Chapter Text
The center smelled of crayons and sanitizer as he entered, placing his shoes on the rack intended for parents when he was let in by a little child who introduced himself as Mitsuru ( The kid explained how they had responsibilities to do in the mornings, his on that day was to welcome his classmates ).
Children were playing with toys, despite the rowdy and, of course, ecstatic aura of the classroom, many of the kids were actually well behaved. Natsume knew he picked the right daycare then, especially when he saw how calm his little Sora was “doing alright, SORA?” the redhead asked his son, he hopped in his place excitedly, colors flowing through the air in the little boys mind “yes!! Sora is excited!! Sora can’t wait to meet friends!” the little one giggled.
“Before SORA can meet his frieNDS, we must talk to your new teacHER.” Natsume instructed, golden eyes looking around to see a man in a blue apron tending to a nervous looking child - his hair was unruly, that’s for sure, but the blue curls were tied back into a low ponytail ( a fine specimen of a man honestly, is what he could tell his nii-san would say if he were here; not that he couldn’t agree ). Sora spotted the same guy and, unable to contain his excitement, dragged his father to the direction of the teacher. “Midori, your papa will be back veeery soon! I promise!” at an earshot, Natsume could hear the teacher speak.
“B-but!.. I left —“ the child sniffles “I left my mascot.. home…!” he sobbed as he ran towards the teachers arms, who only stroked his hair gently “Awh, is there anything Teacher Tsumugi can do to help? How about I lend you other toys for now? Remember how we said we’d deal with things like this?” the man named Tsumugi spoke, you can almost warmth emitting from that single man like little bells ringing in the air
“I- when- when I’m sad…” the child stammered a small tune to his speech “I think of my dad…..” Midori sung, his voice still wavered as Tsumugi slowly lets go of the little one “He gave me a list.. I pick myself up” the teacher hummed, imitating writing a check on a list “Brush myself off…” the child brushed imaginary dust off his pants “I take a deeeeep breath” he did as he said “and spring back up like a hero!” not too effective but enough to make the little one swell up with pride; of course it was easier to calm a child down, but it seemed so effective how the teacher clapped his hands in glee to the little milestone the boy had made “Good job Midori-kun!~ Teacher is very proud of you, and so will your papa” he giggled taking out a sticker from his apron pocket “Of your favorite mascot, is this okay?” the man smiled at the child who only looks at the sticker with pure ecstasy “Yes!!! Thank you Mugi sensei!!!!!” he cheered before running off
As the scene finished, Natsume was furthermore convinced he could at least entrust his son to this man, who finally notices the duo through the corner of his glasses “Oh!” he gasped, looking down at Sora “Mhm, yes I haven’t seen you yet! Must you be Sora-kun?~” The teacher beamed, scooting down to the level of the little one “Sensei is Sora’s teacher! Sora have to say hi to teacher, so hi!” he chirped “Sensei has a nice color, you are happy!!” Sora continues as Tsumugi nods and hums to the conversation “Hello Sora!~ and yes, sensei is very happy to have a new student!” he giggled before standing up to meet the father “You must be Sakasaki Natsume-san hm?” he smiled, the corners of the blue haired man’s eyes crinkled as his eyes narrow with his lips; Natsume couldn’t help but think that he was familiar, but couldn’t seem to put his finger on it
“Mhm. I’m this natSUME, you must be aoBA? owner of this plaCE?” he asks, trying his best to smile and be as kind as he could; of course he had a huge case of resting bitch face, but he tried to look approachable at least “mhm, mhm~ well then! Shall we let Sora go be aquatinted with the others? we’ve spoke about his synesthesia and autism already and I’ve prepared measures for that as well but maybe if there’s anything else we can talk about it there at my table, I also have to orient you a little anyways” the teacher spoke, despite his warmth he had somehow been able to mix his professionalism with his charisma, Natsume listened intently
“Yeah. sORA, are you ready to meET frienDS?” Natsume spoke, kneeling down once more “Yes! Sora is ready!!! can Sora go now? Sora wants to talk to the red hair kid!” he bounced, pointing at a lonesome child who was drawing alone “That’s Tsukasa-kun, go ahead and talk to him! I think you’d both be good friends” the blonde nods waving a goodbye to his papa; leaving the other two alone
“Alright, make yourself feel comfy Natsume-san!” Tsumugi beamed, gesturing towards the table that was littered with paperwork, trinkets, pictures and the like “I already know the basics, and as I said, I’ve prepared whatever is necessary for the things you’ve mentioned; luckily, Sora isn’t the only one here in this class with his specialties, aha I too have autism, so I can handle them to the best of my knowledge” the teacher rambled as he picked out a few papers from a somewhat organized folder, picking out a colorful time table and a little ID card for Natsume “Here! the schedule will let you know when we’re open and the ID is for whoever will be fetching Sora, for security of course! I could get you a second for your wife—“
“I don’t hAVE a wiFE” his eyes narrowed, and Tsumugi gulped, Natsume took notice of the reaction and felt a little empathy for the teacher ; he seemed to be a bit of a worry wart himself “sorA was a relatIVE’S, I adoPTED him when he was a bABY” Natsume explained, recalling his pathetic cousin who ended up throwing away her life despite having a son “ahh.. I understand! my apologies really~!! Okay- uh, well-“ the teacher was getting more and more flustered the longer he spoke, Natsume taking this as a sign to end the conversation
“I’ll be getting OFF at 5 PM. I hOPE it’s not tOO laTE.” the other shook his head “Nono! that’s fine, Midori and Shinobu’s dad doesn’t get out til’ 6 so I stay here for a little while anyways!! I’ll be waiting for you by then” he smiled, double taking at his words when he realized how incredibly weird he phrased it “With Sora” Tsumugi saved, a little too late. Natsume laughed softly, what a weird dude, he would think; he’s sworn he’s met someone like this before, something in him wanted to tease the teacher further although he didn’t want to come off creepy nor be late for work “alrIGHT then, I’ll see you and Sora later mojaCKO-sensEI.” the man smiled before turning around to leave, ignoring the horrified protests of the other before he did.