Oikawa left the hospital after a twenty-seven hour shift, and probably would have been embarrassed about falling asleep on the train and drooling on the older man next to him, except he was too fucking tired to care. He mumbled the name of his stop as his head drooped, and he felt his eyes shut involuntarily.
He woke up to a hand shaking his shoulder.
"This is your stop, right?" He pried his eyes open to peer at the old man he had been using as a pillow. When he registered his words, he shot up and ran off the train, yelling a 'thank you' as he did.
He had never before been so grateful at the fact that him and Suga chose an apartment close to the station.
This wasn't exactly how he pictured his life at twenty-four. Back in high school, he had been planning to be on Japan's national team. Had told everyone he knew that he was going to be scouted. It was after being accepted on a sports scholarship that his knee gave out. He landed from a jump serve wrong and immediately tumbled to the floor. He remembered feeling numb on the way to the hospital. He couldn't feel his kneecap or thigh, and no matter how hard he pressed his fingertips into the muscle tissue, the tingling feeling of nothingness never left.
The doctors told him he would never play again. A five-minute conversation that ended his dreams and left him staring blankly at the hospital bed.
His parents had been happy, although they tried to hide it. They wanted him to be a doctor, like his dad, and now he could.
So that's what he did. He graduated in seven years at the top of his class, and was now killing himself in his residency, where he was working long hours for a job he didn't like, and being so underpaid he had thoughts of becoming a stripper so he could go grocery shopping for something more than instant ramen.
He knew it was selfish of him to think like this. He was a damn good doctor and he got to help people in ways that most couldn't.
It would make it easier if he was no longer bitter about being pressured into this career.
He walked up to his apartments and stopped, staring at the worn down buildings, so close together that the balconies opposite each other almost touched. It was four, five story buildings side-by-side. The white paint was peeling and at night he could hear the yelling of the many couples who were stuck in a loveless marriage.
He shuddered and walked to the stairs. He lived with Suga on the second floor, and although the inside of the apartment was nice - thanks to his amazing decorating skills - he hated walking up to their run down housing unit, knowing his neighbors' loud voices would keep him up all night.
Suga was a social worker and worked almost has much as him, but for less pay. The nice thing was, they were both so exhausted all the time, that they didn't have to worry about the other being loud or energetic when all they want to do is sit on the couch and doze.
Suga was his best friend, whom he met his freshman year of college. That was a rough year for Oikawa, and if Suga hadn't been there to drag him out of his drunken self-pity, he would've probably been kicked out of school and then disowned by his parents.
He unlocked the door to their apartment and walked in. He paused on his way past the kitchen and did a double take at the box of diapers on counter.
He was pretty sure that both him and Suga were potty trained.
"Hey, Kou-chan…"
His voice trailed as Suga ran down the hallway next to the kitchen. He was waving his hands and making a shushing noise.
He came to stand beside Oikawa and leaned his hands on the kitchen counter, breathing heavily. His gray hair looked matted on one side, like he had been sleeping on it.
Suga looked at him sheepishly. "So, I'm guessing you didn't get my text?"
Oikawa blinked and took his phone out of his back pocket. All the fatigue he had been feeling, vanished as he read the words glaring up at him.
Kou-chan : Hey boo, so don't get upset. But I did something. Don't be mad! But I may have fostered a couple kids… okay see you when you get back. Love you, handsome!
He looked up and saw Suga staring at him, biting his nails.
"What the fuck did you do."
12 hours prior
Suga groaned as his head slammed onto the desk in his tiny cubicle. This case was quickly spiraling out of his control.
For the past month, he'd been dealing with a child neglect scenario and while investigating the family, quickly realized it was physical abuse as well as neglect that was occurring. He tried to speed up the process, but the system took for-freaking-ever.
He rushed in this morning when he got the call, telling him the cops arrested the father when their neighbors called in a noise compliant. He'll probably be let go quickly, with community service and stern warning, but Suga wasn't satisfied. He didn't want those people near those kids, ever agin. He saw it in their eyes when he interviewed them. The disconnect when talking about their son and daughter. He didn't know why people had kids if they didn't like them.
Suga started this job because he loved children and wanted to help, but every case he worked, he felt more and more dead inside. The kids he removed from abusive homes were placed in foster care, and he wasn't allowed to check up on them after the case was closed to see if they were okay. For all he knew, the same abuse was happening in their new home.
It frustrated him to no end, and it was cases like this that were the hardest. When the children were so young, but their eyes already looked dull.
"Suga-kun."
He jumped and swiveled in his chair, finding Yamaguchi at the opening to his office.
"I have the papers for those two kids from case thirty-five. I also have the address for their new foster home."
He thanked Yamaguchi and took the papers from him. After the man walked away, Suga glanced at the foster parents information, and then looked at the pictures in Shouyou and Hitoka's case file.
He was suppose to write up his final report and submit it today, but once he does, he can no longer see them.
He thought of Shouyou's chubby cheeks of infancy and Hitoka's smile as he gave her a candy bar during one of his visits.
They were adorable children and his heart hurt as he remembered meeting them when he first came to their house. He had bounced Shouyou on his knee while talking to Hitoka, asking about her school and daily routine.
Without giving himself a minute to reconsider, he grabbed their file and left the office, putting the address in his phone.
It was a small house, but he knew from the report on the foster family that they were already housing six kids. Normally they wouldn't place them with more, so it must mean they don't have a place for Shouyou and Hitoka yet. He didn't want them to be bounced around the system - that made it harder to be officially adopted.
He knocked on the door and waited two minutes for it to be opened. A women stood before him; she had bags under her eyes and her hair was falling out of its bun.
"Can I help you?" She put a hand on her hip, and Suga quickly pulled out his work ID.
"My name is Sugawara Koushi, I am here to see Hitoka and Shouyou, I am their case worker until their paperwork is finalized."
Her eyes widened and she stepped back. "Sure, come in. There are a lot of kids here, so the house is a mess, but I believe those two are in one of the rooms upstairs."
He nodded and quickly headed up the stairs across from them, opening each door until he found who he was looking for.
Hitoka was four-years old and was quite small for her age. Her blonde hair swayed as she danced with Shouyou. He was thirteen months and was a striking contrast to his sister. While she had blonde hair, his was bright orange. Their eyes were the same though. Hitoka's wasn't as bright as Shouyou's, probably due to taking the brunt of the punishments dealt out by their father, but when she talked they became as expressive as her younger brother's when Suga lifted him into the air.
Hitoka was holding onto Shouyou's hands to help him sway to the song she was singing. He stepped into the room and cleared his throat.
Shouyou saw him and smiled. One of his front teeth hadn't grown in yet, and he felt his chest tighten as the baby reached out a hand for him.
Hitoka turned and smiled too, although hers was more shy.
"Suga-san. Did you bring a candy bar today?"
He smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out the snickers he picked up on the way to the house. She squealed and he picked up Shouyou while she sat down and ate the chocolate. He sat across from her and placed Shouyou in his lap, facing his sister.
"Hitoka, how is this house? Are the other kids nice to you?"
She hesitated and then nodded. "Yeah, I guess. We haven't been here that long, but no one has been mean. They just kind of avoid us." She shrugged and licked the chocolate off her fingers. There was melted chocolate on her nose and cheek, and he felt his lips twitch as he reached forward and wiped it off with his sleeve.
She flinched when he lifted his arm, but he moved slowly, so she would know what he was doing. When the chocolate was gone and he put his arm back around Shouyou, she relaxed her shoulders.
"I wish we could go home with you, Suga-san. This place is really loud and their mommy doesn't talk to us that much."
He looked down and brushed his fingers through Shouyou's hair, leaning down to kiss his forehead when the baby tilted his head back to see him.
"You want to live with me?" His heart beat faster as he imagined bringing them home. He's always wanted kids, but knew it was unlikely that he would have his own, considering he wasn't interested in women.
Hitoka nodded and jumped up to her feet, bouncing around in front of him. Her energy excited Shouyou, who squealed in his lap.
"Yes! Yes! I love Suga-san, because you always ask me how I'm feeling when you see me, and last week you asked how my school was and-"
He listened to her voice, but didn't register the rest of her words. He knew CPS wouldn't want them placed in a house where there were too many kids… but in a house where there were no other kids and they could be fully provided for… they would approve that.
Oikawa stared at him as he relayed the events that took place while he was gone.
"You adopted children?" His eyes widened, "Plural?! As in more than one?!"
Suga held his hands out to calm him down. "I just put them to sleep! Maybe we could lower our voices?"
"Sugawara Koushi!"
He winced at the use of his full name. "I know! It's crazy! But they're so sweet, and they just need someone to love and protect them and I… I can do that! I want do that!"
"You want to be a single dad?"
He blinked, "Well-"
"You know how hard it is to find a guy interested in other guys! And now with kids?! Forget about it!"
Suga rolled his eyes. "I'm not concerned with my dating life, Tooru. And yes, doing this alone will be hard, but I want them here… and besides, I haven't adopted them. Yet."
"Yet?" He raised his eyebrow and Suga glanced to the side.
"Adoption takes a long time, so… I'm fostering… until the paperwork is cleared."
Oikawa groaned and walked to living room so he could fall onto the couch.
"How old?"
When Suga didn't answer right away, he raised his head and glared at him. "How old Sugawara?"
"… One and four-"
"What?! You adopted babies?"
"You saw the diapers!" He gestured to the box behind him and Oikawa sputtered.
"I was hoping those were some kind of sick joke! How are we supposed to raise babies?! We both work like sixty hours a week… and they cry! All the time!"
"These kids are super sweet and quiet - wait. We? Did you just say 'we'?"
Oikawa rolled his eyes and threw him a disgusted look.
"Of course I said 'we' you inept, child-loving fool. We're best friends and live in the same damn apartment. And even if we didn't live together, I would be over here to help because obviously you've lost your ever loving mind and shouldn't be trusted around those little… creatures."
"They're children."
Oikawa gagged and Suga smiled, walking over to sit next to him on the couch. He leaned his head against Oikawa's shoulder.
"Thanks, Tooru. I love you. Hey, wanna be their godfather when the adoption becomes official?"
Oikawa groaned and fell sideways to sprawl on the couch.
"This is seriously going to hinder my dating life." Oikawa let out a dramatic sigh and threw an arm over his face.
"What dating life?" Suga smirked at his offended gasp.
"You bitch."
He laughed and Oikawa pretended to be affronted, but gave up once he could no longer contain his smile.
"Okay, Kou-chan. Show me your new bundles of joy."