Untethered. 

There was nothing wrong with being untethered. Plenty of people were, it was perfectly normal.... But Lucius had always wanted children of his own. Granted, his inability to have biological kids had more to do with his sexuality than his status as untethered. Plenty of untethered men raised kids... with their female partners. Sometimes Luce wondered what it would be like to be able to really indulge in the fantasy of raising children with a man he loved like Claimed and Seekers could. But then he'd witness how his brother suffered every month as a seeker mistaken for claimed. Was he really envious of those experiences? If he was being honest, yes. At least a little bit. The only thing he wanted more than children that were his in every sense of the word, was a partner who he adored and adored him in return to raise said little ones with. And there were moments that being untethered made that picture perfect idea of a family feel impossible.
So Luce had settled. He might never have kids but that didn't mean he couldn't take care of other people's... He took any training or classes that even remotely could help with caring for kids. First aid? Cooking? Family and Consumer Science? Nothing was too small for his goals. As soon as he was old enough, he started babysitting. Once he graduated highschool, he applied to be a nanny during school breaks to pay for college. Going for a degree in early childhood development, of course.
Did he occasionally wonder what could have been if he made different choices? Sure. But he didn't particularly regret them as he sat in his college's dining hall between classes. He hadn't given up that much, right?
Luce looks up from his lunch in time to notice someone walking towards his table. Which, sure, there were plenty of people walking around the dining hall and obviously some would inevitably walk towards where he's sitting. But this was that cute guy from his Social and Emotional Learning class. The one he couldn't help ogling at times during class... Despite that, he can't remember his name, only hearing it once in passing and the teacher always referring to everyone by their family name. It definitely starts with an 'S', maybe then an 'A'... And it sounded unique compared to the usual names he'd heard before, fancier than simply Sal or Sam. Samuel? Sebastian? Saleem? Saxon? Sanders? No, none of those felt even close... The hot guy had his eyebrows knitted in an expression of determination. So he wasn't just happening to be heading Luce's way...? Shoot, what if he had noticed him staring after all this time and was coming over to demand he stop? Luce really had been trying his best to pay attention to class instead of all the adorable expressions the slightly younger man made at times. Satoshi! That was the guy's name. Luce remembers it just as Satoshi stops in front of him and clears his throat nervously as if giving himself an extra few seconds to form his words. "Mr. Lucius Aquabellum. Would you like to have kids with me?" What the actual fuck?
If Luce had been drinking something, he'd have spit it out. Instead he just stares at the very bold hot guy, trying to comprehend what in the world is going on. "Ah, my apologies. I should have considered that you would already have a partner in mind, as popular as you seem to be." Satoshi looks a bit sad as he turns to walk away. 

"S-seriously?" Luce chokes out through his shock. "You say something like that and then just walk away?" Satoshi turns back, seemingly surprised himself. "Well, there's not much to be done if you already have a partner for the upcoming class project. It would be the most effective use of my time to find someone else before all our classmates have partnered up." The class project? He had been asking about the multi-week project where they're supposed to work with someone else to raise virtual children by answering daily questions relevant to the lessons and then be graded on how the kids were 'all grown up'. 

Luce sighs and rests his face in his hand propped up from the table. "Sit your butt down before you get slapped by someone." Perplexed, Satoshi does as instructed. "Alright, first question. Am I the first person you asked?" 

"Yes. You seem to best understand the class material and, while I don't really care too much about actual grades, I'd prefer to not be unequally doing most of the work." 

"Well, that's a small relief. Which leads me to my second question... Are you an idiot?"

 "I would not consider myself one, no." Confusion paints Satoshi's face. 

"Really. Then can you think of any possible reason why asking someone you're not close with if they want to have kids with you would be a smart thing to do?"
"The teacher said we should treat the virtual children like they were real and our decisions would actually affect them." Luce takes a sip of his drink for an extra moment to sort his thoughts. How could someone be this clueless? "To take the project seriously, not when asking to partner up... Your wording sounded more like you were asking if I wanted to engage in activities with you that you believed would create actual, real life children. Which, first of all, I'm Untethered so the chances of me being able to have kids with another guy is so tiny it might as well be zero, no matter how horny you might be. Second, you're lucky you didn't ask someone who decided to report you for sexual harassment."
It's subtle but Luce notices the slight flush at the revelation of how the question had sounded. Satoshi would probably find it creepy how much attention Lucius paid him to notice the change despite him schooling his expression so much. "My apologies. I had no intention of being so rude." 

"I understand. That's part of why I'm going to agree to do the project with you... Can't have you getting kicked out of the class because you caused another misunderstanding while asking someone else."
Over the next few weeks, Luce comes to realize the duality of Satoshi's stupidity and brilliance. There is no doubt that Sato is a genius but... There were moments where he seemed to have no common sense. Of course, seeing that side of him just made him more endearing to Luce.
It doesn't take long for working on the one project together to turn into doing most of their homework together and just general hanging out. And it is only logical that Luce would bring what he's made in class when said meet up happen after his baking lab. The expressions Sato makes when sampling the food is just too entertaining.
"Marry me?" Luce chuckles, used to the seemingly uncharacteristic comments by now.

 "That's quite the... expressive compliment of my cooking."
Sato shifts, looking a touch uncomfortable for a moment. "You really would make whoever your future spouse is a very happy person. And I don't just mean with your divine cooking skills. Even your current partner must feel lucky to be with you."
"I'm not dating anyone." 

"Oh..." Sato looks as if he's trying to figure out what to say that wouldn't be rude, before settling on changing the subject. "So, um... Remember how I mentioned that I'm adopted? My biological grandmother reached out recently, wanting to meet me."
"And how do you feel about that? That seems like the sort of thing that can be seen as good or bad, depending on the person..." 

"I don't know.... I suppose I'm curious about my birth family but also worried about any expectations they may have of me. I have done some research and it seems it is common in the culture my biological mother came from for elders of a family to hold high standards for the younger generations... What if she finds me a disappointment?" 

"Sato.... Despite your social flaws, you are a certified genius. What grandparent wouldn't feel at least some pride of you? If you want to meet her, then you should. And if she makes you feel lesser in any way, nothing says you have to stay in contact with her."

"Of course, you are right..." Satoshi gave a slight smile. "As usual." He pulled out his phone and sent a message, assumingly about setting up the meeting with his biological grandmother.
Over the following week, Satoshi seemed to become more... depressed wasn't the word. Subdued, maybe? It was this subtle and quiet nervousness that Luce couldn't quite identify but gave the feeling as if the other boy was pulling away from others more than usual. Finally, Luce had had enough and decides to confront him directly. "What is wrong, Sato? You've been acting differently lately..."
"My bio grandmother. She..." Whatever it was seems hard for him to put into words. 

"Did something happen to her?" 

"No. It's probably nothing... My parents gave her my number so we could get to know each other a bit before actually meeting. I don't even really know why it's bothering me, but some of the questions she asks... Maybe all the research I did on her culture is clouding my perception. The culture my bio family comes from is one where arrange marriages are still quite common and some of the stuff she's asked seem like things one would want to know for matchmaking. Things such as my subgender, if I have a preference for guys or girls, what my interests are, and what sort of plans I have for my future." At some point, Luce had gotten them both some drinks and offered him a cookie, which Sato gladly accepted. "I don't know, it just feels like she's going to show up to our first meeting with dossiers of potential spouses if she finds out I'm single. I suppose the worry is causing me to not be quite myself lately..."
They sit in silence for a bit before Luce speaks up. "...What about it exactly makes you uncomfortable?" He doesn't ask it judgingly, but as if trying to understand so he can best help if possible. "Like is it the assumption you should have a partner or maybe having the choice taken out of your hands...?" Sato practically snorts as he finishes a bite of cookie. "You know my interpersonal social skills by now. I don't know if I could be trusted to get a partner myself so maybe an arranged marriage would be my best bet. And it's not like I'm opposed to having a partner... I suppose my biggest worry in that regard is not having the ability to emotionally support another as much as they deserve. I'm quite capable of admitting to my emotional and social understanding flaws, afterall." He looks to be considering the question carefully. "I think... What bothers me with the situation is that, if I'm right about her wanting to start arranging matches for me, it all feels so rushed. I had come to terms with the fact I likely would always be single and now this relative I've never met might be trying to arrange for me to marry someone I don't even know. How can I know if I can make someone not regret marrying me if I don't even know them? Even when I dated, it always ended up with the other person feeling neglected and that's not fair to do to someone, especially in a more serious union like marriage..."
"Then... Maybe you could put off the potential matchmaking by claiming that you're in a relationship. If your grandmother is planning on setting you up, it'll give you time to decide how you want to approach things..." 

"How can you come up with a solution so easily?"

 "Because I'm not the one having to deal with the possible issue. You claim to not have strong emotions but even you have them cloud your judgement at times..."

Sato took a sip of his drink. "Alright..."
That weekend, Luce got an odd text from Sato. Marry me, Lucious 

Is this about my cooking again, dork? Or did I do something else great I wasn't aware of? 

Gran showed up to our meeting with a binder of partner candidates so I followed our plan and told her I was seeing someone seriously. But then she asked about my partner and I panicked. I don't know many people well so I sort of said your name and, I don't know if she didn't believe me or just wants to make sure you're "good enough" but, now she wants to meet you.

So the marry you thing...?

 I accidently said we're engaged? I told you I panicked.... 

Okay.... So I'm your fiancé until you figure out what you want to do about her trying to arrange marriages for you Was it bad that Luce was secretly kind of happy that his friend had automatically picked him when panic deciding someone to fake be with? It was my idea so I can at least do this much for you