You smell...Amazing

Partings

Ayato was still pacing when Kokomi opened the door. He stopped and gave her his full attention.

"Well, he's settled in now so there's no need to worry," Ayato breathed a breath of relief. Kokomi continued, "Now that everything is cleared up, I'd advise you to return home, Commissioner. I'm sure you have duties to attend to, and a man of your position can't afford to slack off. Staying here won't do you any good either because Thoma is in no shape to have any guests who are alphas. I'm sure you understand."

"Of course, yes, I did leave in a rush. May I at least say goodbye?"

"Yes, this isn't prison after all, but you'll have to make it quick."

"Can I say goodbye too?" Yoimiya added, "I've got to go back to help my pa with the fireworks. We got a big order recently."

"Yes, in fact you can go right now," Kokomi answered.

* * *

"You'll probably want to start by making a nest," Kokomi had said,"It will help you relax, stay calm, and even numb the pain a little. There's no right or wrong way to do it, just throw something together and adjust it till you feel comfortable."

So Thoma had gotten straight to work on making his nest. Back at the estate, he had to set various beds all the time. He made up Ayato's bed every morning. He was supposed to do the same for Ayaka, but whenever he got to her room, the sheets were always already in place, nice and neat. Ayaka kept all of her things spick and spam, it was actually quite impressive.

Point is, Thoma had experience when it came to setting up blankets and what not. He was ready to make the best nest in history! His little determined speech was interrupted by the door opening, and all of his friends walking in.

Ayato talked first,"I'll be heading back to the estate now, since I won't be much help here. I've come to say goodbye and wish you well." Then he pulled Thoma into a hug. Thoma almost fell over, his knees went weak for a brief moment due to shock. It wasn't strange for Ayato to hug him, but his omega instincts were screaming at the fact that an alpha was holding him.

Ayato himself was holding his breath. He was hoping desperately that if he didn't breath, he could ignore Thoma's delicious scent, and the desires he was feeling. It took all his self control not to ruin Thoma right then and there. He knew the hug wasn't a good idea, but he just had to do it. Going without Thoma for a week was going to take its toll on him.

"Well then," he said, stepping back and releasing Thoma from the hug, "I shall see you in a week. You'll be greatly missed."

"Thank you," Thoma managed to say, his face had undoubtedly turned a light shade of pink, "I'll miss you too."

Normally, Ayaka would have clobbered her brother in the head for doing something so reckless, but she could tell how painful it was for him to say goodbye, so she just stood and watched. The plan was for her to stay with Thoma, while Ayato and Yoimiya went back home, so she was willing to let them have their last moment together in peace.

"See you later, Bro," Yoimiya said, giving Thoma a first bump, "Don't have too much fun out here," She added with a wink.

"No promises," Thoma chuckled, though laughing hurt a bit, "But seriously, thanks for coming all this way when you didn't have to. I'm so blessed to have ended up with friends like you."

"Oh, Thoma, you really are too kind," Yoimiya said with a giggle, "Anyway, let's get going, Ayato."

"Yes, I'm all ready," And with that, they walked out the door.

"I'm gonna go say goodbye to Yoimiya and my brother real quick, be right back," Ayaka called as she hurried out the doorway, leaving Thoma alone again. With a smile on his face, blushing like an idiot, he got back to work on his nest.

* * *

"Goodbye, brother," Ayaka said as she hugged Ayato outside of Sangonomiya Shrine.

"Goodbye, dear sister, stay safe."

"Of course I'll stay safe, you really need to stop worrying," Ayaka's tone became serious, "It isn't like you to be so overprotective, are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Perfectly fine, in fact" Ayato was trying to sound convincing, but the truth was, he couldn't stand to leave his Thoma, and it didn't help that he would be so very far away.

"You don't have to pretend around me, brother."

"I'm not pretending. Now it's my turn to tell you to stop worrying."

"If you say so," Ayaka said looking down with a saddened expression. She already knew Ayato was worrying about Thoma, but she had hoped he would at least be open with her about it. She sighed in defeat, "See you later then."

"Indeed you shall," Ayato said, turning away, and leaving so that Ayaka and Yoimiya could have some privacy.

"Why did he have to tell you about his crush and not me?" Ayaka asked Yoimiya as she rubbed her eyes.

"Probably cause I caught him in the act," Yoimiya said with a shrug, "Anyway, you're supposed to be saying goodbye to your awesome girlfriend right now, not worrying about your brother's love affairs."

"You're right, I'm sorry," Ayaka apologized.

"Oh come on, you know I like to tease. I have something for you," Yoimiya was holding a small package. Now that Ayaka thought about it, she had seen that same package on the boat. "It took me a while to save up for one of these. I'm not exactly rich, ya know?" Yoimiya chuckled as she unwrapped the gift, "It's a new thing fresh from Fontaine, I saw in a flier from one of the merchants in Ritou."

In Yoimiya's hand were two matching smallish sized devices. They had hinges on one side, so that they could open and close. "Some dude with an electro vision came up with it. By tampering with frequencies in the air, I can say something into this device, and you'll be able to hear it in the other. It's genius! Now we can talk even when we're far away from each other!"

"Oh, Yoimiya, you shouldn't have. How much did you give for this?" Ayaka was pleasantly surprised, but she didn't want Yoimiya sacrificing things for her.

"Don't even worry about it, just say thank you. I was gonna give this to you on the boat, but couldn't find the right moment. I wanted it to be special."

"Ok then, thank you," Ayaka giggled. How did she get to be so lucky? Yoimiya really was awesome. "I'm gonna miss you. Even if we talk everyday, I'll still miss you"

"That's only natural, my dear, but don't get so serious. It's only a few days, not the end of the world~" Sometimes Ayaka could really get down on herself, it was times like this when Yoimiya had to cheer her up. Her darling little Ayaka really needed some more self confidence.

"You're right, I'm being silly," Ayaka said, a smile returning to her face, "I love you, Yoimiya."

Yoimiya's breath hitched. It didn't matter how many times she heard it, but it caught her every time. Something about Ayaka loving her just made Yoimiya feel like the luckiest person alive.

"Come here," she said, grabbing Ayaka's face and pulling her into a soft kiss. Oh how she cherished those warm lips. "I love you more, my angel~" and with that she walked away to join Ayato up the road. Yoimiya turned around to wave goodbye one last time, before disappearing from view.

__ * __

(Author here~)

I had to add the walkie talkies, it's the only way my plan can work 😭