Gold, Raven, & Lavender: An Erasermic Family Fanfic

Chapter 19: Cat and Mouse

"Shouta, have you seen my sunglasses?" Hizashi called from the kitchen, his leather jacket slung over one shoulder as he wandered into the empty living room. "I'm gonna be late to this recording sesh if don't find 'em soon!"

"I haven't seen them since the last time you went to the studio." Shouta called from the farthest room, "And I don't see them anywhere in here."

Hizashi groaned in annoyance as he made his way into the nursery. Shouta was just finishing up changing Hitoshi's diaper, cursing the thickness of his fingers as he fumbled with the minuscule poppers on the onesie. Not that Hitoshi was making the task any easier, what with all his squirming and kicking.

"Well it's not like they could've grown legs and walked off." Hizashi grumbled, getting down on his hands and knees to inspect the floor underneath the crib. With a final snap and a grunt, Shouta successfully clasped the garment shut and unbuckled the safety strap across Hitoshi's tummy to set him on his hip.

"Try to retrace your steps, Zashi. Where was the last place you saw them?"

"On the counter in the kitchen. But I've already looked there and they're totally gone now!"

"Well, it's not the end of the world. Can't you go to work without them?"

Hizashi snapped his head up and fixed Shouta with a positively scandalized expression.

"Are you kiddin'? They're part of my signature look! That's like asking the Beatles to perform without instruments, yo!"

Shouta opened his mouth to shoot off a quick remark about his husband being overdramatic, but paused when he saw something glinting just above the blonde hero's forehead. Perched atop his bangs was a familiar pair of triangular, orange sunglasses, half-way tangled in his somewhat wild tresses.

"Uh, Zashi?" Shouta said flatly, tapping on his temple when the blonde gave him an inquisitive look. Hizashi quickly reached up to his own head and his eyes went wide when he felt the cool kiss of metal and polarized plastic beneath his fingertips.

"Oh." He said almost dumbly, "Well then... mystery solved I guess."

Shouta chuckled and rolled his eyes, extending his free hand to help Mic to his feet.

"You always forget to look there."

"Thanks, babe. You've always got my back." Hizashi said with a sheepish chuckle of his own, cheeks slightly pink from embarrassment as he checked the watch on his wrist. "And I'm officially late for work. Gotta run!"

He gave Shouta a quick peck on the lips before bending down and planting another kiss to the top of Hitoshi's head. Hitoshi twisted his body around to face Mic, reaching out for him with one hand and letting out a squeak of, "Papa!"

"Bye-bye, Toshi. Don't have too much fun while I'm gone." Hizashi said with a grin, affectionately tousling the little boy's hair before darting out of the room. Shouta could faintly hear the sounds of Mic slipping into his combat boots and the jingle of keys before the garage door closed with a bang. Hitoshi looked up at Shouta and pointed towards the nursery's open door.

"Dada... Papa?"

"I know, I know. He'll be home soon." Shouta said gently, carrying Hitoshi back into the living room to deposit him on the tatami mat-covered floor. He snagged the closest toy within reach (a plastic radio Mic had purchased that cycled through a variety of nursery rhymes with each turn of the dial) and pushed it into Hitoshi's hands.

"Now you play nice while I get some work done. These training schedules don't write themselves, you know."

Straightening his spine, Shouta walked over to the couch and promptly sat himself down, dragging his ancient laptop along the surface of the coffee table to place it in front of him. Flipping open the device, he quickly typed in the password and pulled up the necessary files. Mizuki soon joined him in his work, curling up in his lap to purr and knead her paws into his left thigh as absentmindedly pet her between skimming over the documents onscreen. It was peaceful for an hour or so, the only sounds coming from Shouta steadily tapping away on his keyboard and Hitoshi's cheerfully singing radio. But Hitoshi soon grew bored of the toy, abandoning it mid-rendition of "Old McDonald" to crawl over to the busy hero. Feeling an odd tugging sensation, Shouta glanced down to find Hitoshi standing beside him, one chubby hand gripping his pant leg while he used the other to point at the front door.