Chapter Text
“Yui-chan!!”
Before Daichi could stop him, his son jumped into the lap of his childhood friend in a blur of orange hair and tiny limbs. “Sorry about that!” He called, rushing in after Hinata and closing the door to Yui’s office behind him. She was already cuddled up to Hinata, pressing her nose into his hair and smiling as she whispered about something or other to him.
“Michimiya-san,” Daichi said, nervousness apparent in his voice.
Yui lifted her head to look at Daichi and raised her eyebrows. “You only use that name when you want something.” She looked down at Hinata, who was toying with the ends of her hair with great care—something that only became so gentle after she had to give a stern talking to him about pulling. “Daichi, you need to take my advice. Bringing him here like this almost every other day because you can’t get a reliable sitter is…” she trailed off and ruffled her hand in Hinata’s hair. The bond that she had with Hinata was unshakeable, considering she’d known him almost as long as he’d been around. Daichi remembered it clearly, the first time he had brought Hinata to the office because he really had no other choice; Yui took to him like a mother hen to her chicks, cradling him in her arms and rocking him to sleep while Daichi apologized profusely.
“Just one more day,” Daichi replied, sounding almost broken. His felt his face flush in embarrassment. “I promise, I’m looking for a live-in nanny now. I just don’t know where to go, because I’ve only ever hired neighborhood kids to sit, but school is starting back up and they won’t be able to come early enough in the morning, and—“
“That’s what I’m here for, is it not?” Yui asked. Her lips quirked upwards in the slightest, and Daichi couldn’t help but smile back. “Not only am I your best—and only—friend, you do have me around as your assistant. I’ve set up interviews for you later today, after your lunch break. I have three lined up for now, but I have four more potentials that I can set up appointments with if none of today’s applicants work out.”
If Daichi wasn’t gay, he would’ve kissed her on the mouth right then and there; under the eyes of God, his son, and the security guys watching over a panel of monitors showing the whole building. He would’ve done it. Instead, he rushed over to her and took Hinata into his arms before pulling Yui up onto her feet and hugging her tight. Hinata, sandwiched between the two, was oblivious to the conversation but still let out a bubbly laugh.
“Papa, do I really get to stay with Yui-chan all day? Yui-chan, will you put colors on my nails like you have on yours? Do you have a pink color? Like the color you wear on your lips sometimes…do you use the same stuff on your lips and nails? How d—“
“Shouyou,” Daichi said sternly. He received a squeaky “Sorry, Papa!” before Hinata shoved his head into the crook of his father’s shoulder. “You’re fine, sweetheart, just let Yui-chan breathe for a bit.” Daichi took a moment to press a soft kiss to the top of Hinata’s head and rub his back gently before looking up at Yui with pleading eyes. “So, uh, about that.”
Yui laughed. “As if you even have to ask anymore. Just remember, you have the meeting for closing that big deal with one of your authors at ten, a half-hour debriefing session with Ukai-san at eleven-thirty to about this quarter’s production. Lunch is from noon to one, and then the interviews are after that. They’ll probably be in the waiting area outside your office by 12:30, so if you’re going to be going out you might want to have something prepared to say in case you run into them.”
“What in the world would I do without you?” Daichi asked, pressing a swift kiss to Yui’s cheek. He set Hinata down then, and got down on one knee to be on the same level as his son. “Shouyou, you’re going to be good for Yui-chan today, okay? Do as she asks, and don’t put up a fuss when she puts you down to nap.”
Hinata’s eyes widened. “I would never be mean to Yui-chan, Papa! I’ll be good, I promise.”
“That’s my boy,” Daichi said, pulling Hinata in for one last hug. “I’ve gotta go do work now, okay?” He felt Hinata melt into his touch and cling a little tighter, tiny arms wrapping around his neck, and a tear almost came to his eye. “I love you very much,” he whispered.
“Too the moon and back?” Hinata whispered back, rubbing his face into the soft material of Daichi’s suit jacket.
Oh crap, there was definitely a piece of dust in Daichi’s eye, or a twig, because tears definitely welled up in his eyes on hearing that. “You know it, little man.” He gave Hinata a hefty squeeze before he finally let go. “Go see what Yui-chan has for you to do today, okay? She’ll take care of you, she always does.”
Upon climbing into Yui’s lap once more, Daichi heard Hinata gasp, “That’s the pink color I had in my mind, how did you know?” as he headed out the door.
It struck Daichi as he was walking down the hall to his office that if he’d have to trust someone like he trusted Yui to take care of Hinata. With Yui, Hinata was well-behaved and happy and Daichi knew he was being treated well. He wondered if he’d find that same trust in any of the applicants Yui picked, or if her seeing something like that in them led her to choosing them in the first place.
Sighing as he settled into his office chair, Daichi woke up his computer to filter through countless emails and ready his documents for the long day ahead of him.
xXx
Suga woke with a start to a heavy weight bouncing on top of his chest. He was vaguely aware that the weight was yelling at him, but the voice seemed more excited than panicked, so he didn’t bother to open his eyes and decided to feign sleep with the sole purpose of annoying his roommate.
“Suga-chan!!! Suga-chaaaaaaaaan~” Said roommate sang. “Time to wake up! I made a big breakfast to celebrate your interview today!”
Suga squinted one eye open to see a blurry Oikawa Tooru reaching back with a pillow in his hand. “If you’re so much as thinking about hitting me with that, I’ll—“
“Always so grumpy before your morning coffee, Suga-chan,” Oikawa chastised. He clucked his tongue and rolled off of Suga’s chest but stayed close, curling up against Suga’s side. “There’s a fresh pot in the kitchen, and I made some rice and there’s mackerel frying right now. Right this second, Suga-chan, so you’d better get up and make sure it doesn’t burn. You know I always burn the mackerel.”
Though he enjoyed Oikawa’s warm presence at his side, Suga shoved him off and shuffled out of bed. “You know, it’s a wonder how I’ve been struggling with finding work. If anyone knew what it’s like to handle you, they’d let me nanny whole armies.”
They bickered and bantered their way into the kitchen where, sure enough, the rice cooker and coffee pot were warming, and mackerel was crackling in a pan on the stove. While Suga finished the fish up, Oikawa poured coffee in mismatched mugs and serving rice into thrift store bowls with a gentle lull in the conversation. The next time the two converged it was at the small dining table, where they sat down to enjoy their breakfast together.
“So,” Oikawa started, leaning his elbows on the table. “Are you nervous? Excited? Do you know anything about this guy? It’s just one guy, right? Single parent?”
Suga laughed. “Down, Lassie. He’s a single dad, yeah. One kid—a four year old boy. I…I don’t know how I should feel? It’s been a while since my last job, so I feel like I may be a little rusty in the interviewing department—“
“But you’re so good with kids that it shouldn’t matter,” Oikawa interrupted. It felt to Suga like his words were defensive, like he was going to march right in on Suga’s interview later that afternoon and tell this potential employer exactly why he should hire Suga.
“Thank you, Oikawa,” Suga said, smiling softly. “I have reason to be worried, though. If I don’t get this, I…I hate to say this, but I don’t know how I’ll be able to keep up with my share of the rent.”
Oikawa pursed his lips, letting a rare look of concern grace his features. “Koushi, you know what I said before. I’m well off right now. If you can’t put in the whole share, that’s fine. If you can’t even put in half the share or any of it at all, I don’t care.”
“I don’t want you to think I’m a scrub!” Suga cried, blushing so fiercely that he had to hide it behind his coffee mug.
“I would never think that!” Oikawa cried back, just as dramatic. “My number one concern is to make sure you’re safe and happy. You’re my best friend, Suga-chan. I would never kick you out, or better yet let you kick yourself out. You always have a room with me, wherever I go.”
A silence fell over the two of them then. Suga took a few deep breaths and Oikawa watched him carefully, then continued. “With that being said, I really hope you get this. You deserve it, and I think this is your true calling; taking care of kids, helping them grow.” There was another beat of silence in which Oikawa’s trademark smirk spread across his face. “If he’s hot, there are no promises that I won’t get jealous when you start banging.”
Suga turned beet red. “Tooru!” He scolded, “Don’t be so crass! He has a kid, I doubt that he’s—that he’d find me—Tooru!”
“I’m just saying,” Oikawa said, his smirk blowing into a full, cocky grin. “Stranger things have happened. And don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Suga-chan; if I had the ability to, I would’ve fallen in love with you the second we met. Head over heels, without a doubt.”
“You’re an idiot, Oikawa Tooru, so that’s not saying much,” Suga teased, finishing off his breakfast and pushing the bowl away from him. “It’s your turn to do dishes. I’m going to go change so I can run to the market before my interview.”
On emerging from his room dressed in a pair of black slacks and a lilac silk button down, Suga was still trying to flatten one stubborn flyaway hair on his head. “Do I look okay?” He called to Oikawa, who was crowded around the sink.
Oikawa whistled. “You know, if the interview doesn’t work out, we could arrange something. Like , Pretty Woman style. You’ll be Julia Roberts, of course, and I—“
“Very funny” Suga deadpanned. He slipped on his shoes and grabbed his keys before starting to head out the door. “Do you need anything while I’m out?”
“Honey? And eggs, I think. Get eggs just to be safe,” Oikawa said. “Text me when you’re on your way home? Sunglasses emoji for it went well, sake’s on me while you help me pack, crying cat emoji for sake’s on you and please have a bath drawn when I get in the door.”
Suga nodded. “No problem. And make sure you wrap your knee if you go to the gym today! The last thing I need is you putting too much strain on it again.”
The last thing Suga heard before the door shut him out in the hallway was a stubborn, “Okay, mom.”
If he could handle Oikawa, he could handle anything today threw at him—of that much he was certain.