Work Text:
Tiny, intricate flurries danced outside the window. Jun stepped up onto the head of the couch- Mother wouldn’t be home tonight, she wouldn’t have to know- to lean up against the glass. His hands and breath were both so cold that they hardly fogged up the window, but his fingertips left little smudge marks that he’d have to wipe off later.
The illuminated white sky was brighter than the dark silhouettes of trees and houses even though the sun had long since set.
His eyes widened as the pristine snow on the lawn sparkled in the light of the full moon; he could swear he’d never seen anything so beautiful before. It was so shiny and sparkling and perfect, like diamond dust -except not at all; he’d read all about diamond dust, and knew it was really just a really fine, frozen mist, not actual snowfall, but the beautiful glimmering of the snow seemed so much more fitting for such a pretty name. He wanted to go out and play in it, but he knew he wasn’t supposed to go outside on his own.
Perhaps Papa would let him go out if they were both playing outside together, but Papa wasn’t home yet. He was supposed to have gotten home a lot earlier than this. It must’ve been hours since his classes got out.. Jun gave the living room clock a morose look.
It was always like this, lately.
When he looked back out at the snow, he spotted two close figures in the white snow-mottled distance of the streets. A taller, thinner man, with an awkward gait and a gangly posture- a man so gawky could only be Jun’s father- and a shorter man, or boy, really, who had light, shaggy hair.
Papa had his arm around the shorter boy’s shoulders, and they were both talking spiritedly and had huge smiles on as they walked through the snow covered driveway.
Jun darted below the windowsill and drew the curtains closed. His father never scolded him for things like standing up on the furniture, but... Who was that boy? He could hardly tell through the window, but he looked older than Jun.. One of Papa’s students?
He shivered, and swaddled himself under the thick and downy blanket draped over the back of the couch for decoration -another thing he’d have to straighten out later, Jun’s mind informed him. A plastic pot of fake waxflowers stared at him from the table- he hated the decor here.
He heard loud, muffled voices from outside the door.
“..ease don’t worry about what he says, Tatsuya, you’re a good kid. You’re better than that. You’ve got a bright future..”
“...ank you, Mr. Ka- Mr. Kashihara..”
There came the jangle of keys, he fumbling, metal-jerking sound of a key inserting into the lock. A gust of heart-freezing cold air flew into the merely-toe-freezing air of the house as Papa and his student walked in.
“Wow.. This- This is a really nice place.” Jun could hear and see the boy better now; the boy was wearing one of the uniforms from his father’s school. The tie was red, and the colors of their ties was supposed to mean something, but Jun couldn’t remember what.
He moved a bit strangely when he spoke in that breathy voice of his, and his expression didn’t seem quite right, like he was sneering but not on purpose. It was a little frightening to Jun, but it reminded him a little of how weird his papa was, too. Jun didn’t like it.
Papa reached for the student’s head. The boy gave a sudden flinch, like he’d been expecting a smack, but when he opened his eyes and looked back up at Jun’s Papa he leaned into the touch. Jun watched as Papa ruffled the boy’s messy blonde hair. It looked like he was petting a big golden retriever.
Who was this boy, and why was he so close to Jun’s Papa? Was this what Papa spent all his time away from home doing? Lavishing attention onto his students?
“Well, I don’t really get much say in the decorations...” Akinari’s eyes trailed over the living room, then startled as he spotted Jun’s head poking out from the blanket on the couch. “Ju-” He jerked his hand back from the boy’s head. ”Jun? You’re still awake?”
Jun stared at his father with wide eyes.
“I was waiting for you to come home.” Jun said, immediately. He felt guilty, suddenly; he hadn’t meant to hide. That strange boy was staring at him now, too.
The blanket sloughed off of his body as he slipped out of it. “..Sorry.”
Papa let out a strange sigh. “Oh... Don’t worry, Jun… Come here and meet my student- his name is Tatsuya, Tatsuya Sudou. He’s been helping Papa with some very important things lately. Sudou, this is Jun, my son.”
Jun patted the blanket back against the couch and reluctantly plodded towards his Papa and the student.
Sudou gave him a smile that was probably supposed to be nice, but came off as more of a creepy leer to Jun. “You’ve got a really cute ki- kid, Mr. Kashihara.. He looks just like you.”
Akinari smiled politely. “Thank you, Sudou. People always tell me he looks more like his mother.. Sometimes I wonder…” An awkward laugh. Why was he laughing? Why would he say that? Jun’s face seemed to grow so hot it felt like it was burning. He felt sick. “Never mind..”
“Don’t worry Mr. Kashihara. I can sense the line of f- the line of fate..” Sudou began waving his hands grandly. “In- In fact! ‘He’ tells me that Jun has a vast and incredible potential- he contains a huge amount of ideal energy..!”
“Is that true..!?” There was this weird look of wonder on his Papa’s face. “Tatsuya, that’s incredible!”
It reminded him of the look he himself had worn when he was looking at the snow outside. It felt strange to see it mirrored back at himself, especially for reasons that were quickly spinning out of Jun’s grasp and made his stomach feel like it was tightening up. He could feel his own face twist into a scowl the longer he heard the other boy talk.
He couldn’t really follow what they were saying, not as Papa grabbed Sudou’s hands and began babbling back with more words and sentences that meant nothing to Jun at all. Neither of them looked down at him as they spoke.
“Papa?” He asked softly.
But Akinari didn’t hear his son over his own wild, exaggeratedly excited gesticulations, so Jun had to lean up and pull at his sleeve. “Papa? Is it okay if I go up to my room?”
“-And, that means- oh?” Akinari paused in his reverie to look at his son. “Ah, yes, of course.”
“You don’t need to ask for permission.. I mean, you don’t need to ask me for permission.. Actually, speaking of which, Jun...” He came to kneel down to Jun’s level. “If you could do a favor for Papa... I’d be awfully happy..”
Jun nodded.
“If your Mother asks about anything.. Could you tell her I was busy grading papers…?” He trailed off.
Jun nodded more firmly this time, and reached up to grab his father’s face in his cold little hands. He gave his Papa’s cheek a comforting pat.
“I’ll keep it a secret, Papa.”
“Thank you, Jun.. It means a lot to me.”
He turned to look at Sudou and forced a nasty, smug smile onto his face. Sudou, confused, returned the expression with an awkward looking grin.