The Cat and the Crow

[25 December - early morning, 5:15am]

For once, Kei had woken up before Tetsuro, and was more awake than he ever was this early. Likely due to the fact that he was going to be surprised today, but also out of habit. Christmas mornings were pretty big in his family. Or, at least as big as mom could make for the three of them. Sometimes, friends would come to visit on Christmas day, but usually only for a little while before moving on.

This year, Kei couldn’t help but be a little more excited than before. This year, he would be celebrating with Tetsuro, as well as Bokuto and Akaashi, in addition to his mom and Akiteru. They had a house full, and that was a crazy, happy feeling to have on Christmas.

Making sure he didn’t wake his love, Kei grabbed a towel and some clothes, and slipped out of the bedroom. Intending to take a quick shower, he noticed that the guest room door was open, which was odd. Not wanting to be nosey, but letting curiosity get the better of him, he peeked inside, finding an empty room. Bokuto being awake at this hour wasn’t much of a surprise, but Akaashi didn’t usually wake up this early.

Putting his stuff in the bathroom, Kei went down the hall another way, which eventually let out onto the porch. Which is where he found Bokuto, sitting with one leg swinging off the side of the porch, the other pulled up near his chest, and he was leaning against one of the posts. One arm was slung over his knee, and he held a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. The most remarkable thing Kei noticed was that, not only was Bokuto’s hair down, but he was pensive. It was not something Kei was used to seeing, considering his friend was generally loud, boisterous, and often obnoxious.

He walked slowly out onto the porch, and sat down next to Bokuto, who turned and smiled a little. Kei started to say good morning, but his friend shook his head, tilting it in the direction of the kitchen. That’s when Kei noticed the voices of his mom… and Akaashi.

“Oh sweetie,” he heard his mom say. “I’ve discovered that family is not solely those who are related by blood. Friends are the family you choose, and I chose you, and Koutaro, and Tetsuro to be a part of mine. I love you boys as if you were my own.”

“ But in so short a time? And even if we are…”

One of the chairs moved, and Kei turned his attention to Bokuto, who was now looking away from the house. His eyes were narrowed against the light of the rising sun, and the expression on his face… Well, more than anything, it looked hopeful? Either way, mom was speaking again, so he went back to listening.

“Here, start slicing the bagels. And once you finish those, if you could get the lox out of the fridge, please?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Akaashi replied.

“Call me ‘Mom,’ Keiji,” she said. Her voice was stern, but Kei could also tell she was smiling.

“Yes… Mom.”

“Much better.” There were a few minutes when all Kei could hear was them getting breakfast ready, with mom quietly guiding Akaashi as they prepared a variety of dishes. Then, she spoke up, as if she knew she had an audience. “The way I see it, a heart doesn’t really start beating until you find the person you love. Whether they’re a man or a woman, when you fall in love, all you want to do is… touch that person. You want to hold them and feel their warmth against your body, and your heart starts to beat.” She softly corrected something he had done, and then resumed. “I’m guessing your heart started beating the first time you met Koutaro… right?”

“Yes.”

“And it was the same for him, as well,” she said, her voice rising a bit. “Am I right, Koutaro?”

“Yes,” Bokuto replied almost immediately. “But how did you…”

“The coffee maker,” she answered. “Akiteru is the only one who drinks coffee, and he’s not here, so…” They heard the sound of sizzling, and soon smelled the bacon she’d started cooking. “Are the other two out there with you?”

“Tsuki is,” Bokuto started, but was interrupted.

“We’re here, mom,” Tetsu said, his voice still rough with sleep. Startled, Kei spun around and looked at him. Tetsu winked, and came to sit down behind him, wrapping his arms around him.

“I don’t mind if you want to stay out there, in the cold, and enjoy the sunrise, but if you’re going to listen in on us, you might as well come inside. I could use your help, too.”

“Caught red handed, guys,” Tetsu said jovially. “Let’s go help mom.”

They helped each other up and trooped into the kitchen, each of them assigned something to do. It didn’t take long before they were all seated around the table, ready to dive into the various dishes on the table. There were bagels with lox, avocados sliced and slightly salted, scrambled eggs with furikake, bacon, a huge stack of pancakes with raspberry jam sauce, and several carafes of chilled juice to drink.

“Tuck in, boys,” mom said, after serving herself, unleashing the proverbial beasts.

“Thanks for the food!” they all said together, and then the carnage began.

Talk was at a minimum until after the first round. They took turns reloading plates once they were emptied, and eventually they began to slow down. No one would be leaving the table hungry, and it was debatable whether they’d be even remotely hungry by the time dinner came around. Luckily, mom told them that Akiteru wasn’t due back until late afternoon, and dinner would be later than usual.

“How long were you guys out there?” Akaashi quietly asked them. Mom slowly stood up from the table and began to clear the dishes. Tetsu followed suit. “I knew Bokuto was out there the whole time, but…”

“I showed up just before sunrise,” Kei told him.

“I came just before she called us inside,” Tetsu added. “But I think I can guess what you were talking about.”

“Yeah.” He turned to look at Kei. “Tsuki, you’re the only one, besides your brother who doesn’t know about my family.”

“No,” Kei replied carefully. “But you don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“It’s only fair. You can’t be the only one left in the dark.” Akaashi took a deep breath and let it out. “My only connection to my family is my name, and a monthly allowance. Once they found out about me and who I fell in love with, I was asked to leave.” He shrugged nonchalantly, but his face said otherwise. “I haven’t had any contact with them since my 3rd year of middle school. That’s when I met Bokuto.”

“I’m sorry,” Kei whispered, unsure of what else to say.

“It’s fine,” Akaashi assured him. “I can’t say that I don’t miss them occasionally, but having Bokuto, Kuroo, and now you, in my life, it makes everything much easier.”

“And mom. Don’t forget mom,” Bokuto reminded him gently.

“I could never forget mom,” Akaashi said, looking over at her. “Last night, I knew I had to say something after making her cry.”

“But I wasn’t crying because I was sad,” she protested. She handed Tetsu a dish to dry and turned to face Akaashi. “I was just so happy that you wanted me to teach you to cook my recipes, that I started crying.”

“Also, because you accepted us so fast. Because you want us to call you mom. Because you want to be our mom, when my own mother…”

“Akaashi,” Bokuto interrupted. “Before you inadvertently set off the waterworks for everyone in this room…”

“Did he just use the word ‘inadvertently?’” Tetsu whispered dramatically to no one in particular.

“That’s what I heard him say,” Kei fell in line with Tetsu.

Bokuto rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatevs. Anyways, it’s like mom said earlier: friends are the family you choose, and you chose us. We are your family of…” he counted on his fingers for a second, causing everyone in the room to laugh. “Six. We’re now a family of six. Mom, me, and four brothers will stand with you through thick and thin.”

“Quite the speech,” Tetsu said, adding golf clap. But he looked at Akaashi. “He’s right, though.”

“OMG! Are you agreeing with me?!” Bokuto exclaimed, clutching his chest. “I may just die right now! Someone resuscitate me!”

“For the love of all that’s holy…” Tetsu facepalmed.

“Another big word, Bokuto. You’re on a roll today,” Akaashi deadpanned.

“AKAASHI!!”

“Guess we’re back to normal, then?” Kei asked randomly.

“Bold of you to assume we were ever ‘normal,’” Tetsu answered sardonically.

“Alright, boys. Help me clean up here, and then we can exchange gifts.”

“Yes, mom!” they all said at once.

“Wait… you got us gifts?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“You’re the best, mom!”

“Stop. Now, hurry up.”

“Yes, mom,” they all said again, and cleaned like there was no tomorrow.

An hour later, they had almost finished exchanging gifts, when it was finally mom’s turn. She handed a box to Akaashi, and a small satin bag to Tetsu.

“Both of those hold gifts for each of you. Keiji, you open that first.” He did as she instructed, and once he saw what it was, his eyes snapped back to her. She smiled softly. “Go on, give them out,” she urged. As he did so, she explained, “I bought those when Kei told me about you both. The more he told me, the more I knew these suited your squad.”

Each of them held a puzzle piece charm that would form a completed puzzle when fitted together. Each charm had their names engraved on it, and without a single word, they exchanged their puzzle pieces so that Akaashi had Bokuto’s piece, and Kei had Tetsuro’s. But before they could attach the charms to their necklaces, she regained their attention.

“Tetsu, your turn.” Without further ado, he upended the little bag and into his hand fell another set of charms. “I saw these the day after we officially met. They were already stamped with the little pinky promise, but I had them stamp what’s on the back.”

Tetsu handed each one out. On the backside of two charms, there were two owls. One had a crow, and one had a cat. Tetsu traded his charm for Kei’s.

“Thank you so much, mom,” Kei said for all of them.

“You’re welcome. Merry Christmas.” She smiled at them, stood up, and yawned. “If you will excuse me, I’m going to take a nap.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Kei said, following suit. He reached down to take Tetsu’s hand. “Come on. We can spare another hour or two, can’t we?”

“I have no objections.”

“See you guys later,” Kei said as they left.

“Yeah, same,” Akaashi said, copying Kei and taking Bokuto’s hand. “See you later.”