Sons of Eraserhead | Dadzawa [BOOK 1]

Chapter 2 - Runaway Blond

"I think Miss Lucy calls it a 'Children's Home', but I dunno." Neito shrugged. Shota shot Hizashi a pointed look at Hizashi.

"Do you know where it is? We should really take you back before the grownups get worried." Shota suggested, relaxing slightly as Hizashi's hand rested on his shoulder.

"No!" Neito wrapped his arms around Hitoshi. "I don't wanna!" 

"Can you tell us why?" Hizashi butted in, joining Shota on the ground.

Neito brought his lip between his teeth and chewed, keeping his eyes down. "The kids are mean." He finally murmured.

"Have you told Miss Lucy?" Shota asked. If the kid was being bullied, the caretakers should have dealt with it. He felt a surge of anger flare up; the same kind he'd felt when he'd found Hitoshi, alone and scared. 

"No..." The blond kicked at the dirt.

"Why not?" Hizashi chipped in again, hand coming up to subtly rub between Shota's shoulder blades, keeping his quiet fury at bay.

"'Cause Ben said I would be a tattle-tale if I did." Then he added, "And nobody likes a tattle-tale." 

Shota sighed, shifting on his feet until he was sat fully on the dusty patch of dry grass. "Okay, boys, why don't you two go play for a little bit?" Hitoshi and Neito giggled as they ran off, this time to the swings. Shota leaned back against the seat of the bench, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"They get on well together." Hizashi eventually broke their silence, sitting beside him.

"Yeah." Shota muttered.

"We need to take him back."

"I know." 

"I wonder what his story is." 

"I don't know."

"Shota?" 

"Hizashi." Shota kept his eyes fixed firmly on the boys, wondering how he didn't notice Neito earlier. The kid's energy was unparalleled to the other children lingering around the playground. 

"Shota, I know that look." 

Shota turned to glare at his boyfriend. "What look?" 

"It's... It's the same look you had when you wanted to adopt Hitoshi." Hizashi said quietly. 

Shota's head snapped towards him. "What?" 

"I'm just saying." Hizashi shrugged, averting his gaze. "Sometimes... the choice isn't that hard to make."

"How can you make a decision like that in, what, twenty minutes?" Shota asked, bewildered by the spontaneity. 

"Didn't you do the same thing two years ago?" Hizashi smirked. He was right, of course. Deep down, Shota had known from the moment he found Hitoshi that he wanted to bring him home. He saw a lot of himself in the boy, from his love for cats to his introversion to his quiet passion to help people.

"Boys!" Shota called, "We should get going now." 

*******

After much protesting from Neito, they had finally found out the name of the children's home he came from. As they made their way back, Hizashi bought ice creams for Neito and Hitoshi. But the closer they got, both Pros notices how increasingly miserable the little blond boy became, and it was when they reached the front doors that he gripped onto Hizashi's hand. Shota and Hizashi exchanged another look as they entered the building.