#ch. hiroto

[p5-apotelesma]

snippets about a father and child that make me want to start chewing on my furniture

[p5-apotelesma]

REN'S PARENTS (Soraya, Hiroto, and Haname)

The Departed Mother, Absent Father, and Wicked Stepmother.

[p5-apotelesma]

The friend of Ren's parents and regular patron of Cafe Leblanc...

Momose Kurokawa.

a dear friend of ren's late mother, Soraya, she was essentially ren's nanny for a good chunk of their young life (along with another woman named Haname, who his father eventually marries.) she influenced Ren's special interest in space, and ren very much looked to her as a mother and loved her company.

ren and momose lost touch when he was around 8, after some ongoing drama within the family pushed momose to drop contact with them. feeling like she lost her place to belong, all momose could do was run far away from it and hope that one day she'd wake up to find that it didnt hurt as much anymore.

but she loved ren. she loved ren so much and she promised soraya she would be there. so she didnt want to be out of ren's life completely, which is why she would send him letters and gifts. she wanted him to know she still loved him and she always would think of him. (you can thank haname for throwing the letters away so ren never knew.)

and it shocks her, how much she's still hurting, when rens father calls her to ask for help with ren almost a decade later. how afraid she felt to be reached out to. because it's been years. why now? you want me to help you? i tried to be there for you before. you pushed me away. please don't break my heart anymore.

but it's about ren. its about her sweet baby child and not only is the timing genuinely Not great (shes moving because of her job) but the thought of being caught in the middle of hiroto's family issues again makes her queasy.

and she'd be lying to herself if she said the thought of seeing ren again didn't make her shake either. and she feels guilty because my god, he's never done anything wrong. but she gave so much and she left him once already. does he resent her? and if not would she be able to let him go again if she said yes? would she survive it? would ren?

she cant house him for his probation. but the least she could do... is set ren up with someone she knows in an area she knows is safe. someone with good character. who's ultimately kind and would be understanding of a kid with ren's quirks.

and sojiro can't say no to a pretty lady in tears over some troubled kid she sees as her own child.

[p5-apotelesma]

Ren had a little brother in this AU?? Tell me more!

ren was actually going to have another sibling too. when he was very little, his dad got his caretaker haname pregnant. and they put plans in motion to marry. (and did, despite the complications)

ren was still young, like, 5 i think? (i really have to go over the timeline again. work details out) so there was a lot he didnt exactly understand about what was going on around him. he has vague memories of being told. haname is going to be family now. shes going to be your mom. you're going to be a big brother.

but haname lost the pregnancy within the first trimester

ren was just a kid, he didnt understand death yet. sure, his mother had died, too. and he was told that but. concerning that first pregnancy, from his perspective it was very much. “and then nothing happened.”

a year or two later, haname was pregnant again. the next baby, taiki. was born roughly 4 months premature and. lived in nicu for some months more. doctors said he was well enough to come home but his health tanked. he lived his final days with his family. most likely died from respitory distress

ren barely got to see taiki at all. and then suddenly hes just not around. and apparently he died. and ren is supposed to be sad and he supposes he is. he was excited to be a brother. he may be a bit older now, but a good chunk of this is still beyond him. of course, theres more there. but a lot of his childhood is just. blocked out

he remembers some things but hey feel very dream-like. like they were happening to someone else and hes just watching. ren remembers the funeral. or what he thinks is the funeral but was actually the cremation. in odd pieces. he remembers placing things in his brothers small casket. a lot of the women crying. the pale faces of his father and his uncles.

being expected to pick some bones out with chopsticks to put in the urn but not being able to do. anything. but stare at the ashes. and his father saying. ren, it's okay. you dont have to.

he remembers after. before they were going to go back to his house. in the small parking lot outside the cremation parlor. it was the last time he saw momose. he hadnt seen her in months.... and the last thing he wants is for her to leave again. he missed her so much. he wants her to be his mom instead. haname yells and breaks things a lot and she scares him.

he cried more over momose saying goodbye than his own brother.