81
A Place to Belong
It wasn't until Furuichi contemplated getting his own place, that the silvernette thought his husband had a problem. Being now married for two years, Furuichi had quit his position as Oga's personal secretary to pursue a homelife with a side- career of writing. The omega loved his new career and his husband, but in three years the wolves had lived together they had moved eleven times.
Oga proposed they begin packing for the next big move when Furuichi wondered if he had to choose between his personal business and his partner. It's true that writing could be done anywhere, and publishing the same, but Furuichi didn't want to pack up his notebooks and pens and jars or ink again. Furuichi sighed as he looked out of the house windows that morning, naked aside from the blanket wrapped around him.
"You're up early. Want some coffee? What's wrong?"
Although Furuichi smiled, the sharp scent of anxiety filled the room. "I was thinking of a story my dad used to tell me. About a dog and his bone."
Oga moved silently across the room to sit at the edge of their bed, patting beside him, "Would you like to tell me about it?"
Furuichi shuffled toward his part of the bed. "This dog lived with a circus troupe and after every show well done this dog would earn a bone. As his master's went to celebrate their success, the dog would find a nice spot to bury his bone after gnawing at half."
Furuichi peeked at his husband, curious if the alpha was still listening; Oga was.
"When the festivities were over, the circus troupe would put all of the animals to bed, pack up and move to the next city. So, during the break times during each performance the dog would grow hungry. Excitedly the dog would rush to his spot and dig, dig, dig, but never would find his bone."
Oga gathered Furuichi into his arms, amused and touched by such an endearingly, yet sad, story. "I take it this is because of the move," Oga said, speaking into Furuichi's hair. "Well...yes, but not in the way you might think. Oga? Why do you move around so much? Are you trying to get away from something? From someone? From...me?
The scent of anxiety grew sharper. Pressing a gentle kiss to a silvery temple, Oga grumbled, "I'm more of trying to find something. Like the dog in your story."
"A bone in my backyard?" Furuichi joked, but felt the mood shift into something more serious. "Does this...have to do with your family?"
The timid question clung to the air, trying to be unheard, to be taken back. Oga rarely opened up about his late family, so, when Oga nodded, Furuichi wasn't quite sure what to do. The silvernette opted to wait.
"...After my parents and my sister...died in the accident. I threw myself into building the business. I went on hundreds, if not thousands of flights, lived in hotels, met with millions of new people, but not one thing made me feel like I was home. Until I met you."
Oga moved to hold Furuichi from behind before continuing. "I don't mean to stress you out. It's just that I still don't quite feel like these four walls are home. It's not you either, I can't seem to settle. So, in a way I am the dog. Trying to find its bone in all sorts of places. One day I hope to find it."
Furuichi hummed and settled contentedly on his mate's chest. "Are you sure you've given any of these walls enough time to try?"
Oga sighed through his nose. The both knew the answer, but the alpha wasn't ready to give up the ghosts of his past. "Well," Furuichi saddled his husband's thighs, dropping the blanket in the process, "as long as I'm with you, you'll always have a place to belong."