Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise. ~Victor Hugo, Les Miserables
Kei Tsukishima is about ninety-eight percent certain that his personal space is about to be breached.
The soft pad of small footsteps behind him has him lifting the quill from the page in front of him with a jerk so he doesn't leave another stray streak in the ledger like he had three days ago. He can almost count down the moment to impact as the little feet leave the ground and slender wings beat twice. He tenses slightly with a blank scowl the last instant before a small body launches itself across his shoulder, sticky little hands circling his neck. His eye twitches.
Two hours. Why did he even bother bathing?
The last ten days he and the owls and Yamaguchi have spent with Suga's relatives in Sheru Bay have been nothing if not eventful. Actually, Kei didn't hate working in the thrush family shop, could see himself getting comfortable there even. Suga's aunt and uncle had been nothing but the epitome of hospitable and he and the others wanted for nothing.
The family patriarch had offered to let him do the shop books that first day they'd showed up, and Kei had easily stepped into the role every evening following. The rest of the responsibilities around the shop, such as manning the front— which Yamaguchi incidentally loved most, or stocking supplies had been menial chores that Kei couldn't bring himself to legitimately care about... but crunching the numbers on that ledger every night after they closed for the evening...
It had been centuries since he'd last been through formal schooling, decades since he'd actually applied any of the knowledge, and years of craving pretty much any form of mental exercise. He'd gravitated toward the position with a mortifying amount of enthusiasm, the scratch of the quill against parchment sending little zips of adrenaline through his fingertips and the slightly musty scent that would hit him with the turn of each crisp page a dose of nostalgia.
It's been centuries since he's last been through formal schooling, and he's had no academic challenge since. Picking up that quill and forcing his mind through the numbers and the process of balancing out that day's transactions... Kei finds it ridiculously cheesy, but it had called to him. Running books for Suga's relatives, his aunt and uncle spectacular, Kei could honestly see himself content here... if it weren't for the resident minions.
"Tsukki!" The child squeals in his ear making him flinch, and in a moment, the kid is squirming up his back, a small foot finding a distinctly uncomfortable purchase on the junction where one of his wings meets his shoulder.
"Hello, Taji." Kei says flatly.
The boy is aptly named; his wings are a lighter silver than Suga's, but with bright golden eyes and an infinite pit of energy, Kei would almost have to say he's more like Hinata— or perhaps Noya or Tanaka with how devious he can be. The boy leans forward over his shoulder.
"What'cha doin'?"
Kei stares straight ahead, resisting the urge to frown with sincere annoyance. He doesn't dare drop the quill back to the page while he's still afflicted with a diabolical little fledgling barnacle.
"Working." He says bluntly.
"Can't you do it later? I wanna play Volley!"
Of course you do.
A lead breath leaves Kei's lungs and he slowly sets the quill down before turning to eye Taji.
"I'm sure Bokuto will play with you." He says. The boy's face slips into a pout.
YOU ARE READING
Level Horizon (Haikyuu!! WingedAU)
FanfictionIn a perfect world, everything works out. His leveler would still have his wings. They wouldn't be separated from their families, an entire life abandoned by the wayside. They would never fight, never wonder about what they've lost, and never fear t...
