[A/N]: Maybe I mentioned this somewhere but I originally decided to update 2 chapters at a time since they were short and I wanted you guys to have something substantial to read. I've been busy lately (and the chapters seem longer) so I'm going to update this one for now and maybe within the next week I'll have chapter 8 done (that's my hope at least). Enjoy!
"Are you hungry?" Itachi asked Ta once he was safely strapped into his car seat. Itachi looked in the review mirror with wide, hopeful, almost manic eyes and a wide smile that hurt his cheeks. In truth it hadn't been that long ago since he'd spoken to a small child. Ordinarily he'd speak to a child the way he spoke to adults but with a softer, kinder expression painting his features. Ta was hesitant to speak to him as it was so he'd hoped that the more he smiled, the better his chances at forging a bond with him. He planned out the itinerary of their day and wanted it to go smoothly which depended entirely on his nephew's willingness to cooperate with his secret plans.
But Ta regarded him with a sort of caution one exercised when watching animals in the wild. Which was to be expected given the wolfish expression on his uncle's face.
Itachi turned the key in the ignition and relaxed his features with a sigh of resignation. "It's nearly noon. We should at least eat something for lunch." He said trying to appeal to the child's sense of logic. "Did you eat lunch yet?"
He shook his head.
"Okay then. "Let's get something to eat!" He said, trying to channel some of Keiri's positive energy from earlier.
From the corner of his eye he could see Ta nodding in the rearview. Progress. They were making progress.
For lunch Itachi had chosen a restaurant that was known for serving breakfast all day. He reasoned that everyone enjoyed traditional breakfast foods – pancakes or waffles, eggs which could be cooked a variety of ways, hash browns, sausages, you name it. Itachi was more than a capable chef of course but by going out to eat he could focus entirely on Ta and get to know him better. And going to a breakfast restaurant worked in his favor if he could determine the types of things Ta liked to eat in the mornings. Parenting was not at the top of his list of things he wanted to accomplish at this moment in his life and now that he'd been thrust into the role of a parent he figured he deserved a head start.
"One adult menu and one kid's menu!" Said their waitress who was a young woman with hair dyed a deep purple color and pulled into high messy pony tail. She tossed their menus onto the table and reached inside her pocket to produce a packet of crayons and a folded piece of paper that looked to be a coloring page which she handed to his tiny companion.
Her bizarre customer service style would have been expected of teenager, not for a woman in her mid-thirties. And she was sucking on what looked to be a lollipop? Of course immediately caught Ta's attention whose eyes were fixed on the stick protruding from the woman's mouth.
And of course, before Itachi could distract him or change the subject, the waitress took notice. "Want one?" And just like that she extended a hand out to Ta with several lollipops poking out from between her fingers.
"The red one please!"
"You've got good taste, little man." The waitress told him and gave him a lollipop. "Want another—d"
"One," Itachi interrupted, "is fine, thank you."
Whereas most people would have been embarrassed by overstepping their boundaries, this woman merely glanced at him with a look of indifference and extended her fistful of contraband out to him. "Do you want one?"
"No thank you, I'm fine." He said.
The woman smirked. "Suit yourself." And stuffed the candies back into her apron. Pulling out a pad and pen she flipped to an empty page and properly introduced herself. "My name is Anko and I'll be your server today. Can I get you started with any drinks?" She asked.
Itachi nodded and flipped the kid's menu over to point out the list of drinks to Ta. "What would you like?" He asked Ta and turned to Anko. "I'll take a coffee and a water please."
"I'll take a chocolate milk please." Ta told her.
"Chocolate milk?" The waitress parroted and quickly scribbled it down on her notepad.
Itachi blinked in surprise. Sasuke hated chocolate milk. "Are you sure you don't want orange juice or apple juice, or regular milk?"
Ta looked at him with that same blank expression and wilted in his chair slightly. "Regular milk is fine…"
"Chocolate milk or regular milk?" Anko asked them.
She probably thought Itachi was one of those health conscious parents who monitored what their child ate. They'd left Social Services less than an hour ago and already he was being judged. "Chocolate milk is fine." He said conceded.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
"Okay, a coffee, a water and a chocolate milk coming right up! I'll give you two a minute to look over the menu and decide what you want, mmkay?"
Ta tucked kept his head down, staring at nothing in particular.
Itachi reached out a hand to cup his face and faltered. He'd done no more than hold his nephew's hand. Was it okay to touch him like so? Had he been abused in the past? Itachi didn't know and he certainly didn't want him to scream or run away if he triggered some deep emotional scar within. At least not in such a public space. Mabui would no doubt receive an influx of calls from a local diner claiming that a predator was making advances on a kid he was just granted guardianship of only to find out that Itachi was the predator in question.
Instead, he lightly tapped the menu in front of him. "Hey," he said gently, "it's okay. I didn't think you would like chocolate milk. That's why I suggested regular milk. You can order whatever you want today."
The boy nodded slightly.
Itachi repressed the urge to sigh. What happened to you? He wanted to ask. He had several questions he wanted to ask him but he had to approach it delicately. It was much too soon and this wasn't the time nor the place.
"What would you like to eat?" He asked. "You can pick anything you want."
Ta looked over the laminated menu, eventually pulling his arms out from underneath the table to keep it in place. Itachi watched him, trying to determine what Ta's thought process was. Given his scrutiny of each menu item before moving onto the next told him that he was methodical in his decision making. Sasuke didn't have such patience. He'd exclaim "I want that! No wait, I changed my mind! I want that! Or do I want that? Can I have both?" As he grew older he grew more predictable. "Same as usual."
Ta, on the other hand, was like a miniature adult save for the widening of his eyes when he happened across something he liked. Itachi tried to track his gaze, hoping it would give him a clue as to the sorts of things Ta fancied without having to outright ask him but some of the kids' items were ridiculous. Pancakes doused in confetti icing with sprinkles and pancakes donning whipped cream smiles and cherries for eyes. Yet those were the things that seemed to catch Ta's attention.
"Anything catch your eye?" Itachi asked at one point.
"I'm not finished yet."
Itachi sat back in his chair, floored by the bluntness of his response. And he said it with a straight face too! Sasuke exhibited some of the same behaviors when he was a child. Though his remarks had a whining edge to them that indicated that he felt rushed. His eyebrows would furrow, puff out his cheeks and kick his legs until his face turned red. It seemed to embarrass their father who would put a hand on Sasuke's legs to quiet him but to a young Itachi it was quite the spectacle.
Not a moment later the waitress returned with his water and coffee and Ta's chocolate milk. "Have we made a decision yet?"
Itachi opened his mouth to ask for a little more time when Ta pointed to an item on the menu. "I'd like this please."
He pointed to a small pancake platter that came with eggs and a slice of bacon. A practical choice, Itachi thought. Sasuke would have chosen the smiley face because he thought it was funny only to ask their mother to scrape off the whipped cream because he didn't like it.
Itachi gave the Anko his order and instructed her how to cook Ta's eggs. She jotted everything down with a friendly, albeit crooked smile thanks to the lollipop, and promised she would be back in a few.
Across from him Ta was unsheathing the straw from its wrapper and pushing in into the plastic lid. He cupped the drink in both hands and sipped from the straw. His lips puckered and his cheeks sucked in as he drank and there was no indication that he disliked the beverage.
"Do you like it?" Itachi ventured.
Ta nodded against the straw.
Itachi smiled. "That's good." He said. "Do you want me to help take off your coat? You must be hot."
Ta shook his head. "You're still wearing your coat."
He was right. Itachi had merely removed the scarf from around his neck and unzipped his jacket. "I have poor circulation which means I'm always cold" he chuckled. "You don't have to keep your jacket on just because I kept mine on. If you feel hot let me know and I'll help you remove it."
"I'm okay." Ta said.
"Alright." Itachi nodded. His gaze fell to where the coloring page and crayon pack lay. He reached across the table to pick up the crayons to open them. "After this I thought we could do a little bit of shopping. How does that sound?"
"What are we shopping for?" Ta asked, eyes trained on Itachi's hands.
He pulled the plastic apart and dumped the crayons in his open hand. "I was thinking we could shop for some toys for you to play with since I don't have any at home."
Ta nodded somberly. What could it be this time? The mention of home? Did it bring back memories of his own broken home or the family he'd suddenly lost? Toys he'd left behind?
Itachi didn't want to overwhelm him with too much all at once but he also didn't want him to be bored once he realized the only thing to do at the apartment was color with ball point pens and legal paper. He'd take him to the toy store and buy him whatever he wanted until the cart was moderately filled. And if he chose nothing, Itachi had other plans in mind that he hoped would put a spark in his eyes.
"Trust me, you'll want something to do when you get bored of drawing on napkins with pens." He joked. "Black and blue pens, mind you. Not the colorful kind."
Another sullen nod.
Perhaps he was silently grieving. Did he have fond memories of Sasuke or his mother sitting on the floor having make believe battles with toy soldiers? Were his only memories of Sasuke a single occasion when he'd chosen to play with his son? Which begged the question of Sasuke's mental state. Was he sober or was he high? Maybe there were arguments involving how money was spent.
"Maybe if you spent less money on drugs he'd have something to play with!" His partner would yell.
"Maybe if you made more money we wouldn't have this problem!"
But would Sasuke say something like that?
"I noticed you like to read." Itachi ventured before he could entertain anymore scenarios of what Sasuke would have been like as a parent. "After the toy store maybe we could go to the bookstore."
There. He revealed his trump card and at that, Ta's face visibly brightened. He smiled and gave Itachi an enthusiastic nod.
Itachi gave a slight smile in return and took a drink of his coffee in an attempt to hide his mental quandary. He wanted to maintain this somehow. To keep Ta smiling at him and foster a sense of trust and mutual respect between them. But the relationship he'd had with Sasuke, the relationship between bothers, was different from that of a parent and child or in his case, an uncle and nephew. It was unrealistic to expect to always be on good terms with the child before him. He would need to set rules and enforce them, praise his accomplishments, scold him when he misbehaved, teach him the ways of the world and support his dreams.
Unlike his own father he would be present in Ta's life. He would listen to what he had to say and wouldn't enforce his own dreams on his nephew while maintaining an authoritarian parenting style. He would be someone that Ta respected and felt comfortable enough to talk to.
"Alright," said Anko as she turned the corner with their meal balanced on her shoulder, "A kid's pancake platter for you young man, and a strawberry cheesecake pancake platter for you, sir. Can I get you two anything else at the moment?"
Itachi looked at Ta who was examining the assortment of syrups at the end of the table. "That'll be all for now, thank you."
"We also have an assortment of syrups; we have maple, strawberry, blueberry and butter pecan." She said, pointing to each syrup canister as she listed the flavors.
Itachi thanked her again and when she excused herself and walked away he turned his attention to Ta. "I'm not sure you'll like syrup." He said lightly. "Why don't you try a little bit first and if you like it you can have some more?" Itachi couldn't place the emotion on Ta's face at that moment. Annoyance? Exasperation? "Did you have something else in mind?"
Ta outstretched his hand and pointed to the syrup assortments. "I want to try all of them." He said.
Immediately Itachi imagined him mixing the syrups together as Sasuke might have done when they were young. "You can try each one," he said, "one at a time."
"That's what I was going to do." Ta said. "One type for each pancake."
Itachi blinked in astonishment. Ta had developed a plan and intended to execute it until Itachi interrupted him by making assumptions. It made sense that Ta would be frustrated with him. Instead of throwing a tantrum, however, he calmly explained his plan to him and patiently waited for Itachi's approval to go forward with it. "Alright then. Go ahead."
He watched Ta climb onto the seat to reach the syrups in the caddy. He picked the maple syrup first and held it in front of his face to examine how it worked.
Itachi considered asking him if he needed help but refrained from doing so to spare himself another glare. He was finding that Ta either already had a preconceived plan in mind or liked to try to figure it things out on his own first. So Itachi sat back and watched him squeeze the neck of the syrup bottle. He watched him try to slide the nozzle open. He watched him hesitantly tilt it in case the shift in weight would trigger the release mechanism. It was all very fascinating to watch and he was glad he hadn't interrupted him this time.
"I need help." He eventually admitted with a defeated pout.
And so Itachi demonstrated how the mechanism worked and laced his hands over top of Ta's to help guide him while he poured. He poured a small circle of syrup about the size of a quarter onto the first pancake and watched Ta do the same with the other three.
It turned out that Ta preferred the strawberry syrup to the other kinds that were offered and liked butter pecan the least. To his surprise, he even asked Itachi if he could try some of Itachi's strawberry cheesecake pancakes which had looked more like a sadly erupted volcano of strawberry syrup and melting whipped cream seeping through the cracks where he'd divided the mound. He opened his mouth to discourage him but stopped himself. If this child wanted to try something harmless Itachi would let him and come to his own conclusion about its taste.
"What's this white stuff?" Ta asked.
"Whipped cream." Itachi answered. Among other things, Sasuke hated whipped cream.
But Ta loved it. And pretty soon Itachi found himself nibbling on Ta's forgotten slice of bacon while Ta scraped the whipped cream off Itachi's plate.
He was foolish to think that Sasuke would have a child that took after his distaste for sweet things and thus, save Itachi from the highs and lows of a sugar rush. How could he be so blessed? What's more, he now needed to conceive ways to hide his candy stash somewhere Ta wouldn't find it. He was also forever doomed to share his deserts with his nephew and encourage him to save sweet things for after meals. Itachi would have to heed his own advice then. Gone were the days of eating ice cream out of the carton for dinner when he'd forgotten to make something for himself and felt too lazy to do so.
"Can we go to the bookstore after this?" Ta asked him.
He had whipped cream on his nose. "That was the plan, remember?" Itachi said, reaching over the table with a napkin to wipe it for him.
Ta wriggled his nose underneath of his prodding hand. "I don't want to go to the toy store though."
Itachi considered this. Ta was expressing interest in something that would keep him entertained. And if he couldn't have a nephew that preferred healthy options to sweet ones he'd take a nephew that preferred pursuits of the mind like reading over stepping on legos or toy soldiers strewn out across his kitchen floor.
Though it would have been funny to have at least one battle between plastic cowboys and little green soldiers. Just like he and Sasuke used to do when they were younger and had to find ways to occupy themselves.
Maybe Ta would humor him and let him buy a set.