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The last of the early evening light flowed through the window as the four boyfriends cuddled on the bed in Bokuto and Akaashi’s room. Akaashi closed his eyes as he lay beside Kenma with his hands tangled in his hair, the smaller boy playing a game on his phone. Kuroo was lying on Kenma’s other side with Bokuto next to him who was propped up on his arm and playing with the strings of Kuroo’s hoodie as they loudly whispered about something Akaashi didn’t care to listen to.
It was a peaceful moment, one they all appreciated after a long day. That was, until it was broken by a ringtone that echoed loudly in the quiet room. Akaashi blinked open his eyes, taking him a moment to realise it was his phone making the noise. He reached over to the nightstand behind him and squinted at his phone to see who was calling. It was his mother, which was strange since she didn’t call him often and always sent a warning text beforehand. He sat up against the headboard, glancing at his boyfriends who were all watching him, before he answered.
“Hello?”
“Keiji, I’m glad I caught you, are you busy right now?” his mother’s voice came through the phone.
“No, it’s ok,” Akaashi answered.
“Good, how are you?”
“I’m fine thank you.”
“Good, good.”
It was a stilted conversation as usual. Akaashi wondered why his mother was calling, “How are you?” he asked.
“I’m fine. You know, I just talked to your aunt earlier and she had something very interesting to tell me.”
“And what was that?” Here it comes, there was bound to be something negative his mother and aunt were gossiping about.
“Her son watches this boy who plays video games on the internet, kozu… something. Do you know him?”
Akaashi tensed and glanced at Kenma beside him. This wasn’t going to go well.
“Yes, I am familiar.”
“Well, imagine his mother’s surprise when her son tells her that he saw his cousin Keiji in one of those videos.”
Akaashi stayed quiet, knowing where this was going and not wanting to make things worse.
“Apparently there was talk of some kind of relationship between the four of you. Please tell me you’re not involved in this Keiji.”
Akaashi tried to keep his voice from shaking as he replied. “I can explain,” he started.
“What is there to explain? Is it true or not?” his mother’s voice was chillingly calm.
Akaashi took a deep breath, “It’s true.”
A loud sigh came through the other side of the phone. Akaashi felt a small hand on his arm, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at his concerned boyfriends in case the tears threatening to form in his eyes decided to take over.
“It was bad enough when you were just gay, but now this!” His mother surely had that disapproving look on her face that Akaashi knew all too well. “I thought I raised you better than this Keiji. I knew I never should have let you hang around with that Bokuto boy, he’s a bad influence on you.
“We should have straightened you out while we had the chance, now look what you’ve become. How are we supposed to explain this to the rest of the family? To your 12-year-old cousin? Just thinking about it makes me sick, that you’re not only a queer but a whor—"
Akaashi quickly moved the phone away from his ear and hung up. Still processing, he slowly placed his phone face down on the bed, hands slightly shaky.
“Akaashi, are you ok?” Kenma asked, a look of concern on his face.
“What happened?” Bokuto asked.
Akaashi could feel the shock start to fade, making way for his other emotions to surface. He slowly turned to the edge of the bed and swung his legs over.
“I need a minute.” He stood up and moved towards the door.
“Akaashi—” Bokuto tried to climb over his boyfriends to follow him, but the other two put up their hands to stop him.
“If he needs a minute, just give him a minute,” Kuroo said.
“But…”
Kenma shook his head gently at Bokuto who looked back at Akaashi with concerned eyes before sitting back down. Akaashi closed the bedroom door behind him and went to sit on the couch, not bothering to turn on any lights.
As soon as he sat down in the dark empty room, the tears started to flow. He hated people seeing him cry, he just needed to be alone to get it out of his system.
His mother had found out about his relationship, and it seemed like this time there was no negotiating that could be done. He wouldn’t be surprised if he was never allowed in his family home again. Three strikes and you’re out. Or in his case, three boyfriends.
He sat mulling things over for a while, and eventually he started to calm down. He knew this was likely to happen at some point, now he just had to accept the reality. A lamp turned on and Akaashi looked up to see Kuroo standing to the side of the room.
“Kuroo…”
He came over and sat next to Akaashi, placing a gentle hand on his back. He had Akaashi’s phone in his hand, and he turned the screen to show him.
“I thought you’d rather see this now than later.”
There was a text from his mother that said: ‘I don’t want to hear from you again, you are not my son’. Akaashi took his phone from Kuroo, cleared the notification and put it down on the seat beside him. He looked up at Kuroo, seeing the worry and empathy in his eyes, and he let himself be taken into his boyfriend’s arms.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Kuroo gently encouraged.
“I think it’s pretty clear that my mother hates me and I’ve been disowned from my whole family.”
“She found out about our relationship?”
“Yes, it turns out my cousin watches Kenma’s channel.”
“Oh, we probably should have checked that before we made the video.”
It had seemed like a good idea at the time, Kenma introducing his boyfriends to his viewers. They had also done it because Kenma was sick of fans speculating and prying into his private life.
“It’s not your fault and it’s not Kenma’s fault,” Akaashi insisted. “I agreed to it even though I knew it might not go well if my family found out.”
“Well, what’s done is done. They’ve found out and now we have to deal with it,” Kuroo said, rubbing circles on Akaashi’s back.
“I have to deal with it…” Akaashi sighed and wiped some of the tears from his cheeks. “But I don’t know what to do.”
“Maybe if you gave her time to process it and then tried to talk to her…”
“I don’t know if that will work. I don’t think she’s even fully accepted me being gay and now polyamory… it’s hard to imagine her ever coming around.” Akaashi twisted his fingers in his hands, an anxious habit.
“I’ve always tried to be the perfect son that she always wanted, and that included growing up to have a wife and kids. So when I realised I was gay, I was prepared to hide it for the rest of my life, but then Bokuto liked me back and I knew I couldn’t do that.
“So I told her, and she was angry and disappointed in me, but I promised her that it would be ok. That I wouldn’t stray down the wrong path. That I would still be her perfect son.
“And she gave me a chance. I guess she thinks I broke that promise. I’m sorry, you probably don’t want to hear about all this,” Akaashi said, realising he was rambling.
“No, it’s ok,” Kuroo assured. “I want to help you, and this is an important part of what you’re going through.”
Kuroo held Akaashi closer and patted his hair gently.
“You know you’re your own person and you don’t need to live by your parent’s expectations.”
“I have to if I want to be accepted by them.” Akaashi knew there was no way around it.
“Who says you need their acceptance to be happy?”
“They’re my family.”
“And so are we.”
“That’s not the same.”
“Why not?”
Akaashi thought it was obvious, but he explained anyway. “Family is there your whole life and you have to deal with what you're given. If you’re cut off from your family, then you could easily be left with nowhere to go.” That’s what his mother always threatened him with.
“You don’t think we’re gonna last forever?” Kuroo said, looking a little hurt.
“No that’s not what I meant. Of course I want to be together forever, but you know, we’re young, a lot of things can happen. There isn’t the same guarantee as blood family,” Akaashi explained.
“I can’t say I agree with that,” Kuroo said. “Some blood families aren’t guaranteed, they’re conditional like yours seems to be. And I’ve always thought of Kenma as part of my family. I’ve always known he would be in my life forever, even if we somehow drift apart, we will always be there for each other if we need it. And that’s how I’ve grown to feel about you and Bokuto too.”
“That’s very sweet.” Akaashi was quiet for a moment, thinking everything over.
“Whatever happens, we’ll get through this together. We’re all here for you and we always will be.”
“Thank you Kuroo.” Akaashi gave a small smile.
“Should I tell the others what happened, or do you want to?”
“You can tell them. I’d rather not have to keep talking about it for now.”
“Ok.” Kuroo ran his thumb across Akaashi’s still damp cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Kuroo leaned in and kissed him, slow and purposeful, making Akaashi’s worries die down if only for a moment.
***
A few days had passed and although Akaashi was still grieving, things had settled down a bit. Akaashi had just left for the library where he had been spending a lot of time lately, saying it made him feel better. His boyfriends had been sure to give him plenty of attention when he was home though, to make sure he didn’t get too caught up in his thoughts and forget how much they loved him. But Kuroo couldn’t help wanting to do more to help.
He found Kenma at his desk and brought him to the living room where Bokuto was so they could talk.
“We have to do something about Akaashi,” Kuroo opened.
“Like what?” Bokuto asked.
“Well, I was thinking of going to talk to Akaashi’s parents.”
“Oh, shouldn’t we ask Akaashi first?” Bokuto looked hesitant.
“He’ll just tell us it’s a bad idea.”
“Maybe he’s right. I don’t think they like me very much so it probably won’t go very well.”
“Who could not like you? Besides, if all three of us go it should be fine.”
“Maybe…” Bokuto still seemed reluctant.
“I think we should at least try,” Kenma spoke up. “I feel bad that it was my fault that they found out.”
“It’s not your fault, Akaashi said to not blame yourself,” Kuroo reassured.
“But it is my fault, he’s just being nice. Either way I’d feel bad if we didn’t do anything to help.”
“It’s not your fault, but I agree that we should try talking to them.”
“It is my fault.”
“It’s not—”
“Guys stop,” Bokuto cut in, “it’s no one’s fault except Akaashi’s parent’s for being so mean.”
“Exactly. Which is why if we want to help, we should talk to them.” Kuroo said, bringing his point home.
“Yeah, ok, I guess you’re right,” Bokuto gave in.
“Of course I’m right, I’m always right.”
“Ha sure, you haven’t even met them,” Kenma pointed out.
“So?”
“So how do you know if anything you say could change their minds?”
“Well…” Kuroo realised he hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“They’ve at least met me, even if they don’t like me, so I could try talking first,” Bokuto suggested.
“Ok sure, and I’ll back you up!”
“What about me?” Kenma asked.
“You can just stand there and give a death glare if you don’t want to say anything,” Kuroo said.
“Ok.”
With the decision made, they headed to Akaashi’s house by train, Bokuto leading the way since he was the only one who had been there before. They discussed strategies on the way, but they still didn’t have much of a plan by the time they arrived.
Bokuto nervously knocked on the door with Kuroo and Kenma standing behind him. The door opened to reveal Akaashi’s mother who immediately moved to close the door once she saw Bokuto.
“Wait!” He stopped the door in time before it fully closed. “Please just hear us out.”
“I thought I made it clear that I didn’t want to see Keiji.” Akaashi’s mother said sternly.
“He’s not here, he doesn’t know we’re here. We just want to talk, it won’t take long.”
Akaashi’s mother hesitated before slowly opening the door and giving them a stern look.
“You have three minutes.”
“Um ok, well we all love Akaashi very much and he loves us. Just because our relationship is unconventional and you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it’s bad or wrong,” Bokuto started to explain.
“Are you questioning my intelligence?”
“No, I just mean you might not know anyone in this kind of relationship so you might think it’s bad when it’s really not,” Bokuto said, trying to get back on the right foot.
“You’ve always been a bad influence on Keiji, he’s gone downhill since he met you.”
“That's not true! He’s always been kind and smart and caring and fun, even more so since we all started dating.”
She glanced past Bokuto at the other two boys who she had barely acknowledged. “So these are the others huh? Was Keiji not good enough for you?”
“No, that’s not why we’re together.”
“Keiji certainly deserves better than your corrupted lifestyle.”
“What corrupted lifestyle?” Kuroo interrupted. “Loving multiple people? What’s so bad about that?” He stepped forward, swapping places with Bokuto as Kenma moved to hold onto Bokuto’s shirt instead of Kuroo’s.
“No one can actually love multiple people.” Akaashi’s mother narrowed her eyes.
“Really? What do you think this is then?”
“You’re using him for your own personal gains, you don’t actually care about him. Whatever delusion you have won’t last.”
“Oh, and you do care?” Kuroo was getting angry now. “You think telling your own son he’s disgusting for who he loves is showing how much you care?”
“The sooner he comes to his senses the better off he’ll be.” She wasn’t backing down.
“You want to disown Keiji? Fine, go ahead, because he’s our family now and we love him unconditionally unlike you,” Kuroo yelled. “He’s happy with us, happier than he ever was with you judging his every move, and we’re not gonna let you take that away from him.”
He turned away from Akaashi’s mother, nudging Bokuto and Kenma along with him. “Come on guys, we’re done here.”
“There’s something seriously wrong with all of you.”
They ignored her and continued walking away from the house and back to the train station.
“Well, that could have gone better,” Bokuto said.
“No kidding,” Kenma agreed.
“I might have gotten a bit carried away, but she has no right to treat Akaashi like that.” Kuroo said, still heated.
“I was hoping she might come around after a while like when Akaashi came out as gay, but it doesn’t seem like it.” Bokuto frowned.
“I think polyamory is just too much for her,” Kuroo conceded, “What’s his dad like?”
“The same, anything his mom says his dad just agrees with.”
“Not a great chance there then.”
“No… and I knew she didn’t like me. She thinks I’m a bad influence!”
“You are a bad influence,” Kenma teased.
“No I’m not! Right Kuroo?”
“Oh, you’re a very bad influence babe.”
Bokuto pouted at Kuroo, who returned a playful grin.
“See, how can I say no to that face?” Kuroo said and cupped Bokuto’s face in his hands, then kissed his pouting lips which quickly turned into a smile. They kept walking, Bokuto swinging Kenma’s hand in his and looking thoughtfully.
“I bet my parents would be ok with it.”
“You think so?” Kuroo looked over at Bokuto.
“Yeah, they’re pretty chill. They’re fine with me being gay and they love Akaashi, and you Kuroo, and they haven’t met Kenma but I’m sure they’ll love him too!”
“Maybe we should all tell our parents,” Kuroo considered.
“I don’t know if I’m ready yet,” Kenma said.
“We can work towards it, start with Bo, then me, and then see if you want to,” Kuroo suggested.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“And we can bring Akaashi too so he can see that it’s not all bad and we’re not all gonna be cut off from our families,” Kuroo said, getting a bit of hope back.
“Ok let’s try it,” Bokuto agreed.
***
Later that night, Kuroo and Akaashi were cooking together in the kitchen. Kuroo was still distracted with thoughts of Akaashi’s parents as he aggressively chopped some vegetables.
“Kuroo…” he didn’t answer. “Kuroo.”
“Huh?” Kuroo looked up at his boyfriend.
“I think that’s enough carrot,” Akaashi said.
Kuroo looked down at the small mountain of carrot forming on his chopping board. “Oh right, sorry.”
He put down the knife and slid the chopped carrot into the pan Akaashi was stirring.
“Are you ok?” Akaashi asked.
Kuroo sighed and leaned against the counter. “Yeah, I was just thinking about your parents.”
“Oh,” Akaashi turned his gaze back to the pan. “I think it’s best if we just move on.”
“Is that really what you want?” Kuroo looked at him with concern.
“I don’t know. I don’t think there’s much else we can do.” Akaashi had already started to accept that.
“I was thinking, what if we all told our parents as well?”
Akaashi’s eyes flicked up to meet Kuroo’s. “You don’t have to do that,” he insisted.
“We’re gonna have to tell them eventually, we’ve already put it off longer than we should have,” Kuroo explained. “And it’s probably better if we tell them ourselves instead of them finding out.”
“Yes.” Akaashi couldn’t disagree.
“Bo thinks his family will be ok with it so that’s a good place to start. We could go visit them tomorrow.”
Akaashi considered the idea. “Have you talked to Bokuto and Kenma about this?”
“Yeah.”
“Ok, if Bokuto’s sure he wants to, then we might as well try it.”
“Ok.” Kuroo smiled and hugged Akaashi from behind, leaving kisses on his neck. “It’s going to be fine,” he assured.
“I hope so,” Akaashi sighed. “And you better not leave a mark.”
Kuroo laughed and placed another kiss on his neck.
“I won’t, we wouldn’t want Bokuto’s mother getting the wrong impression.”
Akaashi rolled his eyes, giving his ankle a light kick.
***
It was around 1am, and the house was quiet. Bokuto was asleep soundly next to Akaashi. It was loud in Akaashi's head. He kept playing back the phone call with his mother over and over. Their relationship had always been rocky, but it still hurt to know just what she thought of him. Would Bokuto’s parents really be any different?
Akaashi wasn't getting to sleep any time soon. He wanted some company, but he didn't want to disturb Bokuto. He got out of bed as quietly as he could and gently knocked on the next door down the hallway. He opened it to find Kenma still awake, playing a game on his PC with his headphones on. Kuroo was asleep on the other side of the room with a pillow over his head to block the light. Kenma noticed Akaashi and paused his game and took off his headphones.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Can't sleep," Akaashi said. "Can you keep me company?"
"Sure," Kenma nodded and stood up from his desk chair. "Do you wanna go to the couch?"
"Yeah," Akaashi agreed, and they moved to the living room.
The two of them lay down on the couch, Akaashi spooning Kenma. He stroked his boyfriend's long hair, soothing both of them.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Kenma asked.
Akaashi sighed, "I was just thinking about my parents. I don't want to burden you with it."
"It's ok," Kenma assured. "I want to help you feel better."
Akaashi took a moment to think. "I don't know how to let go. I know I should. I should move on and focus on what makes me happy instead of trying to please my mother. But it's hard. She's still my mother."
"You can take your time. It's a big adjustment, you shouldn't expect to get over it in just a couple of days."
"I guess you're right."
"In the meantime, we're here for you."
"Thank you, Kenma."
Akaashi kissed Kenma's head and held him tight. He still had plenty of worries, but eventually he managed to fall asleep.
***
The next day they all arrived at Bokuto’s house and knocked on the door. Hearing muffled voices from inside, the door soon opened to reveal two excited girls.
“Hey Kou!” Bokuto’s eldest sister, Kaiya exclaimed.
“Nee-chan!” Bokuto greeted her with a hug.
“Oh, you brought your friends! Hey Akaashi!” his other sister, Hiromi waved to them.
“Hello,” Akaashi greeted.
“I didn’t know you two would be here,” Bokuto said, hugging Hiromi as well.
“Mum said you were coming over, so we thought we’d stop by,” Kaiya explained.
“Wouldn’t want to miss a chance to see my favourite baby brother!” Hiromi smiled.
“I’m your only brother.”
“Exactly, that’s why you’re my favourite!”
“Anyway, come in, come in.” The two girls stepped back from the door to let them past and into the living room.
“I’m Hiromi by the way, I’m the second oldest, and that’s Kaiya,” she said to the other two boys.
“I’m Kuroo and this is Kenma.”
“Ah yes, I’ve heard stories about you Kuroo,” Hiromi said teasingly.
Kuroo raised his eyebrows and looked over at Bokuto. “What kind of stories?”
“Mostly you two getting into trouble.” Hiromi grinned.
“Anyway, do you guys want something to drink? We bought apple juice!” Kaiya added.
“Oh yes please!” Bokuto said.
“Great! We’ll be back soon.” Bokuto’s sisters went to the kitchen, leaving the boys in the living room.
Kuroo leaned in to loudly whisper to Bokuto, “Your sisters are kinda hot dude.”
“Kuroo!” Bokuto looked shocked.
“What? I’m just stating facts, right guys?” He looked at Kenma and Akaashi who returned unamused looks.
“Well, you are the only one who’s bi so…” Kenma shrugged.
“And they’re my sisters!”
“Relax I’m just teasing, they’re not as hot as you babe,” Kuroo said and kissed Bokuto’s cheek, easing his frown into a smile.
“But it does seem to run in the family,” Kuroo smirked, giving Bokuto’s pecs a squeeze and making him jump and push him away.
“Hey stop!”
They managed to settle down and sit nicely on the couch before Bokuto’s sisters came back, followed shortly by their parents.
“Hi Koutarou, how are you honey?” his mum greeted.
“I’m good thanks Mum.”
“Good to see you Akaashi, Kuroo and…”
“Kenma,” he introduced himself.
“Ah yes, Kuroo’s boyfriend, right? He talks about you all the time.”
Kuroo gave him a nudge and a smile, Kenma’s cheeks turning pink.
“Nice to finally meet all of you, these are the boys you’re living with, right Koutarou?” Bokuto’s dad said.
“Yeah.”
“Seems like you all get along well,” Bokuto’s mum smiled.
“Oh yeah, definitely,” Bokuto grinned.
Everyone found somewhere to sit around the living room, glasses of apple juice in hand.
“So, what was it that you wanted to talk to us about?” Bokuto’s dad started.
“Well, um,” Bokuto glanced nervously at his boyfriends beside him.
“Whatever it is, you can tell us,” his mum reassured.
Bokuto nodded and took a breath, building up his confidence. “We’re dating,” he said simply.
Bokuto’s family looked around at each other.
“We already know you and Akaashi are dating,” his mum said.
“We said we were supportive of it,” his dad added.
“No not that,” Bokuto tried to clarify.
“You didn’t break up, did you?” Hiromi said with a hand over her mouth.
“No, we’re still dating! We’re just also dating Kuroo and Kenma.”
“Woah, really?” Kaiya exclaimed.
“So, all four of you are together?” Bokuto’s mum asked.
“Yeah.”
“Well, if you’re happy then I’m happy,” she said.
“I am happy.” Bokuto smiled at his boyfriends.
“Alright,” Bokuto’s dad clapped for emphasis. “That settles it then, everyone’s happy!”
“That’s it?” Kuroo asked.
“That was surprisingly easy.” Akaashi couldn’t believe the difference in their family’s reactions.
“Wow Kou, I didn’t know you were so popular with the boys!” Hiromi said, hitting her brother on the back.
“Maybe save some of the popularity genes for us, ok?” Kaiya laughed.
“I think you two are popular enough.” Bokuto smiled.
“You know, when you first started bringing Kuroo around I wondered if you had a crush on him, but then Akaashi came along and you two were clearly in love with each other,” Bokuto’s mum said.
“Did you have a crush on me Bo?” Kuroo turned to his boyfriend.
“No,” Bokuto denied.
Kuroo leant on his hand and raised his eyebrows at him.
“I did not!” he protested.
“I honestly wouldn’t be surprised,” Akaashi joined in.
“Stop ganging up on me!”
“Is he blushing?” Kaiya teased.
“I think he’s blushing,” Hiromi agreed.
“Nee-chan, not you too!” Bokuto hid his face in Akaashi’s shoulder while his sisters laughed.
“I like your boyfriends Kou,” Hiromi smiled.
***
Akaashi sat in the bath later that night and reflected on their visit. Bokuto's family was so lively and happy, they felt like a real family. The contrast with his own family was stark. He felt alone in his family, no one was there to support him or advocate for him. He wondered how different his life would be if he had even a small part of what Bokuto's family had.
He was starting to realise that for all he tried to give to his parents, the perfect son they dreamed of, Akaashi didn't get anything in return. A roof over his head, sure, but that was the bare minimum, and he didn't live there anymore. What he really wanted from his family was love and support. He certainly didn't get that from his parents, but he did get it from his boyfriends. Maybe Kuroo had a point, that maybe he could make his own family.
Akaashi got out of the bath, dried himself off and put on some comfortable clothes. He went back to the living room where his three boyfriends were watching something on the tv.
"Akaashi!" Bokuto called, "Come sit in the middle!" He picked up Kenma from the middle spot and put him on his lap. Akaashi sat down between Bokuto and Kuroo.
"How are you feeling?" Kuroo asked.
"I'm fine. I'm glad telling Bokuto's family went well."
"See? I knew it would!" Bokuto smiled brightly. Akaashi loved that smile.
"I love you. All of you," Akaashi said, "Thank you for helping me through this."
"Of course," Bokuto said.
Akaashi kissed him, Bokuto pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. He felt Kuroo's hand on his chest and his lips on his neck. Kenma put a hand on his thigh too, just to show he was there. Akaashi soaked in the touch of his loves, and felt at home.
***
The four had decided to tell Kuroo and Kenma’s parents the next day. They were going to Kenma’s house for dinner and had invited Kuroo’s dad as well. Kuroo and Kenma had basically grown up together, so it made sense to tell them together. Kenma was nervous, he worried that his parents wouldn’t understand. It made sense to them that Kenma would always be with Kuroo, but now they had Bokuto and Akaashi too. A lot was riding on this first introduction.
They arrived at Kenma’s house and knocked on the door. Kenma’s dad answered to greet them.
“Hi boys, come in. Your mum has nearly finished cooking,” he said.
They all went to the living room, Kuroo’s dad was sitting to the side reading, and Kenma’s mum was watching the food on the stovetop. She took a break to come over to greet them.
“Hi Kenma, honey, and Tetsurou-kun,” she hugged the two boys, “and you must be Bokuto and Akaashi.”
“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Akaashi said, reaching out to shake her hand.
“Oh, so polite!” Kenma’s mum smiled, “I hope my Kenma isn’t causing you too much trouble.”
“Not at all,” Akaashi said.
“Yeah! He’s great to have around!” Bokuto added.
“Good! Make yourselves at home, dinner will be ready soon.”
They all found somewhere to sit in the living room. Kenma nudged Kuroo, prompting him to start the conversation.
“So, um, Kenma and I had something we wanted to tell you,” he started. Kuroo’s dad glanced up from his book.
“What is it?” Kenma’s dad asked.
“Well, you know Kenma and I have been dating for a long time,” Kuroo said.
“Yes,” Kenma’s mum nodded.
“And Bokuto and Akaashi have also been together for a while.”
“Ok,” Kenma’s dad said.
“Well, this past year as we’ve been living together, we’ve all gotten a lot closer and we started to develop feelings for each other. So we decided to date each other, all four of us together.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” Kenma’s mum furrowed her brow.
“I’m dating Kenma and Bokuto and Akaashi. Kenma’s dating me and Bokuto and Akaashi, etcetera.”
“At the same time? Is that not cheating?” Kenma’s mum asked, folding her arms.
“No, because we’re all in one big relationship. Cheating would be if we went outside of the relationship, but between the four of us it’s all consensual,” Kuroo clarified.
“And you’re serious about this? You’re not just fooling around?” Kenma’s dad pressed.
“We’re serious,” Kuroo assured. “We want to be together forever, and we’re telling you because this is an important part of our lives that you should know about.”
“I can’t say I understand it,” Kuroo’s dad spoke up, “but as long as you’re happy, I won’t stop you.
“Thanks, Dad.”
Kuroo’s dad was the type of parent who wasn’t very involved in his son’s life, that was part of the reason that Kuroo spent so much time at Kenma’s house growing up. But this was his way of showing of showing support, so Kuroo appreciated it.
“I don’t know about this, Kenma,” his mum said, “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Yes,” Kenma said, breath a little shaky, “I know this might be hard for you to understand, but I love Bokuto and Akaashi just as much as Kuroo. I just want you to accept us.” Kenma’s nerves were getting to him, his eyes were getting watery.
“Oh, Kenma, come here.” He stood up and hugged his mum.
“Right now, my thoughts on the matter are just that I want you to be happy. If this is what you want, then I’ll support you as best I can.”
“Thank you.” Kenma let out a sigh of relief and went back to sitting next to Kuroo.
“Tetsurou-kun, I think of you as my own son,” Kenma’s mum added. “You two are family. You’re part of our family and you’ve made your own family for the two of you. If this is your way of expanding your little family then we welcome you Bokuto and Akaashi.”
At that, Akaashi suddenly felt tears rolling down his cheeks. He didn’t expect it to affect him this much, but seeing Kuroo and Kenma’s family try to understand, to support them even if they didn’t fully get it, was just so impactful. This is what family was supposed to be like.
“Akaashi, are you ok?” Bokuto asked. Everyone turned to look at him.
“I…” he couldn’t find the words. Only tears came instead.
Kuroo spoke for him, “Akaashi’s parents found out before we had the chance to tell them, and it didn’t go well. He might have lost his family, so I think he really appreciates you saying that.”
Kenma’s mum shared a concerned look with her husband before moving to kneel in front of Akaashi who was trying to compose himself.
“Akaashi, no, what’s your first name?” she asked.
“Keiji.”
“Keiji, you will always be welcome in my home. If you ever need some mother’s love you can come to me. I know my boys will take good care of you and I’m sure you’ll do the same. If they can replace your old family who can’t love you for you, then this is your true family.” Kenma’s mum pulled Akaashi into a hug.
“Thank you,” he sobbed.
“You’re always welcome at my house too Keiji,” Kuroo’s dad added.
“And mine, my parents love you,” Bokuto said as well. “And we all love you too!”
“All this love is getting a bit overwhelming,” Akaashi said, trying to process everything.
“Well, you better get used to it because you deserve it,” Kuroo said, smiling.
All Akaashi could do was smile as his boyfriends attacked him with hugs.
“Alright boys, we better have dinner before it gets cold,” Kenma’s mum interrupted.
***
Over the next few days, everything was starting to feel normal again, and Akaashi was a lot happier. But there was still a nagging thought in the back of his mind, something that still hadn’t been resolved.
As he went to drop off a few books at the library, he decided that now was as good a time as ever, and he found himself getting on a train to his parents’ house. He knew his father would still be at work at this time of the day, and his mother would be out for another hour or so for her book club. As he reached his parents’ house, he got out his keys and tried his old house key. It worked, at least they hadn’t changed the locks.
Stepping inside, he took in the familiar yet strangely distant surroundings. He opened the door to his bedroom to find it exactly as he had left it. He had half expected the room to be packed up and any trace of him thrown away, but he supposed it would have made too much mess. His mother hated mess, easier to just keep the door closed and pretend it didn’t exist. Luckily there wasn’t much left in the room apart from furniture anyway, Akaashi had taken practically everything with him when he moved.
He wandered aimlessly around the house a bit longer, taking everything in one last time, before sitting at the kitchen table and waiting for his mother to come home. It wasn’t long before he heard the door open and close and his mother walked into the room, stopping in her tracks when she saw him.
“What are you doing here?” she asked with a stern look.
“We need to talk.”
“I don’t think we do.”
“Please Mum, just sit down. Then you’ll never have to hear from me again if you don’t want to.”
Akaashi’s mother sighed before putting her bags down and sitting across from him.
“Well?” she prompted.
“I’ve always tried to be perfect for you. I’ve been polite, kept my head down. I’ve gotten good grades, gone to university. I’ve been kind and empathetic whenever I could. But that wasn’t enough for you.”
“You used to be such a good boy, but then that Bokuto—"
Akaashi wouldn’t sit quietly as his mother insulted his boyfriend anymore.
“He was my friend,” he snapped. “He was the best friend I’d ever had. He made me happy, we were in love, we’re still in love. Why couldn’t you have just been happy for me?”
“I put up with it didn’t I? Against my better judgement.”
“Putting up with it, putting up with me, that’s not how you should treat your son.”
“I’m just trying to do what’s good for you.”
“I don’t need you to tell me what’s good or bad for me. I’m my own person and I can make my own decisions, and if you don’t like it that’s fine. I have three boyfriends who love me unconditionally, we’re happy, and there’s nothing wrong about that.”
“Those boys said the same thing,” his mother said with a sour look.
“Boys… they talked to you?” Akaashi was surprised, this was the first he had heard of this.
“They didn’t tell you? Then they didn’t pass on the message that you’re all delusional.”
Akaashi paused, looking away.
“We told their parents about our relationship. They were supportive,” Akaashi said quietly. “Even if they didn’t understand it at first, they knew it was important to us and made us happy. So they had an open mind and they accepted all of us as part of their families.”
His mother said nothing, just folded her arms and gave an unapproving look. Akaashi pulled his keys out of his pocket and took one off the ring, placing it down on the table as he stood up.
“I’m done seeking your approval. I have my own family now, and I don’t need this anymore.”
With that, he left the house, and left his mother, ignoring her shouts that he would regret this. The train ride and the walk back to his apartment passed by in a blur, until he was closing the door behind him and leaning against it.
“Akaashi, you’re back! What took you so long?”
“Bokuto.” He looked up at his boyfriend, kicking off his shoes as he stepped further into the house to meet him in a hug. “I went to see my mum.”
“Oh wow, are you ok?”
“Yeah, I think I am ok.” He was surprised himself at how well he was handling this.
“Well, that’s a good start. Do you want to talk to us about it?”
“I do have a couple of things I want to say.”
“Ok. Kuroo, Kenma!” Bokuto called out. He tried to nudge Akaashi towards the living room but he stayed clinging to him instead.
A few seconds later, Kuroo and Kenma appeared with concerned looks when they saw the two by the door.
“Akaashi, you ok?” Kuroo asked.
Akaashi looked at him from over Bokuto’s shoulder. “I’m ok. I love you all.”
The other two boyfriends joined the hug, Kuroo kissing Akaashi’s forehead and Kenma snuggling into his side.
“I talked to my mother.”
The others looked surprised but didn’t say anything before Akaashi continued.
“I told her that I’ve had enough of trying to be perfect for her and that I have a new family that loves me and makes me happy. You three are all I need in my life. Just promise me you won’t leave me?”
“Of course not,” Kuroo said.
“Never!” Bokuto agreed.
“We promise,” Kenma said.
Akaashi smiled, soaking in the love radiating from all of his boyfriends.
“She said you guys went to talk to her as well.”
“Oh yeah,” Kuroo said. “We thought we might be able to make her understand but it clearly didn’t go well.”
“Thank you for trying but I could have told you it would be a waste of time.”
“We figured that out the hard way,” Kuroo said.
“Akaashi, I know I’ve said this before,” Kenma started, “but I’m really sorry she found out before you were ready because of me.”
“Kenma, this really wasn’t your fault,” Akaashi assured. “She would have found out eventually anyway and I’m kind of glad I don’t have to worry about it anymore. It feels strangely freeing to know that whatever I do she’s not going to approve, so I might as well do whatever I want.”
“Yeah! You can do whatever you want whenever you want to!” Bokuto cheered.
“Can I be ‘whatever you want’?” Kuroo grinned.
Akaashi shot him a look out of the corner of his eye. “I’ll do you whenever I please.”
“Holy shit I didn’t think that would work.” Kuroo was suddenly feeling very flustered, a reaction Akaashi was certainly pleased with.
“Guys you’re ruining the nice moment,” Kenma said.
“Sorry, yes, we’re all happy and in love with each other,” Kuroo said.
“We are!” Bokuto agreed.
He emphasised the point with a kiss for each boyfriend, which soon turned into a puddle on the floor of everyone kissing and hugging everyone.
Akaashi was happy with his family. He had Bokuto’s carefree openness, Kuroo’s genuine desire to help, and Kenma’s quiet understanding. The family they had created might be unconventional, but it was exactly what Akaashi and his boyfriends needed.