A/N: Hello~ It's been almost a year! Yeesh! You guys gotta bully me into writing more! You can thank SeverusPotterSnape for this chapter. I hope it's not too discontinuous from where I left off (and gosh do I hope my writing style hasn't changed that much)... Enjoy!
Oh! Oh! I am looking for a new beta, so if any of you guys are interested in storyboarding with me on this (and editing for me, but I swear I do have a decent grasp on the English language)... I'd love to hear from you! (Because I start school tomorrow morning and this is entirely unbeta'd. Yipes.)
Disclaimer: Not I, said the cat
Today marked one month since Inui Aiko's death.
A month since the accident. Three weeks since the funeral. Two weeks since Inui started working again. One week since Naoki stopped asking for his mom.
And Kaidoh had been there the whole time.
He fell asleep to the sounds of Inui tossing in his bed a room over and woke up to him turning on the shower.
It hadn't taken them long to fall into a routine of sorts.
Kaidoh would get up, stretch, and fold the blanket and sheet, tucking them and his pillow alongside the couch until evening fell. Then he'd click off the baby monitor, slip into Inui's bedroom to change into his scrubs, and shuffle down the hall to Naoki's room, where the little boy would be playing quietly in his crib. Kaidoh would change his diaper and clothes and tote him into the kitchen to give him a sippy cup full of formula. Naoki would wait in his high chair while Kaidoh readied his diaper bag.
By that time Inui would be coming out of the bathroom. He would nod a greeting to Kaidoh and let the nurse push a mug of coffee into his hands before he went to get dressed. Kaidoh would take his coffee to the bathroom while he finished getting ready, leaving Inui to give Naoki the rest of his breakfast of dry cereal and banana slices.
They would meet in the kitchen, retire their cups to the sink and collect Naoki and his bag before moving to put on their jackets and shoes.
Rather than getting a new car immediately, Inui had put the money in a savings account, so the three of them would board the bus. Inui would get off first, to drop Naoki off at his day care and walk the remaining block and a half to his office. Kaidoh would ride another fifteen minutes to the hospital.
They would go about their days. Sometimes Kikumaru or Oishi or both would stop by to have lunch with one of them. Sometimes they would meet at a soba stand and enjoy lunch together, then they would return to work.
Kaidoh usually picked Naoki up in the evenings. He had changed his hours so he always got off before Inui. Together he and Naoki would pick up anything they needed for dinner and head back to the apartment to cook it. Naoki would point and babble at things, watching Kaidoh expectantly. Kaidoh would placate him with a sippy cup and affectionate smiles.
Inui would usually be home within the hour, quick to pull his son from the high chair and coddle him. They would talk about their days and Naoki, what was for dinner, and whether or not it was warm enough to take Naoki to the park later.
But today was a bit different. Today, rather than going home after picking Naoki up, Kaidoh had to go to the airport to pick up one Momoshiro Takeshi.
"Kaidoh!" Momo called, waving enthusiactically.
Kaidoh rolled his eyes. Momo certainly seemed happy for someone who had been "not kicked out" by his "not boyfriend." "C'mon, idiot, Inui's probably home already and Naoki doesn't like how noisy it is here," he said a bit more gruffly than might have been strictly necessary. He bounced Naoki gently. The baby had been hiding his face in Kaidoh's scarf since they had entered the crowded airport.
"Yeah, yeah. C'mere, you jerk!" He caught Kaidoh in a half-hug. "Sorry about all of this..."
Kaidoh pulled away slowly. "It's not a problem, Momoshiro." He nodded towards the baggage claim. "Go get your stuff..."
Momo ignored him and lowered himself to Naoki's eye level. "Hey there!" he cooed. "I'm your kind-of Uncle Momo!" He looked at Kaidoh. "Can I hold him?"
"After you get your suitcase."
"You're still not any fun."
"Fushuu."
They both laughed, knowing Kaidoh only hissed at him when they were falling back into their old friendly routine. Momo collected his bags, trading them for Naoki once they were on the bus, and they made their way back to Inui's apartment.
"So what happened with Echizen?" Kaidoh asked as they were getting off the bus. They'd spent the ride on the safer subjects of Naoki and Inui, but he wasn't sure Momo would feel comfortable talking about their apparent fight around Inui after not seeing him for so many years, and he really didn't want to wait until they went back to Kaidoh's apartment for the night to get the story out of him.
Momo shrugged. "The same stuff that always happens. I try to talk to him about dating and he freaks out and then we fight and... yeah." His shoulders slumped a bit and he sighed. "I'm just tired."
Kaidoh bounced Naoki gently when the baby started squirming as they approached Inui's door. "You can always come back here..."
"And do what?" The slight laugh in the question was short and bitter.
Before he could stop himself, Kaidoh's hand was delivering a sharp smack to the back of Momo's head.
"What was that for!"
"For being an idiot!"
"I see your relationship is much unchanged." Inui opened the door. He took Naoki and gestured them inside. "It's good to see you, Momoshiro."
"Good to see you too, Inui-sempai!" Momo grinned, clapping Inui on the shoulder. "Thanks for having me over. Now, what's this about you disappearing off the face of the earth and having a kid?"
Over their Chinese takeout Inui recanted the story of how he had met Aiko and the three years they had been together. The conversation moved comfortably to conversations about Oishi and Eiji's new family doctor's office, how Taka-san was doing at Kawamura Sushi, Tezuka's sham marriage to Junko and true relationship with Fuji, the two Tezuka children, and how things were going at the hospital for Kaidoh.
As they finished dinner and moved to the living room, the conversation shifted to Ryoma.
"He's been doing really well in the American and European circuits for the past few years. He had to get another publicist for when he's over there though. For some reason they have a really had time understanding my accent..." Momo rubbed at his neck sheepishly as he settled into the couch .
"He was jealous for the longest time." Kaidoh half-smirked, glancing at his best friend.
"Oh shut up. You were jealous when I first started working for him."
Kaidoh glared and chucked one of the throw pillows on the couch at Momo's head.
Inui looked between them and then at Naoki whose head was resting on his shoulder. "I'm going to go lay him down. Excuse me."
"Hey, don't give me that look. You started it." Momo grumbled when he caught sight of the annoyed look Kaidoh was giving him.
Kaidoh stayed quiet.
Inui came back, stiffling a yawn.
"I guess it's time we head out then, huh?" Momo hopped up.
Inui shook his head. "You don't have to leave quite yet."
"Nah, I'm kind of tired from the flight and the time change and all that."
"Ah." Inui nodded. "I'll see you again before you leave then?"
"Yeah, Tezuka's dinner party is the evening before we're supposed to leave, so definitely."
They headed towards the door and Kaidoh and Momo put their coats and shoes back on and said their goodbyes.
Kaidoh hung in the doorway for a minute, letting Momo get a head start. "You're sure you're okay with this?" he asked.
"I promise, Kaidoh. If I need anything, you will be the first person I call." Inui smiled indulgently.
Kaidoh looked unsure.
"I'll be fine." Inui settled a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. "Besides, it's not like I can expect you to stay here all the time."
He gave a small nod and looked at Inui sternly. "Promise you'll call?"
Inui laughed. "I promise. I'll see you in a few days." He leaned forward and kissed Kaidoh's forehead.
When he pulled back Kaidoh's eyes were wide.
"I-"
"Oi! Are you coming or not?" Momo was walking back towards the doorway.
Kaidoh tore his attention away from Inui to look at Momo. "Yeah, hold on." He looked back at Inui, nervous. "I'll talk to you tomorrow." He met Momo at the end of the short walkway to the door where they both waved.
Inui waved back, just as tense as Kaidoh was.
–
"What the hell was that?" Momo asked, tossing his bag onto Kaidoh's futon.
"What?"
"He kissed you."
Kaidoh flushed. He had been hoping by some miracle that Momo hadn't seen that. "I don't know."
"Bullshit!"
"I really don't!" Kaidoh insisted. "He's never done that before..." He thre his jacket down next to his computer desk and padded over to the fridge, pulling two beers from inside.
Momo caught the one tossed to him, setting it down for a moment so it wouldn't explode on him. "Swear?"
"Yes!" Kaidoh glared.
"Hm..."
Kaidoh rolled his eyes. "What?"
"Nah. Nothing. I believe you." Momo grinned to himself and opened the can with a loud crack.
"You believe me...and?" Kaidoh frowned. There was more to what Momo was thinking.
"If he had done it before you would have called me freaking out."
"I would not!"
"What do I wear!" Momo shouted.
"Shut! Up!"
Momo squawked when Kaidoh tackled him down onto the futon.
"God, you still can't take a joke!" Momo had Kaidoh pinned instead after a few moments of the tussling.
"And you're still a jerk." Kaidoh groused, half-hearted.
Momo shrugged. "Yeah."
Kaidoh frowned at that. "Hey, I didn't mean it like that..."
"I know." His grip on Kaidoh's arms loosened and he sat back, leaning against Kaidoh's thighs behind him.
"Seriously-" Kaidoh pushed himself up on his elbows, genuinely worried "- are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah." Momo pushed Kaidoh back onto the futon and settled down on top of him, pillowing his head on Kaidoh's shoulder.
"Yeah?"
Momo poked Kaidoh's side sharply and made an unhappy noise. "Sh..."
"Are you going to sleep on top of me?"
Momo nodded.
"Asshole."
Momo nodded again.
"Night..."
"G'night."
A/N: Whoops. I MomoKai'd... I actually really hate that ship... As always, reviews, criticism, offers to be my Incipient buddy... All good. :D