chapter 3
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Yuki was sitting on the couch when Shuichi returned home, shaking.
/Yuki, I have an idea. Things are a bit boring around here lately - don't you think so too? Because I had this great idea, Yuki, we could adopt a kid./
"No!" Shuichi mumbled. He pulled off his shoes, grumbling as he headed for the living room. God, Yuki was going to KILL him. He could picture the massacre. Maybe they're bury him in a nice place by the ocean. Or in a pyramid. Or in a tomb behind a rock. Like Jesus.
"Shuichi, where were you? You didn't tell me you were going out." Yuki held back his smiles like usual, but extended an arm so Shuichi could curl up next to him. It was almost a robotic movement. Happy, Shuichi started to move forward, then halted halfway through.
"No…Yuki. I need to ask you something first."
"Ask me sitting here."
"It's serious, Yuki, it's really something serious." Shuichi gulped back his whimpers. Yuki was in a good mood, and he didn't feel like ruining it. He imagined the rage, Yuki tearing up the house screaming, maybe even kicking him out.
/No Yuki…I don't want to leave…/
"Serious?" Yuki inquired, stretching out his arm farther. Shuichi finally took the bait and slid onto the couch, letting himself curl up next to Yuki's chest. "You're never serious unless it has something to do with a cold dinner. You nearly took my head off one time. Really, though, what's serious?"
"I…" Shuichi whimpered, tears welling up in his eyes. In his mind, Yuki had already beaten him to a pulp and thrown him out the window. "I…me and…well, today, me and Sakuma-san…"
"Sakuma-san?" Shuichi felt Yuki's grip loosen. Oh, shit!
"NONO! That's not what I was going to say!!! Yuki, just listen to me, and please try to understand. Okay, look. It all started when I was watching your talk show-"
"You told me you didn't watch that show," Yuki grumbled with a smirk. Oh, damn it all!
"I…" Shuichi stumbled over his words, knowing he was digging himself into a deeper and deeper hole. "I…I…well, I didn't…you said something and…I thought it embarrassed you, so I thought you wouldn't have wanted me to see…I'm sorry, Yuki, I'm not a liar, Yuki, I've never lied to you before, please don't-"
His ramblings were silenced as warm lips overcame his own. Yuki kissed him, firmly but gently, moving his hand up the back of Shuichi's neck. He pulled back after a moment, staring deep into the singer's eyes.
"Now, stop getting off track. I know you aren't a liar. Tell me your serious thing."
"Me and Sakuma-san went to visit the adoption agency," Shuichi breathed in a rush. "One of the boys was alone and scared. I told him I wanted to adopt him."
Yuki was silent and Shuichi started to cry.
"I saw the commercial, Yuki, it was so sad…there were kids and families…they need help and if they don't find someone who wants to love them they stay there forever, oh Yuki, I wanted to help…I didn't go to adopt, I went just to visit, but he was all alone, his name was chickabiddy…Cody…and he said he hated families…I don't know why I said it, Yuki, but I decided I really want to…Yuki, please don't kick me out, please don't hate me, I don't know what to do…"
He stopped talking to catch his breath. Yuki hadn't moved. He stared at the wall, his arm still wrapped around Shuichi. He could almost feel its grip on him tighten.
"Do you really want to adopt that boy, Shuichi?" Yuki turned to look, his eyebrow slightly arched. Shuichi felt his cheeks redden.
"I…I…yes, I suppose…I do want to…but…Yuki…"
"Then we can do it." Yuki sat up, stretching out a bit. "You know it costs money, time, patience, and love to have a child."
"I know, Yuki, I know!"
"It'll take a lot of paperwork too."
"Yes, I-"
"It's a big commitment, Shuichi, you can't be immature or rash about this decision."
"Yuki-" Shuichi was numb with shock, but he could feel Yuki's arms wrap around him. The writer buried his nose in Shuichi's hair, holding him tight.
"And it's the most generous, selfless thing you've ever tried to do."
Shuichi burned red, his body finally relaxing into Yuki's soft embrace. He wasn't kicked out or beaten to a pulp. He was getting the best response out of Yuki he'd ever gotten in their entire relationship.
And he was happy.
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"Ah, Shu-chan, Shu-chan!" Ryuichi hopped along as Shuichi briskly made his way to the adoption center. "I want to be the uncle, Shu-chan!"
Yuki walked alongside Shuichi, and he bent over, mumbling. "Why did we bring him?"
"He wanted to come," Shuichi giggled. "He promised not to tell anyone, either."
It was a few weeks and many forms later. The adoption center was brimming with activity. Two celebrities were going to adopt their most quickly rejected child!
Once serious about the idea, Shuichi and Yuki had spoken to the advisors they sent out. Cody was five years old. His mother was dead, murdered. His father was in jail for the act. Nobody know if he'd been abused, or if he'd witnessed the murder, but it was widely known that he hated families and screamed at anyone who attempted to talk him into being adopted. People would go right to him, but they never left with him. He bit one man in the nose.
His caretakers were unsure why he had taken to Shuichi so quickly, but they were almost positive it was because he was a big fan of Bad Luck. He never participated in the karaoke concerts the kids held, but he was a member of the fan club the center had going and donated every penny to the collection for a concert. Which wasn't needed now. Shuichi was signing the kids all up for his next concert, for free. He wanted to take them on tour with him, but the van wasn't big enough by far.
One of the nuns asked Cody about it, and in his own quiet way he had said that he'd love to be a family with Shindo-san. However, he had no idea it was finalized. He hadn't spoken to Shuichi since the day they'd met.
Once at the center, Shuichi waved to the kids playing outside. A nun came up to him, smiling.
"Shindo-kun! Today is the day?"
"It is. Here, this is Yuki Eiri, he's going to-"
Too late. She'd rocketed off into the sky somewhere. They watched as she floated back down, hearts marking her trail. Yuki smirked.
"Shindo-san!"
Shuichi turned, grinning as Cody came running up to him. "Cody!"
The boy stopped a foot short of Shuichi, smiling a mile wide and looking up. "Shindo-san, we all heard about the fwee concert. We're all so happy, we did something for you! Wait until I tell sister you came back, she'll get everyone ready!"
He ran off, squeaking with joy. Yuki blinked.
"I thought you told me he was quiet and shy. That was him, right?"
"It was." Shuichi was a bit dazed. "He did act shy and quiet when I first met him. I don't know what happened."
"Mm." Yuki reached into his pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. Shuichi frowned, pushing Yuki's hand down and shaking his head. Yuki rolled his eyes, sighing.
A different nun came over, smiling sweetly. "Gentlemen, please come inside. The children have a special treat. After learning they no longer had to save for your concert, they took the money and donated most of it to charity."
"That's wonderful!" Shuichi beamed. Yuki nodded approval. Ryuichi's eyes sparkled.
"They did keep a little, though. They got you something, Shindo-kun."
"They - they didn't have to do that!" Shuichi cried, a bit taken aback. "They should have bought something for themselves."
"You did them a favor, and they wanted to repay you. Come inside, they're all ready to present it."
Flattered, Shuichi nodded, following her into the building. He gazed upon the same room he'd been in yesterday, marveling in how well behaved and orderly the children were standing there. They have their hands folded, and the most smug little expressions on their face. One of the teenage girls stepped forward.
"Shindo Shuichi, we all here are very happy because of your gift." She smiled, blushing shyly. "Um…so we put some of our fund towards a gift for you. We hope you like it, Shindo-san."
Trembling, she held out a package wrapped in bright shiny paper, and stepped back as Shuichi took it from her. Ryuichi, behind him, whimpered and pawed at it.
"Can I open it?"
"No!" Shuichi stuck his tongue out at his friend, and then proceeded to open the gift. He smiled as something wrapped in a white t-shirt appeared. Turned out that the t-shirt sported a picture of Japan, and above it were the words, "Best Singer in all of:". On the back the kids had all drawn pictures of Shuichi singing. This would have been enough, but wrapped inside was a stuffed dinosaur and a gift certificate to the candy store.
"Oh gosh - you guys, this is GREAT!" he gushed, happy beyond words. Holding up a finger in the 'wait' motion, he sprinted from the room, returning half a second later wearing the t-shirt. He held up his fingers in a victory sign. The kids all looked so happy Shuichi was afraid they'd burst. Ryuichi actually took a step back.
"It's like a lot of little me's," he whispered delicatly into Shuichi's ear. They both snickered.
"Children, Shindo-san has an annoucment to make! Please, listen up - children!" One of the nuns calmed the kids down, then nodded to Shuichi, who blinked, cocking his head.
"Chickabiddy," she whispered.
"Chickabiddy?" Yuki's mouth twitched. "What?"
"It's his nickname, DARLING." Shuichi gave Yuki a dewy smile, turning back to the crowd so as to not catch Yuki's don't-call-me-that-if-we-aren't-in-bed glare.
Clearning his throat, Shuichi tried not to be nervous. Jesus. Talking to a bunch of kids was totally different than singing for screaming fans. "I uh...first of all, I really love the shirt and the dinosaur. And I'll buy lots of pocky with the gift certficate!"
Some girls giggled.
"And...I came back here for a reason today. I also brought Yuki-san with me for a reason. When I came here the first time, I just wanted to help out. While I was here I met someone who I promised I would come back for."
Some of the kids gasped. Cody, who'd been in his corner, looked up, eyes wide and shining.
"So I did...me and Yuki-san have adopted one of you!" There were more collective gasps as Shuichi turned to look, grinning, at Cody. "Cody, I kept my promise - you're in my family now!"
The gasping and whispers stopped. It was the same kind of eerie thing that happened when the sisters beckoned for silence. Dead silence, the kind that filled the house when Yuki left and forgot to mention he was doing so.
"Cody - good JOB!" a boy cried suddenly, so suddenly that Yuki, Shuichi, and Ryuichi's heads all snapped to look at the same time. It had a comical effect on the kids, who began laughing and piling up on Cody.
"Cody, Cody, oh, Cody you got adopted, finally!"
"I told you it would happen, he's the cutest one of us all!"
"Shuichi Shindo, of all people! You won't need to save up for any Bad Luck concerts ever again!"
"Three punches for three years here, one for good luck!"
"I'll miss you Cody."
Shuichi never relized a quiet kid could be so loved. Cody, although very frightened, was smiling weakly and rubbing his shoulder where he'd been lucky-punched. Deciding to join the muddle and save his new son, Shuichi tromped through the children and held his arms out to Cody.
"Want a lift?"
The boy nodded silently, grabbing Shuichi's hand and allowing himself to be lifted up. Shuichi got his second shock in thirty seconds - Cody felt like he weighed five pounds. Kids were small, but THIS small? He smiled widely as Cody wrapped his tiny arms around his neck, clinging like a fish out of water. For a moment Shuichi got the sense that Cody was clinging for his life, he was that firm and serious about it.
Shuichi made his way back to Yuki and Ryuichi. Ryuichi grinned broadly, but Yuki hid whatever smile he wanted to show. Inwardly he was pissed off, at a combination of needing to smoke, and wishing he could smile at Cody and give the boy a good first impression. However, he couldn't, so he just looked angry.
A nun held out a small suitcase. "Cody, I packed your clothes, your neko-neko, and your favourite plate. Yes, the kitchen staff decided to give it to you." She reached out, cupping the small cheek in her hand. "Ah, Cody. We'll miss you here. You won't be living too far away - promise to visit?"
Cody nodded gently, his eyes watery. He would never say it outloud, but as happy as he was to be going home with the only "family" he'd liked since arriving, he knew he would miss the sisters and all his friends. Shuichi let him go so he could give all his caretakers a hug and goodbye kiss. Most of them were sniffling back tears and waving sadly.
"Must be some damn good kid," Yuki mumbled to Ryuichi in a bored way. Ryuichi made a snorting dissaproval noise at the curse word. Yuki rolled his eyes. "You think I could have an intelligent conversation with someone ten years older than me. I feel like your father."
"Na no da. Daddy." Ryuichi grabbed one of Yuki's arms, his thumb magnetically going into his mouth. Yuki's lip curled and he growled in his throat. The j-rocker was unphased by this.
Cody finished his goodbyes, then ran back to Shuichi, nearly jumping into his arms. He resumed his position, arms around Shuichi's neck.
"I want to see our howz," he stated blandly, but quietly. Shuichi nodded. "And I want to learn how to use a teddyphone."
"You want to learn to use a telephone?"
"Yes. They never teached us how to use one, because they don't want us to call the police on accident. So I don't know how. I'm five, I'm not a baby, Shindo-san."
"I know you aren't a baby, Cody." Shuichi frowned. "You don't need to call me Shindo-san...do you want to call me something else?"
"Can I call you Shu?"
"You could call me daddy," Shuichi mumbled lightly, blushing and biting back his grin. He felt Cody's grip tighten around his neck.
"I hate that."
"What?"
"That. I hate it. I'll call you Shu."
"What will you call Yuki?" Shuichi asked quietly. Cody turned to look behind them. Yuki was attempting to light a cigarette, which was hard with Ryuichi on his back. The older man whooped with joy, tugging on Yuki's hair and giggling. Yuki snarled as he dropped the third joint since they left.
"Sakuma, get the hell off my back and stop wasting my money!"
"Smoking hurts your lungs NA NO DA!" Ryuichi decided to scream the last three words into Yuki's ear. The blond threw his arms into the air with frustration.
Cody turned away, burying his nose into the soft flesh of Shuichi's throat. Shuichi furrowed his eyebrows, wondering why Cody didn't answer. He finally settled on the answer that he was kind of tired.
They reached their parking spot and piled into the car. For the first time ever, Yuki begged Shuichi to sit in the front seat.
"I'm tired of babysitting your dumb little friends!" he cried. "Shuichi, sit in the front, please!"
"No - I'm sitting with Cody in back! Ryuichi, just sit next to me. Yuki doesn't like you."
"Da," Ryuichi squeaked, bonking Yuki on the head and ducking into the backseat, giggling, as Yuki threw a punch at him.
Cody buckled up in the middle seat silently, squashing himself against Shuichi's thigh and clinging there the entire silent trip home. By the time they finally reached it, he was fast asleep, slumped next to Shuichi with his small fists clinging weakly.
"Quiet little guy," Yuki stated as he climbed out, "isn't he."
"Yea," Shuichi answered. He gazed down at Cody, using a few fingers to brush back some amber strands of hair. "Quiet," he repeated.
It was dark outside. As Shuichi gazed at the moon, the limp child in his arms, he smiled dreamily and wondered and hoped that tomorrow would bring something good.
He had no idea that it would bring just the opposite.
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to be continued.
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follow the arrow and click, onegai
shimasu.
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