The Act of Growing Up

Brown eyes stared at a pair of thick black boots; the fake-leather footwear had large heels and more metal than one could shake a stick at. The left was tapping up and down on the lounge floor. The boots were also upside-down, but it all deepened on which way they were being looked at. From Nat's point of view they were upside down. Gaze traveled up the leg, noticing just how many chains one person could hang from the belt loops of their jeans before the things fell down from the weight. Further up, and a pair of arms were folded at a lean chest, hiding beneath them what could only be some crude words printed on the front of the black t-shirt the man wore. Higher, past the spiked chocker at his neck, up beyond the decorated and pierced face, to the very top of that blond and black mess of hair that was once a well styled mohawk, currently more of a mess on his head.

Down again, to green eyes that narrowed at him. "As much as I like the view from up here, because your shirt is slipping down, and you have one very attractive stomach, I got turfed out of bed because your boyfriend called my best friend, and I was sent to play good Samaritan and cheer up the sad fucker who's bothering my friend."

"I didn't understand a word of that," Nat replied, feeling the blood rush to his head. He was dangling over the edge of his couch, long legs slung over the back, and head over the edge of the seat.

Jojo rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue, the metal in his tongue clinking against his teeth. "What I said was, Evvie is upset over something, and turned to T-chan for advice. T-chan then called me up to get my butt over here, because my new found wisdom is supposed to help you."

"Still didn't understand that,"

"Your boyfriend is being emo, because he thinks you're being emo." That was about as simply an explanation as he could get it.

"So why did they send you? Why didn't Tetsu come instead?"

Jojo scoffed, arms flopping to his sides. Leaning forwards, he poked at Nat's chest. "Because T-chan now has to cheer Evvie up. Morgan came up with the great idea that I: Jojo the Great, come see you, because we were in the same year at high school, and we both pulled some right pranks on the teachers. That, and I'm supposed to be doing more adult things, considering I'm a Godfather and all that junk,"

Nat chuckled, rolling over and sitting up. "Who in their right mind would make you a Godfather?"

"J.J. pushed out some squirt of Aidan's, and suggested me for some inane reason. I hear your bro's got Lila up the duff again."

Long fingers pushed through the strawberry strands that grew from his head. "Evander was so happy when Belle was born, I didn't have the heart to tell him then." The male sighed heavily, spinning around and swinging his legs over the couch and standing up. Even in his heels, Nat managed to remain a few inches higher than Jojo - and the Irish male was tall to say the least. "Now with this second baby, he's really starting to think about it more, and I just don't know how to tell him," another sigh, and he looked at the other male, confusion present on his face. "Evander wants to start a family of his own," he clarified for him.

Jojo scratched his nose, breaking out into a grin. "He does know that guys can't get pregnant, doesn't he?"

The younger Morhan twin rolled his eyes at his ex-classmate. "He wants to adopt a baby."

"Aaaahhhh....And you don't?"

Nat shook his head softly, turning away from Jojo and focusing on his tropical fish, trying to stop his mind from swirling. Evander was upset because he was avoiding the conversation, and the poor guy probably thought Nat had stopped loving him or something. He hadn't expected the cavalry to come in the form of Jojo, but more in the shape of his older brother. "Babies and I just don't go well together. Little kids I can handle, but not babies - and he wants to do the baby bit."

"Have you told him maybe adopting a kid rather than a babie?" Jojo suggested, slumping down on the vacated couch, spreading his arms out as if he owned the place.

A silent nod, eyes still trained on the fish.

"And he was insistent on the babie?"

Again, Nathanael nodded. "I used to think about having a family, nice house, maybe a dog. Then Evander came along, and that drifted away. That image was for Theo - once he found that girl to settle with, and Lila turned out to be the perfect thing."

"Sex with only one arm," Jojo purred.

"That's my sister-in-law you're perving on," Nat retorted, pointing an accusing finger at the other. "I want Evander to be happy, but would he be happy even if I'm not?"

Jojo pondered on what to say next, tilting his head back and allowing his eyes to close. "Get a surrogate. Father your own baby."

"I'm not going to cheat on my boyfriend."

Sitting upright, Jojo shook his head. "No, no, I mean, get a friend to offer up her womb, turkey baster, all that. If Abbie and I wanted kids, I'd either ask J.J. or Sid. Most possibly Sid, because then it would still be kind of Ab's in a way."

"But Evander doesn't have any siblings."

Bright grin spread across the male's face. "Ah, but he does have someone he sees as a sister. You just have to convince her to get her butt back to the 'states."

The penny dropped, and Nat stared at Jojo, part in shock, and part in admiration. "But it would still be a baby."

"Yeah, but it's your baby. Not some random girl who got drunk one night, slept with some guy she didn't even catch the name of, and is now giving you her baby, cus' she's too doped up to keep it. You'll be there, all through the months of pregnancy, and you'll be able to hold it. T-chan told me he hated Madeline, that she gave Morgan something he never could. But holding those twins, seeing how Morgan was with them, he stopped hating her. Izzytot and MiniMorgan are like his own children," he explained, remembering how Tetsu looked when Jojo saw him holding the babies on his first visit to their apartment. They weren't Tetsu's biological children, but by the look on his friend's face, Jojo could have sworn they were. "How are you with that niece of your's? It'll be like that, but a million times more."

Thinking about it, Nat agreed. He loved Belle to bits, and was fine holding her, and could happily take care of her while Theo and Lila were off out for an evening. Evander and himself had even looked after her for nearly a week when Lila went and did some acting thing out of New York and Theo went with her as support. "I'll call Nanami tonight."