Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Papaaaaaaa!”

Kei looked up from putting his shoes on to see his little girl, Natsuki, launch herself into his arms. A small ‘oof’ escaped his lips before he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“You ready for school, pumpkin? Where’s your hat?” Kei asked, softly running his hand through her hair.

“Yeah, I put it on Rexy!” Natsuki beamed, giggling as her dad lifted her up in his arms.

“Mm, I bet she looks so good in your hat,” Kei replied as he grabbed her backpack from the couch near the door.

He could see the little plush T-rex on their kitchen table wearing Natsuki’s bee beanie. His chest grew warm at the sight and he couldn’t help but place another kiss on his daughter’s head. Which reminded him that he was running out of shampoo and that she kept losing her hair ties and he had to get more.

As he grabbed his car keys and work bag, he mentally wrote a note to write a physical note of everything he had to go shopping for after work. As he made his way down to the elevator, he remembered that there was going to be a high school tour group at the museum today so he probably had to help set up one of the powerpoint presentations for the exhibits. A small sigh escaped him; he probably wouldn’t be able to write down the list until his lunch time. (Did he pack his lunch? Yes, he thinks so. Hopefully he did. Otherwise he’d have to visit the vending machine again.)

All the while, Natsuki was talking about her latest dream of how she learned how to fly a spaceship and was discovering new creatures on Mars that looked like kittens and also how they ‘ ended their sentences with meow! ’

“Really? Did you make friends with them? I bet they loved you,” Kei added, placing her backpack and his work bag into his passenger seat before buckling her into her carseat.

She looked up at him while kicking her legs and exclaimed, “Yeah! They let me pet them and brush them and we drank milk together and then we went on my spaceship and played tag and I won so much!”

Kei giggled at her enthusiasm and squeezed her hand gently before closing the car door. As he drove out of his parking space, he noticed that a moving truck was pulling around the corner behind him. Were they taking his parking space? He couldn’t tell. Must suck to be moving in this heat. Oh yeah, there’s a street closure today. How does he get to school from there?

He tried focusing on the rhythmic tapping of Natsuki’s feet hitting the car seat but he wasn’t always that great at directions. He looked into the rearview mirror and saw how his little girl’s eyes took in everything on the drive. A soft smile drifted to his lips. It felt like only yesterday when he held his little girl in his arms for the first time, her crying filling his ears as she breathed in life for the first time. She was so small, her entire body fitting in both of his hands.

She became his whole world then.

***

After dropping her off, he still had to make the 25 minute drive to the museum so he just played some music as he once again made a mental list of what he had to buy from the grocery store later that evening. He had to go to volleyball practice after work tomorrow so he had to take advantage of the time he had today. He also had to remember to pack a lunch tomorrow so that Akiteru didn’t have to stress himself when taking care of Natsuki.

God, he was so tired.

As he pulled into the parking lot of the museum, he took a deep breath and tried to remember what Saeko had advised him when he first started this whole routine.

“Take one day, one activity, one action, one second at a time. If all you think about is what you still have left to do, you’re going to miss every special moment that you have with Natsuki,” she had said one night after she caught him staring at his running sink when Natsuki was only a few months old and everything was still new and overwhelming to him. “You’re also going to go grey and wrinkly before Aki and then you’re going to hate yourself for that.”

That had finally gotten a small laugh out of him. It had been a few weeks since he had laughed at that point in time.

‘One thing at a time, Kei.’

Unfortunately life wasn’t on side all the time because Kei had not gotten a chance to write the grocery list during his lunch break.

There had been a technical glitch during the field trip and instead, he had to improvise a lecture on one of the exhibits that had just been put up. He was grateful to every being in the universe that allowed him to sound knowledgeable enough on the subject to not look like a complete fool.

When he did get his lunch break, Hinata and Kageyama had been blowing up his phone with messages about how they were going to show up to his upcoming game. Or more like Hinata was blowing his phone up and Kageyama was telling him to shut up. It was only slightly amusing because he knew they had the day to themselves and they were probably texting him while they were hanging out. The grocery list had slipped his mind.

When he finally did get off of work, he felt like he had been hit by a bus and then told to solve a crossword puzzle. He sat in the driver’s seat in complete silence before glancing at the time. The picture of a 4-year-old Natsuki lit up the screen. Kei smiled.

They had been at the park together on one of Kei’s days off. She absolutely loved the park. She always ended up either making a new friend or tiring herself out from all the running around she did. In the picture, she was showing him how she could finally go down the slide by herself. Her big, toothy smile and excited giggling was one of his favorite memories. The lockscreen was a blurry screenshot of a video he had taken but he loved it all the same.

He made his way over to Akiteru and Saeko’s home, being grateful to the universe that she was more than happy to pick her up from school every day. He was also incredibly grateful that their home wasn’t that far from the museum so it made it so much easier on him to pick his little girl up.

“Papaaaaa!” he heard a yell come from inside the house after he parked his car.

As he opened the door, a pair of arms immediately wrapped around his legs.

“Hi pumpkin. Were you good for Auntie Saeko today?” He picked her up and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“Of course she was! She always is,” Saeko’s voice rang out from the kitchen.

He took his shoes off and walked further into the house, Natsuki clinging to his shirt. This was his favorite part of coming home from work: finally being able to see his little girl after a grueling 8 or so hours of not being able to.

“Here, I made you something, Kei. Babygirl did all her homework! Didn’t you, girly?” Saeko exclaimed, sliding some onigiri over the counter.

“Yeah, pumpkin?” He asked tenderly.

“Mhm! So fast!” Natsuki threw her arms in the air before hugging Kei again.

“Wow! I’m so proud of you!” Kei pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you, Saeki. Akiteru’s still at work?”

Saeko was leaning forward on the counter with her arms crossed in front of her, watching the two of them with a small smile on her face. When Kei thanked her, she waved him off. She had doted on them both once Kei opened up about his situation. Not that he had much of a choice because they had essentially barged into his house after he disappeared for two weeks because taking care of a child utterly consumed him.

“He’s on his way back from the store. Babygirl wanted some yogurt but we ran out.”

“Honey, I’m hooooome!” Akiteru’s voice rang out before he opened the door and (though he wouldn’t tell anyone) Kei felt a warmth in his chest.

Natsuki was one of the main things that really healed the relationship between Akiteru and Kei within the past five years and he can gladly say that his brother is the closest person to him in his life. He could also tell how much Natsuki loves having her uncle in her life as much as he was.

“Yogurt!” Natsuki squealed out, trying to wriggle out of Kei’s arms and bringing a laugh out of Saeko.

She ran to Akiteru who set all the stuff down on the kitchen table and patted her head.

“Hi, my love,” Akiteru pressed a kiss to Saeko’s cheek as she definitely reached down to squeeze his ass. Kei made an exaggerated face at the both of them. “Hey Kei! How was work?”

Kei sighed, making Akiteru wince.

“That bad?”

“Yeah… field trips. Teenagers, you know? Lots of technical mishaps that I didn’t even get to–” The realization hit him. “Fuuuuu–dge…” Kei let out a big breath. “I forgot I had to do groceries tonight. I have practice tomorrow so I won’t be able to and I have to take this little pumpkin to her playdate on Saturday before either Hinata or Kageyama pick her up for the game. Ughh…”

Akiteru pulled a chair out for him to sit in and patted his back.

“I’m sorry Kei. If you’d like–”

“No, don’t you dare reschedule that trip. I know you and Saeko are celebrating like 5 years being married so you guys deserve to have your vacation. Celebrate your love and such,” Kei said, sending a glare his brother’s way.

“Five years!” Came a small gasp from Natsuki who had been just slurping on her yogurt until then. “I’m six! I’m bigger than you guys.”

Kei smiled softly and went to place her on his lap.

“You’re so old! ” He teased, poking her belly.

“Okay but you guys are like a bazillion years old!” She giggled.

“Yeah, Akiteru. You’re so old ,” Kei added, smirking at his brother who was now well into his 30s.

“Oh yeah. Time flies. I mean, look at you!”

Saeko chortled at that.

“I can’t believe I’m dating a grandpa. Do you need your walker, baby?”

“Oh hush, love. We’re about the same age.”

“I’m younger so nuh-uh,” Saeko shot back, sticking her tongue out.

Natsuki giggled at that and Kei thought about how glad he was that Natsuki got to see at least this healthy relationship in her life.

“Kei, if you really need the help, we’re always here for you. You know that. Besides, we had our honeymoon–”

“A year late,” Kei cut Saeko off.

“Well, yes but–” She sighed, eyeing the fact that the child was still in a room. While Saeko and Kei were both stubborn and have had their disagreements, they both knew they couldn’t argue in front of the kid. Kei vowed he would never let her go through that like he had. “You’re family, Kei. You know Akiteru and I would do anything to help you.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate that but really. I’ll be fine. I’ll see if I can get Yachi to help but she’s pretty much busy all the time. I’ll figure something out. If there are things I’m going to have to change or…” He glanced up at Akiteru. “Or… cut out of my life in order to have time for what’s important… then I’ll make those necessary decisions. Whatever it takes, you know?”

A sense of finality fell over them and they knew that getting Kei to change his mind now would be futile.

Finally, Akiteru spoke, “Okay. But if anything happens–anything at all–just text us and we’ll be back before you know it.”

Kei looked up at Akiteru. He was looking at him carefully, something he hadn’t really done ever since Natuski had been a baby. It felt like he knew something Kei hadn’t quite figured out himself. His heart squeezed in his chest.

“Thank you, Akiteru. I’ll let you know.” ( He probably wouldn’t. )

Kei glanced down at the onigiri long forgotten and realized that he was actually a bit hungry. He took a bite of the cold meal and thanked the universe that he had people so helpful in his life.

“Alright pumpkin, you ready to get home?” Kei asked gently.

Natsuki nodded and ran to get her things from the closet.

“We gotta get home. I just hope the evening cartoons will be enough to get her settled tonight. Thank you guys.”

He hugged the both of them and waited for his little girl by the door. She was very attached to them and even though she saw them a couple times a week, she still gave them both a very long hug before going back home. It pulled at his heartstrings to think that maybe the reason she loved being here all the time was because their house felt a little too lonely.

Maybe he had been extra tired that day or maybe knowing that Akiteru was going to be gone for about a week but the drive home just had him thinking about how he felt like he was lacking. He was barely there some days, only there to take her to school and tuck her into bed for the night. He was usually busy when he was at home too and she resorted to playing with her dolls and reading.

When they got home and he watched Natsuki make a beeline for her coloring books instead of talking about her day like she does on some days, Kei sat at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and his phone in his hand.

How long was he going to be living like this? How long before Natsuki grew up into a young lady he barely knew because he was barely there?

Before he realized what he was doing, he had already sent out a text to the only people he could really feel like he could confide in at the moment.

orange, king

I think I’m going to quit volleyball.

Chapter Text

“WHAAAAT are you talking about, Tsukishima?!” Hinata screeched over the phone.

Kei repressed a deep sigh as he held the phone a bit aways from his ear. It seemed that texting that you’re potentially quitting to your volleyball-obsessed friends causes some heated reactions. He should’ve known.

“It’s just… a thought. I’m not gonna do anything about it, at least right now.”

A brief silence.

“Is everything alright? Are you doing okay?”

Kei hated this. Out of all people, he always felt a prickling sensation when Hinata of all people was asking if he was okay. Which is why he’s fine that this conversation was happening over the phone and not in person where he could analyze his every move, his every microexpression. Kei knew he meant well. In fact, Hinata’s one of the most emotionally intelligent people he knew. But Kei was a bit emotionally constipated and he really didn’t want someone pushing at his every issue right now.

“I’m fine. Just thinking stuff over. Don’t worry about it,” he said as he tried to calm this fire.

In fact, his phone was already buzzing, meaning that Kageyama has now started texting him about it. He really hoped this wasn’t going to be a long night.

“Hmm… If you insist… But if anything at all is happening, I’m always here for—”

“Thank you, Hinata. I’ll talk to you later. Natsuki’s getting restless. Bye.”

“Bye Tsukishima! Say hi to Natsuki for me! Take care of yourself,” Hinata added before Kei hung up the call.

He knew he shouldn’t have said anything but sometimes hearing his thoughts bounce off a dumb soundboard gave him all the feedback he needed. It helped him feel more rational at times. It was incredible just how much they had helped him over the years even though he was so reluctant at first.

A knock at the door startled him from his thoughts.

“Pumpkin, could you get the door? I’ll be right there,” Kei called out.

“Okay, papa!” She called out as she ran to the door.

Kei tried to finish up the rest of the dishes quickly, trying to hear what was happening outside the door. He could hear his daughter shoot some rapid-fire questions to someone right before hearing the door shut. His heart quickened and he dropped what he was doing before drying his hands and rushing to the door. Natsuki was no longer inside and every worst fear Kei had ever had flew to his mind.

“Natsuki?” Kei called out before flinging the door open.

He found Natsuki holding a kitten and talking to a man he had never seen before. His heart was still racing but now he wasn’t sure why exactly.

The man had longer hair in a half up-half down style and a lip piercing. Other than that, he looked somewhat harmless with the way he was smiling at Natsuki and crouching next to her. He had a bag of chocolate chip cookies in his hands.

“Natsuki, hey. What-Who’s this?” Kei asked, a little breathless. He tried to subtly put her behind him but he’s definitely sure anyone would’ve noticed.

“He’s our new neighbor and he has a kitty! Look!” Natsuki raised the small black cat. “This is Sunshine!”

“Sunshine?” Kei asked hesitantly, looking towards the man whose name he didn’t know yet.

With a grunt, the man lifted himself off the ground. That’s when he noticed he was definitely a lot taller than most people and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.

“Yeah! I found her under my car and she blended in with the shadows, I almost didn’t see her. I thought it’d be silly to call her Sunshine,” the man replied easily. The bag of cookies rustled in his grip.

“Right… that’s…funny,” Kei said, looking down at the cat. She looked so content in Natsuki’s arms.

Maybe they should get a pet.

“OH! I’m Tadashi Yamaguchi! I just moved in next door and I brought some cookies for you and your lovely little girl, Natsuki as she told me. I just thought it’d be nice since the cat might be making noise, you know?” Yamaguchi said.

He handed the bag of cookies to Kei and their fingers brushed as he took the bag. He tried to ignore how much that made his heart flip inside.

In the six years that Kei has taken to raise Natsuki so far, he had put romance and literally every person that wasn’t his close friends and family was put on the backburner. He had never once even considered dating in the past six years. Of course, that wasn’t going to change even though this guy was incredibly handsome.

“Oh thank you. I’m sure these will be gone in the morning,” Kei said, sending him a soft smile.

“That’s great! I love baking. Natsuki, if you ever want some more, just ask and I’ll deliver them, okay?”

“Okay! Can you also make brownies? I like brownies and–”

“Pumpkin, you can ask once you’re done with these. I’m sure he’s a very busy man,” Kei said, not wanting to seem rude. Natsuki was just very excitable at times.

“It’s not a problem at all! I work from home so I’m able to do stuff throughout the day. Baking’s fun for me,” Yamaguchi said, playfully winking at him.

Kei gulped.

“O-okay, well, thank you. It’s nice to meet you, Yamaguchi. I’m Kei Tsukishima and you already met my daughter,” Kei gestured, placing a hand on her head.

“Natsuki is very… energetic! She’s very sweet. Sunshine loves her,” Yamaguchi said, bringing to attention that Sunshine was, in fact, purring very loudly.

“She loves me! Does she have any toys? Can I play with her? Papa, pleaseeeeeee?” Natsuki exclaimed, doing her best puppy eyes at him.

“Uh– well, it’s Mr. Yamaguchi’s kitty. You would have to ask him.”

She turned her puppy eyes toward Yamaguchi who playfully pouted back at her. He did glance at Kei and it felt like a silent question. Does she or do I have your permission?

“Well–I uh… If Mr. Yamaguchi’s okay with it, you can play with the kitty but at our apartment because I don’t want to cause any trouble to Mr. Yamaguchi,” Kei caved, making eye contact with Yamaguchi as he spoke.

Is he wearing eyeliner?

“Only if you’re okay with it. I can always just watch the two of them if you’re busy,” Yamaguchi spoke softly, making it known that he didn’t want to overstep.

It felt genuine and kind and Kei reallyyyy didn’t know what to do.

On the one hand, Yamaguchi was volunteering to watch Natsuki and was going to bring his cat which could be just what his little girl needed to feel like the house wasn’t an empty tomb. On the other hand, Yamaguchi was a complete stranger. He quite literally wasn’t even in the apartment building that morning so Kei didn’t even know what kind of person he was yet.

But something in his body–his heart–said that maybe he could be trusted. Or maybe he was just so damn tired.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“YAY!” exclaimed Natsuki as she hugged the kitten to her chest.

“I promise I’ll behave,” Yamaguchi raised his hand like he was swearing to a judge, bringing a smile out of Kei.

The tension in his shoulders slowly seeped away as he watched Natsuki play with the kitten. Maybe this was moving too fast for someone he just met but something in him innately trusted Yamaguchi despite the tattoos and the piercings.

“Okay,” was all Kei could say.

Chapter Text

Kei didn’t tell anyone about Yamaguchi.

In fact, no one needed to know about him.

Akiteru and Saeko expressed their concern through numerous phone calls but Kei kept waving them off, saying that Yachi was taking care of it even though he had just called Yachi to find out she was incredibly busy over Q3 reports. Office work wasn’t really Kei’s strongfort.

The game Kei had that weekend came and went without a hitch because Hinata and Kageyama knew what to do. They spoiled Natsuki rotten considering they were pretty well off. They were the reason Natsuki had as much as he did. Their Christmases when they were in town were huge.

Then, Monday came again and he prepared Natsuki for school again.

“Come on, pumpkin. You got everything you need?” Kei called out from the front door, briefcase in hand.

He was stressed once again. He had more practice after work and Akiteru was still out on vacation and Hinata and Kageyama weren’t able to come over and the babysitter he got wasn’t answering her phone and–

“Woah, you look constipated.”

Kei whipped around to see Yamaguchi holding his cat in his doorway. He was in loungewear and his hair was a little messy (a bedhead, Kei thought).

Breathless, Kei answered, “W-what? Shut up. What are you–”

“Sunshine just wanted to say goodbye to her favorite neighbor. Are you okay?”

“Natsuki’s her favorite?” Kei asked, glancing down at the purring cat.

“Well, yeah…”

Kei smiled gently, hearing the rustling of Natsuki looking for something she definitely misplaced.

As Yamaguchi opened his mouth to say something, Kei blurted out, “Could you watch Natsuki after school today?”

Yamaguchi shut his mouth in surprise and Kei felt the embarrassment lighting up his face. As he thought of what to say to save himself, Yamaguchi’s light laughter lit a fire in his chest.

“You’re so funny. I can! I’m not sure if you need me to pick her up too but just let me know. I could give you my number if you need,” he replied, voice as sweet as honey and Kei could feel something prodding him in the back of his mind.

“Uh yeah, here,” Kei said, handing his phone over a little too quickly.

What is happening?

“Ooookay, there you go. Just text me her school address or… anything else and I’ll bring her. I hope she has her own keys and such and–oh!”

“Sunshine!! Hi!” Natsuki said, rushing to pet the kitten. “Papa, can I stay with Mr. Yamaguchi and Sunshine today?”

“Pumpkin, come on. Let’s not be late,” Kei said, pulling out his keys.

“Yamaguchi, I really hope you’re not a thief but here’s my apartment key. I know you don’t really have things for kids but I do so just let yourself in when you pick her up.” Kei placed his hand over Yamaguchi’s. Sunshine’s soft fur brushed his fingers. “Thank you so much. I’ll be back tonight. I’ll text you.”

He gave him a small, stressed smile and ushered his girl towards the car.

As they walked away, he heard Yamaguchi call out, “I’ll be waiting!”

Kei couldn’t supress the smile or the butterflies that it elicited in him. It’s just the nerves , he tried to convince himself. He thought about Yamaguchi’s smile. Just the nerves.

When Kei finally walked up to his apartment door at the end of the day–tired, sweaty, and not thinking straight–he pulled out his key ring and immediately saw that he didn’t have his house key.

What the fuck? He put his bags down and frantically went through his things. What the fuck? Did I lose it at work? At practice? What the fuck?!

His apartment door opened and it all came back to him. Yamaguchi had it. Yamaguchi had picked up his daughter.

Yamaguchi

Hey, this is Kei, your neighbor.

[Location sent.]

Here’s her school address. Please don’t be a weirdo.

Hiii! Thank you! Don’t worry, the moment I met her, I knew I’d protect her with my whole life :D

Besides, last thing I need is to make enemies with her hunk of a dad

Kei didn’t know what that meant but he appreciated that Yamaguchi was seemingly earnest in his desire to help.

“Papa! Isn’t it true that you fell into a pot of spaghetti?” Natsuki exclaimed as she jumped onto him, pushing him onto his butt.

He hadn’t even stepped foot into his own home and he was already overwhelmed. Yamaguchi saw the state he was in and rushed over to help.

“What? Why are you saying that?” Kei replied, trying to ignore the way his face was started to heat up.

It had been an embarrassing moment that Natsuki was unfortunately old enough to remember. He slipped on one of her toys and ended spilling a plate of spaghetti on himself, all cartoon-like when all of his friends had been over.

“I was just telling Mr. Yamaguchi about you. He made spaghetti! I just remembered.”

“Oh! Thank you, Yamaguchi. You really didn’t have to–”
“It’s no biggie. I made it at home before going to pick her up. I thought she’d be a bit hungry,” Yamaguchi said, holding one of Kei’s bag as he led them inside.

At least he’s not mentioning it.

“Is it true you spilled a whole pot on yourself?” He asked, trying and horrifically failing at hiding his smile.

“Ugh… please shut up,” Kei replied, covering his face with his hand, causing Yamaguchi to burst out laughing.

Natsuki’s giggling followed soon after. Despite his embarrassment, Kei felt his chest well up with happiness as he settled on the couch. Natsuki probably had a really nice time today despite him being gone. It made him glad that she wasn’t too lonely today. Not soon after, she ran off after Sunshine who pounced and ran off with one of Natsuki’s toys.

“Hey,” Kei said timidly. Yamaguchi looked at him. “Thank you so much for today. It really was such a big help.”

“It really was no problem. Honestly, it’s really nice to have something to do. Working remotely really isn’t super fun. Plus it’s a new place and it just… it’s nice to break away from routine,” Yamaguchi replied softly.

A silence fell between them, not uncomfortable but almost…vulnerable.

“If you’d like… I can take care of her more often,” Yamaguchi said, sitting only about a foot away from him.

“Would it be a problem?” Kei asked.

“Not at all.”

“Thank you, Yamaguchi. It’s really a big help. You know, for the past month or so, I’ve been feeling like quitting something I really love because it’s just getting so much. I don’t know how I’ve managed for so long.” I don’t know why I’m saying all of this . “I’m realizing that if I want to be actually present in her life as she grows up, I can’t be coming home at 9-10pm every day. I–” Wait. “I’m sorry. We just met. I don’t… I shouldn’t be dumping all of this on you.”

“Hey, it’s okay. You’ve probably been holding onto this for a while. I don’t mind. In fact, if you want to feel less alone, I’ll go too.” Kei chuckled. “I had to move because I’ve had nothing really going for me. I’ve been going to school in the same region my whole life. I wasn’t the most popular and the one sport I wanted to try ending up benching me for like six straight years so I just decided to get a job and see if I could advance there.” Yamaguchi sighed. “ Obviously , I didn’t so I just took a random remote position for some marketing company and left town. And now I’m here. And I’ve met a hardworking dad and his sweet daughter and it feels a lot better than the past 5 years of my life. So I don’t really mind making friends the way we’re becoming them right now.”

Kei sent him a small smile, trying to ignore the gnawing in his chest at the thought that someone as kind and caring as Yamaguchi was dealt with unfortunate cards in life.

“I’m glad we met,” was all Kei could say.

Which was probably the cheesiest thing he had ever told anyone in his entire life but the way Yamaguchi ducked away from it made it worth it.

“Yeah, me too.”

Chapter Text

By the time Hinata and Kageyama finally had the time to break down his door to shake out some actual answers about his volleyball career, Yamaguchi had been coming over for about three and a half weeks now. So when they barged into his apartment, they had caught poor Yamaguchi baking brownies with Natsuki while Kei was in the shower.

Kei had been washing his hair when he heard screams coming from the kitchen and the speed at which he ran out of the shower was unmatched. Should’ve been a record, even.

“What’s wrong?! Are you guys okay?! Natsuki?! Yama– Hinata? Kage–What are you guys doing here?” Kei yelled out.

“Papa, you’re naked!” Natsuki called out from Yamaguchi’s arms.

“Tsukki, what the fuck?” Yamaguchi cried out, running behind him. (Tsukki was new.)

“Kei, who is this?” Hinata yelled. (He never called him Kei unless it was something important.)

Kageyama was just concerned as he held an iron grip on Hinata’s arm.

“Guys, what the f– Why didn’t you say you were coming over? What is this ?” Kei pressed, trying to keep his anger under control.

“You know we almost never have time. We didn’t expect you to have-” Hinata waved his hands at Yamaguchi. “People over. I didn’t even know you interacted with the outside world.”

“We came to ask about your volleyball career,” Kageyama finally spoke. Always to the point.

“Yes! That! But now we have many more questions,” Hinata said, eyeing Yamaguchi.

“Okay well, can you let me put some clothes on first or finish my shower?” Kei said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Fine,” Hinata pouted before plopping down onto the couch.

“Thank you,” Kei sighed before putting a hand onto Yamaguchi’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. He still looked shaken up. “I’ll be quick, okay?”

Once Yamaguchi nodded, he put Natsuki down and went behind the kitchen counter again. Natsuki ran to her uncles instead and started telling them about Yamaguchi.

Kei got back into the shower and rinsed off. At least it wasn’t a freak accident where either Yamaguchi or Yamaguchi got hurt . Trying to wash away the anxiety, Kei remembered that now he had to talk about what he was going to do for the following year.

Was he really going to quit? Everything had been going a lot smoother ever since Yamaguchi came into the picture. In fact, this past week, Yamaguchi had brought Natsuki to his gym to watch them practice. It had felt nice; no one else had the time to bring her so she only really got to see him while surrounded by a crowd. Deep down, Kei would be happy to just have Natsuki and Yamaguchi watch him play forever. Maybe…

“Tsukishimaaaaa, you’re taking forever,” Hinata called out and Kei could swear his veins were popping out.

Once he got dressed and dried up, he stepped out with an attitude.

“Fine, here I am. What do you want?” Kei asked, making it clear that he was not pleased. He knew he shouldn’t have given them a key to the apartment.

“Well you’ve barely spoken to us in the past week and especially not about you know what so we came to ask in person where you won’t hang up on us,” Hinata replied pointedly.

“You’re so stubborn,” Kei rolled his eyes before they landed on Natsuki. “Pumpkin, you can take Sunshine to your room while we talk about adult stuff, yeah?”

“Sunshine?” Kageyama asked before he spotted the kitten on the bookshelf, watching him.

“Okay papa. Come on, girly. Let’s dress you up,” Natsuki cooed.

“I’m surprised it didn’t hiss at you,” Hinata laughed, making Kageyama pout at him.

“She’s a sweetheart,” Yamaguchi spoke up.

Kei looked over at him as the latter placed the tray of brownies in the oven before he walked over to them. He had been keeping quiet so as to not attract too much attention but the two idiots were bound to ask about him.

“Right… Tsukishima, who is this? And when did you get a cat? You basically disappear for two weeks and now you have some guy none of us know watching your kid? Who you’re also comfortable showering around?”
“Hinata, that’s probably just a babysitter,” Kageyama pointed out and the incredulousness in his face instantly dissipated.

“I know that, Bakageyama! But he’s never showered around the other one. Oh wait, what happened to Yachi’s friend? Wasn’t she your babysitter?”

Kei rolled his eyes.

“Nothing happened. Just– this is Yamaguchi. He moved in a couple weeks ago and he’s offered to take care of Natsuki while I’m gone. He’s the one with the cat. He’s been a real help around here while Akiteru has been out of town and he’s unknowingly been changing my mind about quitting, okay? Does that answer everything?”

As Hinata and Kageyama processed all of this, Kei glanced over to Yamaguchi who looked like a deer in headlights. They haven’t spoken about his volleyball career in depth since that first night he took care of Natsuki. All Yamaguchi really knew was that he’d been considering quitting it but nothing else. Kei didn’t really mean to spring this onto him like that. He didn’t want Yamaguchi to feel the weight of being the reason for him feeling this way. But it was just…so easy to want it when Yamaguchi was there.

Was it embarrassing that Yamaguchi knew about the time Kei tore his pants at Natsuki’s father-daughter dance? Yes. Or that he knew about the time Saeko accidentally kissed him instead because she thought Akiteru was the one making dinner and she was a little drunk? Yes. Or that she showed him pictures of him with face paint on? Yes. Did it suck when Natsuki and Yamaguchi ganged up on him and teased him about anything relentlessly? Yes.

But was it also comforting when he would come home to see Natsuki prancing around in a princess dress that she wore last Halloween, simply because Yamaguchi found some sparkly eyeshadow for her to play with? Was it nice to know Natsuki had more people loving her and looking out for her? Was it nice to just watch Yamaguchi in his element, baking in his kitchen like he had always belonged in Kei’s life? Did it make his heart soar to see Natsuki in Yamaguchi’s arms when he looked up after scoring a service ace? Yes.

Would Kei continue playing volleyball forever if it meant he got to see that sight every time?

His heart skipped a beat and Kei forced himself to look away.

“Well…yes. We were just worried about you. You never really tell us about anything and then all of a sudden, you wanted to quit. It was a shock, ya know? I guess I didn’t realize it’s been so hard on you. We took the first plane here once we had a day off to come interrogate you but I guess you’ve been having a lot of support lately,” Hinata said, looking over to Yamaguchi. “Thank you for helping our friend. Sorry for scaring you.”

Hinata bowed in apology, making Yamaguchi fumble in telling him it was okay.

“Yeah, sorry about that. We didn’t know he really knew other people. He’s always been a bit of a shut-in but with Natsuki…I didn’t know he paid attention to anyone else. She’s his whole world,” Kageyama said.

Kei’s cheeks burned at the comment about him being a shut-in but knew that there wasn’t much he could say that would dispute that. Besides his teammates and his close friends (and sometimes the teachers), he’s pretty sure he hasn’t said anything to anyone else in years. Yamaguchi had been the only exception.

“Oh yeah, I can tell,” Yamaguchi replied.

Hinata burst out laughing and Yamaguchi looked at him for help.

“Oh my god, of course he's able to tell you’re a shut-in,” Hinata said once he finished laughing. “Your social skills are horrible .”

“They’re not! I just have no interest in other people,” Kei replied, face burning.

“I didn’t– Okay well you were a bit awkward at first,” Yamaguchi added, covering his face with his hand. Kei could tell he was laughing.

“Not that awkward!”

“Dude, Yamaguchi. A girl was hitting on him once when he was buying diapers for Natsuki–”

“Oh god no, don’t tell him that.”

“And he– oh my god–he said, ‘well i hope you’re ready to be a mom then’ and she literally ran. It was soooo funny but he said he panicked and that was all he could think of saying,” Hinata laughed out.

Kageyama was pointedly snickering at him.

“She didn’t run but oh my god. Don’t. Natsuki already says enough embarrassing stuff about me,” Kei groaned into his hands.

“It’s okay, Tsukki. I’m sure you’ll embarrass yourself in new ways,” Yamaguchi said, patting Kei’s shoulder.

He tried to ignore the laugh that Hinata held in his new nickname. If he was being honest with himself, he didn’t quite mind the nickname coming out of Yamaguchi’s mouth. He could definitely get used to it.

“So true , Yamaguchi. I’m glad Tsukki will have you here now to record all of his embarrassing moments so you can send them to us. Actually, here, why don’t you give me your number so you can send us all his embarrassing stuff?” Hinata said, handing his phone to Yamaguchi. “You can also just message me if you ever need anything. I’ve been an uncle long enough that I know how to fix a few problems or so.”

Hinata put his hands on his hips with pride. Kei only shook his head because he still remembers how panicked Hinata would be whenever Natsuki would cry. To now proclaim himself as an all-knowing uncle was too funny.

“Thank you, Hinata. And uh, Bakageyama? Did I get that right?” Yamaguchi asked.

Kei threw his head back with a laugh, prompting Kageyama to growl at Hinata.

“Yes!” Hinata laughed out, clutching his sides as Kageyama poked at him.

“I told you not to call me that! It’s Kageyama actually,” he answered. His face showed his blush a lot more easily so everyone could tell how flushed he was.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Kageyama. I feel like we all got off on the wrong foot,” Yamaguchi said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“No, you’re fine, Yamaguchi. They’re just a bit intense always,” Kei replied with a sigh.

“No we’re not!” Hinata indignantly squawked out.

Kei rolled his eyes affectionately turned to see Natsuki run into the room. She had Sunshine in her arms wearing a little dress and a tiara.

“Papa, she’s a princess,” she exclaimed proudly, placing her in Kei’s lap.

“She sure is, pumpkin. And you’re the queen,” he said as he pulled her in to kiss the top of her head.

“Yeah!” She whispered out excitedly as her tiny hands stroked the kitten’s fur.

As Hinata stood to pull Natsuki onto his lap so they could talk about literally anything and everything ( she somehow took after him in that sense) , Kei just watched them. He took in the time to process that this really was the first time that he didn’t feel so disconnected from everyone. Life before Yamaguchi was just him trying to survive every passing hour, stretching himself so thin that taking any time for himself was out of the question. But now…

Kei glanced at Yamaguchi only to find him already looking at him. This caused Yamaguchi to send him a timid smile before he turned back to the current conversation. Kei let his eyes linger on Yamaguchi and hoped that he could sense just how grateful he was to him. While he would probably never tell him, Yamaguchi saved him. Being able to go to work without worrying about what Natsuki was going to have for dinner or whether she was going to get home that day was a massive upgrade to the life of constant to-do lists or mental notes he had been living.

As he saw the way Yamaguchi laughed or spoke, Kei realized that he never wanted this to end. He never wanted to be parted from Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi who fit so easily into his life and who his daughter absolutely loved or who his closest friends were now getting along with so well.

Yamaguchi who…

Sunshine pawed at Kei’s chest, bringing his attention to the kitten who has started getting quite big now. Distantly, Kei thought to himself, ‘I think it’s better to unpack that feeling later.’

Chapter Text

The not-realization that Kei might be falling for Yamaguchi started rearing its head when he basically ran to the door when he thought he had knocked on his door.

“Oh hey–Akiteru? Wh–I thought you didn’t come back until tomorrow? Why are you home early?” Kei asked, looking behind him hoping to catch a glimpse of…

“Huh? I was back yesterday. I think you must’ve misremembered the dates. Can I come in? I have goodiesss,” he replied, waving a couple of gift bags.

Kei moved aside and groaned, “Oh god, it was your vacation. You didn’t have to…”

“But I wanted to. You know I have to spoil my favorite brother and niece,” Akiteru said with a wide grin as he set everything on the table.

“Just letting you now, Natsuki isn’t home right now,” Kei said, sitting at the kitchen table.

“On a Sunday? What is she up to?” Akiteru replied with a quirk in his brow.

Kei then remembered that Akiteru and Saeko had been away and didn’t actually meet Yamaguchi yet. They would like him a lot actually.

“She’s with a friend.”
“Oh, lovely! I’m so glad she’s making more friends. For a kid as bubbly as her, she deserves her own little posse like you had in high school,” Akiteru said with a smile. “Oh look! I got you this sweater from a gift shop nearby.” Akiteru raised a solid purple knit sweater and threw it gently onto Kei’s head, toppling his glasses. “Oh and this painting because you need something on the walls. And I got you this pan because you mentioned that you were missing one of these so I just got it for you so you don’t stress about it anymore.”

As Akiteru placed everything down, Kei felt a gnawing in his chest. His leg started bouncing as he thought about the fact that Yamaguchi was gonna come back any minute now with cookies that he had Natsuki help him with. Akiteru lightly kicking his leg snapped him out of those thoughts.

“You okay? How were these few weeks? Were you able to manage?” Akiteru asked, sitting besides him.

It was always easier to talk to people when he wasn’t looking directly at them.

“I’ve been great, actually. There’s this…guy… My neighbor, actually. He’s been great. Like, great at helping out.”
“Right, yes. Helping out.”

“Yes, with Natsuki.”

“Mhm, great with Natsuki.”

Kei knew what Akiteru was implying and wanted to deny him so bad but he knew to deny how much he cared was basically denying Yamaguchi as a whole. Kei could never do that.

“Yup,” was all Kei said.

“And… do you like this guy? Your neighbor…who’s good with your child?” Akiteru prodded, repeatedly  folding some of the wrapping paper as Kei stared at it.

“Natsuki loves him. And his cat,” Kei replied.

“Do you like his cat?”

“Yes, she’s very sweet.”

“What about him?”

Kei looked down at his hands.

“He’s very kind. He’s been helping with Natsuki since we met and I… Hm. I want him to stay around as much as possible.”

Akiteru nodded, taking everything in.

“Forever, perhaps?”

“Yeah,” Kei replied instantly before he realized. “Wait–”
“You already said it,” Akiteru laughed. “No take-backsies, Kei. You know, ever since… you had Natsuki, you never really spoke about her mom. Did she ever contact you again?”

Kei was silent for a moment, deciding to shift his eyes to the painting on the table. He took in a deep breath through his nose and let it out slowly.

“No. She made it very clear that she didn’t want any part in this. It was my fault, you know? If I hadn’t been drinking so much that night, we wouldn’t have made the stupid mistakes that we made. But I have Natsuki now so…everything that happened…I wouldn’t change that at all. And you already know but that’s why I think dating again would be stupid. If I made the same mistakes again and letting my guard down, well.”

Kei shook his head, letting out another sigh.

“Do you think that progressing things with Yamaguchi would be a mistake?” Akiteru asked gently.

“He’s my neighbor, Akiteru. You’re just asking dumb questions now.”
“But he’s your friend and you’re close to him and he’s obviously good with kids–”

“He’s not signing up to be a dad. I feel like that would be cruel to him. Plus, he just signed a lease for that place. That would be doubly cruel,” Kei pressed.

“Kei, how long have you known him?”

“Like a month and a few day now. It’s way too early. It’s too soon and you know it. Saeko had to ask you out after a year of you dancing around the subject.”
“Okay well, you don’t have to bring that up. But I’m just saying you should go for it. You’re gonna go pining after this man forever and ever and you’re going to wish you brought it up earlier. Trust me when I say I know that’s true.”

Kei hummed in contemplation.

“I–”

“Papa! Look we made cookies like dinosaurs!” Natsuki’s voice rang through the room as she barged through the door. Yamaguchi followed right after, holding plastic bag of cookies. “Oh! Uncle Aki!”

“Oh, I did not know you had someone over,” Yamaguchi said, suddenly bashful as he set the cookies on the table.

Kei smiled; they were in the shape of a stegosaurus. He could picture Yamaguchi guiding Natsuki’s hands as she tried to press the mold onto the cookie dough.

“Oh! It’s okay! I’m Akiteru, Kei’s brother. And I’m assuming you’re the neighbor?” Akiteru asked, standing to shake his hand.

“O-oh yes. You can call me Yamaguchi. And brothers! Wow, I can see the good looks are genetic.” Kei raised his eyebrows. “I mean! You guys just look so familiar and… I’m sorry. Sometimes I get a little flustered when I meet new people.”
Akiteru just laughed.
“You’re fine. And thank you. In fact, I’ll stop by later. The wife is probably missing me by now.”

“You guys just spent a month together on vacation,” Kei said.

“Well, I’m missing her. Kei, really think about what I told you. I’ll be checking back in on that in a few months,” Akiteru said, throwing him a look and slapping a hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll think about it,” Kei said with a small smirk.

“Nice meeting you, Yamaguchi. I’ll be seeing you around hopefully. Bye bye, Natsuki,” Akiteru said, giving her a tight hug before heading out.

“He seems nice! What’s he checking on?” Yamaguchi asked, grabbing a cookie.

Us.

“Oh just some new habits he wants me to build. Honestly I already forgot what he said,” Kei said. “So…you think I look good?”
“Well-I–”

“Yeah! Mr. Yamaguchi said you look like a model,” Natsuki said, grabbing two cookies.

Yamaguchi flushed bright red and covered his face.

“I said that because you’re an athlete!”
“Right, yes. Well, thank you. It’s always nice to hear I look good,” Kei gave him a shit-eating grin.

“Oh, shut up Tsukki,” Yamaguchi groaned.

“Make me.”

“Oh, you wish.”

I do.

Kei then watched Yamaguchi play dinosaurs with Natsuki, heart quickening as he realized that Akiteru had a point. He had to try. And as he made pretend roars with Natsuki, Kei knew he was in it for the long haul. Yamaguchi scrunched his face at him with a smile.

Looks like Yamaguchi’s going to try too.