“I don’t see the problem here.”

“The problem here,” Adrian Mattias let out, his hands going wild over his head, “is that you can’t keep it in your pants, and now we are going to have a situation.”

Tony let out a dramatic sigh and clambered up the stairs to their dorm after Adrian, bent forward to grab onto the steps as if truly climbing a mountain to deal with his friend. Really. REALLY? Adrian was so dramatic. He stomped up each step and when they finally reached the fifth year boys’ dorm Adrian flung himself face down on his bed and Tony dropped his bag in the doorway.

“Adrian,” he said, grabbing hold of one of the canopy posts and swinging around the foot of the bed. He was really in too good of a mood to get upset about his friend’s over dramatization. He’d just been caught kissing the cutest, sweetest, most flexible girl in the whole school. How could he be bovvered about what Adrian had to say about it? Swiftly, he swung his arm over his shoulder and smacked Adrian straight in the back, making his lying friend bounce up.

“You can’t date her!” Adrian yelped, glowering and rubbing his back, “You can’t! You can’t date her!”

“Why not?” Tony whined, stamping his feet, uncaring if he was now behaving like the dramatic four-year-old he was just scolding Adrian for being. “She’s smart, she fancies me, and she can dance!” His hips began to move, swaying back and forth as he was prone to do at the sound of the word. Even his hands joined in with his fingers snapping, “Why can’t I see her?!”

Adrian lashed out with a swift kick, but missed Tony’s shin by inches,

“She’s Odette’s best friend, cabrón!” Tony winced; when Adrian began cursing in Portuguese, you knew he was mad, “If you date her, then you will have to be friends with her friends, and if Odette is her best friend, then you will have to be nice to her y entonces yo no puedo tolerate Stella because that means I will be tolerating Odette y no quiero hacer eso! NO QUIERO!”

“I love it when you get all flustered,” Tony reached out and pinched Adrian’s cheek, jumping back fast enough to avoid getting smacked. “Your words start jumbling all up and I can’t understand anything you say so I just ignore the lot of it!”

“TONY!” Adrian shouted, jumping to his feet, his hands flailing, “You cannot DATE Estella Gibbon! You can’t! YOU CAN’T!”

“CAN I AT LEAST SNOG HER?” Tony wailed, dropping back onto his bed, spread eagle and imagining what it would be like to have his beautiful Slytherin ballerina curled up beside him under the canopy, “SNOGGING DOES NOT LEAD TO MUTUAL FRIENDSHIPS!”

Adrian let out a strangled, frustrated sound and Tony only had a second to react as his friend launched himself into the air to land beside him on his bed. They both bounced a few times, erupting into laughter as it really could not be contained any longer, for the situation was rather ridiculous. There were plenty of girls that Adrian messed around with that Tony didn’t particularly care for, so he should be allowed to mess around with whoever it felt like, until it caused issues. If Tony really thought that any problems could or would arise, he would be able to cut things short with Estella; he couldn’t betray his best friend that way over a bird. Even a really pretty, bendable one at that.

Adrian pushed himself up to the headboard, and Tony laid across the bed, his arms and feet dangling off the sides.

“Fine. Snogging, it is acceptable.”

“I thank you for your blessing, your grace,” Tony said somberly, earning a swift kick to the side, that he admittedly deserved.

return to top

“My little Cho, my little sun,” Tony cooed at his baby, his lips centimeters from her nose. Her tiny fingers reached up and smacked his cheeks, and he smiled brightly. He loved her, he loved her so, and it was easy to get lost in her eyes and her smile. She was the most precious thing in the world to him, and he cradled her tightly to his chest.

His head lifted to read the departure board one more time. Tony was nervous about taking such a little baby through a portkey ride all the way back from England, but the woman at the front desk assured him that the spells cast would keep the infant from feeling the strong tug and that most children were lulled to sleep. Still, he took extra precautions and the carrier that was strapped to his chest had the most comfortable of pillows and her favorite blanket snug and secure around Cho’s little body.

Tony kissed the top of her head as his eyes scanned the portkey terminal. It was late, a red-eye, one in the morning portkey was the only one that he could afford, and there only seemed to be a few others that were in a similar situation. It left the waiting area quiet and empty, save for the pieces of luggage that were floating about, bumping into another in mid-air. Tony only had the one suitcase and Cho’s baby bag; anything else that he had acquired here in Japan would be left for his flat’s next tenant. Everything that he needed to take back to England with him was in his arms.

Cho wiggled to get comfortable in the carrier and Tony kept his lips pressed to the top of her head, the little hair there tickling his face. She would not remember this place, or his flat; it had only been a month since she was born and if it were up to him, she would never know that she had even been born in Japan. As hard as that was to think, as hard as it was to do, Cho did not deserve to have any knowledge of the life that was denied for her. The two of them, they didn’t belong, they weren’t wanted...and he could never let his little girl feel that way, not if he could help it.

Still...his eyes watched the entrance of the terminal, hoping for that one face that could change his whole life. That one face that already had. Tony heard the announcement that his portkey was to be set off in fifteen minutes, and that he should make his way to the port now, but it seemed so far away. His feet were moving, his trunk in his hands, but everything felt like it was getting ready for something. The sound around him was muffled, all of his focus on that door.

She’s going to come, she’s going to come and stop me from leaving...

Tony placed his ticket on the counter, nodding along to the words of the attendant. The door of the entrance never opened, no one had come up from behind him to surprise him, and it was now the last possible second to get ready for their portkey. The attendant lead Tony to the room where only two other passengers were waiting for the deployment, and he sat in a chair by the table, an old football sitting on top of it. The portkey looked so unimpressive at the moment, but it was literally the thing that was going to shoot him back halfway around the world, and forever away from the thing he’d loved the most.

He felt a rustling against his chest and looked back down at Cho, his heart swelling as he tried to fight back the swell of emotions that were threatening to send him running out of the terminal. No, he had what he loved the most in his arms right now, and that portkey was going to take them to a better life, one that they both deserved. He was going to be her father for the rest of his life and his daughter was what he needed to focus on from now on.

“Shhh, my little sun,” he whispered, pressing his cheek against daughter’s head, “my little Cho.”

return to top

The smile on his face was probably going to tear a ligament or something in his mouth. Tony pushed the hospital room door open with his back, careful to not make a creak, as the tiny baby in his arms was sound asleep. His little girl was precious, she was precious and beautiful, and perfect (nameless, but perfect!). She was perfect, and the only thing that came close to being as perfect was the woman lying in the hospital bed. Tony turned his smile somehow managing to widen at the sight of the mother of his daughter.

“The nurses said I could take her for a stroll,” Tony whispered, taking a seat on Asami’s bed. She stared wearily at him, staying curled up under the blanket, resting on her side. “They said you hadn’t asked for her, but I figured you were just tired, so---here she is.”

They sat in silence for a few more moments, Tony absorbed in the wonderful little face in his arms. This past year had been a whirlwind, but the gift of his daughter was more than enough compensation. The struggles he and Asami had gone through to get to this point had been great and tiresome; hiding the pregnancy, their romance, staying out of trouble with her father’s cronies. It had put a strain on both of their lives, but what did all that hard effort matter when this was the beautiful product? A perfect, perfect little girl. There was not a thing wrong with her, the baby was free of any of the sins her parents may have committed, either themselves or in the eyes of those forcing them to keep their relationship a secret. Their daughter was a brand new start, a fresh face freed from this strenuous situation they’d brought her into.

“She needs a name,” Tony said, combing some wisps of the baby’s hair to the side. He looked over toward his girlfriend, wondering if she’d settled on something, but found that Asami was staring determinedly away from him. “Asami?”

“I can’t do this,” she said coldly. Tony’s brow furrowed, but he’d frozen in place. Asami finally peeled her eyes away from the opposite wall and stared at him, “I thought seeing her would help, but----I can’t do this.”

“Can’t---do what?” he croaked, and he flushed at Asami’s accusatory glare. Tony knew what she meant, but he needed to play dumb because the truth hurt too much. She couldn’t really be saying what he thought she was saying, look what they’d made? A perfect little girl! She was theirs, she was all theirs. “Asami, it’s going to be all right---”

“It’s not,” she snapped, sitting up, the bags under her eyes darker than he’d ever seen them. Tony had seen the physically stress put onto his girlfriend, and the anxiety from hiding her pregnancy to dealing with her father’s scathing threats and remarks tripled the weight on her shoulders. “It’s never going to be fine, and I can’t---I can’t do it anymore.”

“She’s our daughter,” Tony let out, moving to his feet. Maybe if she got a closer look at the baby, maybe she would see. Asami twisted her head away, shutting her eyes. “Asami, please, we can do this---”

“How?” she said, her voice cracking with tears, “It was hard enough hiding my stomach with giant robes and concealment charms, how on earth am I supposed to keep a baby hidden from my parents? I can’t! It’s not possible!”

“We could run away,” Tony pleaded, coming around the bed to the other side, but Asami turned away again, and he felt a panic arise in him. “We’ve talked about it before---we could go to England, you could get a transfer to the Ministry, easy.”

“And leave my entire life behind? All my hard work, my job, my friends, my family?” Asami sobbed, shaking her head. She crossed her arms over her chest, still forcing herself not to look at Tony or the baby.

“Your family’s the one keeping you from being happy!” Tony argued.

“Who said this would make me happy?”

Her words struck the room into silence. Tony felt like the baby in his arms weighed a thousand pounds, like she was going to cause the ground beneath him to crack and he would fall forever. Even through all the troubles they’d been through, he had never thought that---he knew she was sad about her parents’ ideals, that she was angry at her father for forcing her into these archaic social standards, but---Tony had never believed she wasn’t happy with him.

He dropped his gaze back to their daughter. The baby had opened her eyes and she stared back up at him, managing to look confused at just a day old. She was perfect, Tony thought heatedly, they weren’t allowed to ruin her already.

“We’re your family too,” Tony managed, looking back up at Asami, taking deep breaths to control his emotions. He was an expert at that, he could remain level headed even in the most heated of discussions. Asami finally turned to face him, and for a brief second when their eyes met he was sure that she was going to take back all her words, reach out for their daughter and hold her as lovingly as Tony did. But her eyes narrowed.

“You’re just a boy,” she said, her voice hollow, “You were a mistake, you were both mistakes.”

A loud, buzzing sound filled his ears. Tony could---see that Asami was still talking, probably tearing into him about how he had ruined her life, but all he could hear was---it was like ocean waves crashing against his skull, relentless in their attempt to drown him. He blinked, finding himself swaying in place as if ready to fall over, but Tony found his balance and held his daughter closer to his chest. His jaw clenched and he stormed toward the door of the hospital room, only turning back once, just once to face her,

“You’re making the mistake!” he spat in a tone that he’d never heard himself use. Asami seemed taken aback, but didn’t say a word.

Tony’s hands shook as he slammed his way out of the room, causing the baby to let out a miserable wail. He stormed down the corridor and he thrust the baby into the arms of the first nurse he saw. He couldn’t hear their shouts of protest as he continued out the front doors of the hospital, unsure where he was going or if he was ever coming back. All he knew that his patience had been washed away, his desire to keep fighting had dissolved, and the anger he felt right now could force him to grab the first portkey out of this wretched country and away from everything, everything that had ruined his life.

Ruined his life. Tony’s fast pace slowed, having not made it off the hospital’s premise. Feeling the rush of anger leave him as soon as it had arrived, he drooped down onto a bench, uncaring that it was still wet from the day’s storm. His eyes glazed over as he stared into the small garden that lined the pathway to the hospital, watching a butterfly flutter from flower to flower, floating without a care in the world. Free of sin.

“Cho,” he said, his heart jumping madly. The name meant ‘butterfly’, his perfect little girl free of the sins of her parents. Tony threw himself up and off the bench, running back to the hospital and hoping he hadn’t screwed up everything. He needed to get back to Cho, his little Cho, before he really did ruin his life forever.

return to top

Tony frowned, peering not so discreetly into the bedroom of his fifteen-year-old daughter.

“Who could you possibly be writing to already?” he said loudly, causing Cho to jump in her chair. She swung the chair around, looking surprised, annoyed, embarrassed, and flustered all at the same time. Tony shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms over his chest. His daughter had been home for literally less than an hour (thirty-two minutes!) and she’d already received an owl and was now responding to said owl.

“Dad! A little privacy, please?” Cho asked, her tone of voice strange. Was that---irritation? His little Cho Sun did not get irritated with him! She was the light of his life and he was her daddy dearest! Irritation did not happen in this household!

“You already missed Christmas because of that ball,” he said, hand gesturing wildly at the dress robes that were hanging on the closet door. “You can’t give me an hour of your time before you start chatting it up with your friends?”

“I’m not chatting---” Cho started, but then she put up a hand and spun back to her desk. “Whatever, I’m almost done any way.”

“Whatever? Whatever?” Tony repeated, absolutely scandalized. Cho did not ‘whatever’ him! Sure, he had heard rumors of the drastic changes young girls may go through when they became teenagers, but his Cho was the perfect little girl. Girl. Little girls did not get irritated or ’whatever’ their father! Tony huffed, and without putting much thought into it, stormed across the room and swiped the parchment right out from under Cho’s quill.

“Dad!”

“Who’s Cedric?”

His voice echoed across the room, and he and Cho locked gazes. Tony looked on in surprise and his daughter stared back with a...was she blushing? Cedric! Who the hell was Cedric? He hadn’t heard that name before!

“Cedric’s a boy’s name,” Tony said, dumbly. Cho rolled her eyes, and suddenly he felt as if he was back in fifth year himself, with his thick skull making him out to be a bit of a dolt to the girls in his year. Cedric was a boy.

It was suddenly very hot in the room. Tony handed Cho the letter back, not having read anything but the first line. Dear Cedric. Did she call him ‘dear,’ or was she just being polite in her letter writing? By the redness of her cheeks, Tony knew that it was not as innocent of a correspondence as he had hoped.

“Is he your...I mean, do kids even…”

“He’s---” Cho shook her head, putting her hands up. “I dunno, yet. I---we went to the ball together, is all.”

“You went---with a boy---to the---dressed in---”

“Dad. Breathe.”

Tony put a hand to his head, quite sure that he was going to pass out at any moment. His daughter had gone to a ball with a bloke named Cedric. This was not how he was planning on spending the remainder of the holidays. He did not want to think about...Cho was his girl, his baby girl, his sun, and now…Cedric was sending her letters and taking her to balls.

“Well. I...am not prepared for this kind of talk, so I’m going to go hum Christmas Carols in the kitchen while I make cookies.”

“Christmas was two days ago, Dad.”

“Doesn’t mean anything,” Tony mumbled, heading out the room. Cookies, he was going to make cookies. He was supposed to be making cookies with Cho, because that’s what they did for Christmas, but since she’d stayed for that damn ball, for that boy Cedric, he’d thought it would be fun to re-enact Christmas when she did come home. But now, there was letter writing to do, there was waiting for letters to be done.

Tony stomped around the kitchen, pulling pots and pans out of the cabinets and flipping on the oven. He flicked on the wireless and began humming the tune. Bloody hell, he really needed these cookies to be the best cookies he’d ever bloody eaten to get over this new development. The music, as it always had, caused his feet to tap, and Tony found himself involuntarily bouncing around the kitchen in a funny dance. His feet moved happily, but his scowl told a different story.

“Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer----”

“---had a very shiny nose…”

He looked up and pouted at his daughter, who stood in the doorway of the kitchen. She smiled shyly, coming in and taking a large spoon out of a bowl. Cho put the spoon forward as if it was a microphone, and Tony couldn’t stop himself from teasing. He pursed his lips and lifted his chin, causing his daughter to giggle and tap him lightly on the cheek.

“Can I help?” she asked, and Tony mentally scolded himself as he saw that she really was concerned that he’d banned her from cookie making.

“Of course.” Tony scrunched his nose at Cho, and she once again rolled her eyes at him, but her smile counteracted it. He watched her begin to crack the eggs, wondering how he had missed the fact that his little girl was now a young lady. It changed everything, but hopefully---hopefully he could manage the transition with a bit of tact.

“So---how dreamy is Cedric?” he asked, completely dismissing the idea of using ‘tact.’

“Dad!”

“Well! I want details!”

“...he is a Triwizard Champion…”

“Oh? Well, then…”

return to top