King

La seine, la seine, la seine.
I don't know, don't know, so don't ask me why.

Emma's arms flailed as he danced in sync with the animated character singing on the TV. His moves were off, slower but the smile on his face was on point. I laughed a little when he spun around, tripping on his own feet before landing flat on his butt.

Not discouraged by that, he picked himself up, stuck his tongue out at me then resumed dancing with much more vigour than he had been doing. His eyes were trained on the screen where the female lead just gestured for her flea friend to join her and he rushed over to Esther to do the same. 

Esther was seated alone on the longest couch in the parlour, fingers moving rapidly over my iPad. Whatever reason she gave before collecting it, I couldn't recall it now. But I was starting to realise how much of a bad idea it was to let her have it; she barely said a word to us.

"Let's dance," Emma pouted when Esther looked at him. His hands were swinging by his side, head nodding to the beat.

She took her time in responding, when she finally stood up, albeit grudgingly, the dancing scene was over. Emma's shoulder slumped and she drew him closer to her, whispering into his ears while attempting to hug him. Perhaps what she said wasn't enough to pacify him because when she was done talking, he shrugged her hand off his shoulders while she just stared gloomily.

When he swirled to face me, his lips trembled, tears pooled at his eyes. The sight stirred something inside of me and my arms opened up to welcome him into an embrace. Rubbing circles on his back, I mentally prepared myself for his tears, thankfully, they never came.

"They finished dancing," his words came out muffled since his face was buried into my shoulders. 

I patted the space in between my legs for him to sit and he did so with a sad smile. So, I had no choice than to tickle his sides repeatedly until he wheezed with laughter, all traces of his earlier anger gone. 

"Bad Esther," he suddenly murmured under his breath without looking in her direction. I chuckled, realising that he was still upset but too sweet to make her feel bad so I took it upon myself to retaliate on his behalf.

Narrowing my eyes at Esther who had gone back to her previous position, unaware of what Emma said, I repeated his words, loud enough for her to hear. "Bad Esther." 

He must have been stunned to hear me say it out loud because he placed a hand over my mouth. His eyes widened and he shook his head in disapproval, releasing his hand when he was certain I wouldn't say it again.

His hand was still hovering over my lips when I spotted Esther fighting back her laughter, the corners of her lips lifted slightly. They were lucky to have each other, as troublesome as she was.

Annoyed at her for showing no remorse, I arched a perfect eyebrow at her, watching delightfully as the smug smile on her lips died when she couldn't replicate my action. It was childish of me but I got the last laugh on behalf of Uti's boys.

"I like French," Emma said out of the blues. I followed the direction of his eyes and it was on the TV.

The animated musical was French but the English dubbed version was playing on screen with a greater part of their singing done in the same language.

My chin was propped on his head and he twisted to face me, playing with my beards like it wasn't a part of my body. I slapped his hands away but it came right back.

"Me too." He smiled at my response then pulled out a strand of hair from my jaw.

"See," he dangled it in front of me like it was a souvenir and I grunted in reply. That shit was painful and whoever planted the idea in his head needed to be whipped.

Trying to distract him, I held both of his hands in mine. "I can speak French."

That grabbed his attention momentarily before he yanked his hands from my grip. I was about ready to call Uti to come carry her little terrorist when his fingers stopped a few inches from my beards.

"Say something in French," he requested.

"Bonjour."

A loud hiss accompanied my words and our eyes turned in Esther's direction. Her eyes were fixated on the iPad in her hands but I knew she had been listening in on our conversation. That was if her hissing or sudden stiffness was anything to go by.

Shaking my head, I diverted my attention back to Emma who was already poking me at the sides. Nobody but herself was stopping Esther from joining in on our conversation.

"Okay. Say another thing," Emma encouraged, switching positions from the sofa to the floor.

"J'aime ta mère," I told him, smiling as his forehead creased in confusion.

"What's the meaning?"

The doorbell rang, followed by a series of knocks on the door. Without responding, I excused myself to go see who it was, expecting Emma to have forgotten his question by the time I returned. 

"Hey," I greeted as soon as I opened the door to reveal a not-so-smiling Uti. My first instinct was to pull her into my arms and that was exactly what I did. 

Her body easily moulded into mine, the lingering smell of her fragrance teased me, telling me to not let go. My arms dropped to my side when I noticed how rigid she was and I cleared my throat loudly to clear the awkwardness. 

"Why didn't you call?"

The red top she was wearing hugged every part of her upper body, her waist looked so tiny and I wanted to be the only man wrapping my arms around it. I sighed as my eyes trailed those long legs, ashamed of myself for once calling her too skinny, her body was perfect. 

Her eyes looked tired, nevertheless, stunning and her lips were a bit chapped, nothing a kiss from me couldn't fix. 

"Cynthia dropped me off." She didn't look very happy to be standing at my doorsteps and that knowledge set me on edge. "She came by the hub, we talked."

I was expecting her to say more, show more excitement about their meeting, all I got was a grim smile. Though I wasn't aware they were going to meet up today, I knew how nice Cynthia could be and Uti's reaction was making me question my judgements.

"Well ... How did the talk go?" If I was going to call Cynthia, I needed to have heard Uti's side of the story. But she was already headed in the direction of the parlour. 

"Can we talk about that later?" Her reply was unenthusiastic, her eyes looked everywhere but at me. I took a step forward and she took another step backwards.

"Where are they?"

She was about to leave when I wrapped a hand around her wrist, pulling her closer to me. She spun around, sharply withdrawing her hand from my grip like I was afflicted with some strange disease. 

Something inside of me squeezed painfully and her apologetic smile did little to make me feel better. I didn't know what kind of reaction I expected when she found out I had talked to Cynthia or that I had babysat her kids for longer than the two hours she asked from me but this was far from it.

"They are inside. Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, just tired," she murmured. I tried again to reach for her arm but she chose that moment to cough into her hands.

However genuine her cough sounded, I couldn't help thinking it was all an act and that thought hurt more than her cold greeting at the door. 

"We have to go, it's late." A smile followed her statement but I knew by now what her fake smiles looked like. If only she would open up, then we might be able to figure out a solution. "Thank you for everything." 

For everything? 

"Utianle, what's going on?"

Her eyes widened as though my question was unfounded. When she spoke, her voice was clipped, "nothing. We just need to leave, it's already late."

"And not safe. You should spend the night." And hopefully, we will resolve whatever issues that are bugging you. 

"No."

Without any further explanation, she walked past me into the parlour, leaving me with questions. This couldn't be the same Uti that would randomly send me memes or laugh to make me feel good about my lame jokes. Shaking that thought away, I sauntered into the parlour.

She was standing behind Emma who was kneeling with his hands on the centre table, his attention solely on the TV. She placed a finger against her lip, signifying for Esther to keep quiet then carried Emma off the ground. He screamed, kicking the air, when he saw Esther and I laughing, his cries quieted down. 

Uti dropped him to the floor, laughing at his bewilderment and I wished that sparkle in her eyes had been there when she smiled earlier at me. Crouching to his height, she bopped him on the nose. I wanted to do that too but to her nose.

"Sister Uti, welcome." Emma pouted and her smile slacked. An emotion crept into her eyes but it was gone before I could identify it. 

"Welcome," Esther repeated; her head tilted in their direction then she smiled at the mother-son duo holding hands. 

I could tell that she didn't mind being left out as her fingers promptly moved across the screen of the iPad, playing a game I never knew of its existence.

"Have you eaten?" I heard her whisper to Emma. Did she think I was going to starve them?

"Yes, they have." I blurted out, unable to stop myself.

She didn't even glance my way until Emma responded. "Yes. Uncle Kiki gave us indomie that's not sweet."

Sly.

Esther laughed out loud at his answer but when I turned in her direction, her eyes were back on the iPad which I walked right up to snatch from her. They were partially to blame, if they had not insisted on noodles, I wouldn't have cooked it.

"But we ate rice after." I was more than surprised to hear Esther speak in my defence. It encouraged me to give her a thumbs up which she cheerfully returned with a thumbs down.

"Yes, we ate rice and plantain and stew and fish." Emma supported, only then did Uti's gaze soften. "I like fish."

"Fish is good for the body." Uti tickled him a little bit more. "Alright, we have to go. Where's your uniform?"

At the mention of school uniform, I groaned. Since she was already in an unpredictable mood, I didn't want to be here when she found out what we did.

"I don't want to go," Emma grumbled; his sister didn't seem to care. She was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, waiting for the final decision.

"Where's your uniform?" Uti asked no one in particular. With her hands akimbo, she turned to me. "Who gave them the clothes they are wearing?"

"Uncle Kiki bought it for us." 

"Uncle Kiki bought clothes for you?" Her gaze was set on me but the words were directed at Emma and Esther who both nodded.

Then she smiled at me, an overly sweet smile that made me cringe. Grabbing me by the hands, she pulled me towards the kitchen. I was happy to oblige so long it meant her touching me.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself," she growled out. I couldn't help but chuckle, her nostrils were doing that flaring thing they always did when she was upset. And I found it amusing. 

"I should have told you before buying them anything," I started before she had a chance to speak. "But I couldn't take them to the office in their uniforms."

"Fine." She let out deep breaths, the frown on her frown easing to a half-smile. "How much?"

"Does it matter?" She was already shaking her head, probably preparing to launch into a speech about why I needed to give her the price tag when I held out a hand up.

"If you want to pay me back, let Emma spend the night."

She crossed her arms on her chest, unknowingly pushing her breasts up. And I was tempted to rest my head on her bosom. I dug my nails into my palm, reminding myself to focus.

"I cannot leave him here alone and we cannot spend the night."

"Why not?"

"Because they have school tomorrow," her fingers brushed the corners of her left eye as she said this.

Having spent a greater part of the day with Emma and Esther, I already knew the answer to this question but I asked again.

"They have school tomorrow?" 

"Yes," she responded with a twitch.

Like a predator, I stalked closer to her, fighting back my laughter as she took a step back from her. She only succeeded in getting a few feet away from me before I caged her in between the kitchen island and myself. 

Ideas began to form in my head, prompting me to ask another question. "Do you like Emma?" 

Her eyebrows rose in confusion but there was no twitch when she muttered, "yes."

"Do you like me?" She turned her face away, trying to break free. 

We were a hair's breadth away from each other, so close that if I moved my head an inch forward, our lips would lock. I wanted that more than anything but I wanted her to give the go-ahead.

"No," she grumbled, keeping her head down.

"Look at me." 

Slowly her head raised up to meet mine and the words died in my throat; I was enthralled all over again by the colour of her eyes. Licking my lips dry, I fought against the idea of nibbling on those lips.

Clearing my throat for the second time. "Do you like me?"

"No." 

Twitch.

"Do you enjoy working with Vincent?"

"Yes."

No twitch.

I let go of her wrists, running my fingers through my head as I tried to remember all of the times I had missed this telltale sign that was right in front of me.

"They don't have school tomorrow or next, it's their midterm." I countered her.

"Maybe." Her head was up when she responded but I knew that infamous twitch was there.

Now that I had figured out her lying tics, I was eager to hear what her response would be. "Will you spend the night?"

"It's not up to me," she replied, walking out of the kitchen like she couldn't get out sooner.

When I got to the parlour, Emma was still watching his movie and Esther already had their school bags and lunch boxes ready to go. If the decision of staying was up to her, I might as well get ready to call them an Uber. 

"Who wants to sleep in uncle Kiki's house?" 

They were not aware I was watching them so I stayed put by the door, half expecting a negative response from Esther.

"Me. Me. Me." Emma shouted, jumping on his feet. I was never worried about him.

Esther remained mute. I could see the triumphant smile on Uti's face, ready to walk back into the kitchen to let me know they couldn't sleep over.

"It's already late, we can go in the morning." 

The joy I felt on hearing Esther say those words was indescribable. I could have spun her around at that moment, even given her my phone if she so much as requested for it. 

"Are you sure?" Uti asked, going to squat in front of her.

Yes, she is.

"Yes," she confirmed with a nod. I sauntered into the parlour, all smiles as I walked up to stand behind Esther, she avoided my gaze but I was fine with that. Hell, I was fine with whatever attitude she chose to give me.

The only person who didn't seem happy with this decision was Uti. Hurrying after her, I found her in the guest room, fluffing the pillow with an aggressiveness that somehow made her even more sexually appealing.

"Uti."

"King."

My name coming out from her lips sounded like a melody. If she wasn't so upset, I would have asked her to say it again. "What's the problem? Why are you angry?"

I just couldn't get it, the last time she was this cold towards me was when we first met. As much as I did try to excuse this behaviour as her having a bad day, it was starting to get to me.

"If it's because of the clothes, I'm sorry. It will never happen again."

"King." Her voice was a delicious whisper, "I'm not angry with you."

"Then what? Is it the sleeping arrangements?" I couldn't stop talking now, not until she agreed. "We already slept on the same bed before, I see no reason why we can't do it again." 

"I won't do anything you don't want," I added, settling close to her on the bed. "I promise."

Her shoulders dropped, a smile flitted to my lips; it was working. "Now smile for zaddy."

Giving the pillow a final pat, she took a deep breath then exhaled, "fine."

When she smiled, her eyes crinkled and my heart raced. I couldn't help but wonder if she would ever willingly do anything for my sake without any prompting from me.

*****

Media: The animation that they were watching.

J'aime ta mère = I like your mama.

I want you guys to join them on their journey. To laugh, cry, hurt, get mad and even crush on the characters as their story unfolds but it's becoming more difficult for me to write. And I have no idea why. Ike guru. 

So ... if updates suddenly take longer than they usually do or they don't appear in a while, it would be because I decided to take a break. Hopefully, you guys won't break up with King and Uti should that happen. 

This is not a random question (I think): What's the name of the animation? The first two lines of the chapter are all the hint you need.