"BAH!"
Izaya's eyes snapped open in surprise, jerking up to a sitting position as something slid down onto his lap. Looking down quickly, he cried out at the sight of the baby rolling down his legs and towards the floor, giggling happily. Izaya caught the child just in time, breathing out a sigh of relief. Then, he frowned, growing angry.
"Be careful! If I didn't wake up fast enough, you would have fallen and busted your head open!" He exclaimed,"Honestly, humans are so reckless! Even the small ones!"
He couldn't help but be irritable, the brat had constantly been waking him up in the middle of the night, over and over. Izaya felt more exhausted than he had when he first went to sleep, the kid all of sudden screaming in his face didn't help.
The baby didn't seem to get that he was being insulted, and merely giggled, waving his hands and reaching for Izaya. The raven stared at the child silently, before sighing, moving the baby to his chest. The baby instantly curled his fingers into Izaya's shirt and sighed happily, closing his eyes. Damn, this kid really was clingy.
In all honesty, this child was giving Izaya more human contact than he had experienced in years. It was strange to have someone actively looking for his affection, it made him feel.. Not so lonely, and a strange emotion filled him. It wasn't his usual, sadistic happiness, it was something that felt more pure, and Izaya wanted to understand it. Unconsciously, he placed a hand gently on the baby's back, eyes closed in relaxation.
But a nasty smell invaded his senses, and snapped him out of it.
Izaya pulled the baby away, looking at the baggy shirt it was wearing. Sure enough, there was a nice wet spot on it. Looking down, Izaya could now see and feel the wet spot on his own shirt. The little shit peed on him. Great, just what he wanted, more laundry. He would have preferred water at this point.
He set the baby on the bed, taking off the shirt and tossing it next to the other shirt and his fur jacket. He then removed his own shirt, and it joined the pile as well.
He placed the baby in the middle of the bed, watching him giggle and wave his hands. Izaya's face contorted with concern, and he quickly moved forward, stacking his pillows around the baby so he couldn't roll off the bed. Not that the little boy cared, having just grabbed his toes, and now staring at them in awe.
Izaya took the moment of distraction to walk to his dresser, looking through it to try and find some clothing to wear. He only had one more of those black shirts..
Well, how much damage can he do in between me putting it on and child services picking him up? Izaya reasoned, pulling out his own grey hoodie out and slipping it on, then putting the black shirt on the baby once more. The little boy's blue eyes looked up at him once more, before he smiled and held out his hands again.
"Alright, one more hug, just because it's time to get rid of you now," Izaya said simply, kneeling down and bringing the baby to his chest, allowing the hug. The informant broker then walked over to his nightstand, opening the drawer and pulling out one of his several phones. He pulled out the paper with the number for the local social services in the district that he had looked up after the second time the baby had jerked him awake.
Finding the number, he dialed it and put the phone to his ear. However, as he pressed enter, it went straight to dial tone, not even reaching the number. Izaya's red eyes narrowed, he dialed the number again, and again, and again. But it all was the same. He tried with two other phones, but it was the same. Had something happened to the service in the area?
Izaya frowned, what could possibly be causing this? Why did the universe torture him so? No, fuck no. He was not going to let a stupid phone get in the way of getting If he had to walk there, he would walk there. He didn't care at all about a little rain.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, for Izaya.. It wasn't a 'little rain' anymore.
Izaya found himself at the lobby of the apartment building, staring at the sliding front door in disbelief and shock. Against the glass, which was tightly shut, was a huge pile of snow pushing against it. They were snowed in, he literally couldn't get out. Even then, who was crazy enough to walk in that?!
Izaya sighed, looking at the baby in his arms. The blue eyes stared up at him, still hugging to his chest. "This is crazy.. It was just raining yesterday, what happened?" He questioned aloud,"It never snows in Tokyo, it all just turns to slush!"
There was the sound of giggle behind him, and someone said,"You didn't hear about the snowstorm coming? It was all over the news yesterday."
Izaya turned around, noticing an old woman who was holding her laundry, and smiling at him. She had gray hair pulled up in a bun, with red glasses, and a simple blue yukata. Izaya felt a little frustration, slumping his shoulders as he declared,"Well I was kind of busy yesterday.."
The baby, as realizing he was being brought up into the conversation, let out a peal of happy giggles, and reached a hand out to grab at Izaya's face.
The old woman gasped, walking over, and looking at the baby with adoration. "Aww.. What a handsome little man!" She cooed. The child's loud nature suddenly went away, as he grew shy, and buried his face in Izaya's chest, peeking out one blue eye.
The old woman looked up at him, and asked,"May I hold him?" Izaya suddenly felt a violent wave of a protective feeling, before he quickly shook it off and nodded. Why did he feel like this? It wasn't like the kid was his.
They transferred the child over to the old woman's arms, making him stare up at the woman curiously. She smiled, tickling the baby's chest, and making him squeal happily. The old woman laughed at the child, saying,"What a happy boy!"
Seeing the woman make him laugh, Izaya felt a weird mix of happiness and jealousy. How did this child yank emotions out of him that he hadn't felt in so long? Not even the hot-pot party that he wasn't invited to bothered him this much.
After a few more giggles, the child caught sight of Izaya again. He whimpered, beginning to struggle, and held his hands out for Izaya. The woman realized what the baby wanted. "Oh, you want to go back to daddy?" She cooed, holding the child out to Izaya again.
"Oh, no no," Izaya quickly said, taking the baby into his arms,"I'm.. Uh.. I'm not his dad. I found him in an alleyway. I was going to take him to child services today, but I guess I'll just have to wait, thanks to this snow."
The old woman seemed to understand, as she looked down at the child. "I see, well, that was a very kind thing for you to do, young man. He wouldn't have survived without your selflessness," She said, smiling at him with happy brown eyes.
Izaya frowned, shaking his head again. "No.. No, I'm not kind.." Izaya told her truthfully,"I've done a lot of bad things, especially recently.. I'm not a good person at all, there's nothing nice about me."
The old woman looked at him, her eyes narrowing as she crossed her arms. "But yet you saved an infant child from death, the type of person you claim to be wouldn't have even given him a second glance," She pointed out,"You were willing to take care of him too, is that something a cruel person would do? I think that you're simply trying to hide your true, kind nature behind a facade. I bet you really have a huge heart."
Izaya stared at her in surprise, before looking down at the baby once more. The blue eyes stared up at him in return, before a grin exploded on his face. Izaya wondered about what the woman said.. Was she right..? How had she managed to see straight through him.
The woman knelt down, picking up the laundry basket and looking towards the young man. "Come with me, I'll give you some tips to take care of him until the snow is gone, you know, if you still want to take him back," She declared, walking to the elevator.
Izaya blinked, before quickly following after her. "What do you mean if?" He questioned suspiciously.
The old woman merely gave a knowing smirk, before pressing the button to one of the lower floors. They were silent for a few moments, the only noise was the baby's soft mumbles. Then, the old woman gasped, and turned to him. "I just realized that I didn't give you my name," She realized aloud,"My name is Kazumi Aoi, but call me Obaa-San," She said,"Since I think we may be seeing each other a lot more!"
Izaya knew she was probably right, since Izaya had no clue how to care for a baby. He usually would never push aside his pride for anything, but this baby needed him, this baby was his responsibility, at least until he got rid of him. This woman, by some sheer coincidence, is just the person he needed to help him. Plus, it wasn't like anyone else would know about this. He didn't mind swallowing his pride.. Just this once.
They arrived on one of the floors below Izaya, in a smaller apartment than his. With much different furniture, most of which was a floral pattern. The whole room had the smell of cookies and reminded Izaya of his late grandmother's home.
Aoi then motioned towards the couch. "Please, sit, I'll be right back," She told him, heading down the hall. Izaya watched her go, before looking down at the baby. The blue eyes were growing wet, and his lip turned out in a pout.
"What are you whining for?" Izaya grumbled,"You're the reason we're here." The baby then began to whimper louder, until a loud sob escaped him. He began to cry so loudly, Izaya panicked, lifting the baby in the air.
The old woman rushed back in with a bag. Izaya looked at her hopelessly. "I don't know why he's crying!" Izaya exclaimed in panic, for once in his life he actually felt very desperate for help. Mainly because he had no idea what to do.
Aoi then frowned, and said,"Hang on one moment." She rushed out again, and left Izaya for a few minutes, as he tried to calm down the child. But his soft words or firm threats did not stop the child from sobbing.
Finally, Aoi returned with a bottle and formula. "Here," She ordered,"Feed him." She arranged Izaya's hands so he was holding the child correctly, and then gave him the bottle. Izaya gave a hopeful glance at it before giving it a try.
The baby's small hands placed themselves against the bottle, as he drank from it greedily. "Oh.." Izaya realized. He forgot, the kid was left in a box in an alley, he probably was starving. The informant suddenly felt guilt stab through him.. He felt like a horrible person, why hadn't he thought of something like this?!
Wait a second.. Why did he care so much? It wasn't like he was going to keep the baby or anything. As soon as the snow was gone, the little brat was gone as well.
Hopefully he'll find a happy and loving family that will take good care of him and make sure he's happy-
Shut up Izaya! Stop caring! Stop caring!
Aoi smiled, watching as Izaya held the baby. She didn't think the man realized just how naturally he seemed to be handling this, despite the circumstances. "I think you can handle him, so I'm going to go grab you a few things for you. My daughter likes to visit with her kids so I tend to always buy extra supplies to prepare, I also have some old baby clothes you can have," She said excitedly, walking off.
Izaya watched her go, slowly moving to sit back on the couch. "Well, at least I can have my shirts back now," He said idly, looking at the baby. The child ignored him, continuing to suckle at the bottle.
The woman came back with a big box of things, and set it down. She smiled at the sight. "Aww," She cooed,"You know, you'd make a very good father."
Izaya scoffed at this statement. "Oh please, I would never," He declared,"I'm a fearsome monster, the most dangerous person in all of Ikebukuro, people fear me."
"It's hard for me to take that statement seriously while you're holding a baby, that you sacrificed your own clothing for to keep warm," Aoi smartly replied, causing Izaya to open his mouth to argue, before realizing he didn't know what to say. He closed his mouth, totally not pouting at all.
Aoi moved to sit next to him. "I have some formula you can take, but you may run out before the snowstorm ends, but hopefully the stores will open before then," She explained.
Izaya nodded in return, looking over at him. "Thank you for this, by the way, I'm not sure how much longer I would have survived," He admitted, dropping his pride for another moment.
Aoi smiled gently, and nodded again. "Of course, young man, but we still have one more thing to do," She told him firmly,"We need to give him a name."
Izaya looked down at the baby, who was just about finished with his bottle. Yes, a name would be a good idea. That didn't mean he was attached to the kid, but it would be better than calling him 'the baby' all the time. Looking down at the baby, those clear blue eyes stared back at him. There were like pools of shimmering, glowing water, and he instantly knew what a good name would be.
"What about.. Haru?" He suggested, not moving his own red eyes away from the child, Aoi noticed this, and wondered why Izaya continued to deny his feelings for the kid, he was already acting like a father but he didn't seem to realize it.
Aoi nodded, and replied,"Haru.. Clear, spring, light. I think it fits him perfectly!" The old woman smiled, noticing the bottle was empty.
Izaya pulled the bottle away, and smiled. He lifted Haru up, and curiously asked,"What do you think, Haru? Do you like that name?"
Unfortunately for Izaya, Haru took that moment to throw up some of the formula that he had just eaten. It splattered against Izaya's grey sweater, and slid down onto his lap. Izaya continued to hold the baby up, his eyes half open and unamused.
Aoi took that moment to break out in laughter, standing up and picking up the whimpering baby, adjusting him in Izaya's arms so that the baby could calm down and be comfortable. "That can happen sometimes, you'll have to feed him soon again most likely," She explained,"But he kept most of it down, so that's good."
Izaya sighed, listening to Aoi on how to burp Haru. He then pulled the baby back, and looked at him. The baby stared at him for a moment, before letting out a happy gurgle, and reaching his hands out. Izaya watched him for a moment, raising his eyebrow. But for some reason, he found his angered frown turning into a smile.
"I can't seem to stay mad at you, Haru," Izaya admitted, smiling as he leaned closer, leaning his forehead against the baby's. Haru happily squealed in return, his hands grabbing at Izaya's hair and getting as close as he could to the person who had saved and cared for him.
Aoi watched, seeing Izaya's off guard moment. She knew that the two had already imprinted on each other, despite Izaya's denial. She could only hope that Izaya would realize that he needed Haru as much as Haru needed him before the snowstorm ended.
After the vomiting incident, they gave the baby a quick cleaning, Aoi had fun teaching Izaya how to use diapers, and they put Haru in a Totoro onesie. Aoi then held Haru in Izaya's penthouse while he set up the small crib after he changed his shirt again. Aoi made sure to drop several hints about how she could help him find a permanent crib and other supplies when the snow was gone for Haru, most of the time it caused Izaya to mutter himself quietly.
Once they were finished, Aoi gave the young man a few more tips. "I'll come and visit in a few days to check on you two," She promised,"Think you can handle yourself until then?"
"Sure," Izaya said, taking the sleepy baby into his arms,"How much harder can it get?" But his smirk went away when Aoi laughed, shoulders shaking.
"Oh, you'll regret saying that in a few days.. But I'll see you then! You have my number if you need anything," She told him, kneeling down a bit. "Goodbye little Haru, you and your dada have fun, okay? Go easy on him!"
The woman left, and Izaya waved goodbye. After the door shut, Izaya looked down just in time to see Haru yawning. "Oh, are you sleepy?" He asked curiously,"Well, it has been a busy day for you. You peed and vomited on me so you've had quite a busy day."
Izaya wouldn't lie, he was pretty tired too. So he headed upstairs, rocking the baby slightly. "We'll put you to bed, and I'll take a quick nap too. But I need to do some computer work eventually," He explained, not caring that the baby didn't even know what he was saying. The baby didn't seem to mind, cuddling against Izaya's chest with his thumb in his mouth.
They got upstairs, and Izaya lowered the baby into the crib, making the baby whimper slightly. Before he could start crying again, Izaya quickly brought a hand into the crib, letting the baby grab his finger. "Shh.. It's okay Haru, it's just time to go to sleep," He promised, forgetting about trying to make sure he was distancing himself from this child. Seeing him in distress stabbed Izaya in his heart.
The baby's teary eyes slowly began to close, his whimpering slowing down as he realized Izaya wasn't going to leave. Finally, the baby's eyes closed, breathing deepening, as he fell into a relaxing sleep.
Izaya stared down at the child, a soft smile crawling up at his face. This was the first time in a long time someone had actually wanted to be near Izaya, and Izaya in turn didn't mind it. He had thought the child would be a nuisance, but for some reason, he didn't care. Haru even soiled his clothing several times, Izaya didn't care.
The baby needed Izaya, he was so small and helpless. It made Izaya think about how the adoption rate of children in Japan was so low, how Haru would probably stuck in child services for the rest of his life.. Haru was such a happy baby, he didn't deserve that. Hadn't he been through enough?
In that moment, staring down at that baby in his care, Izaya felt a thought jump into his mind.
Maybe… Maybe he could, maybe he could adopt him like Aoi said?
Izaya then came back to himself, pulling his hand away, as the baby remained asleep. He then began pacing the room, running a hand through his hair quickly. "Oh no!" He said quickly,"No Izaya, stop it! I don't care, I don't care about Haru. He'll be gone soon anyways, then I will get to be alone again."
But, as Izaya walked back to the crib and looked down at the Haru, the one who looked up to him with so much love and affection, who cuddled against him like he was a lifeline, who managed to somehow squeeze through all of Izaya's defenses no matter how hard he tried, a fleeting thought entered his mind.
Was being alone again.. Really what he wanted?
