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Atsumu and Sakusa were on their way to Osamu and Suna’s house, after getting some time off from their last week of practice. They were expecting another relaxing Saturday filled with delicious food that Osamu would make for them as they caught up. However, even before they opened the door they could hear their niece wailing at the top of her lungs and debated turning around and leaving, but somehow as if Osamu could sense their presence, he threw open the door. “You weren’t about to just turn around and leave, were ya?”
Atsumu hesitated with a forced laugh. “Nah, nah, just wanted to admire the uh..” he forgot that they gardened in the back, not the front, and nothing but grass was here. “..the grass.”
Osamu let out a long sigh as he rubbed his temple. “I really don’t have the time to waste on yer dumb ass. Get inside.” He immediately pulled Atsumu and Sakusa inside and they flinched as the wailing increased an octave. Misumi had gotten over her crying stage a couple months ago so this was unusual.
“Shit, Samu, what kind of torture are ya puttin her through?” Atsumu snapped as they walked into the living room to see Suna standing in the middle of the room, bouncing his daughter up and down as she shrieked. “Ahh, I should’ve known Sunarin was the cause of this. I always told ya that ya made a mistake marrying him.”
“Shut the fuck up, Atsumu.” Suna snapped venomously, before turning back to his daughter with a dopey expression. “Yes, you’re right, Misu, Atsumu should just leave and never come back.”
“Oi!!” Atsumu shouted as he stalked over to Suna, but Sakusa caught his waist and pulled him back against his chest. “Sunarin I swear-”
“Tsumu, Rin, enough.” Osamu demanded in a low voice, shutting the other two up. Atsumu glanced worriedly at his brother in the kitchen next to them, to notice the large, dark circles under his eyes and his hair in disarray as if he'd been pulling at it all day. “Sorry, Tsumu and Kiyoomi, now’s not the best time. Ya know that trip all the way in Miyagi I had planned to meet with some new partnerships for the restaurant?” Atsumu and Sakusa both nodded. “Well, it turns out the person we hired to watch over Misumi bailed out at the last second. I’ve been tryin to call everyone I know and they’re all saying they’re too busy or the notice was too sudden for them to take time off. I didn’t want to bring her because she’d have to stay in the hotel while I’m meeting with them. Which means then Rin would be stuck in the hotel with her. And this was supposed to be a nice vacation for just the two of us-”
“Samu, it’s fine. Misumi and I can stay here.” Suna interrupted with a calm expression as his daughter began to quiet down, hiccupping every now and then. “We’ll go on a trip another time. The restaurant is the main focus.”
Osamu’s face fell as he launched against the kitchen counter. “But Rin-”
“Why don’t we take care of her?” Atsumu blurted out. He hated to see Osamu like this, and knew that they both loved their daughter to death, but every couple wants some time alone every now and then. “We have a couple weeks off from practice since we’re off season.”
Sakusa squeezed Atsumu’s waist and shot him an irritated look as if to say he’d rather do anything but that. Atsumu didn’t blame him, it’s not like he wanted to either, but Osamu needed it.
“Pffftt you two ??” Osamu chuckled as he exchanged a look with Suna, who was also grinning. “You think we’d leave our daughter with you? And Kiyoomi?”
Sakusa and Atsumu both whipped their heads in his direction, scowls set on both of their faces. “Excuse me?”
“Please, Tsumu, ya know this ain’t the time for jokes.”
“I’m not joking!” Atsumu scoffed as Sakusa let go of his waist and they both straightened. “I’m being serious. We can take care of her.”
Osamu and Suna both glanced at each other before bursting out in laughter. Atsumu clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth and saw Sakusa’s eye twitching. “You…take care of a baby. Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“But-”
“Atsumu, you’re absolutely terrified of babies.” Suna cut in with a smirk. “I have the pictures to prove it. And Kiyoomi, you’re absolutely disgusted by them.” Sakusa bristled at his smirk but said nothing, and Atsumu couldn’t help but remember when Sakusa first met Misumi and Osamu was holding her out for him to hold.
Sakusa crossed his arms with a grimace. “They sit in their own shit, so no thank you.” After that, Osamu and Suna learned not to hold out their child to him anymore.
“Look, I know ya mean well, but you could never do this. Neither of you could. Thanks but I’ll find someone else.” Osamu explained with finality, but Atsumu wasn’t going to give up. So what if they weren’t exactly baby people? That didn’t mean Osamu and Suna were better than them. They’d never be, and that’s why he had to prove that they could take care of her.
“Osamu,” Sakusa spoke up quietly but firmly, “just think about it for a moment. We have the time off. We’re familiar with her and she is with us. We can stay in your house with all the supplies so you don’t have to worry about any of that. Barnes is a dad so if we ever need help we can just call him. We really are your best and only choice.” Atsumu caught his eye as his hand slid down Sakusa’s back and landed on his ass, to let him know he was definitely going to reward him later. Sakusa subtly slapped his arm away with a frown, but the faint blush was still there.
Osamu hesitated, glancing back and forth between them and his daughter. “I get that, but… but Tsumu, you fucking had a breakdown last time ya were alone with her.” Atsumu’s face burned in shame at the memory when his discomfort, not fear like everyone said, of babies started.
Misumi had only been a month old and they stayed the weekend to help them move into Osamu and Suna’s new house. Sakusa and Atsumu stayed in the guest room which was right next to Misumi’s room. In the middle of the night, she woke them up screaming at the top of her lungs. Atsumu scrambled to her room in a panic and picked her up, bouncing her up and down, trying to shush her. “Shh, it’s okay, I’m here, I’m here. Just tell me what’s wrong.” Misumi wailed even louder. He scrambled for the bottle of milk, but she wouldn’t drink it and only kept crying. He tried to comfort her and even offered some jokes, but she wouldn’t let up.
Without registering it, he too started crying and when Sakusa came into the room, all he saw was Atsumu and Misumi, a sobbing mess on the floor. He tried to comfort Atsumu by rubbing his back and wiping the tears away, but he still cried asking why she didn’t like him. Sakusa nudged her out his arms with his elbow, and pulled Atsumu into his as he glared at Misumi, causing her to wail even louder. Soon, Osamu and Suna barreled in, shouting at Sakusa to stop glaring, she's only a baby.
From then on, whenever Misumi cried or even a random baby on the streets did, Atsumu would jump into Sakusa’s arms and bury his face in his chest, and Sakusa would have to hug him tight. Atsumu wanted to love babies, they truly were adorable, but he hated seeing them cry, it was just too sad. And so somehow that made him cry as well.
“It wasn’t a breakdown, okay? I was just hurt that she didn’t like my jokes.” Atsumu retorted as he looked to Sakusa to back him up, but he only shook his head.
“No one likes yer jokes.” Osamu shot back.
“Aran-kun would. He always loves my jokes.”
“No he doesn’t.” The other three said simultaneously.
Atsumu threw his hands up in the air, frustrated. “Why are all of ya such scrubs?” Sakusa patted him on the shoulder in mock comfort.
“Samu.” Suna spoke up in a serious voice. “I don’t like this any better than you do, but it's our only choice. It’s only for a week, and like Kiyoomi said, they have Meian to help them in case of an emergency. Samu, please?”
Osamu hesitated for a long moment, and they all waited in anticipation before he let out another long sigh. He grimaced as he stared back at Sakusa and Atsumu. “Fine, I’ll let ya take care of her.”
“Yes!!” Atsumu shouted in victory and held up his hands for Sakusa to high-five them, which he did with a warm smile. “You can count on us! Omi and I are the perfect team, aren’t we?”
Sakusa smiled down at him and pulled him closer, holding his waist as he leaned down. “Yeah, we are.” Atsumu didn’t wait another moment before tilting his head up to meet Sakusa’s lips. He loved that although they’ve done this for years, he couldn’t get enough. He wrapped his hand around the back of Sakusa’s neck to pull him closer, deepening the kiss. Until something was thrown at them.
They broke apart with a scowl at Osamu. “Ow! What the hell was that for-”
“You’ve been married for over a year already! Ya don’t need to keep actin like newlyweds, it ain’t cute.” Osamu snapped as he walked over to pick up the cookbook he threw at them.
Suna walked over, his daughter asleep on his shoulder. “It’s never been cute.”
Atsumu opened his mouth to retort, but Osamu cut him off. “Don’t even try with the “we’re jealous” crap alright? Cause we aren’t.” He moved closer to Suna to rub his daughter’s back. “Anyways back to before, we’re actually supposed to leave tonight, so you’ll be starting right before dinner. When ya come back from yer place with yer stuff we’ll give ya the lists that were made for the other person before leaving. It should cover everything. Ya got four hours to get yer things over here, so hurry up.”
“Ya promise to call if anything, and I mean, anything happens right?” Osamu asked for the hundredth time, and Suna pulled on his arm to get him out the door.
Atsumu rolled his eyes and kept pushing him out. “Yeah, we know. And we’ll remember to call every night after dinner to check in. We have the lists and we know where everything is in yer house. We got this, now go.”
Osamu let him push him out the door, and glanced behind them, worriedly. “Okay, then goodbye. Ya better not screw this up Tsumu, ya hear?” He turned to Sakusa with a sincere bow. “We’re countin on ya.”
Atsumu kicked his brother off of the porch before slamming the door on his protests. He leaned back against the door with a sigh, and stared up at Sakusa. “Guess we’re takin care of a baby for a week now, huh?”
“Yeah,” Sakusa said slowly as the realization finally began to sink in. “Huh…”
“Huh..” Atsumu repeated slowly, as it was finally starting to hit him. A week. An entire week alone with a baby. Yes, it was his beloved niece, but still. Just them and a baby. He should not have signed up for this. “Uh, so.. what do we do now?” Sakusa shrugged, and Atsumu sighed before walking back to the living room where Misumi was lying in the crib, playing with a fox stuffed toy. They both inched their way over slowly, and crouched in front of the crib and stared at her, suspiciously. “What’re we supposed to do? Is it bedtime already? Did ya read any of the instructions yet?”
Sakusa shook his head and narrowed his eyes at Misumi as he stuck a finger in her mouth. “Not yet. Doesn’t she need a bath first though? Or did they already do that?”
“How do babies take baths? Wouldn’t they drown? Or do ya hold them the whole time?”
“How would I know?” Sakusa snapped. “Shit, we really are the worst people for this.”
“Then why’d ya back me up?” Atsumu asked, curiously. “Ya never take my side out of pity, if ya don’t like it, ya say it. So why’d you agree to it this time?”
“I don’t know, the sudden need to prove them wrong got to me.” Sakusa admitted. “And of course, I don’t like to lose.”
Atsumu grinned before leaning forward to kiss Sakusa, who melted right into it and cupped Atsumu’s jaw. When Atsumu nudged forward with his tongue, then Sakusa broke them apart by pushing his chest back. “Tsumu, n-not in front of the kid.”
“Ah come on, it’s not like she’s even looking.” Atsumu scoffed before leaning forward to catch his lips again. “Just one more.”
He smiled against Sakusa’s lips as he leaned down to meet him again. And before he enjoyed it for too long, Sakusa pushed back at him again as he licked his lips. “Save it for later. We really need to watch her now.”
“But she’s not doing anything!” Atsumu whined as they both moved to stand over it and peer down at her. Misumi blinked up at them wordlessly and they blinked back. She blinked again, and they blinked back, and she broke into a fit of giggles. “Is it just me or was that really cute?”
Sakusa nodded with a warm smile, and Atsumu bravely reached down to put his finger in Misumi’s hand. She immediately closed her hand around it with a smile. “This isn’t as bad as I thought.” He wiggled his finger back and forth and she giggled as he tried to grab it with her other hand, and Atsumu couldn’t stop himself from laughing along with her.
When he glanced up at Sakusa, a loving expression was on his face as he stared back at Atsumu. “Maybe for now, it’s not so bad.” He peeked at Misumi with suspicion. “But still, everyone has something they hide, so you never know what she’s got under her sleeve.”
“Please, Omi, stop that. She’s just a baby.” He turned back to her with a dopey expression. “Aren’t ya? Aren’t ya the most precious thing? You’d never do anything wrong right?”
However, when they woke up the next morning and went to her room to bring her to breakfast, there was something very wrong. And it was a smell. The smell. “Holy shit!” Atsumu shouted as he squeezed his nose shut. “What the hell is that?”
“What do you think dumbass?” Sakusa snapped as he too squeezed his nose shut. “I don’t even want to imagine how long she was sitting in that. Hurry Tsumu, change it now.”
“What?”
“What do you think?!?” Sakusa hissed as he pushed Atsumu closer to the crib and stepped back. “The diaper!”
Atsumu jumped away from the crib and tried pushing Sakusa towards it. “Hell no!! Why do I gotta do it?!? Yer the one that’s good at cleanin so clean this mess up!”
“Stop being an idiot!!” Sakusa shouted as he pushed back at Atsumu. “You know I could never do this, so just change it already.”
Atsumu slumped against his husband in defeat. “Ya owe me one.” Sakusa patted his back in response. “Fine, but get me some gloves first and tell me what to do cause I’ve never done this before.” Sakusa nodded before leaving the room, and Atsumu walked over to lift Misumi out of her crib and put her down on the changing table against the wall. “Uh, I guess I gotta take this off first?” Atsumu mumbled to himself as he removed her light purple onesie. “Sorry, Misu-chan, but I gotta do this.” Misumi just stared up at him with wide eyes. “Trust me, you’ll understand when yer older, but promise me yer never lettin anyone take off yer clothes until yer at least thirty. Please, Misu-chan, promise?”
Misumi burped in response before giggling. “Hey, I’m being serious here. Ya never what kind of creep is lurkin, trust me, Omi-kun used to follow me around all the time and-”
Sakusa threw a box of gloves at the back of Atsumu’s head with a furious scowl. “And what? Please continue.” Atsumu gulped as he turned around with a weak smile. “That’s what I thought. You shouldn't be talking about this stuff around her, she’s only seven months old. Now wipe up the shit off of her ass and let’s be done with this.”
Atsumu rubbed the back of his head with a pout before sliding on the gloves and walking back to Misumi with a flinch. “Ugh how’s it gettin worse??” He tried to cover his nose with his shoulder as he stuck out his arms as long as they would go to unfasten the diaper, slowly. When he removed it, he gagged as he glanced at the mess and turned to see Sakusa turning away with a trash bag held out. He gritted his teeth as he lifted Misumi up and pulled the diaper from under her and moved to throw it away. Sakusa was too far, but refused to come closer so he moved to throw it.
“Don’t you fucking dare-” Sakusa began, but Atsumu already threw it, landing perfectly inside the bag. “ Atsumu -”
“What? I made it, that's all that matters.” Atsumu shrugged as he turned back to his niece. “Hand me the wipes.” Sakusa inched forward to hand him the container before darting back to the doorway. “It’s not like she’s gonna piss on ya or anything… I think.” He stared at her warily, remembering several movies he’d seen where babies just started spraying. “Nah, she’s knows better, don’t ya Misu-chan?”
She blinked at him, and he took that as confirmation before pulling out some wipes and lifted her up to clean her. “There, now yer all done.” He threw the wipes away before grabbing a new diaper. “Omi, how do I do this?”
“It’s not hard, just open it out and set her on it and fasten the straps.”
Atsumu stared at it, feigning confusion. “But which side? Which straps? How do I know what goes where?”
“Tch,” Sakusa hissed as he stalked towards them, “You can’t be that idiotic. Here just watch.” He reflexively took Misumi out of Atsumu’s arms and laid her down on the diaper and pulled it around her before fastening the straps on the side. “There's no reason you couldn’t figure this out-” He turned to see Atsumu smirking up at him. “Why you-”
“You were gonna have to touch her eventually, better now than later.” Atsumu’s smirk grew as Sakusa snatched his hands away. “C’mon, you were wearin gloves, you’ll be fine.” He leaned on the changing table as he smiled down at his niece. “Just look at her, she’s all nice and clean.”
Sakusa moved next to him with one hand around Atsumu’s waist and the other hesitantly wavering over Misumi. After another minute, he reached down with a finger to poke her on the stomach. She broke into a fit of giggles, and a tint of pink appeared in Sakusa’s face. He poked her again, and she giggled even louder. “I thought she was precious but you?” He wrapped his arms around Sakusa’s side. Sakusa rolled his eyes, but his ears turned a bright red. “Ahh this is so cute! You should blow on her stomach too, babies love that.”
Sakusa grimaced. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”
As they sat her down in the high chair, they pulled out the chairs from the dining table and sat in front of her. “So do we use a spoon and feed it to her? Or do we just hand it over to her? She should be old enough to feed herself.”
“Please, babies can’t do shit, feed it to her.” Sakusa answered as he handed Atsumu the spoon and a jar of baby food with rice and vegetables .
Atsumu pushed it back at him. “I changed her diaper, you do it. They always cry when it’s feeding time, I don’t wanna do it.”
Sakusa rolled his eyes, but kept it and dipped the spoon in the food before moving it towards her. Misumi eyed it before globbering it all up, leaving some of it on her face and opened her mouth for more. “Misu-chan, please, you’re a lady.” Sakusa put down the food before grabbing a napkin and dabbing her face with it. “Now actually eat it this time, you have those two teeth for a reason.” However, when he continued to feed her, she continued to eat it sloppily. “Fine, since you don’t want to do it right, eat it yourself.” He dumped the food on her tray, and she happily began rubbing the food over her hands and licking at her finger. “Ugh, was I really like this when I was a baby?”
Atsumu chuckled at the image of a baby Sakusa being fed by his mother. “Ah, I wish I coulda seen that! I gotta ask yer mom later if she has any picture of that.”
“Please don’t.” Sakusa cringed. “She’ll bring over the entire collection and we’ll be stuck for an entire day looking at them.”
Atsumu laughed and patted Sakusa’s shoulder. “It’s adorable, and I love it” He turned back to Misumi. “Guess we’ll just leave her to it.”
“I’m not going to clean this mess.” And then as soon as she finished, Sakusa did.
For the rest of the day, Sakusa cleaned after everything she touched and cleaned the mess she made while Atsumu played with her on the blanket in the living room. When it was time to nap, Atsumu fell asleep with her on Sakusa’s lap as he brushed their hair with his fingers. Later that night, they fought with her, trying to make her eat the mashed tofu Osamu said she needed to eat every day. She kept slapping the spoon and spitting it up, causing the food to be strewn everywhere.
Atsumu quickly got her over to the bath before Sakusa glared at her to death. He thought that Sakusa would take a while to clean up the dining room, but once he threw away Misumi’s diaper, he appeared and took her out of his hands covered in gloves that went to his elbow. He stopped the water only after a couple minutes, and lightly sat her down. He gently began to wash Misumi and laughed with her as she popped the bubbles.
Just the sight of it made Atsumu’s chest tighten with so much love, it was almost too painful to bear. He quickly grabbed a towel and dipped it in the water to begin wiping the food off of his husband’s face and clothes. “Never thought she’d bring out this of ya.”
“Doesn’t mean she’s forgiven though. She has a lot to make up for today.” Sakusa replied with a stern expression, but when Misumi hugged his hand to her, it melted instantly.
Atsumu cursed himself for not reading his brother’s instructions because it took them several hours to finally make Misumi go to sleep when on the paper it had a very easy, quick solution: swaddling her in her favorite blanket. Sakusa and him had tried reading her stories, singing lullabies, playing soft music, and it wasn’t until they read the paper did it only take a minute before she dropped dead asleep.
They fell on their bed, exhausted as the thought of another day of this was going to happen. “The rest of the week should be easier right?” Sakusa shrugged and then reached for him. “Sorry, Omi, but I’m too tired for it tonight, you’ll have to keep your hands to yourself.”
Sakusa hit him with his pillow, which he caught easily. “Out of everything that happened today, what part made you think I wanted to do anything?”
“Try to deny it all ya want, but I saw those glances ya kept givin me.”
Sakusa sighed as he turned his back to him. “You’re insufferable. I was keeping an eye on Misu-chan all day.”
“Please, yer only ever lookin at me.” Silence. “Aww Omi-Omi,” Atsumu drawled as he pulled Sakusa over on his back and moved to lie on top of him. “I love ya so much, ya know that right?”
Sakusa squeezed him tight as Atsumu buried his face in his husband’s neck, and he kissed the top of his head. “Yeah, I know, and I love you very much as well.”
For the most part, the rest of the week was easier. They actually read the notes from Osamu this time, making changing diapers and feeding Misumi everything except the mashed tofu go much smoother. All that was written was: just try not to get it on our furniture . Atsumu ripped off that part of the paper. Therefore, every night when they tried to force it down, they tried the airplane thing, then they tried to mix it in with other food, and ate it first pretending it was good, but then Atsumu gagged causing her to start whining and they quickly shut that down.
After meals, they mainly spent playing with different toys, and urging her to crawl. Atsumu even got Sakusa to demonstrate it with them, and they were all flopping around and crawling on the floor. Although it seemed she had no interest or no clue how, Osamu warned them that the minute she didn’t get her way and they turned around, she’d be gone just like that. Sakusa and Atsumu laughed it off, thinking it was some kind of joke, until one morning when Atsumu accidentally handed her the jar of banana pudding instead of fruit like she was supposed to have for breakfast. As soon as he noticed, he closed the lid and put it away, and brought out the right one. She batted it away and moved her face, wanting the banana pudding instead.
“Misu-chan, I promise I’ll feed ya that at lunch, but ya gotta eat this now.” However, she slapped it away, getting angry, and he sighed as he lifted her out of the high chair and held her close. “Please Misu-”
“Tsumu, can you help me with this for a moment?” Sakusa asked in the kitchen, and Atsumu agreed, leaving Misumi on the top of the dining table. By the time he returned a minute later, she was gone.
“Fuck no, no!!” Atsumu shouted in a panic as he searched around the room. “Omi!! Please tell me ya see her otherwise I’m gonna lose my mind!” Sakusa searched the kitchen, but she wasn’t there. They checked the living room under the two couches and coffee tables, but she wasn’t there. They searched her room first, nothing. They looked through Osamu and Suna’s room, nothing. They were in an absolute panic by the time they reached their room, throwing everything around to make room to find her. Atsumu then noticed that their bathroom door was slightly ajar and walked in to see Misumi crawling her way towards the toilet. When she turned to him, she smiled and pointed at the toilet, and he fell onto his knees and scooped her up into his arms. He didn’t even know he’d been crying until his vision began to blur. “M-M-Misu-chan! Don’t ever do that again, ya hear? I-I-I..” He couldn’t hold it in anymore as he began to wail. Misumi blinked at him for a moment before doing the same, but much louder.
Sakusa raced to comfort them, but all the back rubbing and comforting words didn’t help. Atsumu didn’t even know why he was sobbing so hard. Of course she couldn’t have gotten far or hurt, but the thought was so terrifying, and now that she was crying, it made him want to do it even more. He vaguely heard Sakusa scrambling for his phone before he dialed. “Yes, hey...no I’m not. Can you tell me how to stop a baby from crying so loud? She started and now can’t stop, and that idiot’s adding onto it.” Atsumu purposely began to wail even louder and Sakusa bent to rub his back and kiss his cheek in apology. “Okay, thank you...you too.”
Sakusa abruptly lifted Misumi out of his arms and grabbed a blanket to swaddle her on it. Then he lifted her high up into the air before lowering her in a lunge and did it again. Atsumu paused, bewildered and so was Misumi, after the second time, her crying had stopped, and when he did it a third time, her hiccups had grown quiet. After doing it a couple more times to be safe, he stopped with a kiss to her forehead, praising her. “W-W-What was that??”
Sakusa shrugged. “Just something Barnes told me, guess it actually works.”
“My turn next?” Atsumu held out his arms, but Sakusa rolled his eyes and walked to the standing mirror in the room. He pointed at their reflection with a smile. Atsumu’s sobs had long been forgotten as he stood to hug them both from behind, smiling into their reflection as well. Watching them and thinking about what happened, for a moment, it truly felt like they were a family, just the three of them.
From then on they watched her like hawks, but continued to help her crawl. Atsumu loved it, however, his husband did not. He preferred the cleaning and doing her laundry and even picking out her clothes for the day laying it on the end, debating how she’d look. Atsumu hugged him from behind one morning with a smirk. “Ya know, you should just quit already and stay at home as my housewife. It’d be perfect for ya.” Atsumu was booted to the couch that night.
On Thursday, when Atsumu was picking out what to feed her for breakfast, he noticed that there was only one jar of tofu left. “Omi, we’re gonna have to go to the store today. We’re out of her dinner.”
Sakusa nodded. “Okay, that’s fine.” When they finished eating and started dressing her, Sakusa paused as he tilted his head at the outfits. “None of these are good enough for going out.”
Atsumu gave him a curious look. “They look just fine to me.”
“That’s because you have no taste.” Atsumu stuck out his tongue at him. “They only bought her clothes to stay at home with like all she does is sit around and do nothing.”
“That’s exactly what she does.”
“This is unacceptable, we’re going to have to go shopping for clothes first.” Sakusa announced with a firm nod and began to dress her up in the nicest clothes he could find, a pink romper and a matching white bow wrapped around her head. When he thought it was good enough, he packed a large bag filled with too many things Atsumu could keep track off, and then out the door they went.
The stores were only a couple of blocks away, and when they arrived Atsumu accidentally bumped into a woman walking by. “I’m sorry, excuse me.” He bowed and the woman waved it off with a bow.
When she saw Misumi, she gasped and reached out for her. “Oh she is so adorable! What’s her name-”
Sakusa flinched away from her with a threatening glare. “And who do you think you are?”
“Uh-I-”
“I’m so sorry, miss, my husband’s just really protective right now.” Atsumu interrupted with another bow before elbowing Sakusa who pulled out a tiny mask from his bag.
“I should’ve put this on her earlier. Didn’t expect for people to assault her this soon.”
“Omi! ”
He ignored Atsumu and put a black mask on Misumu’s face, matching his. “There we go.” Misumi shook her head, trying to get it off, obviously not grateful.
“Why’s it black? That doesn’t go with her outfit! Yer the one talkin about fashion earlier and I know that's wrong.” Sakusa shrugged before storming into the store, forgetting all about the woman he just insulted, and Atsumu had to apologize again before following him.
Numerous baby clothes lined the walls and racks, and Atsumu had no idea where to begin, but Sakusa strode straight for the most expensive spot with all the known name brands. “Omi-kun c’mon she doesn’t need this kind of stuff. She doesn’t give a crap.”
“But I do, and my niece deserves the best.” He started looking at the racks, and Misumi struggled in his grasp, fighting with the mask on her face.
“Uh Omi-” Before he could finish, Misumi erupted in a loud squeal and several other women near them gave them dirty looks. Sakusa glared at them right back, and they flinched in fright, moving far away from them. “I think you can take hers off now since you’ve scared all the other customers away.” He flipped through the clothes, practically screaming rich. “Let’s look at something else.”
“No, trust me, she’ll look good. Try to find at least one thing you like.” Sakusa grabbed a couple and held it over her and nodded. He pulled out a bright yellow and green dress that made Atsumu cringe.
“What’s up with you and yer old school colors?! It looks terrible, it always has!” Sakusa ignored him and added it to the pile. “Don’t ya dare. She’ll be haunted for the rest of her life with pictures of her wearing this. Do ya want her to get bullied?”
“That’s why we’re teaching her how to fight as soon as she can walk properly.” Atsumu burst out in laughter as Sakusa shrugged and found a solid back kimono and grabbed it. “I think this should be good. What did you get?”
Atsumu showed him a pretty blue dress that Sakusa nodded at with a smile, and they walked over to the register. “We’re not gonna teach her how to fight.”
“Call it self-defense if you want. Either way, she’s going to know how to throw a punch.” He smiled down at Misumi as Atsumu put everything on the counter and smiled at the worker. “Misu-chan, can you make a fist for me?” Sakusa demonstrated several times, and Misumi copied it. “Perfect. Now….” He drawled before moving her fist to hit Atsumu’s cheek. Atsumu went along and dramatically fell to the floor with a shout. Misumi giggled loudly and clapped, and Atsumu and Sakusa laughed along with her.
“A black kimono? For a baby?” The worker spoke up.
“Do you have a problem with it?” Sakusa hissed with a murderous glare.
Atsumu jumped up to apologize and she bowed to him in apology. “I-It’s my fault. Your daughter is very lovely, and I’m sure she’ll look good in anything.”
Sakusa frowned. “She’s not-”
“Isn’t she though?” Atsumu talked over Sakusa. “We got lucky with her, am I right?” The woman nodded before finishing up.
Sakusa leaned close to whisper, concern etched on his face. “Tsumu, she’s not ours, you remember that right?” Atsumu rolled his eyes as if to say obviously. “Just- just don’t get too carried away, okay?” Atsumu understood, but for one day couldn't he go along with it? He then dressed Misumi in the dress he picked and showed her off in the other stores before returning home.
They dropped everything down and turned on the music. They pulled out all of the outfits and began dressing her up in each of them. Atsumu would hold one of her hands and Sakusa held the other, and they walked down the hall to the music like a catwalk and helped her strike poses. Sometimes, Sakusa would stop to take pictures of his favorite outfits, and Atsumu booed when she wore the neon yellow dress. While they filled the house with their laughter, it was hard for Atsumu to accept that tomorrow would be their last day.
Whether Misumi noticed it or not, Atsumu and Sakusa were being extra attentive to her, some might even say clingy. They woke up much earlier than usual to get chores done and then woke her up to begin the day. Atsumu let her have her way, and gave her banana pudding. Sakusa didn’t bother with the clean up, wanting to stay with her as much as possible. They changed her outfit several times throughout the day, wanting to see all of their favorites again on her. They let her play with whatever toys she wanted, and turned on the shows that Suna said she liked.
Atsumu wanted to do more. He wanted more time with her. It was weird, only a week, and he’s gotten so comfortable with her that he doesn’t want to leave. Yes, he was still terrified when she cried, but he could get better at that. He could tell that Sakusa felt the same even if he didn’t say anything. He let her hold his bare finger in her hands all day, and every time she smiled so would he.
Of course a day that you want to last longer, is one that flies by. They had already finished her bath and were going to put her in her crib, but Atsumu paused. “Omi, ya think we can bring her into our bed? Just for one night?”
Sakusa thought over it. “We both don’t really turn in our sleep so we should be good.” He nodded as he patted Misumi’s head. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
Atsumu pulled Sakusa to his side with his free arm and kissed him passionately. “I’m so lucky you agreed to marry me.”
“I was the one that proposed, stop changing the story.” Sakusa tried to snap, but his soft expression gave him away. They walked to their room and placed Misumi in between them on the bed, and they lied down on their sides next to her. As Sakusa brushed her hair, Atsumu held her hand. “I know I’m right because remember what you said to me when I bent down and pulled out the ring?”
Atsumu buried his face in Sakusa’s shoulder in embarrassment. “Noo!! Please, Omi! Yer right! So please don’t-”
“You took one look at the ring and said “What the fuck is that?”” Sakusa chuckled to himself as he ran his other hand through Atsumu’s hair. “If I didn’t know beforehand that I was in love with an idiot, I would’ve known then.”
“Why can’t ya be romantic for once?”
“Romantic, really?” Sakusa scoffed. “Who was the one that rented out your favorite restaurant filled with your favorite flowers, for just the two of us? Who was the one that took to your favorite spot on the beach after? Who was the one that searched for the ring you saw and liked when you were in high school??” Atsumu stayed silent. “Then let me ask you, who wanted to propose on a volleyball court?!?”
Atsumu moved back to glare at him. “Not just a random one, it’s the one where we first met at that camp!! C’mon, it woulda been romantic!”
“Sure, sure.”
“Agh forget it! Just go to sleep!” Atsumu whined as he shoved Sakusa back against the bed, but Sakusa made no move to sleep.
“I’m not tired, you go ahead.”
Atsumu shook his head. “Nah, I think I’ll stay up for a little longer." He lowered to kiss her head. "Now I see why they named her Misumi, she really is a pure beauty."
When Suna and Osamu arrived the next morning, they went straight for Misumi and wrapped her in their arms, hugging her tight. Sakusa and Atsumu stood in the doorway silently and awkwardly until they decided to leave and talk later. On the way back to their apartment, a heavy silence arose as they were both lost in their own thoughts. By the time they arrived and laid down on their bed after not getting any sleep from the night before, they still couldn’t close their eyes.
Atsumu never thought of their apartment as silent, but now, it was deafening. Something was missing, or someone, if he was being honest. “Omi..”
Sakusa sat down next to him and pulled Atsumu’s head into his lap. “Yeah?”
“Well, I’ve been thinkin.” He began to explain, nervously. “At first, I know we said no kids because I wasn’t good around them and you didn’t like to touch them. That was how it was, it was fine then. But after being with Misu, I think that I want to. I’m not sayin that we should adopt a child right now, but soon. We’re at a good point in our careers that we can retire from playing. Coach actually talked to me about what I wanted to do after, and he offered several part-time openings if I ever need it, and I’m sure he’d offer the same to you, so we don’t need to worry about money or being away from our child. I- I think I’m ready. What about you?”
“I am too.” Sakusa answered as he pulled Atsumu’s hand to his lips and kissed them. “I feel the exact same way. I want to adopt a child, very soon actually. I miss Misu, and I loved being with her. I’m ready for a child too.”
Atsumu shot up to capture Sakusa’s lips in his and when they broke away, he felt his cheeks dampening with both of their tears. “Ah, I can’t wait!” Sakusa chuckled as he leaned down to kiss Atsumu once more, refusing to break apart until they were gasping for breath.