krystalkatzficz | My Family part 23

Matsumoto Jun stared at the name on his phone for a moment, it was one that he hadn’t been expecting and he almost hated the way his heart started to jump. His finger hovered over the call busy button tempted to just ignore it but he knew that he couldn’t and he sighed almost reluctantly clicking the call answer button and holding it up to his ear though not quite all the way knowing how loud Masaki could get when he was talking.

“Hello? Masaki?”

“Eh?!” The other man almost shouted down the line and Jun was glad he had had the sense to pull the phone away “How did you know it was me?”

“Caller ID, idiot” Jun chuckled rolling his eyes at the breathy idiot on the other end of the line. Aiba Masaki had always been an idiot, ever since they had met in college, but he had always been his idiot. He knew people couldn’t understand why they would be together as they were so different, but the truth was they weren’t all that different at all. Masaki just had an easier time expressing himself. When Masaki had rejected his proposal, it was like having his heart ripped out of his chest and he had been sure that his heart would never heal. The fact that they’d had to remain close thanks to their chosen lines of work and it had been devastating that a year after they had called it quits Masaki had moved in with somebody else. “What’s wrong?”

“Eh? Nothing’s wrong…Well not exactly…I…I must ask you something and I know that I really shouldn’t because it isn’t really fair. But you are that only person that I can trust with this and I know that you will be brilliant, but it still isn’t fair ne?” Masaki jabbered away his tone becoming increasingly high and more erratic the longer he spoke, and Jun sighed letting his breath escape through his nostrils for a moment before he spoke sharply but calmly saying;

“Masaki. Stop! Breathe. Slowly. In and out for a minute and then try again”

“Right, sorry…Um…It’s about Sho-chan’s nephew…Um…His mother is a bit of a fly-by-night…She leaves him alone whenever she finds a new boyfriend and I think it’s more than that. There ae marks all over his body, Jun-kun and he’s so scared…” Masaki sounded a little calmer now, but Jun knew there were tears not so far away. His personal feelings vanished at the mention of a vulnerable child. As hyperactive as his former lover could be he knew that Masaki was good at his job and would know the signs as well as he did.

“How old is the nephew?”

“Eight. But there are times when he acts younger and then other times when you would think he was older. He wet the bed last night, Jun-kun and then thought I was going to beat him for it” Masaki told him the tremble in his voice clear as day now and Jun could easily imagine the man with shiny eyes trying to stay focused and calm and, yet Jun knew that there would be anger inside him as well. “We don’t won’t Kazu to go back to her, but we know that we don’t have much of a leg to stand on. You were the only person I thought that could help us”

Jun felt a muscle in his jaw clench at the words. Masaki was right. Even if the boy was being abused a lot of people would still think that he would be in a better environment with his mother than he would two men. It was sick, but he had seen it a few times already in his career with people wondering why two men would want to take care of a child. In most peoples’ minds it meant that they would want him for nefarious reasons. Clicking his tongue, he grabbed a pen and a scrap of paper and tried to set himself into professional mode.

“Where are you living now? If you can give me the address I will come and speak to you and meet…”

“Kazu-kun! Thank-you, Jun-kun, I know that it’s rude to ask you, but I didn’t know what to do, he’s the sweetest little boy in the world Jun-kun, you have to help him” Masaki said quickly, and Jun gave a little smile. He had always been weak to Masaki and even if they had broken up it wasn’t going to change anything.

“I will do what I can, Masaki-chan, but you have to know that you’re in for a fight. We will need as much evidence as possible. It is going to be distressing for him”

“I know but he will know that we love him, ne? He can’t even cope with my family without crying because they’re being nice to him” Masaki informed him again and Jun nodded with an even wider smile. He had stayed in contact with the Aiba’s after their break-up enjoying going to the restaurant to eat and to talk to Tamiko who always managed to give him a brighter outlook on things. If the boy was being truly abused the way Masaki believed, then it was obvious that they would be overwhelming for him.

“Okay, Masaki-chan, I understand I will do what I can. But first I’m going to need your address and a time when I can come”

“I’m off tomorrow, but Kazu-kun will be attending school if he wants to. So, I guess it would be easier for you to come around five?” Masaki suggested hopefully, and Jun let out a noise of agreement before writing down the address Masaki gave to him. He knew the apartments Masaki talked about and was surprised that his former lover could afford to live there though he supposed it was easier if he was sharing it with his new lover.

“Okay, Masaki-chan, I will come visit, but you do know that if there is a case I can’t be the one to handle it. If I was then there is a real chance that it would be thrown out…” Jun hummed knowing that his personal connection to the case would do more harm than good in a situation like this. “But I will do my best to help you”

“Thank-you, Jun-kun…”

TBC

A/N: I hope that this is okay ^_^