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Dating was complicated for Midori, and for the most part he didn’t. It wasn’t as if he didn’t want to be in love with someone, and in fact, he had been many times. None of his dating experiences had ended well thus far because of a little complication that he was always nervous about sharing with others.
“Papa! Papa! Can we go to the park today, de gozaru?!” A little boy peeked out from under the kitchen table, yellow-streaked purple hair hiding one eye while the other sparkled happily. He was playing ninja again, the table being his new hiding spot for the day.
Midori could not love Shinobu more, but whenever it came time for him to tell his potential romantic partners about his child, Shinobu, they had never been ready for the commitment of helping him raise the little boy.
“Mm...if you finish your juice, we can go in a little bit.” Midori smiled faintly. Shinobu had brightened his life so much from the sad days he had spent moping around. Strange as it was, the suggestion to adopt had come from a close friend who had thought that maybe adoption would help to fill the void in his life.
At first, he hadn’t thought it would be a good idea, but he had promised to at least look into it. After all, he had a steady job and a stable living environment. He hadn’t thought that he would actually want to adopt, but the moment he had seen little Shinobu crying in the corner in his little dinosaur onesie, he had been convinced that perhaps it would be a good idea to adopt.
From then on, he had grown happier with Shinobu in his life, and he wanted nothing more than to give Shinobu a good and happy childhood. He couldn’t be happier about having Shinobu in his life, but he did wish that it didn’t make dating so hard.
Midori hoped this time would be different, however. He had recently started seeing a loud, obnoxious man, Chiaki, that had somehow started to win him over, despite how annoying he could be. His overwhelmingly enthusiastic attitude was cute in a way, if a bit overbearing when he got excited.
He was a kind and gentle man, and Midori couldn’t help but think about him even when he wasn’t around. They had already gone on several dates, and while Midori did not want to get his hopes up, he would be happy if for once a romantic relationship could work out for him.
However, he couldn’t help feeling nervous. He knew he needed to tell Chiaki about Shinobu, but he couldn’t help but fear that Chiaki would turn away from him as others already had. Chiaki was a good, sweet man, and maybe he would be okay with Shinobu.
Midori was just scared. He wanted everything to be out in the open, but he didn’t know when to tell Chiaki. It was nerve-wracking, but he knew that he had to tell him eventually. He supposed that he would have to tell Chiaki on their next date.
“Papa! I drank my juice, de gozaru!” Shinobu clutched his glasses with both tiny hands and waved it around wildly.
“Ah, careful, Shinobu!” Midori leapt to his feet and swiped the glass away from Shinobu, concerned that he may accidentally drop it and hurt himself. He set the glass down, out of reach, and lifted Shinobu into his arms.
“Waa...I’m sorry, papa…” Shinobu began to sniffle, snuggling right up against him.
Midori patted his back gently, letting out a small sigh. “It’s alright. I just don’t want you to get hurt.” He said softly, shifting his weight between feet to rock Shinobu gently. “Please don’t wave glasses around like that, okay? When they break, they’re sharp and you could hurt yourself. I don’t want that…”
“Okay, papa...I’m sorry, de gozaru.” Shinobu mumbled, puffing his cheeks out sadly.
“Cheer up. Are you ready to go to the park?” Midori patted his back gently and set him back down in his chair gently. “Go get your shoes and I’ll help you with them, okay?” He smiled faintly and gave him a gentle pat on the head.
He was very happy that Shinobu was no longer afraid of him. It had been a rocky few months, where Shinobu would go out of his way to hide from him and run away.
It had been a thunderstorm that had scared Shinobu so much that he had had no choice except to run to Midori for comfort.
Midori had made him hot chocolate and given him chocolate to soothe him, and had put on a children’s movie with the sound up loud enough to block out the sound of the thunder. He was glad that he no longer lived in an apartment, otherwise he was sure he would’ve received numerous complaints about the noise. He wouldn’t have cared anyway. Shinobu was more important after all.
After that, things had gone more smoothly, and Midori could not be happier.
Shinobu zipped off the chair and out of the room, sprinting to get his shoes. He loved the park. He could go hunting for frogs in the ponds and climb trees like a true ninja would. It really was his favorite place.
Midori watched him go with a smile, taking their dirty dishes from breakfast into the kitchen. He would wash them later, knowing that it wouldn’t take long with only the pair of them having dishes.
“I got my shoes, de gozaru!” Shinobu pulled himself up onto a chair and wiggled happily. He had put his shoes over his hands, waving them around wildly. “I’ve got hooves now! I’m a horse!”
Midori couldn’t help but laugh as he turned and returned to Shinobu’s side. He really was adorable.
Crouching down, Midori gently took the shoes from Shinobu and slid them onto his feet. “Watch carefully again, okay?” He said as he slowly tied Shinobu’s shoes for him, making certain that he could see each step.
“I got it this time!” Shinobu wiggled his feet happily. “Can we go now?” He asked, trying to contain his energy.
“Yeah, come on.” Midori lifted Shinobu into his arms and carried him to the front door. It was, thankfully, only a short walk away, and with Shinobu being as small as he was, it wasn’t hard to carry him the whole way there.
“Waaaaa, I can’t wait, de gozaru! Can I catch a frog and keep it?!” He asked excitedly, giving Midori the most pathetic expression he could manage. “Please! Please!”
“Shinobu, you know you can’t take frogs from their homes. Maybe tomorrow, we can go and see if the pet store has any tomorrow.” Midori promised. “If you see a frog or a toad today, be nice to it, okay?”
“Okay, I promise, de gozaru!” Shinobu replied, seemingly happy with the compromise.
By the time they reached the park, Shinobu was wiggling so much that Midori could no longer carry him. “Be safe, alright?” Midori set him down and let him run off across the field, making sure to keep him within his line of sight.
“Ah, Takamine! I didn’t know you liked the park! It seems too cheery for you!” A bright cheery voice called out to him, unmistakably Chiaki’s.
Midori could not help but freeze. What on earth was Chiaki doing here? This was a children’s park, and it wasn’t as if Chiaki had any children! He slowly turned around to face Chiaki.
Chiaki smiled brightly at Midori, but his smile was not what had captured his attention; two small children stood behind Chiaki, one looking a bit shy, and the other looking as if he were about to burst with excitement.
“Ah, sorry about the surprise.” Chiaki’s smile faded just slightly, just the way Midori’s always did when he realized that his relationship would abruptly stop because he had a child. “I wasn’t sure how you would react if I told you right away, and there never seemed to be a right time to mention it…”
Midori could see Chiaki faltering, but he didn’t know what to say. The tables had never been flipped like this. “Ah, I…” Thankfully, Shinobu was there to save the day.
“Papa! Papa! Look what I caught, de gozaru!” Shinobu scampered over, hands held together tightly, and Midori sincerely hoped it was just a frog this time and not a spider.
“What is it, Shinobu?” Midori crouched down, turning his attention to Shinobu. He supposed that he had no reason to be nervous about Chiaki’s reaction anymore, considering the situation, but he couldn’t quite help it.
“I caught a froggy!” Shinobu shifted his fingers aside just a little so that Midori could look at it. It was, indeed, a frog, much to Midori’s relief. “He’s cute, de gozaru! Can I keep him?!”
“He is cute, but do you remember what I told you earlier?” Midori asked with a sigh. He reached out and ruffled up Shinobu’s hair gently.
“That I can’t take frogs from their homes, de gozaru…” Shinobu mumbled, sticking his lower lip out in a pout.
“What else did I tell you?” Midori asked patiently, waiting for him to remember and realize. He was entirely too cute and for a moment, Midori thought about giving in to Shinobu’s request.
“That...that we could look at frogs tomorrow, de gozaru!” Shinobu perked up, his eyes sparkling happily.
“That’s right. Just be patient, okay? And you should also put that frog back in his home…” Midori nodded and gave Shinobu a gentle smile. “I’ll come with you.” He straightened up and glanced back at Chiaki. “Come with us?”
Chiaki’s eyes widened in surprise, but he nodded slowly. “If you’ll have us! Perhaps we could talk about us while they play?” He offered Midori a hesitant, nervous smile.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” Midori replied, glancing down at the two yet unnamed children behind Chiaki.
“Ah, sorry! I forgot to introduce these two.” Chiaki glanced down and smiled. “Come on now, it’s okay. This is the man I’ve been telling you guys about. Say ‘hi’ and introduce yourselves, okay?”
Slowly the two children shifted around from behind Chiaki. “It’s nice meeeeeet you! I’m Tetora, like a tiger!” The younger boy dashed right over, stopping in front of Midori and peering up at him with the brightest smile Midori had ever seen, other than Chiaki’s and Shinobu’s of course.
The older boy was slower to approach, hesitant and almost shy. He clutched a stuffed whale in his arms, green eyes behind blue hair focused on it. “Hello, my ‘name’ is Kanata.” He spoke slowly, glancing up at Midori hesitantly.
Midori offered them a hesitant smile, startled that Chiaki had already told them about him. “My name is Midori. It’s nice to meet you.” He crouched down, smiling a little more brightly now. “Shinobu, do you want to introduce yourself?”
Shinobu froze on the spot, becoming shy and anxious. He darted behind Midori and stayed there. “No!”
“Ah, sorry about that. He’s just a bit shy.” Midori sighed. “This is Shinobu. He likes frogs and ninjas.” He glanced back at Shinobu and gave him a comforting smile.
“Froggies?” Kanata mumbled quietly, glancing around to look at Shinobu.
“Yeah. He’s got one, if you want to look at it. Just be gentle, alright?” Midori smiled and Kanata and slowly shifted around so that Shinobu was in view.
Kanata hesitantly approached Shinobu, adjusting his stuffed whale in his arms. “Can I ‘look?’” He asked the petrified Shinobu. “I like froggies, puka puka.” He began to sway in a manner that reminded Midori vaguely of a jellyfish or some other sort of sea creature. It was rather cute, he had to admit.
Shinobu perked up, hesitantly glancing up at the slightly older boy. “You like froggies, too?”
“I wanna see the froggy, too!” Tetora shouted and charged over, stopping just short of crashing into the pair of them.
Shinobu flinched and pulled the frog close to his chest. “You gotta be quiet, de gozaru!” He lectured, suddenly ready to inform them of everything he knew about frogs.
Midori stood up, unable to help but laugh. It was sweet to see Shinobu suddenly ready to come out of his shell like that. “Be a little nicer about it, okay, Shinobu?”
“Of course, papa! I’m always nice, de gozaru!” Shinobu nodded resolutely and slowly put his hands out, moving his fingers enough for the other two boys to look at the tree frog he held gently. “Look here! See the froggie, de gozaru?! Isn’t he cute?! Come with me! I wanna show you his home!”
Midori smiled as Shinobu marched off towards the pond, leading the other two proudly. He was glad that Shinobu had warmed up to them so quickly.
Chiaki came up beside him and grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers. “I’m sorry for not telling you sooner. I just...I was scared you wouldn’t want to be with me anymore when you found out. Two kids is a lot to handle sometimes, after all…”
“Ah...I actually felt the same way…” Midori went the faintest bit pink when their hands locked. He couldn’t help smiling a bit, pulling Chiaki along slowly after the children. “I was worried, but...I suppose I’m still a bit worried. Do you think we would be able to handle three kids together? Do you think Kanata-kun and Tetora-kun would like me? I know Shinobu would grow to love you…” He had a lot of worries, the biggest of them all the possibility of him not having enough time to spend with Shinobu anymore.
“Wait, wait, hold on a minute!” Chiaki laughed, seeming to be relieved. “I thought you would want to break up. Three kids is a lot, and...I suppose I was worrying that you may not be up for that kind of commitment…”
“What are you talking about? I...know what it’s like to be dumped after someone finds out about that, but...I think if...if we start small and work towards it slowly, we can do it. I...really like you, and I…” Midori grew a little red at his own words. “I don’t want to lose you over something like this.”
“You’re cute.” Chiaki squeezed his hand and smiled a bit, the sunlight hitting his eyes just right and making them shimmer. “I think we could do it together. It’ll be an adjustment, of course, but I think it’s something to work for.”
Midori glanced away, focusing his attention on the children. He could hardly believe that he was falling more and more in love Chiaki with every little thing he said and did. It was ridiculous that this obnoxious, noisy man had captured his heart so easily, but he supposed that even if he couldn’t admit it out loud, he really did adore every little part of Chiaki. “I’m glad this isn’t a dealbreaker.” He mumbled, the tiniest of smiles beginning to show on his face.
“Eh? Of course it wouldn’t be a dealbreaker for me. I’m glad it wasn’t for you. At this point, I...I think I’d have a hard time letting you go.” Chiaki smiled sheepishly and rubbed at the back of his head awkwardly. “I really, really lo...like you.”
Face burning, Midori smiled as Shinobu and Tetora splashed around in the pond, Kanata nearby looking for fish. “I love you, too.”
“Wh...what?!” Chiaki blubbered, his eyes widening as his face went bright red. “Takamine!”
“Call me by my first name.” Midori’s smile grew a little wider, and he leaned closer, bumping shoulders with Chiaki.
“Midori…” Chiaki mumbled, almost too embarrassed to comply with Midori’s wishes.
“Better.” Midori smiled and, with a sudden burst of confidence, leaned over and gave Chiaki a soft kiss on the lips. He pulled barely a second later, when giggles burst out all of a sudden just in front of them.
All three children had noticed him kissing Chiaki, and it was all over for them now. They would never let it go, but Midori supposed he didn’t mind so much if it meant that they weren’t protesting it.
Chiaki stared at Midori, his eyes wide with shock and face crimson. “I...Midori...what?” It had been their first kiss, and Chiaki had been expecting to make the first move, rather than the other way around, especially since he tended to be the more daring of the two.
“I think today was a good surprise.” Midori said softly, face red, but his expression happy. “I want to make this work, and I think we can.”
It took a moment for Chiaki to think up a reply, but when he did, it conveyed his happiness more brightly than the sun.
“As long as we’re together, we’ll be okay!”