Forever With You

“We’re a mess,” Eita said, smiling helplessly at her.
“Yeah, you are. Sit down and I’ll help you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He sat back down and adjusted Aiko so that they both faced her.
“I suppose it’s a good thing I thought to bring two washcloths,” she said as she took the carrot-stained bib off her daughter, and cleaned her up quickly. “Looks like she got your shirt, too. I can take her so you can change…”
“It’s fine,” he assured her, hitching the baby a little higher. She immediately crowed with delight and reached up to pat his face. Hitoka chuckled, put down the used cloth, and picked up the clean one.
“If I may?”
“Please do. I kinda have my hands full,” he replied.

His voice cracked just a little, and Hitoka was charmed, but she bit her lip and started gently cleaning Eita’s face and neck. She tried not to look into his dark brown eyes, even though his were fastened on her. They flickered from her hair to her face, and then back to her eyes. As she finished, with one long sweep along the side of his face, his eyes slowly closed and he tilted his head, as if to lean into her touch. And then, he caught himself with a mumbled apology and that sweet, shy grin she loved to see. Her heart fluttered, and little butterflies trembled in her stomach. Catching herself before she could fall any further, Hitoka stopped and eased away.

“All done,” she whispered.
“Are you sure?” he grinned at her, clearly attempting to lighten things between them.
“Yeah. Oh, let me take her and get her changed.” She held her hands out for her baby, but instead, Eita slowly stood up and winked at both her and her daughter.
“I can do it. You should finish your meal.”
“Oh, but…”
“Don’t worry, I got this!” He walked over to where they’d set up a changing station for incidents like this. “I’m a pro, just watch. Preferably while you eat.”

Hitoka sighed with exasperation and sat down in the chair he just vacated, and served herself some raw veggies, and made a few small slider sandwiches to nibble on. She wasn’t used to this, being taken care of or having someone else help with her baby. It was nice, if she were honest, but it still felt weird. And as she watched Eita expertly change her daughter into a fresh nappy and clean clothes, cooing at her, tickling her to make her laugh, letting her grasp his fingers, smiling at her, she was even more captivated.

“You’ve done this before,” she said without thinking. But he grinned at her and nodded.
“I’m an only child, but my parents weren’t. As soon as I was old enough, I was asked to start helping with my smaller cousins.”
He picked up Aiko and settled her in his arms, briefly looking about until he found her stuffy, which he gave to her. Almost without thinking about it.
“I grew tired of it, naturally, when I was a teen,” he continued his story, sitting down across from her, with Aiko facing away from him. “By then, some of the older children were given the duty of looking after their younger siblings, so no one really cared that I stopped.”
“Sounds like you stopped liking children.”
Eita shrugged. “I guess I did. They’re super loud, race around constantly, don’t understand closed doors for privacy,” he listed. “Always wanting attention when you have other things to do. Typical kid stuff.”
Aiko squealed happily, and tossed her stuffy, giggling like she always did. Eita rolled his eyes and bent down to get the stuffy, holding her tight so she didn’t fall.
“What changed your mind?”
“Honestly? After my investiture, I visited other nations. Mostly as a formality, to meet the other nobility, get caught up on current affairs, and so on. Most had kids that I was able to meet, but also avoid. It wasn’t until I met Tetsu and Kei’s twins that I started to think kids weren’t so bad after all.”
“How did they manage that?”
“I can’t really explain what it was they did, but just watching them with each other, so different in personality, yet can’t bear to be apart for any amount of time. Seeing how they interact with their parents, and with others close to them. It was fascinating, and also endearing.”
“They call you Uncle Eita, and they love when you play your guitar,” she added softly.
“Yeah. Which completely surprised me, to be honest. I was just playing one day, and the next thing I knew, two little boys had toddled up to me, and sat down, listening to me.”
“They love you.”
Eita blushed. “I guess so.”
Aiko yawned, and they both chuckled when she rubbed her eyes and laughed like she hadn’t just let them know she was tired.
“Looks like someone needs a nap,” he said, turning her daughter so that she faced him. “Would it be alright if I did the honors?”
“Sure.”

Hitoka watched as he rose from the table, and began walking slowly toward the cradle. Aiko had already curled herself up in his arms, with one little hand grasping his shirt. He rocked her gently from side to side, rubbed her back, and hummed the lullaby, his baritone voice so smooth and soothing. Her daughter’s eyes drooped more and more until they stayed closed, and still he hummed and rocked her until she was fully asleep, her little hand loosening its grip on his shirt. Aiko was an angel, but she rarely let anyone else hold her when she was tired. Eita was the first one. Not even Prince Kuroo or Prince Tsuki were able to hold onto her without her fussing sleepily.

Eita crouched down to lay Aiko down in the cradle, settling her again when she whimpered, and then tucked a light blanket around her. Hitoka almost cried when he placed Aiko’s teddy bear beside her, too. It was almost as if Aiko was his baby, too, the way he took care of her so carefully. He rocked the cradle until he finished humming the lullaby.

How in the world was this amazing man not married yet, with a family of his own? How was it that no one had caught his eye? Eita was Prince Kuroo’s age, and still single, with no sons or daughters to continue the line. And it didn’t seem like he was being rushed to, either, or he’d have been kept busy enough to stay away from her. But even so, she doubted he’d let anyone make his decisions for him.

“Did I pass the test?” he asked quietly as he stood up to face her again.
“It wasn’t a test,” she chided. “You were wonderful, though.”
“Was I?”
“Yeah. You’d make an amazing dad one day,” she said, not thinking at all about it.

And then, she did.

~*~

Eita was stunned. She’d said it so wistfully, as if she could just imagine seeing him taking care of his own children. Little did she know that he’d only recently decided he wanted a family of his own. Yet, her face burned red with embarrassment, and Hitoka buried her face in her hands, trying to make herself as small as she could while still sitting in her chair. He had to fight not to laugh.

“I’m so sorry!” He heard her muffled voice through her hands. “I didn’t mean…”
“Don’t say that,” he said reassuringly, going over to her. He took the chair next to hers and scooted it closer. She hadn’t moved. In fact, she was trying to curl even further into a ball. “It’s alright, Hitoka.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be out loud.”
“I know. It’s okay.”
“I don’t want you to think that I…”
“Hitoka, look at me,” he interrupted insistently. He waited until she at least peeked at him through her fingers. “I’d like to think I know you better than Terushima ever did. I never once thought you’d try to trap me.”

He waited for her to say something, and then reached up to lightly brush his fingers through her hair. It might be incredibly forward of him, but he had to do something to comfort her, reassure her that he didn’t think the worst of her for saying what she thought, even if she didn’t mean to.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.
“You’re welcome.”

She brought her hands down from her face, and wrapped her arms around her knees, still tucked in a ball. Her eyes were watery and her face wasn’t nearly as red as before, but still, at least now she was looking at him again. He reached up to run his fingers through her hair again, falling just a little bit more as the soft, golden tendrils weaved through his fingers.

Then he felt it. A feather-soft touch on his face, light as angel wings. It came and went so quickly, he wasn’t sure if he imagined it or not. But, he acted like he didn’t notice, and continued soothing her. He wasn’t looking directly at her face, just her hair, but he did notice her hand slowly moving hesitantly, and then… she touched his face again. From the corner of his eye, brushing back a bit of his hair, and then to the corner of his mouth.

He dared not move. If he did, she might take her hands away, and he didn’t want that at all. In fact, he wanted more, wanted to lean into her touch, to feel her whole hand caress his face. But he knew that her first, and only relationship (if one could even call it that) left a mark on her heart that would be difficult to heal. So, he had to take it slow. Let her decide when to move. He’d wait for her. Because she’d been right, in a way. He wanted to be a father, and be an awesome dad… for their children.

“This is the smile I like best,” she said quietly, her fingers once again softly touching the corners of his mouth.
“Really? How come?”
She bit her lower lip, and Eita had to close his eyes for a moment. The urge to kiss her was so strong.
“It’s sweet and kind of shy. It brightens your face, almost like dawn’s first light. Your eyes shine with happiness…” her voice faded away and he mourned the lack of her touch. “I like all your other smiles, too, but that one is my favorite.”
“I’ll have to remember that,” he murmured. He focused on her face again, and saw that she was back to normal color. And a little sleepy. “Someone else may need a nap, I think.”
“I should, but I can’t. I really need to get back to my duties.”
“Not even for a nap?”
She sighed and uncurled herself to sit properly in the chair, pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and took a few deep breaths. Then, she looked at him, and she was once again the royal nanny.
“As much as I’d love to stop everything for a few hours rest, I can’t. The boys need me, too. I’ve already taken too much time as it is.”

He wanted to argue that passing out from panic deserved more rest than she’d had, but then again, she was right. He couldn’t stand in the way of her livelihood, her job. It was something he should remember, considering he’d been working in his father’s shop not too long ago. He rose to his feet and helped her to hers, squeezing her hand just a little before letting go.

Eita went to the door and called for a maid. Hitoka started gathering their dishes and leftover food so that the maid could take it away. It seemed she wanted to get things back to normal, at least as much as she could while they were all stuck down here in the shelter. And her determination to do so made him remember he really should talk to Oikawa and Miya, both of whose nations he intended to visit after he left here. Plus, he was sure Tetsu and Kei would likely ask for some assistance with storm damage clean up and help getting Nekoma back to rights. Which meant they’d all be rearranging schedules.

Eita guessed his plans to become an assistant nursery worker, even unofficially, were now scrapped. They both had jobs to do, and he couldn’t really take a break from his, either, no matter how much he wanted to.

A light knock on the door sounded, and Eita stood back from the table as two maids came in to clear away the dishes, and take away any leftover food. They were fast and efficient and were gone before he could thank them.

“Thank you, again, your grace.”
She’d caught herself just before saying his name and corrected it, like their stations demanded. He understood it, but hated it, too.
“You’re welcome. Always,” he replied quietly. “Yacchan?”
“Yes?”
He opened his mouth to tell her to use his name, he didn’t mind. He wanted to ask why she was putting up a wall between them, though he could guess her answer. He sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
“Nevermind. If you need help, or… anything at all, let me know, okay?”
“I'm sure I’ll be fine, your…”
He looked at her, silently begging her to say his name.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine, Eita.”
“Just… let me know, okay?”
“Okay.”

Seeing that there was no longer a reason to be here, he put a friendly expression on his face, straightened his clothes, grinned and chuckled softly when he found a spot of mashed carrot neither of them knew about, and then smiled at her. He bowed a little, and then fought his feet to leave the room, to leave her. He quietly shut the door behind him, ignored everyone else, and went to his room.