Super sorry for the loooong-ass wait.

Just a reminder: Ages:

Mikage – 18 (I know I said I was following real time, so in 2019 he should be 19 here but it hasn't been that long in the plot itself since his 17th birthday so 18 it is).

Ayanami – 37.

Kokuyou – 28

Kohaku – 14

Rinka – 13

Replies to Reviews:

Nychell21: Lmaooo, if only Mika was a masochist…ahem, then this story might not even be allowed here XDD. Thanks for the hilarious motivation lol! Btw hey, nice seeing you here too lol. Thanks for reviewing!

Ploysirapatter: I'm glad you do! The more the merrier! Sorry for the wait & thanks for the review!

Daime Guiral: I appreciate it! Thanks for the praising reminder lol. Thanks as always for reviewing!

Disclaimer: in first chapter

Chapter 34:

Ayanami sat in his usual chair in the office, taking a mental break from more than half the documents he read over and signed. He planted his face against his locked fingers, in serious thought. There must be a way to ensure an episode like this never repeats itself. He referred to the ease at which Mikage was able to escape from his sight, even if it was a mere week. That was a week too long. Of course, the teen had no intentions of ever leaving again but 'trust' alone wasn't enough to put the silverette's conscious at peace. What more could he do? Security was upraised as usual, and he had long instilled half his soul in the blond. The only other option he could think of was the blood-contract collar he once used to catch Teito.

However, he shook his head at that for two reasons: One, that collar didn't permit a large distance between them. While that sounded great there would no doubt be instances where they would have to be separated in the army. Two, Mikage probably wouldn't appreciate wearing that like a pet. As he was deep in thought, he failed to notice when a pair of honey brown eyes floated inches away from him. The elder lifted his face back, away from his hand. "Mikage-kun?"

"I knocked twice, and you still didn't notice me walk in. Are you okay?" The blond straightened himself as well before he placed a hand on his hip. "This is the first time I've ever seen you out of focus. Or...I suppose you could call it a bit too much in focus." Ayanami's purple orbs stared back at him. "Anyway! Um, what were you thinking about?"

The elder relaxed his posture and silently reached out for the blond's arm, guiding him around the table and straight into his arms. "I wonder… about you?"

Mikage chuckled as his chest was pressed against the other's. "I don't know if I should be happy or…" Ayanami didn't allow him to finish the thought seeing as he began kissing the teen's jawline, slowing trailing to his neck.

"Should we just do it here?"

"…I don't think that's a …uh, we shouldn't Ayanami-san…" The silverette rolled his eyes and continued. Fixing one hand on the smaller's nape, he pushed their lips together. The younger inhaled sharply from his nose and allowed his lips to sync with the others.

The door to the office swung open and Mikage instantly jerked away.

"You've got mail~" Hyuuga chimed as he entered the office like it was his.

"In that case you've got the wrong destination. This isn't the mailbox." The silverette spat.

"I know, but this is the type of mail that has priority and needs immediate approval." The brunette grinned as he brought the envelope closer. Mikage gazed at the emblem on the outside of the envelope carefully.

"Hand it over already." The chief swiped the paper from his hands and ripped it open.

"Oh well, I'll leave you to it Aya-tan. I have a few other errands to run. Later~" Hyuuga waved and excused himself.

"Well? Is it urgent?" Mikage was still curious about the letter.

"An invitation from the Head of the Oak household." The blond's face lit up as the elder read on. "Wakaba Oak, one of the Field Marshals— you seem excited."

"Of course! That's where my family lives."

"Isn't that right. The Celestine family has been serving the Oak family for generations now. And if I'm correct, you haven't returned home in a few years now, haven't you?"

The younger shook his head without doubt. "Complicated circumstances?" He tried to explain.

"…" Ayanami studied his response. "I'm presuming I am at the core of those complicated circumstances?" The blond's chuckle gave it away.

"A lot has happened since I joined the army. While those initial days were probably insignificant, fate sure did spiral in another direction after Teito's escape." All the possible events, good and bad ones, that took place in the course of the past three years sprinted in the teen's mind like a video on 10x speed. From the time he met Teito, the army blackmailing him, to accepting him under tight circumstances, to Ayanami's conceited confession, the burden of his own feelings, the battles they fought, his new team, the joy of seeing Teito once more but the stress that never left him, his lover's abuse, the pain of being loved, Ayanami's brother, to their make-up…

"That is true." The elder slowly locked the teen's fingers in his hand. "You've come a very long way. I'm proud of you, Mikage." He voiced, seconds before planting a chaste loving kiss on the blond's knuckles. The weight those words carried, only Mikage would understand as he was so deeply moved by the simple confession. Also noticing that his lover dropped the '-kun,' he swallowed hard. They finally felt like equals. And to have the Chief Ayanami praise you was something on a different level, it felt exhilarating like he was almost invincible now.

"Ayanami-san…" However, for the blond, it didn't feel all-so-natural to just magically drop the '-san' but he didn't care either way. "Thank you." Mikage threw himself at the other, tightly wrapping his arms around his lover's neck. The silverette's arms moved on instinct, locking them on the smaller back and nuzzling his nose behind the other's ear.

"…love you." The chief muttered into his hair. The teen smiled.

"Me too."

They arrived at the Oak manor on the given date. The Oak's most trusted head butler, Kokuyou, stood at the gates and greeted all the guests individually. A few of the other officials from the army also exited their respective limousines. Ayanami and Mikage were the last to pull out of their limo and walked the long way to the black and golden gates. Mikage and Kokuyou shared one look at each other and became locked in time. A wave of so many different emotions began flailing between them all at once.

Kokuyou, being the older one, was first to break the awkwardness with a heart-warming smile. "This is certainly a surprise. Haven't you been a sight for sore eyes?"

The blond could barely hold back his tears and lunged himself at the other. "Aniki!" he tightly wrapped his arms around the elder's chest and buried himself in his shoulder. Mikage was inches taller now (then from when he was fifteen) but he was still half a head shorter than Kokuyou. His elder brother unconditionally hugged him back, kissing the top of his blond head.

Meanwhile, Ayanami just stared. The two brothers looked quite alike, similar hair, same slender build and a serene smile. The only difference if any would probably be the fact that Kokuyou's blond hair was slightly darker, a natural sandy blond while Mikage's was a bright cooler blond.

"Welcome home." Kokuyou whispered.

"I'm back." The teen sniffed.

"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat in the background. "Okay. We get it. You're blocking the way now. We all need to meet and greet too." The two separated to find Shuri standing beside them.

"Oh sorry." The blond backed away only for Shuri to charge forward with a pout.

"Welcome home Shuri-sama—" Kokuyou began but was taken aback when Shuri hugged him as well. "It's nice to see you again, though… we've only met this morning." He scoffed.

"Oh yeah Kokuyou-nii, this is Ayanami-san. Ayanami-san this is my older brother." Mikage finally introduced.

"It's a huge honor to meet you. I've heard so much about the Ayanami-sama." The blond bowed.

"The pleasure is mine." The silverette flatly stated. Mikage smiled and led them in. Once inside, Wakaba Oak also greeted them and directed them to the gathering space inside the manor. However, before they could reach the designated location, they were greeted by two preteens: A fourteen year old boy with spiky blond hair and a defensive look with a thirteen year old girl with long braided hair—both dressed formally in black. They bowed in respect, until they saw Mikage and their jaws dropped.

"Surprise?" The blond sheepishly chuckled.

"Mikage-nii?!" The pair forgot all etiquettes and collided into him, both at once. The blond laughed as he stumbled back a step but embraced both of them at the same time.

"Easy you two." Kokuyou scolded.

"It's so nice to see you guys again! Kohaku, Rinka you guys are looking great. You've grown so much!"

"That's what happens when you don't come home in like forever." Kohaku blurted. It was his nature to be so straight forward.

"Ahaha sorry about that."

"It's okay, he's here now." Rinka defended. Meanwhile, Kohaku noticed Ayanami continuously gaze at them and stared at him back. He was getting a powerful vibe from the silverette. Nothing harmful, but interfering and obsessive.

"Ah, this is Ayanami-san, our Chief Executive." Both stepped back and said hello again.

Kokuyou instructed the maids to start setting the food on the long dining table so all the officers could head to the dining room for dinner after lounging. Mikage automatically offered to help Kokuyou and the maids, most likely a habit of his since he was also from this household.

Kokuyou patted his shoulder "As if. You're a guest today, go have a seat." The teen pouted at that but did as he was told.

On the dining table, everyone from the army was seated, while the maids, including Kokuyou stood in the corners of the room incase assistance was required.

"First of all, I'd like to thank everyone's cooperation and attendance in this small gathering. I'd also like to start with a toast…" Oak began to list the achievements of the army. "…and lastly to two gentlemen of our own joining us today who have made successful monumental progress. My son, Shuri Oak who is now part of the First Division and our own, Mikage Celestine who has advanced to quite a rank in the army now, the Black Hawks, and the proud begleiter of Ayanami himself." Kokuyou took the news with a great amount of astonishment and amazement. He had no idea. The sandy blond normally always had his eyes closed into narrow slits and a smile across his face but for once, his eyes were open and jaw slacked. On the other hand, Ayanami lidded his eyes for a moment and smirked at the achievement. "Both Shuri and Mikage-kun have shown great promise and capability. Here's to the next generation."

The blond teen felt somewhat on the spot and raised his glass as well. "Thank you…I'm highly honored." The silverette smiled at his partial blush and raised his glass as well. 'Cute.'

Shuri also stated his appreciation and drank to it.

They barely finished eating but Kohaku and Rinka dragged Mikage away to spend time with them.

Ayanami sighed as he saw that and began chatting with the other officials. It would appear as if he wasn't going to get a chance with the blond anytime soon.

To Be Continued…

Finally, we're meeting Mika's family. I do wonder how this is gonna go, shouldn't be too bad, right? I'm sorry for the short chapter, I'm not getting a chance to produce the next events, but then had this much ready for a while and just wanted to get it out—at least it means something. I'll try to have the next chapter soon, maybe after my midterm or something.

Also, this is expected, but we're almost reaching the final stretch guys—with the fanfic I mean. This is pretty much the last arc (soobbbb TT□TT). I will miss these guys. I have a few thoughts and things to say but I'll save that for the little author's note at the end. It's been a great ride, though it could've been better, but this is couple is by far my most precious one. I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you guys did too.