|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 6:30 am
Homecoming, pt. I Stephen had never really pictured himself being a parent. Well, he supposed, the more he thought on it, that he'd have a kid some day but he'd never thought of himself as a single parent.
But D-Corp's offer...he just couldn't turn down such an opportunity!
Oh, no strong-arming was needed on the company's part to convince the geneticist to join in. Maybe a little convincing that he'd be decent parent material (he knew so much about genetic disorders and how to handle them! This was only a step up from advising, really!) but the minute he heard what the skinny was...oh yes, the man was sold. His mind, ever-probing for new information, could not let this chance pass him by!
At first, he had thought of the ordeal as just a project, not real parenting. It had seemed to him like raising a pet- there was a certain degree of detachment until he'd actually met the kitten.
Luka was a shy little mite that had come to him with a blue blanket and gray shorts (which he promptly removed in toddler defiance as soon as Steve and the technician had taken full attention from him). He looked somewhere between kitten and child,with alabaster skin and splotches of calico color. Such a wonderful blend of the two species- five-fingered hands and feet, but with little pink pawpads on the underside. Hair on his head, but fur only on his nub of a tail.
It was a marvel of science. Adorable to boot too.
(It was, then, the best of both worlds)
As he drew his car up to a red light, he paused momentarily to glance over to the sleeping child in the front passenger seat, strapped into a toddler's booster seat. This was no mere project...this was the real deal, wasn't it? Of course it was. The boy was more than a science project. He was a living, breathing child with all the needs and intellect of any other kid. Steve just hoped he'd be able to fulfill them.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 5:42 pm
Homecoming, pt. II "See Luka? This is your new home."
Now home, Stephen was herding the boy carefully into the big loft apartment they would be sharing. He'd cleaned out his old office room (which he never used give all his work was done on his laptop, which unsurprisingly lived on his lap 90% of the time) when he'd been approved to take the boy home and had started to rough out a child's room. It could still use quite a few personal effects and probably a good coat of paint, but he wagered much of that he would leave to the child's discretion...maybe the kitten would feel more at home if he could customize his den space.
...right?
(All Steve wanted was for the boy to feel comfortable.)
Of course, comfort was not in the child's emotional bank right now. Wide blue eyes scanned the livingroom he'd been ushered into, small claws pricking the need the fraying cloth of his blue blanket. They settled on the couch and within a few beats, the boy made a beeline for the piece of furniture- though not to sit. Instead, the kitten comically tried to wedge himself as far underneath as he could, leaving his chubby backside sticking out, bobtail puffed up like a calico cotton ball.
The hiding place was ideal for a few seconds before the boy reversed out quickly, displeased with how his hind end was left exposed. With another frantic scan, he acquired a new target location: the bookshelf. Before Stephen could even say anything- let alone act- Luka had taken his blanket in his mouth and began his ascent of the wall furnishing, kicking over bookends and knick-knacks in the process. Once he reached the top, he settled down on his belly and began kneading his blanket, ears back and eyes still flicking nervously over his surroundings, though the hig perch seem to ameliorate at least some of the anxiety.
Stephen sighed. "Well." he said, not sure quite how to react.
He sighed and shrugged before moving to pick up the knocked-about items, setting them on the coffee table for now. He looked up at Luka, having a feeling he wouldn't get the boy down before he willfully wanted without use of a ladder and not without the high risk he'd end up on his back used as a makeshift landing bag for a terrified new arrival.
Steve supposed, then, in such a case his only choice was to go make dinner and hope the child would make his way down before bedtime...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2010 10:02 pm
Homecoming, pt. III The kidlet was laying now on the couch, snuggled up with his blankie. Eventually, the kitten had come down and padded into the kitchen, curious and hungry. Of course, he'd also tried to abscond to the top of the bookshelf again with his soup, seeming genuinely confused when all the liquid spilled out the sides in the process. Two bowls of soup later, Steve finally wrangled the boy to sit at the table long enough to eat.
Tired, and most likely stressed, the boy seemed to lack the energy to climb the bookshelf again and instead had settled for the couch, flopping amidst the throw pillows, blanket draped over his head and upper half.
Unwilling to disturb the finally resting kitten, Stephen let the boy be and took the chance to call Jeanette and inform her of his newest addition (though not before she lit into him about still having 'that ridiculous fuzz on his chin').
'...and you never call anymore...'
'Yes aunt, I know I'm sorry. I'll make more of an effort.'
'You better! You know I'm getting on in years and--'
'I know, I know. Look, I called because I had important news...'
A pause in the nagging. It was almost as though he could hear her eyes gleaming with excitement over the prospect of gossip.
'Oh? Did you finally find yourself a nice girl?' A lilt.
'Well, no...but! But I do have a new addition to my family!'
'Go on.'
'He's...well, it's a child.'
'Who's the mother and why haven't I met her yet?' Deadpan, with a hint of disappointment.
'There really is no mother, per se...'
'Stephen Moore what did you do to drive a woman away and leave you with the child?'
'No-- Aunt it's... that's not what I--'
'I thought I had raised a better boy than that--'
'Look, it's not like that it's...a long story...'
And thus began the explanation. Or what explanation he could give (he supposed a company like D-Corp idn't want every detail broadcasted across the world and, knowing Jeanette, that is exactly what would happen with any information he gave her).
'Adoption?'
'Sort of an adoption/foster agreement. It's a great opportunity, really! It'll prepare me for when I have children of my own.'
This seemed to appease the old woman and talk soon turned to how she wished Bert needed to pitch in more, how he was eating, how he should find a nice, motivated girl and settle down because he didn't have forever, you know...
Once he finally managed to break off the conversation, Steve set the phone back into the cradle, content with how things had gone. She seemed accepting of him taking on a child (if not somewhat dubious of his skills- he had a feeling he'd be receiving books and ten-page memos on how to rear a child soon enough in the post) and lord knew that'd make things at least somewhat easier. And as difficult as raising a child- especially one that would require special effort to raise- would be, he could use all the ease he could get.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2010 10:03 pm
Playdate! Title: Beginnings
With: Unaru
Children involved: Luka + Claydon, Deidre, Romeo
Status: Incomplete - in stasis
Link: [x]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2010 10:04 pm
Playdate! Title: Branching Out
With: Fallen_Kitsune_Thief
Children involved: Luka + Jodie
Status: Incomplete - in stasis
Link: [x]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
