Chapter Text
Tetsurou Kuroo's life was hectic most of the time. In the daytime he was a professor giving lectures, answering students' questions, or conducting research. After work he cared for his six-year-old son, Kenma. More often than not, work clashed with his home life. But he would always try to prevent work from affecting Kenma's heatlh. On a school day, he would drive home then walk to the primary school. It was a good opportunity to squeeze in some exercise and alone time with his son. And he would make sure Kenma got as much nutrition as possible — regardless of the number of tasks he had to get through, or how fussy an eater his son was.
“How was school buddy?” Tetsurou asked when Kenma sat down at the table for dinner.
Kenma picked up the fork and poked a piece of fish patty. While pieces of vegetables were visible and recognizable after Tetsurou's effort to dice them finely, at least they were mixed with Kenma's favourite fish. “Good,” he said with a shrug as he sliced a piece of the meat.
Sometimes Kenma needed prompting. “How are Hitoka and Shouyou?” Tetsurou asked. Those two were the only friends Kenma had ever talked about.
“Hitoka doesn’t talk much.”
Look who’s talking, Tetsurou thought. “And Shouyou?”
“Shouyou got into a fight with the new kid.”
“New kid?”
“His name is Tobio and he kinda looks like you in the morning.”
“Oh?” Tetsurou asked, quirking an eyebrow. Kenma had rather amusing observations of other people.
“Flat hair and grumpy face."
The little rascal. Tetsurou ruffled Kenma’s hair, and did his best version of an evil laugh.
“Stop it dad!” Kenma squirmed and squealed, dropping the fork to save his hair.
Tetsurou fixed Kenma’s hair before resuming to his dinner. “Alright, eat your dinner so I can get to work,” he said.
Kenma’s shoulders slumped and his eyes lowered, staring at his unfinished dinner. He looked like the time Tetsurou had announced his weekend trip for a research project, and that Kenma couldn’t come along. According to Koutaro—who had babysat Kenma that weekend—the boy had refused to even watch his favourite shows, only perking up when Tetsurou had called.
“Is…something wrong?” Tetsurou asked. He had to, otherwise Kenma would probably bottle up his feelings.
“You can’t help me with my homework?” Kenma asked.
Tetsurou sighed. “I’m sorry, not tonight.”
Kenma gently nodded and they ate in silence.
It pained Tetsurou whenever he had to take away his time with his son. It really did. But his report wasn’t going to write itself. “I can’t help you tonight…but is there someone else who can help you…for tonight?”
“Shouyou isn’t really that good at maths…I guess I’ll ask Hitoka…” Kenma said quietly—well more quiet than he usually was, bordering on a whisper.
It wasn’t just that Kenma only wanted help with his homework—he wanted to spend time with his father. And Tetsurou knew this. Sometimes, he wished he was a better father…no, he couldn’t think about that again.
After dinner, Tetsurou soaked the dishes to wash them later. The earlier he could finish the report, the more time he could spend with Kenma. He made sure the front door was securely locked before retreating to his study, just as Kenma carried his study materials to the living room—his favourite study spot.
Tetsurou left the door to his study open so Kenma wouldn’t feel alone. It was relatively quiet at home unless Uncle Koutarou was over. When he finished preparing his desk, Tetsurou heard Kenma talking. Even with the door wide open in a relatively small house, Kenma’s soft voice was almost inaudible. Sometimes it amused him that his son was best friends with the loud and energetic Shouyou—who probably ran on an unlimited source of energy. Other people would often describe Kenma as “shy” – but like it was some kind of flaw rather than a personality trait. Kenma wasn’t withdrawn from his peers; he just needed more time to warm up to people. If you got to know him well enough, you would see that he was rather curious and observant of the world around him. Just as he opened a new document on his laptop, Tetsurou thought he could hear the phone dialling again. Maybe Kenma really needed help with that homework. He thought he could make out Kenma saying “I’m six years old” but he brushed it off so he could concentrate on his task.
***
Knock! Knock!
Tetsurou glanced at the clock. He realized almost an hour had passed since he started this paper. He stretched his neck and shoulders before walking to the front door, passing by Kenma in the living room.
“It’s a policeman,” Kenma said when Tetsurou stopped and glanced at him.
Tetsurou raised his eyebrows. “How do you know that?”
“I called him,” Kenma said it like it was no big deal.
“What?!” Dammit keep your voice down! Tetsurou breathed through pursed lips before speaking again. “Why did you call the police?” he asked in a calmer voice.
But he was anything but calm. Police? Why would they be here? Had his son reported him for neglecting a child and his homework? He may not be a candidate for the world’s best father award, but he didn’t deserve this!
“Hitoka was at her aunty’s house,” Kenma said matter-of-factly, seemingly oblivious to his dad’s state of mind . “And the only other numbers I have are yours, Shouyou, and the local police.”
They were doomed—no, Tetsurou was doomed. He tried his best to keep his facial expressions neutral – like everything was fine. All fine. Just fine.
But it wasn’t fine. How could he explain to the policeman his son had called because he needed help with his homework and not for an actual emergency? Was it too late to sneak through the back door—
Knock! Knock!
Breathe, Tetsurou, inhale, exhale! Maybe it wasn’t the same policeman Kenma was talking to. Maybe it was someone else…like a pizza delivery man who had written the wrong address or something. Yeah that must be it. Why would a policeman come just because a boy needed help with his homework? The last time Tetsurou had checked, it wasn’t part of the job description.
Tetsurou unlocked the door, and inhaled before turning the handle.
He was greeted by a man in police uniform, slightly shorter than he was, with dark neatly-cropped hair, round deep brown eyes looking at him, and a smile that would make flowers bloom…or some other better analogy. And there was something familiar about the man that Tetsurou couldn’t put a finger on.
“I’m Officer Sawamura,” the policeman said and held out a badge. “But you can call me Daichi.”
Tetsurou had forgotten about the other component of breathing—exhale. He lets out a sigh and cringed when it sounded like a heavy sigh. Not only was there a policeman standing at his door Tetsurou thought Officer Sawamura was—in the words of Koutarou—“hoot!” He was screwed. He really was.
Kenma peeked out from behind his dad.
Officer Sawamura bent down until he was at eye-level. “Are you Kenma?” When the boy nodded, he continued. “Have you solved those problems since we last spoke?”
Opening his workbook to show the officer, Kenma shook his head and pointed to a circled question. “I answered more but some are really hard.”
Meanwhile, Tetsurou thought it was remarkable that Kenma was conversing and sharing with a stranger so soon after meeting them for the first time. It was as if they had known each other for a long time. Daichi must have bonded with his son over the phone. Was this guy real? Tetsurou felt awkward for the three of them to stand at the door so he invited Officer Sawamura inside. He was still not over the fact that a policeman was at his house, to help his son with his homework, when there could be more serious matters to attend to.
“Officer Sawamura—“
“Call me Daichi.”
“Daichi…is it really okay for you to be here? Didn’t you think this could be a prank?”
Daichi chuckled as he removed his shoes. “My shift was ending. And I thought that if this is a prank I could catch the culprit. And if it’s genuine—” he smiled at Kenma—“I can help a boy and his homework.”
This man was willing to help even though he wasn’t obliged to. He must be some kind of angel in disguise. But if something was too good to be true, it probably is. So while he was grateful there was someone to lend Kenma help, Tetsurou didn’t want to let his guard down.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Tetsurou said. “What drink would you like?”
“Just water is fine thanks,” Daichi said, sitting cross-legged next to the coffee table, which was covered with Kenma’s materials.
Tetsurou took Kenma with him to his study and the kitchen. When they returned with the laptop, drinks and snacks, Kenma sat down next to Daichi and immediately set to work. Tetsurou tried to block out their conversation to focus on his document.
It was easier said than done. Tetsurou was fascinated by the way Daichi patiently guided Kenma through the problems. Daichi would first ask Kenma how to approach each question to let the boy figure it out on his own first. When Kenma was stuck, Daichi showed another example or broke down the question into smaller parts. And he would give words of encouragement or compliment along the way. Again, was this guy real? They looked like a father helping a son with his homework, something Tetsurou wished he did more—no, he had to stop thinking that way.
When Kenma announced that they had finished, Tetsurou groaned. Another half an hour had passed without much progress on his report. In fact, he was still on the first page.
“Then I’ll be going,” Daichi said, standing up to stretch and yawn.
“Thank you, please come again.”
Even though it sounded like something a salesman would say, Kenma was a terrible liar so the latter statement meant that he genuinely liked Daichi. Tetsurou couldn’t help but smile fondly at that. But he was also concerned that Daichi would feel uncomfortable by the request.
“Well if you need help again I’d be glad to,” Daichi said, and wrote down a number on a spare piece of paper and handed it to Kenma. “Ring me with this number instead.”
Kenma thanked Daichi again and neatly folded the paper to slip it into his mini phone book.
He really is an angel in disguise, Tetsurou thought. He asked Kenma to get ready for bed while he walked Daichi to the door.
“Thank you again,” Tetsurou said at the door. “Can I return the favour some time?”
“No need,” Daichi said but didn’t look up as he tied his shoelaces. His face softened as he chuckled. “I don’t have a child.”
Tetsurou felt like he may have struck a chord—in a bad way. He cursed himself and hoped at least he didn’t come across as creepy or intrusive.
“I can’t thank you enough,” he said, hoping to cut the tension—if there was one. He was aware of his tendency to overreact sometimes.
“No problem.” The angelic smile returned to Daichi’s face—much to Tetsurou’s relief. “And you can find me at the local police station.”
After Daichi had left, Tetsurou closed the door and it hit him. No wonder Daichi had looked so familiar! He had seen Daichi around the area a few times when he and Kenma strolled around the local park next to the police station. Maybe he would have realized sooner if he wasn’t so fixated on watching Daichi walk away…
And there was his neglected report.