Chocolate Eyes

"Do I have to wear this?"

Brian kneeled down in front of Evander, sparing a second glance at the man who was helping them make sure EJ's suit fit well. Brian looked back to his son's identical eyes. "You don't like it?" he asked, fingering the bottom of the child's jacket.

EJ shook his head. "I look dumb," he said softly, shaking his head, "Can't I wear normal clothes?" He stepped down from the pedestal in front of the mirror and looked around the fitting room of the store.

Brian helped him down and motioned for him to sit on the edge of the step he was just standing on. "Do you even like the clothes you brought with you?" Brian questioned, sliding the shiny dress shoes off the boy's black sock clad feet.

Evander shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he mumbled, looking behind him at the large mirror that showed the image of him and his father crouched together. Brian wore the usual, a pair of jeans, a shirt with a band EJ didn't know, and a black hoodie that was softer than the blanket on EJ's bed. Evander had been dressed in an outfit straight from his suitcase; a button up shirt and beige jeans.

Brian helped the boy slide out of the suit-jacket, leaving him in all black; a vest, long sleeved shirt underneath, and matching pants that were scratchy against his legs. Brian unbuttoned and pulled the vest off the boy. "Lets go shopping then," he encouraged, reaching for Evander's 'regular' clothes as the child undressed himself.

Brian stood up and walked around the pedestal to where the employee was standing, holding the formal clothing that Evander was taking off.

"You don't want the suit?" the man questioned, folding the pants over his arm.

Brian grabbed the black button-up from the floor and handed them back to the man. "No." Brian shook his head. "We're going to get more comfortable clothing for him to wear."

The worker lowered his voice when he spoke, "Sir, if you're planning on dressing the boy for a funeral, I would recommend that you dress him in formal attire." He glanced back at the child who was re-dressing himself.

Brian shrugged his shoulders. "He'll wear what he wants to wear."

Evander walked over to his father when he was dressed. He looked up to the familiar brown eyes and let Brian grab his hand.

"You want to go to the mall?" Brian asked his son, "They've got some pretty cool stores out there."

Evander smiled and nodded his head. "Do they have toys there?"

Brian grinned and nodded, too. "Entire stores full of toys. Maybe you can even pick out a few things for your room."

"Really?" Evander questioned as Brian nodded goodbye to the man in the store and pulled him out of the building.

"Yeah," Brian agreed, fishing for his keys in his pocket, "You need a new blanket, too. The one you have now is kind of plain." He pulled open the back door and lifted his child into the car.

Evander climbed into his car-seat and started to buckle himself up, just the way that his dad showed him how to do. "But I can get some toys?" he repeated before Brian pushed the door closed and opened the driver's door.

"You strapped in?" Brian asked over his shoulder as he buckled his own seat belt.

"Yes," Evander stated, turning his head to look out of the tinted SUV window as Brian backed out of the parking space and out of the lot.

The ride to the mall only took a few minutes. Brian circled the parking lot and found a spot when another vehicle backed out. Evander grinned and unbuckled himself quickly, excited to actually be going to the mall and the toy store inside.

"Come on," EJ begged, trying the door again even though the child safety lock was on.

"Give me a second, E," Brian demanded with a laugh. He reached to the glove box and pulled out two black hats. He slipped one on his own head and turned around in his seat to do the same for EJ.

Evander pulled the black hat off of his head automatically, like he'd done the last few times his dad had covered his head with it. "What's this for?" he questioned, holding it out in front of him.

Brian rolled his eyes and grabbed it from EJ's hands. "Just keep it on, alright?" he replied, fixing it back on the boy's head.

"Okay." Evander nodded, wondering why his dad made him wear a hat and sunglasses in public.

Brian slid sun-glasses over his own eyes and pushed the door open. He opened Evander's door and immediately wrapped his arms around the boy's form as the child attempted to jump out of the vehicle.

"Be careful, EJ," Brian demanded, setting him on his feet.

Evander nodded and let Brian take his hand. They headed towards the Food Court entrance of the mall, walking on the side of the road together. Evander looked around at the large building. He'd never been shopping at a place like this. His mom usually took him to small stores and picked out his clothing for him.

"Why are those people staring at us?" EJ asked as Brian tugged him into the mall.

Brian looked to where EJ was pointing and cursed under his breath when he noticed a group of teenagers. One was sporting a familiar band shirt. Brian lifted Evander into his arms automatically.

"What's going on?" Evander questioned, looking over his dad's shoulder as Brian carried him away from the older girls. "Why are you running away?"

Brian hadn't explained to Evander about his band or the fame that came along with being the guitarist. In the four days that Evander had been with him they'd worked on building a comfortable relationship, not talking about why the child had to wear a hat when they went to crowded places. He wasn't ready to submerge his son in the light that came along with being famous. He wasn't ready to answer the questions or explain anything to anyone. Brian just wanted time to get to know his son.

"Where do you want to go first?" Brian questioned, holding the boy in his arms.

Evander smiled, not forgetting about what happened, but postponing his thoughts as he realized they were going to the toy store now.

He didn't even have time to reply before Brian spoke, "If we go buy you some new clothes first, then you can go pick out as many toys as you want."

EJ frowned in his dad's arms. "Why not toys first?" he questioned, his arm draped around his dad's neck as he waited for a reply.

Brian set Evander down on his feet and crouched down in front of him. "Because you don't want to have to set your toys down and then forget them somewhere," Brian told him, hoping that EJ would just comply and not as too many questions. Brian hadn't quite caught the hang of getting Evander to do something he wanted and he didn't want to force him to do anything, either.

EJ thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay," he agreed. He followed right beside Brian, not letting his dad get too many steps ahead of him for the sake of not getting lost in the mall. He'd never seen so many people in one place before.

Brian stuck his sunglasses in his pocket and grabbed Evander's hand as they went into Journey's Kids. The store wasn't very large but it was filled with clothing and shoes that Evander's mom never let him wear before.

EJ's eyes were wide at the sight of the colorful shoes that lined the walls. His own shoes were just white. They'd grown dingy since his mom died and nobody else cared to clean them.

"Hello, is there anything I can help you with?" A man asked from behind the small counter.

Brian shook his head and let go of EJ's hand as the boy moved towards a pair of shoes on the wall.

"Well, just let me know if you need any sizes and I'd be happy to bring them out to you," the young man replied, smiling as Evander plucked a pair of small and colorful DC shoes from their spot and held them up for his dad to see.

"You like these?" Brian questioned, picking them up to look at them. They were black that faded to white in the form of graffiti with a green DC logo and trim.

EJ nodded.

"Alright," Brian agreed, "Lets go tell the man up there what size you need."

Shopping continued pretty much like that for the next two hours. Evander pointed out something he liked and Brian pulled out his credit card, happy to be spending money on clothes that his son actually liked.

When Brian saw something he liked, he found it in Evander's size and handed it to his son to carry around with the rest of the things they were going to take to the register.

They made two trips out to the car while they were shopping. Once both of their hands were full with bags for Evander they discarded everything in the SUV and headed back inside the mall.

"I think you have enough clothes for awhile," Brian said as they headed back to the mall for the second time.

EJ grinned widely. "Can I get toys now?" he asked as they stepped into the mall and were instantly berated by the air-conditioning.

Brian tucked a stray strand of blonde hair back under EJ's hat. He smiled as an idea came to mind. "Do you like your hair, E?" he questioned, pulling the boy's hat farther down on his head.

"I guess so," Evander replied with a shrug, "Why?"

Brian plucked the hat from EJ's head and fixed his hair back into place. "Would you want to try something different?"

Evander tipped his chin up to look at his dad. "What do you mean?"

"How about we get you a hair cut?" Brian suggested, pulling the hat back onto his head.

Evander touched his hat covered head. "How come?" he questioned, letting Brian pull him towards the hair salon near the far end of the food court.

"It just needs to be fixed up a little bit," Brian replied, "It's grown out from the way your mom had it cut and it needs a trim."

"Mommy used to cut my hair," Evander replied quickly, realizing that it wasn't that way for all people.

Brian smiled at his son. "We'll have someone else fix it up this time."

Brian took Evander into the salon and lifted him into a chair so that a beautician could style his hair now that it'd out grown the style his mom had attempted to give him. His blonde hair was cut so that it hung below his ears and angled even more as it went up towards his forehead.

Evander touched the strands that hung down as the stylist asked Brian and Evander if it was alright now. Evander looked up at his dad and then looked at his reflection in the mirror.

"My hair's a different color than yours." Evander frowned.

Brian ran his fingers through his son's hair. "That's because you have the same color hair as your mom," he replied, meeting his son's eyes in the mirror.

EJ shook his head. "Mommy's hair didn't feel like mine," he stated simply, tugging his fingers through the thick strands.

Brian just smiled and turned to the woman who cut his son's hair. "It looks good," he told her, "Thanks." He pulled out his wallet and handed the woman a couple dollars as a tip. She thanked him and moved away so that Brian could pull EJ from his chair.

"Evander, put your hat back on." Brian handed the boy the black hat and chuckled at the unhappy look EJ put on his face. "Just do it, Ev."

Evander pulled the hat over his head and looked at his dad with a blank stare. Brian chuckled again and patted Evander on the back.

"Papa and Suzy want us to come over for dinner," he said as he led Evander over to pay for the haircut, "After we make a stop at the toy store maybe we can stop home to change and then head over to Papa's, what do you say?" Brian pulled his wallet out and handed the woman behind the counter a ten dollar bill.

"Thank you, come again," the woman called as Brian and Evander headed out of the double doors and back into the mall.

"We're going to Papa's?" Evander questioned, smiling as he followed Brian through the crowds.

Brian smiled at the excitement in his son's voice. "You want to show someone your new stuff, right?"

"Yeah!" Evander cheered, nodding eagerly.

Brian pulled his son against him and wrapped his arm around Evander's shoulders. Things were going well for them. Evander wasn't the same child he'd been when he met his dad for the first time just five days ago. Or maybe he was and he'd just opened up since he'd been around his father. Brian kissed his son's forehead and pushed him into the toy store, enjoying the happiness on his son's face even more than Evander was enjoying the large store.