Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu or any of its epicness...
AN: For a fic-exchange, written for SuzaLouch... :D
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Keyframe
[n.a moment that seemed innocuous at the time but ended up marking a diversion into a strange new era of your life]
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Daichi Samuwara is a man made for responsibility. He's built to carry the weight of the world with poise and a smile on his lips. He's the leader, the father-figure, the man-of-action when it came to life. It made him calm in times of crises. It made him collected in times of turmoil. He was the backbone, the guidepost of serenity, the -
"NE, Daichi-nee... where are your chips?" Oikawa cooes, "I have dip but no chips..."
"Why are you in my apartment," Daichi says and shuts his door, absently checking if the lock's still working, "Did you break in?"
"No, Kuroo-san let me in," Oikawa says and waves the dips around, "He has fantastic taste in dips..."
"Thank you!" Kuroo adds in from the living room.
"But shitty taste in soda," Oikawa mutters darkly with a shit-eating grin still on his face.
"Fuck you too," Kuroo answers, in the exact same tone as before.
"I'm not going to run down to the corner store just because you want chips, ask Hajime when he get back from his biochem lecture," Daichi says with a sigh and walks into the living room, only the pause and backtrack, "... Oikawa."
"Yeah?" Oikawa answers, though it's garbled through a mouth-full of corn chips.
Shit, he just found my secret stash !? How in the hell did he find that?!
"Why is there a adolescent in living room?" Daichi says, refocusing his attention and glares at the setter with narrowed eyes, "And I'm guessing you're responsible to this."
"... adolescent?" Oikawa repeats dumbfounded for a second before nodding, "Oh ... yeah, he's from my baby volleyball class..."
"What the hell, man, I'm halfway through my midterms," Daichi says angrily and narrows his eyes, "What the hell is a kid doing here?"
"Like I said," Oikawa says suavely and saunters over to him and slings an arm over his shoulders, "He's from my baby volleyball class..."
"Then what the hell is he doing here?" Daichi snaps and rubs his eyes tiredly, "And what's he doing in my apartment? Why are you here?"
"What? So, Kuroo, Bokuto and Ushiwaka can crash here, but not me?" Oikawa says and crosses his arms, "What is this? Cool-captains-only-club?"
"Oh, so you know about it?" Daichi answers sarcastically before rubbing the back of his neck, "Please explain to me in concise words why you're here?"
"Please, just for this afternoon," Oikawa says, pushing the corn chips into Daichi's arm, as if that would be a peace offering, "I have a date!"
"... You're asking me to babysit while you go out on a date while I have midterms, of course," Daichi seethes sarcastically through a grin, a dark aura enveloping him, "Are you out of your mind?"
"Kuroo's here to help!" Oikawa defends and smiles placatingly, "I'll be back before two!"
"I have a test tomorrow," Daichi growls, "Are you insane? Why did you even agree to babysit if you had other plans?"
"I didn't think I'd land a date, Samuwara-san," Oikawa sooes and purses his lips in an attempt to seem innocent, "So... please! I'll do anything!"
"Good, then, leave!" Daichi yells and shifts his backpack to his other shoulder before strutting down the hallway.
Of course, when he said that, he has expected a retort, a counter, a comeback. What he didn't expect was cooperation and acquiescence, followed by the front door closing softly.
Which made it worse.
He paused in his tracks, tosses his backpack haphazardly into his room and turned around. He stalks back into the kitchen, to find it empty. The living room, to find Kuroo still on his Playstation and the kid still taking a nap on the couch next to him.
That son of a bitch.
"I have cram school this evening, man," Kuroo says and chuckles under his breath, "I'll watch the kid until then..."
He seemed so relaxed about everything. The Nekoma captain hardly ever ruffles his feathers for anything and takes everything life throws at him in stride. He calmly assesses a situation and reacts accordingly. That's what makes him an ideal roommate.
Kuroo did the grocery shopping and their apartment paperwork, Ushiwaka did the cooking, Bokuto organized the spring break and holidays roadtrips and Daichi packed lunches and did general chores.
"Oh, the repair bill for the heater came back," Kuroo says and motions with his head to the inbox, "We owe them six hundred yen."
"Oh, that's not too bad," Daichi says with a relieved sigh, crossing his arms and rested his arms on the back of the couch in front of him, "I was expecting-"
"Oh, no, the six hundred is just for coming out in the first place," Kuroo says with a chuckle, "There's an extra thousand for the actual pipe replacement and gas refill."
With a groan, Daichi drops his head and bangs it on the backrest of the couch, instantly waking up the small silver-haired child that had been napping.
For a moment, the three of them stared wide eyed. Both young males at the young child, and the young kid at the offending party that was still leaning on the couch. And, as if it was a building pressure-cooker, the young kid started tearing up, "To... Tor... TORU!" and that's when the crying started. First a whine and then full-steam bawling his eyes out.
Daichi, freaking out, looked at Kuroo for advise. But, it didn't seem like it bothered him at all. The black-haired male has turned his attention back to the TV in front of him, as if nothing just happened.
"KUROO?" Daichi exclaims in alarm.
Kuroo looks over and down at the small child, "Yeah? What? He's fine, just leave him there," he says dismissively and turns his attention back to the TV, "He'll calm down in a minute, he was just shocked, don't get so stressed out."
A rush of adrenaline from both anger and outrage surged through Daichi. But, deciding there was more important things at the moment than a fleeting moment of satisfaction, "Oh... no, it's okay... hey... shhh..." Daichi says and rounds the couch, picking up the kid and hugging him, "Hey, I'm sorry... okay?"
"Tooru-nee... " the small kids mumbles against Daichi's collar and hiccups, "Where's Tooru-nee-san?"
"... um... he'll be back soon," Daichi says softly, patting the kid's back, "I'm sorry..."
Of course, his answer caused another round of crying. This one even worse then the last. His little frame shook as he cried, coughed and cried some more.
"It's alright," Daichi soothes softly, bouncing the kid on his hip softly, rocking him back and forth, "I'll take care of you? Okay? Daichi will take care of you..."
"Aww, Daichi-nee-san," Kuroo cooes and chuckles once more, "I thought it was my shift."
"It is," Daichi mumbles and rolls his eyes, "What's his name, anyway?"
"You don't even know our child's name?" Kuroo says and grins, "I'm so offended, Daichi-nee-san."
With a hit of the front door, announcing Bokuto's arrival, Kuroo got up, "Ah! There we are, Daichi-nee-san," Kuroo says and grabs Daichi by the shoulders and ushers him to the front door, "Your saviour has arrived."
Daichi, shirt soaked now with a surplus of tears, just nods and goes with it. After all, he never had siblings so he figured bowing to another's expertise was the smart choice.
"Boku-bro, Dadchi needs some help," Kuroo says and pushes Daichi into the kitchen.
"Since when am I Dadchi?" Daichi snaps and bounces the kid once more, "I'm not a dad."
Both Kuroo and Bokuto send him an emploring look, but say nothing, thankfully.
"You guys suck," Daichi says and sighs, "Come on, help me out."
"First of all, how did you get a kid?" Bokuto says and tilts his head with a grin, "Who's the mom?"
"I don't know!" Daichi says, adjusting the kid on his hip.
"Oh my gosh, you don't know?" Bokuto says and starts tearing up, "Oh, Daichi... oh Daichi, I'm so sorry!"
"... WHAT? NO! It's not my kid!" Daichi counters, only to get enveloped into a group hug, "You guys suck. This is why I didn't want to share an apartment with you."
"Oh, it's okay, Dadchi, we love you all the same," Bokuto croons.
"When did you start calling me Dad CHI!?" Daichi groans and shakes his head.
"Since we moved in," both Kuroo and Bokuto answers in sync.
By now the silver-haired child had completely stopped crying and was now smiling shyly against Daichi's chest, arms wrapped tightly around Daichi's shoulders.
"He's so cute!" Bokuto cooes and wiggles for a second as he ruffles the kid's hair, "So, why's this the first time I meet him?"
"Sugawara Koushi," Kuroo corrects and winks.
"Of course you now tell me the kid's name," Daichi growls offhandedly and sighs, "Couldn't you-"
"Look at his little face!" Bokuto says and smushes little Sugawara's cheeks together, prompting the formation of a fish-face.
"It's so cute! A kissy face!" Kuroo laughs and turns Sugawara's face towards Daichi, "Kiss it!"
"Ew no!" Daichi counters, causing little Suga to start crying all over again, "Crap... oh, no... Suga-chan... I didn't mean that.. I only meant... you … should kiss someone you love... that's all I mean... no... no... don't cry! Please!"
"But... you can kiss someone …. if you love them?" Koushi suddenly says and tugs on Daichi's shirt.
"Yes, that's why your mom kisses you on the forehead," Daichi says, surprised and relieved that that was all it took to calm down the kid.
"But, if I kiss someone on the lips?"
"You should only kiss someone on the lips if you love them," Daichi says, earning a scoff from Bokuto and a snort from Kuroo.
"That's why mom and dad kiss on the lips?"
"Yes!"
"So you should only kiss someone on the lips if you're married?"
"... or want to get married... sure?" Daichi answers unsurely and cringes at his own tone.
"So that's why Kageyama-san and Hinata kissed?" Sugawara says and ducks into Daichi's neck when his little confession caused both Kuroo and Bokuto to cheer loudly around the kitchen.
Daichi, on the other hand, just felt like dying inside. He didn't expect it. At all. Kageyama. Hinata? … alright, maybe, he did.. but still...
"So, Koushi, did you see this happen at home or-"
And yet, the crying got worse, from Kuroo and Bokuto's freaking out.
"Are you fucking kidding me? That's is so badass! I totally called it!" Kuroo says and grabs his phone from his backpocket, "Hold on, I'm sending this to Kenma..."
"Didn't you have siblings growing up?" Bokuto says and rolls his eyes, "Don't swear like that, you idiot!"
Kuroo, using his hands to cover little Suga's eyes, frowns, "Language, both of you," he says and scoffs, "I mean, could you fucking not?"
"Whatever, hey, gimme, I'm great with kids," Bokuto says and tilts his head side to side with self-satisfied glee as he holds out his arms expectantly, "Gimme."
"I'm not sure," Daichi says with a sigh and removed Kuroo's hand from Sugawara's face. He looks for a moment between them before forcing himself to make up his mind.
With resignation he didn't expect to actually hit him at all, Daichi pried little Sugawara's interlocked fingers from behind his neck and held him to pass him over to Bokuto.
Only, a second later, the relatively calm Sugawara Koushi, yelped and started crying again. "No, no, no no no nononoo!" he cries with an increasing hyperventilating state, clutching Daichi's shirt to him, as if it were a lifeline.
With raised eyebrows, Bokuto took Sugawara in his arms, only to have the small child kick against him with all his might, pushing him away until the small child was at arm's length from him. Words slightly warbled by the fact that Suga was pushing against his face, Bokuto mumbles, "I don't think he likes me..."
"Maybe it's because you're still sweaty from practice..." Kuroo suggests and sniffs at Bokuto for a second before nodding, "Definitely. It's man sweat, corn chips and ketchup. Not a child-friendly smell."
"WHAT? FINE!" Bokuto yells and holds Sugawara out for Daichi, "Take him."
And, with an indignant scoff, the Owl-captain stalks off to the bathroom.
"I'm hungry..." Sugwara says and sighs with a huff, "Dadchi... nee... "
With an accusing glare towards Kuroo, Dachi stalks off towards the fridge and opens it up, "What would you like to eat?"
"Ice-cream, please!" Sugawara says and pats Daichi's chest for a moment before kicking his feet, "Please!"
"You want ice-cream?" Daichi repeats and and opens up the freezer, digging around for a second before finding the tub at the back, "It's chocol-"
The sudden squeal erupting from the small kid definitely answered Daichi's question. And, without a second though, he decided to ready a bowl for the both of them.
"Hey, I need to get ready to leave, are you okay with Koushi?" Kuroo says and crosses his arms.
Daichi looks at Koushi, who was now sitting quietly on the countertop, "Yea... I think we're cool, right, Koushi?" he says and grins when Sugawara nods.
"Cool, I'll leave as soon as Bokuto's done," he says with a knowing grin and retreats back into the living room to pack up his backpack.
"Are you talking about me?" Bokuto says, stepping into the kitchen and ruffles his hair once more with the towel before tossing it into the kitchen sink.
"Noo... Bokuto... we talked about this!" Daichi says, storming forwards before grabbing the towel with two fingers, "Dude, seriously."
"Dude, seriously!" little Koushi repeats with a huff from the other side of the kitchen.
The three of them look over, surveying the smears of chocolate on his face and all of them had to turn away to keep themselves from laughing.
Excusing himself, Daichi takes the towel and heads off the bathroom to drop it in the laundry, "Third time this week man!"
"Third time this meek lamb!" Sugawara repeats loudly and frowns deeply when both Kuroo and Bokuto start laughing all over again.
So, after Daich finally manages to wrangle the two of them out of the apartment, he and little Suga are left alone.
"Are you done, Koushi?" Daichi says and tilts his head with a tired smile. He definitely didn't list babysitting on the things he'd need to do today.
"Hmm hmm..." Sugawara nods and pauses before holding up Daichi's bowl, "Yours!"
"Yes," Daichi says tiredly and steps forward to take the bowl from him, "Thank you!"
"You like ice-cream?" Sugawara says and taps his feet against the chair, "I like chocolate..."
"Sure," Daichi says and forces a smile, trying to work down the ice-cream. He was never really a fan of sweet things and he never really cared for ice-cream. He was actually hoping the kid would finish off his dessert for him, "Do you want a bite?"
The young boy sits up straight, instantly turning red before nodding quickly, "YES!"
Albeit slightly taken aback by the fervent agreement, Daichi scooped up a heap of his ice-cream before holding it out to him, "Here," he says and smiles.
Sugawara swallows hard before leaning forwards and taking a bite.
"Nice, huh?" Daichi says and grins.
"We shared a ice-cream!" Sugawara says and points to the empty bowl with a smile.
"Yes, we did..." Daichi says and grabs the bowl before walking off to the sink.
"We kissed!" Suga exclaimes, causing poor Daichi drop the plates into the sink. At least nothing broke.
"Ummm... Suga?" Daichi says and peers at him with a confused expression.
"We kissed... we shares a ice-cream!" Suga says and sends him an accusing look, "... I thought lips touching are a kiss?"
"It's: we shared an ice-cream and we didn't-"
"I ate with that spoon!" Sugawara says with a frown, "You ate with that spoon..."
"Yes... but..."
"And it's a kiss when people touch lips, right?"
"... yes..."
"And you should only kiss someone you love, right?"
"Yes?"
"Then you love me and we kissed and we're getting married."
It was way too late at night to be schooled by a six-year-old, so Daichi just sighs in resignation and runs a hand through his hair. Now, with a forced smile, he just asks, "Do you want to take a bath before you go to sleep?"
"No, thank you!" the kid answers and jumps off the chair before trotting to stand next to Daichi.
"I'm just going to wash dishes, Koushi, do you want me to put a movie on for you?" Daichi suggests and smiles down at him, "Do you want to watch Angry Birds or something?"
"No, thank you!" Sugawara answers with a self-satisfied smile before tugging a drying cloth from the sink's edge, "I'll help!"
So, for the next ten minutes, they slowly wash and dry off the day's dishes and cutlery. Little Suga having trouble to reach the dishes, so he needs to be handed the items one by one. It was a quiet little ritual for Daichi, but somehow, felt lighter and not so depressing with this little six-year old at his side.
"Koushi," Daichi says and finished off the last plate, "Are you tired?"
The small boy, cheek resting on the side of the cupboard, jerked upright, "NO."
"Do you want to go to sleep?" Daichi suggests with an amused smile. Damn this kid was cute.
"No... I'm not sleepy..." Koushi protests and yawns deeply before rubbing his eyes, "I'm not."
"Okay, that's okay," Daichi says and dries off his hands with the cloth before draping it back over the sink, "Do you want to go to the bathroom?"
A nod is all reply he gets and he takes hold of Sugawara's hand and leads him to the bathroom.
"Don't fall asleep on the toilet, okay?" Daichi warns as he lets Sugawara go into to bathroom, pulling close the door after him.
"NO! Don't close the door!" a sudden panicked voice exclaims, and Daichi's left guarding the open door with his back turned to it. It didn't take long before he could hear Suga washing his hands and yawning again.
"Did you flush?"
A flush.
"Yes!"
"Okay," Daichi says and open the door fully and steps to the side, "Do you want to sleep in my room?"
A slow nod suffices as a response.
"Okay," Daichi answers with a relieved sigh, walks straight into his dark room and switches on his bedside lamp before tossing open his covers, "Here you go."
"I'm tired..." Sugawara mumbles and his face contorts into a pained expression again, "I'm tired!"
Daichi picks him up once more and rests him against his shoulder, "It's okay... you don't have to go to sleep..." he says softly and bends down as softly as possible to pick up his backpack, "You can just sit here a bit... okay?"
Sugawara Koushi softly nods against his neck and takes in a deep breath.
Daichi drops his backpack on his bed and unzips it. He shuffles around it for a moment before opening up his textbook, "Serum potassium imbalance is more prevalent in older people and people with co-morbidities, example: renal impairment, congestive heart failure. Both hypokalaemia..." he says and pauses as he brushes some of Sugawara's silver locks out of his eyes, "Hypokalaemia is when you don't have enough potassium, okay?"
Sleepily, Sugawara nods and sighs.
"And hyperkalaemia... Suga, that's when there's too much potassium your blood... do you know what potassium does?" Daichi says and softly starts swaying side to side, rocking the small child in his arms.
A sleepy shake of his head comes as a reply.
"Potassium makes sure your body's electrolytes are balanced... it helps you keep your blood pressure normal... keeps you heart beating normally... " he whispers, mildly aware that Sugawara was no longer even listening, but in deep sleep against his chest now, "And, best of all, it works with sodium to make your muscles work perfectly in sync..."
Sugawara yawns deeply but his head lolls against Daichi's chest as Daichi keeps explaining the pros and cons of both Sodium and Potassium, breaking down their effects on the body's systems and, later, how the body finds homeostasis in the events of imbalances.
He checked the time, spotting the clock already ticking past one am.
"Suga... are you asleep?"
"Nhh..."
"I'm going to go to sleep, okay?" Daichi says and rests Suga down on the mattress, making sure to tuck him in before lying down next to him, "Good night..."
"Gnnggtt..." Koushi says and reaches out his hand to take hold of Daichi's. He pulls close Daichi's hand to his chest before nuzzling into it.
And, like that, they fell asleep.
"Koushi-nee-chan... come on, let's get you home," Oikawa whispers and softly pulls Sugawara up into a hug until he's got him cradling in his arms, "Did you have fun?"
"Hmmh m... I'm gonna marry Daichi..." Koushi says and giggles softly before resting his chin on Tooru's shoulder.
"What did you do?" Iwaizumi says in an accusing tone, glaring at Oikawa from the doorframe, "And don't tell me you didn't do anything..."
"But I didn't..." Oikawa whispers and saunters over to Iwaizumi, "And keep it down, Daichi has a test tomorrow..."
"So, you let him watch Suga while we go out?"
"I'm a responsible adult, I found a babysitter..."
"So responsible, Mr. Iwaizumi..."
"... did you just-"
"Slip of the tongue, don't get excited."
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Thanks for reading!
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