Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For his whole life, Hinata Shouyou loved animals.

He had piles of stuffed animals (his favorite being a stuffed lion he had since birth that he called Bubba), his family had a golden retriever named Kuma (because when Hinata was younger, he thought she was a bear, and called her as such) and he fed the neighborhood stray cats pieces of his sandwich from his lunch.

He always wanted to take care of them, he always wanted to go to the zoo and feed the giraffes and stop and pet everyone’s dog. He decided when he was very young that he wanted to be a zoologist, work in a zoo with exotic animals, or maybe be a veterinarian to help heal animals who had been hurt.

He studied really hard and got into the zoology program at Tokyo University, and for his internship, worked at Tokyo Zoo in the Elephant Enclosure.

It wasn’t his first choice, to be honest. He had wanted to work with the birds, or with the big cats, but elephants weren’t so bad. He had studied up on them extensively for his internship, buying books upon books about Asian elephants, highlighting passages and placing sticky notes. It was a little intimidating at first, seeing how big they were compared to him, but his supervisor, Sugawara, informed him that the elephants really were gentle giants.

A majority of his internship was watching Sugawara feed the elephants, wash them, and making sure they were healthy and happy. He helped with paperwork and cleaning up their enclosure (which was not the fun part of the job), and towards the end, he got to interact with one of the elephants, Mieko, who he had helped supervise when she had gone into the zoo’s breeding program, and was now expecting her first calf.

He graduated with his degree, and was asked to come back and work in the elephant enclosure permanently. Of course, he agreed.

When he came back, Sugawara told him he would be taking care of a baby elephant for his next assignment.

In the time he was gone (finishing up extra classes and even taking a course on Asian wildlife), Mieko had given birth to her calf. Nana was the newest addition to the zoo, getting her name from the fact that she was the seventh elephant born in captivity at Tokyo Zoo. She was tiny and cute and Hinata loved her.

The first day he had been introduced to her, her mother was standing nearby, content to eat with Nana weaving her way between her legs, making excited noises.

Sugawara was with him, of course, reintroducing Hinata to the mother, who snuffled him with her trunk and brought it down a couple times to pat and ruffle his hair, even curling her trunk around his arm when Hinata gave her a hug in greeting. Mieko went back to eating, and then Hinata met Nana.

Who greeted him by head-butting him in the stomach and sending him flat on his ass.

Nana flopped happily across his lap, braying loudly, and Hinata laughed, stroking the leathery skin of her head.

Hinata spent every day observing Nana, playing with her and seeing how she reacted to different foods. She really liked to eat fruit, and would head butt him in excitement whenever he brought in a platter for the elephants to snack on.

It was great, working at the zoo. Hinata loved every minute of it, and he jumped out of bed every morning with a smile knowing that he would get to go see Nana and Mieko.

“Bye bye, Pickles!” Hinata called to his cat, who was lounging on the couch, “See you later tonight!”

-x-

“Hinata, you’re late again.”

“Sorry Sawamura-san, I’m sorry! There was a really cute dog on the way, and then there was a stray cat who was hungry so I fed it some of my sandwich, and then there was another cute dog-”

“Alright, alright,” Sawamura stopped him, “You do this every morning.  You don’t have to pet every dog or feed every cat. I can only tell Ukai that you stop and greet every animal so many times…”

Hinata looked at Sawamura like he was crazy, and he laughed, ruffling Hinata’s hair.

“Alright, get to work. Suga is waiting for you.”

“Okay!” Hinata waved to his boss, “Good luck today, Sawamura-san!”

“Same to you, Hinata!” he called, watching the excited red-head dash to the elephant enclosure. “What an interesting kid.”

-x-

“Good morning, Kenma!” Hinata called to his friend, who was currently carrying the breakfast for the tigers.

“Morning, Shouyou.” he replied, shifting his grip on his box so he could grab his keys.

“Say hi to the tigers and Kuroo for me!” Hinata shouted as he waved goodbye. He greeted Tanaka, who was on his way to the gorilla enclosure, to Nishinoya who was on his way to the exotic birds. Asahi had two armfuls of bamboo for the pandas, and Ennoshita, Narita, and Kinoshita on their way to the polar exhibit.

“Oh, there you are, Hinata!” Sugawara smiled when he entered their little office, Hinata bowing.

“I’m sorry for being late, Sugawara-san!” Hinata apologized, “I’ll make it up to you!”

“You sure will,” Sugawara presented Hinata with a folder, “By completing all your paperwork before you go take care of the elephants.” Hinata groaned, pouting at his supervisor.

“Sugawara-san, that’s just not fair at all!” Sugawara laughed, smiling knowingly.

“Well, think of it as an incentive to finish your paperwork faster. I have to get the elephants their breakfast, so get to work!”

“Yes sir,” Hinata grumbled, flipping open the folder and grabbing a pen, smiling when Sugawara ruffled his hair.

-x-

As soon as Hinata finished his paperwork, he was rushing out to the enclosure, eager to play with Nana and Mieko.

“Nana!” he called, looking around for his tiny elephant companion. Mieko trudged over to him to give him a welcoming hug with her trunk, making him laugh. “Good morning, Mieko! Did you sleep well?” he asked, hugging her trunk. She gave him a couple soft snuffles in reply, and he looked around some more. “Where’s Nana?” he asked, then glanced around, finding the baby elephant closer to the fences than normal.

“Nana!” he called again, raising an eyebrow when she didn’t come barreling towards him. He approached the calf, his eyes widening in shock when he saw what she was so enamored with.

There was a child inside the elephant enclosure.

Chapter Text

“Katsuro, what do you say we go to the zoo tomorrow?”

The little boy turned his head, his brown eyes widening in interest.

“The zoo?” he asked, and his father nodded his head.

“Yeah,” he smiled softly at his son, “Daddy has to do a story for work on the new baby elephant.”

“The one that was on the news?” Katsuro asked, and his father nodded again, sitting down on the floor of his room, letting Katsuro climb into his lap.

“That exact same one. So whaddya say, kiddo? Zoo trip tomorrow?”

“Yeah Daddy, yeah!” he cheered, wrapping his arms around his neck in a hug, “I wanna see the elephants and the zebras and the tigers and-!”

“Alright, alright,” his father laughed, kissing him on the cheek, “We’ll see all of the animals tomorrow. After Daddy gets information on the baby elephant.”

“Yeah yeah,” Katsuro grumbled, resting his head on his father’s shoulder with a yawn.

“Sleepy?” he asked, and Katsuro nodded, rubbing his eye with a tiny fist. “Alright. Come on, bath time first.”

“Nooo,” Katsuro whined, “Nooo, Daddy, no bath tonight.”

“Yes, bath tonight. You’re still sticky from your ice cream bar I let you eat.”

Katsuro giggled, squealing in delight as his father picked him up and carried him to the bathroom.

-x-

Kageyama Tobio, for as long as he could remember, had a passion for writing.

He always liked writing stories, always going the extra mile in his personal journal he had to keep in grade school. He kept a personal journal all throughout middle and high school, filling the lines with poems and short stories. He got in trouble often for writing imaginary scenarios instead of paying attention in class.

He decided to get a degree in creative writing, which was frowned upon by both his parents, but writing was all he knew. He knew how to write stories about imaginary people in imaginary worlds, but to appease his parents, he majored in creative writing, but minored in business, so he could at least support himself.

He got a job he didn’t particularly enjoy, but didn’t really hate it either. It was something to provide him with money while he worked on his stories.

He managed to write a children’s story, one about the problems that come with being greedy (which Kageyama knew well, far too well). Somehow it got published, and Kageyama was commissioned to write more of them. It wasn’t something he imagined himself doing, but they came easily to him, so children’s stories he wrote.

He met a woman, and they liked each other long enough to have a son together. She left though, leaving Kageyama in care of their son. Not that he minded that, because he didn’t, not at all. He loved Katsuro more than anything in the world. He just wished he could spend a little more time with his son, time that didn’t include him taking Katsuro to book meetings.

When he was approached by the zoo to write a story about their new baby elephant, Nana, Kageyama quickly agreed. It would give him time to spend time with Katsuro, and the manager of the zoo, Ukai, was very lenient on deadlines, and even gave him a free pass so he could visit the zoo whenever he pleased for free to research.

It was a great idea, a great way to spend time with his son.

-x-

“Take your son to the zoo, they said,” Kageyama muttered to himself, frantically looking back and forth through the crowd, “It will be fun, they said.”

-x-

Hinata almost fainted when he saw the child interacting with the elephant. Of course, safety was an issue, but he wasn’t worried that Nana would hurt him (out of all the people in the world that Nana met, she only head butted Hinata). There were just so many shots he needed and also the health of Nana was in jeopardy, since the child could be carrying germs from the outside world.

She was gently snuffling at his face with her trunk in curiosity, the child laughing in delight as he stroked her, and Hinata rushed over.

“Ahh, um, excuse me-!” he shouted, carefully removing the child from Nana, who squealed loudly in delight when she saw Hinata. “Yes, Nana, it’s nice to see you too, but give me one second-!” he rushed the child away and out of the enclosure, Nana chasing them and braying excitedly, thinking they were playing some kind of game.

“Hinata?” Sugawara asked when he entered the office, “Did you steal someone’s child?”

“N-No! S-S-Sugawara-san, this kid, he got into the enclosure…!” he explained, and Sugawara put on his serious face, nodding as Hinata set the child down in the chair. Sugawara smiled at him.

“Hello, kiddo,” Sugawara said soothingly, “Would you mind telling me your name?”

“Kageyama Katsuro,” he replied easily, smiling happily, “I got to pet the new baby elephant!”

“I see,” Sugawara nodded, “How about you tell me who you’re here with today, Kageyama-kun?”

“I’m with my daddy,” Katsuro said, looking around the office, “He said he had to study the new elephant for a book he’s writing.”

“Alright,” Sugawara said, “Let’s call him in here and let him know where you are, hm? He’s probably worried about you.”

Hinata nodded to Sugawara, and called up the zoo’s intercom operator, asking them to call for the father of Katsuro to come to the elephant enclosure office.

-x-

They waited in silence, Katsuro having washed his hands and was given a pencil and a few sheets of paper to draw on while he waited for his father to arrive. Hinata noticed that he had a really nasty scowl for a child, his bright demeanor falling away to concentration on his drawings. There was a knock on the door, and Hinata opened it, a taller man tumbling in.

“Katsuro?!” he cried, the child brightening up immediately and rushing over.

“Daddy!” he greeted, his father sighing in relief and hugging him tightly.

“Oh my God, Katsuro, you scared me,” he said softly, picking him up and holding him close.

Hinata observed the taller man, noticing that Katsuro really looked a lot like his father, aside from his wild locks of hair (which reminded Hinata of his own hair). The older Kageyama’s black hair sat straight down on his head, his eyes a deep blue, and he was very, very tall. He was attractive, Hinata thought, blushing when Kageyama turned and looked at him.

“Thank you so much for finding him, I really appreciate it.”

“Um, it’s no trouble, Kageyama-san,” Hinata said, rubbing the back of his head, “But um…Well, Katsuro-chan here managed to, uh…find his way into the elephant enclosure…and, well, he…made contact with Nana.”

Kageyama’s eyes widened, then narrowed, and he pulled Katsuro away, holding him at arm’s length.

“Is this true, Katsuro?” Kageyama asked, and Katsuro nodded excitedly.

“Yeah, Daddy! Nana-chan was so cute! She put her trunk on my face, and I got to pet her! Elephants are wrinkly!” he giggled, and Kageyama gave him an exasperated look, then looked at Hinata (helping him find out where Katsuro got that nasty scowl from), then Sugawara.

“So, what now? Do I have to take him to a hospital or something? Does he need…?” Kageyama hesitated, glancing at Katsuro, then, “S-H-O-T-S?”

Sugawara hummed in thought, flipping through some papers, which Hinata guessed was an incident report.

“It’s advisable,” he said after a minute, “There are certain sh- er…things, you need to interact with animals, since they could be carrying germs that could make us sick. We keep our elephants very healthy, but that still doesn’t guarantee that your son might have picked something up.”

“Ah, shit,” Kageyama muttered under his breath, Katsuro squirming in his arms, “Should I get them, too?”

“Probably,” Sugawara nodded, “It’s precautionary, of course, but it’s better to be safe than to be sorry.” Kageyama nodded, setting Katsuro on the ground.

“Of course…Of course.” Kageyama pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “Alright, is that all?”

“Unfortunately,” Sugawara sighed, holding up the slip of paper, “We have to fill out an incident report.” Kageyama nodded again, sitting down in the chair across from Sugawara, Katsuro climbing in his lap. “Hinata, you’re free to return to work.”

Hinata snapped out of his daze, blushing brightly and nodding with a ‘yes!’, and making his way back to the elephants, sparing one last glance at Kageyama.

“What an interesting pair,” Hinata mumbled to himself, returning to the enclosure, where Nana greeted him with a typical head-butt (which have been getting gentler so he doesn’t fall to his ass every time she does it). “Good morning, Nana! Sorry I didn’t get to say hello properly earlier.”

The elephant wrapped her trunk around his waist in a hug, and Hinata sighed, hugging her back to the best of his ability.

“Alright, c’mon, Nana!” Hinata chirped, starting to walk, the little calf trotting along right beside him, “We've got zoo goers to impress with your cuteness!”

Chapter Text

Kageyama sighed for the umpteenth time that day, Katsuro sitting in his lap and playing with the stuffed elephant Sugawara had given him in exchange for the incident report.

They had to leave the zoo early and go straight to the doctors, Kageyama explaining the situation to the secretary up front. She told a nurse, who said they would talk to their doctor. Luckily it was still earlier in the day, when everyone was at work or at school, so they were the only people in the office currently, which was still surprising to Kageyama, considering how busy doctors usually are.

“Kageyama-kun?” Kageyama glanced up, swallowing when he saw the doctor giving him a stern glare. Katsuro brightened immediately, clambering off his lap and running over to the woman.

“Mommy!” he cheered, smiling as the woman bent over to give him a hug.

“Hello, sweetheart,” she cooed, straightening up, “Let’s go back, okay?”

Kageyama followed the two of them to an examination room, helping Katsuro onto the paper covered bench, sitting next to him.

“So, Katsuro, your father says you managed to get yourself in an animal enclosure at the zoo, huh?” the doctor asked with a smile, Katsuro grinning and nodding.

“Yeah, I got to pet the new elephant!” he explained, his mother humming in amusement and flipping through her clipboard. “And Sugawara-san gave me this elephant to keep!”

“Well, isn’t that a nice elephant,” she replied, giving Kageyama a hard stare. “Tobio, do you mind explaining to me how our son got into the elephant enclosure?”

“That’s something you’ll have to ask him,” he muttered, “One minute he was next to me, and then next minute he wasn’t.”

“I find that hard to believe,” she scoffed, “You probably weren’t paying attention, as usual-”

“Miyumi, can we not do this in front of the kid?” Kageyama said in exasperation, “You can call me tonight and yell at me all you want, but for now, just…” he sighed heavily again, pinching the bridge of his nose and fighting off a migraine, “…Just please get us the sh-…stuff we need, and we’ll be out of your hair.”

“…Fine,” she relented, “But you will be getting an earful later, Tobio.”

Miyumi turned and left the room, almost slamming the door behind her, making Kageyama and Katsuro wince.

“…I don’t like when you and Mommy fight,” Katsuro said in a tiny voice, and Kageyama softened immediately, helping Katsuro into his lap and pressing a kiss into his hair.

“I know, kiddo,” he replied softly, “We don’t mean to fight, Katsuro. Your mom was just worried that you might have got hurt.”

“Alright, you two,” Miyumi sighed when she walked back in with a tray of syringes, Katsuro tensing when he saw what they were. “Let’s get started.”

“No!” Katsuro shouted, tears welling up in his eyes, “No, Daddy, I don’t want those!”

“Shh, Katsuro, it’s alright,” Kageyama shushed him, stroking his hair.

“No, they hurt too much! Mommy!” he wailed, the tears finally falling, “M-Mommy, don’t make me get them! I don’t want to!”

“Katsuro, sweetie, shhh,” Miyumi stroked his cheek, giving him a reassuring smile, “It’s okay, baby, they don’t hurt at all!”

“Here, Daddy has to do the exact same thing,” Kageyama said, Katsuro whimpering and trying to squirm away from him, “How about I go first, okay?” Katsuro sniffled, rubbing his nose.

“D-Daddy has to get shots, too?” he asked meekly, and Kageyama nodded, rolling up his sleeve to expose his arm.

“Yep,” he said, “But honestly, I’m a little bit scared.” Katsuro blinked up at him.

“You’re scared?” he asked quietly, and Kageyama nodded. Katsuro inhaled and hugged him tightly. “Don’t worry, Daddy! I’m here!”

“Thank you,” Kageyama smiled, Katsuro holding his hand as Miyumi administered the first shot. Katsuro gasped when Kageyama took it without even flinching, watching as his mother rubbed the wound with a cotton ball and placed a band aid with kittens decorating it on his arm.

“Alright, just two more and you’ll be done.” Miyumi said softly, throwing out the syringe and moving onto the next one. Katsuro watched in awe as Kageyama got the shots and got three new stickers decorated with kittens, dinosaurs, and a variety of sports balls. “All done!”

“Daddy, you were brave!” Katsuro complimented him, and Kageyama chuckled, letting Katsuro readjust himself in his lap, helping him roll up his sleeve. “I’ll be brave, just like you!”

“Alright,” Kageyama held his tiny hand in his, “I’ll be right here.”

Katsuro whimpered when he was given the first shot, sniffled when he got the second, and whined when he got the third. He sniffled when it was done, looking at his band aids and giving Kageyama wobbly smile.

“I did it!” he cheered, and Kageyama leaned down to kiss his cheek, making him giggle in delight.

“Yes you did, my brave little man,” Miyumi gushed, leaning in to kiss Katsuro as well. “Alright, you two might get a little bit sick because of these shots, so I’m trusting Daddy will take good care of you if you do get sick.” She gave Kageyama a pointed look, and he sighed.

“Yes, I’ll take good care of him,” he replied dryly, and Miyumi rolled her eyes, smiling fondly.

“Alright. You two are all set. I have other patients to take care of.”

Kageyama helped Katsuro off the bench, watching as he took hold of his mother’s hand and chattered excitedly about what the two of them would do that weekend when Kageyama dropped him off.

“We’ll do all of that, Katsuro,” Miyumi smiled, kneeling down to give him a tight hug and place sloppy kisses all over his cheeks, making him laugh, “Mm, I love you so much! I’ll see you this weekend, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy!” he said happily, “I love you, too!”

“See you later, Miyumi,” Kageyama said when Katsuro was released and he took a hold of his father’s hand.

“Bye, Tobio,” she replied, “Take care of him.”

“Of course.” he said, smiling softly at Katsuro, who was smiling up at him.

“I’m hungry, Daddy!” he said, reaching his arms up so Kageyama could pick him up.

“Alright, we’ll have sushi for dinner tonight. How does that sound?”

“Yay!” Katsuro cheered, “Sushi, sushi!”

Kageyama huffed out a laugh, carrying Katsuro out of the office as he sung ‘sushi, sushi’ to himself as he played with his elephant.

“Hey Daddy?” Katsuro pulled away from Kageyama’s shoulder to look at his face, pouting slightly, “I’m sorry I went to see the elephants.”

“…It’s okay, Katsuro,” Kageyama sighed, mentally scolding himself for being so lenient with him. He couldn’t help it, though! He had those cute chubby cheeks and wide brown eyes and messy black hair and his little lips pulled into a pout…! Kageyama squeezed him in a hug, making Katsuro giggle in delight. “You’re too cute, you little…!”

“Hehe, I love you, Daddy!” Katsuro cooed, hugging him back just as tight, and Kageyama smiled, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I love you more, squirt.”

-x-

The two of them went out to a little sushi bar, sitting at the conveyer belt. Kageyama grabbed the two of them plates and watched in amusement as Katsuro wielded his chopsticks with difficulty, pouting when he couldn’t properly pick up his California roll.

“Daddy, this is hard without Rilakkuma,” he complained, pointing to the top of his chopsticks where he would usually have a guide placed to help him learn. Kageyama smiled, picking up his sushi with ease and eating it, Katsuro watching with a frown. “Daddy, help me!” he demanded, and Kageyama laughed again, reaching over to Katsuro’s place and picking up the roll, putting it into Katsuro’s waiting mouth.

“Good?” he asked, Katsuro nodding as he chewed, reaching for his cup and drinking from it. Kageyama ate another piece, reaching up to grab another plate that came by, offering another piece to Katsuro when he was done chewing.

After they ate dinner, they walked back to the subway, Katsuro insisting they stop and play the crane games with the Rilakkumas in them.

“When did you get so interested in Rilakkuma?” Kageyama asked, and Kasturo hugged his elephant to his chest, grinning in excitement as Kageyama maneuvered the crane to the one he wanted.

“Mommy has a bunch of Rilakkuma stuff at her house,” Katsuro explained, “He’s so cute, Daddy! How could you not like him?”

“Yeah, I guess,” he muttered, his eyes widening in surprise when he managed to snag the toy on his first try.

“Daddy, you’re amazing!” Katsuro yelled excitedly, hugging the new stuffed animal, then happily clambering into Kageyama’s arms so he could carry him to the subway.

“Yeah yeah,” he replied, smiling as Katsuro hummed happily to himself, “Two stuff animals in one day. You really are a spoiled brat.”

They rode the subway home, spending the rest of the evening watching Disney movies on Netflix, Katsuro curled up in Kageyama’s lap, hugging his elephant to his chest, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

“Tired?” Kageyama asked, and Katsuro shook his head.

“Nuh uh,” he replied, “Gonna…stay up.”

“Uh huh,” Kageyama said, turning off the movie, “C’mon buddy, bed time.”

“Daddyyy,” Katsuro whined, “’m not sleepy…” he yawned widely, and Kageyama rolled his eyes.

“Sure you’re not,” he replied, maneuvering Katsuro into his arms, carrying him in his arms and holding his new elephant in one of his hands.

“Wanna sleep with you,” Katsuro mumbled, Kageyama going into his son’s room anyway and picking up a pair of pajamas before heading to his room.

“Alright, arms up,” Kageyama ordered, Katsuro sleepily obeying so Kageyama could take his shirt off and replace it with his dinosaur pajamas. Once he was changed, Kageyama changed into his own pajamas, turning off the light and crawling into bed beside Katsuro, who immediately burrowed his way into Kageyama’s chest.

“Umf,” he mumbled, yawning again and hugging his elephant, his little fist grabbing Kageyama’s t-shirt, “Night, Daddy…Luff you…”

“Love you too,” Kageyama replied softly, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

They might not have gotten a day at the zoo like Kageyama planned, but he still got to spend the day with Katsuro, and he wouldn’t have traded it for anything in the world.

He’d worry about his book in the morning.

Chapter Text

“Nana!”

Hinata laughed as the elephant toddled over to him, her ears flapping excitedly as she nuzzled into him, purring happily.

…Wait, purring?

“Nana?” Hinata asked, and the calf looked up at him, meowing loudly.

Hinata’s eyes fluttered open, being greeted by the curious face of his orange tabby cat, who meowed again and pressed his little paw against his cheek to try and wake him up.

“Oh,” Hinata yawned, reaching up to scratch the cat’s head, “Good morning, Pickles. You’re up early today.” The cat meowed again, hopping off his chest so he could sit up and stretch.

Hinata slowly got out of bed, yawning again and making his way to the kitchen, Pickles following close behind. He filled up his electric kettle and plugged it in, then reached in the cupboard for the cat food, filling up Pickles’ bowl and filling up his water dish, then getting a mug and placing a tea bag in it.

He went back to his room and grabbed his phone, finding two messages, one from Sawamura and one from Sugawara.

From: Sawamura Daichi
Subject: Don’t Forget!!!
Hinata, don’t forget, you have the day off today! No, you can’t come to the zoo as a visitor!

From: Sugawara Koushi
Subject: Day off
Hinata, I know you have the day off, but don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Nana!

Hinata sighed, locking his phone and pouring the now heated water into his mug. He didn’t like taking days off, but he was required to. He put it off for as long as he could, but it was inevitable. He pulled the tea bag out of his mug and placed it on the counter, mixing in a packet of sugar before taking a sip. His phone went off with another message.

From: Sugawara Koushi
Subject: Book
Also, I gave your number to the guy who came in the other day, Kageyama Tobio. He’s writing a story on Nana, and since you’re closest to her, I referred him to you. Hope you don’t mind!

Hinata furrowed his brow, taking another sip of his tea. As soon as he remembered who the man was, his phone went off with an incoming call.

Hinata yelped, almost dropping his phone into the sink, Pickles giving him an unimpressed look as he went back to eating. Hinata swiped the answer button, putting the phone to his ear.

“H-Hello?”

“Hello, this is Kageyama Tobio,” the smooth, professional voice on the other line replied, “Is this…Hinata Shouyou?”

“Um, yes!” he said quickly, “Sugawara-san told me you would be calling!”

“Yes. I’ve been commissioned to write a promotional children’s story book for the zoo about Nana, the new elephant. Sugawara-san said you are her primary caregiver?”

“Yes! When she was born, I was assigned to take care of her!” Hinata said proudly, puffing his chest out slightly, even if Kageyama couldn’t see it, and Kageyama hummed in acknowledgement.

“Do you mind if we meet up to talk about her?” Kageyama asked, “I just need to learn more about her before I can get a story going. And, ah,” there was a pause, “…Do you mind if my son comes with us?”

“Oh, not at all!” Hinata replied, “Where would you want to meet up?”

“The little coffee shop on 23^rd Street?” Kageyama asked, and Hinata heard someone yell ‘Ice cream parlor!’ in the background, making Hinata laugh.

“The Crow’s Roost is fine,” Hinata giggled, “We can meet at two?”

“That works,” Kageyama replied, and Hinata heard shifting on the other line, “We’ll see you at two then.” There was more shifting, then a “Hey-!”

“Hello, Mr. Elephant guy!” a little voice greeted, and Hinata laughed again.

“Hello, Katsuro-chan,” Hinata replied with a grin, “How are you today?”

“Good!” Katsuro chirped, “I’m having rice porridge for breakfast!”

“Mmm, sounds delicious,” Hinata hummed, “Do you mind if I speak with your dad again?”

“No, I gotta go anyways,” Katsuro said, then there was more shuffling.

“I’m sorry,” Kageyama said immediately, sounding flustered, and Hinata chuckled, taking another sip of tea.

“It’s okay! Katsuro is cute.”

“Thank you,” Kageyama replied, “Um, well, we’ll see you at two.”

“Yep! Bye, Kageyama-kun!” Kageyama mumbled a ‘bye’ and Hinata hung up, chuckling and shaking his head. “What an interesting pair.”

Hinata decided to do some chores on his day off, since his fridge was looking a little barren and he was running out of clean underwear.

“You’d think that now that I’m an adult, I would remember to do these things,” he muttered, looking at Pickles, who had hopped up on the counter and was sniffing at his tea cup. “No, that’s not for you.”

Hinata threw a load of laundry into the washing machine before moving back to the kitchen and making a grocery list, Pickles batting at his pen while he was writing. After making his list and realizing he never ate breakfast, he raided the cabinets and the fridge and decided on cereal for breakfast, using the last of his milk and dumping the last bit of Lucky Charms into his bowl and ate it, having to keep Pickles from sniffing and sticking his paws in it.

He went to the bathroom to take a quick shower, then got dressed, jeans and a t-shirt, grabbing his wallet and cellphone and reusable grocery bags (decorated with little elephants) before heading to the grocery store.

-x-

On the subway back home with his grocery bags filled to the brim with the essentials (okay, so technically Hot Pockets shouldn’t be considered the essentials…but, Hinata reasoned with himself, I work a lot and I can’t really cook for shit, so…)

He arrived back at his apartment after stopping and petting two dogs and three stray cats on the way, putting in another load of laundry before going back to the kitchen and putting away all his groceries.

“Oh Pickles!” Hinata sung, shaking a brand new bag of cat treats. Pickles trotted into the room, meowing in excitement and rubbing against his legs. Hinata laughed and pulled one out of the bag, holding it in his palm for Pickles to eat.

By the time he put away his groceries, it was only noon, so he decided to curl up on the couch with Pickles lounging on his chest while he played his 3DS.

-x-

“Katsuro.” Kageyama said sternly, looking down at his son and raising an eyebrow. “Are you going to cooperate?”

Katsuro grinned, biting his tongue to hold back his giggles, holding the hooded towel he was wearing closer to himself.

“Hmm, no,” he answered in between laughs, Kageyama raising both his eyebrows.

“Katsuro,” he started, “You can’t go to out in public naked.”

“Yes I can,” Katsuro retorted easily, and Kageyama frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose with a frustrated sigh.

“No, you can’t,” he reiterated, “You have to put on your clothes. See, I even picked out your nice t-shirt the cool tiger on it.”

“Why?” Katsuro asked, grinning widely and swinging back and forth.

“Because you’ll get arrested for public indecency. C’mon, let’s get dressed.”

“What’s public indes-sens-see?” he asked, squealing when Kageyama picked him up and placed him on the bed, toweling his hair off.

“It’s going out in public naked,” Kageyama answered, “Which is illegal. Do you want to go to jail?”

“Ummm,” Katsuro hummed, falling onto his butt on the bed with an ‘oof’, “Yes.”

“You want to go to jail?” Kageyama asked, and Katsuro laughed again.

“Yes.”

“You are unbelievable.” Kageyama muttered, tugging on Katsuro’s shorts, then pulling his t-shirt over his head.

“Umf,” Katsuro sniffled, rubbing his nose. “Daddy can I get a coffee today? I wanna be a growed up.”

“No,” Kageyama said immediately, “Coffee is icky.”

“You drink it,” Katsuro retorted, reaching out so Kageyama could pick him up, and Kageyama sighed as the boy rubbed his nose again.

“You feeling okay sport?” he asked, pressing the back of his hand to Katsuro’s forehead.

“Uh huh.” He sniffled again and coughed a little bit. “I want some juice.”

“Alright,” Kageyama sighed, carrying the boy to the kitchen.

-x-

Hinata had gotten to The Crow’s Roost first, picking a table outside, half in the sun, half in the shade, so Kageyama’s son wouldn’t have to sit in the sun while he and Kageyama talked about Nana.

He fiddled with his phone and took a sip of his hot chocolate, glancing around for a tall, surly looking, black-haired guy with an excited little kid.

Instead, he saw a surly looking parent and a surly looking child.

“Hey, sorry we’re late,” Kageyama apologized, sitting in the seat across from Hinata, “Someone had a little bit of a tantrum on the subway.”

“That’s alright!” Hinata gave them both a sympathetic smile, “Did you want me to get you a coffee or anything while you guys settle in?”

“A tea would be nice,” Kageyama said, handing Hinata a couple bills, “My throat has been a little sore today. Thank you so much.”

“It’s no trouble!” Hinata replied with a wave of his hand, going inside the coffee shop to order Kageyama a tea. He bought a cookie for Katsuro, then came back and found Katsuro settled on a seat drinking some sort of juice, rubbing his eye with a little fist, while Kageyama pulled out a very well used notebook and flipped to a new page.

“Here you are,” Hinata said, setting the tea in front of Kageyama, “And I got Katsuro-chan a cookie! I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, that’s fine,” Kageyama sighed, “It’ll keep him quiet. What do you say?”

“Thank you,” Katsuro mumbled, taking the little bag from Hinata.

“You’re welcome!” Hinata chirped, sitting down across from Kageyama and taking a sip of hot cocoa. “So, what do you want to know?”

“Anything,” Kageyama replied, “Her temperament, any habits, funny stories. Every little bit helps.”

“Hmm, well,” Hinata shifted in his seat, “She’s a very happy elephant. She’s always eager to play and very sweet and gentle. Except when she first met me.”

Hinata told the tale of how the two of them first met, being head-butted to the ground, making Katsuro giggle. He talked about daily activities they did, how Nana enjoyed fruit and bath time, and how when she was out in the enclosure, all of the older elephants looked after her like she was their own. Kageyama nodded the entire time, taking down notes and drawing arrows and furrowing his brow. Katsuro sat quietly, nibbling on his cookie and looking between the two adults with his big brown eyes.

“Yeah, I guess that’s really all I can tell you,” Hinata sighed, rubbing the back of his head, “Did any of it help you?”

“Yeah, it helped,” Kageyama replied, “But I think I need to go to the zoo and see her for myself.”

“I think that’s your best bet,” Hinata said honestly, “I have the day off today, so I’m not allowed in the zoo.”

“Daddy,” Katsuro interrupted, reaching towards him, “I wanna sit with you!”

“Alright, hang on,” Kageyama sighed, pulling Katsuro into his lap so the boy could rest his head on his chest. “Since we got our shots, I think we’ve gotten a little sick.”

“Ooh, yeah,” Hinata gave them both a sympathetic look, “When I got mine, I was down for a couple days too. You guys should get home and get some rest!”

“I think so too,” Kageyama coughed into his elbow, then packed his bag that he brought, all while keeping Katsuro precariously perched on his lap. “Thank you so much for meeting with me today. Can I call you again if I have any questions?”

“Of course! I’ll help out as best I can!” Hinata agreed with a grin, standing and extending his hand out to Kageyama, “It was really nice to see you again!”

“Mhm, you too,” Kageyama shook his hand, Hinata grinning wider and holding his hand out to Katsuro.

“It was nice to see you again, Katsuro-chan,” Hinata said softly, and Katsuro looked at his hand before reaching out and grabbing two of his fingers and moving his arm up and down.

“Bye, Mr. Elephant guy!” he said, and Hinata laughed.

“I have a name, you know,” he pointed to his face, “You can call me Hinata.”

“Bye, Hinata!” Katsuro corrected himself, and Hinata laughed again, waving to the two of them before heading out.

“They really are an interesting pair,” Hinata mumbled to himself.

Chapter Text

Kageyama stared at the blank sheet of paper in front of him.

And stared.

And stared.

And stared.

“…Writing this book is a lot harder than I thought it would be,” he muttered, tapping his pen on his desk.

It had only been a few days since he had gotten the job, but it was still odd that he couldn’t think of anything. His inspiration should have hit by now, having gotten a bunch of information from Hinata. Hinata was even kind enough to lend him some books he had bought on Asian elephants, and Kageyama had flipped through both and snorted at Hinata’s little notes and doodles in the margins.

To add to his stress, due to the shots, he and Katsuro had gotten sick. Katsuro had gotten it a little worse than Kageyama, coughing and whimpering and throwing a lot more tantrums than usual.

He groaned, looking back at all the notes he took from his talk with Hinata. Nana was a sweet, gentle creature, with the exception of when she head-butted Hinata the first time they met, and his eyes sparkle when he gets excited, and-

…Wait, what?

Kageyama furrowed his brow, looking back over his writing. With the exception of when she head-butted Hinata the first time they met, and his eyes sparkle when he gets excited-

“What the fuck?” he whispered, picking up his notebook and squinting at his own hand writing. “Why the fuck did I write that?”

Thinking back, he guessed it was true. Hinata’s eyes did sparkle when he was recalling his favorite memories of Nana. But why would he write that down? Who cared about Hinata’s eyes? They didn’t matter in terms of his story.

Kageyama sighed again, slapping his notebook closed and looking back down at the blank pieces of paper in front of him.

He looked up when Katsuro toddled into the room, clinging to his elephant and crying, his face red, tears and snot dripping down his face.

“Daddyyy,” he wailed, and Kageyama did not think he had sighed as much as he had that day, standing from his desk and picking up his distressed child.

“Alright, there there,” Kageyama shushed, bouncing him slightly to try and calm him down, “What’s wrong, huh?”

“M-My head hurts,” he sobbed, coughing and rubbing his eye with a tiny fist.

“I know, buddy,” Kageyama said sympathetically, going into the bathroom to grab some tissue, putting it to Katsuro’s nose, “Here, blow.”

Katsuro obeyed, blowing his nose into the proffered tissue, letting Kageyama wipe his face with a clean one.

“C’mon, let’s get you some soup, okay?”

-x-

“Nana!” Hinata called, closing the gate behind him, walking towards the two elephants who were playing together in the middle of the enclosure. “Mieko! I have some treats!”

Nana brayed excitedly, running around Hinata in circles, her ears flapping and tail wagging like a puppy. HInata laughed, handing Mieko a peeled, steamed sweet potato (her favorite treat) and offered Nana a peeled banana.

“Here, Nana! A new treat for you!” he cooed, kneeling and holding the fruit so she could eat it. She sniffed at it with her trunk first, then raised it so she could bite at it.

Hinata laughed again as Nana smacked her lips in what he assumed was delight.

“Ooh, it’s good, huh?” he asked, allowing Nana to eat the rest of it. Mieko’s trunk came to touch his head a couple times, and Hinata looked up at the elephant, who flapped her ears a couple times and let out a questioning noise. “No, Mieko, I don’t have any more for you today. But today Sugawara-san and I are getting some yummy tree leaves for you guys!” he gave her trunk a reassuring pat, and giggled as she huffed a breath through her trunk onto his face. He gave Mieko one last pat before giving Nana a kiss on her head, waving at the two of them. “Okay, see you later! Be extra cute for the visitors!”

Hinata made his way out of the enclosure, heading back to Sugawara in the office.

“I’m back!” he called, closing the door behind him and wandering over to his desk and scribbling notes on his clipboard about the treats.

“Well, how did it go?” Sugawara asked, and Hinata grinned.

“She liked bananas!” Hinata replied excitedly, Sugawara smiling at him.

“Good! Well, we have some time before the zoo closes, and I started a list of things we need for the week. Would you please look over it for me and add anything I’m missing?”

“Sure!” Hinata chirped, taking the sheet of paper from his supervisor and sitting at his desk to look it over. “Mieko is so funny. She started looking for another sweet potato while I was feeding Nana.” Sugawara chuckled.

“Yeah, sounds about right.”

The two of them sat in companionable silence, Sugawara clicking through emails and Hinata checking the list, and eating some Pocky that he kept stored in his desk. He added a couple last things that he noticed around but Sugawara didn’t write down, then handed the list back, Sugawara nodding as he looked over what Hinata wrote.

“Alright,” Sugawara said, “We’ll give this to Daichi tonight at the last meeting of the day.”

“Sounds good!” Hinata replied around a mouthful of Pocky, going back to scribbling on his clipboard.

-x-

“Sugawara, Hinata, your list please.” Sawamura asked, holding out his hand without looking up from his check list.

“Here you go!” Hinata said, handing Sawamura the list, waiting until he checked their names off the attendance list for the meeting.

“Go ahead,” Sawamura shooed them inside the conference room, Tanaka and Nishinoya giving Hinata boisterous hello. Hinata fell into the seat next to Kenma, who was playing on his phone before the meeting, Sugawara sitting next to him and sparking up conversation with Asahi. Once everyone from the different enclosures was settled around the table, Ukai burst in, Sawamura walking next to him.

“Good evening, everyone,” Ukai’s voice boomed over everyone’s conversation, and everyone stood and bowed in respect.

“Good evening!” they boomed back, and Ukai grinned at them.

“Alright, sit down,” he ordered, looking over the folder Sawamura handed him before sitting down. “Everyone handed in their shopping lists, right?”

“Right!” everyone reaffirmed, Ukai nodding.

“So, as you guys now, visits are steadily increasing now that the weather is nicer,” Ukai began, “And with the new addition.” He gave a pointed look to Sugawara and Hinata, Hinata beaming and puffing his chest out proudly. “So, to start…”

The daily meetings were probably the worst part of the job, if Hinata had to be honest. They were just Ukai babbling about numbers and sales and things Hinata didn’t care about. He did perk up when Tanaka mentioned one of the gorillas acting a bit lethargic and sluggish. Ukai nodded, directing Tanaka to take the gorilla in question into the zoo’s veterinary and have it checked out. Tanaka saluted with nod.

“Anything else?” Ukai asked, and everyone shook their heads. “Alright! All of you are dismissed! See you all bright and early tomorrow morning!”

Everyone chorused a good evening, and Hinata stretched, waving goodbye to all of his colleagues, walking back to his office with Sugawara, who filled him in on the things he missed while he was spacing out.

He walked with Kenma and Kuroo to the train station, the three of them talking about their animals and what happened on Hinata’s day off. They had to get off the train one stop before Hinata’s, the three of them bidding each other farewell, leaving Hinata alone.

-x-

From: Hinata Shouyou
Subject: [none]
Kageyama-kun!!!! I just remembered, today, Nana tried a banana for the first time today!!!! She really liked it!!! Idk if that would help you with your book, but I figured I would let you know!!!!!

Kageyama squinted at the message, pondering the idea. Maybe a story about how you should eat your vegetables?

To: Hinata Shouyou
Subject: [none]
I’ll think about it. Thank you very much for your help.

Kageyama set down his phone, looking over at Katsuro, who was eating a freeze pop to help with his fever. He was doing a little better than he was that morning, after a couple naps and some soup, he had stopped crying about a headache. Kageyama wasn’t feeling too well either, but he felt better after taking some ibuprofen and eating soup with Katsuro. He didn’t make much progress on his book, to be honest, but he figured it would be alright…

His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing, and he frowned at the unfamiliar number.

“Hello?”

“Oi, Kageyama-kun! It’s Ukai!” Kageyama straightened up on the couch, Katsuro giving him a curious look.

“U-Ukai-san…!”

“So, have you been making progress on your book?” he asked, and Kageyama swallowed.

“Uh, n-not…Not a lot of progress, no,” he admitted sheepishly, “M-My son has been sick recently, so…”

“Ahh, yeah, you guys had to get the shots,” Ukai tsked, “Yep, they suck, but at least you won’t catch anything deadly!” his booming laughter resonated through the phone.

Kageyama gave an uncomfortable laugh, Ukai sniffling on the other line after composing himself.

“Anyway, Kageyama-kun, since you got those shots already, I thought it would be a good idea if you actually interacted with Nana!” Kageyama blinked.

“…I…I’m sorry?” he asked, Ukai laughing again.

“I talked to Sugawara-kun, and him and Hinata-kun will introduce you to the elephants, let’s say, Friday morning! You can bring Katsuro, too! How does that sound?”

“U-Um, I mean, that sounds fine, but-“

“Great! I’ll let Sugawara-kun and Hinata-kun know. See you then, Kageyama-kun!”

“Wait-!” before Kageyama could fight, Ukai hung up the phone, dial tone meeting his ears. He groaned, falling back onto the couch.

“What is it, Daddy?” Katsuro asked, crawling over to rest his head on Kageyama’s chest, looking up at him with his ruddy, chubby cheeks, and wide, curious eyes.

“Well, I guess we get to go hang out with the elephants in a couple days.” He replied, Katsuro jumping up and cheering excitedly.

At least one of us is excited about it, Kageyama thought to himself, fussing when Katsuro began coughing.

Chapter Text

A couple days came faster than Kageyama anticipated, him and Katsuro making a speedy recovery from their shots. Kageyama’s next concern was now the fact that Katsuro was practically vibrating with excitement, his eyes wide and his mouth stretched into a grin since the moment he woke Kageyama up.

“Daddy, get up!” he demanded, clambering his way into Kageyama’s bed so he could poke and prod at him. “We’re going to the zoo today!”

“Five more minutes,” Kageyama mumbled, turning away from Katsuro and pulling his blanket over his head.  

“Fine, then I’m gonna dress myself,” Katsuro huffed, turning so he could get off the bed. He squealed when Kageyama turned and grabbed him, hugging him to his chest.

“Nope,” Kageyama smiled, “You’re staying right here.”

“Daddy!” he squirmed, laughing, “We gotta go! We’re gonna be late!”

“No we’re not,” Kageyama said, looking at the clock, “We have a lot of time before we have to leave. Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“Ummm, 10 o’clock,” Katsuro replied, trying to wriggle his way out of Kageyama’s arms.

“Ummm, try 5 o’clock in the morning. Go back to sleep.”

Katsuro let out the longest, most exasperated sigh of his short life, sprawling out and relaxing in Kageyama’s arms. Kageyama spared another glance at the clock, which still had his alarm set for a little later in the morning. He heard Katsuro yawn, turning so he could cuddle into Kageyama’s chest.

“Gonna see the elephants,” he mumbled before he conked out, his tiny snores making Kageyama’s heart explode from the cuteness.

-x-

“Gooood morning!” Hinata called to the elephants, hefting two armfuls of leafy branches into the enclosure. Sugawara walked next to him with his own armfuls of branches, shaking his head fondly at Hinata as they made their way to the elephants.

Nana greeted them enthusiastically, ears flapping and her tiny trunk trying to pluck leaves off the branches the two of them had. Mieko immediately fussed over Sugawara, touching him with her trunk and wrapping it around his wrist when he set down the branches.

“Hey, Nana!” Hinata greeted, grinning when she rubbed and butted herself against him, “Today we’re gonna have some visitors!” The calf responded by nuzzling herself further against him, making happy chirp-like sounds, then moving away to go pluck at the branches and eat them with her mother.

“You two are going to be good today, right?” Hinata asked, Sugawara laughing as Mieko moved to fuss with his hair with a knowing noise, letting him know they would be on their best behavior.

Sugawara and Hinata left them to their leaves, waiting in their office for Kageyama and Katsuro to arrive. Hinata was nervous, but also kind of excited. It would be interesting to see how the elephants would react to people from outside the enclosure.

Kageyama and Katsuro arrived on time, Kageyama yawning widely as Katsuro ran into the room, clutching his stuffed elephant and yelling excitedly.

“Good morning!” Sugawara said cheerily, greeting Katsuro, who ran over to him to let him know how his stuff elephant was doing. Hinata smiled at Kageyama, who frowned at him.

“Rough morning?” he teased, and Kageyama’s eyebrows narrowed.

“Katsuro decided to wake up at five in the morning,” he replied, yawning again. “So that means I had to wake up at five in the morning.” Hinata laughed, looking back at Katsuro, who had managed to bribe Sugawara into holding him as he babbled excitedly about meeting the elephants. He leaned over Sugawara’s shoulder, grinning at the two.

“C’mon, Daddy! We gotta go now!” he ordered, making Kageyama roll his eyes.

“Yeah yeah, you little brat,” he muttered, taking him from Sugawara and following the two into the enclosure.

Katsuro was bouncing in excitement, biting his bottom lip to hold back his squeaks. Kageyama chuckled quietly to himself, holding back a full out laugh when Katsuro’s jaw dropped when the elephants came into view.

“They’re huge!” Katsuro shrieked, making Kageyama wince as his eardrum was practically blown out.

“Oi, don’t shout,” Kageyama scolded, “You’ll scare them.”

“Sorry,” Katsuro whispered, then hissed, “They’re huuuge.”

Sugawara introduced the two of them to Mieko first, who snuffled at Katsuro’s face curiously, then moved her trunk to pat both of their heads with a pleased noise. Katsuro laughed in delight, carefully stroking her rough trunk with his hand, which seemed microscopic in comparison.

Nana was sniffling at Katsuro’s foot while the two of them met Mieko, tugging at his shoe and Kageyama’s pant leg.

“Nana, behave!” Hinata laughed, “They’ll get to you in a minute!” Nana moved to Hinata, tugging on his shirt impatiently. Katsuro gave Mieko’s large trunk a hug, squeezing her affectionately before looking down at Nana.

“Daddy, put me down!” he demanded, “Nana is lonely!”

“Alright, be careful, okay? Go nice and slow.” Kageyama set him down, watching as Katsuro carefully approached the baby elephant, who began to sniff him curiously, tugging his shirt and shorts. Katsuro giggled, stroking her head softly.

Kageyama smiled softly at the scene, Nana’s ears flapping happily as she wrapped her trunk around his wrist. Hinata glanced from the scene to Kageyama, back to Sugawara, who gave him a grin and a wink.

“Hinata, do you think you can keep an eye on them?” Sugawara asked, “I gotta get back to the office to fill out some papers.”

“Of course, Sugawara-san!” Hinata agreed, giving him a salute, “I’ll take good care of everyone!”

“Alright, you guys enjoy!” Sugawara waved goodbye and made his way back to the office. Hinata moved a little closer to Kageyama, grinning.

“Weeell?” he asked, and Kageyama raised an eyebrow.

“What?” he asked, sputtering when Mieko’s trunk came to prod at his face.

“Are you getting any ideas?” Hinata asked again, laughing as Mieko began to tousle Kageyama’s hair.

“I’m getting a few,” he ground out, trying to move Mieko’s trunk away from his hair. Katsuro had taken to running around the enclosure, Nana following after him with excited noises and flapping ears.

“Be careful, Katsuro-chan!” Hinata called, the boy laughing and squealing in delight when the calf’s trunk brushed against him.

“Daddy, Daddy!” Katsuro cried, reaching up so Kageyama could pick him up. He ran into his arms with an ‘oof’, Nana managing to skid to a halt and run around Kageyama making happy cooing sounds at the two of them.

“Wow, Nana really likes you, Katsuro-chan!” Hinata commented, smiling as Mieko rounded up Nana with her trunk and gentle noises to calm her down. “I didn’t think they would warm up to you two so quickly! We’ll have to make note of this…”

“Daddy, can we go see the other animals?” Katsuro asked, grinning at Kageyama in excitement. Kageyama looked from Katsuro to Hinata who shrugged.

“Hey, if you’re done here, feel free to roam the rest of the zoo.” Katsuro cheered, urging Kageyama to head back towards the exit of the enclosure, Hinata following behind them.

“Thank you very much for letting us interact with the elephants,” Kageyama said to Sugawara, bowing politely. Sugawara waved his hand dismissively with a grin, then handed Katsuro his stuffed elephant he left in the office.

“Not a problem! Anything to help you along with your work, Kageyama-kun. If you ever need to come back, just let us know!”

“Of course,” Kageyama nodded, “Katsuro, what do you say?”

“Thank you, Sugawara-san,” he recited, “Thank you, Hinata!”

“Sure thing, Katsuro-chan!” Hinata chirped, “We’ll see you again soon!”

Chapter Text

Katsuro had thoroughly enjoyed his day at the zoo, wearing his new elephant hat, humming happily as he sat on Kageyama’s lap on the way home, smacking the toes of his shoes together. Kageyama yawned widely, looking out the window of the train.

After they had left the elephant enclosure, they went and saw every animal. They saw the tigers, lions, pandas, penguins, polar bears, and the exotic birds. He bought Katsuro his new hat, which looked like an elephant. More importantly, he was starting to get ideas for his story book.

They exited the train, Katsuro continuing to hum his tune, swinging his stuffed elephant as they walked back home. Kageyama rolled his eyes, letting Katsuro take a stab at opening the front door with his key.

“Pardon the intrusion!” Katsuro called out as soon as the door opened, “I mean, I’m home!”

“Welcome back.” Kageyama replied, “Go get everything ready to go to your mother’s house, alright?”

“Yes, Daddy,” Katsuro toddled to his room, Kageyama following and watching with amusement as Katsuro packed his bag for the weekend. “I’m done!”

“You’re done?” Kageyama asked, looking inside his mini gym bag, which held the stuffed Rilakkuma he had won a few days back, his new elephant hat, and one t-shirt. He gave Katsuro an incredulous look, “You’re sure? You only need one shirt for your mother’s house?”

“Umm,” Katsuro peeked inside the bag, looking back at Kageyama with an affirmative nod, “Yes.”

“How about I help you?” Kageyama offered, pulling the three items out from his bag, going to his dresser to pick out a few outfits for the weekend.

After they packed, Miyumi rang the doorbell, Katsuro yelling in excitement as he rushed to the front door.

“Welcome back!” Katsuro shouted at her and she laughed, picking him up and peppering kisses all over his face.

“Are you all ready?” she asked, taking his bag from Kageyama.

“Yep. Katsuro packed his bag all by himself,” he gave Miyumi a wink, and she chuckled, looking at Katsuro.

“Did you really?” she asked, and he giggled, hiding his face in her neck.

“…No,” he admitted, “Daddy helped me.”

“I see.” Miyumi smiled, and Kageyama shrugged.

“He’s getting there.” Kageyama moved forward, Katsuro reaching out so Kageyama could hug him and give him a kiss goodbye. “I’ll see you in a couple days, okay buddy?”

“Bye Daddy,” Katsuro pressed a tiny, sloppy kiss on his cheek, “I love you!”

“Love you too. You two have fun.” Kageyama waved as they walked down to Miyumi’s car, Katsuro babbling excitedly about his trip to the zoo.

Kageyama closed the front door and immediately made his way to his office, grabbing his pen and beginning to scribble across the bottom of a piece of paper.

Once upon a time, at the Tokyo Zoo, a new baby elephant was born.

He slid the paper across his desk and grabbed the next one, scribbling again.

Her name was Nana.

He repeated the process.

Nana was the happiest baby elephant in the entire world.

She loved to run and play in her enclosure. She was surrounded by her friends and family.

She was loved.

Kageyama grabbed the next piece of paper, pressing his pen to it.

…Nothing appeared.

Kageyama stared at the paper in horror.

“No,” he muttered, “No no no! C’mon!” he groaned, rubbing his temples and slumping over his desk. “No, I was doing so well, c’mon…!”

…Nope. Nothing. Nada. Not a single idea.

Kageyama groaned again, leaning back in his chair. He glanced at the five sheets, organizing them and setting them off to the side.

“Well,” he sighed, “Five sheets are better than none.”

-x-

Hinata hummed, observing Mieko and Nana from where the zoo goers typically observe them from. The sun was setting, and Nana was already passed out against Mieko’s belly.

“That’s odd,” Hinata muttered to himself, “Nana usually stays up a little longer than this…”

He watched again, but shrugged. Nana had a pretty exciting day, meeting two new people and running around the enclosure. She probably exhausted herself.

He made a note of it on his clipboard anyway, making his way back to the office.

-x-

“Good evening, this is Shimizu Kiyoko.”

“Good evening, Shimizu-san, this is Kageyama.”

“Oh, Kageyama-kun. How are you?”

“I’m doing okay. Has Takeda-sensei gotten in contact with you?”

“He just did last night,” she replied. Kageyama could hear the soft smile in her voice, “I would love to illustrate this book for you, Kageyama-kun. You know I would never turn you down.”

“I know,” he scratched the back of his head, “But you might have other projects going on. I never know. I don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not imposing at all. Are you calling because you have the book done already?”

“Oh, no. God, no. This book has been giving me a lot of trouble for some reason. I have a few pages though…”

“I can take a look at them. When did you want to meet up?”

“I have a meeting with Takeda-sensei on Monday. You’re more than welcome to come sit with us to look at the pages.”

“Sounds good. Do you need to talk to Hitoka-chan?”

“Yes please. Thank you, Shimizu-san.”

“No problem, Kageyama-kun.” There was a bit of shuffling on the other line, Shimizu softly speaking, Yachi’s voice letting out an excited ‘oh!’, and more shuffling.

“Hello, Kageyama-kun!” Yachi chirped, “Do you need me to watch Katsuro-chan on Monday?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind! I never mind. When will I ever mind?” she paused, “I will never mind watching Katsuro-chan. That was a trick question.”

“A-Alright,” Kageyama chuckled, “Thank you very much, Yachi-san.”

“That’s alright!” she replied, “Did you need to talk to Kiyoko again?”

“Nope. We’re all set. Thank you both again. You two have a good evening.”

“Same to you, Kageyama-kun! We’ll see you Monday!”

They exchanged goodbyes, and hung up, Kageyama looking back to the four pages.

“This is going to be a lot harder than I thought…” he huffed, raking a hand through his hair.

Chapter Text

Monday morning rolled around with Kageyama being woken up by knocking on his front door. He shot up from his desk, paper sticking to his face.

“Ugh,” he groaned, standing and making his way to the front, rubbing the drool that had dried on his face. He answered the door, finding two bright and chipper faces.

“Good morning, Daddy!” Katsuro squealed, hugging his leg tightly. Kageyama frowned, looking from Katsuro to Miyumi.

“Are you both mocking me?” he asked, and Miyumi laughed, tossing her long black ponytail behind her shoulder.

“Rough night?” she asked, and Kageyama grunted, yawning widely. “Did you fall asleep at your desk again?”

“Don’t judge me,” he replied, finally relenting to Katsuro’s constant tugging, jumping and needy whines by picking him up.

“I’m not judging at all,” Miyumi waved her hand dismissively, then gave him a concerned look, “Just make sure you don’t make it a habit again. You’ll ruin your back and neck like that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kageyama grumbled, “Good luck at work today.”

“Thanks. Same to you. Bye, Katsuro! I’ll see you this weekend, alright?”

“Bye bye, Mommy!” Katsuro replied, giggling as his mother pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Drive safely,” Kageyama called to her as she walked to her car. He closed the front door and looked at Katsuro, who was resting his head on Kageyama’s shoulder. “Did you have a nice weekend with your mother?”

“Mhm,” he hummed, “We watched movies and played games and ate barbeque!”

“Barbeque, huh?” Kageyama asked, thinking back to his feeble dinner of cup ramen noodles and a couple crackers.

“Yeah! Mommy helped me put the meat on the thingy, and it was really yummy!” Katsuro paused as Kageyama sat them both down on the couch with a yawn. “Except she made me eat vegetables and I don’t like those.”

“But you have to eat your vegetables in order to grow up big and strong,” Kageyama replied, chuckling at how much like his mother he sounded. “Today, Yachi-san is going to come babysit. Are you going to behave for her?”

“Uh huh,” his son cooed, cuddling into Kageyama’s chest.

Kageyama held back his groan of disappointment, wanting nothing more than to just stay home on the couch and cuddle his adorable son all day instead of going to this stupid book meeting that would probably last a long time. He really did groan when there was a knock at the door, standing up with Katsuro still in his arms to go answer.

“Good morning, Kageyama-kun!” Yachi greeted, “Good morning, Katsuro-chan!”

“Good morning, Yacchan!” Katsuro greeted, “Good morning, Kiyoko-chan!”

“Good morning,” Shimizu smiled softly at Katsuro, focusing her attention to Kageyama, “I figured it would be easier if we carpooled.”

“Ah, thank you very much,” he replied, setting down Katsuro so he could drag Yachi to his room, chattering excitedly about his trip to the zoo and his weekend with his mother. “Give me a couple minutes, and I’ll be ready to go. Feel free to have a seat,” he gestured to the couch as he made his way to his bedroom, smiling fondly when he saw Katsuro gesturing wildly at Yachi in his bedroom.

He gets dressed in his work clothes, adjusting his tie as he made his way back to the front room, where Katsuro was now chatting with Kiyoko, sitting on Yachi’s lap as he showed off his new toys he acquired over the past few days.

“Ready to head out?” he asked Kiyoko, who nodded, bidding Katsuro a good afternoon and leaning down to give Yachi a kiss goodbye.

They all went to the door, Kageyama kneeling down to give Katsuro a hug and a kiss goodbye.

“You behave for Yachi-san, alright? I’ll be home later.”

“Bye bye, Daddy!” Katsuro chirped, waving as he walked to the car.

“Have a good day!” Yachi called behind him, then the two disappeared into the house, Kageyama climbing in the passenger’s seat of Kiyoko’s car.

“Ready?” Kiyoko asked, and with Kageyama’s nod of approval, the two of them head out.

-x-

After having to spend Sunday at home (seriously, who decided that you should get at least one day off a week?) Hinata was eager to get back to work, especially since Nana had been falling asleep a lot earlier than she normally did and waking up later.

He studied Sugawara’s notes from the day before, the silver-haired male tilting his head and holding his jacket in his hand.

“Are you sure you can handle everything on your own today?” Sugawara asked, fidgeting slightly, “N-No offense to you! B-But I just don’t know how I feel leaving you alone…”

“No offense taken, Sugawara-san!” Hinata chirped, standing up from his desk and ushering his supervisor toward the door, “But you deserve a break! You’ve been working non-stop recently, and didn’t Sawamura-san say he was going to take you to that fancy new restaurant on the other side of town tonight?” Sugawara’s face flushed, rubbing his neck with a sheepish smile.

“Who told you that?” he laughed nervously, and Hinata continued to push him toward the door.

“I heard it through the grapevine,” he retorted, “Now go! I promise I’ll take care of everything, and I’ll even send you text messages and make Asahi-san and Kuroo check up on me and send you messages too! Cross my heart and hope to die!”

“Alright, alright,” Sugawara relented, turning to face Hinata with a stern look, “The checkups from Asahi and Kuroo are a little extreme, but a text message update would be nice. And do not hesitate to call me or Daichi if you run into trouble, and don’t be afraid to ask for help from your seniors. Everyone will be more than willing to help you.” Hinata nodded, giving Sugawara a salute.

“Yessir!” he bellowed, “Now go, or you’ll be late for your date!”

“It’s not a date!” Sugawara sputtered, blushing furiously, “Good luck, Hinata!”

And with that, Hinata was left on his own in the office. He did a small victory dance at achieving this kind of responsibility, grabbing the check list Sugawara left for him and got to work.

-x-

Hinata was exhausted by the end of the day, but the good kind of exhausted where the ache in his muscles made him feel accomplished, topped with the fact that he was in charge of the elephants all day without a single hitch. He sent his message to Sugawara with a cheeky selfie, sticking out his tongue and flashing the peace sign, Sugawara replying with a selfie of him and Daichi at the fancy restaurant, Sugawara smiling brightly and Daichi looking miffed with a mouthful of his dinner. Hinata chuckled, placing his phone on his desk and stretching himself out in preparation of the last assignments of the day.

He picked up his check list and groaned loudly. Of course Sugawara would take the day off when they had to clean up the enclosure. He begrudgingly check the box, then made his way back inside the enclosure.

He went to move Mieko and Nana from the main enclosure to the back, opening the gates that separated the elephants from the wide back area where they were typically bathed and allowed to stretch out.

He paused when he saw Mieko fussing over her calf, low distressed noises leaving her, his heart seizing in fear.

“Oh no,” he mumbled, jogging over to the two, Mieko’s cries growing louder as Hinata approached, trying to protect Nana, “Mieko! Mieko, it’s me! It’s okay, shhh,” he stroked her trunk as soothingly as he could, “It’s alright, I’m going to help her, okay? It’s okay, you can trust me.”

He knelt down next to Nana, who looked like she was sleeping, but her eyelids were fluttering weakly and she weakly grabbed Hinata’s wrist with her trunk, a low wheezing sound coming out of her.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” he soothed, stroking Nana’s trunk, “I’m here. I’m going to get you help, okay?” he slipped away from the two, Mieko going back to hovering protectively.

Hinata choked back tears as he reached the phone that was a direct line to the vet of the zoo, keeping his eyes on the two elephants as he waited for the vet on duty to pick up.

“Iwaizumi speaking,” the gruff voice on the other line greeted, and Hinata let out a sob, clutching the phone.

“I-Iwaizumi-san!” he cried, “I-It’s Nana, sh-she’s so w-weak and I-I’m so s-scared…!”

“We’ll be there in five,” Iwaizumi replied, the line going dead, Hinata trying to calm himself down, scrubbing at the tears so he could go focus on the problem at hand.

His first day alone was not going to end like this.

Chapter Text

Hinata couldn’t stop crying, even when he opened the gate for Iwaizumi and Oikawa, trying to form words but blubbering nonsense instead.

“Enough,” Iwaizumi commanded softly, placing his hands on Hinata’s shoulders, “Take us to the elephants.”

He lead the two vets to where Mieko was now lying next to Nana, who hadn’t improved or worsened in the short time it took for the vets to arrive.

“Hinata, you stay with the mother,” Iwaizumi said, “Oikawa, you’re with me.”

“Yes sir, Doctor Iwa-chan!” Oikawa saluted him, carrying their large bag over, Hinata curling up with Mieko and allowing her to wrap her large trunk around his small frame, both of them watching the vets carefully.

Iwaizumi quietly asked Oikawa for certain tools, both of them being as gentle as possible, muttering back and forth.

“Chibi-chan,” Oikawa said, the boy sniffling and moving as close as Mieko’s hold would allow. “We think we’ll have to keep her at the veterinary office for observation.”

“Wh-What’s wrong with her?” Hinata asked shakily, the two vets glancing at each other before looking back to him.

“We’re not exactly sure,” Iwaizumi admitted, “She’s just very weak. We want to keep her overnight, run some tests, and get in contact with an elephant sanctuary in India that will have some better answers.”

“What about Mieko?” he asked, “I-I don’t think we’d be able to take Nana to the vet without a fight.”

Oikawa grinned as Iwaizumi hummed.

“Don’t worry about that at all, chibi-chan!” Oikawa chirped, “Mieko will be going with her. We know how strong the bonds are between elephants and their babies.”

“O-Okay,” Hinata relented, “P-Please take good care of them…!”

“Of course,” Iwaizumi promised, ruffling Hinata’s hair. “We’ll take care of all the paperwork and the transfer, alright? Just let your supervisor know what happened and Ukai-san.”

Hinata nodded again, letting out a choked sob as more tears rolled down his cheeks. He gave Mieko’s trunk a tight hug, muttering that she would be okay before moving to Nana, weakly grabbed his wrist again.

“Y-You’ll be okay, Nana,” Hinata whispered, pressing his forehead to hers and stroking her softly, “I promise you’ll be okay.”

-x-

Kageyama heaved a sigh of relief as his meeting came to an end, stretching out with a grunt and standing from his seat, moving towards Takeda and shaking his hand.

“Thank you again for all of your hard work,” he said, and Takeda grinned.

“No problem, Kageyama-kun!” he replied, “Although you said you were having trouble with this story, what you have so far is very promising! I’m sure you’ll create something wonderful!”

Kageyama bowed, thanking him again before making his way over to Kiyoko, who gave him a soft smile.

“Ready to go?” she asked, and he nodded.

“I’ll treat you and Yachi-san to dinner tonight,” he decided, and Kiyoko shook her head.

“There’s no need for that,” she refused politely, “It’s really no problem for either of us.”

“It’s the least I could do to repay you two for all your help today…” he paused as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, a message from Yachi. “Oh. Yachi-san said she made us all dinner.”

“Precisely why you don’t need to treat us,” Kiyoko said as they entered the elevator, Kageyama loosening his tie with a sigh.

“Alright fine. But I’ll treat you two at some point.”

-x-

“Welcome home, Daddy!” Katsuro yelled, squealing in joy when Kageyama snatched him up and hugged him tight.

“Hey, squirt,” he greeted, “Did you behave for Yachi-san today?”

“He was a perfect angel, as usual,” Yachi spoke up, coming in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron, smiling and greeting Kiyoko with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You guys must be hungry, right?”

“Starving,” Kiyoko said with a soft smile, the four of them heading to the table, where Yachi had set up plates of omurice, and Kageyama rolled his eyes.

“Let me guess,” he gave Katsuro a pointed look, “You got to pick what was for dinner.”

“Omurice!” Katsuro cheered, “No peas!”

Kageyama looked back at Yachi, who nodded her head, signaling that she actually put peas in despite his demand. He chuckled, setting Katsuro in a chair and settling down next to him, the four of them eating dinner and discussing how their days went.

After dinner, Kiyoko and Yachi headed out, while Kageyama and Katsuro settled on the couch, Kageyama laying down and flipping through channels, Katsuro laying on his chest, his elephant tucked securely under his arm.

“Daddy?” he piped up.

“Hmm?” he hummed, “What is it?”

“When can we go back and visit Hinata and the elephants?”

“Hmm. Not sure. Maybe soon. Daddy needs more inspiration for his book.”

“Okay.” Katsuro replied around a yawn, curling up further onto Kageyama’s chest, his little eyelids fluttering as he fought to stay awake.

“Tired, buddy?” Kageyama asked, smiling as Katsuro replied with another yawn.

“Wanna sleep wif you,” his son mumbled, and Kageyama’s heart exploded.

“Are you ever gonna sleep in your own bed?” he teased, sitting up with Katsuro in his arms, turning off the TV and making his way to Katsuro’s room to grab some pajamas.

“Nuh uh,” Katsuro whined, clinging to Kageyama tighter, “Wanna sleep wif you!”

“Okay, okay, we’re getting there…”

Kageyama helped Katsuro out of his day clothes and into his pajamas, the little boy yawning and rubbing his eye while Kageyama got into his own pajamas.

Once Kageyama turned off the lights and got under the covers, Katsuro made himself comfortable again sprawled out on his chest, humming happily when Kageyama began to rub up and down his back.

“Good night, Katsuro,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to his unruly hair, “I love you.”

“Night, Daddy,” he replied softly, “Love you.”

-x-

Hinata stared at the paper in front of him, fighting to keep his eyes open.

Date the incident occurred?

Time the incident occurred?

Reason for animal visiting the vet?

Age of animal?

“Hinata?” Sugawara said softly, Hinata’s head shooting up to look at his supervisor with wide eyes. “Are you positive you’re okay to work?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, “Yes, of course. I-I’m sorry, I guess I spaced out a little…” Sugawara frowned, getting up from his desk to stand next to Hinata.

“You’re obviously not okay to work,” he scolded, “You’ve got bags under your eyes. Did you even sleep last night?”

“Yeah…Yeah, plenty,” he muttered, looking back at the incident report that Oikawa had filled out for him when Sugawara began to scold him some more. He had given it to him that morning to go over and give to Ukai, when he and Sugawara went to their meeting with him. With the two elephants out of the enclosure, there was really no elephant exhibit for zoo goers to observe-

“-Are you even listening to me?!” Sugawara shook his shoulder, making Hinata jump and blink at him.

“O-Of course I’m listening,” he squeaked, Sugawara’s stern frown turning into an upset glare.

“No, you were not. Hinata, get your things and go home. You’re not in the right state of mind to be here today.”

“What?!” he yelped, standing up from his desk, “What about the meeting with Ukai?! I-I was the only person on duty with the elephants that night! I’m the only one who knows what happened!”

“…Fine,” Sugawara relented, “But you’re going straight home after that meeting, are we clear?”

“But-“

“No buts! You’re going home, and you’re going straight to bed.”

“Suga-“

“Are we clear?” his voice, usually calm and soothing, boomed throughout their small office, Hinata shrinking back into his seat, glaring at the floor.

“…Yes, sir.” he mumbled, Sugawara moving back to his desk to gather up some papers.

“We better go now, before we’re late.”

-x-

Hinata laid in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Pickles had jumped in after him, kneading at his chest while purring.

“How can I sleep when Nana is suffering?” he said quietly, glaring at the ceiling and fighting back tears. Pickles let out a soft rumbling mew, Hinata scratching under his chin, his purring becoming louder.

His phone went off, and he sighed, reaching for it and his brow furrowing when he saw who was calling.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Hello, Hinata-kun,” Kageyama said smoothly on the other line, “I hope I’m not bothering you…Are you busy?”

“No, not at all,” he replied a little bitterly, “How can I help you, Kageyama-kun?”

“Ah, well, I was just wondering if I could stop by the zoo again sometime…Katsuro wants to visit with the elephants again and I needed some more substance for my book.”

Hinata inhaled sharply, his heart nearly stopping. Oh. Oh. The book.

“Hinata-kun?” Kageyama asked, and Hinata shook his head.

“You…” Hinata took a steadying breath, “Um, I…I don’t think you can make it any time soon.”

“Huh? Why not?” Kageyama demanded, Hinata biting his lip.

“…Something happened,” he said softly, “With Nana.”

Chapter Text

“Something…happened?”

Hinata took a deep breath, exhaling through his nose.

“…Yeah. I’m not even at work today. Sugawara-san…made me go home.”

“Um,” he heard shifting on the other line, “Is…Is it something serious?”

“Well,” Hinata stroked down Pickles’ back, the cat stretching out across his torso languidly, “We’re really not sure. Nana is currently under observation at the vet, along with Mieko, since they want to keep them together...”

“I…I see.” Kageyama muttered.

“Hmm. So right now…it’s hard to say when she’ll be out of the vet and be okay.”

The other line went silent, Hinata halting in his stroking of Pickles, waiting for the other man to reply.

“…Hello?” he asked, pulling the phone away from his face to make sure the call was still connected.

“Sorry,” Kageyama finally replied, “Hey, um…did you wanna come out with me and Katsuro?”

“Huh?” Hinata responded eloquently.

“W-Well, I mean…!” Kageyama fumbled, “I-I mean, Katsuro and I were going to go do some errands, a-and it’s not like either of us have work to do now…N-Never mind, it’s stupid, you don’t have to come-“

“No!” Hinata shouted, sitting up and wincing when Pickles dug his claws into his chest with a disgruntled yowl. “N-No, I mean, I-I guess I should get out of the house…”

“Um…great! Uh…we could pick you up?”

“Sure! I-I’ll text you my address! I’ll see you guys soon!”

They exchanged farewells, and Hinata exhaled, smiling sheepishly at his cat, whose ears were flattened against his skull as he gave him an unimpressed look.

“I’m sorry, Pickles,” Hinata laughed, pulling his claws out of his shirt, rolling his eyes when Pickles hissed in discomfort. “I was taken by surprise, okay?”

His cat jumped off the bed once his paws were free, shaking his fur out before leaving the room. Hinata huffed out a sigh, getting out of bed himself and searching his house for something caffeinated to get him through the day.

-x-

“Good morning!” Katsuro shouted when Hinata opened the door, making him blinking in surprise.

“Ah…good morning,” he replied, chuckling. “Um…Did you guys want to come in? I have a cat.” he laughed again when Katsuro’s eyes lit up.

“Can we, Daddy? I wanna see the kitty!”

“Alright, that’s fine,” Kageyama smiled at his son, gesturing him to go inside, “What do you say?”

“Pardon the intrusion!” he chimed, Hinata smiling as Kageyama muttered his own polite apologies. He showed them around his tiny apartment, then set on finding his cat.

“Pickles!” he called, frowning when his little tabby friend didn’t make an appearance. “Hmm. Here, Katsuro-chan, wanna help me get him to come out?” The little boy nodded, his eyes bright with curiosity. He went into the kitchen and pulled out a treat bag, placing it in Katsuro’s eager hands. “Give that a good shake. He’ll come running out in three seconds.”

Katsuro blinked, but obeyed, shaking the treat bag up and down with a little more force than necessary. Without fail, a tiny meow sounded from the bedroom, Pickles trotting out and moving in towards Katsuro, who gasped in delight.

“Daddy, look!” he hissed, pointing at the cat who was currently sniffing at Katsuro curiously before rubbing against his legs, “Look, look, he likes me!”

“He’ll like you even more if you give him a treat,” Kageyama pointed out with a soft smile, and Katsuro pried open the bag, holding a treat out carefully for Pickles, who plucked it from his palm and ate it, purring happily. Katsuro’s mouth was a perfect ‘o’ shape, looking at Kageyama in excitement, Hinata laughing at the child like wonder.

“You can pet him if you want,” Hinata reassured him, moving so he could stand next to Kageyama, “Pickles doesn’t bite or scratch.”

Katsuro carefully sat on the floor, Pickles climbing into his lap and moving to sniff at his face, purring when the boy began to carefully stroke his head and back, giggling as Pickles rubbed his head under his chin. Hinata watched with a fond smile, leaning against the armrest of his couch. He looked up at Kageyama, opening his mouth to say something, but he stopped himself. Kageyama was watching his son with the softest smile, his blue eyes looking over the tender moment with a look of unwavering love. It took Hinata’s breath away, and he found himself stuck, unable to speak or look away. Kageyama turned to look at Hinata, his soft smile falling when he saw the other man gaping at him.

“What?” he asked, “Is there something on my face?”

“Wh-! N-No, that’s not it! It’s nothing!” Hinata said loudly, “Um, what did you guys have to do today?!”

“Eh, just some shopping,” Kageyama replied with a shrug, “Groceries, maybe some stuff for the upcoming school year.”

“Ahh, Katsuro-chan is getting to that age, huh?” Hinata looked back to the child, who was gingerly hugging his cat. “You must feel old, with your first kid going into school already.”

“I guess,” Kageyama sighed, “I can’t believe he’s gotten this big already. It’s almost kinda scary.”

“Yeah, I can only imagine,” Hinata stood, stretching his arms upwards with a cheeky grin, “The only thing close to a child I’ve had is Pickles. And I just picked him up from the streets a couple years ago.”

“Yeah well, cats live shorter than people do.” Kageyama muttered, and Hinata gasped, completely scandalized.

“You never utter those words in this household ever again,” he commanded, “Alright, let’s go out and do some errands, you two!”

“Don’t tell us what to do,” Kageyama sneered, “C’mon, Katsuro, time to say goodbye to…Pickles.”

“Awww,” Katsuro whined, “Okaaay. Bye, Pickles.” He hugged the cat again, stroking his fur, “I love you.”

“If Pickles could talk, I’m sure he would say he loves you too,” Hinata laughed, taking the bag of treats and putting them back in the kitchen. He met the two at the door, Kageyama watching as Katsuro struggle to tug on his other sneaker.

“Are you sure you don’t want help?” Kageyama asked, and Katsuro smacked his thigh in retaliation.

“I got it, Daddy, I got it!” he stuck out his tongue in concentration, Hinata giving Kageyama an amused smirk.

“Hey, Katsuro-chan, do you think I could help you?” Hinata asked politely, kneeling down to his height, “I’ve never helped someone put on shoes before, I want to see what it’s like!”

“…Okay,” Katsuro agreed, pouting slightly (and looking very much like his father), “But only because you don’t have your own baby to help get dressed.” Hinata smiled, helping the young boy tug on his sneaker.

“Ahh, I’ve already learned so much! Thank you for letting me help you.”

“What do you say?” Kageyama urged, giving his son an expectant look.

“Thank you for helping me, Hinata!” Katsuro chirped, Hinata reaching out to ruffle his hair.

“Any time!” he replied, and the three of them headed out.

“Hinata!” Katsuro called before they crossed the street, “Hand!”

Hinata reeled slightly, before laughing and wrapping his hand around Katsuro’s tiny one.

Safety first, he thought, then glanced at Kageyama, who nodded in a silent agreement. The two of them lifted Katsuro in the air on the count of three, making him squeal in delight.

“Again, again!” Katsuro cried between giggles, and Hinata laughed as they did it again, catching another glimpse of that look on Kageyama’s face.

He dismissed the butterflies in his stomach as the result of laughing along with Katsuro.

Chapter Text

“Good morning,” Hinata said quietly, observing from behind the glass separating him and the outdoor enclosure at the veterinary section of the zoo. Mieko and Nana were on the other side of the glass, Mieko eating leaves and trying to get Nana to eat a couple, the small elephant taking a few tries to use her fumbling trunk to stuff some leaves into her mouth. Hinata’s heart clenched, tears welling up in his eyes. He wanted to go in and help, wanted to hold the little elephant and reassure the mother that everything would be okay. But Oikawa had told him he could only watch. “Iwaizumi’s orders,” he had said. They were in constant communication with an elephant sanctuary in India, trying to get a name for all the symptoms that Nana was presenting. They were researching, looking through files to see if anything like this had happened in the past.

“Chibi-chan,” Oikawa said softly, resting his hand on his shoulder, “We’re doing all that we can, you know. You shouldn’t be stressing yourself out like this.”

“…I know,” he whispered, “I know, but…but seeing Nana like this, so weak and helpless, I…” he sniffled, rubbing his eyes furiously to keep the tears at bay, “I was there when she was born. I’ve been with her all that time. I feel like my child is dying and there’s nothing I can do.”

Oikawa rubbed his hand over Hinata’s shoulder, offering a small bit of comfort. Hinata sighed, watching Mieko rest next to Nana, the two of them cooing softly at each other. He smiled sadly, looking back to Oikawa.

“I really hope the elephant sanctuary comes up with something for her,” he murmured, and Oikawa smiled back, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

“I’m sure they’re finding something as we speak, chibi-chan!” he replied, and Hinata’s smile widened, giving Oikawa’s hand a grateful squeeze, looking back to elephants, Mieko keeping Nana safe, her trunk curled around her offspring.

Hinata stood from the chair he had been sitting in, his thought cut off by Iwaizumi opening the door to the office with a little more force than necessary.

“You two,” he pointed at Oikawa and Hinata, then jerked his head toward the door, “With me. Meeting with Ukai. Now.”

-x-

Hinata sat down next to Sugawara in the meeting room, growing more confused at Sugawara’s own glance of confusion.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Sugawara whispered, and Hinata shook his head, shooting a questioning look to Oikawa, who was sitting next to Iwaizumi. Oikawa shrugged his shoulders, also unsure of the nature of the meeting. He tugged on Iwaizumi’s sleeve, glancing at the manila folder he had in his hands. Iwaizumi smacked his hands away, giving him a stern glare.

Ukai came in, Sawamura following behind him, looking just as confused as everyone else.

“Iwaizumi,” Ukai said, his voice firm and serious, making Hinata sit ram-rod straight in his chair. “Let’s hear it.”

“Yes sir,” Iwaizumi said, just as firm. He opened his manila folder, clearing his throat before reading whatever he had in the folder, “After constant monitoring of Nana and keeping constant contact with the elephant sanctuary in India, they found a record of another time something like this had happened to an infant elephant on their grounds. The name of the illness is in Indian, so I can’t pronounce it, but, they said they said it was easily treatable…” everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief, but Iwaizumi held up his hand, “…But they don’t think that it would be as easily treatable if Nana stayed here in Tokyo.”

The table fell silent. Hinata stared at Iwaizumi in disbelief, Oikawa frowning in thought at the notes written in the manila folder.

“The sanctuary said they would be more than happy to take Nana and Mieko in to help her, all we would have to do is pay to fly them to India-“

“But what happens to the elephant exhibit?!” Hinata cried, slamming his hands on the table, “We won’t have any elephants to take care of!”

“Hinata,” Ukai boomed, “If we don’t send them over there, we might have to get rid of the elephant exhibit all together. Is that what you want?” Hinata flinched, clenching his fists and teeth.

“…No,” he whispered.

“Then,” Ukai sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “We’ll be sending Mieko and Nana over to the elephant sanctuary as soon as possible. Do you have the number so I can give them a call?”

“Of course, sir,” Iwaizumi handed him the slip of paper, “That’s the direct line to who is in charge of transportation. The woman I talked to said he would sort out everything with you.”

“Alright. Sugawara, Hinata, you’ll be contacted by Sawamura once I work out all the details of the transportation. After that, we’ll assign you to different animals in the zoo. Everyone is free to go. Sawamura, you’re with me.”

Sawamura muttered a ‘yes sir’, shooting Sugawara and Hinata a concerned look before following his boss out of the meeting room.

“It’s alright,” Sugawara murmured, rubbing soothing circles onto Hinata’s back, “Nana and Mieko will only be gone for a little while. And Nana will be getting help so we won’t have to see her sick anymore!”

“…Yeah…” Hinata swallowed back tears, “I…” he stood from his chair, bowing to Iwaizumi and Oikawa, “Th-Thank you very much for all of your hard work…!”

“I-It was nothing, chibi-chan…” Oikawa rubbed the back of his neck, Iwaizumi grunting in agreement.

“I’m…I’m gonna go,” Hinata turned away from the three other men, making his way outside before the tears started falling from his eyes.

-x-

“Katsuro,” Kageyama began, his son looking from his make-shift tea party to his father. “If you wanted me to read you a bedtime story, what would you want to hear about?”

Katsuro blinked, humming in thought before returning his attention to pouring fake tea into the cup of his stuffed elephant.

“Prob’ly dinosaurs,” he replied, adjusting his crown that had started to slip from his head.

“Dinosaurs, huh,” Kageyama muttered, making notes in his notebook, humming in thought as he drew lines between different words he had jotted down.

“Here,” Katsuro handed Kageyama his own teacup, “With no sugars, just how Daddy likes it!”

“Thanks, squirt,” he took the cup, exaggerating his fake sip, “Mmm, perfect.”

“Is Daddy gonna write another book?” Katsuro asked, looking at his notebook, and Kageyama hummed noncommittally.

“I’ve been thinking about it,” he replied, “A book about dinosaurs. What would they be doing?”

“Havin’ a tea party!” his son cheered, his arms shooting up, the lid of his plastic teapot falling off. Kageyama snorted, chuckling as Katsuro quickly bent over to pick up his lid, his crown falling off in the process. “Daddy, don’t laugh!” he cried, Kageyama trying to desperately muffle his laughter behind his hand.

“Sorry, I’m sorry,” he chuckled, “That wasn’t very nice of me.”

“No it was not,” Katsuro scolded him, making him laugh again. “Daddy, stop laughin’!”

“I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Kageyama apologized, wiping away a couple tears. He smiled at Katsuro’s angry pout, chuckling again as his son turned away from him with a ‘hmph’.

Kageyama jumped slightly as his phone started buzzing in his pocket, pulling it out and letting out a confused hum at who showed up on his caller ID.

“Hello?” he answered, his eyebrows narrowing when he was met with a loud, wet sniffle.

“C-Can I come over?” the quivering voice on the other line asked.

“Yeah…Yeah of course. I’ll text you my address.”

Chapter Text

When Kageyama opened the door, he was greeted by Hinata, who looked a lot worse than he sounded on the phone.

“You look terrible.” Kageyama said, and Hinata gave him a dirty look.

“Thanks, asshole,” he muttered, rubbing his nose with his sleeve.

“Watch the language, dumbass,” Kageyama scolded, moving to the side so Hinata could come in. He closed the door as Hinata took off his shoes, offering the other man a tissue.

“Thank you,” Hinata murmured, then glanced around. “…Where did you…?”

“I have a five year old,” Kageyama replied easily, “I basically always have tissues on me. And candy.” He pulled out a little strawberry sweet, offering it to Hinata, who took it eagerly.

“Interesting,” he said around the candy, following Kageyama into the living room and smiling when he saw Katsuro’s set up. “Hey, what’s all this?”

“Hinata!” Katsuro chirped, excitedly getting up and almost tripping over his long cape, “Hinata, Hinata! Come to my tea party!” he paused, holding Hinata’s hand in two of his, tilting his head curiously. “…Is Hinata okay?”

“Y…Yup!” Hinata laughed nervously, “Yup, yessir, Hinata is a-okay. You said something about a tea party?” Katsuro brightened, tugging his hand again.

“Yeah!” he cheered, “You can sit next to Sugar.”

“Sugar?” Hinata asked, glancing from the stuffed elephant to the stuffed frog that he was placed in between.

“The elephant,” Kageyama clarified, picking his notebook back up and flopping down on the couch. “Why don’t you tell Hinata-kun why you named the elephant that, hm?”

“Because Sugar-wara gave ‘im to me!” Katsuro explained, picking up the elephant and giving it a squeeze. Hinata’s jaw dropped, giving Kageyama a scandalized look.

“No,” he said, and Kageyama smirked, nodding. “Kageyama-kun. He did not.”

“Yup,” Kageyama replied, “I know. Take it in.”

“Oh my God, dude, your son is too flippin’ cute.” Hinata groaned, putting his face in his hands. “Sugar-wara. You can’t make this sh…stuff up, even if you tried.”

“Adults are weird,” Katsuro muttered into Sugar’s ear, glancing between his smug father and distressed tea party guest with a concerned look.

-x-

After drinking imaginary tea and destroying a building made of blocks with Katsuro, Kageyama had declared it was time for bed.

“Nooo, Daddy, nooo!” Katsuro whined, Hinata joining him.

“Yeah Daddy, we’re having fun!” Hinata whined, then paused, flushing brightly while Kageyama gave him a disgusted look.

“Don’t ever call me that again,” Kageyama ordered, and Hinata nodded rapidly, the princess tiara Katsuro had given him falling off in the process. “C’mon, Katsuro.”

“No!” he shouted, clinging to Hinata from behind, “You can’t make me, cuz Hinata won’t let you!”

“Yeah, I won’t let you!” Hinata followed along, sticking out his tongue.

“Katsuro,” Kageyama said warningly, giving his son an expectant look. His son giggled, hiding his face in Hinata’s neck, trying to muffle his laughter against his shirt. “Don’t make me count to ten.”

“Uh oh, he means business,” Hinata muttered, “Hold on tight, Katsu-chan!”

Katsuro squealed excitedly as Hinata stood, linking his arms underneath Katsuro’s knees and began running around the living room, laughing as Katsuro screamed in delight.

“Hinata-!” Kageyama shouted, “Stop getting him all amped up before he has to sleep!”

“We will never sleep! Cuz sleep is for the weak!” Hinata cried, laughing as he ran towards Katsuro’s room, Kageyama trailing behind them.

“Hinata!” Katsuro yelped when they entered his room.

“Quick, Katsu-chan!” Hinata hissed, “If you hide under your blankets, Kageyama won’t be able to find you!”

Katsuro quickly clambered off Hinata’s back, running to his bed and throwing his blankets over his head, giggling as Hinata shushed him.

“Katsuro!” Kageyama walked in, seeing the obvious lump under the covers, then back at Hinata, who winked at him. “…Where oh where has Katsuro gone?”

“I have nooo idea,” Hinata said innocently, making Katsuro break out in giggles from under his blanket. Hinata smiled as Kageyama moved towards the bed, leaning against the doorway as he watched Kageyama rip away the blanket and attack Katsuro with wriggling fingers, making him shriek in joy, laughing so hard that tears were rolling down his chubby cheeks.

“Daddy st-stop-!” he yelped as Kageyama lifted up his shirt to land a solid raspberry on his stomach. Hinata laughed as Katsuro landed a good couple smacks on Kageyama’s head, and the man relented in his tickling, Katsuro’s laughter dying down to happy hiccupping giggles.

“Are you ready for bed now?” he asked, and Katsuro nodded obediently, Hinata heading back towards the living room when Kageyama moved towards the drawers for pajamas.

-x-

His smile slowly slipped off his face as he approached all the toys strewn across the floor. He spotted a toy box against the far wall, so decided to start cleaning up and putting all the toys away. He picked up Sugar, looking into the beady black eyes of the small elephant. He stroked over the soft fur before someone behind him softly cleared their throat. He turned and saw Kageyama, who had his hands in his pockets awkwardly.

“Um, Katsuro wants him to sleep with, so…”

“Oh, yeah, of course!” Hinata handed him the elephant, “I was just cleaning up a bit…”

“You don’t have to, don’t worry about it.” Kageyama said before he went back down the hall, Hinata disregarding what he said and finishing putting the toys away. He flopped back on the couch, sighing loudly. Kageyama walked back into the room, frowning at the clean state of the floor. “I thought I told you not to worry about it.”

“It’s alright, Kageyama,” Hinata waved his hand, “I was almost done anyway. I really don’t mind.”

“Well, thank you,” Kageyama sighed, sitting down next to Hinata on the couch and giving him an expectant look.

“…What?” Hinata asked, and Kageyama rolled his eyes.

“Don’t play dumb,” he snapped, “Why did you ask to come over and why were you crying?”

Hinata went silent again, look at his feet. He chewed on the inside of his cheek before taking a steadying breath.

“Nana is being shipped to India.” He mumbled, folding his hands in his lap. Kageyama didn’t reply, but Hinata heard him shift on the couch and let out a low whistle.

“Whoa,” he murmured, shifting again, “That’s…That’s rough, buddy.” Hinata made a noise of acknowledgement, then Kageyama asked, “Like…Is she going there permanently?”

“No, not permanently…just until she recovers from her sickness. It could be a couple months. A couple years. I don’t know. I’ll be reassigned to a different animal exhibit, but…”

The two fell silent again, Kageyama struggling to find something to say to comfort the other man, but instead patted his shoulder awkwardly.

“Sorry.” He muttered, and Hinata chuckled, giving Kageyama a soft grin.

“That’s why I came over,” he admitted quietly, “Because I knew that you and Katsu-chan would make me feel a little better.” Kageyama blinked, then felt the heat creep up his neck.

“Th-That’s…!” he looked away, clearing his throat, “I-I mean, it’s nothing…Um…you…” he screwed up his face in concentration, trying to find the right words, “You can…come over. Any time you want. If you, um. If you’re feeling bad. Katsuro really likes hanging out with you, so…”

Hinata paused for a moment before laughing again, giving Kageyama another smile.

“Thank you.” He glanced at the clock on the wall, “I should probably get going now, before all the trains stop for the night.”

“Yeah,” Kageyama agreed, walking the other to the door, chewing at his lip while he put on his shoes. “Um, good luck. With everything.”

“Thank you,” Hinata smiled again, his cheeks a nice pink shade, “Same to you. Have a good night.”

“You, too.” Kageyama closed the door after one last wave, exhaling heavily and trying to calm down the frantic beat of his heart.

He moved to his office after that, glancing down at the sheets of paper he had written some of Nana’s story on. He picked up his pen, scratching on a couple more pages.

One day, Nana fell very sick.

Everyone at the zoo was very worried for her, especially her best human friend, Hinata.

Her mother was very scared. Nana was, too. What would happen next?

Luckily, her human friends found a place made special for elephants in India that would help her.

Nana travelled all the way to India with her mother. It was very scary, being in a new place.

“…I wonder if she’ll be alright.” Kageyama said to himself, setting down his pen and retiring to his bedroom for the night.

Chapter Text

Hinata was reassigned to the big cat exhibit.

He worked with Kenma and under Kuroo, watching as Kenma placed the raw meat for the tigers into a cage and pushed it inside the enclosure, the tigers leisurely strolling over to start chewing into it.

“This is boring,” Hinata whined, “When you’re with the elephants, you can touch them. Where’s the fun in being a zoologist when you can’t even touch the animals?”

“You can touch them.” Kenma protested, putting his hand against the gate and smiling when one of the tigers moved over and rubbed against the fence, churring loudly as Kenma scratched his finger against the bridge of its nose.

“Bo-ring,” Hinata reiterated, watching with a pout as the tigers moved away to lounge in the sun. “And definitely not the same as the elephants.”

“C’mon,” Kenma urged, “We gotta feed the lions next.” Hinata groaned, dragging himself behind Kenma to the next gated enclosure.

-x-

On Hinata’s day off, he was woken up by his phone going off loudly on his nightstand. Pickles let out a tiny ‘mrrp’ beside him, stretching out his little cat limbs and pushing one into Hinata’s face.

“’Lo?” he mumbled into the phone.

“Hinata,” Kageyama’s relieved voice came from the other line, “Hey, I’m sorry for waking you up-“

“Wasn’t sleepin’,” Hinata denied, smiling sleepily when he heard Kageyama snort.

“Yeah whatever,” he replied snarkily, “Listen, I know it’s a little short notice, but I was wondering if you could watch Katsuro for me today? His usual babysitter is feeling a little under the weather and I don’t want to risk it, and his mother is at work today, and I know it’s your day off and I’m sorry but-“

“Kageyama.” Hinata stopped him, “Of course I’ll watch Katsu-chan today. Do you need me to come over now?”

“That would be nice,” Kageyama sighed in relief, “Thank you so much. I’ll see you soon?”

“Yep. You owe me meat buns!” Hinata grinned, hanging up and stretching out his tired limbs, Pickles curled up against his face. “I kinda wish I could just stay here with you, Pickles. But, duty calls, I guess.”

Pickles stretched again, yawning widely before curling his body away from Hinata with a purr.

“Fine then, butt munch,” he muttered, getting out of bed to get ready to leave.

-x-

“Hey Kag-“ Hinata paused when Kageyama opened the door, adjusting the tie he was wearing.

Oh, damn did Kageyama look good in a suit.

…Wait, what?

“…geyama.” He finished lamely, the man lifting an eyebrow before gesturing him inside, Hinata closing the door behind himself.

“Thank you so much again,” Kageyama said as he walked back in the house, “This meeting came out of nowhere, so I’m glad I managed to find someone to watch him…”

“It’s nothing,” Hinata replied, smiling when he saw Katsuro eating some miso soup at the dining table, a grin splitting across his face when he saw him. “Morning, Katsu-chan!”

“G’mornin’!” Katsuro greeted politely, licking his lips as he watched his father fumble around the living room.

“Okay, now you be good for Hinata alright?” Kageyama said, moving to place a kiss on his son’s cheek before he left.

“Mhm,” Katsuro said around a spoonful of rice, “Bye bye, Daddy! Luff you!”

“I love you too. Be good, okay? I’ll see you later.” Hinata followed him to the door, giving him a smirk before batting his eyelashes.

“Have a good day, darling,” he gushed, laughing as Kageyama smacked his briefcase into his arm, waving with a bright grin before closing the door.

He walked back into the dining room, where Katsuro was still diligently eating his breakfast.

“So, Katsu-chan,” Hinata asked, “What do you want to do today?”

“Daddy made a list,” he replied, pointing at the little white piece of paper on the table. Hinata picked it up, frowning at the first word on the paper and catching the crumpled yen that fell out of it.

Dumbass,

It occurred to me that you might not know how to take care of a child. It’s relatively simple. Katsuro usually likes to play inside, but today is nice, so you could probably take him to the park. If he begs for ice cream or something sweet, give him ONE THING. ONLY ONE. There’s ingredients in the fridge to make lunch, and if you don’t know how to cook, then I left some money in this note so you guys can go out to eat. Katsuro usually takes a nap around 2:30 or so, so plan lunch a little before that. I should be home for dinner, and if you’d like, you’re more than welcome to stay.

Thanks again.

Hinata stuck his tongue out at the note, making Katsuro giggle. He smiled as he set the note down, yawning widely.

“Are you sleepy?” Katsuro asked, and Hinata shrugged.

“Only a little bit,” he admitted, raising his eyebrows when Katsuro pushed his plates away from himself. “Done, buddy?”

“Yeah,” Katsuro replied, getting off the chair and moving towards the living room, Hinata cleaning up his dishes before joining him.

“What do you want to do today?” Hinata asked again, laying on the couch while Katsuro dug through his toy box. “Your dad mentioned going to the park today. You wanna do that?”

Katsuro’s head shot up from the toy box, his eyes zeroing in on Hinata, his usually cheerful face contorting into the infamous Kageyama scowl.

“Whoa, we don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Hinata held up his hands in a defensive manner, Katsuro’s scowl furthering.

“I love the park.” He said seriously. Hinata paused before bursting out laughing, doubling over and almost falling off the couch.

“Then we’ll go to the park.” Hinata said after he calmed down, smiling at a giggling Katsuro.

-x-

The park that Katsuro adored was a couple blocks from their house, a large play area for kids set up on woodchips, complete with swing set, seesaws, and jungle gym. A perfect place to blow off some of that breakfast energy.

“Well, what do you want to do first?” Hinata asked, Katsuro immediately tugging him towards the swings.

“Push me!” Katsuro demanded, and Hinata gladly obliged, grabbing both chains near the base of the swing.

“Are you ready?” he asked, Katsuro nodding in excitement, “Alright, hold on tight!”

He pulled the swing back a little bit, before running forward and ducking under the swing, letting go and letting the little boy fly back. Katsuro squealed in excitement, pumping his little legs back and forth.

Hinata grinned, moving behind him to keep pushing him, Katsuro giggling all the while.

These past couple weeks had been weird. He had been reassigned to the big cat exhibit, and while he got to work with Kenma and Kuroo, it really wasn’t the same as working with Sugawara and the elephants.

The elephants had been safely transported to India a week after they had that meeting. Nana was making progress, from the notes Ukai got periodically from the sanctuary. He always kept Sugawara and Hinata updated on all elephant news, something he was grateful for.

With the elephants gone, Hinata found himself going to the Kageyama household a lot more often. It was never something he envisioned happening at all, but every time he went over, the two always made him feel happier when he left. Katsuro had grown fond of him, and he had grown fond of Katsuro. He loved playing with him and listening to him talk about his day, and he also liked when Katsuro would climb into his lap or give him hugs or sloppy kisses on the cheek before he left.

But with the good, there is also the bad.

The bad being the feelings he was developing for Katsuro’s father.

It was…odd. Kageyama was kind of mean, stand offish, but also very caring and sweet (when he wanted to be). Whenever Hinata caught him smiling at something Katsuro did, his heart would thump loudly in his chest and his face would heat up and his palms would get sweaty…

…It was a real mess.

He wasn’t sure how Kageyama felt about him, though. He allowed him to come over all the time, and trusted him enough to watch his son, so that must account for something.

…Right?

“Hinata!” Katsuro called, “I wanna go down the slide!”

“Alright, buddy, hang on,” Hinata slowly brought Katsuro’s swinging to a stop, watching with a fond smile as the boy ran towards the slides.

-x-

After Katsuro tripped and fell on the playground and started crying, Hinata decided they should call it quits. Luckily a mom had some bandages and some disinfectant, so Hinata patched him up and placed two kisses on Katsuro’s poor little knees, then offered him a piggyback ride to the house.

“Are you getting hungry, Katsu-chan?” Hinata asked, adjusting his hold on Kasturo’s legs. The kid was a lot heavier than he looked…

“A little,” he sniffled, Hinata digging in his pocket for the extra house key Kageyama left for them.

“Then, let’s attempt to make some lunch!” he suggested, “Your dad said he left some ingredients in the fridge for us.”

“No vegetables!” Katsuro ordered before he ran off to the living room, immediately digging into his toy box. Hinata hummed, finding a little recipe on the fridge under a little magnet shaped like a milk carton with a smiling face, looking it over.

“Ah, yes, a recipe full of vegetables,” Hinata muttered to himself, frowning at the paper, “Thanks, Kageyama.” He placed the recipe back on the fridge, “Change of plans, Katsu! I can’t cook, so let’s go out to eat!”

“Oh-kaaay,” he set down his toys, moving to the front door, “Can we go to McDonald’s?”

“Kageyama would probably kill me,” Hinata replied, “McDonalds isn’t really good food for a still growing child.”

“But I want chicken nuggets…” Katsuro jutted out his lower lip, making it wobble as he gave Hinata his best puppy dog eyes. Hinata felt himself cringing, trying to have some semblance of resolve, but Katsuro’s lip pouted out further and his eyes got wetter, and it cracked.

“Augh!” he cried, “Fine! Fine, we’re going!” Katsuro cheered in victory, Hinata huffing out a sigh, watching the boy tug his sneakers back on. “You are such a brat.”

-x-

“And for the Happy Meal, a boy toy is okay?” the lady at the register asked, giving Katsuro a smile.

“Well? Transformer toy, or Kitty-Chan toy?” Hinata asked, and Katsuro looked up from where he was messing with a zipper on Hinata’s shorts.

“Kitty-Chan,” he said, “I got a Transformer last time.”

“Kitty-Chan toy, please.” Hinata corrected the cashier, who looked a little flustered but nodded.

“That’ll be 1200 yen, please,” she squeaked, Hinata handing the bills over and receiving his change, tugging Katsuro off to a little wait for their order.

“You like Kitty-Chan, Katsu?” Hinata asked, chuckling as Katsuro continued to zip and unzip the pocket on his shorts.

“I like cats,” he replied, “Like Pickles! When can I see Pickles again?”

“Hmm, maybe someday soon,” Hinata hummed, hearing their order being called and moving to grab the tray. “You’ll have to ask your dad.”

They sat down, Katsuro’s eyes sparkling in excitement as he held his chicken nugget box in reverence. Hinata pulled out his fries, then handed him the Kitty-Chan toy, which he struggled with for a few seconds before he begrudgingly asked Hinata to open it for him. It was a little plastic figure of Kitty-Chan in a cheerleading outfit, and when you pressed the button on her back, her arms moved up and down, making the little pompoms she was holding wave around.

“Well that’s stupid,” Katsuro pouted, Hinata laughing at his frankness.

“Well, really, you came for the chicken nuggets,” he said, eating a couple of his own fries. Katsuro set down his toy and opened the box for his nuggets, Hinata handing him an opened sauce container.

The two of them ate in relative silence, Hinata observing the way Katsuro ate.

Then he had a thought.

…He probably shouldn’t…but…

“Hey, Katsu-chan…” he started, the little boy looking up at him, chewing on his chicken nugget, “Um…Well…does…does Kageyama talk about me at all?” Katsuro hummed around his food, swallowing before speaking up.

“Umm, not really,” he replied, “But um, when you guys are on the phone, Daddy smiles a lot. And then, when he tells me you’re comin’ over, I get excited, and I think, I think Daddy gets excited too!”

“I-I see…” Hinata rubbed his neck, giving the boy a sheepish grin.

“Um!” Katsuro began, then he drooped, fiddling with one of Kitty-Chan’s pompoms, “Ah, never mind…”

“What is it?” Hinata asked, “You can talk to me, Katsu.”

Katsuro looked a bit sad, continuing to press the button on his toy, watching its arms move.

“Um…you n’ Daddy…sometimes, it makes me think of how Mommy and Daddy used to be…” Hinata’s eyes widened at Katsuro’s quiet confession, feeling the guilt claw at his stomach, “Mommy n’ Daddy used to smile a lot…an’ sometimes,” he licked his lips, “Sometimes, we all made dinner together and…they were really happy…” he smiled a bit, “But now, um…Mommy seems a lot happier…when it’s just me an’ her…and Daddy seems a lot happier when Hinata comes over.”

“Is…that so…” Hinata said quietly. Katsuro nodded.

“Mommy and Daddy used to fight a lot,” he admitted, “So I like it better this way. I don’t like when Mommy and Daddy fight.”

“Yeah…” Hinata rested his chin in his palm, watching Katsuro start eating again.

-x-

They walked home after they finished, Katsuro safely tucking his new toy into Hinata’s zipper pocket, and holding his hand tightly as they walked home.

Hinata was lounging on the couch while Katsuro colored in a coloring book, his little eyelids starting to droop.

“Getting tired?” Hinata asked, and Katsuro shook his head.

“Nuh uh,” he mumbled, “I don’ wanna nap…”

“I wish I could nap,” Hinata admitted around a yawn, and Katsuro yawned as well, looking over at Hinata with half lidded eyes. He put down his crayon, Sugar tucked under his arm as he made his way towards the couch. “What’s up, buddy?”

Katsuro didn’t reply, but instead climbed on the couch and onto Hinata, his head resting on his chest. Hinata’s eyes widened, and he adjusted himself so he and Katsuro would be comfortable. He could feel his heart slowly imploding on itself as Katsuro’s hair tickled his neck and he yawned again.

“G’night…” Katsuro murmured, his eyes slipping shut. “…Luff you.”

That was it. Hinata’s heart imploded, then exploded, and he had to hold back his wail of agony. There was no way a child could be this adorable. No fucking way. But here he was, laying on Hinata’s chest, snuggling into him with a stuffed elephant tucked safely under his arm.

Hinata carefully reached on the floor where a blanket was conveniently crumpled up, throwing it over the two of them. It wouldn’t hurt if he caught a few minutes of shut eye either…

-x-

“I’m home!”

Kageyama entered the house, tugging off his shoes and looking at his watch. It was a little after 3 o’clock, so Katsuro might be down for a nap. But then where was Hinata?

He walked into the living room, stopping in the doorway.

There, on his couch, was Hinata, laying with one arm tucked behind his head, and the other wrapped around Katsuro. They were both sound asleep, and Kageyama just stared.

If he could come home to this…every night…

He was startled out of his thoughts when Katsuro let out a little hum, his eyelids fluttering as he stirred awake. He knelt next to the couch, running his fingers through Katsuro’s messy hair.

“Hey, sport,” Kageyama whispered, Katsuro giving him a sleepy smile.

“Hi, Daddy,” he mumbled, nuzzling his cheek into Hinata’s chest.

Hinata stirred awake next, blinking and rubbing his eyes before he noticed Kageyama, jumping lightly in surprise, making Katsuro shoot up.

“Sorry!” Hinata said, his voice still laced with sleep, “Sorry, Katsu, your dad scared me.”

“Mmn,” Katsuro grunted, reaching out for Kageyama, who picked him up.

“God you’re getting big,” Kageyama groaned, pressing a kiss to Katsuro’s cheek. Hinata sat up, stretching himself out. Before forcing himself to stand.

“How was your meeting?” he asked around a yawn, Kageyama shrugging.

“Not bad. Ukai-san said to put a hold on the elephant book, so my manager and I went over possible themes for another book to write.” He replied, Hinata nodding.

“Daddy,” Katsuro jumped in, pulling away from where he was resting his head on Kageyama’s shoulder, “Today we went to the park!”

“Really now?” Kageyama asked, Hinata smiling at the two of them.

“Yeah, yeah!” Katsuro grinned, “Hinata pushed me really high on the swings! But then I felled down,” he pointed to his knees, “So we had to come home.”

“Oh?” Kageyama observed the mess of pink band aids decorating Katsuro’s knees, shooting Hinata a questioning look.

“Pink princess band aids was all the lady had at the park,” he said, holding up his hands defensively, and Kageyama shrugged.

“They’re fine,” he said, “Katsuro’s mom is big on letting him play with whatever he wants. She never really bought into ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ toys. Did you disinfect the wounds properly?”

“Of course,” Hinata mumbled, rubbing sleep from his eye, “I’m not completely inept.” Kageyama opened his mouth to probably make a snarky remark, but Katsuro made a whining noise to get his father’s attention again, pointing down at the coffee table.

“Look, see? I got a Kitty-Chan toy, too!” he made grabby hands towards it, Hinata easily handing it to him so he could show his father, “It’s kinda dumb, but I got chicken nuggets.”

“He convinced you to take him to McDonalds, huh?” Kageyama asked, and Hinata nodded.

“He did the puppy dog eyes and the little pout,” Kageyama hummed, nodding in sympathy. “And I can’t cook anyways, so…”

“Why am I not surprised?” Hinata made an offended noise as Kageyama smirked, snickering when Hinata punched his arm.

“You’re such a jerk!” he said around a laugh, his smile faltering when he caught Katsuro staring at him with sparkling eyes.

“Well, I guess I could start dinner,” Kageyama said, “You wanna help, Katsuro?”

“Yeah!” he chirped, then he turned to Hinata with a smile, “Are you gonna help too?”

Hinata blinked, scratching his cheek nervously, remembering Katsuro’s words from earlier.

“M-Maybe I shouldn’t,” he tittered, “I’ll probably just set everything on fire or s-something…”

Katsuro pouted, and Kageyama rolled his eyes, heading towards the kitchen.

“You don’t have to do much,” Kageyama called, setting Katsuro on the counter in the kitchen, “Just come hang out with us in here and cut up a few things for me.”

Hinata hesitated before moving into the kitchen, Katsuro grinning excitedly at him. He gave Katsuro a smile as well, standing in front of the cutting board, carefully accepting the knife Kageyama handed him, waiting as he took out the ingredients from the fridge.

“So, what are we making?” he asked, watching as Kageyama pulled out some vegetables and a package of ground meat.

“Hamburger steak,” Kageyama replied, and Katsuro seemed to brighten, until Kageyama looked into his eyes and said, “With some vegetables on the side.” Katsuro’s face contorted and he stuck out his tongue in disgust, making Hinata snicker. “Could you cut this into small pieces for me?” he handed Hinata a bunch of broccoli, and Hinata shrugged, turning towards Katsuro and moving the broccoli towards him, making Katsuro yelp and move away from it. He laughed again, shaking his head as he set it on the counter and started to cut them into small trees.

When he was done cutting them, Kageyama moved them into a small strainer to give them a quick rinse, then asked him to cut up an onion into fine pieces. Hinata started, cutting the onion in half, then debating on how to cut it up, then his eyes started leaking and his nose was running and he made a noise of distress, sniffling and rubbing his face on his sleeve. Katsuro watched in amusement, giggling as Hinata continued to sniffle and wipe away the tears, cutting the onions into small pieces. He looked over to where Kageyama was frying the broccoli and a couple potatoes, and Hinata rinsed his hands off, getting rid of the onion stench.

“What next?” Hinata asked as Kageyama tossed a little bit of water into the pan and covering it, pulling out another pan with a hum.

“I start frying the onions,” he said, “And Katsuro gets the breadcrumbs from the cupboard he is conveniently underneath.” Katsuro brightened, turning his little body, getting to his knees as he reached into the cupboard and pulling out a little container of panko and handing it to his father, who thanked him with a kiss on the cheek.

Kageyama turned the heat off when the vegetables were cooked, moving the pan onto a back burner. He then dropped some olive oil in a pan, then took Hinata’s chopped onions and put them into the pan.

“Did I cut them enough?” Hinata asked, peeking over Kageyama’s shoulder. Kageyama scoffed, stirring them slightly with a wooden paddle.

“Yeah,” he replied, then added gruffly, “You didn’t manage to mess it all up.”

“You are so rude,” Hinata said, smacking Kageyama on the back, laughing when Kageyama jutted his elbow back to hit him but he dodged, smacking his shoulders again, “So, so rude!”

He laughed again as Kageyama let out his own chuckles, turning and seeing Katsuro watching them intently. He felt his cheeks heat up, clearing his throat and moving away from Kageyama and cleaning up the cutting board, avoiding Katsuro’s gaze.

When Kageyama deemed the onions cooked enough, he put them on a plate to let them cool. He asked Katsuro to get a big plastic mixing bowl, then set it next to Katsuro, grabbing the ground meat.

“Alright buddy, ready to help?” he asked, Katsuro nodding excitedly. “You need to wash your hands first.”

Hinata helped him by pumping soap onto his waiting hands and making sure the water wasn’t too cold or too hot, smiling when Katsuro scrubbed his little hands with vigor and stuck his tongue in concentration. After the soap was rinsed off, Hinata helped dried his hands off and Katsuro moved back towards the bowl filled with meat, which Kageyama had seasoned.

“Hinata, can you measure out about 15 grams of breadcrumbs, and add a little bit of milk to them?” Kageyama asked, “And you, little one, are going to help me mix this meat.”

“Yay!” Katsuro cheered, then immediately stuck both his hands into it, giggling loudly, “It’s cooold, Daddy!” he grinned, and Kageyama laughed, helping him knead the meat while Hinata mixed the breadcrumbs.

“Could you grab an egg out of the fridge, too?” Kageyama asked him, “And bring the onions over.”

“Okaaay,” Hinata drawled, grabbing an egg and the plate of onions and bringing it over to the now sticky meat mixture.

“And if you could put in the breadcrumbs, about two thirds of the onions, and the egg in here, that would be great.”

“Okaaay,” Hinata drawled again, pouring the breadcrumbs into the bowl, then cracking the egg, then dumping onions into the bowl until Kageyama stopped him. Katsuro squished the ingredients between his fingers, giggling all the while.

“It feels funny,” he said, Kageyama rolling his eyes, cleaning the meat off Katsuro’s hands before ordering him to wash his hands again. He took the bowl over to the stove, and Hinata helped Katsuro wash his hands again.

“After these cook, dinner will be ready,” Kageyama said, “You two can go play until then.”

“Hinata!” Katsuro called, lifting his arms so Hinata could pick him up. “Will you color with me?”

“Ab-so-lutely, I will color with you,” Hinata grinned, setting the boy on the floor and following him to the living room, sparing Kageyama a quick glance. Their eyes met, and Kageyama immediately looked back to the food in the pan, his cheeks turning pink. Hinata moved to the living room, feeling his own cheeks heat up again, sitting on the ground next to Katsuro, smiling when the boy immediately made himself comfortable in his lap so they could color at the coffee table.

-x-

At the dinner table, the three of them ate in relative silence, Katsuro eating his steak with gusto, everything on his plate cut into bite size pieces. When Hinata asked why Kageyama didn’t cut his, he received a smack to the back of the head and a ‘shut up you aren’t a child’.

The real trouble came when Katsuro pushed away his plate, his broccoli still sitting on it untouched.

“I’m done,” he announced, and Kageyama gave him an expectant look.

“Katsuro,” he began, “You didn’t eat your broccoli.”

“Don’t wanna,” Katsuro said, folding his arms and glaring at the green vegetable. Hinata watched on curiously.

“C’mon, Katsuro,” Kageyama said, “Look, I ate mine.” He ate a piece of broccoli with an exaggerated hum of approval. Katsuro pouted, his cheeks puffing up as he looked away from his plate with a ‘hmph’.

Kageyama sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Hinata couldn’t even pretend to enjoy it as well (he had eaten it all earlier and his plate was clean, it was all too good to not shovel in his mouth so no one else stole it). He thought for another minute before getting an idea.

He sniffled exaggeratedly, then covered his face, sobbing quietly before getting louder and louder.

“What are you-?” Kageyama asked before Hinata wailed, falling into his folded arms dramatically.

“K-Katsu won’t eat his vegetables,” he cried, “A-And it just makes me s-so sad, because-“ he faked a hiccup, “Because, if he doesn’t eat them,” he sobbed a couple more times, “H-He won’t grow up b-big and strong, and-and he won’t have enough e-energy to play with me anymore!”

Hinata continued to cry into his arms, peeking slightly to see Katsuro watching him with a wobbly lower lip and tears welling in his eyes.

“I-Is that true?” he asked Kageyama quietly, and Kageyama nodded gravely, placing his hand on Hinata’s shoulder. Katsuro furrowed his brow determinedly, picking his fork back up and beginning to eat the broccoli, Hinata keeping up his crying until all of it was gone. “There!” he got up from his seat and rushed over to Hinata, wriggling his way into his lap and giving him a hug, “I ate it, so now I can play with Hinata all the time!”

Hinata hugged Katsuro back, winking at Kageyama when he mouthed a ‘thank you’.

“Katsu-chan is the sweetest little boy in the entire world,” Hinata sing-songed, rocking him back and forth, “He ate all his broccoli just for me!” he gave Katsuro a bright grin, which he mirrored, “Promise me you’ll eat your vegetables all the time?” Katsuro’s smile fell into a grumpy pout, and Hinata stuck his lower lip out. “If you don’t eat your vegetables, you won’t be able to play with me anymore…” he sniffled again, Katsuro’s pout falling to a look of fear, hugging Hinata tightly.

“No! I’m gonna play with Hinata all the time forever and ever!” he said, then mumbled, “Even if I have to eat icky vegetables…”

“Yay!” Hinata cheered, giving Katsuro a squeeze, “I love Katsu-chan sooo much!” he then began peppering little kisses on his cheeks, making the boy giggle in delight, burying his face into Hinata’s neck. Hinata looked over to Kageyama, who was watching them with his chin in his palm, a dreamy smile on his face. Hinata blinked a couple times, biting back a smile and he nuzzled his cheek against Katsuro’s hair.

He really did love that look…

-x-

That weekend, Miyumi picked up Katsuro, who greeted her excitedly, chattering about the important details of his week.

“Um, Miyumi,” Kageyama began, rubbing the back of his neck, “I, uh…I have to ask you something?”

Miyumi raised an eyebrow, giving Katsuro one more kiss.

“Sweetie, why don’t you go finish packing your bag while your Daddy and I talk for a minute?” she suggested, and Katsuro nodded, toddling back to his room. “What’s up?” she asked.

“Um, I…I might…” he cleared his throat, folding his arms, “I might be…interested in someone.”

Chapter Text

“…You,” Miyumi began slowly after an awkward bout of silence, “Kageyama Tobio…are interested in someone.”

“Yes,” he replied, then added, “I think.”

“Well, who are they? When can I meet them? Are you dating them already?”

“No, no, we aren’t dating,” Kageyama flushed, “I don’t even know if they like me…”

“Have they been around Katsuro?” she asked, folding her arms. Kageyama nodded, tensing as both her eyebrows went up. “Oh, so you just invite strangers over to interact with our son and I don’t even know who it is?”

“He’s not a stranger!” Kageyama asserted, “We’ve known him for a while now. He works at the zoo, where I was working on that story, remember?”

Miyumi went strangely quiet, her eyes widened slightly as she took in the new information.

“It’s a…boy?” she murmured, and Kageyama felt his cheeks flush, realizing his slip up.

“…Yeah,” he mumbled, “His name is Hinata.” Miyumi took a deep breath, sighing.

“I, uh. I wasn’t aware you…” she cleared her throat, “That you…liked boys.”

“I don’t…really.” Kageyama admitted, “I just like him.” he scratched the back of his head, “I told you before how I feel about people…I don’t like them unless-“

“You get a strong emotional connection, I know,” Miyumi nodded, giving him a smile, “’A while’ is pretty quick though, for you. Have you guys really gotten that close?”

“I mean…I guess?” he shrugged, “He gets along great with Katsuro. He’s nice. He smiles a lot, even though he’s been going through a rough time. He said hanging out with me and Katsuro helps him feel better.” Miyumi hummed, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“He sounds like a nice person,” she said, and Kageyama nodded.

“Katsuro will probably talk about him a lot,” he said quietly, “He’s been coming over quite a bit recently.”

“Quite a bit, hm?” she smiled, “And hopefully you two are keeping it PG-13?”

“Wh-! Of cour-! We-!” he stammered, “I-I already told you, I don’t even know if he likes me!”

“Hmm, well,” Miyumi turned her attention to the hallway, “What do you think, Katsu?”

Kageyama turned to see his son standing there, peeking from behind the wall, looking guilty. He must have been listening for a while. Kageyama felt like his face was on fire, and he pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing.

“Um,” Katsuro started quietly, tugging on his pant leg, looking away and biting his lip when Kageyama looked at him, “Well, um,” he put his hands behind his back, “I’m sorry I was listenin’, but um,” he looked back up at him, “I think Hinata likes you…like, um,” he looked over to his mother, “Like the way you and Mommy used to like each other. Yesterday, he asked about you!” he smiled, “So um…sorry, Daddy.”

“No no, you’re okay,” Kageyama said, crouching down to run a hand over his hair, “Um. Are you…Are you okay with Hinata and I liking each other?” Katsuro hummed, resting his hands thoughtfully on Kageyama’s knee.

“I like Hinata,” he said, “And being with you and Hinata makes me happy. And being with Hinata makes you happy.” Katsuro leaned in to press a kiss to Kageyama’s nose, “And you should do what makes you happy, Daddy.”

Kageyama smiled, grabbing Katsuro’s cheeks and pressing sloppy kisses all over his face.

“You are the cutest,” he place a kiss on his nose, “Sweetest,” a kiss on the forehead, “Most adorable son in the entire world.” He pressed two kisses on his cheeks. “And I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Daddy!” Katsuro managed through giggles, clinging to him when Kageyama wrapped him up in a hug.

“Alright you two,” Miyumi chuckled, “I have a big weekend planned for you, Katsu. Are you ready to go?”

“Uh huh!” Katsuro gave Kageyama one last kiss on the cheek before dashing back to his room to grab his bag.

“So, tonight, you should go on a date with Hinata.”

“…What?”

-x-

“Maru!” Hinata called to the lion, who continued to lay in the sun. “Maruuu. Maru-chaaan.” He stuck his fingers inside the holes in the gate, wriggling them.

The lion yawned widely before rolling over onto his back.

“If I wanted sass from a cat, I would have stayed at home!” he shouted at the lion, who continued to ignore him. “I hate you.” He mumbled, looking over to where a couple of the lionesses were lounging on the rocks of the enclosure grooming each other. He pouted again. “I miss the elephants. They were nicer to me and I could play with them.”

“Shouyou,” Kenma said quietly, “Have you fed the lions?”

“Yeees,” Hinata replied, “They already ate. Everything is normal.”

“Please be more enthusiastic about your job.” Kenma deadpanned, writing notes on his clipboard.

“I’m trying! It’s hard! It’s hard to enjoy my job when my job suddenly became boring!” Hinata rattled the gate, making Maru jump and Kenma smack the back of his head.

“Don’t shake the gate,” he scolded with a frown. “And don’t harass my cats just because your elephants are in India.”

“Don’t remind meee,” Hinata groaned, following Kenma as he walked away. “Do you think we could go hang out with the cheetahs?”

“Again?” Kenma asked, sighing at Hinata’s excited smile and sparkling eyes. “I guess. Kuroo said he’d be in there today, so I don’t see why not.”

“Yay!” Hinata cheered, picking up his pace as they headed toward the cheetah enclosure.

-x-

“Ehehehe,” Hinata chuckled, laying spread eagle on a patch of grass as a cheetah leaned over him to sniff at his face curiously. “Hehehoo.” He chortled when the cheetah’s service dog came and laid down next to Hinata while the cheetah sniffed at him.

“You enjoying yourself?” Kuroo asked from the other side of the enclosure, where another cheetah was sitting next to him grooming its service dog affectionately.

“Yep!” Hinata called back, cooing when the cheetah let out a questioning yip, purring happily when Hinata began to stroke his head. “Ahh, you’re so cute! You’re just a big baby!” The cheetah laid down, resting it’s head on its canine companion, and Hinata sighed. He sat up, running his hand over the cheetah’s back. “It feels good to be able to interact with an animal, you know? I feel like I can understand them better when I get to touch them.” He rested his cheek on the cheetah’s back, feeling the purr rumble through its body. He looked up to see Kuroo standing over them with a grin.

“You’re a weird kid, Shou,” Kuroo chuckled, “Hate to break up the cuddle party, but I’m afraid I gotta kick you out of here. I got some big wig breeders coming in from America today, and we’re gonna see if we can make a lil’ baby cheetah with these two big baby cheetahs.” Hinata smiled at him, slowly standing and giving the cheetah one last pet.

“Well, good luck with that!” he said, Kuroo shrugging, closing the gate behind him.

Hinata walked away, feeling slightly more energized than he was earlier. It really did feel good to be around the zoo animals, to be around any animal. He found Kenma, who was quietly observing the tigers, jotting down notes on his clipboard.

“Kenma,” Hinata asked, squatting down next to him, “Do you think it’s possible that I have a spiritual connection with animals?”

“No.” Kenma immediately replied, smiling softly at Hinata’s offended look. “If you did, my cats would pay attention to you more.”

“Kenma, you’re so mean!”

-x-

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

Kageyama stood awkwardly outside the zoo, holding his pass nervously, watching some zoo goers exiting before the zoo closed. He paced slightly, debating on whether or not to actually go in and find Hinata and actually ask him on a…d…outing. An outing. Between friends.

“I can’t believe we might be getting baby cheetahs!” Kageyama heard a familiar voice saying, looking over to see a familiar shock of orange hair, as well as an unfamiliar head of blonde hair with brunette roots, walking in his direction. “They’ll be so cute-” Hinata saw him, his thought cut off. “-Kageyama?”

“Um,” he replied, hiding his pass behind his back, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Hinata reciprocated with a smile, “What brings you here?”

“Uh,” Kageyama said intelligently, “No…No reason.”

“I see…” Hinata chuckled, turning towards the blonde boy he was with, “Ah, right! Kenma, this is my friend Kageyama that I’ve told you about! Kageyama, this is my friend, Kenma!"

“Nice to finally meet you,” Kenma said quietly, and they shook hands. “Shouyou talks about you all the time.”

“Shut up, Kenma, I do not!” Hinata laughed nervously, and Kenma rolled his eyes.

“Right. I actually have to head home, since Kuroo and I are having some friends over tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Ah, of course, Kenma! Get home safely!” Hinata waved at his friend as he walked away, turning his attention back to Kageyama. “But really, what brings you down here? The zoo is a little far away from your house…”

“What? I can’t come to the zoo on my own time?” Kageyama retorted defensively, and Hinata smirked.

“I mean, you could,” he hummed, “But you don’t need to work on your book…and you don’t seem like the type of guy who would willingly go out to a place with big crowds…”

“Shut up, dumbass,” Kageyama muttered, giving the other man a shove. Hinata guffawed, making Kageyama’s heart skip a beat. “I…I came for a reason.”

“Oh ho?” Hinata bit back a giggle, “So, what is it?”

“I…” Kageyama swallowed, clenching and unclenching his fists. “I, um…” Hinata’s grin slowly fell to a concerned frown.

“Are you alright?” he asked, “You look like you’re going to barf…”

“Go out!” Kageyama managed to get out, startling Hinata slightly. “G-Go out! We should! We should…go out. And do something.” He pointedly avoided Hinata’s gaze, shoving his hands into his pockets, “T-Together.”

“Go…out?” Hinata asked quietly, and when Kageyama finally gathered the courage to look at Hinata, he was greeted by the sight of Hinata completely and utterly flushed. “G-Go out?” he asked again, chuckling nervously, twiddling his thumbs. “U-Um…go…going…”

“Y…Yeah…” Kageyama mumbled, scratching the back of his neck, “M-Maybe we could just go get something to eat? I mean, you did just get out of work and everything…”

“That…That might be nice,” Hinata replied quietly, “Th-There’s a good yakiniku place down the street…”

“Let’s…go then.”

Then the two of them started walking down the street, an awkward silence falling over them, and Kageyama feeling like he made a horrible mistake.

-x-

They sat across from each other at the table, falling into another bout of awkward silence when the waitress dropped off their raw ingredients for their barbeque. They both placed slices of beef on the barbeque, watching it cook and hearing it sizzle and pointedly avoiding each other’s gaze.

Kageyama felt bad. What if this was a huge mistake? Hinata looked so uncomfortable, Kageyama felt uncomfortable, and that was the last thing he had wanted to do. Maybe it wasn’t worth it, sacrificing this new-found friendship just because he might have developed a crush on the man-

“Kageyama?”

-And it’s not like it would be a huge loss if he couldn’t date Hinata. Being his friend was enough, and it would keep Katsuro happy, knowing he would stick around-

“-yama! Kageyama! The meat is burning!”

Kageyama was jolted out of his train of thought, quickly reaching for the piece of beef he left on the grill, frowning when he pulled back a charred black blob. He looked from the beef to Hinata, who was staring at him, obviously fighting back laughter. Kageyama frowned, sighing in exasperation before setting the beef on his plate.

“Go ahead,” he said, and Hinata immediately burst out laughing, trying to muffle his laughter behind his hands. Kageyama placed another strip of beef on the grill, letting a few of his own chuckles go at the sight of Hinata red-faced wiping away tears.

“Oh my God,” Hinata finally said after calming down, “I don’t know why that was so funny. What has got you so distracted, Kageyama?”

“You.” Kageyama replied easily, flipping over the beef he had placed on the grill. Hinata paused, holding a green pepper slice over the grill. He stared at Kageyama wide-eyed, and Kageyama stared right back, before realizing that oh.

Oh.

Maybe he shouldn’t have said that.

“You…” he repeated, “…Were being quiet! Yeah, so…I-I was just wondering…if you were okay.”

Hinata blinked, placing his pepper on the grill while Kageyama took his meat off, dipping it in the sauce the waitress provided, quickly shoving it in his mouth.

“I’m…okay,” Hinata replied, “Um, maybe a little nervous? I mean, I don’t think we’ve ever hung out without Katsu-chan before…” Kageyama hummed an affirmative around the beef in his mouth, waiting until he had completely chewed and swallowed before replying.

“That’s true,” he said, placing another piece of beef on the grill and a piece of corn on the cob. “But it’s not a bad thing.” He paused, looking over to the other man, “…Is it?”

Hinata looked up at him, giving him a small smile, making Kageyama’s heart skip a beat.

“…No,” Hinata finally replied after a moment, his smile growing bashful as he placed his own piece of beef on the grill and took his green pepper, “Not at all.”

Kageyama fought back his own shy grin, ignoring the butterflies erupting in his stomach as he focused his attention on his food.

Maybe asking Hinata to go on an outing wasn’t a horrible mistake after all.

Chapter Text

One outing turned to two. Then to three. Then almost every weekend, Kageyama and Hinata made plans to hang out. They went to movies, went grocery shopping together, went out to eat, and one activity, that had become Hinata’s favorite, was when they went to Hinata’s apartment and Kageyama taught him how to cook.

It was Saturday night, and Hinata had gotten home from work, showered, and texted Kageyama to let him know he was ready for him to come over. He then tossed his phone onto the couch and proceeded to harass his cat.

“Pickles,” he chirped, lying on the floor near where his cat was laying. He proceeded to scoot forward so his face was buried in Pickles’ stomach. “Mmph. I miss hanging out with you all the time.” Pickles let out a questioning ‘murrp’, one of his paws patting the side of Hinata’s head lightly. “Nooo, Pickles,” he whined, then his cat let out another ‘murrp’, this one more frustrated, and he rolled away from Hinata, making the man whine. “Don’t ignore me!” Hinata propped himself up on his elbows, scratching Pickles’ head. He then got up off the floor, making his way to the kitchen to grab the bag of treats to properly bribe his cat into playing with him.

After pulling out a wand with a mouse attached to the end (Pickles’ favorite toy), hovering it over the cat’s head. He grinned as Pickles began to bat at it, grabbing the mouse in his front paws and bunny kicking it. A few minutes into their play session, Hinata’s doorbell rang.

“Ah, coming~!” he dropped the wand so Pickles could continue attacking it, then buzzed Kageyama in. He waited near the door, opening it when Kageyama knocked once. “Hello!”

“I barely even knocked,” Kageyama muttered, Hinata grinning and moving so he could walk in. “Pardon the intrusion.”

“No need to be so polite, Kageyama!” Hinata said, patting him on the shoulder, “It’s just me and Pickles here!”

“Oh, shut up,” Kageyama grouched, “I’ll be as polite as I damn well please.”

“Alright,” Hinata shrugged, then looked up at Kageyama excitedly, “So, what are we making today?!”

“Oyakodon,” Kageyama replied, and Hinata cheered, dragging him to the kitchen. “Oi, dumbass! Don’t pull on my arm!”

“I’m excited!” Hinata grinned at him, making Kageyama’s heart rate increase, “C’mon, teach me! What do we do first?”

“First, you take a damn chill pill,” Kageyama snapped, “Then, we wash our hands and cut the onion.”

Hinata ignored the first step, but obeyed steps two and three. He washed his hands and grabbed the shopping bag Kageyama had brought over, getting his cutting board and a sharp knife. His heart skipped a beat as he caught a glimpse of Kageyama grabbing his rice cooker, moving around and grabbing things.

It made Hinata smile knowing that Kageyama had come over so much that he had memorized where things were. And it had only been a few times that they had done this, which made Hinata’s heart flutter in his ribcage.

“Oi,” Kageyama grumbled, his cheeks flushed, “Cut the onion.”

“O-Of course,” Hinata laughed nervously, moving to cut and peel the onion. “How do you want them cut?”

“Strips,” Kageyama replied, and Hinata nodded, getting to work while Kageyama started working on the chicken. He heard a ‘tsk’, and glanced at Kageyama who was frowning at him. “Not like that.”

“What?” Hinata asked, tensing when Kageyama moved closer, “How was what I was doing wrong?”

“It’s not,” Kageyama replied, and Hinata could feel his breath against his ear as he moved behind him, taking Hinata’s hand with the knife in his, guiding it through the cuts. “But it’s easier if you do it like that.”

“Oh…” Hinata said softly, then licked his lips, “Show me one more time?”

He felt Kageyama pause, but he slowly, carefully, guided Hinata’s hands through the movements. Hinata bit back a smile, letting himself relax into Kageyama’s loose hold.

“Are you even paying attention?” Kageyama scolded, “I have chicken to cut, you know.”

“Fine, I got it,” Hinata huffed, and Kageyama easily moved away, going back to cutting his chicken. Hinata pouted slightly, but when he glanced over at Kageyama, he was cutting the chicken harshly, and his face was as red as a tomato.

Hinata let himself grin smugly, then quickly finished cutting his onion. Kageyama finished his chicken, and he ordered Hinata to get a pan. While he did that, Kageyama grabbed the ingredients for the broth.

They measured them out, then mixed it together, and then placed the chicken into the broth along with the onions. Kageyama placed a lid onto the pan, and let the ingredients cook while he cut up some mitsuba parsley.

Kageyama pointed out important factors while making oyakodon, like to flip the chicken pieces when they started to turn white, and that he liked his eggs a bit firmer while making it, but Hinata’s heart sped up again when he noticed that Kageyama left them a little runnier because he knew Hinata liked runnier eggs.

Hinata served the cooked rice in two bowls, watching with a look of awe as Kageyama served the oyakodon, licking his lips at the delightful smell.

“You want an egg yolk on top?” Kageyama asked, and Hinata’s eyes widened.

“You can do that?!” he asked excitedly, and Kageyama snorted, grabbing another egg from the fridge and cracking it, quickly separating the yolk from the white, then placing the egg yolk on top of Hinata’s portion.

“See? Easy.”

The two took their plates to Hinata’s incredibly small table, sitting down and saying their thanks before digging in. Kageyama watched Hinata break apart his egg yolk with a look of awe, rolling his eyes before taking a bite of his own portion.

“Uwaaah!” Hinata suddenly cried out, making Kageyama jump slightly. “Kageyama! It’s good! It’s really, really good!”

“Dumbass,” Kageyama replied, “It’s really not that hard to make. So you should be able to make it, too.”

“Thanks for the bout of confidence,” Hinata chuckled, taking another bite. Kageyama rolled his eyes, giving him a teasing smirk.

Both of their gazes moved from each other back to their meals, eating silently. Hinata fidgeted a bit, glancing down under the table, seeing Kageyama’s leg jiggling up and down while he ate. Hinata pouted thoughtfully.

So. Hinata liked Kageyama. Like, a lot. Katsuro had told him that Kageyama liked him, too. It was obvious that Kageyama felt something for him, if his constantly red cheeks and the way that he helped Hinata cut the onions earlier.

If that was the case, then why hadn’t Kageyama made a move on him yet? It was driving him a little bit insane.

Steeling his nerves, he carefully moved his foot, then slowly ran it down Kageyama’s leg.

Kageyama jumped immediately, his knees hitting the underside of the table, their dishes clattering and making Hinata jump as well.

“Wh-What was that?” Kageyama asked, glancing at Pickles, who was sitting on the little counter of the pass through, watching them eat, and obviously not under the table.

“Um,” Hinata chuckled, “Me?”

“Oh…” Kageyama relaxed slightly, going back to his food. His brow furrowed when Hinata’s foot touched nudged him again, this time running slowly down his leg, “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Hinata replied quietly, continuing his consumption of oyakodon. Kageyama’s brow furrowed further when his foot ran back up his leg, seriously distracting him from his own oyakodon.

“You’re doing something,” he shot back, “With your foot.” Hinata met his gaze, slurping up an onion and titling his head.

“I don’t know what you mean.” He replied innocently, the corner of his lips quirking upward as he softly trailed his foot upwards again, making Kageyama shiver.

They continued to eat, Hinata letting his foot rub against Kageyama’s leg, with less purpose than before, seemingly content to concentrate on eating his food rather than harass Kageyama’s appendages. Hinata finished his first, then began cleaning up as soon as Kageyama finished, washing the dishes while Kageyama dried.

“Thanks for your help,” Hinata said, as he placed the last dish in the dish rack, Kageyama drying it and putting away, handing Hinata the dish towel to dry off his hands.

“No problem.” He replied easily. Hinata looked to him, and they both paused.

They stared at each other for a moment, Hinata taking a steadying breath as he met Kageyama’s gaze.

“…Kageyama-“

A shrill ringtone interrupted him, and Kageyama quickly fumbled for it in his pocket.

“I-I’m sorry,” he stammered, “It’s Miyumi, I gotta take it- Just-“ Hinata nodded, and Kageyama dragged his thumb across the screen. “Hello?” Hinata raised his eyebrows when Kageyama suddenly went a little pale, “Oh…Oh, God, shit, I’m sorry, Yumi…Yeah, no, I’m on my way. It totally slipped my mind. I’m so sorry. …What?  Yeah, I’ll talk to him.” Kageyama smiled as the person on the other line changed, “Hey, buddy. …Uh huh. Wow, really? Why don’t you tell me all about that when I come pick you up, huh? …What? I mean…Yeah he’s here, but how did you…?” Kageyama paused, his brow furrowing, looking to Hinata. “Um. Katsuro wants to talk to you.”

“Um, sure,” Hinata took the phone, holding it up to his ear, “Hellooo, Hinata speaking!”

“Hinata!” Katsuro chirped from the other line, making Hinata giggle, “Good evening!”

“Ah, good evening, Katsu-chan!” Hinata grinned, “How have you been?”

“Good,” Katsuro replied, “Today, um, today my mommy made us these little breads. Um, Mommy! Uh, how do you do that thingy? I wanna show Hinata the breads.”

“I think Katsu wants to FaceTime,” Hinata said to Kageyama, and he handed the phone to its rightful owner, watching as Kageyama pressed buttons on the screen.

“There you go,” a woman’s voice (Miyumi, Hinata presumed) sounded from the phone, and suddenly, the whole screen was of Katsuro’s nostrils.

“Hinata, can you see my boogers?!” Katsuro cried, and Hinata burst out laughing.

“Katsu, don’t be rude!” Miyumi scolded through her laughter, pulling the phone back so it was focused on her and Katsuro. “Hello!” she greeted, Hinata grinning at her and waving.

Miyumi was a beautiful woman, Hinata noted. She had darker skin, and thick, curly hair, which was glossy and fell down in waves, and bright brown eyes exactly like Katsuro’s. Hinata could see where Katsuro got his looks from, except for when he frowned. That was definitely a Kageyama trait.

“Well, it’s nice to finally meet you,” Miyumi said, “I’ve heard so much about you from these two.” She wink at him and Hinata felt his cheeks heat up.

“Ah, really?” he chuckled lightly, scratching his cheek, “I didn’t realize I had become so popular.”

“Ah, Hinata!” Katsuro interrupted, moving off camera, “Mommy, show Hinata the breads!”

“Hang on,” Miyumi flipped the camera, so it was showing Katsuro, who was holding a tiny little bun in his hand. “Okay, go ahead and show him.”

“Look!” Katsuro held the bun up to the camera, “Look, see, it’s a little bear! And inside, Mommy put custard!”

“Is that so?” Hinata said, positioning himself so Kageyama could see the bun as well, “It’s really cute, Katsu!” Hinata and Kageyama laughed as Katsuro ripped into the bun with a roar, tearing the small bear’s face off and chewing on it loudly.

“Alright, my little monster, let’s hang up so Daddy can come pick you up,” Miyumi said from the other side of the camera, and Katsuro nodded, waving at the phone.

“Bye bye!” he chimed, and the call ended.

“Alright, I have to go pick him up now,” Kageyama sighed, shoving his phone in his pocket and moving towards the front door, “It’s been fun.”

“Um,” Hinata trailed behind him, “Yeah, it’s…it’s been fun!”

“…Yeah.” Kageyama replied slowly, tugging on his shoes.

“I mean…” Hinata rubbed his arm, “Like…these past few weekends we’ve been hanging out…um…they’ve been…a lot of fun.”

“Um, yeah, they have been,” Kageyama opened the door, moving outside into the hallway, “I’ve, um. Been having a lot of fun with you, too.”

Hinata stood in front of him, looking up in his eyes and pausing. Kageyama was looking back at him, eyebrows pinched in confusion, his cheeks red.

“…What?” he asked, “Do I have something on my face?”

“Augh!” Hinata wailed, “I can’t take it anymore!” he reached up, wrapping his arms around Kageyama’s neck and pulling him in for a hug and pressing a sloppy kiss on his cheek, close to the corner of his mouth. He pulled back, glaring at him, cheeks on fire, “I like you, Bakageyama!!”

Kageyama stared at him, jaw dropped and eyes wide. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to form words, then clamped his mouth shut.

He turned, and ran down the hallway.

“Kageyama-!” Hinata called after him, watching as he passed the elevator and rushed down the stairs. He took in a deep breath, letting it out in a huff. “What an idiot.” He slammed the door shut, flopping onto his couch face down. “Bakageyama.”

-x-

Kageyama was in shock. Even though he should have seen it coming, it was still unexpected. He had rushed out of the complex, rushed into his car, then drove to Miyumi’s apartment in a wide-eyed daze. He parked, then made his way to Miyumi’s apartment, knocking on the door, his fingers trailing over his cheek, where Hinata had kissed him earlier.

“Hello-Whoa. What happened to you?” Miyumi asked, letting Kageyama inside.

“Um,” Kageyama cleared his throat, his fingers still resting on his cheek, “H…Hinata…he…he ki…kiss…kissed me.”

“Oooh, what a development,” Miyumi folded her arms and raised any eyebrow, “So? Are you guys dating now? When am I going to meet him in real life and not over FaceTime?”

“Uh, well,” Kageyama rubbed the back of his neck, “I kind of. Um. Ran away. A little bit.” Miyumi fell silent, staring at him in confusion, the silence being broken when Katsuro dashed in yelling, running into his father’s legs.

“Oomph,” he grunted, looking up at Kageyama with a grin, “Hello, Daddy!”

“Hello, Katsuro,” Kageyama replied, smiling softly down at him, “Did you have a good weekend?”

“Uh huh!” he reached up and made grabby hands, Kageyama bending to pick him up, “We went and visited Naana and Nanni!! And I got to speak Hindi with them!”

“Ahh, good good.” Kageyama pressed a kiss to his forehead, looking back at Miyumi, whose arms were folding and a stern look on her face.

“So…you ran away a little bit, huh?” she asked, Kageyama swallowing and holding Katsuro closer as if to shield the blow, “Why did you run away?”

“I don’t know!” Kageyama groaned, “I was shocked! I didn’t know what to do or say, so I just ran. Like a coward.”

“Tobio,” Miyumi sighed, moving closer and resting her hand on his arm, “Letting yourself be happy and like someone isn’t a crime. I don’t mind if you’re seeing someone. Katsu doesn’t mind you seeing someone. The only person stopping you is you.” Kageyama looked into her eyes, and she gave him a sympathetic smile. “Promise me you’ll fix it?”

“…I’ll try.” He said softly.

-x-

“Sugawara-san!” Hinata jogged towards his supervisor, who smiled at him.

“Ah, Hinata! How are you?”

“Bad, Sugawara-san, bad! I need advice!”

“Okay,” Sugawara put his hands in his pockets, “What happened?”

“Alright, well, you remember Kageyama, right?”

“Hmm...Oh, yes, the guy who was writing that book! With the cute son who named the elephant I gave him after me?”

“Yeah, yeah, that one!” Hinata waved his hand, “Anyway, long story short, I have like, a huge crush on him, and last night I kissed him and he ran away!”

“Oh,” Sugawara’s eyes widened as he considered that information. “Well, that’s…oh.”

“I know, right? What should I do?!”

“Hmmm,” Sugawara hummed, folding his arms, his face scrunching up with thought. “Well-“

“Suga!” Sawamura called, dashing over to the two of them, “Ah, Hinata, you’re here too, perfect!”

“Ah, good morning, Sawamura-san!” Hinata greeted, “What’s up?”

“I need you two to come with me right away for a meeting with Ukai-san,” he replied, giving them a toothy grin, “A meeting about your elephants.”

Chapter Text

“A meeting?” Hinata asked, turning towards Sawamura, “About the elephants?”

“Mhmm,” Sawamura hummed, walking past them and towards the offices where they held their meetings, Sugawara and Hinata immediately following.

“Is it good or bad?” Sugawara asked, becoming panicked, “Is it bad? Please don’t tell me it’s bad news Daichi, I swear to God-”

“Alright, alright,” Sawamura sighed, opening the door to the meeting room, “Good things come to those who wait, Suga.” Sugawara pouted at him and cross his arms, making Sawamura grin again, “Ukai-san will be here in just a minute. Wait here for us, okay?”

“Fine.” Sugawara grit out, sitting at the table and folding his arms again. Hinata sat next to him, biting the inside of his cheek, as they waited for the two to come back.

“Do you think everything will be okay?” he asked quietly, his voice coming out weak and scared. Sugawara blinked, then smile softly, giving Hinata’s shoulder a reassuring pat.

“I’m sure everything will be just fine,” he said, and Hinata gave him a wobbly smile in return.

The door slammed open, Ukai grinning with a cigarette pinched between his teeth.

“Oi, you two!” he boomed, pointing to Sugawara and Hinata, who stood in surprise.

“Ukai-san, you can’t smoke in here!” Sawamura scolded, and Ukai waved his hand dismissively, entering the meeting room, throwing his notes on the table, and whipping them open.

“Alright! Listen up good!” Ukai said, Sugawara and Hinata straightening up and awaiting the news. “Your elephants are coming back home!”

Sugawara and Hinata stared in shock. Sugawara took a deep breath before leaning against the table and exhaling.

“Oh my God,” he breathed, clutching his chest and exhaling again. “Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Allah. Thank you, Buddha.”

“You,” Hinata stepped forward towards Ukai, “You mean it? You really mean it? They’re both coming back?”

“Yep! Mieko and Nana are in picture perfect health,” Ukai put out his cigarette on the table, Sawamura making a panicked noise, “Nana has recovered wonderfully and gotten a lot stronger now. They got to interact with other elephants. They’re in tip top shape, ready to come back home!”

Hinata trembled, looking down at the ground in astonishment. Nana was coming home. Not just Nana, Mieko, too. They were both finally coming home after what was only a few months, but felt like a few years.

“Oh my God,” he whispered, Sugawara immediately pulling Hinata in for a tight hug. Hinata returned it eagerly, letting out a trembling laugh, “Oh my God, Sugawara-san…!”

“Hey now, don’t get too emotional yet,” Ukai tilted his head with a smirk, “There’s even more news.”

“More?” Sugawara asked, still hugging Hinata to his chest.

“You see, Mieko and Nana made some friends over at the sanctuary,” Ukai explained, “Including an orphaned elephant named Rajiv.” Ukai pulled out a picture, handing it to Sugawara.

The picture was of a small baby elephant, a little bit bigger than Nana, with a bunch of white scars going along his sides.

“Rajiv’s mother was killed by poachers, and while wandering around India grieving, he was attacked by tigers,” Ukai explained, pointing to the scratches, “He managed to get away, and that’s when the sanctuary found him and nursed him back to health.”

“Oh my goodness,” Sugawara breathed, Hinata taking the picture to observe the elephant.

“He recovered faster than they think he normally would because Mieko and Nana took a liking to him,” Ukai smiled, “They became inseparable. So…”

“So…we’re getting not only Mieko and Nana back,” Hinata began, looking at Ukai with wide eyes, “But we’re getting another baby elephant?”

“That’s the plan, shrimp,” Ukai raised his eyebrows expectantly, “If you two are up to the task.”

Sugawara and Hinata looked from Ukai to each other, Sugawara giving him a determined smile, Hinata returning it with a firm nod. They straightened up before bowing, saying in unison,

“Leave it to us!”

-x-

Katsuro frowned, looking at his father on the couch.

Kageyama had been sitting on the couch, an angry, thoughtful scowl plastered on his face. He had been like that for most of the afternoon. Katsuro paused in his activity of attempting to make a house with Legos to go comfort his father.

“Daddy?” Katsuro asked, poking one of his knees. Kageyama roused out of his stupor, blinking and giving Katsuro a concerned look.

“Yeah? What’s up, Katsuro?” he asked, helping Katsuro climb onto the couch so he could sit in his lap and rest his head on his chest.

“You’ve been kinda sad all day,” Katsuro replied quietly, “Um, so…I don’t want you to be sad anymore.”

Kageyama softened considerably, running his fingers through Katsuro’s unruly hair with a sigh.

“I’m sorry, buddy,” he muttered, “Daddy has a lot on his mind lately. That’s all.”

“Does…” Katsuro paused, burying his face further into his shirt, muffling his words, “Does Hinata not like you anymore?”

“What?” Kageyama shook his head, “No! No, no, no…Well…I hope not. Daddy just…” he struggled for a moment before sighing heavily, “…Daddy just is an idiot, that’s all. I’m trying to find out how to…not be an idiot.”

“Daddy’s not an idiot,” Katsuro grumped, giving Kageyama a tight hug, “Daddy is the smartest and nicest and bestest Daddy in the whole wide world.”

“Well, I’m glad that someone thinks so.” Kageyama joked, chuckling before squeezing Katsuro closer. “I love you, Katsuro.”

“I love you too, Daddy!” Katsuro chirped, giggling happily when Kageyama rubbed their noses together. “Um…Daddy?” Kageyama hummed, Katsuro pushing his fingers together nervously. “Um…Will Hinata be like…my new mommy?” Katsuro wilted a bit, pouting, “I…I don’t want a new mommy.”

Kageyama’s eyes widened, staring at his fidgeting son in his lap. Katsuro was almost too mature for the tender age of five, holding in his insecurities for the sake of his father’s happiness.

Kageyama almost started crying.

“Oh no,” Kageyama reassured him, “No, no. Not at all. Hinata won’t be your new mommy. He won’t even be your new daddy. Hinata will be like, ah…” Kageyama thought for a moment, “Like a…extra…daddy? I guess?”

“An extra daddy?” Katsuro questioned, giving Kageyama a skeptical look.

“Kind of! Um…well…” Kageyama fumbled for the right words, “Hm. Okay, well, you know how Hinata comes over sometimes? And he just hangs out with us and he plays with you and helps with dinner? And how sometimes he babysat you when nobody else could?” Katsuro nodded.

“Yeah, yeah!”

“Well, it’s going to be just like that. Except probably more often.” And probably with significantly more kissing on our part, he thought to himself. Katsuro cheered in excitement.

“Yeah, Daddy, yeah!! I want that! Let’s call Hinata over right now so he can be my extra daddy!” he exclaimed, making a grab for Kageyama’s pocket.

“Hey, wait, Katsu-!” Kageyama yelped as Katsuro’s fingers dug into his side, “Hang on a second, you can’t just-!”

Their squabble was interrupted when there was a frantic knocking on the door.

“Daddy, go!” Katsuro ordered, Kageyama rolling his eyes as he sat his son on the couch so he could get up. The knocking hadn’t ceased since it began, just constant knocking, no pause, making Kageyama’s lower eyelid twitch.

“Alright, alright, I hear you-!” he started to roar, ripping open the door and pausing when he saw who it was. “…Hinata?”

“Kageyama-!” Hinata cried, his grin so wide it was threatening to split his face in half. He seemed to be out of breath, slightly flushed and sweaty-

“Did you run here?” Kageyama asked, and Hinata took in a big gulp of air, laughing breathlessly.

“Kind of…! But! Kageyama! I have news! And I know that like, you hate me or whatever, but I’ve already told everyone and I don’t know who else to tell-!”

“Hey, hey,” Kageyama ushered him inside, closing the door and putting his hands on Hinata’s shoulders, “I don’t hate you or anything like that. So don’t ever think that.” Hinata nodded, taking a steadying breath and nodding again. “Alright. Are you calm? Calm enough to talk?”

“Yeah,” Hinata grinned again, tears welling in his eyes, “Kageyama they’re coming back.”

“…What? Who’s coming back?”

“The elephants, Bakageyama!” Hinata reached out and slapped his shoulder, “The elephants! They’re finally coming home!”

“Wha? Really?” Kageyama’s grip tightened on Hinata, “They? Coming back?” Hinata let out a bubbly, laugh, a couple tears falling.

“Yes! Mieko and Nana are coming back home! Soon! Next week!” Hinata said excitedly, gripping at Kageyama’s forearms.

“What?! Next week?!” Hinata laughed again, more tears falling, nodding vigorously. “Hinata, that’s incredible!” Kageyama pulled him in for a tight hug, Hinata clutching the back of his shirt and nuzzling his face into his shoulder.

“I’m so happy,” he sniffled, “I’m so, so happy. Thank you so much for all your help.”

“No, it’s fine,” Kageyama replied, then paused, holding Hinata a little tighter, “Listen, Hinata…before, I-”

“Nope! I don’t wanna hear your excuses!” Hinata interrupted, pulling away from where he was hiding in Kageyama’s shirt, sniffling as he looked Kageyama in the eyes. “Just…tell me how you feel.”

“…I like you,” Kageyama whispered, one of his hands moving to cup Hinata’s cheek, “I…really, really like you, Shouyou.” Hinata blinked, then a smile slowly crept across his face, grinning happily as a few stray tears escaped.

“I really like you too, you idiot…!” he murmured, his voice trembling. Kageyama rolled his eyes, unable to fight back his own grin as he slowly leaned in to-

“Wahhh!” a small cry interrupted the moment, the two of them jumping and looking towards the little body sitting on the couch. Katsuro was covering his eyes, “I’m sorry, Daddy, I’m sorry! I almost watched! I’m not looking, so you guys can kiss now!”

Hinata and Kageyama paused, looking from Katsuro back at each other before bursting out laughing. While Hinata was still laughing, Kageyama leaned in, pressing their smiling lips together, Hinata still grinning and letting out some stray giggles. Kageyama pulled away, giving Hinata a fond smile that made the other man’s heart thump loudly in his chest. The same look he gave Katsuro all those times before.

“…Welcome home.” Kageyama whispered, and Hinata’s heart burst, moving in to give Kageyama a tight squeeze.

“I’m home.” He replied.

“Didjya do it? Didjya guys kiss yet?” Katsuro asked from the other side of the room, making the two of them laugh again, Hinata pulling away from hugging Kageyama to look at Katsuro.

“Yes, Katsu, we kissed.” Katsuro pulled his hands away from his eyes, blinking before he grinned, scrabbling off the couch and dashing towards Hinata.

“My turn, Hinata, my turn! I want kisses!” he cheered, Hinata laughing, opening his arms for the boy. He scooped him up, peppering tiny, sloppy kisses all over his cheeks, making him giggle and squeak in delight. “Hinata! Does this mean I get to see Nana soon?!”

“Of course!” Hinata chirped, “You can come see her any time you want. Oh, and Katsu, guess what’s the best part?” Katsuro tilted his head and Hinata grinned, “We’re getting another elephant!”

“Another one?!” Katsuro cried out, and when Hinata nodded, Katsuro threw his arms in the air in excitement, “That’s three whole elephants!”

“I know!” Hinata replied, just as excited.

“That’s like…” Katsuro paused before throwing his arms outwards again, “Fwuahh!!”

“I know, I know!” Hinata threw his own arm that wasn’t holding Katsuro up, “Like gwuahh!!”

“I guess this is just my life now,” Kageyama sighed, “Listening to you two fwuahh and gwuahh.”

“Would you really want it any other way?” Hinata asked, grinning impishly. Kageyama rolled his eyes.

“No,” he said softly, reaching out to tuck a bit of Hinata’s hair behind his ear, then leaning over to press a kiss to Katsuro’s cheek, “Life would probably be pretty...bwuahh without it.”

Chapter Text

“Bwuahh.”

Hinata was startled awake by a little fist smacking him in the face, blinking his bleary eyes open and moving Katsuro’s hand from his face. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and stretching, Pickles stirring at the foot of the bed.

“Oof.”

Hinata looked to his left to see Kageyama clutching his gut while Katsuro had managed to flip himself upside down while sleeping, and punching his father right in the gut.

“Morning,” he said around a yawn, and Kageyama grunted in response, sitting up and putting his face into his palms.

They both looked at each other, then down at dead-to-the-world Katsuro. They looked at each other again, sighed, and then paused.

“…Today,” Kageyama began, his voice still scratchy from sleep, “Today is…?”

“Monday,” Hinata replied slowly, and they both turned to look at the clock.

6:20.

“Shit!” Kageyama cried, both of them scrambling out of bed, in turn waking up Katsuro, who shot up in the bed, rubbing his eyes with a whimper.

“Whaaat?” he whined, “Why did you wake me up?”

“Katsu, you have your first day of school today!!” Hinata shouted, scrambling to find his own uniform for work, “And your mother is coming over soon to take pictures and actually take you to school!”

Katsuro watched the two of them run about with a disgruntled frown, laying back down and letting out a pleased noise when Pickles flopped down next to him.

“Katsuro Sanjeet Kageyama, I swear to God, if you don’t get out of bed right now-” Kageyama grabbed at his legs, pulling him down the bed as he squealed loudly, shrieking with laughter as Kageyama planted a wet, sloppy raspberry on his stomach.

Katsuro was up after that, the three of them moving to the bathroom to brush their teeth, Katsuro having to stand on a footstool to actual be able to reach the sink. Hinata watched in amusement as Kageyama tried to do something with Katsuro’s wild hair, then allowing Hinata to step in, wet his hands, and simply untangle any knots that may have formed during the night.

Katsuro was then dressed in his little uniform, navy blue shorts with a white t-shirt with the school’s logo on the left side of his chest tucked in. He pulled on his little blue smock, then Kageyama sat him at the table with a bowl of rice and sliced up apple (cut into little rabbits, which was a trick Hinata just recently learned) and a glass of milk. Kageyama was given his morning cup of coffee with a kiss on the cheek, and Hinata paused in making his own tea, looking at Kageyama in horror.

“Oh God, I’ve become a housewife,” he said quietly, and Kageyama rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his coffee before leaning down to give Hinata his own kiss.

“If preparing breakfast makes you a housewife, I’ve been one for a while now,” he retorted, “You get used to it.”

Miyumi showed up at 7:00, clapping in delight as Katsuro stood proudly in his uniform, Katsuro then yelling loudly when Miyumi presented the backpack she prepared for him. Of course, a Rilakkuma backpack, Kageyama and Hinata giving Miyumi an unimpressed look, both of them sipping their drinks and looking away as she dared them to say something about it.

After taking pictures, Katsuro turned to Kageyama and Hinata with a bright grin.

“I’m goin’ to school now, Daddy!” he chirped, and Kageyama smiled, setting down his coffee to kneel down and press a kiss to his forehead and wrapping him into a hug.

“Have fun, okay? I love you so much. Hinata will be there to pick you up, and I’ll be waiting for you at home.” Katsuro returned the hug eagerly, placing his own kiss on Kageyama’s cheek.

“I love you too! I’ll come home as soon as Hinata picks me up!” he said, and then moved over to Hinata for a hug and kiss. “Bye Hinata! Love you!”

“I love you too, Katsu!” he waving as the boy tugged on his little yellow hat and took his mother’s hand, walking out the door.

The silence was broken by a wet sniffle.

“Are you crying?” Hinata asked, looking towards Kageyama, who pointedly turned away and scrubbed at his eyes.

“No,” he said loudly, “I just got something in my eye…like sentimentality, or something gross like that.”

-x-

“Good morning, Sawamura-san!”

“Hinata, you’re-!” Sawamura paused, looking at the clock, then back to Hinata, “…You’re actually on time today.”

“Katsu’s first day of school was today!” he explained, “So I got an early start today!”

“I…see. Good luck today.”

“Same to you, Sawamura-san! I’ll tell Sugawara-san that you said hello!”

“Give him a big kiss for me, too!” Sawamura said with a wink and Hinata stuck out his tongue.

“That’s gross!” he called back, then made his way through the zoo.

“Good morning, Kenma! Good morning, Kuroo!” he waved to the two, Kuroo carrying the breakfast for the big cats and Kenma looking up from his phone to give Hinata a small wave. He greeted Tanaka, Nishinoya, Asahi, Ennoshita, Narita, and Kinoshita. He greeted Oikawa and Iwaizumi, who were on their way to the veterinary section of the zoo, then made his way into his and Sugawara’s office, opening the door and greeting Sugawara with a grin.

“Good morning, Sugawara-san! Sawamura-san sends his regards, and also a big kiss!” Sugawara flushed, laughing nervously and scribbling on his papers.

“God, he’s such a dork,” he muttered fondly, then grinned at Hinata, hiking his thumb towards the door, “They’re waiting for you, so get to work!”

“Yes sir, Sugawara-sama!” Hinata saluted him, then made his way into the enclosure, grabbing their breakfasts before heading inside.

Mieko was contentedly standing in a patch in the sun, picking leaves from a tree, while Nana and Rajiv chased each other around, braying happily as they weaved through their mother’s legs and tugged at each other’s tails and ears.

“Good morning!” Hinata called, and the elephants came to a halt, Nana immediately shuffling towards Hinata, making happy noises when Hinata hugged around her trunk.

Nana had grown up considerably during her time at the sanctuary, but was still smaller than Rajiv, who came up next to them and pushed his head against them, jealous that he wasn’t getting any attention.

“Okay, you big baby!” Hinata laughed, giving him a hug as well.

Hinata then pulled out the snacks prepared for the three of them, grinning as they ate happily.

“…I’m home.” he murmured to himself.

-x-

“Here’s the first, finished copy of your book, Kageyama-kun!”

Kageyama inhaled, taking the book from Takeda’s hands, exhaling when he felt the cool material of the cover sleeve in his grasp.

The front of the book was decorated with the title, Nana’s Big Adventure, and written under it, the story of the elephant who didn’t give up. Underneath, a beautiful, watercolor cartoon rendition of Nana prancing happily. Written by Kageyama Tobio. Illustrated by Shimizu Kiyoko.

Kageyama grinned with pride, looking up from the book back to Takeda, then gave him a deep bow.

“Thank you so much for all of your hard work, Takeda-sensei.” He said, and Takeda waved his hand dismissively, bowing to Kageyama.

“Thank you, Kageyama-kun,” he insisted, “You’ve created yet another wonderful story. It was my honor and privilege to work with you again. Same goes to you, Shimizu-san.”

“Thank you very much,” she replied, politely bowing to both of them, “A pleasure as always. I look forward to working with you again, Kageyama-kun.”

“Of course,” Kageyama bowed to her as well, then looked back to the book he held in his hands. He turned to the first page.

Dedicated to my son, Katsuro, who always keeps me going, and to Hinata, who helped me so much throughout the writing of this book. I am eternally grateful to have both of you in my life.

He hoped the two most important people that would be reading it loved it more than he did.

-x-

“We’re home!”

Hinata ushered Katsuro inside the house, where he ripped off his tennis shoes and dashed into the kitchen, his little yellow school hat flying off and onto the ground, making Hinata tsk under his breath but pick it up and hang it up.

“I have a surprise for you two,” Kageyama announced after planting a bunch of kisses on Katsuro’s face, setting the boy down and gesturing the two of them into the living room. Kageyama made them sit down on the couch, Katsuro on Hinata’s lap. “Alright, drum roll please.”

Hinata smacked Katsuro’s legs gently to simulate a drum roll, and Kageyama pulled away a blanket from the coffee table, revealing a small white book.

“Ahh, Daddy!” Katsuro cried, pointing, “It’s your new book!”

“Very good,” Kageyama said, picking it up and sitting down next to them, pressed completely against Hinata’s side, Katsuro situating himself happily in between the two of them. “It goes on shelves at the zoo tomorrow morning, but I got to take home the first copy.”

“Read it, Daddy! Read it!” Katsuro demanded, and Kageyama shushed him, allowing the three of them to get comfortable before opening to the first page.

“Once upon a time, at the Tokyo Zoo, a new baby elephant was born,” he read, admiring the skillful watercolor work of Kiyoko with a fond smile, “Her name was Nana.” He turned the page.

“Nana was the happiest baby elephant in the entire world,” he continued, “She loved to run and play in her enclosure. She was surrounded by her friends and family.” He turned the page to another wonderful, two page artwork of Nana with all of her friends at the zoo, “She was loved.”

“One day, Nana fell very sick. Everyone at the zoo was very worried for her, especially her best human friend, Hinata.” Kageyama heard Hinata’s small intake of breath at the small illustration of himself, Nana, and Mieko that Shimizu drew, “Her mother was very scared. Nana was, too. What would happen next?” he turned the page, “Luckily, her human friends found a place made special for elephants in India that would help her. Nana travelled all the way to India with her mother.” He turned the page again, another two page illustration of Nana and Mieko, “It was very scary, being in a new place.”

“But Nana got better. She grew stronger, and healthier. She made lots of new friends in India.” He turned the page, “She was very brave.”

“Soon, Nana got all better. When she was better, she could finally return to Tokyo…” he turned the page to a two page spread of Nana, Mieko, and Rajiv, “…With a new friend in tow.”

“Nana would miss her new friends back in India,” Kageyama smiled when he saw the sparkles in Hinata and Katsuro’s eyes, “But she stayed brave and strong, and she finally made it back home…”

“…Where she truly belonged.” He finished softly, allowing the two of them to take in the last page. Nana was situated in the middle of the two pages, Mieko and Rajiv to her left, and little illustrations of all of her human friends to her left. Hinata, Sugawara, and…

“Daddy!” Katsuro cried out, pointing at the tiny rendition of himself, “That’s me! Kiyoko-chan drew me there!”

“Of course she did,” Kageyama said with a smile, stroking Katsuro’s hair, “You’re one of Nana’s best friends, aren’t you?”

“Yeah!” Katsuro grinned, “This is my favorite book now!”

“I’m glad you like it, buddy,” he replied, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

The moment was interrupted by a wet sniffle.

“Hinata, are you crying?” Katsuro asked, and Hinata looked away with another sniffle.

“No,” he denied, his voice shaky, “I just have something in my eye…like, sentimentality, or whatever.”

Kageyama laughed, pulling the two of them into a tight hug, Hinata pressing a kiss to his cheek, and to Katsuro’s.

Hinata couldn’t have predicted his life going this way, and ending up with these two wonderful people.

But he really wouldn’t have it any other way.