Prompt 28 Part 1

[aibamods]

 

Title: The Universe Moves in Your Warmth

Pairing: Aiba Masaki/Sakurai Sho

Rating: pg-13 / R (slightly mentioned some suggestive themes)

Word Count: 22,772 words

Summary:

“Don’t ogle him in front of the kids.” Ohno mumbles, snapping him out of his thoughts when he bumps into his side, and Sho rolls his eyes at him.

“I wasn’t.” He mumbles and Ohno scoffs, but smiles when Aiba approaches them.

or

Sho's life takes an unexpected turn after his friend's death and he's left to take care of his daughter. Aiba Masaki might be the only answer he needs, and fate might have brought them together, but his three friends seem to want fate to work faster.

Notes:

Filling prompt 28! I tweaked the prompt a bit to work out for what I had in mind though. I did some research about it, but please do keep in mind that the actual adoption process is definitely different and it's why I didn't go into details in it in here about it.

Also, for those who might not be familiar: 

Oji-san = uncle, aka/akai = red

Hope you enjoy reading!

 

Sho turns around in his bed, burying his face against the pillow, and blindly reaches for his phone as the alarm continues ringing loudly. His groan comes out muffled against the pillow when he can’t find his phone and sighs when his fingers graze the side of his phone and he instantly shuts the alarm.

He’s met with static silence and he remains still in his spot, savouring the warmth of his bed and already dreading the long day of work awaiting him. Honestly, if anyone were to ask him, he truly loves his job especially with all the various opportunities he’s been allowed to experience because of it. But, at times like these when he has to wake up at ungodly hours for a coverage that’ll last a few hours and said coverage being not the only one he has scheduled for the day, he finds himself hating being a newscaster just a tad bit.

Sho shudders when he pushes the covers aside, the floor a cold shock against his feet, and picks up his phone, squinting at the brightness as he reads the time.

4:01 am

He sighs as he unlocks his phone, with slow movements scrolling through his contacts list, and already feeling the guilt settling at the pit of his stomach before even making the call. He’d been hoping that today out of all days he didn’t have to leave for work so early in the morning; on Akane’s first day going to her new preschool.

And he’d been wishing he didn’t have to be making this call again so soon, once again asking his friends for help, and being the only ones he can rely on ever since his life took an unexpected turn three months ago.

Letting out another heavy breath, he stops by Ohno’s name before finally pressing down and making the call. It only rings twice before Ohno picks up and it settles Sho’s nerves slightly at how quickly he answered, a clear indication he’s already awake.

“Mmm. I’m awake. Don’t worry.” Ohno mumbles, voice thick with sleep, not seeming the slightest bit awake.

“You sure I didn’t just wake you up?” Sho asks, his own voice coming out croaky, still heavy with sleep, and he clears his throat.

“Hmmm―ouch.” Ohno whines, and his voice fades before it’s followed by slight rustles, and it quiets down on the other end. Ohno yelps and Sho can’t help the way the corner of his lips tug up, knowing clearly what’s going on the other end, and his thoughts are confirmed true when another familiar voice greets him.

“Good morning, Sho-chan.” Nino’s voice is much brighter and clearer than Ohno’s, “Don’t worry about him. He’s out of bed now he’ll be on his way immediately.”

“Thank you.” Sho chuckles nervously, unable to hide the guilt bubbling up in him.

“Stop it.” Nino warns when Sho whines.

“But I keep on asking you two and Jun to help me out all the time. I’m helpless and I can’t take care of her by myself even though I should be. And today out of all days I can’t―” He’s certain if it weren’t so early and had he been fully awake, he wouldn’t be here blabbering but Nino huffs out a breath loudly, stopping him midsentence.

“Sho,” Nino interrupts, voice stern yet laced with softness, “You’re doing so much for her and you don’t even realize it. Besides, there is nothing wrong with asking us to help you. It’s just been nearly three months now.” Nino pauses and quietly adds, “And it’s you and Akane-chan; you two are basically a family for us three.”

Sho smiles, looking down as he fiddles with a loose thread of his t-shirt, and quietly mumbles out, “Thank you. I― it means a lot. Thank you.”

“Hmm, but if you want to thank us,” Nino hums loudly, voice bright again and back to his usual self, “You can buy me that game I’ve been wanting to get for a while but haven’t?”

“How’s that thanking us? What will I get?” Sho chuckles at Ohno’s voice coming from the other end in the distance and Nino tsks.

“Hurry up and leave already.”

Sho chuckles again, rubbing his eyes slightly, “Wait, why is he staying over at your place?”

“I was driving back home last night and I realised this old man might not wake up today morning on time―and I was right―so I dragged him home with me so I can wake him up. You’re welcome.”

Sho can hear Ohno’s distinct voice coming from the other end, muttering something along the lines of how Nino’s the worst friend he could ask for, followed by Nino mock gasping loudly, and Sho decides to end the call before those two start with their regular nonsense he can’t keep up with so early in the morning.

 

++

 

“Thank you for all your hard work.”

Sho smiles politely with a little bow and only halts in his spot for a second to utter back a reply. He excuses himself after that, a chorus of see you tomorrow echoing, and slips out of the studio hurriedly heading to where his car is parked at the back. The entire drive back home is spent in silence, not bothering to turn on the radio with how thoughts running in his mind loud enough to block the silence, and only tapping his finger against the steering wheel whenever he comes by a red stop.

It’s only when he gets home that he realises how antsy he is, pacing around his apartment, and checking the time over and over again. There’s still over a good thirty minutes until he’ll be heading to pick Akane yet he can’t seem to stay still. There’s an urgent need to see Akane, to see her smile, and for her to calm his racing heart by telling him how her first day went and reassuring him he picked the right preschool for her. In the few moments of break that were squeezed in between his shooting for the day, he managed to sneak off and check his phone, and his heart settled when he’d seen a text from Ohno letting him know he’d dropped Akane off and reassuring him she’d been fine and seemed to have warmed up to her teacher.

Sho had smiled at the text and only managed to quickly type up a thank you before he’d been called again and dragged back inside the studio.

Now with thirty minutes to go, he reminds himself of the text to calm himself down, and heads to his room to change his clothes and hopefully find something to distract himself with. He makes it for a total of twenty minutes scrolling aimlessly through his laptop trying to get some work done before he shuts it down and decides he’s waited enough and gets up.

The preschool’s only a few blocks away and Sho walks there with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket. The air is crisp and autumn is fully on display with the frail brown leaves and there are some trees already losing their leaves, empty branches trembling in the breeze, and Sho hopes Ohno made sure Akane was wearing her coat before they left.

He lets out a breath when he turns around the corner and the preschool’s building is finally in sight. The preschool’s small, a white two-story building, a stripe of red and pink covering it up in the corners, and its playground beside it surrounded by a wrought-iron fence that made Sho breathe out in relief the first time he’d seen it.

The inside of the building is a contrast to the exterior, with colourful walls covered by bright posters and the students’ work. A mother and her daughter walk out hand in hand the moment Sho had entered and he spots a father speaking to one of the two staff members standing nearby and Sho recognises the other staff member from the day he’d come here for the first time to register Akane in the preschool.

“Kazama-san, it’s nice to see you again.” Sakurai greets him with a polite smile and Kazama smiles brightly.

“It’s good to see you again, Sakurai-san. I actually met Ohno-san today morning with Akane-chan and he told me you’d be the one picking her up.” Kazama explains, smile still intact, even when he goes through the clipboard in his hand and taps it, “Ah, here is her name. Just go down this hall here on the right. Her classroom is at the end. It’s the only one there.”

Sho thanks Kazama and takes off his shoes as he steps inside past the genkan. He’s thankful that Kazama had remembered him and showed him where her classroom is because if it weren’t for him, he would have ended up embarrassing himself with how he’d forgotten to even ask Ohno the simplest thing of where her classroom is.

Sho makes it down the short hall, the voices and chatter of the children clearer when he reaches the end of the hall. The classroom’s door is propped open and Sho lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding when he spots Akane in the back, sitting with a few other children by one of the tables, busy drawing and chatting brightly. The room’s filled with few more colourful tables, with each table having different activities for the children, and Sho spots a few empty seats, with parents having already started picking up their children.

Sho’s eyes drift to the side, falling to the homeroom teacher kneeling beside one of the group of children, and his breathing hitches. There is something’s so captivating about him, from the way he’s smiling brightly, whatever he’s saying making the children giggle brightly, and Sho’s gaze falls on his hands when he runs a hand through hair. He tries averting his gaze but he can’t stop his eyes from drifting downwards to his legs when he stands up. He’s lean and Sho admires the way his tight jeans stick to him. The man, ―the beautiful, so, so beautiful wonderful man― finally turns around, and Sho’s breathing hitches again when he finally notices Sho, and smiles breathtakingly. He’s so charming.

He takes the few steps separating them and Sho snaps himself out of his thoughts instantly.

He didn’t just ogle the homeroom teacher, right?

“Sakurai-san! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Nino talks about you all the time!”

“Nino?” Sho repeats blankly, unable to utter anything else as he watches him, bright smile still intact, and nodding his head eagerly. Sho blinks his eyes slowly and his eyes widen when everything sinks in.

“You’re Nino’s friend? You’re Aiba-san?!” The grin he receives Sho stitches that memory in his mind for a lifetime.

“Aiba Masaki.”Sho shakes Aiba’s hand when he offers it, his hands warm, and it feels so right to hold his hand, and Sho wonders briefly just how wonderful it’ll be to intertwine his hand with his, holding it tightly.

Why didn’t Nino introduce him to Aiba earlier?

He quickly shakes that thought away yet his eyes are already betraying him and focusing on Aiba’s lips as when he speaks.

“I’ve always been teaching the older kids so when Nino told me that you’re bringing Akane-chan here, I made sure she’d be in my class. I had to make sure Akane-chan would be in a proper care.” Aiba looks away and calls out for Akane then, “Akane-chan. Grab your things. It’s time to go home.”

When Akane looks up, Sho smiles, his heart warming up at the way Akane’s face instantly lights up when she notices Sho, waving eagerly at him and gets up. She’s putting her things away when Sho tears his gaze and focus back on Aiba to find him looking towards Akane’s direction with such an endearing look in his eyes, “She’s very sweet and quickly got adjusted to the others.”

Sho smiles brightly, “I’m glad to know Akane didn’t give you any trouble.”

“Oh no, she’s very sweet and polite. You’re doing such a wonderful job raising her.” The sincerity in Aiba’s words has Sho smiling and ducking his head downwards.

“Thank you.” Sho lifts his head when Akane crosses the room to where he’s standing, holding her coat in one hand, and her bag in her other hand. Sho outstretches his hands to grab her things, but instead finds himself dropping to his knees when she’s by his side, and pulls her into a tight hug. She wraps her arms around him instantly, her sound muffled by his shirt when she speaks, “Oji-san, your hands are cold!”

She giggles when Sho leans backwards and purposely cups her cheeks, “I missed you too.” Sho tugs her bag out of her hand and stands up, “Put your coat on, it’s cold outside.”

Akane slips her coat on and Sho helps her slip her bag on when she asks for it afterwards. When he looks back towards Aiba’s direction, he finds him smiling gently between the two of them, before settling to look at Sho. “I’m guessing I’ll be seeing you again tomorrow morning? Or will Ohno-san be dropping her again?”

“No, that was just today. I’ll be dropping her here tomorrow.” Sho’s heart does a little flip at Aiba’s smile and forces himself to look at Akane, “You ready? Say bye to Aiba-sensei.”

“Bye, Aiba-sensei! See you tomorrow.” Akane chirps and she’s giggling when Aiba waves his hand.

“See you tomorrow, Akane-chan. Have a great day!”

Sho bids his goodbye and then they’re off. He waits by the genkan when she switches between her indoor and outdoor shoes. He puts his shoes back on when she’s by his side again, before holding her hand and making their way out of the building.

“So, how was your first day?” Sho asks once they’re outside and Akane swings their clasped hands between them.

“It was fun!” Akane gushes, looking up at him excitedly, “Everyone’s really nice. I even made two new friends, Nozomi-chan and Haruna-chan!”

Sho smiles at her, breathing easily now, and spends the rest of the walk home with Akane telling him about her day. He only lets go of her hand when they reach back home, and he’s grabbing his keys from his pocket.

“Nozomi-chan’s mother is a chef. She said she always makes really good food for her and her father before going to work. It makes her father really happy with the bento she prepares for them.” Akane says as Sho pushes the door open, awaiting Akane to enter and entering after her, “Oji-san, do you have somebody like that?”

“Huh?” Sho furrows his brows and finds Akane staring at him, wide-eyed and attentive.

“Like how Nozomi-chan’s mother and father have each other?”

Sho halts in his spot, eyes widening, and shakes his head, “No, not at all.”

“Hmm.” Akane tilts her head slightly, “Does Ohno-san have someone like that? What about Ninomiya-san? And Matsumoto-san?”

“You can ask them that the next time you see them.”

Akane nods her head as she finally takes off her shoes and walks past the genkan. Sho remains in his spot, staring at her as she makes her way towards her room, and tries not to think too much about her words, but he can’t.

It’ll be difficult now, won’t it? Finding someone that won’t only get along with him, but be accepting of the fact Sho’s raising a child by his own.

But a certain homeroom teacher dealing with over twenty children on a daily basis might be accepting…

Sho shakes that thought away and tries not to think about said teacher for the rest of the day.

 

++

The breeze isn’t as strong as yesterday’s and it’s warmer today, but it’s still cold enough for Sho to make sure Akane’s wearing her coat properly before they take off.

Akane points out the different trees on their walk to the preschool and gushing over the fact that winter’s coming closer and how she’s excited for snow. Sho laughs and somehow finds himself agreeing and promising her to build her a snowman when it snows enough. 

It’s when the preschool’s building insight that Sho’s hold on her hand tightens and he calls for her, “I have work later today.” Sho starts and Akane nods her head, “I’ll come pick you up later, but I’ll probably drop you home and leave immediately for work. Ninomiya-san will come and stay with you, okay?”

“And Ohno-san and Matsumoto-san?” Akane asks and Sho smiles.

“They’ll both come by later for dinner.”

Akane squeaks and Sho chuckles, heart doing a little flip. He’s lucky for his friends, for not only always volunteering and stepping up whenever he needs help, but for doing it so genuinely out of love towards him and Akane, and helping him in making Akane comfortable and getting adjusted to her new life.

When they step inside the building, it’s quieter in the morning, and albeit emptier. Sho spots Kazama again and greets him briefly as he awaits Akane switching her shoes before making his way towards the end of the right hall to her classroom.

The classroom has a few children scattered around, their chatter bright, and Aiba’s busy chatting with a mother nearby. Sho’s eyes meet his and he offers a small polite smile that has Aiba doing the same with a little nod, before resuming to talk to the mother. Sho fixes his attention back on Akane and his heart swells when he notices one of the girls waving at Akane and Akane grinning as she waves back, before pulling on Sho’s hand, “That’s Nozomi-chan!”

Sho waves at the little girl and she starts giggling, hiding her face against her hands, and Sho looks down at Akane. He ruffles her hair slightly before she’s off to putting her things away in her cubby, and Sho has to leave.

He leaves but not before taking another quick glance towards Aiba, but Aiba’s still busy and Sho ignores the way his heart sinks at that.

The rest of the day passes by quickly and Sho doesn’t find himself frantically counting down the minutes until he has to pick Akane up just like the day before. He calls Nino when he’s on his way to pick Akane up and Nino reassures him he’ll be leaving in a few minutes. He ends the call when he enters the preschool’s building and he’s once again greeted by Kazama, before heading to Akane’s classroom.

The classroom’s similar to the day before, children around the different tables, each busy with their own activities, and Akane similarly in her seat in the back table. Aiba notices him first today and he calls out for Akane, letting her know Sho’s here. Sho watches Akane as rushes towards her cubby and averts his gaze when Aiba’s by his side.

That’s when Sho notices it. Aiba’s hair is all ruffled, his cheeks a tint of pink, but most importantly a leaf sticking on top of his head, the green leaf striking against his brown hair. Sho grins, “Why is there a leaf in your hair?”

Aiba’s eyes widen and he runs a hand through his hair twice before the leaf falls into his hand and he smiles sheepishly at it, “I took them out to play in the playground yet I’m the one with the leaf in my hair.”

Sho chuckles at that, watching the way Aiba perks up, and turns his head aside when Akane hugs Sho’s leg.

“Hey, had a good day?” Sho asks her, running a hand through her mussed up hair, her ponytail hanging low and all messy with her hair sticking out. Sho makes a note to ask Jun in giving him proper lessons on how to tie Akane’s hair properly. 

“Yes. Let’s go home now! Ninomiya-san and Ohno-san and Matsumoto-san are coming!” Akane squeals in glee and Sho nods his head, smiling and glancing back at Aiba before they bid their goodbyes and leave.

 

++

 

Sho’s greeted by Akane’s bright giggles when he pushes the door open.

He can’t help the smile coming across his face at that sound despite the exhaustion long settled upon him and he mumbles a quiet I’m home.

He’s not surprised for the lack of reply, especially when he hears Jun’s shriek, followed by Ohno and Nino’s laughter, and Akane’s giggling loudly again. He passes by the genkan and halts in his spot, trying to comprehend the scene in front of him. Because Jun’s sitting with the sleeves of his shirt pushed up and Akane’s doodling a bright pink heart on his arm next to the equally bright, colorful doodles covering his arm. And he only notices it now, but Akane’s face and arms are filled with colors identical to the ones on Jun’s arms. He should have seen it coming.

“What’s going on exactly?” Sho finally says when none of them seem to acknowledge his presence.

Akane whirls around instantly, the marker in her hand promptly leaving a bright, long line across Jun’s arm and Ohno’s laughing again, “Oji-san! Look!” Akane drops the markers, toddling towards Sho and holding her arms out for him to see all the colorful marks, “Look what Ohno-san drew!”

Sho picks Akane up in his arms, staring at the colors all over her arms. There are doodles all over her arms, albeit much neater and detailed than the ones she has covered Jun with. Sho’s eyes drift to the marker Akane had been holding, noticing the Permanent Marker label, before his eyes drift to her arms again.

“Okay. But, how about you wash up and then go to sleep? It’s getting late.” Akane pouts as Sho puts her down and pats her head, encouraging her to go to the bathroom.

Sho’s eyes drift to the other three, watching Jun examining the doodles all over his arm, and Nino throwing one of the markers at Ohno. He eyes the marker again before looking back between the three of them, “You didn’t just give her ink poisoning, right?”

“And you call me dramatic.” Nino says as he rolls his eyes, “We used those washable markers for her and the permanent one on Jun. If anyone is getting ink poisoning, it’s him.”

“Why did I allow this? I have to be on set soon, how am I going to get this off?” Jun grumbles as he gets up, staring at his arms with a heavy sigh.

“Before you wash it let me draw something.” Nino says picking up the permanent marker again and Jun pointedly steps back, shaking his head as he makes his way towards the other bathroom.

“I don’t trust you.”

Nino sighs before fixing his gaze at Ohno, grinning brightly, and Ohno shakes his head, “No.”

“It’ll be fun!” Nino moves closer and Ohno leans back.

“Go away.”

Sho leaves the two like that, while Jun’s loudly groaning how much he hates Nino and Ohno for giving Akane the permanent marker, and heads towards the bathroom to help Akane wash up.

Thankfully, the marks and colors on Akane’s arms and face clean up swiftly, and Sho picks her up again and takes her to her bedroom. Sho’s aware of how it’s over an hour past her bedtime, yet she still seems to be restless because that’s the effect those three have on her, “Go to sleep, okay? You have to wake up early again tomorrow.”

Akane nods her head, smiling brightly at Sho, “Goodnight, Oji-san.”

Sho smiles gently at her, tucking her in her bed as he murmurs, “Goodnight.”

He steps out of her bedroom quietly, shutting the door behind him, and makes his way back to the living room. He’s not entirely surprised to find Ohno has given up, with how he’s gotten the sleeve of his shirt pushed up, and Nino’s scribbling on his arm.

Sho drops himself on the sofa next to them, shutting his eyes and letting out a long breath, shattered after a long day of work, and having to have stay up late for a few more hours.

“Why did I allow this? It’s not going away and we’re filming today.” Jun groans and Sho blinks his eyes open, grinning when he notices the marks and colors on his arm have significantly faded, but are still very much visible.

“They might make you wear long sleeves. Or hide it by makeup or whatever.” Nino murmurs, still deeply concentrated on the scribbling he’s doing, and Jun tsks. Nino chuckles and his eyes are still fixed on Ohno’s arm when he speaks next, “Anyway, Sho, Akane-chan seems happy with her preschool. I wonder which wonderful friend of yours recommended that place to you?”

Sho sighs, “Why do you have to be so annoying?”

Nino grins, “She seems happy with Aiba being her teacher.”

“Aiba’s teaching her?” Jun asks and Sho focuses on Jun.

“Wait, you know him too? I was the only one who didn’t know him?” Sho asks, eyes drifting between Nino and Jun.

“I met him and Nino in high school.” Jun explains, dropping himself beside Sho, and doesn’t miss noticing the way Nino stops scribbling for a moment to look back at Sho, and Ohno takes a quick peek at his arm, frowning at his arm briefly, before Nino tsks and scolds him for peeking.

“So, what do you think of him?” Nino asks, going back to scribbling against Ohno’s arm.

Sho remains quiet, trying to put in words what he feels towards Aiba.

He’s sweet. He’s wonderful. He’s cute. He’s got very long, lean legs. His eyes are always so bright. And his smile is so breathtaking. He’s charming all the way around.

Sho swallows the lump in his throat, ignoring the way his heart’s all fluttering, “I mean, he seems… nice.”

Sho cringes at the way his voice came out, all breathless and filled with adoration, and he’s met with silence and the three of them gaping at him.

“You want to fuck Aiba?!” Nino shrieks and Sho’s eyes widen, frantically shushing him.

“Shhh! Shut up! Akane can hear you!” Somehow it only has Nino shrieking again.

“Oh my god, you didn’t deny it!”

Ohno places his hand atop Nino’s mouth, effectively quieting him down, but he’s staring all wide-eyed at Sho, as he murmurs, “You really want to fuck―”

“Stop. Please.” Sho lets out a long breath, rubbing his face, and hiding his face as he groans, “I didn’t say that.”

“Wait, wait, you like Aiba?” Jun asks beside him, pulling slightly on his shirt, until Sho looks back at him. Jun seems curious and Sho parts his mouth, but he’s unable to speak, or say anything coherent about his thoughts and feelings towards Aiba.

“He seems nice.” Sho mumbles out again and Nino finally seems to have snapped out of the initial shock and pushes Ohno’s hand away.

“Do you think he’s cute?” Nino asks and Sho stares at him carefully. Nino’s always been great at reading him and keeping a blank stoic reaction that leaves Sho unable to figure out what’s going on in his head.

So Sho settles to nodding his head hesitantly.

Jun coos beside him and Ohno grins widely. Nino nods his head and continues, “Then, do you think he’s nice-nice? Or nice as in ‘I want to hold his hand and be disgustingly in love with him because my heart is messing me up and I really want to kiss him-nice?”

“That was very specific.” Ohno looks back at Nino and Nino shrugs.

“There are only two types of nice.” Nino turns back to Sho, “So? Your answer? Is it the second one?”

Sho bites his lips, looking down at his hand, before nodding his head tentatively again.

Nino hums, “And you really want to fuck him―”

“Can you stop saying that?” Sho interrupts, letting out a long exasperated sigh, “Besides, it could just be a temporary crush.”

Nino scoffs loudly, grabbing the marker again, and concentrating back on his doodle against Ohno’s arm, “It’s not. And I think you two could get along very well.”

Sho swallows the lump in his throat, taking in a deep breath as he mumbles, “Even if we get along very well, I still can’t just freely date anyone now; I have Akane now and she’s my priority.”

Jun hums beside him, “You’re worried whoever you date might not be accepting of the fact you have a child?”

Sho nods his head slowly and Nino chuckles loudly, “Have you forgotten the part that Aiba deals with children on a daily basis? He would accept that instantly.” Nino pauses and leans back, humming brightly, “All done!”

Ohno moves his arm to get a better look at the doodle and Sho and Jun lean forward to get a better look.

Nino’s the best! filled with obnoxious hearts and scribbles is against Ohno’s arm and Sho chuckles while Ohno stares at it blankly, before lifting his head and meeting Nino’s gaze, “You misspelled worst.”

Nino throws the marker at Ohno again.

The conversation drifts off to another topic, thankfully dropping the earlier topic, and not mentioning Aiba again.

Sho tries not to think too much about their earlier conversation throughout the rest of the night. He does a significantly well with how he ends up only thinking of him again when he’s holding Akane’s hand the next morning and walking her to her preschool. He’s all fidgety by the time they reach there and they’re walking through the hall towards Aiba’s classroom.

Just take a deep breath and speak like normal. He’s just another teacher.

But then Sho enters the classroom and he’s greeted by Aiba’s bright smile, and Sho’s heart melts at that.

“Good morning.” Aiba greets them brightly, smiling at Akane when she replies brightly, and is already leaving towards her cubby.

He should leave, Sho thinks as he watches Akane despite the way his heart is craving for him to speak up and start up a conversation with Aiba. Except, his mind’s all blank and the more he stares at Aiba, the quicker his heartbeats get.

“I talked with Nino last night.” Sho’s heart does a little flip at Aiba starting up a conversation, “He told me Akane-chan was really happy and she likes it in here. I was really glad to hear that.”

Sho stares at Aiba quietly for a moment, allowing his words to sink in, and at the way his words came out laced with sincerity.

Aiba would say that to every other parent, won’t he?

Sho settles on smiling, “She is. And she really likes you.”

Aiba beams up at that, “Really?!” Aiba turns around, staring at Akane with a bright, gentle smile, “That makes me really happy.”

Sho’s breathing hitches, watching Aiba’s bright smiles, eyes matching, and there’s only one thought in his mind:

I really like you too.

He shakes that thought away and leaves shortly after that.

 

++

 

The next morning, Sho misses his chance to speak Aiba. He’s in a rush to get to work and he drops Akane off and instantly leaves for work, only greeting Aiba briefly. His work schedule for the next two days are a bit hectic and he’d already asked Nino to pick Akane up today and with that, the chance to see Aiba this afternoon passes as well.

Similarly the next morning, Sho misses his chance again with how there’s a parent nearby keeping him busy and Sho doesn’t get to talk to him. His heart sinks at that and he resolves to finally speaking with him when he comes to pick Akane up, aware that it’s Friday and if he misses this chance, he won’t get to speak to him again only after the weekend.

And that thought keeps Sho motivated to go on with the rest of the day, even when a last minute coverage is decided on and Sho has to stay an hour more. He’d meant to finish early that day, so Sho accepts it without calling or checking with anyone to pick Akane up in case he couldn’t make it. By the time he finishes, he’ll reach Akane’s preschool at his usual timing. Besides, he really needs to stop relying on his friends that much, even if they’re never complaining about it.

Unfortunately, what was meant to take an hour to complete, takes three and Sho’s grumbling under his breath as he rushes to change, grab his things, and leave to pick Akane up. The preschool’s open until night, attuning for those parents working until late hours, but the thought of Akane staying there for over three hours than usual awaiting him doesn’t sit well with him.

Sho huffs out a long breath as he quickly gathers his things and when he grabs his phone, he freezes when he sees notifications filling up his phone, all from the same person; Nino. There are two missed calls, followed by three more texts, and Sho unlocks his phone instantly to read the texts.

“Aiba called and told me you haven’t picked up Akane yet. He’s worried but I told him you’re probably busy with work. Do you want me to pick her up if you’re too busy?”

“I guess you’re busy with how you’re not replying and I know you hate keeping Akane waiting so I’m going to pick her up.”

“She’s with me now :) and she doesn’t seem upset about waiting. Call me when you see this.”

Sho’s thankful he’s alone in the changing room and nobody gets to witness the way his eyes are starting to tear up or how he’s on the verge of having a breakdown. He drops himself on the floor, content with leaning against the wall, rubbing the tears away.

He’s a disaster. Akane probably hates him. She’s probably only accepting the fact she’s living with Sho because she has nobody else. If her grandparents weren’t that old and were capable, she would have definitely chosen to live with them.

He’s a mess. What would he do without those three? Because it’s been countless times they’ve stepped in and helped him whenever he needed it even without him uttering a word about it. Is it that obvious how helpless he is?

Sho takes in a deep breath and taps Nino’s name, making that call, and rubbing his eyes again as he awaits Nino to pick up.

“Sho-chan?” Nino picks up after the fourth ring and Sho lets out a long breath.

“I’m so sorry. You ended up having to pick her up even though I hadn’t asked you to because of work. But I know it’s still not a good excuse. Nothing is with how I always end up―”

“Sho, stop it.” Nino interrupts, voice stern, and he lets out a little breath, “You were busy with work, it’s fine. Just next time lets us know so we don’t get all worried. And even if it’s a last minute thing, we’ll manage to work something out and have one of us pick her up.”

Sho whines loudly, “But, Nino―”

“No. I’m not going to allow you to complain. Just come over to my place. Oh-chan’s teaching Akane-chan how to draw instead of coloring again on Jun’s arm, so even Jun’s having fun this time. And you’re going to come here and have fun whether you like it or not with us. Okay?”

“Nino―”

“Good. See you soon. Bye.”

Nino ends the call instantly, not allowing Sho to utter a word, and Sho stares at his phone.

He takes in a deep breath, rubbing the tears away, and forces himself to get up.

He’s really lucky to have them.

 

++

 

There are four pairs of shoes lined up by the genkan when Nino opens the door for Sho with a smirk that’s enough for Sho to instantly tell who the fourth pair belongs to.

“Aiba-shii was worried about you too, you know.”

Sho’s eyes widen, “He’s here?”

Nino’s smirk widens and he pulls tightly on his arm, dragging him inside, “Look who finally came!”

He’s greeted by Akane shrieking loudly, running to Sho, and Sho instantly picks her up when she holds out her arms for him.

“You came!” She exclaims, wrapping her arms around his neck, and giggling against his shirt when he pulls in her for a tight hug.

“I’m sorry. Did you wait too long?” Sho runs a hand through her hair when he she leans back and she shakes her head.

“Ninomiya-san told me you were really busy and he couldn’t pick me up earlier. But it’s fine, I’m fine with waiting. Plus, Aiba-sensei was there too, so I had fun!” Akane says brightly and Sho blinks his eyes blankly, allowing her words to sink in.

Nino made it seem it was his fault and not Sho’s that she had to wait.

Sho glances at Nino when he puts Akane down and mouths a quiet, thank you, but Nino only grins in answer and shakes his head. He raises a brow at that and Nino tilts his head towards the other direction and when Sho allows his gaze to fall towards that direction, he finds Ohno and Aiba sitting around the table.

Right, Aiba’s here.

Aiba’s smiling at Akane when she goes to their side, settling across Aiba and Ohno, and he pushes the paper she’d been scribbling on towards her.

Nino drapes an arm around Sho just as he’s about to greet them and walks with him towards their side while quietly whispering to him, “I’m going to drag Oh-chan with me. Take that time to catch up with Aiba-chan and make him fall in love with you.”

Sho shoots him a glare, but it does nothing to affect Nino. Instead, he’s grinning brightly, “Oh-chan! Get up, Jun-pon needs help in the kitchen.”

Ohno looks up blankly at Nino before drifting his eyes between Sho and Aiba, “Okay.” He gets up with a smile and pats Sho’s back as he follows Nino and says in a hushed tone and only for Sho to hear, “Good luck.”

Sho sighs and watches the two leave for the kitchen before averting his gaze and finds Aiba looking up at him.

“Hi,” Sho mumbles, suddenly tongue-tied at Aiba’s bright eyes and equally bright eyes focused on him, and slowly walks closer, and sits down beside Akane.

“You look really tired.” Sho chuckles when Aiba blurts that out and Sho’s aware that Aiba hadn’t been planning on blurting that with the way his eyes widen, instantly slapping a hand over his mouth, and Sho shakes his head in amusement, looking down and unable to say anything to that. Aiba groans softly, “I’m so sorry, I’m so terrible. I should be asking about you and then―”

“It’s fine.” Sho cuts Aiba off when he starts blabbering and he notices the obvious way Aiba relaxes at that, “I’m exhausted. I had a long day.”

“Still, I shouldn’t have said that.”

Sho smiles in response, assuring Aiba, and he’s only aware now of the way he’s fiddling with the loose thread of his shirt. He glimpses at Akane before directing his gaze back at Aiba, “She told me you were with her while she was waiting? I’m really sorry you had to stay longer today because of me.”

Aiba chuckles good-heartedly, that laugh warming Sho’s heart, and shakes his head, “No, it’s fine. Plus, she’s very sweet and fun.” Aiba pauses, staring gently at Akane as he continues, “When Nino came, he told her she’s coming here and that you and everyone else will be here later. Then she looked at me and started asking Nino if I would come. She got happy when Nino told her yes and I was just thinking I’m so glad she doesn’t hate me.”

“She likes you,” Sho confirms, eyes stuck upon Aiba, admiring him without his realization. He’s still staring at Akane with such a gentle smile, his eyelashes fluttering when he blinks his eyes, and Sho’s stomach does a little flip at that, heart all feverish. He’s content with staring at him all day, memorizing every single detail and feature of him. It’s a little ridiculous and overwhelming, because his heart has never warmed up that easily for someone, immensely desiring someone. Aiba has irresistibly lured him and made his place in Sho’s heart, and Sho didn’t put up a fight or try to fight it back. And without thinking about it he blurts out, “You’re likeable.”

The look Aiba’s wearing when he looks back at him is breathtaking, a smile so bright, and then he’s grinning widely, tone teasing as he says, “Ah, I’m taking that as Akane-chan isn’t the only who likes me.”

Sho laughs, trying to ignore the way his heart’s all racing, ecstatic at Aiba being casual with him. He only nods his head, tearing his gaze to look back at Akane and pushes a strand of hair back. She only giggles in response, still focused on her drawing, and Sho turns back to Aiba, trying to avert the topic, “You and Nino had planned on meeting tonight?”

“No. He told me he just decided on that while he was on his way to pick Akane-chan. He just dragged me with him. I was telling him I should probably go home, change, and come by my own in my car, but he was so persistent and he made Akane-chan start asking me as well. He knew I wouldn’t be able to say no to her,” Aiba sighs, “If he has kids of his own one day, he’ll really know how to use them against me.”

“I’m going to have many kids just because you said that.” Sho looks up when Nino exists the kitchen, holding plates, and Aiba sighs, shaking his head at Nino when he’s by their side and puts the plates down.

“Enough to start your own baseball team with them?” Aiba asks, grinning widely, and Nino bursts into laugher.

Ohno and Jun leave the kitchen shortly after that with the dinner Jun had prepared. They have their dinner then and Sho realizes that the five of them seem to click together. Conversations are swiftly starting and drifting to other endless conversations. Sho’s well-aware of how despite the fact Akane’s here with them and how they’re essentially not truly free to speak as they usually would, they still manage to start up interesting topics and have Akane join them.

Even when they’re done with dinner and the table’s been cleared up, they still remain gathered around the table, easily talking. Sho can feel himself relax with each passing minute and realizes he’d been deeply in need of an evening like this following this draining week, and the disaster that today turned out to be.

Sho loses track of time until there’s a tiny hand pulling on his arm and then Akane’s making her way atop his lap, settling comfortably, and hiding her face against his chest. She lets out a long breath, shutting her eyes, holding tightly to Sho’s shirt, and her yawn comes out all muffled.

He smiles endearingly at that, runs a hand through her hair, and gently asks her, “Sleepy?” She rubs her eyes and nods her head wearily. Sho chuckles, “Okay, we’re going home now.”

Sho looks up and finds them smiling gently at Akane until Ohno yawns loudly, raising his arms above his head, prompting Nino to pinch his side. He swats Nino’s hand away and with a drowsy smile says, “I think it’s my bedtime too.”

“Want me to drop you home now? I have to leave so I can reach the shoot on time.” Jun offers and Ohno hums.

Nino doesn’t give Ohno the chance to speak and instantly answers while staring at Jun so intently, “I’ll drop him home. You might end being late.”

A moment of silence lingers and Sho doesn’t miss noticing the way the two are smiling. Jun hums pensively, yet Sho can tell he’s feigning it, especially when he speaks next, “But you’re already dropping Aiba?”

So this is what all of this is about.

“Hmm, I suppose I can drop them both back home.” Sho isn’t entirely surprised by Nino’s answer or how he fakes a yawn.

“But you sound tired.” Aiba adds, yet Sho can tell the obvious concern lacing his words, voice and actions genuine unlike those two, and Nino shrugs.

It’s so obvious what Nino and Jun are planning and Sho convinces himself he’s not falling in their trap, and only doing it for Aiba, especially with how concerned he seems to be over the idea of Nino driving that much when he’s tired. When Aiba mentions how he’s worried about Nino driving back home alone in this state, Sho can’t stop himself from saying, “I can drop Aiba back.”

Nino’s fluttering his eyes so obnoxiously and Jun’s smiling all sweetly, both of them feigning innocence, acting as if they hadn’t planned this entire thing out. Sho kind of wants to murder them both.

Aiba looks back at Sho, “Are you sure it’s fine―”

“Yes, yes it is. Your places are nearby.” Nino interrupts and pats Sho’s back, “Come on, get up. Take him home. And make sure you only drive off after you’ve made sure he’s gotten inside and he’s not forgotten his keys because Aiba has a talent for that.”

“Hey, that only happened twice.” Aiba interrupts and Nino rolls his eyes.

“Twice in the past week.”Aiba sighs and Nino pats his back, before directing his attention back to Ohno when he lies down, eyes widening instantly. “No, no, no. Get up, it’s too difficult to wake you up.”

“Goodnight.” Ohno mumbles, smiling and shutting his eyes, even when Nino starts shaking his arm.

Sho chuckles and wraps his arms around Akane tightly as he gets up, holding her close, and she drops her arms around his neck, moving to hide her face against his shoulder, and shutting her eyes again. He turns to pick up her schoolbag and coat, but Aiba’s already doing that.

It warms Sho’s heart and he bites his lips slightly until Aiba picks up the coat and looks back at him, questioning, and Sho looks back at Akane to find her eyes tightly shut, breaths evening, and he knows there is no way he’s capable of waking her up just to ask her to put on her coat. Yet he knows it’s cold outside and he prefers it if she would be covered up, and Aiba seems to read his thoughts when he speaks next, “Do you want to just keep it around her? It’ll cover her up.”

“Yeah. That’s what I was thinking.”

Aiba steps forward and puts the coat around Akane, and Sho has an arm settled underneath her legs holding her tightly close to him, and moves his other arm to keep it around her and holding the coat in its place to continue covering her. He brushes his hand against Aiba’s when he lets go and he tries not to think too much about how warm his hand had been.

Aiba carries Akane’s bag as they leave with Jun, leaving Nino behind as he continues trying to wake Ohno up, and Ohno mumbling how cold the floor is.

They bid goodbye to Jun as he heads to his car and Aiba follows Sho to his car quietly. He opens up the back door for Sho and Sho somewhat struggles to place Akane in the seat without waking her up in the process. She ends up fluttering her eyes once he has placed her but shuts her eyes again when Sho covers her with her coat and tells her to go back to sleep.

The first few minutes of the drive are spent with an unfamiliar silence stretching between them. Sho stops by a red light and he’s aware of the way he’s tapping his fingers constantly on the steering wheel, trying his best not to focus on Aiba. Except, Aiba moves slightly and Sho notices how he peeks back at Akane, finding her still asleep, then sitting straight again.

The light’s still red when Aiba finally breaks the silence, “Sho-san, you’re taking care of her by yourself, right?”

“Yes. But, not really by myself. I rely on those three too much.” Sho says, forcing a chuckle and trying to ignore the sinking feel of his heart.

“I really hope I’m not overstepping any boundaries, but...” Aiba pauses to look back, making sure Akane’s asleep, and very quietly murmurs, “Does she have any family members?”

“She does.” The light turns green and Sho starts driving again, “Her grandparents.” 

Silence lingers momentarily before Aiba follows it with, “But, they’re too old to take care of her all the time?”

“Did Nino tell you?” Sho takes in a breath, glancing at Akane deep asleep from the dashboard mirror and murmurs, “I mean what happened and why I’m taking care of her?”

“I…just know that she was the daughter of your friend?” Aiba asks, hesitant, but keeps his voice quiet matching Sho’s. He doesn’t want to wake Akane up, especially with the topic this conversation has drifted to.

“He was a friend I met in university.” Sho starts, his grip on the wheel tightening as he starts recalling that night that changed everything just a mere three months ago, “He got involved in a car accident. When I got to the hospital, he’d been awake but barely breathing and the doctors told me how unstable his condition is. He kept on telling me how he knows he’s not going to make it. I was trying to stay hopeful and tell him it’s going to be fine, but he then he just held my hand and told me, My only concern is Akane, please take care of her she has nobody else.’” Sho pauses, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat, trying to even out his breathings when the memories of that night rush into his mind, “And then not even an hour later, he passed away. Akane was crying so much when she ran to me and when I picked her up, she held on really tightly to me. Ever since then, I have decided to take care of her.”

The memories of that night and of how Akane had held on to him tightly is so vivid in his mind and it takes him a while to realize how the silence is lingering again. He glances back at Aiba to find him staring at him, eyes glistening with tears, and Sho smiles gently at that, shaking his head, before looking back in front, “Please don’t cry.”

“I’m really sorry…I’m sorry.” Aiba mumbles, sniffing slightly, and rubbing his eyes.

Sho lets out a short breath and allows Aiba to take all the time he needs to calm down. Aiba eventually lets out a long breath and Sho smiles, trying to change the subject, “I haven’t officially adopted her though. The process is quite long especially since she has family members, but her grandparents knew me and how I was close to their son and how I had multiple times taken care of her before, so they’re helping me to officially adopt her. If things go the way they’re supposed to, I’ll officially adopt her by December.”

“So in less than three months?” Aiba hums quietly, “Is that how long it usually takes?”

“No, it’s longer for my case. I’m just waiting for December because that’s when her mother is coming back and we need her to complete this.” They stop by a red light and Sho glances back to find Aiba gaping at him, eyes wide, “What?”

“She has a mother?”Aiba asks, eyes wide and Sho nods his head, realizing that yeah he should have mentioned that at the very beginning, “But she is okay with you adopting her?”

“Her parents got divorced when she was just a few months old and her mother works and lives abroad. She rarely comes back and she used to like see her just once a year. She has no connection with her and when I spoke to her on the phone about this entire thing, she was fine with me adopting her.” Sho explains and watches the way Aiba casts his eyes downwards, eyes filled with grief, and frowning as he glances back at Akane.

“She doesn’t want her, but Akane-chan is so wonderful.” Aiba’s words are hushed and gentle, and Sho looks aside when the light turns green again.

“She is wonderful.” Sho agrees and Aiba sighs, before turning to sit straight in his seat again.

“She is lucky to have you.”

“I’m lucky to have her,” Sho mumbles and then chuckles, “I’m lucky to have Ohno, Nino, and Jun, because I would have been lost without them.”

Aiba chuckles brightly, “It’s good though that she warmed up to them and she likes them.”

“She warmed up to you and started liking you much quicker though.” Sho adds and Aiba chuckles again.

“Because I’m likeable?” Aiba’s tone is teasing and Sho can’t stop himself from grinning at that, at Aiba repeating his earlier words, and he can feels the way his heart suddenly feels much lighter.

They talk lightly between themselves until Sho stops by Aiba’s place and Aiba glances back at him before leaving the car, “If you ever need any help, you can ask me too. You can let me know if you have work and will come late, so I can stay with her. It’ll make her feel better if she stays with me, a teacher she knows, rather than other teachers.”

Sho stares at Aiba quietly and he should refuse, with how he’s already depending too much on his friends, yet his mind has stopped working properly ever since Aiba stepped in his life and he mumbles, “But I don’t have your number.”

Aiba grins at that.

 

++

 

Aiba’s number stays there in his phone and he never taps it, either to text him or to call him, until a month later. (By then his daily visits to the preschool and through the brief talks they have, ‘Sakurai-san’ became ‘Sho-san’ much to his delight.)

“Ohno’s birthday is in a month. Have you figured out what you’ll get him?” Sho asks and Nino hums, eyes focused on his phone, and disregarding Sho.

“I thought of getting him a fishing rod.” Nino eventually answers and Sho nods his head.

“So you haven’t bought it yet?” Sho asks again and Nino shakes his head.

“I thought of getting him one, but then I realized he has too many and he’s already too tanned even though it’s no longer summer,” Nino pauses, sticking his tongue out just a bit as he taps his on phone a few more times, and then he’s got a smug grin on display. He finally cleared the level, “Anyway, I’ll get him something else. Maybe socks with fish patterns or something.”

“You went from a fishing rod to fish patterned socks?” Sho asks amusedly and Nino nods his head.

“Maybe it can be my thing. Buying you all a sock with something you like on your birthdays. So for you,” Nino pauses and looks up at Sho with a smirk, “Aiba-chan patterned socks?”

Sho’s eyes widen and he tsks when Nino starts cackling, “You’re annoying.”

Nino just shrugs, “Speaking of Aiba-chan, have you called him or texted him or something? You’ve had his number for like a month now. I was expecting some significant progress.”

“That’s none of your business―”

“So you haven’t.” Nino goes back to his phone, sighing all dramatically, “Why do you leave all the work to me?”

Sho frowns at that, “What work?”

Nino remains quiet, focus back on his phone, and Sho decides to drop it.

It’s only when he’s about to sleep he takes his phone out and he freezes; there’s a text from Aiba:

“Sho-san, I hope Nino hasn’t sent other weird messages to anyone else.”

Huh? Sho furrows his brows, trying to understand what Aiba’s message is supposed to mean until he realizes the conversation didn’t start with Aiba, rather there is an earlier text from Sho. But he never sent him anything―wait, Nino held his phone earlier tonight. He instantly scrolls up and groans at the text Nino had sent:

“Sometimes I forget what curry tastes like.” 

What does that even mean? He groans loudly again when he remembers that smirk Nino had earlier when he handed him his phone back and honestly, he should have realized something was wrong. He quickly types out a reply to Aiba:

“He only had my phone for like a minute I don’t know why or how he does it.

He quickly taps Nino’s name and types out:

“I hate you did you seriously just send that so I could talk with Aiba?? and what was that supposed to mean???”

He’s not surprised by Nino’s instant reply:

“he figured out it was me?”

“yes but you’re not answering me??”

“so he knew that but he still sent a message to you ;) my plan worked ;)”

“Stop it”

“;)”

“NINO”

“Have fun flirting with him ;)”

“I hate you”

“Love you too!!!!!”

Sho nearly drops his phone when it buzzes and he sees a text from Aiba. He takes in a deep breath and open it up:

“Nino does that a lot even when I change my password he still figures it out.”

Sho stares at his phone for a while, contemplating whether to reply to it or not. He could leave it the way it is, ending the conversation with that, but Nino will start pestering him for details and try to do something like this again.

Right, he’s doing this so Nino won’t annoy him and it has nothing to do with how he wants to talk to Aiba, Sho tries convincing himself as he types out his reply and sends it.

“I’m guessing he does that a lot for you?”

Aiba’s reply comes in an instant and Sho bites back his lips, trying not to imagine Aiba all excitedly typing out a reply.

“I’ve known Nino since we were kids so apparently ‘that gives me the honor of being his favorite person to annoy’.”

Sho laughs at that, smiling brightly as he replies to Aiba.

“I can actually imagine him saying that. but I didn’t know you knew each other since you were little? I thought you two and Jun met in high school.”

“we met Jun in high school but the two of us have been friends for a much longer time and that gives me the honor of being the only one with the most embarrassing stories of Nino to tell.”

Sho bites his lips, thumb hovering over the message, and hesitant. He takes in a breath and sends his next message.

“we need to meet one day the two of us so you could tell me all about Nino.”

Sho’s hold on his phone tightens when the screen lights up with a new text from Aiba.

“decide on a date and I’m going to be there I’m always free to embarrass Nino.”

Sho smiles brightly at that, heart warming up, because he wasn’t expecting the day to end with promising Aiba to meet just the two of them one day.

A promise of a date…

 

++

 

Following that, thanks to Nino―although Sho would never admit it, even though he’s smirking all brightly at him the next time he sees him― they start texting each other somewhat regularly. It’s always small mundane things, yet the effect those texts have on him are instantaneous, especially on days when work seems endless yet he forgets all about his worries and or how he’s about to collapse all by a single text from Aiba.

He does wonder when he will ever get the chance to spend some time properly with him though. He gets the answer two weeks later on a Tuesday when Akane come backs home with a paper asking the parents to give their children an additional t-shirt next week as they will be doing some painting activities.

Sho figures he could read the entire paper properly but instead he ends up texting Aiba,

“What’s this painting thing?”

Aiba’s reply comes in an instant,

“Ohno-san is going to come! if you’re free can I call you and explain everything?”

Sho doesn’t think about it and instantly taps Aiba’s name, dialing, and Aiba instantly picks it up.

“Sho-san?”

Sho does feel a bit ridiculous with how he’s already all smiling brightly and feeling warmth spread within him just from hearing Aiba’s voice, “Hey, how are you?”

“I’m good. How are you? How’s Akane-chan?”

“Good. I’m just a bit confused about all of this and how Ohno-san is coming?” Sho asks and Aiba chuckles brightly.

“The wall outside towards the playground’s side is empty and for a while there had been discussions to find something to cover it with so I kind of talked to them and told them about Ohno-san and how I could ask him to do something about it. They were excited about having him come over and when I told him he agreed, so he’s designed some drawing and he’s coming next week to paint but also have the kids paint with him.” Aiba explains, voice bright, and Sho hums.

“I had no idea he was doing that.” Sho says and he hears Aiba chuckling.

“Yeah, it just got finalized recently. Actually, Ohno-san was saying even though he knows the teachers will be there, he still wants someone to be with him and help him.” Aiba pauses and brightly adds, “Are you free next Monday, Sho-san? It would be really nice if you could join Ohno-san and be here with us.”

Sho’s certain his brain just short-circuited, the only thought in his mind being Aiba wants to see you! Aiba wants to see you! Aiba wants to see you!, and instantly blurts out, “I’m free. I’ll talk to Ohno-san about it.”

The way Aiba hums brightly, voice an octave higher, leaves Sho all giddy.

 

++

 

Akane’s got a blanket draped around her shoulder, holding on to the front of it tightly, and giggling brightly. She’s sat on that huge teddy bear Jun got her when he travelled last month to LA and Ohno’s pulling on one of the teddy bear’s arms, essentially dragging it around with Akane on top of it.

They stop when they notice Sho by the door and Sho really needs to start getting used to being greeted by ridiculous sights every time two or more of his friends agree to babysit Akane.

“Hi. What’s going on today?” Sho asks and Akane giggles brightly again.

“Matsumoto-san said because Ohno-san doesn’t have a driving license, he could do this to practice for it if he ever wants to get it.”

Ohno only shrugs in answer and Sho sighs before leaning down and picking Akane up, even when she whines, “Okay, but it’s time for you to wash up then dinner, okay? It’s getting late.”

She’s pouting but nods her head and Sho ruffles her hair before letting her down and pats her back encouragingly, until she toddles to the bathroom.

Jun peeks behind the wall, startling Sho slightly from where he abruptly appeared, “Dinner is ready but before that, Sho-san are you really doing it for the kids tomorrow? Or is it for a certain homeroom teacher?”

Sho stares at Jun blankly before sighing, “What’s with you and Nino doubting my pure intentions―”

“Yeah, pure. You just want to see Aiba. Don’t lie.” Jun smirks when Sho rolls his eyes.

“You know he asked me first―”

“Yeah, yeah, sure. Because you couldn’t say no.” Jun chuckles when Sho sends him a glare, “That doesn’t work against me. Anyway, dinner’s ready and I had a very long day and I’m really hungry.”

Thankfully neither he nor Ohno bring it up, but Sho does wake up to a text from Nino saying:

“don’t flirt too much in front of the kids.”

Sho ignores the text and tries not to think too much of how his heart is all feverish at the reminder of today and how he’ll get to spend it with Aiba.

Akane does mention he seems to be extra happy today, but he ignores it.

Part 2