chapter 4
--
The next morning, Cody awoke when the sun was barely risen. He sat up quickly, shocked. He had no idea where he was. Wind billowed slightly in through a somewhat open window, ruffling his scruffy hair and giving him a slight chill. He looked down and saw he was still wearing his clothing from the night before. He also noticed the careful, scrutinious way the blanket he was under had been folded, again and again. His neko-neko was gently tucked under it, on a second pillow next to him. Arms shooting out, he snatched the small, dirty yellow cat doll and clung to it, still a bit lost.
It hit him very quickly. This was Shuichi Shindo and Yuki Eiri's house. He'd come here yesterday, but had fallen asleep in the car.
And this...
/This is my room?/ he wondered to himself, marveling at the thought. All his life he'd shared a room with someone else. When he lived with his mom, he didn't remember well, but he knew there was only one bedroom for them all. At the adoption center, he stayed in a dormitory with all the boys about his age. He never had a problem with it, because he'd never known something else.
Now, he climbed from his bed, neko-neko still being tightly clung to. He looked all around, wondering at what he assumed was his furniture. There was a dresser, a night stand with a small lamp, a closet, a chair, and the bed. A mirror hung on the wall. Growing increasingly curious, he opened the drawers, closet, and even peeked under the bed.
Empty?
No clothes, no toys, nothing. He wondered for a moment if Shuichi maybe hated him and would never buy him toys.
No way...
Maybe Shuichi just couldn't go shopping until he knew what Cody liked and what he wore. Or maybe him and Yuki expected Cody to bring more along than just some outfits, a cat, and a plate.
Feeling ashamed for a moment, Cody blushed, creaking open his door and peering outside the room. It was dark, and very quiet. He figured Yuki and Shuichi were asleep, and decided to explore.
"I'm not a baby and I am NOT scared of being awone," he mumbled bravely to himself, tightening the grip on neko-neko to prove his grown-upness. After walking down a short hallway, he came upon the living room. There was a couch, joined in the corner, a table, a T.V., which, oddly, was sitting on the floor - all the T.V.s Cody had known we in big cabinets or stands. Beyond the living room was a kitchen, which contained a table, and the typical kitchen stuff. It was a really small kitchen. For Cody, at least.
The last room he crept into was very plain. There were tons of books, like a tiny library...a table, and a thingy. Oh, a chair too. He climbed up on it, setting neko-neko down and flipping open the thingy.
It glowed, alive. Cody's eyes widened. He looked down at all the keys and buttons. On the screen there were a lot of words. Not touching a thing, he grabbed neko-neko and curled his hands in his lap, trying hard to read what was on the screen.
"Cody?"
Cody's head whipped around to see Yuki standing in the door, staring at him.
"What are you doing to my laptop?"
The answer didn't come. The two of them stared at each other for a while, not glaring, just watching closely. The air around them crackled, as though electricity was shooting from their eyes. They stayed that was for a while, until the silence was broken by Shuichi.
"La li ho!" he cried, strolling in the door, pushing Yuki aside. The air settled and Cody slid off the chair, running over to Shuchi and leaping into his arms. "Wah, Cody! You're up early. I was going to make breakfast and surprise you. Did you sleep good?"
"I did," Cody said quickly. "Was the place I was sleeping my very own room?"
"It was. We got all the furniture just for you."
"Can I put all my clothes in the drawers, can neko-neko have a bed in one of the drawers, since I normally don't sleep with him, can I sleep with you sometime, Shu, when it storms I all sleep in the sister's room. I really like my very own r-room." He stumbled his words at the end, realizing how much he had said and turning pink from shame.
Shuichi just laughed. "The answer is yes to everything, and I'm very glad you like your room. I was afraid you might not like the colors we chose."
Cody blinked, wondering why Shuichi was afraid of that. Why would he turn down a perfectly good room because it was a certain color? He liked all colors.
"I like all colors," he confirmed.
"I'm sure you do," Shuichi laughed, ruffling Cody's hair. He was finding that with every word Cody said, he was loving him more and more. Was it really love, though? Or just some superficial infatuation? Shuichi frowned to himself, turning and heading for the kitchen.
Yuki followed them, reaching into his pocket for cigarettes. He growled as he found they were missing. He glared at the back of Shuichi's innocent pink head, and knew exactly what was going on. Shuichi had mentioned it once - it would be bad for Cody to live here while inhaling second hand smoke. Shuichi would love Yuki even if he dealt crack cocaine on the streets, but suddenly he was getting a smug little my-way-or-the-highway attitude about him. And he did not want Yuki smoking anymore.
Yuki knew he should quit. He'd known it was a mistake from the start. Now, though, he was getting a headache and really needed a smoke. It took all his willpower not to reach out and smack the damned trickster.
They all three settled down at the table, Shuichi bopping around and scrambling eggs. Yuki and Cody sat at opposite ends. They stared at each other, more hostile this time. Cody fiddled with a fork in his hands, and Yuki drummed his fingers on the table. Shuichi totally missed the silent, non-violent confrontation as he set plates down in front of each person.
"Eat up, you two! I have to run, late for work!" Shuichi grabbed for his coat.
"WAIT!"
He blinked, his fingers sliding from the fabric. The cry had come from both Yuki and Cody at once.
"Huh?" He blinked again. "What's wrong?"
"Cody wants to go to work with you," Yuki growled.
"I want to go to work with you," Cody mumbled at the same time.
Shuichi shrugged, laughing. "Why didn't you say so, Cody! I'd love for you to come to work with me. Want to go shopping for some stuff afterwards?"
"Yea!" Cody grinned. Honestly, he didn't want to be home with Yuki all day, watching him do whatever he did. It was only after the work suggestion had been made that he realized how much he wanted to see Shuichi sing. At least, he figured that was what Shuichi did at work.
Shuichi was positively hopping now. "Oh Cody, nobody knows about you except Ryuichi! They'll be so surprised," he gushed. "Oh, you're not dressed in clean clothes! Wait." The singer bounded from the room, returning with Cody's suitcase. "I can drive to work today, and you get dressed in the back seat, okay?"
"Okay," Cody giggled. He'd never been in such an unorthodox situation before. Getting dressed in the car - how silly! He loved it.
"Bye Yuki!" Shuichi called, scooping Cody into his free arm and flicking his hand in a wave.
"Bye, Shu-ichi," Yuki sighed. He emphasized the fact that he was ONLY saying good bye to Shuichi. Shuichi missed it, but it wasn't too late for Yuki to catch the stare coming from Cody as his small face slipped out the door. He snarled.
"Wait - SHUICHI!"
"Wrapped up in my sock drawer, Yuki," the exasperated reply floated through the door. "Honestly, Yuki."
There was a creak of hinges and a click as the lock slid into place. Yuki stormed into the bedroom, ripping open Shuichi's sock drawer and tearing out a cigarette. He lit it, fumbling, voice shaking with anger.
"What the fuck did I ever do to HIM?"
--
"Ready to surprise them?" Shuichi asked loudly, turning around to look at Cody. The car swerved and horns were sounded. Shuichi swerved to avoid some car that was in the wrong lane. Or were they?
Oh.
"Watch the road, Shu, or we'll die," Cody said, matter-of-factly. "Sister told us that once."
He pulled on some socks, nervous because he wasn't very good at dressing himself and his shirt felt funny. The car finally pulled to a stop. Cody gave up on his socks and peered up.
...whoa.
N-G Records was big anyway, but when you're four feet tall, it's a place Godzilla could call home. His mouth formed a little o. His reverie was only broken when Shuichi lifted him up, giggling at his outfit.
"Cody-chan, you're dressed like me. Grab your shoes, I can put them on while we walk. I am really, really late."
He hoisted the boy onto his shoulders, kicking the door shut with his sneaker. He instructed Cody to hold tight and duck if the ceiling was going to hit him. Cody obeyed, trying not to get distracted as Shuichi awkwardly reached his arms back and tied his shoelaces. He clung tightly to the pink mass of hair, deciding after feeling how soft and nice it was that he wanted pink hair too. He chose to tell this to Shuichi later.
They strolled past recording studios, people wearing microphones, ladies in short skirts and someone carting a synthesizer around. Cody felt warm. This was where his favorite band made their songs!
And he was sitting on the shoulders of his favorite person.
He cuddled the pink a bit more, making a small "mmmm" sound of happiness as he laid his cheek in the soft mass. Shuichi snickered, reaching up to ruffle Cody's own amber mop as he opened a door. "'lo!" He bounded into his recording studio, grinning widely, his hands clasped tightly around Cody's ankles. The boy continued to cling to Shuichi's head.
"Ah, Shindo-kun," Sakano rushed over, brandishing papers that flew all over. "You need to - oh." He looked up, blinking at the small child. Cody shrunk back.
Hiro looked up, as did Suguru and K. They collectively cocked their heads to the side.
"Who are you baby sitting, Shuichi?" Hiro inquired casually, smiling.
"I'm not," Shuichi mumbled, blushing. He suddenly found himself very shy about the entire matter.
"My name is Cody," the boy suddenly piped up. "I'm five and I'm not a baby. Shu is taking me to work today, I'm going to see Shu sing."
Suguru raised an eyebrow. Sakano clasped his hands together.
"What an adorable child!"
"Reminds me of my own," K said loudly, the first thing he'd said since Shuichi came in. Shuichi looked over at him, startled. K's eyes were twinkling. He knew. "So who's is he, Shuichi?" The twinkle was now emphasized with a smirk. An /evil/ smirk.
"He's…uh…well, Cody's my son." The words were mumbled quietly, and Shuichi burned beet red. Everyone was quiet for a moment, then K started to laugh.
"I figured so - congratulations, Shuichi, you got Yuki to lighten up! What made you want to do it?"
"I - I saw a commercial, and I wanted to help. I visited and Cody really liked me. We just took him home last night." Shuichi's blush had spread to his ears now. He felt as though he'd just announced to the room that he was growing an eggplant in his liver. It sounded so odd and foreign to say that Cody was his son.
"You're a good man, Shuichi, a good man." K was positively bubbling. Cody straightened up.
"I like you, accent guy. Are you from the movies like a movie star? You look like you pick up weights everyday are you very strong? Can you pick ME up I bet you can't I weigh two hundred pounds." He paused for a breath and K broke out laughing. Quickly, in a single deft movement, the American had swept Cody off Shuichi's shoulders and onto his own. Cody squealed from joy. Nobody'd ever swung him around like that. It was fun.
Hiro made a sound like a melting slug. "You have a SON?"
"Y-yeah," Suguru agreed.
"Ah-ah-ah IIIIIIIIIAAAAAAA!" Sakano spun around in a frenzied whirlwind. "You didn't tell us, you kept it a secret, how come you didn't tell us, ah what now, what will Tohma think, he'll kill me he'll bite my head off- IIIAAAAAA!"
Shuichi laughed weakly, patting Sakano on the shoulder and calming him down. "Sakano-san, please…it's okay. Tohma should be fine with this. It was a decision me and Yuki made together, and we're sticking to it. And Cody is really happy with us."
Hiro shook his head as though clearing out his ears. He finally snapped out of it, realized exactly what was really going on, and grinned. "Shuichi, for real! You actually adopted a kid - and kept it a secret from me! I ought to kill you," he laughed, grabbing Shuichi's head and locking him into a full nelson. Shuichi struggled, but he was giggling, his cheeks paling back to normal color. This was okay - it was okay.
It would all be okay.
Sakano was returning to his normal self, laughing weakly as he watched K romp around with Cody on his back. Suguru stuttered.
"S-son?"
K snickered, plopping Cody into Suguru's arms. "Son."
Cody smiled at Suguru. For some reason he felt warm to everyone in this place, people he'd never met, and people he'd only seen standing behind Shuichi on the concert tapes. "Hi, Fujisaki-san. A girl in my old house is your fan. She has a poster of your big face."
"Ah...oh...what's that?" Suguru blinked, thoroughly confused. Cody giggled.
"I like you, you're funny."
"Wait - you mean I have FANS?"
Well this news was enough to put Suguru in the emergency room for a while. Luckily, he just stumbled a bit and meekly looked at Cody. Cody could only grin.
--
The phone rang a few times, echoing in the near empty apartment. Yuki reached over in a bored way, lifting the phone to his ear, but restraining from saying a word.
"Eiri-san?"
"Tohma," sighed the writer. "What is it?"
"I was informed minutes ago that you and Shindo-san have adopted a child."
"Yeah."
"That doesn't seem like something you would agree to or participate vigorously in."
"I did all the paperwork, got us cleared and had it all legalized. I did participate."
"But it's going to stop there, isn't it? The participation."
Yuki was silent, without any reasonable answers. He could hear Tohma breathing on the other end of the phone.
"Eiri-san."
"No, the participation doesn't stop there."
"What's his name?"
"Cody."
"How old is he?"
"Five."
"What's his background?"
"Mother was murdered by possibly abusive father, he's been in an adoption center for three years." Yuki puffed on his cigarette, about to say more but holding back.
"And...?"
"And what?"
"Eiri-san."
Sigh. "And he hates me. Okay? He hates my god damned guts. You happy, Tohma?"
"No. Why do you think he hates you, Eiri-san?"
"I don't know. I probably remind him of his dad or something. He glares at me and doesn't want to be around me."
"I am sure you return the favor, don't you."
More silence. Yuki nearly snarled, Tohma's accuracy annoying him beyond belief.
"No."
He slammed the phone down, immediately realizing he was getting out of control and struggling to calm down. He resumed typing after a few minutes. Some character in his novel died that chapter.
--
"Come in," Tohma called lightly, smiling with his head slightly tilted as usual. Shuichi entered, looking sheepish. Attached to his hand was a small arm, then a small body. Cody trailed behind, looking very nervous. When they'd been called up, alone, he immediately got frightened. He only agreed to enter if Shuichi didn't let go of his hand.
"Hello, Seguchi-san," he mumbled quietly.
Tohma was still smiling. "Hello, Cody. Would you like to sit down?"
"No," Cody said blandly, but he was ushered into a chair by Shuichi anyway, who turned even brighter red at the rude answer to his boss.
"I hear you are five years old. That's almost a teenager, Cody. I hope you are prepared for the difficult task of taking care of Shuichi-kun and Eiri-kun in their old age."
Bam. Tohma had hit the nail on the head. Cody was so surprised that he forgot to inform Tohma that he wasn't a baby. This man already KNEW he wasn't a baby. Was this god? Why was such power radiating from the small, fragile looking frame behind that desk? It MUST be god. Cody's hand slipped from Shuichi's. Tohma took note.
"Shindo-san, gomen nasai. Would it be all right if I spoke to Cody alone for a moment?"
Shuichi paused. He recalled that the last time Tohma had wanted to 'speak to him alone for a moment' - he'd be alerted that any more contact with Yuki would result in bad, evil things.
"I assure you, Shindo-san, all I wish to do is talk." The twinkling eyes and feminine voice won Shuichi over.
"H-hai," he said cautiously, glancing at Cody. "Cody, I'll wait outside...okay?"
"K Shu," Cody said, swinging his legs back and forth. Shuichi made his exit an uneventful one. The door closed and clicked softly.
Tohma stood, walking to the front of his desk and pulling up a chair closer to Cody. "So - Cody, yes? You're a very handsome young man. Are you happy with your new family?"
"Yes," Cody answered, so quickly that Tohma was a little taken aback. "I do like my family..."
"You like your ENTIRE family?"
"Yes..."
Tohma sighed. "Cody, Ei-...Yuki-san is under the impression that you hate him. Do you hate him, Cody?"
"NO!" Cody stood on his chair, filled with emotion suddenly. "I don't hate him - HE hates ME! He glares at me and he smokes and he's mean to Shu, and he hates me and he hits people!"
"He hits people?" Tohma was surprised.
"There was a boy when they came to take me home. He was tall and had brown hair. He screamed a lot and jumped on Yuki. Yuki hit him and called him bad names."
"Oh," Tohma replied, smiling to himself. "Everybody hits that boy, Cody. Don't hold it against Yuki."
Cody resumed sitting. "Oh."
Tohma thought for a moment. Both Eiri and Cody felt the other hated them. But neither would reply as to whether or not they hated each other from their own ends. Did Eiri perhaps remind Cody of a past relation or contact that caused him pain? It could be anything, the cigarettes, the attitude, the clothing, the hair, the height...anything could trigger the memories of a small boy. Standing, the blond moved back behind his desk, settling into his president's chair and folding his fingers under his chin.
"Thank you, Cody...you can go now."
Still somewhat afraid of Tohma's powerful form, Cody headed for the door, doing just as Shuichi and carefully, cautiously closing it. He felt as though one loud noise and the entire room would shatter, along with Tohma.
Long after the building was dark Tohma remained at his desk, fingers folded.
"I wonder," he whispered.
--
"Tadaima, Yuki!" Shuichi struggled into the house, weighed down by too many bags and a kid. "Yuki, HELP!"
Slowly but surely Yuki emerged from his room, noticing the bags and sighing. He padded over, grabbed one, and tossed it on the couch. Shuichi whined loudly, shuffling over to where the other had landed and dropping his load. "Whew! Cody and me just went all over Tokyo to find clothes for him. We got shoes, shirts, pants, socks, a jacket, a winter coat, tons of jammies and a HAT! With CAT EARS!" Shuichi rummaged through the bags as he spoke. "And I got him the best pair of boxer shorts because - you know why? - THEY MATCH MINE!"
"Only you," Yuki sighed, hiding the fond tone. "What, no diapers?"
The comment, meant to be a joke to lighten the mood, struck Cody through the heart like an arrow of ice. He shivered, frozen. After a moment he broke free, turning to Yuki and screaming, spit flying from his mouth.
"I don't need diapers - I'M NOT A BABY! Why do you allas make fun of me STOP MAKING FUN OF ME - I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU YUKI EIRI!"
"Don't talk to me like that!" Yuki cried back. "You are a baby - you're only FIVE!"
"I AM NOT A BABY!"
"YOU ARE - YOU ARE! IMMATURE LITTLE BRAT!"
"No," Shuichi moaned into his hands. "Stop, please-"
His pleas were drowned out as Yuki and Cody continued mouthing off to one another. Finally, Yuki attempted to tell Cody he was grounded, Cody retorted that he only listened to Shuichi, Yuki huffed, Cody puffed, and they both stomped off to their respective rooms. If only they'd looked closer, they would have seen the tears quietly dripping from the other's eyes.
"No..." Shuichi whispered, again. "Why...I had no idea...I didn't think Cody hated...and Yuki...they couldn't have..."
He looked around, eyes finally landing on the phone. It was askew, as though it had been forcefully slammed. His mind flashed to the odd face Cody wore upon leaving Tohma's office. In his mind, two and two quickly fell together.
"Tohma," he snarled, his breath ragged. "You did this..."
--
to be continued.
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follow the arrow and click, onegai
shimasu.
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