Eighteen (Oikawa Tooru Ambm)

Chapter Ten

Ethan's Pov
Oikawa's smile grew so wide his eyes crinkled at the corners. He shifted on the bench, turning his entire body toward me, completely ignoring the screaming children in the background.

"I would love to, Ethan," Tooru said, his voice dropping to a soft, incredibly tender register. He reached out, his hand sliding over mine where it rested on the bench, squeezing my fingers gently. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to ask me that. I was starting to think I'd have to resort to extreme measures, like having the twins stage a fake kidnapping just to get you alone."

I let out a breathless laugh, the final remnants of my anxiety melting away at his words. "Please don't. I don't think my heart could take a fake twin kidnapping."

"Fine, fine, I'll keep the schemings to a minimum," he teased, his thumb lightly stroking the back of my hand. The warmth of his skin felt grounded and safe. He looked directly into my eyes, his expression turning serious for a brief moment. "Saturday. It's a date. Just you and me. No diapers, no juice boxes, and absolutely no sandcastles."

"Dad! Dad! Look!"

Right on cue, the fragile bubble of our romantic moment was violently shattered. Atsumu came barreling toward the bench at full speed, covered from head to toe in chalk dust, with Osamu chasing him close behind holding a plastic shovel like a weapon.

"Atsumu took my rock!" Osamu yelled, his monotone voice rising in rare anger.

"It wasn't your rock, it was a communal rock!" Atsumu shrieked, diving directly over Oikawa's legs to hide behind the bench.

Tooru winced as Atsumu's stray sneaker clipped his knee. "And just like that, reality returns," he groaned, though he didn't let go of my hand right away. He gave my fingers one last, supportive squeeze before standing up to intercept the twins. "Alright, my little disasters, separate now, or I'm telling Daichi you don't get pudding after dinner."

By the time Saturday evening finally rolled around, my house was an absolute hurricane of activity.

"Akaashi! Where did you put my black button-up?" I shouted down the hallway, frantically adjusting the collar of my shirt in the mirror. My hands were shaking slightly. I hadn't been on a real date in over a year, and the nerves were hitting me hard.

Akaashi appeared at the door, holding the freshly ironed shirt over his arm. He looked completely calm, a stark contrast to my pacing. "It was in the laundry room, Dad. Relax. You look fine. Excellent, even."

"I look like a stressed father of eleven who is trying too hard," I muttered, taking the shirt from him.

"You look like a guy who is finally going out with the man he's been staring at like a lovesick teenager for six months," Akaashi countered smoothly, crossing his arms.

Before I could defend myself, a loud crash echoed from the living room, followed by Hinata yelling, "I didn't mean to break it, I swear!" and Tanaka cheering.

I groaned, immediately moving to step past Akaashi, but my oldest son placed a firm hand on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks.

"Nope. Do not go out there," Akaashi said firmly. "Daichi is already downstairs. He brought his kids over. The plan was to drop them off here so the two of you could leave together, and then Daichi and I are taking all twenty of them to the theater."

"Are you sure you guys can handle twenty four-year-olds?" I asked, my protective dad instincts flaring up. "Twenty is a lot, Keiji. If Bokuto and Kuroo team up with Terushima and Nishinoya, they could literally tear the roof off the theater."

"We have a system," a calm voice called out from the entryway.

I looked up to see Daichi walking into the hallway. He was carrying a massive clipboard in one hand and a giant bag of bulk-buy juice boxes in the other. He looked like a general preparing for military combat.

"Akaashi is taking the front line with the high-energy group Bokuto, Hinata, Kageyama, Tanaka, and Noya," Daichi explained, tapping the clipboard. "I am managing the sandbox and quiet zones, including Kenma, Tsukishima, and Suga. Kita left us a detailed breakdown of the Miya twins' behavioral triggers, and Iwaizumi promised to bite anyone who doesn't sit still during the previews."

I blinked, thoroughly impressed. "Iwaizumi is four, Daichi."

"And he's an excellent enforcer," Daichi replied without missing a beat, a small smirk playing on his lips. He then looked at me, his expression softening into the kind, mature look he always gave when he was being supportive.

"Seriously, Mr. Ethan. Go. My dad has been pacing around our living room for three hours changing his outfit. He's terrified he's going to mess this up. Go take care of him."

Akaashi nodded in agreement, a rare, soft smile on his face. "We've got the kids, Dad. Go have a good time. You deserve this."

A wave of profound gratitude washed over me as I looked at the two teenagers. Despite everything they had to deal with, they were stepping up to give us this one night.

"Thank you, boys," I said softly, giving Akaashi a quick hug and patting Daichi on the shoulder. "If the house starts burning down, call me immediately."

"We won't need to," Akaashi said, shooing me toward the front door. "Now go. He just pulled up into the driveway."

My heart did a violent flip as the headlights of Tooru's car illuminated the front window. I took one deep, final breath, smoothed down my jacket, and stepped out the door into the cool evening air, leaving the chaos behind for the very first time.