Thread by @IDtsuKei

This is very roughly related to #krtskvalentinesweek day 6, domestic. I just wanted an excuse to write #krtsk #kurotsuki baby fluff 🤷🏻‍♀️

-

‘Hello?’

‘Where are you?’

Tetsurou frowned at his phone. He had told Kei to relax, let him take care of everything to do with their

Valentine’s dinner, but the tone from his husband seemed all but relaxed.

‘I’m getting off the elevator now, love. I’m early, what’s got you so frazzled?’

‘We need to go,’ Kei replied over the phone. As Tetsurou rounded the corner, he met Kei’s eyes. He was standing in the

Doorway to their apartment, seeming very antsy.

‘Go where?’ Tetsurou hangs up his phone, shifting the bags to his left hand so he can extend his right hand towards Kei. Kei grabs it, clinging like he had been thrown a lifeline.

‘She called. She’s in labor.’

Tetsurou’s brain

Short circuits, suddenly understanding Kei’s urgency.

‘Oh. Oh fuck, let me just drop this inside real quick.’

Kei nods, and Tetsurou darts inside to throw the bags on the counter, glad all he had stopped to pick up was non-perishable items. He goes back to the doorway and the

Two of them lock up and rush to the elevator.

‘Do we know which hospital she went to?’

Kei nods, telling Tetsurou the information while he laces their fingers together.

‘The caseworker is supposed to meet us in the waiting room.’

Tetsurou hums in agreement. He uses their

Now intertwined fingers to tug Kei in until he’s close enough Tetsurou can kiss him on the forehead. A few years ago, the two of them had decided they were ready to look into options for them to expand their family. They had toyed with the idea of a surrogate for a while, but had

Ultimately settled for adoption. His ever prepared husband dove into the research and a few months later they were on the waiting list.

As glad as Tetsurou was for the agency, he was ready for their experience to be over. It had been stressful to start. They had been paired

With a caseworker who noted what they were looking for, but the process was tedious. They had a few almosts but they had fallen through at the last minute, and Tetsurou could only stomach so much of seeing his Kei so disappointed. Kei insisted they stuck with it, and a few months

Ago they received one of the calls that changed their lives. A local woman had contacted the agency. She was a few months into her pregnancy but had no desire to keep the child, and wanted them to place it. Their caseworker had snatched the offer up and the very next day, him and

Kei were in her office to sign the paperwork. It had been a rare case where the mother had wanted to be in contact with them, and they agreed. They exchanged numbers and she would send them updates, ultrasounds from her appointments, a video of her stomach moving as their baby

Kicked, etc.

Tetsurou realized he had zoned out thinking of their journey when Kei pulled into a parking spot at their local hospital. He turned to look at Tetsurou, nerves showing on his face.

‘Hey. It’s going to be okay.’ Tetsurou reassured him.

‘I know. I’m just nervous.

What if the baby doesn’t like us?’ Kei chews on his bottom lip, stopping only to glare as Tetsurou laughs at his question. ‘Shh stop laughing, it’s a serious concern.’

‘Kei, love, the baby isn’t going to hate us. I don’t even know if babies are capable of that.’

‘If you say

So. If it does hate us, I’m blaming you.’ Kei finally cracks a smile, and they turn the car off to head inside. Kei navigates them to the correct waiting room, waving as their case worker walks in from the opposite direction.

‘Perfect timing as always, you two. Great news, as

Of a few minutes ago, you’re the parents of a healthy, beautiful baby girl. The doctors are cleaning her up now, then we’ll ask about going to see her.’

Kei’s grip tightens on Tetsurou’s hand as he gasps. Tetsurou himself has to stop and blink back tears, emotions hitting him

All at once. This was really happening, he thought to himself.

‘Did she pick out a name?’ Kei asks, voice thick as he is also clearly working on not crying.

‘No, she said she would let you guys. The nurses have been informed of the situation and they’ll let you fill out that

Part of the birth certificate.’

They both nod, and sit down to wait, hands never leaving each other. When the nurse finally comes to grab them she explains that they are working on getting them a small room where they can spend the night with their new baby until the hospital

Releases her. She asks if they want to see her through the window of the nursery while they finish that up, and she barely finishes her sentence before Kei says yes, standing immediately. She leads them back, points out which one she is, and leaves them be.

The moment feels

Almost surreal as they stand there, taking in the sight of their newborn. She’s wrapped up tight in blankets, fast asleep in the little cot they have for her. Tetsurou reaches out, wrapping his arms around Kei’s waist as they take her in.

‘She’s perfect,’ Kei chokes out,

Leaning into Tetsurou’s hold.

‘She is,’ he agrees.

‘Would you be mad if I say this might be my new happiest moment in life. I think it even tops walking down the aisle to see you waiting for me.’

Tetsurou looks up to see Kei smiling through his tears. It causes a smile of

His own to take over.

‘I don’t know, I might get jealous.’ He teases.

‘Good.’ Kei tilts his head in and the two of them share a gentle kiss, pulling back to rest their foreheads together. They take a second to just breathe in the moment, when the nurse tells them that the

Room is ready. She leads them there and then leaves to grab the baby. She rolls her in, telling them when she would be back with the first feeding for the baby and showing them how to call if they need someone. She leaves, and Tetsurou asks Kei if he wants to hold her.

‘You

Don’t want to hold her first?’ He questions.

‘No, you can.’ Tetsurou tells him. His heart feels like it’s going to burst as Kei picks up their daughter(god, /their daughter/) for the first time. His smile is blinding, even as the tears still run down his face. Tetsurou grabs

His phone, taking a quick picture.

‘Tetsu, if you just took a picture of me puffy faces from crying, you better delete it. No one better see that,’ Kei warns, eyes never leaving the baby in his arms.

‘Of course, love,’ Tetsurou agrees as he sends the picture in both the group

Chat with the third gym and the one he’s in with Akiteru and Kei’s mom, and to Kenma separately. He mutes his phone, scooting closer to them.

‘Hello. Aren’t you the most precious thing I’ve ever seen,’ he coos at their daughter as Kei tilts her so he can see her better.

‘She

Is,’ Kei agrees. ‘Did you want to hold her? You can have her for five minutes and then I’m never putting her down again.’

‘Kei, you can’t hold her 24/7,’ Tetsurou barks out a laugh. ‘C’mon, let me have her.’

‘Watch me.’ Kei hands her over,

Tetsurou’s sure his smile is

Splitting his face in two. Kei takes a chance to snap a picture of his own. The switch between people was just enough to jostle the baby awake, and Tetsurou bounces her gently as she fusses. Soon, she blinks her eyes open, taking in the sight of Tetsurou.

‘I’m going to cry

Again,’ Kei chokes out as Tetsurou just continues to grin.

‘Hi, baby.’ He smiles at her, as she smacks her lips and closes her eyes again.

Despite his earlier words, the two of them take turns holding her, placing her in the cot only for brief periods when the nurse needs

To see her. Tetsurou replies to his flood of messages, ranging from Kenma’s ‘congrats. If I’m not a godparent I’m suing,’ to Akiteru and Bokuto’s illegible screaming. He gets a message from Yamaguchi, a simple ‘🔪’ and he quickly sends the original picture with the three more

That he’s taken.

Once, when the nurse is with them, she offers to take a picture of all three of them. They’re sitting together, Kei holding their daughter and Tetsurou wrapping his arms around his shoulders. That’s the one they share on social media the next day, when they’ve

Been released from the hospital and are working on settling in to their apartment.

The post simply reads ‘Please welcome the newest addition to the Kuroo family, Kuroo Kaori.’ That next night, as Kaori sleeps in her crib, Tetsurou pulls Kei in for a crushing hug.

‘Hey.’

‘Hm?’

‘Happy belated Valentines.’

Kei snorts in his arms.

‘You too. Although, I have to say, I don’t know if you’ll be able to top this years gift.’ He teases.

‘Aw man, you know what this means?’

‘Hm?’

‘No more hot, sexy, Valentines sex. It’s always going to be our

Daughters birthday.’ Tetsurou jokingly complains, huffing his own laughter into Kei’s skin as he presses soft kisses to his neck.

‘Horndog,’ Kei laughs.

**

Raising a toddler was a whole different ballpark compared to raising a baby.

That’s not to say Kaori was the perfect baby, not at all. What had started off as a sweet, quiet baby at the hospital, soon morphed into an almost three week period where if she was awake, she was

Crying. She did settle down though, and every time Tetsurou held her, or saw his husband dozing on the couch with her curled on his chest, Tetsurou said a silent thank you to anyone that was listening. He knew his friends were starting to tune out his almost nonstop praise of

Their daughter, but couldn’t find it in himself to stop. Not when she was growing so fast, doing something new every day.

The only one who was always happy to hear about Kaori was Kenma, who despite their desire to never have kids of their own, was incredibly protective over

Their godchild. Tetsurou was 99% positive that Kenma had formed a group chat with Yamaguchi, the other godparent, where they solely shared pictures of his daughter.

But now that she was just past the dreaded second birthday, he was beginning to see why they were called the

Terrible twos. Don’t get him wrong, he still cherished every moment with his lovely family, he couldn’t ask for more, but if he had to wash Kaori’s breakfast out of his hair one more time, he was going to shave his head.

Even more infuriatingly, Kaori only seemed to throw her

Tantrums when Kei wasn’t around. Kei worked earlier than he did, so Tetsurou would make the two of them breakfast and drop her off at either his father’s or Kenma’s, whoever was watching her that day. Then, Kei would pick her up and by the time Tetsurou would get home, the two of

Them would have dinner in the oven and he would often find them in the living room, giggling as they played together. He never saw any signs of the food throwing, ‘no’ screaming toddler he dealt with in the mornings.

He would be jealous, but it was hard to be anything but

Smitten when he would walk in on Kei reading a children’s book to an entranced Kaori. Or when they would finally notice him and Kei would smile at him, full of love, as Kaori started babbling pa pa pa and waddling to him. Her shrieks as he swooped her up soothing the irritation

From this morning when she refused to put on pants, no matter what Tetsurou did.

It went on this way for a while, until one day. They were set to go on a family vacation the next week, stopping by Sendai for a few days to visit Kei’s family, and then off to a resort for Kaori’s

First big trip with them. Tetsurou had managed to get his boss to agree to him leaving early, and he was due home about the same time Kei should be getting back from picking Kaori up. He opened the door, expecting the normal serene atmosphere, excited to get to cook dinner for

Kei for once during the week, when he was met with a familiar sound.

‘No, no, no!’

Kaori was chanting her new favorite word from the living room. Tetsurou winced, feeling sorry(but a bit relieved) that Kei was getting his first taste of the tantrum. He set his bag down,

Kicking off his shoes and loosening his tie as he went to go help.

‘Kaori, sweetheart, will you please just let me change your dress? It’s all yucky, come on.’ Kei sounded exasperated and Tetsurou couldn’t help but pause outside of the door, chuckling to himself at how worn

Out Kei sounded from one tantrum.

‘No! No, dada, no!’

God help the two of them as she got older, she was already giving them such attitude. He was not looking forward to her teenage years at this rate.

‘Are you seriously going to make me do this again? You want some ice

Cream? A little bowl and then we can change before papa gets home?’

Tetsurou’s jaw dropped. /Again/? Oh my god, he thought. Kaori wasn’t picture perfect for Kei, Kei was bribing her! Oh no, this wouldn’t stand.

‘A-ha!’ Tetsurou shouted, jumping from behind the doorway. Both

Of the guilty parties jumped at the sudden sound, Kei dropping the clothes he was holding, and Kaori bursting into tears. ‘Oh shit, sorry. Hey don’t cry, baby, it’s just me.’

‘Oh great, look what you’ve done,’ Kei scowls, moving faster than Tetsurou to scoop Kaori up, shushing

Her as he rubbed her back. While Tetsurou felt guilty about scaring her, he was not about to be made the bad guy here.

‘Look what I’ve done, you’ve been bribing our daughter for who knows how long!’ He accused Kei, pointing his finger but dropping the volume of his voice. Kaori

Continued to sniffle, rubbing what was surely a snot covered face into the shoulder on Kei’s shirt. He made a face, but then turned away from Tetsurou.

‘We’re not fighting in front of the baby, and I don’t know what you mean anyways.’ He marched past an incredulous Tetsurou.

‘Lies. I spend all morning with this terror and you’ve been giving her ice cream. No wonder she doesn’t want whatever breakfast I put in front of her, she’s expecting ice cream!’

‘Don’t be ridiculous, it’s not always ice cream.’

‘That doesn’t make it better!’

Kaori finally

Lifts her face off of Kei’s shoulder, confirming Tetsurou’s theory about the snot, and she smiles a wobbly smile at him.

‘Pa pa pa,’ she makes grabby hands at him and Kei passes her over. Tetsurou wants to keep pressing the topic, but he can tell from Kei’s face that his tone

Is only making him feel worse.

‘Kei, love. Don’t frown.’

‘I know, okay. I know it’s bad to give her sweets to get her to stop crying but I can’t stand it. Nothing else works and when she starts to cry for too long, it makes me want to cry as well and then that would be a mess

And then you always look so happy to come home to a peaceful place and I don’t want to disappoint you.’

Tetsurou cuts off his rambles, using his free arm to pull Kei in for a hug. Kaori squeals, wrapping her arms around both of them and giggling.

‘Love, I’m not happy when I

Come home because it’s peaceful, I’m happy because I love the two of you so much. Snot covered and crying, sitting calmly on the couch, all of the above.’ He presses a kiss to both of their foreheads.

‘Promise?’ Kei sniffles, pressing his face into Tetsurou’s shoulder in an

Almost mimicry of how Kaori was snuggled to Kei a minute ago.

‘Promise. Now come on, you both need to change and then let’s just order in tonight.’

The three of them head upstairs, and this time Tetsurou and Kei tag team getting Kaori changed, and Tetsurou brings her

Downstairs while Kei takes a quick bath.

‘You’re dangerous you know,’ he wags his finger at Kaori who’s babbling to her blocks. ‘I’ve never seen dada cave so fast in an argument ever, even when he’s wrong.’

‘Shut up,’ Kei hisses as he walks into the room drying his hair.

‘It’s not her fault she’s cuter than you.’

Tetsurou fake gasps, but their smiles give away how they both really feel. They spend the rest of the night curled on the couch, watching one of Kaori’s cartoons. Yes, her twos may be terrible, but Tetsurou wouldn’t trade them.

**

Tetsurou had heard from almost everyone he met about how fast time flies when it comes to your children, and he had always brushed them off but when he rolled over one February 14th, realizing when he blinked his eyes open that it was Kaori’s 16th birthday, he realized how

True the statement was. He shifted slightly, causing Kei who was curled against him, to grumble in his sleep. Kei and him and been together for over 20 years at this point, but his heart always fluttered when he felt his husbands warmth beside him, and this morning was no

Different. He took a second to take in their positions: him, face down, head buried between their pillows. Kei, head resting on Tetsurou’s back, leg thrown over his waist.

He decided to bite the bullet and rolled over so he could be face to face with Kei, laughing slightly as

Kei frowned.

‘Rude. Was comfy.’ Kei stated, yawning.

‘I know, love. Wanted to see your beautiful face though.’ He leaned in, pressing a kiss to Kei’s forehead.

‘Yeah, yeah. Time is it?’

He knew from experience that if he didn’t get out of bed soon, Kei would fall back

Asleep within seconds, the body warmth enough to coax him back to the land of dreams.

‘Time to get up, sleepy head. We gotta get things around for Kaori’s party.’

‘She can do it herself, she’s old enough,’ Kei argued, clinging tighter to Tetsurou as he tried to sit up.

‘I

Mean, she can but we only have a few more birthdays where she’ll be waking up here and not off at college.’

‘Ass, don’t remind me.’ Tetsurou’s words were enough to get Kei to drop his hold, sitting up and blearily rubbing his eyes.

‘Not sorry, love. You still good to start

Breakfast while I go pick up the cake?’

‘Yeah, go. Abandon us.’ Tetsurou went to kiss Kei on the mouth as he walked by, but he turned his head so it landed on his cheek instead. ‘Blech, morning breath.’

‘You love it. Hey,’ he reached out, wrapping Kei in an embrace before he

Could walk out of the room. ‘Happy Valentine’s Day.’

‘Happy Valentine’s Day.’ Kei rolled his eyes, but his expression had melted to one of endearment. ‘Make it through the party without crying or embarrassing her and maybe I’ll give you your gift tonight.’

‘Yes sir.’ He play

Saluted him, before moving to get ready.

Once he was ready, he swung by the kitchen where Kei was cooking the traditional breakfast meal for Kaori, heart shaped red pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries. She had had them every birthday morning since she was old enough

To eat them, even during her preteen phase where she claimed everything her parents did was babyish and embarrassing. If there was one thing she picked up from Kei, besides the snarky attitude, it was the love of sweets.

Tetsurou said his goodbyes and went to finish the errands

To finalize the plans for her party. She had wanted a big blowout party with her friends, but after much negotiating, they had decided that today would be for family and close friends, and with Kenma’s awful influence, this weekend she could have a bigger party for her entire

Year. (It was hard arguing that they couldn’t afford to rent out the penthouse suite of the most expensive hotel in tokyo, when her godparent was a c.e.o. and a world renown streamer, and married to an Olympic volleyball player.) He was grabbing the last of the items when his

Phone buzzed with a message from Kei. It was a picture of Kaori, hair somehow almost as wild as Tetsurou’s despite not sharing any actual genes with him, shoveling pancakes into her mouth, still in her pjs.

‘She’s mad you’re not here, not that you can tell from the speed of

Which she’s devouring her food.’

‘Lol. Tell her I’ll be back in like 15 minutes. It was a necessary evil if she wanted a cake.’

‘She said apology accepted but only if you let her bring her gf tonight 🙄’

‘Lol ur call’

Tetsurou laughed at Kei’s emoji use. Kaori had

Recently started dating a new girl, and while they were usually supportive of her relationships, Kei had soured when he realized his daughters new girlfriend was the daughter of Tanaka and Kiyoko. He said that he barely escaped being tied to the Tanaka’s when his brother had a

(Hopeless) crush on Saeko, he can’t believe his own daughter would betray him like this. He knew though, that Kei would let her invite her no matter what. Even after the ice cream debacle in her twos, Kei was still prone to spoiling her. No one ever believed him when he would

tell them that Kei was the softie of the two of them, besides Yamaguchi and Kei’s mom of course.

His musings saw him home, and when he went to put the cake in the fridge he was cornered by the beast herself.

‘What’s in the bag, pops?’ She blocked the entrance to the kitchen.

‘None of your business. God, remember when I would come home and you would call me papa and just want to be cuddled. Now I come home and get accosted.’

‘Gross, I was not a cute baby. I was ferocious, unstoppable.’ She crinkles her nose.

‘You were so sweet, such cute chubby

Cheeks we could pinch. I should drag out the photo albums for tonight!’ He said with a gasp as she shrieked.

‘No! Embarrassing! Dad, he’s being gross again! Make him stop!’ She dodged Tetsurou’s hand as he tried to pinch her cheeks, moving out of the way just in time as Kei

Left the kitchen.

‘I can’t control him, you know that. His love is a burden we must both bear.’

‘Hey!’ Tetsurou whined as Kei snatched the bag out of his hands, peering in at the cake. Kaori tried to join him, but despite being tall for her age, she had nothing on Kei who

Simply held the bag up and out of her reach.

‘Go get dressed, it’s still a school day.’

‘Unfair, why do you guys get to skip work while I have to go study still? It’s my birthday,’ she pouted.

‘Because, we’ll be too busy entertaining your guests tonight to celebrate our

Valentine’s Day, so what better time to have the house alone?’ Tetsurou waggled his eyebrows, leaning up to smack a wet kiss to Kei’s laughing mouth. Kaori made a fake barfing sound before thudding back up the stairs.

He followed Kei back into the kitchen, crowding him against

The counter as soon as Kaori’s cake was put away.

‘Hi.’

‘Hi, weirdo.’ Kei smiled at him. This time Kei is the one who initiated the kiss, and the two of them slowly made out until they heard Kaori thudding back downstairs. Tetsurou broke away, shaking his head.

‘She’s going

To go through those stairs one day.’

‘Probably,’ Kei laughed, agreeing with him. ‘Good thing we moved out of the apartment before she started walking like that, I can only imagine the noise complaints from our neighbors.’

‘I’m coming in!’ Kaori shouted from the door, walking

In with her eyes covered. ‘Break it up.’

‘Shut up, punk.’ Tetsurou joked, sticking his tongue out at her as she grabbed her lunch for the day.

‘Real mature, pops. Who’s turning 16 today?’ She stuck her tongue back at him, and after a chorus of happy birthdays, she was out

Of the doors. Tetsurou would like to say he was strictly down to business, and that the two of them jumped straight into decorating the house, but that would be a lie. After a detour to their bedroom, and their own private celebration of the holiday, they finally got started.

He did take pity on Kei and did most of the heavy lifting, while his husband grumbled that Tetsurou had tried to fuck him into throwing his back out. Tetsurou just laughed at that, until Kei kicked him.

Despite the distraction, they managed to get everything up and ready before

People starting arriving. The guest list for tonight was mainly comprised of their family and friends, and soon enough their living room was filled with people reminiscing. Kaori wasn’t due back from school for a few more minutes, and she’d bring her handful of close friends with

Her. Kei was walking around, thanking most people for coming despite it being the holiday. They all waved him off, and Tetsurou felt a rush of gratitude for the family they had built for themselves.

Kaori arrived not long after, and the party was off. Soon enough, she started

Jokingly demanding to open her gifts and they all crowded around. She had genuinely appreciated all of the gifts, but was beaming when she opened Bokuto’s gift. Despite not being an actual godparent, Bokuto had always treated Kaori like she was his own daughter and he was more

Heartbroken than both of her actual parents when she decided to do softball instead of volleyball. So when she opened his gift of a brand new glove, along with a myriad of other sports related gears, she had all but thrown herself across the room.

She frowned when she realized

The pile was gone, and that she hadn’t gotten anything from her parents or Kenma. She figured Kenma’s gift was her weekend party, but her dads were always over the top with the gifts so she looked at them questioningly.

‘Okay, before we give you your gift know it was another

Huge compromise. It’s yours, but you have to pass the test and prove yourself responsible before you get to use it,’ Kei explained. Kaori jumped up, knowing that if it was a compromise and that Kei wasn’t happy, but Tetsurou was practically vibrating in his seat, knowing it had

To be a car. She had been asking lately to get her temps, and Kei shot her down every time. He thought it was too dangerous, that she needed to be older before they would teach her. She squealed following Tetsurou to the garage.

It wasn’t a fancy car, by any means, but it was

Hers. She threw herself at her dads, kissing both of them on the cheeks.

‘You’re the best dads in the world, oh my god. I love you both.’

‘Love you too. Can we move on to the cake now?’ Kei asked, ruffling Kaori’s hair.

The rest of the night went by without any bumps, and

With the help of Yamaguchi and Yachi, they got the house cleaned up before bed.

By the time the weekend rolled around, Kei was a nervous wreck. He knew that Kaori wasn’t into anything illegal, but the idea of letting his teenage daughter run wild at a hotel was setting him on

Edge. She had begged them to not chaperone her party, and eventually after Tetsurou intervened, Kei agreed.

Tetsurou soothed his worried husband as best as he could, knowing that not only would their daughter make the right decisions, but that Bokuto and Akaashi’s son was

Invited and would not let any harm come to Kaori. The two of them were best friends, and Tetsurou was half certain the boy had a crush on his husband from how quickly he agreed to be their eyes on the inside. He had brought his suspicions up to Akaashi once, but Akaashi had

Merely moved his glasses down his nose, glancing over at Kei to give him an up and down look, before looking back at Tetsurou and shrugging.

‘Who doesn’t have a crush on Kei.’

So yeah, Tetsurou dropped that subject before Akaashi got any ideas about making moves on his

Husband.

Still, Kei sat on the edge of their couch, chewing his nails, glancing at his phone.

‘They’re fine, love. Relax.’ Tetsurou reached out to start massaging Kei’s shoulders, smiling when he felt his muscles soften with each touch.

Until - Kei’s phone rang. He jumped

For it, answer it without looking at the caller ID.

‘Hello? Yes, who is this?’ He waved off Tetsurou who was trying to listen in, standing up. ‘Oh my god, is she okay?’

Tetsurou’s blood ran cold until he realized that from Kei’s tone it couldn’t be about Kaori.

‘That’s

Awful.’ Another pause as the person on the other line continued talking. ‘I’m sorry? What?’

‘What? Kei who is it?’ Tetsurou was dying to know who was on the line.

‘I. Um okay. Okay, we’ll be there shortly.’ He hung up, looking at Tetsurou with wide eyes.

‘What??’

‘It’s

Kaori’s mom. She was in an accident, she isn’t going to make it.’

Tetsurou gasped, moving to Kei’s side. Her birth mother had tried, in the beginning to be there as a family friend to see Kaori grow, but they had lost touch with her only a few years into Kaori’s life. Kaori

Had no memories of her, and never really expressed any interest in getting to know her.

‘Wait, why are they calling us? Where are we going?’ Tetsurou thought back to the overheard bits of the conversation.

‘She had a baby boy, three years old.’ Kei was trembling slightly,

And Tetsurou took his hand to comfort him. ‘She uh, I guess the dad isn’t known and she doesn’t have any remaining family. She told the hospital workers to contact our old caseworker, she wants us to take him.’

‘Oh. Oh, Kei. Alright, let’s go.’

They had talked, briefly, about

Adopting a second child. They had almost always leant towards not doing it, but there was no doubt in Tetsurou’s mind about doing it. Unless of course, Kei didn’t want to. They grabbed their jackets and headed out.

At the hospital, they were too late to talk to Kaori’s mother,

But their old caseworker was there, looking just as frazzled as they were. She was still in her pajamas, hair pulled back into a messy bun as she sat in the waiting room with a sleeping three year old, who shared an uncanny resemblance to their daughter.

‘Kei, Tetsurou.’ She

Greeted them when she saw them. ‘I know this is a very unusual circumstance, I know it’s very sudden.’

‘We’ll take him.’ Kei spoke up first, voice solid. He didn’t spare a glance at Tetsurou but he did tighten his fingers around his hand.

‘Of course. No question. Tell us

Where we need to sign and we’ll sign.’ Tetsurou agreed.

His caseworker sighed a sound of relief, her shoulders dropping.

‘I’m so glad. I can have my office draw up the papers Monday when the courts are opened. For now, I have a temporary bag for you of necessities. His mother

Signed the papers before…’ she trailed off, blinking back tears.

‘Thank you. For calling us,’ Kei comforted her, grabbing her hand.

‘His name is Daiki.’ She cleared her throat, passing the bag off to Tetsurou. She wakes the boy up, and briefly introduces them. Daiki blinks

Up at them slowly, before stretching his arms out for Kei to pick him up. Kei does, and the caseworker promises to be in touch first thing in the morning on Monday to set up a time for the paperwork. She also gives them the name of a specialist to help both Kaori and Daiki with

Any struggles they had with their loss.

They say their goodbyes, and strap Daiki into Kaori’s old car seat. Tetsurou starts the car as Kei decides to call Bokuto’s kid. He says Kaori is asleep already, and they tell him that he doesn’t need to wake her but to please be sure

That she is back at a decent time tomorrow morning. Kei starts a list of things they’ll need to purchase since they had gotten rid of all of Kaori’s old things. They also decide that they will tell Kaori before they tell any of their families.

‘Well, there goes my dreams of

Turning the guest room into an office,’ Tetsurou jokes, trying to ease the tension. Kei barely cracks a smile, but Tetsurou doesn’t hold it against him. They bring Daiki inside, deciding to let him sleep in their bed while they took turns sleeping in the guest bed, so Daiki

Wasn’t alone.

The morning is filled with them trying to figure out what Daiki likes to eat, and Kei watches him babble at his pancakes while Tetsurou digs up some old building blocks from the attic for him to play with until they can get more. He’s napping in their bed again by

The time Kaori bursts in the doors.

‘I’m home you spoilsports, and it’s still basically noon! I had big plans of sleeping all day,’ she trails off when she sees her dads faces. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Kaori, sweetheart. Come sit with us.’

She plops on the couch between the two of

Them, folding her legs up under her.

‘Last night, we got a call. I know you don’t remember her much, but your birth mother passed away.’ Kei starts slowly, hand grasping Kaori’s.

‘Oh. I mean, that’s sad but I’ve told you before I don’t really feel like any connection to her?’

‘I know, but there’s more. First though, know we won’t be upset if you’re upset about this. We were informed last night that your mother had another kid, a baby boy.’

‘Oh! Like I have a half brother?’

‘Yes. Well, maybe more like your brother brother,’ Tetsurou cringes.

‘What do you mean my brother brother?’ She frowns.

‘What your dad means, is that we were contacted because she had no one else to take him. His name is Daiki, he’s three, and the caseworker is drawing up paperwork for us to adopt him. He’s in our room now, sleeping. We won’t

Make you meet him right away, I know this is a lot to take in.’ Kei rips the bandaid off, and they give Kaori time to soak in the information.

‘Oh. Why didn’t you come get me last night?’

‘You were asleep when we called. We figured there was no point in waking you up just so

You could watch him sleep all night.’

‘Oh. And like Kenma, and grandma and grandpa, what do they have to say about this?’

‘I’m not going to tell Yamaguchi you didn’t ask about him, but we haven’t told anyone yet. We wanted you to know first.’ Kei replies.

‘Shit, yeah don’t

Tell him I only mentioned Kenma, he’ll never forgive me.’ She winces.

‘You’re taking this surprisingly well,’ Tetsurou furrows his brows.

‘Well, it’s a lot to take in! Do I think you’re both too old to have a baby? Yes! Did I always want a baby sibling to torment? Also yes!

You’re dropping an awful lot on me very early in the morning!’ She says, throwing her hands in the air.

‘For starters, it’s afternoon. Secondly, we are not that old you meanie. Thirdly, we know it’s a lot! The caseworker, she gave us the number for someone you can talk to who

Can help you deal with all of it.’ Tetsurou reassures her.

‘Okay. Okay.’ She nods. ‘Can I meet him?’

‘If you want to, he’s napping now but I imagine it won’t be for much longer.’

‘Does he have toys and clothes and stuff?’ She asks.

‘Just a few outfits. We have to go

Get some, and the caseworker will eventually give us what she can of his stuff from home.’

‘Okay! Let’s go. One of you take me shopping while he naps, let’s get some stuff. I won’t let my baby brother be bored and with no good clothes!’

‘Tetsurou, where did we go wrong with

Her,’ Kei jokes, pulling Kaori into a hug as she protests.

‘I wish I knew. You want to shop or stay here?’

‘Eugh, crowds. I’ll stay.’

‘Fine but no ice cream bribes!’ Tetsurou demands as he pulls Kaori to her feet. He gasps as Kei flips him off, but Kaori drags him to the

Doors.

‘Let’s go, c’mon.’

Later, when they return home to Kei sitting in the living room with Daiki, reading to him from a random not kid friendly horror book from their shelves, Tetsurou can’t help but be hit with a wave of nostalgia for their beginning years with Kaori in

Their little apartment. Kaori breaks his train of thoughts by marching in and snatching the book out of Kei’s hands.

‘Not kid friendly! How did you two ever manage with me?’ She starts, before crouching down to introduce herself to Daiki. ‘Hello. My name is Kaori and I’m your

Big sister. I will be your lifeline in this demonic house.’

Daiki stares at her with wide eyes, before trying to babble out her name. Kei looks up at Tetsurou, smiling tentatively.

‘Here we go again, huh?’