chapter 5
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Three years later.
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"You stupid son of a bitch, I said square route, not cube route."
"Son of a bitch - that's one to save for Shu!"
''Shu' won't care," Yuki mumbled smugly. "And you know it."
Cody struggled to keep his words back, fidgeting in his chair and sucking his lips in. He glared at Yuki, a glare of death, but Yuki calmly ignored it.
"Now, the square route of nine-"
"Three."
"Smartass. Square route of four."
"Two."
"Square route of negative three thousand five hundred-"
"Can't be done," Cody shot Yuki a big, fake smile. "See, I'm no idiot."
"The day Shuichi gets a life and realizes you need to be in regular school with the regular kids, that day will be the happiest day of my life. You're such a little brat, I don't even know why I took you in the first place."
"Because you loooooo~ove me, Yuuuuki," Cody dribbled his words, giving Yuki a huge eyed puppy face. "Besides, I can't go to regular school. All the kids would hate me."
"Shuichi told you that, right? Said that because you were his son and it's still all over the tabloids and news that you'd get beaten up and made fun of, right?"
"Yes."
"I could be so lucky," Yuki finished with a grumble. Cody steamed.
"Tadaima, Yuki!" A familiar cry ricocheted off the walls and Yuki groaned, whereas Cody gave a whoop of joy and danced away from Yuki and the table.
"Stupid brat," he mumbled, but there was hint of a smile.
"Shuichi, Yuki called me a son of a bitch and a dumbass today." Cody skipped in circles around the pink haired man, then pounced into his arms.
"YUKI!" Shuichi paraded into the living room, Cody around his neck. "Come on, Yuki - you're supposed to be the mature one. Stop fighting, both of you, please. You have no idea what it does to me."
"I didn't call him a dumbass, I called him a smartass, that's a compliment, so leave me alone. I have a deadline to meet, thank you." Yuki stood, brushed himself off, and headed for his quiet, secluded office. "Oh, Shuichi, look at the magazine on the coffee table."
"Saw it. Did you see the daily?"
"No."
"Then look, it's funny." Shuichi shifted his weight, settling Cody into his arms. Even at age eight, the boy was small and shrimpy as ever. He was growing more and more like Shuichi every day. Only a week after the first verbal fight between Yuki and Cody, Cody'd begged to have his hair cut and dyed like Shuichi's. They'd gone out and returned not with an amber haired youth, but a pink haired mini-Shuichi, the only difference being large, brown eyes.
Then the rumors had started. Yuki was abusing them both. Shuichi was abusing Cody. Shuichi was secretly a woman who had given birth to Cody, father unknown because he was cheating on Yuki with the members of his band. Yuki was secretly a woman. Hiro was the real dad of Shuichi's adopted son. So was Suguru. And K. And Ryuichi. Nittle-Grasper and Bad Luck were codenames for child molestation rings. Shuichi was an expert with child porn. N-G Records was, in secret, a child porn photography studio. Cody was really the first human clone. Cody was a girl. Cody was a robot. Cody was from Mars. Cody was an intelligent primate.
They went on, the rumors fueling Bad Luck even beyond what it had been before. Each time a new one came out people bought the magazines just to see what it claimed this time. Everybody knew they were lies, not that the magazines knew this. Fan mail continued to pour in, and now there were some letters for Cody, too. Someone had got a picture of Shuichi rushing down the streets, Cody in his arms, and it had made the cover of Bop Peat. Everyday there were more requests for interviews with the fastest rising young talent in all of Japan.
Shuichi made the decision for Cody to be home schooled. As he was gone all day, even on most weekends now, and Yuki didn't bother working much anyway, the books and worksheets had be thrust into the writer's arms. He'd protested, but finally gave in, never in the mood to fight Shuichi anymore. He'd lost the cigarette fight long ago.
With Yuki's tutoring, Cody was growing to be incredibly intelligent. Although truly evil to his heated rival, Cody was a good kid, awaiting the day when Shuichi decided to take him on tour and let him up on stage. It hadn't happened yet, but Cody was sure he was destined to prove himself and sing along with Bad Luck, who he still worshipped.
Shuichi loved Cody as much as he would a blood son, and he knew Cody loved him back. His heart was a little more broken every day, though: not only did Cody refuse to acknowledge him as a father, but he hated and despised the only other person in the world Shuichi loved just as much. And he was despised right back.
The rivalry between Yuki and Cody was heated, and it tore Shuichi apart. He would have cut off his arms and legs if it meant those two would get along. Yuki was technically Cody's other father - yet Cody denied the fact in every way possible.
The singer kept a secret wish list in his mind. He wanted Cody to love him like a father, not like an idol. He wanted Cody to love Yuki /some/ way, no matter how little, and vice versa. And he longed to hear Yuki mention the word love at all. Because even after five years of living together, the cynical writer was still too proud and self absorbed to say it. He was naturally cold and unable to show emotion, but he showed Shuichi he cared by doing little things. Not kicking Cody out, for one. Yet he couldn't bring himself to TELL Shuichi he cared. Even 'the little things' were surprising enough, as infrequently as they happened.
For a while, Shuichi watched the closed door of Yuki's office, Cody snuggling in his arms. He finally sighed, gave Cody a small kiss on the forehead and set him down.
"Cody, why do you give Yuki so much trouble?"
"It's not my fault he hates me, Shu. He's the one who calls ME names." Cody flopped onto the couch, rolling onto his stomach and swinging his legs up in the air. He sighed. "I'm thirsty."
"Oh?"
"I'm thirsty…so can I have a drink, please," Cody giggled. Shuichi nodded, biting his lip to hold back his smile. It'd taken a while for Cody to start with good manners, but now he was getting them all the time. Shuichi felt as though, for once, he'd done something right. He strolled to the kitchen, pouring some punch into a cup. Cody was suddenly behind him. The boy wrapped his thin arms around Shuichi's waist from behind.
"I missed you today, Shu. I hate learning, I wish I could go back to work with you."
Shuichi sighed a little, setting the cup on the table and bending down. He took Cody in his arms, giving him a tight hug. "You have to learn, Cody, it's the law. If Yuki really bothers you that much, we can always send you to school. I know I said what I said about the kids being mean, but maybe if we sent you to a private school it wouldn't be so bad. The only thing is, most of the private schools around here are pretty snobby. I don't want you to grow up snobby, my chickabiddy."
Cody smiled at the old nickname. "I won't be snobby, Shu, I promise. I don't think I know how to learn in a real school, though. Yuki is mean to me but he teaches me really good."
"I know you won't be snobby, Cody, I know." Shuichi ruffled Cody's hair, which always made him giggle. It was then that there was a knock on the door. Shuichi blinked. Visitors?
He handed Cody the punch, then walked to the door. Upon opening, his brow furrowed.
Tohma.
"Hello, Seguchi-san," he commented coolly. "Would you like to come in?"
"Of course, thank you, Shindo-san," Tohma replied, just as coolly. "I came here to speak to Cody about something very important. Is he here?"
Shuichi teetered on the edge of answering no, but Cody came shooting out from the kitchen at the sound of Tohma's voice. "Uncle TOH-ma!" he said with a flourish. "Why-EVER are you here!"
"It seems you already know, Cody," Tohma laughed. "I was checking my calendar and discovered a date of vital importance approaching quickly. I believe the date was tomorrow, correct?"
"Yes," Cody bubbled.
"The instant I discovered this, I rushed over to ask you a serious question. Are you ready?"
"I am."
"Well, then, here it is - what DO you want for your birthday, Cody-chan?"
Cody laughed, running over and latching on to Tohma's leg. "I KNEW you were gonna ask me that one of these days! Of course I will marry you, Uncle Tohma."
Tohma blinked, then smiled, laughing along with Cody. "Okay, maybe I am overreacting a little bit. In all seriousness, though, I must know what to get you. Tell me, or I will buy you a chair."
"What!"
"I really, really will."
"I don't want a chair. Can I tell you what I want in private?"
"Of course," Tohma nodded, holding out his hand for Cody. "Your room?"
"Yes," Cody confirmed, leading Tohma off to his place of seclusion. Shuichi watched them go, steaming. He was too afraid of his boss to confront him, but he felt it was all Tohma Seguchi's fault that Cody and Yuki hated each other so much. The next time he had seen Tohma after the first fight, he'd glared, earning a surprised [fake, probably] look of shock. In his mind, Tohma had manipulated Cody in his office, and Yuki over the phone.
The bastard.
Once in Cody's room, Tohma sat down on the bed, looking around. "Have I ever been in your room before, Cody?"
"No, you never visit, Uncle Tohma," Cody scolded, settling himself next to the blond. "You should visit me more often."
"Yes, I know, I know." Tohma tapped his head, silently reminding himself. Cody shifted around.
"Anyway…what I want…I don't know if you can do it for me."
"It can't cost THAT much, Cody. Don't worry, even if you wish for me to buy you Australia, I can still pick crumbs off the street to survive."
"No…I don't want you to spend money on me." Cody closed his eyes, forcing himself to go on. "I want…for my birthday…all I want…is…I - I want Yuki to like me!"
Tohma was quiet for a few moments.
"You want Yuki to like you?"
"I do, that's what I want, Uncle Tohma. I'm sick of him hating me, and I'm sick of fighting." Cody blushed deeply, looking down at his hands as though he were ashamed. Tohma pondered this request, letting another few minutes of silence stretch between the two.
"I think I can help you, Cody."
Cody looked up at Tohma, eyes shining. Tohma put a hand on Cody's cheek, locking their eyes together.
"I promise."
--
Cody would later look back on the events of that night as proof that Tohma was, indeed, god. If he wasn't, he was one of god's lackeys. That or a warlock.
It stormed. It was a storm to beat all others, at least all others in the lifetime Cody could remember. He awoke near midnight as something crashed into his window. He sat up with a yelp, startled and pale. The howling wind gave him the impression that the building was being sucked into a tornado.
"Shit," he whimpered, yanking his old neko-neko from the drawer where it slept and holding it tight. He felt stupid, a seven year old hugging a toy for comfort, but it helped a little. However, as cuddly as neko-neko was, it didn't blot out the flashes of light, the pounding, smattering sound of rain, or the thunderclaps that grew louder as the storm enveloped Tokyo.
There was a boom that shook the building. It cracked in Cody's ears, sending some of his figurines tumbling from his dresser. He leapt out of bed, crying out as another boom made the entire place rattle in an unstable way.
The obvious solution occurred to Cody, as it did to all children who were frightened by storms, or other scary nighttime things. He shot out from his room and headed straight for Shuichi and Yuki's room. Another slap of thunder helped him speed up. He stopped at the door though, panting to catch his breath.
/What are you doing?/
His mind raced. No, he wouldn't go in, he couldn't go in...
It might be like the last time...
That was the night, wasn't it?
/No, I can't go in, it'll happen all over again...I can't, I can't.../
Instead of flinging the door open and leaping into the bed like most kids afraid of storms would do, Cody curled up outside the door. He hugged his knees, breaking down into tears and sobbing. He rocked back and forth, slowly, burying his face in his arms and finding himself unable to hold back the pain.
Such a little thing...he just wanted to hug someone because he was afraid...but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He could remember the last time-
The door squeaked.
"Cody?"
Cody choked back his cries, peering up to see Shuichi towering over him.
"What's going on...Cody?"
Wordlessly, Cody continued his weeping, standing and wrapping himself around Shuichi's waist. Shuichi, shocked, lifted Cody up into his arms.
"Cody...Cody! Tell me what's wrong! Is it the storm? Oh, Cody..." Realizing he wasn't about to get a sensible answer, Shuichi resorted to letting the boy cry into his shoulder. Gently, he stroked Cody's hair, unsure as of what to do. They'd had storms before. Although Cody had warned him that he was scared of storms, he'd never done this before. Maybe he'd just never woken up...
Why this? Why now? Nothing, absolutely nothing had happened out of the ordinary to trigger such a response.
Shuichi continued to stand there for a while, but when another thunderclap rattled his brain, he slid back into his room, closing the door quietly.
Yuki was sitting up in bed. He was leaning back, one arm behind him, another holding up a book. There was a single light - his night stand light - but the room was bright enough from lightening. Shuichi sat down on the edge of the bed, still holding the sniffling, but calmed down Cody in his arms.
"What the hell's his problem?" Yuki growled, nose still buried in his book. Shuichi turned, glaring, his mouth open and a scold on his lips.
"Leave me alone, Yuki," Cody said suddenly, cutting Shuichi off. "I know you hate my damn guts. But it's now my birthday. I'm eight. For a change, maybe you could treat me like what I am...your son."
Yuki was silent, and Shuichi's mouth hung open.
"Cody..."
"I'm better now, Shu. I'll go back to my own room. I wouldn't feel right sleeping somewhere when I'm only half wanted."
Sliding from Shuichi's lap, Cody slumped out of the room, shivering when lighting lit up the house. When the thunder finally hit, he was already back in his own bed, trembling and holding back his tears. He wanted nothing more than to be with Shuichi right now. Why the hell did he have to have so much pride? He wanted to stay...
He wept until there was nothing left to cry.
--
An hour later, two hours later, and Yuki still hadn't said a word. Shuichi had stayed up for a while after Cody left, mumbling to himself if he should go get him or not. Now, asleep or awake, Shuichi was lying on his back, as far from Yuki as he could get without falling off the bed. The action hadn't gone unnoticed by Yuki, who finally turned to look at his lover.
"Shuichi?"
"Don't even ask me. You know what I am going to say," came the muffled, slow reply. Shuichi turned over so he was lying on his stomach, face buried in his pillow.
Yuki sighed.
/I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. Why am I doing this? I don't want to do this./
He climbed out of bed, shuffled out of the room, and found himself standing in front of Cody's door.
/Fine.../
He knocked. No answer. Sighing again, he opened the door anyway, closing it quietly behind him. He looked around Cody's room, which he hasn't been inside for years. Rain was dripping down the window as a light pattering sound echoed off the walls. The storm was either in a standstill, or it was over. Either way, there was still thunder rumbling off in the distance. Yuki checked the clock - 2 a.m.
"Cody?" he whispered lightly, barely enough for anyone to hear. He held his breath as the figure in the bed stirred, sitting up and looking over drearily.
"Shu...?" Cody replied quietly, his voice trailing off. "No...it's Yuki."
"Cody..."
"Get out of here," Cody said louder, in a harsh voice. "I d-don't feel like being insulted right now. Let me have my first few hours being eight in peace."
"I was thinking about what you said before, Cody." Yuki ignored the order he'd just been given and pulled a chair close to the bed. Cody recoiled slightly.
"G-get out...I said get out of here."
"You said, 'For a change, maybe you could treat me like what I am...your son.' You've never called yourself my son before. Shuichi's, yes, but not me. Why now, Cody? What happened?"
"I don't know - okay! I don't know what happened. I'm sick of this - I'm sick of you hating me! Why do you hate me so much?"
Yuki looked puzzled. "Cody, I don't hate you. From the moment you saw me you gave me this horrible stare of dislike. You've hated me since the day we took you home."
"Maybe I was just a little scared, okay? You were really tall and loud and yelling and hitting Ryuichi a lot. I was scared, okay? You scared me to hell. I've...I've always been scared of you. But I never hated you." Cody was blushing again. He couldn't believe he was saying this to Yuki.
Yuki's face was hard set. "And you think I'm not allowed to be scared of you?"
Cody looked up, eyes wide.
"Shuichi hates this. He hates how we fight. But he really, really loves you. He loves you almost a little too much. And you are able to tell him you love him back."
"Yuki..."
"It's a little known fact, but I-" Yuki lowered his voice, cheeks going slightly pink. "I love Shuichi. It took me a while to realize it, and I still can't say it, or even show it. Here I am, nasty, cold...up against a cute, bubbly person that Shuichi adores, someone who can openly care for and love him. How do I beat that? I don't."
Cody shuddered a bit, from what Yuki said, and because a thunderclap sounded nearby. The storm was getting bad again. The rain gently pattering on the window was turning more angry by the minute. He finally lifted his gaze, turning to stare at Yuki, stare hard at him like he used to when he was little. Yuki stared back. They stayed that way for a while, just watching in silence.
After nearly five minutes, the building shook from impact again. Cody and Yuki both shivered. Feeling childish, Cody slowly reached out, grabbing his neko-neko once more and hugging it.
"That's neko-neko, isn't it, Cody?" Yuki asked gently.
Cody nodded. "Yes...he is neko-neko. Want to see him?"
"Sure."
Cody slipped off his bed, holding out the dirty yellow doll for Yuki to hold. Yuki took it, observing carefully.
"When I was three, my older sister gave me a dog doll her and my mother had sewn together. I carried it in my pocket everyday until I was ten."
"Why did you stop?"
Yuki sighed. "It disintegrated. I was lucky to save what bits of stuffing I did. Neko-neko just reminded me, that was all."
Cody watched Yuki observe his cat for a while. Finally, he stepped forward, climbed into Yuki's lap, and, almost possessively, put his arms around the writer, squeezing hard. Neko-neko slid from Yuki's hands as he returned the embrace, tears in his eyes.
The pounding rain was forgotten. The two of them grabbed a flashlight, hid under the covers on Cody's bed and talked until early morning like long lost siblings who'd been missing for years, but suddenly realized they'd been together all the time and had tons to catch up on.
The storm ended shortly thereafter.
--
Shuichi awoke alone the next morning, something he was used to, but not something he enjoyed. It felt cold and lonely. He gazed around the room, then sat still. The entire house was quiet. Odd...normally if Yuki wasn't in bed, he was showering, cooking, or typing. What was it, then? He crept from the room, peering around the living living room, expecting to see Yuki asleep on the couch. It was silent as death still, and no Yuki to be found.
The thought immediately made Shuichi paranoid. He skidded over to Cody's door, gently turning the knob and peering inside.
"Oh, my god..." he whispered, slipping to the floor.
Yuki was sprawled out on his back, blankets and pillows randomly twisted around him, a flashlight in one of his hands. Cody was lying on top of him, his arms around the writer's neck. They both breathed lightly, Cody randomly letting out a small snore.
Shuichi was crying, his fingers weakly covering his eyes.
"I...I don't believe it..." he wiped his hand across his face, sniffling back his tears. "I don't believe it..."
He stood, shakily, closing the door behind him. He wobbled his way into the kitchen, intent on making Cody the best birthday breakfast he'd ever had in his entire life.
Although it was nothing compared to the greatest gift he'd already gotten.
--
to be continued.
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follow the arrow and click, onegai
shimasu.
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