Who: Kanan and Katou What: Katou makes an interesting discovery When: Late November Where: Chateau Katou Rating/Warnings: PG for Language; talk of murder Status: Complete!
Katou wasn’t the kind of guy to snoop. He had his own things he liked to keep to his breast, and so he figured that if there was something that someone wanted him to know, they’d tell him. None of this sleuthing around and digging up secrets that people would rather keep hidden. But he’d managed to misplace a file for work somewhere and he had no idea where it was. He was still new at the job, but he had the sneaking suspicion that a top secret government agency would be a little pissed off if their employees just left documents lying around for anyone to come across. That’s what he got for taking his work home with him. From now on he could just leave the office at the goddamn office.
Figuring at last that Kanan must’ve grabbed it by accident, he went looking through some of his papers, and paused when he came across a file with a familiar name on it. At least, at first glance, the name Caleb stood out for him. But then he realized the last name was Dume and not Rivers, and he frowned at the birth certificate that he found in his hands.
“Oi, Kanan,” Katou called, heading to the living room where he’d last seen Kanan. “Who the hell’s this Caleb Dume guy?”
Kanan had been enjoying an after-dinner beer and some trashy scifi movie on TV while Katou had been searching the house for his missing paperwork. He’d been too busy laughing at the shitty special effects to really be paying as much attention to his protege as he probably should have been. However hearing that name being shouted through the house like it was no big deal, jettisoned Kanan right out of his movie. He jerked around on the couch to stare at the younger man. “What? Where did you hear that name?” He demanded urgently.
Uhhh… weird. Out of all the reactions he’d been expecting from asking about some random birth certificate he’d found lying around, that wasn’t one of them, and now knowing was more than a vague kind of curiosity. Now he more or less had to know. Maybe it was some dude Kanan had killed. And … kept the birth certificate for some reason. A trophy, maybe? Katou frowned, vaguely entertaining thoughts of Kanan the Serial Killer, though he really couldn’t take any of them at all seriously.
“From this random fucking birth certificate,” Katou said, stepping closer to Kanan so he could toss the document at him. “If it’s that important, maybe you oughtta stick it in a safe.”
Kanan stared at him for a moment before reaching over and grabbing the birth certificate out of Katou’s hands. “This was on my desk in my room. The hell were you doing in there? There’s no reason for you to be going through my shit.”
Katou was right, though. Kanan should have put the birth certificate somewhere and locked it up until he had decided whether or not he was actually going to locate his parents or not. He frowned at the paper in his hand. “Forget you saw this.”
“Well excuse me,” Katou said, rolling his eyes. It wasn’t his fault that Kanan had just left it out there, and he wasn’t about to go making excuses for it either. Especially since it was already done. It wasn’t like he could take it back, even if he was inclined to do so.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Katou said, sitting his ass down on the couch. “So you’d better explain what that is, or else I’m gonna start making up my own conclusions. And I can guarantee they’re worse than anything you’ll actually tell me.”
Kanan wasn’t so sure about that. He narrowed his eyes slightly at the young man and then looked at the birth certificate in his hands. This may have been a mistake. However, it was too late now and Katou was much to smart to fall for any cock and bull story Kanan might be able to concoct, especially after he’d already reacted somewhat poorly. Kanan’s eyes flickered towards the bay window, the same window he’d come crashing through a few months ago, and then to the spot on the floor where he’d laid while Katou had saved his life. Well, fuck...
Kanan sighed, “it’s a birth certificate.” And before Katou could say well duh he went on “it’s my birth certificate. I’m Caleb Dume.” He looked up at Katou, his expression very serious “And before you say anything else, Yue, you have to promise me that you’ll never call me Caleb.”
Well, at least Kanan hadn’t confessed to being a serial killer who took the most obvious trophies imaginable. But that didn’t make Katou any less confused. For one sickening moment, he thought that Caleb Dume was going to be a new identity Kanan cooked up before he left Orange County and started somewhere new, but that couldn’t be true. “You don’t gotta worry ‘bout that. Calling you Caleb would be weird as fuck.” After all, Katou’s best friend’s name was Caleb. “Why the fuck does your birth certificate say Caleb when your name’s Kanan?”
The last thing Katou had to worry about was Kanan changing his identity and skipping town. The time for that had long past. And besides, why would anyone change their name to Dume? Dume…Doom? Little too on the nose for Kanan’s taste. Kanan took another breath. “Because my name is Caleb,” he said and then clarified, “my real name is Caleb.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I changed it when I was a little younger than you. I had done something - shot someone - and went on the run. I was a ward of the state, so the best case scenario is that I would have ended up in some jouvie somewhere or in an actual prison for the rest of my life. Worst case, I would have ended up dead. At least that’s what I was afraid of at the time.”
Kanan sat heavily on the coffee table, the birth certificate still in hand. “I haven’t told anyone this before. The only one who knows is Janus. He was the one who gave me my new name. And now you know.”
A small, soft smile crossed Katou’s face when Kanan said that Katou was the only one who knew, but it quickly turned into his usual wide grin as he leaned back on the couch. “You shot someone, huh?” Katou asked. “Look at you, you little rebel you. I take it they had it coming?” Kanan didn’t seem the type to just shoot someone for no reason. “Anyway, if I’d rather you have a fake name and be alive than the alternative. Even if Dume is kinda the coolest last name ever.
“Yeah,” Kanan admitted wearily. He hadn’t talked about this in years. He wasn’t so sure if talking about it now was such a good idea, but he had kept it hidden all this time and it was more of a burden to keep it hidden than it was letting it out. “The asshole had it coming. I told you I was in foster care, yeah? The first couple I was with were older. We called the man The Chaplain, I don’t really remember why. He and his wife took good care of us, but when he died his wife couldn’t manage a house full of children on her own. We were all sent to different homes. The one I ended up in...well, let’s say the couple was far less enthusiastic about the caring part and far more enthusiastic about the money they got from the state, or wherever. Animals get treated better.” Kanan took a breath, “anyway, the man used to come after us and one day I just snapped. He kept a gun in the bedroom and I shot him with it…” He trailed and looked up from the birth certificate, “you really think Dume is a cool last name?”
Katou’s expression darkened as he thought about it. “I hope you killed him,” he spat. Kanan didn’t seem proud of if, though Katou couldn’t help but think he probably should be. Katou certainly admired him more for it. Standing up to his father was something Katou hadn’t ever been able to do, and now never would. But then, Kanan’s foster father probably deserved it more. It was one thing to be stuck with some unwanted bastard child and having nothing you could do about it, but foster parents obviously wanted the kids to some extent, even if it was just to use as a punching bag.
“You bet I do,” Katou said. “It’s badass. Makes every name sound badass, even a lame one like Yue. Yue Dume,” he said, testing it out, and then nodded. “See? Badass.”
Punching bags. That was a fairly apt description for the couple who had taken Kanan in after The Chaplain had passed away. That is, whenever the couple remembered to actualy pay attention to the kids. Kanan shook his head. “I thought I’d killed him, but apparently not. The guy who got this for me,” he indicated the paper in his hands, “was able to tell me the dick is still alive. Been in and out of prison. He offered to keep an eye out for me and let me know if said dick should happen to show up in Orange County.”
Katou let out a bark of a laugh. “If he’s got any sense, he’d steer clear of the OC. Even if it ain’t you, something’d be likely to do him in for good.” One of the creepy crawlies that went bump in the night, no doubt. “Anyway, I’ll take Kanan Jarrus over Caleb Dume any day,” he added, more of a mumble than anything, frowning out the window and definitely not looking at Kanan as he said it.
“I would prefer it to be me,” Kanan muttered to himself as he looked at the birth certificate. He’d been young and scared when he’d changed his name, and the world had been large and terrifying. Caleb Dume didn’t exist anymore. That scared little boy had grown up into a very capable man. He’d take Kanan Jarrus over Caleb Dume any day as well.
Kanan looked up at Katou. Green eyes flickered towards the window Katou was frowning out of, then back. He smiled a little to himself as he got to hs feet and joined the younger man. “That’s good,” he said, “because I’m not planning on going anywhere, so you’re going to be stuck with Kanan Jarrus for a while, yet.”
“Sucks to be me,” Katou teased, nudging Kanan lightly with his elbow to show he was joking. Then he leaned back on the couch. “Anyway, my lips are sealed. So long as you don’t leave that lying around for anyone to see, it’ll be our little secret.”