Chapter Text
"Kin? Kin, are you absolutely sure you'll be alright?" Genos asked for about the twentieth time this morning.
"I said 'yes', Daddy!" his four-year old son said.
They were in his car, parked by the daycare center Fubuki had recommended to him. He doesn't' usually give a rat's ass about his co-worker's opinions on things, but last week, he'd been assigned to help with a very compex case at the firm and he knew he'd be desperate for child care soon enough.
Genos had never thought of himself as a fatherly type of character. He knew what kind of person he was. He was hot-headed, impulsive, cold, a workaholic, and terrible in social situations. So it was a very terrifying shock for him when his ex-girlfriend from high school came by claiming he was the father of her two-year old child.
The thought of being a father scared him, honestly. Suddenly adding a hungry brat that needed attention 24/7 sounded like the worst thing that could happen to his young, responsible life . But when he saw his son's distinctive blonde hair, golden eyes, and freckled face, he fell in love, and made a promise that he'd make it work, no matter what. His mother, bless her soul, had helped watch Kin during the early morning to the afternoon while he was busy getting his law degree and starting his career. But as things got busier, his mother reminded him that she had a life of her own as well.
So now that he was assigned to something bigger than usual at the law firm, he needed extra help. His mother had helped with taking the tour at the school and taking the enrollment packet home. His mother assured him it seemed like a fine school, but being here in person, he began to have second thoughts.
For one thing, the kids being brought in looked awfully rowdy. Kin took after his father in the social interaction department, so he had trouble making friends. But these kids looked like they'd make him even more reclusive, with their.... Their shouting and running, and rolling around in the dirty grass..
He looked back at Kin, in his designer vest over his button-up shirt and his little khakis, and had an overwhelming need to take care of his vulnerable, precious son. If he drove back home and spent the day reading classic literature to Kin, they'd both be happy, and no one would be bullied by a hoard of unruly children. But if he did that, he might get fired from his job, and he wouldn't be able to provide his son with a promising future he deserved. Kin's mother certainly couldn't give that to him. So with a heavy heart, he took a deep breath and opened the car door.
"Let's go inside. Hold my hand." He ordered.
They made their way inside, passing many unruly children alongside their annoyed looking mothers and fathers along the way. Genos would have to praise Kin for being such a well-behaved boy later tonight. He'd cook him his favorite meal and maybe even let him watch TV before bed. He-
"Yo, Kin, welcome to your first day of class, little buddy!" A twenty-something man with a bald head greeted. Genos was about to scoff, when his son stepped forward with a low bow.
"Kin, you don't have to greet the janitor like that." Genos said, patting his son's shoulder.
"I'm the owner, actually. And I teach his class." The man said.
"Who-... Who are you?" Genos asked.
"Name's Saitama. Polite kid you have there," Saitama said, ruffling up and messing Kin's freshly-combed hair, "He is your kid, right? You look kinda young."
"He's my son, yes." Genos nodded firmly, "Are you sure you're a licensed teacher? Do you have training in child psychology?"
"I majored in it." Saitama said, shrugging.
"You majored in it..." Genos repeated seriously, "Do you have experience with children children on the autism spectrum?"
"Uh. Yeah, of course," Saitama said, "Your mom told me about your son, man, we're always prepared, he's going to be okay here."
"And you know he's on a low-sugar diet? What kind of snacks are provided?" Genos badgered.
"Uh, carrots? An-pan? It's all covered by our nutritionist. And before you ask, because I know your type, we do provide gluten-free alternatives," Saitama answered, "But I know none of that matters for you because I see you brought your own lunch..."
Genos looked down to the lunch box in his hand. Inside the box was a carefully prepared bento with rice balls crafted to look like little pandas holding up a banner that said "I LOVE YOU!" in English letters made of sliced umeboshi. This man couldn't know what kind of 'type' he was.
"Daddy, can I play with the toys?" Kin asked.
"Not yet, Kin." Genos said, "What's the bathroom look like? Let me see the bathroom."
Sighing, the man led them back to the bathroom. Genos inspected the tiny child-locked toilet's cushioned seat and cabinet door before deeming it "Okay". When he came out, his son was eyeballing a toy bus pretty hard.
"Are those clean? How often are those disinfected?" Genos asked, pointing at a bin of toys.
"We clean them every morning, during nap time, after day care, and any time a toy gets really dirty." Saitama answered.
"What constitutes as 'really dirty'?" Genos said, narrowing his eyes.
"Dude." Saitama said, smiling, "This is your first kid, right? Is that why you're so..." He gestured with his hands, "Tumultuous? Right now?"
Genos gave him an intense look that said, "I will sue the pants off you and take everything you love away for saying something so intrusive and rude to me". The look lasted about four seconds before he felt his bottom lip quiver. The thoughts of his son being here, and the fact that someone so laid back thought he was inexperienced rushed to the front of his mind, and worry sat in.
"Uh. Hey, hey, dude, it's alright!" Saitama said. He felt Kin hold his hand in his own brand of quiet comfort, "You want the best for your kid, and that's okay. Everyone does.But you're kinda freaking him out, making this place look like an 1800's orphanage before he's even been here. Try to relax?"
Genos looked down, and noticed Kin had been squeezing his hand with the strongest grip his tiny hand could muster.
"I just want my son to be okay." Genos stated.
"Okay, well, like. Class is starting pretty soon, so if you wanted to say goodbye-"
"Kin." Genos started, before getting on his knees to meet his son's eyes, "Your father loves you very much. If anything goes wrong, please tell someone to call me, I'll pick you up right away."
"I will, Daddy. I love you too." Kin said, leaning in for a hug.
It was hard to pull away. He was about to leave his son, his little version of him, his only real friend in this hectic world to the wolves. After realizing it's probably been more than a minute, Genos forced himself to pull away, but not before moving his hands around Kin's face. Or combing his freshly mussed hair. Or pressing a soft kiss to his son's head.
Finally, he pulled away, and stood up to meet his teacher's eyes.
"Give me your number." He commanded.
"I'm. Huh?" Saitama replied.
"I can't afford to buy my son a cellphone yet. Give me your number so I can call and make sure he's alright." Genos explained.
"Uh, alright." Saitama said, taking out his ancient looking Nokia cellphone, "Just try to call at ten or twelve. That's arts and crafts time, and lunch time."
"Call me any time you think my son's having trouble."
"Yeah, got it." Saitama yawned, "Here's my cell number. If, for whatever reason I can't pick up, just call the school number."
"And if I can't pick up, just call Kuseno and Associates' number." Genos replied curtly.
"Oh, are you a lawyer?" Saitama said.
Genos nodded. Mabe this would instill some fear and respect from this laid back "professional".
"Dude, that's pretty cool! I'd make a lawyer joke, but unfortunately, day care's about to start." Saitama said, pointing back to his room.
Genos nodded, and after giving his son one more goodbye kiss, and walked along the hall way. He walked outside the the car and opened the door to his car, sat down, closed the door, and screamed for a good ten seconds before starting the ignition. His son would be spending the day with the most unprofessional caretaker he's ever met.
---
As Genos wrote his draft on his computer, his eyes kept wandering to the little clock in the corner. It was nine-fifty-five. Five more minutes, and it would be playtime, and Genos could call to make sure his son was okay.
He'd been a nervous wreck worrying over his son in the past hour he's been at work. This was the first time he's been somewhere without his parents or grandmother, and it was with that lazy, uncaring man, Saitama!
In his spiteful train of thought, he'd forgotten about the clock, and when he turned to it this time it read "10:01 AM". He grabbed his cellphone in an instant.
Saitama picked up on the third ring. "Yeah?"
"How is my son doing?" Genos asked.
"He's doing fine,dude. A little shy around kids his age, but that's kind of expected, yeah? But he's friendly with me. Some kids just prefer hanging around adults." Saitama said. Genos could swear he heard the shrug over the phone.
"Give him the phone." Genos ordered.
"Ehhh, his fingers are wet with paint right now..." Saitama replied.
"Well then, hold the phone for him." Genos said. Twenty seconds later, and he was met with his son's sweet voice.
"Hi, Daddy." Kin said over the phone.
"Hi, Kin!" Genos said, feeling a rush of relief that his son sounded normal, "How is your day going so far?"
"I'm painting a mean monster. But I'm also painting a nice monster to kill it so it'll be okay." Kin said calmly.
"That's good, that's good," Genos said, laughing a little inside at his son's sense of justice, "How is your teacher? Is he mean or nice?"
"Nice." Kin said.
"Oh yeah? Why is he nice?" Genos coaxed.
"He's funny and he sang songs to us. And he taught me how to paint a dog now." Kin replied.
"So you're having a good day?" Genos asked.
"Yeah, Daddy."
A silence lasted for a few minutes before Genos said goodbye eight times and told Kin to "give" the phone back to "Sai-Sai-Sensei".
"Has anyone been bullying him?" Genos asked quickly.
"One girl pushed him because she wanted the doll he was playing with, but I put her in time-out. No one's done anything to him since." Saitama answered.
"Did he... Did he cry?" Genos asked.
"Yeah, but not very long. Just a little sniffle. He got over it pretty quickly." Saitama said.
"Oh my God."
"It's fine, dude, he got over it fast, and went right back to playing with the doll." Saitama said, "I gotta go, a boy just spilled paint on his shirt. Call me at twelve if you need to."
Genos hung up, and put his head in his hands. His boy cried on the first day at day care, and the thought would be swimming in his head for the next two hours.
---
The second the clock hit twelve, Genos called Saitama.
"How's my son?"
"He's fine. In fact, he's eating next to me. Cute bento box art, dude." Saitama said.
"It.. My mother helped me with that..." Genos lied.
"There's no shame in loving your kid, okay?" Saitama said, "I mean, you said it at least twenty times today."
"Let me speak with Kin." Genos replied coldly.
"Hi, Daddy." Kin greeted the second time that day.
"Hi, Kin! Enjoying your lunch?" Genos asked.
"Yeah. Sai-Sai-Sensei said it's cute." Kin answered.
"What's cute?" Genos blanched.
"My bento. He said it looked cute.... What's 'sappy' mean?" Kin asked.
"It's a term used to describe a sticky substance," Genos informed him dryly. They talked for a few more minutes, and Genos "kissed" him goodbye over the phone before being asked to be passed back to Saitama.
"Please don't refer to me or what I do for my son as 'sappy'." Genos said.
"I didn't mean to insult you, man, it was just a really sweet father-to-son gesture." Saitama explained.
Genos groaned. "I don't care how you see me, but I care about my son's opinion on me. And I'd rather he didn't think of me as a 'sap'."
"Alright, got it. Only praise and glory to the great dad-man." Saitama said sarcastically.
"Do you know the Heimlich maneuver? Or CPR?" Genos asked.
"Of course, why? Wait, did you just think of that because you know your son's eating?" Saitama asked.
".... Yes."
---
At five-thirty, Genos may or may not have sped through a few yellow lights to make it to the day care in record time. He hadn't talked to his son for five hours, and he had to see for himself if he was okay. What if Saitama was the type to text on his cell phone while a child was doing something dangerous? Not that Genos didn't trust Kin to be safe, but he was worried about the other kids! He burst through the hallways like a bullet and opened the classroom door to find...
Kin and Saitama laughing as they played with dolls. Most of the kids had left at this point, so it was just Kin, Saitama, and two other kids playing patty-cake. Kin didn't make friends. His quiet personality and tendency to get annoyed by obnoxious, loud mouthed kids his age kept him from making any. But watching him play with Saitama, laughing and assigning superpowers to every doll he finds, it seemed as if he'd finally made one.
And Saitama... From the phone calls, it seemed like he was just there to do his job and get out, but it looked like he was genuinely enjoying playing with a four-year old.
"Hey..." Genos said, walking inside, "What's... Going on?"
Kin stiffened up, then looked down, "We're playing super-dolls.." He said.
"That's... Really great, I'm glad you're having fun." Genos said.
Kin looked up and smiled, "Really?"
"Of course." Genos nodded, "But now we have to go."
He reached for Kin's hand, but instead of taking it, Kin jumped back to Saitama and held onto his pant leg, frowning.
"Kin, come on." Genos said, a little surprised at Kin's reaction.
"N-no!" Kin said nervously, as if trying to get used to the idea of being rebellious for the first time.
"You have to listen to your dad, little dude." Saitama said, ruffling Kin's already very-ruffled hair.
Kin began to cry, and Genos froze in panic. When Kin usually cried, Genos would rush in to take care of him and make everything better, but in this situation, Kin was rejecting his help and seeking it from Saitama... Why?!
"B-but if I go with him, he'll never bring me back.." Kin sobbed, "He hates you."
"I-.. What?!" Genos cut in.
"You're always frowning around Sai-Sa-Sensei." Kin said sadly, "And whenever Sai-Sai-Sensei is on the phone with you, he looks scared."
Genos wanted to cry himself. Had his actions and behavior towards his teacher make him this upset? Had Kin seen him as some sort of a bully? There was only one thing to do in this situation. Make a good impression for his son. He turned to look his teacher in the eye, then bowed deeply.
"Saitama-Sensei." He said seriously, "I am very sorry for my rude behavior today. I will be more polite from now on. Please forgive me."
"Okay, I forgive you." Saitama said, smiling.
"Kin," Genos said, kneeling to his son, "I promise we can come back tomorrow. I was wrong, this is a good place for you."
"Okay!!" Kin said happily, "But now you have to hug Sai-Sai-Sensei."
"What."
"Yeah!" Kin said, turning to Saitama, "Like when you made that girl hug me after pushing me! Then she was nice!"
Genos turned red with embarrassment as he realized there was no way out of this if he wanted to be a good example for his son. Looking across from him, he could tell Saitama came to the same conclusion, if his equally red face was anything to go by.
"Hugging? Really?" Genos whispered quietly. Saitama shrugged in response.
They inched together slowly. Genos carefully raised his arms and placed them around Saitama's waist as the other did the same. Genos nearly jumped away in shock, because holy cow, this guy was ripped for a day care teacher. What did this guy do in his free time? Punch rogue gorillas for a hobby? He was also kind of sweaty. Either he had a long day, or the situation was bothering him. Speaking of which, Genos noticed they'd been hugging for over ten seconds, and it probably looked kind of weird. They should pull away.
"Um. What are you doing?" An adult voice said from behind them. Genos turned to see Fubuki at the doorway to pick up her daughter.
"Making the world a better place." Kin answered.