Chapter Four: I'm A Real Boy!
Tenma, Elefun, and Astro
Tenma frowned at the lumpy, slightly burned cake in front of him, and then looked over at his chubby fellow scientist, Dr. Elefun who had been giving him the stink eye ever since he'd gotten back from his little rendezvous.
"Is it supposed to look like this?"
"I don't know what it's supposed to look like Tenma! Do I look like a damn pastry chef to you?"
Tenma smirked, but before he could answer the question, Dr. Elefun cut him off, by huffing like a fed up housewife, and turning his back on him. He was still upset about what had taken place during his and Astro's therapy sessions earlier that day. Tenma rolled his eyes and sat down the little container of blue frosting in his hand on the kitchen counter. A quick apology was all that was needed here…and even without it..Elefun probably wouldn't hold a grudge for too long anyway. He was too mild mannered an individual for that.
"What is it Elefun? Your internet playmate, Sexy-Bate13 didn't instant message you today? Or are you still wetting yourself over the little mock argument I had with your old friend Ramsey?"
Elefun turned around again angrily, and jabbed his finger in Tenma's face, poking him right in the nose.
"Why in god's name do you have to be so crude and brash in the things you say to people? How could you say all those thing's to him? He charged me only half of what he usually charges to see the two of you! And even if it was just a mock argument on his part, I don't appreciate you disrespecting a friend of mine like that Umataro! He's a busy man you know! And he's really sticking his neck out for me making these house calls and not mentioning to anyone that you and Astro are staying here with me!"
Tenma folded his arms. "I told him I didn't want to talk about my wife."
"You never talk about her Tenma! As much as you supposedly loved her, it certainly seems you go to a lot of lengths to avoid thinking of the poor woman! Especially considering Astro…er Toby…was barely a year old when she died! I should think you would want to get something like that off your chest!"
Tenma gave Elefun a warning look, and then glanced over at the kitchen door. He took the hint and lowered his voice. Astro was sitting in the living room watching television.
"You had absolutely no reason to do what you did!", Elefun whispered loudly.
" If I apologize to the wrinkled old piss-ant, will you stop looking at me like you want to slap me with that big nose of yours, and help me finish this cake? And besides…I told you that I would reimburse you for your hospitality as soon as I was able to do so. Relax, Pakadermis."
Tenma turned back to the counter, and picked up the frosting, and a butter knife to frost the little burnt, lopsided cake in front of him with.
Elefun snorted and gave a curt nod. "Hmph. For someone so intelligent and cultured, you're pretty rotten at making apologies."
"Just get the chips and dip ready fat man."
"Stuff it, you rogue!"
In the living room, Astro was sitting on the couch watching a re-run of the Simpson's, kicking his leg's back and forth impatiently, bumping the little wooden coffee table in front of him every now and then. His father and Dr. Elefun had been in the kitchen just about the entire rest of the day after Dr. Ramsey left, and his dad had even taken a drive somewhere a bit ago. Since the therapy session, Astro had been extremely eager to try and talk to his father about the things that had been said, but he'd avoided him the whole rest of the day afterward, and didn't even say anything to him until after he'd come back from wherever he'd driven to. Astro looked over at the clock on the end table on the right side of the couch he was sitting on. It was past midnight now. He sighed and stopped kicking his feet and picked up the remote and began flipping through the channels until he saw something that looked interesting enough to watch. Eventually he stopped on the Disney channel. Pinocchio was on, and it was nearing the end of the movie just about. Astro settled back and watched the little puppet dance around its father happily with the little black and white kitten bouncing around for joy as well. Jepetto was also doing a demented little jig of his own…happy at having his little creation return to him after so long.
'Was dad happy to see me when I came back? Sure didn't seem like it..'
The fairy god mother appeared on the television screen before Pinocchio and the kitten. Jepetto…being an old man had retreated to his own room after settling his wooden child in bed. Pinocchio looked up at the woman, his hand's clasped together, and his big blue eyes shining, and full of hope. The fairy god mother smiled serenely, and asked, "What is your wish little Pinocchio?"
Pinocchio then got up off of his wooden knee's, with his hand's still clasped together in a supplicating manner, and said," I wanna be a real boy!" The fairy god mother gave a speech about why it wasn't proper to tell lies. The moral of the whole movie, and then with a flick of wand, granted the little puppet's wish. He began to glow and rise up off of the ground and change, and just as he'd finished his transformation, the bright light woke up old Jepetto and he hobbled in to see what was going on. Then the really annoying part. Annoying to Astro anyway. The fairy god mother disappears, and Pinocchio goes running up to Jepetto with his arm's out screaming, "Pa pa! Pa pa! I'm a real boy!" , and then Jepetto scoops him up in his arms and makes exclamation's of joy over having a son that didn't give him splinter's when he held onto him.
Astro picked up the remote and turned off the television. " I hate that stupid ass movie…" He sniffed the air a little, and then looked back at the kitchen door. He smelled cake…a burnt cake…but a cake nonetheless. His dad wasn't a very good cook …and he was pretty sure Dr. Elefun didn't know anything about baking stuff either. What were they doing in there? He smelled popcorn….and nacho cheese too.
Astro stood up off the couch and walked around the coffee table, and past the entertainment system, and stood about three or four feet away from the kitchen door. He turned up his hearing a bit and leaned forward to better hear what was going on inside.
"Ow! This stuff is hot!"
"It's boiling cheese Elefun! What do you expect? Stop messing around with that and get the candles on the cake lit! I'll take care of the Nacho's!"
"I don't have a lighter!"
"Oh good lord!"
Astro heard the ruffle of shirt front pocket, and then the sound of a match being struck.
"There. Now pick it up, and put it on the platter."
"What if it tips? It is rather lopsided..and you're not that good at frosting cake's Tenma-"
"Just do it! We've been in here half a day! I don't care how it looks anymore!"
"Fine! Fine!"
Astro heard a pair of heavy feet shuffle over. They were Dr. Elefun's. His dad had a bit of a slower, lighter step.
"Alright..it's all done. Now you go out and occupy him with something while I bring it all out."
"Why me? It would be better if you went out to see him!"
"I know that. But if I let you set it up your liable to spill everything. Now, go Elefun."
An exasperated sigh, and then the shuffling of heavy feet coming towards the kitchen door. Astro turned tail and bolted back over to the couch, his bottom hitting the white cushions, just as Dr. Elefun walked in looking nervous, and with several frosting and cheese stains all over the front of his shirt. Astro pretended not to notice him come in, and just leaned back, staring up at the glass ceiling where a good number of star's could be seen winking in the night sky. Dr. Elefun's house was much more on the modern side than his and his father's home. Everything was made of glass, and tempered steel. Even the couch he was sitting on had a metal frame. It reminded Astro of movie's he'd watched about people who'd gone to mental hospitals for treatment. Everything was so sterile, and shiny looking. This was mostly due to Dr. Elefun's bad sense of decorum, and his finicky little cleaning robot, Angie. It was a dry, minimally furnished environment with small rooms…not the big, open, well furnished, and opulent home he was used to, but it was comfortable..and a lot better than where he and his father hadbeen staying previously. Those had been a trying first couple of weeks for the both of them. It was easier for Astro because he'd gotten used to living that way because of his time he'd spent living with Cora and the others in the Outlands. His dad hadn't taken to it well at all though, and refused even the stuff they were offered by friendly Outland refugees who didn't recognize Astro's face from the battle. That, and during the entire couple of week's they were out there together, all they'd done was scream at one another. The word 'hate' had come out of each of their mouths at least a couple of times too.
Dr. Elefun cleared his throat. "Astro?"
Astro looked over at him blinking the image of all the stars in the sky out of his eye's.
"Yeah, Dr. Elefun?"
"Um…I was wondering if I could get your assistance with something."
Astro nodded, and stood up off the couch again, and smiled.
"Whatcha need?"
"Um…let's go into my office."
Elefun turned around and began walking towards the door that led into the hallway, Astro close behind him. The hallway, like the rest of the house was dry and sterile looking too, with the exception of some photos of family and friends on the wall. Astro peered at one picture in particular as he and Dr. Elefun walked by. It was a photo of Dr. Elefun in his younger days, presenting an award to a woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She was pretty. Really pretty, with curly, black hair that came down to just underneath her chin, and a little button nose, and chocolate brown eye's that shone beautifully. She wore a long, green, lab coat with the symbol of the Ministry of Science on it. Green, Astro knew, was the color of someone just beginning in the Ministry of Science's Biology department.
"Dr. Elefun?"
"Yes Astro?"
They had just walked into his office, and Elefun was looking around for something to get him to do. Astro would've laughed if he wasn't so preoccupied with thoughts of the picture he'd seen.
' He said she had black, curly hair…'
" Do…do I look anything like my mom?"
Dr. Elefun stiffened up, and after a second or two, turned around and looked at him, trying his hardest not to look as uncomfortable as he felt. Part of him was dying to say, ' You're the spitting image!' but the other side of him knew he ought to give Tenma the opportunity to tell him that. It would mean more hearing it from his own father. Elefun swallowed down the urge to go into an emotional relay of how he had his mother's eyes, and nose, and even some of her mannerisms. It was Tenma's job to do….it would mean more coming from him. A lot more. He avoided Astro's question altogether.
"Would you mind helping me shift my office around?", he asked loudly, his voice quavering. "I'm getting on in years you know, and it's hard to move all these heavy things on my own and-!"
Astro's face drew itself up into a look of pure irritation. He walked over to Dr. Elefun's desk and lifted it with one arm, straight into the air, with a strong urge to chuck it at the chubby old man.
"Where do you want it?", he snapped, glaring daggers. He was getting tired of all this bull. First, he had to deal with his father refusing to answer his questions outright by avoiding him the entire day, and now, he had the one person he thought he could depend on for an answer dodging him too. How were thing's supposed to get better if no one ever told him anything? What was all this stuff about distracting him, and setting up food somewhere?
Dr. Elefun did his best to keep up the pretense, and told Astro to set his desk closer to the window so he could get better light. Tenma was probably in the living room trying to make everything look like a damn Hollywood dinner party! He was seriously getting too old for all this.
Astro walked over to the book shelves and lifted them both. One shelf in each hand.
"These?"
"Over by the-."
Elefun's office door opened and both he and Astro looked to see his father standing there, looking his usual dark, and moody self. His eyes glided over to Dr. Elefun, and he raised a questioning eyebrow, after seeing his son over in the corner holding up the two book shelves.
"Having him move furniture is your best idea of a distraction Elefun? Why couldn't you take him into the green house?"
Dr. Elefun folded his short arms across his chest, and wrinkled his large nose.
"Don't criticize me! You could've just as easily done the distracting you know!"
Astro dropped the book cases back in their original places next to one another, and then turned back around to look at his father and Dr. Elefun angrily.
"Distract me for what? Why've you guy's been in the kitchen cooking all day? If you're trying to test my taste buds with sweet stuff, we can do all that later! I wanna know about-!"
"And I'm going to tell you if you'll stop fussing and give me the opportunity to do so."
His father then turned heal and took a step out into the hall. "Come with me, son."
Astro followed, but not quietly. He had too much pent up frustration in him to be silent.
"What're we doing? You know I can't taste anything!-Where did you go earlier? What's going on dad? I'm getting really sick of this shit! Not only do you never talk to me about anything normal, but you won't answer me when I ask you stuff eitherrrr! SAY SOMETHING!"
When they stopped at the door to the living room, Astro was still fussing, only this time he had started to stamp his feet out of irritation at his father still not responding to anything he was saying. He had completely forgotten that he had super strength, and gun's in his butt until they fired off accidentally while he was shaking the bejesus out of his father's leg, nearly snapping it in half.
"ASTRO STOP!"
Tenma was leaning against the door holding his leg, his face screwed up in pain. He looked his son up and down irritably. This was ridiculous…he was thirteen and still having temper tantrums!
Astro looked behind him at all the bullet holes in wall and the fallen photograph's, and busted pottery, and then down the hall at Dr. Elefun who was standing up against the wall with a hand on his chest breathing hard like he'd just run a mile. He gave Dr. Elefun an apologetic look, and then glanced back at his father, his expression going back to one of irritation.
"I'm sorry! But you know I'm right! And if you didn't want me to accidentally shoot stuff, why'd you put gun's in my ass dad?"
Tenma stood up a little straighter and shook the pain out of his leg, and smirked.
"I put gun's in your ass just in case you ever went to jail and someone looking at you thought you'd make a good 'pretend girlfriend'."
"That's gross."
Tenma opened the door to the living room. "I know. Now get in there, boy."
Astro walked in ahead of his father, and over to the coffee table and couch where he just stood and stared at the sight before him.
On the end table, next to the couch was at least twenty different DVD movies, the one on the very top catching his eye first. It was "The Heiress." He looked down at the coffee table where a small, lopsided little blue cake with ten, lit candles in it sat. There was also a bowl of nacho's, smothered in cheese, and three different types of popcorn. Regular, cheese popcorn, and his favorite when he was younger….kettle corn. He looked back at the cake again. Written neatly on its surface were the word's, 'Happy Tenth Birthday Toby.' He bit his bottom lip, and looked over his shoulder at his dad, his eyes starting to tear up.
Tenma stood awkwardly looking off to the other side of the room, waiting for him to say something. He hoped like hell he didn't get the 'Oh now you wanna remember my birthday!' response. He was really, honestly, and truly trying to make an attempt here. He couldn't even count how many time's he'd burned himself trying to get all of this ready while in the kitchen, nor could he count the amount of time's he'd nearly knocked the cake over, nervously fidgeting with things trying to make sure it looked nice. He had never been a people person, and he'd never been very good at giving apologies….so doing all of this had been real stretch for him. Especially considering he couldn't cook to save his life. He'd done better than Elefun though. The first cake they'd attempted to make, Elefun hadn't read the instructions thoroughly, and they'd ended up having to use a soldering iron to get the rock hard, burned cake out of the pan, and into the trash can, all because the pan wasn't greased before the mix was put in. After that, they'd switched duties and after a couple of tries he finally pulled out a decent looking one…lopsided and slightly burned though it was.
"Sing happy birthday!"
Tenma's eyes snapped back over to his son who was now facing him with his arms crossed, grinning. Tenma let his usually tight, stiff shoulder's fall and let out a breath of relief. He was happy with it then.
"I won't sing happy birthday…but I will stay up the rest of the night and…explain these to you..", he said motioning over to the stack of DVD's.
"I want a birthday song though. Sing."
"No."
Astro flopped on the couch and propped up his feet on one of the throw pillow's still grinning at his father. If he was going to throw him 'make up birthday party', he wanted the whole experience. Not just a piece.
"Sing or I won't let you sit down!"
Tenma folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. "There's more than one chair in here. Quit with the cute act, Tobio. Move your feet."
"And I can get to all those chairs a lot faster than you can pop! Sing!"
"I'm not going to sing! I've been in the kitchen all day doing this! NO!"
"Pleeeassseee?"
"Absolutely not!"
Astro poked his bottom lip out, made it quiver for effect, and then began to fake cry like a baby.
Tenma, fed up with the shenanigan's, walked over and pushed his son's feet out of the way and sat down.
"Astro-stop pretending to cry, and ask me something!"
Astro slowed down his fake crying a bit, but he didn't stop. This was just too exciting. A movie night. After five whole years. A movie night! He didn't even care that he wouldn't be able to taste the kettle corn or the nacho cheese. He was just absolutely ecstatic that he was finally getting his movie night….that..and the tenth birthday party he didn't have because his father had gone on a business trip that week...totally forgetting about it. He asked his first question through his fake crying to irritate his father more.
Fake sniffle. "H-h-how do you feel about me really dad? Sometimes it seems l-like you like m-m-mee-but other time's I think you can't stand looking at mee-heeee!"
"Oh god…", Tenma said putting his face in his hands. "Please stop with the fake crying!"
Astro burst out laughing. "Sorry dad…but this is…this is so…awesome!" He looked around at all the little snacks on the table and at the candles on the cake still twinkling merrily.
Tenma took his face out of his hands. His mouth twitched a little at the side's attempting a smile, but then went back to its usual position once he registered the question he'd just been asked. He asked a question of his own in response.
"You're not upset this is all five year's late?"
He was surprised when his son scooted over to him, and gave him a hug.
"Nope. You're making an attempt…and it's not a really over the top extreme one this time! When you didn't say anything to me all day I figured this whole seeing a shrink thing hadn't done anything but made stuff worse, but then…." He let go, and motioned around at the food and the DVD's. "All this!"
Tenma's mouth was able to lift in smile finally, and he raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
"So I'm not a douche bag then?"
"You're still a douche…just not as much of one.", Astro said trying to copy his father's trademark smirk, and not quite making it. "Now tell me how ya feel about me!"
In response, Tenma leaned over the end of the couch and pulled a particular DVD out of the stack, and tossed it in his son's lap. "Pop that in."
Astro looked at the movie in his lap. It was called 'The Persuit of Happiness'. It wasn't a black and white classic, but from the date on it, he could see it wasn't a new movie either. He got up put the DVD in the player and then sat back down. His dad was already fast-forwarding through all the previews.
When the movie started, Tenma looked down at Astro and gave him a warning look. "Don't cry during this."
Astro tilted his head to the side. "Um…okay…why not?"
"Because if you do….then I will. And I don't want to make this anymore awkward than it already is. So if you get emotional just go in the bathroom."
Astro stared. "You mean…you actually cry?"
"Hush, and watch the film."
"Did you cry when I was born?"
Sigh. "Yes. Yes I did."
"Really?"
"Yes. Now watch."
"Dr. Elefun said I was born premature, and that I was really little."
"You were. Now hush."
"Where are all my baby pictures?"
"At home, in the file room."
"You put them in the file cabinet room? That's lame!"
"Hush Astro."
"Did mom breastfeed me?"
"Yes! Now for the love of god calm down and watch the movie!"
"One more thing?"
"What?"
"You'll really answer me anything I wanna know tonight?"
"I'm going to try. That's the purpose of the movie's we're watching."
"No matter how stupid, or even hurtful the question might be?"
"I'm going to try."
Astro smiled, and nodded, turning his head back in the direction of the television screen. It was late…really late…but he was finally getting his movie night with his father. Most kid's Astro's age and older would simply have moved on and compensated for what they lacked in their relationship with their parents with the relationships they had with their friends. He wasn't most kids though. He wanted to have a relationship with his father, just as much as he did his friend's outside of him, and the little blue birthday cake, and the snack's and old DVD's showed him that as stiff and humorless as his father usually seemed…he did really care about trying to have one with him too. And he would be damned if he didn't get him to sing happy birthday to him before they'd watched the last movie!
(A/N: Yes. Astro still has little baby temper tantrums when he gets mad ! Lol Anyway's, this is the beginning of Astro and Tenma's relationship going from bad, to okay, to good. They are currently in the 'okay' stage, but by the end of the movie marathon it'll be much, much better. I just always imagined Tenma to be the type that would rather explain things with an action rather than trying to sit and have a long drawn out emotional conversation about it. Astro I think, having been neglected during his childhood, would be absolutely ecstatic to do anything with his father that showed how much he actually cared about him, hence, his 'happy baby play acting' when he saw all the food, and the movies in the living room! Enough ramblin' outta me, let's move on shall we?)
Cora and Zane
"STOP IT ZANE! IT'S NOT FUNNY!"
You're wondering who I am! (Secret,secret, I've got a secret!)
Machine or mannequin! ( Secret, secret, I've got a secret!)
"Oh my god dude! This is too funny!"
"TURN IT OFF, YOU JACK ASS!"
With parts made in Japan! ( Secret, secret, I've got a secret!)
"ZANE!"
I am the modern man!
"CUT THE RADIO OFF OR YOUR NUTS PAY!"
Cora had her hands clenched around Zane's shirt collar, her face inches away from his, glaring a hole into him with her big blue eyes. He put his hands over his mouth, trying to hold back his laughter.
"I-I'm sorry man-I just-OH MY GOD!"
"It's not funny! Turn it off!"
"Okay! Jus' lemme go and I will! Jeeze…"
Cora let go, and Zane reached up on the shelf above their heads and clicked off the radio. It was her second visit to St. Elmo to see him, and the others, and the night before, she'd had another one of those dreams about Astro. Thinking that maybe…just maybe he would have more to say about it than her mother had…she'd confided in Zane about it. Bad idea. All she'd gotten was complete silence over the phone this morning, and then when she'd gotten here he'd made up a lie about a new Suicide Silence song he'd recorded off the radio just so he could make fun of her by playing 'Mr. Roboto' right in her face.
Zane laughed for another couple of minutes, and then apologized for his bad joke.
"I'm sorry man…it's just…you had a dream that you made out with Astro!"
"It wasn't making out!"
"That's what you said on the phone this morning!"
"It was just regular kissing!"
"Whatever. You totally got your freak on with him."
"Shut up Zane!"
"Does his tongue vibrate?"
"SHUT UP! You're supposed to be trying to be understanding about it, not ripping on me for it !"
Zane sat down on his twin bed, and brought his leg's up into an indian style position. He folded his arms, and looked at her with an odd expression. It was hilarious. It really was. To him anyway. This was Astro they were talking about. A robot can't really be capable of…making out…and saying dippy romantic stuff to chick's right? Grant it, Astro was pretty unique…but still. Just the thought of his short, spikey haired, robot ass getting down on one knee with a bouquet of flowers and trying to 'woo' Cora, had been enough to make him laugh so hard he'd shot milk out of his nose this morning in the cafeteria. And even if he was capable of..kissing…there were other thing's that he just wouldn't be able to do no matter what. Such as actually impress Cora with something other than his butt guns and laser cannons and stuff. That…and he was too nice. Way too nice for a robot with all that fire power. And girls don't like pushover's right….right?
Cora sat down next to Zane on the bed and poked him hard in the shoulder.
"I can see those dusty old cog wheels turning in your brain, chicken boy.", she said laughing, and then giving him another hard poke in the chest. "What're you thinking?"
Zane blinked, and shook his head a little, coming out of his reverie. He scooted around on the bed so he could face her directly.
"Do you really feel like it's an actual crush? Or is it just the dreams making you think that's what it is?
Cora sighed, and shrugged. She could hear Widget, Grace, and Sludge down the hall in the kid's activity room playing. She looked around the room that she and Zane sat in, the sleeping quarters for the boy's. During the week, when all the kids were doing lesson's and whatnot , Cora would have to stick to seeing them all at once in the visitation room. On the weekends though, when they weren't doing their tutoring sessions, she, and any other visitors were free to walk around without having to have one of the staff, or one of the cleaning bot's as an escort. It seemed a lot more like a Catholic Boarding School rather than just an Orphanage. They even had uniforms they had to wear. The only thing they didn't do was go to chapel on Sunday.
"I don't know. It feels like a crush…from what I've experienced before. And I don't see how I could be dreaming stuff like that if I don't…y'know."
"Maybe it's the same as when you weren't eating a lot cuz' you missed us. Maybe ya just miss him…*snicker* a lot."
"It's not that. And quit laughing."
"Sorry…How do you know?"
"Well…"
"Well?"
Cora scooted back on the bed a bit, hugged her knee's to her chest, and looked at the piece of wall in front of her.
"I thought about it before the dreams started. When we were all still at Hamegg's garage."
Zane's brown eyes widened in surprise at that.
"All the way back then?..Really?.. I'd always kinda thought you liked…"
Cora turned her attention away from the wall, and back to him. She raised an eyebrow.
"Thought I liked who?"
"You know…that one guy."
"What one guy?"
"That beefy dude that smokes…the one with the dreads."
"You mean Hamegg's 'tool guy' ? No way! Ew!"
"Well you were always talking about how cool you thought his tatt's and piercing's were!"
"Yeah, but he was too bulky! I don't like guys like that!"
"Astro can pick up a car. You apparently like him, now."
"I don't care about stuff like that Zane."
"So you're admitting you like him? Really like him? I mean..because if you do…I won't say anything but…if you ask me…I don't think it could ever work out. He's a robot for crying out loud!"
"I know he's a robot Zane."
"You couldn't actually kiss him ya' know. He doesn't have spit. I'll bet his lips are made outta rubber too."
"I know."
"And he'll never get any taller or look any different either, and—"
"Shut up, Zane."
Cora had her eyes closed, facing the wall again. She had the same guilty feeling from the night before when she'd suddenly remembered she had gone a whole seven month's without bothering to try to contact Astro at all. She had been so concerned with seeing Zane and all her other friend's that she'd just sort of put him out of her mind up until that point…other than when she woke up in the morning's from another one of those dreams. She could now fully admit that she did, indeed have a crush on him, but the issue was, she wasn't sure why exactly she felt so uncomfortable about feeling that way. Saying that him being a robot was the sole reason for it just made her feel low…and besides..it wasn't like he was just any old walking, talking, machine. Astro…felt things. He didn't follow a pre-programmed set of instructions and make beep-beep noises like most machines she'd met. He just…acted. He was a robot…but not just any robot. He was…a metal person. 'Metal person' sounded stupid to her just thinking it…but she didn't know how else to describe it to herself to make it make any sense otherwise. He was a person. A metal person. A metal person she really, really liked.
Cora opened up her eyes again, and looked back over at Zane.
"I'm gonna ask mom where she thinks he might be."
"You gonna tell er' about him being a robot too?"
"No. I'll get around to it eventually…but telling her now would just be way too uncomfortable. I told her about the dreams already."
"How do you figure she'll know?"
Cora smiled.
"Mom's a people person. And if she doesn't have any idea, I can always go look around. His dad's a creepy looking guy in fancy clothes. How hard can that be to find?"
Zane nodded. "Alright….what're you gonna do about this whole 'crush' thing though?"
Cora's smile faltered. "I was thinking I'd just find him…and wait a while …and see if it goes away."
Zane raised a thick, brown eyebrow. "See if it goes away? Seriously?"
"Gimme a break okay! It's all I can think of doing right now!"
"First it bothers you that you like him..then it doesn't…then it does. Damn. It must suck to be a girl, and be that indesicive."
Cora puffed out her cheeks in indignation. "Me being a girl has nothing to do with it! It's just…I mean..he saved all of our lives during that fight..and he's our friend-and."
"Just admit you're a girl and you don't know what you want."
"Go fuck yourself!"
Zane laughed and scooted up and hugged Cora. For him, having her around was a lot like having a sister. He felt the same way about the younger kid's too, but because he and her were the same age, they could talk about much deeper topics than he could with the littler one's…love them to death though he did. There was one thing though, that for a while, Zane had been wanting to talk to Cora about in particular, but because of what she'd told him over the phone this morning he'd decided he'd just better not say anything at all. He had been feeling kind of odd since they'd all been separated too, and it didn't seem to be going away just because the object of the unusual feeling's he was having, was now sitting right next to him.
Cora sniffed, and shrugged off Zane's hug and looked at him in confusion for a brief moment.
Zane frowned. "What?"
"You don't smell like balls today. You actually bathed?"
"So what if I did?"
Cora laughed, and hopped up off the bed. "Let's go play with the kid's Zane."
(A/N: I thought it would make things a little more interesting if Cora wasn't the only one unsure of exactly what she was feeling. I know Zane is supposed to be like her best-friend/ brother or whatever, but it makes for interesting story conflict don't you think? Cora like's Astro who is a robot..but is uncomfortable with it, and Zane like's Cora…but is uncomfortable with it, and now has to fear rejection because he knows she like's Astro. Lord…this is getting so much harder to write. I hope you guys like this chapter!)
Astro, Tenma, Elefun
Dr. Elefun was sitting in one of the arm chairs blubbering into his handkerchief like a forty year old cat lady. Tenma was sitting in the one across from him looking irritable. This was just way too much crying, and emotion for him. He needed his morning coffee. He pushed himself a little deeper into the cushions of the chair to relieve the ache in his back, and put his hand over his eyes to shield from the morning light shining through the glass ceiling. It was ten thirty the next morning, and they'd only just finished the last movie an hour ago.
"Elefun…can you…just stop please?"
"I can't help it Tenmaa! That movieee! I just-I just—oh gooooddd! It reminds me so much of you and Yumi togetherrr!"
Astro was sitting on the couch looking at the picture of his mother from out in the hallway. The last movie they'd watched was 'Phantom of the Opera'. He looked up from the photo, and over to his father. During all of the movie's they'd watched together he'd asked probably a billion questions at least and as sleepy and irritable as his dad looked right now, he wasn't sure if he should ask another….but there was one thing…one thing in particular he was still curious to know.
"Dad?"
Sigh.
"Yes?"
"Can I ask one more thing?"
" Does it have anything to do with how you were conceived?...Because I'm not answering anymore of those questions."
"No."
"Go ahead then."
"You'll answer no matter how bad it is?"
"I told you what I keep in the black box in my closet didn't I?" Tenma uncovered his eyes.
Astro shuddered at the memory, and Dr. Elefun, who had joined their video night right after he'd asked the question, nearly choked on his tear soaked handkerchief. He stopped crying abruptly and looked at Tenma like he was crazy.
"You told him about-about that box of horrors you keep in there?"
"I promised him I'd tell him whatever he wanted to know."
"But you shouldn't have told him about that! What if he has nightmare's?"
"Just because you shudder at the thought of having anything other than another man's phallus near your backside doesn't mean Astro's going to keel over in the night because of something I told him. And besides…you know he doesn't sleep. I haven't figured out how to make that happen quite yet."
Tenma looked back over to his son, and smiled. "What is it you want to ask? This is going to have to be it for now. I need a nap, and I've got to go out to the house again later tonight…and on top of that…when I get back…you need to be ready to answer my questions."
Astro nodded, set the photograph on the coffee table, and then set about thinking of how best to ask the question he wanted to know the answer to. After a moment, he looked back up, and spoke again.
"I don't really know how to ask… and I don't wanna make you mad or upset but..how did mom die?"
"…."
Astro frowned. For a moment, he almost thought his father was going to run in the bathroom and slam the door behind him like he had when they'd watched the ending of 'Titanic'. Dr. Elefun looked up from his handkerchief, his eye's sliding over to with a look of concern in them.
"We'll…we'll discuss that…when.."
He leaned his head back on the cushion of the chair, and shielded his eyes again. "I'm not ready. I'll discuss it with you when I am. I'm sorry."
Astro bit his lip and looked down. "Okay. Want me…to fix your coffee?"
"No..no..I'll do without today. Pull out the couch bed for me though."
"Alright."
Dr. Elefun blew his nose loudly, stuck the handkerchief in his pants pocket, and then got up to stretch, his large belly stretching out his dress shirt and making him look even more round. Tenma chuckled.
"When you die Elefun, they'll bury you on your stomach for sure."
"And why's that?", Elefun said putting his hands on his hips.
"Two reason's. The first, to give your ass a break from having to bare all that weight when you sit down. The second, to give the catholic priest doing your eulogy something to look at during the service."
A snicker from Astro.
"Oh go on Tenma! I'm going to bed!"
Dr. Elefun stomped out o through the living room door and into the hallway, and once he was gone, Astro let loose with full blown laughter.
"Dad-d-do you do that to Dr. Elefun all the time?", he said tossing the throw pillows on to the right side of the mattress.
Yawn. "Not all the time. You got the bed out?"
"Yup! Pillows and everything already in place!"
"Thank you."
Tenma worked off his scuffed Italian leather shoes, and then bent down and took off his socks. He frowned. He really needed to clip his toe nails….and shower. He stood up and ran the tips of his fingers through his now fully grown beard. He needed to shave all this off too….but he'd worry about that after he'd had some sleep. He walked over to the full-sized pull out bed and flopped onto it face first.
"Dad?"
"What son?"
"Your feet smell."
"Want to get in bed with me and sniff my arm pits? They're kicking up a pretty good rumpus right now too."
"Ugh! No!"
"Then go find something to do."
Astro kicked the pull out bed lightly in response to being sent away, and after receiving an angry growl from his father, retreated to the room that had been set up for him by Dr. Elefun when they'd moved in. It was a small, circular room, with a glass ceiling like the one in the living room. The walls were white, and metallic gray like everywhere else in Dr. Elefun's house. It was kind of odd. He had been hearing his dad joke about how Dr. Elefun was playing for the other team since they'd been here…you would think that his decorating style would be a bit brighter and more flamboyant than this if that were really true.
Astro sighed and sat down on the little green bean bag chair, next to the cot he kept his clothes and shoes on. Dr. Elefun had offered him the cot to sleep on originally, and apologized for not having a spare bed in the room, but since Astro didn't really have a need for a place to sleep, he'd been using it as a place to put all his clothes so he could get to them easily. The only other thing in the room besides the cot, his clothes, and the chair was a little cardboard box full of some hand held game's, and crossword puzzle book's and other thing's he'd brought from home to keep himself from getting too bored. He leaned over, grabbed the box and dug around inside it until he found what he was looking for….his personal photo album. He opened it and stuck the picture of his mom he'd gotten from Dr. Elefun in the first available slot, and smiled down at the image of her holding up the award…her chocolate brown eyes shining with pride. He had learned so much about her last night…but it still didn't feel like enough.
-Flashback-
"So..dad? Can I ask a really embarrassing question?"
"You asked me what we did on our honey moon, five minutes ago. What could be worse than that?"
"How…um.." Astro bit his lip and looked off to the side. The movie 'Accepted' was playing in the background.
"What?"
"Is it true you and mom had…'trouble' at first? Getting me I mean?"
Tenma looked over at Dr. Elefun who held up his hands, and shook his head, his abnormally large nose making a little moving shadow on the wall in front of him.
"I didn't say anything about it I swear!"
He glared. "Didn't you Elefun?"
"Why don't you just stop minding me Tenma, and answer him! I said I didn't and I'm sticking to my story!" He folded his arms, stuck his nose in the air, and leaned back in his easy chair trying to look innocent but failing royally.
Tenma sighed, and looked back over at his son who was switching between looking down at his feet and over at him in quick glances so as not to be looked at as being too eager to receive an answer.
"Yes..we had some issues…conceiving."
"What kind of issues?"
"Why do you keep asking me question's like this?"
"I'm just curious!"
"Ask something else!"
"But I wanna know the answer to that one!"
"Ask. Another. Question!"
"Fine then! What was mom's favorite flower?"
"Day Lillies. She loved them."
"Her favorite color?"
"Amethyst."
"Did you and mom ever fight?"
"All couples do, but most of ours were near the end."
"What did you fight about?"
"Me being lazy. Apparently I wasn't..working enough."
Astro's face fell, and turned away towards the kitchen door. You could visibly see his bottom lip trembling. He sniffled loudly, and then got up and hurried off into the kitchen, mumbling something about needing a drink.
"She…wanted you to work all the time?"
"It's complicated son. I'll explain….when I'm ready."
(A/N: At the end of the chapter I'll explain what question's Astro asked and what movie's Tenma attempted to use to answer them so you guys can see where I'm going with my little interpretation of Hoshie and Tenma's relationship, and describe the movies that have to do with Astro's and his relationship too. I read some information about what Tezuka had originally written but since I'm a bleeding heart and a sucker for romance, I decided to do my own less depressing version of events all inspired by another person here on . She knows who she is. And if she doesn't….well..-hugs Magnacarter-. Now she does!)
'When I'm ready.'
Astro sighed and flipped through the pages of his little photo album until he came to the page where he kept photos of all his old school friends. What did they think of him now? Did all of them even know he had been the little boy robot booking it around Metro City in skin-tight black shorts, and red boots? Had it even been announced at school when he'd died? Did any of them come to his funeral? These were all rather confusing…and depressing thoughts…but it was something that Astro couldn't help but wonder about. When he'd asked during the movie marathon, he'd been told that it had taken all of about a year to build him. What happened during that year? Was he buried…or cremated? Should he even still be thinking of himself as 'Tobio'? Should he just be 'Astro'? Or should he just go on as he had been and let his father and Dr. Elefun refer to him as both? Most of what he'd asked about last night had been centered around his mother because he'd genuinely wanted to know about her. As far back as he can remember he'd only ever heard his dad talk about her maybe a couple of times, and it had never been for very long or in very great detail. All of the questions he'd wanted to ask about himself, he'd pushed to the back burner because he wasn't sure how to ask them without making it any more confusing than it already was.
Astro looked over at the last photo he'd taken while still living in the Outland's with Cora, and all the other kid's, and thought about the thing's they'd all told him in private about their origins. Many of them had told him stories of how they had been mistreated by their parent's, and were then graciously taken in by Hamegg. Hamegg, who in the end, was just a robot slave peddler who'd used them all to find parts to salvage and rebuild other robot's he'd built up and destroyed in his 'Robot Games'. Zane, Cora's, and the twin's stories had all been different though, and he laughed when he thought of what Cora said to him the night he'd caught her out by Hamegg's car trying to phone her mother.
-Flashback-
"I don't have to phone home every night! She's not the boss of me! I do whatever the fuck I want!"
Phone: 'EXCUSE ME? WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?'
Cora's eye's got as big as saucers. She hadn't realized the phone was still on. She picked it back up off the hood of the car frantically, nearly dropping it in the process of trying to get it back up to her mouth to speak.
"I didn't say anything mom! I love you—bye!" Click.
Astro laughed.
"So she's not the boss of you then?"
"Shut up Astro! You tell anyone that happened and I'll smack you!"
After that night, he'd spent a lot more time with her than he had any of the others…and not just because she made it easy either, always needing to be caught from slipping off of the top of Zog when they were prepping him for battle or because she constantly had to be kept from sliding down large piles of discarded robot's out in the miles of junkyard they spent hours every day scavenging through. He wasn't human…but if he had been, and there was someone looking in through the glass ceiling of his minimally furnished room at that moment, they would see a teenage boy, blushing furiously, and looking longingly at a photo of a girl with black hair and bright pink high-light's pointing at the taker of the picture irritably with a wrench in her hand. As it stood though..Astro didn't have blood…so he couldn't blush, but he could definitely pull off the 'look of longing' without any trouble at all.
The day he'd gotten the picture, he'd asked Cora if he could use her camera to take a picture of something cool he'd found outside. Seeing as how there was never much to look at at Hamegg's garage other than bits and pieces of old robot's and house appliance's, she had expressed interest in seeing what it was he wanted to take a picture of, which was when he'd decided to snap a picture of her instead of the large spider web with dew drops hanging from it in the tree in the back. It would've come out much better had she not immediately taken offense and threatened to beat him black and blue for taking a picture of her in the morning before she'd gotten to brush her hair down and wash the crap out of her eyes. It was the only one he had of her without everyone else in it though, and that was good enough. Ugly hair and crap on her face or not, he'd want to see her even if she looked worse than Dr. Elefun in the morning. And that was saying something. Especially considering Dr. Elefun's nose hair seemed to always grow exponentially fast when he was sleeping, and Astro had had the misfortune to walk by the bathroom and catch him plucking at them on several very unpleasant occasions.
He closed the photo album, stuck it back in the box, and took out one of the three game systems he'd brought with him, along with the game Wii Sports. He frowned. He wished he'd had more time to get some of his other games. Wii Sports was more of a group thing. It was either this, or Tiger Woods though, and he knew if he played that, his dad would wake up and try to give him subtle hints about what clubs he should use on particular shots. Yeah…Wii Sports …definitely. He glanced back at the photo album.
'Sure would be nice to have someone to play this with..'
With that last thought, he got up, and went back out into the living room where his father was still lying face down on the bed. Astro stared at him as he crept over to the television and started hooking up his game system. Was he even really asleep? It looked like he was just lying there on his face…not moving…or breathing..or anything. It was creepy.
It took him about five minutes to hook it up, and when the little welcome screen came up with the 'Mii Creator' and all the other Wii feature's, Astro came up with a fun idea. He scrolled over to the 'Mii Creator' and clicked it. He typed in the new female 'Mii's' name.
He laughed. "Wonder if I can give it pink highlights?"
(A/N: I thought Astro making a 'Mii' of Cora on the Wii and playing Wii boxing with it, would be just the cutest thing ever, so I did it! Getting close to the end of this chapter. God my fingers hurt!)
Astro, Tenma, Elefun (Sunset)
"You want me to come with you?"
Astro was sitting on the rim of the toilet in the bathroom watching his father shave. The sun was just starting to go down outside, and the white tile's in Dr. Elefun's otherwise bland, colorless bathroom were awash in gold.
"Yes. We might not be coming back tonight."
Astro's eyes lit up.
"Really? No joke?"
"No joke."
Tenma angled his chin a little to the left, and glided the razor down, flicking the mix of shaving cream and hair into the sink.
"But how? I thought we didn't have the money…"
"We don't."
Tenma examined himself in the mirror a moment, and grabbed the towel hanging on the rack above his sons head, and cleaned the remaining shaving cream off his face. He took another moment, looking in the mirror, to toy with his go-tee, and then, satisfied that he hadn't cut it too short, rinsed the foamy piles of left over shaving cream and hair down the drain.
Astro tilted his head in confusion.
"Then if we don't…have it..how're we gonna-?"
"We're going to…politely ask for our slave reparations from the government this evening."
Tenma grinned slyly at his reflection in the mirror as he cleaned off his silver straight razor underneath the cold water. Astro frowned. He could see why Dr. Elefun was always so paranoid around him now. He was stroking that razor like he was thinking about doing something besides just shaving with it… Last night, he'd had no idea he had such a creepy, brooding, father. Especially when he'd tripped over the waste basket trying to get to the bathroom so he and Dr. Elefun wouldn't see him crying over the end of 'Gone With The Wind'.
Astro thought hard. There had been something they'd watched last night out of the stack of films…an old black and white classic..that described to a 'T' what he was feeling about his father at this moment. He watched him snap the straight razor shut with a flick of his wrist, and stick it back in his leather shaving kit. Then it came to him. 'Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde'. He was funny, interesting and intellectual one moment, the next, he was scary, and dark….and doing creepy things like standing in the middle of the bathroom with the light off staring at himself in the mirror.
Astro bit his lip and furrowed his brows. 'Is dad bipolar or something?'
"You mean we're meeting someone?"
"Mhm."
"Who?"
"Would you get my shirt and pants off the arm of the couch in the living room?"
"Yeah…sure..but who're we meeting?"
"The government son. The government. If we're going to keep going through this process of trying to understand one another, then you have to pay attention to my witty similies and metaphors."
"Uh…yeah ..okay."
Astro slipped out of the bathroom, and walked down the hallway toward the living room. If he'd had a stomach, it would be doing flips right now. Maybe even trying to force its contents up and out of his mouth. The government? They'd stayed out in a tent for two whole, agonizing weeks in the Outland's to try to stay away from the government. They'd been living with Dr. Elefun in his drab, drearily decorated, penthouse for the past six and a half months for that same purpose hadn't they? Why now, of all the things they could be doing…like maybe making a new start elsewhere…would they be going to talk to the same people that had worked his father to the marrow for years building military weopans? Why would they be going to talk to the same people who had only a few months ago, after his father had been unwilling to deactivate him, tried to destroy him?
Astro grabbed his father's clothes off the arm of the couch, and then proceeded to walk back to the bathroom.
'Maybe dad is bipolar…maybe he had a change of heart or something…maybe—'
A flash of bright light shown out of both of Astro's eyes, tears began to course down his cheeks, and into his open mouth. His father's clothes, which he'd been holding in his arms…fell to the floor in a heap at his feet. He stopped moving.
-Flashback-
"Blah! Blah! Blah! It's just a machine! Deactivate it already!"
Dr. Elefun put himself between Tenma and the guard pushing Astro toward him. Astro couldn't see. He'd had his eyes shut tight ever since President Stone had told him he'd be bringing him back to his father to be turned off. He felt his face collide with Dr. Elefun's squishy backside, and it was all he could do not to start full on bawling and hug the man for trying so hard…even now.
"Tenma tell them you won't do it-! You know this wrong! YOU CAN'T!"
President Stone waved a hand to the men behind him. They pointed their guns.
"Get outta the way Elefun or I'll have your fat ass deactivated as well! PERMANENTLY! I don't have time for games! I have an election to win!"
The guard behind Astro continued to push, but Dr. Elefun refused to move.
"I won't! This boy has feelings, and rights too! You can't just-!"
"Move, Elefun."
Astro lost it. He wrapped his arms around Dr. Elefun's waist, and went into to full scale, open-mouth, face scrunched, bawling like a baby.
His father spoke again. "Move, Elefun. President Stone is right. There's no point in either of us getting killed over a soulless machine."
"Tenma, look at him! You can't possibly mean what you're saying!"
"Move or they'll shoot you Elefun."
"But-!"
Astro felt the warmth of Dr. Elefun's back suddenly disappear after hearing a thud, and then 'oomph' from the elderly man. He did not open his eyes. If they'd really hurt him..he didn't want to see. The guard behind him grabbed the back of his shirt, and shoved him forward roughly. Very roughly. He fell flat on his face on what he presumed…must be his father's pattened leather shoes. Surprisingly enough, he did not just stand and wait for him to get up, but actually bent down and helped him. Astro opened his teary eyes and took a quick look as he was being guided over to the little work table. What he saw when he looked almost made him close his eyes again.
His father..or rather 'Dr. Tenma' as he should probably stick to thinking of him as since he was about to deactivate him… looked awful. He was…sweaty…and clammy..and his eyes were watery and dialated looking. He had dark circles, and it looked like he had missed several appointments with his razor. His chin was covered with small patches of spiny black hair that would eventually be a full grown beard if he never did anything about it.
He was lifted up onto the work table and then forced onto his back by a push from ''s' hand. He shut his eyes again and turned his head to the left, another fresh batch of tears finding their way from up underneath his eye lids. Maybe it was just a circuit gone wrong. Maybe it was just instincts from all the memories he had of being human, but when Astro felt his chest panel opening up..he began to plead with '' not to shut him down. He felt ashamed to be begging for a life he didn't really have. An artificial life. Robot's aren't supposed to feel shame. And they aren't supposed to be afraid to die…if dying is really what you can call it when your batteries go out.
"Please! Don't turn me off! I have friends! Please-! Please! I can be useful! I can work, or—or-!"
"SON, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP THIS! WAKE UP! SPEAK TO ME!"
Tenma whipped his head around, and looked at Dr. Elefun, panic stricken. He was standing on his knees in front of his son with his arms wrapped tight around him.
"WHAT TIME IS IT ELEFUN? HOW LONG?"
Dr. Elefun bit his lip, and glanced back at his pocket watch.
"He's been out for thirty minutes now…"
"GET MY BAG!"
"Tenma…I don't think we ought to try doing anything to him when-."
"GET MY FUCKING BAG!"
"No, Tenma! If there's something wrong you might just make it worse trying to fix it! He'll snap out of it like he did before-just calm down!"
Tenma unwrapped his arms from around his son and shook him with everything he could muster. He couldn't just 'calm down'. Not when there was something wrong…something really, really wrong with his child. The entire thirty minutes since he'd found him out in the hall, he'd been repeating over and over again that he didn't want to be shut down and that he could be useful. He was doing it now. Even as he was being shaken.
"Don't throw me away! I'll do anything! I'll work—I'll do whatever you want!"
Dr. Elefun walked closer, and bent over to look. Tenma stopped shaking him, and proceeded to slap him multiple times in the face out of desperation.
"Tobio-! Astro, please! I'm not going to throw you away or hurt you—JUST WAKE UP! PLEASE!"
The tears haulted, and Astro's light's shut off, returning his eyes to their original brown just as his father's hand collided with his face again.
"Ow!"
Astro jerked away from his dad, and put his hand to his face. "Why'd you slap me?"
Dr. Elefun stepped forward and spoke first. "Y-you had another lock-up Astro...we were just trying to get you to wake up."
Tenma took a deep breath, and stood up, still looking panicky. "How do you feel son?"
"My face hurts! That's how I feel!"
"I gather that…but..is there-is there something we should talk about before we leave?"
Astro turned around towards the end of the hallway, and ran the back of his sleeve across his moist eyes.
"I don't wanna talk about it…any of it…let's just go to the house and meet whoever you want me to meet already!"
He heard Dr. Elefun's nervous shuffling behind him, and for a moment or two, nothing from his father.
"Alright. Get your shoes on and let's go."
Tenma retreated to the other end of the hallway, and entered the door that led into Elefun's greenhouse. Elefun had been keeping the car in the back of the house since they'd been there so anyone looking for him would think he was missing as well. He pushed his way through the overgrown plants, and foliage all the way to the end of the building to the back door.
'You don't want to talk about it now…but you'll definitely be talking to me about it later. All those embarrassing questions about…my 'feelings' and whatnot…he'll be answering all my questions tonight. No matter how embarrassing or hurtful they may be.'
Astro, Tenma, Emily
"What? No Rob, he isn't here yet…no..no he didn't say anything about that, but I'll-what?"
Emily turned up the volume on her phone. She had been sitting in Dr. Tenma's ballroom sized kitchen since five thirty. She got up out of the cushy, cherry wood dining chair and walked over to the look out one of the curtained windows over the sink, the sound of her clicking heels echoing off the walls. No sign of anything yet.
"What did you say? No! No-I told you I-dammit Rob will you stop reminding me of that incident?"
Phone:' But he hityou with a riding crop Emily! People who..do those things are deranged and—and masochistic! Why are you there alone? What if you get hurt? What if-?'
She could see headlights pulling into the driveway now.
'Figure's he'd be late..'
"I have to go Rob. He's here."
She snapped her phone shut, stuck it into her purse and made her way to the living room. The front door closed just as she rounded the corner into the foyer where she found not just one pair of feet, but two. One, in badly scuffed and peeling italian leather shoes, the other, in a busted up, dirty pair of Converse.
"Hello again, Ms. Neile."
Dr. Tenma made a sweeping motion with his arm, and the boy standing next to him, who she knew had to be Astro walked around her into the living room after mumbling a quick hello. She raised her hand in response, watched him run up the first couple of stairs visible from round the corner in the foyer, and then disappear from sight.
Emily turned back around. "You don't want him to know what-?"
"I discussed it with him on the way here. He knows."
He walked past her out of the foyer, and after a moment, followed. When she entered the living room again, he was over at the cabinet pulling out a glass and the crystal bottle of brandy Mustachio had taken out and offered her a drink from last she was here.
She folded her arms. "So…I guess I should start first by telling you what it is we want to offer you and your son."
Tenma turned around, full glass of brandy in hand, and went over and sat on the piano bench.
"And then I'll follow up by letting you know whether or not your offer is good enough." He crossed his legs and leaned back against the piano.
Emily narrowed her eyes. He was sitting there looking way too smug with that drink in his hand. She ignored his comment and walked over to the couch, and sat down.
"Our records tell us that when you built Astro, you exhausted not only your own personal finances, but those of the Ministry of Science's Robotics' department as well…in total….your son cost all of eight point nine million dollars to build."
Tenma chuckled, and took a sip of his brandy.
"Your records are off by about a hundred thousand dollars…but go on."
"Yes…um…are you aware that you were charged with embezzlement of government funds when he was completed?"
"I'm aware of that. Yes."
Another sip of brandy.
"Then I'm sure you're also aware how much jail time comes along with that? Especially given the significant amount taken."
"Mhm."
"President Logan signed the necessary papers last night to clear you of the embezzlement charge. He also wants to give you back all the personal finance you lost."
Tenma sat his glass of brandy down on the piano keys, unsettling dust and gave a look of mock surprise.
"Oh really? All seven hundred twenty-five thousand of it? Including the college fund I'd had set up for my son? Do I get my yacht back too?"
Emily nodded. "Yes…although we didn't know you had a yacht, so I'm afraid you'll just have to speak to whoever you pawned it off to about getting that back."
"So embezzlement charges dropped….all my money back. What else do I get?"
Emily stuck her hand in the pocket of her navy blue pencil skirt, and pulled out a small, folded over leather badge with the Ministry of Science's logo on it. She tossed it into his lap.
Tenma glanced down at it without opening it to look at what was in it, and then back up into the irritated eyes of the woman who'd given it to him.
"So I'm Minister of Science…once again?"
"You always have been. No one ever struck your name from the record or made any claim to the position."
Emily folded her arms, her sharp blue eyes floating up to the top of the stair case and resting on Astro's bedroom door.
Tenma was still sitting in the same position. Leg's crossed, leaning back against the grand piano. His expression looked dubious though, as to how no one…not one person…had tried to step up and assume the Minister's seat when it was apparent he most likely wouldn't be coming back. There had always been people sniffing around waiting for him to step down…especially during times when he'd been going through a lot of personal turmoil. They waited for years for him to crack when Yumi died…and boy were those damned vultures holding their breath when Toby was being torn limb from limb..his blood and guts being spattered all over the floor and all over the clear shielding right in front of him. Anger….and sadness..rose up in him at the memory of it. He kept his face from betraying it to the person across from him though. He sat up straight and uncrossed his legs. Time now to make his demands.
"Ms. Neile, this proposal in unacceptable."
Emily sighed, and faced him. "And why Dr. Tenma, is this proposal unacceptable to you?"
"You didn't say anything about what you would do for my son. He'd be the one prancing around in front of your camera's preaching 'peace' and 'love' and all that rub-not me. What about him?"
Emily unfolded her arms, scooted forward on the couch, sticking her hands on either side of herself, and asked simply, "What does he want?"
Tenma responded by immediatley frosting her with a look of suspicion.
"You're asking-or rather you're going to ask my son—who is a robot what it is he wants and then give it to him?"
"Yes. Why wouldn't we? He's a hero. Robot or not. "
She waited a moment, and when Tenma's expression did not change, she asked again.
"What does Astro want?"
They both turned at the sound of a pair of feet walking toward them. Astro held a serious expression on his face. One much too serious for someone his age. He stopped when he got to the edge of the heavy, golden-gilt coffee table, and looked over at Emily.
"I want three things. If you say no, tell me it's impossible, or that you can't do anything for me-then I won't do anything for you!"
Emily nodded, and waited.
"First, you have to give my dad more money. A lot more."
"More money for what?"
"For me! And for any other major developments he makes in robotics! And no more making him make military weapons!"
Emily blinked slowly, her expression not changing. "And?"
"Second, I wanna see my friends-! And third, I want you to make Dr. Elefun dad's Vice Minister instead of that other guy!"
Tenma smiled. "Thank you, son. I was going to ask that myself before you came down. I do get so tired of seeing old Glaylock in my office every morning. Smart man…but very dry personality. That, and he's terrible with the foreign dignitaries. Make's Russian sound like pig grunting."
Astro folded his arms. "That's what I want! And if you say you won't do it then-!"
Emily stood up from her seat on the couch, walked over and patted Astro's shoulder, and smiled, letting the contempt she felt for his brash, irritating father wash out of her eyes.
"You got it."
Astro looked up at her skeptically. "You'll really do all of it?"
"The extra money part will be difficult, but I'll definitely try."
She stretched, and looked over at the grandfather clock situated over by the fireplace. It was nine fifteen.
"If there isn't anything else you would like Astro…Dr. Tenma…then I have to go on ahead and talk to the president about what it is we've agreed upon here tonight."
Emily bent and grabbed her purse, giving Astro another friendly smile, and Tenma another look of contempt.
Tenma gave her a once over with his dark eyes, and smirked, making her regret ever looking back at him in the first place.
"I see you followed my advice and took your hair out of that school marmish bun. Much better."
Emily did not give a verbal response. She made her way quickly to the foyer, and exited out the front door, making absolutely sure he saw the crude hand gesture she made at him behind her back by waving it back and forth.
Astro looked at his father, his hand clamped over his mouth to keep from laughing.
Tenma rolled his eyes, grabbed his glass of brandy and took a big gulp.
"She's clean out of luck in that respect. I don't do blondes."
(A/N: Okay. Hoped you guys liked that. I know I'd originally said I'd have Cora and Astro meeting up in this chapter, but once I got started writing, I decided I wanted to wait and do it in a different way. Anywho, here's a list of some of the movies Tenma and Astro watched together and how they pertain to the question's Astro asked. If anyone gets curious about any of the other's I mentioned, ask me! Read and Review please!)
'Persuit of Happiness'- Astro asked Tenma how he felt about him, and what better movie shows what a parent is willing to go through for the love of a child, than this one? I thought so anyway.
'Phantom of the Opera'- He asked what Tenma and Hoshie's relationship was like, and for the fic I'm writing on the side, it fit. I know it sounds corny! But I couldn't find anything that did it better.
'Titanic'- Tenma cries at the end of this, and 'Gone with the Wind' because both movies remind him of the very last conversations he had with his wife before she died. Niether or which were good ones.