First time writing genderbending (because I can't mpreg), and honestly I think this is the only way I can appreciate het now. I am so far gone. :'D

"Sarumi"

Part 1: The son he didn't know he had.

Fushimi squinted his eyes at the mirror, staring at his reflection. There were big dark bags under his eyes, his lips were chapped and broken, a seemingly permanent vertical crease in the middle of his eyebrows, and his pale-as-sheet face is as hollow as the rest of his thin and lanky body. He was just twenty years old, but God did he feel old and dying. Hopefully soon, he silently prayed. Heaving the deepest breath his lungs would allow him, he started washing his face. Then he combed his hair, parting it on the left side so he could remind himself of that one favorite nightmare he loved as a child, because fuck his life.

Well, at least he had the glasses.

Stepping out of the bathroom, he donned the infamous blue uniform of Scepter 4. He's been working there for over 5 years now after dropping out of middle school and well, breaking up with his childhood sweetheart. He vaguely wonders where she was now, he hadn't really seen her since. Brushing off resurfacing feelings of things he'd rather not remember, he stepped out of his room, walking swiftly towards the conference hall for the daily paper works he has to take care of so he'd be free for patrol for the rest of the afternoon, and just in case an emergency suddenly comes up.

Pushing open the double doors, he was greeted by the backs of his subordinates, hunched together in a circle.

"What's going on?" He looked over them as the doors closed behind him.

Almost all the backs stiffened at hearing his voice, that was not a good sign.

"What is it?" Fushimi crossed his arms, demanding an explanation. He was almost sure they had done something that would cause him more paperwork, they always did that.

They slowly turned to him, taking a little step back as they paved the way, but no one uttered a word. As the group hesitantly broke off, he noticed their Captain standing beside a chair in the middle of their circle, Lieutenant Awashima standing on the other side. Captain wore his usual polite smile that told you he knew things you didn't, Awashima on the other hand, gave him a nervous curt nod. And instead of relaxing at the sight of his two superiors, of course he became even more anxious, those two never made anything better. Also, because even after most of his men had moved, Doumyouji remained standing in the middle, completely blocking his view of whatever it was they were fussing over.

"Good morning, Fushimi-san," Doumyouji greeted before swallowing a hefty amount of saliva, and then producing the fakest smile he's seen in days.

He stared him down, "move."

Doumyouji looked like he wanted to say something, but Hidaka pulled him out of the way before he was able to.

"Uhmm, surprise...?" He heard Doumyouji's voice from a distance.

And that was the first time Fushimi saw a child that eerily and creepily resembles him, except for the eyes, they were instead a painfully familiar shade of amber.

"Papa!" The kid hopped off the chair, ran to him and immediately latched himself on his legs. "So, this is where you were working! Mama always said you were far, far away from us, but this is closer than I thought!"

"Excuse me?" Fushimi honestly didn't know how to react.

"Papa, don't you remember me?" The kid pouted for a few seconds, before eventually breaking into a grin. "It's me! Sarumi!"

"Sarumi?"

"Yeah! I'm all grown up now, see?!"

"But I don't have a son."

"But you're Fushimi, right? That's what that guy called you earlier," Sarumi even pointed at Doumyouji. "Your name is Fushimi Saruhiko, right?"

Fushimi nodded numbly.

"Then, you're my father! That's what Mama always told me!"

"And your mother is?"

"Yata Misaki, of course!" The child beamed.

Fushimi suddenly felt his whole world crumbling down, and he was slowly starting to forget how to breathe.

"Papa?" Sarumi looked worriedly at him, he was turning even paler if that was possible.

Fushimi stared down at the kid for a little while longer, before bending down to his level, playing along. "What did your mother tell you about me?"

Sarumi looked up for a moment to think, and then brought his eyes back down to meet his father's gaze. "Well, she said she named me after you, it was a combination of your name and hers. She also told me you worked really far away from us, I used to think she meant overseas because she kept on exaggerating, but this is just one taxi ride away!"

"Anything else?"

"She said I got your bad eyesight, that's why I have to wear glasses." Sarumi showed off his glasses, emphasizing what he was saying. Then he suddenly lowered his head and played with the hem of his shirt before continuing. "She also said you're always busy with work and live here, that's why you can't come home."

"I see," Fushimi looked around the other people in the room, before asking another question. "So, what brings you to my workplace, huh? Were you looking for me?"

"Ahh... my teacher brought me here, she thinks I'm a strain, but I'm not."

"And why does she think that?"

"Because I... sooorta, kinda..." Sarumi bit his lip and looked away before admitting, "-tried to set my classmates on fire."

"You what?"

"Because they were bullying me, and making up stupid stories about Mama!"

"How did you exactly try to set them on fire? Did you bring a lighter?"

"No, with my red aura of course." Sarumi rubbed at his nape and stuck out his tongue, looking somewhat proud of himself and not remorseful at all.

"You have red aura?"

"Yeah, I got it from you and Mama!" The kid snapped his fingers to prove it, and true enough, a spark of red aura manifested and danced along his fingers.

"Is it possible to pass on an aura through childbirth?" Fushimi heard Awashima ask their Captain, belatedly remembering that he wasn't alone with the child.

"Well, there are no records of that as of yet, but passing it on naturally seems more plausible than putting a four-year-old child through initiation." Their Captain answered. "No King in his right mind would try that."

"Yeah, that's also what Shiro-san said." Sarumi agreed, fanning his hands to put out the flames.

"You met the Silver King?" Fushimi had to ask.

"Uh-huh!" Sarumi nodded excitedly. "When Mama found out I had flames, she brought me at Homra to meet Mikoto-san and Shiro-san! They said that I was the proof that it could actually happen!"

"It's still not supposed to be possible." Fushimi shook his head.

"Shiro-san said that it might be due to both of my parents having red aura," Sarumi fisted both hands in front of his chest. "Mama has red aura, and you do too, right, Papa?"

Fushimi nodded tentatively.

"That's interesting, we would've certainly appreciated it if the Red King and the Silver King relayed such an information though. Then, we wouldn't be caught unprepared by such surprises." Munakata pondered aloud.

Which they didn't, probably because of Misaki... and me. Fushimi thought internally. "Still, didn't they tell you not to use your power as you pleased?"

At this, Sarumi guiltily bowed his head again because they did, but he had his reasons. "I just started attending Kindergarten last month, and I seriously tried just ignoring the other kids when they tease me... but when they brought up lies about Mama, they were pushing their luck." After saying that, Sarumi didn't look guilty anymore, he knew he wasn't the one who was in the wrong.

And Fushimi seemed to agree, if the dark look in his eyes were anything to go by. "What did they say about Misaki?"

"Mama walks me to school, and picks me up when classes end. Everyone says she's too young and pretty to be a mother of a child my age, they also know that she works at a bar... and that I'm using her surname..."

Fushimi's eyes slowly widened at the indications, dreading the rest of Sarumi's story.

"They call her bad names... claiming that she's a prostitute who got pregnant, that's why she was bringing me up by herself."

"That's not true," Fushimi muttered before he could stop himself.

"I know! That's why I wanted to burn them!"

"Didn't you tell them off, at least?"

"I did! I told them I did have a father, that you're just working somewhere far away... but it's not like I've ever met you before. And I know you and Mama aren't married so I can't use your name."

Fushimi stared at the child, he still couldn't believe all of this, but he had to make sure the kid learns how to defend himself, and Misaki, most importantly. "Next time, don't let anyone stop you. Burn even the teachers, burn the entire school if you have to."

"Fushimi-kun!"

Fushimi heard Awashima's reprimanding voice, but payed no heed. "Protect your mother when I'm not there." Honestly, he didn't know why he was saying that, but he felt the need to.

It was an order, Sarumi could tell, and something tells him he had to keep it a secret from his mother. He gave his father a familiar twisted smile, and nodded silently.

And that's when everyone became sure, Sarumi was Fushimi's son, there were no doubts about it now.

"Good boy," Fushimi ruffled he kid's hair, glad of their clear understanding.

When Fushimi stood up, Sarumi automatically reached up, both of his arms asking silently to be picked up. The father shrugged to himself before hovering and lifting up the kid, wondering about a few more things. "How old are you, by the way?"

"Five!" Sarumi grinned proudly.

"You must be pretty smart, considering everything you've been saying since earlier."

"Yeah, Mama says I'm a genius!"

"Really?" You act like an idiot though.

"Yeah, she tells me I'm amazing all the time!" Sarumi boasted.

"I can see that."

Before Fushimi could sit Sarumi on his desk, the double doors banged open, revealing an unmistakably angry and fuming Misaki. Amber eyes on fire, and her hair flowing to her shoulders as they always did in middle school. She was wearing denim shorts, and an over-sized white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. And in all honesty, she was too young to look like a mother at all.

"Where is my son?" Yata seethed, red aura dangerously leaking out of her form.

"Long time no see, Misaki~" Fushimi greeted in a sing-song, delighted when she directed her attention to him.

"Mama! I'm here!" Sarumi waved cheerfully.

And Fushimi didn't even try stopping the smirk that was slowly forming on his face, as he watched Misaki's eyes widen at him and their son.

Yata gritted her teeth, and said in her most venomous voice. "Put him down."

"Mama?" Sarumi was obviously confused, but no one payed attention to him.

Fushimi wordlessly released their son on the ground, instead of on his desk as he initially planned.

"Sarumi, come here!"

Sarumi didn't understand why his Mama was so angry, so he turned to his father. "But Papa-"

"If you want to stay with him, I'm leaving you here and you'll never see me again!" Yata cut him off, yelling with all her fury, eyes hidden behind her bangs.

Sarumi jolted at that, running automatically to his mother's side, and taking her hand.

"Let's go home," Yata smiled gently down on him, all signs of previous anger gone.

Fushimi just watched the two of them turn to leave, walking away with Sarumi looking back at him, until the doors closed.

"Didn't know you had a son, Fushimi-kun." Munakata reminded him the rest of Scepter 4 were still there.

Neither did I. He didn't answer.

Munakata gave him a clipped smile, "you may take a break for today if you want."

"Thank you," Fushimi replied this time and promptly walked out. He didn't think he needed the break, but he wasn't going to say no. He didn't want to stay there and be the target of questions he didn't know the answers to, even though he knew they wouldn't ask out loud. It was obvious that everyone could easily figure it out, whatever happened to them a long time ago.

The next day, Fushimi decided to pick up his son from school, and use him as an excuse to be able to talk to Misaki. He parked his car near the gates and exited to stand by the yard, along with the parents whom were also waiting to pick up their children. Needless to say, Fushimi stuck out like a sore thumb, being a guy of his age and all. Not to mention, the car, the Scepter 4 uniform and the sword strapped by his waist. He didn't need to show off to be honest, and he wasn't particularly petty either, but if these people taught their kids to be judgmental and bully others for it, then he figured he might as well give them a little something to talk about. They were messing with his son and Misaki, after all.

It was also a good thing he called Totsuka-san first, and asked him to keep Misaki pre-occupied. Totsuka probably heard about Sarumi being taken to Scepter 4 and all, so he wasn't surprised when the man readily accepted, maybe too happily in fact, but he couldn't ask for more. He belatedly wondered about all the things that Misaki probably told them about him from the day they broke up until the incident just yesterday, then again it's not like he actually cared what they think.

The bell rang, and children started to exit the building, one by one and then a horde. He was standing in the middle, making sure every single child, parent and teacher were aware of his presence, and watched out for him too. He was starting to hear whispers, but it was easy enough to just glare them away, they won't try to get near him anyway.

"Papa?"

He suddenly heard Sarumi's voice, turning his head back to his front, he saw his son standing there.

"Papa, what are you doing here?!" Sarumi ran up to him.

"Picking you up, of course." Fushimi tried to give him a casual smile, but it felt weird so he dropped it. "I also need to talk to your mom a bit."

"It's because of yesterday, isn't it? That was the first time I've ever seen her so mad..."

"Did she tell you why?"

"Nope, when we got home she acted like nothing happened, and kept smiling at me like usual."

"I see... well, let's get you home first." Fushimi took his hand and led him to the car, opening the door for him.

"Wow! I didn't know you were rich, Papa!" Sarumi clumsily climbed on the seat.

"What can I say, your mother hit the jackpot," Fushimi couldn't help smirking at the insinuation, making sure everyone in the nearby vicinity heard what they were talking about. He then closed the passenger door, walked to the other side and climbed on the driver's seat. Thinking back on it, it was a good decision he bought this car. He'd been working for over five years, living at the dorms, barely eating. He'd always had more than enough savings and honestly, this car was the only form of luxury he ever actually spent on. It definitely wasn't bad.

"This is the first time I've ever ridden on a car! You're amazing, Papa!" Sarumi's eyes were sparkling, a nostalgic light burning within them, Fushimi had to pause at that.

Sarumi was undeniably his carbon copy, who obviously had Misaki's personality. He was glad the child didn't turn out like him, but there was more to it, a feeling he can't place. Maybe because the child looked exactly like him, that he remembers how he used to be as a child himself. And honestly, seeing the kid smile at him like that made him feel good inside.

Why wasn't his father like that?

He definitely isn't feeling any kind of impulse to make Sarumi cry or suffer, in fact he felt the opposite, because the more his son acted like Misaki, the more he wanted to spoil him. It might still be a little awkward, but the impulse was already there. If Sarumi was more like himself though, he wondered if he would end up wanting to make the child cry. Then again, there was no way Misaki would let that happen, because Misaki wasn't like his mother. That's right. They were different, they weren't like his parents at all. He has absolutely nothing to worry about.

Fushimi heaved a deep breath. For the second time in his life, he couldn't be any more thankful for that Misaki factor in his life. And no matter how many times or how hard he tries to look away, he always ends up coming back. It's because Misaki was there that he knew, there was something good in his life. And honestly, he didn't know what he did to deserve Misaki. But heck, he knows the answer to that. He doesn't.

He drove swiftly towards Yata's apartment, having looked up the information the day prior. They were going to wait for Yata there, and then... chaos, most probably. He smirked, he could hardly wait.

Arriving at the complex, Fushimi made Sarumi lead him to their unit, stopping at the door because obviously, neither of them had the keys. The father looked around them for a bit before crouching down to peek at the key hole. Fishing out a pin from the inside of his coat, he looked over at his son.

"Watch carefully, this could be useful to you in the future." Then he proceeded to pick the lock like the professional thief he was not, and it didn't even take two minutes to open the door.

"That is just wicked cool." Sarumi uttered with wide eyes, as his father held the door for him.

They went in and started waiting, Fushimi sitting himself on the floor by the coffee table. The apartment was a little small, almost just as big as his room in the dorms. There's a small kitchenette, a bathroom, a low coffee table, a tv, and two futons folded up in an open closet. It wasn't bare at all though. The place was littered with toys, and posters and all sorts of trinkets, most of them probably belonged to Sarumi but he was sure Misaki played with those things too. Speaking of Misaki, it shouldn't take long for her to get to the school, have the teachers tell him that Sarumi had been picked up by his father, and head straight home here. And then he would be able to mess with her again. He hated to admit it, but he did miss her.

Sarumi walked over to him, placing down a few textbooks in front of him. "Can you help me with some of my homework, Papa?"

Fushimi raised an eyebrow, but didn't reject him. "Sure, while we wait, but don't you usually do this with your mother?"

The kid looked away, "not really... I try to do it myself because when Mama helps me, my answers turn out wrong."

Fushimi stiffened and felt the need to bash his face on the table, he settled with pinching the bridge of his nose. "All right, sure. No problem." He looked over the problems and silently cursed at Misaki. This is kindergarten level.

They got math and science done before they heard a key turning in the door, a shuffling of shoes, hurried steps, and Misaki was standing in front of them, disheveled and breathless. She looked at Fushimi with wide eyes, lips trembling, then glanced at Sarumi, before looking back at Fushimi.

"Get out."

Fushimi chuckled, stood up and walked to stop in front of her. "That's fine, but you're coming with me."

Yata looked over to Sarumi again.

"It's fine, Mama. I'll wait here, I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about," Fushimi's clone smiled, before going back to his homework.

Yata turned to Fushimi and glared, walking to get out of the house again. Fushimi followed her until they stopped at a bench on the other side of the street from the complex, Yata sat herself and so did Fushimi.

"What do you want?" Yata didn't beat around the bush.

"Why didn't you tell me I had a son?" Fushimi didn't either.

"What does it matter?" Yata avoided his gaze. "And you didn't answer my question."

Fushimi could figure out a few reasons for himself why she didn't tell him, so he just answered the question this time. "I want Sarumi under my family registry."

Yata's eyes slowly widened, breathing deeply. "Why?"

"Well, it's definitely better than being an illegitimate son under your family's registry."

"I mean, why are you doing this? Why are you even here? You don't care about Sarumi! You don't care about-" Yata had to pause and look away before lowly muttering, "...me."

Fushimi thought it was normal for her to think like that, he didn't tell her why he left in the first place. "You didn't ask him how he was sent to Scepter 4?" When Yata didn't answer, he continued. "People at his school think he's a son of a prostitute, because you're a young single mother who works at a bar."

"I don't care about what they think, Sarumi shouldn't either."

"He doesn't, but he still gets bullied for it... Anyway, he tried to set his classmates on fire, and when his teacher caught him, she thought he was a strain."

"I told him not to use his red aura," Yata muttered lowly.

"It wasn't his fault, if he had a father he wouldn't be bullied in the first place."

"Do you realize what it is you're suggesting?" Yata looked incredulous at him.

"I meant it."

"Meant what?"

"I meant to get you pregnant. All those times we did it, wasn't just because I was horny or perverted. I wanted to bind you to me, with a child."

"Then why did you leave me?" Yata's voice lowered distinctly, teeth gritting and hands tightening into a fist on her lap.

"I didn't know you were pregnant, you should've told me."

"Well, I didn't know either! You think I could figure those things out on my own?!"

"I think your stomach would grow big enough though."

"Barely, I found out during my second trimester."

"That means you missed at least three periods, and still you didn't notice?"

"I just thought it was convenient, okay?!"

Fushimi covered his face, shoulders slightly trembling. "I can't believe this, you're such an idiot."

"Don't you fucking laugh, asshole!" Yata was bright red from embarrassment she guessed, but seeing Saruhiko laugh like that after so long tugged a little string at her heart. She looked away.

Fushimi removed the hand from his face, "I'm glad, that you got pregnant with my child."

"Thanks, I guess? For not thinking that he wasn't yours."

"Well, with a face like that, if he wasn't mine then I'd think you were fucking my father."

"Eww, gross! That's disgusting, how dare you?!" Yata glared, face still a little red.

"Exactly."

...

"I hadn't seen you since..." Fushimi couldn't finish the sentence so he just asked. "Where have you been?"

"You were looking for me?"

"Maybe."

Yata scoffed dryly, "when I found out I was pregnant, I went home to Mom. I didn't understand anything, and didn't know how to raise a child, let alone by myself. Well, everyone at the bar tried to be as helpful as they can, but none of them really knew what was happening."

Fushimi thought he should apologize, then again, he didn't actually want to be forgiven. "What did your parents say? What did you tell them about me?"

"I told them you were busy working, they didn't pry."

"I see, we should visit them one of these days, together." Fushimi expected Misaki to reject the idea, but her reply was something else.

"Are you sure it's okay, for Sarumi to be a Fushimi?" Yata glanced at him, but quickly looked away.

"If it wasn't, I wouldn't have asked." Fushimi's voice and expression remained as distant and neutral as ever.

"But in order to register him under your name, we have to..."

"We have to get married." Fushimi glanced at Yata.

"It's only on paper, right?" Yata was staring at her lap again.

"Yeah... sure." Fushimi noted absent-mindedly, still trying to gauge Misaki's feelings on the matter.

"And anyway, just because I'm okay with this doesn't mean I've forgiven you." Yata's eyes were glancing between Saruhiko's lap and back to hers, she didn't want to look him in the eye.

"I don't remember apologizing for anything, so you don't have to forgive me."

"I don't get you, what the hell is your deal?" Yata bit on her lips.

"Sarumi needs a father, whether it's me or not..." Fushimi regarded Yata from the corner of his eyes.

"I don't have anyone like that, and if you think I'd get a stepfather for him then you're wrong. You know how something like that went for me, I don't want Sarumi to feel that he doesn't belong."

Fushimi couldn't stop the smile creeping up his face, he looked the other direction. "So, it's settled then? I'll take care of the papers and deliver them to you to be signed."

"That's fine."

"I'll see you then," Fushimi got up, staring down at her for a while before turning to his back. "Also, I'll be picking up Sarumi from school from now on. You can leave that to me."

Yata nodded but refused to meet his gaze, she did watch him board his car and drive off though. She remained in her seat until his car was out of sight, a single thought plaguing in her mind. Saruhiko didn't directly answer her when she asked him why he left. And during the entire conversation, he insinuated that he was only doing it for Sarumi. He also said that he wasn't asking to be forgiven. Yata stood up, intending to return to her apartment. She looked one last time at the direction Saruhiko's car had disappeared to.

If she didn't have Sarumi, Saruhiko wouldn't have come to see her again.

Happy SaruMi Fest! :'D

AN:

Geez, it was so awkward using 'she' and 'her' for Yata. LOL

Anyway, I'm still working on part 2... I will finish it within SaruMi Fest, I swear!

— Lynx

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