It takes a village to raise a child, they say (Chapter 39)
“Uncle Sho?”
“Yes, princess?” Sho asked as he helped Akemi into the car to drive back to the agency. He had a bit free time between recordings and had agreed to pick the children up.
“Does daddy have time on Saturday in two weeks?” she asked hesitantly, watching Sho as he sat behind the wheel to drive them to the agency.
“In two weeks?”
“Yes,” Akemi whispered as she stared at a paper in her hands.
“Why so suddenly? Are you invited for something? I’m sure your daddy will make sure to have time to bring you over or one of us can do it.”
“No, I’m not invited for anything,” she said with a frown. “Do you think he is free?”
“I don’t know princess. He might be, though.”
“I see,” she mumbled staring at the paper in her hand, making Sho wonder about what was up with the little girl.
“Is it something important?”
“No,” she mumbled as she put the letter deep into her school bag and looked out of the window. “I was just curious if we could play then. Daddy is always so busy ne?”
“Yes, at the moment it’s crazy.”
“So daddy would need time to rest,” she said in a small voice. Sho frowned at her through the mirror but then had to concentrate on the traffic, he made a mental note though to talk to Jun about this conversation, hoping that the other man would make sense of this all.
-
“Dada!” Rin said happily when Jun stood in front of the car to pick the children up and bring them to their green room. He knew that Sho would be able to do that but he wanted to meet them as soon as possible.
“Rin,” Jun mimicked his tone of voice, kissing the top of his head as he helped him out of the car. “Hello, sweetheart. How was school today?” he asked slightly worried. They had many talks with the teachers about the bullying that had happened and it was slow for everything to change.
But Akemi had changed classes and it seemed like she had formed a new, still unsure friendship with a few girls in that class. Jun was really glad for that and prayed each day that it would stay like that.
“Good, sensei said my letters are getting better,” she said with a small grin as she hugged him around the waist. “Are you sleepy, daddy?”
“No, I’m fine, but we should go inside, ne?” he asked the girl who nodded.
Rin was babbling as usual as he held on Jun’s shirt with one fist while the man carried him inside. “We have already ordered food for us all. It should be delivered soon. Do you have any homework to do?”
Akemi shook her head with a small grin. “No, sensei said we worked all hard today so we didn’t get any.”
“Oh, how nice of her. Anything else?”
Akemi looked troubled for a moment but then she shook her head, showing her father a bright grin. “Can we play?” she asked as she walked a bit faster.
“Nino has brought a console and the new Mario game for you both to play,” Jun nodded, laughing softly when the smile on Akemi’s face got even wider as her steps got faster to reach the green room as fast as possible. Jun chuckled when she opened the door, calling for Nino to play with her. He looked at Rin who was moving his head, looking everywhere with big curious eyes.
“And what do you want to do, Rin?”
“Dada, play,” he said with a happy grin. “Ball.”
“Oh, so you want to play ball now. I believe we have one inside,” he said with a smile as he tickled Rin’s side, smiling when Rin giggled happily. He put him down in the room, closing the door securely and watching Rin as he wandered off to the corner where they had set up some toys for the children when they came over.
Soon enough Rin sat down in front of the big box, looking for his desired ball as he ignored the greetings of his uncles. There were more important things in his mind right now. When he found the ball he cried out in joy and held up the ball. “Dada, play!”
-
“Jun-kun, do you have a minute?” Sho asked with a frown as they were home in the evening. Jun blinked from where he was sitting with his glasses and a mug of warm tea on the sofa, low music was playing and he was just relaxing while the rest of the house was either asleep or at work.
“You and Aiba-chan want to move out?” Jun asked with a frown.
Sho blinked but then he shook his head. “Not just yet,” he said with a smile. He knew that the small family was slowly but surely better and probably would be able to be back alone again - which of course was the goal in the end. They wouldn’t be able to stay with the small family forever after all.
“It’s about Akemi.”
Jun’s eyes widened with worry and he sat up straighter. All the relaxation was gone from his body at the thought that his beloved little daughter was unwell.
“What’s wrong?”
Sho flinched as he realised what his words triggered in Jun. He hadn’t wanted to make him worry like that. He sighed as he sat down beside him, patting his shoulder slightly awkwardly.
“I don’t think that it’s something big,” Sho said.
Jun frowned at him with a small glare. “That does nothing to relax me you know?”
“Sorry, sorry. I just know that she had a letter from school and she asked if you were free in two Saturdays,” he explained.
Jun frowned but nodded. “It’s the school sports day,” he murmured. “I already marked it in the calendar and made sure to not have any appointments on that day. So I can visit the parents' lesson in the morning and then from lunchtime on the sports day will start. I just need to make sure someone can look after Rin for the morning and bring him in the afternoon.”
“Damn!” Sho said in realisation.
Jun sat up and watched him with a frown. “What happened, Sho?”
“She asked if you were free and I said I didn’t know since we are very busy but that one of us will make sure to take her wherever she wants to go. She was down when I mentioned how busy we are in the moment and put the letter away.”
Jun sighed as he pulled at his hair. “I will talk to her tomorrow. She is always very worried about putting more stress on me.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think of that.”
“It’s fine. You worry as well that I have too much stress, but my children would never add to it. I don’t want them to think so.”
“I know. I didn’t think that she would take it that way,” Sho mumbled with a frown. He sometimes didn’t get how the minds of children worked at all.
Jun shrugged as he laughed. “Neither would I. But I learnt the hard way that the minds of children work in miraculous ways. Thank you Sho-kun for telling me.”
They stayed silent for a while until Sho poked the other slightly. “What is up with you asking me if we wanted to move out?”
“You live with us for a year already. It was just a spontaneous idea and you and Aiba getting closer… It seems like you can’t be like you want here.”
“Because Masaki and I are not hanging off each other like Nino and SAtoshi-kun?”
“Partly,” Jun said with an uncomfortable shrug. “But also because I could understand if you two would want to live alone.” He frowned as he thought about the other couple moving out and somehow it was harder to imagine. Ohno felt comfortable anywhere and Nino liked to save the money for rent.
“We are not that touchy-feely around others true. I don’t feel that comfortable, and yes, I think we would move out sooner or later, but Masaki and I would want to move somewhere close. And I believe Satoshi-kun and Nino would choose similarly.”
Jun smiled a little. “I see. Sounds like a good idea. Sorry I freaked out. I just got so used to you being around and the kids love having all four of you here,” he mumbled. “Me as well,” he added finally.
Sho laughed as he squeezed his shoulder. “Me as well, it’s fun being with you and seeing them growing up so fast. But I also think you might want to get rid of us in future.”
“Why should I?” Jun laughed with a small grimace.
Sho sighed as he looked him over. “Jun, this might upset you, but I need to ask this. Did you ever consider to date again?”
Jun stiffened as his question and his face closed off as he stood. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
“Jun, please. It has already been a year.”
“You mean, just a year. Sho-kun she was the mother of my children. I can’t replace her like that or forget about her.”
“And I didn’t say you should. I just think you should be open. Sumire-san would not have liked you to hide.”
“I’m not hiding. Dating with two children and as an idol is not easy. I can’t put them through this, and the agency won’t be happy about me dating either.”
“Since when did you care what they would think?”
“I always care about that. They protect us and give us chances. They also protect my children from any paparazzi. I’m thankful to them.”
“As are we. Still, I do think you should think about it.”
Jun sighed as he rubbed his face. He didn’t want to have this conversation right now. “See, all I can promise you is that I won’t actively fight against falling in love, maybe. But I’m not searching for anything either.”
“Fair enough, I believe,” Sho said as he got up. He patted Jun’s shoulder softly. “Sorry, Jun.”
“No, it’s fine. Good night, Sho-kun.”
“Yes, princess?” Sho asked as he helped Akemi into the car to drive back to the agency. He had a bit free time between recordings and had agreed to pick the children up.
“Does daddy have time on Saturday in two weeks?” she asked hesitantly, watching Sho as he sat behind the wheel to drive them to the agency.
“In two weeks?”
“Yes,” Akemi whispered as she stared at a paper in her hands.
“Why so suddenly? Are you invited for something? I’m sure your daddy will make sure to have time to bring you over or one of us can do it.”
“No, I’m not invited for anything,” she said with a frown. “Do you think he is free?”
“I don’t know princess. He might be, though.”
“I see,” she mumbled staring at the paper in her hand, making Sho wonder about what was up with the little girl.
“Is it something important?”
“No,” she mumbled as she put the letter deep into her school bag and looked out of the window. “I was just curious if we could play then. Daddy is always so busy ne?”
“Yes, at the moment it’s crazy.”
“So daddy would need time to rest,” she said in a small voice. Sho frowned at her through the mirror but then had to concentrate on the traffic, he made a mental note though to talk to Jun about this conversation, hoping that the other man would make sense of this all.
-
“Dada!” Rin said happily when Jun stood in front of the car to pick the children up and bring them to their green room. He knew that Sho would be able to do that but he wanted to meet them as soon as possible.
“Rin,” Jun mimicked his tone of voice, kissing the top of his head as he helped him out of the car. “Hello, sweetheart. How was school today?” he asked slightly worried. They had many talks with the teachers about the bullying that had happened and it was slow for everything to change.
But Akemi had changed classes and it seemed like she had formed a new, still unsure friendship with a few girls in that class. Jun was really glad for that and prayed each day that it would stay like that.
“Good, sensei said my letters are getting better,” she said with a small grin as she hugged him around the waist. “Are you sleepy, daddy?”
“No, I’m fine, but we should go inside, ne?” he asked the girl who nodded.
Rin was babbling as usual as he held on Jun’s shirt with one fist while the man carried him inside. “We have already ordered food for us all. It should be delivered soon. Do you have any homework to do?”
Akemi shook her head with a small grin. “No, sensei said we worked all hard today so we didn’t get any.”
“Oh, how nice of her. Anything else?”
Akemi looked troubled for a moment but then she shook her head, showing her father a bright grin. “Can we play?” she asked as she walked a bit faster.
“Nino has brought a console and the new Mario game for you both to play,” Jun nodded, laughing softly when the smile on Akemi’s face got even wider as her steps got faster to reach the green room as fast as possible. Jun chuckled when she opened the door, calling for Nino to play with her. He looked at Rin who was moving his head, looking everywhere with big curious eyes.
“And what do you want to do, Rin?”
“Dada, play,” he said with a happy grin. “Ball.”
“Oh, so you want to play ball now. I believe we have one inside,” he said with a smile as he tickled Rin’s side, smiling when Rin giggled happily. He put him down in the room, closing the door securely and watching Rin as he wandered off to the corner where they had set up some toys for the children when they came over.
Soon enough Rin sat down in front of the big box, looking for his desired ball as he ignored the greetings of his uncles. There were more important things in his mind right now. When he found the ball he cried out in joy and held up the ball. “Dada, play!”
-
“Jun-kun, do you have a minute?” Sho asked with a frown as they were home in the evening. Jun blinked from where he was sitting with his glasses and a mug of warm tea on the sofa, low music was playing and he was just relaxing while the rest of the house was either asleep or at work.
“You and Aiba-chan want to move out?” Jun asked with a frown.
Sho blinked but then he shook his head. “Not just yet,” he said with a smile. He knew that the small family was slowly but surely better and probably would be able to be back alone again - which of course was the goal in the end. They wouldn’t be able to stay with the small family forever after all.
“It’s about Akemi.”
Jun’s eyes widened with worry and he sat up straighter. All the relaxation was gone from his body at the thought that his beloved little daughter was unwell.
“What’s wrong?”
Sho flinched as he realised what his words triggered in Jun. He hadn’t wanted to make him worry like that. He sighed as he sat down beside him, patting his shoulder slightly awkwardly.
“I don’t think that it’s something big,” Sho said.
Jun frowned at him with a small glare. “That does nothing to relax me you know?”
“Sorry, sorry. I just know that she had a letter from school and she asked if you were free in two Saturdays,” he explained.
Jun frowned but nodded. “It’s the school sports day,” he murmured. “I already marked it in the calendar and made sure to not have any appointments on that day. So I can visit the parents' lesson in the morning and then from lunchtime on the sports day will start. I just need to make sure someone can look after Rin for the morning and bring him in the afternoon.”
“Damn!” Sho said in realisation.
Jun sat up and watched him with a frown. “What happened, Sho?”
“She asked if you were free and I said I didn’t know since we are very busy but that one of us will make sure to take her wherever she wants to go. She was down when I mentioned how busy we are in the moment and put the letter away.”
Jun sighed as he pulled at his hair. “I will talk to her tomorrow. She is always very worried about putting more stress on me.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think of that.”
“It’s fine. You worry as well that I have too much stress, but my children would never add to it. I don’t want them to think so.”
“I know. I didn’t think that she would take it that way,” Sho mumbled with a frown. He sometimes didn’t get how the minds of children worked at all.
Jun shrugged as he laughed. “Neither would I. But I learnt the hard way that the minds of children work in miraculous ways. Thank you Sho-kun for telling me.”
They stayed silent for a while until Sho poked the other slightly. “What is up with you asking me if we wanted to move out?”
“You live with us for a year already. It was just a spontaneous idea and you and Aiba getting closer… It seems like you can’t be like you want here.”
“Because Masaki and I are not hanging off each other like Nino and SAtoshi-kun?”
“Partly,” Jun said with an uncomfortable shrug. “But also because I could understand if you two would want to live alone.” He frowned as he thought about the other couple moving out and somehow it was harder to imagine. Ohno felt comfortable anywhere and Nino liked to save the money for rent.
“We are not that touchy-feely around others true. I don’t feel that comfortable, and yes, I think we would move out sooner or later, but Masaki and I would want to move somewhere close. And I believe Satoshi-kun and Nino would choose similarly.”
Jun smiled a little. “I see. Sounds like a good idea. Sorry I freaked out. I just got so used to you being around and the kids love having all four of you here,” he mumbled. “Me as well,” he added finally.
Sho laughed as he squeezed his shoulder. “Me as well, it’s fun being with you and seeing them growing up so fast. But I also think you might want to get rid of us in future.”
“Why should I?” Jun laughed with a small grimace.
Sho sighed as he looked him over. “Jun, this might upset you, but I need to ask this. Did you ever consider to date again?”
Jun stiffened as his question and his face closed off as he stood. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
“Jun, please. It has already been a year.”
“You mean, just a year. Sho-kun she was the mother of my children. I can’t replace her like that or forget about her.”
“And I didn’t say you should. I just think you should be open. Sumire-san would not have liked you to hide.”
“I’m not hiding. Dating with two children and as an idol is not easy. I can’t put them through this, and the agency won’t be happy about me dating either.”
“Since when did you care what they would think?”
“I always care about that. They protect us and give us chances. They also protect my children from any paparazzi. I’m thankful to them.”
“As are we. Still, I do think you should think about it.”
Jun sighed as he rubbed his face. He didn’t want to have this conversation right now. “See, all I can promise you is that I won’t actively fight against falling in love, maybe. But I’m not searching for anything either.”
“Fair enough, I believe,” Sho said as he got up. He patted Jun’s shoulder softly. “Sorry, Jun.”
“No, it’s fine. Good night, Sho-kun.”