Chapter Text
Somehow, someway, through some divine interference, Serizawa finds himself a single parent of two kids. Never in a million years would he have ever guessed he’d end up here, and yet… here he is, walking the two to school since their paths share a similar route.
It had made more sense with Shou– they already knew each other and their relationship had been on the uprise since everything settled down. That, and Shou needed a reliable place to stay since his dad was out of the question and his mom out of the picture. Serizawa had cleared out the room that was supposed to be an office but was really more of a dumping ground, got him a nice futon and shelves and things kids should have in their rooms, and probably some things kids don’t need in their rooms, but he’d been a little more of a pushover then than he is now.
He was woefully unprepared with how to deal with a 13-almost-14-year-old. Especially one like Shou– a kid who’s trained himself to be more like an adult, a kid who has very little respect for authority figures, a kid who’s just… a kid. He barely listens to him and isn’t afraid to pull punches, and Serizawa knows he doesn’t want to hurt him, but that doesn’t make his words sting any less.
After some stressful weeks and tough calls, he’d confessed to Reigen he was a little out of his element.
“Hey. You’re doing your best,” Reigen had said, a hand on his shoulder during a quiet evening at the office. “You’re doing a hell of a lot more than his parents are. That’s gotta count for something, right?”
Serizawa sighed, wiping a hand down his face and nodding. “I guess so. I’m just not sure I’m cut out for this sort of thing. I hardly know what a normal childhood is supposed to be like– I was barely a kid myself, how am I supposed to know how to take care of a kid!?” He groans. “What was I thinking?”
Reigen gave him a sympathetic look.
“You care for Shou, right?”
“Of course I do.”
A knowing smile. “Ding ding ding! You passed the first test to being a good parental figure.”
Okay. That made him laugh. “And just how many tests are there?”
“Beats me, but probably more than you could ever imagine. But, seriously. You’re gonna be fine. And if you ever need any help with anything, feel free to ask.”
“Reigen, you’ve never had any kids, have you?”
“Psh, ‘course not. But!” He wrapped an arm over his shoulders, acting confident with his other hand wiping across the view of the office as if it were a vast unexplored jungle before them. “We can be never-been-parents together! With my brains and your… everything else, what’s the worst that could happen?”
Serizawa has yet to find the answer to that question.
Tome had been a little more of a meandering path. She’d been working at Spirits and Such for awhile and Serizawa (and Reigen) couldn’t really help getting attached to her. Of course, she has biological parents that had seemed decent enough at the time, but something must’ve come out about her dating a girl at her high school, and well… what else was Serizawa supposed to do but offer her a place to stay? At least until her parents regained their senses.
Shou and Tome, through their various acquaintances, knew of each other. But the first night she started living with them, everyone pitching in to prepare a place for her to sleep, had been awkward. She was understandably shaken, but Shou was mostly just weirded out.
“And where’s Seri gonna sleep? This is his room, ya know,” he had said, bouncing on his heels. “And I’m not sharing my room.”
“Shou. Be polite, you’re going to have to get along with her, seeing as she’s staying here indefinitely.”
“Yeah, Shou.”
“You too, Tome. And, for the record, I’m bringing my bed out into the living room. We’ll figure out everything more in the morning, okay? Don’t worry about it.”
Shou had only stuck out his tongue when he thought he wasn’t looking, and that was that on the matter.
Serizawa had been hopeful that Tome’s parents would realize what they were missing in a daughter within the week, but no such luck. She doesn’t hear anything from them, and she acts like she doesn’t really want to. Still, Serizawa senses an ache in her, and he wishes there were more he could do besides give her a roof and a caring environment. He knows he can’t replace the relationship she had with her parents… but he can at least be there for her. When she’s not at school, with friends, at the office, or pestering Shou, she’s quiet and alone in what’s now her room.
Despite all the less than desirable circumstances, the three of them fall into a comfortable routine of sorts:
Serizawa makes everyone breakfast before school and work. He walks them as far as he can till their paths diverge. He goes to work. They go to school. He sees Tome at work after school sometimes. Shou… is probably hanging out with Ritsu or Mob or Teruki after school. Sometimes he texts him where he is, sometimes he doesn’t. Serizawa doesn’t want to hover, but he does wish he’d tell him where he is. After work, he and Tome either grab a bite with Reigen or just go back to Serizawa’s apartment, where Shou is usually doing Shou things. Serizawa makes them dinner, and either heads out to night classes or they all work on homework, or watch a movie or whatever else happens to come to mind at the time. On the weekends he lets them sleep in and play video games and stay up late (but not too late).
It’s bizarre how mundane it all is.
And honestly? Serizawa wouldn’t trade it for anything.