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It was a chill and beautiful morning at the Nakamura household. Aiki Nakamura smiled as birds chirped outside. He placed his turner aside and turned off the heat.
“Honey, Akeru!” He shouted to the other room. “Breakfast is ready!” He placed the plates of food on the table and took off his apron.
“Huh…no answer?” He crossed his arms and put his hand to his ear. Usually there would be sounds of rustling and feet pattering, but it was unnecessarily quiet. “Now where are they?”
Aiki walked out of the kitchen and crept throughout the house, listening for any sounds of his family. “I know I told Okuto to wake Akeru up; it’s an important day for him!” Aiki shook his head and walked toward his son’s room and froze as he spotted his husband sleeping on Akeru’s bed. Nestled next to him was Akeru, who looked so small compared to his husband, who was practically a giant. Aiki laughed at the sight of his husband’s legs jutting over the mattress to the point his feet touched the ground.
‘Hehe, my big Octopus and little jellyfish; snuggled together.’ Aiki giggled and quietly walked over to his snoozing family. Aiki stared at his husband and smirked. He brushed back Okuto’s hair and smiled at how peaceful he seemed. Okuto always looked so handsome sleeping, even if he drools a bunch on Aiki sometimes. The brown-haired man couldn’t help but adore him. He glanced over to Akeru and brushed a thumb over their son’s cheek. Akeru gently stirred in his sleep and snuggled closer to Okuto, making Aiki’s heart skip a beat.
‘He looks just like his Papa! Of course, Okuto is way more handsome.’ Aiki giggled to himself again and stood up. He took a deep breath.
“HEY, WAKE UP!”
With a sudden jolt, the two jumped up from the bed in a daze.
“WUH?!” Okuto rubbed his eyes and blinked as his eyes focused on his husband who was glaring at him. “OH, HONEY, HI I UH…”
“You were supposed to wake up, Akeru…not fall asleep again, silly!” Hirose shook his head as Akeru stirred from his sleep.
“Mmmm, five more minutes, Dad…” Akeru rubbed his eyes in a soft tone.
“Akeru…” Aiki frowned as he ruffled his son’s hair. “Do you know what day it is?”
“Huh….OH!” Akeru instantly lit up as he jumped off the bed in a single bound. “RIGHT, IT’S MY FIRST DAY OF GRADE SCHOOL! PAPA WHY DID YOU LET ME FALL ASLEEP??”
“I’m sorry, Ake!!” Okuto whined, “You were just so cute and I couldn’t help but fall asleep in your arms!” Okuto gave Akeru a big hug as Aiki raised his brow at him.
“You never do that with me, honey? What gives?” He teased.
“But you’re also so cute too, Aiki! But you always get upset if you sleep in…” Okuto blushed as he sheepishly rubbed his pointer fingers together. “I’m always afraid if I sleep in your arms you’ll never let me go.”
“Darn right I won’t.” Aiki smugly grabbed Okuto by the hand and pulled him off the bed. “You are MY husband after all; I’m not letting you get away from me that easily.”
“Dadddd!! Stoppp!” Akeru shouted while covering his face. “You’re being icky again!!”
“Neeeh.” Aiki stuck his tongue out as he walked over to Akeru. “You just want more kisses, don’t you!”
“Nuh, uh…” Akeru slowly backed away and glanced at Okuto in a desperate cry for help. “Papa, help!!” He ran behind Okuto and hid his face.
“Don’t worry, Akeru!” Okuto proclaimed. “I’ll protect you from your Dad’s kisses!”
Aiki frowned at both of them and shook his head. He grabbed Okuto’s tie and pulled him down.
‘You do realize you’re not immune to my love, right?’
“M…MAYBE, THAT’S WHAT I WANTED!” Okuto blushed while avoiding eye contact.
“You’re too easy, honey.” Aiki gave Okuto a big kiss on the cheek and looked down at Akeru. “You’re next, Akeru!”
“NOooo! Unhand me, Dad!” Akeru tried to run, but he was not fast enough to escape Aiki’s grasp.
“Come here, you.” Aiki kissed Akeru on the cheek and mused over the fact that Akeru didn’t try to fight back, despite his words.
“Got room for one more?” Okuto laughed as he kissed Akeru’s other cheek.
“Guysss…this is so embarrassing!” Akeru tried to push his dads away but couldn’t and just sighed as he got assaulted with a barrage of kisses.
“There we go, the debt has been repaid.” Aiki grinned as he set Akeru down. “Now, head downstairs and get some food for your big day!”
“Okay!” Akeru beamed as Okuto followed him. “Race you, Papa!”
“Oh, you’re on, Ake!”
“Be careful!” Aiki shouted as he heard the familiar sounds of pattering feet. He shook his head and started to fold Akeru’s bed. He sighed as he recalled the day that Akeru said he wanted to sleep on his own. Okuto was against the idea, while Aiki wanted to encourage his son to make his own choices. However, that didn’t stop the Dads from installing a bright Jellyfish nightlight that Akeru still uses to this day. The first night was grueling; both Okuto and Aiki were restless about how empty their room felt without Akeru around. They ended up checking in on Akeru to see if he was okay. And to their surprise, he was sleeping soundly, surrounded by his favorite Octopus and Crab plushies.
‘Looks like our son is growing up, maybe too fast.’ Aiki wiped his face and went downstairs to greet his family, who were happily waiting for him at the table.
“Dad is last!” Akeru pointed as Aiki shook his head.
“What do we win, Aiki?” Okuto gleefully asked as his husband stared at him.
“You win breakfast, duh!”
Both Okuto and Akeru frowned as the prize was already in front of them.
“That’s not a fun prize, Dad.” Akeru pouted.
“Yeah, no fun!” Okuto mimicked.
“Well, how about you guys cook your breakfast from now on?” Aiki smiled, causing the other two to jolt in shock.
“How about we eat, Ake?” Okuto nervously laughed.
“Yeah, okay! Thanks for breakfast, Dad! I love you!” Akeru said as he stuffed his face with rice.
“I love you too, Akeru!”
‘Dad (Aiki) is so scary when he smiles like that.’ They thought in unison.
After breakfast, Aiki sat by the windowsill, drinking his morning tea, laughing at the sounds of Okuto getting Akeru’s uniform together.
“That’s music to my ears!” He mused. He placed his cup down and rubbed his pinky against the warm mug.
‘Guess this is gonna be a regular thing from now on…gotta make sure Akeru is getting enough to eat too; I should start looking up some recipes for bento…I know Okuto wanted to try some stuff too…Did I remember to write today’s lesson plan for my students?’ Aiki frowned at the many thoughts in his head and jumped when he heard shouting.
“Aiki!! Come over here!”
Aiki quickly stood up and ran toward the living room to see the commotion.
“What is it-?” Aiki froze as Okuto gestured to Akeru, who was dressed in his grade school uniform; his hair was neatly brushed, which reminded Aiki of Okuto when he was younger. On Akeru’s red backpack hung a jellyfish keychain that Okuto got him a while back.
“Oh my goodness!!” Aiki cried. “Don’t you look so handsome, Ake!”
“Yeah…Papa did a good job getting me ready.” Akeru looked to the ground and blushed as Aiki looked at his son.
Aiki looked over to his husband, who began snapping photos of his son.
“YOU’RE SO CUTE AKE!!” Okuto sobbed. “MY LITTLE MAN IS GROWING UP!! I REMEMBER WHEN YOU TOOK YOUR FWWST SWTPPS AND THEN YER FWAST WERDS!” Tears streamed from Okuto’s face as he continued to take pictures.
“Honey, you’re gonna get the lens wet.” Aiki laughed while wiping his own tears. “But your Papa is right, Ake.” Aiki went down on one knee and ruffled his son’s hair. “You’re growing up so fast; we are so proud of you.”
“Thanks…” Akeru avoided looking in his dad’s eyes. But Aiki could tell Akeru was also trying not to cry. “I’ll…do my best! For the both of you!”
“That’s my boy.” Aiki smiled as Okuto sobbed even louder.
“MAKES URE YOU ARE NICE TO YOUR SEMSEIS AND EAT YOUR BENTO AND YER VEGGIES, AKERU!” Okuto shouted.
“Here, honey.” Aiki gave Okuto his handkerchief, who immediately blew out his nose. He turned back to Akeru and ruffled his hair. “What your Papa is trying to say is to remember what we taught you: be kind, stand your ground, and don’t talk back to your senseis.”
“Like how you did back when you were at school, Dad?”
“I- uhh, yeah…listen, you can talk back to them or anyone if they insult me or your, Papa. Sound fair?”
“Okay!” Akeru nodded and walked toward the door. “I’m heading out, bye-bye, I love you!”
“Good luck!” Aiki waved as Okuto hugged him from behind. “You’re not gonna cry again, are you?”
“Maybe…our son is so strong and independent…I’m just scared-”
“Scared?” Aiki felt Okuto hug him tighter as he felt Okuto shaking.
“Yeah, I’m scared he won’t need us anymore, that’s all…it’s like when he wanted to sleep by himself.”
“And we were worried that he needed us, but then we saw that he was fine?”
“How’d you?”
“I…felt the same way, Okuto.” Tears fell from Aiki’s eyes.
“Aw, Aiki, come here.” Okuto hugged his husband tightly and embraced him.
“Our little angel is growing up so fast, maybe even faster than we can handle.” Aiki buried his face in Okuto’s body. “I want to be there for him, every step of the way.”
“Then we can do it, together. He’s our little Jellyfish after all.”
“Yeah…We are in this together after all.” Aiki kissed his husband on the lips and held his face for a few minutes, then turned his gaze to the front door. “Do you want to follow him to make sure he gets to school safely?”
“I’ll grab my coat.”
(Art by creekfujo on twitter)
