Chapter Text
“Daddy… Daddy, wake up!”
Momentarily disoriented from being jolted out of a fitful sleep, Sousuke slowly opened his eyes and came face to face with his excited four year old son.
“Come on daddy! It’s time for school!” said Hikaru as he climbed on top of the bed and pressed his chubby hands against Sousuke’s cheeks to wake him up completely.
Oh, that’s right; Sousuke's sleep-addled brain finally recalled that today was Hikaru’s first day at kindergarten. In spite of all he had done to prepare for his son’s first day in school, the combined stress of his heavy workload and his emotionally draining divorce from Aiko nearly made him sleep through his son’s first day of kindergarten. Shaking his head a few times to wake himself up and shrugging off a vague sense of guilt for nearly oversleeping, Sousuke tackled his son to the bed and tickled him playfully, only stopping when Hikaru started to giggle uncontrollably.
“Time for school? You mean my baby’s a big boy now?” Sousuke teased as he hugged his son close to his chest and placed a kiss on top of the child’s head.
“I’m not a baby, I’m four! Hikaru’s a big boy now!” Hikaru exclaimed indignantly as he held up four tiny nail-bitten fingers right in front of his father’s face.
“Yes you are” Sousuke laughed. “Now would my big boy like to go brush his teeth and change while I get wash up and get breakfast ready?” Nodding furiously, Hikaru raced off in the direction of his room, leaving Sousuke to his own thoughts as he headed towards the bathroom to get ready.
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Hikaru had been so excited in the days leading up to his first day in kindergarten, and it made Sousuke’s heart clench painfully at the thought that this week had been the happiest he’d seen his son since his divorce from Aiko.
Conscious of the fact that he and his ex-wife had been drifting apart over the last two years of their marriage, her affair and the resultant breakup of their marriage hadn’t come as a complete surprise to Sousuke. What he hadn’t expected however, was that the woman he once loved would be cruel enough to essentially abandon her own son.
Sousuke’s hurt and anger at Aiko for cheating on him was nothing compared to the pure fury he felt as he recalled what had happened outside the courtroom after the conclusion of the custody hearing. He’d gritted his teeth as he watched Aiko give their son a brief kiss on the cheek, turn around, and promptly walk away hand in hand with the bastard that she claimed to have fallen in love with over the course of their affair.
Aiko never looked back. Not once. She never saw the lost look on Hikaru’s tearful face as his mother walked away from him, damp, sticky fingers desperately clutching his father’s hand like a lifeline. She never had to see the sad face that often haunted Sousuke’s dreams; the distraught look on his son’s face that had caused Sousuke to wake up, pulse racing and in a cold sweat on more than one occasion since that awful day.
Even now, five months after their divorce, Hikaru’s mother had not called or visited him even once. The only form of contact Aiko had deigned to have with her son had been a grand total of two postcards. The first one she had sent soon after her move to the US to start a new life with her lover, telling Hikaru about her new home and saying that she loved him in the last line of the hastily scribbled message. The second had arrived three months later, nearly two weeks after Hikaru’s fourth birthday, with a picture of a bulldog in a party hat and a cheerful yet ironic “Happy Birthday!” emblazoned across the front in shiny ink.
Sousuke knew how much Hikaru missed his mother, and he saw how his son rifled through the mail each day, eagerly looking for a letter from her, only to be disappointed each time. Nonetheless, it had taken all of his willpower to stop himself from crushing the latest postcard and tossing it straight into the trash – just as Aiko seemed to have done with her relationship with her son. Instead, he watched with a heavy heart as his son carefully treasured these crumbs of attention that Aiko threw his way, placing the postcards lovingly in his cherished batman lunchbox along with his other prized possessions.
Though the small part of Sousuke that had fallen in love with Aiko in high school still clung to the faint hope that she would one day renew her relationship with her son, he was forced to admit that perhaps, their family and their son had meant next to nothing to his ex-wife.
As he shook himself out of his musings and dried his face with a towel before changing into his suit for work, Sousuke’s last thought was that he could never forgive Aiko for breaking Hikaru’s heart.
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As Sousuke stood at the stove flipping blueberry pancakes, Hikaru appeared in the doorway wearing a pair of jeans, still in his pajama top and holding up two t-shirts with a mildly distressed look on his face.
“Aren’t you going to get dressed? You don’t want to be late on your first day do you?” Sousuke asked as he reached to grab a bottle of pancake syrup from the fridge.
“Which shirt should I wear Daddy? What if the other kids don’t like my clothes?”
“I… I just want them to like me…” Hikaru almost whispered the last part.
Sousuke felt his heart squeeze tightly in his chest. In the immediate aftermath of Aiko’s departure, Hikaru had gone from being a happy, confident child, to one filled with self-doubt, constantly seeking validation from others. Yet, who could blame him after all that he had been through? In four year old Hikaru’s mind, he was convinced that he must have done something wrong to make his mother leave so suddenly. The ever present fear that he would make a mistake and end up alone was something that Sousuke had worked hard to quell, largely successfully. It was only occasionally, at times such as these, that Hikaru’s insecurity reared its ugly head and made the child fret about making decisions that he felt could determine whether he was accepted or rejected by other people.
Sousuke placed the last batch of pancakes on the kitchen table and knelt in front of his son, looking him in the eye and smiling at him. “Hmm, which one do you like Hikaru? You’re such an awesome kid I’m sure all the other children would love to be your friend no matter which shirt you wear”.
“Well, I like my batman shirt best I think.” Hikaru said as he held up said shirt against his chest. “Do you think they’ll really like me?”
“Of course they will. And you know that no matter what, I know that you’re the bestest little boy ever, don’t you?”
“You’re silly daddy” Hikaru giggled as he changed into his batman t-shirt and sat down to eat his pancakes.
A soft whisper of “thank you daddy” reached Sousuke’s ears as he removed his apron and sat down to join his son for breakfast.
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After they finished the pancakes, they got into the car and started out for Hikaru’s new school.
Hikaru sang along to the songs playing on the latest Disney album Sousuke had gotten him over the weekend, and Sousuke allowed the sound of his son’s voice wash over him, joining in for the chorus for the songs he recognized. Hikaru’s excitement grew as they drew closer to the kindergarten, and he was chattering enthusiastically and loudly by the time they pulled up to Iwatobi Kindergarten’s colorful welcome sign covered in adorable hand-painted animal motifs.
“Woah there cowboy, don’t forget your backpack” Sousuke reminded his son as Hikaru hurried to exit the car.
“I know daddy” Hikaru said as he grabbed his bag and slung one strap across his shoulder, practically vibrating with excitement. “Look! They have a slide! And monkey bars! Do you think I can play over there daddy?”
Before Sousuke could answer, he heard a voice come from behind him.
“It’s such a beautiful day, I’m sure we can find some time to play on the jungle gym.”
Sousuke turned around and came face to face with a striking young man with a brilliant smile and the most gorgeous pair of green eyes he had ever seen.
“Hi, I’m Tachibana Makoto, one of the teachers here at Iwatobi. You must be here for our first year preschool class.” The brown haired teacher, Tachibana Makoto, looked at them expectantly, his bright smile never leaving his face.
Momentarily stunned by the appearance of what he privately thought must be the most attractive preschool teacher ever; Sousuke hesitated long enough that Hikaru started talking to Makoto before he could even open his mouth to respond.
“Uh huh, Hikaru’s here for school! Are you my teacher Tachibana-sensei? Can we really play on the slide later?”
“Hello Hikaru, it’s very nice to meet you. I’m teaching the first year class – so yes, I’ll be your teacher this year. How about we play there after we meet the rest of the class?” Makoto said as he stooped down so he was at Hikaru’s eye level. “Here, why don’t you hold my hand and I’ll take you to meet some of your new classmates.”
Hikaru looked at Sousuke for approval, and shyly grabbed Makoto’s hand when his father nodded at him. Makoto stood up and turned towards Sousuke as he held Hikaru’s hand gently.
Having recovered from his temporary lapse in concentration brought on by the encounter with his son’s unexpectedly handsome preschool teacher, Sousuke finally spoke up and held his hand out to Makoto for a handshake.
“Hello Tachibana-sensei, I’m Yamazaki Sousuke, Hikaru’s father. It’s very nice to meet you. Please take care of my son”.
“It’s good to meet you Yamazaki-san. I’ll take good care of Hikaru so please don’t worry about him” Makoto said as he stretched out his hand to return Sousuke’s handshake.
Makoto’s hand felt warm in his, and Sousuke felt a surprising frisson of pleasure as he watched a faint pink tint spread across Makoto’s cheeks after he accidentally brushed his index finger against Makoto’s inner wrist as their hands parted.
Looking down at his watch, Sousuke realised that he would be late for work if he didn’t leave soon. After checking with Makoto to confirm that Hikaru was enrolled in the school’s afternoon daycare program, he ruffled Hikaru’s hair playfully and promised him that he would be back later that afternoon to pick him up after work.
Walking back to his car, Sousuke turned around to wave to his son once more, and was treated to the adorable sight of Hikaru and his new teacher waving back to him with matching smiles on their faces.
Traffic was abysmal as he drove to work that day. That didn’t stop Sousuke from grinning the entire way there.