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It's a regular Tuesday morning when Kiyoomi gets a message that will ruin the rest of his day. It's the last few weeks of the off-season before training picks up again and they finally settled into actually living together, since their JNT obligations put a bit of a pause to that. Hiro is delighted that they're at home full time again and spends most of his nights crawling into their bed at some point.
So really, Kiyoomi is living his best life at the moment. That's probably why the news instantly annoys him. Atsumu, of course, notices as soon as he sees his boyfriend's face curl up in distaste. They have just finished breakfast and Hiroto is already on his way to playing in the living room.
"Who's put that frown on yer face, sweetheart?"
The outside hitter looks up from his phone at the question and it's incredible how much of his mannerisms have already rubbed off on Hiroto. The frown painting his features is the exact same expression Hiroto wore this morning when he didn't want to eat his veggies. So Atsumu knows it's really bothering him.
"My mother sent a message," Kiyoomi says and puts his phone back on the table a little too hard.
"And I'm guessin' we're displeased about that?" Atsumu asks while putting the dishes next to the sink. He starts the water to fill it and get going on washing the dishes.
"My parents are going to visit."
"What?" The setter whirls around to look at Kiyoomi, who is glaring at his phone again.
"She has informed me that they're coming over for dinner on Saturday."
"Informed ya? Ya mean she asked?"
"No. My father has never asked for a thing. He expects people to accommodate his schedule."
Turning off the water for now, Atsumu walks back to the table and sits down next to his boyfriend. He knows Kiyoomi's relationship with his parents is … rocky, especially when it comes to his father. He told him some months ago that he is basically just tolerating his father for the sake of having a relationship with his mother.
"So, what are we gonna do about it? Do ya want Hiro 'n' me ta go to Samu's fer the day?" The blond reaches out and gently places a hand over Kiyoomi's. The other man's eyes widen and he takes Atsumu's hand to squeeze it tightly.
"I didn't tell them we moved in together," he whispers with a light panic to his voice. "It just never came up. I mean, I barely had time to talk to my mother with everything that's been going on and then it was mostly about work and-"
"Omi, love, yer ramblin'," Atsumu stops him with a quick kiss to the cheek. It works like a charm and the outside hitter just stares at his boyfriend for a few seconds.
"Thank you," he finally settles on, "and no. I don't want you two to not be here. This is our home. Well, at least if you want to be there. I would understand if you're not ready to meet them, especially with Hiro."
"Ya've met my Ma. Of course I wanna meet yers! We're gonna do this together. All three of us."
And that's how, just four days later, they're finishing up making dinner when the doorbell rings. Hiroto calls out "ding dong" from where he's sitting on his kid's chair and scrambles up to run to the door.
"I've got it," Kiyoomi announces and rushes after the toddler, dropping the tea towel in his hands on the counter. He leaves Atsumu to finish up the plating, knowing full well that the setter was going to give him the space anyways.
Hiroto is already waiting in front of the door and looking at Kiyoomi with outstretched arms, ready to be picked up. Of course, the outside hitter scoops him up into his arms and places him on his hip.
"Can I open the door, Dad?"
"Of course, little fox." So, Hiroto reaches out and opens the door and Kiyoomi's parents come into view.
Sakusa Chiyo and Masaru look like they just stepped out of a business meeting and knowing his parents, Kiyoomi wouldn't put it past them to really have done that. His father is wearing an expensive grey suit, while his mother is wearing a matching blazer and skirt. Her makeup is done to perfection, probably by a professional stylist and both their hair is styled in a way that there's no strand out of place.
It's evident, when they all stand together like that, that Kiyoomi is a mix of both of them. He inherited his father's dark curls and height and his mother's moles and green eyes, as well as her delicate bone structure. He couldn't lie about being their son even if he wanted to.
They also look at him with the most neutral face. Until they notice the toddler in his arms, that is. And that's when Kiyoomi realises one thing. He may have told them that he moved in with his boyfriend, but he managed to not explicitly mention Hiroto. In his head "I moved in with them" didn't need any more explanation and his mother probably thought it was a typo on his end.
"Hi!" Hiroto is the one to break the awkward silence between them, blissfully unaware of the confusion on the Sakusas' faces. He waves at them and smiles brightly, putting a smile on Kiyoomi's face as well. If this little boy can greet them without a problem, so can he.
"Okaa-san, Otou-san, it's nice to see you," he bows slightly, which makes Hiroto giggle, who gets dipped with the movement. Kiyoomi's mother is the first of his parents to regain her ability to speak.
"Kiyoomi, honey, you didn't tell us you were looking after a kid. We could have rescheduled."
Kiyoomi cringes at his mother's words and takes a few steps backwards to give them room to enter. He really doesn't want to have this conversation out in the hallway. They follow him inside and when the door is closed behind his father he continues.
"It's not like that. This is Hiroto, he's-" The outside hitter stops in his tracks. How does he say 'he's my boyfriend's son, but he also calls me Dad and I see him as my son as well. We really haven't seen each other in a long time, huh?' without sounding like he's lost his mind?
It's then that Atsumu enters the scene with a charming smile. He bows to them and then slings an arm around Kiyoomi's waist.
"I'm Miya Atsumu and this lil rascal would be my son. It's a pleasure to meet the both o' ya."
Kiyoomi is thankful for his boyfriend, who makes him realise that they have a plan for this. They're going to tell his parents the whole thing after dinner, when Hiroto will hopefully play by himself for a little while.
While his mother spares Atsumu a tiny smile and politely introduces herself, his father on the other hand, only provides his name, not even attempting to sound pleasant. Atsumu handles it like a champ, though, smiling pleasantly and offering house slippers to them, to finally get them out of the genkan. They move to the dining table, where everything is already set down. Kiyoomi's mother hands over a bag that holds a wine bottle and they thank them for the present.
"We would have brought something for Hiroto as well, had we known," Chiyo offers with a smile towards the toddler, who hides his face against Kiyoomi's neck, suddenly feeling shy.
"Thanks a lot, but ya really don't have ta. He has so much stuff already, we don't really know where ta put it all."
While Atsumu and his mother make conversation, Kiyoomi's father sits in his seat ramrod straight, looking around the room with a wrinkle between his brows. Kiyoomi tries to ignore the obvious distaste in his eyes and focuses on his son.
"Hiro-chan, do you want to sit down?" The little boy shakes his head against Kiyoomi's neck and then whispers into his ear.
"Wanna sit on your lap."
It speaks to the fact that he's probably a little intimidated by Kiyoomi's parents, since he's usually very adamant about sitting on his chair and eating alone.
"Okay, we can do that, little fox," he whispers back and sits down next to Atsumu, so that they're sitting opposite of his parents. His father frowns at the interaction. He was never home a lot when Kiyoomi grew up, but when he was, he made it very clear that there were rules that had to be obeyed. And it's not like Hiroto doesn't have rules he has to follow, but Kiyoomi guesses that by letting him sit on his lap, his father thinks he's not being strict enough. Frankly, Kiyoomi doesn't give a crap.
"He really seems to like you, Kiyoomi," his mother observes. She's really trying to make this work and the outside hitter is thankful for it. He can at least count on one parent to try.
"Hiro loves Omi. I have a whole folder o' pictures of 'em cuddlin'. Sometimes I think he likes him better 'n me," Atsumu whispers the last part conspiratorially to Chiyo, who hides her chuckles behind her hand.
"You will have to show them to me after dinner."
"It'll be my pleasure."
Kiyoomi's fond stare to his boyfriend is interrupted by Hiroto gently tapping his chin to get his attention. When he looks down, the little boy is looking at him with big eyes and a pout on his lips.
"Hiro is hungwy. We eat now?"
"Of course we can eat when you're hungry. Are we gonna share a plate?" Hiroto nods at Kiyoomi's proposition, while Atsumu is already distributing food onto plates and into bowls.
They start eating in silence and the first few minutes are more than awkward. The only thing keeping Kiyoomi sane is his son, who is happily munching on his rice and veggies. He sometimes offers a fork of his food to Kiyoomi, which he happily accepts and gives him some of his in return. Not that they're eating anything different, but it's nice that the toddler wants to share with him. He's been asking to use chopsticks these past few weeks and he's slowly learning how to use them, but for today they managed to convince him to eat with a fork. It's less messy that way.
The first person to speak up is, surprisingly, his father. He swallows down the bite of food he's currently eating and sets down his chopsticks to shift his attention to Atsumu. Oh, no.
"Miya-san, what is it you do for a living?"
Kiyoomi can only stare at his father in disbelief. He knows that he doesn't care "for that hobby of yours", but to not even know that his son's boyfriend is on the same team as him? That's a new parental low, even for Masaru. Kiyoomi's mother looks shocked as well, which makes it pretty evident that she has probably told her husband that little fact.
"Oh, I'm the Jackals' setter. Omi 'n' I are on the same team."
"Did you also go to College?"
"I went pro straight out of High School, sir."
"And what do you plan on doing once that won't be possible anymore?" Kiyoomi is going to murder his father. He is going to sew his lips shut, so that he'll stop asking these idiotic questions. And then he's going to kiss Atsumu for even entertaining this bullshit.
"Well, I haven't thought about it, yet, since it's still far away. But I always liked the idea of coachin'. Showin' the new generations how it's done."
"I see," he picks up his chopsticks again and continues eating. It's clear to Kiyoomi that Atsumu's answer was not what he wanted to hear. His boyfriend's smile gets a little strained but he bites his tongue from commenting.
It's, again, Kiyoomi's mother who saves the whole thing by changing the subject and asking them about the upcoming season and Hiroto's favourite things to do. The little boy starts warming up to Kiyoomi's mother at that point and happily babbles about his friends at kindergarten and the book he's currently being read as a bedtime story.
That's how the evening goes on. Masaru asks an inappropriate question about Atsumu's upbringing or financial situation here and there, and Chiyo does her best to get the whole thing back into neutral territory. To their dismay, Hiroto doesn't want to go play after dinner, so they have to wait until it's his bedtime to tell Kiyoomi's parents the news that they're technically grandparents now.
The little boy is tuckered out soon, though and Atsumu manages to convince him that it's sufficient enough if he's the only one to tell him his bedtime story. So, they leave for the bathroom, with the promise of a goodnight kiss when he's changed. Kiyoomi uses that time to put the dishes away to the kitchen, which his mother insists on helping him with.
When they've put away everything, she gently places her hand on his arm to stop him from going back to the dinner table. He looks at her in surprise and Chiyo sends him a soft smile.
"Miya-san seems like a lovely man and Hiroto is just wonderful. I'm happy for you, Kiyoomi."
Though Sakusas aren't really huggers, Kiyoomi can't help himself when he wraps his mother into one and whispers "Thank you, Okaa-san" into her shoulder. He hadn't realised how much his mother's opinion actually matters to him. The outside hitter doesn't give a shit about what his father thinks of his life, but he's always had a good connection to his mother and he really just wants her to be proud of him.
"Oh, of course, honey," she coos and presses a kiss to the side of his head.
"You know, you can call him Atsumu, not Miya-san. He's got a twin and they prefer to be called by their first names."
Before his mother can answer, though, there's a loud call of "Dad" ringing through the flat and then Hiroto's tiny footsteps thunder through the living area in search of Kiyoomi. The outside hitter feels a moment of fear where he realises that, shit, they haven't told his parents yet, but then his parental instincts kick in and he quickly turns to his mother with an apologetic smile.
"My services are needed, excuse me for a second." Chiyo looks stunned when Kiyoomi says that, but he's already turning to enter the living area.
"I'm here, little fox," he calls and delights in the way Hiroto squeals when he sees him and crashes into his legs. Kiyoomi picks him up and throws him into the air a little, eliciting a giggle from his son, before settling him on his hip.
"Good night, Dad," Hiro smiles at him and wraps his small arms around Kiyoomi's neck to nuzzle their cheeks together.
"Good night, little fox."
"Can I get a good night kiss?"
Kiyoomi chuckles an "of course" and gives him a little kiss. They hug again and then Hiro races off to Atsumu, who's waiting for him while leaning against the wall close to his bedroom. Atsumu mouths "you can do it" to Kiyoomi before heading off to get their son to bed. The outside hitter looks after them and doesn't realise his parents have watched the whole encounter. One with a fond expression, the other with clear displeasure.
"Kiyoomi." It's his father that gets him back to the present and he looks back at the table where both of his parents are sitting again. He can't help but sigh as he heads over to sit down.
"Well, I guess this is out now."
"What is going on with you, Kiyoomi."
"Excuse me?" Kiyoomi looks at his father with raised eyebrows. He's been wondering when he was going to start uttering his opinions.
"I know you have always been… Well, untraditional in your approach to life, but this is just ridiculous."
"What exactly are you insinuating here, Otou-san?"
"I am simply trying to tell you, that you playing house like this is a joke. You can't think that you can be a father to this kid after a few months. You can't even know if this is serious yet. This could just be about money." He scoffs at the end, like Kiyoomi is a stupid child that he has to explain the world to.
"Masaru," Kiyoomi's mother sounds angry when she says his father's name. He's grateful for it, but doesn't have the headspace to thank her right now.
"You're not really the authority on what constitutes a good father, Otou-san. No offence. No, you know what, full offence actually. You didn't even bother to learn that my boyfriend plays on the same team as me and now you sit here and try to tell me he's with me because of the money our family has? I have news for you, Atsumu didn't even know that when we got together, he didn't actually know until I moved in, because it wasn't ever important. But I understand that not caring about how much money the people around you make, is a foreign concept to you." Kiyoomi is proud of how he managed to stay calm and not raise his voice, not wanting to risk Atsumu and his son hearing him. Opposite of him, his father is fuming with anger. He's not used to people speaking up to him, but the outside hitter thinks it was about time someone did and he's not going to sit here and let him talk trash about his family and relationship.
"You will not be speaking to me like this, son," Masaru grinds out, clearly trying to keep up his facade of authority. But Kiyoomi isn't a 14-year-old teen anymore. He's not scared of his father.
"I think I will, since you came into our home and decided to be rude for no reason. I'm no longer young enough for you to intimidate me. And if you decide to cut me off, or whatever, I don't care anymore. I don't need it."
The next thing that can be heard is the scraping of a chair against the floor and Kiyoomi's father standing up.
"We'll be going then. There seems to be no reasoning with you."
"No." Kiyoomi's head whips over to his mother, who has been silent this whole time. "I think it's a good idea that you head back to the hotel and cool off. But I'll stay here some more. Atsumu promised me those photos."
"Chiyo."
"No, Masaru. I'm not going to argue with you on this." Kiyoomi is a little in awe of how his mother is able to get his father to shut up and listen with a few well placed sentences. Where was she hiding that power when he was still living at home and fighting for his wish to become a professional volleyball player all those years ago? He's going to have to ask her about it.
She accompanies him to the front door and sees him off by telling him she'll get a taxi to the hotel and that he shouldn't worry about her. Then, without wasting another second, Chiyo steps back into the room and sits down next to Kiyoomi.
"I'm really sorry for how your father behaved. Not just right now, but the whole evening."
"It's not your fault that I've never been able to live up to his ridiculously high expectations. I knew I wouldn't be able to, the day I figured out I was queer. Add the fact that I never even considered becoming a lawyer like you two and it's the perfect storm. I've made peace with it."
"Oh, honey," Chiyo whispers and pulls him into a tight hug. "I'm sorry. I haven't been great at defending you for a while. That will change, I promise."
Kiyoomi can't help the tears that spring to his eyes at her words. This isn't something he thought would happen to him. He can't help the emotions welling up inside of him and he also doesn't want to. With Hiro, he promised to be better at showing and communicating his emotions, not hide them away under a layer of well practised apathy. So, he lets himself cry in his mother's arms and listens to her voice telling him she's sorry and that he's alright.
That's how Atsumu finds them. Still tangled up in a hug, with Kiyoomi sniffling and wiping away the last of his tears. He announces himself carefully, to not scare them and Kiyoomi looks up at him after detangling himself from his mother. The setter's eyes soften when he sees his boyfriend and he walks over to gently card a hand through Kiyoomi's curls.
"I'm guessing Sakusa-san not being here anymore has something to do with this?"
"I'm very sorry for how my husband behaved towards you, Atsumu. He has a very … fixed way of looking at the world and he never handles it well when something diverts from that. He's not particularly good at showing it, but he cares about his children and I guess it scares him when things don't pan out how he planned them for them."
"That's one way of putting it," Kiyoomi can't help but scoff. Atsumu leans down to press a kiss against the top of his head in reassurance and Kiyoomi can't help but lean against him after it.
"I know it doesn't seem like it, sweetheart. I'm not trying to make excuses. He really needs to get better at it."
Kiyoomi just nods, cheek still pressed against his boyfriend's stomach. Atsumu senses that his social battery is pretty depleted for the day, so he decides to take over host duties for now.
"Sakusa-san, how about I show ya those pictures I promised earlier?"
"Oh, I would love that! And please, call me Chiyo, you are family after all. That reminds me, I definitely need to hear the story about how Hiroto started calling Kiyo 'Dad'."
"Oh, that's just the most adorable story ya'll ever hear!" Atsumu grins and gestures for her to follow him to the couch to be more comfortable. Kiyoomi looks after them with a soft smile. He's really happy that they like each other and get along. It's a lot more than he had imagined when his parents said they would come over for dinner.
It's a few hours later that they finally climb into bed, Chiyo having said goodbye about half an hour ago, with a promise to meet up soon, so that she can get to know Atsumu and Hiro more. She also promised to visit some of their games this upcoming season.
"Ya know, 'm real proud o' ya, Omi," Atsumu whispers to not disrupt the peaceful atmosphere that has settled around them. He emphasises his point by pressing a kiss to Kiyoomi's chest before laying his head down on it again.
"For what exactly?" Kiyoomi continues rubbing circles into his boyfriend's back, staring up into thd darkness of the room.
"For defending us. Defending yourself. And for bein' a kickass Dad to our son."
"You heard me?"
"Well, most of it. Hiro was out like a light within a few minutes. I just didn't wanna interrupt the roll ya were on. I just wish ya hadn't said the thing about cuttin' ya off. Now my plans o' bein' a gold digger are foiled."
"Oh, shut up," Kiyommi laughs and half heartedly pushes Atsumu's shoulder. It gets the setter to giggle and hide his face against Kiyoomi's neck, where he places a quick kiss.
"But really, ya did great, Omi."
"Thank you, Atsu." He accompanies the words with a lingering kiss to Atsumu's forehead, who sighs contentedly. That's how they finally fall asleep, limbs tangled and smiles on their faces.