Chapter Text
“Dad! I need help with something!” Rudo yelled from his bedroom to the older man downstairs.
Said older man, who was currently glued to the couch binge watching all of Love Island with Riyo, sighed and flopped his head back against the couch cushions.
“No… we were just getting to the good part…” Enjin whined like a petulant child. Riyo merely patted his shoulder with mock sympathy, using her other hand to stuff her face with gummy worms she kept in a large bowl on her lap.
“Go on, you big baby,” Riyo said. Enjin glared at his daughter, who shrugged it off easily and continued stuffing her face.
“Which one of us is the parent? Why are you the one telling me what to do, hm?” Enjin asked haughtily.
“Because Rudo asked you for help and you would be willing to leave him to the wolves to finish Love Island” Zanka deadpanned from the kitchen table behind them, his Pre-Calculus homework plastered in front of him and his pencil scraping harshly against the paper.
“Dad!” Rudo yelled, voice tinged with annoyance.
“Fine! Goddamn, I’m coming ya brat” Enjin muttered, pulling off the comfy plaid blanket and making his way upstairs.
The top step creaked uncontrollably, reminding Enjin that he had to fix it at some point (read: ask Gris to do it for him).
Rudy’s bedroom door was skewed open slightly, giving a glimpse to the messiness inside. Pushing open the door, the many colorful trinkets and spare gadgets scattered all over were made visible.
Posters of indie rock bands, various handmade blueprints and a asexual flag he had bought at a Pride event last year covered the walls, and there was still a dent in the space behind the door where dumb and dumber (Remlin and Rudo, who else?) tried to play baseball inside and sent the bat straight into the wall.
They’d actually tried to hide it with some crayon drawings and posters, but Rudo had gotten so guilty he broke down sobbing during Chinese takeout and confessed everything.
Enjin, contrary to expectations as always, just shrugged and left it at that. He’d known about it for a while by that point and hadn’t really given a damn. He’d fucked up more during bar fights and didn’t lose any sleep over it, so he just bribed Follo to fix it for him.
In the middle of the room stood Rudo, pacing absently and muttering under his breath with a look of desperation in his red eyes.
Across the bed and on the floor seemed to be every item of clothing that Rudo owned, which was mostly just a variety of hoodies and colorful cat print socks he’d gotten as gag gifts over the years.
Enjin let out a low whistle at the sight.
“Y’know kiddo, I think you’re too young to be having a mid-life crisis” Enjin teased as he leaned against the doorframe.
Rudo turned around and shot him a look so bitchy it made Enjin concerned for how much time he was spending with Seimu.
“I’m not even in the prime of my life yet, dumbass” Rudo shot back, “Are you just gonna stand there?”
The tattooed blonde shrugged, “Depends on what you need help with”
For a millisecond, Rudo flushed bright pink, eyes darting to the corner of the room.
“I… um… I need help picking an outfit” Rudo mumbled.
“You want my advice? You’ve been rocking the Sans Undertale look since you were six, if it ain’t broken don’t fix it”
“This is different!” Rudo insisted, “It’s for… a date”
…what
“Zanka! Did your crazy ass boyfriend spike the candy stash with his freaky drugs again?!” Enjin asked.
A pause.
“Not the communal one, why?!” Zanka yelled back.
“Just curious!” Enjin replied, turning back to his youngest son, “Sorry bud, just had to make sure I was sober. Could you repeat that?”
Rudo huffed indignantly, crossing his arms.
“I know you heard me, I’m not repeating myself! Help me out here, loads of chicks are into you… for your looks anyway. You must be doing something right”
“Hurtful, but true. You’re lookin’ at the king of swag over here!” Enjin gestured to himself, “So who’s the little lady you’re seein’ anyway? That’ll help me make a concrete decision”
A lie, at least partially. Enjin was just a nosy bitch who wanted to know what kind of girl managed to put up with Rudo long enough to wanna go on a date with him.
Rudo seemed to sense that Enjin was bullshitting him, but pulled out his phone anyway, scrolling through his photo gallery before handing Enjin his phone.
It was a selfie of Rudo and another girl with her head on his shoulder, sitting on a bench with what looked like a fountain behind them. She had long black hair with orange tips and big doe eyes, with a fair complexion and trendy, frilly gothic clothing.
A big smile was on her face, full of pearly white teeth and unabashed joy.
“Hey, isn’t this the Boss’s niece? What was her name again?” Enjin asked, studying the picture closely.
“Amo. She’s in my American Studies class. I met her when I was helping the boss with a job. A hoarder's house or somethin’ like that. She’s real handy with a broom”
Enjin barked out a laugh.
“Leave it to you to find how someone cleans attractive”
“Shut up!” Rudo said, snatching his phone back and whacking Enjin across the chest, “Are ya gonna help me or not, turdface?”
Right, back to supportive mode, Enjin he thought to himself. Over the years, Enjin had learned dealing with Rudo was somewhat akin to dealing with a cornered animal. If given time and grace, he would become comfortable with you and grow closer to you, but all it took was one little thing for him to push you away.
If he was being honest, Enjin felt a bit shocked Rudo asked for his help with anything at all. He would make sure to keep the teasing to a minimum.
“Alright, lemme get a lay of the land here. She’s pretty cute, so unfortunately we’ve got some work to do” Enjin said, picking up a blue polo shirt that looked like it hadn’t seen a day of use.
Hm, too preppy Enjin thought, but I think we should try for a blue fit
“Rudo, grab those black jeans over there” Enjin instructed, gesturing to the least worn out pair of pants he knew Rudo owned.
“Y’know I kinda thought this would be more of a collaborative effort-“
“The jeans, Rudo”
“Got it”
—————————
“My face feels weird,” Rudo complained from the passenger's seat, clutching the small bouquet of orange tulips in his gloved hands.
Enjin gave a noncommittal hum and kept his eyes on the road ahead, one hand on the wheel while the other held a to-go flask of black coffee. He saw how Rudo’s nose wrinkled at the bitter smell.
“Don’t smudge your mascara, it helps pull the whole look together” Enjin instructed. Rudo glowered at the blonde man but dutifully kept himself from rubbing at his face.
After assembling Rudo’s outfit, Enjin had convinced him to let Riyo apply some makeup to really tie it all together.
Rudo was wearing a navy blue hoodie with the jeans Enjin had first picked out, with his favorite black tennis shoes, thick compression gloves and a silver chain necklace he had gotten from their family friend, August, as a Christmas gift a few years ago.
They had made a quick stop at a nearby florist to pick up flowers for Amo, at Rudo’s insistence, and were now on their way to the aquarium to drop off Rudo.
Enjin wouldn’t be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. Hell, when he first adopted Riyo and Zanka he would end on the verge of panic attacks because of all the dreadful “what ifs?” running through his head.
Thankfully, all three of his kids had proven more than capable of keeping themselves safe and sound, but as a parent he still felt a pang of fear at letting them out alone (well, semi-alone) in the world.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them. Enjin just didn’t trust other people.
“Hey Enjin?” Rudo asked, voice surprisingly small. Usually, that meant he was either in pain or unsure of himself.
In this instance it was probably the latter.
“Wassup buddy?” Enjin said, taking a sip of his coffee as he expertly maneuvered the car through a busy intersection.
A few moments of hesitant silence passed before the white-haired boy spoke again.
“...thanks for helping me out. And being cool about this” Rudo said.
Was he worried I would be a dick about it? Enjin thought, a small frown forming on his face. He’d have to unpack that later with Rudo.
“Of course, I’m always happy to help you kids out,” Enjin said, “Well, as long as it's not after nine. I need my beauty sleep after all”
Rudo rolled his eyes but his mouth curved into a smile anyway. And not one of his creepy-ass smiles, but a genuine one. Zanka was convinced it wasn’t possible for Rudo to smile and not look like he ate puppies for breakfast, but Enjin now knew otherwise.
“God knows you need it” Rudo teased. Enjin made a scandalized gasp and reached over to flick Rudo’s shoulder.
Later, when Enjin watched Rudo nervously approach the aquarium entrance, where Amo stood waiting with a cute ita bag with fluffy animal charms clipped onto it, he would remember how small and angry the boy used to be.
It almost felt bittersweet to see how big he was now, going on dates with the girl he liked and having the courage to actually ask for help instead of keeping it all in.
Damn, I guess I am getting soft, huh? Enjin thought as the two disappeared into the aquarium hand in hand. Amo was almost skipping, with an adorable blush painted across her pale face.
Yeah, he’ll be alright, Enjin thought, shifting the gears into drive as he pulled out of the parking lot to head back home. I may not be the most responsible adult, but I raised a pretty damn good kid.