Author: Hey guys! This story is based off of tumblr user eerna's comic, so the initial credit goes to her for this adorable idea! I was coincidentally already working on a different fic centered around the topic of adoption, but this one is quite different. If any errors are spotted, please let me know! I hope you enjoy the first chapter. :D

Chapter 1: Introduction

"Yato...how did this happen?"

The day had started out normally, for the most part; Hiyori had gotten a head start on her school break, having taken a jog around town early that morning. Her phone had gone off thirty minutes in, signalling a call from Yato.

Yato was an ex-neighbor-he'd used to live next door to her with his parents, but the moment he turned eighteen he had flown the nest, so to say.

He'd gotten a small apartment across town, and had taken a self-employment job as an artist.

He'd sounded frantic, telling her that he needed her to come over right away. They hadn't spoken in a few weeks, and Hiyori immediately found herself curious to ask why.

In his panic, he hadn't been able to give any real answer. So Hiyori made a split-second decision, telling him that she'd be over soon.

She would have never dreamed that the visit would have lead to this, though.

"I didn't know who else to call," Yato said, pacing, "but, you're a girl-don't you know what to do?"

"Yato, I'm a high school student! How would I know anything about babies?"

Babies. Yato's problem was currently asleep in the center of his bed. The child wasn't too awfully young, but he wasn't that old, either. If Hiyori had to guess, she would have pegged him at around a year.

"You still haven't even answered my question, anyway. I was asking, how did you end up with a baby?"

Yato was the last person she would have ever guessed to end up with children; he didn't particularly like them, and he spent most of the time cooped up in his flat, anyway.

"He-he was outside of my door this morning."

"What? Yato, do you know how cliche that sou-,"

"I'm not bullshitting you! Look, he was left in this car seat, and there was a note...Hiyori, I think he's mine."

"He looks nothing like you." Hiyori's response was immediate.

"Obviously! But those eyes, he kinda reminds me of this girl I had s-,"

"Yato!" Hiyori nearly shrieked, face heating up from embarrassment. "I don't want to know about your extracurricular activities! ...Don't you use condoms?"

"Of course I do! But it was a party, and I was drunk…she was attractive, okay? I didn't think it would go anywhere that night, but apparently, it did."

"Great," Hiyori placed a hand against her head, "so what did the note say?"

"Just that it was my kid, and that she couldn't take care of him anymore. She even left his birth certificate..."

Yato's tone became evasive, the way it did when he was hiding something. Hiyori stayed silent, however. "Where's the certificate?"

Without saying a word, Yato handed over the piece of paper.

"Yukine...his name is Yukine? He was born eleven months ago."

"So what do I do?"

Hiyori couldn't answer. What was she supposed to tell him? She was a high schooler, and her knowledge of babies only extended so far. But, she was well aware that her friend needed help. "Well, if you can't take care of him...you can always call the authorities, Yato."

"A-are you...insinuating I give him to the state?" Yato's throat went dry.

"No. No, I can't. I'll figure this out, I'll-,"

The conversation rolled to a screeching halt as a fuss sounded.

Yukine was awake, and between their talking, he'd crawled to the edge of the bed and started looking around the room.

"...Mama?"

"Shit." Yato cursed, knowing that the child would start screaming any second, now.

"Honey, oh no." Hiyori was immediately taken, scooping Yukine up and bouncing him gently in her arms.

"Nooo!"

The girl found herself at a loss. He'd started crying inconsolably, squirming in Hiyori's hold as he struggled to get down. "Mama! Mama!"

"Yato what do I do?" Hiyori was panicking-but Yato wasn't much better. He looked around the room, nearly tripping over his own feet when he spotted a few toys by the car seat.

That would have to work, right?

Grabbing the toys, Yato did his best to redirect Yukine's attention to them. It didn't seem to do much good; he was still crying, and even screamed louder when the toys were brought closer.

"Y, you don't think he's hurt, do you?" Hiyori was near tears herself.

"I don't think so-he just wants his mom! Here, give him to me."

Yato took the child from Hiyori, sitting on the edge of the bed with him. "Hey there, Yukine. Shh...hey-hey, look at me." The young man did his best to use a calm voice, and it actually appeared to work.

Yukine's cries died down and he looked up at Yato with watery eyes, sniffling. "Mama…"

"Mama isn't here right now," Yato spoke, voice quiet, "I'm here, though. I won't leave you alone, okay?" Sighing, he pulled the child close and rubbed his back.

"How could she just do this to him? He's known her face for this long-and out of nowhere, she just…"

"...I'm sure she was just doing what she thought was best." Hiyori sounded unsure of herself as she sat down next to Yato. She reached over to brush some of Yukine's hair from his face, giving him a small smile of reassurance.

"...I don't even have the supplies…" What did babies eat? "Should he still be on the bottle or does he eat actual food or something? He's probably hungry."

"Hm...he should be eating soft things, I think. Like baby food...What did you have for dinner last night?" Without waiting on a response, Hiyori was already on her feet and heading to the kitchen. Peeking through the cabinets, she eventually came upon a can of peaches. "That might work…" She spoke to herself, grabbing the can and moving to dump the contents into the food processor.

"Should we put him in the car seat first? I don't have one of those baby chairs."

"How much money did your parents give you this month for spending?" Hiyori lifted her head to look at Yato as he came into the kitchen, awkwardly holding Yukine under one arm. "Ahh-Yato, he isn't a football! You can't hold him like that!"

"Hm?" Yato looked down to the dangling infant, before shrugging and adjusting his hold. "They gave me about two hundred, and I got about one fifty for commissions this month…"

"What? That won't do! Proper baby supplies can cost a lot more. You're going to have to tell your parents."

"No way! Look Hiyori, I'm sure I can-,"

"Five thousand."

"...What?"

"Baby supplies, just for a year alone, can cost up to at least five thousand dollars. We did the math in my Home Economics class." As Hiyori delivered the news, it slowly sunk in.

"Fuck." Yato cursed, visibly recoiling at the expression Hiyori shot him. "Look, I can't tell my parents. They think I'm a huge stain on society as it is, and this would just be another nail in the coffin for me. His mom's had him for a year, right? She has to have his stuff. I'll get in touch with her, and I guess I'll get a moving truck to transport his shi-stuff."

"Do you even remember her name?" Hiyori was judging him, and he knew it.

"Er...no. But, it shouldn't be too hard! How many people live in this city with these eyes?" Yato jabbed a finger towards Yukine, who grabbed onto it and stuck it in his mouth.

"Egh, kid!" Yato shouted, startling the child. Upon hearing Yukine whine, Yato froze and once again mumbled an expletive.

"Look here, Yukine-kun," Hiyori diverted the boy's attention, dumping the peaches into a bowl and offering him a spoonful of it, "look at this, doesn't it look yummy?"

Thankfully, Yukine's attention shifted to focus on the brightly colored goop that Hiyori was offering him. He grinned, reaching out past the spoon and towards the bowl, curling tiny fingers around the rim and tugging on it.

"Ah-Yukine-kun, no-!"

The peach puree tipped in her hands unexpectedly, going all over the child's front.

Yukine started laughing, kicking his feet and flinging remnants of peach onto Hiyori's shirt.

"Yato, I don't think he was hungry. Just-go give him a bath! Afterwards, we are calling your parents!" Leaving no room for argument, Hiyori left the kitchen.

"Hey! Where are you going? You can't just leave me hanging like this!"

"I'm borrowing one of your shirts!"

Yato couldn't tell if Hiyori was upset, or not. Looking down at Yukine, he issued a sigh. "How do I even bathe a baby?" He just wasn't cut out for this, was he?

Looking towards the sink, he decided where he would start.

"Well, you seem to have figured it out." Hiyori smiled as she came back into the kitchen, watching as Yato dumped a cup of water over Yukine's head.

"All I can really do is rinse him off...don't got any baby shampoo or anything like that. Some of it got in his hair though and I don't think it's gonna come out without any shampoo..."

Hiyori moved to stand next to him, placing a hand against her chin. "Well, if you lean him back...ahh, but that might scare him."

"What about clothes? He doesn't have anything to wear." Resigning himself, Yato started picking the peach bits out of Yukine's hair.

"I put his pajamas in the wash with my shirt, don't worry about that. I guess, get as much as you can out. We'll just have to re-bathe him later once we get the supplies."

"Are you even sure my parents will agree to this? My dad's a hard-ass when it comes to giving me money in the first place. Well, not when it comes to Mizuchi. But she's his baby, and all that."

"Even so, your mom has some say in where the money goes. You don't have a choice, in this case…"

"Agh!" Yato tipped his head back with a frustrated whine. "I don't want to tell my parents about this! It'd be easier to tell them I died, or something!"

"Yato…" Hiyori was frowning now. "Do you really think they hate you that much?"

"Hell yeah, I do! They couldn't wait to be rid of me. I even overheard dad telling Mizuchi that I was a failure, anyway. 'Being an artist isn't a real job, he's gonna end up homeless if he chooses that profession'. I was determined to prove them wrong, but…!" Yato stopped, bracing his palms against the counter. Water dripped onto the floor, but he didn't seem to notice.

Hiyori placed her hand on his shoulder, debating what to say. "I'm sorry, Yato. I...I never knew. But, Yukine-kun...you're all he has, now. Maybe you can prove your parents wrong by giving him what they didn't give to you. But you need the help," Hiyori looked away, "so I'll see what I can do. My brother's a doctor, so even if I can't get my parents involved either, I'm sure he'll help us. I know he has the money, so…"

Yato wanted to refuse. Every fiber of his being told him not to accept it, but he knew it wasn't for himself.

"I...alright. It's not that I want to, 'cause I don't. It's humiliating. But he needs it, and…" Yato shook his head, trying to gather his composure. "Call him up and see if he'll wire it over. Tell him I'll pay him back, it's just gonna take a while."

Wordlessly, Hiyori nodded. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out."

Upon her leaving, Yato looked back down towards Yukine. "We can't keep her involved, you know. She's just a kid herself." He gave the baby a sad smile, and Yukine smiled back. He splashed in the water, bouncing as he reached out towards Yato. "Hah, alright. C'mon, kid. You're all clean, so let's get you out and dried."

"Shit. Uh, Hiyori?" The girl had just come around the corner when Yato called her over.

"He agreed to send the money. What is it, Yato?" Hiyori saw the worried look on her friend's face and immediately grew concerned.

"I don't have any diapers."

Hiyori paled, coming to the same conclusion just before the words had finished leaving Yato's mouth. "W-w-well, maybe he can hold off without one for a little while!"

"He's not even a year old! Shit, what if he pees on me? Look around for something we can use to cover him!" Yato cried.

"What about the towel?" Hiyori tried to propose an idea, but Yato shook his head.

"No good, I put it on the floor to mop up the water!" He countered, holding Yukine at arm's length.

"Th-then, what? What am I-,"

"Ahh, just hurry!" Yato had become panicked.

This caused Hiyori to panic as well. But she was better under pressure, and she soon gained an idea. "Give me the fluffy fluff!"

The fluffy fluff; or, the home-made scarf Mizuchi had made Yato. He had been wearing it since early high school. Not wasting a moment, Hiyori reached to untie it.

"What? No! No, no! Give it back! Give it ba-!"

A moment of silence passed as Hiyori stuck the scarf underneath Yukine, and they both exchanged a horrified look just in time to see-and feel-the scarf grow warm.

"Fuck, Hiyori…"

"I'm sorry! I didn't have anything else-I'll put it in the wash!" Hiyori was mortified, and looked as if she was about to cry. "I...just ruined it, didn't I?"

"Well," Yato sighed, pursing his lips, "it's not your fault. At least it didn't get on me. I probably should have thrown it out a long time ag-ago, a-anyway..." It was even hard to say, and Yato held back a sniff. "We should just grab another towel to put on him. We're going to the store, then?"

"Uhh, yes!" Wiping her eyes, Hiyori nodded in response. "As soon as the clothes finish drying!"