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Enji stands amid the chaos and destruction that was once his home with his youngest grandchild asleep in his arms and a smile on his face. His books lay strewn about the carpet, some fallen from shelves and others stacked in odd little piles that make sense only to the minds of the small children now at rest. Chairs are overturned with pale, rumpled sheets and thin blankets draped between them to make little hideaways. Toys litter the floor like a minefield waiting to trip him and jam into the soles of his feet and there are half-eaten plates of onigiri still sitting on the coffee table where he’d let them eat because it was easier to get them to do so over cartoons than it was to get them all settled at the dinner table.
He looks down fondly at the mess, juggling little Kenji in one hand, while he pulls a blanket from one of the kids’ forts with the other. He uses his foot to help right one of the chairs so he doesn’t bang his shin into the hard, wooden leg again and then peeks into the second little makeshift shelter to find Natsuo’s two oldest children, twins, Hinata and Haruto, curled up around each other and sleeping soundly.
Enji drapes the blanket he’d pulled free over them and then grabs another for himself and Kenji. Thankful that they’d finally fallen asleep and hoping to get five minutes of peace and quiet, a soft, thankful huff escapes him. He’s not sure how Natsuo and his wife manage the energetic trio every day. Bedtime was supposed to be at eight, but they’d all kept him until nearly eleven last night, begging for just one more movie and another bowl of popcorn because, you can’t have a movie without popcorn, Grandpa…
His mind follows an errant trail of thought, from Natsuo’s children to his own and his tired smile falters. He knows well enough that his own children had never been given that luxury. Not movies, nor junk food, nor staying up late. They wouldn’t have dared to beg their father for anything after he’d said, no. He’d never coddled them like this – let them destroy his house and then smiled as he cleaned up their mess for them. He had ruled his house with an iron fist for years… Too many years.
Touya and Shouto still won’t speak to him, and he can’t blame them for that. He knows that he failed them as a father, that he still has so much to atone for. Even after the strides he’d made to change, to restore his relationships with his children, Natsuo had been hesitant to let him watch his grandchildren; worried that they’d be subject to the Enji he knew as father… He won’t be that.
Not ever again.
Kenji whines softly in his arms, pulling Enji from his thoughts and he bounces gently on his heels to soothe the boy back to sleep. He settles back down easily enough, curling against Enji’s chest and popping his thumb into his mouth and Enji finds himself smiling again. Natsuo had made it clear that this was his wife’s idea, that it was only her faith in him that had allowed him this precious weekend with his grandchildren and he’s grateful for the chance to show them how much he’s grown.
He’s determined to not mess it up. He wants to make sure his grandchildren want to come back and spend time with him… even if their youthful exuberance leaves him feeling like he’s run a marathon. Last night he’d hoped that, as late as they had all stayed up, the kids would sleep in. That, maybe, they could have a relaxing, mid-morning brunch and then maybe go to the park.
Instead, the twins were up before the sun had even finished rising, jumping on his bed and demanding breakfast with their cute little pleas of, I’m hungry, Grandpa. All the jostling and laughing had woken little Kenji, and when those bright grey eyes had smiled up at him, he’d resigned himself to an early breakfast of pancakes with sprinkles and extra syrup.
He yawns long and low, a sound he stifles as best he can with the back of his hand as he sits down on the couch. He’s certain that he can power through his tiredness, but the moment he leans back against the soft cushions it feels like a wave crashing over him. Like the exhaustion that had seeped deep into his bones is now flowing like a river through his veins.
He glances at the boy in his arms and then over at the twins, still safely tucked in their little blanket fort. Natsuo had warned him that they were mischievous and needed constant watching, but he reasons that it can’t hurt to have one tiny nap so long as the kids are sleeping as well. It can’t be any different than sleeping at night, can it?
He settles down on the couch, tucking Kenji into the crook of his arm and then covering them both up with the thick, warm blanket that had lain draped over the back of the couch. He promises himself that it’ll just be a short nap, and that tomorrow he’ll call Rei, send another letter to Touya and Shouto, and then falls asleep to the soft snores of his grandchildren.
***
Enji wakes to the sound of screeching sirens. To the flashing of lights outside his windows and his own heart feeling like it’s going to pound out of his chest. He swears he can feel his pulse hammering in his head before realizing that it’s actually someone banging on his front door.
“Just a minute!” He shouts, forgetting the tiny child in his arms, and Kenji starts to wail.
He shushes him hastily as he struggles to his feet. His mind is finally starting to come back online, and he drags his eyes around the destroyed room, searching for Hinata and Haruto and finding the room empty. Panic wells as he gets to his feet, the knocking at his door forgotten as he frantically rips blankets off of pillow forts and searches behind the couch.
“Hello?! I need you to open the door please!” The voice at the door is somehow both soothing and demanding and Enji turns to answer with a low, aggravated huff.
“I don’t know who you are but…” Enji’s voice trails off as he yanks the door open and finds a young man with pointed golden eyes and a small, patient smile looking up at him. Behind him are two fire trucks and a police car that, thankfully, silence their loud wailing. His neighbors are standing across the street, gazing at him with curious interest and for a brief moment, in the chaos of everything, Enji forgets what he’d been doing.
“Hello. My name’s Takami Keigo and I’m with the local first responders.” The man with the golden eyes glances at Kenji and then back up at Enji. “We received an emergency call from someone at this address but the line cut out before we could get much information. Is everything okay?”
“Of course, everything’s okay.” Enji’s voice is gruff as he angles Kenji away from the stranger. Keigo’s eyes shift past him, and he moves to block the man’s line of sight into the house, embarrassed at the current state of it. “There must be some sort of mistake.”
“Is anyone else in the home with you sir?”
“No, of…” Enji trails off, his eyes going wide as he remembers the twins and his frantic search for them before he’d come to the door. “The twins… Hinata! Haruto!”
He takes off like a shot, sprinting through the house. A small part of his mind registers that the man at the door comes with him, but the mess around him is forgotten in his haste to find the children. He calls to them as he searches each room, doing his best to keep his voice as level as he can. Keigo breaks off from him and the man’s voice echoes his own repeating the children’s names.
His heart sinks, chest growing tight as each closet and cupboard he searches comes up empty. His mind races with possibilities of what could have happened – how they could have gotten outside and now be wandering the streets. They could be lost and helpless right now. They could have gotten hurt. They could have–
“Found them!” Keigo’s loud, level voice sounds from across the house and it feels like an immediate weight lifts off Enji’s chest. “Kitchen!”
Enji hurries back the way he’d come, pressing soothing kisses to Kenji’s forehead, though he’s no longer certain anymore whether it’s Kenji or himself that’s taking more comfort from the gesture. The messy house around him is little more than a blur as he reaches the kitchen and drops to his knees in front of Hinata and Haruto. Their little arms wrap around him, and it feels like his heart finally drops back into place.
His hand trails over one slender arm and then the next, cupping each of their wet faces in turn as he assesses them both for injury. He glances up at Keigo almost as an afterthought. “Where did you find them?”
Keigo motions towards the open door of the cellar and the fallen lift-latch that he’d installed shortly before they’d come. “Found them sitting at the bottom of the stairs. Looks like one of the stairs towards the bottom busted and they weren’t able to get back up.”
The cellar is off limits, children. It’s dangerous.
It had been his one rule for them while they were here. The woodwork down there was starting to rot and when Enji had first heard they were coming over, he’d been worried that one of them would get hurt if a stair collapsed from beneath them. He’d installed the latch to deter them, but from the sight of the nearby, overturned chair, he obviously hadn’t put it high enough.
Enji’s temper flares as his glance shifts from the chair back to the children before him, his voice coming out much rougher than he’d intended it to. “Why did you go down there after I’d specifically told you not to?”
“We’re sorry, Grandpa…” Hinata’s lip wobbles as she apologizes.
Haruto stands beside her, nodding in agreement. “Sorry, Grandpa.”
He’s ready to tell them exactly how disappointed he is in them and how grounded they are when a soft chuckle comes off to his left. Enji had nearly forgotten about the man who’d found his grandchildren and his face warms at the thought of what the man must think of him and the state of his house.
“Ah, don’t be too hard on them, yeah? It’s just kids bein’ kids.” Keigo motions towards the small cellphone still clutched in Haruto’s hand. “At least they knew enough to call for help before the phone died on ‘em so no harm, no foul, yeah?”
Haruto sniffles, looking up at Enji with wide eyes before dragging his sleeve across his dripping nose. Hinata’s eyes are wide and he can see how scared must have been. Enji sighs begrudgingly before dragging both children into a tight hug. Kenji squeals happily, patting Hinata’s head and babbling softly as he presses a sloppy kiss to Enji’s unshaven cheek.
Enji isn’t sure how he’s going to explain all this to Natsuo, or if he’ll ever live it down, and he’s certain he won’t be getting any sleep for the rest of the weekend, but he supposes that’s alright. He has the rest of the weekend to figure it all out. When he stands, Hinata and Haruto continue to cling to him. He pats their heads one last time before ushering them all back across the messy house to the front door.
The sirens outside have, thankfully, stopped their incessant blaring. The ambulance and fire truck have departed and all that’s left of the excitement outside in the first responder vehicle that he assumes belongs to the man still standing on his steps.
He watches as Hinata and Haruto take off towards their coloring books in the living and set Kenji down to toddle off after them before turning his full attention back to Keigo and bowing. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” Keigo’s smile grows wide, and he rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “Seems like you’ve got your hands full.”
Enji snorts softly at the obvious statement. “It’s only for the weekend. Their father will be here to pick them up Sunday evening.”
“Oh yeah?” Keigo’s gaze shifts between his vehicle and Enji’s face, his voice picking up just slightly in pitch as he clears his throat. “That mean you’re free to go out for dinner on Monday?”
Enji could scoff that he’s probably twice the man’s age, old enough to at least be his father. He should say no thank you and good night, that he’s much too old, but instead he just smiles his own, not-quite sheepish smile and nods. “I’d like that.”