The car eases to a stop in front of Yu's shared home. Rin kills the engine, and Theo leans forward, as if ready to step out with Yu, but Yu's soft, practiced smile meets him first.
"Thank you for today."
Yu says, voice light, airy—almost convincing.
"But I should rest. Goodnight, Theo. Joy."
Joy waves brightly. Theo studies him for one long, unreadable beat before murmuring.
"We'll talk later."
Yu slips out of the car with his bag, the cold night air catching against his skin. He waves once, smiles again, then turns, hurrying to the door. He unlocks it, steps inside, and shuts it with a soft click.
The moment the latch catches, the smile dissolves. Yu drops his bag to the floor with a thud and leans back against the door, sliding down until he sits curled against it. His chest caves as sobs tear through him—hot, violent, uncontrollable.
His fists press to his eyes, smudging away what little makeup he had on, but the tears only fall harder, his shoulders shaking. His breath comes sharp, broken, loud. Too loud.
Down the hall, a creak of a mattress. Then another thud from upstairs.
Adrian's door opens first, his heavy steps hesitant, suspicious. Callen follows, hair a disheveled mess, his voice laced with irritation that vanishes the moment he sees Yu's hunched figure by the door.
"Yu?"
Callen blurts, the usual smugness stripped raw, only concern left.
Adrian narrows his eyes, sharp and protective, his jaw tight as he crouches closer, scanning Yu's shaking frame.
Between sobs, Yu tries to choke out words—something, anything to make it small, make it less than what it is. But nothing comes. Just the sound of him breaking, echoing in the dim light of their shared home.
And now both men are here, watching, the door still at Yu's back like a barricade he can't escape.
Yu's sobs split the silence of the apartment, jagged and sharp, his face buried in trembling hands.
Adrian moves first—strong but halting, his own muscles still tender from the days before, yet his urgency overrides the ache. He crouches low, voice rough, controlled but edged with panic.
"Yu. Hey, it's okay. I've got you."
Before Yu can even register, Callen is there too, dropping to his knees at Yu's other side, emerald eyes wide with guilt and protectiveness. He reaches out, brushing Yu's hair back from his wet cheeks.
"Shit—don't cry like that. You're killing me here. We're right here, little star."
Neither waits for permission. Adrian hooks an arm around Yu's shoulders, drawing him solidly against his chest, murmuring low promises into his ear.
"You're safe. No one's gonna hurt you here. Not while I'm breathing."
Callen mirrors him from the other side, wrapping his arms around Yu's smaller frame, his cheek pressed to Yu's temple, warm and steady.
"You don't have to hold it in with us. Cry as much as you need. Tell me what you want, little star, I'll handle everything else, I swear."
Yu, caught between them, trembling and exhausted, clings without thinking—his fingers knotting into Adrian's shirt, his forehead leaning into Callen's neck.
For a fragile, fleeting moment, the world outside—Theo's suffocating shadow, DK01's cold commands, the impossible weight of his secrets—fades.
All that remains is warmth. Callen's murmured nicknames, Adrian's steady chest rising and falling, their combined arms making a cocoon he can collapse into.
Yu sobs harder, but the sound is different now—less of breaking, more of release.
And now, he really doesn't feel alone.
Yu stays folded between them, tucked small and trembling against the broad frames of Adrian and Callen. The warmth of their bodies, the way their arms knit around him, makes the world outside dissolve into something distant and unreal.
Adrian's hand strokes up and down Yu's back in long, steady passes. Callen mutters soft nothings into Yu's hair—half apologies, half encouragements. Together, they hold him so completely it feels as if he might disappear into them.
Yu finally lets go, the sobs ripping through his chest raw and unguarded, his fists clenching and unclenching in their shirts. But for once, he doesn't try to stop himself. He melts into them. The more he cries, the tighter they hold.
Time blurs. The storm inside him gradually wears itself thin.
When Yu's sobs taper off into shaky breaths, his voice, hoarse and cracked, pushes through the quiet.
"I… I won. The runway assignment. I'm… I'm going to France."
Callen pulls back a little, tilting Yu's chin so he can see his face, eyes wide and shining.
"That's incredible, little star."
But Yu's lips twist, trembling. His throat tightens again.
"But… Theo..."
He nearly spits the name.
"He's awful. Controlling. He doesn't listen, doesn't care what I want. He… I think he wants to go through… with marrying me."
The confession hangs heavy in the air.
Callen stiffens, his playful warmth vanishing in an instant, emerald eyes flashing with fury.
But Adrian—Adrian freezes entirely, the blood draining from his face. His arm around Yu's shoulders tightens unconsciously, as if anchoring him.
"Marry?"
Adrian's voice is low, quiet, but it rumbles through his chest like distant thunder. His dark gaze locks on Yu's profile, and for the first time, he looks shaken—betrayal and disbelief simmering just beneath his controlled surface.
Yu, clinging to both of them, buries his face again, muffling his words into their shirts.
"I don't want to. I hate him. I don't want Theo. I don't… I don't want this! I don't wanna pretend to be a girl for him!"
And suddenly, the cocoon feels less like comfort, and more like the only place keeping him from collapsing completely.
Yu clings harder, his words tumbling out between ragged breaths.
"I don't want to be anyone's doll! I don't want to be dressed up just to be paraded around like—like I'm not even me! He doesn't care what I feel. He just wants what he wants, and I…"
His voice cracks, his throat burns. Hot tears spill faster now, dampening both their shirts.
"…I can't breathe when I'm near him. It's like the walls close in. And I—"
His voice falters into something small and desperate,
"…I don't know how much longer I can keep enduring it."
The silence after is thick, heavy, only broken by the sound of Yu's stifled sobs. Adrian and Callen hold him, their arms firm and steady, but their eyes begin to shift from comfort into something sharper, darker.
Adrian's chest rises slow, deliberate, like he's trying to keep himself from exploding. He tilts his head, dark brown eyes narrowing on Yu's damp face, then flicking to Callen. His voice, though low, is laced with steel.
"You don't seem surprised, Wright. You knew?"
Yu stiffens at the sudden shift. Callen's arms tense around him, the playful ease gone from his body. For a heartbeat, he doesn't answer. Then, slowly, he nods.
"Yeah."
Callen admits, his voice subdued for once.
"He told me before already."
Adrian's gaze sharpens further, jaw tightening. The hand resting on Yu's shoulder squeezes, not to hurt, but to anchor. His voice is rough, barely leashed.
"And you didn't think to tell me?"
Callen exhales through his nose, his eyes flicking to Yu, then back to Adrian.
"It wasn't mine to tell."
The tension hums between them, threatening to snap, even with Yu pressed small between their chests.
"That's a load of bull and you know it. You just wanted to keep it to yourself. You're selfish and inconsiderate! If I had known—"
Callen doesn't flinch under Adrian's glare. His arm stays firmly curled around Yu, protective in its own way.
"I said it wasn't mine to tell!"
He repeats, firmer now, emerald eyes narrowing back.
Adrian's voice rumbles, deeper, darker.
"You sat there, smug, knowing he was being strung along by that bastard—and you didn't think I deserved to know?"
Callen leans in slightly, his tone sharp as glass.
"Don't twist it. I respected him enough to keep his secret. If you can't handle being kept in the dark, that's your problem, not his."
The air between them nearly crackles. Adrian's fists curl at his sides, his tattoos shifting over flexing muscle, his whole presence coiled with the kind of danger that made men flinch. But before the next words could spark, Yu lets out a small, broken sound. Both men still, their heat redirected instantly.
Adrian exhales, then shifts his gaze downward to Yu's tear-streaked face. His voice, though low, is strained, like he's gripping onto the edges of his control.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
He asks, almost a plea but carrying a growl's weight.
"Why did you keep this from me, Yu?"
Yu's lip trembles, his breath hitching as the storm of guilt and fear swirls. Adrian's volume rises despite himself, sharp as a whipcrack.
"Why—!"
But before the full accusation leaves him, Yu flinches violently, hands flying down to press against his belly. Instinctive. Protective. Fragile.
Adrian freezes. His breath catches in his throat, all that rage halting like brakes slammed too hard. His gaze locks onto Yu's trembling hands, the subtle swell under the baggy shirt, the way he curls forward as if shielding something precious.
The puzzle pieces slam together in his head—baggy clothes, the late-night cravings, the pregnancy tests, the laundry room panic when he'd tried to lift the shirt, the vulnerability wrapped in bursts of hunger and heat.
His mouth parts, but the words scrape out like gravel, disbelief and dawning terror twisting his tone.
"…You're not… You can't be… pregnant?"
The words hung in the air like a blade.
Adrian stared at Yu's hands pressed protectively over his belly. His lips moved once, then stilled, his throat working but no sound emerging. The silence stretched taut, more suffocating than any argument could have been.
Beside Yu, Callen tried to cut it with a crooked laugh.
"What? Don't tell me you're serious."
He shifted, emerald eyes flicking between them.
"Yu can't be pregnant. He's a guy. We both know that. I mean…"
His smirk faltered into something shaky.
"We've both slept with him. And I can damn well say Yu's all man. And I mean… come one, a man getting fat and pregnant, gross, am I right? Haha…"
But no one laughed.
The silence after Callen's joke was heavier than before. Adrian didn't move, his sharp brown eyes locked unblinking on Yu. His silence alone made Callen falter, his stomach dipping as the possibility began to gnaw at him.
'Unless… he really can…'
Yu trembled. His throat closed on the denial he wanted to give, but the weight of Adrian's stare and Callen's arms wrapped snug around him left him nowhere to run, no shadows to hide behind.
"I…"
His voice cracked. Tears spilled before he even realized they were rising again.
"I tried—I didn't want you to know—"
His small hands fisted in the fabric of his shirt, knuckles white.
Then it slipped out, raw and cutting.
"I'm pregnant."
The confession shattered whatever control he had left. He folded forward into Callen's chest, sobbing raggedly, his voice muffled and broken.
"I didn't want to tell you, I didn't want to drag you into this, I didn't want—"
Every word dissolved into choked gasps, his tears landing on Callen's shirt while Adrian sat rigid, his whole frame taut with the impact of Yu's truth.
Yu sobbed harder, body quaking as though the weight of the word pregnant had crushed him all over again the moment it left his lips. His fingers clawed at Callen's shirt, dampening the fabric with fresh tears, his breath hitching in panicked bursts.
"I don't know what to do."
He hiccupped, voice broken and small.
"I'm scared—I'm so scared—and I didn't want you to hate me if you found out."
His words blurred as his throat tightened, every syllable soaked in grief.
"I didn't want you to think I was… ruined."
The sound of it tore through the room, fragile and unguarded, every sob laced with the desperation of someone cornered.
Callen's arms instinctively tightened, his playful, smug persona cracking under the reality in his arms. His heart squeezed painfully at the sight of Yu unraveling like this, and guilt slithered up his spine. He'd joked, teased, pushed too hard—he hadn't seen just how fragile Yu really was. His thumb brushed tenderly over Yu's damp cheek, a silent vow unspoken.
'I'll make this right. I'll protect you.'
Adrian, on the other hand, was silent, frozen in place. His brain worked in overdrive, every detail slotting into place. His chest rose and fell with heavy, deliberate breaths, his Yakuza-honed instincts sharpening like knives.
Finally, he found his voice.
"Yu."
His tone was low, steady, but there was steel beneath it.
"Who's the father?"
The question cleaved the fragile silence in two.
Callen stiffened instantly, his stomach dropping as though the floor had been ripped out beneath him. His mind spun. Who? He hadn't considered—not really—that Yu's secret went beyond them. His emerald eyes darted to Yu, searching, fearing the answer.
And Yu… still buried in his arms, trembled harder.
Yu's breath caught in his throat, Adrian's question echoing like a knife pressed to his skin. His pulse pounded in his ears. His lips parted, trembling, but no sound came out. His fingers instinctively pressed harder over his belly, as if the fragile life there needed his shield.
'DK01! What do I do? I can't— I can't answer them. I'll break, I'll lose everything! Help me!'
The system's voice slid into his mind, cold and efficient, a blade through his storm.
{Immediate mitigation required. System DK01, your host is experiencing instability, please mediate.}
[I recommend escaping and delaying properly answering. Host, your vitals are spiking. Your stress levels are also becoming too unsustainable. Defense protocol is a viable option, it's safe enough to use with the unborn infants. It will provide an immediate exit and buy you more time, however it won't last long.]
Yu's lashes clumped with tears, frantic whispers spilling in his head.
'Do it—please, do it. Fast!'
He drew in a shaky breath, as if bracing himself to finally speak. His gaze lifted toward Adrian and Callen, lips trembling as though the truth—or a lie—was about to break free.
Then his head slacked backward. His eyes rolled shut.
Yu crumpled, his small body going limp in Callen's arms.
Adrian's face drained of color, a curse torn from his throat as he lunged to steady Yu's shoulders. Callen's grip tightened around the smaller frame, panic flashing in his emerald eyes.
"Yu!"
Callen barked, shaking him gently.
"Hey—hey, stay with me!"
But Yu didn't stir. His lashes fluttered faintly, his body slack with the stillness of exhaustion.
The air between them thickened with dread. To them, it looked like Yu had simply been pushed too far, his body finally giving out.
Adrian's jaw clenched, eyes narrowing with sharp focus. Callen's grip trembled as he tried to hold Yu close, protectively.
Neither man noticed the faint flicker of lilac light that passed briefly over Yu's temples—the invisible hand of DK01 quietly withdrawing into standby.
"Yu!"
Callen shouted again, shaking Yu lightly, his voice sharp with panic.
But Adrian's face was stone. He moved quickly, crouching closer beside Yu and sliding his arms beneath Yu's small frame. With surprising gentleness, he lifted him effortlessly, one arm under Yu's knees, the other cradling his back. Yu's head lolled against his chest.
"Hey! Give him back to me!"
Callen snapped, moving in to take him. His hands twitched, desperate to hold Yu too, but Adrian twisted just out of reach.
"No."
Adrian said flatly, his tone steel.
The clash of everything unsaid—suspicion, jealousy, gnawing doubts—boiled over. Without thinking, Adrian reached behind his waistband and drew a matte-black handgun, the metallic click as he chambered a round splitting the air.
Callen's heart stopped. His hands shot up, his emerald eyes wide.
"Wait—wait, don't kill me!"
He blurted out, voice cracking.
"I just found out I might be a father!"
The corner of Adrian's mouth curled into something between a sneer and a growl. His grip on Yu remained careful even as his eyes stayed cold, unflinching.
"Bitch—"
He spat.
"I just found out I might be a father too."
The silence that followed was razor-thin, trembling on the edge of something catastrophic.
---
Yu stood in the vast dark expanse, his body light and porcelain but his mind burning.
A pale lilac glow flickered before him—DK01's interface, pixel eyes sharp and steady behind needless glasses.
"Your stress levels have exceeded safety threshold. Defense Protocol initiated successfully. Your consciousness has been temporarily severed for protection of your vessel body and the unborn infants."
The voice was calm, almost scolding in its detachment.
"Your survival in this world requires more restraint. The more you reveal without strategy, the greater the danger to both the mission and your offsprings."
Yu's throat felt tight even in this void Godscape.
"They asked me… who the father is. I can't lie to them forever…"
DK01's glow pulsed once, like a single beat of a heart.
"Delaying is survival but not a permanent solution. However, speaking the truth too early could risk destabilization. For now, you must endure."
The light dimmed slightly, receding, as if giving him a moment's silence inside the crushing black.
Yu's hands curled into fists, in this dark where even his body felt like memory, the pain seared through. His voice cracked out raw and trembling.
"Delay? Endure? That's all you ever say! How much more do I have to endure before I break completely?!"
DK01's screen flickered faintly, not with irritation but with something like… restraint.
"Endurance is survival. Breakage is failure. You are not permitted failure."
The words landed cold, yet something lingered in the pauses between them, almost human.
Yu shuddered.
"Then what about my babies? What about me? Do you even care what happens to us beyond this mission?"
The glow pulsed once, softer this time.
"…"
{Host is experiencing instability. Please placate your host.}
"I care insofar as your survival ensures the mission's progress. But…"
DK01 paused before giving an exasperated, almost static-like sigh and continuing.
"Sigh...You asked once why instinct doesn't guide you like other Incubi. I calculated the answer: your instincts were restricted the day you chose to bind yourself to me. However, this recreated a feedback loop that, unfortunately, got too much for the limiter set in place to protect you. Now, with no such restraint… you're fragile, Yu. And I fear you will break… more so than now."
Yu's breath caught, hollow and sharp.
"So you think I'm broken…"
The screen pulsed faintly again, almost like a sigh.
"I'm sorry but your time is up. Host, I detect your body is in danger. Consciousness must return. Resume control. Endure."
The void slowly began to recede.
---
Yu's hazel eyes shot open, his body shivering as reality crashed back in—Adrian's arms still holding him tight, Callen's hands still raised in front of him, emerald eyes wide in alarm.
The gleam of Adrian's gun lingered in Yu's blurred vision, the weapon steady, angled just enough to remind Callen how thin the line was between life and death in this room.
Yu blinked, throat tight, breath ragged. His belly throbbed faintly with the echo of stress, his hands moving on instinct to cover the swell.
The silence was suffocating.
"...Adrian?"
Yu's voice trembled as he spoke, eyes flicking between the cold fire in Adrian's gaze and the frantic fear on Callen's face.
Both men froze—Callen paling further, Adrian's jaw tightening, his grip on the gun unflinching even as Yu stirred in his arms.