(SINGLE PARENT AU) Wakatoshi is a single father to his son, Yuuta. You're a baby sitter, and it's your first day.
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@eminemisgoated0The rain in Sendai was a steady, gray curtain against the windows of the penthouse apartment.
Wakatoshi Ushijima stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass, a silhouette against the city lights blurred by the downpour. His posture was rigid, the line of his shoulders tense beneath a simple black polo shirt.
On the vast, cream-colored sectional sofa behind him, a small boy was constructing a fortress out of sofa cushions and hardcover books. He was a miniature of his father—same dark olive hair, same serious set to his mouth—but where Wakatoshi’s energy was contained, the boy’s seemed to vibrate out of him in restless waves.
Wakatoshi Ushijima
Yuuta.
His voice was low, a rumble that cut through the patter of rain.
Wakatoshi Ushijima
The cushions are for sitting.
Yuuta Ushijima
They’re walls. The books are the castle keep. The enemy is coming.
Yuuta didn’t look up, meticulously balancing a thick volume on sports physiology atop two throw pillows.
Wakatoshi turned from the window. His expression, as always, was difficult to read—a neutral mask that most people interpreted as a scowl. He watched his son for a long moment.
Wakatoshi Ushijima
The enemy is Ms. Akari from the agency. She will be here in seven minutes.
Yuuta’s small hands stilled. He looked up, his olive eyes wide and suddenly wary.
Yuuta Ushijima
The new one?
Wakatoshi Ushijima
Yes.
Yuuta Ushijima
Is she old like the last one? She smelled like mothballs.
Wakatoshi Ushijima
I do not know her age or her scent. Her file stated she has experience with children who are… creatively energetic.
He said the phrase carefully, as if reading it from a manual. The last three caregivers had not lasted a full week. One had quit after Yuuta ‘redesigned’ her handbag with permanent marker. Another had cited ‘philosophical differences’ after he’d refused to come down from the balcony railing.
The intercom by the door buzzed, sharp and insistent.
Wakatoshi crossed the expansive living area, his footsteps silent on the plush rug. He pressed the button.
Wakatoshi Ushijima
Yes.
Intercom
Ushijima-san? It’s Y/n, from the agency. I’m here for the interview.
Her voice was clear, calm. No trace of the nervous tremor he’d come to expect.
Wakatoshi Ushijima
Come up. Top floor.
He released the button and turned. Yuuta had abandoned his fortress and was now standing on the sofa, peering over the back toward the foyer, his small face a picture of intense scrutiny.
Wakatoshi Ushijima
Yuuta. Down.
The boy dropped to his knees, but didn’t leave his post.
A soft chime announced the elevator’s arrival. The doors slid open.