The 9 Millimeter Kiss - Chapter 52: Chapter 52

A small boy peeked into the living room. He'd just woken up from his nap and wanted a cup of water... but his papa was talking to someone.
"Are you sure?" the stranger asked.
His papa stayed silent. He made a face the boy had only seen when he did something wrong.
"Yeah..."
"Papa?" the little boy whispered.
The two adults looked over to the little boy. His hair a mess and grey eyes filled with worry and curiosity.
"Yuki, you're awake already?" his papa smiled waving him over.
The little boy circled around the coffee table. Taking the long way to his papa, avoiding the stranger.
"He looks a lot like you." the stranger smiled.
Yuki climbed onto the couch and hid as much as he could behind his papa.
"Really? I think he takes more after her."
"Who is that?" the boy whispered. Or rather attempted.
A chuckle left both.
"My name is Shinomiya Tenji, it's nice to meet you." he introduced himself.
Yuki was gently pushed into view, "He's a friend of mine, Yuki."
"Yeah! You can call me Uncle Shin!"
"Oi."
"What?"
Yuki looked between this 'Uncle Shin' of a person and his papa.
"Yuki." the boy nodded in acknowledgement.
The man smiled rather sadly at the boy. "Yeah, I think he resembles her a lot more."
Yuki was placed on his papa's lap. "He's gonna be staying with us for a while. Let me know if he gets annoying. I'll kick him out on the spot."
"I'm not that bad!"
"You are."
Yuki tiptoed to the guest room. Slowly peeking into the room.
This strange man, as Yuki heard his papa label him, only had a couple boxes when he moved in.
"Are you going to come in or are you gonna keep peeking?"
The boy quickly hid behind the wall. A laugh coming from the man.
"I don't bite, you know."
Tenji waited for a reply. Yuki took a peek again.
Tenji took the time to study his features. Yuki had his fathers hair color, but apart from that he definitely had his mothers characterist--
"Weirdo." Yuki mumbled before running off.
"....eh?"
"Taka-kun~ I don't think Yuki-chan likes me~" Tenji whined, leaning onto the man's shoulder.
"What makes you say that?" Takumi asked, not really caring.
"He called me a weirdo!"
"Cause you are."
Tenji let out an exasperated sigh. "What does he like? Maybe I can bribe him with something."
Takumi pushed the man off him, looking at his watch. "It's almost time for me to go."
"He probably has her attitude too. Doesn't he?" Tenji pouted.
"Make sure you get him in bed before 6--"
"Early!"
"He's 3. Yuki!"
A series of footsteps. The boy stopped in front of his papa.
"Make sure he," Takumi pointed to Tenji, "behaves."
"Ha?!"
Yuki nodded.
"I'll be back late today so I won't be able to read to you tonight." Takumi told the boy as he slipped on his jacket.
Tenji watched as the little boy clenched onto his shirt before nodding.
"No story?" Yuki asked.
His papa sighed, kneeling down in front of the boy. "Not tonight."
Yuki pouted but otherwise went in for a hug.
Takumi engulfed the boy into his jacket, "I'll be back, okay?"
"...ok"
"Good." pulling away from the hug Takumi took the boy's hands into his own.
"Be nice to the weirdo, okay?"
Tenji let out a scoff leaning against the wall.
Yuki looked back at him and then back to his papa. "Weirdo."
"That's right. Now give me a good-bye kiss."
Once the door closed Yuki waited a couple moments. Staring at the door.
"Uh.... Yuki--"
Said boy turned and sprinted past the man.
"Hey! Where are you going?!" Tenji fumbled trying to keep up with the tiny boy.
Yuki slid through the house in his mismatched socks, heading towards the kitchen.
"Are you hungry?!" Tenji shouted, practically slamming into the walls with the sharp turns.
Yuki pulled a chair away from the dining table and pressed it against the counter climbing his way up and flinging open the sacred cabinet.
"OI! You're going to fall!" Tenji went to grab the boy only to have an elbow meet his face.
A giggle left a grey-eyed boy as he watched the man stumbled back. He quickly scanned the cabinet, eyeing what he was looking for before proceeding to climb a bit more.
"Oh no you don't!" Tenji wrapped an arm around the boy, carrying him away from the cabinet.
"WEIRDO!" Yuki cried out, wigginly in the man's grasp.
Tenji kicked the chair away from the counter and closed the cabinet.
"You just had dinner!" Tenji told him.
"WEIRDO!" Yuki shouted again, this time hitting the man as well.
"OW! Yuki, no!"
"YES!"
Tenji tried carrying the boy out of the kitchen but was pulled back as Yuki held onto the edge of the wall.
"YUKI!"
"WEIRDO!"
"LET GO!" the man shouted as he pried the boy's chubby hands off the wall only for Yuki to grip onto it again and again.
"NO!"
"Your father will hear about this!" Tenji cried out, finally prying the boy's hands off and gripping them into one of his.
"NO!" Yuki cried out, kicking the man.
"You are definitely your mothers son!" Tenji gritted as he struggled to hold onto the boy.
Tenji carefully carried the boy towards the living room. Still struggling to not drop him.
Now holding the boy by his ankles and wrist, Tenji flung him onto the couch. Earning a mischievous giggle from Yuki.
"No you don't!" Tenji shouted, catching the boy in mid-air who'd tried jumping off the couch.
"Snacks!"
"You just ate an hour ago!" Tenji sighed, leaning his head back to avoid getting head butted.
"Snacks!"
"Sweet baby Cheese-it-- OOF!"
Tenji didn't know.
He glanced at the boy who sat at the dining table with a content look on his face.
Nibbling on cookies and sipping on his apple juice.
Tenji really didn't know how the boy got him to give in.
"More!" Yuki told the man, holding up his juice box.
"No. You promised only one snack and one drink."
Yuki's hand slowly fell, his bottom lip beginning to quiver.
"No. No. No. Not the puppy face! You pinkie promised!" Tenji reminded.
"P- pwease....Uncle Shin...."
"I am very disappointed in both of you." Takumi stated, looming over a very sorry Tenji and a ginning Yuki. Face littered in crumbs.
"S-so this was a t-test...." Tenji nervously chuckled.
"Of course it was." Takumi frowned.
Yuki continued to smile.
"What sane person would leave their kids with you alone?"
Tenji visibly gasped looking at the man. "How dare you,"
Takumi reached down to pull on his ear. "How dare YOU let HIM get to the snack cabinet?!"
"Ow! Okay! Okay! Just-- AH!"
Yuki saw this as an absolute win.
"And YOU!" Takumi released the man child, turning to his son.
"Me!" Yuki smiled.
"No snacks for 2 months!"
The smile instantly fell. "2...?"
"2 months!" Takumi repeated, hands on his hips.
Yuki looked over to the man rubbing his ear.
"Uncle Shin gave me snacks!" Yuki pointed, tears building up in his eyes.
Tenji looked at the boy in betrayal "I most certainly did--"
"OH Did HE?! Uncle Shin?" Takumi looked between the two.
Yuki furiously nodded. Tenji watching in utter betrayal of the quite cunning boy.
"LIES!" Tenji pointed back to the boy.
"NO!"
"YES!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
Takumi sighed as both continued to point at the other. Rubbing the bridge of his nose he shook his head and chuckled.
"You're both grounded for 2 weeks!"
"I'm a grown ADULT!" Tenji objected.
"My house! My rules!"
"But I'm 22--"
"A month!"
"NO!"
"Papa! Papa! Look!" Yuki jumped in excitement pointing out to the huge ocean.
It was summer and it had been a little over a year since Tenji moved it. Yuki was now 4 and according to his doctor, he should begin to start showing signs of having a quirk.
"I see it!" Takumi replied. Pulling out the beach bag from the trunk.
"It's been a while since I've been here!" Tenji grinned. He spread his arms open and took a deep breath.
"Hurry! Hurry!" Yuki shouted, jumping in place.
"We need to put on sunscreen first. Come here." Tenji told him.
Yuki went to his Uncle and extended his arms. "Sunscreen smells~"
Takumi knew his son should be showing signs of having a quirk but...
"Take off your shirt. We need to put some on your back."
"Hurry! Hurry!"
He didn't have one and Yuki's mother hadn't really mentioned if she did or not.
"Surf!"
"Oh no!" Takumi quickly grabbed the boy.
"Papa! Surf!"
"You need your floaties. Where are they?"
"Taka-kun, relax. We're at the beach. Sit back and relax old man." Tenji teased.
"He can't swim--"
"I can teach him. Look floaties!" Tenji shouted, showing them to Takumi.
"Floaties!" Yuki smiled, slipping them on.
"Let's go!"
"GO!"
Takumi watched as the two ran towards the water. Tenji scooping up Yuki and tossing him into the waves.
As a father he was pretty tense when it came to Tenji flinging his only child. But upon seeing Yuki pop back up, laughing....
"I guess I shouldn't worry." he sighed.
Takumi didn't necessarily hate the ocean. He just prefered if he were on land. He was more of a land person as opposed to Tenji.
"Papa! Water!" Yuki shouted as he stumbled out onto the sand.
Takumi pulled open the snack bag. Opening a water bottle and handing it to the boy.
"Are you having fun?" Takumi smiled. Watching the boy carefully take sips.
"Yeah!"
"Do we have beer?" Tenji asked, shaking water out of his hair.
"No, you dog."
"What? Why? It's the beach!"
Takumi gave him a pointed look.
"Papa you swim too!" Yuki grinned.
"I'll pass." he replied, closing the bottle.
"Come on! The sky is clear! The waves are good! It's not too hot! It's not too cold!" Tenji grinned, grabbing his wrist.
"Papa Swim!"
"Yeah. No--"
Tenji yanked on him, pulling him up from his seat under the umbrella.
"Come on old man! Your joints still work don't they?" Tenji teased.
"I'm five year older than you. There's nothing old about-- Hey!"
Yuki began pushing his Papa from behind as Tenji led the way.
"I swear you two--"
"Look! A big wave is coming! Hurry up!"
"WAVE!"
Yuki abandoned his post in pushing his papa to the ocean and ran ahead.
"WAIT!"
Tenji followed close behind the boy, dragging along said 'old man.'
"Oooo~ Papa didn't put on sunscreen!" Yuki giggled.
A muffled groan of pain emerged from Takumi who had carefully laid on his stomach.
"Don't be like your papa and alway remember sunscreen, okay?" Tenji warned the boy.
"Okay!"
"Now go give him a pat on the back."
"YUKI NO!" Takumi snapped his head up.
"Go! Yuki-chan!"
"TENJI!"
"Ne, Taku-kun," Tenji poked the man on the cheek.
"What?" a groggy reply.
"Why isn't Yuki-chan in school yet?" Tenji grabbed onto one of the available pillows.
"Why are you in my room?" Takumi sighed, turning away from him.
"Aw~ come on." Tenji laughed, flopping onto him. "So, why isn't he in school yet?"
Tenji waited patiently for a reply. Takumi slowly opened his eyes, staring at the wall.
"I'm thinking of homeschooling him." he finally replied.
"What? Why?"
"Because I can, now get off me you oaf."
Tenji stayed where he was. Frowning and not happy at the answer.
"Why."
"Because you're heav--"
"No! Why won't you sign him up for school? He needs friends his own age." Tenji told him.
Takumi took a deep breath before sighing heavily. "Because he's quirkless."
Tenji's face softened.
"Oh."