Janni, NC17, Tom/Bill, 21/?

[steins_stories]

Title: Janni
Author: steinsgrrl
Fandom: Tokio Hotel
Pairing: Tom/Bill
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I in no way intend to insinuate that any of the below actually happened. It is simply a piece of written entertainment based on the public personas of real people.
Rating: NC17
Warnings: Twincest-not related, Adult Concepts, Light Kink
Summary: When two men meet and fall in love, they expect there will be bumps in the road. When one of those men has a daughter, some bumps can seem more like mountains.
Author's Note: Thank you so much to ma_chelle for the beta. You are invaluable. Lovely banner by lynnchan. Thank you so much for your patience!


“What the fuck do you mean, you’re not bringing Janni home?” Tom's voice started to rise and Simone moved from the edge of the couch, concern in her eyes, her brows knitted together. Bill spun around and his eyes met Tom's. What he saw there made his stomach drop.

“She’s got school tomorrow, she needs to be home. I’m not messing around, Anjelica.” Tom's eyes flicked to Simone’s, full of a rage that she knew wasn’t for her and she was glad of it. She hadn’t seen her son angry like this in a long time. Not since he was married.

Tom sputtered into the handset, noises of frustration while Anjelica spoke on the other end of the line. “You don’t get to decide that. It’s my job to decide what’s a good environment for my child. She’s my daughter, Anjelica, and you need to bring her home right now!”

“Oh, Jesus,” Simone whispered as it dawned on her what the phone call meant.

Bill looked up at her in confusion. “What’s going on?”

Simone patted the arm he’d laid across the back of the couch. “Just…hang on.”

Bill could see the nervousness and anxiety in her eyes and he took a chance. He took her hand and squeezed her fingers quickly. “Okay.” Tom was livid and Simone was upset and Bill felt useless. So he held her hand and hoped Tom's call wasn’t about what he thought it was about.

Tom thumbed the ‘off’ button hard and Bill could see his knuckles whiten as Tom squeezed the phone in his fist. His face was stony, his eyes on fire and Bill cringed. He’d never seen Tom like this and his stomach squirmed with nausea. And then Tom growled deep in his throat, a warning for anyone smart enough to get out of the way, and he threw the phone as hard as he could at the stairwell. It hit the wall with force enough to leave a dent and break the casing in several pieces and Bill gasped, ducking where he sat as the plastic parts bounced off walls and the carpet.

“Fuck her! Fuck her and her fucking morals and proper upbringing and good environment! Janni is MY daughter and I will raise her the way I want to raise her. Anjelica doesn’t have a say in this, this isn’t her fucking choice. And now she wants to tell me she’s not letting me have my daughter?” Tom stopped pacing, his dreads flinging wildly over his shoulders and his mouth caught in a grimace. He looked at Simone and Bill and they stared back at him with wide eyes. Tom's growl was deep and low and as he started to turn away again, his growl turned into a sob. His head fell back, his shoulders dropping as the anger flowed out of him. “Anjelica said she’s taking Janni. She doesn’t think it’s right for two men to raise a child. It is immoral and she won’t allow it for her granddaughter. She’s keeping Janni,” he said quietly, his voice weak and tired.

Simone was off the couch and standing in front of Tom before his last words were even spoken. “Can she even do that, Tom?”

“I don’t know. She seems to think she can. She’s not bringing her home right now, anyway.” Tom wiped his eyes with a forefinger and thumb, pushing them into the sockets and relishing the slight pain it caused. Simone held his shoulders.

“Don’t,” she whispered and he nodded, ducking his head.

“She can’t do this,” Tom's fingers rubbed at his forehead, his eyes closed tightly. “She can’t do this.” He glanced down at Simone, who wrapped her arms around him. “Can she do this?” Another pair of arms hugged him from behind and he leaned into them, feeling Bill’s chin on his shoulder. “Can she do this, Bill?”

Bill hugged him tighter and rested his forehead against the back of Tom's head.

“I don’t think she can. I don’t. Let’s just…You know, this is kidnapping. Janni isn’t her child, Tom. Anjelica has no right to take her away.” Simone let him go, moved off, and Tom turned in Bill’s arms, wrapping himself around him and burying his face in Bill’s neck. Bill shushed him quietly.

“Listen to your mom, okay? Maybe—“

“Just the thought, Bill. Even the thought of her taking Janni just about kills me. I can’t deal with that. She’s just…” Tom's voice was muffled, quiet, and Bill heard the fear in his words.

“I know.” He smoothed down Tom's dreads. They stood there, Bill holding Tom close, rocking him as Tom tried to hang on, tried not to scream or destroy the furniture. As Tom tried not to cry. He couldn’t believe all this was happening. How could all this be happening?

“Tom, it’s the police.” She pointed to the cell phone at her ear. “They said she can’t keep Janni without a court order or Anjelica winning custody.”

Tom leaned back in Bill’s arms. “I’m going.” He broke away and quickly slipped his feet into his shoes and threw on his coat, while Bill hurried behind him, grabbing his coat, as well.

“I’m coming with you.” Tom nodded shortly, pocketed his keys from the table and headed for the door.

“The cops will meet you there, Tom. In case there’s any trouble!” Tom just barely heard the last of her words before the door closed behind him.

The ride seemed to take forever. Tom didn’t speak on the way there, his eyes kept forward and on the road; he was single minded in his intentions, and his intentions were to get to his daughter. Bill sat, tense, beside him, looking out the window. He wasn’t speaking, either, and Tom was glad for it. Not that he didn’t want to hear what Bill had to say but he really couldn’t concentrate on anything right then other than taking Janni home. Besides, what else needed to be said? Someone had taken Tom's daughter and Tom was going to get her back. They were going to get her back. End of story.

But not all stories end happily, and Tom was terrified that theirs wouldn’t, either.

~~~

The cops were already there when Tom pulled up, too quickly, to Anjelica’s house, and he tried to come to a stop without screeching his tires. He didn’t think reckless driving would leave such a great impression, so he pressed the brake smoothly and firmly, and just managed to keep from skidding. As soon as his vehicle stopped and rocked back into place, they had their seatbelts off and were out of the car, slamming the doors behind them.

A couple squad cars were parked in the driveway and Bill and Tom had to walk past them to get to the cops that were standing in a circle outside Anjelica’s house.

“Hey,” Tom said. “I’m Tom Kaulitz and I’m here to get my daughter.” He looked around at the cops there. Their faces were professional but kind and he hoped so much that they would be able to help him.

“Mr. Kaulitz. I’m Officer Callahan. What’s going on here?” One of the cops asked him, hitching up his pants and resting his hands on his belt. He was older, his hair graying, lines of experience on his face. He listened patiently as Tom explained why Janni was with Anjelica in the first place.

“So she is your daughter’s grandmother?” the officer asked. “And she just had your daughter for the weekend but now she’s decided she thinks that your home is inappropriate for her granddaughter so she said she’s keeping her?”

Tom nodded. “That’s it exactly.”

“And what is it that she thinks is inappropriate for her granddaughter?” The cop’s eyes searched Tom's. He knew he was being scrutinized and he flushed under the observation. He twisted and found Bill standing a few feet behind him. Bill joined him, stood by his side, and Tom took his hand, twining their fingers and squeezing.

“Anjelica doesn’t like that my partner moved in.” Tom raised his chin defiantly.

The older cop flicked his eyes over Bill and set his face in a neutral mask as his eyes met Tom's again. “Mhm, I see. Well, she can’t do that.”

“She can’t?” Tom could feel his adrenaline pumping and hope flared in his chest. He’d heard that from Simone, but actually hearing it from someone in law enforcement made it official.

“No, she can’t. She can file for custody, petition the court on the ground she believes you are an unfit parent, but she can’t just keep your daughter without a court order. But I need you to wait here while we get her story. Don’t go anywhere,” the officer warned him, reaching up to the mic pinned on his shirt and speaking into it quickly, passing messages that Tom didn’t understand.

Tom grunted. “I’m not going anywhere without my daughter.”

The police knocked on Anjelica’s door and when she answered, Tom snorted. She was dressed in a stylish, beige suit and her hair was perfectly coiffed. The scent of chocolate chip cookies wafted through the doorway and over to Tom and Bill, and Bill groaned.

“Oh god, she’s really going all out. Does she even bake cookies?” Bill held Tom's trembling hand in both of his and stroked his thumbs softly over his damp palm.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen her—“

“Daddy! Daddy Daddy Daddy!” Janni flew out of the house and Tom barely had time to turn around and throw his arms open before she flung herself into them, squealing with delight. She wrapped her thin arms tightly around his neck and hugged him so hard that he choked. Janni pulled back and cupped Tom's face in her hands, kissing his forehead and his cheeks. “I’m sorry, Daddy! I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Tom blinked hard, willing himself to breathe. She looked beautiful. She looked as if she’d been having fun and like everything was okay.

“What’s wrong?” Janni asked, after Tom had been looking at her for several minutes.

“Nothing, honey.” Tom hugged her hard again, making her squeak. Tom laughed and kissed the side of her head. “I’m just very glad to see you. I missed you!”

“I missed you, too, Daddy! But me and Grandma, we had lots of fun! We played Candyland twice and I even won! And then we made cookies today and they’re so yummy.” Janni rubbed her tummy in a big circle and Tom grinned, his eyes flicking to Bill. The smile on Bill’s face was radiant and everything was right just then. “Do you wanna try the cookies, Daddy? C’mon!”

Janni squirmed until Tom had to set her on the ground, then she grabbed his hand and tried to pull him to Anjelica’s door. Tom resisted, pulling her back.

“No, Janni. I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Tom protested. And it was just then that Janni noticed all the police cars and cops. She looked around, her eyes wide when they met Tom's again.

“What happened?” She asked in a breathless whisper, as if she’d be in trouble if she spoke too loudly. “Is Grandma in trouble? Did she do something bad?”

Tom's chest clenched. He didn’t want to tell her. He couldn’t tell her. Janni loved her Grandma and Tom couldn’t do that to his daughter, no matter how much he hated Anjelica. Janni would only be confused and hurt and he couldn’t do that.

“They just want to talk to her about something, that’s all. No big deal.” Janni looked back, her body tense as she watched, and Tom put his hands on her shoulders. “We’re just gonna wait until they’re done, then I’m gonna take you home. How’s that sound?”

Janni nodded, still watching the discussion at the door. They couldn’t hear anything from where they were, and Tom was grateful for that. Bill brushed Janni’s hair back from her eyes.

“Janni, where’s your coat? It’s cold out here.” Bill petted a hand over Janni’s hair and she turned into it, her arms lifting absently as she kept her eyes trained on the door and the policemen at it. Bill unzipped his coat, picked her up and settled her on his hip. “Tom?”

Tom was zipping the coat around Janni’s back before he realized what he was doing. Janni’s head was snuggled under Bill’s chin, her arms and legs wrapped tightly around him as he held her close. Bill’s coat wasn’t as big as Tom's but it was big enough to wrap around both of them and the sight took Tom's breath away. How could anyone say Bill was anything but perfect for them? For Janni?

“Mr. Kaulitz?” Tom whipped around to find Officer Callahan ambling over to him, closing his notebook.

“Yes, sir?” He would have sworn he felt his stomach in his throat, but he sucked a deep breath in through his nose, the cold air burning as it hit the lowest spaces in his lungs, and blew it out through parted lips. The good officer had already said Anjelica couldn’t take Janni so there was nothing to worry about, right?

“You’re clear to leave and take your daughter with you.” The officer spoke again into the mic on his lapel and Tom breathed a sigh of relief. “But I should let you know that Mrs. Regen still has the option to file for custody and she has indicated that she is likely to do so.”

“Sir?” Tom stared.

“Let me just—“ Officer Callahan lowered his voice, reached for his belt and fiddled with a black device clipped to it. “Had to turn that off. Listen, I’m gonna say this quick, but in this town, it’s all about who you know. My partner is friends with someone who could help you.” He opened his notebook again and wrote on the top page before tearing the paper out. He followed Tom's line of sight to the police still talking to Anjelica. “Not that partner.” He winked.

“Oh!” Heat flushed his face and Tom glanced back at Bill, meeting his own love’s smile.

“Call her.” Tom looked at the name and number on the paper before folding it and tucking it away into his pocket. “I think she can help you. But,” he patted Tom on the shoulder, “you didn’t hear it from me.” Officer Callahan thumbed at the device on his belt and spoke louder, “I don’t know what’s going on with this thing. You having trouble with yours, Feltz?”

A young officer just coming up behind Officer Callahan looked shocked to be addressed, since Callahan had shown no indication that he knew the other policeman was there.

“No, sir.” He tapped at his mic and a thudding and squelching sound came from the uniforms of the cops in the yard. “Oh.” The young man’s cheeks pinkened and he covered by thrusting Janni’s jacket out at Tom. “Anything else you need, sir?”

“Nope.” Tom raised a hand to both the cops and gave a nod. “No, I think we’re good. Thank you.” He took Bill’s arm and steered him toward their car, looking over his shoulder to mouth a special ‘thank you’ at Officer Callahan, but the older man already had his back turned and was headed toward Anjelica’s door.

~~~

Janni hugged Brownie tighter to her chest and let out a noise that was more snore than breath. She’d had a hard day of playing board games, baking cookies and getting her clothes ready for school the next day, and as Bill and Tom stood in her doorway, watching her sleep, Tom fervently wished those could be the hardest things Janni would have to deal with for a long time to come.

He sighed quietly, wrapping his arm around Bill’s waist, twisting his fingers into Bill’s soft, cotton tee shirt. With the events of the day, though, he was sure that Janni would soon be learning some things that he would prefer she not have to know about until she was older.

“Let’s go to bed,” Bill whispered into his hair and Tom nodded, giving Janni one last, lingering look before closing the door behind them.

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