Work Text:
Akaashi loved his job. He really did.
Sure, he would have preferred to be in the literature department, but he enjoyed being an editor. He had the opportunity to work alongside Tenma Udai, Hinata’s high school idol, while he worked on his shounen manga and he loved it.
What he didn’t love? Deadlines.
He was sure that Tenma had much stricter deadlines as a manga creator than he did as an editor. But after an entire day of passive aggressive visits to his office (“Yes, I’m working on it. Yes, I’m almost done. Yes, I’ll finish it before the deadline. Yes, I’ll stay late.”) and not one but two hot coffees spilled onto his lap throughout the day, he was just ready to go home and relax.
He trudged up the stairs to his apartment door, feeling as if he was about to fall asleep on the ugly hasn’t-been-updated-since-the-1980’s carpet that covered the hallway floors. He fumbled with his keys , flicking through until he found the right one. He had just unlocked the door and turned the doorknob when-
“Kaaaaaaaaaasssshhhhiiiiiiiiiii!”
Akaashi winced at the sudden shout, jolting and dropping his keys onto the floor along with his bag. He swore under his breath, quickly dropping to his knees to dig inside his bag, making sure his laptop was still intact. He couldn’t afford a new one, especially considering all the money he would lose from losing any work saved on this computer.
“Kaashi?”
“Please be okay, please be okay,” Akaashi muttered, opening his laptop sleeve somewhat frantically and sliding it out, checking for cracks and opening the lid to make sure it still turned on. He breathed out a sigh of relief when the display flickered on to show a picture of him and Bokuto, grinning together after a MSBY match.
At the sight of the picture he suddenly remembered what had shocked him in the first place, sighing softly and sliding his laptop back into its sleeve and back into his bag. Bokuto often found his way to Akaashi’s apartment after practice or a game and let himself in (with the spare key he had gifted him for his birthday after his neighbors had called the police on a man attempting to break in - Bokuto had just been sitting outside his apartment door for three hours waiting for him to get home). He enjoyed the domesticity of coming home to someone and despite Bokuto having an athlete’s dorm at the MSBY facility he spent most of his time at Akaashi’s.
Bokuto was a force to be reckoned with any day, but Akaashi didn’t know if he had the capacity to do anything but collapse onto his bed for the next fifteen hours. He sighed heavily, retrieving his keys and dropped bag as he stood. “Hello, Bokuto-san. I don’t know if-”
Akaashi cut himself off as he finally looked towards his friend, pausing at the sight in front of him. Bokuto was in a pair of footie pajamas and was hugging Hatsumi to his chest, nervously rubbing the stuffed dog’s ears between his fingers.
Bokuto was little. And Akaashi was exhausted.
“Bo,” Akaashi breathed out, closing the door behind himself. “Hi, little one. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you would be visiting today. Just let me-”
“You ‘kay, ‘Kaash?” Bokuto interrupted, walking forward and wrapping his arms tightly around Akaashi’s waist. “Felt small aft’r p’actice. It ‘kay?”
Akaashi smiled softly and hugged the man back, letting his eyes slip shut for a moment. “I’m okay, Bo. Just a bad day at work. Nothing for little boys to worry about.” He wasn’t sure how well he would be able to entertain Bokuto today. The man was hyper and bounced from activity to activity and while Akaashi enjoyed being his caregiver he wouldn’t deny how tired it often made him. “Maybe we can just have a quiet day today, hmm? I’m pretty tired.”
Bokuto pulled out of the hug with a pout already on his lips. “‘Kaash feel bad?”
Akaashi smiled sympathetically. “Yes, I’m sorry, Bo. Maybe-”
“It ‘kay!” Bokuto interrupted with a grin, pushing Hatsumi into Akaashi’s chest. “Bo take care ‘f ‘Kaash today in’tead!”
Akaashi blinked in surprise. “You… You want to take care of me?”
Akaashi wasn’t an age regressor like Bokuto. He found more comfort in taking care of people than being taken care of. But Bokuto was stubborn. He wouldn’t be deterred after he had made up his mind. “Yes!” Bokuto was practically jumping up and down. “I be the careg’ver today, ‘Kaash. ‘Cause you’re tired!”
Hatsumi was unceremoniously pushed into Akaashi’s chest and he held onto her instinctively, watching with wary eyes as Bokuto ran back into the hallway. Akaashi watched him disappear into the bedroom and let his eyes fall shut, deflating just a bit.
He was exhausted. Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad. He slid off his shoes and let his bag - gently - fall to the floor, keys falling on top of them. He would pick them up later. With Hatsumi still in his hands he trudged to the couch, collapsing on top of it with a sigh.
Maybe he could convince Bokuto to take a nap with him. The man loved playing pretend - pretend doctor’s appointment, pretend airplane flight - so he wasn’t surprised that Bokuto wanted to pretend to be the caregiver this time. But Bokuto also tended to change and bend the rules of his own pretend world at will, so he wasn’t expecting to actually be taken care of. After all, he-
“‘Kaash! You want blue or yellow paci?” Akaashi’s eyes snapped open to see Bokuto standing in front of him. He had pulled on one of Akaashi’s well-worn hoodies on top of his pajamas and he held both hands out, the offered pacifiers in each hand.
“Excuse me?” Akaashi blinked in surprise, sitting up.
“Pick one!” Bokuto begged him, wiggling back and forth. “You little, ‘Kaash, so you use paci like me.” Akaashi was still a bit frozen in surprise. He wasn’t an age regressor but he supposed that didn’t matter to Bokuto. It was pretend.
He hesitantly reached out to take the plain yellow pacifier, smiling. “Thank you, little one. I might not use it but I’m glad you brought it just in case.”
“No!” Bokuto stopped him, waving his now empty hand in the air. “No, ‘Kaash, no call me that. I big, I take c’re ‘f you.”
Akaashi smirked at that, setting the pacifier on the table next to the couch. He sat up a bit more comfortably, offering him space to join him on the couch. He didn’t, instead still choosing to stand in front of Akaashi with a defiant frown on his face. “Okay. What would you like me to call you instead?”
Bokuto considered this, sucking his lower lip in between his teeth as he thought. “Hm… Oh!” He grinned. “‘Kaash call me Dad! Like Kuroo does!”
Akaashi choked back a laugh, hiding his amused smile behind Hatsumi’s fur. “Bo, you don’t even call me that. How about we pick something else. I can call you Kou?” Bokuto had never liked calling Akaashi any of the ‘usual’ caregiver names when he regressed and Akaashi was more than fine with that.
“Kou! Yes!” Bokuto nodded, momentary disappointment from his offer being rejected already gone. “You call me Kou ‘n I call you Keiji, ‘cause you’re little ‘n I take c’re ‘f you.” Akaashi was most definitely not little but he nodded anyway, opening up his arms.
“Sounds great, Kou. How about you take care of me by coming up and cuddling? Maybe we can take a nap.” Bokuto looked like he was tempted but he shook his head resolutely.
“No. Be back!” He took off back down the hallway and Akaashi sighed in defeat, dropping back into a slump on the couch. He hoped that Bokuto’s version of ‘taking care of him’ didn’t include the usual high-energy games and outings that Akaashi usually planned for the little.
Bokuto returned faster this time, carrying a bundle in his arms. He dropped it onto the floor in front of Akaashi and the couch, waving his arms in a flourish. “Brought new clothes! ‘N my blankie, ‘cause you need it. But be ca’ful!” He kneeled down to run his fingers lovingly over the fabric before handing it over to Akaashi.
Bokuto didn’t give his blanket to anybody - not even Akaashi. He could only wash it when Bokuto was big or asleep or else he risked a tantrum and he held onto the thing like a lifeline whenever he regressed. He took the offered blanket with a soft smile, rubbing the plush between his fingers. “I will be careful. Thank you, Kou. What clothes did you bring?”
“Lots!” Bokuto laughed, sifting through the pile. Akaashi could see the patterns of a few of Bokuto’s onesies and he quickly reassured Bokuto that he wouldn’t be able to fit in them to deter him from begging Akaashi to wear one. He was sure Bokuto would be overjoyed to share them but he would prefer not to wear them. Bokuto eventually pulled out a pair of soft sweatpants and an equally soft hooded sweatshirt with a decal of an owl across the chest.
Akaashi accepted the clothes gratefully, sighing in relief under his breath. He escaped to the bedroom to change out of his work clothes and into the new outfit, smiling softly at the mess of Bokuto’s little gear strewn across his bed and the floor. He wasn’t too worried about the clean-up - if Bokuto was acting as a caregiver tonight maybe he could subtly hint that cleaning up messes is a part of being a caregiver.
He probably wouldn’t like that. But Akaashi was too tired to worry about onesies and bottles on the floor.
Akaashi returned to the living room to find Bokuto gone and the pile of clothes shoved off to the side. “Kou?” He called out, sitting back down on the couch and pulling Bokuto’s blanket and Hatsumi onto his lap. They were very comforting - he wasn’t surprised Bokuto dragged them around.
“Stay th’re p’ease!” Bokuto called from the kitchen and Akaashi resisted the immediate urge to stand up and go see what he was doing.
“Koutarou,” Akaashi warned with a frown. “You’re not allowed to use the stove, you know that. Are you-”
“‘M not! Hush, Keiji, stay!” Akaashi let out a surprised laugh but stayed sitting, reaching for the television remote to distract himself from wondering what the little was doing in the kitchen. There wasn’t the sound of anything breaking or the fire alarm starting up so he wasn’t too worried.
He turned on the television and began mindlessly flicking through the Netflix selections, mentally filing away shows or movies he would like to watch with Bokuto when the other was big. He decided to just start up the next episode of Victorious - he and little Bokuto had been watching that recently and he wouldn’t lie and said he didn’t enjoy it as well.
Akaashi made it halfway through the episode before Bokuto came back into the room, walking slowly in his peripheral view. “Dinner!” he called out loudly, causing Akaashi to jump.
He turned to see the little balancing two bowls of ice cream and two cups, one with a sippy cup lid screwed on top, in his arms. Akaashi set aside the blanket and Hatsumi to help him carry them, taking the lid-free cup and one of the bowls.
“Oh, did you do this all by yourself?” Akaashi asked softly, a smile wide on his face as he sat back down onto the couch. Bokuto followed and fell into place next to him, grinning and nuzzling against his arm.
“Yes! ‘Cause I big, Keiji.” Bokuto nodded, balancing his ice cream bowl between his crossed legs. “But I get big boy cup ‘cause I the c’regiver, Keiji. Switch.” He offered out the sippy cup with a frown and Akaashi fought another laugh.
“Oh, Kou, I don’t know. I don’t get as little as you do, maybe you should keep it,” Akaashi encouraged him, setting down his own ice cream bowl to hold his cup between both hands. “I promise I’ll be extra careful, okay?”
Bokuto frowned, eyes flickering between the cup and Akaashi’s face. “‘Kay,” he eventually conceded, sighing heavily. “No spillin’, though.” Akaashi nodded earnestly and drank the water extra hesitantly for Bokuto’s sake, gently setting the cup on the table when he was finished. Bokuto curled up into his side and they both turned their attention to the television as they ate Bokuto’s makeshift dinner.
By the time both of their bowls and cups were empty Bokuto was slumped against Akaashi’s side, eyes barely staying open. Akaashi had been carding a hand through his two-toned hair for a while but he paused in his movements, gently scratching his scalp to get his attention.
“I think it’s bedtime,” Akaashi murmured as Bokuto tipped his head up to look at him, leaning down a few inches to kiss his forehead. “My tired little boy.”
Bokuto’s protesting whine contrasted with the way he preened at the kiss, cuddling further into his caregiver’s side. “No, Keijiiii,” he groaned. “I c’regiver, ‘member?”
“I remember,” Akaashi nodded, retrieving the yellow pacifier Bokuto had offered him earlier from the table, bringing it into Bokuto’s line of sight. “Thank you for taking care of me, Bo. I feel much better. You can be little now.”
And he did feel much better - being with Bokuto always had the effect of removing whatever stress he had. Even regressed Bokuto was incredibly in tune with others emotions. He always wanted to make people feel better.
Bokuto sighed in relief at Akaashi’s words, sitting up and climbing into Akaashi’s lap. The caregiver quickly removed the two bowls before they could be knocked to the floor, moving them to the side. Bokuto curled into his chest and took the pacifier from Akaashi’s hands.
“Glad you better, ‘Kaash. Bein’ a c’regiver is a lotta work,” Bokuto sighed heavily, slipping the pacifier between his lips and drifting off to sleep soon after despite the gentle shaking of Akaashi’s chest as he laughed into his fist.
“I’m sure it is,” Akaashi murmured to his sleeping form, letting his own eyes slip shut as well. “But you did a great job.”