"Sure."

"Okay! I'll bring my practice book."

While she's gone, Tōkan looks over his shoulder at Inori's dads, doing the dishes together, then smiles to himself and looks back at Inori with a pensive expression.

"...what."

"Your dads are... they look like they work well together. Like they love each other. ...and you take after them."

"...and what's that supposed to mean?"

"Relax, Inori-kun. It's good. I'm kind of jealous."

"...why?"

He shakes his head. "My mum was an omega. She died when I was very little. And my father... never really got married to her, because to him alphas and omegas should be kept separate. Way he says it, being with her was a mistake, a lapse of judgment. And after she died he found an alpha lady and she didn't want kids of her own so my being there suited her just fine. Not that it mattered, neither of them are really very present in my life. I'm alone in my apartment ninety percent of the time—"

"Tō-kan-channnn!" Suzume singsongs, running back with books in her hands. "I got my homework here!"

He turns around to look at her and smiles again. "Show me?"

Tōkan is not quite sure why but the fact that by the end of the night it seems like all of the Yamadas like him makes him really happy. Like yes he likes being liked in general but on top of that.

Being liked by Inori also feels different. ...and strange, because he's been having to spend the whole evening keeping his face straight whenever he looked at Inori, as his mind always went back to that night and to how much he fucked uuuuuuuuuuuup.

But this was nice. Weird, but nice.

Also, Inori is walking alongside him on his way back home for some reason. "Far be it from me to want to refuse your presence, but why are you following me?" he wonders.

"'M not following you. Just gonna go buy some ice cream."

Liar liar pants on fire.

"I see."

"...so you got your dads under the impression I'm your boyfriend. Was that on purpose?"

"Of course it was, dumbass. They would get all sad and shit if I didn't."

"...right." So Inori does know Tōkan fucked up big time that night and that regular sane people would agree.

Then what the fuck does Inori even want? Does he still have a crush on Tōkan? ...probably. But if that crush means he's fine with getting raped Tōkan kind of wants to light himself on fire.

"...your parents," Inori says after a few seconds of silence. "You were talking about them."

"—so I was. But you got the gist of it. There's not much else. I barely know my stepmum and I know my dad is scum and that's it." He laughs humourlessly. "And I'm no better. He couldn't keep it in his pants when my mum was in heat around him and I couldn't do that with you.

"...your dads are really nice. I didn't really believe it was possible for a relationship between an alpha and an omega to be so... healthy. Like that. I swore to myself I'd never fuck an omega—"

"You did? Why?"

"You've seen why. Your dads are the exception, relationships between alphas and omegas can't really work. There's all the social pressure, and—you're an exception yourself, alphas just generally are stronger and faster. And all we do is take advantage of you, see a piece of ass having her first heat and..." He balls his hands into fists, digging his fingernails into his palms hard. "And suddenly it doesn't matter that she's a middle schooler. We don't care. We rape her and all we get is a slap on the wrist because most cops are also alphas. They understand. It happens. We can't control it, it's our nature, these things happen, and all that sanctimonious bullshit."

He relaxes his fists again. "And I'm no different. It was really cocky of me to pretend I could be above all that. I couldn't, I'm just as trash as every shitty alpha, and I raped you."

Inori stops and grabs Tōkan by the scruff of his neck hard enough to actually lift him off his feet. "Like hell you did. What the fuck is wrong with you? Boohoo I'm a shitty alpha and I'm so sad, you should punch the living daylights out of me. Stop being so patronising, you dickhead. You'd have woken up with brain damage if I hadn't wanted it. I'd have just killed you. You didn't rape me, I let you fuck me."