Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kiyoomi groans as he silences his alarm for the second time. He really needs to get up if he doesn't want to be late for class since he’d already be on a tight schedule if he managed to get up by the first alarm. If getting up early for an 8 a.m. just wouldn't be so horrible.

As he peels his eyes open, he makes out the outlines of his room in the dim light streaming in through the blinds. Directly to his right is his bedside table, where his alarm starts blaring again. Kiyoomi groans again and finally sits up in bed. He rubs his palms over his eyes to get rid of any dry clumps that formed in the corners of his eyes overnight and then finally turns off his alarm for good. He stretches and his spine pops a few times before he heaves himself out of bed to walk over to the opposite side of the room, where his closet is. There he gets his exercise mat. He stops for a second to look at the pictures scattered around the walls. They mostly show him and his cousin or his best friend in varying stages of childhood and remind him that he should text them both soon. Filing that thought away for later, he walks into the living room, since there is no way he would be able to lay it out his mat in his room.

He pushes the coffee table against the wall and gets to it. Fridays are stretching days because of his early start. This way, he gets his stretches in but doesn't have to overexert himself with muscle strengthening exercises. He would very much like to sleep half an hour longer, but Kiyoomi learned early on that not moving his body regularly wasn't worth the aftermath. So, he pushes himself through half an hour of gently moving his body, sanitises his mat after and then heads to the bathroom.

When he's all clean and slipped into fresh clothes, he packs his book bag for the day, which is placed under a small desk next to his bed. He takes some books from the low bookshelf that sits under the window between his desk and closet and heads to the small kitchen area to fix himself some breakfast. His roommate was nice enough to already get the rice cooker going, so all Kiyoomi has to do is get some of the leftovers from yesterday out of the fridge and heat them up. He also makes some tamagoyaki and then sets their tiny dining table for two. He's sure that he won't be alone for much longer and true to his suspicions, the door to the flat opens just as he starts eating.

"Oh! Good Morning, Sakusa-san! Thanks for setting the table for me. I'll just hop into the shower real quick!" Hinata chirps at him as soon as he spots Kiyoomi at the table. Kiyoomi just lets out a grunt that barely resembles a greeting, but Hinata knows him well enough by now to not take it personally. Kiyoomi just really isn't a morning person and he has barely had half of his coffee. How Hinata can be so chipper in the morning, especially after a morning run, Kiyoomi doesn't know. Maybe it has to do with his sunshine incarnate personality.

While continuing to eat, Kiyoomi fishes his phone out of the pocket of his sweatpants to scroll through the news. What he spots first though, is an email notification he has been waiting for for a few days now. It's from the book store he applied to last week. Now that he sees the notification sitting there, he's nervous. He really needs that job. He cannot get another rejection. Not again.

So, ignoring the sinking feeling in his gut, he taps the screen and his email program pops open.

'Dear Sakusa-san,
we are sad to inform you….'

Kiyoomi doesn't even continue reading, before he groans in frustration and lets the phone clatter to the table. Not fucking again! How many damn times does he have to do this? He just wants a damn job to pay for the bills his parents won't be paying anymore after the end of this month.

"Is everything alright, Sakusa-san?" Kiyoomi jumps at Hinata's voice close behind him. He turns around and sure enough. He must be on his way to the bathroom but now there's concern clearly written over his face.

"I got another rejection. By now I really don't know where else I could apply to."

Hinata's eyebrows draw together and he looks at him like he wants to give Kiyoomi consoling headpats, but luckily refrains from doing so. He hasn't showered, after all.

"Oh man, I'm really sorry. If you want I can still ask at the gym?" Kiyoomi can't help the small grimace that appears on his face. As much as he appreciates Hinata's generous offer to get him a job at his own workplace, Kiyoomi would really rather die than work at a place where there are this many sweaty people with questionable hygiene regimens. But he might not have another choice if this continues like that.

"Thanks, Hinata-kun. I'll … I'll try one more time and if it doesn't work out I'll … come back to you." Just saying it makes an uncomfortable feeling curl in his gut.

"Sure, Sakusa-san! Just say the word! I'mma head into the shower now. Have fun in class!"

Kiyoomi just nods and gets back to breakfast. When he's finished, he takes his bowls and cutlery and moves to the sink where he quickly cleans them and sets them aside on the drying rack. He then gets his backpack from his room and slips on his sneakers in the genkan to finally head out to class. On his way he shoots off two separate texts to his cousin and his best friend about the new rejection. This is going to be a long day.

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By the time all his classes are out in the early afternoon and Kiyoomi is headed home, both his cousin and his best friend have answered his text. He stops at a coffee cart near the science building and opens Motoya's message first while waiting in line.

Toya
ah shit
that sucks
sorry, Kiyo!
i wish i could help but i know jackshit about Osaka

Me
It's fine. I'll just have to try again.

He steps up to the cart and orders a caramel latte before stepping aside and answering the rest of his messages while he waits for his coffee.

Keiji-kun
I'm really sorry to hear that.
I was sure this was going to be the one.
But
I might have an idea, though it's a bit…
unconventional.

Kiyoomi lights up a little as he takes his coffee and takes a long sip, just barely managing to not burn off his tongue.

Me
I'm more than willing to try unconventional.
I nearly took up Hinata-kun on his offer
To work at a gym.

Keiji-kun
I can imagine how much that pained you.
You see, Bokuto-san has this friend.
And said friend is looking for a babysitter.
From what I know it would mostly be during the weekend but would entail overnight stays.
He said the pay is more than decent.

At first Kiyoomi rolls his eyes at his friend's antics. As if he doesn't know that he usually calls Bokuto-san by his given name. But as his eyes take in the rest of the messages, Kiyoomi's eyebrows shoot up to his hairline and he nearly chokes on his coffee when trying to swallow. He has to stop on the sidewalk and coughs into his elbow a few times, getting rid of the liquid trying to slide down his windpipe. Warn a guy, geez.

Me
Are you serious?
Babysitting? Me?
I don't even have any credentials, Keiji-kun.
My only experience entails taking care of Motoya's little sister with him when his parents went on business trips.

Keiji-kun
Well, hear me out.
First of all, he's a little desperate right now.

Me
Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence.

Keiji-kun
Oh, shut up and let me finish!
He needs to find someone by the end of the month. Just like you need a job by then.
I know for a fact that the kids are great.
And I think he really doesn't care about credentials. He cares more about whether or not you would take good care of his children.
Which I'm sure you would.

Me
I'm not sure.
And wait … kids?
Plural?

Keiji-kun
Just … how about this.
You let me set up a meeting and just see how it goes?
If you think you're not suited for the job then fine. Then you can go work in a grimy gym.
But if it goes well, you'll be able to avoid that.

Kiyoomi chews on his bottom lip as he stares at his phone in front of his flat. His key is still in his pocket, so he just stands there, looking at what Akaashi sent, weighing it around in his head. It's not like he hates kids. Sure, they have the tendency to get dirty but that's just because they don't know any better. He actually gets along really well with his baby cousin (well, she's not really a baby anymore but who cares) and Kiyoomi knows he's responsible. On paper, he could probably do this. But in reality? He guesses he'll just have to see. Damn Keiji and his reasonable arguments.

Me
Fine. I'll at least meet with them and see from there.

Keiji-kun
Great!
I'll text you the details as soon as I know.
And Kiyoomi-kun?
I'm really sorry your parents are being like that.

Kiyoomi thanks his best friend and finally opens the door to his flat to get inside. He takes off his shoes in the small genkan and puts them on the shoe rack in exchange for his house slippers. After that, he washes his hands and changes into his inside clothes – which are really just another pair of sweatpants and a loose shirt – because there is no way he'll sit on his bed in the clothes he wore outside all day.

When he's done with everything, Akaashi has already asked him if tomorrow afternoon works for him. It's sooner than he expected but Kiyoomi only has to write up a lab report, so the time won't be a problem. He tells Akaashi as much and gets an address and a name in return. Looks like he'll find out who this 'Miya-san' is tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Waking up to a message from his mother has not been pleasant for a while now. This one isn't any better. And it's not because she's being deliberately mean. No, she really thinks she is doing the right thing here. It only goes to show how much more important his father is to her than Kiyoomi himself. Kiyoomi is by no means saying that he did everything right in this situation but it is also not completely his fault and his parents will not be changing his mind in any way, shape or form in this.

He leaves the message unread until he finishes breakfast because he knows having to read it before he's done with at least two cups of coffee will give him a headache. On top of the looming message, his morning workout didn't go that well since his joints are bothering him more than they usually do, after he's crammed for some report due in the next few days. He just hopes it will be better for his meeting with Miya-san in the afternoon or he might have to take some pain medication beforehand. For now, he rubs some heating cream onto his aching joints and prays for that to be enough.

Hinata has already left the flat for work, which Kiyoomi is grateful for. He really doesn't want him to witness how he might react to his mother's words. 

With his phone in hand, he has wrapped himself into his heating blanket and is sitting on the couch, his laptop is already opened on the coffee table, ready for his report to be written. Better face the devil's advocate first, before he won't be able to concentrate on his work.

Okaa-san
Kiyoomi, honey, have you given this whole thing another thought? Why won't you just stop being unreasonable? There is no need for all of these dramatics. We just want what's best for you. Let's all sit down and talk about it.

All Kiyoomi can really do is scoff at his mother's message. Like hell is he being unreasonable. At least not more than his parents and he is not going to come crawling to them just because they think semi cutting him off is going to intimidate him. Especially because he knows they won't fully do it, since they have a reputation to uphold. A Sakusa dropping out of university because he couldn't pay for it would certainly make waves and reflect negatively on them.

Kiyoomi will admit that he could have gone about this whole thing a little differently but he is also not under any impression that it would have changed his parents' minds. He still has the image of his father's anger and his mother's disappointment burned into his retinas from when they confronted him about all of it.

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"Do you care to explain what this means, son?" is the first thing Kiyoomi hears when he enters his childhood house. He doesn't want to call it a home, since it never really felt like that, with him being either left alone with a nanny or spending his time at Motoya's. His father's greeting just validates that fact yet again.

Both his parents are waiting for him at the large dinner table. Instead of the head of the table, Sakusa Hiroshi is sitting at the long end next to his wife, which indicates Kiyoomi is clearly supposed to sit opposite of them. So this is going to be a talk. It explains why there wasn't a maid ready to take his bag and coat. They don't want any of their workers to pick up on potential gossip.

"Okaa-san. Otou-san." He gives a small bow and takes a seat in the chair meant for him. When he looks at his mother, he can see the tiniest frown wrinkling her usually blank face. It must be bad if she cannot even hide her discomfort. Kiyoomi's father on the other hand is openly scowling at him, disdain written all over him in the way he looks and clenches one hand into a fist on the table. His father has always been the more explosive one, at least with his family, in professional settings he knows how to present himself.

"What is this, Kiyoomi?" This time it's his mother asking as his father slides a piece of paper over the table in front of him. At first Kiyoomi is more than confused until he realises it's an email. His parents, honest to god, printed out an email to show him instead of just using a laptop. He has half a mind to tell them it's a waste of paper, is what it is, but then he spots what kind of email exactly it is and he goes still.

It is from one of his father's old acquaintances, who works in the business department of Osaka University. He writes that he's very sorry to inform his father that Kiyoomi has not attended one of his classes yet and that he doesn't seem to be on the attendance list for his colleagues' courses either. Well … fuck. 

"Are you not going to say anything?" His father folds his hands on the table and just looks at him. Kiyoomi knows that stare. Has been on the receiving end of it all his childhood. One would think he has become immune to it by now, but Kiyoomi isn't so lucky. Sure, he's not scared of it, but it still makes him tense up for a second. Makes him have to swallow down the dryness in his throat. But there is no way he is going to stutter and stumble his way through an explanation like he did when he was a child.

"I didn't want to tell you like that but the reason I haven't been to any of Yamato-san's classes is that I did not enrol for Economics. I actually enrolled in their Engineering Program."

Kiyoomi hears his mother take in a hiccuping breath, while his father just continues to stare at him. As far as reactions go, other people would consider this very mild, seeing as Kiyoomi just dropped a total bombshell onto the table. But he knows well enough that there is rage bubbling under his father's skin and probably disappointment swimming around his mother's gut. He is well aware that both of these reactions are warranted, seeing as he literally lied to them for over a year and they are the ones paying for all of his expenses. But he's had his reasons since-

"I hope you do not find this funny, Kiyoomi. Since you don't see me laughing. Engineering? What kind of childish rebellion is this?"

Well, since he anticipated a reaction quite similar to this. The thing is, as much as Kiyoomi's parents drilled the need to bring home immaculate grades into their children, they never really took his genuine interest in the sciences seriously. They just thought he was good at it and that was it. What they imagine is for Kiyoomi to one day take over the family business with his siblings. That's what he has been told since kindergarten.

"I'm not joking in the slightest, father." Kiyoomi responds and slides the email back over the table towards his parents.

The Sakusa Company is an established business in Japan and frankly, Kiyoomi doesn't even know what exactly it is that they really sell or do, that's how little he cares for it. He was never interested in taking over but all his attempts of talking about it to his parents were disregarded as childish petulance. He was never meant to have a say in what he does with his future, which is why, by the end of high school, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Kiyoomi, what has gotten into you?" His mother sounds close to tears and Kiyoomi does feel bad about that. As much as people call him a too blunt jerk, he doesn't want to make people hurt. Nonetheless, he is not about to sugarcoat the situation.

"What has gotten 'into me' is the fact that I want to decide what I do with my future. And what I want to do is something related to environmental engineering. I don't care about taking over the company." It is at this exact moment Kiyoomi can see a vein pop out on his father's temple. He's pissed, alright.

"You think because of this childish need for being 'special' all the time you can just go behind our backs? Lie to us and take advantage of our generosity?"

"Hiroshi," Kiyoomi's mother gasps, clearly not anticipating the venom behind her husband's words. But it's not like Kiyoomi can argue with him about the second half of his statement. He did lie and he did take advantage of the fact that they never required to see his actual application. They trusted him and were happy to send over the money necessary to pay for his tuition and his living expenses – and a little extra. He is not going to deny that.

"You will right all of that immediately. It might take you longer to finish your studies but-"

"No." Kiyoomi interrupts his father with a firm shake of his head.

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"The new term has already started, I can't just change my major now. And even if I could, I won't do that. I enjoy engineering. It's what I want to do."

"Do you really think we are just going to let you continue like that?" His father's nose flares with his anger. Something Kiyoomi hasn't seen in a long time. He steels himself before continuing. What he's about to say is a huge gamble, but, well. It's really his only choice.

"If you want to cut me off, so be it, Otou-san. But I imagine, me dropping out of university to become some kind of full time cashier is bound to make waves quickly."

" Kiyoomi ." His mother hisses out his name like he is some kind of criminal no-one is supposed to talk about and, on the one hand, he can't really fault her for it. He is being a tremendous asshole right now. On the other hand, he would be lying if he said it didn't hurt a little bit. Before she can continue, though, his father places a hand on hers and continues himself.

"He is right, Ai. We'll give you until the rest of the semester to clear your head of this nonsense. If you choose to continue to be stubborn, we will not pay for your living expenses anymore." Now is probably not the time to tell his parents that his university changed to a term based system years ago and that he could probably change majors by the end of fall term. Not that he would do that anyway.

"But you'll continue to pay my tuition?"

"I will not have any child of mine bringing shame on our family name by going around telling people I wouldn't provide for his education."

His father probably thinks that he is being smart. That the thought of not getting money to pay for rent and groceries and other essentials will scare Kiyoomi into submission. But he didn't lie to his parents for over a year to come crawling back and do what they want him to do that easily. He'll find a way to pay for his expenses. Get a job, a smaller flat or move in with somebody. As long as his parents will pay for school, he'll be fine.

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The afternoon finds Kiyoomi on his way to a more quiet residential area with one or two storey homes instead of tall buildings designed to house as many people as possible. His joint pain luckily isn't as bad anymore, so he's sure he will be able to concentrate on his job interview. He's more nervous than for any of the interviews he's had before. Probably because this one is his last chance before he has to take up Hinata on his offer to work at a smelly, germ-y gym, and the fact that he isn't sure he is fit to look after small children. He will just have to see.

He shifts the backpack around his shoulders one last time and double checks if he really is at the right address and when that is confirmed he steps up to the front gate. The building in front of him is two storeys tall, with two balconies and a gate on the right side, inside which a car is parked. From the outside it looks rather modern and Kiyoomi can make out a tree in the small front yard, just peeking over the higher walls surrounding the front and side of the property. It's clear that whoever is living here is well off but it's far from the over the top properties his family owns. It looks homey, Kiyoomi can tell, even just standing on the sidewalk outside.

He takes a final deep breath and presses the button for the doorbell on his right. It doesn't take long for the intercom to crackle to life and the voice of what Kiyoomi assumes to be a man to filter through.

"Hello ?"

"Miya-san? This is Sakusa Kiyoomi. I'm here because of the job interview." 

" Sakusa-kun! Lemme buzz ya in real quick. Just a sec. " Now that he's said more than one word, Kiyoomi can clearly hear the distinct cadence of kansai-ben crackling through the intercom. It suits Miya-san's voice, clear even through the distortions of the intercom. He sounds younger than Kiyoomi expected but Akaashi did say he was one of Bokuto's friends, so it would probably be stranger if Miya-san was some forty year old man.

Before he can make any assumptions on what the other might look like, there is the distinct buzz of the door opener and Kiyoomi pushes open the gated door to step onto the property. He firmly shuts the door behind him and tracks along the short path towards the house. Planted left and right of the stone path are bushes and flowers and said path forks off in front of the step up to the door and tracks around the side of the house, leading to what is probably a small backyard. Out of the corner of his eye Kiyoomi sees that the car is definitely a family car, a pricier one but a family car nonetheless. Suitable to drive around children and do weekly grocery runs. 

Just as he looks back to the door it is opened with way more enthusiasm than Kiyoomi expected and he actually stumbles back a bit in his surprise.

"Woah there! Sorry, didn't mean to startle ya!" He looks at Kiyoomi with wide eyes and as Kiyoomi takes in his appearance his brain just short-circuits. Right there on Miya-san's doorstep. The other man is wearing grey basketball shorts, a loose black and gold t-shirt with the number 13 printed on his left pec and a pair of wire frame glasses. His hair is obviously dyed. A light shade of blond that suits him really well, though the undercut is still a nice dark brown. The top of his hair is swept away from his forehead but it looks a little too tousled to be purposeful, like he's been running around the house working all afternoon. But what gets to Kiyoomi the most is the light dusting of freckles on his cheeks and nose, remains of a summer spent in the sun, as is his sun kissed skin. Kiyoomi thinks that he can't be more than a few years older than himself.

He is suddenly very happy he's wearing a mask, because he's sure his mouth is doing something weird and as he realises he's just been standing there, staring, his cheeks heat up, a flush spreading all the way to his ears.

He's going to kill Akaashi Keiji the next time he sees him. Forget that. He's going to kill him through his phone . He can't just put Kiyoomi in front of a cute guy without giving him a damn warning. He knows Kiyoomi is awkward in front of other people, especially ones he finds attractive.

"Everythin' alright?" Miya's words are what get Kiyoomi out of his stupor, but not before his cheeks flame up again as he realises Miya fucking smirking at him. Well, this is going great! Caught ogling his potential boss before they even really talked.

"Y-yeah. Sorry." Kiyoomi mumbles and gives a slight bow. Miya steps away from the door to let him in. He shuffles into the house, mumbling a sorry for the intrusion and takes his shoes off in the genkan to place them on the shoe rack to his right. Miya hands him a new pair of house slippers, which Kiyoomi is grateful for. He's not sure he could have accepted used ones and he really wants to make a good impression from now on. The first one was embarrassing enough.

"Well, come on in. Follow me, please." Kiyoomi nods and hurries after Miya, all the while taking in his surroundings. To the left, the genkan continues into a small wet room with a sink, a hallway leads into what Kiyoomi thinks to be a tatami room if you go straight. Turning left ends in a hallway closet and the right, where they are going, opens into a big living space with an open kitchen and dining area. To his left, stairs lead upstairs and Kiyoomi assumes that a toilet and bathroom are on that side as well. Miya leads him past some couches and a tv directly to his right and offers him a seat at the dining table. It's set up between the kitchen island on the left and floor to ceiling windows to the right, which open up a view to the front yard. Kiyoomi sits down with his back to the window, placing his backpack next to his seat and taking off his mask.

"Ah shit, I never properly introduced myself. Miya Atsumu. Ya can call me Atsumu if ya like. Can I offer ya anythin' ta drink, Sakusa-kun? Glass o' water? Cuppa tea?"

"It is nice to meet you, Miya-san. A cup of tea would be nice, if it's not too much trouble." Kiyoomi will definitely not call someone he just met by their first name.

"Sure ain't." Miya grins and basically swaggers into the kitchen. "Green tea okay?"

"Of course." As Kiyoomi looks around, he can't help but think he's a little overdressed, especially considering Miya's relaxed outfit. Maybe the slacks were a little too much. He's just happy he decided against the button up and wore an oversized sweater instead. Although it is a little warm.

Miya asks him about his major, since Akaashi told him he’s in college. They talk a little about him being an engineering major with a specialisation in sustainable energy and environmental engineering. The blond also asks him if he’s moved to Osaka for his studies and how he knows Akaashi, since he’s two years older than Kiyoomi. Their story of having met at summer camp when Kiyoomi was in second grade isn’t a very exciting one. He’s still willing to tell it, since it is how he met his best friend, apart from his cousin of course.

He only puts his foot in his mouth when he says that he moved from home to have his parents stop breathing down his neck. Great impression, he thinks as he’s contemplating how to salvage the whole thing. Who wants to hire a babysitter that apparently doesn’t even get along with his own parents. But Miya doesn’t seem bothered by the whole thing. He only shrugs and says it’s only reasonable to want to become your own person.

"What is it that you do?" As Kiyoomi asks to divert from the topic, he can see surprise flicker over Miya's features for the briefest moment, but he schools his features into a more neutral expression just a moment later.

"So Kaashi-kun wasn't lyin' when he said ya didn't know who I was. I guess that's actually good, since it means ya don't want this job 'cause o' me." Kiyoomi's brows furrow at the statement. Why would he take a job because of Miya's name?

"I'm a Division 1 volleyball player. I play fer the MSBY Black Jackals." Ah, that's probably why he looks the tiniest bit familiar to Kiyoomi. Maybe he saw his team play against Motoya's one time.

They talk a little about what position the blond plays and that Kiyoomi played himself for a brief time when he was young. He would have continued with it, happy to play alongside Motoya and being good at it, but his parents forbade him to continue playing, too concerned about his joints… and his grades. Now he’s just happy when he can catch Motoya’s matches on TV.

Miya seems happy about it nonetheless, telling him that his kids love the sport, although they’re too young to really play themselves, opting to just roll around a volleyball in the backyard. The mention of his kids seems to remind him that they’re not just here to talk about themselves and a sheepish smile settles over his features. After a quick sip of his tea, he begins talking about his children.

"So, they're twins. Kinda runs in the family, I guess." Miya chuckles at that and Kiyoomi has to tamp down the smile threatening to bloom on his face. He has no idea what Miya is talking about but his genuine happiness is nice. "They turn four in December. Ayame's the older one, by 15 minutes. Yuuto's the younger one. They're in kindergarten. Ayame's the more forward one. She takes charge most o' the time while Yuuto's more wary and shy about meetin' new people. She gets 'im outta his shell an' doesn't let anyone trample over her brother."

Kiyoomi nods along and stores all that information away. So far, they sound nice. Like Kiyoomi can handle this. Yeah, he totally can. The setter tells him more about their personalities and that Yuuto’s allergic to shellfish, not so much that he cannot be near the food, but eating it is definitely off the table. They talk about where they store epi pens and that Yuuto has a bracelet that states his allergy that he needs to wear when they leave the house. Miya asks Kiyoomi about his experience with taking care of children and the raven haired man tells him about how he and his cousin took care of Motoya’s baby sister a lot of the time. When he was visiting, when Motoya’s and his parents were away on some kind of important business trip or later, when they were old enough to not want to go on family vacation with their parents anymore and Akiko was begging his aunt and uncle to stay with them. Sure, he wasn’t alone then and they were looking after one kid, but he was also a dumb teenager at the age of 14 to 17, Motoya only two years older than him. To this day he doesn’t know how their parents allowed them to look after Akiko, who is eight years younger than Kiyoomi, and didn’t hire a babysitter. But he’s more than thankful for it now, since it actually taught him how to look after kids.

The whole time Kiyoomi talks, Miya listens intently and asks questions where there is still something left to talk about. He doesn’t seem to be completely put off by Kiyoomi’s lack of professional experience, so the raven haired man chalks it down as a win for now. What he’s been wondering the whole time, though, is where the twins that he’s supposed to babysit are. From what he’s garnered so far, Miya Atsumu seems like the type of parent who wouldn’t hire a babysitter without making sure his kids like whoever he’s employing. Which is a good thing. Kiyoomi cannot even count the amount of nannies he had as a child that were complete assholes towards him, just to please his parents. Maybe the other man can actually read his mind, because the next thing he talks about is exactly what Kiyoomi’s been thinking about just now.

“Ya might be wonderin’ where they are. I thought it’d be best to talk to each other alone first. Figure it all out ‘n then let ya meet the kids. They’re with my brother fer now but they should be here any minute.” 

Right as he finishes his sentence, they hear voices in the direction of the door. Kids’ voices to be exact, happily chattering along about something Kiyoomi cannot understand yet. There’s also a third voice, that of an adult, intercepting them to tell them to take their shoes off and hang up their jackets.

As Kiyoomi looks back from the direction of the entrance, he sees Miya smile brightly. “There they are! I hope yer ready Sakusa-kun. I’m sure they’ll be happy to meetcha!”

Kiyoomi nods and takes a deep breath when the other man looks towards where his children will come through any second now. He can do this. He totally can. He just needs them to like him. Who is he kidding, this is going to be hard. 

Chapter Text

Kiyoomi sits there, waiting for a few seconds until finally, people actually round the corner and come into view. The twins run into the room at lightning speed and call out happy greetings to their father, not having noticed the other person in the room. Kiyoomi studies them as Miya gets up and walks over to them, getting down into a squat so that they can hug him hello. They look like the spitting image of their father. Thick eyebrows, amber eyes that shine when they smile brightly and the same tilt to their smile. The rest of their features are softer due to their young age, but Kiyoomi can already see the cut of their noses taking the shape of their father’s. The only thing that is drastically different is their hair. Kiyoomi guesses the colour is the same as Miya’s, judging by the colour of his undercut, but the twins’ hair is curly. It seems to have the same curl texture as Kiyoomi’s hair. More on the wavy side but with an errant curl here and there.

He’s actually impressed at how well kept it is. God knows Kiyoomi only found out how to care for his hair close to High School graduation. Nobody in his family has curly hair, so they all just thought they could care for it like they did with their hair. Safe to say it was a disaster. There was a phase where he tried straightening it, because he was so frustrated with it. Motoya still has pictures and threatens Kiyoomi with them regularly. He’s just happy he learned how to treat it well, especially now that it’s long enough to be put into a bun.

For Miya, who doesn’t seem to have curly hair, to know what to do, so that his kids’ hair looks cared for? He must have done his research and Kiyoomi feels even better about this job than before. The setter seems to be a loving father so far, who wants the best for his children. Sure, there could be another person responsible for their hair care, but as of now, the other man hasn’t mentioned another parent or a significant other. And why else would he need someone to be there the whole weekend to babysit his kids?

Kiyoomi shakes his head to get his thoughts back on track. It’s not the time to make speculations about his possible employer's relationship status. He should focus on making a good impression on his children and try to get them to like him. The twins are both grabbing onto their father's shirt and looking in his direction. One of them is even hiding half behind Miya, as if it would make him invisible to Kiyoomi's eyes. It's so adorable, Kiyoomi has to collect himself so as to not coo audibly.

Miya chuckles at their antics and looks at them with an expression Kiyoomi can only describe as fond . "Ya don't gotta be shy. Sakusa-san here is nice."

To prove the other man's point, Kiyoomi answers with a tiny wave in their direction. It feels a little stilted and the smile on his lips probably seems forced, too, but the raven haired man can't help himself. He's more nervous than he anticipated and he tries subtly rubbing his sweaty palms on his pants to get rid of the unpleasant feeling. It's at that moment that the person the third voice belonged to enters the room and Kiyoomi has to literally do a double take. So that's what Miya meant by twins run in the family.

Entering the room is a carbon copy of the man he just met about an hour ago. Well, not really a complete carbon copy. His hair isn't dyed a cool shade of blond and his face looks more disinterested. Kiyoomi would even go as far and say his shoulders and chest are broader. He's carrying two bags of groceries and opens his mouth as soon as he spots his brother.

"Tsumu, a lil help with the groceries would be nice," his tone sounds like the blond Miya just committed a heinous crime by not coming to his rescue immediately. It reminds Kiyoomi of Motoya and him bickering and he supposes it is how siblings usually talk to each other. Not that he'd know that first hand, since his siblings are so much older than him and always treated him like the baby of the family that he was. Miya 1, as Kiyoomi starts calling him in the proximity of his brunet twin to differentiate between them, looks at his brother and furrows his eyebrows.

"And what do we say when we ask for someone's help?" He subtly gestures to his kids, who are still occupied with peeking at Kiyoomi from time to time. 

"Please," Miya 2 adds overly friendly, only rolling his eyes after he's made sure his nephew and niece aren't looking his way. Miya 1 sends him a shit eating grin before getting up and reassuring his kids that he'll just be over there, where the kitchen area is.

"Why, of course, Samu, I'll help ya gladly." ‘Samu’, which is probably a nickname, offers a “thank you”, but he does pinch Miya’s side as soon as one of his hands is freed up. The blond  yelps and sends a death glare to his brother, who just grins at him like he got what he deserved. If they didn’t look so much like each other now would be the time that Kiyoomi realises that they’re siblings.#

Now that their father and uncle aren’t in close proximity anymore, the twins look at Kiyoomi with more interest. Ayame, at least Kiyoomi supposes it’s Ayame, takes her brother’s hand and together they shuffle closer to where Kiyoomi’s still sitting at the dining table. Yuuto is now hiding behind his sister and Kiyoomi can see what Miya meant when he said Ayame was the one to get him out of his shell. She turns around to him and in the way that children think they can whisper, but really they cannot, she tells him that they “at least gotta say Hi, Yuutan”. Yuuto peaks past her at the raven haired man, who in turn sends a smile in his direction, and then looks back to his sister. He can see the toddler nod and they finally trot up to him, until they’re next to his chair.

“Hey, you two,” he waves his fingers in a little greeting and they chirp a “Hi” in unison as response.

“What’s yer name?” Ayame asks with big eyes. The kansai-ben sounds adorable from her mouth and Kiyoomi’s heart warms at how she protectively grabs her brother’s hand.

The raven haired man leans forward to get as close to eye level as he can, before he starts speaking: “I’m Sakusa Kiyoomi, but you can just call me Kiyoomi, if you want.”

“Hi, Kiyoomi. I’m Miya Ayame and dat’s my broder.” She points to the boy next to her and squeezes his hand, a silent sign for him to introduce himself.

“I’m Miya Yuuto,” the little boy says in a tiny voice. With his free hand, he plays with the hem of his shirt and immediately looks at the ground again. He reminds Kiyoomi of himself when he was a child. Shy and pulled into interactions by another person, in his case, Motoya.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ayame, Yuuto."

"Is it true dat yer gonna be our … uhm … look fer us?" Ayame’s little eyebrows are furrowed in concentration as she looks for the correct word and it seems like she’s not a 100% content with what she settles on, judging by the frown still present on her features.

“Maybe. I’ll only look after you if you two and your dad like me and think I’ll do a good job, though.” There’s not really a point in lying and Kiyoomi doesn’t want them to think they don’t have options. He’s not going to take this job if they don’t like him. For their sake and his own. After his admission, the twins look at him with contemplative eyes, like they're trying to figure out if he's telling the truth.

"Weally?" Yuuto's eyes are big and Kiyoomi holds out his pinky to him.

"Pinky promise, even." The twins grin at him and wrap their pinkies around his at the same time. It's at that moment that he realises he doesn't know if they washed their hands. That he hadn't washed his hands when he came here. He was way too nervous up until now and just forgot. Kiyoomi feels himself tense up at the realisation and the twins immediately clock his change in posture.

"Are you awight?" Yuuto gently pats his knee as he asks and Kiyoomi feels like melting at his concern. This kid has known him for a few minutes and cares enough to ask him about his wellbeing.

"I just remembered I didn't wash my hands when I came in. And I usually always do that."

They both gasp and look at each other before starting to pull on Kiyoomi's hand. "We wash hands, too! Let's go!" The raven haired man gets up and lets himself be pulled along. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the adult twins looking after them, but he tries to ignore them. His priority is getting to know the children for now, he'll worry about them later.

Ayame and Yuuto lead him to the bathroom, the door of which hides behind the stairs to the upper floor. They have to go through a small laundry room to get there and the bathroom itself doesn't have all that much room. But there's a bathtub, an open shower area and a double sink fitted into it, to use its dimensions to the fullest. There's also a little step stool that the twins now get and share to reach the sink properly. Kiyoomi steps up to the other sink and they start washing their hands simultaneously.

As he would have guessed, Kiyoomi washes his hands for longer than they do at first. But Ayame looks over and sees him still soaping up his hands dutifully. She takes a second where she seems to consider what she wants to say before going for it.

"Why d'ya wash dem so long?"

"To get rid of all the icky stuff, you should wash them for as long as it takes you to sing Happy Birthday twice. Like this." As he demonstrates how to wash up all the way to your wrists, in between your fingers and how to get it under your nails, the twins gasp in excitement and get to washing again. They happily chirp the song while copying Kiyoomi's moves and the college student chuckles at how eager they actually are. They have matching grins on their faces as they rinse off the soap and then proudly show off their squeaky clean hands to him.

"Woah, those are the cleanest hands I've ever seen! I can't even look at them with how shiny they are!" Kiyoomi acts like he's blinded by their hands and they start giggling to each other before drying them off on a towel. When they're all done, he shows them his hands for inspection as well and once they pass a thorough exam, they start their walk back to the main living area.

"Omi, will ya play wit us?" Ayame tugs at his hand to get his attention. He's taken aback by the nickname and can't help but repeat it in a questioning way.

"Omi?"

"Yeah. Kiyoomi, Omi, isn't it cool?"

"It's weally cool!" He can't help but smile softly at them. It's definitely a weird name, but since they're both so giddy about it, he's not going to complain. It's definitely better than Motoya teasingly calling him 'Kiyo-chan' even now that they're not kids anymore.

"What do you want to play?" He asks to get them back on track. They immediately rush over to the low shelf that is placed by the wall that hides the stairs. 

There are family pictures and little fox figurines placed on top of it and more pictures on the wall. They show the twins dressed for all the different seasons in different ages. There's one with them as newborns sleeping on Miya's naked chest. He's also fast asleep, his mouth slightly agape. Then there's one with Osamu and another brunet man each holding one of them in their arms. All four of them grin at the camera like it's the happiest day of their lives. But the centrepiece of the wall is a big family picture. It seems to be a candid shot as well. There's a middle aged woman in the middle of the picture, Kiyoomi guesses it's Yuuto and Ayame's grandmother, one child on each leg. Behind them, the older twins and the brunet from the picture before are lined up. The brunet has his arm slung around Osamu-san and that's about where it stops being a normal picture. Because Ayame is sticking her tongue out at her brother, who in turn reaches out his hands to try and cover her mouth. As a reaction, their father is leaning over his mother, his mouth open as if he's about to reprimand them. Next to him, his twin and his twin's boyfriend(?) are losing their shit, laughing so hard their eyes are reduced to half moons and in the middle of it all, their mother/grandmother. She looks exasperated in a way only someone who is used to the chaos around them can look. It's the perfect chaos and Kiyoomi feels like he gets a front row seat into their family life.

The whole wall makes Kiyoomi smile, but it makes his heart heavy as well. He can feel the amount of love radiating from the pictures, which just reminds him that the only pictures to be found in his family home are stilted, with them all wearing suits and dresses and fake smiles. It's weird how he feels more at home here after not even an hour, than at his actual home.

He gets pulled out of his funk by Yuuto, who pulls on his shirt and asks him "Omi? Ya comin'?" The raven haired man tears his eyes away from the pictures before nodding and following the little boy to the couch. The two have already put a game of pairs on the table, all the cards are already picture side down, so all he has to do is sit down in front of it.

"Wook, it has babies on it!" Yuuto proudly shows off the box, which indeed has animal babies of all kinds on it.

"It's Yuutan's favourite," Ayame chimes in as well, "we have one wit dinosaurs, too. But dat's my favourite."

"We could play that the next time." The twins nod eagerly and then they get going.

Yuuto gets to go first because "he's de youngest". After that, it's Ayame's turn and eventually Kiyoomi gets to go. At first, none of them gets a pair but then the twins start gaining speed and find pair after pair and Kiyoomi gets left in the dust. He honestly feels a little dumb with how bad he's at this game. How can he not remember where that second lion cub was, when he's sure Yuuto turned it around two turns ago. It's why he's scraping by with two pairs while the twins have five each. The little boy tries consoling him that it's okay if he's bad at the game, which doesn't really get him to feel better about his playing but it does make him chuckle. He forgot how ruthlessly honest children can be.

Their father chooses that moment to appear at the table with drinks. He places a glass of water in front of each of them and they thank him dutifully, while he sits down on the couch to get comfortable.

"So, how's it goin'?"

"Omi's losin'!"

“Yuutan, ya can’t just give someone a nickname after knowin’ them fer an hour,” Atsumu gently explains to his son, who in turn looks at him with big, confused eyes.

“It’s fine, Miya-san. I told them I was okay with it,” Kiyoomi reassures the older man. The blond looks taken aback for a moment until a smile spreads over his features and he turns back to his son.

“Well, sorry then, Yuutan. I shoulda asked first.”

“It’s okay, Papa,” the little boy chirps and then continues to turn around another freaking pair, making Kiyoomi just gape at him. He’s done. Those two kids cannot be beat. He’s an adult, how is he so bad at this?

“Don’t worry,” Miya interjects, seemingly noticing his inner turmoil, “ya don’t gotta feel bad, kids are beasts at memory games.”

Kiyoomi sighs in defeat, accepting his fate as the sore loser of this game. He guesses it’s fine, though, if it makes the twins smile and giggle like that. Miya asks him if he would want to stay for dinner, but Kiyoomi politely declines the invitation, stating that it’s his turn to cook for Hinata and him today. They have a pretty good system going on and Kiyoomi doesn’t want to dunk on his flat mate at the last second, since he knows he’s had a tiring shift at the gym today. The setter is very understanding and then proceeds to ask his children if they’d like Kiyoomi to come back again.

That’s when Kiyoomi’s nerves set in again. He totally forgot what he was here for while getting to know Ayame and Yuuto. They made him feel just like a family friend who came over for a quick visit. At the realisation that his future is literally in the hands of two three-year-olds, he holds his breath and awaits their final verdict.

“I wike, Omi-Omi! Can he wook after us?”

“Yeah! I want dat, too!”

The twins grin brightly at their father and Kiyoomi feels his chest expand with relief. He never thought it would make him this happy, that two kids like him and want to spend time with him. His siblings and Motoya would ask if he was abducted by aliens if he told them about it. Not that he’s going to tell Motoya. He doesn’t know about Kiyoomi’s financial situation at the moment, because the bastard would probably send him money, which is the last thing Kiyoomi wants. His siblings, well, they do know, because his parents probably whined about what a bad son Kiyoomi is, but he refused to accept any money from them unless it was strictly necessary. There’s not really much more they can do, though, since they have their own families and live abroad.

But back to the family Kiyoomi is currently visiting. The twins are chattering about all the things they can do with Kiyoomi when their father isn’t there. Miya is trying to reign them in and tell them that, no, they cannot build a jungle gym in the living room just because he isn’t there. Ayame especially bemoans that fact and Kiyoomi gets the impression that she’s plotting something that he’ll have to look out for, should he really get the job. Her father, it seems, thinks so as well.

“Don’t think ya can get around that, Ayan. I’ll have Sakusa-kun tell me!”

“But he’s my friend! He won’t tattle.” Miya and Kiyoomi laugh at her choice of word and the setter asks her where she learned that word from. When she proudly tells him that it was her Obaa-chan, he nods as if that explains everything. They go on for a bit, until the blond turns to Kiyoomi again.

“Well, it looks like they’re okay with ya bein’ here more often. So, if ya still want the job?”

Kiyoomi nods immediately. He more than wants the job. Sure, he needs it badly, but it also tops working at a sweaty gym by a landslide. “I would love to, if you’ll have me.”

“Then we have ourselves a deal! How about we get together another day to finalise all the details and so ya can get to know Yuuto and Ayame a lil better?”

The raven haired man easily agrees to that and they make up a date about a week from now. After that, he has to say his goodbyes, since he really needs to get home and get started on dinner. The twins say their heartfelt goodbye to him and hug his legs, which he answers with a ruffle of their curls. Miya’s brother calls his goodbye from the kitchen and Miya himself follows Kiyoomi to the front door to properly see him out. They thank each other again and then Kiyoomi is on his way home. The sun is already low in the sky and so Kiyoomi gets his phone out of his pocket to check if Hinata has already messaged him.

What he finds is the still unread message from his mother that she sent this morning and a text from Akaashi. The raven haired man sighs and decides to brave his mother’s text first, just to finally get it over with. It’s not as forward as he expected, but still in line with all the texts she has sent him since this whole thing with her and his father went down.

Okaa-san
Kiyoomi, have you really not changed your mind, yet?  

Like with all the messages before, Kiyoomi just leaves her on read and moves on to the, most likely, more enjoyable message Akaashi sent him.

Keiji-kun
How did it go?
And don’t try to lie to me, Koutarou will just tell me whatever Miya-san tells him.

Sometimes, Kiyoomi asks himself why he lets Akaashi Keiji bully him into telling him stuff. But then he remembers that he’s never actually forced him to tell him anything and that he values his honesty and willingness to help Kiyoomi with whatever he struggles with. So really, there’s not a reason why Kiyoomi shouldn’t tell him about his day.

Me
It went alright, I’d say.
The kids seem nice and they liked me.
We’ll meet again next week to finalise everything and for them to get to know me better.

Keiji-kun
Great!
Call me, so we can talk about it in detail.

Kiyoomi snorts at Akaashi’s bluntness. He really does know why they get along so well. One positive answer later, he’s finally concentrating on finding his way back to the station to get home. He’s going to have to recap the whole thing for Hinata as well, but without letting him know who he works for now. It’s not that he doesn’t trust Hinata, who is a huge Jackals fan, with the information, but it’s only logical to keep the Miyas’ privacy. He still cannot believe he’s going to be a babysitter for a professional volleyball player. Life really does work in mysterious ways sometimes. He’s actually excited about the whole thing, which he didn’t think possible and would have laughed at anyone who’d told him that just a few months ago.

Chapter Text

Sakusa Kiyoomi is not what Atsumu imagined him to be and he doesn’t mean it in a negative way at all. Judging by the fact that he’s Bokuto’s boyfriend’s best friend, he didn’t expect someone bubbly or over the top. Akaashi once told Atsumu that there’s only place for one person like that in his life, which actually sent him into a laughing fit while he was downing a beer. But he also didn’t expect someone… moody looking. Well, on the surface anyways. As soon as he fumbled his way through greeting Atsumu, the blond had to actually stop himself from laughing. It was obvious that Sakusa was nervous about the whole job interview thing, which meant that laughing at him would have just been counterproductive. 

Still, at first, Atsumu wasn't sure if he'd actually be any good with his kids. Sure, compared Samu and him Ayame and Yuuto could be considered angels, but they are still Miyas through and through. It takes someone capable to not let them do whatever they want. Atsumu was sure that Akaashi and Bokuto wouldn't have recommended him, though if they didn't think he'd be fit for the job. And with all these thoughts swirling around in his head, he'd tried interviewing Sakusa.

To be fair, he's never had to do that before. He was very careful about choosing the twins' kindergarten, but this is the first season where he actually needs someone who isn't family to look after them. They moved to Osaka during this year's off season. Before that, Atsumu made the commute from his hometown basically every day, just so that he was closer to Samu and his Ma, who helped him raise the twins and take care of them for the last years. When Osamu announced that he was finally going to open his shop in Osaka and his Ma told Atsumu that she needed to pick up shifts at the hospital, it was only natural to finally do the logical thing and move closer to work. He talked to the team and executives about it, so that they could figure out a way to make his training schedule compatible with the twins being at kindergarten. He's made it clear from the start, that he wanted to be there for them as much as possible and MSBY was luckily very accommodating to that. Yuuto and Ayame now go to the same kindergarten Meian's kid goes to and they became fast friends. Atsumu was worried they would be sad about having to make new friends, but they adjusted to the whole thing quickly.

What he couldn't change, though, was the fact that during the season, his job has him travelling all over the country from either Friday evening or Saturday morning to Sunday evening or night. From October to the end of March there isn't a weekend, except for the winter break, where he's not busy playing two games in two days. And now that his Ma as well as his brother have their schedules packed with their own responsibilities again, he does need to hire someone who will take care of his babies. Which brings the blond back to Sakusa.

As he said, he was a little wary at first, but that flew out the window the moment Sakusa started interacting with his children. Sure, Atsumu retreated back to the kitchen, to let them do their thing, but of course he peeked at what they were doing and Atsumu was surprised at how fast Sakusa got Yuuto out of his shell. He is generally more reserved, especially when it comes to adults that aren’t family, but Sakusa’s calm and collected presence seems to just be what his son needs to get lively. It also helped Ayame feel safe. Atsumu knows she likes to protect her brother and look out for him, but she felt safe enough to not check on Yuuto every five minutes. And when he heard them sing Happy Birthday while washing their hands, he just knew that he will have to do that from now on, as well.

From what he could observe while Sakusa was here, Atsumu is positive he’ll do a good job. He’ll have him come back to get a little more of a feel for the dynamic between him and the twins, but he’s 90% sure they wouldn’t accept anyone else now that Ayame even called him a friend. Osamu on the other hand, seems a little more wary than the blond and his children. He eyes the raven haired man from behind the kitchen counter while packing away the groceries he brought. Atsumu knows he tries to be subtle about it, but there’s really no-one he can fool with the amount of side eyes he throws Sakusa’s way. For now, Atsumu just rolls his eyes at his twin and puts the pack of sugar from under the sink, where Osamu put it, into the small pantry under the stairs where it actually belongs. He’ll have to check if Osamu accidentally put the meat with the flour in his effort to spy on his nephew, niece and their potential babysitter.

“Samu?” Atsumu tries getting his brother’s attention, who is currently having an eye on the three other people in the house playing pairs like Sakusa could potentially strangle the children in front of him from out of nowhere.

“Hm?” Osamu answers but doesn’t tear his eyes away from the scene in the living room. One would think they’re his kids and not Atsumu’s.

“When’s Sunarin gonna come over?”

“He said ta call him ‘when the coast is clear’,” he answers absentmindedly, still not looking at Atsumu.

“Well, then ya should just call him, cause I’m about ta ask Sakusa-kun if he wants ta have dinner with us.”

“What?” That’s what gets Osamu to finally look at him. With a frown and pursed lips, nonetheless. Atsumu cannot believe this guy.

“Ya heard right, mister guard dog. Text Rin and then tear yer stupid eyes away from my children, so that we can finally start on dinner. They’re not gonna explode just ‘cause yer not watchin’ ‘em all the damn time.”

“If they literally weren’t over there, I’d sock ya in the head fer that, just so ya know,” Osamu huffs in indignation, but he does pull out his phone to text his boyfriend.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Atsumu waves him off and starts grabbing the ingredients from the fridge they'll need. "I'll get the rice goin' if ya'll start with the chicken and veggies fer the Oyakodon."

"Alright. I also brought some onigiri, spinach gomaae and sunomono from the shop."

"That's great, 'cause we don't have a lot of side dishes in the fridge anymore." As Atsumu gets started on the rice, Osamu begins prepping the chicken and vegetables. They work in comfortable silence for a while, until Atsumu has finished with his rice and needs to go over, to actually check on his kids and Sakusa.

When he gets there, Ayame and Yuuto are destroying Sakusa at pairs, but that's not anything new to him. Suna even refuses to play the game with them after having lost too many times.

It’s something about the memory of a nearly four-year-old that adults just don’t possess anymore. Sakusa takes the loss with far more dignity than Suna did, though and Atsumu can see that his kids are pleased as punch with themselves.

The talk that follows after just shows that they really do like the young man a lot, with Ayame already trusting him to not rat her out to Atsumu, should she get up to mischief. Sakusa himself seems to still want the job as well, so after politely declining his invitation to dinner, they schedule another day where he’ll come back to finalise the whole work arrangement and get to know the twins more. When he’s gone, Ayame and Yuuto bemoan that he won’t be back for another week, but Atsumu’s question if they want to help with dinner brings their mood up again.

They trot to the kitchen after him and Osamu welcomes them with a big smile. After nearly four years, Atsumu still has moments where he needs to comprehend how absolutely doting his brother can be. Sure, they are there for each other in this weird sibling way, where you’d die for eachother, but refuse to give the other a charger, because why would they need one, they have one themselves. But the fact that Atsumu knows for sure, that if anything happened to him tomorrow, Osamu would, without a shadow of doubt, take responsibility for raising these two little humans? It’s still more than he can comprehend on most days. He’s lucky to have the bastard. Not that he would tell him that. At least not under normal circumstances. There was the time where Atsumu, high on sleep deprivation and post practice fatigue, started crying when Osamu finally got Yuuto to settle down and sleep, where he might have told him that he is the best brother Atsumu could have asked for. But they both don’t speak of that day. It was embarrassing for the both of them.

Osamu helps Ayame and Yuuto with washing their hands and nods approvingly when they show him what they learned just today. Atsumu gets their step stools, so that they can actually reach the counter. The twins love helping in the kitchen, which makes Osamu nearly burst with pride. He lets Yuuto mix together the sauce for their Oyakodon and gives Ayame some vegetables to chop. They bought these kiddie knives specifically for that purpose. Osamu actually hates them, saying that you cannot actually cut shit with them. But he’d rather have torn up food than for his niece or nephew to lose a finger, which really is a huge deal for how freakishly perfectionist he usually is with his dishes.

They work and joke, have to clean up a little spill, where Yuuto got a bit too excited about mixing the sauce and they let the twins try some of the food while cooking. Osamu says it’s because you have to taste whatever you’re making and he may be right, but Atsumu still calls him a hypocrite for it. He never lets him try food in advance. It’s complete favouritism he’s playing. 

It doesn’t take too long for them all to finish cooking and Suna makes it just in time to get roped into setting the table for them all. Not after Yuuto and Ayame actually tackle him to the ground with the force of their hug, when he squats down to greet them, though. They call out an excited “Uncle Rin-Rin!” and then immediately launch into how their day went so far, completely forgetting that he was there for more than half of it. Suna shows the patience of a saint, as he ‘ooh’s and ‘aah’s at their excited chattering, asking follow up questions and only stopping the conversation when they try to tell him about ‘the devil’s game’ as he likes to call it. He banned any and all talk of it in his immediate vicinity. Osamu and Atsumu tease him relentlessly for it, although Samu does reprimand the setter for doing so. Apparently it’s some kind of privilege Osamu wants to hog for himself. But he’ll be in the ground before Atsumu relinquishes his teasing best friend card. Ayame and Yuuto, though, are quite good at accepting Suna’s (ridiculous) boundary. As soon as he holds up his palm and squeezes his right hand to his chest, they just giggle at his joke and help him with getting the chopsticks from the kitchen.

Dinner is a pleasant affair. Well, considering Suna skirts around the topic of the job interview for now. They both know that Osamu is not a big fan of the idea, not trusting someone to take care of his family. One could think he is actually the twins’ father. But it’s not like they can change the fact that Atsumu has work obligations (he loves his job and wouldn’t exchange it for a corporate one even if it paid better) and both his mother and brother do too. He should be happy that they’re considering someone Bokuto knows. It really lifted a huge boulder off of Atsumu’s chest, knowing that Bokuto trusts someone enough to recommend him for the job. But, alas, Miya Osamu cannot be swayed that easily, especially judging by the way he is piercing his chicken like he’s trying to kill it a second time.

Once they’re done with eating, Atsumu allows the twins to watch one episode of their favourite show, while the adults clean up in the kitchen. Once they’re settled on the couch, the setter returns to help do the dishes.

“So, are we gonna talk about the grump in the room?” Suna pairs his question with a small bump of Osamu’s hip. The man in question just huffs in indignation, while scrubbing away at the dishes.

Atsumu rolls his eyes at his brother’s antics. “Well, I can only guess he’s mad that the interview went really well.”

“Maybe I’m jus’ wary ‘cause the guy doesn’t have any qualifications, Tsumu. Have ya thought about that?” Suna furrows his eyebrows at Osamu’s words and looks at Atsumu like he’s considering if he lost his mind.

“I know that, Samu. ‘N I thought about it a lot, ever since Bokkun and Kaashi-kun said they may have someone in mind fer the job. It’s not like he doesn’t have any experience with lookin’ after kids.”

“But he doesn’t have an actual degree in it, or at least some kind of schoolin’!”

“Ya don’t got that, either ‘n I trust ya with my kids,” Atsumu huffs in indignation. He knows it’s a stupid argument, but he’s tired of Osamu acting like this is the worst idea he’s ever had.

“Well, I’m yer brother, dipshit.”

“Yer bein’ a real shitty one right now, ya know that?”

The rise in their voices makes the twins actually look over to them in concern, but they’re both so caught up in huffing and puffing at each other that they don’t notice. Who does notice, though, is Suna. He steps between them and puts his hands up to signal them to stop. It’s a real display of how they’ve become responsible adults because of the two little whirlwinds in their lives. If the twins weren’t there, he’d probably let them fight it out and even film it for them to be embarrassed about it later. But now, he regards them both with a sharp look that gets them to actually shut up for a second.

“I’m gonna tell the little rascals that you’re just being dumb and you figure this shit out without screaming at each other, alright?” It’s not really a question, more of a command, which is underlined by the fact that he doesn’t even wait for an answer from them, just stepping away to walk towards the sofa. They look after him with wide eyes for a second before their gazes settle on each other again.

Atsumu chews on his bottom lip for a few seconds, trying to figure out what to say. He knows he’s going to have to be the first one to talk. They’re both stubborn, but Osamu is even more bull-headed than the setter is. They’re trying with this whole communication thing. Ever since the twins were born, Atsumu didn’t want to be the kind of parent that just told his kids how to act. He wanted to be a good example, even if sticking by these rules was hard a lot of the time.

“Ya know, it sounds like ya think I’m a horrible father fer lettin’ Sakusa-kun watch after ‘em.” Osamu’s eyes widen at the blond man’s admission.

“Tsumu, I- I don’t think yer a horrible father,” he clarifies, emphasising each word to give it meaning. “Yer a great dad. ‘M just scared, ‘cause there was never anyone outside o’ family lookin’ after ‘em.”

“Aran ‘n Kita-san looked after ‘em a few times.”

“I’ll tell ‘em that ya think they’re not family.”

“Don’t’cha dare! I was jokin’!” They both chuckle to dissipate the tension between them, but get serious soon after.

“O’ course I’m scared, too. And I know there’s probably people with fancy degrees out there that’d fit the job description better. But I trust Bokkun and Kaashi-kun to know if their friend is fit fer the job. And ya’ve seen Ayan and Yuutan, Samu. They love ‘im already, even gave ‘im a nickname. He seemed more ‘n competent to me when we spoke ‘n when he interacted with the kids.”

“I know, I know. I’m still not a fan, but I trust ya. If ya say ya got a good feelin’, I’ll … well, I’ll try ta get there, okay?” It’s more than Atsumu thought he’d get out of his brother, so he nods his approval and they finally get back to doing the dishes. Suna is still entertaining the kids, the perfect out of helping them, so it takes a little longer than it would have with him, but they’re used to him slinking off when he’s supposed to help in the kitchen. Atsumu always says he’s lucky he fell in love with a future chef, because he could probably burn water if he put his mind to it.

When everything is done, it’s already time for Ayame and Yuuto to go to sleep. They try begging for another episode of this mermaid show, but Atsumu tells them they only get one episode, that that’s what they always do, but they can choose what bedtime story to read. They’re not euphoric, but the prospect of probably picking the same book as they’ve done for weeks now, gets them to perk up. Atsumu knows routines are important for children and that wanting to be read the same book over and over isn’t a bad thing, it’s actually good, but it’s tiring. He knows the words by heart by now and when he tried switching it up, they chastised him for reading it wrong. They cannot even read themselves! They just know the whole thing by heart by now.

They rope Osamu and Suna into doing the whole thing, so Atsumu just settles into the rocking chair in their room, while the four of them cram into Yuuto’s bottom bunk bed. Atsumu just knows Suna’s going to complain about the crick in his neck he’ll get from this. But for now, he opens the book the twins chose and places it on their laps, where they’re sitting between Osamu and him. His brother and brother-in-law (well, not officially, yet, but Atsumu knows about the ring Osamu has been hiding for weeks now) take turns reading the pages. They pause to let the twins talk about the pictures on the pages, which they happily do. Their excited chatter dies down after a while, though and they start yawning and rubbing their eyes.

Ayame makes it to the end of the book, but Yuuto nods off somewhere in the middle of it, his little head lolling against Suna’s arm. He’s out like a light, not even a bomb going off next to him could wake him up now. Atsumu’s been thankful for it ever since Ayame turned out to be a fussy sleeper when she was a baby. They’ve always shared a room and yet, his son hardly woke up when his sister started crying at night. The setter calls it a miracle to this day.

It’s the same now. With Ayame happily chirping about the different jungle animals helping out the baby chimpanzee, while Yuuto is probably already dreaming about one thing or the other.

He’s got his whale plushie pressed to his chest, his most prized possession. Ayame is the same with her stegosaurus plushie, always at least aware of where it’s at. Right now, she has it pushed against Osamu’s side, so that the dinosaur can take a look at the book they’re reading as well.

They finish the book with her yawning a few times and Osamu makes sure she gets up into her bed safely. He tucks her in while Suna and Atsumu manoeuver Yuuto into the right position and tuck him in as well. They both get kisses from the three men and then the lights are off and they are heading downstairs again.

Atsumu follows the other two to the front door, where they put on their shoes and coats, ready to call it a day as well. Atsumu’s happy to get into his bed as well. Sleep is already calling for him, even if it’s not late. That’s what happens when you have two nearly four-year-olds that wake you up at the ass crack of dawn because they’re not tired anymore. Atsumu loves his kids to pieces. He’d just wish they would let him sleep until it’s a reasonable hour. He’s probably not gonna get that until later in life.

What he’s also not going to get later in life, or probably never if he’s being honest, is a brother that knows how to relax for a bit. Because while Osamu is saying goodbye to him, he also tells him that he’s “gonna have an eye on that Sakusa kid”.

Atsumu just sighs and lets the topic be. Osamu may say he’ll learn to trust Sakusa, but he’s someone who needs to see it with his own eyes. So, Atsumu lets them leave without starting another argument. How bad can that promise even be?