Endless Skies, Chapter 09
Sequel to "Unequivocal." Yamato thought the hardest part of raising his son as a single teen dad was the first year. But he's quickly finding out how wrong he was as he juggles his first year of college, the band, dating, and the terrible twos. Taito. AU for Tri.
[Digimon] M+, family/drama, 7191 (70252) words, published 08-05-17
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Endless Skies
butterflie Chapter Nine
Still I'm With You
"I've gone down the class list alphabetically and assigned you all numbers from one to five-each number is a group for this project! Go ahead and find your group now! Every group should have five to six members. And keep in mind, you may not change your group!" Dr. Saito calls over the sudden bedlam that is students talking and laughing and yelling out names and numbers.
Yamato sighs; he's not really looking forward to a group project. They rarely ever turn out as well as teachers want them to. Still, at least he's somehow been lucky enough to wind up with Taichi in his group. "You wanna find our other group members?" he asks, turning to him.
Taichi shrugs. "Might as well."
Sora makes a face at them both; she's in group three, while they're in five. "You guys are lucky to be together."
"Sorry," Taichi says, not sounding sympathetic in the least. She sticks her tongue out at him before going off to find her own group. Taichi raises his voice. "Group five over here! Ishida Yamato and Yagami Taichi!"
The rest of their group eventually drifts over, and they all introduce themselves after pulling out seats and getting settled at the table. The tables in the room are long and rectangular, and somehow the guys wind up on one side, with the girls opposite them.
"I'm Lucas Weston," says the only other guy after both Yamato and Taichi have introduced themselves. He automatically holds out a hand for them to shake, and then pulls it back before either of them can take it, a faint pink flush overtaking his light brown skin. "Sorry, habit. I'm an exchange student from America."
"Hey, we have a friend that lives in America!" Taichi exclaims. "Tachikawa Mimi, do you know her?"
"Taichi..." Yamato says, shaking his head. "That's like him asking if we know someone in Shikoku, when we don't even know everyone in Tokyo..."
"Ah, no," Lucas says, his green eyes brightening in amusement. "Yamato's right, America is a big place. Sorry."
Taichi waves it away, embarrassed but doing his best to seem unconcerned. "You never know," he says defensively, and Yamato snorts.
"Mochizuki Meiko," says the girl across from Yamato. She's soft-spoken, and seems shy, shoving her glasses up on her nose as a pale blush spreads across her cheeks. She ducks her head once she's introduced herself, letting her curtain of long black hair hide her face.
"Tomoyo," says the girl next to her. "But you can call me Tomo," she adds with a giggle. She's looking directly at Yamato with bright blue eyes as she says it, casually flipping obviously dyed golden blond hair behind her shoulder. Her actions make Yamato uncomfortable, and he's all too aware of Taichi tensing next to him.
"Chihiro," the last girl says lazily, dark brown eyes glancing briefly around at them all before returning their focus to the fingernails she's picking at. She seems disinterested, and Yamato gets the feeling she won't be much help with this project.
"So, anyone have any ideas for this project? Such as which one we should do?" Taichi asks, looking around at them.
Lucas shrugs. "This seems like a project we'd do back in elementary school... I mean, putting together a newspaper?"
"It's a grade," Yamato tells him. "And it's not another boring essay to write. Besides, that's only one of the options."
"I don't think the newspaper is a bad idea," Meiko says quietly. "We could do the Meiji Era, and newspaper articles would be an easy way to present information on how everything is changing." She blushes once more when she realises everyone is looking at her, and quickly bows her head again.
"I'm fine with it," Taichi says. "It seems easy enough."
"Me too," Yamato agrees. "It'll be easy to divide up the work that way, too."
"Agreed!" Tomo quickly chimes in with another giggle. She flashes Yamato a smile, which he returns awkwardly. "Good thinking."
"Anyone not agree?" Lucas asks, and no one speaks. "Okay, I guess we're settled then," he says, looking around at everyone. "Dr. Saito said he'll give us time at the beginning of next class with our groups, so we'll just figure out more stuff then."
Everyone nods, and just in time, for at the front of their room their professor dismisses the class.
* * *
"You were jealous today," Yamato says evenly. Their other class let out early, and they've stopped by his apartment before they have to go back to Odaiba. Currently Taichi's sprawled out on the sofa, his pants unzipped and halfway around his knees, his dick in Yamato's hands while he kneels down on the carpet in front of Taichi.
Taichi raises an eyebrow. "You want to do this now?"
"Seemed like a good way to guarantee you'll remember it," Yamato says, shrugging.
Taichi just shakes his head, though silently he's conceding that his boyfriend has a point. "Fine, I was jealous," he says. "That girl in our group was flirting with you."
"Girls are always going to flirt with me."
"I know that!" Taichi says, and then moans as Yamato swallows him down. "Oh hell... Yamato... I know th-they are-" it's really hard to keep talking and thinking about his words when Yamato's humming, the vibrations from his throat thrumming through his shaft "-I-I can't just turn my feelings off. But-oh fuck-" Yamato's twirling his tongue all around the head now, and he's reached his hand up to play with Taichi's nipples through his shirt, tugging at them, tweaking them hard, and it sends twinges of arousal shooting straight to his dick, making him grow even harder. Yamato's only been at it for a couple of minutes, but he already feels embarrassingly close to the edge.
"Oh, please don't stop," he moans, threading his fingers through Yamato's hair and clenching. He tosses his head back, his whole body tensing up, his balls drawing up closer to his body as his orgasm approaches, it all feels so amazing, so damned good and why don't they do this more often. "Yes-fuck-"
Maddeningly, Yamato pulls back just then, yanking his hair away from Taichi's hand as he lets Taichi's dick slip out of his mouth.
"No!" Taichi howls in frustration, feeling his orgasm ebbing away. "Why'd you stop?"
"I don't want a repeat of last time," Yamato says, and it takes Taichi a moment of confusion to realise he's not talking about sex, but the issue of jealousy still. He groans, letting his head sink further against the back of the sofa. "I'm serious," Yamato adds.
Taichi sighs. "I know. I'm trying. But even if I was jealous, I didn't take it out on you. I don't ever want to do that again."
"I can't go through something like that a second time."
"You won't."
"We're good then?"
"Yes!" Taichi says in exasperation, lifting his head up just to thud it back against the sofa again. "We're great! Now can you please let me come?" he begs, thrusting his hips slightly in desperation.
Yamato smirks, waggling his eyebrows at Taichi. "I don't know, do you deserve to come?" He reaches down and swipes a finger across the tip, making Taichi jerk, then sucks the finger into his mouth lewdly, tasting the precum there.
"Yes!" Taichi nearly sobs in frustration, watching Yamato suck on his finger the way he should be sucking on his boyfriend's dick. He thrusts his hips up again, trying to entice Yamato, needing some kind of friction, just any contact really. "Don't be such a fucking tease, Ishida!"
Yamato grins, taking his finger back out of his mouth with a small 'pop!' of air. "But teasing's so much more fun on this end," he says, but then he seems to have mercy on Taichi anyway, for he finally lowers his head and sucks him down again, taking the whole length in, letting the tip bump against the back of his throat, gagging slightly.
It doesn't take long after that, and Taichi comes suddenly with a shout, shooting down Yamato's throat. Yamato's apparently not expecting it that fast, and isn't ready for it-he chokes, and begins to cough as some of it spills out of his mouth, trailing down his chin and dripping down onto the carpet below.
"Oh fuck, sorry, sorry, I should have warned you, I didn't mean to," Taichi babbles as he shudders through the flood of pleasure. He tries to pull away, not wanting to choke Yamato anymore, but Yamato won't let him, so Taichi stays still, until finally his balls are empty and his dick's starting to soften.
"I'm sorry," he says again as he tucks himself back into his jeans.
Yamato waves it away. "'s fine, didn't realise you were that close." He climbs to his feet, quickly fetching a towel to clean the mess on the carpet.
"Yamato," Taichi says, getting to his feet, and waits until he's looking up at him to speak again. "I meant it," he says seriously.
"I know you did," Yamato tells him as he stands again. "I believe you. I believe in you." He tosses the towel back towards the hallway, and then leans in to give Taichi a quick kiss. "Now come on, let's get to Odaiba."
* * *
"You've got fifteen minutes to meet with your group," Dr. Saito says, and immediately the room becomes chaos as students start swapping seats and calling out to their group members.
"Hi," Lucas greets both Yamato and Taichi as he pulls out a chair. He runs a hand through coiffured ash brown hair and gives them an easy smile. The girls quickly find them, and they all begin to exchange contact information.
"Here's my number!" Tomo says, passing a scrap of paper to Yamato as she flashes her dimples and perfect white teeth at him.
He takes it from her with an uncertain smile and opens it up, dreading what he might find written inside, and hoping it's not a request for a date or anything. Thankfully, it is just her number, though she's signed her name in English and drew the two 'o' letters in the shape of hearts. He types the number into his phone and tries to ignore everything else.
"What time should we meet up to work on this?" Meiko asks softly.
"We'll have to compare schedules and find a time everyone's free," Lucas answers. "We don't have enough time to do it now, will everyone be able to text tomorrow?"
"I can in the afternoon," Yamato says.
Taichi nods. "Me too."
"I should be able to," Meiko says.
Tomo shrugs. "Sure."
"Chihiro?" Taichi asks, and the girl looks up at him after a moment, a blank look on her face.
"What?" she asks, and Taichi repeats Lucas' question for her. "Oh. Yeah, sure."
"Okay, class! Group meetings are over! Everybody back to their seats!" Dr. Saito calls out over the din in the room, clapping his hands together.
"We'll text then," Lucas says quickly as they all begin to disperse back to their seats.
As their professor begins to go over the material for the day's lesson, Taichi reaches out and grabs the slip of paper that Tomo had written her number on and Yamato had set aside. He looks at it impassively, and then shakes his head and crumples it up in his hand. Beside him, Yamato tenses, half-expecting a return of the irrational, jealous Taichi, but Taichi simply sets the paper back down and begins to take notes on the lecture. Sora, who's at Yamato's right once more, looks at both of them curiously, pointedly eyeing the piece of paper. Yamato rolls his eyes, mouthing 'it's nothing,' at her.
Thankfully, she leaves it alone, and he begins to take his own notes. He's glad Taichi seems to be handling this girl well so far, though he hates that his trust in Taichi was shaken this much. If Taichi had decided to repeat his behaviour of last time, Yamato may very well have broken up with him, as much as the idea makes him want to curl up into a little ball and cry for days. But he knows he can't go through something like that with Taichi again. If nothing else, he owes it to Naoki to take care of himself so that he can care for his son, and he had definitely not been taking care of himself during that horrible time with his boyfriend. Not that he can imagine doing much better with a breakup, but at least with that he wouldn't have such a horrible cloud of uncertainty hanging over his head.
Sora's elbow jabs him sharply in the side, and he scowls at her for a second, then realises he's completely quit taking notes or paying any attention to their professor. He offers her a sheepish smile then, and forcibly shoves all thoughts of Taichi out of his head as he focuses once more on the lecture.
Later, as they're walking to their biology class, Taichi glances at him. "I meant what I said," he tells Yamato quietly.
Yamato gives him a confused look, having been yanked out of his thoughts. He wonders if he missed something, or if Taichi started a conversation in the middle. "Which is...?"
"I'm not going to take any jealousy out on you again."
Oh. He should have known that's what it was about. It seems like neither of them can truly trust in the other on this issue, not that Yamato's surprised by it. Their relationship had taken a serious hit with Taichi's behaviour. "I didn't say you were."
"You were worried about it for a moment, in class earlier."
"Of course I was. I told you, I can't go through something like that again."
"It's not easy, to just turn those feelings off. But when I start feeling jealous, I just try to remind myself that it's me you chose to be with. It's still hard, though."
"Taichi." Yamato stops walking for a moment, barely remembering to give an apologetic glance to the guy that ran into him with his abrupt halt. "I don't expect you to just stop being jealous," he says seriously. "At least not right away. My concern is in how you handle it. As long as you're working on it and keeping it in control, we're good. But just like you can't immediately stop being jealous, I can't immediately stop being worried about it. We've both got some trust to build back up. Okay?"
Taichi sighs out a breath, and casts a rueful smile at Yamato as they start walking again. "Okay," he says. "You're right."
Yamato smirks. "Aren't I always?"
Taichi rolls his eyes as he pulls open the door to their building, gesturing magnanimously for Yamato to go first. "Be careful your giant ego doesn't get stuck trying to go through the door, Ishida."
Yamato just laughs.
* * *
It doesn't take long for their history group to realise that meeting on weekdays isn't going to work out for them. None of them have any free periods of time that line up well, and no one wants to meet later in the evening.
What about the weekends then? Maybe tomorrow? We have to meet sometime, Lucas sends.
I'm not sure. I have a part-time job, I work from 12-5 tomorrow, Meiko texts.
Can you get someone to cover your shift?
Weekends might be difficult for me as well, especially tomorrow, Yamato sends to the group, though he doesn't offer an explanation. He doesn't see the need for his classmates to know about his son. Too many people judge him when he's out with Naoki, he doesn't want to invite more of it by spreading his personal business around. It's a miracle he's managed to keep it on the down-low considering the band's rising popularity, although Daichi's been a big help with that. After Yamato threatened a few more times to snap Daichi's arm in two if he so much as saw Naoki mentioned, at any rate.
I can try. I'll let you guys know.
How about everyone else?
Tomorrow works for me! <3
Sure, whatever.
I can be there.
Yamato, why are weekends difficult? Is there any way you can make it tomorrow? We need to get this project done.
Yamato sighs as he reads Lucas' last text. He's not going to explain about Naoki, but they really do need to meet up. It's clear they're not going to be given time in class to work on their project, and weekdays are seemingly out of the question. He knows one of his parents will probably watch Naoki, he just hates having to ask last minute. If he's lucky, Meiko won't be able to make it tomorrow, and they'll just try for next Saturday, which will give him proper time to arrange for someone to watch Naoki.
I'll let you know, he replies, and leaves it at that.
He sets his phone aside and leans back into the sofa, trying to let his stress levels subside while watching his son as he attempts to build with some blocks Yamato had recently bought him. The structure makes no sense, but at least the toddler seems happy, and he's quiet and occupied, which is all Yamato can ask for. It's not long before his thoughts drift to back before Naoki had been born. He'd been so naive then. His parents had kept emphasising how difficult raising a child at his age would be, but then Yamato had thought his only real obstacle would be school. Trying to do school work on little sleep, and finding someone to watch the baby during the day. He hadn't realised that taking care of Naoki would dictate every part of his life, for years to come.
Sometimes he goes down the old scenarios he'd thought up, when he'd first learned that Megumi was pregnant. He doesn't like to, because he loves Naoki and doesn't regret his choice for a second, but at times like this, when he's made aware of just how much having Naoki at such a young age has affected him, they pop into his head unbidden. How much easier could life have been if he'd let Megumi give the baby up for adoption? He wouldn't have been late for Dr. Kanada's class that first day last term, so the man might never have singled him out and made his life so difficult for a few months. He'd definitely be able to agree to tomorrow's meeting without any worries. All of his band stuff would be easier to handle, if he didn't have to come home and care for a child after an exhausting day of practice or photoshoots, and still worry about homework.
But then... would he even be in university, if it wasn't for Naoki? He hadn't originally planned to, after all. None of them had. They'd all agreed to focus on their music after high school. Yamato had really only changed his mind because of his son. Life would be so much less stressful if all he had to worry about was making the band successful. Not easy, but at least easier.
And yet, he still remembers the emptiness and sorrow that had gripped his heart at the thought of not having his child in his life. Thinking about it had torn him apart, and the feeling is even worse now that he has Naoki. To not ever have a chance to hear that sweet laugh, or see that beautiful smile, or feel the warmth of that small body snuggling up next to him... it's a hollow ache in his chest worse than anything else he's ever felt. No matter how difficult his life is because of Naoki, he knows every single moment has been worth it. He loves his child with a fierceness unparallelled by anyone else in his life, including Takeru and Taichi, and he knows he'll do and suffer anything just for Naoki's happiness and well-being. Funny how those parenting classes he'd taken had never mentioned that aspect.
Though Yamato's sure that even if they had, he wouldn't have believed it. Not without experiencing it for himself.
Naoki's gleeful shout as he destroys all the blocks he'd just built jolts Yamato back to awareness. Huffing out a breath at himself, he shakes off the strange turn his thoughts have taken, and begins to get ready for the lab he's got later in the afternoon.
* * *
It's when he's just arrived back home with Naoki later that afternoon that his phone chimes with a new text.
Someone agreed to cover my shift, so I can be there tomorrow.
Groaning, he rubs at his eyes as he re-reads Meiko's text a second time, somehow hoping the words will change into 'sorry, I can't make it.' He's just going to have to suck it up and call his dad and apologise for asking last minute yet again.
He puts it off until after supper, at least in part because he doesn't want to have to deal with a cranky, hungry toddler if he doesn't feed Naoki at their usual dinner time. Luckily, his dad's amenable to watching his grandson.
"There's no need to apologise, Yamato, I enjoy getting to spend time with him. And it's only for a few hours, yes? It's not a big deal."
Yamato sighs. "I just hate feeling like I'm always asking you at the last second."
His dad lets out a brief laugh. "That's just a big aspect of parenting. You think I wasn't constantly having to find last-minute babysitters for you when work needed me?"
"I suppose..." he says, though his dad's words don't make him feel any better. He doesn't even know why it's bothering him so much. Perhaps it's lingering guilt left over from the summer, and always having to leave Naoki with someone last-minute because there was yet another unexpected photoshoot, or a magazine wanting an interview, or because he was simply too damn tired to take care of his son.
"Just because Naoki comes first doesn't mean your schooling isn't important as well," his dad points out. "Bring him by tomorrow, we'll have fun. It's supposed to be a nice day out, maybe I can take him to the park."
He sighs again, making a face that he's glad his dad can't see. "Yeah, okay," he says. "I'll bring him over around 10:30 or so. Thanks, Dad."
He hangs up, but doesn't put his phone away, instead shooting off a quick text to his group. I can be there too. He glances at the time on the phone before setting it aside, deciding there's enough time for a movie.
"Naoki," he says, "you wanna watch a movie with me before bed?" If he spends time with his son now, maybe he'll feel a little less guilty when he has to leave him with someone else tomorrow.
Naoki looks up at him from the playpen, eyes shining. "To'ro?" he asks.
Yamato winces. He should have seen that one coming. "What about a different movie, baby?" he tries, even though he knows it's pointless. "Something new, something you haven't seen before."
"To'ro," Naoki pouts, his lower lip beginning to tremble.
"Okay, okay," Yamato says hastily as he picks up the toddler, wanting to stave off a tantrum. "Totoro it is." If he's lucky, watching the movie for the hundredth time will bore the both of them enough to put them right to sleep as soon as it's over.
* * *
"There you are," Lucas says, and Yamato doesn't miss the annoyance in his tone. He slides into an empty seat across from Taichi, next to Meiko, and sets his bag down.
"Sorry I'm late," he offers, and in retrospect he realises he probably could have texted. He'd just been so frazzled though, not expecting Naoki's meltdown over realising that Yamato was leaving him alone with grandpa and not staying. He'd done more of a number on his kid over the summer than he'd known, apparently. He grimaces at the guilt that thought causes, but pushes it away. He can berate himself over it later, right now he's got a project to focus on.
"We missed you, Yamato! We can't do this project without you," Tomo tells him, giggling slightly. He gives her a fleeting, awkward smile, which is the best he can manage with the mood he's in.
"By half an hour," Lucas points out, not willing to let it go so easily. "We weren't sure you were coming. You could have called. Or sent a text, if you were too busy to call."
"I'd always accept a call from you," Tomo says sweetly, still attempting to flirt, and Yamato tries not to make a face at her smile. He cuts his eyes over to Taichi, hoping his boyfriend's jealousy isn't going to flare up again. The recollection of Taichi's past behaviour makes his already sour mood drop even further. He doesn't know how he's going to get through the next couple of hours without wanting to kill somebody eventually.
"I'm sorry," he repeats calmly, pulling out his laptop and trying to ignore his rising irritation with his group. "It won't happen again. So, where are we at so far?"
"That's it?" Lucas demands, raising his eyebrows in disbelief as he half-rises from his chair, placing his hands on the table and leaning towards Yamato. Despite not standing at his full height, Lucas still towers over him, and the deliberate attempt at intimidation furthers Yamato's ire. "You make us wait and wonder if you're coming and you're not even going to give us a reason?"
"He doesn't owe you an explanation, Weston," Taichi cuts in sharply. "Why don't you just leave him alone?"
"And I don't need you to defend me, Yagami," Yamato snaps, finally letting his irritation get the best of him. "Why don't you stay out of my business?"
Taichi opens his mouth to respond, then abruptly shuts it, his face tightening. "Fine," he says curtly, after a moment's awkward silence.
After another moment of even more awkward silence, Meiko coughs quietly, and then slides her laptop closer to Yamato. "Here's what we've got so far. Since you weren't here, we just picked out a topic for you to research," she says softly, pulling up a document, and Yamato focuses on it gratefully.
They spend the next two hours working quietly, conferring with each other when necessary but largely doing their own research, with the exception of Chihiro, who spends most of her time texting on her phone and ignoring the rest of them. Tomo attempts to flirt some more with Yamato, but quickly gives up at his lack of response. Tension lingers uncomfortably in the air, putting many nerves on edge and causing everyone to hunker down in their seats. Taichi refuses to speak to Yamato, which he gladly returns in kind, and Taichi takes out his own irritation with the situation by butting heads with Lucas more than once on how things should be done. Yamato's pretty sure Taichi picks the first two arguments on purpose, but the third time unfortunately gets started when Tomo innocently asks how many articles they should be writing. The argument quickly gets heated, and Yamato can feel a headache coming on. He should have just ditched the group and stayed home with Naoki after all.
"If we're going to do the newspaper option, then it needs to look like an actual newspaper," Lucas says in exasperation. "With several columns of articles per page, and a few ad inserts just to make it look authentic."
"We don't need ads," Taichi repeats stubbornly, glaring at the teen next to him. "That's not part of the project. And if we do several articles per page, we'll all have to write a million articles each. No one has time for that!"
"Look, they're not going to be full-sized articles like in a magazine or something. They'll be just like in an actual newspaper, maybe three or four hundred words each.We could each do four articles and put six articles to a page. That's about the same word amount for one essay. You can't tell me you don't have time for that," Lucas argues back hotly. "And then half of us can design a few ads while the rest work on the actual layout of the paper."
"Who made you in charge of this group anyway," Taichi grumbles. Normally it would make Yamato grin, because he can recognise when Taichi's lost an argument and stubbornly refuses to admit defeat, but in his current aggravation, he merely rolls his eyes at how difficult Taichi is making things. He should probably interject, try and smooth things over. But since he's not talking to Taichi, he ignores his boyfriend and continues to work, rubbing absently at his forehead occasionally while the two of them bicker back and forth.
"I just want a good grade on this project! I took out a huge loan to be able to come to Japan, I don't want it to be a waste because someone else is too lazy to put in more than a half-assed effort!" Lucas finally exclaims, his voice rising in anger.
At that, Taichi slams his hand down hard on the table, making not only the rest of their group look up, but several people at surrounding tables as well. "My apologies for having a life other than just school work," he snarks, and Yamato smirks, privately impressed at how much Taichi had sounded like him just then.
"M-maybe we should take a vote," Meiko suggests, tucking her hair nervously behind her ears.
"Fine. All in favour of Taichi's idea, raise your hand," Lucas says tersely. Yamato's surprised when Chihiro raises her hand. He's been sure this whole time that she hadn't been paying the slightest bit of attention to them. However, none of them is surprised when the only other person to lift their hand is Taichi.
"Now my idea," and the rest of the hands raise, though Tomo's only goes up after a quick glance to be certain that Yamato's does. "Four to one, Taichi, sorry. Looks like we're doing it my way."
Taichi glares in lieu of a reply.
After another half hour of nearly palpable tension, Yamato decides he's had enough. "I think I'm gonna head out," he says, closing the lid of his computer. "I missed lunch, and I'm starving." He hadn't, but it seems like a reasonable enough excuse for him to leave. And Naoki probably misses him like crazy by now.
"Food sounds like a great idea!" Tomo says excitedly, looking up at him. "You wanna go grab something together? There's this great little sandwich shop down the street that just opened up."
"Ah, no thank you. I, um, have other plans already." He's learned the hard way by now not to offer an abstract 'some other time,' as girls will take that seriously. He ignores the way her face falls as he begins to pack up.
"We'll catch up in class," Lucas says. "And we're likely meeting the same time next Saturday. Try not to be late again."
Yamato counts to ten in his head before responding, proud when his voice comes out even. "I won't be." He slings his bag over his shoulder, giving a brief wave to Meiko before heading out. He doesn't bother to say bye to Taichi.
* * *
The long ride to Odaiba gives him time to calm down and think, and by the time he gets to his dad's apartment his mood has improved considerably, though he can feel faint annoyance with Taichi still persisting. It's brushed aside easily enough, however, by the toddler that makes a dive bomb at his legs the moment he steps through the door. "Daddy!"
"Hi baby," he says, ruffling the little boy's hair. He leans down and untangles Naoki from his legs before picking him up, grunting a bit at the added weight. "Thank you so much for watching him," he tells his dad, who's busy gathering up Naoki's things and packing them back into the diaper bag. "I think we're doing this again next Saturday, can I watch him or should I ask Mom?"
"You'll have to ask your mom. I've got some thing for work. You wanna talk about what's bothering you?"
Yamato blinks, caught off guard. "What?" He shakes his head. "I mean, I'm fine."
His dad gives him a polite look of disbelief.
Yamato sighs, wishing his dad hadn't learned to read him so well at times. Or perhaps he's just become more transparent with his emotions as he's gotten older. "I got into a fight with Taichi," he admits. "If it can even be called a fight." He shifts Naoki to one arm and scratches at his head. "Lucas, the other guy in our group, was mad I was late and was giving me a hard time, so Taichi told him to lay off me, and I got annoyed and told Taichi to stay out of my business, and we didn't speak to each other the rest of the time..."
Hearing it out loud makes him realise how ridiculous it all is, and he can't blame his dad for the raised eyebrow he gets as a response. Yamato sighs again, slumping down a bit, all his annoyance with Taichi gone. "I know, I overreacted."
"Perhaps a bit," his dad agrees.
"I was just stressed out from this one's tantrum," he says, poking his fingers into Naoki's side and tickling him, smiling when his son begins to giggle and squirm. "And then Lucas harping on me didn't help. I'll apologise."
"You're not eleven anymore, Yamato," his dad says, amusement colouring his tone. "I'm not going to punish you and force you to apologise for a fight with your best friend."
"I know," he says, giving a crooked smile. "But I still should. I didn't think a relationship could be so difficult."
His dad laughs at that, genuine mirth lighting up his eyes. "You and Taichi have been clashing non-stop since you were kids. Why did you a think a relationship would be any different?"
"Optimism?" he offers. "Though at least we don't resolve our differences with our fists anymore..."
His dad's eyes widen slightly, a scandalised look crossing his face, though there's still a hint of laughter in his voice when he speaks. "Yamato."
It takes him a moment to catch on, to realise the way his dad took his statement. When he gets it, his face turns bright red, and he reaches out for Naoki's bag, suddenly flustered. "That's-that isn't what I meant!" he stammers. "Sometimes we might but that's not what I-no, no we don't, I just meant it's good we can handle fights more like adults... but not like that-" His dad's laughing at him by this point, so he just moans in defeat and goes quiet, knowing anything he says at the moment is going to come out sounding wrong.
"Hey, I caught you in the act once, remember? I'm well aware of what you and Taichi get up to."
"Dad," he groans, his turn to be scandalised. "Are you still not going to let that go? It's been years!"
"As long as those images have to be seared into my brain, I'm never letting it go."
"Oh my god," he says, voice muffled as he briefly buries his head into Naoki's bag. He waits until the burning heat in his cheeks has reduced some before looking back up and changes the subject. He doesn't want to think about his dad and his sex life in the same thoughts anymore. The memory of getting caught is still traumatising enough, he doesn't need any super embarrassing conversations to add to it. "Thanks again for watching Naoki, but I need to go now, Mom and Takeru are expecting us for dinner."
His dad waves him off. "I keep telling you, it's never a problem. Go on, go have dinner. Tell them hi for me."
He's surprised at his dad's choice of words, but wisely doesn't remark on it. He remembers how weird his parents had acted with each other during Naoki's birthday celebration, awkward and stiff as they tried to be the family they hadn't been in years. "Will do," he says instead.
* * *
Dinner at his mom's turns out to be weird as well, at least for a brief moment. It starts off okay-his mom hugs him, and then coos over Naoki a little while he catches up with Takeru. But once they're all settled around the table ready to eat, he remembers his dad's simple request, and that's where things turn strange.
"Oh yeah, Dad says hi to you both."
"Oh, he did?" his mom asks, and he tries not to think about the fact that she looks pleased. "Tell him hello from me when you see him again, would you? How is he doing lately?"
"Um..." Yamato frowns, and hesitates, looking over at Takeru, relieved to see his brother's looking just as bewildered as he feels. He knows his parents have never hated each other, that their divorce was more due to the stress and fights caused by his dad's workaholic attitude, and that his dad, at least, has always maintained a soft spot for the ex-wife he never entirely stopped loving, but in Yamato's fifteen years of living since his parents split, he can't recall them ever once really genuinely asking after each other. When he was younger it seemed as if they both went out of their way to even avoid mentioning each other, as if the thought of knowing the other existed was too painful. And though that had faded somewhat by the time he hit his teen years, his parents' mentions of each other remained largely impersonal, or focused around him and Takeru. So to have his mom ask now is just... well, weird. It feels rude to think that way, but there's no better word for it. "He's fine? He, uh, he doesn't seem to work as much these days, he's been taking more weekends off." He really has no idea what to say to his mom about his dad, and Takeru merely offers an uncertain shrug when he turns a pleading look onto him.
"That's wonderful, honey," his mom says, a warm smile spreading across her face. "I'm glad your dad's taking the time to relax these days."
"Yeah, me too," he mumbles, and quickly shoves a large bite of mackerel into his mouth, hoping to forestall any more conversation about his dad. Thankfully, Takeru takes the brief lull to talk about the writing club he's joined this year-and since when did his brother have any interest in writing?-but truthfully he doesn't really care what his brother talks about, as long as it keeps his mom from acting any more weird about his dad.
And it does-until he brings up the idea of his mom watching Naoki next weekend.
"It should only be for a few hours," he explains. "I've got this group project for one of my classes, and everyone only has time to meet on the weekends... I tried to ask Dad, but he said something about a work thing."
His mom frowns. "I thought you said he was taking weekends off. You should tell your dad he shouldn't work so hard, he needs to take it easier these days."
"Ah... I'll do that," he says uncertainly, caught off guard once more by his mom's unexpected concern. Or perhaps it's old, leftover feelings from their divorce, he can't really be sure. Either way, he doesn't want to discuss it. "So will you be able to? I can always ask Taichi's mom again if you can't."
"I can watch him, honey. It's not a problem. We'll have a lot of fun together, won't we, baby?" she says, directing the last sentence towards Naoki. He's sitting on the floor of the living room, cheerfully babbling to both his stuffed Totoro plush and his favourite stuffed bunny, but he looks up and grins when Natsuko speaks.
"Have fun," he repeats back happily.
And as weird as the evening has gotten at points, seeing the delighted smile that lights up his mom's face at her grandson's response makes it all worth it for Yamato.
* * *
It's much later in the evening when Yamato finally has a chance to text Taichi. He waits until he's given Naoki his bath and gotten him settled down into his bed before he pulls out his phone. He dithers for a moment on exactly what to say, before finally deciding he should just keep it simple. If Taichi wants more of an explanation after his apology, he'll give one then.
I'm sorry for today. I overreacted.
He hits send and then closes his phone, meaning to ignore it, but he finds that he can't help but to stare at it instead, waiting for the small chime that will indicate a response text. After a few minutes, it still hasn't come. A sinking feeling starts in the pit of his stomach, and he stares more intensely at his phone, willing it to chime. After another few minutes of silence, Yamato angrily tosses it down on his bed, resisting the sudden urge to cry. Taichi must be really mad at him. Why does he always have to let his temper get the best of him and fuck things up? There's no reason he should have snapped at Taichi that afternoon, especially since Taichi was just trying to help him out.
Taking a deep breath, he lets it out slowly and wills himself to calm down. Just because Taichi hasn't responded doesn't mean he's mad, he tells himself. He could just be busy. He just needs to distract himself. Find something to keep his attention away from his phone. He heads into the bathroom, deciding that getting himself ready for bed will have to serve as a good enough distraction, even though it's mindless tasks that leave him plenty of time to think. He does his best to not think about Taichi though, forcing himself to think about other things instead. He winds up being half successful, though his heart still aches when he climbs into bed and checks his phone to see no new messages.
"Forget about it," he mumbles to himself, setting his phone on the nightstand. He'll just have to try and apologise again tomorrow. He rolls over and closes his eyes, intending to sleep, but the sudden chime of his phone has him rolling back over and snatching his phone up. "Terrible timing, Taichi..." Still, he hastily flips open his phone and pulls up the message, hoping it's not Taichi yelling at him.
It's okay. Don't worry about it.
He sighs, smiling in relief as he reads it a second time. Taichi's not mad at him. He sets his phone down again and rolls over once more.
Yeah, I threw Meiko from Tri in. But she's just a normal character, nothing from Tri happens in this (: