Chapter Text
Baby You're anything but worthless.
Aine walked home, carrying home some groceries for her dinner tonight. The dusk of the evening and it's chilly, ready to rain spring air was obvious. There was already a light misting rain.
"Well, it's not too far, I can beat the rain!" she stated to herself, picking up a quicker pace. As the woman rushed, she was already at the park, and she stopped. Looking out, Aine took notice of a brown haired child sitting alone on the swing set.
"Again?" this was probably the fourth time she had seen this child alone at the park, at this time of night, she had even seen him in the morning countless times in the same area. It bothered her in all honesty that there was never an adult or two nearby with him. She shivered as the wind got colder.
"I... should go home... but..." looking back, the woman hesitated to move on forward to her home. She looked ready to go over to the child, but she considered how it might look if their guardian DID show up.
"I mean, it'll probably be a short talk, yeah, and I can always explain myself... Okay! Here goes!" with her mind made up, she turned her direction towards the swing set. As she got closer, she began to make out better features on the child. She noticed how utterly filthy the child was, like they hadn't had a good bath in a long while. Nicks and bruises covered their legs and arms, but what made her heart stop beating, was the clouded eyes the child had, eyes that only those who experience hell have. The hesitation she previously had returned ten fold, freezing her in place. Sensing another presence, the child looked up at her, flinching almost.
"'m I bothering you miss? I can leave if I am" the voice sounded boyish, and his question gave Aine the chance to regain her voice.
"No, you're not... I was just wondering, where are your parents? I keep seeing you here every night" she didn't know how to tread with this boy. He swung back and forth lightly.
"Don't have any... No one really comes looking either" he stated to her. Shit, now it was awkward. Aine chewed on the bottom of her lip, before she heard the growl of a stomach. She froze when the boy winced in pain of his own stomach. Thoughts came pouring over her like a damn waterfall, if no one was keeping an eye on this kid, he clearly wasn't being taken care of properly, which meant properly being fed. Taking a deep breath, Aine took hold of the chains of the swing, stopping the movement of it. He looked up at her curiously.
"Why don't you come back to my place for the night then? You probably need a meal and place to sleep" she wasn't sure why she offered, but she felt wrong if she just ignored him. The look he gave she should have expected, it wasn't very trusting, weary of her even. She held her hand out to him.
"I promise I don't bite Sweet pea, after all, meals are better with company" she was grinning at him now. Gingerly, the boy took her hand, allowing her to take him where ever she wanted.
"I'm Aine Cassidy... or Cassidy Aine if we go by the Japanese last name then first" The boy looked up at her.
"'M Akechi Goro..."
"Well Goro, it's a pleasure to meet you!" the boy found this woman extremely odd, she was rather chipper and friendly for an adult, she didn't even sound entirely Japanese from her accent and name. If it weren't for his stomach, he'd be attempting to run away in fear of her wanting to do something to him, but the offer of free food kept him around, and to actually sleep somewhere comfortable tonight.
---
Akechi was greeted to the lights of a decently sized apartment with hanging fixtures on hooks. He was nudged inside of the apartment by the woman. He saw a small dining table and a sofa. He didn't have time to look around as he was ushered straight to the bathroom.
"I have to cook dinner still and you would feel better after a bath" he didn't argue with Aine, allowing her to get a bath ready. She pulled out spare wash cloths and loofahs for him.
"I only have strawberry scented shampoo and conditioner, I hope you don't min-Oh! Clothes! Shoot! Well, you wash up, I gotta make a quick run! feel free to use any of the soap!" Goro watched this woman rush back out of the bathroom. He stood by his previous thought on her being strange as he began to get undressed and get into the tub. Sitting there, he began to lather his skin, grime and dirt starting to "melt" off of him. The boy winced however, when he washed his legs, considering the condition they were in. Goro looked up at the ceiling of the bathroom, feeling odd about being in someone's house like this.
"She seems really nice though" he thought aloud before dunking his head under the water of the tub. It felt like hours to him, when he heard the door open and Aine call out.
"Sorry I took so long! The store is a long walk on foot, I don't think I'll have enough time to cook, so I bought some sushi if that's alright!" she was removing her shoes, holding a few bags. Soon, Aine was back in the bathroom, holding a folded up pair of pajamas and package of undergarments.
"This was the only kid size they had, sorry if they're too big" she was giving a sheepish laugh to him, setting them on the toilet lid. Watching her buzz around like a headless chicken actually made the boy giggle a little, he was enjoying her company more and more by the second. Pulling the plug and wrapping a towel around himself, he took a look at just what it was the woman got him. The light yellow shirt was long enough to reach his knees, and the collar hole was rather large for him, it had a rabbit sleeping on the moon as the image, and the bottoms were covered with the same pattern.
Getting dressed was rather easy for him at least, but now that he wore the PJ's, the shirt seemed to slide to one shoulder, the bottoms luckily weren't going to make him trip easily as he walked out. Goro was introduced to the sight of the woman getting her table set. She stopped when she saw him, offering him a wide smile.
"Sushi is good, right?" he gave a small smile in return and nodded.
---
After dinner, Aine was on the couch with a movie playing, and before Goro knew it, he was sitting in her lap. He blinked when he felt light painless tugs on his hair. He looked up at the woman who had a hair brush in her hand.
"Your hair will get tangled if it dries un-brushed" she told him with an innocent smile. Blushing, the boy nodded, nuzzling closer to her as they watched the movie. Eyelids growing heavy, the boy wound up falling asleep curled up on the woman's lap and she didn't seem interested in moving for the night.