Kuroo smirks, observing his coworker from afar. Serving a cup of latte macchiato and returning takes 20 seconds at best, not 10 minutes. But Sugawara seems to be enjoying this particular customer's company.

-"Oikawa-san. Could you perhaps take care of Tobio after daycare hours this friday? I know you have your own life and work, and it's alot to ask for, but..."- Tooru cuts him off with a wave of his hand.

-"It's no problem, anything for you, Suga-chan." - He winks. -"But will it be okay for Tobio to hang out with me in my office? Takeru has his extra-curricular english scheduled already. My sister would behead me for messing up with that. Escpecially after we let him play volleyball with Shou and Tobio after he „broke" his arm."- He air quotes that.

-"Yeah, about that. He played exceptionally well." - Sugawara frowns as Oikawa scratches his head and giggles.

-"I tried to pull a serious face in front of Bokuto and Shou to hide the fact that I kinda...fixed the situation. His arm is slightly swollen but it's nothing serious. He just hates his violin practice so much and my sis insists..."-He gives a fake sigh. -"I'm being the best uncle ever, aren't I?

Suga is scandalized by that.

-"Oikawa-san! That's illegal, not to mention you're escaping the problem." - Tooru only grins, infatuated with Koushi's distressed expression.

-"You don't know my sister. There's no place for discussion." - he waves his hand dismissingly. -"Anyway, what is it that you're leaving Tobio-chan in an immoral criminalist's care? A hot date? I'm jealous."

-"I need to sign off some formalities regarding the divorce, Minako's alimony for Tobio, selling our former apartment, a bunch of stuff I'm not prepared for." - Koushi huffs and subconsciously takes a sip of Tooru's coffee. - „It's all technicality but it's still tiring."

Oikawa eyes Suga warily, making a mental vow to make him smile more often.

-" Ah, I get it. Just bring him to my office on your way."

They fall into a comfortable silence, only disrupted by Tooru's obnoxiously loud sipping.

As Koushi finally remembers he is in fact, at his workplace, and stands up from the seat, his friendly companion grabs his apron gently.

-"Hey, Suga-chan. Do you love your ex?"

Koushi freezes.

-"I admired her. And relied on her. And supported her no matter what. And we raised a child." -He stops, deep in thought.-"I wonder if I ever did. Love her, that is."

Tooru lets go of his apron and the barista backs out.

Oikawa Tooru is disgusted with himself.

Disgusted with how happy he is to hear that.

Bokuto spends yet another night at Akaashi's. He is humming a silly tune and drumming his fingers against the table to entertain himself, as Keiji is busy, immersed in sewing. The man is slowly getting used to the whirring of the sewing machine. He actually catches himself adjusting his 'song' to this buzz.

What calms him down the most is the sight of a metal frame they assembled. Or rather, four finished garments already hanging on it. It's only september, so they have still got at least three months to get everything done before Tokyo Fashion Week schedule kicks off.

His train of thought gets interrupted as Keiji turns the machine off and stands up to stretch his stiffened muscles a little. Bokuto peers inside the sketchbook to occupy himself and take his eyes of the shirt dangerously riding up Akaashi's stomach.

-"A squirrel?" - He blinks in wonder.

-"Yes, Bokuto-san. A squirrel. The one we spotted in the forest. What comes to you mind when you think about it? "

Bokuto scratches his head, deep in thought.

-"It...kinda reminds me of Shouyou...? I mean, the way it leaped from one branch to another. Especially when Shou demanded I let him climb up the tree to chase it."- He laughs quietly and Akaashi gives him a shy smile.

-"Ah, I thought so too. All we could see was an energetic orange blurr. I want to squeeze that into the upcoming collection. Another set of vibes, I mean. Pride, confidence , energy, vibrancy."

Koutarou gets lost in these eyes again. They gleam with motivation and his brain dubs the sight as 'beautiful'. He clears his throat and points at the mass of orangey fur.

-"That's a lot of vivid colours, Akaashi. Now that I think of it, I've never seen you in anything other than black and grey."

Keiji frowns as he fixes the wrinkle on his black turtleneck and drags the sleeves up his elbows, suddenly self-aware.

-"Half of september has passed already and the leaves started changing colours, so I went along with that." - He murmurs.

-"No, no, it's great." - Koutarou mulls over something for a second.-"Wait. It's the 15th already?"

-"Yes it is, Bokuto-san. Do you have something coming up?"

He rakes a hand through his greyish hair.

-"I guess so...My birtday's coming up on the 20th. I'm getting old, Akaashi!" - He slides to the floor and wails, putting on a show for Keiji's amusement.

-" Bokuto-san. Stop crying. And stand up, the floor is not exactly a picture of cleanness."

Koutarou folds his arms across his chest and looks up at him.

-"I will stand up only if you promise to visit me on my birthday. Shou-chan already misses you."

Akaashi likes the kid. He is exactly like Bokuto. Cheerful and comfortable to be around. And energetic, but in a good way. Not physically draining, like these lazy kindergarteners claim him to be.

He offers Bokuto his hand with these thoughts in mind, and the other gladly takes it.

-"Yes, Bokuto-san. I promise. Is there anything you would like for your birthday? Gloves, perhaps?"

The questioned man finally notices that he never let go of the designer's hand. He pulls away and points his finger at Keiji.

-"I don't want anything store-bought. Get me something cute and thoughtful."

Tsukishima lifts his eyes from the papers at the sound of rapid knocking.

He hasn't arranged a meeting with a single parent today. Headmaster's visitation? It's past school hours already.

-"Come in."

It's not a parent. It's the one and only Kuroo Tetsuro who opens the door and fumbles inside.

-"Hi. Am I interrupting something?"

Tsukishima just stares at him, perplexed.

-"Is it about Kenma-kun? He has been doing exceptionally well, recently."

Kuroo scratches his head nervously.

-"Ah, yes, he told me about this nation-wide math contest you proffered him. He wants to take part in it." - He shivers at the feel of Kei's gaze on him.

-"Well, the achieved score is added to the qualification points for the more prestigous highschools. But Kenma could have told me that himself. Is there anything on your mind, Kuroo-san?" - Tsukishima is sitting with his legs crossed, spinning a pen between his fingers absentmindedly.

„Shit, he saw right through me."

-"Well..."-He burns under Tsukishima's scrutiny.-"I wanted to apologize for earlier, in the cafe. I took it out on you. I guess Kenma let you in on my...predicament."

-"We have been talking more recently, yes. About his future, amongst other things." - He waves his hand dissmisively.-"It was wrong of me to interfere and mess with you, so I should be the one apologising. No harm done on your side, really."

Kuroo lets out a breath he wasn't aware of holding and smiles.

-"Good. Great." - He mouths as Kei starts packing his papers.

-"The cleaning staff is gonna come soon. Do you mind accompanying me outside? Or is this conversation over?"

Kuroo practically beams as he follows Tsukishima outside the school gates.

...

-"Hey, prof, now that we're good, will you stop being so grumpy all the time? I know that they say: 'A new broom sweeps clean', and you're still young, so you gotta gain respect somehow. But you need some chill in life! - He puts his arm around the teacher's shoulders, but the other shakes it off brutally.

-"Fuck off."

-"Oya, oya? What's that language? Aren't you a teacher? Teachers don't speak in that manner." - Kei is presented with a shit-eating grin that even his deathglare can't erease.

-"We are outside the gates and it's 4PM. I'm technically not a teacher anymore". - He lets out an exasperated huff.

-"Oh, so maybe, if Tsukishima-sensei rejected me recently, then maybe not-a-sensei-anymore Tsukishima Kei may join me for a drink?" - Why not test his own luck, Kuroo thinks.

"Mhmm, maybe?" - Tetsuro almost trips on his own feet.

-"Wait...seriously? i thought you would decline!"

Tsukishima clicks his tongue impatiently and scoffs.

-"Take me to the bar before I change my mind."

Tobio fiddles with his crayons as Tooru sees a scary bulky man out of his office.

-" Tobio-chan, I don't have any patients right now. Do you wanna watch volleyball together?"

The boy nods eagerly and practically throws the crayons off a small table arranged for his emergency visit for Oikawa to settle his laptop on it. The man sits with his back against the wall and stretches his legs under the table.

-"What are we going to watch?" - Tobio asks, but Tooru is too immersed in searching through his laptop frantically to answer.

-"I swear I had it here somewhere. Ah! Got it! Aoba Johsai's highlights! "

Tobio tilts his head questioningly.

-"What is that?" - Tooru claps his hands together as the footage starts to play.

-"My highschool team. See? That's me, doing a jump serve!" - The man's eyes gleam with excitement as they keep watching. Especially when after his godlike combo with Iwaizumi, Tobio mutters a quiet 'I want to be a setter, too'."

They don't even notice Suga as he enters the office.

-„NO NO NO, THEY ARE GONNA GET BLOCKED!"

-"SHH, TOBIO-CHAN, THIS WILL BE THE BEST PART!"

-"YES! SPIKE IT!"

-"GO, GO, IWA-CHAN!"

Tooru only looks up from the screen as he hears the sound of flash. Koushi shamelessly keeps taking photos of the two of them bundled together on the floor.

The footage ends with Aoba Johsai's spectacular victory and Tobio pumps his fist towards the ceiling.

-"PUSH IT, PUSH IT, PUSH IT, SEIJOU!"

Suga can't stop giggling as he helps Tooru onto his feet and passes his cane to him, used to it already.

-"I assume you had fun?"

-"You had no idea, Suga-chan! Tobio wants to be a setter, like MOI!" - Tooru puts a hand over his chest dramatically.

His stunt is interrupted by a tug on his trousers.

-"Oikawa-san? Are these people still playing? The ones on the video."

Koushi squeezes Tooru's hand absently, but the other doesn't falter.

-"They evolved into a proffesional team and kept the highschool name, out of sentiment. I...couldn't play anymore but they are still very good."

That's where Suga interfers.

-"Tobio-chan, Oikawa-san is very busy helping other people. He's a great doctor."

The kid frowns, deep in thought.

-"Well, c an we go see them sometime?"

The physician contemplates that for a while, but Tobio is patient.

He focuses on Koushi's fingers intertwined with his own and makes his resolve.

-"Yes, we will go watch them soon . All three of us, okay?"

Tobio nods and whispers.

-"I want to practice with your team. And I will be the best volleyball player in the world. Even better than mom."

Suga senses another tantrum so he lets go of Oikawa's hand and crouches before his son.

-"Honey? Do you miss mommy that bad?"
Tooru props his cane against the chair and also crouches, albeit a little akwardly beside the fidgeting boy.

-"You know, Tobio-chan. Sometimes..."-He gulps. -"...sometimes we lose things that are very, very important. And we can't get them back. "

-"Like mommy not loving daddy anymore? If you can lose love, can you find it back?"

-"Well..." - Oikawa steals a glance at visibily abashed Suga. - "Perhaps...you can find it somewhere else."

Koushi averts his gaze.

-"I don't want "somewhere else", I want papa to be happy again." - Tobio clenches his small fists aggresively and grimaces.

-"Tobio-chan, you want to be a setter when you grow up, right? Let me tell you a story. I once heard of a setter who was very skilled. His serves were very powerful, and his tosses helped the allmighty ace score many, many points! But he was obsessed in improving what he already had. He overworked himself a plenty of times, disregarding his health completely. And thus, he injured his kneecap pretty badly, what lead to him not being able to play proffesionally anymore. Can you guess what he did after?

-"Cried lots?" - Tobio asks. Suga badly wants to interfere right this instant.

-"Uhhh," - Tooru scratches his head. -"Yeah, lots. But that's not the point. He became a major in sports medicine to help people in his situation. He started working with people in his condition. And then, He somehow found a purpose in life. The thing is, sometimes, when we lose one thing, we achieve another, and it's meaningfull."

Oikawa feels Suga's gaze on him, and as he looks up, there are tears rolling down the white-haired man's cheeks.

He only wonders whether it's pity or affection.

-"Kid, you will be the best volleyball player ever. And your papa will be proud of you." - He murmurs and Sugawara chokes back a sob. -"Show them all that you're strong. Be strong for your papa, okay?"

Suga's eyes go wide as Tobio hugs him tightly.

-" You will be proud of me. And you too, Oikawa-san."

-"I sure will, kid." - Tooru wants to join the hug, but it's not his family and not his place to intrude.

They leave his office soon after that, but this want still lingers, itches under his skin.