You can call this a follow-up to Baby Steps if you like, but it really falls into the Daddy Dearest grouping. TSeng gets to be Daddy all on his own, without Elena to fall back on, just like Vincent and, soon, like Reno. Read and review, and tell me who else you'd like to see as a Dad (you can repeat, as these are not ocnnected unless mentioned), the sex of the child or children, and the situation. I love feedback!
Note: This is a direct tie-in with Coming Together and Daddy Dearest Chapter One
Lightning flashed over Midgar, bringing with it an answering crash of thunder to echo off buildings. It was late. A few people sat up and watched the storm, but most were soundly asleep.
"Dad?"
A lump stirred under the blankets. It resolved into an arm, which fumbled around until it found the edge of the blankets, the nightstand, and the lamp. Once the light switched on, Tseng propped himself up on one elbow, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.
"Ryuu? What is it?"
"I don't feel good. My stomach hurts."
"Mmph. Elena, Ryuu- oh."
"Mom's in Gongaga with the President."
Tseng sighed.
"Come here."
Ryuu shuffled over to the bed. In the dim light, he looked like a near-perfect copy of Tseng until you looked at his eyes. He had Elena's eyes. Tseng reached up and felt Ryuu's forehead.
"Feels like you have a fever," he murmured. "Do you think you can go back to sleep?"
Ryuu shook his head.
"I tried," he mumbled. "It didn't work."
"Alright."
Tseng slid out of bed, padded into the bathroom, and rummaged in the medicine cabinet. Ryuu followed him and leaned on the doorframe.
"This?" Tseng asked, holding up a bottle of aspirin, "or a cup of tea?"
"Tea."
"Tea it is. Come on."
Ryuu sat on the counter and watched Tseng bustle around the kitchen, graceful even in his pajamas in the middle of the night.
"You didn't wake Hoshiko, did you?"
"Why would I?"
"She hears everything," Tseng explained. "But I think we'd know if she was up."
Ryuu nodded. His little sister liked letting everyone know where she was and what she was doing every waking moment. If she was awake, then she would either be in the kitchen or on her way. There was no singing in the hallway, so she was still asleep. Singing was her latest hobby, and she did it nearly nonstop.
"Dad?"
"Mmhm?"
"Did you and Mom want to have me?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"I mean…Rufus said that I came really soon after you and Mom married, and that you weren't expecting me. Did…did you really want me, or did you just have me because Mom didn't want to kill me or give me away?"
"Where did that come from?"
Ryuu flushed in embarrassment and stared at his feet.
"Sorry. I just…I wondered. I know you planned for Hoshiko. I helped. And I'm so much older, too…so, I just-"
"Ryuu, Elena and I wanted children. We knew that before we married. You weren't planned, but that doesn't mean we didn't want you. We weren't sure if we were ready, but what first-time parent is?"
"But you waited so long to have Hoshiko."
"Elena wasn't sure if she wanted another baby. It's no picnic for her, and she refused to quit working while she was pregnant. It just took awhile for her to decide that she wanted you to have a sibling."
"For seven years?"
"We tried…Elena miscarried three years after you were born." Tseng tapped the tea-ball against the edge of his mug and stared at his reflection in the tea.
"She did?"
"Yes. You would have had twin brothers. After that, she was afraid to try for another child. It took some time to convince her that it would be good for you, and for her. And I was right."
"I didn't know."
"She didn't want to tell you until she thought you were old enough. Nearly fourteen is old enough in my book. Here."
Ryuu took the mug and sniffed.
"What is it?"
"Catmint. It'll help with your stomach and with the fever."
"Catmint?"
"It's just a name. Sugar?"
"Nuh-uh. Can we sit in the living room?"
"After you."
Ryuu curled up in Elena's armchair, watching his father over the rim of his mug. Tseng opened the curtains before he settled on the couch. They were quiet for awhile, content to sip tea and watch the storm. Eventually, Tseng's gaze shifted from the window to his son, folded up in his mother's armchair. They looked so much alike, but Tseng was thankful Ryuu wasn't like he had been at that age. Training had hardened him early on, and being a third son and fourth child left him with little personal time with his parents. By the time he was Ryuu's age, he had two younger siblings, both of whom cut in on the little time he had with his parents and family. His older brothers weren't willing to spend time with him until he proved that it would be worth the time taken. His older sister was too busy being the oldest daughter of the household. His younger brother and baby sister were too young and too close to the heart of his problems to be decent company. Ryuu was nothing like that- he was sensitive and friendly. Tseng and Elena made time for him. He had friends in school and friends in the children of Tseng and Elena's friends. Rufus' son, Ethan, idolized him. Vincent's daughter was teaching him to play football. It was nice to see that he could be a good father after having no real role model for it.
"Dad?"
"Hmmm?"
"How come you never talk about when you were a kid? Ethan and Yazzy say their dads do all the time. And Skye said Tifa talks about when she and Cloud were kids. Mom does."
"I have nothing pleasant to tell you."
"What?"
"You enjoyed being an only child, didn't you? Having Elena and me all to yourself?"
"Uh-huh."
"I had three older siblings. My parents had little time for any of them, let alone me, and much of my time was taken up in education and exhausting training. War was brewing on the horizon, and every able child had to be trained for battle. I also had a younger brother and sister, so you can imagine the chaos in the house. I spent most of my childhood alone with my thoughts."
"Mom always says you think too much."
"Perhaps I do."
"I want to hear about it anyway."
"Why?"
Ryuu hesitated, thinking his answer through before saying anything.
"I want to know what it was like," he said finally. "I want to be like you- you always have an answer, and it's usually right, and you're Boss Turk, which means you're the best. I can't be Boss Turk now, but I can start, and I have to know more about you to do that."
Maybe Ryuu was more like him than he'd thought.
"Save that for another night, or an afternoon, when you're more likely to remember what I tell you," Tseng sighed.
Thunder crashed overhead and the lights of the city blinked out. In her room, Hoshiko woke with a scream.
"I'll get it. Stay put- I don't want you tripping over anything."
"But-"
"If anyone is tripping over anything, it will be me. Your mother will not be pleased with me if she gets home to find you've hurt yourself wandering around the house in the dark. Stay there."
"Fine."
Tseng made his way carefully down the dark hall, stopping in his bedroom to fetch a flashlight before continuing on to Hoshiko's room. She was sitting up in bed, clutching her teddy bear and wailing.
"It's alright. The power just went out."
"Daddy?"
"That's right. It's only me. Calm down."
"I don't like it," Hoshiko whimpered. In the beam from the flashlight, Tseng could see her lip quivering, warning of serious tears to come.
"I know," he said soothingly. "Just go back to sleep. It'll be better when you wake up again."
"Stay," she begged, reaching for him.
"I can't, I-"
"I want Mommy."
"She's not here right now, Hoshiko. She's gone to Gongaga with the President. Don't you remember? She called before you went to school yesterday."
"Mommy."
"Don't cry, don't cry. I'll stay, okay? Make some room for me."
Hoshiko scooted to the side, pushing several of her impressive plushie collection off the edge of the bed. Tseng climbed in with her. As soon as he stopped moving, she threw herself on him, burrowing under his arm and hiding her face in his ribs.
"Loud," she mumbled.
"I know. That one was close, wasn't it?"
"Want Mommy."
"You can talk to her in the morning."
"Want a song."
"I can't sing."
"Want a song."
Tseng sighed. She'd keep repeating that until he gave in or she started to cry. It was never things that she insisted on, it was stories and songs. Elena was much better at handling the requests than he was, mostly because he couldn't sing. He ran a mental search on what he could do to keep her happy. Humming, or the tuneless songs he made up as he went that he'd used to put her to sleep when she was a baby. Tuneless songs it was.
Thirty minutes of aimless tunes later, Tseng tiptoed out of the room and carefully shut the door. He hobbled back into the living room, one leg completely asleep.
Ryuu was asleep when he got back, slumped over the side of the armchair. The nearly empty mug was on the floor on the other side of the chair.
Tseng smiled and picked the mug up, collected his own, and carried them both back to the kitchen. Score one for home remedies. Feeling rather proud of himself, he went back to Ryuu and began the rather awkward task of picking up 5 and a half feet of leggy teenager. It took a little maneuvering and some half-said words Elena forbid Reno to use in front of her children before he had Ryuu completely out of the chair and in a position in which he could be carried relatively easily.
"This was easier when you were tiny and cute," he muttered.
He tucked Ryuu back into bed, rinsed the mugs out, and went to bed, flicking a couple of light switches back into the off position.
--
The shrill ringing of Tseng's cell phone roused him in place of an alarm clock the following morning. Tseng groaned and reached blindly for it, only to find that his arm was pinned under a small body. He opened one eye to see what the problem was. It was Hoshiko, cuddled up against him with his arm clutched to her chest.
Rather than try to free his arm, Tseng rolled over and reached with the other hand. Phone in hand, he rolled back, narrowly missing Ryuu, who had apparently woken up again and followed his sister's example. Tseng was penned in until they decided to get up.
"Hello?"
"Good morning."
Tseng smiled.
"Morning, Elena."
"You sound awfully proud of yourself for someone who I just woke up."
"I'm stuck."
"What?"
"There was a storm last night, which spooked Hoshiko. She's got a death-grip on my arm."
"And Ryuu?" Elena asked, laughter distorting her voice.
"Also here. Came in last night feeling sick. I put him back in bed, but I also sang Hoshi to sleep and she's here anyway."
"Sounds like you're doing just fine on your own. I told you it would be fine."
"If you want to call a fever and an upset stomach fine."
"If he wasn't throwing up, it's nothing to worry about. You're a better doctor than I am anyway."
"If you say so."
"I know so. There's something else, isn't there? You aren't telling me the whole story."
"Just a little father and son time."
"Meaning?"
"Men only, I'm afraid. I can't tell you."
"Tseng, that isn't fair!"
"Of course it is. I say it is."
"You can't just-"
"I'm your boss. I can 'just'."
"I will so wake Rufus up and have him make you tell me," Elena threatened. Tseng winced. Rufus was so not a morning person it was scary.
"I'll tell you when you get back. If we keep this up, the kids are going to wake up, and it's too early for that."
"Fine. I'll hold you to it, thought. Don't you dare try to get out of it."
"I wouldn't dream of it. Be safe."
"Always. Say hi to the kids for me."
"Mmhm."
"Don't fall asleep with the phone in your hand."
"Yes, dear."
"Have a good weekend. Bye."
Tseng put the phone back on the nightstand and settled back into his spot, careful not to jostle either of his bedmates.
"Mmph? Dad?"
"It's nothing. Go back to sleep."
"Wazzat Mom?"
"Mmhm. She says hello. Knowing her, she'll call later."
"Mmkay."
"Feeling any better?"
"No."
"You're not letting me get up, are you?"
"No."
Tseng sighed and pulled the blankets back over his head. It was a Saturday. Who cared how late he slept in, anyway?
