{Fic} Good Daddy- Chapter Four
Title: Good Daddy
Author: archetier
Pairing: Akame
Genre: Romance, Fluff, Comedy
Rating: PG-13 (may go up)
Disclaimer: The original character belongs to me. The rest of the characters are real people, and are therefore not owned by anyone.
Summary:
When a baby suddenly appears in front of the doorstep of the immature Akanishi Jin, claiming to be his son, he has no choice but to care for him, however, circumstances happen, and he suddenly finds the need to find a nanny. Luckily, the latest object of his affections, a beautiful boy by the name of Kamenashi Kazuya, needed a new job and agreed to become the nanny. As the pair live under the same roof and care for the baby, their feelings grow deeper. Will they live a happily ever after, or will it be an unharbored one-sided love for Jin? And who is the baby's real mother?
A/N: This is a chapter posted in haste, due to the overwhelming amount of schoolwork I am entailed to do (college sucks, seriously). kaykm , I'm sorry I didn't have this go through your scrutinizing beta skills. m(_ _)m
Chapter Four
Chado, the Way Of Tea, is based upon the simple act of boiling water, making tea, offering it to others, and drinking of it ourselves. Served with a respectful heart and received with gratitude, a bowl of tea satisfies both physical and spiritual thirst.”*
Sen Soshitsu, renowned chado master and good friend of Jin’s father, was in the middle of introducing, or rather, re-introducing, the way of tea to Jin.
“Jin, are you listening to me?”
Jin was quickly snapped out of his daze. “Yes, I am, Uncle, I mean…Master Sen.”
Master Sen looked at him doubtfully. “Really? Then what was I saying about Chado just then?”
Jin thought for a moment. “You were uhhh…you were…”
Master Sen sighed. “Your mind seems to be somewhere else,” he observed. Jin blushed. “Sorry, Master Sen. I’m really trying hard to concentrate, but can I please make one last phone call?”
“Very well, but this is the last time I am allowing you to make a phone call,” Master Sen said. He watched as Master Akanishi’s heir apparent practically stood up from his seiza position and bolted out the Cha-shitsu (tea room).
Once out, Jin marveled at the cherry blossoms that were slowly starting to bloom. He grinned. It reminded him of the two people he really missed at the moment. Kazuya, his nanny of two weeks, and of course, his son, Akemi.
He quickly fished out his cell phone and dialed his home phone number.
“Akanishi,” a polite, raspy voice said.
Jin grinned at the voice. He was glad that Kazuya followed him and dropped all honorifics. It was only a matter of time before he started calling him Jin, or something else. “How did you know it was me?”
“It’s the third time you’ve called. Seriously, we are fine. Akemi’s awake, he just had his bottle, and is feeling extremely satisfied.”
Jin’s eyes lit up. “Akemi’s awake? I want to talk to him!”
“But don’t you have a chado lesson---“
“Oh, please, please, Kazuya, I want to talk to my son!”
Back at the Akanishi residence, Kazuya cannot believe that the man he was on the phone with was actually his boss, a grown man, because he sounded like a child who wanted to talk to his baby brother.
“All right, if it makes you happy,” Kazuya relented. “Hold on, let me disinfect the phone first. We wouldn’t want Akemi to catch germs from the cordless, would we?”
“Ever the obsessive-compulsive guy,” Jin teased. “What would Akemi and I do without you?”
Kazuya laughed at the term. He was glad that he was having a good relationship with his boss. Jin was actually an easy person to get along with. Although he knew that the man was quite infatuated with him, he didn’t do anything that resembled sexual harassment, which broke the record for Kazuya’s string of jobs that ended because he ended up getting sexually harassed.
“There, disinfected,” Kazuya said, satisfied as he put the receiver over Akemi’s little ear. “Akemi, talk to your Daddy.”
Akemi was looking up at Kazuya. He was probably wondering what Kazuya was doing.
“Go on, Akemi,” he coaxed. “That’s your Daddy.”
“Mama,” Akemi said. It was the only word he could utter.
Kazuya could hear Jin groan. “Daddy’s trying to talk to you and all you can say is Mama?” Akemi broke out into giggles after hearing his father whine.
“You’re happy to hear me, aren’t you? You missed me, right?” Jin said. He was happy that his boy was giggling.
Kazuya laughed at Akemi, who suddenly became so hyper hearing his father’s voice.
Akemi babbled, responding to Jin. Kazuya can imagine the overly-eager father, who was probably grinning like a Cheshire Cat and talking to his son.
“Hello?” Kazuya said, when Akemi stopped babbling. The baby suddenly grew bored and focused his attention on trying to fit in his fist in his mouth. Kazuya gently took Akemi’s fist away from his mouth. Akemi face crumpled. Kazuya held his little fist so that he wouldn’t try to put it in his mouth again. Was Akemi still hungry? The concerned nanny wondered.
“I have to go,” Jin said suddenly. “It was nice talking to you. I’ll be home soon. Let me say bye to Akemi.”
Kazuya once again put the phone over Akemi’s ear. “Akemi, say goodbye to your Daddy.” Akemi cooed.
“Such a good baby,” Kazuya said, smiling, as he put the phone over his ear.
Jin was busy making kissing sounds on the phone. Kazuya burst out laughing.
“This isn’t Akemi you’re talking to,” Kazuya said.
Jin stopped making kissing sounds and paused. Then…
“I know.”
The line went dead.
“BAKA,” Kazuya murmured to himself, smiling. He was taken aback when he found himself smiling. He bit his lip.
“Must be the child in him,” he reasoned to himself. “I was always fond of children. Yes, that must be it.”
He definitely couldn’t be developing feelings for his boss.
***
Kazuya was surprised when the doorbell rang. Akemi just started his afternoon nap, and he was planning to make some curry for dinner. Jin didn’t tell him he was expecting some guests that afternoon.
“I’m coming,” Kazuya said, going toward the front door, forgetting that he was still wearing a frilly pink apron with Hello Kitty wearing a chef costume on it.
“It’s the pretty nanny, hello!”
Yamapi let himself in, as he always did, followed by a sullen-looking guy who seemed to be a few inches shorter than him. But what he lacked in height, he made up through his attitude, as Kazuya would find out later on.
“Akanishi didn’t tell me you were coming,” Kazuya said. He looked at Yamapi’s friend, who he assumed was also one of Jin’s friends. The friend was looking at his frilly pink apron, before smirking. Kazuya blushed and tried to untie the apron without him noticing.
“I knew it, he forgot,” Yamapi said, turning to his friend.
“WHAT? I had to blow off hate sex with Tat-chan for this and he just…FORGOT?” the shorter man raged.
Yamapi covered his ears. “Ew, you didn’t have to tell us that, Ryo.”
Kazuya cleared his throat. “Excuse me, uhhh…Ryo-san?” he said. Ryo flinched slightly when he turned to focus his attention on the man wearing the frilly apron, whom he had mentally dubbed as, “Born with too much estrogen”.
“Yeah, what?”
“Did you just say…Tat-chan?” Ryo’s ears perked up. “Yes, I did just say that. Why? How do you know him? Are you currently having a sexual relationship with him? So tell me, how is he on top?”
Yamapi burst out laughing. “I love how you assume that this guy here is the uke.”
Kazuya frowned. “If you’re going to just stand there and talk about gay sex, then forget about it.” He turned to go to the kitchen. The pair followed.
“Sorry, Kamenashi-kun, he’s really like that,” Yamapi said. “He speaks his mind.” Ryo nodded vigorously. “
“Ah, I am not mistaken then,” Kazuya said. “You really are the ‘Sexy Osaka Man’ Tat-chan always raved about.”
“Tat-chan called me that? He never calls me sexy,” Ryo pouted. “And how do you know Tat-chan?”
“I work with him,” Kazuya said. “I’m a part-time photographer. I’m sure you’ve seen our photo galleries?”
Ryo’s eyes widened. “YES! So you’re Tat-chan’s mysterious partner. Hmm. Nice to meet you.”
“Give him my love….platonic love,” Kazuya added, as Ryo quickly stiffened at the word ‘love’.
Ryo gave him a grin that totally contradicted his supposedly tough demeanor. “I will, pretty nanny.”
“HANDS OFF MY NANNY,” a voice shouted from across the room. The three turned their heads. It was Jin. He was still wearing his kimono, which he was required to wear during chado lessons, and he was pointing an accusing finger at his two best friends.
“I can’t believe you forgot,” Yamapi said.
Jin furrowed his eyebrows. “Forgot what?”
“Today’s the day we’re going to visit all your recent exes and check if she’s Akemi’s mother, right?”
Kazuya looked at Jin. “You’re going to look for Akemi’s mother?”
Jin nodded. “Yes. As much as I love being his father, I still would want to know who his mother is. We’re not staying for dinner. I’ll be home as soon as I can. If Akemi cries and misses me, sing him the song that I always sing for him!” He turned to Ryo and Yamapi. “Let’s go.”
***
Jin walked inside a club. It had been awhile since he’d been in one, since the past few weeks had been devoted to taking care of Akemi and re-learning the art of making tea.
Gettting curious glances for wearing a kimono, Jin tilted his fedora even lower so that it hid his eyes. He spotted a few people that he used to party with during his “glory days”. Although his said “glory days” just ended recently, he felt that it had already been a very long time.
“I hate you for having so many flings,” Yamapi said. “How the hell are we going to find out who Akemi’s real mother is?”
His loud voice, and his face, caught the attention of many of the patrons of the club, and they started looking at the three men.
“Not so loud, Pi, I don’t want anyone to recognize me,” Jin said in a low voice. He turned to Ryo, who, at least, was doing his job, at least, that’s what it looked like he was doing. “Have you seen her?”
“Who?”
“Jessica.”
They were talking about Jessica Michibata, who was one of the girls Jin had a casual relationship with around the time that Akemi was conceived.
Although they theorized that Akemi had a Japanese mother, they also thought that it was impossible to assume through his features that he was full Japanese, because he might have just inherited a lot of his features from Jin. That being said, he was actually looking like how Jin did when he was a baby.
“There she is!”
Ryo pointed to a slender brunette with long, brown wavy hair and a coy smile. She was wearing a sequined dress that barely covered her gams and red lipstick to accentuate her lips.
“There is no way she could be Akemi’s mother,” Yamapi said. “She’s too…I don’t know…”
“Too party girl-ish?” Ryo guessed. Yamapi nodded.
“Maybe that’s why she abandoned Akemi, so she could party more,” Jin said. “Well, we won’t find out if we just stand here and gawk at her, would we? Come on, let’s go to her.”
“Who said anything about gawking?” Ryo was saying as they approached the bar, where the half-Japanese beauty was lounging with a few friends.
“Ryo-chan, is that you? I missed you!”
Jessica spotted them first, stood up and gave the startled man a hug. Jin and Yamapi exchanged amused looks as Ryo didn’t know how to react.
“Jessica,” Jin finally said, removing his fedora and looking at the girl he once dated briefly. Jessica’s eyes widened.
“Jin!” Jessica exclaimed in surprise. “I haven’t seen you in awhile.” She released Ryo and gave the kimono-clad man a huge, welcoming embrace.
“Uhh…yeah,” Jin said. “I haven’t seen you too.” Jessica smiled and nodded. “Well, I had something that kept me busy the past few months. Something that just couldn’t permit me to go out of the house and go clubbing like I used to.”
Jin raised his eyebrows. Could it be…? “Is that so?”
“Yeah, I was away, shooting for an indie movie at an obscure location, so I had to take a hiatus from the Japanese partying scene for awhile.” Jessica smiled warmly. “So, how have you been?”
Jin couldn’t believe what he just heard. So she wasn’t Akemi’s mother. “Jessica, the last time we had sex, did I use protection?”
“No, you didn’t,” Jessica said, giggling. “You never did. Thank god I used contraceptives or else I would be having your babies!”
That answered his question. Jin was glad that Jessica didn’t ask him any further questions, such as why Jin was asking him things like that. The man thanked his former fling, mumbled about bad sushi, and left the club, him and Yamapi practically dragging Ryo away kicking and stomping, as he swore that he saw his beloved Tat-chan swiveling his hips with a pretty Japanese girl with huge, round eyes.
Yamapi took out a piece of paper and crossed off Jessica’s name on the list.
“We still have three possible girls to approach,” he informed Jin.
Ryo and Jin groaned. This was going to be a long night.
***
“GET OUT! GET OUT!”
A hysterical woman hurled things at the three baffled men, while one of their prospective “suspects”, a university student named Kitano Kii, hid behind her, biting her lip.
“I was just---Jin started to say breathlessly, then dunked as a frying pan started hurling toward him---asking your niece if-----he dodged a literally flying saucer----she and I used protection when we had sex!” He hung his head, just in time to miss a telephone directory being hurled at him, which unfortunately hit half of Yamapi’s face.
“Ouch,” Yamapi said, stoically.
“My niece doesn’t fraternize herself with playboys like you!” Kitano’s aunt yelled. “Get out!”
“Wait, auntie! Let me talk to him,” Kii said, stepping forward. “Senpai, why do you ask such questions? Our relationship was merely just a casual fling to you.”
“It wouldn’t just be a casual fling if something, or rather someone was actually produced out of it,” Jin answered back.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kii said, wrinkling her eyebrows. “Nothing got out of it, except for my virginity.” She gasped and put a hand over her mouth, closing her eyes as her aunt started getting hysterical all over again.
“How do I know you’re not lying?” Jin said.
“Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to do here, but if you did get me pregnant, then I would’ve been taking care of the baby right at this very moment!”
Jin’s shoulders slumped. “Thank you for your time.” He looked at Ryo and Yamapi. “Let’s go, guys.”
Kii shook her head as she closed the door. “Honestly, me getting pregnant…” She heard the loud tapping of her aunt’s foot.
“You have some explaining to do, young lady.”
***
“I…I’m sorry, I didn’t know how to tell you…”
Another half-Japanese beauty with wide, hazel, tear-filled eyes looked at Jin’s wide, surprised ones. They were at their third stop, interrogating swimsuit model Alisa Urahama, who just confirmed that she was, indeed, what they were looking for.
Jin was aghast. “W-why would you just leave our child like that?” he said, barely audible. He was not proud of what his ex-fling did.
Alisa bit her lower lip and shook her head. “I just thought…I just thought that if I give our baby to you, you would come back to me.” She suddenly flung herself onto Jin. “I still love you,” she cried, letting tears freely flow on her face. Jin didn’t know what to do, so he just patted her back, in an attempt to comfort her.
Meanwhile, Ryo and Yamapi weren’t so sure that Alisa was telling the truth.
Alisa pulled away from Jin and wiped her tears. The statuesque girl took Jin’s hands and held them. “Thank you. Thank you for taking care of our child, for making little Akemi experience what it would be like to have a father.”
Jin just nodded. “Thank you for not killing Akemi.”
Alisa managed to smile. “How can I kill the fruit of our love?” she said shyly. Yamapi and Ryo both looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
“Alisa-chan, I have a question,” Yamapi spoke up. Alisa looked a little shocked, nervous even, as she slowly said, “What is it?”
“Why did you give a girly name for your kid?”
“Well….of course I gave a girly name for my baby,” Alisa said carefully. “I want her to grow up to be a very ladylike girl, just like me.”
Jin immediately pulled his hands away from Alisa’s grip, his expression darkening.
“Is anything wrong, Jin?” a concerned Alisa asked.
“You lied to me,” Jin said. “You’re not Akemi’s mother.”
Alisa looked shocked. “How could you say that? How could you say that I am not the mother of my own child?”
“Because a real mother would know the child’s gender,” Ryo retorted. “DUH.”
Alisa looked confused. “Oh, of course Akemi was a boy. It’s just that…he looks so feminine that I always thought he was a girl…”
“MMMHMMM. How old is he?” Yamapi said, crossing his arms and frowning.
Alisa shot Jin a worried glance. Jin’s expression remained the same.
“Eleven months?”
“Thank you for your time,” Jin said furiously, stomping out of Alisa’s condominium. Ryo and Yamapi followed suit.
“WAIT! JIN! I LOVE YOU! I’ll gladly be Akemi’s mother!” Alisa cried out, trying to chase them. “Just don’t…leave me again.”
“Something was off when she told you that she conceived when you two had sex,” Yamapi said, as the trio got in Jin’s car. “She had all the tell-tale signs of someone who was fibbing.”
Jin was silent. He was mad because Alisa had lied to him and he almost believed her. Thank god that conniving woman was framed by his two friends!
“Only one woman left,” Ryo informed Jin, pointing to a name in the list. Jin shook his head. “No thanks. I’ve had enough drama for tonight. I think I’m going to go home and rest.”
“And have that pretty nanny give you a back massage?” Yamapi teased.
“And maybe something more,” Ryo added, smirking.
Jin managed to smile when his two friends said that. “You know, that’s actually not a bad idea…”
***
Akemi was awake. And Akemi wanted to play. Meanwhile his nanny was really tired from doing round-the-clock cleaning, cooking and nanny-ing. He collapsed on the living room couch and closed his eyes.
“Mom, I do not know how you did it, but I’m going to give you a lot of credit this time,” he said tiredly, calling out to his deceased mother.
Akemi was beside him. He was in his baby carrier, entertaining himself with a rattle.
“MA~MA!”
Kazuya ignored Akemi. It wasn’t like he was calling for him. He read in one of Jin’s childcare books that babies around his age usually learned how to make sounds like that. Akemi was actually advanced than most babies. Kazuya felt that Akemi was going to grow up to be a very smart boy.
“MA~~~MA~~~”
Kazuya stood up and faced the infant. “Akemi, are you sleepy? You are, aren’t you?”
Akemi’s face broke out into a smile and he giggled. He then started flailing his arms and legs all over the place.
“All right, I take that as a no,” Kazuya sighed. “Perhaps you’re waiting for your father to come home? Speaking of which, I wonder how the “search” went.”
“No need to wonder no further,” Jin said, barging inside the house. He sat on the empty space beside Kazuya. “I. AM. SO. TIRED. AND. PISSED.” He closed his eyes and groaned.
“Your son waited up for you,” Kazuya informed him. Jin opened his eyes. “HE DID?” Kazuya smiled and carried Akemi, giving him to Jin.
“Hello, Akemi,” Jin said, planting a kiss on the baby’s forehead. “You missed me, didn’t you?”
Akemi cooed back, not taking his eyes off Jin. His father gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find your mother. I thought I found her, but it turns out…she was just pretending.”
Kazuya felt bad for Jin. He had never seen him this upset before. Jin was the type of person you wouldn’t want to see upset or crying, because it could really break your heart.
“I’m…sorry to hear that,” Kazuya whispered. Jin turned his attention to Kazuya and smiled. “Thank you.”
Akemi suddenly yawned. Jin and Kazuya chuckled. “He’s finally getting sleepy,” Kazuya sighed in relief. He grinned at Jin. “Looks like he really did wait up for you.”
“Thank you, baby,” Jin whispered, as Akemi slowly closed his eyes. Kazuya handed him the baby’s blanket, but Jin gave Akemi to him instead. “You tuck him to bed. I have to do something.”
Kazuya nodded and gently took the baby to his arms. He followed Jin to his room, where Akemi’s crib was.
After Kazuya had tucked Akemi to sleep, he just stood beside his crib, staring at the baby, counting the baby’s breathing.
“So precious,” he murmured. He couldn’t take his eyes off him.
Suddenly, he felt two strong arms around his slender waist. He turned his head slightly, and saw Jin’s face dangerously close to his.
“A-Akanishi,” Kazuya said.
“I'd like for us to just stay this way," his boss murmured.
Kazuya tried pulling away. “You’re just upset. That’s why you’re acting like this.”
“I was upset,” Jin admitted. “But not anymore. You two lifted up my mood.” He tightened his embrace. "So, thanks."
“You know, three jobs ago, my employer wrapped his big, beefy arms around my waist, just like what you are doing now. His face was dangerously close to my face, just like how your face is dangerously close to my face now,” Kazuya said.
Before Jin could say anything, Kazuya smiled. “But the funny thing is, I don’t feel the urge to punch your face, like what I did to him, three jobs ago.”
After realizing what he just said, Kazuya blushed. He slowly unwrapped Jin’s arms around his waist and faced him. “Good night.” He gave him a small smile and went out of the room.
Jin felt his arms and knees grow weak.
“But the funny thing is, I don’t feel the urge to punch your face, like what I did to him, three jobs ago.”
His heart started beating really fast when Kazuya said that. While he undeniably had a crush on the nanny, he didn’t expect him to feel all light, nervous, excited, anxious and on a high all at the same time.
Jin decided that he liked the feeling.
A/N: I KNOW, totally irrelevant chapter, right? :|
The three girls Jin had flings with in this story:
Jessica Michibata- Personally, I think she's very very pretty. :) She's currently Jenson Button (a British Formula One racer)'s girlfriend after she broke up with Jin, lol jk
Kitano Kii(I'm sure we all know who she is XD)
Alisa Urahama - I don't hate her or anything, given the way I characterized her in this chapter, in case you've been given that impression. :D
EDIT: Almost forgot. For those of you who are curious, This is what a seiza position looks like
As always, let me know what you think! ^___^
Author: archetier
Pairing: Akame
Genre: Romance, Fluff, Comedy
Rating: PG-13 (may go up)
Disclaimer: The original character belongs to me. The rest of the characters are real people, and are therefore not owned by anyone.
Summary:
When a baby suddenly appears in front of the doorstep of the immature Akanishi Jin, claiming to be his son, he has no choice but to care for him, however, circumstances happen, and he suddenly finds the need to find a nanny. Luckily, the latest object of his affections, a beautiful boy by the name of Kamenashi Kazuya, needed a new job and agreed to become the nanny. As the pair live under the same roof and care for the baby, their feelings grow deeper. Will they live a happily ever after, or will it be an unharbored one-sided love for Jin? And who is the baby's real mother?
A/N: This is a chapter posted in haste, due to the overwhelming amount of schoolwork I am entailed to do (college sucks, seriously). kaykm , I'm sorry I didn't have this go through your scrutinizing beta skills. m(_ _)m
Chapter Four
Chado, the Way Of Tea, is based upon the simple act of boiling water, making tea, offering it to others, and drinking of it ourselves. Served with a respectful heart and received with gratitude, a bowl of tea satisfies both physical and spiritual thirst.”*
Sen Soshitsu, renowned chado master and good friend of Jin’s father, was in the middle of introducing, or rather, re-introducing, the way of tea to Jin.
“Jin, are you listening to me?”
Jin was quickly snapped out of his daze. “Yes, I am, Uncle, I mean…Master Sen.”
Master Sen looked at him doubtfully. “Really? Then what was I saying about Chado just then?”
Jin thought for a moment. “You were uhhh…you were…”
Master Sen sighed. “Your mind seems to be somewhere else,” he observed. Jin blushed. “Sorry, Master Sen. I’m really trying hard to concentrate, but can I please make one last phone call?”
“Very well, but this is the last time I am allowing you to make a phone call,” Master Sen said. He watched as Master Akanishi’s heir apparent practically stood up from his seiza position and bolted out the Cha-shitsu (tea room).
Once out, Jin marveled at the cherry blossoms that were slowly starting to bloom. He grinned. It reminded him of the two people he really missed at the moment. Kazuya, his nanny of two weeks, and of course, his son, Akemi.
He quickly fished out his cell phone and dialed his home phone number.
“Akanishi,” a polite, raspy voice said.
Jin grinned at the voice. He was glad that Kazuya followed him and dropped all honorifics. It was only a matter of time before he started calling him Jin, or something else. “How did you know it was me?”
“It’s the third time you’ve called. Seriously, we are fine. Akemi’s awake, he just had his bottle, and is feeling extremely satisfied.”
Jin’s eyes lit up. “Akemi’s awake? I want to talk to him!”
“But don’t you have a chado lesson---“
“Oh, please, please, Kazuya, I want to talk to my son!”
Back at the Akanishi residence, Kazuya cannot believe that the man he was on the phone with was actually his boss, a grown man, because he sounded like a child who wanted to talk to his baby brother.
“All right, if it makes you happy,” Kazuya relented. “Hold on, let me disinfect the phone first. We wouldn’t want Akemi to catch germs from the cordless, would we?”
“Ever the obsessive-compulsive guy,” Jin teased. “What would Akemi and I do without you?”
Kazuya laughed at the term. He was glad that he was having a good relationship with his boss. Jin was actually an easy person to get along with. Although he knew that the man was quite infatuated with him, he didn’t do anything that resembled sexual harassment, which broke the record for Kazuya’s string of jobs that ended because he ended up getting sexually harassed.
“There, disinfected,” Kazuya said, satisfied as he put the receiver over Akemi’s little ear. “Akemi, talk to your Daddy.”
Akemi was looking up at Kazuya. He was probably wondering what Kazuya was doing.
“Go on, Akemi,” he coaxed. “That’s your Daddy.”
“Mama,” Akemi said. It was the only word he could utter.
Kazuya could hear Jin groan. “Daddy’s trying to talk to you and all you can say is Mama?” Akemi broke out into giggles after hearing his father whine.
“You’re happy to hear me, aren’t you? You missed me, right?” Jin said. He was happy that his boy was giggling.
Kazuya laughed at Akemi, who suddenly became so hyper hearing his father’s voice.
Akemi babbled, responding to Jin. Kazuya can imagine the overly-eager father, who was probably grinning like a Cheshire Cat and talking to his son.
“Hello?” Kazuya said, when Akemi stopped babbling. The baby suddenly grew bored and focused his attention on trying to fit in his fist in his mouth. Kazuya gently took Akemi’s fist away from his mouth. Akemi face crumpled. Kazuya held his little fist so that he wouldn’t try to put it in his mouth again. Was Akemi still hungry? The concerned nanny wondered.
“I have to go,” Jin said suddenly. “It was nice talking to you. I’ll be home soon. Let me say bye to Akemi.”
Kazuya once again put the phone over Akemi’s ear. “Akemi, say goodbye to your Daddy.” Akemi cooed.
“Such a good baby,” Kazuya said, smiling, as he put the phone over his ear.
Jin was busy making kissing sounds on the phone. Kazuya burst out laughing.
“This isn’t Akemi you’re talking to,” Kazuya said.
Jin stopped making kissing sounds and paused. Then…
“I know.”
The line went dead.
“BAKA,” Kazuya murmured to himself, smiling. He was taken aback when he found himself smiling. He bit his lip.
“Must be the child in him,” he reasoned to himself. “I was always fond of children. Yes, that must be it.”
He definitely couldn’t be developing feelings for his boss.
***
Kazuya was surprised when the doorbell rang. Akemi just started his afternoon nap, and he was planning to make some curry for dinner. Jin didn’t tell him he was expecting some guests that afternoon.
“I’m coming,” Kazuya said, going toward the front door, forgetting that he was still wearing a frilly pink apron with Hello Kitty wearing a chef costume on it.
“It’s the pretty nanny, hello!”
Yamapi let himself in, as he always did, followed by a sullen-looking guy who seemed to be a few inches shorter than him. But what he lacked in height, he made up through his attitude, as Kazuya would find out later on.
“Akanishi didn’t tell me you were coming,” Kazuya said. He looked at Yamapi’s friend, who he assumed was also one of Jin’s friends. The friend was looking at his frilly pink apron, before smirking. Kazuya blushed and tried to untie the apron without him noticing.
“I knew it, he forgot,” Yamapi said, turning to his friend.
“WHAT? I had to blow off hate sex with Tat-chan for this and he just…FORGOT?” the shorter man raged.
Yamapi covered his ears. “Ew, you didn’t have to tell us that, Ryo.”
Kazuya cleared his throat. “Excuse me, uhhh…Ryo-san?” he said. Ryo flinched slightly when he turned to focus his attention on the man wearing the frilly apron, whom he had mentally dubbed as, “Born with too much estrogen”.
“Yeah, what?”
“Did you just say…Tat-chan?” Ryo’s ears perked up. “Yes, I did just say that. Why? How do you know him? Are you currently having a sexual relationship with him? So tell me, how is he on top?”
Yamapi burst out laughing. “I love how you assume that this guy here is the uke.”
Kazuya frowned. “If you’re going to just stand there and talk about gay sex, then forget about it.” He turned to go to the kitchen. The pair followed.
“Sorry, Kamenashi-kun, he’s really like that,” Yamapi said. “He speaks his mind.” Ryo nodded vigorously. “
“Ah, I am not mistaken then,” Kazuya said. “You really are the ‘Sexy Osaka Man’ Tat-chan always raved about.”
“Tat-chan called me that? He never calls me sexy,” Ryo pouted. “And how do you know Tat-chan?”
“I work with him,” Kazuya said. “I’m a part-time photographer. I’m sure you’ve seen our photo galleries?”
Ryo’s eyes widened. “YES! So you’re Tat-chan’s mysterious partner. Hmm. Nice to meet you.”
“Give him my love….platonic love,” Kazuya added, as Ryo quickly stiffened at the word ‘love’.
Ryo gave him a grin that totally contradicted his supposedly tough demeanor. “I will, pretty nanny.”
“HANDS OFF MY NANNY,” a voice shouted from across the room. The three turned their heads. It was Jin. He was still wearing his kimono, which he was required to wear during chado lessons, and he was pointing an accusing finger at his two best friends.
“I can’t believe you forgot,” Yamapi said.
Jin furrowed his eyebrows. “Forgot what?”
“Today’s the day we’re going to visit all your recent exes and check if she’s Akemi’s mother, right?”
Kazuya looked at Jin. “You’re going to look for Akemi’s mother?”
Jin nodded. “Yes. As much as I love being his father, I still would want to know who his mother is. We’re not staying for dinner. I’ll be home as soon as I can. If Akemi cries and misses me, sing him the song that I always sing for him!” He turned to Ryo and Yamapi. “Let’s go.”
***
Jin walked inside a club. It had been awhile since he’d been in one, since the past few weeks had been devoted to taking care of Akemi and re-learning the art of making tea.
Gettting curious glances for wearing a kimono, Jin tilted his fedora even lower so that it hid his eyes. He spotted a few people that he used to party with during his “glory days”. Although his said “glory days” just ended recently, he felt that it had already been a very long time.
“I hate you for having so many flings,” Yamapi said. “How the hell are we going to find out who Akemi’s real mother is?”
His loud voice, and his face, caught the attention of many of the patrons of the club, and they started looking at the three men.
“Not so loud, Pi, I don’t want anyone to recognize me,” Jin said in a low voice. He turned to Ryo, who, at least, was doing his job, at least, that’s what it looked like he was doing. “Have you seen her?”
“Who?”
“Jessica.”
They were talking about Jessica Michibata, who was one of the girls Jin had a casual relationship with around the time that Akemi was conceived.
Although they theorized that Akemi had a Japanese mother, they also thought that it was impossible to assume through his features that he was full Japanese, because he might have just inherited a lot of his features from Jin. That being said, he was actually looking like how Jin did when he was a baby.
“There she is!”
Ryo pointed to a slender brunette with long, brown wavy hair and a coy smile. She was wearing a sequined dress that barely covered her gams and red lipstick to accentuate her lips.
“There is no way she could be Akemi’s mother,” Yamapi said. “She’s too…I don’t know…”
“Too party girl-ish?” Ryo guessed. Yamapi nodded.
“Maybe that’s why she abandoned Akemi, so she could party more,” Jin said. “Well, we won’t find out if we just stand here and gawk at her, would we? Come on, let’s go to her.”
“Who said anything about gawking?” Ryo was saying as they approached the bar, where the half-Japanese beauty was lounging with a few friends.
“Ryo-chan, is that you? I missed you!”
Jessica spotted them first, stood up and gave the startled man a hug. Jin and Yamapi exchanged amused looks as Ryo didn’t know how to react.
“Jessica,” Jin finally said, removing his fedora and looking at the girl he once dated briefly. Jessica’s eyes widened.
“Jin!” Jessica exclaimed in surprise. “I haven’t seen you in awhile.” She released Ryo and gave the kimono-clad man a huge, welcoming embrace.
“Uhh…yeah,” Jin said. “I haven’t seen you too.” Jessica smiled and nodded. “Well, I had something that kept me busy the past few months. Something that just couldn’t permit me to go out of the house and go clubbing like I used to.”
Jin raised his eyebrows. Could it be…? “Is that so?”
“Yeah, I was away, shooting for an indie movie at an obscure location, so I had to take a hiatus from the Japanese partying scene for awhile.” Jessica smiled warmly. “So, how have you been?”
Jin couldn’t believe what he just heard. So she wasn’t Akemi’s mother. “Jessica, the last time we had sex, did I use protection?”
“No, you didn’t,” Jessica said, giggling. “You never did. Thank god I used contraceptives or else I would be having your babies!”
That answered his question. Jin was glad that Jessica didn’t ask him any further questions, such as why Jin was asking him things like that. The man thanked his former fling, mumbled about bad sushi, and left the club, him and Yamapi practically dragging Ryo away kicking and stomping, as he swore that he saw his beloved Tat-chan swiveling his hips with a pretty Japanese girl with huge, round eyes.
Yamapi took out a piece of paper and crossed off Jessica’s name on the list.
“We still have three possible girls to approach,” he informed Jin.
Ryo and Jin groaned. This was going to be a long night.
***
“GET OUT! GET OUT!”
A hysterical woman hurled things at the three baffled men, while one of their prospective “suspects”, a university student named Kitano Kii, hid behind her, biting her lip.
“I was just---Jin started to say breathlessly, then dunked as a frying pan started hurling toward him---asking your niece if-----he dodged a literally flying saucer----she and I used protection when we had sex!” He hung his head, just in time to miss a telephone directory being hurled at him, which unfortunately hit half of Yamapi’s face.
“Ouch,” Yamapi said, stoically.
“My niece doesn’t fraternize herself with playboys like you!” Kitano’s aunt yelled. “Get out!”
“Wait, auntie! Let me talk to him,” Kii said, stepping forward. “Senpai, why do you ask such questions? Our relationship was merely just a casual fling to you.”
“It wouldn’t just be a casual fling if something, or rather someone was actually produced out of it,” Jin answered back.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kii said, wrinkling her eyebrows. “Nothing got out of it, except for my virginity.” She gasped and put a hand over her mouth, closing her eyes as her aunt started getting hysterical all over again.
“How do I know you’re not lying?” Jin said.
“Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to do here, but if you did get me pregnant, then I would’ve been taking care of the baby right at this very moment!”
Jin’s shoulders slumped. “Thank you for your time.” He looked at Ryo and Yamapi. “Let’s go, guys.”
Kii shook her head as she closed the door. “Honestly, me getting pregnant…” She heard the loud tapping of her aunt’s foot.
“You have some explaining to do, young lady.”
***
“I…I’m sorry, I didn’t know how to tell you…”
Another half-Japanese beauty with wide, hazel, tear-filled eyes looked at Jin’s wide, surprised ones. They were at their third stop, interrogating swimsuit model Alisa Urahama, who just confirmed that she was, indeed, what they were looking for.
Jin was aghast. “W-why would you just leave our child like that?” he said, barely audible. He was not proud of what his ex-fling did.
Alisa bit her lower lip and shook her head. “I just thought…I just thought that if I give our baby to you, you would come back to me.” She suddenly flung herself onto Jin. “I still love you,” she cried, letting tears freely flow on her face. Jin didn’t know what to do, so he just patted her back, in an attempt to comfort her.
Meanwhile, Ryo and Yamapi weren’t so sure that Alisa was telling the truth.
Alisa pulled away from Jin and wiped her tears. The statuesque girl took Jin’s hands and held them. “Thank you. Thank you for taking care of our child, for making little Akemi experience what it would be like to have a father.”
Jin just nodded. “Thank you for not killing Akemi.”
Alisa managed to smile. “How can I kill the fruit of our love?” she said shyly. Yamapi and Ryo both looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
“Alisa-chan, I have a question,” Yamapi spoke up. Alisa looked a little shocked, nervous even, as she slowly said, “What is it?”
“Why did you give a girly name for your kid?”
“Well….of course I gave a girly name for my baby,” Alisa said carefully. “I want her to grow up to be a very ladylike girl, just like me.”
Jin immediately pulled his hands away from Alisa’s grip, his expression darkening.
“Is anything wrong, Jin?” a concerned Alisa asked.
“You lied to me,” Jin said. “You’re not Akemi’s mother.”
Alisa looked shocked. “How could you say that? How could you say that I am not the mother of my own child?”
“Because a real mother would know the child’s gender,” Ryo retorted. “DUH.”
Alisa looked confused. “Oh, of course Akemi was a boy. It’s just that…he looks so feminine that I always thought he was a girl…”
“MMMHMMM. How old is he?” Yamapi said, crossing his arms and frowning.
Alisa shot Jin a worried glance. Jin’s expression remained the same.
“Eleven months?”
“Thank you for your time,” Jin said furiously, stomping out of Alisa’s condominium. Ryo and Yamapi followed suit.
“WAIT! JIN! I LOVE YOU! I’ll gladly be Akemi’s mother!” Alisa cried out, trying to chase them. “Just don’t…leave me again.”
“Something was off when she told you that she conceived when you two had sex,” Yamapi said, as the trio got in Jin’s car. “She had all the tell-tale signs of someone who was fibbing.”
Jin was silent. He was mad because Alisa had lied to him and he almost believed her. Thank god that conniving woman was framed by his two friends!
“Only one woman left,” Ryo informed Jin, pointing to a name in the list. Jin shook his head. “No thanks. I’ve had enough drama for tonight. I think I’m going to go home and rest.”
“And have that pretty nanny give you a back massage?” Yamapi teased.
“And maybe something more,” Ryo added, smirking.
Jin managed to smile when his two friends said that. “You know, that’s actually not a bad idea…”
***
Akemi was awake. And Akemi wanted to play. Meanwhile his nanny was really tired from doing round-the-clock cleaning, cooking and nanny-ing. He collapsed on the living room couch and closed his eyes.
“Mom, I do not know how you did it, but I’m going to give you a lot of credit this time,” he said tiredly, calling out to his deceased mother.
Akemi was beside him. He was in his baby carrier, entertaining himself with a rattle.
“MA~MA!”
Kazuya ignored Akemi. It wasn’t like he was calling for him. He read in one of Jin’s childcare books that babies around his age usually learned how to make sounds like that. Akemi was actually advanced than most babies. Kazuya felt that Akemi was going to grow up to be a very smart boy.
“MA~~~MA~~~”
Kazuya stood up and faced the infant. “Akemi, are you sleepy? You are, aren’t you?”
Akemi’s face broke out into a smile and he giggled. He then started flailing his arms and legs all over the place.
“All right, I take that as a no,” Kazuya sighed. “Perhaps you’re waiting for your father to come home? Speaking of which, I wonder how the “search” went.”
“No need to wonder no further,” Jin said, barging inside the house. He sat on the empty space beside Kazuya. “I. AM. SO. TIRED. AND. PISSED.” He closed his eyes and groaned.
“Your son waited up for you,” Kazuya informed him. Jin opened his eyes. “HE DID?” Kazuya smiled and carried Akemi, giving him to Jin.
“Hello, Akemi,” Jin said, planting a kiss on the baby’s forehead. “You missed me, didn’t you?”
Akemi cooed back, not taking his eyes off Jin. His father gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find your mother. I thought I found her, but it turns out…she was just pretending.”
Kazuya felt bad for Jin. He had never seen him this upset before. Jin was the type of person you wouldn’t want to see upset or crying, because it could really break your heart.
“I’m…sorry to hear that,” Kazuya whispered. Jin turned his attention to Kazuya and smiled. “Thank you.”
Akemi suddenly yawned. Jin and Kazuya chuckled. “He’s finally getting sleepy,” Kazuya sighed in relief. He grinned at Jin. “Looks like he really did wait up for you.”
“Thank you, baby,” Jin whispered, as Akemi slowly closed his eyes. Kazuya handed him the baby’s blanket, but Jin gave Akemi to him instead. “You tuck him to bed. I have to do something.”
Kazuya nodded and gently took the baby to his arms. He followed Jin to his room, where Akemi’s crib was.
After Kazuya had tucked Akemi to sleep, he just stood beside his crib, staring at the baby, counting the baby’s breathing.
“So precious,” he murmured. He couldn’t take his eyes off him.
Suddenly, he felt two strong arms around his slender waist. He turned his head slightly, and saw Jin’s face dangerously close to his.
“A-Akanishi,” Kazuya said.
“I'd like for us to just stay this way," his boss murmured.
Kazuya tried pulling away. “You’re just upset. That’s why you’re acting like this.”
“I was upset,” Jin admitted. “But not anymore. You two lifted up my mood.” He tightened his embrace. "So, thanks."
“You know, three jobs ago, my employer wrapped his big, beefy arms around my waist, just like what you are doing now. His face was dangerously close to my face, just like how your face is dangerously close to my face now,” Kazuya said.
Before Jin could say anything, Kazuya smiled. “But the funny thing is, I don’t feel the urge to punch your face, like what I did to him, three jobs ago.”
After realizing what he just said, Kazuya blushed. He slowly unwrapped Jin’s arms around his waist and faced him. “Good night.” He gave him a small smile and went out of the room.
Jin felt his arms and knees grow weak.
“But the funny thing is, I don’t feel the urge to punch your face, like what I did to him, three jobs ago.”
His heart started beating really fast when Kazuya said that. While he undeniably had a crush on the nanny, he didn’t expect him to feel all light, nervous, excited, anxious and on a high all at the same time.
Jin decided that he liked the feeling.
A/N: I KNOW, totally irrelevant chapter, right? :|
The three girls Jin had flings with in this story:
Jessica Michibata- Personally, I think she's very very pretty. :) She's currently Jenson Button (a British Formula One racer)'s girlfriend after she broke up with Jin, lol jk
Kitano Kii(I'm sure we all know who she is XD)
Alisa Urahama - I don't hate her or anything, given the way I characterized her in this chapter, in case you've been given that impression. :D
EDIT: Almost forgot. For those of you who are curious, This is what a seiza position looks like
As always, let me know what you think! ^___^