Description: Carly now has to tell her son the story of how she and his father got together. But, which one is the real dad? And, will the two of them ever be together again? Romance, comedy. Two-shot.
Rated: T, simply for some adult themes.
Couples mentioned: CarlyxYusei, CarlyxCrow, CarlyxJack
Beta'd: NO ONE
Setting: Eight years after the end of the anime
A/N: Welcome…to Who's Your Daddy? and to Nanowrimo November 2015! So, this story will be a two-shot, with the next chapter being the 19th. That is, unless…this story is the most reviewed of the week? If you want an additional chapter next Sunday as well, review, review, review before Saturday at 11:59 EST. After then, no more reviews will be accepted for that week.
So, on that note, on with the story!
Disclaimer: Credit for Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's belongs to Masahiro Hikokubo and Masashi Sato.
The alarm to Carly's clock chimed through her dreams, making her face scrunch up in distaste. The last vestiges of her dreams sapped away instantly and she stuck her arm out, her hand hunting for the dreaded thing in hopes of shutting the damn thing off and possibly gaining more shut eye. When she had finally grasped the contraption, her eyes snapped open upon realizing that the ringing was not actually her alarm.
Carly jolted up, now wide awake and hurriedly scanning her room for the source. Her barren room revealed nothing, not even the harsh sunlight dancing across her desk, dresser, or any of her askew materials for her latest story. A quick glance at her cellphone also revealed that it was not the source. And that left only one other option.
Carly blanched, jolting out of bed and nearly tripping over her own two feet. She wrenched the door open into the small hallway, looking left and right for any signs of smoke. She nearly screamed when the sound became louder and swiftly made a beeline for the closed kitchen door. Carly then rammed into the door that dared to get into her way, and nearly stumbled when she saw the sight before her.
Eggs. The smell and sound of the eggs she had bought yesterday cooking in a small saucepan on the stove beckoned to her, even though the doors of the refrigerator and cupboards were wide open and dripping with what Carly prayed was water. Everything else low enough to her waist was tumbled out and spread across the kitchen floor in no deliberate pattern along with patches of orange juice leading to two very tall glasses that Carly used for company when her bosses and coworkers came by. Another quick sniff led Carly to realize what had set off her fire alarm, and it was coming from the smoking toaster on the counter.
Carly quickly hobbled over to the counter, pulling out the charcoaled toast from the toaster and giving the blackened eggs a stir (or tried to anyway) and turned off the heat before moving them away.
"Happy morning Mommy!"
Carly winced at the happy chirp behind her and she slowly turned to face her almost seven-year old son. His blue eyes sparkled behind circle-rimmed glasses mirroring her own and he triumphantly held out a plate of eggs that he had definitely made earlier with still cold cheese topped over them. His long black bangs drooped over his forehead nearly touching his irises. He needed a haircut, Carly noted to herself as shock and distress continued to wage war within herself.
"…Good morning James." She finally spat out, torn between crying out in relief and giving the boy a thorough scolding for daring to use the stove without asking. She instead put down the pan and reached for the step ladder, shutting off the fire alarm blaring just above her head over the stove.
"Sorry I didn't wake you Mommy. I was watching Mister King TV."
Carly sighed again. "I figured sweetie. Why didn't you just tell me you wanted eggs and toast? I could have made them for you instead."
"But I wanted to make them for you!" Her son held out the plate a little farther. "See? Just like you make them for me!"
Carly couldn't help the twinge of sadness at her son's words, but forced a smile on her face. She gently grasped the plate from his hands, taking note of the bumps and burns now present on James's appendages. "Thank you sweetie," She answered honestly, leaning over to plant a kiss on his pale cheek.
James preened with delight. "Can I go watch TV while you eat Mommy?" He asked.
Carly shook her head. "I suppose. But, you and I need to talk about this alright? You can't use the stove without me anymore. Even if you want to make something for me, just ask me to turn on the stove for you next time."
"Oh. Okay Mommy!" James chirped.
Carly held back a snort of laughter. "Alright, go watch TV. Is Mr. King on?" She asked.
James nodded vigorously. "Ahuh! He just went pshoo! and thwoom! on TV!" He continued to squeal, imitating what he had seen on television.
Carly only took a moment to say, "Alright, let's watch together. Then, we need to get ready for daycare."
"Okay Mommy." James took her unoccupied hand and led her into the living space. Carly opted for the comfy couch that had been her constant friend since her first apartment while James attempted to scoot his bean bag chair closer toward the television set. He pushed several of his toys out of the way on the carpet and plopped himself down to watch Mr. King.
Carly felt her lips twist at the sight of her long-term friend Jack Atlas circling a dueling arena with an opponent Carly had heard little of, except that he was undefeatable. Jack's face hadn't aged in over seven years, with his features only growing sharper and more distinct than what a normal human would be capable of. His eyes remained focused on the track in front of him, but every time he would glance into the camera, Carly could easily see herself as that eighteen year old girl, eagerly cheering the King of Turbo Duels on from behind the lens of her camera.
"You're going down Atlas!" Jack's opponent announced, the crowd booing in response to his outburst. "You're down to two facedowns and facing three of my best monsters! Next turn, they will attack and take the rest of your lifepoints, and I will be the new World King!" He began to laugh wildly, making the crowd cry out even louder.
"You shouldn't be planning celebrations yet!" Jack warned in return, his thick cockney accent making the crowd erupt into cheers. "All I need is the right card, and your perfect combo will be eating my exhaust!"
"What?!"
Jack smirked to the camera, his fingers reaching to pull out the card from the cardholder. With a flourish no other could emulate, Jack pulled it out and flipped it over.
"WHOOOOAH!" The announcer cheered, the feedback ringing throughout the stadium setting. "It looks like the World King has drawn Speed Fusion! That means Jack can discard the fusion materials needed to summon a Fusion Monster from his extra deck!"
"That's right, and I'll bet you can guess which monster I'll be bringing back!" Jack roared over the crowd. Behind him, his opponent paled with the knowledge. "I sacrifice Big Piece Golem and Medium Piece Golem to summon out, Multiple Piece Golem!" Jack paused to let the crowd grow rowdy as the end approached. "Now Multiple Piece Golem, attack his pathetic monster!"
The beast Jack summoned roared and landed a powerful punch to the skinny dragon, making the other creature roar in pain before smashing into a thousand pieces.
"And," Jack continued. "Since Multiple Piece Golem attacked your monsters this turn, he goes back to my extra deck. But," He grinned widely, looking almost murderous. "Not before Big Piece Golem and Medium Piece Golem come back to give a royal ass-kicking to your remaining monsters!"
True to his words, both monsters reappeared on the field, each flying forward to deliver one final attack on the remaining two monsters.
Carly smiled warmly as the opponent shrieked with anger and disappointment and swerved out of control, allowing Jack to fly forward toward the checkered flag that announced his victory. He stopped in front of the TV camera, swarmed on all sides by reporters. He grabbed the mike away from one of them and moved forward into the main screen.
"See that?!" He yelled over the raucous crowd. "That's what it takes to be a true champion! Nothing's over until the last draw! So I'll take on anyone, because none of you understand that better than I do!"
The TV clicked off, leaving James astonished and turning back to Carly, open-mouthed. She grinned broadly, tossing away the remote control. "Should've listened to me about using the kitchen without my permission," She chided, inwardly laughing at the adorable pout present on her son's face. "Oh don't worry James, I'm sure Jack will win his next duel too."
"'Jack?'" James asked curiously. "Wait Mommy, do you know Mr. King?"
Carly giggled and stood from the couch. "Well, James, that was a very long time ago. And, Mr. King probably doesn't remember me all that much anymore—"
"Is Mr. King my daddy?"
Carly froze, the one question that had haunted her for years and years, ever since the day she had discovered she was pregnant, still hanging in the air. Carly hoped that she possibly heard her child wrong and chanced a glance over her shoulder at her son.
He continued to stare at her, seemingly unaware of the implication of what he had just said. Carly did not want to hurt her son, but she couldn't possibly see any way that she could tell him the truth either.
"…No sweetie. I told you, I don't know who your daddy is either." She twisted a ghost of a smile on her face, hoping it would console him enough to end the conversation. "Come on, we have to get ready for daycare."
It didn't work. "But, you know Mr. King. And Mr. King knows you. Doesn't that mean-?"
"Just because Mommy knows somebody doesn't mean that they're Daddy sweetie." Carly ground out, turning away and moving towards her bedroom. She managed to change into her work slacks before there was a knock at her door.
James followed in after, toddling behind her as best he could with shorter legs. "But, all the other boys in school have daddies and mommies. I wanna know who Daddy is!"
"I know you do sweetie," Carly attempted to say as she pulled off her pajama top.
"Does Daddy know about me?"
"Of course he does sweetie." Carly answered immediately, though muffled through her thick sweater.
"Then where is he?"
"He works a lot sweetie." She answered, adjusting the belt on her pants.
"Where?"
"Everywhere." Carly was starting to get angry and it showed.
However, her son remained oblivious to his pestering. "But I wanna know!"
"And I want to know too James!" Carly snapped, turning back to her son, shooting him a glare. "But your daddy won't tell me, alright? Now, after all these years, it's suddenly important to you to know who your dad is when I've been the one who's raised you, worked to put you in school, and food on the table? Now, please, just stop asking already!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Carly immediately regretted them. The sting of truth was the ultimate reason she was speechless, but it was the quivering lip and watery eyes on her son that made her most ashamed of her outburst.
Before Carly could move to apologize, the door to the main floor rattled violently against the door frame due to the incessant hammering on the other side. Carly broke her transfixed stare with her son to turn in the direction of the door, then back. She sighed briefly before stepping past him to go to the main door.
She peeped through the eye hole, sighing as she did so. Carly unlatched the door and turned the knob to have it open abruptly and a large figure brush past her to stand impatiently in the living room. Carly sighed and slumped over. "Kazutaki-san," She bit out. "What can I do for you?"
Mr. Kazutaki whirled around on the girl, his purple eyes bulging and blazing. "What else do you think Carmine?! Your rent is over a week late! Not to mention your idiot waste-of-space son is setting things on fire and disturbing my other tenants from peaceful sleep-!"
"I'm sorry about that Kazutaki-san, but James was hungry and he tried to make himself some food while I slept—!"
"No excuses Carmine!" Her landlord snapped back, making her shirk away from the sound. "We all make a living around here, and mine is making money off your living. Now pay up or get out!"
Carly sighed ruefully. She could see James out the corner of her eye, hiding out of sight from their landlord, his own black eyes wide and fearful. She shifted her gaze back to Kazutaki and nodded once. He only held out his hand expectantly.
Carly turned around and grasped the cookie jar that lay innocently on their living room table, taking out a medium-sized stack of 1000 yen bills. She counted them out to herself before handing over most of them to Kazutaki. He took them, counting them out himself.
Carly hated this. It was one of the worst parts about being a single mother, but she grit and teeth and bore it for now. After all, James was her greatest treasure and she wouldn't dare give him up for anything less.
"Alright," Kazutaki finally announced, sounding better. "That's enough to cover the deficit. However, rent is due tomorrow and I'm sick of waiting around Carly. Have it tomorrow, or I kick you both out. Got it?!"
Carly nodded. She felt numb and anxiously sick. She didn't even register that Kazutaki had taken his moment to leave and had slammed the door so hard shut that several pictures of the two Carmines had come loose from the wall and cracked against the wood floor.
Instead, Carly shakily reached for her duel deck, still sitting innocently on her hip as was her usual routine from when she was seven. She drew a card from the depths of her deck, her unease settling when she realized the card was Fortune Fairy Hu. A small smile twisted on her lips as she slipped it back into her deck and slid to the floor.
She winked at her son still perched behind the corner of the hall. "Well, I guess fortune is on my side today. At least I had enough to pay him what I owe him today, right James?" She let out a soft chuckle and opened her arms.
As expected, her son launched into her waiting arms and snuggled into her neck. Carly caught a small whiff of her son's shampoo and couldn't resist feeling the weight on her shoulders dissipate.
WYD
Surprisingly, Carly managed to get to her desk squarely on time. She took a moment to breathe, her bag and materials slipping to the floor and across her desk messily but ignored them for the time being. Her eyes slipped shut.
"Jeez Carly, what the heck happened to you? And why do you smell like smoke?" A soothing yet condescending voice questioned.
"James tried to make me breakfast," Carly answered simply. Her eyes remained shut but she quirked a smile at the reminder. "He made me cheesy eggs."
"…But you hate those."
"Yeah, but he loves them." Carly opened her eyes. She took a moment to recuperate from the bright fluorescents before continuing. "It was the thought that counted anyway."
Someone took a seat on her desk that gave Carly all the info she needed to make a guess as to who her companion was. Long blonde hair covered her keyboard as the other person leaned in closer to examine Carly's laptop. They were both silent for a moment before the blonde hair bobbed. "That's good," The other cheered. "I like the last part."
Carly mimicked the action. "I thought the ending deserved a little bit more so I added more to the final draft than I had intended. I thought it improved it too."
"Absolutely." Her companion finally moved to the other side of her desk. Angela Raines, superstar reporter and recently onscreen correspondent, crossed her legs and smiled down on Carly. Her steel blue gray eyes sparkled as she asked, "So, how's the little munchkin today?"
Carly smiled at the blonde. It seemed so long ago when the two were bitter rivals battling over the same story from different newspapers, and now the two were such good friends. After Carly became pregnant, Angela has suddenly become overly protective of the black-haired girl up until James's birth. The two remained inseparable since, and James tended to regard her as a secondary mother figure.
Carly remained consistently envious of the gold ring on her left hand. However, after attending their wedding as Angela's maid of honor, Carly's only man in her life was firmly set as James. "Same as usual: sweet and naïve."
"Your parents still trying to set you up with an omiai?"
"Oh, of course. You know, twenty-six years old and my parents still treat me like I'm fourteen," Carly sighed, pulling the glasses off her nose and massaging her eyeballs. "And, of course, I had every single mother's worst nightmare come true today…"
"Oh, no…did James finally ask about his dad?" Angela asked sympathetically.
"Oh yeah, and saw Kazu-jerk chew me out today about the rent." Carly sighed again, her fingers moving to lightly tap against the keyboard in front of her. "I didn't know what to tell him, so I just told him his dad is overseas working." Which was the truth, now that she thought about it.
"Why did you tell him that, why not just be honest?"
"And what, give up seven years of silence?" Carly grimly replied. "Nice try Angela, I know when you're trying to work an angle."
The blonde sheepishly grinned, sliding off the desk. "Oh come on Carly, you've never told me anything about him, and you and I have been friends for a while now! Why have you never said who he was?!"
"Because he values his privacy, and I can respect that," Carly replied as slowly as she could. She inhaled quickly, trying to steady her nerves. "Besides…I…never told him…"
Angela paused, her mouth slowly fell open as she absorbed the statement. "…Wh…wh-what?!"
"I never told him," Carly repeated. She flipped through a file on her desk and resumed writing. "He's too busy to be concerned about some one-night stand that resulted in an seven-year old he never knew he had—"
"Because you didn't tell him you were pregnant!" Angela cried out. Some of their coworkers looked around for the source, making the blonde duck her head and turn back. "How could you not tell him that he had a child, let alone that you were pregnant?!" She interrogated in a harsh whisper.
"He had a girlfriend."
Angela choked back another question, suddenly realizing her investigative nature was interfering once again. She could see that her questions were beginning to affect her friend, Carly bending back over her work intently with her eyes barely focused on the screen.
This was why Angela had to leave investigative journalism. Sometimes it worked out for people like Carly, who knew where to draw the line and figure out when an interview could go too far. However, for people like Angela, all she had ever succeeded in doing was hurt the people she had loved.
She had lost many family members and close friends that way, where only Carly had remained simply because she had accepted her at face value. Her husband barely tolerated her tendencies, which is why she had heartily accepted the on-screen position to keep herself from hurting others again.
Angela knew she had crossed another line when Carly refused to look at her. There were few things in this world that bothered the black-haired journalist, one of them being James's father. She had gone off into territory that Angela never should have entered.
The blonde coughed and looked away. "So, uh…wh-what are you planning on doing for his birthday this weekend?"
"Ah, well, I'm kinda behind this week, but I luckily booked the store in advance." Carly answered, her voice lighter. "It's at the Magic Palace with a few of his friends. Planning on coming?"
"Oh, you know it!" Angela beamed at the change of conversation. "I bet I can convince Ben to come along too."
"Hoping you'll also change his mind about having kids of your own?" Carly teased, finally looking away from the screen.
"Oh, you know it." The blonde winked and gave a small wave. "What can his fairy godmother get him this year?"
Carly rolled her eyes but couldn't stop the huge grin on her face. "He's really into Jack lately. Anything related to him, I'm sure he'd like."
Angela waggled her eyebrow. "And you Carly? You still really into Jack?"
"I'll never stop." Carly answered honestly. "But, I told him that I would wait here in New Domino for him, so I will."
Angela chuckled and stepped away, leaving Carly alone to finish her work. The time on the clock passed quickly and when the black-haired girl lifted her head again, it was just after two in the afternoon.
Carly stretched with a slight groan. Her piece was finally finished, and only needed a few more minutes to tweak the editing. She smiled to herself; if Carly was able to sell this piece to her boss, she could actually afford to buy James the Duel Monsters deck she had been promising him for months.
The phone rang, making her look away. Carly blanched, watching the number flash across the screen that made her heart drop into her stomach. "Oh no…" She moaned.
The number belonged to James's school, which only served to make her more nervous. She slowly picked up the receiver from the cradle, her hand nearly shaking. "…Hello?"
WYD
Mommy was angry. James knew it, no doubt, but he knew she was seriously angry with him.
She had barely spoken to him after she had picked him up from school, early. Mommy had shown up, messy and sloppy like normal, but her face was scrunched up in the same way that James did whenever he saw green veggies. She talked with Mr. Hanasaki, his teacher, and he felt really bad after he had explained how he and Daniel had gotten into a really big fight.
Daniel had been really mean first, making fun of James and calling him a really bad word that Mommy had told him to never say. Mommy had told him exactly what that word meant, so it made James feel really, really bad because he knew he didn't have a daddy. He wanted to know his daddy, but he hated being called that word.
He got angry, and instead of letting it go like Mommy had taught him, James shoved Daniel. Daniel and Clifford and Lenny got mad back, and pushed him, and before he knew it, James and the boys were all yelling and grabbing clothes and arms like they were playing King of the Mountain, except not as fun.
When the teachers started asking what happened, Daniel had been quick to say that it was all James's fault, and that was how they called Mommy.
No one really wanted to hear what James said about Daniel. James knew he had been bad, but he still was really unhappy that Daniel and his friends were still not in trouble after everything that had happened.
Mommy made him dinner, but no dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets. Just regular chicken, and she wouldn't let him have the juice he liked either. James pushed the chicken and green veggies around on the plate, hoping Mommy would stop being mad.
"Mommy, are you mad?"
Mommy stopped, putting her fork down. She thought for a minute. "…No. No, I'm not mad James."
"Really Mommy?"
"Really."
James smiled, bouncing in his chair. "Yay!" He said. He stabbed the chicken on the end of his fork and put it in his mouth. Suddenly, he was hungry.
"But, I want to know James…why did you and that other boy get into a fight?"
"He called me a bad name." James immediately answered. As soon as he did, he forgot about Mommy's rule about not talking with his mouth full.
She seemed to forget too, though, by continuing. "What bad name?"
"The one you told me that I'm not."
Mommy's eyes grew big for a minute before she sighed and looked away. "Honey, I'm sorry…"
"It wasn't me. So, I'm not mad."
Mommy blinked before laughing. "You're right sweetie. Forget it then."
"Mommy?" Mommy looked up. "Can you please tell me about Daddy?"
Mommy looked like she was about to tell a secret that she wasn't supposed to but looked away. "…I…don't know sweetie. There's…not a lot to say…but, also a lot to say."
"I don't understand Mommy."
"Yeah, I didn't think you would sweetie…" Mommy sighed. She sighs a lot. "…What would you like to know?" She finally said, looking sad while smiling.
James was happy. He banged the fork on the table. "Tell me how you met!"
"Well, Mommy was chasing a story. And Mommy ran into him while she was working…" Mommy trailed off, looking nervous, almost like she was in trouble with her Mommy! "Well, uh…th-there's actually something else sweetie…"
James moved his head to the side, like Mommy did when she was confused. "Yes Mommy?"
"…Well, there's three people…who could be your Daddy…"
"…Really?!" James bounced in his chair. "Tell me Mommy, tell me!"
Mommy blinked. Then she laughed. "Alright, alright…I'll tell you what sweetie. I'll tell you about how Mommy met these three who could be Daddy…and then you can tell me who you think he is."
"Okay!" James agreed. "Is one of them Mr. King?"
Mommy looked a little mad. "I can't tell you who they are James. I want you to guess who Daddy is, I can't tell you who they are."
"…Is he Santa Claus?"
Mommy snorted. "No sweetie, Santa Claus is definitely not Daddy."
"But, I can guess who Daddy is?"
"Yes sweetie."
"And if James guess right, you'll say who Daddy is?"
Mommy smiled and held up her pinky for James to take. "…Deal." She said.
James took the pinky swear.
A/N: Read and review.