but she would have nothing more to do with him.
Kana didn’t tell Gen about what she had heard, she didn’t want him to bear that hurt. In the backseat of her SUV now, he was happy, smiling, laughing, and loving his soulmate. Yes, Gen did have a scary side, she’d seen it herself once, but he wasn’t a demon. At least, not in the way Gran believed he was. Gran had always been judgmental when it came to Gen and Kana never understood why. She was less than supportive when Gen was trying to sober up, she wasn’t terribly understanding about his mental health and social issues, though to be fair she did try. Her solution was just to “pray about it and God will heal you.” Maybe it was because Gen was an atheist, or maybe it was because he had been so broken by what their mother and those kids had done, but Georgia Parker no longer saw the happy kid he once was and believed only the devil could have changed him in such a way.
They pulled into their driveway and Gen and Mika switched to his beloved truck, heading over to Riley and Kelly’s to get Mika’s belongings. Since their friends lived close by, they promised they would be home soon. When they had driven off, Donovan turned to his daughter.
“I really do feel stupid, you know,” he said. “I should have allowed Mika to go.”
“Yeah, you should have,” Kana said, hauling luggage out of the back of the SUV. “Next time, you will, right?”
“Next time, Mika goes wherever Gen goes,” Don agreed. “Besides,” he added with a concerned frown, “I don’t think he’s going to be leaving us any time soon.”
“What do you mean? You don’t think Jo is going to let him go back home?”
“I just have a feeling things are going to get a lot worse for Mika before they eventually get better. In the meantime, we hold on to him and love him. He’s not going to get that from his own house.”
Kana grinned as she opened the door. “Well, this is his home and it’s here where all the love he needs resides.” She frowned. “I just worry we’re not going to see Benjamin and Anabelle again. I love those babies.”
-*-
Gen and Mika could barely keep their clothes in one piece as they tore them off of one another the moment they were alone in the loft. They tossed Mika’s things aside and clung to one another, their mouths and hands going everywhere, rediscovering each other after their time apart. In the heat of their passion, Gen had enough sense of mind to turn their stereo on and keep the volume up. They weren’t going to be quiet and they knew it.
They made love in a frenzy, hungry and desperate for each other, unable to let go. Even though Gen couldn’t use his mouth on Mika just yet, which Mika was bummed out about, he still managed to please him in other ways to Mika’s delight. He was careful about Gen’s barbell, making sure not to tug on it too hard or bite at it. The swelling had gone down considerably, but it was still healing and would be for a few weeks at least.
After their second round, they lay in bed, sweaty and panting, Mika curled around Gen, Gen’s arms wrapped around him tightly, neither of them wanting to let go. One week apart was hard on them, especially given everything that had happened in the last few days.
When they had arrived home, before they could even make it to the stairs, Kana and Donovan had intercepted them, grabbing Mika and hugging him in turns, telling him how much they loved him and how everything was going to turn out okay in the end. He was welcome to stay with them for as long as he wanted. Kana even asked if there were any foods he was allergic to, something she had failed to do early on. Mike assured her he had no food allergies and thanked them both profusely for their kindness.
Gen kissed the top of Mika’s head, his lips lingering. “I’m not going through that again.”
Mika shook his head. “Neither am I. I missed you so much, Genya. Every minute hurt, like something had been torn away from me.”
Gen nodded. “I was uneasy the whole time, anxious and stressed out. All I thought about was how something would go wrong and I wouldn’t be here for you. I hate that I was right.” His arms tightened around Mika, who’s fingers clung to Gen’s back.
“You’re here now, my Genya. I’m not letting you leave me again.”
“Never again.” Gen tilted Mika’s head up gently, kissing him until his mouth hurt. When he sat up to swish with the mouthwash, which he had already explained to Mika, Mika got to see the new tattoo under the plastic bandage. The ink that had bled out blurred it a little, but he grinned when he saw what it was.
“So, you did get the one I chose!” he said.
Gen smiled. “Of course I did, it’s badass.” He touched the bandage on his upper arm, so ready to remove it. It was itchy and uncomfortable at this stage, but he still had one more day to endure. “You made the right call, Mika.”
The tattoo was of Genya Shinazugawa in his demon form, his sword clutched in his fanged mouth, his shotgun in one hand, shells in the other. Abby had been able to work it in perfectly with the rest of the sleeve, as though it were coming out from behind all the rest. It was even more colorful and detailed then many of the rest with a vibrant purple and blue background around the main image. Mika absolutely loved it. He kissed it and Gen giggled.
“Now it’ll heal faster. Just like your tongue,” he teased.
“Oh yeah, is that how it works?” Gen said, moving Mika on top of him.
“Of course, kisses make everything better,” Mika said, his hands on Gen’s chest, smiling. “I thought you knew that.”
“Hm. In that case,” he sat up and gently kissed Mika’s chest right at his heart. “How’s that feel?”
Mika swallowed and nodded. “Better,” he whispered. “But a few more wouldn’t hurt.”
“Then I’ll kiss it as many times as I can until it’s perfect again.”
Mika leaned down and kissed him, simultaneously moving his hips in just the right way to encourage one more round of love making, this time much more slowly and tenderly than before.
-*-
Gen and Mika came downstairs, hair still wet from their shower, and walked into the kitchen where Kana was making dinner. She saw them and smiled.
“Finally, I thought you two were never going to come up for air.” She gave Mika a side hug as Gen fished out two waters from the fridge.
“Where’d Dad run off to?” Gen asked, noticing Don’s absence.
Kana rolled her eyes. “He got a call, can you believe it? And on the day we just get back from our trip, too.”
“What happened?” Mika asked, sitting at the counter island, sipping his water.
“Not sure,” Kana replied with a shrug. “He just said to save him a plate, he wasn’t sure when he’d be home.”
“That sounds ominous,” Gen said.
“He is a homicide detective,” Kana pointed out. “Anyway, do you guys have plans for tomorrow?”
“Riley and Kelly want to go to the park,” Mika said. “Kelly said it would be good to do something relaxing given how the past week was and since you guys just got home.”
“Speaking of this past week, you started your summer courses, yeah?” Kana folded her arms on the counter.
“Yeah,” Mika said, knowing where this was going.
She smiled, knowingly. “Drama is no excuse for not doing homework.”
Mika turned to Gen but he shook his head. “She’s not wrong.”
Kana pointed up the stairs and Mika groaned, hopping off the stool and trudging toward the stairs, but not before Gen took his hand and pulled him into a kiss. “I love you, Mika Torino,” he whispered in his ear.
Mika smiled. “I love you, Genya.” He turned and headed up the stairs.
Kana sighed, her chin in her hands, eyes shining. “I hope to find my own Mika one day.”
“You will,” Gen said. “Eventually.”
As Kana talked excitedly about the prospect of finding her Mr. Right while she prepared dinner, Gen rolled the water bottle between his hands as it sat on the counter.
I still see that anger in you, bro. It may be locked up but it’s gonna come out again eventually. Next time, it could even be worse and your dad won’t be around to save you.
Gen had released a lot of that anger over the past few days with extra sparring sessions with Ty and his grandfather. The situation with Jo had really set him off, more than he realized was possible.
I have a reason not to be that way anymore…Mika’s my reason.
He stopped rotating the bottle. Mika may be his reason not to fight anymore…but what if he had to fight because of Mika? He already knew he would, that wasn’t the question. He would do anything, go to any lengths for him.
He turned his hands, palms up, and stared at them. He knew how far he could go, but that wasn’t what scared him. If it came down to it, he had to be sure Mika didn’t see him that way. The last thing in this whole world he wanted was for Mika, the boy he loved more than his own life, to be afraid of him.
-*-
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