Tachenda (JTHM x Reader part II)

I

The 2000's. Technology was advancing more than ever before and the world seemed like it was spinning faster and faster with each new day. If the future seems bright before then it could only get brighter, and if—

"I know, I know!" Todd rolled his eyes, buckling in his seatbelt, "It won't happen again, I promise! It's just that— well, they kept asking me about him! Shmee said they were doing it just to be dicks, but-"

"Hey, language!" I warned, starting up the car. There was a groan next to me. "I'm not having any teen angst in this car, young man! And god, I know that it's hard for you, but you should just ignore them. You were just a kid when it happened, it's not like you could've done anything about it."

There was dead silence in the car, only the engine and sound of tires on the road filling the air. I occasionally glanced at the young boy next to me, and with each look, my face could only soften. It was hard not to feel sympathy for the kid, especially after knowing him for so long. He just needs some moral support, and I'll be the one to provide it if I have to.

"Look..." I started, not daring to take my eyes off of the road any more than I already had, "How's about I get us some pizza or something later, yeah? Pretty sure it's a Friday anyways, we can stay up late and watch that movie you like; the one about those cartoon aliens playing basketball with Micheal Jordan—"

"Space Jam?!" Todd suddenly exclaimed, almost jumping out of his seat until the seatbelt forced him back. I could hear the smile in his voice, making a smile appear on my face. Moments like that were sweet, but it was quickly changed with the boys faltering tone. "But aren't you mad at me? I don't know, it just seems dumb that you're rewarding my behaviour. This is like the third time this month that you've had to get me from school like this..."

"I know, but I can see how hard of a time you've been having recently and well... you're my kid now and you're growing up. Can't have all of that stress fucking up your brain meats, can we?! Life is only gonna get harder from here on out, relatively anyway, you should be able to enjoy yourself." There was a satisfied silence in the car, a small hum of approval coming from Todd.

It wasn't long until we were home. Beans, our cat, happily hugged up against Todd's legs and he picked the cat up with a smile on his face. It was adorable, those two just absolutely adored each other. Todd... Well he didn't exactly have many friends besides Pepito, and I don't think the literal antichrist would really count as a great friend, but it was something about Todd's friendship of sorts with the cat that really made him flourish. I watched as he, cat in his arms, walked into his bedroom with a newfound pep in his step.

With a sigh I kicked my shoes off and sat them next to the door, shuffling into the kitchen to sit my keys on the table, all the while mentally counting the seconds in my head. This was practically routine at this point.

3...
2...
1...

"Y/N!" Todd shouted from his room, "Can I use the internet?! You never get any calls or at least any important ones! Pepito said we had to talk about something today and I wanna make sure we get to talk before his dad comes home!"

I snorted, shaking my head to myself with a smile "Do what you want, Kiddo! Remember, be careful what you see on there. I know some of the weird shit that you kids watch on Newgrounds and I'm not gonna stay up with you if you get another nightmare from it!" I shouted back, faintly hearing an embarrassed groan in return. At least he's keeping himself entertained. These days I'd rather have him inside where he can't actually get hurt than outside where all of these murderous freaks and weirdos roam. God knows we've already encountered enough of them for a lifetime.

Todd did that a lot. He would stay in his room all day on the internet, doing whatever kids do. Usually, he'd talk to Pepito and almost get recruited into some army of darkness, but I've warned him not to join any kind of army until he's eighteen, or preferably never cause fuck those guys. Anyways, it took his mind off of things so it's not like I'm gonna complain. One person can only do so much of raising a child alone, and I'd say that I'm at least doing a better job than his own fucking parents, especially considering the circumstances of his adoption.