Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Okay, first question.” Koyama narrowed his eyes at Karma who was slurping a strawberry milkshake he’d bought at the station into the city. “Why is he here?”

Karma shrugged. “Sadism.”

“What?!”

Gakushuu sighed, crossing his arms as the seven of them stood in the high street where rows of stores were packed with Christmas Shoppers. “I needed his know-how if I’m going to get the perfect gift for my father.”

“Uh, care to elaborate?” Araki looked confused.

Ren looked amused. “Asano wants to get the principal—”

“Ex-Principal,” Gakushuu corrected.

“—A gift that will piss him off,” Ren continued.

Karma grinned. “A sadism’s wet dream.”

“Ew.” Araki wrinkled his nose. “Please don’t ever say something like that again. “

Gakushuu sighed. “I need this gift to royally piss off my father, which is why I have enlisted the help of our dear class sadist to assist.”

“Can’t pass up an opportunity to piss the man off,” Karma commented, grinning.

Ren exchanged a look with the others and shrugged. “Fair point.”

“Okay, okay, I get that, but why is this guy here?” Koyama gestured to the short quiet boy standing next to Karma who was currently trying to retreat into his scarf like a turtle.

“That’s Kita.” Gakushuu looked annoyed. “He’s been in our class since middle school.”

“He has?” Ren stared at the boy in surprise.

“Ren, he sits right next to you.”

“Huh.” Ren shrugged. “Never noticed.” Gakushuu discreetly kicked him. “Uh! I mean. KITA! Of course!” Ren forced a laugh and placed a hand on the smaller boy’s shoulder. “Sorry, I was just joking!”

Kita kept his gaze law, shrinking in on himself. His mop of dark brown hair covering his gaze as his neck disappeared behind the over large green scarf. “…It’s okay.”

Karma rolled his eyes. “Don’t take it personally, Kita, Ren barely pays attention unless you’ve got tits.”

Seo burst out laughing while Ren frowned.

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow when he saw a shy smile tug onto the boy’s lips.

Karma pulled Kita away from Ren’s clutches. “’ Sides, me and Kita are gonna go check out a movie after this.”

“What are you going to go watch?” Araki asked.

Karma grinned. “This new superhero movie about this guy who’s basically a zombie!”

“…It’s a sequel,” Kita mumbled.

“Yeah, so we gotta hurry this up, you know? I’m in high demand.” He grinned toothily.

Gakushuu rolled his eyes. “I doubt it’ll take too long. I already have a few stores in mind.” He sighed. “Follow me, I noticed a rather ugly vase on the way here that may get his blood boiling.”

Karma scoffed. “Seriously, an ugly vase.” He sighed. “I thought you were serious about this.”

Gakushuu smirked. “You haven’t seen the vase.”

“Holy shit.” Koyama was gawking along with Araki. “What the fuck is that?!”

“Inside voices, gentlemen, please,” Gakushuu chided as the seven of them stared at the disgusting obtuse and badly coloured vase in the equally garish antique shop.

Ren squinted and then tilted his head slightly as if being half-blind would help. “Uh…are we sure it’s a vase?”

Karma slurped his milkshake loudly. “Kinda looks like a sex toy.”

“Karma!!” Araki hissed, blushing as he looked around to see if the partly blind and deaf old woman shopkeeper had noticed. “Don’t say that.”

“It does have weird angles,” Seo scratched his head. “And the colours are making my eyes hurt.”

The shade of red, green, and orange was a sight to behold.

“It kind of looks like a hallucination.” Ren winced, rubbing his eyes.

Gakushuu smirked at all their reaction. “It’s monstrous, isn’t it?” His smirk grew. “He’ll hate it.”

It would be a torture to look at!

“Yeah, but what if he just hides it away or accidentally smashes it?” Ren questioned.

Gakushuu shrugged. “He won’t hide it,” he said confidently. “He still feels guilty for hitting me last year.” He waved his hand dismissively when they frowned. “Along with his therapist making him feel guilty for the apparent ‘child abuse’ I suffered.”

“Uh, you might want to replace ‘apparent’ with ‘blatant’,” Araki suggested dryly.

He brushed it off. “Which means he won’t deny any gift I give him his year because he’s trying to ‘be a good father’.” Gakushuu chuckled darkly, earning a concerned look from Ren. “It’s almost sad really.”

“Uh…”

Seo exchanged a look with the others. “Okay then…so are we buying the vase or not?”

“It’s not disgusting enough,” Kita spoke up softly, nearly making Koyama jump.

Gakushuu looked over curiously. “You think so?” He rubbed his chin. “I thought it would look particularly horrible in his office at home.”

Kita’s gaze was almost dead as he shook his head. “He’ll get used to it.”

“True.” Karma hummed, scrutinising the vase. “He’ll just end up ignoring it after a few months, and most guests just ignore ugly vases and don’t say anything.”

“Hm. A fair point.”  Gakushuu considered it.

“What about a painting?” Koyama suggested. “They’re harder to ignore.”

Seo smirked. “Get a self-portrait of him”

Gakushuu snorted. “That could work…”

“I know a place which has some really ugly paintings we could get a commission done at,” Araki commented, looking amused.

“No way, you’re all thinking about it wrong,” Karma looked disappointed. “A painting’s barely going to be an inconvenience, you gotta pick something that’s gonna remind him every day.” He shrugged. “Like shoving wasabi up his nose.”

“I’d rather not be murdered,” Gakushuu replied dryly.

Kita mumbled something. “…Animals.”

“What?!” Gakushuu frowned looking over. “You’re mumbling, Kita.”

The boy grimaced and kept his gaze low. “…Does he hate animals?”

“Animals? Gakushuu rubbed his chin, thinking it over. “Well, he’s never been much of a fan.” His thoughts drifted back to his childhood. “He was particularly angry when he found out I was keeping a pet frog in my bedroom when I was nine.”

Seo burst out laughing. “What?”

“Why were you keeping a pet frog in your room?!” Araki questioned.

Gakushuu shrugged. “I wanted a pet.”

Karma raised an eyebrow. “What happened to the frog?”

Gakushuu’s stomach twisted when he shrugged again. “He tossed it out of the window.”

Seo stopped laughing when the mood instantly soured. “Oh…”

Ren sighed, smiling a little too forced when he patted Gakushuu on the shoulder. “Well if he tries to toss this one out he’ll have to deal with us.”

“And the animal rescue service,” Araki supplied. “Animal abuse is a crime after all, even if the police don’t always take it seriously.”

“And you already won the last lawsuit you filed against him.” Seo looked amused, nudging him.

Gakushuu smirked, recalling the look on his father’s face in the courtroom. “Yes, that was a good day wasn’t it?” He hummed, considering the thought of a pet. “I suppose having a pet around the house would torment him for the next few years until I move out.” His smirk grew at the thought of it. “He does hate a lack of control.”

Araki chuckled. “Then a cat or dog would be perfect, they get in the way of everything.”

“And, shit everywhere.” Seo look excited. “And they’re noisy—it’ll be a nightmare!”

Karma’s grin grew. “Now you’re thinking right,” he said, eyes glinting. “Right, if we’re gonna find one we need the ugliest one they have—that’ll piss him off more.”

Gakushuu nodded, his smile nearly becoming a grin. “Agreed.”

“I bet the animal shelter has loads of ugly pets,” Seo commented, smirking.

Karma rolled his eyes. “Yeah, we can dump you there when we go.”

“Hey!” Seo’s face turned a blotchy red colour when the others laughed and Kita smiled. “Shut up!”

“Well, this is disappointing,” Gakushuu and when he saw what the animal shelter had to offer.

All the animals, even the older ones, were adorable. Disgustingly wholesomely cute.

“Maybe all the ugly ones are in the back?” Ren suggested.

“Or dead,” Kita mumbled.

“Try not to be morbid, Kita.” Araki patted him on the back.

Gakushuu hummed, scrutinising the row of cages, the shelter was big and hardly full of that many people with the place being understaffed.

“They’re so cute!” Araki gushed over a bunch of grey kittens in one of the cages. “Are you sure it has to be ugly?!”

Gakushuu rolled his eyes and went to inspect a shaggy looking dog. “Yes, it needs to be an eye-sore.” He considered the dog since the amount of hair it had made it an unseemly appearance that would aggravate his father daily. “Dogs would be too high maintenance,” he decided, weighing up how much time it would take to walk the dog every day. “And they’re too friendly.”

Koyama scoffed. “My uncle’s dog is a little shit.”

“What about a cat then?” Karma suggested, grinning when he poked his finger in the cage and a skinny looking ginger cat tried to claw him. “They seem fun.”

“They can be annoying.” Araki looked amused. “Mine is always asking for attention and climbing on my laptop.”

Gakushuu smiled in amusement when he imagined his father being daily interrupted by a bothersome feline. “That does sound appealing.” He went to go look at the cats further down. “Now we just have to find the right one. Start looking.”

“Right!” the other four said while Karma was poking his hand in the cages.  

Kita pulled Karma’s hand from the cage when one of the cats tried to bite him. “You’ll annoy them.”

Karma grinned. “But that makes it fun.”

The smaller boy sighed and didn’t try to stop him a second time, following the other four to find a cat.

“Stop sticking your hand in there,” Gakushuu looked annoyed when Karma kept doing it even when the others ventured off.

Karma glanced up and smiled sweetly. “What? You wanted to get a mean cat.”

Gakushuu rolled his eyes and kept scrutinising the cats. “If we can’t find one here there are other shelters.”

“We can get one off the street,” Karma suggested, smirking.

Gakushuu shot him an annoyed look. “I’m not infesting my house with fleas.”

Karma just looked amused like the whole thing was an inside joke he wasn’t privy too. “Suit yourself.” He shrugged and looked over at Koyama when the boy screamed shrilly when a cat clawed at him. “But if you’re going to all this trouble to get him a gift, what’s he getting you?”

Gakushuu shrugged, gripping the bar of the cage tight when he stared at a lumpy looking tabby cat inside. “I don’t know—his usual gifts range from money to a lecture on my failings.”

Karma hummed, glancing at him. “Sounds fun.”

“Yes, well.” He frowned, growing uncomfortable. “It’s not like we even celebrate Christmas properly. It’s a purely capitalist affair.”  He sighed, remembering the Christmas previous, it had been uneventful and quiet but somewhat peaceful since his father seemed to have mellowed slightly after his failure in the final third-year exams. “Though, this year he seems to want things to be different.”

A quiet settled for a bit while the animals mad noises and scratched at the bars. Karma glanced at him again before shrugging. “…Well, if you want to borrow my spices.”

Gakushuu rolled his eyes again. “No.”

Karma smiled crookedly. “Suit yourself.”

“AH!!!”

Gakushuu and Karma both exchanged a look before he sighed and looked over to the source of the noise.

“HELP!” That was Araki.

“What did they do now?” Gakushuu sighed and walked over to the next row of cages where the others had gathered.

Araki was screaming, his arm locked in the cage while Ren, Seo, and Koyama were flailing around uselessly, while Kita watched them with mild surprise.

“Huh.” Karma commented as they watched.

“I’m so sorry!” Two volunteers rushed over. “Please stay still!”

Gakushuu walked over to Ren. “What happened?”

Ren smiled anxiously while Araki was being free as the cage was opened. “Uh, he just tried to stroke the cat.”

“It did hiss at him a few times,” Kita commented, shrugging. “That was probably a warning.”

“We’re so sorry about this!” One of the volunteers, a tall woman in a bright yellow t-shirt. “She’s just come in!”

Araki whined when the skinny looking cat was removed from his arm; his green sweatshirt torn to pieces.

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow and looked at the attacker, his eyes widening when he saw the cat the short male volunteer was holding at arm's length.

It was the ugliest cat he’d seen in his life.

It was completely hairless, a pale patchy pink, that was wrinkled and had a number of faded scars around the body; it reminded him of a hairless rat or some kind of gremlin since its ears were large and it was missing an eye.

“So sorry!” The male volunteer looked close to tears. “She’s just nervous around people!”

“THEN WHY HAVE HER OUT IN PUBLIC!?” Araki raged.

Gakushuu sighed, stepping in. “Calm down, Araki, there’s no harm done.”

Araki looked outraged, holding up his torn up sleeve. “YES, THERE IS!”

Gakushuu smiled politely at the nervous volunteers before eyeing the cat and stepping closer. The cat glared at him with one single bright blue eye; judging by the bandage it seemed to have lost its eye recently. “What breed is it?”

“O-oh, it’s a sphinx!” The woman said quickly. “They’re normally a friendly breed.” She smiled nervously. “But she’s been on the streets for a while since her owner died, or at least that’s what we gathered when we traced her chip anyway.”

“I see…” Gakushuu’s smile grew when he imagined the creature causing pure havoc and tearing apart all the furniture in his dad’s office. “I’ll take her!”

“Wait, what?!” The volunteers did a double-take.

“What?!” Araki, Ren, Koyama, and Ren looked at him in alarm.

“Seriously?” Karma raised an eyebrow, amused.

Gakushuu smiled at them pleasantly. “Of course, she’s perfect.”

“…She is?” The male volunteer looked confused.

“Yes. Now how soon can the paperwork be processed?” Gakushuu asked swiftly. “Also are you able to hold her for a few days nearer to Christmas?” He grinned. “I want it to be a surprise.”

“Uh, well, yes there’s just the paperwork,” the woman replied, frowning. “But we can only hold her for three days—we have a lot of animals to house and we need the cages, especially with Christmas.”

Gakushuu’s smile wavered. “Understandable.” He shot a smile at the others. “I’m sure my friends can help with housing arrangements.”

“W-wait what?!” Seo stammered.

“No way!” Araki yelled, looking terrified. “I’m not letting that thing anywhere near my house! I have a cat too you know!”

“My parents aren’t gonna let me have it in the house!” Koyama whined.

Gakushuu sighed. “It’s a cat, not a gremlin.”

“You wanna bet!” Seo objected, making a fuss.

“My grandparents will notice, so I can’t,” Kita spoke up, staring at the cat curiously.

Gakushuu shot them an annoyed look before looking at Karma who shrugged.

“I can take her up until the 23^rd. My parents are back home after that,” Karma replied.

Irritating but it seemed like the best option for now.

“Good.” Gakushuu smiled politely at the staff. “Then let’s get the paperwork signed.”

Gakushuu tried to keep the smile off his face when he got home in the evening, but it was difficult not to grin when he imagined how horrified his father would be when he saw the cat.

It would be beautiful!

His smile wavered when he smelt gingerbread when he entered the house. “…Erina?” he called the maid, frowning when he glanced at the time; Erina always finished her shift at 5pm and earlier on weekends, and it was already past six in the evening.

Gakushuu ventured to the kitchen where the source of the scent was, and then did a complete doubletake in horror when he saw his father in a blue apron decorating gingerbread men. Shirt sleeves rolled  up in a disgustingly casual fashion and no tie in sight.

He choked out in horror, stumbling back like the whole thing was some messed up lucid dream. “What the hell are you doing!?”

His father—or impersonator—looked over in surprise. “Oh, I thought you were coming back late?” He dusted flour off his apron and smiled sheepishly, walking over. “Do you want to help me decorate the cook—”

“Don’t come any closer!” Gakushuu grabbed the blender off the counter and brandished it threateningly. “Why the hell are you decorating gingerbread men, have you lost your mind?!”

His father paused and frowned faintly. “…I thought you liked gingerbread?”

He did. It was delicious, but that was beside the point!!

“Since when did you bake cookies like some 1950’s housewife?!” Gakushuu snapped. “And where did that apron come from?!”

Erina always wore green, beige, or pink apron when working. She hated the colour blue!

His father’s frown deepened before he sighed. “I just thought it would be…nice…” He glanced at the biscuits. “If you don’t want them I can throw them away…”

Gakushuu paused, eyeing him warily and then the gingerbread men which smelt amazing. “…Why on earth would you waste food like that? There are starving people on the streets, you know?” He scoffed, slowly lowering the blender while h scrutinised his father. “Since when did you know how to bake anyway?”

His father raised an eyebrow. “It’s hardly difficult. The recipe is very simple.” He frowned. “I was going to try to make some Wagashi afterwards if you wanted to help…”

Gakushuu hummed, gradually putting the blender back on the counter. “…I think I’ll pass. It already sounds like a disaster.”

If his father was hurt, he didn’t let it show and just shrugged. “That’s fine.” He turned back to decorating the gingerbread men with the green icing. “Dr Honda did recommend baking together would be an ideal activity around the holidays.”

“Yeah, if I was five.” Gakushuu narrowed his eyes, hesitantly moving closer to observe. “Your decorating skills are still mediocre.”

His father shot him an annoyed look. “As if you could do better.”

Gakushuu wrinkled his nose. “I can actually.” He grabbed the blue icing tube on the counter and started going over his father’s design. “You need to round off the edges—Ren’s stepmother showed me.”

His father hummed, watching. “She must be quite an expert.”

“She’s a professional Cakemaker for rich idiots, so yes, she is,” Gakushuu replied dismissively, focusing on his task so it would be perfect. “She takes the holidays very seriously.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw his father smile faintly. “As she should.” He placed a hand on Gakushuu’s head, causing him to frown. “You do seem quite good at it.”

Gakushuu narrowed his eyes suspiciously when he heard the praise. “Yes, well. As I said, you are mediocre. If you’re looking to be a professional baker as a new job, then you’ll be a disappointment.”

To his frustration, his father chuckled and gently patted his head. “A fair observation.”

Gakushuu discreetly rolled his eyes and moved onto the next cookie. “Considering there’s just the two of us, I don’t know who you think if going to eat all this dessert you want to make.”

“You can give some to your friends?” His father proposed.

Gakushuu gave him an unimpressed look. “They’d probably shit their pants in horror.”

“…Why?” his father replied obliviously, removing the hand from his head.

Gakushuu sighed, rolling his eyes. “I can’t believe you’re actually taking this Christmas thing seriously. Should I expect a surprise birthday party on January 1^st?”

His father was quiet for a moment. “…Would you like one?”

Gakushuu started to grow irritated. “Ren already has something planned. Like he always does.”

“Oh…” His father remarked, looking away for a bit. “Yes, I know he normally does plan something…” He smiled somewhat unsurely. “Still, it could be nice if we did something…Gakushuu?”

He tensed, growing still when his father addressed him familiarly. He grew uncomfortable but tried not to let it show. “Are you double-checking if that’s my name or addressing me?”

His father looked nervous. “I…if you’d prefer I didn’t—”

“It’s fine,” he replied, wanting the subject dropped. “It’s not like you’re the Principal anymore anyway…”

“…Yes, I suppose not.” His voice was quiet.

Gakushuu hummed, decorating the rest of the biscuits in silence while his father stood and observed him; did the man not realise he was clearly capable enough to decorate without being watched!?

He felt a blurred memory resurface of being four years old and clumsily drawing faces on a pair of gingerbread men while his father stood behind him and helped guide his hand so he didn’t smother the biscuits in icing.

Something painful and warm stirred in his chest at that, growing uncomfortable when he realised the memory would be clearer in his father’s mind. He supposed he should appreciate that the man was trying but…

His mind couldn’t help but wonder to the decade long amount of Christmases where the most his father had done was give him money and told him to spend the time studying while the rest of his friends had been playing. The house devoid of any decorations.

Gakushuu felt his stomach twist at that, growing closed off as he finished decorating all of the cookies. “There.” He placed the icing down.

His father smiled, patting his shoulder. “Do you want to try one, I can make us some coffee?”

Gakushuu shifted uneasily, shrugging. “I’m not hungry, I ate a lot while I was out,” he replied and then felt a spark of guilt when his father’s smile dimmed. “I’ll eat some tomorrow.”

“Oh…yes.” His father’s smile tightened. “Of course.” He patted him on the back as Gakushuu moved away. “I’ll start making the Wagashi, so just come down if you want to help!”

Gakushuu hummed, walking out of the kitchen and heading upstairs.

“Oh, hey.” Karma opened the front door and nearly made Gakushuu baulk with the faded scratched on his face.

Gakushuu’s eyes widened, surveying him curiously. “…I assume the cat is well?”

Karma shrugged, letting him in the house. “Yeah, she’s fine.” He smirked. “She’s fun.”

Gakushuu sighed, removing his shoes.  “So you’re a sadist and a masochist?”

Karma looked amused, closing the door. “Hey, just wait until you get her home.”

Gakushuu hummed. “Well, I intend to take safety precautions.” He already had a full ‘cat handling’ kit tucked away in his bedroom when handling the beast.

“Yeah, it’s not gonna work.” Karma raised an eyebrow, tossing the keys into a ceramic bowl by the door.

Gakushuu ignored him and looked around the house, it was a lot nicer than expected; everything was a modern sleek white and silver. Granted he knew the Akabane’s were wealthy due to being financial brokers, but he hadn’t expected the house to be so tidy, especially with the demon feline occupying the property.  “She hasn’t caused any mess?”

“She scratched up my bed but I just got her a scratching post,” Karma replied, leading him upstairs. “She uses the litter a lot.”

Gakushuu nodded. “I’ll reimburse you for the expense.”

“Yeah, I kept the receipts and added interest,” Karma said casually as they walked down the hallway, passed a row of photos documenting the Akabane couple’s travels.

“What interest?” Gakushuu narrowed his eyes.

Karma smiled crookedly. “Cat sitting isn’t cheap, Asano.” His smile grew. “Especially since I’m keeping quiet about it.”

Gakushuu glared at him, causing his smile to grow devious. “…Fine. I’ll transfer the money.”

“Aw, so considerate.” Karma opened the bedroom door to reveal a room covered to the brim with posters, racks of spices, and superhero memorabilia. There was a cat litter near the corner of the room next to a scratching post and bowl of food.

Gakushuu frowned when he couldn’t see the cat. “Where is she?”

“Probably under the bed.” Karma shut the door and walked over to the unmade bed. “She hides there a lot.”

Gakushuu hummed, walking over to sit on the bed while Karma tried to coax the cat out.

“Hey, Mrs Puffbottom!” Karma called the cats original name. “Come on!”

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow. “Why on earth would someone call their cat that?”

Karma shrugged, reaching an arm under the bed. “They said the owner was an old lady.” He frowned, the cat hissing when he seemed to get a hold of it. “They’re always naming stuff weird cutesy names—There you are!”

The can hissed when Karma dragged it out by the hem of its ugly green sweater and grinned.

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow. “Why is she wearing a sweater?” he frowned. “And why does she have an eyepatch?”

The green sweater made the cat look uglier and the black eyepatch just looked ridiculous.

Karma’s grin was proud, holding the cat while it tried to bite him. “You’re meant to give them jumpers because they’re hairless—look it up.”

Gakushuu hid his amusement. “And the eye patch?”

Karma shrugged. “She’s already lost an eye. Might as well make her look cool.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “Fine.”

“What are you going to call her anyway?” Karma asked.

Gakushuu rubbed his chin. “I was trying to think of a name which would annoy my father daily.”

“The Principal?”

“I considered it but no…”

Karma seemed to think about it for a bit. “My mom hates the word moist. So if I had a pet I’d call it that.”

He nearly laughed. “He would find it annoying…but he doesn’t have any particular words he hates.”

“Well, what about words he uses a lot?” Karma asked, trying to hold onto the cat.

“…Well, he talks about education a lot.” Gakushuu shrugged. “It’s a bit of a mouthful.”

“Yeah, but imagine how much it’ll piss him off?” Karma’s eyes glinted.

The corner of Gakushuu’s lip curved upwards. “True…” He looked at the cat curiously while it tried to wriggle out of Karma’s arms. “How do we calm her down?”

“I don’t know. Catnip?” Karma shrugged, keeping a hold of her. “She’s just stressed.”

Gakushuu hummed, starting to grow unsure the more he considered the responsibility of a pet. The cat was already traumatised enough, it didn’t need his family making things worse.

“What’s with the look?” Karma arched an eyebrow.

Gakushuu scowled. “What look?”

“Are you having second thoughts?” Karma started to look annoyed. “I’m not keeping your cat—if you’re gonna traumatise your dad, you’re got to see it through.”

“I wasn’t having second thoughts,” he replied impatiently, frowning. “I’m just thinking about the cat.”

 “You’re just overthinking it.” Karma sighed, making him stiffen when he dumped the cat on the bed. Tossing him some cat treats. “You  worried about your dad tossing her out of a window?”

Gakushuu held back a winced, when the memory came back; he had cried a lot after the frog had been tossed, even though his father had scolded him and told him it was just a useless creature. “…No.”

The red-head sighed, giving the cat a treat from his pocket which she hungrily ate up. “You said your dad was trying to be less of an asshole, right? He’s not gonna be stupid enough to hurt the cat.”

Gakushuu frowned faintly. “He can be impulsive when emotional.”

“Yeah, I figured when he tried to destroy the Old Campus building with 3-E inside,” Karma replied dryly, causing Gakushuu to grimace. “It’s not like you’re a little kid anymore.” He looked at the cat. “If he tries to hurt her, just stop him, or kick him in the balls, whatever works.”

Gakushuu snorted at the thought of that. “I assume that’s your go to solution for everything?”

Karma grinned, stroking the cat. “And it works like a charm.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “I fully intend to keep her safe.” He gently stroked the cat while it regarded him warily—she didn’t look as ugly as she was regarding him with a soft look, closing her one eye contently as she nuzzled against his hand. “I’m just practising caution.”

Karma looked unconvinced. “Right, whatever. How are you gonna sneak her in anyway?”

“My father is out until 4pm, so I already turned off the cameras near the back.” He looked around the room. “Did you buy the cat carrier I asked for?”

“Nah, I forgot.” Karma shrugged, scratching the cat behind the ears.

Gakushuu shot him an irritated look. “I specifically told you to have it ready!”

Karma gave another infuriating shrug. “Just slipped my mind.”

Bullshit!

Gakushuu took a deep breath to stay calm. “Then how do you expect me to transport her?”

“Use your arms,” Karma replied with a smile.

Gakushuu held back a growl, eye twitching. “Just…just help me gather her things before I kill you.”

Karma chuckled. “Aw, like you’d get anywhere close.”

Gakuhou glanced at his son curiously when he saw how fidgety the boy was being during dinner. It wasn’t obvious at first, but throughout the meal, Gakushuu kept tapping his finger absently and glancing to different directions. He was also eating is food rather quickly like he was in a hurry to leave; which wasn’t that unusual but still…

“..,I was thinking we could decorate the tree tomorrow?”

His son glanced up. “What?”

Gakuhou frowned, staring at him curiously for a moment. “The tree…I had Erina pick a small one up yesterday. It just needs decorating.” He tried to force a smile. “I hear it’s traditional in some cultures to decorate the tree on Christmas eve.” His son didn’t seem enthusiastic, but that was expected. “It could be enjoyable…” He tapped his fingers on the table. “…You enjoyed decorating when you were younger.”

He almost winced when Gakushuu’s look grew cold. “Well, I was four. A lot’s changed since then.”

“Yes, I suppose so…” Gakuhou tried not to sigh, having no idea what he was doing. Maybe he should have just skipped the holidays and had Gakushuu spend it with that Sakikabara boy…then maybe his son might actually look like he was enjoying himself. “…It was just a thought…”

A stupid one obviously, he scolded himself.

Then a thud from upstairs made him paused, it sounded like something had been knocked over like a lamp or some books—

“I don’t mind decorating a tree,” his son interjected suddenly, regaining his attention. “I was just surprised you’d propose it.” Gakushuu shrugged, poking at his food. “I thought you considered those things a waste of time.”

Gakushou sighed. “Yes, I know…” It was true he had said that on many occasions when Gakushuu was younger and had asked why they didn’t have a Christmas tree in the house like on TV or how the whole city was decorated in lights.“But that was then.” This year was going to be different.

Even if the holiday was majorily western and religious, he could appreciate the sentimentality of it, and children enjoyed it. He'd even gone out and gotten Gakushuu a real gift, which he did hope he'd like...

His son still regarded him warily, guard raised up and distrusting, just as he’d groomed him to be. “Okay…”

He smiled, returning to his meal. “I’ll bring up the decorations so they’ll be ready for tomorrow.”

Gakushuu nodded, watching him curiously. “Alright then.”

Gakuhou’s smile grew fonder until he heard another noise from upstairs. “What is—”

“I think I left some books stacked too high in my room,” his son interjected. “I was trying to tidy up.” He stood up. “I’ll go fix it before anything else falls over.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I see.” The story itself sounded strange but not completely unbelievable. “It’s fine, it can wait. You need to finish your dinner before it gets cold.”

“No, I’ll fix it now.” Gakushuu ignored his instruction and left the table.

His brow furrowed in annoyance. “Your dinner—”

“I’ll only be five minutes!” Gakushuu left the room.

Gakuhou felt his irritation threaten to turn to anger at the rude exit. His son knew better than to just leave the table without permission. But he quickly tried to calm down, remembering Dr Honda’s words that he couldn’t be overcontrolling and needed to respect his son’s privacy and choices—

There was another noise from upstairs.

For goodness sake!

He put his cutlery down and stood up, going upstairs to find his son. “Honestly, what’s gotten into that boy?” He knocked on the door. “Son? Come back downstairs. We haven’t finished dinner.”

“Just a minute!” Gakushuu sounded unusually uncomposed.

To his alarm, there was a strange hissing and screeching noise from inside, followed by more things getting knocked over.

To damn with privacy!

He quickly opened the door to find his son half under the bed. “What are you doing?!”

His son winced when he bumped his head coming out from under the bed too quickly. “I…”

Gakuhou looked around the room in shock when he saw the books and objects were scattered everywhere with some of the practice test papers torn up.

Just what the hell was going on?! Had his son lost his mind? Why had the boy practically half-destroyed his room?

“Gakushuu!” He snapped, feeling guilty when his son flinched and raised his hand a fraction to his face. “What is going on?”

His son grimaced, grabbing onto the bed to stand. “Nothing, I was…I was…”

Gakuhou sighed, feeling his temper waver when his son was stammering like when he had as a child when he’d gotten himself caught in trouble. “I’m sorry,” he apologised, walking over to him. “I just want to know what—”

Something lurched out from under the bed when he got close to his son. It looked like a hairless rodent and attacked his leg in a frenzy of hisses.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Gakuhou stumbled back onto the floor and tried to kick the thing off his legs as it dug its claws in.

“Don’t hurt her!” Gakushuu snapped like the creature was the one being attacked.

“GET IT OFF!” He tried to yank the thing off his legs when it dug its claws in harder and hissed like a demonic creature.

His son was yelling something at him but he wasn’t listening as the one-eyed giant rodent bit down on his hand when he tried to grab her.

“Ah!” He gritted his teeth and raised his foot to kick it off—

From the corner of his eye, Gakushuu grabbed a heavy textbook and whacked it over his head before he could blink, knocking him out cold.

Gakushuu was breathing heavily as he held up the heavy textbook and stared down at his unconscious father while the cat removed itself from his father and nuzzled his leg affectionately.

“Shit,” he swore, for a brief second wondering if he’d killed the man. “Fuck.” He quickly checked his father was breathing while the cat went to eat some food from the bowl stuffed under the bed. “Damn…” he muttered when he grew relieved his father was alive. “Shit.”

This wasn’t quite the way he’d wanted to spring the surprise.

Gakushuu slumped against the side of the bed while his father was on the floor unconscious.

“You couldn’t stay hidden for 24 hours could you?” He glared at the cat as it climbed onto his lap, wanting affection. “I wanted him horrified, not murderous.”

The cat meowed and nuzzled her head against his chest. Oblivious to the mess she’d caused.

He sighed, trying to think of how to fix things.  

Chapter Text

Gakushuu scowled as he dragged his father’s unconscious body down the hallway and to the bedroom while the cat followed close behind.

“Stop getting in the way.” He chided when he kept nearly tripping over the four-legged creature which had caused this mess.

He hauled his dad on the double bed and tried his best to tuck him underneath the covers so he’d at least be comfortable and hopefully wake up in a non-murderous mood.

The cat jumped on the bed and promptly sat on his father’s face.

“Hey!” Gakushuu picked up the cat who made a protesting noise. “Stop that.” He stuffed the creature under his arm and turned off the light on the way out. “The more annoying you are, the less charming it is.”

The cat just meowed and tried to wriggle free as they went downstairs.

If his father wanted a healthy family Christmas then fine, it was a challenge Gakushuu could rise to.

He went searching for more decorations in the basement below the garage, it was a small space full of cobwebs but it had old boxes of decorations they’d never thrown out.

Gakushuu grimaced when he climbed down the short ladder while the cat perched on the edge of the entrance and watched him from above curiously.

The box of decorations was covered in spiders which he brushed away with an old feather duster which was matted.

“At least it looks salvageable,” he muttered, opening up the box. The cat meowed rom above while he grabbed the box and headed back above ground. “Even if it’s probably infested with spiders.”

He dumped the contents on the ground so he could sort through it, causing the cat to meow again and start playing happily with the tinsel.

Gakushuu smiled slightly and pulled the tinsel around so she’d chase it around. “If you’re going to make a habit of attacking my father, I’d rather you do it on my command.” He tossed the tinsel on the floor for her to me with and then finished sorting through the decoration, dusting off ay webs he found.

Some things would need to be thrown away since some paper decorations were mouldy. He paused when he picked up a handmade plastic globe bauble with a drawing he’d done of a snow man, the globe full of glitter and tied at the top with a blue ribbon.

Gakushuu sat down on the step near the door and stared at it while the cat got tangled in the tinsel. There were old memories of lighting candles and reading Christmas stories before bed, and eating gingerbread biscuits until his face was covered in icing. It was like looking back at a different life.

He supposed his father was trying his best, even if it was ten years too late….

Gakuhou groaned into his pillow, clutching his head when it stinged.

Why was his head hurting again?

He scowled and sat up, looking around his bedroom, the only light coming from the hallway which leaked through the ajar doorway.

He winced when he moved his leg, the memories coming back quickly wen he remembered being assaulted by some savage hairless creature which looked like a gremlin. He rubbed his eyes and frowned when he got off the bed, heading towards his son room to find out what was going on.

His son’s room was meticulously tidy and orderly when he looked inside, causing him to grow more suspicious. “Gakushuu?” he called, walking down the hallway to the stairs. “Gakushuu?”

“…I’m in the living room.” His son sounded hesitant, making him frown as he went downstairs.

Gakuhou sighed, keeping calm as he walked into the living room. He was sure his son had a perfectly sensible reason for everything that had transpired. “Listen, son, I—”

He froze when he saw the living room was decorated head to toe in Christmas decorations, while a one-eyed creature in an even uglier green sweater was playing with a Christmas bauble by the fireplace. Gakushuu was busy setting up the medium sized tree in the corner, decorations half opened.

“Hey…” His son put the box of tinsel down while the creature sped past chasing the silver decorative ball. “You said you wanted to decorate the tree, so I did the rest of the decorations as well.” He looked at the clock which indicated it was just passed midnight.  “It’s practically Christmas eve anyway…”

Gakuhou opened and then closed his mouth, trying to process what was happening, and then deciding to focus on the demon creature in their home. “What is that?”

His son seemed to relax, picking up the ugly animal. “It’s a cat.”

“No, it’s not.” That thing barely qualified as a mutated rat! “It’s disgusting.”

Who in their right mind would make a cat that ugly?! And why was it hairless? Why was it wearing an ugly sweater?! WHY DID IT HAVE AN EYE PATCH?!

The hairless thing made a low meow, clinging onto his son while he glared at him.

Gakushuu gave a taunting smile. “That’s not a nice way to talk to your present.” He held up the supposed cat. “Especially after all the effort I made.”

“That isn’t a cat,” Gakuhou said firmly, narrowing his eyes as he approached his son. “And regardless if it was, why on Earth would I want one!?”

His son shrugged, smiling sweetly. “I thought it would be a nice surprise.”

What a little shit.

He sighed, knowing how his son could be. “Get rid of it.”

“No.” Gakushuu glared at him, holding the creature protectively. “It’s an animal, you can’t just return it like bath salts.”

“I don’t care—”

“I’m not sending her back,” his son said firmly. “They’ll kill her if she doesn’t get adopted in time.”

Good, he was tempted to say but held back.

Instead, he took a deep breath and counted to ten under his breath, trying to remember Dr Honda’s words on non-traumatising parenting. He just needed to be rational.

“Son…” He began levelly. “I think—”

A timer went off in the kitchen. “Oh, the gingerbread’s ready.” Gakushuu went into the kitchen with the cat. “I baked the pieces so we could make a gingerbread house in the morning.”

“…What?” Gakuhou rubbed his head, following after his son.

Gakushuu put the cat down and washed his hands before using oven gloves to take out a tray of gingerbread house piece. “I thought it would go with the gingerbread men you made, and it’ll make a good decoration or centre piece.”

He stared at his son in surprise, and then scowled and moved away when the ugly cat sniffed around his leg. “Gakushuu—”

“You’re the one who wanted things to be different this year.” Gakushuu dumped the oven gloves on the counter and headed back to the living room where the decorations were. “What’s wrong with being spontaneous? Besides, I went to all the trouble of digging out the old decorations.” He tossed him a hand crafted globe bauble. “I’ve been very considerate this year when you think about it.”

Gakuhou’s eye twitched, grimacing briefly until he recognised the crafted Christmas bauble was the one his son had made when he was three during one of the cram school sessions; the older students had helped him do arts and crafts as it was their last lesson before the winter break. He gripped the decoration tight when the memories started to hurt,

He sighed, scowling when he saw Gakushuu bend down and hover some stray tinsel over the four-legged creature’s nose, playing with it. How could his son even stand to look at the thing?! It had wrinkles and it looked bony and freakish. It shouldn’t even qualify as a pet!

And yet it…it made his son smile.

He stared in amazement when Gakushuu was smiling happily, rubbing the creature’s belly and playing with it contently. He hadn’t seen his son that unguarded or happy in years…

Gakuhou was silent as he watched the two of them interact a while longer as the cat gently chewed his son’s hand when Gakushuu pulled the animal into his arms.

…Gakushuu would probably get bored of the creature eventually, then they could just give it away or sell it. He supposed the cat didn’t deserve to be abandoned of left to die if it made his son smile like that.

“…I’m not feeding it,” he said sternly.

His son smirked and stood up, holding the cat like a baby while it swiped at his jaw. “That’s fine, she’ll just eat your food when you’re not looking.”

Gakuhou grimaced. “And I won’t tolerate any further attacks.”

His son shrugged. “Then don’t yell or be threatening.”

He scowled. “I wasn’t!” Or at least he hadn’t meant to be…he remembered his son’s flinch and felt a spark of guilt again. “Just keep it away from me.”

Gakushuu shrugged, smirking still. “Why, are you scared?”

Gakuhou sighed, running a hand down his face, wondering if this was his penance to be cursed with a little shit of a teenager for the next two and a half years, and now a mutated cat to just add to his suffering.

“Just…just go to bed,” he told him, feeling exhausted. “We can finish decorating tomorrow.”

His son still looked smug. “I need to cover the gingerbread first.”

Gakuhou scowled when the cat was put down when his son went back into the kitchen. The creature stared at him, earning a glare in response as it moved towards him. He was tempted to kick it but that would just cause more issues, so he moved as far away from it as possible.

Gakushuu was honestly surprised how well his father was tolerating the whole thing. Even if he was glaring at the animal throughout the whole time they were sat at the kitchen table meticulously making a gingerbread house.

“We need more icing,” he said when the tube of it ran out as he was constructing the roof, the main base of the house was more or less done besides the doorway and windows.

“I already left some in the fridge,” his father replied, dusting some icing sugar off his jumper sleeve.

Gakushuu went up to go get it and smirked when the cat hopped onto his chair while his father was’t looking. “When are we having dinner anyway?”

His father sighed. “I already prepared the chicken—get off!” He tried to shove the cat off when it hopped on the table and tried to lick the icing.

Gakushuu grinned and quickly scooped the cat up. “That’s no way to treat your precious gift.”

His father glared at him. “That thing is not a gift.”

He sighed, sitting back down while he dumped the bowl of icing on the table. “Good parents accept their child’s gifts, even if they don’t like them.”

His father scoffed. “Not when it attacks them.” He sighed. “What is it even called anyway?”

Gakushuu smiled sweetly. “Education.”

His father stared at him for a long moment. “…What?”

His smile widened. “Well, you love education so much, I think it fits.”

“That’s not a name,” the man replied testily.

“Fine, Ms Education then,” Gakushuu replied dismissively, stroking the cat when she settled on his lap and started to purr.

His father sighed and buried his face in his hand. “This is insane.”

Gakushuu shrugged. “We could call her Ms Eddie for short?”

His father made a despairing noise. “Stop…”

He was amazing at how well this was working. “Why, what’s wrong?”

His father glared at him and went back to icing the roof of the small house. “You’ve been spending too much time with Akabane.”

That was probably true, but tormenting his father would never not be amusing. “Tormenting you has always been a hobby.” He smirked while he stroked the cat.  “And since I have no intentions of becoming a corporate slave you can expect you’ll soon be forced to carry my slippers and do my bidding in a few years.”

“Doubtful,” his father replied dryly. “Your fantasies are as childish as ever.”

Gakushuu hummed, still feeling smug. “A consequence of bad parenting.”

His father sighed, shaking his head as he attached the roof on the gingerbread house. “What time do you want dinner?”

He shrugged, sticking some sweets onto the iced roof. “Whenever.”

“That isn’t a set time.”

“Yes, well, considering you’ll be the one cooking I don’t want to get my hopes up,” Gakushuu replied.

His father looked annoyed. “I’m perfectly capable of cooking.”

“You won’t be as good as Erina.” He replied firmly.

His father took a deep breath, barely holding back his irritation. “I’m sure it’ll be nice enough.” He looked smug. “I happen to be a qualified  vegetable sommelier.”

“That’s not a real qualification.”

“Yes, it is!” His father looked offended.

He shrugged. “You made it up.”

“No, I didn’t,” his father insisted. “I took a three day holiday to study it.”

Gakushuu rolled his eyes while the cat jumped off his lap and headed out of the kitchen. “And why would you do that?”

“Because your mother was a vegetarian,” he replied impatiently, and then tensed. “Uh…well…”

Gakushuu felt his stomach twist at the mention of the woman, but he tried to brush it off. “…Just another reason to dislike her character then.”

His father looked like he was grimacing, not meeting his eye.

He didn’t understand why his father was so uncomfortable, it wasn’t like the woman was dead. She’d just left him high and dry with a newborn baby after an immature and doomed puppy dog romance while in their 20’s.

Not that he blamed her since she was in her early 20’s and clearly had high ambitions. So good for her checking out early. If Gakushuu didn’t care, then why should his father?

Still…his father seemed very subdued now. He supposed being rejected and played like a fiddle in his younger years would have left a scar.

Gakushuu tried to lighten the atmosphere. “If you ask me, the qualification is about as valid as you being a colour coordinator.”

His father’s eyes narrowed, breaking him out of his brooding. “You know for a fact my colour coordination is outstanding.” He gestured to the kitchen. “This kitchen itself is professional.”

Gakushuu snorted, looking around the kitchen where the colour theme was light brown, white, and grey. A contemporary’s dream. “You haven’t done a repaint of the house in ten years.”

His father paused, seeming to consider this. “…I suppose it is due for an upgrade.”

“Says the man who wears the same style for a decade,” Gakushuu muttered, rolling his eyes while his father was deep in thought.

“We could pick out kitchen designs together in the new year,” his father proposed, looking pleased.

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow, and sighed, feeling in a charitable mood. “…Fine.”

His father smiled, making him frown. “Let’s finish this so we can start preparing everything for dinner later—”

There was a crash from the living room, the sound of baubles hitting the floor.

Gakushuu looked amused when his father sighed in despair. “Oops. Guess we’ll have to cat proof the tree.”

Gakuhou was nervous when he handled the wrapped present, a square blue gift box neatly tied with a yellow bow.

He hadn’t given his son a wrapped gift in years, the closest thing being a 1,000 yen dog food token for his son’s tenth birthday; looking back that had been extremely petty even for his standards. He probably shouldn’t have done that…

Come to think of it, maybe that was why his son had never asked or gotten a dog…and, now he was stuck with a cat..

He grimaced, sighing as he stayed calm and walked into the living room where his son was by the fireplace sat on the floor stroking the sleeping cat. The Christmas tree cornered off with stacks of boxes to stop the cat from playing with it, or to at least deter the creature.

Gakushuu looked up warily when he saw him, eyes landing on the present in confusion. “Oh…you actually got me a gift?”

He smiled anxiously, walking over. “Of course.”

His son’s eyes narrowed, growing on guard as he stood up. “Okay…”

Gakuhou’s smiled and holding out the gift. “Go ahead.”

His son regarded the box suspiciously like there was something awful inside, which he couldn’t blame him since over a year ago there probably would have been, especially if his son had pulled a stunt like this….Gakuhou briefly wondered how his old self would have reacted to something like this…and then he quickly stopped thinking about it when his stomach lurched.

His son took the box. “…Thanks.” He frowned and at down on the armchair, opening it and then looked surprised when he pulled out the photo album. “Oh…”

Gakuhou tried to mask his nerves. “I compiled it yourself…Sakikabara was helpful in his assistance.”

His son’s eyes widened. “Ren actually helped you?”

“Yes…” Though the boy had seemed reluctant until Gakuhou had asked him nicely. “I noticed you don’t have many pictures displayed.” There were barely any pictures in the house as it was, except for some of Ikeda and the Old Cram school students he hadn’t been able to get rid of.

“Oh…” His son frowned, looking at the photos which started showing him as a baby, with different notes attached and dates. “You made this…?”

“It didn’t take long.” He shrugged, since that was true, he had done most of the work overnight. “…What do you think?”

He waited for his son’s response apprehensively while the boy remained quiet and slowly looked through the album.

Did teenagers even like photo albums? Wasn’t everything online? Maybe he should have just given him more money, everyone loved money—

“Thank you,” Gakushuu said, closing the album, frowning a little.

Gakuhou looked a little surprised before clearing his throat. “It’s fine…” He forced a smile and patted his son on the head awkwardly. “That’s nice.”

Was he supposed to hug him? What did other parents do in this situation?!

Shit…when was the last time I hugged my son?

He settled for just patting his son’s head repeatedly as he inwardly started to panic.

The cat yawned loudly on the cushion, stretching while the two of them remained silent and Gakuhou kept patting his son’s head.

After a while, Gakushuu frowned, looking up. “…Can you stop patting my head?”

“Of course!” Gakuhou stopped and forced a smile again. “Apologies.” He cleared his throat again. “I’ll just go check on the chicken.” He quickly hurried off to the kitchen while his son’s unimpressed gaze followed him.

Gakushuu started to wonder if his father was broken like a malfunctioning robot, because the man had been weird the whole evening.

“This is nice,” his father said for the tenth time this evening as they were washing the dishes from dinner.

He hummed dismissively, drying a plate. “Yeah…”

Ms Education the cat kept nuzzling his leg for more food or scraps of meat, but he ignored her, knowing she’d just vomit it up if she overate again.

“I’m glad you like your gift,” his father continued.

Gakushuu shrugged, feeling something warm tug at his chest. “…It was…good. I like it.”

It was extremely sentimental but…he liked it. It was nice.

“Good…” His father trailed off, going quiet again.

He  sighed, adding another plate onto the rack and he went to dry off the cutlery—

His father wrapped his arms around him from behind like he was going to crush him.

Gakushuu felt a spark of adrenaline and elbowed him in the face.

“Ah!” His father reeled back and clutched his nose while Gakushuu looked over his shoulder in alarm. “Gakushuu!”

“What?!” He quickly backed away, staring at his father in shock. “You attacked me!”

“I was trying to hug you!” His father snapped.

“Why the hell would you do that?!” he yelled back.

“I was just—Get off!” His father tried to kick the cat away when the feline tried to attack him and claw his leg.

Gakushuu quickly picked his cat up and held her. “Look, I’m sorry. Just sit down, I’ll get you some ice.”

His father swore under his breath and sat at the table while he went to the freezer and grabbed a bag of ice.

“…I just thought it would be nice,” his father muttered.

He dumped the ice on the table with a cloth. “Not really considering you spent ten years drilling those attack instincts into me.” He sat down opposite the man and passed him the cloth so he could wrap the ice in it. “You’re lucky I didn’t try to drop-kick you.”

His father grimaced, holding the cloth of ice to his nose which was already starting to swell, but at least it wasn’t bleeding. “…I didn’t mean to surprise you.”

Gakushuu sighed. “Then maybe a little warning next time?” He picked up the cat and put her on his lap. “You aren’t well known for your displays of fatherly affection.”

His father’s expression grew guilty, looking down. “I’m sorry…”

His gaze widened a little at the apology, feeling his brow furrow more as he stayed quiet, watching his father stew in guilt. “…I’m the one who hit you.” He shrugged uncomfortably.

“I know…” His father’s shoulders slumped, staring at the table. “But still…” His father was silent for a moment. “Why did you always spend Christmas with me even though you hated it?”

Gakushuu tensed, caught off guard by the question. He held the cat closer as it nuzzled against his chest. He thought about it for a moment, all the Christmases he had spent with his father where they’d basically ignored each other.

“…You’re still my dad,” he replied hesitantly. “We’re still a family.” He shrugged uneasily while his father stared at him. “It’s not like we have any other family who care about us anyway…”

Even if the good memories were a drop in an ocean, they still cared about each other. That had to mean something, and his father was trying…even if he was clearly unqualified to be a parent.

“…I’m not sure I know what I’m doing,” his father admitted quietly, not looking at him.

“Well, that much is obvious.” Gakushuu sighed and apprehensively reached out to hold his father’s hand as some form of comfort; the grip felt warm. “You indulging in your paternal side is like watching a duck have a spasm.”

His father shot him a dead look. “That doesn’t make me feel better, son.”

“It wasn’t meant to. I’m just stating facts,” he replied dryly, causing his father to sigh.

His father squeezed his hand, and sighed, exasperated. “Of course, you are.”

Gakushuu smirked and let go of his hand, standing up. “Come on. We can play chess while the ice stops your nose from swelling up.”

His father’s gaze seemed to brighten up a bit. “You know you’ll lose.”

When the swelling on his nose had gone down and he’d put a bandage on it, Gakuhou was discreetly trying to read some parenting self-help E-books on his iPad while on the sofa near the fire while his son was wandering playing some sort of game with the cat where he rolled a Christmas bauble on the floor; even though he had warned him they were easily broken.

He ignored them and tried to read the chapter on; ‘Understanding what your teenager is saying’, which then displayed a list of translations of modern-day slang and phrases teenagers used on the internet.

It turned out The Twitter was a social media platform for stalking  groups and individuals, and not a platform for bird-watcher enthusiasts, so he made sure to remember that just in case he needed to check his son’s internet history for emergencies.

His brow furrowed, zooming in on a phrase which he didn’t understand.

“Move over.” His son plopped down next to him and then took up all the room, leaning against him.

“What are you doing?” he asked, frowning when Gakushuu casually rested his legs on a cushion while the cat jumped onto his stomach.

“There’s plenty of room,” his son replied dismissively, looking at his phone. “If you don’t like it, go.”

Gakuhou stared at him for a moment before his frown eased away. “…It’s fine.”

His son shrugged, not looking bothered as he stared at the phone, looking through what he now understood to be The Twitter, looking at Sakikabara’s social media as the boy seemed to be posting a regular amount of messages with emotional icons attached.

He smiled slightly and then winced when his son took a picture of him. “What are you—?”

“The others wanted to see my handywork.” Gakushuu grinned and posted it on The Twitter.

Gakuhou glared at him. “Delete it.”

“I can’t. It’s on the internet,” he replied, smiling sweetly.

Little bastard.

He sighed, going back to reading while his son leant against him comfortably until his son started taking pictures of the cat. “What are you doing now?”

Gakushuu grinned, taking photos of the cat sleeping on his stomach. “Taking pictures of your adorable cat.”

“It’s not my cat,” he snapped.

His son’s smile grew, posting the photos with the caption ‘My dad loves his new cat!’ followed by lots of taunting emotional icons; it already had 100 responses within seconds.

“Give me that!” He tried to grab his son’s phone but Gakushuu smirked and buried it under a cushion.

“Why?” His son taunted, keeping the phone out of reach. “Don’t you want the world to see your beautiful animal?”

Gakuhou grabbed a cushion he was leaning on and whacked him over the head with it. “No.”

His son looked surprised being hit with a pillow, but then smirked, leaning against him again. “The fact that it bothers you so much just makes it more hilarious.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair in exhaustion, feeling he was getting grey hairs. “I hate you…”

His son looked delighted, a look which may have been mistaken with fondness. “Yeah…don’t worry, I hate you too, dad.”

The corner of Gakuhou’s lips quirked upwards warmly, gently ruffling the boy’s head as he leaned against him.