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Now, don’t get him wrong, Tooru loves his son but even he can acknowledge what a holy terror Tobio-chan could be when he didn’t want to nap. He tried placating the boy with lullabies, food, and even cuddled him up to his favourite crow plush toy but to no avail. Tobio would just not settle for his father; Tooru reckoned he wanted Hajime but the boy’s other father was at work and would come home after his nap. Secretly, Tooru was tempted to call his husband home after Tobio was still crying after what seemed like hours.
Finally, the toddler started to get too exhausted to keep up the crying and just frowned at his father, still not happy to be put down for a nap. Tooru finally laid him on his and Hajime’s bed to sleep; he felt Tobio grab onto one of his fingers and tug him gently back to where he was.
“Story, dada?” The little boy asked, voice hoarse from crying all afternoon. Tooru winced slightly knowing he was going to give in to the boy’s wide blue eyes staring at him pitifully from underneath his dark bangs.
“Okay,” Tooru began, feeling the lecture Hajime was going to give him for spoiling Tobio was going to be long but he knew a few tricks to shut his husband up.
“Once upon a time, there was a brave knight named Iwaizumi,” Tooru said as he stroked Tobio’s bangs back, “Like papa!” Tobio interrupted, Tooru nodded and continued,
“who went from kingdom to kingdom slaying monsters and defeating dragons. Each time, the kings would offer him the best they could offer: gold, princesses, whatever he desired, but the knight would always refuse.
"I have no need for more gold or a wife. I only desire to help those in need, and I can do neither by sitting on a throne nor by caring for a wife." The knight said to every king he came across, every place he helped, every princess he saved.
“He travelled and travelled until he heard of a kingdom needing assistance from the dreaded dragon, Ushijima. So the knight and his trusted steed went to the kingdom of Seijoh to offer his services.
Now, Seijoh was poor and the king had nothing to offer the knight; neither stores of gold nor heirs.
“So the cunning king came up with a solution: he would find any single woman and train her to be the princess while the knight was away.
Unfortunately for the king, the previous day had been Lovers' Day which meant all the women had gotten married to the men they chose.
“With the harvest getting weaker and weaker each year and the dragon's presence, there were less single maidens every Lovers' Day.
And all the eligible men had been married off, the king had a very small pool of people to pick from. The woman could not be too old or young, or the king would risk insulting the knight.
“So the king decided to have a contest so the best single person could become the knight's lover.
Now there was a farm boy named Oikawa-”
“Like dada!” Tobio interjected, beaming at his father, all traces of his previous crankiness gone. Tooru smiled indulgently at his son who was finally starting to relax, “I’ll keep telling the story if you close your eyes, Tobio-chan.”
To his surprise, Tobio closed his eyes obediently and his father continued,
“-and his family had fallen on hard times. None of their crops had grown this harvest; they had all withered and some of their livestock had been taken by the dragon.
“Oikawa had no intention of being a prince but he knew that if he won, he could provide for his family and that they would live comfortably, at the very least.
So Oikawa entered the contest.
“It was not very difficult, the others who participated were either too old or too young to be qualified for the contest. There were strength challenges, which was a little difficult for him but when the archery challenges began, he won them all with ease.
“Oikawa had practiced his archery in secret, waiting for the opportunity to win contests and earn a little money for his family.
The last challenge was the hardest one, for it was a challenge designed with women in mind. An embroidery contest to create the most intricate design which would be chosen by the king himself.
“Oikawa worked tirelessly, day and night to finish his piece but when he saw the others' works, he was disheartened. His design was simple compared to the others even if it took him just as long to complete.
Nonetheless, he submitted his piece with pride.
“And to the shock of all, the king chose his simple design which combined with his feat of strength and archery skills, won him the contest.
Now, Oikawa was used to hard labour but he hated the lessons his new life entailed: politics and etiquette.
He wanted to cry in frustration; he would never learn all of his lessons before Knight Iwaizumi arrived in the kingdom but his family needed him, so he tried his best just as he knew that his future husband would do his best to defeat the dreaded dragon, Ushijima.
“Knight Iwaizumi, of course, had no idea what the king was planning and would most likely refuse the king's plan if he knew what he was going to offer.
Knight Iwaizumi only wanted to travel and fight but most importantly wanted to help those in need.
The dragon, Ushijima had fled from him many times before and he wanted to end the fight with the dreaded beast.
“Knight Iwaizumi travelled to the highest peak of the Shiratorizawa mountain range and looked hard for the dragon's den. He spotted a plume of smoke coming from a crude hole. The Knight Iwaizumi crept into the den with weary steps, tired from his long journey.
Little did he know that the dragon, Ushijima, was waiting for him as well.
He, too was tired and wanted to finish this fight.
The king of Seijoh fretted and fussed that Oikawa's lessons weren't going as smoothly as he planned and that the farm boy was more interested in his fighting lessons instead of the diplomacy ones.
“He was worried about insulting Knight Iwaizumi by not having anything to offer but now, he was more worried about not offering him anything of much value.
Oikawa was working his hardest with his lessons but couldn't meet the king's standards but he studied relentlessly and never gave up. The more he learned, the more he wanted to prove his worth not just to the king, but to this mysterious knight.
“Not too far off, Knight Iwaizumi and the dragon, Ushijima were locked in battle. Days and nights passed until both were weary from fighting. Unable to move any longer from exhaustion, the dragon proposed a game of riddles to settle the score. The loser would kill the winner.
Knight Iwaizumi was a little hesitant but agreed, eager to finish the fight. Ushijima began,
"What is golden but cannot be kept? A gold that is treasured above all but unattainable? It burns like a fire but disappears."
The knight thought hard before he answered, "The sun, dragon." The dragon growled, the knight was correct and it was his turn.
"What is golden yet grown? Sweet but sour? Bitter if laid to the ground, yet heavenly in bloom?"
"A lemon," the dragon answered, having seen a lemon before on his travels. "What is blue yet holds no colour? Has shape yet has none? What is cool yet can burn?"
The dragon's riddle was tricky and to the knight could mean many things. Finally, the knight had an answer, "Water. That was quite clever, I'll hold you, but I have one better."
"What is around and inside you? Everyone shares it, yet some do not know they have it. What is always present, but sometimes missing when sought for?"
The dragon roared mightily and he thought and thought but had no answer. "I do not know," he admitted.
The knight smiled a sad smile, "It is love, dragon. Love."
The dragon pondered this and conceded, the knight had bested him and gladly lay his life down to his better.
The knight performed the death ritual for the dragon to respect his formidable opponent. When he was finished, with a heavy heart, he sent a messenger ahead to announce his arrival.
The king received his message with great anxiety; while the farm boy could possibly pretend to be a prince, he was not yet ready to meet the knight.
On the day of the knight's arrival, the king's servants dressed Oikawa with rich clothes, the like of which he never had before. He was bathed with scented water and oils, while being scrubbed vigorously. Once he was deemed ready, he took his place beside the king's side.
The king inspected the farm boy and was impressed by the work he's done to get where they are now. The sleepless nights the farm boy spent studying and practicing his etiquette impressed the king that he had sent for the farm boy's family so they would be fed and cared for.
The farm boy was so nervous when the knight entered the throne room and knelt before the king before offering him the dragon's heart.
"He was a valiant warrior and a worthy opponent, your Majesty." The knight said as he gave the king the heart on a platter.
The king nodded his acceptance and introduced the knight to his "son". The farm boy fumbled a bit but nonetheless accepted the kiss the knight placed on his hand.
Knight Iwaizumi was surprised to feel the calluses on Oikawa’s hand. They were similar to his own, borne from sword handling and hard work. It was because of his surprise that he failed to let go of the pretend prince's hand.
When the king noticed this, he offered Oikawa's hand in marriage. Knight Iwaizumi almost found himself agreeing because he hadn't heard a word the king had said, instead, he was mesmerized by the farm boy's hands: rough when meant to be soft.
The knight declined the offer of marriage on the same grounds as he had before, he could not stay for he still had countries to travel and could not stay and care for a spouse.
However, the king was not discouraged, especially since he saw the way the knight held onto the farm boy's hand. He asked the knight to stay for another night and since the prince had been so tired by his fight, he stayed.
That night, the farm boy passed by the knight's room to see him pacing in his hallway.
"Why are you not asleep?" Oikawa asked, forgetting his etiquette in the darkness.
"Tell me something, young prince. Why are your hands so rough?" The knight asked, taking the farm boy's palm again.
He turned them over and looked at them in the moonlight. The knight traced the calluses with his fingers.
Oikawa gasped, unused to the feeling, "I don't know what you mean. They've always been like that. From farm work and sword practice of course."
"Farm work?"
"Oh!" The farm boy yelped, he had accidentally spilled his secret to the knight. The knight didn't seem angry, so the farm boy wasn't too worried but was still scared if the king found out as well.
Unwilling to lie to the knight, he told him the truth: everything he'd done up until he met the knight. Instead of being angry, he laughed out loud, "So you're saying you aren't averse to hard work?" The farm boy nodded, up until a few weeks ago, all he had done was farm work.
"Can you fight?" Knight Iwaizumi asked, taking in how beautiful the farm boy was in the moonlight. The farm boy nodded, from little scraps to his precise archery.
"I'm a good archer," said the farm boy, "I won the competition, after all."
If the farm boy was as good as he claimed, then perhaps he could bring him as he travelled. An archer to complement his swordsmanship. Perhaps, the knight would now have a companion and in time, maybe he and the farm boy could love one another.
So he asked the farm boy if he wanted to join the knight in his travels and fights. Oikawa was surprised that the knight offered to take him on his journeys after hearing how solitary he usually
The farm boy knew that his family would be cared for if he left especially if he married the knight. So, he agreed to marry the knight and perhaps one day, they could learn to love the other.
The next morning, they announced to the king that they would marry but Oikawa would leave with the knight. The king agreed since he was the one who offered the farm boy's hand in marriage in the first place.
And so, Knight Iwaizumi and Oikawa left the kingdom to go on a new adventure, together.
THE END.”
Tobio was fast asleep, clinging onto his father’s fingers when the front door opened. “I’m home!” Hajime called out, finding no one in the living room, he checked the kitchen where his husband would sometimes make coffee after Tobio fell asleep for his nap.
Hajime was a bit worried when Tooru had texted him saying that Tobio wouldn’t stop crying. He wanted to come home and help his husband out but Tooru replied to him that he didn’t need to come back but he still worried. When they adopted Tobio, he took to Hajime pretty well but was slow to accept Tooru; sometimes the little boy would cry and kick and one memorable time, the boy bit him.
Tobio was slowly warming to Tooru and recently, the boy had called him ‘dada’ which had his husband crying tears of happiness. Tobio even let him cuddle up with the boy and even let him take over some of the ‘baby duties’ Hajime usually had to do because Tobio refused to let Tooru do anything.
“Tooru?” Hajime called out softly, minding the fact that Tobio might still be napping. He checked out the toddler’s room to find it empty and now he’s starting to panic with no husband and son in sight.
Finally, he checked in his and his husband’s room to find Tobio and Tooru wrapped in blankets snuggled together. Hajime smiled before dropping a kiss on both of their foreheads.
“Iwa-chan?” Tooru asked sleepily, opening one eye and yawned, “when did you come home?”
“Just a little while ago, I should’ve texted you, sorry, I forgot.” Hajime said before removing his shoes and lying down on Tobio’s other side.
“What did you guys do today?” He said stretching out and cuddling up to his son who shifted in his sleep to snuggle up to Hajime. “Oh, someone had a tantrum then finally let me tell him a story before he fell asleep.” Tooru said lightly and turned onto his side, Tobio squeezing his father’s fingers slightly at the movement. “Dada no,” the boy mumbled sleepily, “Sorry sweetie, dada won’t move now.” Tooru nuzzled his son’s hair.
Hajime looked at his son and husband, he probably should remove his polo shirt and slacks before they wrinkle too badly and put them in the hamper but he couldn’t make himself leave the scene in front of him. He never thought he’d have this; married, with kids, and to Oikawa Tooru himself.
Content, he fell asleep with his family in his arms.