Zori smirked at the softly spoken "debatable" that left Fumie's lips, her chuckle making the corner of his mouth turn up, the little gap in his front
teeth flashing the way it always did when he could hear her happiness. He felt her lean closer to him, his jaw clenching a little at the warmth as she
drew into him, her lips pressed against his shoulder. He returned the kiss, his lips lowering clumsily to the top of her head, brushing her hair. The
ladle in his hand was probably a good thing as that moment would've made him forget about the omelet altogether.
You know I couldn't help it right?
Zori nearly scoffed into that damn omelet, his smile growing as his eyes met Fumie's innocent ones. Sometimes, she made Zori laugh...especially when
she turned on that "cat that swallowed the rat whole" look. The look that said, "don't tell me I'm wrong...because I'm not!"...even though a lot of
the time...well...
"Babe..." He said quietly, flipping the omelet as she talked about what she wasn't going to "let" happen between her son and Devyn again. Let
being the word that rang out louder than the rest of the sentence for Zori. Because "let" meant the complete opposite of what Zori thought should be
happening when it came to Fumie and Koi's life. Of course, Zori knew he toed the line when it came to giving Zori advice about their children. Because
no matter how much Zori claimed them...how much he loved Koi and Eri, the truth was that they were Fumie's. She'd given birth to them. Held them
underneath her heart for nine months. Delivered them. There wasn't a lot that Zori felt that he could argue her on when it came to her babies. But he
just...he knew that "let" wasn't going to end well.
"...I-" His words stopped short as he tried to figure out the best way to express himself to her. He flipped the omelet to bid him time, looking at
Fumie out of the corner of his eye.
"I think you want to do right by Koi...you're his mama. It's second nature for you to want the best for him, love." He spoke slowly, his concentration
focused on the skillet to keep from looking Fumie in the eye.
"I just think...that holding on as tight as you want to might do more harm than help, Fumie..."
"The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances."
This was her favorite version of them. Parent Fumie and Zo. When they tag teamed and made the best decisions for their children...because
they were that. Theirs. In his short time in their lives, Zori was more of a father to Koi and Eri than Shemar had been all of their lives. Hell, even
now Shemar hadn't contacted either of the kids since the divorce was finalized. Not that either of them would speak to him, but he wasn't trying...and
honestly, Fumie preferred it that way. Zo was much better suited for fatherhood anyway.
And they had talked about it. As much as Zo considered her kids his, and Fumie loved him for it, Zori wanted children that had come from him...she got
that. And she wanted to give that to him, but...she didn't know. As much as Fumie loved Zori and was absolutely committed to their relationship she
wasn't...ready? She guessed the word she was looking for was 'ready'. After being so miserable in a marriage for so long, the idea of getting into a
new one and all of the things that came with was...scary to Fumie. Even if it was with Zo. Having Eri convince her that it was time for him to move in
had been much harder than it should have been (and more difficult than she would ever admit to him), but she loved how they were now. And for now,
Zori was giving her the time she needed.
And, more often than not, the advice she needed. Not that Fumie's actions ever told him that she appreciated his efforts. Even in his gentle
disagreement, Fumie resisted the idea that she should just let the chips fall where they may with Koi and Devyn. He was right. She wanted the best for
him. And Devyn was great, but she wasn't best for him right now. Everyone involved knew that to be true; that's why Christmas began with them being
'friends' and only ended up with them being more because...ugh. Teenage love. She remembered it well...and she knew how much trouble it could
end up being.
"He's just been through so much already, Zori. You know that-," Fumie sighed, trying to gather her thoughts. In a way she agreed with Zori. She knew
she could be more smothering than mothering when it came to her son and maybe this was one of those situations, but...
"And he's got so much going on already with school and basketball and this fraternity shit that I know is going to test his sobriety-," Fumie ran a
hand through her hair as she moved away from Zori, creating a little distance as she watched him fold the omelet in the pan. "Devyn is only going to
add pressure to what he thinks he has to do and I know what can happen when the pressure builds up..."
She did. And she didn't want that for him. Not again.
Not anymore.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
...and I know what can happen when the pressure builds up...
Fumie knew her son. She knew him in a way that Zori never would. Eighteen years of her raising him, caring for him and loving him told Zori that he
would never come close to knowing Koi the way Fumie did. Anyone that sat that close to her heart for the nine months he'd grown inside of her? Zori
didn't stand a chance. But in the short time that he'd known Koi, Zori'd learned quickly what happened when the pressure built up, too. He'd seen it
on prom night. He'd seen it the night he'd proposed to Devyn. And he saw it building now. Fumie was right. There was so much working against him right
now that it was impossible for Zori to deny that fact...but that didn't exactly mean that it was time for the love of his life to dig her cape out of
the closet just yet. Fumie was so use to saving the day that she went into action the second things looked like they were headed for trouble.
Was that the case right now? Zori didn't know. He didn't know if the words that he'd said to Koi before he and Dhonny had gone back upstairs had
stuck. He didn't know if Koi would stick to the things he'd said about Devyn when he got back to campus and she was the only thing that he could see.
Because Zori knew firsthand. Words were real easy to repeat, but actions were what was hard to commit to. Zori'd loved Fumie before his mind let his
body fall for her. He'd tried to stay away from the very thing that completed him. But his fight had been honorable. Even though he'd lost, he'd still
won. That was why he wasn't afraid for Koi. He had a long road in front of him, but there wasn't a doubt in Zori's mind that Koi'd win in the end.
"Sachi..." He spoke softly as he plated her omelet, one hand holding the plate...the other holding her by the waist, pulling her close to him as he
spoke. He smiled softly as he looked at her, the tensed, agitate furrow of her brow pulling a soft chuckle from his lips.
"You know you're working yourself up, right?" He knew making light of the situation would irritate her but didn't like seeing her like this. Agitated.
Speaking herself into a spiral of "what could" and "what might" instead of what was actually happening. And what was happening was their son was
growing up. He was becoming the man Zori secretly prayed he'd become.
"Listen to me." He steered her body towards island, placing the plate on the top of the it as she sat on one of the bar stools. He paused as he pulled
silverware from one of the island's drawers, placing them gently on her plate.
"We got this...and you worrying isn't doing anything but giving you crow's feet."
"The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances."
Like the teapot could hear them talking it began to whistle as soon as Fumie finished her thought. She snapped the eye off, moving the kettle away
from the heat as her thoughts kept running. If Koi went down this road with Devyn too quickly it was bound to end in disaster. The two of them
together was...a lot. And Koi didn't need "a lot" right now. He had plenty with this ridiculous idea of his to pledge on top of his actual
obligations...Like she said...she just knew how he got when the pressure built up...
Zori called her name bringing her back to him. Part of her hated when he used her middle name because that only meant one of two things. She was in
trouble or he was going to say something she didn't like. She knew what it would be this time, but she waited to hear it from him anyway, his hand
pulling her body into his. She was overreacting.
He said it nicer than she thought he might. Fumie was working herself up. Getting excited about things that hadn't happened yet and might not
ever happen. She knew he was right. Zori was always right, but that didn't mean she could just turn it off! She rolled her eyes, sighing
deeply as she cut them at him. He just chuckled again, knowing better than to take her seriously when she was being stubborn. And she was...but she
was right! Why couldn't he just tell her she was right?!
Zori led her to the island, imploring her to listen to him as he put her omelet in front of her. We got this...He was so sure. Fumie's eyes
connected with his cool greys and she just...Zori had a way about him that always grounded her. He was right, she was spiraling, but he had a way of
saying just the right thing just the right way that just...oop! Fumie scoffed, her mouth falling open at the sheer audacity before she
laughed a little, her hand reaching out to swat at his arm.
"I'm ignoring that last bit, because we both know it's not true-," she chuckled again, "But I hear you, baby." Fumie smiled at him as she motioned him
closer, her fingers finding his face as she pulled Zori's lips to hers in a kiss. She didn't let it linger, because she knew they were
supposed to be doing breakfast...but, as he turned to get his own plate together, and Fumie let her eyes follow his form across the kitchen,
she wondered just how long they actually needed to be in here...
"Y'know...you're very sexy when you do this confident dad thing-," Fumie bit her lip leaning in a little as Zori looked at her over his shoulder. "I
like it..."
A lot. She liked it a lot. And she was thinking about all of the ways she could show him just how much.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
Zori was glad for the whistling tea kettle that interrupted Fumie's thoughts as they had a habit of getting bigger the more she stayed on them. That
was the last thing she needed when it came to thinking about Koi. Things were complicated already when it came to him. He was figuring out himself as
a man. That was hard enough...Zori could attest to that. It was too much for Fumie to carry the weight of "what could be" and "what might happen" when
what was in front of her face was good enough. Koi was staying clean, making decisions for himself, and growing into his manhood. Eri was making
friends and coming out of her shell a little more everyday. Life was working out well for them. The universe knew it owed Fumie and the kids that
much. Zori didn't want to ignore the obvious. He knew Fumie had a valid point. Things could get bad. Quickly. Zori just wanted her to let go of the
past long enough to appreciate the good.
He turned away from her, her scoff widening his smile as he started on his own omelet, her playful swat meeting his arm at his joke about her
nonexistent crows feet. And there it was. The laugh he'd been waiting for. It immediately broke the tension in the room as it filled the kitchen. That
laugh? It'd taken awhile for her to laugh like that again. After the year they'd seen, Zori was just glad she'd gotten her laugh back. He was happy
for the joy in their lives. Even if the darker moments were never too far off, he was glad for "now".
But I hear you, baby... And that was all he wanted. To know that she was listening. Even if his words never erased her anxiety about Koi, he
knew that they at least gave here a little peace.
He bit his lip a little, his lips curling into a soft smile as they met hers. Although it was a quick kiss, he could feel the energy behind it. The
unspoken words that moved between them. Words that almost made him burn his omelet. He turned it over and switched the eye of the stove off as he
moved to the cabinet for the Saints cup he always had his morning tea in. A short silence fell over the kitchen as he prepared his tea...and
then...
Y'know...
He felt himself warm as Fumie talked about the sexiness of his "dad" skills...a conversation that when he looked back on them, he'd never dreamed they
would've been having in a million years. Two million. Three...whatever. He wouldn't have had it any other way. He looked over his shoulder at her, his
eyes everywhere they shouldn't have been with their son and his best friend upstairs.
The bite of her lip. The long curl she'd let slip out of the top bun she'd styled her hair into that morning. The purr in her voice...
"You might wanna watch the way you talk to me if you want to finish your breakfast this morning..." His voice was barely above a whisper, but he knew
Fumie heard him...
"The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances."
Zori was very sexy when he did his "dad thing". Eri was a little different because Fumie thought she intuitively knew Zo would be good for them (she
was like that), but Fumie often thought about the first time Koi called Zori dad. It was so simple. They were moving him into his room and Koi just
wanted Zo to grab a box and move it. It was an accident, really. A slip of the tongue. Aye, can you grab that for me, dad. He didn't pause
when he said it. Fumie was pretty sure he hadn't noticed it happened until much later, but...it happened. Neither she nor Zo said anything, but it was
a big deal and it happened.
It happened again this morning as they tried thinking through what was going on with Koi and Devyn. It was a lot less of an accident now when Koi
called him dad, but the flutter it caused in her heart was the same. Finally having some semblance of a father figure for her kids, specifically her
son, was...if she was being deep and in touch with her feelings, it was fulfilling as a mother in a way that she couldn't describe. If she was keeping
it light and surface level, it was hot as fuck.
And Fumie didn't mind telling Zori so. She could feel his smile before he saw it, his eyes cutting at her over his shoulder as he gave her a
mischievous smirk to match her own. Zori knew where this was going...and he knew it wasn't going to end in her finishing her breakfast. You might
wanna watch how you talk to me...She could hear Shemar in it.
Every now and again, when Zori talked to her, when he played with her...he would say something that he'd said. Every time, she heard the
violence first and it froze her. Fumie knew Zori and Shemar weren't the same. She knew the Zo would never hurt her...and she reminded herself of that
fact as she tapped back in, her brief reminders becoming shorter and shorter as she got further away from the reality of having Shemar in her life.
"Hey. You started it-," her lips curled as she cut a bit of her omelet with her fork, putting it in her mouth. Delicious, as always...but still not as
yummy as the thought of...
"I'm just saying, you've had a busy morning. Talking sense into our son, your run, talking sense into me-," she stood up then, approaching Zo as he
watched her carefully over the rim of his mug. His smirk matched her mischievous one as she continued her flirt. "I think you...should finish your
breakfast-" she tilted his cup up and he took a sip, eyes still glued to hers. And I think I should go upstairs and run us a shower."
Fumie leaned into him then, her body pressing further into his as the hand not holding his tea wrapped around her waist. Her hands rested on his chest
and she let them trail down his body with her next words, "I think I'll wait for you there and think about how I want to help you relax after the
morning you've had...-," her fingers played at the band of his shorts. Fumie was being careful not to do what she wanted and grab his...she wanted the
tease. She liked watching him melt under her.
Her lips were at his jaw as he leaned against the counter and she spoke against him, placing short sweet kisses along his face until she found his
lips, "...and by the time you get upstairs the shower will be all steamy and I'll be hot and dripping wet..." Fumie let her words trail off,
pushing away from him. She was going to leave him thinking about what she would do while she waited for him...although she could tell from the look in
his eye, she wouldn't be waiting long. She switched up on him, her tone turning from the dark seduction it held seconds ago to a cheerful, innocent
one.
"And we can get you all clean, yeah? See you in a minute?" Fumie tapped his nose with her finger before turning for the stairs. Yeah. She would see
him in a minute, alright.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
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