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Toma cried of joy the moment he was able to hold his newborn son in his arms. Seeing the big, blue eyes that he shared with his mom was beautiful. Born in the morning of October 27th, at 10 AM. The man still remembered waiting outside, downing four cups of coffee and a lot of his stomach pills because he was just really worried for his wife and newborn.
All that stomach pain was worth it, because seeing his son looking at him with such wonder made his heart melt. His wife was exhausted from the birth, having gladly handed him their son so she could rest. She needed it.
Toma looked at his wife's sleeping form, admiring how peaceful she looked and how her short hair fanned around her like a halo, before turning his gaze back to his son. He was reaching a hand out to Toma's necklace, fingers wiggling curiously, wanting to touch it. Though, Toma knew better than to let babies yank his necklace, so instead he gave his son his finger. The little rascal immediately pulled on Toma's finger, shoving it in his mouth and sucking on it.
Was it gross? Yes, absolutely, and he was going to make sure he washed his finger thoroughly.
Did Toma mind? A little bit, actually, but not enough to be an asshole and yank it out and make his son cry.
"Welcome to the world, buddy." he whispered tenderly, and his son let out a coo.
Ren is... rowdy. When he's upset, at least.
If he doesn't like the food, he's already throwing a fit, pushing the spoon away from his face and puffing out his cheeks. Toma's patient, but his wife isn't. She once shouted at the baby that he was ungrateful for not wanting to eat the soup she had made, which caused Ren to start crying. Toma had to step in and separate her from him, and calm down his son.
He would rarely cry during the night, thankfully, so the Hiragis barely had to lose sleep over that. Toma would always be the one to get upand shush him when the crying and wailing did happen, and he felt really bad that the neighbours had to listen and be woken up by his son. He hoped they wouldn't hold it against him.
Like his mother, Ren hated loud noises and crowds. He'd get all fussy whenever they would go out, the cutest of pouts on his face as he sat on the stroller. He wouldn’t physically wiggle out of the vehicle, but he would definitely be unhappy about it. But if Toma were to show him a peach plush that his mother bought on a whim, the fruit, not the character, then he'd be happy about it.
Parenthood wasn't easy, but Toma liked challenges. Or, so he thought.
"You- You want to what?" he blinked, feeling his throat dry. Four year old Ren had just been put to bed after he'd thrown a little tamptrum for not being able to watch a cartoon show for five minutes longer. He didn't listen to his mom, but he listened to Toma.
"I want a divorce." his wife repeated, tone bland "I was not ready for this. I was too young to be a mother." she stated. Toma felt his heart drop. Too young? Too young?! She was 23! Sure, that is young, he won’t deny it. But he was 18 when Ren was born. He had barely become an adult. He was young, too. But she didn't seem to have him in mind, as she served him the papers on the table.
"You can keep him. Do whatever you want with him. Raise him, give him up, I don't care." she continued "I don't want anything to do with him."
"Are you listening to yourself, Reika??" he asked "That's your son..!"
"And I regret giving birth to him." those words made Toma's chest tight, disbelief and rage settling in. He looked down at the papers, seeing blurry letters from how teary his eyes were.
"Just don't contest. You've always been a peaceful man." and he hates how right her words are. He bit his lip as he grabbed the pen.
"Where's mom?" Ren asked him when he woke up, probably confused at seeing his dad sitting on the couch and leaning forward. Toma tiredly looked at his son, bags under his puffy eyes. God, he looked so innocent. He got up, walking over to his son and kneeling down in front of him.
"Mom's... not gonna be here for a while." he worded carefully, seeing the way Ren's face slowly crumble down, like a shattered mirror that broke when a giant stone was thrown at it.
"...She's gone?"
"Yeah. Sorry, bud..." Toma whispered, wrapping his arms around Ren. He dropped the peach plush.
They moved in with his parents after the divorce was finalized, Ren almost shy of five years old, who were sympathetic with his whole situation. He was glad to have them, really. They adored Ren to the bits, he was definitely being spoiled by them. And it was a steady way to keep a roof over their heads while he worked. They would happily tell him all about their day, especially about Ren and the activities at school. Life was good.
Then the anger issues began. Ren was easily provoked and was prone to lash out easily. He warned his parents about it, saying that he shared Reika's temper, both for better and for worse. And they were weary about it, of course. But not the other kids.
Toma remembers the first time the teachers called him in. They said that Ren's grades were above average, which Toma was more than happy, but then they said it. That he got in a fight with a group of kids from another class because they stole his crayons. He punched them. Ren looked very ashamed of it, head ducked down and avoiding any sort of eye contact while he held his bruised, bright red knuckles carefully.
The walk home was silent. The awkward kind. Ren didn't say anything, Toma didn't know what to say. Yes, the other kids instigated, so they're at fault. But resorting to violence so fast..? He didn’t think his son would have Reika's temper amplified by 10. "...'m sorry." Ren whispered halfway through. Toma sighed.
"I'm not gonna say that you were right to punch 'em." he said "But they ain't in the right, either. You don’t steal other people's stuff and provoke 'em."
"...I'll try." he murmured "I'll try to keep it in check. I don't wanna be like her." Toma's chest tightened again. Like her.
"You won't. You won't be like her. I know it."