Kenma added a new clause to the contract, that for one year you are to live with him and Suki. Sometimes you would feel like you're freeloading, but more often than not you feel like you belong in this family.

"And they live happily ever after," you said, finishing another fairy tale as you shut the book. But when you looked at Suki, she is wide awake, unlike before when she would usually feel drowsy by the end of the story.

"Suki-chan, do you want me to read another book?" you asked but she shook her head instead.

"Ms. Y/n, I was wondering," she started. "Why do fairy tales end with happily ever after? What comes after that?"

Her question made you wonder, have you ever questioned that when you were a kid? Maybe you did, but you just couldn't remember it. And now that you think about it, her question does make sense. What comes after the ever after?

"Let's see..." you moved closer to her. "There's a reason why it ends with happily ever after."

"And that is?" she asked, tilting her head.

"If it's not happy, it's not the end."

You smiled at the little girl before you stood up and tucked her in under the blankets. You brushed some strands of her hair behind her ears and caress her cheeks as she leaned to your touch.

"Good night, Suki-chan," you said, leaning down to peck her on the forehead before you straightened up and turned around.

You have only taken three steps when you suddenly heard Suki's voice.

"Ms. Y/n," she called, making you stop and you turned back around to face her. You noticed she was lifting her hand towards you and you walked back to her as she put her arms around your shoulders and pulled you in a hug.

"Good night mo—M.s Y/n."

For a second you froze as you felt her soft lips brushed your cheeks. You knew what she was going to call you, but you wonder why she stopped. You wonder why she didn't call you like that. Maybe because you haven't done enough for her to call you mom.

"Good night," you said again, giving her another smile before you straightened up and headed to the door, waving at her as you opened the door and walked outside.

It shouldn't really bother you as much, since you aren't really her birth mother to begin with. But she's the one who wanted a mother, and she was the one who wanted you to become her mother. But you wonder why she was hesitant to call you as such.

Shaking your head to get rid of those trivial thoughts, you headed to the room Kenma provided for you. It's a spacious room, it's like the small apartment you had back in college, though it wasn't as lavish as this room.

When you lie down on the bed, you stare up the ceiling for a while, clearing your thoughts before finally calling it a night.

The next day you woke up early to prepare breakfast as well as Kenma's and Suki's bento since Kenma mentioned that he does go to work once in a while, and you thought it would be alright if you also make one for Kenma.

You made extra effort in making their bento today because you had more time to do so until Suki wakes up. Decorating it with Suki's favorite animal, you nodded at how good they turned out until you heard small footsteps coming your way and you closed the bento, putting each inside the bag.

"Ms. Y/n, can I see it?" she asked.

"Nope," you gave her strawberry that she happily ate. "You'll see it later when it's lunchtime."

"I wonder what kind of bento Ms. Y/n made Suki this time," she said, walking around the kitchen until she bumped into Kenma who appeared from the corner. "Owie!" she said, holding her forehead that bumped into her dad's waist.

"Oh, you're so small I didn't see you there."

"Daddy! I'm not!" she said as Kenma picked her up. "Daddy's small too, uncle Kuroo is taller than you."

Kenma put her in her chair as you sat across her while Kenma went to the fridge.

"Do you like tall guys?" he asked.

"Of course," Suki said. "Does Ms. Y/n like tall guys too?"

You hid your surprise with a cough and cleared your throat as you took the glass of juice and downed half of its content.

"Well...I don't particularly see height as any measurement in a man's capability to provide for his family."

Suki simply looked at you, her head tilted to the side a bit as she blinked her eyes a few times.

"No, I don't particularly like tall or short guys," you said, answering her question.

"Then," Suki started. "Do you like uncle Kuroo or daddy?"

This time, you couldn't help but almost choke in your food at the little girl's question as you downed the remaining juice in the glass.

"Suki-chan, I think it's time for you to go to school," you said, looking at the clock on the wall only to see that there's still more than enough time.

"Why don't you answer her question, Y/n?" Kenma suddenly said, sitting on the chair across you. "I'm quite interested."

You felt like you're being interrogated by the two who resemble each other in more ways than one.

"I—well, I like them both," you said. "There are things that Suki's dad can do while Suki's uncle can't and there are things that Suki's uncle can do while Suki's dad can't."

"Okay!" Suki said, sliding down her chair. "I'll go brush my teeth!" she run up to her room, leaving you with Kenma.

While you thought the interrogation was finally over, you felt Kenma's gaze on you and when you looked up you saw him leaning in.

"So which is it?" he asked.

"Which is what?"

"The things that Kuro can do that I can't?" he asked, and for some reason you felt cornered, both literally and figuratively. "Tell me, Y/n. Let's see if I really can't do it."

He looked straight into your eyes and you were so tempted to avert yours to look at anywhere but him. But you cannot avert your gaze because you were spellbound and drawn into his amber hues.

"There's none," you said and Kenma was about to speak when Suki came back with her bag.

You stood up, releasing the breath you're holding as you took the bag where the bentos are in before handing one to Suki.

"Look daddy, Ms. Y/n made me bento," she said, showing it to Kenma who just nodded his head before heading to the front door while you and Suki followed behind.

When the car arrived at school, you watched as Suki run up ahead until she entered the building before Kenma started the ignition and drove back to the apartment building.

But before you can step outside, you took the bag of bento and handed it to Kenma. "Here," you said.

"What's that?"

"Your bento," you muttered, for some reason you couldn't look him in the eye this time. Kenma took it from your hand and you were about to open the door when Kenma spoke.

"Thanks," he said. You gave him a smile before stepping outside the car and walking towards the apartment complex.

When lunchtime arrived, Suki was more than excited to open her bento. And when she did, she was greeted by the most beautiful bento she's ever seen, and some of her classmates noticed it too.

"Look, Suki's bento looked delish!" one of them said, causing the others to look at it too.

"Did your grandma make it?" one of the kids asked.

"No," Suki answered. "Ms— My mommy made it."

"Mommy?" a kid asked as he made his way in front of Suki's desk. "You don't have a mommy!"

"I do! I have a mom now!"

"No you don't, you're a liar!"

"I'm not lying!"

The boy took the bento box and Suki quickly stood up to take her lunch back until the bento fell on the floor and the food was all ruined.

"Ha! That's what happens to kids who lie."

Suki stare at the ruined bento before she looked ahead as the boy started to walk off. But before he can walk farther, Suki run up to him and grabbed him by his hair causing the boy to slip down and fell.

"That's what happens to kids who ruin other kids' bento!"

Before the boy can yell at her, Suki took the bento and run outside the classroom and into the girls' bathroom, locking herself inside the cubicle as she sat there and stared at the bento you made.

Until she couldn't stop her tears anymore and started crying.

Suki didn't attend her afternoon classes after that and only went back to her classroom once the bell rang.

You, on the other hand, just got up from a nap when you heard your phone ringing, and when you checked who's calling, you realized it's Kenma and he told you that he will be home by dinner so he couldn't pick up Suki. You were going to commute towards the school but Kenma said you can use his other car.

You were hesitant to use it but you did so anyways and drove to Suki's school to pick her up. When you arrived however, you saw a sight that made your blood immediately boil.

Standing outside the gate of the school building, there was Suki with several kids in front of her, and you knew by the looks of it that they weren't her friends.

They were all laughing and pointing at Suki while the little girl had her head lowered down and she's close into crying.

"Those little..." you muttered. "...spawns...."

You quickly stepped outside the car and headed to where they are, your face heating up from anger the nearer you got to them.

"Suki doesn't have a mommy," one of them cooed.

"Suki only brings her grandma at school. She doesn't have a mommy," another said before they all laugh.

When you heard what they were saying, you couldn't help yourself but yell.

"Hey!"

You startled them all as they flinched in surprise, even Suki did before she realized it was you as you walked in front of Suki.

"Who are you?" one of them asked.

"Who am I?" you folded your arms over your chest and gave all them a look that made them gulped visibly.

"I'm Suki's mommy."