Chocolate Eyes

Brian wasn't sure of the time as his doorbell rang and woke him. He clumsily dropped his hand to the spot where his wife slept, ready to wake her to answer the door, but groaned loudly when her side of the bed was empty and he remembered that she was spending some time at her parents' house.

"Coming!" Brian shouted as he climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of plaid pajama pants, although he doubted they could hear him from upstairs. When the bell sounded again, he hurried down the stairs while tightening the strings of his pants. The clock in the living room told him that it was just past eleven AM.

Brian charged into the kitchen and sloppily pressed his fingers against the button that would open the gate and allow the waiting car to enter his property. If he'd been more awake, he knew he would've asked who it was, but with sleep still in his eyes he peered through the window over the sink as a black car rolled to a stop.

Still shirtless, he unlocked the front door and pulled it open, only to frown at the woman who was making her way to the door. She wore a dark gray pant-suit with a white button up blouse underneath. With one hand she held a brief-case and the other was reaching for something in her pocket. She smiled politely as she stood in the doorway.

"Mr. Haner," she greeted, holding out a business card that she withdrew from her pocket, "My name is Regina McKoy, I'm with Family and Child Services."

Brian's nerves instantly caught on fire as he realized he'd opened the door while half-naked, to meet one of the people who would decide whether or not he could keep his son. "Yes, of course," he managed to reply, holding his hand out to the woman, "It's nice to meet you. You can call me Brian." He stepped back and motioned for her to come inside.

As she did, she looked around the beautiful living room and peeked through the entryway into the kitchen to the right before her eyes swung back to the glass wall and the beach on the other side. "You have a beautiful home," she commented, meeting Brian's dark eyes.

"Thank you," he replied, nervously rubbing his neck. "Should I get EJ?" he asked, glancing towards the stairs, "I'm not really sure how this goes. Do you evaluate my house or my son?"

"Both," the social worker commented. She opened the leather bag and pulled out a folder that was identical to the one Brian got when Evander first came to live with him. "I just need to make sure that your home is equipped for a child to live here and that Evander Kent is happy here."

Brian excused himself, despite what else he wanted to know, and quickly got dressed in his usual jeans and t'shirt upstairs. He didn't want to dress up and put on a show for the woman in his living room. He wanted to show her their everyday life and how normal it really had become since Evander had come to live with his father. Bri gently woke up the four year old and ruffled the boy's hair when he complained about not wanting to be awake.

"We've got a visitor," Bri explained as he pulled his limp son from his bed, "She's come to make sure that you like being with me." He carried the boy over to the closet, stepping around EJ's toys, and opened the door so they could pick out something for the child to wear.

"How come?" EJ questioned tiredly, wrapping his arms around his dad's neck, "No one visited with mommy."

Bri plucked a Led Zeppelin shirt from the hanger and tossed it on the unmade bed, before he grabbed a pair of child-sized, black jeans and carried the boy back over there. He set his son down on the bed and changed his closed as he replied. "It's because we haven't known each other that long," Bri explained, slipping the black and white shirt over EJ's messy hair.

"Oh," the little boy murmured as Bri pulled him to his feet on the bed so they could change him out of his pajama pants and into the jeans. Evander frowned and looked his dad straight in the eye.

Brian lifted his son and set him on the floor. The barefoot child took his dad's hand and grabbed a handful of his jeans with the other, making it difficult for Brian to walk.

"It'll be alright, Ev," Brian murmured, pulling the boy into his arms, "I love having you here and you like being here, so everything is going to be alright, man."

Evander frowned but nodded anyways, deciding rather to take his dad's word for it than ask any more questions. With bed-head and bare feet, Brian carried Evander to the living room where the social worker still stood, marking things inside of the folder.

"Mrs. McKoy," Brian greeted against as he stepped down the last step. The young brunette turned around and her expression softened when she saw the four year old in Brian's arm.s.

She walked over to the duo and smiled at the shy boy. "You must be Evander," she said softly, pronouncing his name slightly wrong by pronouncing a long "E' instead of a short one.

"Evander," Brian corrected, shrugging his shoulders at the small mistake.

"I'm sorry, Evander," she apologized, still smiling at the boy, "I've just never met anyone else with your name before, so I never learned how to say it."

Brian nudged his son slightly, encouraging the shy boy to speak up. Evander's dark eyes met Bri's identical ones in defiance, letting his father know that he didn't want to talk to the stranger in front of him.

"Where do you need to start?" Brian asked, moving his son to his other arm since the child didn't want to be set down.

Regina glanced around the beautiful house then back to the boy who she would need to speak with later on. "How about you show me around your house, Evander?" she suggested, trying to get the child to interact with her. When he just dropped his head onto his father's shoulder, she marked it in her folder and put it back in her bag.

"He's shy," Brian said, stating the obvious, "and I just woke him up."

"It seems I woke you both up," she replied, reminding Brian of his disheveled look when he opened the gate and the front door for her.

"Neither of us ever get to sleep in," he admitted, bouncing EJ in his arm so the little boy would confirm it. "Between school and practice and the guys practically living here since Ev moved in, sleeping in is a rare accomplishment."

Hidden from the stranger's view, EJ smiled against his dad's shoulder at the thought of his uncles waking his father up all the time. Brian would scream and shout loudly as one of his uncles dropped him on his dad to wake him, no matter the time.

"Evander's in school then?" Mrs. McKoy questioned, grabbing the folder once again, "Where does he attend?"

"Huntington Seacliff Elementary School," Brian explained, "The guys and I considered private school but none of us want our kids excluded from the real world. I've got a security plan set up with Evander's teacher and a pick up and drop off schedule. It's been going really well and EJ really likes it."

"That's great," Mrs. McKoy said with a smile, "What else is he involved in? Who are 'the guys'?"

"My band and my best friends," Brian clarified, "EJ started attending band practices and meetings with me because they can't get enough of him. He's quite the little distraction."

"Oh yes, I read that you were a musician," she replied as she ruffled through some papers, "I've got a whole page on it." She murmured words of triumph as she pulled the page from the pile and looked it over. "Avenged Sevenfold," she read, raising her eyebrows at the brunette man in front of her, "Where'd you come up with that?"

"The Bible," Brian stated simply, watching surprise come and go quickly from her features.

"Oh, well, it's very interesting to read about," she said, "It seems your band has quite the following all over the world."

"Yeah," Brian agreed, nervous about talking about the band because of the questions that could arise. "Anyway, do you want to see the house? I'd let you walk around on your own but a few doors only open with a pass-code."

"You're definitely one for safety, Mr. Haner," she acknowledged, "When I pulled up out front I honestly had no idea that gated houses really existed. I thought they were just in movies." She smiled at the thought and haphazardly motioned in the general direction of the front door.

"I like privacy," Bri justified, referring to the gate that surrounding his front yard and driveway and connected directly to the large house, leaving the backyard pool and beach un-gated but unaccessible from anywhere but the house.

With a just a few more words, Brian showed the social worker around his house, starting in the kitchen, which would've been impressive even without the locking drawers and safety switch garbage disposal. There wasn't much for the social worker to write down, so they headed up the stairs to the second floor where the bedrooms were. Brian's room was first in the hall and messy as it always was when Michelle was out of town.

Brian was nervous about the mess. "My wife is visiting her parents," he explained, "I'm taking the liberty of being a slob since she's not around."

She glanced around the room, her eyes catching on the glass wall that was continued from down below. It seemed the entire Southern wall of the house was made entirely of glass and she was surprised by it. "You're house is breathtaking," she said, glancing back at the musician in front of her, "I didn't know such a house existed. It would be amazing to live here. I couldn't even imagine it."

Brian smiled, relieved that she didn't care about the mess, and nodded. "When I bought it, it was nothing compared to what it is now. I've had everything redone and new everything put in. The wall was the hardest part to have renovated."

"I'm sure," she replied, nodding as she glanced through to the ocean. She pulled her eyes away and motioned towards EJ. "Where's Evander's room?"

The three of them headed down the slightly curved hall to the next door on the left. Brian pushed EJ's bedroom door open and exposed the decent sized room. While there was no glass wall, there was a huge, three pane window that took up most of EJ's Eastern wall, where his bed was pushed against.

"E and I picked out everything together," Brian told her, smiling at the memory of taking his son shopping, "He said that he'd never been able to pick out blankets and toys like this before, so we spent some time at the mall and made his room the way he likes it."

Regina glanced around the room. It wasn't a huge room, but it had a very open feel because of the huge window that over looked the ocean and the creamy, white walls that made it feel light and airy. Evander's bed had blue and white sheets and the white closet doors were pushed open to expose more toys piled in the closet underneath the surplus of clothes that the father had bought for his son.

"It's a lovely room," she commented, absently reaching up to touch a picture frame that hung by the closet. "Is this your mother?"

Evander lifted his head to look at one of the pictures on his wall. In the black frame was a blonde woman who was smiling ear to ear as she held a toddler on her lap. The little boy's brown eyes were huge and his little teeth were showing as he cheesed.

"She's very beautiful," Regina complimented, smiling at the boy now that he was finally looking at her, "You look a lot like her, Evander."

"I have Daddy's eyes," he stated softly, looking at his dad's eyes and then widening his own.

Regina glanced at their identical eyes and was surprised at just how dark they really were. Evander had been hiding his face thus far, so she hadn't had a moment to really look at him, but now she could see the shocking differences and the one matching trait between them. If it weren't for the eyes, she, like everyone else, would've wondered if Evander was really Brian's son. "Your eyes are very pretty," she complimented, having realized that the child was very proud of his eyes. "What else do you want to show me in the house?" she asked the four year old, hoping to keep him talking and interacting with her.

EJ frowned and then whispered something in his father's ear. Brian smiled and nodded, motioning for Ev to say it himself. The blonde looked back to the woman in front of him and pointed at the floor. "The basement," he said, looking unsure of himself, "We play in the basement all the time."

"Well, why don't we head down there and you can show me what you like to do?" she suggested, motioning for Brian to go ahead of her so she could follow the two of them. She didn't think that a house next to the ocean would have one, but it seemed that the huge estate was full of surprises.

Brian and Evander led her back down the stairs and turned the corner by the aquarium, where there was a small hallway and two doors. The first, to her right, they by passed and instead pulled open the one directly in front of them, to reveal a full staircase that went down. The stairs weren't rickety like one would think when picturing basement steps, but instead they were the same kind that led to the second floor, just concealed behind a door.

"This is pretty hidden," Regina McKoy said as she followed the father and son down the staircase, "Nobody would know this is a basement if you didn't tell them."

Brian smiled over his shoulder at her. "That's the point," he said, "It would've been too much if I hadn't hidden the stairs. The house just looks nicer with a hidden basement."

They reached the bottom steps and the social worker looked over the banister. She was impressed, yet again, by the amount of items Brian had in his house. The basement consisted of one large room with two doors off of it, one being a set of impressive glass paned, French doors, and an arch leading into what seemed to be another sitting room.

Brian pointed through the archway. "That's the family room," he explained, "We watch movies in there and play video games." He pointed to the french doors, "That's where I keep my instruments." He pointed to a room that jutted out into the main game room. "That's a third bathroom."

"This is a kid's heaven," Regina said, astonished by the amount of toys in the room. "My children would love this place."

Brian quickly turned his attention back to her. "You have kids?" he asked, finally setting EJ on his feet, "How many?"

"Just two," she replied, a proud smile on her face as she thought about them, "A son and a daughter. They would complain for days if they found out that a house like this really exists."

Brian grinned and shrugged his shoulders, his eyes on his son as the little boy raced between the pool table and tennis table and onto the couch in the family room, a remote already in his hands as he tried to figure out how to work the projector and video game consoles.

"Do you want a tour?" Brian asked, motioning to the room around him, "There's quite a bit down here."

She stepped down the last stair and nodded. "I was hoping Evander could explain some of his favorite things to do," she said, making it clear that EJ Kent had to be involved.

"Yeah, of course," Brian agreed, a little nervous now that she was completely formal again, "I'll get him." Brian stepped away from the woman and walked into the family room where EJ was fiddling with the controller for the Xbox. "E," Brian called, pulling the controller from his hand, "Come talk with Mrs. McKoy. She wants to know what you like to do down here."

EJ frowned at his dad. "Games," he muttered before he swiped his hand out for the controller.

"No, E, come on," Brian instructed, setting the controller on the table and lifting his son up by his waist, "You've got to do this."

"I don't want to!" EJ grumbled, struggling vehemently to pull out of his dad's grasp.

Brian dropped the little boy back onto the plush, leather couch and simply looked at him without a word. Behind him, the social worker stood watching their interaction. This was the first time she'd seen the two of them disagree, and she quickly reached for her folder to note how Brian handled it.

Brian crossed his arms and stared at his son. The little boy pouted and pushed his back against the back of the couch. When his dad didn't say anything else, he dropped into a normal sitting position and dropped the grumpy expression from his face.

"Are you done?" Brian asked, holding his hand out for EJ's.

Evander just nodded and took his dad's hand so he could slide off of the couch. Brian led him back out to the social worker who was stuffing the folder back into her briefcase.

"E, show Mrs. McKoy what you like to do down here," Brian instructed, "I've got to get your breakfast made, so I'll be right upstairs."

Evander quickly grabbed onto his dad's shirt so that the older man couldn't leave him with the social worker. Brian turned back to his son and frowned slightly. "It's fine, EJ," he comforted, "I'll be right in the kitchen. When you're done, you can come upstairs."

"I'm not hungry," EJ denied, not letting go of his dad's shirt.

Brian chuckled and pried the little boy's fingers off of him. "Well, I am," he said, "Show Mrs. McKoy your new games and how you play Dance Dance and then come upstairs." The brunette climbed the stairs before EJ could rebut.

The four year old looked up at the woman expectantly but stayed silent.

"Does everyone call you EJ?" Regina asked, unable to remember seeing that in her files, "or is that just something your dad does?"

"Everyone," he replied, glancing away from her eyes.

Regina was surprised by the boy. She'd read his entire file from top to bottom, from the life he lived with his mom and step-dad, to the new one he acquired with his biological father. "It's a big change, huh?" she asked, motioning for the boy to show her into the family room. When she saw the look on his face, she clarified, gently touching his arm for reassurance, "I mean, living with your dad and getting all these new toys. It must be a lot of fun."

"Yeah," EJ murmured as he clambered onto the couch and reached for the remote to restart the game that Brian had paused on him.

Regina McKoy sat down next to him and pulled the folder out of her case. She had a list of questions she wanted to ask the reserved boy and she was glad that Brian had given them some privacy. "Evander, I want to ask you a few things about your dad," she said, introducing the subject so she could get the child's attention, "Do you think you could answer a few questions for me?"

Evander dropped the controller into his lap and looked at the light eyed woman next to him. "What kind of questions?" he asked, his signature frown on his face,

"Some questions about your dad and what it's like living here," she explained softly, reaching for the controller. "Do you mind if I pause this?"

EJ's expression turned to one of determination as he handed her the bulky controller and turned his full, innocent attention to the woman who held his future in her hands.

Regina McKoy cleared her throat and poised her pen at the first question. "Who takes you to school everyday?"

"Daddy or my uncles," he replied, watching the end of the pen move as she wrote down his answer.

"Your Uncle Brent?" she followed up, glancing back to the child's dark eyes from her paperwork.

EJ frowned again and shook his head. "Uncle Matt or Uncle Zacky or Uncle Johnny."

Regina flipped through her papers quickly, trying to match the names to what she had written in her file. She tapped her pen against the letters when she found them. "Your dad's band mates take you to school sometimes?" she questioned, "Do they pick you up, too?"

"Sometimes," he answered, distracted by the dimming of the game as it was projected on the wall. He reached over the coffee table and pressed one of the buttons to bring the brightness back to the game.

"What about Michelle?" she asked, catching the name that was written in Brian's family report, "Does she ever take you places? Just you and her?"

"No," Evander responded simply.

"How long has she been away?"

"I'm not sure," he said, looking at her with round eyes, "Daddy knows. I'll ask." The second that his toes touched the floor, Regina had lightly grabbed his arm and explained that she had more questions for him to answer.

EJ scooted back onto the couch and leaned back against the leather cushion, waiting expectantly for more questions. At just four years old, he didn't really understand what all of this was about. To him, she was simply a visitor who wanted to know about his new life, but in actuality, she was one third of a decision that could change his life and Brian's, again.

"What do you and your dad do together?"

"Everything," he responded, oblivious to how quickly the father and son duo had become inseparable.

Regina McKoy had been a child social worker since before her eight year old was born. She had seen a lot of cases and a lot of children who had terrible pasts and tragic events. She'd seen abusive parents, absentee parents, and guardians who could care less about the kids they were bestowed.

But this was a new one. She'd seen kids bounced between parents, but never anything so drastic on both sides. Evander Kent's mother had been a textbook parent, by the book on everything and very protective of her child - enough so to keep his seemingly-reckless father out of the picture. Now, after her death, the child who'd been so sheltered previously was thrown into a house like no other.

Brian Haner was an unconventional parent and a controversial role model. At a glance it seemed that Brian and Evander were perfect together. They were what each one needed, but when she looked between the lines Regina could see the cracks in their plan.

Later on, as Evander sat at the kitchen table, eating a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup, Brian sat on the couch across from the social worker, his nerves on end as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, his hands connected.

"Mr. Haner, you don't have the most conventional career," Regina stated, her folder laid out on her lap and her pen poised at the ready, "What do you intend to do with Evander when you're away? It's not as if you can leave him with a trusted friend."

Brian nodded slowly. "I figured that he would stay home with Michelle during the school year," Brian said like it was obvious, "and during the summer he could come along."

"I see," she murmured, writing something down, "Is a tour bus really the best atmosphere for a kindergardener?"

"My friends are the best role models," he said, defending the lifestyle that he loved, "We're musicians and we travel a lot, but we never do anything that EJ couldn't be subjected to, Mrs. McKoy."

The blonde nodded as she took a couple notes in the folder. She looked up and met Brian's dark eyes as another question formed on the tip of her tongue. "From what Evander said, it seems that he and Michelle haven't quite formed a close relationship."

Brian leaned back and rested his left ankle on his right knee. "Yes, it's been a little rocky," he admitted, rubbing his palms against his thighs, "but isn't that to be expected? When EJ first got here, his mom had barely been gone. It wouldn't have been normal if he accepted Michelle as his step-mom right away."

"I understand that, Mr. Haner, I do," she responded, glancing through the entry way of the kitchen to make sure that EJ was still sitting in his chair, "But Evander has been here almost a month, don't you think it's time that they start working towards being comfortable around each other?"

"They're working on it," Brian stated, a frown on his face now that concerns about his son were being brought into conversation, "It's not going to happen overnight. Evander's mom died barely a month ago. Michelle and I don't want to force him to love her like he loved his mom. We're giving him time to adjust on his own."

Both the adults looked up as EJ called, "Dad!" from his spot in the kitchen. The little boy was looking their way from his chair. Although he could barely see them because of the angle, there was a frown on his face.

"What, E?" Brian called back, turning his body on the couch to get a better look at the blonde child, "What do you need?"

"I'm done," he said, "Can I come out there?"

"Just for a minute," Bri replied, glancing back at the social worker across from him.

EJ slid off of his chair and quietly padded out to the living room. He walked over to his dad and Brian pulled him onto his lap, with his arms wrapped around the child's waist.

"Ev, why don't you go play in your room for awhile?" Brian suggested, bouncing him on his knee, "We're talking about some grown up stuff."

EJ's eyes met his dad's. "Mommy?" he asked, although it seemed that he already knew the answer, "I want to stay." He settled back against his dad's chest and crossed his arms over his own.

"Evander, I don't think that's such a good idea," Brian rebutted, lifting the boy off of him and setting him on his feet, "Why don't you go play on your playground?"

Evander grinned and pointed his finger towards the French doors that opened up to the backyard. "In the back?" he asked, grinning mischievously.

Brian gave him a look that made his smile drop. "Out front," he corrected, shaking his head, "You know you're not allowed in the back without me."

EJ jutted out his bottom lip in a way he learned from his aunt. "But there's more toys in the back," he rebutted, recrossing his arms over his little chest, "I want to play on the big swing-set."

Brian lifted his eyebrows. "Do you want to know why you can't be in the backyard by yourself?" he asked, watching as EJ nodded stubbornly, "Because you could fall in the pool or the ocean, and because there's no fence so anyone could run up and try and talk to you, and because I wouldn't be able to see you if you fell off the slide and got hurt," he explained, watching EJ's argument disappear with every example.

"But nobody can get to the backyard from outside," Evander argued, waiting for what his dad would say next.

Brian gave his son a blunt look. "How does that keep you from drowning in the pool?" he questioned, hiding his smile as EJ's fighting spirit dissolved.

"Fine," the blonde grunted, turning towards the front door so he could cross the round driveway and play on his smaller version of the playground in the backyard.

"Shoes!" Brian reminded him, chuckling as the four year old turned to glare at the older man. The child dropped to the floor next to the pile of shoes and pulled his sandals onto his feet, velcroing them up before he looked at his father expectantly, waiting for the older man to disarm the security system so he could go outside.