When the System's interface screen faded from his sight, Jay was spooked by the frown that his male caregiver was giving him.
Fuck, can a baby get a heart attack?
In all honesty, the Red King was one hell of a scary man even though he's a teen now. His deep red eyes were already unnatural, but it fits his face so well when his eyebrows were knitted together and his full lips remained rested.
For a second there, the transmigrator saw the original Jay Romanov, the Red King whose scary resting bitch face was the norm, the man could take down an army of soldiers without breaking a sweat, the man who raised the original Kaon and regularly physically fight the mute JJ.
If Jay met the original Jay Romanov, he wouldn't survive a minute. Wait, shit... His male caregiver is just a younger version of the original Red King, he just hasn't grown into the underground casino owner and mob boss type of villain.
Suddenly, the teenage boy lifted his left hand, and it was enough to make the baby yelp. A choked sob escaped his lips, and no matter how hard Jay tried, he couldn't control his transmigrated body from reacting naturally to the underlying fear and anxiety combined with the heavier and heavier weight that's squeezing him.
His anxiety heightened through the sky every passing second. If he was found out to be a transmigrator, the System will punish him, and even worse, what would his teenage caregivers do to him?
The young Red King's hand didn't touch Jay, not hurting him in any way, but instead he cupped JJ's cheeks.
It was enough for the girl to snap out of her powers, and her grip lessened on the baby's torso.
"Enough. You made your point, Jay." The teenage boy's hand moved from his companion's face to gently tracing Jay's forehead. "You don't gotta scan him. Sssh... Kaon, it's alright. We know you're just shocked and scared. You're alright..."
The teenage girl finally handed the crying baby to her partner. Jay's crying wasn't loud, but tears were flowing down his face, and a tingling sensation was felt on the back of his neck. His male caregiver cradled him in his arms, and he began rocking slowly.
JJ's dark blue eyes looked at Jay with so much guilt that the transmigrator felt like he should apologize on behalf of her for some reason.
"He's the same baby Lady Red gave birth to." She let out a sigh, and she reached for the plastic bag of bread and baked goods that laid on the floor. "No one switched him. He's just special."
Oh, Jay sure is special alright.
His female caretaker took out a custard tart, and he could see the strains on her lips as she tried to smile at him.
"Here's your favorite, Kaon!" She hovered the pastry over his face.
The baby took his food, and his violet eyes stared at the teenage girl. JJ's lips hung open for a bit before she let out a sigh. At this point, she just looked tired. It's like all the years of being forced to be an adult finally caught up to her still growing childish mind.
With one arm holding Jay, the Red King's other arm pulled his companion closer, and he slowly walked then to the dusty couch.
Now that Jay was thinking about it again, he was still upset at the fact taht his caretakers, who sometime cosplay as parents to the baby Kaon, were still children. First day of transmigration, the System showed him that the Red King was still fifteen, and JJ was thirteen. Children, both of them.
It's also very weird when the transmigrator realized that he's technically mentally older than his parents.
"Sit down." The teenage boy ordered his partner as he tried to get comfortable on the cushion with the transmigrator in his arm.
Jay was already chewing on the edge of his pastry, so he didn't mind whenever they sit since he'll be sitting on the teenage boy anyway. His pastry was the only thing comforting him right now.
Why?
Because the list goes like this:
One, he just got a pseudo PTSD from the Red King; Jay doesn't even know if pseudo PTSD is the correct term to use here. Well, the main point is he was never afraid of his male caretaker since he transmigrated even though he was aware of what the teenage boy could do. However, he seemed to get flashbacks to the original Red King a minute ago, and that spooked him more than it should be.
Two, his caretakers almost found out about his identity. He doesn't know how close they are to doing that, but it was close enough that JJ used her powers to somehow "scan" him. How does that even work? Jay won't even question it anymore.
Three, his parents are children. They're future villains, yes, but they're children right now. They're forced to take care of a baby who's what remained of their mentor and mother figure, and here they are trying to refurbished a cabin on the mountains with a mysterious bunker underneath to be a home.
"Do you remember when we first met?" The Red King's voice was somewhat softer than usual.
The transmigrator was a little stunned when his male caregiver shifted in his seat, and his bulk of a body leaned on JJ's smaller frame. Both of the teens were close enough that Jay could rest his legs on the teenage girl's thigh while he's still sitting on his male caregiver's lap.
"Your father's mansion or the laboratory?" JJ's tired tone still came from her smiling lips.
Now, that caught Jay's attention. The Red King's father's mansion and the laboratory? What does their backstories have do with those things?
"Both." The teenage boy chuckled a little, so the baby craned his neck up to see his male caregiver.
Oh.
The Red King's head was rested on top of JJ's head, and this entire situation would be so romantic if they weren't in an apocalyptic setting with a child that's not theirs making them teen parents.
"Why did you ask about that?" JJ didn't seem to mind her companion putting most of his weight on her like that.
"Kaon reminded me of you when we first met." The Red King paused for a bit, and he seemed to hesitate before he began speaking again. "And a bit after Lady Red took us in."
The baby blinked at the intimate conversation. It's the type of conversation that they wouldn't have if they knew their baby was an imposter.
"How so?" The teenage girl's hand combed her fingers through Jay's hair.
"Remember when you stared at walls for hours on end?"
The Red King's question earned a laugh from his companion.
"No." JJ's tone didn't change, but the transmigrator could see the smile on her face as she talked. "Lady Blue said it's just a trauma response. Besides, both of us space out sometimes, so you don't have to take all out on me."
"Yeah, but about the trauma response thing." The teenage boy's hand reached to grab his partner's, and Jay looked up at their fingers tangling inside his hair. The transmigrator wanted to say something, but he was afraid that his baby babble would ruin the moment.
JJ kept her hand on the baby's head, and her companion's hand hugged hers from behind. Her dark blue eyes fluttered shut for a moment.
"You're saying that Kaon's recent behavioral changes is a trauma response?" Her eyes open again, and those blue eyes met the baby's violet ones. "Yeah, that can be it. And... You're a growing boy, Kaon..."
Crisis averted!
"He'll definitely won't remember any of that when he grows up." The teenage boy reassured his companion, and his lips pulled into a small smile. "I don't remember the crap my father did when I was a baby, but according to my mom, things were pretty bad."
Huh? The Red King had an abusive father? It didn't even surprise Jay anymore. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if JJ also had abusive parents. After all, the System didn't mention that the two teenage villains killed their families.
"The furthest memory I could recall was my brother's birth." JJ's eyes moved from the baby towards the window. "I don't know where he is now. Did you get any words from Eugene?"
"No." The Red King let out a sigh at the mention of a name. "He's got the rights to be mad. I hope he's free and living his best life."
Okay, who is Eugene? Whoever he was, he seemed to be important to the teenage boy.