Chapter Text
The street at 5 AM is eerily quiet. The sky is between the dark twilight and the warm hues of a new day. Kenma sits on the passenger seat, holding onto a sleeping Hanako. The heater of the car is keeping the warm against the biting cold of the early winter mornings. Kenma tries to make a list of things he needs to do once he is back in his shared apartment with Kuroo, but the more he thinks about what has happened last night and the responsibilities that is now his, his vision starts to narrow and his heartbeat quickens, so instead he decides to watch Hanako sleeping in his arms.
Kenma steals a glance at the raven haired male driving beside him. Kuroo. His childhood best friend, and now, his fellow partner in raising Hanako? Kenma wasn’t so sure he wanted Kuroo to spend his University days being coddled in baby powder and fucked up sleep schedule, they already barely have any time to sleep as it is, but Kenma will think about that later. After all, Kuroo is the only string that is keeping Kenma stitched together at the moment, and he's not ready to let him go yet.
Looking back at Hanako, Kenma couldn’t help but graze the back of his fingers against her cheeks. She’s small, and even if she was born within the healthy weight range and without any complications, she is still very small (or at least that’s what the nurses told him). Hanako cried the moment she was born, held by the nurse to the cleaning stations to wipe off the grime of childbirth and bundle her up in a warm baby blue blanket. The nurse then announced that Hanako has ten fingers, ten toes, and a healthy body as she puts Hanako in Kenma’s arms, him still frozen after the announcement of his sister’s passing.
Hanako sighs in her sleep and Kenma couldn’t help his heart clench at the sound, so precious and small that he knows he would do anything for his niece. He plays with the blanket that wraps around Hanako’s small body, and now he can barely remember his life before Hanako. Despite the many uncertainties that have suddenly befallen upon Kenma, he can’t seem to regret having to meet Hanako, even with the current circumstances. Hanako looks so peaceful in her sleep, so happy in her slumber, true innocence without a spot of sin in her books.
“Kenma, we’re here,” Kuroo interrupts his pondering, his voice soft, scared to suddenly wake Hanako. Kenma only nods and moves to unclip his seatbelt and step out.
Before Kenma could even ask Kuroo to help him with the bags, he sees the taller man running to the trunk and grabs the luggage and locks the car before putting an arm on Kenma’s back. Kenma can feel the warmth that seeps from Kuroo’s hand on his skin despite the many layers that are currently covering his body.
He takes a deep breath and steps his foot forward towards their apartment.
There will surely be plenty of changes around, for better or for worse, and Kenma doesn’t know if he’ll make it through, but at least, right here, right now, Kuroo is beside him, his hand on his back, and guiding him step by step to their door while Hanako still sleeps in Kenma’s arms.
Kenma can only pray that everything will be okay.