"And then we all said the alphabet and I remembered every letter
except f, and then we finger-painted, and then we had a snack, and then
we played outside, and then we wrote numbers, and then..."
That night at dinner, Tuesday relived her entire day at school for her
fathers, for what seemed like the hundredth time. Matt and Tai ate and
tried to listen to every word while Shinji dropped every other piece of
his rice on the floor for the cats to eat.
"And after that we had lunch and I had chocolate milk, and then we
read a story and I even readed some words!"
"You read some words, not readed," Matt corrected.
"Yeah," she halfway acknowledged and kept going. "And then we had a
nap, and then we played a game and I played with this boy but I forgot
what his name was but he had green socks."
"You forgot the part about going outside again," Tai added, since he
had already heard the story in perfect order many times since school had
ended.
"Oh yeah! And we went outside again!" She said happily and finally
started eating her dinner, which was surely cold by now.
"At least we know she has a good memory," Matt said, wiping Shinji's
face clean.
"And a healthy voice box," Tai said, grinning.
Matt rose to gather the dinner plates shortly after, knowing Tuesday's
story was coming to an end. Tai lifted Shinji from his food covered
highchair and took him in for his bath, setting the detachable tray on
the floor for Kikoutei and Shimofuri to lick clean. Tuesday helped her
father wash the dishes while Tai washed her brother, and after taking a
quick bath herself, it was time for bed.
The blonde tucked the little girl under her blankets while Tai gave
the not entirely potty trained baby a diaper for the night.
"Did I tell you the part about the finger-painting?" She asked as she
settled under her covers.
"About five times," he said, smiling.
"Do I get to go to school again tomorrow?"
"Every day except Saturday and Sunday," Matt informed her and received
a huge grin and giggle in return. This was certainly a huge change from
the hesitant child he had dropped off that morning.
"What are we gonna do tomorrow?" She asked.
"You'll just have to wait and see," he said. "I'm sure it'll be even
more fun than today."
She hugged her ragged doll, whose name had just recently been changed
to Koki after Tuesday decided she did not like the previous name. Matt
kissed his daughter on the forehead as Tai walked in to lay the already
dozing Shinji down to sleep in his crib.
"Daddy Tai, don't forget me!" Tuesday hollered.
"Shh, you'll wake your brother up," Matt whispered to her.
"I wouldn't forget you," the brunette said, leaning down beside
Tuesday's bed to give her a hug and kiss goodnight. "Sweet dreams,
cutie."
"Goodnight, daddy."
The couple left the room, Matt turning the light off behind them. Tai
strode down the hall to the living room, yawning and plopping down on the
couch. Matt walked behind him and placed a CD in the player. Soft music
began to echo through the room as he sat down next to his husband.
"Yami, I wanna watch TV..." Tai whined.
"Why don't we forget about the TV tonight," Matt said seductively,
running his finger down the middle of his partner's chest.
The side of Tai's mouth twitched slightly and he let Matt ease him
onto his back.
"Maybe that's... a good idea," he gasped, feeling the musician's lips
against his neck.
During their vacation the week before, they had finally been able to
make love without having to worry about being quiet for the first time in
four years. For Tai, silencing his moans and screams was extremely
difficult and the time alone was a welcome break, although both had
missed their children desperately.
Taking the noise level into account, they quickly moved their
activities into the bedroom with the door closed, and all clothing was
quickly removed. Tai ran his finger's through his husband's blonde hair
while having his nipples sucked on delicately. He was already starting
to sweat and breathe heavily as the excitement rose. Matt rolled the
athlete onto his side and sidled up behind him. Tai moaned and took
Matt's fingers into his mouth, toying with them with his tongue while
Matt nibbled lightly on his ear. The taller man's free hand went to
work, and soon they were joined together, rolling over the covers, their
legs entangled, knocking pillows to the floor. They kissed deeply while
the brunette felt an overpowering feeling start to pulse through him.
Each breathe was sharp and powerful, Tai could feel his legs shaking from
the intense sensation building up inside him. Matt bit his neck softly,
reached his hand down between them to pleasure his husband even further.
Each thrust of his body into his gorgeous lover felt better and better.
Tai clutched at him and threw his head back suddenly, unable to stand it
anymore. Matt felt a sudden warmness against his abdomen and Tai's
tightening around him caused him to climax quickly and silently, but with
nearly more force than he could bear.
"Yami... Yami..." the brunette choked. Tai was shaking from head to
toe and his eyes were glazed over from the sheer bliss. Matt looked down
at him, his blonde hair sticking to the sides of his face from all the
sweat. They stared, and then Matt bent down and kissed his husband like
his lips contained the last drop of water in an endless desert.
"I love you so much..." he whispered.
"I love you too, Yami..."
~~~~
"Uh huh, all right, that's sounds great, we'll be there," Matt said,
hanging up the phone.
"Who was that?" Tai asked from the living room, reading a sports
magazine while keeping an eye on Tuesday and Shinji who were playing on
the floor.
"Some lady from the school, there's a parent teacher conference
tomorrow night." He walked out of the kitchen and sat next to Tai. "All
the parents from Tuesday's class are invited so everyone can meet each
other and the teacher."
"But we already know the teacher, she's my sister," Tai said,
apparently not wanting to give up his Saturday evening.
"It's a chance for us to meet the other parents too, Tai. Tuesday's
going to be making new friends and I want to get to know their families."
"What about the kids?" Tai asked.
"They're having a play group for people to drop their kids off during
the meeting, so everything's taken care of."
"Yami..." Tai whined, "there's a soccer documentary I want to watch on
tomorrow night!"
"Record it."
"I don't wanna go..." He moaned. Sitting around with a bunch of
middle-aged mothers for hours was not his idea of a good time.
"Well you're going," Matt said firmly, "or no sex for a week."
"Yami!"
"Daddy, what's sex?" Tuesday said, looking up from the stuffed animals
she and her brother had been playing with.
Matt blinked.
"It's a brand of breakfast cereal!" Tai yelled.
"Can we get that kind?" She asked, crawling up into his lap.
"Ceweal, ceweal, ceweal!" Shinji screamed, slamming a stuffed bear
against the floor and giggling happily.
"Calm down Shinji, you're going to rip its head off," Matt said,
sliding off the couch to distract his son with another toy before the
innocent bear met its demise.
"That kind of cereal his only for grown ups," Tai said, knowing he was
digging a deeper hole for himself.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because it's gross," Tai answered while a squirrel plushie went
flying across the room.
"What does it taste like?" She inquired.
"Sex is NOT a breakfast cereal," Matt said, once Shinji had finally
forgotten about the stuffed animals and started drawing in a coloring
book.
"Then what is it?" Tuesday asked as Matt sat back down onto the couch.
"Well..."
"Matt, she's not even five yet!" Tai said.
"She deserves to know something about it," he said, glaring at the
brunette. Tuesday looked back and forth between her fathers patiently
while Shinji talked to himself quietly on the floor and colored.
"Yeah but, Yami..." Tai groaned.
"We'll just explain the basics now and tell her the rest when she's
older," Matt said.
"Why don't we just save the whole thing for when she's older?"
"Because then she'll just hear a bunch of stupid stuff at school and
won't know what to think!"
"Daddy..." Tuesday said, poking Matt in the stomach suddenly. She
pouted and looked up at him, apparently having waited long enough.
"Ok, Daddy Tai and I will tell you now," he said.
"Do I have to!?" Tai cried. Matt simply narrowed his icy blue eyes
at Tai, and after nearly ten years of marriage, Tai knew this was the
sign that his husband meant business.
"All right, Tuesday... sex is..."
"Not actually a breakfast cereal," Tai interrupted.
"Yeah, it's definitely not cereal."
"You told me that already!" She squealed.
"Ok, ok...." Matt was having more difficulty now than he thought he
would. "Sex is something grown ups do together when they really love
each other."
The little girl settled between the two men and listened attentively.
"They kiss and touch each other to make the other person feel good,
and sometimes when a man and lady have sex a baby is born."
"But... you're not ladies..." She said.
"Men can't have babies together," Matt said.
"Why?"
"Because boys have different bodies than girls, and only girls can
have babies."
"Can two girls make a baby?" She asked.
"No, only a boy and girl can."
"Then where did I come from!?" She said frantically.
"Well..."
"The stork!" Tai chimed in.
"No, NOT the stork," Matt growled.
"None of this would have happened if you didn't have to go and open
your big mouth!" Tai yelled.
"Not as big as yours!" Matt yelled back. This extremely childish
argument between two grown men would have continued if it had not been
for the tremendous shriek that sounded at that moment. The pair looked
up to see Shinji smiling satisfactorily with a crayon in his hand, and
the entire bottom half of the front door covered in scribbles.
"No, Shinji!!" Matt sprung up off the couch and snatched the crayon
out of his son's hands and hurried to the kitchen to find some cleaners.
"That's bad, Shinji!" Tai scolded, picking him up. "Only draw on
paper!"
The baby then started to scream uncontrollably at the sight of Matt
kneeling down to scrub away his masterpiece.
"I think someone needs a nap..." Tai groaned.
"Daddies!" Tuesday yelled from the couch. "What's sex!?"
"Later, Tuesday!" They both yelled at the same time. The conversation
would obviously have to wait for another day.
~~~~
Matt and Tai entered the conference room of the primary school the
next night after having dropped Tuesday and Shinji off at the play group
across the hall. The meeting table had been removed, and the chairs were
set up in an oval so all the parents could see each other easily.
"Yami, there are practically no other dads here..." Tai whispered.
"Well they're uncaring fathers," Matt said as he sat down.
Tai looked around at the other parents in the room, the majority of
which were women, just as he had thought they would be. Many were
talking like they had known each other forever and Tai suddenly felt like
a foreigner in a strand land.
"Hi guys!" They heard someone say from behind. They both turned to
see Kari smiling down at them.
"Hiya, Kari," Tai said, standing to hug her.
"Hey, Kari," Matt said.
"I'm really glad you both could come," she said. "Last year was the
first time I organized one of these meetings for the kindergarten classes
and everyone thought it was a really great idea to have one again."
"What are we going to do anyway?" Tai asked.
"Just get to know everyone and talk a little about your kids and
lifestyle, it's a great chance to share parenting stories," she said,
grinning. Another teacher entered the room then and tapped Kari on the
shoulder, whispering something quickly.
"I'll be right back," she said when the other teacher had left. "We
have a little crisis in the other room with some building blocks."
"Matt... I don't wanna talk," Tai mumbled after a few minutes of
eyeing the chattering women.
"But you're always the first to talk wherever we go," Matt said.
"These women all remind me of my mom and how much she embarrassed me
when I was little, I feel dumb sitting here."
"I'm sure nobody thinks you're dumb," Matt said, taking his hand and
squeezing it gently. He had a feeling the real reason Tai didn't want to
talk to anyone was in protest of having to miss his soccer documentary.
In a few minutes the rest of the parents, or rather, the rest of the
mothers had arrived and Kari began the meeting. Each woman or couple
introduced themselves and told a bit about their child, with some
information from Kari about what things were like in the classroom during
each turn. Tai stared at the floor during most of the introductions and
paid almost no attention until Matt elbowed him in the side. He sat up
and looked around, then suddenly tried to appear interested when he
realized their turn was approaching.
Once the previous mother had finished speaking, the entire group
turned to look at Matt and Tai. The brunette felt incredibly stupid
having everyone stare at him and prayed Matt would handle most of the
talking.
"I'm Yamato Ishida and this is my husband Taichi," Matt said in his
most polite and charming voice. "We're Toutoi Ishida's parents,"
"Better known as Tuesday," Kari added. "Matt and Tai are actually my
brother and brother-in-law," she said to the rest of the group.
Tai noticed two mothers whispering and shooting himself and Matt
wicked glares from across the room.
"Do you have a question, Mrs. Toshi?" Kari asked the shorter and
stockier of the two whispering women.
"You mean to say that you two men are raising a child together?" The
woman said disdainfully.
"Well, she's our daughter after all," Matt replied calmly.
"Don't you think it's a bad influence for a little girl to be raised
by a homosexual couple?" Mrs. Toshi asked, putting extra emphasis on the
word 'homosexual'.
"Are you questioning our parenting skills?" Matt asked, not quite as
calmly as before.
Tai clenched his teeth hearing this woman's moronic words and was
about ready to throw a chair at her face.
"It's not right for a child to be denied a mother," she said.
"Listen lady!" Tai finally piped up. "You've got a lot of nerve
telling us how to raise our kids!"
"I think most of the parents will agree with me," she said, glaring at
him. "Two men should not be allowed to have children."
A murmur of agreement was heard from only three or four other people
in the room, but it was enough to make both Matt and Tai nearly furious.
"Excuse me," Kari said before any more harsh words were exchanged. "I
happen to know that my brother and his husband are excellent parents and
they have no problems taking care of their daughter or son."
"So now two children are being subjected to this abnormal life?" The
woman who had been whispering to Mrs. Toshi before said.
"Our life is perfectly normal," Matt said angrily.
"Nobody here is telling you how to live your life!" Tai practically
yelled.
"Any idiot knows that a child needs to be raised by a mother and
father together, not two men claiming to be parents..." Mrs. Toshi
declared.
The tall blonde stood from his chair then, followed by the not so tall
but just as angry Taichi.
"This meeting was not held to condemn other people's families," Kari
said, stepping in front of the two. "I carried Tuesday and her younger
brother Shinji in my own body until they were ready to be born, and I
would never had done it if I wasn't sure that Tai and Matt would give
them the best life possible. I'm requesting that you don't insult my
family any further," she said firmly.
Mrs. Toshi then stood as well, receiving death stares from Matt and
Tai from behind their little sister.
"As a member of the PTA, your views on parenting and childcare lead me
to question your abilities as a teacher."
"I've been a teacher at this school for six years and I've never had
any complaints about my teaching," Kari said.
"How dare you make fun of my sister!?" Tai yelled, stepping forward.
Even though they were both adults now, his instincts to protect Kari were
just as strong as they had been when he was a child.
"Tai," Matt placed his hand on his husband's shoulder before things
could get further out of control. "I think we should go home now..." He
said softly, still glaring across the room at Mrs. Toshi.
Tai shot one last dirty look at the woman and turned to leave the room
without another word, Matt closely behind him. Kari watched the pair
leave and faced Mrs. Toshi once again.
"May I please speak to you privately," she said. "I'm sorry,
everyone..." She addressed the rest of the group and walked with Mrs.
Toshi into an unused office connected to the meeting room.
Matt and Tai took Shinji and Tuesday, who was extremely upset to leave
her friends, from play group and drove home. They sat in bed together
that night, Tai so angry he was close to crying. Matt held his arms
around his beloved tightly, not knowing what to do to ease this anguish,
since he himself was just as, if not more furious than Tai.
"Oh god, Yami... What if that crazy bitch tries to take our kids away
from us?" Tai sobbed.
"She won't," he said, kissing Tai's cheek and pulling him closer.
"I'll never, ever let that happen."
except f, and then we finger-painted, and then we had a snack, and then
we played outside, and then we wrote numbers, and then..."
That night at dinner, Tuesday relived her entire day at school for her
fathers, for what seemed like the hundredth time. Matt and Tai ate and
tried to listen to every word while Shinji dropped every other piece of
his rice on the floor for the cats to eat.
"And after that we had lunch and I had chocolate milk, and then we
read a story and I even readed some words!"
"You read some words, not readed," Matt corrected.
"Yeah," she halfway acknowledged and kept going. "And then we had a
nap, and then we played a game and I played with this boy but I forgot
what his name was but he had green socks."
"You forgot the part about going outside again," Tai added, since he
had already heard the story in perfect order many times since school had
ended.
"Oh yeah! And we went outside again!" She said happily and finally
started eating her dinner, which was surely cold by now.
"At least we know she has a good memory," Matt said, wiping Shinji's
face clean.
"And a healthy voice box," Tai said, grinning.
Matt rose to gather the dinner plates shortly after, knowing Tuesday's
story was coming to an end. Tai lifted Shinji from his food covered
highchair and took him in for his bath, setting the detachable tray on
the floor for Kikoutei and Shimofuri to lick clean. Tuesday helped her
father wash the dishes while Tai washed her brother, and after taking a
quick bath herself, it was time for bed.
The blonde tucked the little girl under her blankets while Tai gave
the not entirely potty trained baby a diaper for the night.
"Did I tell you the part about the finger-painting?" She asked as she
settled under her covers.
"About five times," he said, smiling.
"Do I get to go to school again tomorrow?"
"Every day except Saturday and Sunday," Matt informed her and received
a huge grin and giggle in return. This was certainly a huge change from
the hesitant child he had dropped off that morning.
"What are we gonna do tomorrow?" She asked.
"You'll just have to wait and see," he said. "I'm sure it'll be even
more fun than today."
She hugged her ragged doll, whose name had just recently been changed
to Koki after Tuesday decided she did not like the previous name. Matt
kissed his daughter on the forehead as Tai walked in to lay the already
dozing Shinji down to sleep in his crib.
"Daddy Tai, don't forget me!" Tuesday hollered.
"Shh, you'll wake your brother up," Matt whispered to her.
"I wouldn't forget you," the brunette said, leaning down beside
Tuesday's bed to give her a hug and kiss goodnight. "Sweet dreams,
cutie."
"Goodnight, daddy."
The couple left the room, Matt turning the light off behind them. Tai
strode down the hall to the living room, yawning and plopping down on the
couch. Matt walked behind him and placed a CD in the player. Soft music
began to echo through the room as he sat down next to his husband.
"Yami, I wanna watch TV..." Tai whined.
"Why don't we forget about the TV tonight," Matt said seductively,
running his finger down the middle of his partner's chest.
The side of Tai's mouth twitched slightly and he let Matt ease him
onto his back.
"Maybe that's... a good idea," he gasped, feeling the musician's lips
against his neck.
During their vacation the week before, they had finally been able to
make love without having to worry about being quiet for the first time in
four years. For Tai, silencing his moans and screams was extremely
difficult and the time alone was a welcome break, although both had
missed their children desperately.
Taking the noise level into account, they quickly moved their
activities into the bedroom with the door closed, and all clothing was
quickly removed. Tai ran his finger's through his husband's blonde hair
while having his nipples sucked on delicately. He was already starting
to sweat and breathe heavily as the excitement rose. Matt rolled the
athlete onto his side and sidled up behind him. Tai moaned and took
Matt's fingers into his mouth, toying with them with his tongue while
Matt nibbled lightly on his ear. The taller man's free hand went to
work, and soon they were joined together, rolling over the covers, their
legs entangled, knocking pillows to the floor. They kissed deeply while
the brunette felt an overpowering feeling start to pulse through him.
Each breathe was sharp and powerful, Tai could feel his legs shaking from
the intense sensation building up inside him. Matt bit his neck softly,
reached his hand down between them to pleasure his husband even further.
Each thrust of his body into his gorgeous lover felt better and better.
Tai clutched at him and threw his head back suddenly, unable to stand it
anymore. Matt felt a sudden warmness against his abdomen and Tai's
tightening around him caused him to climax quickly and silently, but with
nearly more force than he could bear.
"Yami... Yami..." the brunette choked. Tai was shaking from head to
toe and his eyes were glazed over from the sheer bliss. Matt looked down
at him, his blonde hair sticking to the sides of his face from all the
sweat. They stared, and then Matt bent down and kissed his husband like
his lips contained the last drop of water in an endless desert.
"I love you so much..." he whispered.
"I love you too, Yami..."
~~~~
"Uh huh, all right, that's sounds great, we'll be there," Matt said,
hanging up the phone.
"Who was that?" Tai asked from the living room, reading a sports
magazine while keeping an eye on Tuesday and Shinji who were playing on
the floor.
"Some lady from the school, there's a parent teacher conference
tomorrow night." He walked out of the kitchen and sat next to Tai. "All
the parents from Tuesday's class are invited so everyone can meet each
other and the teacher."
"But we already know the teacher, she's my sister," Tai said,
apparently not wanting to give up his Saturday evening.
"It's a chance for us to meet the other parents too, Tai. Tuesday's
going to be making new friends and I want to get to know their families."
"What about the kids?" Tai asked.
"They're having a play group for people to drop their kids off during
the meeting, so everything's taken care of."
"Yami..." Tai whined, "there's a soccer documentary I want to watch on
tomorrow night!"
"Record it."
"I don't wanna go..." He moaned. Sitting around with a bunch of
middle-aged mothers for hours was not his idea of a good time.
"Well you're going," Matt said firmly, "or no sex for a week."
"Yami!"
"Daddy, what's sex?" Tuesday said, looking up from the stuffed animals
she and her brother had been playing with.
Matt blinked.
"It's a brand of breakfast cereal!" Tai yelled.
"Can we get that kind?" She asked, crawling up into his lap.
"Ceweal, ceweal, ceweal!" Shinji screamed, slamming a stuffed bear
against the floor and giggling happily.
"Calm down Shinji, you're going to rip its head off," Matt said,
sliding off the couch to distract his son with another toy before the
innocent bear met its demise.
"That kind of cereal his only for grown ups," Tai said, knowing he was
digging a deeper hole for himself.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because it's gross," Tai answered while a squirrel plushie went
flying across the room.
"What does it taste like?" She inquired.
"Sex is NOT a breakfast cereal," Matt said, once Shinji had finally
forgotten about the stuffed animals and started drawing in a coloring
book.
"Then what is it?" Tuesday asked as Matt sat back down onto the couch.
"Well..."
"Matt, she's not even five yet!" Tai said.
"She deserves to know something about it," he said, glaring at the
brunette. Tuesday looked back and forth between her fathers patiently
while Shinji talked to himself quietly on the floor and colored.
"Yeah but, Yami..." Tai groaned.
"We'll just explain the basics now and tell her the rest when she's
older," Matt said.
"Why don't we just save the whole thing for when she's older?"
"Because then she'll just hear a bunch of stupid stuff at school and
won't know what to think!"
"Daddy..." Tuesday said, poking Matt in the stomach suddenly. She
pouted and looked up at him, apparently having waited long enough.
"Ok, Daddy Tai and I will tell you now," he said.
"Do I have to!?" Tai cried. Matt simply narrowed his icy blue eyes
at Tai, and after nearly ten years of marriage, Tai knew this was the
sign that his husband meant business.
"All right, Tuesday... sex is..."
"Not actually a breakfast cereal," Tai interrupted.
"Yeah, it's definitely not cereal."
"You told me that already!" She squealed.
"Ok, ok...." Matt was having more difficulty now than he thought he
would. "Sex is something grown ups do together when they really love
each other."
The little girl settled between the two men and listened attentively.
"They kiss and touch each other to make the other person feel good,
and sometimes when a man and lady have sex a baby is born."
"But... you're not ladies..." She said.
"Men can't have babies together," Matt said.
"Why?"
"Because boys have different bodies than girls, and only girls can
have babies."
"Can two girls make a baby?" She asked.
"No, only a boy and girl can."
"Then where did I come from!?" She said frantically.
"Well..."
"The stork!" Tai chimed in.
"No, NOT the stork," Matt growled.
"None of this would have happened if you didn't have to go and open
your big mouth!" Tai yelled.
"Not as big as yours!" Matt yelled back. This extremely childish
argument between two grown men would have continued if it had not been
for the tremendous shriek that sounded at that moment. The pair looked
up to see Shinji smiling satisfactorily with a crayon in his hand, and
the entire bottom half of the front door covered in scribbles.
"No, Shinji!!" Matt sprung up off the couch and snatched the crayon
out of his son's hands and hurried to the kitchen to find some cleaners.
"That's bad, Shinji!" Tai scolded, picking him up. "Only draw on
paper!"
The baby then started to scream uncontrollably at the sight of Matt
kneeling down to scrub away his masterpiece.
"I think someone needs a nap..." Tai groaned.
"Daddies!" Tuesday yelled from the couch. "What's sex!?"
"Later, Tuesday!" They both yelled at the same time. The conversation
would obviously have to wait for another day.
~~~~
Matt and Tai entered the conference room of the primary school the
next night after having dropped Tuesday and Shinji off at the play group
across the hall. The meeting table had been removed, and the chairs were
set up in an oval so all the parents could see each other easily.
"Yami, there are practically no other dads here..." Tai whispered.
"Well they're uncaring fathers," Matt said as he sat down.
Tai looked around at the other parents in the room, the majority of
which were women, just as he had thought they would be. Many were
talking like they had known each other forever and Tai suddenly felt like
a foreigner in a strand land.
"Hi guys!" They heard someone say from behind. They both turned to
see Kari smiling down at them.
"Hiya, Kari," Tai said, standing to hug her.
"Hey, Kari," Matt said.
"I'm really glad you both could come," she said. "Last year was the
first time I organized one of these meetings for the kindergarten classes
and everyone thought it was a really great idea to have one again."
"What are we going to do anyway?" Tai asked.
"Just get to know everyone and talk a little about your kids and
lifestyle, it's a great chance to share parenting stories," she said,
grinning. Another teacher entered the room then and tapped Kari on the
shoulder, whispering something quickly.
"I'll be right back," she said when the other teacher had left. "We
have a little crisis in the other room with some building blocks."
"Matt... I don't wanna talk," Tai mumbled after a few minutes of
eyeing the chattering women.
"But you're always the first to talk wherever we go," Matt said.
"These women all remind me of my mom and how much she embarrassed me
when I was little, I feel dumb sitting here."
"I'm sure nobody thinks you're dumb," Matt said, taking his hand and
squeezing it gently. He had a feeling the real reason Tai didn't want to
talk to anyone was in protest of having to miss his soccer documentary.
In a few minutes the rest of the parents, or rather, the rest of the
mothers had arrived and Kari began the meeting. Each woman or couple
introduced themselves and told a bit about their child, with some
information from Kari about what things were like in the classroom during
each turn. Tai stared at the floor during most of the introductions and
paid almost no attention until Matt elbowed him in the side. He sat up
and looked around, then suddenly tried to appear interested when he
realized their turn was approaching.
Once the previous mother had finished speaking, the entire group
turned to look at Matt and Tai. The brunette felt incredibly stupid
having everyone stare at him and prayed Matt would handle most of the
talking.
"I'm Yamato Ishida and this is my husband Taichi," Matt said in his
most polite and charming voice. "We're Toutoi Ishida's parents,"
"Better known as Tuesday," Kari added. "Matt and Tai are actually my
brother and brother-in-law," she said to the rest of the group.
Tai noticed two mothers whispering and shooting himself and Matt
wicked glares from across the room.
"Do you have a question, Mrs. Toshi?" Kari asked the shorter and
stockier of the two whispering women.
"You mean to say that you two men are raising a child together?" The
woman said disdainfully.
"Well, she's our daughter after all," Matt replied calmly.
"Don't you think it's a bad influence for a little girl to be raised
by a homosexual couple?" Mrs. Toshi asked, putting extra emphasis on the
word 'homosexual'.
"Are you questioning our parenting skills?" Matt asked, not quite as
calmly as before.
Tai clenched his teeth hearing this woman's moronic words and was
about ready to throw a chair at her face.
"It's not right for a child to be denied a mother," she said.
"Listen lady!" Tai finally piped up. "You've got a lot of nerve
telling us how to raise our kids!"
"I think most of the parents will agree with me," she said, glaring at
him. "Two men should not be allowed to have children."
A murmur of agreement was heard from only three or four other people
in the room, but it was enough to make both Matt and Tai nearly furious.
"Excuse me," Kari said before any more harsh words were exchanged. "I
happen to know that my brother and his husband are excellent parents and
they have no problems taking care of their daughter or son."
"So now two children are being subjected to this abnormal life?" The
woman who had been whispering to Mrs. Toshi before said.
"Our life is perfectly normal," Matt said angrily.
"Nobody here is telling you how to live your life!" Tai practically
yelled.
"Any idiot knows that a child needs to be raised by a mother and
father together, not two men claiming to be parents..." Mrs. Toshi
declared.
The tall blonde stood from his chair then, followed by the not so tall
but just as angry Taichi.
"This meeting was not held to condemn other people's families," Kari
said, stepping in front of the two. "I carried Tuesday and her younger
brother Shinji in my own body until they were ready to be born, and I
would never had done it if I wasn't sure that Tai and Matt would give
them the best life possible. I'm requesting that you don't insult my
family any further," she said firmly.
Mrs. Toshi then stood as well, receiving death stares from Matt and
Tai from behind their little sister.
"As a member of the PTA, your views on parenting and childcare lead me
to question your abilities as a teacher."
"I've been a teacher at this school for six years and I've never had
any complaints about my teaching," Kari said.
"How dare you make fun of my sister!?" Tai yelled, stepping forward.
Even though they were both adults now, his instincts to protect Kari were
just as strong as they had been when he was a child.
"Tai," Matt placed his hand on his husband's shoulder before things
could get further out of control. "I think we should go home now..." He
said softly, still glaring across the room at Mrs. Toshi.
Tai shot one last dirty look at the woman and turned to leave the room
without another word, Matt closely behind him. Kari watched the pair
leave and faced Mrs. Toshi once again.
"May I please speak to you privately," she said. "I'm sorry,
everyone..." She addressed the rest of the group and walked with Mrs.
Toshi into an unused office connected to the meeting room.
Matt and Tai took Shinji and Tuesday, who was extremely upset to leave
her friends, from play group and drove home. They sat in bed together
that night, Tai so angry he was close to crying. Matt held his arms
around his beloved tightly, not knowing what to do to ease this anguish,
since he himself was just as, if not more furious than Tai.
"Oh god, Yami... What if that crazy bitch tries to take our kids away
from us?" Tai sobbed.
"She won't," he said, kissing Tai's cheek and pulling him closer.
"I'll never, ever let that happen."