synopsis: inspired by the series, Old Enough? basically, in Japan, it's common practice to entrust a toddler an errand to perform all by themselves, such as fetching something from the store. sometimes, in a small village or closely knit neighborhood, all the shopkeepers and neighborhood residents are aware of when the toddler will be out and all work together to watch over them and guide them.
wc: 2.6k
âAre ya sure she has to do this today?â
ââTsumu, weâve already done all the preparation. Letâs just let her try, hm?âÂ
He grumbles, but moves to his assigned location at the dining table, where your daughter is already sitting, swinging her legs in anticipation of her favorite Omurice lunch.Â
You bring the plates of food over to the table and set one down at each of your seats. You give Atsumu a pointed look which he ignores. You clear your throat and give him a hard nudge.Â
âOw,â he complains. He gives you one last pleading look which you leave unanswered.Â
He sighs and recites his scripted lines. âOh honey, what about the ketchup drawings?â he asks you in monotone.Â
You tap a finger at your chin, looking up at the ceiling to feign deep thought. âOh no! I think we ran out of ketchup!â You bring a palm up to cover your mouth, gaping open in dismay.Â
âNo ketchup drawing? How can I possibly eat Omurice without the ketchup drawing?âÂ
âOh no,â you turn to your daughter. âWe canât have Omurice without ketchup can we?âÂ
âNo, we canât!â your daughter exclaims.Â
âWell baby, do you think you can go to the store and get some ketchup for us? Just like how you do it when you go with Mommy.âÂ
Her eyes sparkle with excitement at the prospect of going out. âMe?âÂ
âYep, Daddy and I are so busy, we canât go. Can we rely on you?âÂ
âSure!â she chirps.Â
So a few short moments later, you and Atsumu have strapped her little purse on her torso, containing just enough coins to purchase a bottle of ketchup and a card with your phone number on it, just in case. Atsumu laces her shoes up and gives her a kiss on the cheek. You think you see his eyes misting over.Â
You speak up. âJust to the store we always go to, okay? Mommyâs counting on you!â This was supposed to have been Atsumuâs line, but you can tell that the dam is about to burst so you help him out.
âYouâll do great,â he chokes out. âIâll see you when you come home with ketchup so Daddy can have his Omurice. Okay?âÂ
She nods, enthusiastic and completely unaware of Atsumuâs turmoil. With that, sheâs out the door and Atsumu barely waits one minute before heâs following, sticking to his own plan to trail her on her first errand.Â
~
The route has been prepped ahead of time. All the neighbors and the local store owners have been informed of your daughterâs first errand to ensure her success. In addition, all of Atsumuâs teammates, old and new, showed up to guide her along.Â
So as Atsumu trails behind her toddling figure, hiding comically behind fences and walls, thereâs really no need for him to intervene.Â
She first passess the local cafe, where Bokuto, Hinata, and Sakusa sit at a table strategically located by the open window facing the sidewalk. As she walks by, she recognizes them instantly, straying from her path to the store. Bokuto sits her on his lap while Hinata listens to her babble and Sakusa buys her an apple juice. After a couple minutes of chatting, Sakusa gently pats her and asks, âso why are you out here by yourself?âÂ
âOh!â she clammors out of Bokutoâs arms, suddenly remembering that she was supposed to be out on a mission. âIâm going to the store to buy ketchup for Mommy and Daddy. Theyâre counting on me.âÂ
Hinata nods profusely. âYou better be off then!â
âYou should finish your juice first, though. Adults donât waste food,â Sakusa tells her.Â
She nods, happy to sip the remaining juice from the cup, then sets on her way afoot.Â
The trio at the cafe watch her go, shaking their heads when they notice their setter conspicuously following close behind.Â
~
Next is Onigiri Miya.Â
Well, technically, next was supposed to be the florist on the main street, but the little Miya had seen the street that Onigiri Miya is on and took the turn out of habit. But no matter â you and Atsumu had foreseen this, so a team is at the ready there too.Â
Suna sits at the counter seat closest to the door to keep watch. When he sees her rounding the corner, he signals Osamu who comes out from behind the counter to greet her at the door.Â
âHeya, baby,â picking up her easily when she runs into her Uncleâs arms.Â
âHi Uncle âSamu! Hi Rin-chan!â She greets Suna over Osamuâs shoulder.Â
Suna grins, âhey stink.âÂ
ââM not stinky!âÂ
Osamu carries her into the restaurant and deposits her on the counter seat next to Sunaâs. He rounds back into the kitchen where he begins shaping a miniature version of her favorite onigiri. She kicks her feet, completely at ease in the restaurant and blissfully forgetful of her task at hand. When the plate is deposited in front of her, she chirps out a quick thank you before digging in.Â
After chatting Suna up for a bit, Osamu finally cuts in.Â
âSo, what are ya doing out here all by yourself?âÂ
âDunno!â she giggles.Â
Suna coughs a bit, giving Osamu a look which Osamu returns pointedly.Â
âSoooo⊠you decided to have lunch here without your dad and mom?âÂ
She ponders this for a bit, before lighting up. âOh yeah! Mommy made Omurice but Daddy forgot to buy the ketchup so Iâm here to get it.âÂ
Osamuâs eyes widen comically. âAll by yourself?âÂ
She nods sagely. ââM a big girl now. Mommy is countinâ on me.âÂ
âWell, ya better get going then. Yer silly dad will be waitinâ for ya.âÂ
She agrees, hopping her to her feet. The two follow her to the door to see her off, holding the door open for her walk through. She gets halfway back the way she came when she turns around and grins toothily at the two.Â
âThanks for the onigiri, uncle! Love ya!âÂ
Osamu smiles and waves her off. Behind him, Suna holds out his phone, pointing the camera at the little girlâs retreating back, making sure to focus on the suspicious figure donning sunglasses, a mask, and MSBY jackals baseball cap tailing her. He sends it to the group chat warning the next team to watch out for a stalker.Â
~Â
Your daughter finds her way back to the intersection on the main road. She needs to take a left to continue her route to the supermarket. As she stands at the crossroads, she frowns, not quite remembering where she needs to go. She takes a right.Â
There, she bumps into the legs of Kageyama and Hoshiumi who are stationed at the intersection.Â
âSorry,â she starts, craning her neck to get a better look at her obstacles.Â
âNo worries,â Kageyama says, taking a step back.Â
Hoshiumi then strikes up a conversation with Kageyama, reading out the practiced lines.Â
âHey, we need to go to the supermarket right?â
Your daughterâs ears perk up at that.
âYeah. Itâs that â â Kageyama points dramatically ââ way.âÂ
âOhhhh, I see,â Hoshiumi puts a hand up to theatrically mimic covering his eyes from the sun and squints the way Kageyama is pointing.Â
Your daughter nods to herself at that and turns around to walk in the correct direction this time.Â
When she gets far enough away, Hoshiumi shows Kageyama the text in the group chat.Â
âStalker?â Kageyama reads, scrunching his face. âShould we ââ
âNah,â Hoshiumi cuts him off and points at the stalker in question, going the same way the little girl just went.
âAh.â Tobio understands, noticing the peek of dyed blond hair from under the baseball cap.Â
~
At last, she arrives at the grocery store. This is familiar ground, so she wanders into the store and meanders the aisles, getting distracted by the array of colors in the snack section. Sheâs running her hands along all the biscuit options, contemplating how she can fit all the items she wants in her two hands when she hears someone clear their throat from above her.Â
This time, itâs Aran who waves a gentle hello to her.Â
âAran-kun!â she exclaims, forgetting about the snacks and running up to hug his legs.Â
He chuckles and pats her head.Â
âHi there. Are ya looking for something in particular?âÂ
Once again, she thinks. Sheâs sure there must be a reason sheâs in the store but canât quite remember.Â
âI think so?âÂ
âHm, okay. Wanna go shopping with me until you remember what yer looking for?âÂ
âMâkay!â
She grabs Aranâs hand and swings them as he guides her to the aisle with the condiments. There, she inspects the colorful array of sauces, eyes sparkling. Aran pretends to look for his own items, hovering a hand over the ketchup bottles and waving his fingers in the general area until she remembers. Her eyes hone in on the red bottle and she remembers her poor father, still unable to eat his lunch without ketchup.Â
âAran-kun! Iâm here for ketchup!âÂ
ââThat so? Well, here ya go, then.â He picks up the bottle of the brand he knows you use and plops it right into her hands.Â
âNot this one,â she shakes her head. âMommy wants that one.âÂ
She points at the bottle next to the one Aran grabbed. Theyâre identical.Â
Unbothered, Aran switches out the bottle in her hands with the one she wants. âSorry âbout that. All good now?âÂ
âYep!âÂ
âReady to go check out, then?âÂ
She nods. He continues to walk her to the registers. Once the lines are in sight, she lets go of his fingers and darts over to the nearest line. But not before bowing a polite thank you to Aran.Â
At the register, she greets the attendant watching him scan the bottle and showing her the total amount owed.Â
âThatâll be 200 yen.âÂ
She reaches into her purse and pours out all the coins onto the counter, not entirely sure what she needs to offer. The cashier picks out a few coins and deposits the rest back into her coin purse, allowing her to tuck the coin purse back into her bag and zip the purse securely before asking if she wants a bag.Â
âYes, please!âÂ
With a plastic baggie in hand, she makes her way to the exit. Aran catches her before and tucks a small box of pocky into her bag, pushing a finger to his lips and winking at her. âKeep it a secret from yer mom. Get home safe!âÂ
She mimics his gesture and nods. With one last bear hug to Aranâs legs, sheâs off.Â
~
Outside the store, Kita waits for her. She spots his white hair easily. Of all her uncles (excluding Osamu, of course), Kita is her favorite. She runs over to him, bag swinging carelessly behind her. Kita catches her and gives her a little spin before setting her back on the ground.Â
âHiya, Uncle Shin!âÂ
âHey there. Whatâcha got in there?â he asks, pointing at the bag.Â
âKetchup! Daddy forgot to buy more and he canât eat Omurice without it, so Mommyâs countinâ on me to get it.âÂ
Kita rests a hand on her head. âThatâs real impressive of ya, to come to the store to get it all by yourself.âÂ
She glows in his praise, rare but genuine.Â
âGoing home now, Uncle Shin.âÂ
âAlright,â he responds. âI need something from that way, so Iâll walk ya part ways.âÂ
She beams and follows Kita in the direction of your home.Â
âUncle Shin?â
âYeah, bug?âÂ
âCan I eat my pocky? Aran-kun bought it for me.âÂ
He crouches down to her eye level. âCan I have some?â he asks seriously.Â
âYeah!âÂ
âThen, alright. But letâs go sit down at that bench over there, okay? Itâs rude to eat and walk.âÂ
âOkay!âÂ
So the two take a detour, sitting at the bench to watch the birds hobble by while sharing the box of strawberry pocky. A certain stalker watches in envy from behind the trees.Â
Once the box is depleted, Kita wipes her fingers down with some wet wipes he keeps in his pocket and tosses out the trash. They continue on their way, Kita sticking with her until they pass the confusing intersection (where Kageyama and Hoshiumi bow slightly at the sight of Kita) and the cafe (where the MSBY trio nod in acknowledgement).Â
When the house is only a couple more feet away, Kita once again crouches down. âAlright, I gotta go my own way from here. Do ya think ya can make it home all by yourself?âÂ
âYep, thanks Uncle Shin!â
âSure. Iâm proud of ya, bug.âÂ
She squirms a bit, overwhelmed by the praise she gets from her favorite uncle. The ketchup bounces in its bag by her side as she skips all the way back home.Â
~
After fishing out her own key and unlocking the front door, Atsumu is there to greet her at the genkan, scoping her up and squeezing her tight, the ketchup bag forgotten on the floor.
âThereâs my girl!âÂ
âDaddy!â she laughs.Â
âWelcome home,â you greet, tummy warming at the sight of your two Miyas.Â
âMommy!â she squirms in Atsumuâs arms signaling for him to let her down. He obliges and she picks up the plastic bag to wave in your face. âI got the ketchup! Now daddy can eat his lunch!âÂ
âWow, great job! And all by yourself!âÂ
You usher her over to the table as she babbles about her day.Â
âWow, sounds like you had a great day. Did you have fun?âÂ
âYep!âÂ
Atsumu, who has since changed out of his stalker gear, slumps into his seat at the table, back to grumbling about his cold omurice and how it wouldâve still been hot if he had quickly gone with his daughter to get it.Â
You throw him a bone by asking your daughter, âDid you miss Daddy on your trip?â
âWhat do you mean?â
You almost choke out a laugh; kids are ruthless sometimes.
âWhy would I miss Daddy? He was there the whole time.âÂ
Atsumu sputters. âWhat do ya mean? I was at home waiting for ya the whole time.âÂ
âDaddyâs a liar,â she whispers in your ear. âI saw him, but he was wearinâ some weird clothes. Like covering his face.âÂ
You break into a fit of giggles. âYour daddyâs really silly, isnât he?â
Atsumu can hear everything. âHey!â
âDaddy was following you because he was just a bit worried about you going by yourself. But heâs really proud of you. Right?âÂ
Atsumu rounds the table to crouch besides your daughterâs seat. âYeah. But you did so well. Iâm so proud of ya.âÂ
Her eyes light up at the praise. She throws her arms around his neck and wiggles in her seat a bit.Â
âWell, great job and since you got the ketchup for us, all your favorite uncles can now join us for lunch too.âÂ
At that, each of todayâs helpers emerge from the kitchen holding their own plates of Omurice, all undecorated. You figure it might be a good time to introduce her to Kageyama and Hoshiumi too, but sheâs distracted by Kita and Osamu offering their omelets to her to decorate with the ketchup.
As she goes around the table and draws ketchup hearts and stars on each omelet, you wander over to Atsumuâs side whose eyes are getting watery again, watching her brag to each of them that the ketchup theyâre about to eat is her ketchup.Â
âWhatâs wrong, âTsumu?âÂ
âNothin,â he hastily swipes at his eyes. ââM not crying.â
âI never said you were,â you say gently. You wind your arm around his waist and lean into him, rubbing circles into his back. His body closes around you instinctively.Â
âSheâs just growing up so fast, ya know.âÂ
âI know.âÂ
âSoon, she wonât need me â us â anymore.âÂ
âAww, âTsumu. Yeah, sheâll grow up butâŠâÂ
He looks at you when you trail off.Â
You reach up to whisper in his ears. âWe could always just make another one.â
sum marble hornets...i have more drawings planned but im gonna start with posting these bc I'm trying to kick the habit I have of posting things in bulk. Also under the cut hereÂŽs some alt versions of the first drawing.
Osamu looks up, eyebrows scrunched. Atsumu canât tell what the expression is and it worries him a little.
Osamu clears his throat before speaking, looking back down at his plate. âWe almost broke up after high school... and last year.â
âWhat?â Atsumu exclaims. He leans forward. âYouâre lying! Why didnât you tell me?â
âI didnât want to talk about it. Either time.â
âSamu, come on.â
âWhy are you asking?â
âAnswer. I need⊠I just need an answer,â Atsumu trails off, leaning back into his seat.Â
Osamu looks at him for a moment. âThe first time, it was Rinâs idea. He didnât think we could survive a long-distance relationship. We fought a lot. I didnât want to lose him. I thought breaking up would mean we couldnât even be friends. I thought it would mean that we wouldnât talk anymore. Every argument he had, I couldnât even listen to because I was so scared of losing him. One night, I finally admitted that. He admitted the reason he wanted to break up was because he was scared of holding me back.
âWe decided that we would give it a month. See how we both felt with distance. I still loved him and he still loved me.â Osamuâs looking back down when he finishes. Heâs never been one to show a lot of emotions.
âI didnât even know that you two could fight with each other,â Atsumu says.
âNo relationship is perfect.â
âAnd what about last year,â Atsumu prompts.
Osamu bites his lip, hesitating. âA long-distance relationship is hard. Especially when weâre both happy with where we are. I love the restaurant and wouldnât give it up for anything. And he feels the same with volleyball. And I donât want him to give up volleyball, especially not if itâs for me. It just gets hard not seeing him. We were lucky in high school with how much time we could spend together.â Osamu takes a moment to gather his thoughts. âI guess we both got kinda⊠panicky? I donât know the word to use. I think between stress and missing each other, we both got frustrated. It just led to fights and almost breaking up.â
âHow did you fix it?â
Osamu laughs a little. A short breath through his nose. âI didnât talk to him for a few days. I needed some time to clear my head. I realized that no matter what, I still love him. I think I always will. No matter how far away he is or how little I see him. And eventually, I told him that. He still needed some time to gather himself. But when he got a break, he came to our apartment and we just⊠we spent an entire day just cuddling. It almost felt like we were teenagers again.â
âYou guys are gross.â
âYou asked, asshole.â
Atsumu huffs but doesnât argue. He knows how in love Osamu and Suna are. Heâs seen them interact for years. He sees the way Osamu smiles for Suna and only Suna. He sees the way Suna stares at Osamu like Osamu is the only person in the universe. Even their insults are full of love and affection. And itâs gross.
But Atsumu wants something like that. Heâs so desperate for a love like that.