Chapter Text
Daichi readjusts his cap for what might be the hundredth time that day. He isn’t supposed to walk this route on his own, especially not since it’s one of his first shifts. Daichi stares at the badge on his chest, shimmering in the morning sun, brand new. He used to be proud of it. It’s a physical sign he’s no longer an intern but a real police officer, but right now it’s a weight on his chest that he definitely can’t use at the moment. He already finds it hard enough to breathe, walking around in a neighbourhood he doesn’t know, looking around not knowing what exactly he’s looking for.
He isn’t supposed to be on his own. Kuroo Tetsurou, the young man that was supposed to stay by his side the first couple of days to show him around, hadn’t shown up at the precinct this morning. He was nice enough to give Daichi a call, but it didn’t make Daichi feel any more assured. When Daichi picked up the phone, Kuroo’s voice sounded raspy, like he just woke up.
‘I can’t join you this morning, Sawamura,’ he had said. ‘It’s my boyfriend, he fell asleep on me. They’re like a cat, ya know. I can’t move, I can’t wake him up.’
So here Daichi is, walking his first patrol on his own, because his partner was too much of a simp to wake up his boyfriend. He knows what it means to go on patrol, what to look for, but a first patrol isn’t to be done alone. You’re supposed to look for abnormalities, any sign that something is out of place. That’s hard to see if you’re seeing the neighbourhood for the first time and don’t have a reference point. Daichi doesn’t know what was going through Kuroo’s mind when he decided he could leave Daichi on his own, but it probably wasn’t something smart.
Normally, Daichi would have walked around relaxed, hands deep in his pockets, scanning his surroundings to see if anything caught his attention. Now, he walks fast and stiff, hands curled into fists and eyes straight ahead. Nothing can grab his attention-
But then his eyes catch sight of a silver haired young man.
He’s tall, not as bulky as Daichi but still lean and athletic. Simple jeans show a nice ass and thighs, the pants aren’t super tight but Daichi can tell. Over a plain white T-shirt he wears a neon jacket with the logo of a kindergarten. He holds the hand of a small child, probably around five years old, who in turn holds another kid’s hand. A whole line of kids pass Daichi, the silver haired man leading them. The man’s smile outshines the morning sun and is so bright Daichi has to squeeze his eyes shut for a moment, to make sure he’s not seeing an angel. Then the man seems to notice Daichi, and he nods, still smiling.
“Good morning, Mr. Police Officer!” he says, waving his hand for a moment. Daichi stumbles when he realizes that angelic smile is now directed at him. He already feels the heat creep up his neck. That pretty man probably knows he was staring.
“Morning,” Daichi mumbles quickly, trying to proceed ahead to hide his blush. Already cursing at himself for sounding rude, Daichi doesn’t look where he’s going, and while he’s still a bit off balance he stumbles into a lamppost. Almost falling for real this time, Daichi reaches for his head.
The silver haired man stops, causing all the kids behind him to bump into each other and cease their chatter. “Oh my god, are you okay?” the man asks worriedly, already stepping towards Daichi.
Daichi raises his hand to stop him, shaking his head. “Don’t worry, I’m fine,” he says, forcing a smile towards the beautiful man. He returns the smile with a wide bright grin, and Daichi already forgets his pounding forehead.
“Woah, it’s a police!” one of the kids yells, and he starts waving excessively at Daichi. “Hello sir! Hi sir!” It doesn’t take long before Daichi is met with a wave of greetings from all the young kids. Daichi chuckles and holds his cap to greet them. He can still feel the angel’s eyes on him.
“Alright kids, back in line, we need to get home now!” the silver haired man says, already grabbing hold of the closest hand he can find. The kids however already lost interest in Daichi, and have their eyes locked on a black cat that just appeared on the sidewalk. When two of the kids run towards it to pet the animal, the other kids quickly follow. Daichi can hear their caretaker mumble to himself before rushing after them, but he can’t quite make out what he’s saying. When the cat sees the whole group of kids come at it, it quickly runs off and crosses the road.
“We want to pet the cat!” a young girl screams, trying to run after it. The man stops her by grabbing her shoulder and yanking her back onto the sidewalk.
“Careful! I don’t think it wants to be pet, we should leave it alone. Come on, let’s go home.” All the kids turn to each other to hold hands again and follow the silver haired man, except for one. The young boy is still looking at the cat, who has taken shelter underneath a parked car. “Are you coming, Toshi?”
The boy looks at the pretty man for a brief moment before turning around and running across the street, towards the cat. “Toshiro-kun, come back!” the silver haired man yells. He steps to run after the boy, but then realizes he’s still holding the other kids together. Daichi doesn’t waste another second when he sees the daycare employee trying to contemplate his options and rushes to the kid, picking him up before he can crawl underneath the car. The kid, Toshiro-kun, is too startled to move. Daichi brings the boy back to his caretaker.
“Thank you for that,” the silver haired man says. He’s still smiling brightly, but now that Daichi stands closer, he can see the slight blush on his face. He also notices a cute beauty mark on his cheek. “Toshiro-kun is a handful sometimes, this isn’t the first time he’s tried to run off. I wish I had another pair of eyes to watch him right now!” he says, laughing awkwardly.
“I could join you if you want?” Daichi offers before thinking about it. He’s working. He’s not supposed to leave his route, unless something extraordinary happens. Well, he did run into an extraordinary beautiful man, so…
“Ah, that’s not really what I mea- wait, you would?” the man asks, eyes suddenly wide with surprise. For the first time today Daichi flashes a genuine smile.
“Yes, it’s really no problem.”
“You are my hero,” the man says. Daichi feels his insides melt as the pretty silver haired man shows him another one of his broad smiles. He’s too distracted by his warm brown eyes to listen when he explains how to keep the kids in line. “- so you’ll watch the back until we get there, okay?”
It takes a second before Daichi realizes he was asked something. “Uh, yes, of course.”
“Alright kids, let’s go!” the man yells, grabbing the hand of the kid at the front again and proceeding to walk down the street. Daichi waits until all the other kids have passed him. The last kid already holds his hand out to him.
“You have to hold it, mister police,” he says sternly. Daichi smiles and nods. He recognizes the kid as the boy who noticed him first.
“You sure know how it’s done. And what is your name?”
“I’m Katsurou, and I’m gonna be a police officer just like you,” the boy says. Daichi nods, impressed. “Well, maybe not really like you,” Katsurou says, a thoughtful frown forming on his face.
“Oh? Why not?” Daichi asks surprised.
“You walked into a lamppost,” Katsurou says. “I wanna be a cooler police.” The grin that the kid flashes back at Daichi can only be described as smug.
Daichi feels his cheeks redden again. Kids have no mercy. “Well it’s early, if you wait until I’ve had my second coffee I’ll be way cooler.”
*
It’s only a short walk to the kindergarten. It’s smaller than Daichi had imagined, giving it’s located pretty close to the centre of the city. There’s a small playground in front, with a slide and a climbing gear. Once they’ve reached the door, the kids run inside without any problem, rushing to get back to the toys they were playing with before they left. Daichi stays outside at the door. After making sure all the kids made it safely inside, the silver haired man comes to stand in front of Daichi, leaning against the doorframe.
“Thanks again for helping me there,” the man says, looking at Daichi curiously, waiting for something. Daichi curses the amount of time it takes before he realises what he wants from him. His body feels warm and giddy, numb almost, but his mind is racing with thoughts he shouldn’t have after just having met a stranger.
“Sawamura Daichi,” Daichi says, holding out his hand.
“Sugawara Koushi,” the man says, shaking his hand. Daichi smiles, imprinting the name in his mind. They stand in front of the door of the kindergarten, surrounded by an awkward silence. Daichi holds his breath, trying to decide whether he should stay for a while longer or get back to work. It’s hard to think clearly though, with Sugawara staring in his eyes, apparently also lost in thought. Daichi finds himself getting lost in the warm brown hues.
“Suga?” a voice comes from inside. A man with black hair and dark green eyes appears behind Sugawara. The handsome man startles Sugawara, who shakes his head and smiles apologetically. “Maybe I’ll see you around, Daichi.”
“Yeah,” Daichi mumbles, still a bit in awe. After another small wave, Sugawara closes the door and leaves Daichi standing on the porch, heart beating fast.
Daichi scratches the back of his head, wondering why Sugawara calling him by his given name made his heart skip a beat, before he turns around and finds his way back to his route. During the remaining hours of his shift, a pair of brown eyes and an angelic smile don’t leave his mind.