How did Mituna convince Cronus to actually go? They were now riding in Cronus's father's car later that weekend, the snow had melted enough to drive safely. Cronus was driving of course, Mituna wasn't allowed to have a licence because of his disabillities. The large forest was baren of leaves due to the season, making it a strange sight to Mituna after all the years. He remembered a car ride similar, but instead now he was talking non stop to Cronus about how excited he was.
It was probably because Cronus couldn't say no to him. How could he? He couldn't just outright say 'No, you're father isn't there and probably never will be'. That would crush his heart even more than it already was. Or was it? It seemed that it was, Cronus knew things like this. Mituna must be avoiding the fact that his father isn't coming back by creating an illusion, in which, he just still hasn't come home. But he will. Cronus's chest ached, and he knew he would do anything in his power to help Mituna, but he couldn't. Cronus was giving the hyper teenager small forced smiles throughout the car ride. He couldn't deny he was also interested in finding out more of Mituna's past, but the whole idea was saddening.
Mituna shouted and brought him out of his thoughts. A small dark house was in the distance and in a few minutes they were parked in front of it, Mituna quickly undoing his seat belt and jumping out of the car. Cronus stayed put for a moment taking a look at it. The house was dark, yet painted a light green. Its walls looked in bad shape, as it was abandoned for years. He was unsure if it was dangerous to be snooping around such an unstable place, he'd have to keep Mituna near him.
He got out of the car and walked beside Mituna, grabbing his hand and holding it. "So, chief, is this what it was?" he asked with a new revamped spirit. Mituna nodded eagerly and pulled Cronus to the door, opening and walking in. Cronus stopped and the doorway, still holding Mituna's hand. Mituna whined and looked back at the greaser, who was looking at the door. Something was posted there. Oh, that's right. Mituna remembered the sign.
"Oh, yeah. I read that before we left! It had a lot of big wordth in it. What doeth it thay?" Mituna grinned and came closer to Cronus, who was looking it over.
"Well.." he read it outloud, doing pretty well on some of the larger words that he came across, but still read it slow. It told that if the parent or guardian didn't return withen thirty days of the child custody, they would have to pay a large fine for child abandonment and return to the police office immediately. The case probably wouldn't count anymore, abandoned like the house, like Mituna and Sollux. Obviously the father didn't come back. That didn't stop Mituna from grinning.
"Come on Cronuth! I'll thhow you around! I thtill remember it!" He giggles and pulls on Cronus's hand, leading him into the kitchen. It looked as though half of the house had been moved out, but some nicnaks still remained. It was dim in the house and Cronus wondered how Mituna remembered where everything was, what with his condition and all.
Soon they were in the living room. He was pointing to where everything was, used to be, grinning through out it. The couch was there, the TV there, daddy sat there in the chair. His memory impressed Cronus and he bit back the lump that wanted to rise in his throat as he grinned in return, nodding and following him. He passed by a small fireplace, above it was dust and a picture frame.
Cronus stopped, Mituna also stopping and looking back at him confused. Cronus was holding the picture frame, wiping the glass and looking at it. Mituna came beside him and looked at it, his eyes widening. It was a picture they had all took together during their father's birthday.
Mituna's remembered his father never really grew up, even if he acted strict at some moments. They had helped him make his own cake and put too much frosting on it, judging by his father's grin that he hadn't minded it. His hair was cropped short, much like Sollux's, and his eyes dual colored like his children. His smile could show his crooked teeth that was visible in his children too, they all looked the same. Except for Mituna of course.
Besides his regular bushy hair and more crooked teeth than the both of them, he had bandages around his head and his arm as he held the camera infront of them all. Cronus pointed to him in the picture.
"What happened there?"
"Oh, I got hurt. Me and Tholluxth were playing in the driveway when dad thaid not too and thomething happened, I don't really remember that too much. Tholluxth thaid it made me thtupid." He snorts and puffs his cheeks, then laughs and points to his brother in the picture who was frowning and had some bumps on his face and neck. "I know that! He got into a beeth netht!" He giggles and Cronus can't help but chuckle.
Cronus handed Mituna the picture with a smile. "You've got your father's looks, just as handsome. Actually, a little bit more." Mituna blushes and leans up to kiss him on the cheek quickly. He holds the frame under his arm and continued to pull Cronus around, leading him into his and Sollux's bedroom, then to his father's. He looked around with a smile, seeing the bed still there. Mituna's eyes widen as his grin went to the extreme and ran over to the bed, its blankets dusty. He tried to push the matress off.
"Uh.. what ya doin' there chief?" Cronus asked, coming beside Mituna who whined and shouted something for Cronus to help him.
Together, or really Cronus, they pushed the matress off revealing a set of clothes. Cronus raised an eyebrow and Mituna jumped up and down, clapping his hands and squealing.
"Hith work clothethh! He uthed to put them under the matrethh to flatten them out and make them nicthe before he went to work! Maybe it'll fit me." He picks them up, yelping and dropping them. "Dirty.."
Cronus picked the shirt up and snapped and shook it in the air, getting the dust and dirt off of them, a paper falling out of the shirt pocket and onto the floor. Mituna blinked and picked it up. He read it and handed it to Cronus, it was a number.
"Oh hey, a phone number? That's- wait.. What.." Cronus handed Mituna the shirt and he immediately tried to put it on, giggling. Cronus read the paper over again, it couldn't be. "That's.. my dad's number." Mituna blinked up at him when he had the shirt on and tilted his head. "Chief, this is my dad's cell phone."
"I thought your dad thaid he worked with my dad? Maybe they were jutht thwapping numberth or thomething." He thought for a moment and then frowned. "Eww if they did the do then we might be like brotherth or thomething and ewww that would be tho awkward.." Cronus chuckled at him, ruffling his hair.
"No, remember my dad sayin' somethin' about workin' with him? The only thing that confuses me is why does your dad has my dad's number, of all people. " Cronus muttered, his hands going to push his own hair back as he looked down at the slip of paper in his hand.
Mituna made a grunt and Cronus looked down, suddenly knowing that his little expedition to find his father only ended in disappointment and more confusion. Although, Cronus was met with a bright grin, the fluffy haired boy bouncing on his heels.
"Maybe your dad knowthhh where he ith?" He squeals, his hands on his cheeks as he bounced in excitement, "Thith ithh like a big goothe chathe, daddy wath alwayth tho good at playing gameth!" With a giggle, Mituna grabbed Cronus's hand and pulled him, starting to walk to the door. Cronus blinked in a bit of confusion.
"Where we goin' now cheif?" Cronus asked, trying not to let it sound exasperated. Mituna led him out of the room, giggling.
"We're going to get to the bottom of thithh mythhtery! Like detectivethh! But we're thtill not done looking around!" Mituna exclaimed, walking with Cronus down the dark, dusty hallway. "We're going to in.. inter... intergate your dad! Under a lightbulb and everything! And then we'll go and find my dad becauthe your dad will know where he ith! And maybe, if my dad hath your dad'th phone number, he hath my dad'th too!"
Cronus stared at Mituna. "I.. think you actually might be onto somethin' there chief." Cronus grinned himself, starting to get excited and curious yet again like when they first set out. "And, its interrogate. I think that's what you were talkin' about. Close, man. "
Mituna puffed his cheeks, nodding. "I wath clothe!" He stopped by the kitchen, staring blankly and Cronus knew he was in deep though of something with the way his brow twitched slightly. Suddenly, Mituna grinned yet again, and Cronus wondered if his cheeks ever ached from all the smiling. "I know another room!"
Again, Cronus was tugged to a set of heavy doors off to the side, Mituna taking a little effort to push them open. The doors seemed to have already been heavy, even more know with age and rust. With a little help from Cronus, they opened the door and Mituna hurried inside, almost tripping on himself as he stopped. Cronus came up behind him and looked around.
Cronus could tell that in its prime, this would have been a very beautiful room. The opposite wall was made of glass, or many windows for support he thought. Most of the windows were smashed through due to weather and time, and ivy was starting to leak in. The flooring, concrete it looked like, was eroded and had many puddles, and the walls around him look even more worn.
Cronus looked over to Mituna who was quiet, noticing his brow twitching again as he looked around. Cronus offered him a smile.
"How's this room? It okay? It looks like it was pretty, what's the story behind it?" he nudged the others shoulder, who jumped a bit and made a small face.
"It'th.. okay." Cronus stared at him, knowing there was more to it. "It'th.. really methhed up and I don't like that.." Mituna muttered, continuing when Cronus still looked at him, looking away himself. "I uthed to play in here a lot, I liked it in here. Momma uthed play in here with me too, and thhe liked to draw pretty too."
"Oh.. I would spend time in here too, its beautiful.." Cronus said softly, somehow knowing that this topic was making Mituna anything other than happy. Suddenly, Mituna brightened up a bit and ran to a corner, giggling. Cronus went after him, raising a curious eyebrow.
"I uthed to thit right here and color! Tholluxthh alwayth got mad at me and daddy too, I wathnt thuthpothed to draw on the floor. You can thill thort of thee it!" He points to the nearly washed away scribbles he had made the day he left. It was still in tact after this long, most likely because it was so far from where the water could leak in through the broken windows. "I uthed to have blanketh and pillowth and everything! Tholluxth uthed to play with me in here, but I think he didn't like it after mommy went up." He smiles at Cronus, who nodded in return.
Mituna giggled, then made a face as he looked out of the broken windows. It was starting to get dark, and it was pretty cold as the outside air could get in this room. Mituna's breath was visible in puffs, shivering a little. Cronus checked the watch on his wrist.
"5:00 man, I think we got to go home." He tilts his head, looking over at Mituna who nodded, his hand rubbing his eye. "You okay there?"
"I'm tired.." Mituna muttered, and if on que he let out a big yawn, showing off his crooked teeth. Cronus chuckles, stiffling a yawn in response. For a moment he was wondering why when someone yawned, you had the urge to yawn yourself. Even the thought of yawning caused him to yawn once more, until he rembered the time.
Sliding his arm around Mituna's shoulder, he led the smaller boy out of the house and into the car. It was a long day, Cronus though, and maybe a little stressful for Mituna. Looking over as he started the engine, Cronus smiled as Mituna was slumped in the seat, already asleep. He must have been dead beat tired. Cronus leaned over and grabbed the seat belt, putting it around him and clicking it in. He blushed, seeing as how he was leaning over him. He smiled, pressing his lips softly on Mituna's. Mituna made a soft sound, still sleeping. Yep, fast asleep, Cronus thought.
Cronus pulled out of the dark driveway, soon out and back onto the path where they came in from. The trees, now that it was nearing night, looked even more sinister. It made Cronus think. Why would their father just run out on them? He seemed like a good enough person. Mituna and Sollux could have just died out if the authorities didn't show up. Could it be that, deep down Mituna's father had a sinister part of him? Or perhaps, he was driven out on short notice, by something? What would their father run from?
The mystery boggled Cronus's head, so much that it was a little hard to pay attention to driving. What was his father's relations to Mituna's? What didn't his father tell him about the Captor? He suddenly doubted it was just an accounting job, knowing his father. His father was horrible in that subject anyway. Considering his fathers dangerous nature, were they linked in something illegal-?
Cronus slammed on his breaks, cursing as the car slid in response. His heart nearly stopped as he swirved back onto the road, just nearly hitting the deer and equally nearly hitting the banks on the side of the road. He slowed down near the side, letting out a breath. He heard Mituna whine and looked over to him. He was rubbing his arm a little, still sleepy.
"S-Sorry chief, my mind was out there and a deer wanted to take a jig in the middle of the road." Cronus let out a nervous chuckle, noticing his forehead was a bit wet with sweat. Scared the shit out of him, it did. "Your arm okay?"
"Door hit me.." Mituna mumbled, soon falling back to sleep like it was nothing. He must have slid a bit out of his seat and slammed back against the door when Cronus had swerved, poor thing. Now, Cronus had slowed down to a stop to regain himself. He leaned over, kissing his lover's cheek in apology, although he was now fast asleep yet again.
Cronus sighed and smiled, rubbing his face a bit. He made an agreement to himself that he would keep his thinking until they got home, not wanting to risk something like that again with Mituna in the car. Or himself for that matter, but Mituna was more important. He started to see why he was placed in that special class, his attention span was that of a walnut. Probably what was making leaning a bitch for him.
Cronus began to drive back into the road, although still at the back of his mind he wondered about the mystery surrounding the Captor family.
((gomen for this being so late, lost the sd card and school ahh! I'm going to start getting back into the story!