Chapter Text
July 12, 2024
Taiga jolted up from his sleep as soon as his bedside alarm clock started ringing and glaring at him in red light was 5:00AM.
He turned off the alarm and stayed in bed for a few more minutes staring into space before he finally got up, feeling his head aching due to lack of sleep. He did some stretching and breathing exercises to completely wake himself up and once he was done, he gave himself a few pats on his shoulder.
“Taiga, you’re doing great and today will be a good day,” he self-affirmed before he stepped out of the bedroom to the baby room across the hallway to check on his little one, Aoi, and saw him still sleeping soundly. It was a relief because it was always Aoi’s crying that would wake him up for the past week and it was usually an hour earlier than his alarm.
He left the baby room’s door open and was about to start his routine when he stopped in the middle of the hallway seeing Hokuto stepping out of the bathroom while drying his hair with his towel.
“Hokuto, you’re home reallyyyyy late.”
Hokuto turned to him and smiled. Tiredness and lack of sleep were evident in his eyes. “Taiga, tadaima,” Hokuto said as he walked towards Taiga to give him a peck on the lips.
“Okaeri,” Taiga greeted back and then helped Hokuto dry his hair. “Mouuuu~ Did you take a bath without sleep again?”
“Sorry. Might not have time later.”
“Why don’t you take a day off today and rest?”
Hokuto wrapped his arms around Taiga and held him tight as he leaned down to snuggle in between Taiga’s neck and shoulder.
Taiga knew what Hokuto’s action meant and he could only let out a sigh. “Haaaai, I’ll wake you up at 8AM.”
Hokuto pulled away and gave him a smile. “Thank you, Taiga.”
“But promise me that you will get rest over this weekend. Please , Hokuto.”
“Promise. I’ll be home early today, too.”
Taiga’s eyes brightened at that. “Really? What do you want for dinner then? I’ll make whatever you want.”
“I can get something from a restaurant so you can have some rest.”
“No, no, it's fine. It will be the second time we can eat dinner together since we moved, so I want to cook for you. Please?”
“How about your homemade gyoza and the curry with 5 spices? Or too much?”
“Don't tease me! The first time I made the curry, you had a stomach ache. Gyoza's fine, though. I can make it perfectly.”
“I told you it wasn't because of the curry. I can actually eat it every day.”
Taiga looked at him for a while to study Hokuto's expression if he was just trying to make him feel better. "Really?"
Hokuto pulled him closer and gave him a peck on the tip of his nose. “ Really . You tried it yourself, didn't you?”
Taiga nodded his head.
“Was it good?”
“It was really good. I can eat it for days, too,” he said with a laugh, causing Hokuto to laugh as well.
“Trust yourself a little more, love. We love everything you make for us and we’re thankful to have you.”
That immediately brought Taiga to tears and he was soon encapsulated in Hokuto's warm arms and gave him another kiss on his forehead.
Taiga held him tighter like his life depended on him both for the reason he appreciated Hokuto for seeing and appreciating all his hard work and at the same time because he missed him so much.
He had been pretty sensitive the past few days because he had been lacking sleep and Hokuto had been working late so they weren't able to sit just the two of them and talk about anything over a can of cold beer. He also had to stay up late to write his thesis paper, had to wake up early to prepare their breakfast and had to spend the entire day juggling all his tasks and looking after Aoi who was currently in his terrible twos. Every day was tiring and Taiga knew it was normal and he wasn't complaining. He would never complain. He loved what he was doing with all his heart, especially if it made his family happy, but there was no doubt it was exhausting his body.
“Hey, Taiga , love …” Hokuto's voice was so soft and full of worry that Taiga had to hold him even tighter. “You can talk to me about it.”
Taiga savored the warmth to be in Hokuto's arms for a while before he pulled away with a heavy heart because he didn't want to let go yet but Hokuto needed to at least have that 3 hours sleep while he needed to start his day.
“No, it's fine. You need to get some sleep, Hokuto.”
“Later? Promise I'll be home early.”
Taiga beamed at him as he nodded his head. “Un, later then. Oyasumi.”
Sending Hokuto off to work had been a real struggle since they moved into their new apartment more than a week ago. The moment Hokuto bid his goodbye to Taiga and Aoi, Aoi was already in his crying fit. Moving into a new home kind of restarted some of Aoi's routines when they were in their previous apartment but they knew it was normal since Aoi was still adjusting and all they had to do was to make Aoi get used to the routine and to make him understand again that Hokuto needed to leave to go to work.
“Can Papa go to work now, Buru-chan?”
Though still sniffling, Aoi nodded his head as Taiga scrunched his nose because despite Taiga’s utter disapproval, Aoi really liked the nickname his Papa gave him. “Papa, itterasshai.”
“Ittekimasu,” Hokuto said to Aoi and Taiga and kissed them goodbye.
As soon as the door closed and Hokuto was no longer in sight, Aoi hugged Taiga and started sniffling again but Taiga could see how he tried hard not to burst in tears again.
“Papa aitai…” Aoi mumbled with a pout.
“Dada already misses Papa, too, but he will be home before we know it. Ah! Aoi-kun, want some strawberries?"
Aoi nodded his head as his mood brightened up. Taiga proceeded to get the pack of strawberries from the fridge before settling Aoi in his high chair just so he could continue his day. He planned to make an easy dish for lunch and to also start making his own Gyoza skin so he just needed to fill them in later before dinner while he made the curry.
It was already Taiga’s routine to list down in his head the tasks he needed to accomplish every day. He was already done with breakfast and Hokuto's bento from last night's left-over as well as Aoi's food. Next things he needed to do was to make lunch, do house cleaning while Aoi's asleep, wash Aoi's clothes which he would do every day because of how many times Aoi could dirty his clothes, his research touchpoint with his adviser, make dinner, and bathe Aoi before putting him to bed. Although it wasn't exactly everything because some other tasks he might have forgotten would come up in between, it was pretty much the summary of his day. Sometimes, Taiga could only wish a day could be longer so he could have more and enough time to do everything he needed to do.
Taiga initially planned to make oyakodon for lunch especially when he was able to put Aoi to sleep after he ate his strawberries, but not long after when he was just chopping the chicken, Aoi already started crying and didn't want to let go of Taiga so he ended up reheating the Napolitan he made yesterday.
“Aoi-kun loves Napolitan, right?” Taiga asked as he swayed to lull Aoi back to sleep, waiting for his lunch to be reheated.
Aoi nodded his head against his shoulder. “Oishi.”
“It was delicious?”
"Un… Dada the best…"
It brought a smile to Taiga's lips and he kissed Aoi, who was slowly succumbing to sleep, on his head.
“That's so sweet of you, Aoi-kun. Thank you. You’re the best, too,” he whispered and he saw a small smile curved on the corner of Aoi's lips.
Taiga was taking his lunch with Aoi in his arms but with the help of the carrier strapped around his body because Aoi would wake up and cry every time he attempted to put him down in the living room. Next to his dish was his laptop where he was reviewing again the thesis chapter he submitted to his adviser two days ago and he was starting to panic because he was just starting to find errors and parts that needed revision when he had already proofread it over and over again before submitting it.
He just wanted to go back in time and redo his manuscript!
His phone vibrated against the table and his heart almost jumped out of its cage. Thankfully, it was just Hokuto.
“Hello…”
"What's wrong, love?" Hokuto must have noticed the crack in his voice because he was already so close to tears. “Did your adviser call already?”
Taiga cleared his throat as he bit his bottom lip to stop a sob from escaping his lips. “Not yet. I…I'm eating yesterday's Napolitan as my lunch while reviewing my paper and I think I didn't do well this time…”
“Oh, love. I wish I was there—”
“If you're here, you won't allow me to use my laptop while eating.”
It was true, though. It had been their tradition since Aoi came that they would set a good example to him by not using devices while having a meal because it was family time.
“Yeah, you're right. But at least I’d save you from thinking too much.”
“That’s true.”
“Let's just wait for the call and see how it will end, okay?”
“Okay.”
“If it doesn't go well, it's part of the process and learning. Things don’t go perfectly as always but it doesn't mean it's bad or it’s the end.”
“I guess I started overthinking again.”
“You did.”
“Sorry…”
“There’s nothing to apologize for, Taiga. I'm actually glad I called, otherwise you'd drown yourself in those thoughts alone. And I'm positive you can nail the revision if it didn't go as planned. You always work hard and don't give up and that's one of the million good things about you, love— you persevere.”
Taiga smiled widely at what Hokuto said and glanced at Aoi’s sleeping face on his chest, giving him a light poke on his chubby cheek. “I just heard Aoi-kun say, ‘Come home soon, Papa, so we can kiss you lots.’”
“Eh, he’s still awake? It’s already time for his afternoon nap.”
“No, he’s asleep and I want to bite his chubby cheeks.”
Hokuto laughed on the other line. “I can't wait to go home, love. We are always very proud of you.”
As the call ended, Taiga closed his laptop and decided there was no need to worry himself so much. He just needed to prepare himself for the worst so he would know how to work on it after. Besides, it was what his adviser was for—to help him make his paper better, if not perfect. He just had to preoccupy himself to not overthink and just wait until the call.
And the perfect way to preoccupy himself?
House chores!
He was thankful Aoi was finally sleeping soundly that when he put him down in the living room, he didn't budge and woke up. He could now move on with his other tasks or else it would kill his bones and joints if he went on his day carrying Aoi around who was already gaining weight since he started eating solid and table foods.
Taiga was in the kitchen kneading the dough for the gyoza skin when Aoi’s crying echoed in the corners of their house. Thankfully, he was already done with cleaning the house and the laundry and he just needed to prepare the dinner.
He rinsed his hands first before he ran to the living room and carried Aoi in his arms and when Aoi raised his head and giggled seeing him, he knew he was already fully awake. Two hours of sleep wasn't so bad, though he usually slept longer, and it also meant he'd get sleepy at night earlier.
Aoi, still with a wide smile on his face, put Taiga's face in between his small chubby hands and gazed at him with his round eyes. “Dada, ohayou.”
Taiga leaned closer to brush their nose against each other, causing Aoi to giggle again. “Ohayou, Aoi-kun. You're surprisingly in a good mood.”
He carried him to the kitchen, sat him down on his high chair, and continued what he was doing.
“Dada, what you doing?”
“Making gyoza for dinner.”
“Aoi help Dada.”
“You want to help Dada?”
Aoi nodded his head as he tried to reach for the bowl of ground meat.
Taiga crouched down to be on the same level as Aoi and made sure to lock eyes with him. “Okay, Dada will let Aoi-kun help, but will you promise to be a good boy? No standing on your chair because it’s dangerous?”
“Promise.”
“Promise what?”
“Aoi be a good boy and no standing.”
“Why no standing?”
“‘Cos it’s dangerous.”
Taiga grinned and they high-fived. “I'm glad we're on the same page.”
“Same page.”
Taiga chuckled as he lightly poked Aoi’s cheek before he grabbed a small plastic bowl from the cabinet and made the dough for Aoi. At times when Aoi was awake while he was cooking, he would always want to help and do whatever Taiga was doing, so it led Hokuto and Taiga to buy him some plastic kitchenware for kids that he could use every time he wanted to help in the kitchen. It was also good to improve his listening, following instructions, and motor skills and it was also a good way of spending time. Taiga honestly loved watching Aoi copy what he was doing and every time Aoi would get bored, he would end up eating the ingredients in front of him, so it was no surprise he was gaining weight. Sometimes, he only wanted to help just so he could snack on the ingredients.
When Taiga glanced at the wall clock, he couldn't believe it was already 4PM, causing him to panic again. Although his adviser didn't set an exact time, he said it might be around noon after his classes and his classes definitely just ended, so Taiga only had to wait and it was making him anxious and nervous again.
“Yoisho!” Aoi shouted as he kneaded the dough in his plastic bowl like what Taiga was doing earlier.
Taiga turned to Aoi and then laughed at how his face was starting to turn red as he tried so hard to press his small hand on the dough.
“Yoisho!”
Taiga's most awaited call, though nerve-wrecking, arrived thirty minutes into four. He was cutting the cabbage for the gyoza's filling when his phone rang and he kind of panicked that he didn't know what to do first.
He took a deep breath to calm himself before he quickly set aside the knife and any sharp objects away from Aoi's reach and sight. Aoi didn't want to be put down from his high chair as he was busy munching on his rice crackers that Taiga gave when he got bored kneading the dough, so Taiga just made sure he was still in his sight.
He took the call by the window a few meters away from Aoi to get a better reception. “Hello,” he nervously answered as he glanced at Aoi who was still busy eating his rice crackers.
“Kyomoto-kun, you seem nervous.”
“I really am,” he admitted with a laugh that came out obviously breathy because of his nervousness.
His adviser laughed on the other line and he could hear the sound of paper rustling.
“I think I understand your nervousness. Did you read your manuscript?”
“I did it earlier during lunch and just noticed errors here and there.”
Everywhere, to be honest.
“Is it with you?”
“Yes and a red pen,” Taiga emphasised as a joke to ease his fast beating heart but it just got worse. He just hoped he wouldn't end up crying because he worked real hard to write it that he had to sacrifice his sleep the past few weeks just to get it done, plus the moving out and adjustments. All he wanted after this was a good and complete sleep but it seemed it wouldn't happen soon. And he knew it was all on him.
“Great. So let's start because you will surely need a lot of time to think and to work on this after.”
Here comes the worst . And Taiga subconsciously cried.
It took them more than half an hour until his adviser finished going through each page to discuss his errors and the parts that needed revisions and his manuscript indeed became bloody red.
A major revision!
The more his paper progressed as it got closer to completion, the more he needed to focus and allot time, which he honestly didn't have much considering all the other things he needed to squeeze in every day.
“I can give you another week, max, for revision, but let me just say something.”
Taiga took a deep breath and prepared himself.
“I know and I understand you have so much on your plate juggling your paper, housework, and childcare. I honestly commend you for that because you really do well and you always exceed my expectations but you cannot just give the extra time you have to sit and work on it if you want to finish it and graduate on time, Kyomoto-kun. You are halfway done and you have to take this very seriously. Even more seriously because we're already in the crucial part that will conclude your paper.”
Taiga listened intently with tears in his eyes threatening to fall. He knew his adviser only meant well because he took the risk to enrol for research so he could graduate and get his degree when Aoi was already in his terrible twos and needed much attention and guidance. His thesis was the only requirement left for him to finish his degree that he wasn't able to take on time and it took him years to finally find the courage to continue it. Hokuto, though against it at first because he didn’t want Taiga to wear himself out when he already had so much on his plate, was really supportive of his decision. Taiga wouldn't be able to do this if not because of Hokuto and Aoi who were his number one supporters and his source of strength and happiness.
But aside from Taiga finding the courage to finally pursue his degree, he also just couldn't let and watch Hokuto work his ass off on his own every single day that he even spent the majority of his time at work rather than with them in order to provide for them. He wanted to share with Hokuto the responsibilities and lessen the burden. And no matter how many times Hokuto assured him he could always do things at his own pace and no need to worry about him, Taiga couldn't still assure himself.
“I don't want to meddle between you and your partner but please sit on this and discuss your plans. Can I be honest with you?”
"Go on, ple—Aoi!" he suddenly shouted when he checked up on Aoi and saw him trying to stand on his chair to reach for the bowl of chopped cabbage on the counter.
He was on his feet in an instant and rushed towards Aoi to prevent him from falling but the bowl of chopped cabbage was already scattered on the floor.
Catching Aoi on time gave Taiga a big relief but at the same time it caused the tears he was fighting so hard not to fall to finally find their way down to his face.
“Aoi-kun, that’s dangerouuus,” he cried out but he tried to keep his voice as soft as possible even though he wanted to yell so bad. “Didn’t you promise Dada to be a good boy?”
“Sorry, Dada…” Aoi was close to tears as he brought his small hands up to wipe Taiga’s face. “Aoi made Dada cry. Sorry, Dada... Aoi good boy promise…”
“Dada’s sorry too if I shouted and scared you. Are you hurt somewhere?”
“Aoi’s okay, not hurt at all. Promise. Really sorry, Dada.”
“It’s okay. Dada’s not mad.”
“Promise?
Taiga smiled sweetly as he wiped his face with the back of his hand. “Promise.”
He gave Aoi a peck on his forehead before he stood up with Aoi in his arms. He picked up Aoi's bowl of crackers and brought him to the living room to play with his toys, leaving the mess in the kitchen for now.
“I'm really sorry, sir, for keeping you long,” he apologized when he got back to the call after making sure he calmed himself down, sitting down on the carpeted floor in the living room.
“No worries. Everything okay, though?”
“Yes, everything's fine.”
“Glad to hear that. So going back since I don't want to take a lot from your time, have you and your partner considered looking for a helper?”
It wasn't the first time Taiga was asked about it and he still had the same answer. “We have but it's me who didn't want it. I really want to be present for Aoi as he grows up.”
“Can you still pull through, though? I'm asking not because I doubt you. I just want to know because the next months will honestly not be easy for you and you have to take a really good care of yourself, Kyomoto-kun. Not just for the sake of completing your paper but for you and your family. If not having enough sleep and rest worked for you, how about in the long run?”
“I promise I'll be better and manage my time.”
“Kyomoto-kun, you are already good enough, really smart, and that's without a doubt. I may not know how crazy your every day is to fit in everything you need to do and we have bad days, that I know, but this doesn't mean you're not doing well. You are and I just need to make sure you know that, okay? And please take good care of yourself.”
“Thank you, sir.”
The call ended and Taiga started crying again. He leaned his head on the couch behind him and just let the tears flow, letting it out for a while to lessen the heavy feeling in his chest because he knew once he cried enough, he would be able to pick himself up again and start doing better.
For now, he wanted to allow himself to feel.
“Dada, okay? Is it Aoi?”
Taiga was so lost in his thoughts that he failed to notice Aoi crawling up to him. He shook his head and then kissed him on his forehead. “No, it’s not Aoi-kun. It’s Dada’s school.”
“Dada’s school?” Aoi asked as he tilted his head on the side.
“Yes, Dada’s school,” he replied even though Aoi wouldn’t understand it.
“Hai, hai,” Aoi said as he gently patted Taiga’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek. It made Taiga smile and cry even more because it was how he and Hokuto comforted him and he was exactly doing the same thing to him.
“Aoi-kun, you’re really the sweetest!”
“Dada happy now?”
Taiga nodded his head as he wiped the tears on his face and calmed down. “Of course, Dada’s happy now. You make me happy as always, Aoi-kun.”
“And Papa?”
“Aoi-kun and Papa always make me happy.”
Aoi gave him a wide and contented smile and it warmed Taiga's heart. He pulled in Aoi for a tight hug and wiggled him.
“Aoi-kun, saikouuu—”
Both Taiga and Aoi jolted up when they heard the door open, their eyes wide and their lips smiling.
“Aoi-kun, who is thaaaat?”
“Papa!” Aoi quickly got up and excitedly ran to the entrance to welcome Hokuto.
Taiga smiled to himself as he honestly felt his chest being less heavy and relieved knowing that Hokuto was finally home.
“Dada, Papa’s here!”
“Taiga, tadaima,” Hokuto greeted, with Aoi in his arms, as he walked towards Taiga in the living room.
“Okaeri,” Taiga greeted back and gave Hokuto a peck on the lips.
Hokuto looked at him with worry to see how red his eyes were and then pulled him close. “Buru-chan here just reported to me Dada’s school made him cry. It’s what he said the moment he saw me. Everything good, love?”
“Dada’s school is bad. Dada cried,” Aoi reported with a pout on his lips.
Taiga chuckled as he pinched Aoi’s cheek and his other hand to wrap around Hokuto. “It is what I already expected and I just had to let it out. Catch you up later?”
“Okay, later.”
“Can’t promise no waterworks, though.”
“When did we ever have a rule about no waterworks? Cry all you want to me, Taiga. I’ll be here and hold you close.”
This time, it was Hokuto who gave Taiga a kiss on his lips and another one on his forehead.
“Get some rest, love. Leave this little boy to me.”
“But I'm not yet done with dinner.”
“Let’s just order out.”
“Nooo, I want to finish it. You look after Aoi first and I’ll be done soon.”
“Are you sure?”
“Un, I honestly feel better now you’re home.”
“Same, love, same.” Hokuto smiled and gave Taiga one more kiss on his forehead before Taiga marched back to the kitchen to clean up the mess and finish making their dinner.
Taiga's mood definitely made a complete 360 now that Hokuto was home.
The dinner was joyous and filled with laughter, all thanks to Aoi and his smart and funny antics. Taiga was so happy they had this chance again to eat dinner together because it brought a different kind of joy when they were complete. Aoi mostly dominated the conversation and became even more talkative because he made sure to catch Hokuto up with all the ‘good boy deeds’ he did and he was most proud of the time he helped Taiga in the kitchen which Hokuto commended. Hokuto and Taiga really loved hearing Aoi talk and tell stories because it wasn’t only to practice his speaking but they also wanted Aoi to get used and grow up knowing he had the freedom to talk about anything with them because he was respected as an equal person. It also helped that Taiga always talked to him when they were left alone even though Aoi wouldn’t understand most of it yet because of his limited vocabularies but it also taught Aoi to speak more in his own will.
“He really felt bad about what happened in the kitchen,” Hokuto mentioned as he sat down in the dining room where Taiga was with the cans of cold beer on the table.
Hokuto just put Aoi to sleep while Taiga finished all his chores after the three of them bathed together. It was finally the time Taiga was waiting for—to spend time alone with Hokuto.
“I must have really scared him when I raised my voice.” Taiga sighed in frustration recalling what happened as he passed a can of beer to Hokuto who was sitting across from him.
“Well, you don’t really raise your voice, but no. He felt bad because he thought he made you cry.”
“Nooooo. Hokuto, did you make sure to tell him it wasn’t his fault? I already told him it was because of school and I don’t want him to have bad dreams because he thought it was his fault.”
“I told him that and—”
“I also promised him I wasn’t mad. It’s true. It just scared me but I’m not mad.”
“I know, love. He just really hates seeing you cry. He’ll be okay tomorrow.”
“I really hope so.”
“Know what else he said? He also said that he will hate school forever if he doesn't apologize for making you cry. He thought it’s a person.”
“Now, that’s alarming,” Taiga joked as they laughed, his eyes unconsciously passing by Aoi's room.
There was a silence between them for a few seconds with Taiga watching his finger draw circles on top of the can of his beer while Hokuto just watched him.
“Catch me up about your day, Taiga.”
Taiga looked up at Hokuto and their eyes locked for a while. Not long after, his eyes started to brim with tears as he got up from his chair and walked towards Hokuto with his shoulders slumped. He gently lifted Hokuto’s arms that were prodded on the table, put his can of beer aside, and then settled himself on Hokuto’s lap without saying a word.
Hokuto didn’t say anything as he just let Taiga and placed his hands on the sides of his waist.
“Otsukaresama.”
And that instantly opened that dam in Taiga's eyes. He wrapped his arms around Hokuto and poured his heart out with his face buried in his neck.
Hokuto held him tighter and ran his hand on Taiga's back in circles for comfort. He listened to Taiga pour it all out to him even though he couldn't understand everything since some of his words were muffled.
“Hokuto, I can still do it, right?” Taiga managed to say after minutes of shedding tears as he pulled away to look at Hokuto.
Hokuto bitterly smiled at him as he wiped his tears. “ I know you can, love. But what do you think? You know I'll always support whatever you decide on.”
“I can—I swear, I still can. It's just…”
“Tired?”
Taiga nodded his head. "I just want to sleep," he said in between laughter but he was serious. He just wanted to get proper sleep again and rest his mind for a while. He knew it was useless to dwell on what already happened to his paper so he just wanted to move on and do better with his revisions, but first, he needed rest.
“Rest all you want, love. I'm off work until Tuesday—”
“Tuesday?! Am I hearing things?”
Hokuto nodded with a proud smile.
“You never told me about it.”
“Maybe because I just filed it earlier after our call? Sorry it's the maximum I'm allowed for immediate notice although I know you need longer than that.”
“But how about your work?”
“I assigned Jesse to look after the team for me which he gladly accepted. We have the best paralegal, you know. Actually, Miyama-sensei denied it at first. But when I returned after my meeting with a client, he took it back and allowed me. It seemed they helped me while I wasn’t around.”
“You have such a great team, Hokuto. I'll make a bento for them when you come back as a thank you, otherwise, Jesse will come here to beg.”
“You can't say no when it's Jesse. Persuasion is his forte.”
Taiga beamed before he gave Hokuto a peck on his lips. “Thank you, Hokuto. Thank you for all your hard work.”
“And thank you for all your hard work, love. Starting tomorrow, rest and leave everything to me. You deserve it.”
“We both deserve rest.”
“I'm already rested being at home here with you and Buru-chan.”
“It's the same for me, Hokuto. You have no idea how it always helps me pull through because I have you and Aoi.”
“Having Buru-chan really changed us a lot, didn’t it?”
“It really did. It also reminds me of what mom said that having a family makes us appreciate even the simplest and littlest things that we won't bat an eye on before.”
“And remember when our goals used to only consist of us? We liked to dream about travelling to different places and countries and have lots of se—”
“Hokuto!” Taiga’s eyes almost fell out, bewildered, as he hit Hokuto on his arm.
Hokuto laughed heartily. “But that’s true, right?”
Taiga pouted and slightly nodded his head, his cheeks tinted in crimson in embarrassment. It was true, after all.
Oh, youth.
“And now that Buru-chan blessed our lives, our priorities and goals have changed. Though we can’t travel yet and can’t have lots of…” Hokuto paused as he looked at Taiga who gave him a death glare. “... you know , we’re content just being together. And I am so happy I am at this point in my life with you, Taiga.”
“And I’m beyond the happiest that I still have you walk this life with me, love. ”
Taiga tried to stop his smile as he watched how Hokuto would react. He wasn't exactly the type to use endearments because he honestly loved saying Hokuto’s name more than anything else but he realized their situation called for it and he just wanted to tease him too because he loved how different emotions played in Hokuto's face every time he called him that.
“You called me love," Hokuto mumbled in a soft voice with wide eyes and wide smile as he pulled Taiga closer to him.
Taiga grinned to see that adorable sight of Hokuto. At work and in the courtroom, Hokuto was always cladded in a suit, looking professional and crisp, but when he was home, he was like a kid and would always wear fluffy and oversized sweats. Taiga loved seeing Hokuto be himself because it was like how Hokuto was ever since they met, but he also loved seeing him in a suit because it made him feel proud that Hokuto was living his dream.
“You look so happy.”
“You always make me happy, Taiga.”
Taiga looked at Hokuto both with tears and fondness in his eyes.
Hokuto raised his hand and threaded his fingers through Taiga's locks before he drew his face closer to kiss him fully on his lips.
Happy tears then fell from Taiga's eyes as he couldn't help not to smile in the kiss.
For Taiga, it wasn’t a perfect day. He had cried, gotten frustrated and disappointed, but to be blessed with such a family he treasured more than anything, it reminded him that bad days were just normal. He would encounter failures and more disappointments along the way, but that was life. Life wouldn't always go perfectly as you planned and wished, but it didn't mean it was a bad life.
There was nothing else in this world he would trade for his family.
And there was no other place Taiga would choose but to be at his solace as Hokuto's partner and as Aoi's Dada.
“I love you, Hokuto. I love you and Aoi so much.”
“I love you, too, so much, Taiga.”
A bad day, indeed, but Taiga was ready to face tomorrow head on. Trust Hokuto to make his bad day end up being the best day.