Chapter Text
Daichi is an only child for the first 6 years of his life, then Nanaki is born. He’s so, so little and Daichi is so worried about breaking him he doesn’t dare hold him, even as his mom kisses his forehead and reassures him that she’ll be right there and nothing would happen to him. Daichi has heard from friends who have younger siblings that babies are loud and annoying but Nanaki isn’t like that at all. He barely makes any noise unless he really needs something and Daichi spends minutes at a time just watching Nanaki watch the little mobile above his crib with big brown eyes. His father tells him that Daichi had not been as quiet as Nanaki is and then he laughs and ruffles Daichi’s hair when he frowns back at him.
Daichi helps guide him as Nanaki takes his first few steps at 1 years old and his mama cries as she films them to show their father when he gets home.
Nanaki is 3 when he has his first severe allergy shock and Daichi holds his mama’s hand the whole time they’re at the hospital, her other hand shifting between brushing Nanaki’s hair away from his face and stroking her own growing belly. He’s allergic to nuts, all kinds of them. His mama calls their grandmother to go over and get anything with nuts in it out of their house before they go home. Daichi’s father doesn’t find out until he gets home later that evening, he hadn’t been able to pick up his phone when they’d called him and Daichi spends the evening curled up in Nanaki’s little bed, holding his hand and distracting him from the muffled sound of their parents arguing downstairs.
Their sister is born a few months later, their parents name her Yuna and this time Daichi understands what his friends were talking about when they said babies were loud and annoying, Yuna cries constantly and it’s annoying and it makes Nanaki cover his ears or cry as well which makes everything worse. The only time she doesn’t cry is if someone holds her and Daichi is 10 now so after his mama shows him how to properly do it he easily gets into the habit of holding her. Only when he’s sitting still to start with, because she’s still tiny and even though she certainly is annoying Daichi doesn’t want her to break.
Then his mama gets sick, she starts having trouble getting out of bed and she barely ever smiles anymore, always in pain. His father has to take on more work so he’s barely home anymore, meaning that caring for his mama and little siblings falls on Daichi.
He never complains. Not once. And his mama strokes his hair and tells him how grateful she is to have him and how good he is.
He has difficulty putting the anger he feels to words when he finds out they’re having another baby. His mother still can’t get out of bed most days and he hardly sees his father for more than an hour or two each day. Adding another baby to the mix is irresponsible and reckless, even Daichi knows that and he’s 14.
He never words this to his mother. Or his father for that matter, but that has more to do with the fact that he only sees him at the same time as Nanaki and Yuna and he’s decided he won’t instigate a fight with them nearby. But it’s hard to keep the displeasure away from his face when he tells Ikejiri and Michimiya and they get excited for him. Ikejiri asks him about it after practice and Daichi can’t tell him so he just shrugs it off and tells him with a laugh
“It’s not that i’m not happy about it, I’m just not overly excited because I already have both a brother and a sister so it’s nothing new” Of course that comes back to bite him later when his mother tells him she’s having twins. Which is definitely new.
Kaito and Keiko are born shortly after Daichi’s summer vacation starts and that’s probably the biggest relief of the year for him. Because it gives him and his mom roughly five weeks to get used to having them to care for as well. Five weeks, half of which his mom spends on complete bed rest. Luckily the twins are very easy babies. They sleep through the night with minimal trouble. Daichi knows because every night after his mom falls asleep he sneaks the baby monitor from the bedside table. The doctor said she needs as much rest as possible so Daichi sees to it that she gets it. He keeps the habit up even as he goes back to school. He sets the baby monitor on his desk as he does his homework. He picks Nanaki and Yuna up on his way home from school. He makes sure Nanaki has his epipen with him every morning and that both Nanaki and Yuna have their lunches with them too. And if, with volleyball added into the mix Daichi doesn’t have time for much else then so be it.
Somehow their luck doesn’t run out. His father gets a raise at work which means one less struggle for a while and his mom is doing better, she can stay out of bed for a couple of hours at a time and Daichi even sees her smile more and more. He keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop but it doesn’t. Sure his mom still has really bad days, but they’re fewer and further in between. Most days are decent or even good. Most days he and his mom make dinner together and most days he gets to see her smile.
When high school starts and he meets Suga and Asahi he isn’t sure how to tell them about any of it. Suga talks about his family a lot and Asahi will sheepishly mention his slightly over protective parents. They never ask, so Daichi doesn’t tell. He isn’t ashamed. He loves his family and he’s not ashamed of them, he could never be. But he still doesn’t talk to Suga or Asahi about them.
Not until halfway through second year when he and his mom are making dinner and she asks him why he doesn’t go out with his friends or have them over to study. He shrugs. He knows Suga and Asahi sometimes study together at their houses but he always declines when they ask him to join them. But he can’t tell her that, because she would ask why he declines and he really can’t tell her it’s because she needs him at home.
“I guess I just don’t have time. I see them at practice anyway so” When he looks at his mom she’s frowning at him and he knows she’s staring straight through him. He looks away, returning his attention to chopping the vegetables. They work in relative silence for a while; they could still hear Yuna playing with the twins in the living room. He almost thinks she’s dropped it when she speaks again.
“Invite them over for dinner next week” he takes a breath
“Mama-” She interrupts him.
“We’ll order take out, it’ll be good for you” He can’t argue with her. Actually he’s pretty sure it’s physically impossible for him to argue with her.
Still he holds off asking Suga and Asahi as long as he can. Just in case she’d change her mind or in case she’d be having a bad day.
He hasn’t invited anyone over in years but he swallows the nerves and corners them after morning practice. They both agree without hesitation, though Asahi’s parents want him home for dinner so Daichi gives him his address so he can come over after to study. At the end of the day Suga’s waiting for him outside his classroom with an excited grin and there’s this excited little pep to his step as they walk side by side.When Daichi tells him they’ll have to pick the twins up on their way he only gets more excited.
“So you have siblings then?” Daichi nods “How many?”
“Four” Suga lets out an impressed whistle that has Daichi rolling his eyes but smiling
“You’re the oldest aren’t you?” Daichi nods again “How old are they?”
“My oldest is a year younger than yours” Suga blinks at him
“You remember how old my brother is?” Daichi stares back
“Of course I do, I listen.” That earns him the brightest smile he’s ever seen. It’s incredibly infectious so Daichi can’t help but smile too.
When the third years retire that year Suga and Asahi tell him he’s the natural choice for captain and it takes him quite some time to come to terms with this. Not because he doesn’t want to but the opposite, he really, really wants to, he wants to be captain and he wants to bring them to nationals but there’s still this part of him that frets about home. Even though he could even say things are good now there’s this voice in the back of his head telling him his focus needs to be at home.
It isn’t until his mom takes his face in her hands and tells him firmly that she's so grateful and he's so good but he needs to live his own life too that he decides that yes, he will be captain.