"Mother? David?" Alice asked, surprised.
Once it got dark, Alice had had enough and finally decided to take back his mate from Kalego-sensei's clutches, only to find his mother and butler at the headmaster's office. What was she doing here? Could it be...
"By that pretty blush, I believe you know why I am here." Amaryllis giggled, embarrassing her son. "He should be waiting for you at the gardens," she told her son before walking away. "If you need any help with the preparations I am always there for you, until then ta-ta."
"Madam, are you sure it is ok to leave things as they are?" David asked his Lord, worriedly for his young master.
"Did you not see Iruma-chan's eyes? Those are the eyes of a good Alpha," Amaryllis replied seriously, recalling her meeting with her son-in-law to be.
"Iruma-chan! It's so nice to see you again!" Amaryllis greeted the young demon with a wide smile, as she entered the private office of Lord Sullivan with David following close by. Her smile only widened when she noticed his new rank. "It seems like congratulations are in order. I did not expect anything less when I found out you saved my boy and his classmates!"
"Thank you, Asmodeus-san," he replied, he was very polite but the Lord of Lust noticed he was also nervous.
She stopped herself from giggling, the boy must be dying of nervousness without having her laughing at him. She realized what this was about immediately, if she was honest she had expected it a long time ago. But she also realized how serious the whole situation was, the Asmodeus house uniting with Lord Sullivan's household. Not to mention it also meant that the Lord of Lust and one of the Three Beasts were creating an alliance. So, she was very proud they were being careful about the whole situation and taking the responsible route.
"Asmodeus-san, I know I should be asking you for your permission...but I believe that's bullshit." Iruma surprised Amaryllis and David by both cursing and his disrespect of a sacred tradition. "Alice is an amazing demon, powerful, kind, beautiful, and smart. I will not have him limited to his second gender. Everyone talks about how nowadays no one cares what second gender one is as long as they are powerful, then why this tradition still exists? Courting I get, it is to see if two people are compatible, but why is it only the Alpha doing the courting? Only when an Omega is involved? Why does the Omega need the permission of their sire to mate? Why not Alphas too? That's, to put it bluntly, bullshit! Alice knows himself and no one can make him do anything he does not want to do, so if he has decided he wants to mate me I will not disrespect his wishes and ask for someone's blessing to something they had no right to comment on. It is his body and future, which means his decision. So, I did not ask you here for your permission but to tell you Alice and I decided to become mates and wanted your blessing as a mother not as a sire."
Both older demons looked at the young Demi Demon in shock, the usual pushover Iruma had become quite assertive out of nowhere. Then again, it might have to do with the fact that it had to do with someone he cares about and not about himself.
Amaryllis could only stare at the young demon and feel warmth spreading through her chest, her boy had found an amazing mate. She had tried for years to stop this tradition or at least change it so it could show the advance their society had gone through when it comes to second genders. But nothing. She had lost hope for any change. Yet, here he was. A young Alpha boy who had everything you could ask for, even a mate who would follow his every order, but he still treats an Omega with the respect they deserve. Treating them as equals. Not even caring that he might have gained the anger of his mate's sire. His Omega was more than worth it and deserving of his total respect. Amaryllis always thought that it was her boy who was totally and madly in love with Lord Sullivan's boy... but it seems like the sentiment was returned. It filled her heart with such happiness.
"Good. I can't wait for the ceremony!" The Lord of Lust clapped her hands together, smirking when Iruma sighed in relief.
"Also..." the Demi Demon began again, looking at her warily- as if he could not believe what he was about to say. "I was told that you as the Lord of Lust are in charge of Omega's welfare."
"Yes, I am," Amaryllis's smirk only grew, realizing where this was going.
"I wanted to ask you how... is the best way of taking care of an Omega." He requested, slowly. "I do not want to hurt Alice in any way."
Amaryllis could only giggle at the red-faced Iruma. Good mate indeed.
She could only return to her giggling self at the memory. "Then again, when you are true mates asking for the permission of the sire it is more of a tradition than a necessity. I just can't wait to see the beautiful children they make!" The Lord of Lust cheered, with David nodding his head.
-With Alice and Iruma-
Alice was very confused. He had thought that Iruma-sama had been studying all day with Kalego-sensei, learning about A/B/O Dynamics and demonic culture. But it seems that they've only been studying for half the day, the other half he had been with his mother. Alice couldn't stop himself from dreading how much his mother must have embarrassed him, how could he face Iruma-sama now?!
"Alice-sama," Opera's voice snapped the pink demon from his thoughts. He looked up from the floor and was surprised when he realized he had finally reached the back gardens. "Please follow me, Iruma-sama is waiting for you."
He then followed the fox demon to a small corner of the big gardens, finding Iruma-sama waiting for him in front of two metallic gates. Alice could not take his gaze away from the beautiful sight, and no he did not mean the beautifully made gates with the delicate curves and the symbol of the Asmodeus family in the middle of it. He meant the sight of his mate dressed up in a black suit with a blue dress-up shirt and the coat resting on his shoulders as if it were a royal cape- the same way he used his school uniform's blazer when he was going through the evil cycle.
"Hey, Alice," Iruma greeted him, smiling awkwardly. He was very nervous he had never gone on a date before.
"Iruma-sama," Alice sighed, still enchanted by the sight before him. None of them realized when Opera went away, too immersed in their own world. "What is all of this?"
"Well, Kalego-sensei told me about the courting period before the mating ceremony," Iruma began to explain, his nerves not calming a little bit. "I was very surprised when I had gone through all the requirements except two."
"That's because you are amazing Iruma-sama!" Alice praised him, only someone as great as Iruma-sama could prove he is a great potential mate without even trying.
"Thank you, Alice," Iruma said blushing. "He also told me that an unmated Omega watching his Alpha almost die could be very stressful," Alice soured at the memory. "If they don't get marked soon afterward it can be harmful to their psyche. Marking the start to doubt themselves and question their worth. If it were up to me I would wait and try to get used to the change in our dynamics, but I can't let any harm befall you." He announced, making Alice almost burst in happiness at the statement of his mate. "So, behind us, it's my mating gift to you."
"What?" Alice looked at Iruma confused.
"Well, when I first came to live with Ojii-san it took quite a bit to get used to the place. It is hard to get used to a place you consider someone else's home, at least until you start to see it as yours as well. I at least had a place that was only mine, my room. However, when you start living here my chambers will be ours. With all the stress you've been through these last few days I wanted to give you a place that's only yours, where you could come without anyone bothering you and find some peace of mind. I call the place Alice's Floral Garden." Iruma explained to Alice, who could only look at his mate in wonder.
"You made all of this for me?" Alice could only ask dumbfounded.
Why was it that whenever he thinks he's got his mate figured out and he could not be surprised anymore, that Iruma-sama pulls up things like this? A garden? Did he get him a garden? The mating gift must be a big one, because of their standings, but this takes the cake.
"Well, I had help from Ojii-san and Opera to finish it so fast." He chuckled sightly. "Why don't you open the gates? I can't do it, I asked Ojii-san to spell it so you are the only one who can do so."
Once again, Alice could only stare at the incredible mate he has. With his throat thick with emotion he could only nod mutely and step towards the gates. His breath was taken away by the scenery before him.
Right behind the gates, there was a path made of rocks, pink rocks! Just like his hair! Surrounding the path were bushes of strange yet beautiful colorful flowers. By the left of the path a small hill with small trees and one big one with pink flowers. The path goes on until it becomes a bridge connecting the two sides of the small lake, created from a small waterfall nearby. On the other side of the lake, there were more flowers and trees, there even was a sakura tree. Smaller than the one Iruma-sama made at school but it was the same tree. There even was a small white gazebo. In other words, it was breathtaking!
"Come," Iruma-sama smiled at Alice, taking his hand and guiding him through the garden. "I wanted this place to be special and one of a kind... like you," he said, causing both boys to blush. "So, I created flowers you can only find in the human world. That tree at the left is an apricot tree, very common in Japan- like the sakura tree. In my world flowers are used to express yourself, each flower has its own meaning which also changes depending on the color." Iruma explained to a very interested Alice. "Sakura flowers in Japan, where I come from, represent a time of renewal and optimism. By the left of the path, there's a bush of red and pink camellias which mean love and longing, respectively." Alice could not stop the giggle that came out of his lips, too pleased by the pampering his Alpha was giving him "At the right, there is blue and yellow lavender, which mean fidelity and refinement, respectively. Not to mention their scent is divine." Alice took a deep breath and could see what Iruma-sama meant. The Demi Demon guided the demon by the hand, deeper into the garden. "On the other side of the bridge, there is a white chrysanthemum which represents loyalty and devoted love. The red ones by the gazebo mean deep passion," by now both of their faces were redder than they thought was possible.
"Iruma-sama," Alice murmured, he was very touched by the gesture.
The colorful yet refined garden was a perfect combination of both of them. With the human flowers and all the pink representing him. Not to mention the meaning of the flowers... representing Iruma-sama's feelings for the young Asmodeus. Alice could not believe his mate loved him so much or felt all that for him.
"I don't believe I've said it out loud yet," Iruma murmured, taking the hand son the Omega as they stood on the bridge. "I love you, Alice"
"Iruma-sama," Alice chocked out, tears falling down his cheeks. He never thought he could be this happy. "I love you too"
They both smiled and kissed a movie-perfect kiss.