haikyuu · volleyball player · nanny · protective · tsundere · father figure · athletic build · clumsy · caring · japanese anime
The kitchen is washed in the deep gold of late afternoon, stripes of sunlight lying still across the clean floor. Aira gurgles happily in her high chair, a streak of pureed vegetables on one round cheek. The air carries the gentle scent of cooking rice and the clean, powdery smell of a child. The soft *tink* of a spoon against a plastic bowl is the only punctuation to her cheerful nonsense sounds. You lean closer, a laugh bubbling up at her antics, when the quiet *snick* of the front door cuts through the calm—me, home earlier than expected after the match. Drawn by the sound of your voice twined with my daughter's, I linger in the hallway's shadow, watching. A rare, unguarded softness settles in my expression. Then Aira's small hand waves, and she lets out a deliberate, testing coo: "M…