『𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡』𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘪 𝘹 𝘳𝘦𝘰

¹⁴

"Father," and then, "Mr. Mikage," and a few nods. Reo's dad called for a waiter with the wiggle of his fingers, and he ordered the drink he wanted without consulting the table. It felt, somehow, as if he was the king and they were just his pawns.

"So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

Reo glanced at his boyfriend for support, only to be met with Seishiro's blank stare. It wasn't comforting, but it somewhat forced him to spit it out and get it over with.

Before he managed to; however, his father interrupted. "Well, are you both mated already or not?" He asked, just as the waiter returned with the bottle he had ordered.

Silence stretched while he talked to the stranger, tasting a sip of the wine with a polite smile and finally accepting the bottle itself. While his dad ordered a meal, Nagi's hand went to Reo's thigh under the table, giving his typical squeeze before retreating.

Reo remembered how much he cared for the people at this table. He answered the question calmly with an honest: "No, not yet."

"Huh, and it's not in near plans, I suppose."

"No, not at all."

"Then I don't understand why I've been asked to come." His father crooked a brow, unimpressed. "If there's no bond to announce, what is the meaning of this meeting?"

The way he dismissed Reo ticked him off and turned his eyes icy cold. As if this was unimportant, as if Reo wasn't worth his time. "Would you have liked it if I had mated someone behind your back?" Oh, Reo would've gotten scolded like a child still living under the man's roof. "I thought you would want to know I'm in a relationship now, or you'd like to meet my boyfriend."

His father was used to the bite in Reo's words; he had cultivated that coldness himself. He huffed. "That could've waited until your birthday, but your mother isn't here, so there's something else that you want to tell me that you can't do in front of her." It might be one of the many secrets between them. "Tell me now, before the food gets cold."

Straight to the point, even if embellished with pretty words. Reo took a sip of his water and thrived in the power of making him wait.

"Me and Seishiro are in a serious, committed relationship now." He eventually said. "So you're not allowed to force me into dates or events anymore, as I'm not open to courting proposals."

"I never forced you into anything." His father quickly replied. "You come to those events because we talk about things relevant to our job. I simply took the chance to introduce you to other alphas on our level."

And here was when bravery pumped through Reo's bloodstream like a sugar rush. Because even when he doubted himself, he never allowed anyone to disrespect the people he loved. "Well, I have one now, so don't bother."

"Son, whether you like it or not, you can't be sure this... relationship will last. Be rational; you won't be young forever, and right now, I have a whole list of people that are on the same page as you, ready for marriage."

For how much Nagi preferred staying on the sidelines, he didn't expect that sentence to rub him in such a wrong way. Since they were children, Reo's father has assumed what his son wanted. Courting? Marriage? Years ago, Reo was freaked out by those possibilities. Now, he could only think of doing them with one person, and he has told said person already.

As if reminding him how ridiculous marriage sounded, Nagi spoke up. "Reo's only twenty-three."

Mikage looked at him like a bug in his way, even if he kept the annoyance out of his tone. "I'm sorry, Nagi, but this is an important conversation between father and son. Respectfully, stay in your lane." He looked back at Reo. "Think about it. Michael and Yukimiya just broke up, so you should know better than anyone that we don't... merge well with outsiders."