twenty-two years young [yaku/sugawara, single dad au]

[libemom]

[ There's a feeling of exhaustion that's long since settled deep in Yaku's bones and leaves him wondering just how he could have aged so much in the years since graduating from Nekoma High School. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday he was playing as their volleyball team's libero, and the most he had to worry about was how to best keep the underclassmen (and Kuroo, sometimes) in line - and sometimes he finds himself wishing that it were just yesterday, that his life since graduation was just one giant stress dream and he'd wake up to a phone call from a teammate telling him to get to the gym, he's thirty minutes late and counting. But he's here, not there, with a little girl tugging softly on his hand and leading him toward a building that, despite its kid-friendliness, leaves little knots forming in the pit of his stomach.

After all, who would expect to enroll in a university to get a degree and come out a parent of a young child? Maybe it'd be less shocking for someone less responsible than he was (is, continues to try to be), but this is Yaku's life since then - a life he's kept secret from most (Kuroo and Kai were reluctantly let in, and even that he regrets), under control, for the sake of his family, his now ex-wife, himself.

(not that there was anyone to blame but himself for everything that happened during those four years - he should've been more careful, should've been a better boyfriend - a better husband, for the little amount of time that lasted - should've should've should've

should've done so much more

could he have saved the sinking ship that was his relationship if he could've been more than he was?)

He's done his best to raise Kaori on his own - his parents frowned upon him the moment he and his then fiancee bowed before them, announcing their engagement, and he's far too proud to ask for help otherwise - but with work getting busier and Kaori getting more anxious to meet people her age, well. All-day daycare's one of the few options he has, and the most appealing.

He squeezes Kaori's hand gently - a gesture he tells himself is for her benefit, but is actually for his own, for a father not eager to let his child leave the nest. ] Here we go... [ Yaku slides the door open and steps inside the daycare. ]

Hello?

Comments

[settermom]

[Sugawara hadn’t continued volleyball after graduating Karasuno. He played on the community team when he had time but his days at university had been mostly dedicated to his major, early childhood education and development. He had stayed focused on his schooling, with not a lot of room for much else. While he had dated around a little, it had been very little and none of the relationships were very committed. He had a goal set in mind and stuck to it.

It left behind a sort of empty feeling, but it had been well worth it. The hard work had landed him this job at a daycare which he’d been working for a year and thoroughly enjoyed. To this day, he loves working with the kids and watching them light up as they learn and grow. He’s happy to be getting ready for a new day, with plans bouncing around in his head as kids and their parents start filing in for the day.

He’s ducked in front of a cubby when he hears the door open again and the faint call of a man, so he drops his task at hand in favor of looking up to see who entered. He’s going to stand up and greet them but then he stops in his tracks when he actually sees the supposed parent. Is that…. Yaku Morisuke? It can’t be.

Suga grasps for his roster and slides down the list of names until, yup he sees it:「Yaku Kaori」, a new addition to the daycare. But, he thinks, there’s more than one Yaku in Japan. Surely. So, he takes a couple more flips to reach the parent information and emergency contact sheets. And there it is,「Yaku Morisuke」 written with the same kanji he can remember as the one from Nekoma. Suga squints though, seeing that he’s listed under the parent information and it’s partly his work information under the emergency contact as well.

If it was the Yaku he knows, he would assume the little girl was his niece (did Yaku even have siblings though) or something. Not his own child. Not that he has any right to make assumptions.

After all, he hadn’t kept in contact with Yaku after high school, though he was sure he had intended to. But once university started it was hard enough for Suga to even get ahold of Daichi, let alone someone from another school in a completely different city. And so many years later, Suga had not expected to see Yaku again. It makes him a little nervous.

Suga rose completely from behind the desk, timidly, but still with his best smile.]

Ah, hello! Welcome —

[He greets, but something stops him from saying anything further. He almost feels like he’s in high school again, with the uncertain twist in his gut.]

[settermom]

[Ah. That's the last confirmation Suga needs. Suddenly there's a bubbling of excitement replacing the twist in his gut. There are still remnants of nervousness left, especially hearing Yaku's tone, but a lot of it has turned to eagerness just to talk to the other man again. It had been far, far too long.

He rounds the cubbies to the entrance where the two are standing and he can feel his lips twitching into a bigger smile.]

Yes! That's you, right, Yaku-san? From Nekoma?

[But as excited as he is, Suga stops himself again. They're both there for a reason; Suga has his job to do. He can, hopefully, catch up with Yaku later. He turns his attention to the small girl at Yaku's side (his daughter. his daughter??)] And this is.. Kaori-chan?

What a surprise!

[settermom]

[Suga kneels down so he's about to Kaori's height and just beams at the girl.] It's nice to meet you too! You're gonna really like it here, I promise you. We're going to have a lot of fun.

[He looks back up at Yaku, slow to get back up because he has every intention of offering Kaori his hand to hold and introduce her into the group once he's finished speaking with Yaku.]

Um, I don't want to keep you; you're probably on your way to work. But, if you'd like, could we exchange information? [After meeting again after such a long time, Suga didn't want to lose this opportunity to keep in contact. But that little bit of nervousness was still biting at him.] Or, wait, will you be picking up Kaori-chan too? We can do it then. If you want.

[He's being way too forward and he knows it but yikes.]

[settermom]

Oh! Oh, no, no, of course! [He waves his hands in dismissal of Yaku's apology.] Sorry, I - No, it's okay. Get going; I'll see you later, then.

And I'll take good care of her. [He beams again, in reference to Kaori. It's implied that he would since it's his job, but he wants to say it aloud for Yaku. It's more important that Yaku knows his precious girl will be in safe hands. Neither he or Kaori has anything to worry about.

Speaking of Kaori. Now Suga takes the opportunity to offer his hand for her to hold.] What do you say, Kaori-chan? I can show you where everything is and we can meet everybody else.

[And they all can really start their day.]

[settermom]

[Suga waves goodbye to Yaku's retreating form, and with Kaori small hand now in his, he gives her a little squeeze. It'll all be a-okay.

And by the end of the day, Suga likes to think everything went as well as it could have. They had their ice breaker game ("tell us your name and then one thing you reaaaally like that starts with the same letter!") since there were a couple new kids alongside Kaori. Reading time, lunch, and naps seemed to go without a hitch aside from a couple spills and stubborn sleepers. But it was good; it left Suga feeling very good about the day and he could report so as parents slowly filed in to pick up their children.

There's still a small group left, but they are otherwise preoccupied with a made up game, so Suga's set about in collecting stray markers and crayons. While he's allowed to let his thoughts wander... he can't help thinking about Yaku again. It has been so long and... Suga's really, really eager to catch up with him.]

[settermom]

[As it should be because Sugawara similarly finds himself enamored with the small girl near instantly. Seeing her throw herself to her father makes his heart clench warmly and smile despite himself. He sets the marker crate down so he can properly speak with Yaku.

He's honestly so impressed with Kaori. She was as good and respectful as Suga remembered her father being. And he had noticed her struggling a little with nap time, but he doesn't think it's worth mentioning just yet.]

Oh, she was wonderful. I think she's a little quiet, shy maybe, but most kids are when they first start.

[He smiles so hard, it reaches his eyes.] She's a really good kid, Yaku.

[settermom]

She'll get used to it. Kids are always surprisingly resilient -- [And Suga feels like he'll be keeping a closer eye on her than most of the kids, subconsciously or not. But that train of thought is quickly derailed by Yaku's next move.

He watches Yaku closely, with mild forming awe on his face, as he gives him his contact information. This is really happening. He's going to hopefully keep in contact with Yaku Morisuke.] Oh! Yes, thank you.

[And he scrambles to get a writing utensil himself (it ends up being a green marker) to hand off his information to Yaku in return.] And mine. I tend to text more than anything.

[Well. Duh. Don't most people.] But I wont bother you with too many, ha ha.

[settermom]

Of course! Tomorrow! [Suga bows in return, to both of them, and welcomes the burn of the paper in his hand.

Although, he doesn't work up the courage to actually text Yaku that day. Suga's a little mad at himself for how hesitant he's being (this is something he'd normally be scolding Asahi for!) but he reasons that he'll see Yaku again soon enough. Tomorrow. Like they both said. He should be acting completely natural anyway.

... So he's still a little mad at himself the next morning when he's twiddling his thumbs, just waiting for Yaku and Kaori to walk through the front door. Looking up from whatever he's doing in anticipation whenever it squeaks open.

He smacks his cheeks lightly. Some of the kids already there give him a worrisome look. It's fine. Everything's fine.]

[settermom]

Good morning, Kaori-chan!

[Before Suga's heart can even react to Yaku, it reacts to Kaori, warming at just how different her greeting is in comparison to the day before. Still polite but so much less shy... he doubts it's anything he's done, but it still makes him so happy.

As Kaori passes to her cubby, though, Suga makes his way closer to Yaku. He doesn't know how much time they have to talk, and he'd like to take his chance now since the idea of texting still somehow feels daunting.]

Yaku-san. Good morning to you, too.

[Although, Suga very quickly realizes he has no idea what to talk to Yaku about. They've exchanged numbers to "catch up" but it still feels like the invitations only being held at arms length. Just a little bit out of reach. (And as he realizes this he concludes that that's probably why he's so hesitant to do just about anything. But it's only been one day. One day!) So, he tries the one thing he thinks is appropriate. Which is to talk about Kaori. Of course.]

Maybe I misspoke yesterday, she's really not shy at all, is she?

[settermom]

[Mmm, Suga nods along. And once again he feels a warm little thump in his heart, knowing this bit of information.]

Kuroo-san! I remember him. The hair. [He remembers hair and giving Daichi a run for his money, which is always a good thing. And speaking of Daichi.]

I keep in touch with our former captain as well. Sawamura. We basically lived together during college actually. But aside from him, it's a little harder when everyone's so spread out. You know?

[settermom]

[Sugawara nods along.]

Mmm... It might be time for a reunion. Maybe even another 'battle of the trash heap.'

[He laughs. Wouldn't that be a riot, although maybe a bit unfair when he very well knows some of his teammates have gone on to be pros. He also glances up at the clock. It's still earlier than it was when Yaku came in yesterday, but Suga would like the be careful. He still feels a little on edge; doesn't want to mess up in any way.]

Looks like you're early today, Y a k u -san [His name said playfully.] but I don't think I should keep you?

Will you be picking up Kaori again, or your wife?

[settermom]

Oh, no no! [Sugawara can feel the heat rise in his face from embarrassment and he only hopes it isn’t actually showing. But seriously, here he was trying to not mess up, and he may as well have shoved his foot entirely in his mouth with that assumption, no matter how natural it was.]

My apologies! I just assumed - [He swallows down his words and takes a deep breath.] I don't know the situation, I'm sorry.

[Honestly though, he has no idea what Yaku could mean. Maybe they were divorced, but maybe his wife was sick? Out of town, country?? Dead?? Oh god he REALLY hecked up.]

[settermom]

I. Okay... [His panic is eased some but not entirely. It's enough for his shoulders to relax and move past it. He also doesn't want the panic to settle enough to give him time to be curious. That would be even worse.]

Oh, yes. They're bound to start getting antsy any minute now. [Suga's talking about the kids, really.]

Take care, Yaku-san.

[settermom]

[As it turns out, it's easy to forget your blunder when you've got 15+ kids pulling at your legs and trying to get your attention for something or other. Even more so when someone has the terrible idea to include a glitter art project on the agenda for the day. Working with Kaori is a little reminder, a little prickle at the back of Suga's mind but not enough for him to mull over it more.

Besides, he's pleasantly distracted by how good she continues to be, yes. She is by far one of the easiest children Suga's taken care of in his time at this program. He makes sure to let her know just how grateful he is when she helps him tidy up, and he's pretty much beaming once Yaku returns for the afternoon.

He only brightens more (although that might be the glitter reflecting. He's pretty sure its in his hair now) when Yaku invites him out. This is a pleasant surprise considering everything. He answers while handing Yaku any of the art Kaori's made for the day ("Here, this should be dry by now. She worked really hard on it.")]

Sure! I would really like that, actually. Just text me when and where?

[Hahaha nice Suga, give yourselves an excuse to actually text this time too. Good job. He's patting himself on the back for that one.]