The Cat and the Crow

Addendum to The Cat and the Crow. An "Appendix," if you will...

Tetsu had noticed something about his chosen family not too long after Kei and he had started dating. At first, he didn't think anything of it; he'd been too wrapped up in Kei to really notice. But after a few holidays spent with Kei, his mom, and his brother, it really became something of a curious notion. Something that pops up from time to time, making one think about it, before being tucked away again due to distraction.

Before they'd accepted him into the family, there were only the three of them. No father was around, and no aunts, uncles, cousins, or grandparents ever called or came to visit. And really, no one ever mentioned additional family members. It was just the three of them. Once that had settled in his mind, he knew he wanted to find out more, but didn't know exactly how to ask. One didn't just drop a question like, "where is the rest of your family?" into the conversation. Though, that's nearly how it happened one night around the dinner table.

"Kei, I need you to go out and get the flower arrangements tomorrow, okay?" Mom told him as she sat down at the table. "Akiteru, you can help me with the food."

"Yes, Mom," they both said.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Tetsu asked, not really thinking.

"Not unless you want to, dear," Mom answered quietly. "We're just going to visit the family grave the day after tomorrow. The flowers and the food are all we typically bring with us when we visit."

"I'd like to help," he offered. "That is unless anyone else in the family..." his voice trailed away, and the three of them looked both a little sad and a little uncomfortable. "I'm sorry," he quickly apologized. "I didn't mean..."

Kei reached for his hand under the table. "No, you're family now, too. You have a right to know."

"We apologize for not saying anything sooner," Mom added.

"I imagine you've been curious for a while now," Akiteru said.

Tetsu shrugged. "A little bit, yeah." He looked over at Kei, who smiled gently.

"Let's go for a walk," he said. He glanced at Mom, and she nodded.

"We'll keep dinner warm for you."

~*~*~

By the time they'd reached their little hideaway at the park, Tetsu was practically vibrating with curiosity. They'd walked there in near silence, only speaking when Kei asked if he wanted a snack or something to drink. He went into the little store to buy the requested bottle of water, and they continued on. Now, they sat on the ground, Kei facing him.

"It's only the three of us," Kei said without preamble, breaking the long silence. "Well, four, now that we have you. But, of the Tsukishima family, Mom, Akiteru, and myself are the last of the line."

Tetsu didn't know how to react. Does one even apologize, or...

Kei smiled. "It's fine. You didn't know," he said, as if he'd read Tetsu's mind. He reached out and took hold of his hands. "I can explain, if you want to know more," he offered quietly.

"You don't have to..."

Kei chuckled and looked him dead in the eye. "I'd like to think I know you enough by now to tell you're itching to know everything." He winked, and then laughed at Tetsu's expression. "You're quite cat-like, you know?"

Tetsu snorted. "Just because I'm super curious about your family, doesn't mean I'm cat-like."

"Yes it does," Kei rebutted. "We're your family now, too. So, I'll explain, but first..." and he moved so that his back was against Tetsu's chest. Tetsu wrapped his arms around Kei and rested his head on his shoulder.

"My dad is the most recent to pass away," he began his story. "Even so, I was still a kid then. Akiteru has a better memory of him than I do. Since my dad was an only child, there are no aunts and uncles from his side of the family. My paternal grandparents died within a month of each other."

"Broken hearts?"

Kei shrugged. "That's what I've been told, and there's really no way to find out otherwise. I mean, it could have been a shared sickness, or some accident. But with no way to prove anything..."

"Right."

"Mom wasn't an only child, but her brother died in a car accident when he was my age," Kei continued. "When she was in college, her parents had gone on vacation overseas somewhere. They never came back. Their plane went down on the way home."

"Remind me to give her a huge hug when we get home," Tetsu said quietly.

"She'd love that," Kei replied.

"Sooo... is this why she 'adopted' me so quickly into the family?"

"How long have you been wanting to ask that?"

"For a while now," Tetsu shrugged.

"Part of it, yes," Kei finally answered. "But also, she has a habit of adopting our best friends. She's never really explained exactly why, but ni-san and I think she just always wanted a big family, so our best friends became family by default." He turned so he could kiss Tetsu's temple. "She loves it when you call her mom."

"Should I call Akiteru 'ni-san,' too?"

Kei was thoughtful for a few minutes. "I actually think he'd like that, once he got over the initial shock."

Tetsu hummed low in reply, and held Kei a little tighter. Hearing the story his love had just told him started him thinking about a few things.

Later on, they walked back home and ate the dinner Mom had kept warm for them. Then, they joined the family in the living room for movies and just hanging out.

~*~*~

[2 years later - 2 days before the wedding]

They were at the city hall registrar's office submitting the forms needed to make their union legal. They'd made the changes needed on the Tsukishima family registration sheet for Kei. Mom and Akiteru were there as witnesses. It was when they asked for Tetsu's family information that they hit a bit of a snag.

"Can we take a few minutes, sir?" Tetsu asked politely. "It won't take long."

"Sure. I'll just put your paperwork to the side."

"Thank you," he bowed and turned to his family, who looked thoroughly confused. "Come on," and he led them to a secluded spot down the hall. Once there, he turned to face them, and bowed deeply.

"I'm sorry. I really meant to tell you, but got so caught up in the wedding preparations that I forgot."

"Tetsu, you don't have to..."

"Please don't..."

He interrupted them. "Please, let me take the name Tsukishima as my own!" he said over them. Instant silence. No one spoke, or moved. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Kuroo Tetsuro, would you please stop bowing?" Mom told him firmly.

"But... I..."

"No buts! Get up!" she waited a few beats, then, "please?"

When he rose up straight, he looked at all three of them. Akiteru was grinning. Mom looked like she was two seconds from crying, but had the biggest smile on her face. Kei was a picture of not sure how to feel.

"May I ask why?" Mom spoke gently. Tetsu gazed at her and it looked like she already knew, but he told her anyway.

"I don't want Kei to be the last of the Tsukishima line," he started. "If the time comes when we want to adopt children, they'd be given the Tsukishima name, and thus continue the line."

"Okay, but, what about you? What about your name? Do you not want it to also continue into the future?"

Tetsu shrugged. "The last I knew, my sister had already made that happen. Her children are named Kuroo. I really have no idea where my dad finally ended up, but he's already started another family, so I'm rather extraneous, now. The name Kuroo will continue, but not through me. Besides," he added with a little twinkle in his eyes. "Tsukishima Tetsuro sounds awesome, don't you think?"

"It sounds wonderful, dear," Mom said with a smile.

"It does have a nice ring to it," Akiteru agreed, nodding sagely.

"Are you sure?" Kei whispered. "Absolutely sure?"

"I am, without a single doubt, absolutely sure. From this day forward, I want to be called Tsukishima Tetsuro. I want that engraved on a nameplate on my office door. I want to see our name on the marker of our home. Most importantly," he paused, taking a step to face Kei and take his hands in his own. "I want all of our children to bear the Tsukishima name."

"Okay," came the soft reply. A single tear slipped down his face and Tetsu leaned in to kiss it away.

They went back to the registrar's office and signed the paperwork under the name Tsukishima, and submitted it to be filed. Now that everything was legal, they could breathe a sigh of relief.

Two days later, they were married in Sapporo, Hokkaido.