Suzuki had no idea what he would call that article of clothing.

He really didn't. Hatori had spent the day in, what looked like, a cross between a costume and a pair of those footed pajamas he used to wear when he was a small child. It was bright yellow, somehow it was supposed to look like…he couldn't remember the name of the creature. The bright yellow mouse-thing, the reason he had stopped playing those games in the first place…what even was that creature called?

Well, now he had two questions for Hatori.

He leaned over…and made it an even three. He thought that he had been very clear with Hatori. He had data to steal, a massive amount of it, and it was of the utmost importance that he get this done before the end of the day. Suzuki knew for a fact that he had been very clear…but what was not clear was why Hatori was choosing to spend this time alternating between watching what looked to be one of his plotless and risqué television shows and what looked to be Tetris…a very good game of Tetris based on how fast those blocks were coming down…so it was in color now, too. It was amazing what Hatori could do, and without his hands either.

As amazing as it was, though, that was not the task that Suzuki had put him to.

"I know for a fact that you have better things to do than that." Said Suzuki

"You don't even know what I'm doing." Said Hatori, pulling his hood up. He couldn't help it if most of what he did looked boring. It was boring. Telling a computer to do something was easy. It was pretty much like following someone around and nagging at them to do something, like Shibata with pretty much everything that had to do with taking care of the house…and there went the computer. He reminded it who was in charge.

It took less than a second.

"You're not working, I know that." Said Suzuki. He felt Hatori's aura shift….but that could have meant anything, really. Hatori was a good companion but he wasn't the most reliable. He wasn't Tadashi. He never had to sit and watch Tadashi work, he just knew what to do. Of course he knew what to do, he was a founding member of Claw…he wondered how Tadashi was doing…it didn't matter. The only person who mattered right now was Hatori.

As much as he cared for Hatori…he could be a headache at times…times like these.

"I am working, just in the background. It's a lot of data to transfer over but it's not like it's hard." Said Hatori. Nobody ever had any faith in him…not even Suzuki…but that was normal. It didn't mean that he liked it, it just meant that it was normal….

"But it is happening right now, yes?" asked Suzuki

"Yeah, of course it is. I'm not going to let you down, you know that." Said Hatori

"You have in the past…though that may have been my fault. It's clear that you cannot handle any kind of power." Said Suzuki

"I can handle it." Said Hatori, crossing his arms…and there went his Tetris game. He stopped paying attention for five seconds…but it wasn't like he hadn't been able to handle it! Why didn't Suzuki have any faith in him yet? He'd been here for years. He trusted Fukuda of all, Fukuda who probably slept with his wife, but he didn't trust Hatori…not that he wanted Suzuki to ever think about him in the same way that he thought about Fukuda…

He just wanted to be treated like an actual adult….like someone who was actually useful….someone who was actually something….

"Don't argue with me, it's important to know your limitations and either work around them or correct for them. For example, you have very dramatic mood swings so it's best that you stay as comfortable as possible. Hence why you're wearing that ridiculous outfit." Said Suzuki, tugging at Hatori's hood with his powers. Hatori tried to bat him away. It didn't work, Suzuki just chose to retreat before this turned into a quarrel. They so rarely quarreled, not like with his other two children…his older children, though there was no doubt in his mind that he and Mukai would quarrel one day when she got older…though they were his actual children.

"What's wrong with my pajamas? They're warm and comfortable. Mob got me them for my birthday." Said Hatori. He knew it was kind of dumb but it wasn't that bad. Serizawa wore the same robe every day as clothes, Shibata's clothes never fit, and…and Suzuki had worn the same thing every day for the past fifteen years!

"…and you wanted her to get you this…outfit?" asked Suzuki. Well now this was a different matter entirely. He knew better than to question a woman's clothing choices…but Hatori did…somehow he liked that terrible….thing?

"No, she just kind of did. Mob honestly gives the best presents. Did you see what she got Sho?" asked Hatori

"It's Christmas already?" asked Suzuki. Where had the time gone? Where had…it couldn't have been Christmas yet. Shigeko hadn't said anything or gotten him anything and…and had she forgotten him? Or had she gotten angry with him…but he hadn't done anything….

"No, it's Sho's birthday…wait, did you seriously not know what day it was?" asked Hatori

"We've crossed the international date line so many times at this point it had honestly slipped my mind." Said Suzuki

"We need a break. I mean if you forgot Sho's birthday…yeah. We need a break." Said Hatori

"Is Shigeko angry with me?" asked Suzuki. Shigeko took these things very seriously. She would have been so angry…he didn't know why he cared….because he didn't want to alienate her, that was all. He was just…this was just a matter of practicality. That was all.

"She hasn't said anything. She's mostly been posting pictures of this big craft thing the Awakened are doing for Christmas, it's like this big gingerbread village thing but with a tiny train and-" said Hatori

"I don't care what the Awakened are doing, I just care if Shigeko is cross with me or not." Said Suzuki

"What about Sho?" asked Hatori

"What about him?" asked Suzuki

"Don't you care if he's pissed?" asked Hatori. How could he not care? How could he…he knew how intense Sho was when he was mad, right? Poor Mob…poor everyone who had to deal with that…but it wasn't like Sho didn't have a right to be pissed. His own Dad had forgotten his birthday.

"No." said Suzuki. Why would he have cared? Sho could have been kicking holes in the walls if he had felt like it. Suzuki was here, Sho was there, and that was the end of it. Why would he have wanted to think about Sho at a time like this, anyway? It was like he was so much as good company.

"I mean you must care, even a little." Said Hatori. He was kind of pleading, mostly for Sho's sake. He knew how Suzuki could be kind of an asshole, and he knew how intense Sho could be, but…but Suzuki must have at least cared a little….right? Dads had to care…that was how dads worked….

"You know I don't." said Suzuki

"Yeah, I did but…it's kind of harsh, you know? I mean he's your kid." Said Hatori

"I am aware of the inescapable fact that Sho is my son, I am reminded of that fact every single day. I do not need to be reminded again." Said Suzuki

"Oh….ok. Do you want me to put your name on his present, then? I got him a hard drive with all the Pets games on it, I just haven't had the chance to give it to him yet." Said Hatori

"That's alright. I feed him, clothe him, and put a roof over his head. That's more than he deserves." Said Suzuki

"He's not that bad, you know. I mean he can be kind of intense sometimes but he's actually a pretty great kid." Said Hatori

"He's the worst of me." said Suzuki

"What do you mean?" asked Hatori

"He is half my blood and half Masami's…and somehow he's managed to end up becoming the very worst of myself and also her. I don't know how it happened but it happened. I had assumed that there would have been a mixture of good and bad traits, I had hoped that he would get all of our good traits, but that did not happen. Instead I got…him. The person that he is now and always has been…even from the beginning things had been…he hadn't been…things were difficult in the beginning. In that moment…seeing them pull him from Masami's body…." Said Suzuki

"I don't think that Sho had any control over that. I mean isn't that just something that happens to babies sometimes? They get stuck?" asked Hatori. He really didn't know, he'd never even had a girlfriend let alone been in a position where he had to learn about baby things, but he did know that babies weren't very smart. Even if they wanted to get stuck to, he didn't know, make your life worse it wasn't like they were smart enough to plan things. They mostly just cried and drooled, from what he'd been able to piece together.

"He didn't get stuck in the birth canal, he turned himself sideways in the womb and wrapped the umbilical cord around his neck…he couldn't even be born properly." Said Suzuki. Mother had said the same thing about him when he had been born, that he'd taken too long and ruined her body, but at least Suzuki had known to face the right way. Sho had been obstinate or…or stupid since the day he had been born…he took every single mistake that Suzuki had ever made in his life and multiplied it by a thousand.

"Oh…fuck….did that happen because he came out too early?" asked Hatori

"What do you mean?" asked Suzuki

"Sho was born too early, right? That's why he and Mob are twins sometimes…I mean not really but she posted this picture of her and Sho with 'twins again' posted on it but in this weird neon script she likes a lot." Said Hatori

"They're never twins." Said Suzuki

"I didn't mean literally. I meant because it's…six months, right? Between their birthdays." Said Hatori

"Five months." Corrected Suzuki automatically.

"That's not enough time to have a kid, it takes nine months. I remember." Said Hatori

"Sho…is a bit premature, I suppose." Said Suzuki. That wasn't a lie, not really. He had been told before, by Tadashi, that he wasn't a very good liar. Sho had been predicted to have been born on the fourth but he was born on the first instead. That counted.

"Maybe that's why he is the way he is, too. I mean if he came out too early then maybe he's actually younger than everyone else…like he's still twelve or something." Said Hatori

"That doesn't make sense. Sho is the way he is because he's half of me, the worst half of me. I made him what he is and, in a way, I am truly sorry for what he has become. Out of obligation I will always support him no matter how he behaves but as far as birthdays go I'd sooner celebrate yours than his." Said Suzuki

"Wait…you want to celebrate my birthday?" asked Hatori. He wondered if this was where Mob's love of planning parties came from…he tried not to laugh as he imagined Suzuki in a sparkly blue dress hanging streamers and balloons all over Tokyo HQ.

"Yes. It seems worth celebrating." Said Suzuki

"Wow…thanks…but you should celebrate Sho's first. I mean he is your son….your real son." Said Hatori

"I wish you had been my son." Said Suzuki

"What?" asked Hatori

"I wish I had fathered you…not in the sense that I wanted to sleep with your mother but in the sense that I wish that you had been my son and not Sho. You're more…you're more of the best of me than my own son is and we don't even share a drop of blood….I wish you were my son." Said Suzuki

"You could adopt me!" said Hatori without thinking. It had just seemed like a good idea…but of course it wasn't. He was in for it now. Suzuki's biggest complaint about Fukuda, that didn't have to do with their weird relationship, was that he overstepped. Hatori had definitely overstepped there. He pulled the hood of his pajamas down and waited for-

"My line of succession would be a mess." Said Suzuki. Hatori was older than Sho and, therefore, he would have been the one to inherit. Suzuki couldn't have a dynasty that lasted longer than that of the royal family if his blood didn't flow through the veins of his descendants. Sho was convinced that he was a homosexual and Shigeko wasn't his….Mukai? She would be the one to inherit the world if Sho had no children….which if didn't look like he would. Not even on accident….it would have been so much better to follow the male line…it would have been so much better if he'd had an actual son. Shiori had agreed to have children with him but she was forty one and he hardly ever saw her….and even then Sho would still have been thirteen years older than Tetsuro…if he even got a son on the first try…

His line of succession was already a mess.

"Oh…well, yeah, it would be. You know what? What if we forgot that I ever said anything-" said Hatori

"But it's already a mess." Said Suzuki. There was no point in preserving it now…and at least unlike Shigeko Hatori could know that he was adopted….why hadn't he thought of this before? This was perfect. He just…wait, no. Shiori had her say in this too, didn't she? She had said, before, that she hated when he made unilateral decisions for the both of them….

"Wait, what are you-" said Hatori

"I'll have to ask Shiori what she thinks about this. She would be upset with me, I think. She was very upset when I told her about Mukai and also she hates it when I make decisions for the both of us. Wait a moment." Said Suzuki as he picked his phone up. Hatori was trying to speak, sounds more so than actual words, and he would deal with that later. Right now he had to speak to Shiori…he did some quick math after he hit call…she should have still been awake.

But barely.

"Shiori, I need to ask you something…also hello, how are you?" asked Suzuki

"Why not just ask your people? The ones hiding on the neighbor's roof." Said Shiori

"They're mine?" asked Suzuki

"It's either your people or a pair of wandering peeping toms." Said Shiori

"If they have red auras they're mine and if not then my people will take care of them for you…and I hope you aren't upset with me. I'm only-" said Suzuki

"Trying to keep me safe, I know, I know. I heard you the first time, I don't want to have that conversation again. We always just end up spinning our wheels and I don't feel like spinning anything right now." said Shiori

"Alright…as long as you understand." Said Suzuki

"Yeah, understand…anyway when are you coming back? I miss you and I've got a present for your kid. I'd like to get it to him before Christmas." Said Shiori

"For…Sho?" asked Suzuki

"Yes, Sho, unless you have another son who was born on the first." Said Shiori

"No, well yes, well no. Hatori's birthday is in March like mine but that's not the point…well it kind of is, actually." Said Suzuki

"What? You want me to help pick out a birthday present for Hatori? You know him better than I do. Just pick out whatever and put my name on it." Said Shiori

"No, I mean that I want to adopt him." Said Suzuki

"Touichirou….you want to do what now?" asked Shiori

"Adopt Hatori. I want to but I thought that I should consult you first since you dislike it when I make decisions for the both of us, such as the time when I assumed that we were in a relationship when you had so such thing, and also the time when I assumed that you planned on marrying me without asking you first. Also you were very upset with me when I told you about Mukai and I thought that you wouldn't take it well if I told you that I had yet another child." Said Suzuki

"Touichirou…wow. So you can be taught…sorry, sorry. That came out wrong. I'm touched that you actually asked me, I mean it's a basic thing but from you it's a lot and, alright, do whatever you want. Just don't put my name on his birth certificate then you'll be fine…and I mean that. Adopting someone is a lot of legalities that I don't want to deal with right now." said Shiori

"I'm aware of the legalities but Hatori can bypass those. Altering government records is very simple for him, so simple that he can be trusted with the task." Said Suzuki

"Hey, I'm right here." Said Hatori

"I'm aware of your proximity to me." said Suzuki

"Then go for it, as long as I don't have to do anything then I don't care." Said Shiori

"I can't think of anything that you'd have to do." Said Suzuki

"Then go and do it, then? And figure out when I can see you again. I miss you, Touichirou." said Shiori

"I miss you too…and I don't know. I've been very busy." Said Suzuki…he had been gone for far too long.

"Well call me back when you get it figured out, ok? It's very late here and I have to get some sleep. I love you." said Shiori

"I love you too." Said Suzuki. She hung up….he stayed on the line until he was sure that she was gone…he needed to make more time to see her. He needed…he'd figure it out later. Right now he had to figure this out with Hatori…his son. He had another son….it was a good emotion, he decided, as he put his phone back down. Having another son. One more like what he had always…well no, Hatori wasn't exactly what he had always imagined his ideal son to be like…but he was a lot better than Sho.

Even if he did look ridiculous right now.

"Well? Get on with it." Said Suzuki with a wave of his hand. Staring…a lot of it? What? Wasn't this what he wanted? He was the one who had suggested…or had it been Suzuki's idea? Or had…it didn't matter. What was done was done…or would have been done if Hatori was ever going to get on it. He nudged Hatori with his aura, Hatori jumped, the hood of his…whatever that was, coming down over his eyes…..

Suzuki still had no idea what to call that article of clothing.