Chapter Text
Parenthood did teach Noel Noa a lot of things. He encountered a lot of situations that he had to adapt.
He could not say he could comprehend all of them.
For example, Yoichi’s relationship with that Kaiser boy.
“And-and, then he stole my eraser, again! In the middle of the class!”
Noel Noa glanced at his son who was strapped on the car seat from the front mirror, his hands on the steering wheel.
Yoichi’s eyebrows were furrowed as he seemed to relive a heated argument.
“And what did you do?” Noa questioned. The wheels had started to spin in his mind, he needed to intervene if that Kaiser boy was troubling his son.
“So you are Yoichi’s father?”
The messy haired blond boy inquired as he tilted his head sideways. His initial shock of seeing a professional athlete seemed to wear off, this was the thing about kids Noa had come to learn. They processes things really fast. Now all he could see on other boy’s face was “challenge”.
Noa scooped up his sleeping son to his arms as he turned to the boy.
“Yes. Thank you for looking after him.”
The boy hummed to himself as he seemed to contemplate about something. His messy blonde hair covered his expression. Noa considered leaving him just there.
He still could not understand kids.
Suddenly they boy perked up and exclaimed “Yes, I found it!”.
He swang his pointing finger to Noel and his son. “I am going to beat you and Yoichi and become the best striker!”
He seemed so proud of himself with full of determination. Noa’s expression remained still as he looked down to the boy.
“And your name was..?”
Michael Kaiser seemed like trouble. Noel had started to miss the Bachira kid.
“So I said to him, I bet you can’t throw that into the trashbin and he said he definitely could.”
Yoichi swang his little arms in the air in frustration.
“He is so annoying! He thinks he can just do everything. I can not stand him!”
According to Noa’s observations of his son so far, he was a sweet and calm boy. He would always try to carry one of the grocery bags even though Noa was an athlete that could easily carry groceries for two people. Noa would refuse at first but he could not resist much when his son tugs the bag with his little fingers. Both in Japan and Germany, Noa never got a warning from Yoichi’s teachers either, they would describe him as a cooperative sweet child. He never complained much about anything as well, even when he had to adapt to a very different country in such young age.
Noa was thankful that Yoichi was easy to please and raise however it never seemed right.
A child should be a little handful, no? A little bit selfish and loud. Yoichi was none of that and it consistently worried Noa.
However, all his demeanor changed when he stepped in a football field.
Yoichi was competitive and loved winning.
Noa had known this change from Japan and he could not say he was pleased with Yoichi being demanding, determined and selfish about something.
However it seemed like Michael Kaiser also had the power of bringing this side of Yoichi even outside the field.
“I will get strawberry and, and-“ Yoichi stumbled over his words, clearly searching for the right word in right language for his wants.
Noa was not sure how he ended up taking Michael Kaiser and Yoichi to a nearby ice cream stand after school. Two boys stood in front of the stand and Noa behind them as they tried to make a choice.
Noa was about to step in remind Yoichi that right word was die Zitrone for lemon that he knew Yoichi loved but Michael Kaiser was ahead of him.
“It is die Zitrone, stupid Yoichi!” Michael giggled as he held his own ice cream.
Okay, this is a bit rude, Noa thought before processing the fact that Kaiser somehow knew Yoichi’s preferences in ice cream, however he was interrupted before he could speak, again.
“Haa!? I am not stupid! At least I don’t willingly eat toothpaste like you!” Yoichi glared him back.
Michael Kaiser seemed taken aback as he held on to his ice cream tighter. “How dare you! It tastes so good!”
“For a bland person like you!”
Noa and the ice cream man could just stand there as the two bickered, ice creams long forgotten.
Whenever Yoichi and Kaiser together, they would be bickering. Noa even got a call from their teacher for the first time ever saying that Yoichi and Kaiser had to once get separated from their seats in class since they were being loud together.
However when Noa came to school the other day it seemed like they started to sit together again.
This was the most confusing part for Noa. Because no matter all the arguments, bickering or insults, they never got separated.
1.
“Where are you going?” Noa folded his arms over his chest as he stared at his son who was tying his shoelaces.
He glanced up barely for a second.
“Michael and I are going to play! I will beat him for good this time!”
2.
“Why two?” Noa inquired as Yoichi put two of his favorite chocolate bars to the shopping bag.
“I will bring one to Michael while we do the group homework so he will stop whining.”
3.
“What is that?” Noa asked, pointing to the hair clip that held Yoichi’s bangs back.
Yoichi touched slightly to the hale clip as blood rushed to his cheeks. From embarrassment, frustration or something else, Noa would not know.
“Michael gave it to me so that ‘I could see the field better and I could maybe play better’. The nerve of him!” Yoichi complained as he stepped into the house after coming back from school.
Noa could not help but to notice Yoichi did not take the clip off the whole day.
Faint flickering lights from the television illuminated his son’s sleeping face as Noa lowered the volume.
Noa slowly turned his head to his son on his lap, his face slotted on Noa’s shoulder as he fell asleep.
Noa remembered their initial television watching days. Yoichi’s height used to not make it to Noa’s chin while he was sitting on his lap those days.
Noa’s heart beat with another unfamiliar but increasing feeling as he raised his hand to caress his son’s hair. Yoichi did not steer, assuming he was tired from playing football in every possible minute with that Kaiser boy, but leaned into Noa’s touch.
Noa wondered if everything as fine as it felt sometimes. Was Yoichi really faring well in such unfamiliar country? Was Michael Kaiser good for him to be with?
Was Noa really enough?
His hand stilled on Yoichi’s hair and a few strands fell to the front of his face, his cheeks squished against Noa’s board shoulders however looking peaceful in general.
Noa brushed his son’s hair back with his other hand.
He did not have enough knowledge about parenthood. He could not figure out such questions on his own.
His hand reached to his phone on his pocket.
What he had done when he felt like this before? When he was given Yoichi the first time?
It was familiar when he was young, inexperienced but full of determination for being the best striker and save himself from the hell he was born in. Noa was not sure how to do it so he did everything he could. And he met him, who showed Noa how to figure out, strengthen and arm his weapons and fire them as an unstoppable goal, no matter the opponent.
He tapped to the contacts list, his fingers acting before his thoughts, as if it is an internal reflex to do so.
However, his thumb hovers above the call button.
Noa got up and exited the living room, carrying his son to tuck him to bed, his phone abandoned on the couch with no calls made.