Chapter Text
Nitori was stressed. Lately, his adoptive son had been getting sent home nearly everyday for bringing bugs into the classroom. At least the flower shop that he owned was only down the street from Momo’s school so, picking him up wasn’t nearly as difficult as it could’ve been. Every time Momo walked through the door earlier than usual to the shop though, Nitori felt a sense of dread rest in his stomach. He was worried that Momo wouldn’t make friends because of his obsession with bugs.
“Papa! I’m here.” Momo yelled over the dinging as he entered the shop.
“Over here, Momo.” Nitori smiled as the young boy all but launched himself into his Papa’s arms. Nitori grunted as he tried to keep them both upright from the sudden force of the six year old.
“Papa, Papa, guess what?” the red-head whispered, wiggling in Nitori’s grasp.
“Hmm, chicken butt?” Nitori whispered back.
Momo giggled, “No! I made a friend and I invited him and his papa over for dinner!”
Just then the door dinged as two more people entered the quiet shop. A tall man with dark hair and piercing blue eyes came in holding a small child with fiery red hair. “Oh, hello,” Nitori said, shuffling Momo so that he could offer his hand. “I’m Nitori Aiichirou, Momo’s dad. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I’m Yamazaki Sousuke and this is Rin,” he said, taking Nitori’s small hand in his. “So, Momo said we could join you for dinner, but if it’s too last minute I completely understand.”
Nitori’s eyes widened. “Oh no! It’s no trouble at all. I was just about to close the shop and start dinner anyways. I’ll just make a little extra.” he smiled and set Momo down.
Nitori couldn’t help but inspect Sousuke’s outfit. He was wearing a suit perfectly tailored to his form and his tie was already loosened around his throat. Nitori noticed that Sousuke wasn’t wearing a wedding ring and absently wondered if he had a girlfriend. Of course, Nitori knew better than to come onto his son’s new friends father, but it didn’t hurt to look.
“Are you sure?” Sousuke asked, hesitantly letting Rin down to play with Momo.
“Of course! Though, I might make you help me with dishes.” Nitori joked as he walked around Sousuke to flip the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’.
Sousuke chuckled, his eyes following Nitori. “Sure. So, where do you live, exactly?” he looked around the shop, slight confusion written on his face.
Nitori started laughing. “Right back there,” he said, pointing to the back of the shop. “The front is the shop and the back is the house. It’s really convenient for Momo to walk home.”
“So you usually let Momo walk home alone?” Sousuke asked.
“Well, I didn’t before but, with him getting sent home so often lately, I don’t have much of a choice.” Nitori sighed and as if on cue Momo and Rin come running up to the two men.
“Papa! Papa! I caught a grasshopper!” Momo said, holding his clasped hands up for Nitori to see.
“That’s great, Momo, but you should probably take it outside,” Nitori looked over at Sousuke. “We have company right now.”
“But I was the one that saw it!” Rin whined as he grabbed Momo’s hands to look at the grasshopper. Momo opened his hands and it hopped right on Sousuke’s nose.
Sousuke didn’t even flinch as he brought his hand up to grab the grasshopper. Nitori gapped at the larger man. Whenever Momo brought a bug over, it made other parents uncomfortable or worried that their children would get a disease. He had never seen a parent just grab the bug. Granted, he’s never seen a parent quiet like Sousuke.
“I’m sorry Rin’s papa! I didn’t mean to.” Momo said, looking down at his shoes.
Sousuke grinned. “Don’t worry about it, but your dad is right, we should put this little guy outside. Right, Rin?” he looked down at the small boy and motioned to the front door.
Rin nodded solemnly and looked sadly at Momo, who also nodded as Sousuke opened the door to let the bug out.
“Why don’t you show Rin how to make flower crowns while I get dinner ready, Momo?” Nitori suggested to get the young boys minds away from bugs.
~~~
Shortly after that, the four of them were sitting around the table munching on pasta and garlic bread. Rin and Momo had gone through the painstaking effort of making flower crowns for everyone and Sousuke kept thinking how adorable his host was. The two boys were nearly done with their food when they started whispering to each other.
“Papa,” Momo said around a mouthful of bread. “Can Rin spend the night? He wants to see Pyunsuke.”
Nitori met Sousuke’s eyes for a brief moment before responding with a smile. “Momo, I think you can show Rin Pyunsuke without him having to spend the night.”
Momo then began pouting, giving Nitori the biggest puppy dog eyes that he could manage. Rin also turned to Sousuke to silently plead. Sousuke looked over at Nitori, meeting the smaller males eyes and shrugged.
“If it’s okay with Nitori, it’s okay with me. Tomorrow’s Saturday, after all.” Sousuke said, shoving another mouthful of pasta in.
The two boys then put all of their effort into convincing Nitori why a sleepover was suddenly the best idea ever. Nitori eventually caved, though Sousuke had a feeling that his host was never really against the idea. The boys hurried with their food, practically choking it down, out of excitement. As soon as they finished, they excused themselves from the table to go play.
“Okay you two, once the dishes are done it’s time for bed!” Nitori yelled after them. The statement was followed by unsatisfied groans and a cry of no fair!
Sousuke chuckled as he helped clear the table. “No bath time?” he asked.
Nitori sighed. “It’s hard enough just giving Momo a bath, I can’t imagine trying to give two six year olds one. I figured I’d just pick the lesser of two evils for now. Besides, I can always just hose them down tomorrow.” he laughed, hoping Sousuke didn’t take him too seriously.
“Ah, I can see why you chose to avoid it,” Sousuke grinned, moving next to Nitori to dry the dishes. “Sorry, but, I have no idea where these go.” So far, Sousuke had only been piling the plates next to the sink.
“Oh gosh, sorry!” Nitori said, moving to switch places with his taller guest. “How about you wash and I dry?” he giggled.
Sousuke had already moved to the other side of Nitori and as the small host began to shift, he ran straight into a solid chest. Nitori found it hard to remove himself from the soft material of Sousuke’s shirt. Earlier, Sousuke discarded his suit jacket in favor of rolling up the sleeves to his button-up. Many times, Nitori had to scold himself to stop staring at the obvious muscle mass that his guest had built up. Breathing in Sousuke’s scent, Nitori finally pulled himself away from the intoxicating presence that was Sousuke. Nitori’s cheeks burned as he busied himself with putting away the dishes.
“Are you feeling alright, Nitori? Your face is beat red.” Sousuke asked, concern obvious in his tone.
“I f-feel fine!” Nitori tripped over his words as he desperately tried to tell his body to calm down. Certainly, the first day meeting someone isn’t the best time to tell them you’re gay and even less so when they’re you’re sons friends father, Nitori thought to himself, the blush on his cheeks growing.
Sousuke only shrugged and continued to wash the dishes. “If you’re feeling unwell, just say so and I can take the boys to my house.”
It felt like the air had been taken out of Nitori’s lungs. He’s handsome, considerate, and he is a single father too, he thought, barely containing himself and the urge he had to squeal like a teenage girl.
“L-let’s just get those two to bed.” the smaller male said, averting his eyes.
~~~~
After playing an impromptu game of tag, Sousuke and Nitori were able to wrangle the six year olds into bed. Panting slightly after trying to keep up with the boys, Nitori read them a bedtime story and tucked them in.
“Dad?” Rin asked, sleepily holding out his small hand.
“Yes, Rin?” Sousuke answered, carefully grasping the small hand in his.
“You’ll be here in the morning when I wake up, right?” the red head asked, worry clear in his voice.
“Of course. I’ll always be here.”
Nitori felt like he had just witnessed something incredibly intimate and, after placing a kiss on Momo’s head, slowly left the room. A minute later, Sousuke emerged looking tired.
“You know, they’ll probably be up early so, you can stay here tonight. I mean, just so you don’t have to wake up extra early to come here.” Nitori offered, avoiding eye contact again.
Sousuke smiled wearily. “Thank you. I really appreciate your hospitality.”