-"They did what?!" - Suga coughs into the phone.
-"I'm terribly sorry to break it to you, but your son tackled Bokuto Shouyou to the ground and they clawed at each other before we could break them apart. No harm done, fortunately. Just a few scratches here and there. But I would like to schedule an appointment between you and mister Bokuto to discuss it. With your sons present of course, just after daycare."
Koushi feels like he is going to faint. He fans himself with a book he's been brutally torn away from by Tobio's new pre-school teacher just a while ago.
-"Has..has Tobio explained himself anyhow?"
-"Not at all, sir. He wouldn't talk to us. And neither would Shouyou."
Koushi bites his lip nervously.
-"I'd like to apologize for my son's behaviour on his..."-he gulps-"...first day in daycare. I will also contact Bokuto-san right away, have a good day, miss Kiyoko."- he says that all in one breath and hangs up before sliding down the wall.
He sits on the floor and dials Kou's number.
-"Ah, Suga! I wanted to call you a while ago. I guess you know by now?"- Koushi is surprised by Koutarou's tranquility.
-"Bokuto-san, I have no ide-"
-"Suga, wait. Chill, chill, okay? They are 5 year olds. It's probably something absolutely petty. We'll find out in..."- a pause - "...two hours. Breathe." - he chuckles.
-"it's not like Sho-chan's knees weren't scraped to the bone already, I swear, this kid..." - They both giggle, yet Suga can't help but feel antsy.
Kei observes Kenma as he reluctantly approaches the blackboard, a piece of chalk in his hand. The equation is solved in no time, as always. That's because the boy wants to get away from the blackboard. Badly.
He hates when the whole class stares at him. Well, copying his notes in awe isn't exactly staring, but anxiety can work you up. He would gladly squash that anxiety by pulling an intricate, practical joke on the professor, or rather coercing Yamamoto into doing that, but getting himself in trouble is one thing, but getting Tetsuro is another.
One would think he'd stress over his ridiculous blonde hair, but his classmates actually applauded him on that.
He riled up Tsukisaurus-sensei, after all.
This ludicrous nickname was given to Tsukishima after a nosy classmate of Kenma's, Yaku discovered a small dinosaur key ring straped onto sensei's bag.
The person of interest obviously knows, since Lev has been so loud and obnoxious about it.
'If I had to sigh over my classmates' stupidity every time, I would have been considered an asthmatic by now.'- Kenma ponders on that as he returns to his desk.
The ring of a bell announces a blissfull 40 minute lunch break.
As the students start to flee the classroom, lunchboxes in hands, Kenma flinches.
His day of duty. Of course it had to be today. He doesn't particularily mind watering the flowers, wiping the blackboard and feeding Diplo, their classroom tortoise, but the teacher is still there, sitting by his desk with a blank expression, eyes fixed on his desk.
Yeah, unexpectedly, Tsukisaurus isn't creepily staring at him for once. The boy gets down to work, and as he gets closer to Kei's desk to reach Diplo's tank situated behind it, his eyes widen.
-"Oh, Kozume-kun. Do you perhaps like sudoku?" - Kei asks innocently, as he pushes his glasses up his nose, aware of Kenma's attention.
-"I don't...dislike it"
The teacher smirks. That bastard.
-"Finish it if you like. I'm stuck anyway. I will feed Diplo, since you kids keep overfeeding him." - Not waiting for any sign of agreement, he gets up from his chair to make place for the boy.
'That's a tricky one. A sudoku made of five overlapping 9x9 grids. And one of the grids is a jigsaw sudoku. Plus, there are some coloured boxes here and there...Aaah, i see. The blue ones contain even numbers, the green are occupied by odd numbers.'- His eyes shine with excitement. Nothing can disturb him now, not even Tsukishima-sensei cooing over the tortoise.
-"Who's a good boy? You are!"
'Okay, scratch that. It is not only disturbing but also utterly disgusting.'- The Pre-teen is judgemental, but honestly, it's justified.
Finishing the puzzle requires more time and effort than Kenma would like to admit.
-"Uhh..I'm finished." - he murmurs quietly.
Kei looks over his shoulder and nods approvingly.
-"May I know where did you find it?"
-"Oh, that?" - Kei raises one eyebrow with a smug look on his face. -"I assembled it myself."
Then Kenma's stomach starts growling and the teacher barely holds back a giggle.
-"You still got..."-he glances at his watch-"...5 minutes of lunch break, Kozume-kun."
As the boy exits the classrom with his mouth full of a fish sandwich already, Kei raises his voice slightly.
-"You should push the limits of that brain of yours, you know?"
His student slams the dorm behind himself, appalled.
'I've been tricked!'
-"Ah, Sugawara-san! You're already here." - Kiyoko-sensei gestures Koushi to come closer. He comes through the door awkwardly.
There they are, sitting few metres away from each other, colorful sticking plasters adorning their knees and elbows. Tobio lowers his gaze, not daring to look anyone in the eye, especially Koushi.
Shouyou, on the other hand, keeps his eyes practically glued to Tobio. He fidgets a little, though. Clearly uncomfortable with his father's absence.
There are three empty chairs facing the two of them.
-"No headmaster then, thank God."- Suga figures.
As Kiyoko-san sits on the one the middle, Koushi crouches in front of his son, but the boy turns his head away, refusing to look at him.
Shouyou
-"Talk to me Tobio, please. I thought we could-" - he gets interrupted by Bokuto's arrival. The man aplogizes for being late, scratching his neck absent-mindedly.
Shouyou springs from his chair to hug his papa's leg as tightly as his little arms let him.
Shimizu fixes her glasses and notes something down as Bokuto and Suga glance at each other, exchanging akward smiles.
-"I'm afraid we don't have much time, so let's get straight to the point, okay? - Everyone looks at the teacher and she clears her throat nervously. -"I have an appointment with another parent soon, so please, sit down. All of you. I'm sure we can resolve this misunderstanding in no time." - Kiyoko-sensei strikes Suga as oddly Intimidating, yet warm and caring at the same time.
The parents sit opposite their sons and Shimizu coughs once again.
-"To begin with, Sugawara-san, I couldn't make Tobio apologize to Shouyou no matter what."
Suga flinches as his kid folds his arms and kicks the chair's leg.
Bokuto furrows his brows.
-"Sho-chan, have you provoked Tobio anyhow?" - Kiyoko asks.
The boy looks at his father questioningly.
-"Shouyou, miss asked if you made Tobio mad."
The redhead quickly glances at his peer and murmurs a quiet "I'm not saying."
-"See? Four kids saw the beginning of their scramble, but their lips are locked, as if these two threaned them. I can't really believe it, though. Can you at least promise me that this won't happen again?" - she directs that one at the boys.
They nod eagerly, obviously desperate to get out of here.
The adults sigh simultaneously.
-"I guess that was to be expected. But I would like you to talk to them separately like fathers and sons, then report to me."
Bokuto pats his son's back to get a smile out of him.
Suddenly, the doors open and a pair of brown eyes peers inside.
-"O-Oikawa-san?" - Suga stammers and Tobio hides behind his legs Instinctively.
-"Suga-chan! Oh, and that must be Tobio!" - he extends his hand to pat him, but the boy backs away, eyeing his walking cane warily. Slightly put off, Tooru takes some rumpled papers from his pants' back pocket and passes them to Kiyoko.
-"Here you are, Shimizu-chaaan. Takeru's sick note. He broke his arm yesterday and my sister is obsessed about his 'perfect attendance of her little genius'. - he speaks that one in a funny voice and even Tobio giggles a little. -"Anyway, I took care of it, but that's the reason of his absence on the extracurricular english lessons. Also, he won't be attending violin practice very soon."
Bokuto bursts into uncontrolable laughter and Shouyou follows, catching up on the situation.
The man wheezes between deep breaths.
-"Oikawa...I think...Take-chan must be...very happy about..his broken arm!"
Tooru raises an eyebrow.
-"Yeah. Oddly, he is."
Then, Shimizu has to receive a call.
Koutarou grabs Shouyou's hand, eager to talk to him as soon as possible now that the boy relaxed a little. A triple scoop of chocolate icecream might buy some information about the whole issue. As they politely bid their goodbyes, Suga shuffles his feet nervously.
-"A walk?"
A pleasant voice startles him.
-"I need to stretch my legs a little, and you two could use some fresh air. How about a walk?"- Oikawa's voice is quiet and reserved. He is observing Suga, eyes half-lidded and Koushi can't help but stare back at him. Their little moment gets interrupted by a restless Tobio, gnawing at his father's trousers a bit.
-"Papa, he looks evil. And stupid. And has a weapon like villains do."
The silver haired man is ready to apologize profusely, but the 'villain' waves his hand, slightly amused.
-"Don't mind it, Suga-chan. He is right." - Suddenly aware of his impressive height, he crouches before Tobio to look less intimidating and supresses a wince. Crouching isn't exactly smart or comfortable right now. - "I'm an evil superhero. You know what's my superpower?" - Tobio shakes his head slowly. -"I can read minds. Cool, isn't it? And I have a proof. How else would I know your father's name? And your own, too!" - He winks at Suga so the man would go through with his grand scheme.
Tobio looks mortified.
He fell for it.
-"If you are a villain, then my papa is a superhero! He has beat up villains before, so he can beat you up too!" - Suga giggles as he ushers Tobio outside the classroom since their voices have gotten pretty loud, and Kiyoko-san is still discussing something over the phone. Oikawa follows after them, an honest smile plastered on his face.
-"Ah perfect. If glorious Refreshing-man is bound to defeat me, then a walk is my last wish."
Suga eyes him questioningly.
-"Refreshing-man? It sounds like a superhero name taken from a urinal cake commercial. Or a toothpaste one."
Tooru howls with laughter and Tobio furrows his eyebrows, trying to figure whether his father has just been insulted or not.
-"No, no, Suga-chan. Your smile. It's very uplifting. Kind of...refreshing...In a way" -He masks his sudden diffidence with more giggles.
Koushi blushes slightly and focuses on his son.
"-Shall we grant the allmighty Grand King's last wish before we defeat him?"
Tobio nods reluctantly.
-"West park it is, then."
Bokuto approaches the subjects at the ice cream parlor once again, wiping Shouyou's...everything. How he got chocolate on his ears and forehead, the man has no idea.
-"I thought you got on well with Suga's son. You've met before."
-"Tobio is...okay. But he wears that angry scowl on his face all of the time and kids wouldn't talk to him. I was afraid of him too." - The boy scrunches his nose, deep in thought.
-"But I'm not anymore. Since today." - Bokuto tilts his head questioningly.
-"How so? He pounced on you. have you...made truce already? That's why you wouldn't talk to us?"
-"I'm sorry daddy. We've caused problems." - Shou bites his lip nervously. -"Tobio is kinda like me, you know?
Bokuto blinks repeatedly. Looking at his bubbly son and...reflecting on Tobio's anger issues, he sees no similarities.
-"How so?"
-"That might cost a waffle." - His son giggles and Koutarou knows he can't resist those eyes.
This little ball of sunshine is spoiled. But hell, he deserves all that's good.
-"Mister Villain? Why are you walking funny?"
That's one question Suga avoided from the very beginning of his strange relationship with Oikawa. Said man smirks.
-"To look more intimidating, of course." - he grips his cane tighter, causing his knuckles to go white. For a while, his walk looks more natural and confident.
-"See? I can walk normally. But..I'd rather not, gotta be scary, you know? So kids like you won't play the smart guys." - The limp is back and he wipes his forehead of sweat.
Tobio may be oblivious, but Suga is not blind and Tooru knows that very well.
The playground is fairly empty, since most of the kids have smartphones now, and are less willing to play outside. Koushi helps his son sit on a swing and pushes him gently. As Tobio swings back and forth, Suga backs away to a safe distance of a couple of metres and Tooru stands beside him. The latter takes a deep breath and says all in one go:
-"I overworked myself in highschool and shattered my kneecap irrevocably. I couldn't play anymore, so I took medical studies to cheer myself up by observing people in the same mysery as mine. And I somehow made a successful carrier out of it. There you go." - he strives to seem all nonchalant and poised but Suga sees past that.
'He is perhaps the only person I've met besides Iwa-chan who i couldn't fool.'- He thinks.
-"I'm sorry." - Oikawa expects that to be the end of their conversation, but the man continues. -"Sport business is the bane of our existences then. I'm halfway through divorce requested by my wife. She wouldn't put up with Tobio's slight neurosis and my life choices." - he cringes, but keeps talking. -"She has always one way or another considered Tobio a burden, yet he loves her, and..."- he falters a little -"...misses her. He wouldn't sleep for a straight week."
He stops for a second to push the swing once more to keep Tobio occupied.
'Ah, mumps my ass'. - Tooru murmurs.
-"Anyway, she got scouted by a very promising Brazilian volleyball team. I can learn to live without her, Tobio, on the other hand..."
Oikawa squeezes his hand lightly.
-"Fuck volleyball."
Suga punches his arm for using foul language and eyes his son warily. Fortunately, with wind whislting in his ears from swining back and forth, the boy seems not to have heard a word.
-"Yeah...fuck volleyball." - he agrees.
Tobio unexpectedly jumps of the swing and lands not-so-graciously on the grass.
He fists the grass angrily and looks up to meet two pairs of eyes, filled with confusion and distress.
-"I wanted to pull off a magic trick to defeat master villain. It didn't go as planned." - he mumbles.
-"Kiddo, your father already defeated me. Or rather... "- he eyes Suga knowingly. - "...clashed with my demons at least."
-"YOU HAVE EVIL HELPERS TOO?! LIKE IN THE COMIC BOOKS?!"- Tobio turns his head left and right, frantically looking for 'the demons'.
Suga feels he should stop this nonsense, but the other man doesn't let him.
-"Tobio-chan, you fight with someone's demons when they tell you something important. When you defeat them, the person becomes instantly happier and at peace. Wouldn't you want your superdad, mister Refreshing-man to fight your demons? And think about that kind of a comic story: 'Glorious redemption. A villain helps out a kid superhero, making up for his previous badness in the process!' It sounds like a hit to me." - he winks.
The boy considers these words for a moment and grabs Suga's hand, silently leading him towards the bench. Tooru follows.
The troublemaker situates himself on his fathers lap and the villain is happy to receive an additional space to stretch his knee properly.
The adults patiently wait for the kid to speak up.
-"Some kids wanted to play house with Shouyou. He bragged about being good at playing the family dog."
Oikawa snorts quietly.
-"Can't argue with that."
-"Don't interrupt him". - Koushi murmurs.
-"Ah, sorry, Suga-chan. Go on, kid."
The black haired boy takes a deep breath and speaks:
-"Shouyou invited me. This weird blonde GIRL hugged me and it was disgusting." - he visibily shudders and Oikawa giggles once again, receiving yet another punch to the arm.
-"She said 'You will be my kid, Tobio-chan. Call me mama-Hitoka, okay?' She...pat my hair like mommy would. But kinda nicer and it felt wrong. And my "dad" was stupid and I didn't like him at all."
Koushi's eyes soften. He senses where this is going.
-"I didn't want to pretend to eat this plastic food with them so I took Shouyou for a walk. He actually followed me on his hands and knees like an idiot." - he scrunches his nose before continuing. -"I told him that it's all a lie, and that the game is stupid. That Hitoka won't play my 'mama' forever, since my real mom doesn't want to do that, and that he will be put into a dog shelter. I thought he would get mad and finally leave me alone. But he said..." - he pauses to imitate a silly, high-pitched voice -"...'Bark, you are like me, Tobio-chan, bark. We have super-cool families of two!'. Honestly, is he an idiot?"
He stops for a while, engulfed in a hug. Suga doesn't feel like scolding him right now.
-"I know his parents are dead. But they wanted him. And mom hates me." - his eyes turn into slits. - "So there's a difference. We are nothing alike. That's why I got angry." - he finishes.
As Suga frantically tries to reassure his son that Minako doesn't hate him, a swirl of contradicting emotions flows through Oikawa.
By evening, Sugawara gives Bokuto a rough explanation, half of which Koutarou already knows. The gray clouds have faded, it seems. And Akaashi's arrival at The Hoot Cafe is a cherry on top.
...
-"Bokuto-san. i need you."
-"Say what?!"- The barista makes a sudden movement, causing the milk pattern floating on the ordered coffee to stir and it gets messy.
-"Could you, perhaps find a replacement for tonight? i can cover the expenses and more."
-"Uuh, I guess that could be arranged. What do you need me for, though? I know these biceps are impressive, but that better not be a physical job. - he waddles a finger in front of the designer's face playfully.
-"No, Bokuto-san. You won't need to do much." - Keiji is still surprised that Bokuto is so casual with him, but it's comforting. He knows the man will agree, as guileless and selfless as he is.
He sinks further into his hood, knowing by now that someone's gonna come receive the order.
-"Ah, let me ring somebody then." - Bokuto calls the customer's name, hands him the coffee, apologizing for the scrawny, messed up owl drawn on the foam and pulls out his telephone.
The customer actually mutters "Whoa, it's fucking ugly" but Bokuto ignores him.
-"Hey hey hey! Bro, dude, are you free like...right now?
...
"Wait, isn't Kenma too young for Mortal Kombat?"
...
"Yes, Kitana IS hot, but that's not an excuse."
Thats when the conversation sparks akaashi's interest.
...
"Well, you've managed to survive a week in starbucks, right? Before they kinda...fired you."
...
"DUDE, I THOUGHT WE HAD A BROMANCE!"
Akaashi relaxes.
...
"Yes. But only till 2AM, or rather till Suga comes around. you will get paid, set a good example for your little bro, and some of the customers are hot..."
Akaashi tenses up again.
...
"No, we don't sell alcohol."
...
"It's kinda ironic when you say 'That's gay' about stuff. "
...
"C'mon, bro! I will make it up to you! Like...I can visit Kenma's school, pretending i wanna send Sho-chan there, and see that prof you mentioned. Once a wingman, OWLways a wingman."
...
"Fuck off. It wasn't that bad! Also, don't claw on my nonexistent love life. Not everybody is a playboy with a teacher kink. And don't you OYA OYA me, this job might do you some good. I will text you the deets." - Bokuto keeps smiling throughout the conversation and it still stays there as he types on his phone. He turns his attention back at Akaashi
-"I guess that's been covered. We can leave as soon as I show that bastard around. Where are we going, anyway?"
-"My apartment."
Bokuto chokes on his spit.
Keiji leaves earlier, not before giving Bokuto his adress and a convenient security card allowing him to actually get past the gate. Groupies are crazy.
'I guess we shouldn't be spotted together, afterall.'
Kuroo still doesn't know about his little crush and it's kinda unfair since Tetsu spilled the beans about his own. Kou thinks about that as he gives him a little tour around the workplace.
-"You had several gastronomy related jobs already, so you know the drill with coffee. Just...Don't draw anything silly on the foam. Or better, don't draw anything at all. These guys out there are half-dead, mostly, but they still might not appreciate milky dicks."
They both chuckle at that.
"HA, MILKY DICKS."
26 year olds, ladies and gentlemen.