Edited (12/01/2015): Corrected my mistakes and altered some scenes but nothing important changed!
A new chapter!
If I missed a mistake, I'm so sorry since I had this important family function that took up my week leaving me with little time writing all this up and checking for mistakes. Going to my cousins house is hell.
Before going on with the story I like to answer some reviews:
-This story is going to be updated every Monday. If i ever miss one Monday, then it will be carried to the next following week. [Pay attention to this!] (for reviewer Raven-V-Blackshade)
-One of you have mentioned about me keeping the old version of the story around while I rewrite but I prefer to separate the two stories. I don't want readers to have false info from my old version since the rewritten version has MAJOR changes. (For reviewer HeilHydra)
-This chapter is pretty explanatory to some reviewers that had questioned about the characters. (For reviewers LadyWilliams and CatLoverx33)
With that being said, on with the story!
Disclaimer: Does not own KHR. Just the OC's.
Warning: Those who are queasy about vomit being mentioned and again, character with emotional constipation.
"The itallics"- Is speaking in another language (French)
"The bold"- Is speaking in another language (English)
And I know that you're scared by the notion.
.
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The light from the street lamp situated above us is the only source of light in this damp alley way the blonde stranger had walked into. We have been waiting outside this small house that had seen better days for a full minute after the man had knocked on the doors hurriedly, a scowl on his lips.
I can hear someone cursing followed by a sound of a vase crashing to the floor from. All these unusual sounds originating from behind the wooden door pained red, chipping off at some places due to age.
When I had in mind when someone utters the word 'doctor' is the hospital. A big building filled with people in uniform working long shifts and patients waiting by for treatment. Not some ordinary house people could overlook at one glance. Giving another look over the building had aged for quite some time and really need a contractor to fix the cracks crawling up the walls like vines; I wondered what kind of doctor this man decided to bring me to.
Probably a private doctor?
"What is that idiot doing in there?" the blonde stranger muttered under his breath, hunching over my small figure to act as a barrier from the cold winds, "I'm going to kick his door down if another minute pass. Screw patience."
Another curse and the door rattled violently before it swung open to reveal a man obviously irritated from being woken up from his sleep considering how his eyes narrowed. Unlike the blonde stranger, this man is older who is likely to be in his mid thirties, has dark hair which I could take as brown in this lighting. A faint stubble is also seen decorating the man's face.
The hilarious thing about this man's appearance is the pink bathrobe worn as a jacket; the flaps remain open to reveal the world the white wife beater and grey sweatpants underneath.
Brown eyes narrowed at the blonde stranger, a flash of annoyance flickering in his gaze before moving it down to stare at me. The iciness held in his gaze melted slightly, leaving behind sadness in its wake.
"If this were under difference circumstances I would have kicked your ass, "The brown haired man pushed aside his door and allowed passage for the blonde stranger to go inside with me in his arms, "Hurry inside with the kid."
"Thanks Damien."
"Shut up and get your ass inside already, "'Damien' grumbled in reply, shutting the door behind up and flipped the lock where it snapped in place.
It was a relief going inside a building, sheltered from the winter winds outside. If it weren't for the blonde stranger holding my small form close to his chest and his thick trench coat, I would have suffered the entire journey reaching this house.
The blonde stranger glanced back to our host, moving aside in the narrow dimly lit hallway for the older male to pass through before trailing after him into the first room on our right.
The room we entered is large, almost the size of two large bedroom joined together but with the lack of walls separating it. The walls are painted in teal blue paint and the floors are covered with grey paneling. Compared to the lighting in the hallway, this room is bright with light coming from several sources in the room.
One part of the room is dedicated for operations seeing the overhead lights and medical table situated below while the other half of the room is dedicated to be the recovery room with a bed neatly made and prepared for patients. The blonde stranger made a beeline to the bed, ignoring the other male sharp hiss to not sit on the bed. The blonde stranger ignored him in favor of staring down at me.
"I'm pretty sure you wanted me to check the baby, Quinn. Not wake me up in the morning just to sit on the bed." Damien stated irritably from his spot across the room, looping a stethoscope he got from one of the drawers installed into the room. In my opinion, it's hard to take the man as a professional doctor considering how he is dressed. It's comical actually.
It snapped Quinn, the blonde stranger, out of his stupor. He quickly snapped his head up at Damien when his name is uttered and I swore that his neck popped because of the fast action.
"That's not my name anymore," Quinn said, "I thought we established that long ago."
"Oh forgive me, Akira." Damien replied bitterly, his French accent not compatible to pronounce the foreign name which rolled off his tongue stiffly. "I have a hard time remembering when waking up in this god awful hour."
I wondered which name is the blonde stranger's birth name but it seemed like he wanted it to be Akira for some unknown reasons. Quinn sounds like a good name in my opinion but I am in no position to voice out my opinion to convince Akira. So Akira it is.
Akira glowered but made no remark to reply. Instead he just handed me over to the doctor in everything he wrapped my body in.
Damien snatched me away from Akira's grasp and tucked me into his arms. He held me better compared to Akira but considering is line of work; I'm not surprised by his experience and knowledge. "Be careful or you'll drop the baby!" he hissed at the other.
"I'm sorry 'mom'."
The brunette rolled his eyes at Akira's sarcastic response before peering down at me in his arms for a moment. He made a sound at the back of his throat before moving to the operation side of the room, settling me down on the operating table to examine me closely.
"Weighs lighter than normal but nothing worrying. Cold from being left outside but healthy. Looks like a four month year old baby? Maybe five months at best…" The doctor rambled off to himself, poking and prodding my body softly without causing any discomfort, "Eyes following moving objects without a hitch. No injuries or infections to be seen."
He poked me in the stomach which tickled and shamefully let out a giggle at the touch.
The corner of his lips twitched upwards at the sound.
"Good stimuli response but cold to the touch. Needs to be warmed up and gender is…"
I stilled at his trailing words.
Fuck.
Oh my god.
I forgot that I'm a baby. Babies don't care about decency until a certain age and I should by default follow but I still have the littlest shred of decency from a time when I'm older.
I squirm uncomfortably in my cocoon but eventually resigned to my fate knowing that I can do absolutely nothing in this situation.
"Boy," Akira piped up from his spot, "I checked."
I would have inwardly cheered that I get to skip this part from the moment until I adapt with being de-aged and reborn if it weren't for one word slipping past Akira's lips. Last I remembered, I was a girl and definitely not a boy.
A boy.
I'm a boy.
I have nothing against boys and their 'junk' but living a life as a girl, a tomboyish girl, it does not erase the fact I was one; a girl that suffers from period cramps, period itself and having boobs.
Thinking about it now, I'm not going to miss getting period cramps. It's just going to be awkward suffering puberty with the voice cracking thing going on.
"Huh…" Damien muttered, checking down 'there' before covering up using the cloth Akira provided, "You weren't lying."
This retort caused Akira to answer back, "Of course. Since when did I lie to you?"
Damien turned to his work station and rummaged through his medical cabinet looking for something, "Well there is that incident when I asked you where that blood on your jacket came from and you said it was a scratch but inevitably you were stabbed in the side, " He listed off as if he rehearsed this for a long time and waited till he found a great opportunity to exploit it, "Then there is the other incident where I told you to take a break or risk getting sick but you didn't listen to me and the next day when we meet up again, you vomit all over my clean floor and–"
"I had to lie okay! You explode every time I come here to see you!" Akira responded defensively.
The doctor snorted, "Oh yeah. Bleeding on my front porch is a great way to say hello."
Damien pulled out a blanket from the cabinet and moved back over to the operating table where he left me. He made a face when he peeled off Akira's trench coat and flung it over to the owner, not caring if said mentioned owner caught the the clean blanket, he replaced the one's I'm using which I quickly found out that this one is made from a thick yet soft material, using it to swaddle me. He tossed aside the dirty blanket and once again picked me up, holding me close to his body.
"I need you to go on an errand and buy me the stuff on this list, "The doctor moved away from the operating table to pull open a drawer where with one hand collected a small sticky note and a pen.
I couldn't see Akira move from his place with me being held against the doctor but I can hear the rustle of fabric and the small squeak the bed made. Akira's peered over Damien shoulder being taller than the latter and made a face.
"When am I suddenly demoted as an errand boy?"
"The baby being my patient and you being his current guardian since you found him and insisted that I should be the one to look him over, "Damien replied and smacked the list onto the blonde haired man's chest, " I need everything on this list since you're the only one out of use that can leave the house. Doctor's orders and also I need to make sure nothing bad happens to the boy when his temperature rises so I have to stay here and monitor his condition. It also seems that you found him just in time too."
"Do you think any shops would be open at this hour?" Akira took the list and scanned though it briefly. He squinted at the small paper held in his hands, "Baby formula?"
Damien nudged Akira away and moved to take his seat on the bed that the other male had previously occupied, "It's a type of milk that babies need. He's surprisingly healthy but what doesn't make sense is why would anyone decided to dump this perfectly healthy baby boy when they could have just placed him in a baby box around town."
I blinked at his words.
A baby box or a baby hatch is known by the public when people would have anonymously abandoned a baby while being ensured that the child will be cared for. I remember reading an article regarding about child abandonment when researching up information related to crime and the law.
Akira had supposedly found me near or in garbage which explained the rancid smell after the drowning experience I went through. I didn't t let my thoughts stay long on the matter, rather I focus on being glad that he found me instead.
"Aside from that–"Damien paused for a moment to slip in a thermometer he somehow manage to produce from his figure and proceed to wedge it in armpit, "–you don't have to worry about shops being closed. With your line of work I doubt you don't have to do much but merely pull some strings here and there."
Akira froze midway of collecting his fallen trench coat from the floor and robotically picked it up before wearing it. I could see that he's wearing a white dress shirt and beige colored pants. He didn't say anything but the man is clearly upset with something Damien had said and the latter quickly took note of it.
He grimaced and quickly hid his discomfort by openly scowling at Akira, "So it's done huh? Just this once and it will be done. No more and nothing else."
The blonde haired man said nothing, simply he strode past Damien while deliberately keeping silent and I wonder if Damien had struck a nerve. I might not know the history between the two men or Akira's story but from this tense silence surrounding us, I can tell this is something very important that held significance to Akira considering how he acted closed off so suddenly.
We both watched the man head towards the hallway before stopping at the doorframe and kept his back faced towards us, hiding his face from our eyes.
"Only for the baby and I'm done, you get that?" He said stiffly.
Damien replied in a soft voice, "Crystal."
With that being said, Akira left the room and eventually the building once I heard the front door close. That left me and Damien alone in the room for the mean time. Damien let out a tired sigh and stared down at me with sad eyes.
"Sometimes he worries me," He murmured to himself and ran a finger over my head, "What am I going to do with you, Quinn?"
I gurgled in reply and squirmed about in his arms, loosening the blanket he swaddled me with and somehow manage to get the thermometer lodged between my arm and body out of its place. Damien shot a look over to the fallen thermometer that tumbled over the blanket and fell to the floor with a clatter before giving me a look where all I could do was feign innocent and give him a toothless smile.
He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose and said in a mournful tone, "What did I do to deserve this?"
Akira did not return after an hour much to Damien's irritation. The latter stomped back into the room with a mug of freshly brewed coffee in one hand considering the smell of coffee wafting into the air and a black laptop tucked under his arm before he strode over to the bed where he left me. He made extra sure to use all the pillows he have on hand and in supply, using it to block all way of entry to prevent me from rolling over when he left the room for a short while.
Like I would be stupid enough to roll over and possible die again.
The doctor set aside his mug on the table stand next to the bed before he went to the corner of the room to retrieve two chairs, situating it next to the bed. He made the two chairs face each other and then placed his laptop on the chair facing him as he sat down, grumbling softly as the laptop starts up.
"Now then–"he went ahead and popped his fingers and all I could go was just try to not openly stare at him for popping his fingers using one hand, "Let's see if you're admitted into the national database or not. It's just strange for a kid like you to be abandoned so suddenly and in such good health…" He trailed off, shooting a fleeting look at my direction before turning his gaze back to the laptop and began typing away.
With him being preoccupied with the task of finding out if I come with a name and legal birth certificate, this left me staring blankly at the ceiling with nothing to do but contemplate about my situation or entertain myself by trying to match an animal to the dark splotches decorating the white ceiling.
Maybe I should try sleeping.
Babies do a lot of sleeping if I recall.
"What the?" Damien spoke out in surprise which caused me to turn my head to his direction.
The doctor stared at his laptop with his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, fingers scratching the scalp of his head which then trailed down and settled on the nape of his neck, "I shouldn't be surprised but how?" he said to himself, "Never mind that. Quinn brought this upon himself and he will finish what he started."
A scoff sounded from across the room, "I told you that's not my name."
I cursed when Akira suddenly and silently appeared at the doorway holding onto two large plastic bags without any warning whatsoever to alert us of his presence. Damien jumped out of his seat in surprise, knocking into the bed table behind him which caused his cup to fall over and spill. The shorter man letting out a string of curses when his ceramic mug fell onto the floor, shattering into pieces.
"Don't! Don't fucking do that!" Damien shouted angrily before lowering his voice when he realized how loud he was, "You are so lucky the kid is here. I would have thrown the bed at you for just scaring me."
"Oh I'm sorry," Akira replied but did not seem apologetic as he should have been before replacing his tone with a sarcastic one, "Do you talk around your patient like that? Shame on you especially when a kid is nearby. How dare you."
To emphasize, Akira pointed in my general direction after putting down his load.
Damien snorted and used his pink bathrobe to soak up the coffee he spilt, "Like I listen you about parenting advice."
He glared at Akira and placed one of his chairs onto the mess while the latter made his way over to the bed to check up on me.
"How is he?" The blonde asked.
"Fine. I got his temperature down to normal without a hitch and went ahead digging for a name. I needed to make sure you–"he shot Akira a squinted look, "–did not decided to kidnap a child despite what you had said to me."
Akira mocked a sob and laid a hand over his heart, "I'm offended."
"Like how I'm offended with that ugly face of yours? Thanks for the emotional scar."
First degree burn.
Childishly Akira stuck his tongue out at Damien when the doctor had turned his back to the blonde.
"There are no hits unfortunately–"
"I told you."
Damien's glare returned and somehow intensified, "But he still needs to be registered into the national database."
"You don't have to. For you I mean. I can do it myself," Akira mentioned, "Besides I don't want someone else to give him a lame ass name. I get that honor."
A short period of silence.
"What?"
I would also have said the same thing but as a baby, I have very limited vocabulary and could only let out a coo to voice out my confusion. Damien was the one who openly said it, taken aback with Akira's statement and his implication. We stared at said mentioned man as if he lost his head which the latter took our staring to be negative and made a face at our expression.
It took me by surprise how a man who rescued me would take it upon himself to see it through that I actually existed and lived as a human being. Considering his circumstances with the lack of parental experience; a normal person would have high tailed out of the situation.
Akira relished the joy he felt from seeing Damien's gob smacked expression, a shit eating grin appearing on his face and green eyes sparkling with a look of trouble. The face of an obvious winner.
"I said I'll take him, " Akira repeated, unfazed with Damien's outburst and made his way over to the plastic bags left forgotten on the floor, leaving one of them untouched and carried the other onto the foot of the bed, "Are you deaf?"
The bed dipped down with the sudden added weight, groaning just a bit. I wonder what Akira had bought to make that plastic bag weigh more than it seem by appearance.
The blonde man dug through the plastic bag and pulled out a blue onesie which he lifted up in the air to examine. He let out a hum as he trailed his gaze over the material in hand before flickering his eyes back to me; likely trying to estimate weather or not I can fit in that.
The action reminded me of my mother when she needed to buy new clothes for me. I would whine and bitch all day being dragged around to buy clothes, standing to the side until my feet aches while holding onto our stuff as she browsed through the short, somehow knowing a shirt will fit me with just a glance at my direction.
A pleased smile pulled on his lips, "Perfect fit."
Damien sputtered suddenly, coming out from his initial shock. "Wh–what? What do you know about child care? Never mind that– why the sudden and abrupt unofficial adoption?!" He cried out and looked that close to tearing his hair out.
"Personal reasons," Akira replied, "I might not be the perfect candidate to be a father right now. Hell even I know that but…" He trailed off, green eyes glazing over and it seemed as if the man was staring at something that isn't there. Several seconds later he snapped out of his dazed stupor.
Damien open his mouth to object, annoyance pulling on his features and–
"This kid gave me hope, "Akira's eye met mine and they looked so sad it was if I could feel his sadness; windows to the soul, "At my lowest point, he gave me hope that I thought I couldn't find."
–immediately snapped his mouth shut with an audible click.
I looked at Akira and Damien for an answer. Switching between them rapidly in hopes to find an answer to the question lingering in my mind at this sudden development. Out of all three of us, I'm the one with more questions than answers.
"I… understand," Damien said hoarsely as if he was holding back from saying more, resigned to whatever he had in mind.
A wry smile tugged on Akira's lips as he shuffled over to pick me up from my makeshift cot, "I know you do."
The tension in the air is so thick– Thick, dense and laced with sadness. I don't know what's going on but it made me queasy, the churning in the pit of my stomach almost painful like a foreboding warning.
I'm sick and tired of trying to understand everything from just observation and getting information from the snippets of their conversation. Somehow feeling quite cranky and really, really hungry for no unexplainable reason; I did one thing a baby could do in this situation despite the fact my mindset is older.
I cried.
Very loudly.
This took Akira by surprise with a yelp escaping his lips and proceeded to drop me by accident. Damien reacted quickly and lunged across the room, catching me before I land on the floor but in his attempt to do so manage to slam his face against the side of the bed.
Loud shouting and crying ensured.
After the whole chaos had been settled, Damien then proceeded to scold Akira for his reckless behavior and the latter trying his best to calm the irate doctor while I clung to Damien as a lifeline, crying my eyes out at the sudden scare.
"How am I suppose to trust you with being a father?! You could have killed him!"
"It was an accident!"
"Accident my ass! Get those parenting books out of the bag you bought and better get studying! I will kill you if you ended up killing this child!"
"WAHHHHH!"
I have been told that making first impressions is a crucial thing when meeting new people. It is important that the first meeting goes off without a hitch.
The first thing that came into my mind about Akira being my adoptive father; this man will kill me and if he did, I will haunt his sorry ass for doing so.
With the crying I have done, it's no surprise that I fell asleep after being changed into that blue onesie Akira bought and being fed a bottle of milk by Damien, pointing out to Akira that one way to calm a crying child is to distract them or fulfill their need. The man nodded in understanding from the corner of the room having been sent to there and threatened to read all the parenting books he got while thinking about what he had done.
When I woke up it was already morning and a lot liverier outside from the frequent footfalls against the stone street, the occasional scooters driving past the house and the rustle of fabric to my right. The atmosphere is so familiar and comforting, everything that happened last night melted away from my mind.
I'm lying in my soft bed in my small apartment, awake and simply waiting for my alarm clock on the bed stand to go off as I doze off.
"Ah. He's awake."
That illusion shattered and everything came back full force.
A snort, "No shit Sherlock."
I blinked at Damien who came into my line of vision, looking refresh and groomed compared to his physical state last night. He had changed out of his pajamas and into casual clothes. A dark grey sweater vest wore over his white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow. He also wore dark blue jeans and decided to go around the room wearing slippers hearing them slap against the floor when he moved about.
Damien even combed his hair but I don't see any improvement seeing how disheveled it is now.
Akira popped up right next to Damien, peering down at me with a look of excitement in his eyes. The dark bags under his eyes became more prominent which concluded that he had not slept a single wink last night but even so he seems to be awake and energetic. Akira remained dressed in the clothes how wore last night save for the black trench coat he shed off.
He turned to Damien, "Can I hold him now?"
"Not until you manage to deal with the dummy I gave you, "The doctor chastised.
"It's just a flour sack with a face drawn on it!" Akira whined and let out a pained grunt when Damien elbowed him in the gut.
"Do you want to kill the kid like how you killed that test dummy?" His eyes darted to the side pointedly which Akira followed.
The blonde looked anywhere but at the doctor, "….no."
"Then do shut the fuck up and continue with your studies."
"But I'm already done!" Akira groaned out as Damien gingerly picked me up and cradled me in his arms, "What more can I learn?"
Damien moved about as Akira abandoned his studies by throwing a book held in his hands right over his shoulder and attempt to snatch me out from Damien's arms, failing every time he got close with the doctor making sudden turns. Not only am I impressed with Damien's agility to dodge Akira but I'm also amazed at the skill he has to not jostle me about.
Kudos to you.
"I said no, Akria!" Damien hissed at the male, using his body to separate me from the other. The advantage Akira has on his side is his height but Damien compensate the height with his strength to fight the male off; a skill gained in his field of work. If anyone would have walked into the room, they will see two grown man fighting fight physically and verbally for the right to hold a child and me, a mere baby, just there drooling all over myself.
The drooling thing is annoying since in the near future I can see myself drooling on so many bibs that have to be washed frequently of my saliva. Aside from the downside of drooling all over myself, it brought me joy that I can literally spit at someone and not get yelled out for doing so.
I dread the moment Damien would have to hand me over to Akira, the event from last night still fresh in my mind. For me to open up to him I have to see some redeeming qualities to make up for the mistake. I know that eventually Damien will have to hand me over but I would like to have the closure of knowing that Akira is capable enough not to get me killed while in his custody.
"If I can prove that I'm capable to do this. Give me a test or whatever but not the stupid sac–"
"It's not stupid!" Damien interjected, tightening his hold on me ever so slightly.
"–then will you hand Shiro over?" The blonde finished with his hand outstretched in my direction and it doesn't take a rocket scientist that he is referring 'Shiro' to me.
That's my new name.
Shiro.
A gurgled.
Right. Forgot that I couldn't speak with this new body.
"Why let the guy with a horrible name go ahead and name a child with an equally horrid name?" Damien deadpan, "I should have seen this coming."
"Bite me," Akira retorted, "And where we're going find names like this normal."
Without even letting Damien to answer back, the blonde used this opportunity to slip me out from the doctor's lose grasp and carefully held my baby form against his chest. I stiffen in his grasp, prepared for that fatal mistake where he'll fuck it up but then slowly relaxed when he began pacing about the room, gently rocking me in his arms.
"Look at that!" Akira sounded ecstatic, "He seems to enjoy it."
Damien snapped himself out of his thoughts and stepped forward, hovering around the blonde anxiously before leaning closer to see my face, "or wants to puke on you, "He noted.
Damien must be referring to the sour face I'm making. It's not because I'm going to vomit but the new name Akira had given me; while the name is not horrible as Damien had made it to be but rather how I felt letting go the identity that made me who I am or was in my previous life.
How I felt.
Fear.
Anxiety.
This is my very first step integrating myself into a new life, the first thing that will solidify the fact I'm alive once more; a new name. Forgetting the old me, letting go of the past and embracing the present. It's childish for me to stubbornly hold onto the past but who wouldn't if they were in my position?
I barely manage to get my head around everything that happen, pushing aside all my feelings and distract my mind with everything that's happening around me until I have no choice but to confront them. I'm at a standstill.
"Still…" Akira shifted his arms so that I could stare up at him without putting much strain on my neck, disrupting my train of thought, "It's a new start; for the both of us."
A new start.
Akira has a point. This is a new start for me – for the both of us. Him being a newly made father and me coming to terms of a new life.
As once Robert had said to me when I tried to recreate a move he demonstrated only to back out at the very last minute; baby steps, he would say with a hand on my shoulder, a comforting voice speaking next to my ear.
Baby steps.
I did end up puking on Akira like what Damien had said, not because he jinxed it but rather my system decided to flip out on me at that moment and it was an unpleasant experience for me and Akira. Damien stood at the side shocked at first but burst out laughing until he was on his knees gasping for air.
"Screw you!" Akira hissed to the doctor and held me away from his person when I began spitting out the remaining bile that came up into my mouth and splatter onto the clean floor. The majority of my mess is all over the front of Akira's shirt.
Damien looked up with tears in his eyes and tried to speak despite all his laughing. He tried to speak or at least say one word but only to laugh harder with just one look at Akira. He laughed so hard he started to actually cry.
The blonde shot the gasping doctor a dark glare and robotically placed me back onto the makeshift cot despite being covered in a little portion of my own vomit. He unbuttoned his soiled shirt and stripped it off, holding it at an arm length away from his body.
"This is just nasty," Akira muttered, using one hand to pinch his nose closed of the rancid smell.
Damien still remained gasping on the floor.
I would have also shot a glare at Damien who out of the three of us can do something but he remained temporarily incapacitated on the ground. The feeling of my clothes stick to my skin is enough to send a shudder down my spine and the rancid smell itself is enough to make me nauseous.
If Damien is not going to take initiative then he's to blame if I vomit a second time.
This time all over his head and I'll be the one having the last laugh.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry but that was fucking hilarious, "The doctor said, breathing hard to control his laughing and used the bed to hold himself up. Akira scowled at the man and flung his shirt at the other male before he stormed out the room, muttering curses under his breath.
The shirt Akira flung at Damien fell to the ground which the doctor collected using a pair of surgical gloves he pulled out of his pockets.
He looked at the soiled dress shirt for a moment before walking the door and poked his head out of the room, "Do you need this shirt again or what?" He called to Akira.
A slightly muffled answer, "Burn it!"
Damien shook his head and left the room, leaving me alone and covered in vomit. All I could do was stare at the spot where Damien previously stood.
Did they seriously left a baby unsupervised?
Just when I would go off gurgling which in my logic is cursing up a storm, Damien came back into the room with an apologetic smile on his face.
"I almost forgot about you," He shot a smile in my direction and peeled off his blue gloves from his hands, moving to the dustbin near the door to disposed it.
"Now," Damien strode over and picked me up while being mindful to not touch the vomit, "Let's get you out of that."
Above our heads footsteps sounded followed by the sound of rushing water like a tap or shower being turned on. Likely the person using the toilet upstairs is Akira. I remembered seeing a staircase hidden from view if one would be standing at the front door outside but if you walked inside, the base of the stairs would poke out from its hidden spot. Those stairs must lead to Damien's bedroom.
Damien made quick work removing my onesie and cleaned me up using baby wipes Akira had bought since he doesn't have a bath specialized to bath babies. This left me lying on the bed bare and only on in a diaper. I sent the doctor a blank look or any expression my face could make.
He took note of the expression I made and snorted, holding back a laugh with the palm of his hand pressed against his mouth.
"What's with that face?" He poked me in the tummy after regaining his composure, "it's not my fault the fool didn't listen and look where that got him."
He shook his head before pulling out another onesie from the plastic bag filled with clothes placed on the chair situated next to the bed, another light blue one but covered with cute panda patterns. He looked at the fabric in hand with a straight face before peering back into the bag. The doctor said nothing and resumed his task dressing me up, turning his attention to his clinic making sure his inventory is in order and that the room is clean.
He only returned when I grew hungry and demanded to be fed.
I could see that when it comes to his career, Damien is particularly stubborn to have everything in order from the littlest details to fit his taste. He preferred supplies like bandages to be stored in drawers while things like syringes are stored in the cabinet.
Vaguely I wondered where he kept his paperwork in this very organized room as he moved about. Doctors need a lot of files for notes. Damien is no exception.
Akira came into the room an hour later and I almost had mistaken him as some stranger that came waltzing into the house as if he owned the place. Damien reacted much more violently, almost throwing his chair at the male in surprise.
"Whoa there!" Akira held his hands up to protect his face.
A face clearly different from when I had last seen him an hour ago; his bright blonde hair now dyed raven black, traces of blonde in his hair gone even his eyebrows are colored. The green in his eyes are replaced with red that seemed to glow if he stood under the dark; it's hard to determine if the male had previously used contacts or he's using a pair right now to mask his eye color.
"Don't go throwing furniture at friends!" Akira cast a wary look at the metal chair held above Damien's head and slowly made his way over to the bed to pick me up.
Now in his personal space I can literally smell cinnamon on him, the scent coming from the soap he used to clean his hair or mask the smell of hair dye.
"Sorry..." Damien lowered his chair, "What's with the makeover?" he gestured to Akira's new look. Akira wore a white printed shirt beneath a black hooded jacket and wore dark blue denim jeans. He could almost pass off as a teenager.
Akira grinned, "A new start, remember? And I don't think I should be walking about in my default look right now."
"Ah," A look of understanding dawned on Damien, "I remember."
"Well we should be heading out now. I got all of our stuff ready. I just need to stuff Shiro's things into my duffel bag and we're off to the airport."
He handed me over to Damien and headed back into the hallway, coming back a minute later with a medium sized duffle bag that could be hand carried on the air plane. Taking the two plastic bags, he shoved everything into the bag and zipped it up.
"..Stay safe you hear me?" Damien spoke out, concern laced in his tone. Despite how much the two bicker, they hold a special friendship towards one another.
Akira didn't turn to face Damien and only answered, "I will."
"Promise me that and face me when you say it."
The black haired man stopped and I could see e his shoulders slump, "You know I don't keep–"
"Promise me."
Akira turned back to face us, a smile on his face.
"I promise."
I wonder if you meant it.
He then plucked me out of Damien's arms and slung his duffle bag on his shoulder, "Well..this is goodbye."
"It is," Damien agreed and turned away to stare hard at the wall to his side, refusing to look at the two of us, "Now get out of here before I decide the kid stays here with me."
Akira smiled in answered before he carried me out of the room, making a beeline for the front door. I looked over Akria's shoulder hoping to see if Damien would follow behind and watch us leave but he didn't leave the room as Akira swung the front door.
Damien reminded in the room even when the door closed shut behind us.
"See you later, Damien."
Akira's words were soft and if it weren't for the fact he had whispered those words close to my ear, his soft whispered would have been drowned out by the noise. It was quite and short but it held sentimental significance.
The temperature outside is still cold like last night but dressed in warm clothes, most of the biting cold is easily warded off but I can still feel it and huddled myself deeper into Akira's warmth.
The man breathed out, watching as his warm breath mix with the cold air before he picked a direction and took off walking in silence.
I took this silence as an opportunity to observe me surroundings in proper lighting despite how the sun is blocked by the clouds in the sky. We went down the narrow road and came up to the mouth where it connects to the main road where its mush nosier and crowded. The buildings near the main road are a lot taller compared to Damien's home.
If Damien's house is located behind the taller buildings, people unfamiliar to the area could have easily missed it.
Akira barely shot anyone a side glance and headed into the busy street head first, weaving through the crowds fluidly. His face remained blank like a mask had slipped into place but from how his eyes darted about, I could tell he's processing his surroundings. He quicken his pace and hailed for a taxi once we came near to the edge of the road.
A taxi driver noticed us and switched lanes before another rival taxi driver could intervene, pulling to a squeaking stop when the breaks are applied.
The driver lowered the passenger window, "Any specific destination?" The man questioned in a low voice, clearly speaking English and had a strong accent. I gripped onto Akira's coat, small fingers attempting to curl into the thick fabric as I worry that both parties will have trouble communicating thought this language barrier.
"The international airport," Akira replied in perfect English. I stared up at him with wide eyes, surprised that he spoke more than one language like me especially how he had no accent to it. It takes a great amount of skill to master another language without your local accent hindering the task of pronouncing a word.
It took me a lot of time talking in front of the mirror to improve me French and still struggles to pronounce difficult words.
"If you will," He added and flashed a charming smile.
The driver smiled back and gestured to the back seat with his head, "Of course sir."
Without saying more, Akria boarded the taxi and settled into this seat, the leather squeaking when his clothes brushing roughly against the material. He moved his duffle bag and situated it on the floor while he allowed me to occupy his lap, my back pressed against his stomach and a pair of strong arms curled around my body to anchor me down when the car pulled away. The driver said nothing, merely focusing his attention on the road.
The black haired man let out a heavy sigh before bending down slightly to unzip his duffle bag, rummaging through hit for a moment and finally retracted with two items at hand.
Clutched in his hands are two red passports.
Upon closer inspection I realized that they are Japanese passports.
Since when am I born in Japan when this country is not the land of the rising sun? More importantly, where did Akria manage to produce two passports and most probably fake in a day?
Questions swirled around in my head; about Akira, about Damien, their friendship and especially Akira's past.
I cooed at Akira, reaching out to touch the passport where I know one of them is mine. I wanted to see how the male manage to do all of this less than twenty four hours after rescuing me and deciding to be my adoptive father.
"No Shiro," He softly said, reverting back to French and pulled away the passports from my pudgy hands, "This is not a toy. I need this so that we both could go see a close friend of mine before heading to Japan."
Instead of fighting back, I stayed silent and just gnaw on my fingers. Watching as Akira looked though the passports before he retrieved a shoulder bag from within the duffle bag. It's medium in size, thick in width and when Akira unzipped it, he tipped the bag just enough for me to take a peek at its contents. Inside the shoulder back is an inch thick file filled with paperwork combined together neatly with labels written at the top and briefly wondered what those documents are used for.
Akira then noticed that I have been drooling all over my hand and used my bib to clean most of the drool off, setting aside his bag to conjure up a pacifier for me like a magician with just a flick of his wrist.
Would have rejected it if I wanted to but he simply put it in my mouth and went back to his bag. Meanwhile I just left the pacifier there, giving it a try and somehow manage to entertain myself with it. I have conflicted feelings about this yet I don't really give a shit.
Soon I feel asleep without knowing, lulled by Akira's warmth and the soft music coming from the radio in front.
The airport is filled with people of different nationalities, families traveling together on a holiday, people coming and going to look for a job and a new place to settle. As expected, no matter the time of the day the airport is always packed with people.
"Is that your daughter?" A women in her mid thirties questioned Akira, peering into my baby pram that he somehow got in the time I have been knocked out cold. When I woke up, we're already waiting at the departure gates with other passengers lounging about. Some were sleeping and others were talking.
"She looks pretty," the lady added.
The woman has curly blonde hair, a tone darker than Akira's blonde hair if compared, that bounced as she tilted her heat to stare at Akira seated next to my pram with his nose buried in another parenting book.
"No I found him near the toilet and yes I'm pretty certain he's a boy," Akira replied nonchalantly, his eyes never leaving the page even when the lady chocked on air and hastily walked away with her luggage dragged behind. I watched her disappear into the bustling crowd and turned my gaze back to Akira, wanting to see if he knew the repercussions of his words because the lady seemed genuinely horrified at the implication that he kidnapped a child.
A few seconds passed.
"Fuck!"
There is it.
He snapped the parenting book in his hands shut, a horrified look appearing on his face when the words finally dawned on him. Another curse left his lips and he hastily shoved the book back into the bag before taking hold of my pram and wheeled me away to a secluded area that is closer to the gates but reserved for mothers with young kids around my age.
I looked around to see if anyone had saw Akira's mistake but only three toddlers were the ones openly staring at him, those who are older are occupied with their phones.
He situated the pram to face the chair and took a seat in it, hugging his duffle bag close to his chest like a teddy bear. A big one if you will.
"Great. Day ones as a father and you have to go shove a foot down your mouth and fuck things up. Good going, "Akira muttered under his breath, "Why do you always have to fuck things up?" He almost whined but quickly gathered his composure when his muttering drew unwanted attention from those seated nearby.
His cheeks turned red with embarrassment and ducked his head down to make himself seem smaller. The act and sight caused me to giggle at him, the pacifier I have been sucking on dropping onto my stomach because seeing a full grown man who always keeps a cool head somehow revert back to a young anxious teen on his first day of school is amusing.
Hearing my laugh, Akira shot me an unhappy look with his lips pinched together and eyes narrowed. I quiet down at the look but his expression quickly changed into a cheerful one after a flicker of panic appearing in his eyes.
"Hey, I'm not mad," He reached out and traced a finger over my cheek, "...Just really embarrassed because I literally told someone I kidnapped you.
Akira then pulled back and ran a hand through his hair, "Damien would have a field day if he knew about this."
A gurgle from me.
Damien would totally use this information to his advantage.
Akira grinned as if he knew what I was saying to him before gathering his stuff, shoving what he didn't need into the duffle bag. He then moved out of his seat to pushing my pram towards the departure gates that are open, passing our passport to one of the attendants stationed there while the people behind us sluggishly grabbed their things.
One of the attendants knelt down on her knees and let out a co when her eyes met mine, "What an adorable girl you have there!"
Her colleague, the one in charge of checking tickets, kicked her friend in a discreet manner while smiling to Akira. The women kicked shot an irate look to her friend before taking note how the other kept flashing our passports to her.
Akira either did not see their interaction or rather just ignored it, made no signs of acknowledging their interaction and answered with a smile, "Actually he's my son."
"Oh!" The attendant's cheeks turned red and ducked her head to hide her embarrassment, "I'm so-sorry for the mistake. I thought your boy was a girl."
"It's fine."
How is it fine.
"We are under instructions to place prams in storage during flight and will be returned to you when the plan has landed at your destination."
"Of course," Akira said and then moved aside where he plucked me out of my seat and settled me against his hip. He didn't have to remove much from the pram unlike some mothers behind us having to pull everything from the bottom of their own child's pram and with the help of the attendant that mistaken my gender manage to fold it up. Akira was about to secure the pram only to be stopped by the attendant.
"It's fine sir. I will handle that. You and your son should get seated before the gates close," She flashed a smile before slapping a sticker onto the pram, "Again, I'm sorry for the mistake and have a nice flight."
"Thank you," Akira said before grabbing my hand to wave at the lady, "Say 'bye bye' to the nice lady, Shiro."
I spat my pacifier out at him where it nailed Akira on the eye as a response to his action. Behind us, one of the male attendants watching had a mysterious coughing fit.
He barely flinched when my pacifier nailed him in the eye, simply hooking a finger over the handle of the item and pocketed it before making his way down the narrow hallway. Faintly I could hear the two attendants Akira had been talking to bicker with one another, dropping formalities as soon as we are out of earshot but the structure of the hallway allowed their voice to be carried further down.
"Oh my god Jamie! You can't just hit on a guy though his kid! You even got the kid's gender wrong! What if he was married?"
"Hey I don't see a ring on his finger and don't go pointing to me about bullshit. You were giving him goo goo eyes during the ticket exchange! How could I not want to tap that?"
I choose to ignore the statement due to a number of reasons. Akira heard it and made a hasty bee line to the plane door with a frozen smile on his face.
"I'm not sure if being shot in the eye with a pacifier is a normal baby thing or not…" Akira mumbled to himself, blandly ignoring what he heard and handed his ticket over to a male flight attendant that greeted him at the door who then directed Akira to the business class.
If I had my pacifier now, I would have spit it out in shock.
Akira did not break his stride and slipped into his chair situated near the window where it gave me a good view of the airstrip and terminal building. He didn't seem shocked as I was when he walked into business class like it was a normal occurrence. Beside us, the flight attendant that had greeted us at the door store Akira's duffle bag in the overhead compartment.
Akira allowed me to turn about in his arms while trying to look out the window but did not relish his hold on me, letting out a chuckle at my babbling that consist of me gurgling, giggling and making baby noises with my mouth.
I'm hyped about this flight because this is my first time riding Business class even though Akira will be with me the entire journey. In my previous life I did get to sit in Business class but that was when I'm a little girl and my parents have yet to break apart.
Practically my body is buzzing with excitement and I wished that I could press my face against the window just to stare outside once the plane takes off.
"Well aren't you jumping off the walls right now," Akira nudged his shoulder bag under his seat with his foot and used one hand to fasten his seat belt before looping another belt provided to him, "What's with the excitement?" His eyes lit up with amusement when I turned to face him, craning my head up just a little.
I clapped my hands in response and blew a raspberry.
He let out a laugh, "We're going to see a friend of mine from high school and I think Aria will adore you."
.
.
.
.
We'll become who we meant to be.
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