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Uncle Haji had been in Takeru Oikawa’s life for as long as he could remember. His mom called him Hajime-kun whereas uncle Tooru liked to call him Iwa-chan which was weird to Takeru because Iwaizumi was not small or cute as the name would suggest. He was so strong! Takeru hoped that he could he could grow up to be as strong as him.
Tooru and Hajime were always together. Either together at their house or together at the Iwaizumi’s, Hajime and Tooru were seemingly attached at the hip. The only time they separated was to sleep and even then they often spent the night at each other’s houses. Takeru liked it better when they stayed at his house because then Uncle Haji would play volleyball with him.
Uncle Tooru would play with him too, but he was annoying and always wanted Hajime’s attention. He was like a whiny baby around Hajime. Takeru was ten and he behaved better honestly. Tooru had always been dramatic so Takeru was plenty used to it, but Hajime was so cool.
Despite his uncle being annoying he knew that Hajime and Tooru had a special kind of connection. He might have been young but he wasn’t stupid. He watched movies okay? The adults always told him that he was too young to understand whenever he asked though which was stupid. He had eyes. What he wanted to know was what Hajime saw in Tooru of all people. He was so cool and Tooru was… well, lame.
“Yahoo Takeru-chan! Your wonderful uncle is here to pick you up!” Takeru groaned in annoyance and tried to hide his embarrassment as he said goodbye to his friends and headed over to his uncle.
“Can you not call me that? Seriously it’s so lame,”
“You’re so mean to me,” Tooru complained as they made their way back towards the their house. The Oikawas didn’t live very far from Takeru’s school and honestly he could have gotten home on his own, but Tooru insisted on picking him up after volleyball practice every day to give pointers to the kids in his club. They all adored him, as per usual. Takeru didn’t mind though. He might know that Tooru was completely lame, but it was kind of fun to be the kid with the cool uncle. And then there was the other plus— whenever Tooru brought Iwaizumi with him.
“Where’s uncle Haji?”
“Oh he has after school tutoring today.”
“Aw man! I wanted to show him my super cool new attack approach.”
“Yeah you’ve been working hard on that one. Almost as good as I was at your age. Keep working on it and you’ll probably get the jump serve soon.”
“Yeah, maybe.” There was an electronic beep and Tooru pulled out his phone to check the message. Takeru leaned closer to see who it was, the nosy child that he was, and got a palm to his forehead for his efforts as Tooru shoved his face away. He scowled.
“Let me see!” He complained. Tooru looked at him from the corner of his eyes.
“It’s not your phone, nosy.”
“Is it mom?”
“No. Iwa-chan. He said he’ll probably come over for dinner and that he’ll meet us back at the house. You can show him your super cool moves then.”
“Yes!” Takeru said. The days when uncle Hajime came over were the best. Besides volleyball and gaming with him, Hajime always did the chores his Obaasan usually made Takeru do too which was a bonus.
They walked in silence for a bit as Tooru typed away on his phone, a small smile growing on his face with every message he received and sent. Takeru scrunched his eyebrows in suspicion.
“Are you still texting uncle Haji?” He asked, annoyed.
Tooru quickly looked up and put his phone away.
“Maybe. What about it?”
“You guys sure do text a lot.”
“Well duh, he’s my best friend.”
“I don’t text my best friend nearly as much as you text Uncle Haji. You text him as much as mom texts Mr. Yamamoto.” That was the guy she had been seeing lately. It seemed to be going well. He was nice to Takeru and bought him new games so Mr. Yamamoto was okay in his book.
There was a flash of what looked like panic on Tooru’s face before he looked away. Takeru didn’t get why he would be nervous though— he hadn’t said anything weird.
“You’re too young to have a phone anyway. You’ll get it when your older… it’s just… different with me and Iwa-chan. We grew up together.”
“Aya-chan and me grew up together and we barely talk at all now!” Takeru protested. He was determined to get to the bottom of his Uncle Tooru’s weirdness.
“Ugh. Aya-chan is a spoiled brat,” Tooru said as they turned down their street. It was really nice out— a slight warm breeze blowing the flower petals of the cherry blossoms around them. It was finally spring.
“Kind of like someone else we know, huh?” Another familiar voice chimed in. Takeru turned around in excitement and ran up to Hajime, jumping into his arms without a second thought.
“Uncle Haji!” He exclaimed. The man in question laughed as he lifted Takeru up and spun him around. Tooru crossed his arms as he watched, but said nothing. Takeru watched as Hajime’s face softened upon meeting Tooru’s eyes.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hey,” Tooru replied. It was weird. Takeru narrowed his eyes.
“Why are you looking at Uncle Tooru like that?” He asked, curious. It was the way that his Ojii-san looked at Obaa-san in all of their family pictures. But uncle Haji and uncle Tooru were just friends so he didn’t understand what was happening. Hajime snapped out of it as he turned back to Takeru and ruffled his hair.
“Come on, let’s go get some dinner. I’m starving.” Takeru agreed easily, skipping down the road as he listened to Tooru and Hajime follow behind him.
“Don’t pout,” Hajime said to Tooru. As he turned into the driveway, Takeru watched Hajime tap Tooru on the nose with his index finger. Tooru tried to bite it. Iwaizumi laughed and rolled his eyes.
“Brat,” he said fondly. Takeru had already reached the door as he watched Hajime take Tooru’s hand and lead him the rest of the way towards the house.
——•——
It was like that for a while. The soft looks texting for literally hours a day. Takeru swore Tooru only looked up from his phone to brush his teeth and even then he was usually mid conversation with Uncle Haji. What could they possibly be talking about? They were best friends and had grown up together, shouldn’t they be sick of each other by now? Takeru was sure sick of Tooru.
“Where are you going?” Takeru asked as Tooru was putting on his shoes.
“I’m going over to Iwa-chan’s,” he said, fiddling with the straps of his bag.
“Are you spending the night?” Tooru was a little big for sleepovers, he thought. That’s what Obaasan said at least.
“Yeah,” Tooru said, a bit nervously.
“Why are you nervous?” Takeru asked.
“What? I’m not nervous.” He was definitely nervous. Takeru gave him a look. Tooru ignored it. “Anyway, gotta go. See you later,” he said and then was out of the door. Takeru sighed and turned to his mother who was watching tv next to him.
“Why is uncle Tooru being weird?” He asked. His mom laughed.
“Honey, I’ve been asking myself that question for the past seventeen years,” she replied. Takeru did the math in his head.
“But that’s how old Uncle Tooru is,” he said. His mom smiled.
“Exactly.”
——•——
Tooru was different when he came home the next morning. He looked tired and a little upset. He didn’t even stop to say hello before going up to his room. It was just him and Obaa-san home so he ignored it. His mom told him that sometimes teenagers needed space so Takeru would let him be for now. He hoped that everything was okay between him and Uncle Haji. He’d be so sad if they got in a fight and couldn’t see him anymore. Takeru bet that uncle Haji would still see him though even if he got in a fight with Tooru. But Takeru might feel a little bad if he still got to see uncle Haji and Tooru didn’t. He hoped they worked out whatever was happening.
Weeks passed and Tooru barely said a word. He didn’t open his phone once while they walked home and when they arrived he just sulked up to his room. Uncle Haji never came with Tooru to pick him up from school and he didn’t come over to eat dinner or play volleyball either.
“Mom, why doesn’t Uncle Haji come over anymore?” He asked after dinner one night. It had to have been at least a month since he’d seen his favorite uncle. His moms eyes flitted to Tooru’s sunken form sitting at the table before moving back to the dishes in the sink she was cleaning.
“He’s just busy right now, honey. High school is a lot of work which is why Tooru and Uncle Haji have to study so hard. Speaking of which why don’t you go do some homework. I’m gonna have a talk with your uncle Tooru,”
“Aw man!” Takeru complained as he walked towards the stairs.
“Tooru, what’s wrong?” He heard his mom ask.
“He wont even talk to me. He’s avoiding me and I don’t even know why. I don’t know what I did wrong!” Takeru paused, not used to hearing his uncle sound so distressed. Was he crying ?
“Aw Tooru. You know that Hajime loves you. Maybe he’s just busy.”
“No that’s not it. You don’t get it. I love him,” he cried.
“I know,” Takeru’s mom comforted him.
“No I love him. And I don’t think he feels the same.”
“I think you might be surprised. Maybe he’s scared. Give him some time, Tooru. It’ll be okay,”
Takeru felt icky eavesdropping on his uncle crying so he tiptoed back up the stairs and to his room. He didn’t really know what was happening. He had already known that Uncle Haji and Tooru loved each other. It wasn’t really surprising. He didn’t know what his uncle Tooru was worried about though. Uncle Haji looked at Tooru like he hung the stars and moon in the sky. Of course he loved Tooru too.
——•——
The period of sadness didn’t last that long. Takeru never found out what happened, but things must have been resolved because the next time Tooru picked him up at practice, Uncle Haji was in tow, their pinky’s linked together so that they were almost holding hands, but not quite. Takeru’s eyes caught on something shiny and as he squinted to see what it was, he was surprised to see matching rings hanging from silver chains around both of their necks.
“Oikawa-Senpai!” Takeru’s club mates cheered as they saw him. Oikawa squeezed Hajime’s hand before jogging over to the cheering group of children. As he began his usual spiel to Takeru’s club mates on proper form, Takeru broke away from the group to join Uncle Haji where he was leaning against the bleachers. He was staring at Tooru with his usual look of adoration.
“You love my uncle Tooru don’t you?” Takeru asked, coming up beside him to watch as Tooru passed a ball with the kids. Hajime paused and turned to face Takeru.
“You’re observant like him, you know.”
“Yeah, it’s an Oikawa thing. My mom says that we have eyes on the back of our heads. She says she has to because she’s a teacher and the kids try to get away with bad things.” Hajime laughed, letting his soft gaze land back on Tooru. He was teaching the kids proper blocking technique. Good. Maybe they’d win a game finally. Their defense had been terrible lately.
“Why do you even like my Uncle Tooru?” Takeru asked, not understanding how anyone could like like that 6 foot nerd. Hajime smiled again, his eyes never leaving Tooru.
“He makes me feel seen,” he replied after a while. Takeru didn’t know what that meant, but he sensed that Uncle Haji probably wouldn’t answer any more of his questions. He was just glad they had finally made up. Now Uncle Haji could come play volleyball with him again. And he guessed it was a plus that Uncle Tooru wasn’t totally depressed anymore. It was a great day all around.
——•——
Takeru was ten years old. It was honestly so dumb that his mom made him have a bed time. It’s not like he ever got into any trouble either. He was a good kid. He went to school, got good grades, and practiced volleyball really hard. He was gonna be better than uncle Tooru one day too, he just knew it. Plus, Uncle Haji told him he was, so obviously it was gonna happen.
Still he was treated like a delinquent child. Bed time at 9:30 pm?! That was so dumb. His mom was out on a stupid date so Tooru was babysitting him and of course Uncle Haji was there too. They were having so much fun playing super smash bros until Tooru started losing and started to get whiny. If it wasn’t for him, uncle Haji probably would have let him stay up later, but unfortunately he was wrapped around Tooru’s finger.
Takeru watched as Iwaizumi paused the game with a roll of his eyes and gave Takeru’s actual uncle a smirk.
“What, are you gonna cry about it? It’s just a game Tooru.” Uncle Haji always called him Tooru at home. Takeru had never heard him use the name anywhere else. He didn’t know why.
Tooru punched Iwaizumi in the shoulder.
“No you brute! I’m just saying it’s not fair because you two were obviously teaming up against me or else I would have totally smoked your asses— I mean butts,” he corrected when Iwaizumi shot him a glare.
“I’m ten I know what an ass is!” Takeru spoke up. They both looked at him, Iwaizumi looking amused and Tooru looking annoyed.
“Now look what you did,” Iwaizumi told him. Tooru glared.
“Don’t you dare tell Nee-San,” he warned. Takeru giggled evilly knowing that if he told his mom, she would definitely yell at Oikawa for teaching him bad words, not like he didn’t already know them.
“Sure uncle Tooru. Whatever you say,” Oikawa narrowed his eyes.
“Whatever you little cheater. Isn’t it past your bedtime?”
“I’m not a cheater!” Takeru protested because he wasn’t! He was just good at Mario kart. It wasn’t his fault Uncle Tooru sucked.
“Are too!”
“Am not!”
“Are too!”
“Am not!”
“Alright alright enough! I think Tooru is right. Time for bed, buddy lets go.”
“Aw come on uncle Haji. One more game, please?” Takeru begged, hoping that his puppy dog eyes would work on Iwaizumi the way Tooru’s did. He had no such luck as Iwaizumi shook his head and shoed him towards the stairs.
“Go brush your teeth and put on your pajamas. We’ll be up in a bit to tuck you in.”
Normally, Takeru would say that he’s too old to be tucked in, but this was secretly his favorite part of whenever Iwaizumi came over, so he did as he was told.
Right before he turned, Oikawa stuck his tongue out and mouthed ‘cheater.’ Takeru stopped in his tracks, mouth open at the disrespect. Iwaizumi noticed and turned back to Tooru, who was pretending to be innocent staring at his phone. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes again; he seemed to do that a lot around Tooru. He reached over and smacked the other on the head who jumped at the impact.
“Ow! Iwa-chan, what was that for?”
“Stop being a brat and making faces at Takeru. I didn’t sign up to babysit two kids.”
“You’re so rude,” Oikawa said, rubbing his head.
“Yeah yeah. We’ll be right back.”
“Hey Takeru,” Tooru called out. Takeru paused again. His uncle was holding out a fist. Takeru looked at him questioningly.
“Sorry I called you a cheater. You’re actually just better than me and I got jealous. Are we good?” Takeru fist bumped him with a smile. Tooru may have been childish, but he was a really good uncle.
“Yeah. Are you coming to tuck me in too?”
“You’d make me walk up all those stairs with my crippled knee? Your poor crippled uncle?”
“You mean, future Olympian uncle?” Takeru asked.
“Yeah I’ll come. Let’s get you in bed,”
——•——
If anyone else was watching, it would all feel very domestic. That’s what Oikawa was thinking as he climbed the stairs to tuck Takeru in for bed.
He and Iwaizumi hadn’t talked about the hand holding thing yet, or the kiss, or what to tell their classmates or teammates. It was all very new. So new and fragile like muscles that had regrown after a tear. Oikawa didn’t want to do anything to mess it up.
At the same time he was ecstatic. He had known Iwaizumi his entire life, but never like this. He had wanted this for so long and now it was finally coming true. It was unbelievable. He was so unbelievably lucky.
——•——
A few hours after Iwaizumi and Oikawa had put him to bed, Takeru couldn’t sleep. He didn’t know why. He should have been exhausted after his volleyball practice and then the delicious dinner Uncle Haji had cooked and then the video games, but he couldn’t sleep. He knew that uncle Haji and Tooru were still up because he could hear the faint noise from the tv coming from downstairs. Maybe he’d ask if he could watch a movie with them.
He crept out of his room and over to the balcony that overlooked the living room to see if they were still awake or not. He didn’t want to wake them up if they had fallen asleep after the movie.
From what he could see in the flicker of the tv light, the two were curled around each other on the sofa, talking about something. If he listened hard enough, he could just barely make out what they were saying.
“… was so scared. I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t feel the same way. I tried to keep it in for so long, I didn’t want to ruin anything. I still don’t. I’m terrified I’m going to ruin this.” That was Tooru speaking. His voice sounded warbly as if he was… was he crying? Takeru scooted closer to the edge, making sure to stay out of view should either of them choose to look up.
“Tooru, how could you ever think that I am anything but in love with you? I thought I was so obvious.”
“I don’t know. I guess I was just too caught up in my own feelings and emotions.”
“As per usual,” Iwaizumi deadpanned. “But hey. It doesn’t matter any more. We’re here. We’re together. That’s what matters. We’re always gonna be a team no matter what. Even if this doesn’t work out, you’ll always be my best friend.”
“Iwa-chan…” Oikawa said softly, almost in awe. He wasn’t crying anymore, but Takeru watched as Iwaizumi caressed Oikawa’s face And lean forward until… until their lips touched! They were kissing? Boys can do that? His uncle Haji and Tooru were kissing?
Takeru watched half in fascination half in disgust, not because they were boys, but in the same way that he almost barfed every time Ojii-San and Obaa-San kissed. And every time he saw his mom kiss a date goodnight.
Love, in general, was disgusting.
Iwaizumi slid his hands down the side of Oikawa’s neck, his shoulders, his torso, his waist, until he hoisted Oikawa up and sat him so he was straddling his lap. Their kiss deepened and Takeru had seen enough.
He abruptly turned and scurried back to his room, hoping that he never encountered anything like that again. He squeezed his eyes shut and hoped that sleep would take him soon.
——•——
Oikawa was in heaven. He had died and passed away and now he was through the pearly gates or surely dreaming because there was no way this was real, right? There was no way he was making out with his childhood crush and best friend on his sofa right now.
“Iwa-chan,” he breathed, begging for something, anything, he didn’t know. He felt high off of the adrenaline.
“Needy,” Iwaizumi commented, his voice a low rumble as he nipped at Oikawa’s bottom lip, causing him to arch his back to close the distance between them.
“Iwa- Iwa-chan, I want—“ Oikawa stuttered as Iwaizumi kissed down his jaw and neck. Fed up with trying to form a sentence, Oikawa moved his hands down Iwaizumi’s chest to the hem of his shirt. He was determined to feel skin between them, unobstructed. He began to lift the shirt, but Iwaizumi pulled back and placed a hand over his, keeping the shirt down.
“Tooru… I want to, but Takeru’s here. We can’t,” he told Oikawa reproachfully. Oikawa pulled back as well crossing his arms.
“He’s asleep. He won’t even know!” Oikawa protested. “I’ll be quiet, promise,” Oikawa said crossing his heart. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow in amusement before giving Oikawa the softest smile. Iwaizumi reached out and took his hands in his own. They were warm. Oikawa felt his heart stutter as he looked into Iwaizumi’s eyes.
“Tooru. We have time,” he said.
——•——
“Mom, Iwa-chan is here for dinner tonight,” Tooru announced, coming into the kitchen, Hajime in tow. Takeru’s mom rolled her eyes. From where she was slicing peppers next to Takeru’s Obaasan.
“When is he not,” she said.
“Welcome Hajime-chan. It’s been too long,” Takeru’s Obaasan said. Hajime bowed his head before taking a seat next to Takeru.
“Sorry Oikawa-san— I’ve been super busy with school and getting stuff ready for graduation.” Takeru watched as Tooru took the chair on Hajime’s right, moving it closer until their entire sides were touching. Tooru laid his head on Hajime’s shoulder and he paused, bringing a hand up to thread through Tooru’s chestnut curls. Tooru closed his eyes. Takeru’s mom did that for him sometimes and he loved it too. Must be an Oikawa thing. He went back to his homework.
“Right, you’ve been thinking about college in America, right? How exciting!”
“Yeah I’m really excited.”
“Better check your bags before you go or this one might have tried to sneak into your luggage.” Takeru’s mom said, which was hilarious to think about his 6 foot tall uncle curling up to fit into one of uncle Haji’s suit cases.
Tooru lifted his head and looked at Hajime. Takeru could tell they were having another silent conversation. He didn’t know what they were saying, but he could tell that Iwaizumi’s expression was telling Tooru “we’ll be alright.”
“Too bad you don’t want to come to Argentina. Iwa-chan would fit perfectly in my carry on bag,” Tooru said cheekily as Takeru’s mom and Obaasan put the dishes of food on the table and took a seat.
“Hah?” Iwaizumi said looking at Tooru’s grin.
“You know,” he explained. “Because you’re fun sized,” he teased, bumping his shoulder against Hajime’s
“Do you want to die?” Hajime asked, deadly calm as everyone laughed. Takeru smiled watching them interact. Tooru was always the happiest whenever Uncle Haji was around.
“Don’t worry. Iwa-chan and me have a fullproof plan, itinerary of class schedules and volleyball games and plane ticket rates.” He said confidently, taking Hajime’s hand. “We’re gonna be okay,” he said, turning to Hajime to meet his eyes. They looked at each other for a second too long before turning back to their food.
They ate for a while just talking about anything new in all of their lives before Takeru caught sight of the matching necklaces on Tooru and Uncle Haji’s necks and was reminded of the conversation he had had with Uncle Haji the other day.
“Are you gonna marry my uncle?” He asked. Iwaizumi choked, spraying the water he was drinking back into his cup. Tooru clapped him on the back a few times and offered his own water until Hajime was breathing again. Tooru’s cheeks were bright pink.
“Takeru don’t be silly,” his Obaasan scolded.
“But they have rings!” Takeru protested. His mom was no help as she doubled over laughing.
Hajime and Tooru made eye contact and burst into laughter themselves and soon everyone was laughing.
“It’s a reasonable question,” Takeru pouted, crossing his arms.
“Tooru and Hajime have a special kind of bond, that’s for sure,” his mom said.
“Maybe that bond will help them when they’re doing the dishes,” Takeru’s Obaasan said.
“Yes, Oikawa-San,” Hajime said dutifully, pulling a complaining Tooru from his chair.
The atmosphere was warm and comfortable and Takeru wouldn’t have it any other way.
——•——
Later that night as his mom was tucking him into bed, the question was still nagging him.
“Mom, why did everyone laugh when I asked if Uncle Haji was gonna marry Uncle Tooru? They have those matching rings on necklaces and Uncle Haji told me he loves uncle Tooru. And not just like friends or family. He like likes Tooru.” His mom sighed as she sat on the edge of his bed and brushed a hand through his hair. Takeru sighed in content. No wonder Tooru liked when uncle Haji did this for him.
“Your uncle Tooru and Hajime have a very special relationship,” she said. Takeru rolled his eyes and sat up.
“You already said that,” he said, annoyed.
“It’s just not that simple here,” she said.
“I don’t get it. If they love each other then why can’t they just be together.”
“A lot of people don’t agree that two men can love each other. It’s dangerous to be like them in the world we live in.”
“But why? It’s not like it’s hurting anyone else?” Takeru asked.
“I know honey. That’s just the way it is. It won’t be like that forever though. And where your uncle Haji and Tooru are going, it’s okay for them to be together so maybe they’ll get married or maybe not. Even if it’s legal it can still be very scary.”
“It’s illegal for them to be together here?” Takeru whispered, suddenly scared for his uncles, two of his favorite people in the whole wide world.
“To get married at least. Don’t worry though, honey. Your Obaasan and I love your uncle Tooru and Hajime very much. We’d never let anything happen to them. And if you ever feel like—“
“Ew gross! I’m never getting married! To a girl or a guy! Love is disgusting!” Takeru said. His mom laughed.
“Okay, but just know, no matter what, I’ll always love you.”
“And uncle Tooru and uncle Haji too?” He asked, already confident in her answer. She nodded.
“Of course.”
——•——
It was the spring carnival and the fairgrounds were packed with vendors, locals and tourists alike.
Takeru had been given to the charge of Makki and Mattshun-senpai while Tooru and uncle Haji went to ride some ride that Takeru was too short for. (Damn his late growth spurt why couldn’t he be as tall as uncle Tooru)
Uncle Haji hadn’t wanted to leave Takeru.
“Tooru, your sister asked us to watch him,” he said. Tooru, ever used to getting what he wanted, didn’t give up.
“Please Iwa-chan! Makki and Mattshun can watch him, Makki doesn’t even like roller coasters!” Hajime sighed, already resigned to give in.
“You two better watch him then. No funny business,” Hajime said, pointing to Makki and Mattshun.
“Us?” Makki asked.
“Funny business?” Mattshun continued.
“We would never,” Iwaizumi glared for a second before rolling his eyes and taking Tooru’s hand. Takeru wanted to gag as Tooru blushed. Seriously, they were so in love it was gross. It was also sweet and takeru might be happy for his uncle, but he would never admit it.
“Whatever. Let’s go, but just this ride,” Hajime said.
“If you ride this one with me, I’ll ride another one with you later,” Tooru responded with a wink as they walked away. This time Hajime’s cheeks were the ones to turn red and Takeru had no idea what they were talking about. Takeru didn’t really mind; Makki and Mattshun were cool and he liked hanging out with them. They had already done most of the rides he had wanted to go on earlier and he was getting tired so he didn’t mind finding a bench to rest on.
“Look at them,” Makki said, pointing to Tooru as he clung to Hajime’s arm begging him to join the line for the cotton candy concession stand. Hajime protested for a bit before giving in and handing the man a few bills in exchange for the soft treat. Takeru had begun to notice that Tooru was the only one who could ever get Hajime to change his mind.
They stopped at the next stand that was some game where you had to pop balloons with darts. Uncle Haji gave that man some change before lining up the shot and throwing his darts. He won a giant stuffed animal and handed it to Tooru. He leaned into Hajime’s shoulder and twined their hands together as they continued towards the ride.
“They grow up so fast,” Mattshun agreed wiping a fake tear from his eye. Takeru looked between his babysitters in confusion.
“I don’t get it,” he complained. The two looked at each other with that same knowing look Hajime and Tooru often got when they were communicating without words. Takeru hated being left out of the silent conversation but couldn’t be mad when they both broke out into laughter. Makki placed a hand on Takeru’s head.
“All in good time, my young Padawan. All in good time,”
Takeru let his eyes wander back to his pair of favorite uncles as they walked, the sunlight catching on their matching rings hanging from silver chains on their necks.