hope for better days
The Kuruta clan is reborn like this:
There's a child in the cradle of his arms, quiet and compliant as she stares up at Kurapika. The child's eyes are red, and that can only be an omen.
It's one thing to see these eyes in his reflection in the mirror—furious and ablaze, in glass canisters displayed like trophies—observant and lifeless. It's another thing entirely to see them looking up at him, when Kurapika is the first person she's ever seen in this world.
He vows to protect her, and it's the fiercest he has ever felt in his life.
tears at the heart of things
For someone without qualms, Kuroro hesitates.
Kurapika offers her out to him, because even if he is the last person who should be a father, has no idea how to be a father, she is still his child. Kurapika is quick to point out how she has inherited the downturn slant of his eyes and unfortunately, his eyebrows. Even so, he only sees Kurapika when he looks at her.
"You should hold her," Kurapika murmurs, and he looks more tired than he's ever been. He's ready to sleep after endless nights of staying awake, and he deserves it.
Despite the tension between them and an abstract feeling of apprehension, Kuroro receives her as gently as he possibly can. He's never done anything like this before, and she's so small that he feels as if he's holding onto her too tightly. He thinks that he'll make her cry within moments—but she only blinks at him, impossibly calm.
He cannot believe the intensity of the color of her eyes, and it only takes a moment for him to realize that he's crying when he sees his tears as they fall. Kurapika's hand comes to sweep them away from his cheek, and the gesture makes his chest feel like it's being stretched too tight to accommodate the newfound affection inside him.
sun and moon and stars
When so many come into this world without an identity, they give her a name.
They call her Runa, in hopes that she will share their love for learning. But some nights, when Kuroro wakes to find her and Kurapika resting beside him in his bed, he has other thoughts about the matter.
All of the lights are off in the room, but the moonlight filters through the curtains and spills across the sheets. Kuroro leans on his elbow and takes in the simplicity of the moment—of the steady rise and fall of their chests and the soft sound of their breathing.
It is ineffable, how the light kisses their skin and glides through their hair. But it is also rather fitting, because if Kurapika is the sun personified, then Kuroro will lend her name to the goddess of the moon.
steadfast faith
"I don't know how to raise her."
Kuroro takes a seat on the edge of the bed, just as Kurapika is finishing getting dressed. Kurapika knows well enough that Kuroro will let him leave, that he will not stop him from going, but the unexpected vulnerability in his voice is not something that sits well with him.
It's not as if Kurapika is planning to abandon them and partake in an extended vacation—rather, he's ready to return to his old routine. After months of hanging in his closet, the black suit still fits the contours of his body, just as he remembers.
"We'll learn," Kurapika answers—we, because this is a beginning for the both of them. He leans down to press a soft kiss to the tattoo on Kuroro's forehead, assuring that he will come home soon and so much more.
They will adapt.
They will raise her properly, and give her a life that neither of them had.
secret garden
Runa is adamant about remaining quiet around him, not making a sound unless it's time for her to be fed.
Kuroro wonders if she recognizes that he is her father too, when Kurapika is the one who holds her in his arms and sings her the songs of his people. It's even more quiet when Kurapika has left for work, and only the two of them remain.
As soon as they finish lunch, she reaches out to Kuroro, seeking contact, and he has no other option but to oblige. Taking care to lift her, he takes her outside for a new change of pace. The garden in front of their residence only consists of edible fruits and vegetables per Kurapika's idea, but Kuroro thinks that more can be done.
Kuroro keeps a small sketchbook in his back pocket, with pages that are faded and torn from overuse. With his free hand, he retrieves it and unfolds his sketches of what could be. The complex design is evident of his extensive research on flowers, and some parts of the paper are rough from how often he erased.
It is something that he has yet to mention to Kurapika, and because the silence gets to him, he speaks to Runa.
Kuroro thinks that it's ridiculous, but he tells her how there's no need for Kurapika to work when he can support their family and generations to come, how he's wondering about what Kurapika's doing right now, and what kind of flowers he wants to plant in their garden. She lets out a soft yawn, apparently made tired by how much he has to say.
Everything he tries to grow seems to die, but he wants to prove to Kurapika that he's capable of nurturing even the smallest of things.
reflection
Kurapika keeps in touch as best as he can.
It doesn't take long for their video call to connect, and two familiar faces appear on his phone screen. Their resemblance is uncanny, even if Kuroro denies such an observation. It makes Kurapika think that Kuroro doesn't want her to look like him at all, because he doesn't want her to end up like him—
"How are things?" Kurapika asks instead.
At the sound of his voice, a smile of Runa's own blooms across her small face. It's rather lovely, and Kurapika smiles in turn.
From the way that Kuroro looks at her, he seems miffed at how she happily coos and reaches for the phone screen. "We're both alive and I haven't burned the house down yet."
"That's reassuring."
"She wants to see you." The expression on Kuroro's face softens. "I do too."
Kurapika smiles gently, and all of his love and affection in the world is condensed into this one phrase. "I'll see you soon."
It's a promise.
Notes:
I don't know what compelled me to write this, so I was hesitant in uploading. Some of you guys asked for it, so...
It is extremely difficult to write kurokura in a family setting. I actually don't know which AU this story would be set in T_T It would be nice if I could set this in my omegaverse AU, but I decided against it since I have not completed my most recent fic in that series.
I'll leave it to your imagination, as most of my other fics develop kurokura's relationship from enemies to lovers, and this one is my first time writing an established relationship from the very beginning.
Please feel free to leave a comment! You can also reach out to me on Tumblr at seiyuna if you have any ideas.