an: for vic - thank you so much for commissioning me! had a great time writing
cw: implied underage (fade to black)
/
12:35 AM. May 9th, 2016. Yamaguchi's bedroom.
They are separated by a meter of empty space as they sit side by side on the bed, fidgeting from side to side as they clutch at the bed sheets, eyes darting from the scrap pieces of paper on the floor to the ceiling fan whirring quietly above them.
"Right."
"Right, okay. What should we, uh. What should we do?"
"Well, I guess come here, I guess. We can probably start by not sitting five feet apart."
"Totally, of course, that makes sense. Should we, uh, take our clothes off?"
"Oh!"
There's a crash as Yamaguchi falls off the bed in surprise.
"I mean, or not, sorry, sorry! That was a terrible idea, I'm sorry just don't listen to me!"
"No that's not, well. Maybe we can start off with some, uh, kissing?" At the look of horror and disgust on Yachi's face, Yamaguchi quickly backs off and amends, "Okay, maybe not! We can just. Warm up?"
Yachi is blushing in full force by this point, face so red and breath coming in quick pants to the point that Yamaguchi is worried she might just be having a panic attack.
"Yachi?"
"Yeah!" she blurts out, twisting on the bed to face him. "Stretching is important!"
The two stretch in silence, flexing their arms and legs awkwardly. Is this normal? Yamaguchi honestly hasn't watched enough straight porn to know – not that porn is a really good reference for sex education, anyway.
"So…"
Yachi blinks up at Yamaguchi as they face each other now, sitting criss cross applesauce on the bed.
"Fuck it," Yachi finally says in a small voice as she leans over to flick off the light switch, plunging them into darkness.
Later, Yamaguchi will realize that's the first and only time he's heard Yachi curse.
–
"So, what did you think?"
"Um… I'm sorry Yamaguchi, I think we should break up."
–
4:53 PM. September 25th, 2020. Chemistry building, Laboratory 3A.
"Hey, so did you want to meet up sometime to work on the lab report? Looks like we'll just have to finish it up outside of class," Yamaguchi asks his partner as he packs away the various bottles and pipettes they have laying out on the counter.
Tsukishima nods, writing down the last of their calculations from the day. "Do you live on campus? We could meet at your place–"
"No!" When Tsukishima sharply looks up at Yamaguchi, he blushes and turns back to the beakers, scrubbing at a speck of dust that won't seem to come off no matter how hard he presses. "I mean, um. Do you want to meet at a cafe? I'll give you my number and we can figure something out."
Tsukishima stares at Yamaguchi for a moment longer, squinting from behind his safety goggles before shrugging. "Sure. Just add me on Facebook, I have to head out first for work."
"Right, okay, see you!" Yamaguchi calls, waving at Tsukishima's retreating back. "Ugh," he sighs, setting down the beakers as he slumps against the counter. "Stupid. Dumb. Idiot."
"Wrap up the pity party and finish cleaning up, will ya?" the head TA calls, rapping at the glass that separates him from the labroom.
Yamaguchi startles back upright, bowing quickly until the TA disappears again behind the cabinets. Yamaguchi hurries to stack everything away, checking that he's locked his drawer before stripping off his gloves and darting out of the room.
"Damn it," he curses as he checks the time on his phone.
From Yamaguchi Tadashi: sorry i'm running late tn
From Yamaguchi Tadashi: need me to pick anything up?
He's on the subway, squished between the crowd of rush hour folks getting off work when he feels his phone buzz against his pocket and he fishes it out, smiling as he shoots back a quick response.
"Is that your sister? She must have been quite a surprise for your parents," a voice says from beside him.
Yamaguchi turns to see a grandma smiling down at his home screen.
With a smile, Yamaguchi shakes his head. "It's my daughter. Her name is Mirai, would you like to see?"
The grandma looks at him with surprise, lips parting. Yamaguchi braces himself for the judgement as he plasters the smile wider on his face in defense, but to his surprise, the grandma just smiles again as she leans forward and asks for more pictures.
The train ride passes quickly like that, with Yamaguchi bending down to flip through photos of him cradling Mirai as a baby, him holding her as she gnaws on the paintbrush she picked up for her erabitori ("Just like her mother," he explains. "An artist?" the grandma asks. "A designer."), him tossing Mirai up into the air at two years old ("I bet your wife scolded you for that." "That, she did," Yamaguchi answers with a laugh.), until the doors are opening and he realizes it's his stop already.
"You take good care of that one, alright?" the grandma calls out to him as he shuffles off the train.
"I will, thank you," Yamaguchi says, bowing to her as the doors close between them. Turning back around to walk up the stairs, he smiles as he opens his phone again, looking back over his messages.
From Yachi Hitoka: We haven't cooked anything yet so if you want to grab something togo just let me know
From Yamaguchi Tadashi: hmm ok r u feelin japanese? american? chinese?
From Yachi Hitoka: I think Mirai wants chicken nuggets ^^
From Yamaguchi Tadashi: mcdonalds it is!
From Yachi Hitoka: Thanks ur the best! Also Kiyoko is over too, please get something for her
Stuffing his phone back in his pocket, he turns into the McDonalds just around the street from his home.
As Yamaguchi waits for his order to get ready, he pulls out his phone again as he remembers his promise to Tsukishima and types his name into the search bar. There are a few profiles that pop up but Yamaguchi snorts when he recognizes the spindly blonde, glasses sitting crooked on his nose in a profile picture that hasn't been updated in years.
Shooting off a quick message with a list of times he's free, Yamaguchi quickly grabs his food off the counter, nearly skipping home in his excitement.
Yamaguchi can hear the sound of the television playing softly in the background and smiles at the sight of Mirai's little froggy rain boots cast off to the side of the foyer.
"Princess, I'm home!" he calls out, breaking out into a grin when he hears the familiar pitter patter of bare feet across the tile.
"Daddy!" a familiar weight barrels into his chest and Yamaguchi laughs, dropping his bags on the floor to lift Mirai up and spin her around quickly. "Daddy, did you bring nuggets? Look, I drew this today!"
"Oh, Tadashi! Let me grab those," Yachi says, appearing around the corner with a smile as she gathers up his bags to take to the kitchen. "Mirai, wash your hands with Daddy and then we can eat."
Yamaguchi lifts her up to the step stool next to the kitchen sink, singing along loudly as she sings her alphabet.
"Mirai, watch this," he whispers before gently blowing out a bubble from his hands. It floats through the air for only a few seconds before it bursts, making Mirai flinch back with a giggle.
As soon as their hands are rinsed, Mirai is shouting, "Nuggets!" before toddling over to the table, dripping water all over the floor.
"Careful there, sweetheart," a new voice says and Yamaguchi turns around from the sink to see Shimizu's got a towel, wiping away any leftover water from Mirai's hands.
"Shimizu! How was your day," Yamaguchi asks, taking a seat at the table as he simultaneously unwraps their food, cutting the nuggets into smaller, bite sized pieces. At the other end of the table, Yachi fights with Mirai over a ketchup packet and he reaches over to pat Mirai's hair with a laugh.
Shimizu shrugs, settling in her own chair. "The same as usual. A few rude customers but it can't be helped."
"Can we eat now? I'm hungry," Mirai interrupts, hands snaking towards the nuggets.
Yachi sighs as she flops into her own chair, slumping against Shimizu with an exasperated sigh.
"What do you say?" Yamaguchi prompts, holding the plate of chicken nuggets over Mirai's head.
"Thank you for the meal!" Mirai answers, reaching out her hands and grabbing for the plate.
It's silent for a moment as the three of them watch Mirai shovel down her food, fingers leaving streaks of ketchup across her cheeks. Yamaguchi looks up to see Yachi mirroring the expression that must be on his own face as she beams proudly down at their daughter. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Shimizu pulling out a phone to record and makes a mental note to ask her for the photos later.
"Aren't you gonna eat? Daddy, eat!" Mirai commands when she looks up to find all eyes on her, frowning as she tries to reach across the table with her stubby arms and push the burgers their way.
Yamaguchi laughs, making a show of taking a big bite out of his food until Mirai is satisfied, opening his mouth to show her the chewed up food inside his mouth.
"Ew!" she shrieks, eliciting a laugh from the table.
It's moments like this when Yamaguchi has no regrets for the many twists and turns his life has been through.
–
2:57 PM. July 18th, 2016. Vic's Coffee and Bagels.
"Yachi! It's been a while, how have you been?" Tadashi asks as he slides into the booth across from Yachi. She smiles nervously at him, eyes flitting around the empty cafe. "Yachi?"
"Sorry, sorry," she answers, hands fluttering above the table as if she doesn't know what to do with them. "Um, I've been doing okay, actually. I have a girlfriend now," she says, smile relaxing somewhat.
"Really? Congratulations," Yamaguchi answers with a laugh. Even though they'd only broken up a couple months before, he can't help but feel proud of her for being able to be true to herself. Even while they'd been dating, Yamaguchi had suspected the truth. Not that he's really in any position to blame her for hiding things himself. "Do I know her?" Yamaguchi asks with a smile, leaning forward eagerly to hear the details.
Yachi nods, pulling out her phone to show him a picture. "You might have seen her at school, but she isn't in our grade. Her name is Kiyoko."
"Wow," Yamaguchi says. "She's really pretty. You guys look great together."
"Thanks," Yachi answers, but her voice is quiet as she slips away her phone, face darkening once more.
Yamaguchi frowns, asking, "Is there something wrong? She's not bad to you or anything, is she?"
Her lip trembles as Yachi shakes her head no. "There's actually… Something else, too."
"What is it?" Yamaguchi prompts. His anxiety spikes in response as he begins to worry about all of the possibilities. Is she being hurt? Bullied? Ostracized? Did her mother react badly to her coming out? Is her girlfriend––
"I'm pregnant."
Yamaguchi stares down at his everything bagel, and then back up at Yachi, and then back down at his everything bagel as if it will somehow be able to wake him up from this dream.
"What?"
"I'm pregnant. Tadashi, I'm so sorry, I don't know how it happened but there wasn't anybody else it could have been and I don't know why we thought – but it's happened now and I don't know really but––"
Yamaguchi feels his stomach drop out from under him. "Are you keeping it?"
At that, Yachi's blabbering stops and she looks up at him with tears in her eyes. "Do you want me to?"
Yamaguchi can't help but shrug helplessly. They're so young, only in their junior year of high school. They're not even together anymore for heaven's sake.
"It's your decision, Yachi," he answers, reaching out to hold her trembling hands. "Whatever you want, I'll support it."
The clock above them ticks loudly, echoing around the silent cafe as Yachi takes deep breaths to steady herself.
"I think," she whispers quietly. "I want to keep it."
–
4:07 PM. September 27th, 2020. The Teahouse.
Yamaguchi barrels through the doors of the cafe, barely registering the bells tinkling above his head or the barista at the register asking if she can be of any assistance.
Scanning the room, he spies Tsukishima's familiar blonde head of hair, bobbing slightly up and down to the tune of whatever's playing in those headphones he always has hooked around his neck.
Yamaguchi bumps his way through the bustling cafe, apologizing to the other students as he scatters their notebooks and laptops this way and that with his bag until finally, he's slamming his hands down in front of Tsukishima who throws him a disinterested glance.
"I am so, so sorry for being late," Yamaguchi says, slumping into the seat and hurrying to pull his computer out of his bag. "The trains were running late and I got held up at home with family stuff and just, ugh. Sorry," he finishes lamely, peeking up at Tsukishima from under his bangs.
Tsukishima just looks at him for a moment from behind his glasses before sighing and tugging off his headphones.
"Go get a drink, you look like you need one," he says, returning his attention to his laptop. "There's not as much work as I thought so it shouldn't take too long."
Thanking him, Yamaguchi goes up to the counter, smiling sheepishly at the barista as he asks for an ice coffee. He can feel sweat trickling down his back from running all the way here from the bus stop, and pats down his hair in hopes that he doesn't look like too much of a mess.
By the time he returns to their table, Tsukishima is typing away at his computer, only looking up briefly when Yamaguchi sits down.
"I sent you my half of the data, and I had enough written down for calculations up to part two, but I'll need your data for the rest."
"Right, got it," Yamaguchi mutters, hurrying to send over the files.
Work goes quickly after that, interrupted only to check calculations and go up to the counter for refills. Two hours later, Yamaguchi is cracking the joints in his neck as he yawns, with only the final write ups left in the report.
"Long day?" Tsukishima asks, surprising Yamaguchi. It's the first time he's spoken up first between the two of them, and Yamaguchi can't help but grin eagerly at Tsukishima initiating conversation.
"Kind of. Long night, really, and then I slept in late on accident and had a bit of a hectic morning." Yamaguchi winces as he thinks back to Mirai flinging cereal across the kitchen and makes a mental note to apologize to Yachi for leaving her to clean up the mess afterward.
"Hm," Tsukishima hums in response, still mostly focused on typing. "Any plans after this?"
Yamaguchi shakes his head as he scrolls through the document, eyes glazing over when he reads the same numbers again for the 80th time in an hour. "I wasn't sure how long this was going to take, so I figured I'd just go home and finish up any homework after this." And see Mirai's cute face before bedtime, he notes mentally, feeling a surge of renewed energy at the thought of her sleepy face.
"Then," Tsukishima continues, face practically buried in his laptop at this point. "Did you want to get dinner after this?"
"Hmm, I usually eat dinner with my family on weekends but– wait." Yamaguchi stops short, staring at Tsukishima who is glaring a hole into the table in front of them. "Like, as a…"
"As a date."
"Oh."
Yamaguchi stares at the spot on the table that Tsukishima seems to find so interesting. There's a small coffee stain, probably from earlier in the morning that never got wiped down. Tsukishima is interested in him. The coffee stain looks kind of like a flower, or maybe an alien if you consider it upside down from Tsukishima's perspective. Tsukishima just asked him out on a date. Maybe not an alien? More like a blob?
"Sorry, it's no pressure if you're not interested," Tsukishima says finally when the silence continues to stretch between them.
And then it finally clicks in Yamaguchi's head.
"Oh my god, do you like me?"
A few heads turn to stare at them and Tsukishima shrinks down further in his chair, as if he can hide anywhere with his tall stature.
Yamaguchi claps his hands over his mouth when he realizes how loud he had been, and that he still had yet to answer Tsukishima's question. "Sorry! Sorry, I was just so tired it wasn't registering and I mean, well, yes!"
"Yes what?" Tsukishima asks, straightening up just barely noticeably.
"Uh, yes! I'd love to get dinner."
Tsukishima blinks cooly at him as if the entire exchange had never happened. "Okay. Finish your report."
They work in silence after that, hiding their faces in their laptops.
–
They end up walking to a hole in the wall ramen shop just a few blocks away from campus, complaining about their classes and professors as they go. Conversation flows easier than Yamaguchi would have expected with Tsukishima as they find they share a surprising number of things in common.
Throughout the entirety of dinner, Yamaguchi can barely tamp down the giggles that overflow as Tsukishima does a particularly nasty impersonation of the loud kid in their lab section.
By the time they're slurping up the last dregs of noodles and soup in their bowls, Yamaguchi sighs contentedly, sorry to have to part ways with Tsukishima so soon.
It's getting late, though, and he'd like to try to get home in time to tuck Mirai into bed, so he turns to hug Tsukishima goodbye, laughing when Tsukishima freezes in his tracks just outside the ramen shop.
"I'll see you next week in class, Tsukki," Yamaguchi calls over his shoulder with a wave.
"Right. See you."
–
Yamaguchi can't keep the smile off his face as he walks through the door, shouting out, "I'm home!" as he chucks off his shoes by the doorway.
"Shh," Yachi says, rounding the corner with a sleeping Mirai in her arms. "She just fell asleep," she says in a soft voice.
"Sorry, sorry," Yamaguchi apologizes sheepishly, tip-toeing over to press a kiss to her forehead.
She stirs lightly, but not enough to wake up, just letting out a tiny sigh as she nestles further into her mother's arms.
Yamaguchi goes to grab a beer from the fridge while Yachi tucks Mirai into bed before returning to the kitchen to join him.
"Did something good happen today?" she asks, cracking open a can for herself as she fishes some edamame out of the fridge.
Yamaguchi blushes, ducking his head down before he's popping back up again, goofy smile stretched wide across his face. "Actually… I went on a date."
"Oh my gosh," Yachi shrieks, shushing herself when she realizes her volume. Yamaguchi laughs as he tells her about Tsukishima, fishing out his phone so she can stalk his Facebook profile.
"These pictures are all really old, I promise," he says, flipping through the three pictures that are available.
Yachi laughs, zooming into the screen. "Well, I suppose as long as he treats you right, I'll accept him. Do you need me and Kiyoko to give him the shovel talk?"
At that, Yamaguchi hesitates, shaking his head. "I actually haven't told him about any of… this yet."
Yachi's face softens and she reaches across the table to touch the back of his hand. "It's okay, I'm sure it'll work out."
Sighing, Yamaguchi chugs down the rest of his beer before dropping his chin on the table. "I hope so. After last time…" he trails off slightly. "I should tell him sooner rather than later, right?"
Yachi just smiles, reaching out with one hand to shake his shoulder. "Cheer up. You scored a date! We should celebrate," she says, smiling at him.
Sitting upright, he nods, grabbing a second can.
Only to leave it behind as Mirai begins wailing from her bedroom.
–
1:15 PM. September 1st, 2016. City Hall.
Yamaguchi steps out of the car, squinting up at the sun as he looks around for Yachi.
His parents follow behind him, and they arrive at the front steps to see Yachi waiting with her mother.
His mother immediately walks ahead to wrap Yachi in a hug, asking her how she's been doing and cooing over the baby bump that's been growing bigger and bigger with every passing day.
When their parents have moved ahead to talk with each other, Yamaguchi walks up to Yachi with a small smile.
"You look beautiful today."
"As do you. Handsome, I mean. Not beautiful. Or, well, beautiful, too… I…"
Yamaguchi laughs, grabbing her hand. "It's okay to be nervous, you know."
Yachi sighs, staring down at the ground before taking a deep breath. "Well, duh. Who wouldn't be nervous on their wedding day?"
They stare up at the steps into the building. It's only maybe fifteen, twenty steps and yet the journey seems incredibly daunting all of a sudden.
"For the baby," Yamaguchi says finally, squeezing Yachi's hand.
"For the baby," Yachi answers, squeezing back.
–
3:28 PM. October 2nd, 2020. Chemistry building, Laboratory 3A.
"Can you hand me the beaker?"
"Sure I– shit, sorry," Yamaguchi gasps when their hands brush, nearly dropping it in the process.
Tsukishima smirks at that, shaking his head as he gently takes the glass from Yamaguchi's hands.
"Careful," he says. "Wouldn't want you to injure yourself."
"Right." Yamaguchi's face burns as he tries his best to focus on the rest of their work, and yet the rest of class passes with more close brushes as their elbows bump more than usual.
"So," Tsukishima says as they begin washing out their glassware. "Do you have any plans this weekend?"
"Um," Yamaguchi answers, "Just studying. And hanging out with your family."
"Huh," Tsukishima says, leaning back against the counter to watch Yamaguchi tuck away their test tubes. "You must be a big family guy."
"Something like that," Yamaguchi hedges. He feels the guilt prickling in his stomach, yelling at him to tell Tsukishima as soon as possible, and yet… "What about you? Plans this weekend?"
At that, Tsukishima smiles down at his feet. "Well, I usually have work. But, I was thinking of going to the fall festival on Saturday."
"With anybody?" Yamaguchi asks, playing along as he leans forward.
"With you."
Yamaguchi can't help but burst out laughing as even Tsukishima cracks a small smile at how cheesy that line was. "Okay. Text me?"
"Sure," Tsukishima answers before pulling out his phone to frown at the time. "I have to run to work, but I'll see you tomorrow, then?"
"See you," Yamaguchi says, waving at Tsukishima's receding figure.
–
Yamaguchi finds himself slowing down as he passes in front of a flower shop, staring at the yellow daisies in the front window as he thinks of Mirai's fluffy, blonde hair. He stands outside, debating for only a brief moment before he's ducking inside to buy the bouquet.
When he walks in the door, Mirai's waiting for him, holding onto the tail of her giraffe plushie as she stares up at him.
"Daddy!"
"Hello, princess," he says, presenting the flowers to her. "I got you these."
Mirai looks at them for one second before promptly sneezing. "Daddy, pizza."
Yamaguchi can't help but laugh at that, even after being rejected. Yachi's at the kitchen counter, slumped over her homework and she looks up briefly when he walks in.
"Oh, Tadashi. Is it this late already?" she asks, standing quickly. "I didn't manage to get anything on the stove but–"
Before she can finish her sentence, Mirai is cutting in once again. "Mommy. Pizza."
When Yachi looks at Yamaguchi, he just shrugs. "The princess would like pizza."
Shaking her head with a small laugh, Yachi sits back in her seat. "Do you mind calling?" She gestures to the pile of papers in front of her and Yamaguchi nods, going to put the flowers in a vase before pulling out his phone to make a call.
While they wait for the pizza, Yamaguchi sits with Mirai as she shows him the "magic tricks" her giraffe is capable of performing, clapping whenever she stares up at him with wide eyes.
"Princess," he says after a moment. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah?"
"You know how Aunty Kiyoko is very special to your mommy?" he says slowly, unsure of how to bring up the topic properly.
"Kiyo!" The giraffe is promptly discarded for a shark that bears a striking resemblance to Kiyoko, now that Yamaguchi looks at it.
"Yes, Aunty Kiyo," he says with a smile. "What would you think of me having a special friend like that?"
"Aunty Kiyo?"
"No," Yamaguchi says, patting her head. "Tsukishima."
"Sushi."
"Tsukishima."
"Tsukki."
The doorbell rings before he can correct her any further and he pats her head lightly. "Yeah, exactly."
He stands up to go get it, Mirai toddling behind him.
"Is that the pizza guy?" Yachi calls from the kitchen.
"Must be," Yamaguchi answers, pulling the door open, only to freeze in his tracks.
"Do you need money?" Yachi asks, rounding the corner only to stop short when she sees who's standing at the door. "Oh."
There, wearing a bright red shirt with the Pizza Hut logo on it, stands Tsukishima Kei.
The three of them stand there, blinking at each other in stunned silence, until finally, a voice breaks through.
"Daddy, is that Aunty Tsukki?"
–
6:05 PM. October 2nd, 2020. The park down the street from the Yamaguchi household.
Moths batter themselves against the streetlamp above them while crickets fill the silence around them. Tsukishima sits a foot down the bench from Yamaguchi, dragging his feet back and forth across the gravel beneath them. A couple of cans of beer sit between the two of them, hastily purchased from the combini down the street.
"So… is that your girlfriend or something?" Tsukishima tries his best to keep the strain out of his voice, but he can't help the way it wavers as he crumples his finished can of beer and chucks it at his feet.
Yamaguchi lets out a deep sigh, and Tsukishima prepares himself to hear the final confirmation that he's been toyed with this whole time, only to look up in shock when Yamaguchi lets out a small chuckle and answers in a soft voice, "No."
Tsukishima's head snaps up, staring into Yamaguchi's eyes as he asks, "No?"
"No, Yachi is not my girlfriend. She's… my wife. And the mother of my daughter."
"Oh." Tsukishima isn't sure how he could possibly respond to that. His is completely blank as he tries to process those words. "Wait. What?"
Yamaguchi throws back his head and laughs, scooting a little closer to Tsukishima now. "Here, do you want to see a picture?"
Tsukishima isn't sure how to say no, he doesn't want to see a picture of his crush slash maybe almost boyfriend's wife, but already Yamaguchi is pulling out his phone and opening it to his lockscreen.
"There, that's my daughter, Mirai," he says pointing to a small toddler smiling up at the camera. Tsukishima recognizes her from earlier, although her hair is longer in the photo. "That's Yachi, my wife," he continues, indicating the blonde woman from earlier, holding the child in her lap. "And that's Shimizu, my wife's girlfriend. Oh, and that's me. But you know that."
Tsukishima's brain short circuits for a second time. "Your what?"
"Well, soon to be ex-wife, if that makes it any better," Yamaguchi says, clenching his phone in his fist. Locking the screen, he swaps it out for his beer, setting it down next to Tsukishima's empty can when he's done.
"I… I don't understand," Tsukishima says finally, burying his head in his hands. "You have a kid?"
Yamaguchi leans back, staring up at the night sky. The mix of clouds and pollution make it hard to make out too many stars above them, so there's nothing to distract his gaze.
"The year before I graduated high school, I thought I fell in love."
Tsukishima doesn't move from beside him, so Yamaguchi takes that as a sign to continue.
"I thought I fell in love, because Yachi was my friend, and she was a girl. We ended up dating, because it just made sense. Everybody said that we should, since we were friends, and well. We didn't know any better at the time." Yamaguchi can't help but let out a small chuckle as he reminisces on how oblivious the two of them were. "And, well. Everybody said we should date, and everybody that dated… did things. So we did, too."
Tsukishima flinches slightly beside him, and Yamaguchi knows he understands the point.
"Luckily, that's all it took for us to realize we'd been lying to ourselves. Unluckily, we were kind of idiots…" Yamaguchi trails off. "I'm gay. Yachi's lesbian. Mirai's our kid. It's really just as simple as that," Yamaguchi concludes. He stares straight ahead now, afraid to see Tsukishima's reaction.
Beside him, Tsukishima remains silent for some time, before he sits upright. "So then, why are you married?"
Yamaguchi looks sharply to his side where Tsukishima sits with his brows furrowed together. He's confused, but not angry.
"Well, we married first because we wanted to be able to register our daughter properly, and our country's laws aren't very kind to unmarried, underaged parents," Yamaguchi says. "But we stayed married because it helped with our financial burdens while attending school. We've planned our divorce date already, if that makes you feel any better."
"Divorce date," Tsukishima says with a small laugh. He huffs, before it turns into a bigger and bigger laugh before he's finally bent over, wiping tears out of his eyes. Yamaguchi can't help it as the laughter catches on and they sit there, two grown men just laughing in the middle of the park, likely disturbing the park's night wildlife.
"I know how it sounds, but it's true."
Tsukishima lets out a long sigh before turning to face Yamaguchi. "Well, I don't know how anybody could make up a story like that." He's silent for a moment as his eyes slowly trace Yamaguchi's face. Yamaguchi can't be sure what exactly it is that Tsukishima's looking for, but he seems to find it eventually as he comes to a conclusion.
"Yamaguchi."
"Yes, Tsukki?"
"I still like you," he says, closing the distance between them as he wraps one hand around the back of Yamaguchi's neck with ease, pressing their lips together.
Yamaguchi's gasp of surprise is stifled between them as he lets his eyes flutter shut and he feels his hands subconsciously rise to grip Tsukishima's collar.
It feels like far too soon that Tsukishima is pulling back, staring down at Yamaguchi in his arms.
"I don't care that you're married, or will be divorced, or have a kid. I still like you. Is that okay?"
Yamaguchi blinks up at Tsukishima for a moment before he's burying his face in Tsukishima's chest, letting out a long sigh of relief. "I thought you would hate me," he whispers in a small voice. His voice cracks at the end as tears rise unexpectedly to his eyes.
"Never," Tsukishima says, holding Yamaguchi in his arms. "Never."
They sit like that until Yamaguchi's breathing has settled into a more even pace before Tsukishima speaks up again.
"So, are we still on for tomorrow?"
–
11:45 AM. November 1st, 2016. Fourth floor OB GYN ward.
Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump.
"Can you hear that?" Yamaguchi asks in a small whisper. He squeezes his fist around Yachi's fingers, eyes filling with tears.
Yachi lets out a watery laugh beside him as she stares at the dark shadows on the screen moving back and forth.
The doctor smiles at the two of them. "Congratulations," she says. "It's a girl."
"It's a girl," Yachi gasps. She's fully crying now, struggling to wipe the tears from her eyes with one hand. "It's a girl. I can hear her heartbeat."
Yamaguchi leans over Yachi's stomach, swallowing back tears himself.
"Hello, princess. I love you."
–
6:47 PM. October 3rd, 2020. Fall Festival, near the cotton candy stall.
Tsukishima taps his foot impatiently as he paces around in circles, checking his phone every few seconds. He knew showing up so early was a bad idea, but he couldn't help his restlessness. This is the first time in ages he's felt this nervous, and he can feel sweat beading down his neck. The cotton candy he'd bought to distract himself remains uneaten in his hand.
Before he can worry himself further into a wreck, his phone lights up with a notification from Yamaguchi and he hurries to open it, only to frown when he sees the message.
From Yamaguchi: im so sorry ! we just got here but mirai ran off and now were looking for her so we might be late cna u please keep an eye out for her?
Tsukishima sends back an affirmative before sweeping his eyes around through the crowd. Even with his tall stature, it's hard to see whether anybody Mirai's height might be wandering around between people's legs.
Luckily, it doesn't take too long before Tsukishima is drawn to a commotion at the center of a clump of people. Forcing his way to the front, Tsukishima can't help but smile a little when he sees little Mirai standing there in a tiny yukata with her eyes clenched shut.
"My name is Yamaguchi Mirai! My name is Yamaguchi Mirai!" she shouts as tears slip down her face.
Before she can upset herself any further, Tsukishima bends down in front of her and taps her shoulder.
"Hi, Mirai. Do you remember me?" he asks, holding out the cotton candy for her to take.
"Aunty Tsukki?" she asks, blinking up at him. She grabs the cotton candy from him with such ease that Tsukishima finds himself wincing slightly.
"Uncle Tsukki," he corrects with a small smile. "Shall we go find your daddy and mommy together?"
Tears completely dried up now, Mirai nods, holding onto Tsukishima with one tiny hand while the other holds onto the cotton candy. Now that she's safely in his care, Tsukishima sends a text to Yamaguchi letting him know where they are as he leads her to an emptier corner of the market.
"Mirai!" Yamaguchi's voice trails down to them as he runs down the street, Yachi and Kiyoko close behind him. "I told you not to go wandering off like that, now did I?"
Seeing her parents, Mirai bursts into tears again as she remembers the earlier ordeal, reaching out with sticky hands to be picked up.
"Thank you so much," Yamaguchi sighs, patting her on the back in an attempt to quiet her down.
"It's nothing," Tsukishima answers. When Mirai continues to cry, Tsukishima walks around so he can look at her face over Yamaguchi's shoulder. "Hi Mirai. Do you want to go play the goldfish game with Uncle Tsukki?"
She blinks at him, still sniffling a few more times before she finally manages to catch her shuddering breaths. "Goldfish game?"
"Yeah," he says, pointing down the street. "You can get a little goldfish if you catch it."
Mirai pulls back to look at her dad, and Yamaguchi laughs and nods. "Sure, you can play."
Tsukishima finds himself following Mirai around for the rest of the night as she toddles from this stall to that, mostly only managing to win consolation prizes. Still, she takes joy in the candy and toys she does manage to collect, showing them off proudly to her parents.
When they finally take their seats to watch the fireworks, Tsukishima is surprised to find Mirai crawling over to sit in his lap, placing a flower she's picked into his hair.
"Uncle Tsukki," she says proudly before settling back. Beside him, Yachi giggles, leaning over to tell him he looks very pretty.
Tsukishima blushes, but he can't help the warmth that blooms in his chest as he stares down at the little girl sitting in his lap, staring up at the fireworks in wonder.
Yamaguchi leans into his side, tucking his head against Tsukishima's shoulder.
Between the loud booms of the fireworks, Yamaguchi whispers in Tsukishima's ear.
"Welcome to the family."
/
an: there was more of a focus on tsukkiyama pov in this fic, but maybe I'll do a kiyoyachi focused follow up! some fun background info i didn't really include: they all have their same jobs somewhat. yachi ended up going to school online, both for the remainder of high school and for college. their parents, while worried, were supportive of their situations, which is why they are able to afford school on top of caring for mirai. yamaguchi and yachi live together because they want to be able to put their all into being present parents for mirai, although they plan to move out after college, after which they will amicably divorce (no more financial aid and tax benefits) and yachi and kiyoko will live together. i had a lot of thoughts for what to include but it felt like it was getting to be a lot so I've "killed my darlings" and am leaving it here in this author's note. I'll definitely have to consider coming back to it someday though
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