#nikoshi doe

I love you (AFTG Aaron)

Neil x Therapy

Bilingual Neil

Nicky is amazing

Neil understanding Aaron when it comes to mothers

Body swap AFTG

The only valid Moriyama (Nikoshi Doe)

Aaron tiktok dancing

Niko’s Game

Gender Swap AFTG

Matt and Neils tiktok

Matt and Aaron Addiction TW

Aaron + Bathrooms 

Imagining the Twins singing

Aaron and Depression (The fall)

The Lumineers (Twinyards)

Andrews Dream of OZ

AFTG Avatar Au

Andreil Fanart

Neil and Braids

Home (Neil)

Fancast; but not really

Kevaaron Content

Sick Aaron/Family love

Aftg Kids

Bad Religion

Frank Ocean + Aaron’s CO story

Demons and Angels AU aftg

Don’t body shame my bro

AFTG shameless HC

Nikoshi is torn between charging up to hug his literal fucking idol and keeping up a cool kid facade. Fortunately, the cool kid facade wins out. If Niko had touched Kevin, he would not have been able to stop himself from flinging the kid across the lawn. There’s something that’s just so… so… Riko about the kid that Kevin is on the verge of breakdown. 

Ichirou kind of ushers him into the house and Kevin sits down very mechanically on the couch. From the kitchen, Aaron walks out and is faced with Niko for the first time. Niko’s heard about Kevin Day’s husband before but he’s never seen him. 

“You’re really short,” is the first thing out of his mouth. This kid, this absolute asshole, walks into his fucking house and the first fucking thing he says is ‘You’re really short’???? Aaron is so stunned by this kid and his bullshit that he doesn’t even say anything.

Amalia wanders out from the kitchen at the commotion in the living room and the second she sees Niko her first reaction is friend????? New fren??????? She’s very excited. Before she can go out and say anything, Aaron snags her and makes his way into the living room to sit beside Kevin and sets her in his lap. She keeps squirming bc she wants to meet new fren. 

Anyway, Ichirou has already called the two of them and has informed him of who the kid is. They’re going to have to take him to the doctor and get some ‘blood work’ done to confirm Ichirou’s suspicions but they already know. He looks too much like Riko to not be his kid

Ichirou asks a few questions, all of which Aaron has to answer seeing as Kevin is too busy silently flipping his shit. Both Niko and Kev spend the whole half an hour just staring at each other in awestruck silence. 

Ichirou leaves and Aaron says it’s time for dinner. They all eat at the dinner p quietly, except for Amalia who has run out of patience. She insists on sitting next to Niko and blabbering on and on about something or the other. She’s 5 at this point so she’s mostly talking about her crayons and showing Niko that she can count to fifty. For the most part, Niko is content to listen to her bc it means he doesn’t really have to talk. 

After dinner, Aaron takes Niko upstairs to show him his room and hands him some clothes. As soon as Aaron heard the news, he’d gone down to target and just picked some random basic shit out. He tells Niko that they’ll go to the mall soon so that they can pick up a few things that’ll actually fit him. Niko’s never had new clothes in his life. He doesn’t know how to feel about it. 

He puts all of his emotions aside for the time being. He’ll have to evaluate them later. Niko starts to pull his shirt off and he hears Aaron gasp. Only then does he realize that the bruises from his last foster haven’t faded yet. He goes red and backs away, trips over something and falls onto his butt. 

“Niko-” Aaron started, moving forward. Immediately, Niko flinched violently and Aaron stilled. Schooling his face into neutrality, Aaron dropped his hands to his side. “Get changed and come down. I want to see the bruises.” 

“No,” Niko spat.

“I’m not asking,” Aaron countered flatly. “As soon as you’ve changed, you will come downstairs and we will treat the bruises. Are we clear?” Niko nodded. Aaron backed out of the room, shutting the door to give Niko some privacy. 

“What bruises?” Kevin asked, starling a curse out of him. 

“Kev, he’s covered in them,” Aaron replied. Anger burned in his chest. In that moment, there was nothing Aaron wanted more than to hunt down whomever had hurt Niko so badly and beat them black and blue. All that kept him grounded was the pain of his nails biting into his palms. He felt Kevin’s arms wrap around him and he left himself be held. “He looks worse than I ever did,” Aaron whispered. His voice sounded hollow, even to his own ears. 

“He’s going to be okay, baby. He’s here now. We’ll take care of him,” Kevin assured as he stroked his hair. 

A few minutes later, Niko steps out and lets them take him downstairs. Amalia is long gone, put to bed so that she doesn’t witness this absolute horror that her dads are about to see. Aaron has a makeshift clinic set up in the house and he makes Niko sit down on the little bed and take his shirt off. 

Kevin curses and gets smacked for cursing in front of Niko. After figuring out how old they are, Aaron sets to work massaging creams into them to heal them faster. His hands are firm, unyielding, but gentle enough that they don’t hurt. It’s a foreign feeling to Niko. He’s never not been touched by anyone without them intending for him to hurt. 

Aaron asks Niko if there are anymore. Niko is tempted to lie to him but something in Aaron’s dark brown eyes coaxes him into telling the truth. He wriggles out of his pants to show him the bruises on his legs. 

Lashes from rulers stripe his legs. A few scars have accumulated from the metal part cutting into his skin. Kevin sucks a breath in through his teeth when he sees them. He’s been hit with the metal edge of a ruler before. He’s got the same scars on his legs. 

Aaron rubs scar cream into them and takes care of the remaining bruises. He’s so pissed off and it shows on his face. Niko, the poor, sweet bean thinks that Aaron is mad at him. So many adults have gotten angry with him for being such a problem. 

He slides off the table when Aaron tells him to and changes back into his clothes. They dismiss him so he slips back upstairs. Kevin and Aaron stay downstairs to talk for a little while. Neither of them say it outloud but they both come to the consensus that, Riko’s son or not, they will protect Niko with their lives. 

It’s not quite as easy as you’d think. Riko was such a bitch and he caused them and their families so much pain. Over the course of the next few months, every time Niko raises his voice, Kevin flinches violently. There are times when Aaron has to discreetly escort him away to help him avoid the impending panic attack. 

They’d told Bee that they were taking in Riko’s son and she’d mentioned that it would be hard on Kev but Aaron hadn’t thought it would be this bad. It’s been almost twelve years since Riko’s death but Kevin is still such a broken man. 

That doesn’t mean he isn’t trying. Kev drives Niko to school himself every day and picks him up from the bus stop every morning. They work on his history projects together and stress out over math together. Aaron is an amazing science tutor but he’s also very insistent that Niko actually learns things for himself.

Over the summer, Kev takes Niko to the court Every. Single. Day. Aaron, who’s the head physician for Kevin’s team is almost always sitting on the sideline with Amalia to keep an eye on them. He doesn’t need Kev killing their kids. 

Most of Kevin’s frustration comes from the fact that Niko shows absolutely NO POTENTIAL. I mean, baby boi is just tripping over his own two feet and can barely keep track of his steps while holding the ball only to have Kevin just FUCKING BARREL INTO HIM BC HE KNOWS NO RESTRAINT ON THE COURT BC HE’S A DUMBASS!

Anyway, Aaron eventually intervenes and kicks Kev off the court. He just kinda sits a really huffy Niko down on the bench and asks him if something’s wrong. After a great deal of gently coaxing, Niko admits that Kevin is kind of scary. 

Aaron digs his shit out of the closet and steps on the court and he helps teach Niko the basics. In a week, Niko is playing incredibly well for his age and Kevin is pissed bc how tf did Aaron manage this????

Anyway, Niko is playing really well by then so he tries out for the team and makes it! He’s playing varsity despite being in 7th grade and is a starting offense dealer. 

He tried out for dealer in middle school but he only ever plays as a striker at home. It’s his secret and he’s not keen to show his hand just yet. He’s also a halfway decent goalkeep. That being said, both Aaron and Kev are comparing him to the best goalkeep in the Southern circuit so calling him half-way decent is an understatement but I digress.

Anyway, he’s an incredible player bc he has a lot of individual skill but he’s not much of a team player. More than once, he’s mouthed off to the wrong kid and gotten himself into trouble. That being said, he’s really fast so he’ll just nyoom off before anyone can beat his ass and no one has the time or energy to pursue him for it. 

It’s not until 8th grade that he gets into serious trouble. 

Kev and Aaron are called down to the school bc Niko’s gotten himself into a fight. When they get there, they just about die. Their baby boy has a massive black eye and there’s bruises on his arm from someone holding him down. They are so so so pissed off. 

When they ask what happens Niko doesn’t say anything. One of the kids says that he was bullying them. Neither Kev nor Aaron buy that. 

What happened was a bunch of kids were picking on someone and Niko was having none of that shit. He absolutely unleashed and shreds the kids, picking out insecurities they didn’t even know they had and trashing them. So caught up in roasting these ho’s Niko didn’t realize it was time to dip until it was too late. The kids beat the crap out of him and he can barely stand. 

When the kid Niko was defending ghosts into the room Kev and Aaron immediately know what’s going on.

Niko,,,,,,, has caught feelings. Babie is looking at this kid like they hung the goddamn moon and, honestly, they couldn’t past them. Winter Aziz (they/them) is,,,,, stunning and it wouldn’t surprise either of Kev or Aaron if they’d crafted the moon. The two of them are now betting on how long it’s going to take Niko to figure out he likes the kid. 

But back to the actual story. 

Anyway, once Winter gives their side of the story, the dean admits that the boys were in the wrong. Two of the boys end up getting suspended. Apparently, Winter’s parents are busy so they offer them a ride home. In the rearview mirror, Kev can see Niko squirming bc Winter is just sitting so close!!!! They stop by this lil diner that Niko loves and buy him a milkshake. They offer to buy Winter one too but they decline. Niko ends up offering to share and its ADORABLE!!!! Aaron snaps a pic and sends it to Kev so that they can both be reminded of this cuteness. 

Anyway, needless to say, Winter and Niko are now best friends. They do everything together and have a lot of,,,,,,, sleepovers in which Kev and Aaron feel really bad bc Niko’s gone gone for his best friend and Winter doesn’t seem to notice. 

That’s bullshit. Winter knows Niko likes them. They’re just not ready to admit that they like him too. 

Over the summer before 9th grade, Winter becomes a part of their summer practice. They’ve taken an interest in sports medicine bc they can be close to Niko.

Midway through July, Kevin gives up trying to get Niko to be a team player. He’s just not the kind of person who can teach him how to be that kind of person. 

But he knows someone who can. 

It’s a late night on the court and Niko’s run himself ragged. 

So, @sadivy2​ dropped into my inbox and snagged my attention with a rather interesting ask and while I like most of the concept, I’m choosing to take a few creative liberties. Take what you want from this but, as always, I’mma do what I want bc I can :))) Bear with me as I tell the tale of the only valid Moriyama

In the months following Kev’s flight from the Nest, Riko begins to grow incredibly volatile and needs something to distract him. It’s in the middle of his English class that he sees the prettiest girl on the face of the Earth. On his way out, he swings by to talk to her and, one thing leads to another and she’s leading him back to her dorm. 

About a year or so later Riko hears about the car crash that killed Evermore’s number 1 track star and orphaning her child. He doesn’t think much of it until a week later when he sees the shrine they’ve put up for her. 

It’s the girl from English and in the photo is her four and half month old son, Nikoshi. For the most part, he seems to take after his mother. He’s only a few shades lighter than her with a more golden/yellowish undertone and the same cloud of corkscrew curls but his nose is thin and turns up just a little at the end. His lips aren’t as full and his eyes are rounder with irises as black as night. The child is beautiful and is unmistakably Riko’s.

By the time Riko gets his shit together, it’s too late. Nikoshi’s been shipped off into the foster care system. One would think that with such an unusual name, he’d be easy to find but Riko can’t for the life of him find the kid. 

Make no mistake, Riko doesn’t give a damn about this kid. He wants to find him and erase him. If word got out that Riko had been fooling around and had fathered a child, there’d be a thousand women falling at his feet and attempting to claim that their child was his too. Nikoshi was a threat to Riko’s reputation. He had to be disposed of. 

Of course, he never gets the chance to deal with the kid. Instead, he’s to preoccupied orchestrating the death of Seth, the return of Dr*ke, and Neil’s trip to Evermore to even think about Nikoshi. It’s not until the death of his own father that he even takes the time to think about his son. It’s only for a brief instant that the word flashes through his head. My son. Riko hates it immediately. Anger floods him and he beats the shit out of Jean. The next morning, by the time Riko wakes, Jean is long gone.

 That’s it. That was the final straw. All of Riko’s self-control is gone. He’s lost Kevin and Jean. He couldn’t bring Neil back to Evermore. He couldn’t even find the child he’d fathered. When he steps onto the court at finals, he’s ready to burst. 

He throws his all into the game and he still loses. 

The defeat is crushing, not as crushing as Andrew’s racquet smashing into his arm, but crushing nonetheless. It’s almost a relief when Ichirou pulls out the gun.

“I have a final request,” Riko started, speaking in Japanese for fear of the Wesninski overhearing. “Find the child I’ve fathered. His mother died in a car accident when he was four months old, nearly five. His name is Nikoshi. Find him and kill him too.” The gun goes off and Riko’s lifeless body slumps to the floor. 

For the next few months, all Ichirou can think about is Nikoshi. His curiosity ends up winning out and he ends up spending a few late nights researching. From what he’s managed to find, Nikoshi is the son of a woman named Renatta Beckford, a track star from Evermore who was being scouted for the Olympic team who’d never revealed the father of his child. Why she’d chosen to do so, Ichirou couldn’t figure out but he was grateful nonetheless. That made this mess a little easier to clean up. 

It’s YEARS before Ichirou manages to actually track the kid himself down. Well, if you could even call it tracking him down. On Ichirou’s rare day off, he decides to head down to Brooklyn for the weekend. Wandering about the Brooklyn Museum, he sees a kid, no more than twelve balanced precariously atop a bench in an attempt to see. 

“Nikoshi, if you don’t get down from there right fucking now!” a woman snapped as she yanked him off the bench by the collar of his shirt. As the shirt shifted, Ichirou saw the myriad of bruises blooming across the boy’s skin. 

“But Mom-” the boy started to say. 

“I am not your mother,” the woman hissed as she caught him by the hair. 

“Surely not, seeing as no mother could possibly bring herself to hurt her child in such a fashion.” The words were out of Ichirou’s mouth before he could stop them.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” the woman asked, giving Nikoshi’s hair another savage yank. 

“That is none of your concern,” Ichirou said breezily. “If I were you, I’d be far more concerned with who they are.” Immediately, a pair of officers moved to flank him. “I presume, you saw the bruises too.” One of the officers nodded. “Detain her and get CPS on the phone. Tell them Ichirou Moriyama is calling.” The woman’s face grew pale as her hand slipped out of Nikoshi’s hair. 

A few hours later, Nikoshi found himself riding in the back of the nicest car he’d ever seen. 

“I didn’t need your help,” he snapped at the man sitting across for him. When no response came, Nikoshi said it again, louder this time. 

“No wonder your father didn’t want you,” the man said. His words knocked the breath out of Niko’s lungs. 

“Fuck you. There’s no way you know my father.”

“No,” the man replied. “I didn’t know him but I know someone who did.” After that, no matter what Niko said or did, the man didn’t say another word. At some point, Niko gave up the fight and let himself be led out of the car and followed the man out to a plane. “Is there a problem?” the man asked when Niko stalled at the foot of the stairs. 

“I’m not supposed to get in a stranger’s car,” he said suspiciously.

“You already let us drive you out here,” the man pointed out. “Besides, this isn’t a car. It’s a private jet. Now, come on. I haven’t got all day.” Tentatively, Niko made his way up the stairs and into the lounge. He took a seat as far away from the man as he could and curled up. No one bothered him for the remainder of the trip. 

When the plane landed there was a second car waiting for them, just as nice as the first. Niko didn’t have any choice but to get in. He stared out the window, watching in silence as the houses passed by. They were massive. Each was three or four stories high with opulently decorated gates that towered over him. It wasn’t long until they pulled up into the driveway of one. The gates parted to let them through. 

“Come, Niko. It’s time to meet your new foster family.” Niko slid out of the car and turned his gaze to the man standing at the front door. His mouth fell open as he took in the messy black hair and emerald green eyes. He watched as the man worked his jaw, the muscles beneath the chess piece on his cheek twitching. “Nikoshi, I’d like you to meet-”

“Kevin Day,” Niko whispered in awe.

They have whole ass heart attacks. Since college, Kevin's cut back on the drinking bc its really bad for him and Aaron's having flashbacks of his own youth. Niko comes home from school one day to find them both standing in his room with his stash. They're both pissed as hell and they start getting mad but, in the middle of his rant, Aaron starts crying because drugs were an escape for him. Why does Niko need that escape? Is he a bad dad?

Kevin and Niko are always at each other’s throats on the court. Sometimes, their arguments carry over into the home. Aaron loves them both so so much but they’re too much sometimes. With such big personalities in the house, Amalia often gets overlooked. Aaron tries to make sure that their daughter feels loved and appreciated, especially when the pair are throwing tantrums in the other room. 

Sometimes, Aaron isn’t enough to soothe over their arguments. Kevin is a very demanding person and Niko’s got as much of a mouth on him as Neil does. Often, at the end of a tirade, Niko needs some space and time to process the fight. He usually goes running back to Winter when times get tough. He doesn’t usually tell them the specifics because, frankly, it’s not their job to fix him. He usually just goes to spend time with them. Winter’s rather fond of some of the more casual games (i.e minecraft & animal crossing). Niko really loves to cuddle up with them and watch them play. 

Niko never really talks about the weird things the foster moms did bc he still doesn’t really understand but he does talk about the physical abuse he suffered with Aaron. Honestly, whenever Niko’s life starts to go to shit, he always seems to find himself drifting over to Aaron. He won’t say anything at first, he’ll just sort of sit nearby but Aaron understands that it’s bc Niko wants attention. 

Aaron will take him out to the backyard and ask if it’s okay to hold him. Niko’s never said no. Once Niko is in Aaron’s arms he feels infinitely safer and all the words and thoughts just come rushing out. They sit out on the porch swing while Niko confesses the sins of his families. Sometimes there are tears, not all of them are Niko’s. 

Aaron understands a great deal of the pain Niko feels. At some point, Aaron suggests that Niko talk to Bee. It’s not easy convincing him to do it, but Niko agrees on the condition that Aaron be there too. Since they live in Washington, they’ve got to skype call her but Niko doesn’t mind bc that means Bee can’t see him holding Aaron’s hand under the table. 

Kevin isn’t known for his compassion but he’s trying very hard. He’ll listen to Niko’s school troubles and do his best to offer a solution. It takes him a while to realize that Niko isn’t looking to him for answers. He just wants someone to listen to him. Kevin is fine with that. The two of them cook dinner together while Niko vents about all the things in his life. Kevin will hug him when his emotions get the best of him bc it seems to be the easiest way to calm Niko down. 

Amalia is on the spectrum and lacks soical awareness but she knows when her brother is sad. She’s really into origami so, when Niko is sad, little flowers start to appear in his room. He turns them into crowns and keeps them on his shelf. He wears them in college when he’s too far for Lia to comfort him. 

Andrew is not happy when he finds out about Niko. This little fucker’s father was the shittest person on the face of the planet earth. He hates him immediately. While there are still holes in Neil’s own heart torn by the things Riko did to him and his family, Neil very much wants to meet Niko.

I’ll go into depth later but, once Niko finds out the truth about his father, he has a massive breakdown and he ends up running away. Neil is the first to find him and he talks Niko through a lot of things. 

So the original concept belongs to @sadivy2. The following is my writing on the matter but you should def take a look over there for more content

Part 1

Part 2

Niko dealing with racism ask 

One time when Niko reminded Kevin too much of Riko

I came up with this Idea of Kevin having to raise Rikos son who’s name I decide would be Nikoshi Doe aka Niko

Enjoy

So If you Read “Tapping on my Chamber door” 

You know Nikoshi’s mother, Naima Dixon was born in Jamaica but came to the states at a young age after her mom past away.  She lived in the Bronx with her Aunt. She had tight curls aften in box breads or corn cornrows and dark skin with light brown eyes. She was 5’8.  Had a muscular build from all the years of track and had a scholarship to run at Eager Allen University. She was soon to have a spot on the olympic team for long jump, 100, 200 and 400 meters. She was then pregnant with Nikoshi after her and Riko started there little hook up.  The knew of each other but they first met in class.  She noticed Riko looking at her.

“Like what you see.”  I was trying to catch him off guard but he didn’t even look surprise.  But then he smiled.  Something sharp that left me feeling tingly, similar to how I feel before racing.  

“Not to bad, no.”  He chuckled, looked me up and down before he landed back on my eyes, “Want to sit.”

He left me in a trance and I took a seat next to him and sat my books in front of me.  I tucked some braids behind my ear and looked at him again, he was looking back with a smug smile on his face.  

At first I was thinking Nikoshi was Rikos frozen sperm and his mother was forced by Rikos uncle to have him BUT I decide that Riko died before he knew about Naima being pregnant She found out she was pregnant and went to Riko’s uncle for help and he said to give him the kid and she could get her scholarship Back.  So she agreed naming him “Nico” but sadly she died while giving birth from bleeding out. Tesuji doesn’t use that name and changes it to ‘Nikoshi’ stripping him of any last name (Doe) putting the kid into the system in the same place she grow up in Bronx. Ichirou is informed of Nikoshi ten years later after having his Uncle killed. Who then informs kevin.

Nikoshi is from the Bronx has a accent when he speaks. He knows Spanish because of the amount of Dominican and Puerto Rican foster parents he’s had.  Kinda understands broken english two because one of his foster brothers was from Jamaica which is cool because he knows he’s half Jamaican and some type of asian. He wears beat up high top jordan 1s baggy ripped jeans and long sleeves with a baggy jacket. He plays soccer because the system put him on a team and he’s very fast. He didn’t have much clothes but his best ones are the uniforms and he’s fine with that. He also plays street basketball and baseball with some kids in the area.

Kevin has to take Nikoshi in, according to Ichirou. Bringing Neil and Andrew with him. Ichirou just sent him a picture a kid and he was confused until he got that call that explained everything. He doesn’t need to explain who the kid is because you can clearly tell from the picture. Though the kid has milk cholclate skin, and curly hair that falls around his head in a fro.

When he frist sees Nico he has a scrape scab on his cheek, bruises on his wrist and purple knuckles. His ears a surprisingly pierced.

They find out Nikoshi Doe goes by Niko, he likes chocolate and cafe con leche (coffee), he likes shoes, he likes the color green, he uses a lot of slang and sometimes uses broken english and spanglish words, he’s quite but hyper and doesn’t know how to say still, asks why a lot, he hates math and likes to read, he loves listening to music it’s his safe place, he was diagnosed with ADHD/ADD and takes a pill in the morning and after noon on school days, he doesn’t like the way the pills make him feel, he likes Bee, Bee suspects Niko my be Borderline but it’s hard to tell, Kevin explains Riko was too.  When they go to pick up Nikoshi they are informed of his diagnoses. 

“So Kevin Day, It is very nice to meet you my husband loves watching you guys play Exy,” She smiled at them and then opened a drawer in her desk pulling out two folders.“ Now these paper were just printed out today.  One from Nikoshi’s Doctor and another from his psychologist.”  Kevin straightened his back more at that.

“Psychologist?”  She looked up at Kevin.

“Yes, a lot of children in foster care go to see a therapist.  It helps cope with abandonment and makes sure the kids are transitioning well in their new homes.”  She opened one of the folders.  “Nikoshi saw a therapist who recommended him to a psychologist.  He was diagnosed with ADHD/ADD and given medication.  He went through three different medications before he was put on Focalin XR.  His biggest issues are impulsivity, managing feelings, and energy.  There is more information in the folder with getting the prescription at a pharmacy and things to know about his behavior.  He takes Focalin every morning before school, its not needed on the weekends but to long off it isn’t the best idea.  Though if you want him off the medication, if you ever come to adopting him you can do that.”  She looked towards the other two. “Will you two be helping take care of Nikoshi.”

“Yeah we are, is there anything else we need to know.  If he needs a therapist we already got that covered.  We can send her the information.”  Neil replied with a bored tone but

“Thats good to know, he just saw the doctor last week.  He gained some weight and is now at a more healthier weight then he was before.”  She sighed. “You have to reminded him to eat, he forgets to and he doesn't ask for food.  The foster home he was just at was good with keeping a schedule, he ate, took his meds, ate at school, had a snack at home, soccer practice and then dinner.  He gets distracted and has little habits that cause him focus to much on random things.  The meds take away his hunger also, so it important that he finishes.”  She then closed both folders and stacked them together before sliding them to Kevin.  

Kevin didn’t know how to process that.  This information sounded to familiar.  He always had to remind Riko to eat something.  Riko would go days without eating, or sleeping, or even both.  It got so bad the master had to tube feed him because he past out and didn’t get back up.  Niko always got back up.  He was taken out of his thoughts when the lady, Jennifer stood.  He picked up the folders and got up following Andrew and Neil out the door.  Nikoshi was still sitting in his chair, he was singing his legs slowly and seemed fixated on his hands.

“Nikoshi, these gentlemen here are going to be your new guardians,”  Niko looked up at them.  He got a better look at there faces, now that the glasses were off he could easily recognize who the taller man was with the chess piece on his cheek bone.  He was confused o say the least.  This had to be some sick joke, or a stupid stuPID dream.  He looked at the other too, the screw that littered the red heads tan face and the man with blond hair and black studs.

“Deadass?”  He blurted out suddenly.  Fuck.  He did not mean to blurt that out.  Kevin day looked taken back by his statement and the other too snickered from slightly behind him.  The lady looked horrified.

Riko used to self harm, stop eating for days, wouldn’t sleep for days either.  His uncle had to force him into a tube feeder once because of this.  Kevin and Riko had to see a therapist and she diagnosed Riko. His uncle disregarded it and gave him sum type of pills that made Riko’s anger at himself turn down a bit but he was more depressed. He tried to commit 3 times after. Kevin made him promise not to. He flushed the pills and started to abuse others.

Kevin explains this to Neil and Andrew.  They then try to learn more about BPD.  They watch youtube videos, read articles and books on it till they had a better understanding of the disorder.  They learn about the self-destructive tendencies and suicidal gestures that are quite common with the disorder.  They all try there best to build a good support system. 

Niko has a hard time with his identity and ‘who he is’,  he tries to remember that Kevin wants him and isn't going to abandon him, he tries to keep his shifts in moods to himself but in only makes things worse.  He tends to shut down in his room more often then not.  He finds himself getting angry at little things knowing he shouldn’t but he still does.  Anger attacks aren't as bad as the empty feeling he gets sometimes.

When Niko meets all the foxes he drifts more towards Nicky for whatever reason.  He finds that he like Nickys happy vibes and feels it radiate from him.  He likes to soak in it.

Niko likes talking to Neil, he gets candy from Andrew, and he likes playing Exy with Kevin. He didn’t like school and says it’s hard for him but he still makes honor roll no problem.

During the second month of school when he first started living with Kevin he expriences racism for maybe the first time.  He didn’t have any friends, nor knew anybody.  He could tell he was different from the other kids.  They were mostly white with a splash of color here and there.  The way they talked and walked was different then how he did.  He didn’t grew up with white picket fences like they seemed to.  They dressed different too.  He didn’t like the stares he was getting from the kids in his class.

“Nice hair are you a girl?”  One of the boys said, with his little click at his back.  It was recess and Niko stuck to staying to himself drawling in his note book that Andrew gave him. 

“No.”  The boys continued to laugh.  He hated when people talked about his hair.  He didn't like his hair.  Especially when his foster mothers always tugged and pulled on it.  That wasn't just it though.  It reminded him of his foster father Mr. James.

“Such pretty hair.”

The boys crept closers and Niko started to feel closed in.  One of them pulled out scissors and two grabbed him by the shoulders.  One talked about how there dad said them Black boys need to cut there hair.  Another used a slur Niko heard a lot back in the Bronx, used it himself when with the kids in the neighborhood but he never heard it used like this.  He started to struggle but another one grabbed his face and held him down so his face fell between his knees.  He felt chuncks of hair being cut of from his head as they fell down his back and some at his feet.  

He felt his eyes water and struggled harder.  He kicked the one to his right in the shin, knowing how much it hurt from when he played soccer with out shin guards.  The kids let go of that shoulder and he swung his arm hitting another kid.  They all let go once they heard a teacher yell at them.  Niko reached for the scissors and threw them in the grass.  The boys ran away and Niko was left to look at the small and large chunks of his hair on the concrete.  He didn’t mean to bother anybody.  He didn't ask to have this type of hair.  He didn’t ask to be different.  Sometimes he missed the Bronx but then remembered his foster sister getting shot, and his doped up foster parents he used to end up with.  He didn't want to go back, but he found himself missing it sometimes.

Nobody asked abut his hair during the rest of the school day.  Not even his teacher.  Its fine he didn't want to bother anybody.  When Andrew came to pick him up he was wearing his hoodie.  Today Neil and Andrew were coming over, so was Aaron.  Aaron practically lived with him and Kevin now though.  He said nothing on the way home.  He didn't want to bother them.  He was trying his hardest not to.  

But then he got home he went straight to the bathroom and locked the door.  He didn’t hear Kevin nor Aaron calling him.  He stared in to the mirror and glared at himself.  Disgusting. You look like a girl. He ripped off his hood and he felt something in himself crack.  His hair was clearly uneven.  Some areas you couldn’t tell but he could see how his curls on his forehead were shortened compared to the pieces on the sides.  He could tell where every spot was that had been cut, like there were circles showing him where to look.  A broken sob cut through his throat.  The tears rolled down his cheeks.  He always thought he was an ugly crier.  He grabbed his hair and pulled.  He kept pulling till he felt arms wrap around his torso.  He wanted to fight who ever they were off but he couldn't.  They grabbed his hands but they couldn't pry them from his hair.  He heard someone calling his name and found a face to that voice.  He noticed another person accompanied him in the mirror.  Holding on to him.  It wasn’t his voice he heard though.  He saw the other three at the bathroom entrance but it was Aaron standing closest to him.

“Niko its okay, let go buddy.”  He didn’t know if he meant his hands or his feelings but he let them go.  He saw more pieces of hair fall through his hands but ignored it and them screamed.  Kevin turned him around and held him again.  Kevin lowered himself to his knees to let Niko cry and scream into his neck.  He rubbed his back till he calmed down.  Neil and Andrew left to prepare some ice cream and play music.  Kevin noticed the hair that fell to the floor and so did Aaron.  It didn’t match the amount that should still be connected to his head.

Niko told them what happened at school with less emotion then he displayed before.  They were all furious but chose to keep it inside to comfort Niko.  They called the school and told them what happened.  The school apologized but Kevin still wasn't letting Niko go back to that school.  He transferred Niko to another and reassured him it was okay and it was the same distance anyways.  They took Niko to the babor shop and they evened out his hair.  He got it cut some on the sides as well, allowing the back and top to be longer.  His hair showed more off his forehead and ear piercings now.  He felt more exposed, but was happy with the hair cut.

When he meets Dan she gives him oils and creams to put in his hair.  Even showed him how to wash it too, Matt helps.  He got to meet there kids.

Allison braided his hair down for when he graduated Elementary School.  She teaches how how to do other things like twist, braids, and box braids.

When he goes to college Renee helps him bleach the ends of his hair blond.

He has nightmares often. And likes to have hot chocolate to calm his nerves. He gets irritated easily, they learn. When he gets irritated he stops talking and fidgets, tapping his foot and cracking his knuckles. 

Kevin’s night terrors slowly fade as Riko’s dark shadow fades into Nikos warm glow.

Niko definitely learns how to skateboards when Aaron gives him his old one. Kevin likes to watch them practice it together.  Just like Aaron likes to watch Kevin teach Niko Exy.  He joins a team in Middle School.  He's definitely going to be something.