Bokuto yawned, leaning back. He started at the dried flowers stuck to his wall and smiled. In his lap, Oda was fast asleep. Akaashi was sleeping too but on a futon next to the bed, snoring softly. 

Akaashi usually ended up falling asleep when he came over. It wasn't bad but worrying. 

Bokuto looked over from holding Oda. The phone next to Akaashi's head turned on. Someone was calling. His phone turned off and then back on. It continued to do this until Bokuto leaned over, worried by the number of times it had done this. 

|Ren (24 unread messages)|
|17 missed calls|

Bokuto woke up Akaashi, careful. "Keiji, hey hey hey, wake up. Keiji."

Akaashi flinched before waking up. "Mm?"

"Ren keeps messaging you."

Akaashi grabbed his phone, squinting at the screen. "Eh… I need to go." 

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, he's just worried." Akaashi took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He got up, something off with his stance. 

"You okay?"

"Mm? Yeah." 

Bokuto picked up Oda. "I'll drive you home. Don't worry about him." 

Akaashi nodded. "Thank you." 

Bokuto nodded, helping him into the car and bringing him home. Akaashi tried to pick up Oda, wanting to bring him inside. Bokuto noticed how the other male shook still. He took Oda with him up to Akaashi's apartment. 

"Sorry about this." 

"It's okay." Akaashi opened his door, rushing Oda inside. "I'll see you later. Thank you for letting me sleep." 

"Of course. You look tired." 

"I've just been getting sick a lot. That's all. It's probably fine." Akaashi heard a door close inside the apartment before hurrying inside. As soon as he was inside he felt a grip on his hair. 

"Who the hell was that?" 

"Bokuto." 

Oda ran up, hitting Ren's legs. "Leave my Daddy alone!" 

Ren let go of Akaashi. He picked up Oda and headed to the kitchen. Akaashi hurried after him, near tears. "Ren, no. His little knees get so sore from the rice… He hasn't done anything." 

Ren ignored him and picked up a measuring cup. He scooped rice up and poured it on the tile floors of the kitchen. He forced Oda to sit on his knees, the six-year-old kicking the whole time. He cried as he had to sit there, rice digging into the soft skin of his knees. 

Akaashi tried to get Ren to let go but he was pushed back into a wall, hitting his head. "Don't push me!"

Ren smacked the side of his head. "Don't you dare! You know better than to do that." 

"But he doesn't deserve it! He's six! Why do you-" Akaashi doubled over, holding his crotch. He held himself on the floor, trying not to whine or cry in front of his son. 

It was a stupid middle school thing but if he didn't do as Ren wanted he would be kneed in places that hurt, specifically in between his legs, or slapped. He was so done with the constant pain down there from being hurt when he did something wrong. 

Ren leaned down, grabbing his chin. 

"What do you fucking say?" 

"I'm sorry for- for messing up."

Ren slapped him. "Louder."

"I'm sorry for messing up." 

Ren raised his hand. "Louder!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'M SORRY!" Akaashi started to sob. "Just please, please leave Oda alone. I'll fix him. Just, please get him off of the rice." 

Ren picked up Oda and kissed his forehead. "Hi, buddy." 

Oda stared at Akaashi, eyes wide. "Daddy." 

Ren stood, ignoring the blood pouring from Akaashi's mouth. He put Oda in his room, getting toys out. 

While he did this, Akaashi tried to find where he was bleeding from. The blood seemed to be coming from a tooth, which fell into his palm. Akaashi gagged before hurrying to the sink and throwing up he rinsed out the sink, gasping. "Ren! Ren, I think I need to go to the hospital!" 

Ren got to the kitchen. "No. No hospitals. We don't do hospitals and you know that. What happened?"

"M-my tooth. It fell out." 

Ren sighed. "Fuck. Go on and call your dentist." 

Akaashi stared, eyes filled with tears. "Why did you do that?" 

"You made me angry. I can't handle being angry and sometimes I do too much. You know this." Ren wrapped his arms around him. "We can't afford my medicine love. I'm sorry." 

Akaashi sniffled. "It's okay." He held back his anger, trying not to hit back. He was better than that. 

"I'll drop Oda off, okay? I'll call the dentist and we can get you all fixed up." 

"M-mhmm." 

Ren kissed his cheek. "I've got you lovebug." 

Akaashi waited until Ren did everything, shaking. Ren did eventually come back and took him to the dentist. Akaashi had to have his tooth put back and the dentists nervously watched him as he was worked on. 

"Akaashi, are you experiencing any pain when you brush?" 

"No," Akaashi whispered. 

"How did this happen again?" 

"I was attacked on my way home from work and the man punched me." 

"Since when do men slap each other to fight?"

Akaashi stared. 

The nurse gently took his hand. "Do you need to talk to someone? We can call the police and get you out of here." 

"No, I don't need help. I don't appreciate being told something like that either." Akaashi pulled out a pen, starting to sign the paperwork he was given. For a moment he knew that it was possible to escape. But he wasn't able to go anywhere. He wasn't allowed to have his bank account to himself and had no money. It was awful. 

He wanted out but he still felt like something was there. He could fix this. At one time there was strong love between himself and Ren. He had been such a sweet man. He was tall, sweet, protective, and a gentle soul. 

Now though? 

Now Ren was loud. He hit. His height felt threatening. He was overprotective and he wouldn't allow Akaashi to go hardly anywhere. 

Akaashi finished up and went home, silent. Oda huddled into him, holding his Daddy's face and trying to kiss his cheek and make it better. Akaashi fell asleep, holding onto him. When he woke Ren was sitting by him on the bed, rubbing Akaashi's hair. 

"Feeling better?" 

"Mhmm." Akaashi reached up. Ren leaned down, wrapping him in his arms. 

"You were shaking like you were cold. You sure everything's okay?" 

"I am pretty chilly." Akaashi sat up a bit, feeling his cheek. Tender.

Ren covered him up and huddled close with him. He yawned, starting to fall asleep. 

This was the only reason he didn't want to leave. Ren held him and huddled up when it was cold. He loved the feeling of laying so peacefully. 

"All good lovebug?" 

"All good. Oda is sleeping?" 

"Yep. He's wearing his lion pajamas." 

Akaashi hummed. He felt kisses on the back of his neck and smiled, humming. Ren settled down and fell asleep, comfortable. Akaashi eventually fell asleep, feeling safer than he had in the kitchen a few hours prior.