Forever My Player Two
Chapter 017: Decision
P.O.V: Kozume Kenma

Shiroi's mother had let me into the house and guided me towards the kitchen area, as we were walking through the house I took notice of the cardboard boxes that had been scattered around the house, she probably hasn't had a good time to start unpacking her things yet. Once we were inside her rather spacious kitchen I placed the grocery bags on to the nearest counter before went scouring in her kitchen for pots, pans and spices. She didn't have a lot in her kitchen I could use but I could definitely make do with what she does have stocked in her kitchen; she was starting a new life so it shouldn't be a surprise to me that she didn't own much in here. Shiroi's mother stood in the kitchen entryway lost and confused; she didn't know if she was supposed to help or just stand there watching. I looked up from the cutting board I was using to chop vegetables on to meet her gaze briefly. "You know it was Shiroi who found us. He saved me from getting attacked by street dogs one day on my way back from classes. He'd kill me if he heard me say this but...he sort of kept showing up whenever he was hungry like a cute pup. Despite his upbringing he was still a really good Kid who deserves to be love by people who are willing to take a chance to get to know him." I said, as I continued to chop up a few vegetables dumping it all into a pot. Shiroi's mother stepped further into the kitchen taking a seat at the kitchen island with an attentive look on her face; you could definitely see the interest she had to learn about her son. "It took some time for him to open up to us but he eventually did and we love him very much. We want what's best for him and we'd do anything to make him feel safe and happy."

"I—I know that...I could see and feel how much you two care for him. I—I don't want to end up ruining any of that...I just...I just want to be given another chance with him. I've put him through so much and as a mother I should've done more for him, I should've been there for him but I let him down. Is there a chance that he would take me back as his mother? He doesn't have to move in here if he doesn't want to...I just want to have a relationship with him and for him to have a relationship with his baby brother." She expresses, a sad smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"...That's not a decision I can make for him. We would want him to be able to choose for himself. I know it may seem like he doesn't want anything to do with you but I know that deep down he wants to be there for you and the baby. Shiroi has a big heart and I know that he'll make the right decision that is best for him." I said, reaching over the counter for the woman's hand, she looked up to meet my gaze and I sent her a reassuring smile. "Now let's look into getting you something to eat now shall we? We can go over baby names while I cook."

The rest of the morning went by as the two of us worked in the kitchen to prep a suitable meal for the both us all while discussing names for the baby. After we had finished our meal we moved on over to the living room where we started to unpack some of the boxes that were scattered about setting up her living room. We continued to unpack boxes after boxes all throughout the house together as we made small talk over the smallest of things but we mostly spoke about the baby and Shiroi. We took a break in between inside the spare bedroom that Shiroi's mother was going to turn into a bedroom for Shiroi; it was also the room across from the nursery that Shiroi's mother had set up in her spare time. You could tell that she was ready and prepared for her new arrival, and she seems really keen on the idea of rebuilding the broken relationship between her and Shiroi.

"...Shiroi's father wasn't the kindest man, he was a bit of tyrant in the business world and I worked for his family's company as an assistant. We were having an affair and I ended up getting pregnant with his child. Shiroi's father had paid me to go get rid of him since he had no intention of raising a child but I declined and decided I was going to keep it and quietly have him somewhere I wouldn't be a bother to him and I left. When Shiroi was born I texted his father hoping that he would at least be willing to see his son just once and he did, and honestly he had a complete change of heart, he wanted to be a father, he wanted to be a family so we had plans to start a family together but he had passed away before we ever could. He died a hero, protecting a child who almost lost his life in what could have been a tragic accident. I was left with nothing and alone." She said as she grabbed a random stuffed animal from the desk she was sitting at and pressed it against her chest. "After that I just sort of...forgot who I was and what I was supposed to do. I turned to money and alcohol instead of my own kid neglecting him and letting terrible men into our lives, eventually the city ended up taking him away from me and if I'm being honest I didn't care at all, I thought that now I didn't have to worry about anyone else but myself, but then I winded up pregnant and had a miscarriage. After that I was spiraling further and further into a deep depression I couldn't get out of, but when I found out I was pregnant again I knew I had to clean up my act and make a change in my life so I left that part of me behind and decided to start a new life here. I'm not trying to make excuses for myself; I should've been a better mother and I wasn't, and asking—or more like forcing Shiroi to take me back and forgive me is selfish on my part. I want him to have a relationship with his brother; the two of them should at least have a stress free relationship without the meddling of awful adults."

"... Don't be so hard on yourself. Things might end up differently than you might think; Shiroi's one of a kind, his a boy with a big heart and at the end of the day you are his mother and growing inside you is his future baby brother so he's going to want to be there for the both of you, he's going to want to protect you and him no matter." I said, showing her a reassuring smile. "You should open up to him and let him see and hear what you had went through, let him decide whether to forgive you or not. Shiroi's a lot more mature then most adults and that's because he was dealt the wrong cards in life but it's all turning around now, you being here trying again is proof that you should be in his life."

"...You think his going to want to come back to me so soon?" She questioned with a look of surprise on her face.

"Knowing my Shiroi; Yes, his going to want to build and restoring his family for the sake of his little brother. I so badly want to fight to keep him at my side, to raise him as my own but that would be selfish on my part and I could never, ever force him to choose me over what he would want." I said, dropping my gaze into my lap briefly before looking back up to her gaze forcing a smile.

"...Shiroi will always be a part of your family Kenma, regardless of how things might play out. Shiroi will never forget his love for you. You two did so much for him and now I feel like me coming back for him has done more harm than good."

"We'd always knew that this would be a temporary arrangement; we had hoped that his mother or father would come for him, and if they didn't we would have happily raised him as our own because we've both fell suckers to that little pup. Thank you for giving birth to him, I'm glad we had the opportunity to meet him."

"Thank you for looking out for him, thank you for loving him..."

"Please don't thank us; it was our pleasure..." I smiled at her reaching a hand out on to her knee in a form of comfort. After some time had passed I looked down at my wrist watch to look at the time and saw how late it was, this was only supposed to be a short visit but it ended up being a rather long one. "I should get going, if you ever need help don't hesitate to reach out to us." I said as I got up from the bed I was sitting on and held out my hand to Shiroi's mother who shook it before escorting me out of the house. I left the downtown area and made my way towards the nearest train station; I walked out on to my designated platform and waited for my train to come, it didn't take long for the train to pull into the station and although it was relevantly early on in the afternoon the train was nearly empty. I found a nice and quiet spot on the train to sit and made a call to someone; Hinata.

"Hey! Kuroo told us what's happened, are you okay? I've been trying to reach you all day." Hinata said, his voice dripping with concern.

"I'm fine, I just had a few errands I needed to run before I go back to our hometown for the weekend. I'm on the train back right now."

"...You went to see that woman didn't you?" He questioned, a small sigh escaping from between his lips.

"I could never hide anything from you, could I? No wonder I stuck to you like I did, I could never hide anything from you or Kuroo."

"...How did it go? Why did you even go there?" He asked

"Sh—She looked lonely, I could feel how alone and scared she was, and I know those two feelings very well. I wanted to help, I wanted to see for myself if she was telling the truth or not. I wanted to see if she really had change and was actually serious about rebuilding her relationship with Shiroi."

"...And? Was she?"

"...Yeah, she was." I replied, a small chuckle escaping from between my lips.

"What's going to happen now?"

"Well, for now were going to spend as much time as we can with Shiroi together over the weekend."

"You sound like his already made his choice..."

"I know my Shiroi..."

The rest of our conversation became animated over small talk as Hinata kept my company over the rest of my trip back home. Once the train had reached its final stop I ended my call with Hinata and stepped off of the train leaving the train station all together. I made my way through town as nostalgia hit my like a speeding train causing a single tear to escape my eyes. It was the nostalgic feeling that had pushed my emotions over the edge, I want to be brave but I couldn't...as hard as I try to play this off and no matter how you look at it Shiroi's going to leave me—leave us. I made my way over to Kuroo's parents house after a short walk around the block to calm myself down and ranged the door bell. Kuroo was the one who answered the door and he didn't look to happy; I'm guessing Shiroi had made his decision. Shiroi came racing from somewhere inside the house to meet me with a hug. I hugged him back patting the back of his head gently trying desperately to fight back the tears that were threatening to come. We sat down out on the back porch together in silent neither of us knowing how to start this tough conversation; Shiroi sat in between the two of us with his head resting against my shoulder while he fiddled with his fingers. After a little while Shiroi finally decided to speak up breaking the awkward silence between us. "...I think I should move in with my mom again, with the baby coming she's going to need my help and I want to be there to support them. I don't want my baby brother to be brought into a broken family." Shiroi began, casting his gaze down towards the ground. "I love you both so much and you will always be a part of my family, so I'm hoping that this won't be the end of our family." He said, you could clearly hear that he was on the brink of tears. Kuroo and I looked to one another for support before we held him in between our arms bringing him comfort. "...Don't be silly Shiroi, we love you so much and we would want nothing more but to continue being a part of your life." I comforted him, rubbing a hand up and down his back. "You can't get rid of us that easily now." I teased him, causing a faint smile to appear on to his face as tears began to stream down his face. Kuroo laughed a little as he planted a small kiss against the top of his head. "That's right! I don't exactly want to have to let you go but I want to respect your decision and I want you to do whatever it is that makes you happy. No matter what happens we will always be here for you and not just us either." Kuroo said, resting his chin on top of the boy's head.

"That's right! You have Hinata, Tsukishima and the rest of our friends who are all a part of your family, and not to mention our parents who have moved mountains to try and help you so you are never alone. If you ever need anyone in your corner or someone to talk to we will all be there for you no matter what." I said, planting a kiss against the side of his head.

"...Yeah, your right, thank you so much." He said, his eyes filling up with tears once again as he tries desperately to fight back the urge to cry but he couldn't contain it. Kuroo and I looked to each other as we tried not cry as well holding on to Shiroi in between our arms as tightly as we could comforting him. "I—I love you guys so much!" He cried out, holding on to us just as tightly. We couldn't help but smile at his words as we looked up from him to each other feeling satisfied with this ending. Both Kuroo's partner and my partners had joined us on the porch after returning from the store to find Shiroi fast asleep in my arms from all the crying he did. Our moms were on the brink of tears themselves but they held it in and went back inside the house to start working on dinner, a fest if you will. Once dinner was ready Shiroi had awoken from his nap with quite the appetite, we all sat down at the dinner table together as one big happy family to enjoy a homemade meal together over small talk enjoying each other's company.