Disclaimer: I don't own Static. That belongs to Mr. McDuffie and Milestone. I just love Shiv.
A/N: A one-shot and accompany fic to Taken Lightly. Had this planned for ages now but needed some serious practice with condensing a story. But here it is and finally some nice bonding for Joe and Taka.
Parenting
It was almost three in the morning when Jomei started crying. Takahashi groaned and rolled himself out of bed. He put his glasses on and dragged himself over to the crib. He was in his late twenties, thin with a pointed chin and round nose and a wicked temper. He had not been a father for more than three months but he had certainly slept less than most.
"Jomei... Jomei..." He said half in a yawn as he tried to comfort the crying baby. He cried insistently as his father tried to comfort him. Takahashi groaned and picked up the infant and carried him into the main room hushing him all the way. "Its alright, Jomei. Its alright."
He moved over to the overused kitchen. No one in Tokyo used kitchens anymore. People ate out. They would if it weren't for Jomei's insistent crying and moodiness. He turned on the burning and began boiling some formula for him as he cradled his still crying son. "Hush, Jomei. Some milk will be ready soon."
Solada and he had taken the infant to the pediatrician more times than they could remember. He just didn't act right for a baby. He rarely slept, getting him to eat was awful and he just seemed generally unhappy. The pediatrician didn't help much either. It was Japan, after all, they didn't do well with halfblooded children. He often wondered if Tokyo was the best place for him. Was it best having a child grow up somewhere that they wouldn't fit into?
The kettle whistled. Takahashi snapped out of his musings and back to the small dark apartment with his wailing son.He moved the kettle off of the burner and got a bottle out from the small cabinet. The entire apartment was minute. It had three rooms including the washroom. His parents had been angry about him "running off and getting married" so he and Solada were left to care for themselves. He almost growled to himself at the thought. His parents had never even seen their grandson and they didn't want to. It was supposed to be a means of "dishonor". It only made Takahashi boil.
He prepared the bottle and checked it on his wrist. "Come on, Jomei. Calm down." He said as he began to feed the unhappy infant. "Its going to work out. I know your mother isn't exactly the warm type. Its been very stressful for her. You don't know your grandparents." Takahashi paused for a moment. "I think your lucky actually. Not the nicest people."
Jomei cued as he looked intently at his father. The baby had stopped crying to eat and seemed to be listening to his father's rambling.
"I keep wondering if this is the best place for you to grow up. You aren't exactly like all of the other children in the country, you know."
Takahashi flinched a bit at his own statement. He needed to learn to be less blunt. It had always been one of his greatest faults: his bluntness and his temper. Both were not taken well in Japan. He looked down at the baby. "We're not going to think about that, okay. Its just us, now. You, me and your mother. And not your grandmother, grandfather or even the emperor can change that."
Jomei giggled and Takahashi kissed his son's forehead.
Review of you like it and all that jazz.