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Rei stared through the glass of the container holding her son. At one-week-old, she had expected him to be small, but not this tiny. He was small enough to fit in one of Enji’s palms. Not that he had tried, but she had noticed his weight when she was allowed to hold him for the first time a full day after his birth. His first cries were weak, and he was so pale. She’d never known a human baby could be that small, even though he’d only been born a month early.
Even if she had known the marriage was a sham, all throughout her pregnancy she had been so excited to become a mother. She dreamed of the day when she’d worked the hardest she ever had in her life and finally hold her baby against her chest. It would be the most wonderful feeling in the world. When the doctors told her that she was having twins, she was even more elated. Enji would be pleased with that. It would give him twice the chance to have a child with the right quirk.
Everything was perfect. It was a nice, warm illusion to bask in for a while.
The doctors had explained that her children would most likely be smaller than others when they were born. They weren’t sure if she could carry them to full-term without injuring herself. Enji was a volcano of a man, and she was like a shard of ice. By the time she was eight months pregnant, her belly was so swollen that she could barely walk. Everything hurt, but she hated being stuck in bed. She’d actually lost even more weight in her first trimester, so she’d spent the next two trying to pack it back on. No matter how big she was, it never seemed to be enough.
And it hadn’t been.
Rei couldn’t help but think of all the meals she’d skipped, all the extra vitamins she’d taken that she threw up, the carefully planned diet her life had revolved around the last three months of her pregnancy. Her stomach turned on its end. She never wanted to eat again. It still hadn’t been enough.
In the end, her daughter had been born so lovely and in perfect condition. She was already opening her eyes to look around, so inquisitive of her surroundings, and had even took to breastfeeding. She only had to spend a week in the NICU due to being born early before being transferred and would even be allowed to go home soon.
Touya, on the other hand…
A film of tears covered her eyes as she watched his tiny chest rise and fall. Somehow they had managed to attach so many pads and wires to him, including one that came out of his nose to help him breathe. He laid on his back in a preemie diaper, eyes closed and mouth open as he slept. She couldn’t breastfeed him, so she’d tried to pump, but he struggled with even that.
The doctors had explained the situation to her and Enji, but she hadn’t been able to pay attention. All she could do was look at her son, terrified that something might happen if she looked away. Their words washed right over her like water. It didn’t matter what they said. All that mattered was that he made it out of here alive. They assured him he would. He simply needed time in the NICU before he could be released. He needed to grow. He would live. He would be fine.
Enji wasn’t pleased. Day one and Touya was already proving to be weak, but that wasn’t it at all. He was going to make it out of here and prove to everyone how strong he was. He would show them that he had what it took to survive. There was nothing he wouldn’t be able to overcome after this. He would live and they would be happy.
When Touya’s brows wrinkled and he began to squirm, Rei’s heart leapt in her throat, but she managed to force a few words out. “Hey there, baby, Mommy’s here.” She bent down and slid her hand through one of the holes in the container so she could rest her hand gently on his chest. His weak cries started, and she looked around frantically, but the only nurse in the room was busy with another baby. It was okay. He was waking up; he was just scared. “Don’t worry. It’s okay. You’re not alone.”
“You should be in your room,” a low voice said behind her.
Rei startled in her slippers and anxiously glanced back at Enji before returning her attention to their son. What was he doing here? In the week that Touya had been in the NICU since birth, he hadn’t come to visit once. She knew she shouldn’t feel so spiteful towards him - he was a busy man, after all - but the least he could’ve done was see his son in person. He was the one who had paid her family off so he could marry her and have kids.
“I wanted to check on him,” Rei said without looking back at her husband. “He shouldn’t be alone. I should be with him.”
“You should be with Fuyumi.”
Because she was the strong one - she was the one more likely to become his successor. Enji didn’t say it, but she heard the implication nonetheless. Anger flooded her, but she kept her eyes on Touya. The hormones flooding her body postpartum wasn’t helping with her mood. There were even times when she thought she missed Enji’s presence, which was absurd since he wasn’t really ever there to begin with. It hadn’t been like the conception was romantic or anything.
“Fuyumi is sleeping in the nursery,” Rei explained with as much patience as she could muster. “I fed her and laid her down so I can see Touya. He needs to know he’s loved too.”
Enji snorted. “He’s a baby. He doesn’t even know who you are.”
Rei shot him a glare. “He knows who I am.”
“He can barely see.”
“It doesn’t matter. He knows I’m in his mother. He knows he’s not alone.” Rei wasn’t one to argue - it was a terrible idea to do with Enji, who she could tell had a temper if he hadn’t let it out while she was pregnant - but she also wasn’t in the mood. She was scared and upset and she just wanted both her babies to be okay. Couldn’t Enji have a little bit of sympathy? This was his son too. Weren’t heroes supposed to care about others? Did he truly only think of himself?
The two of them watched in silence as Touya slowly came to, his eyes struggling to open. He had little mittens on his hands to keep him from scratching himself and a blue-knit hat covering his soft tuffs of red hair. When his eyes finally opened to reveal a brilliant blue just like Enji, her heart skipped a beat, and she let out the breath she’d been holding. Maybe he couldn’t see well and maybe he didn’t know who she was, but his eyes locked on hers, and she smiled.
“See,” Rei whispered, “he knows his Mom.” She pointed back at him. “And that’s your Dad.”
The energy radiating from Enji was hard to read, but for the most part, she didn’t think he cared. He didn’t want to be a father; he wanted to create the perfect hero. She ignored it. If he wasn’t going to offer Touya any support, then he could leave. She didn’t care. He was only a week old. Could he give their son a break before being so hard on him?
“The doctor said we can take Fuyumi home tomorrow,” Enji told her, “so you’ll be discharged with her then.”
Rei jerked upright in alarm. “What about Touya?”
“He stays here.”
“No.” Rei shook her head. She didn’t even want to think about it. The idea of being parted from him hurt her too much. She wouldn’t be able to handle further than a walk away from him. It would drive her mad. She couldn’t do that to him. “No, I can’t leave him.”
“You can’t stay here either.”
The only reason she’d been here this long was because she’d been forced to have an emergency c-section after six hours of active labor. It had taken an extreme toll on her body. She hadn’t even been allowed to walk until two days ago. Her stomach ached terribly from the incision, but she was too wary to take any pain medicine since she was breastfeeding. This whole thing made her anxious. She just wanted Touya to be in her arms.
“Fuyumi needs you too,” Enji added.
“I know that,” Rei snapped, tears burning her eyes. She swallowed and took a deep breath. “How long?”
“Another week, maybe two.” Enji sounded indifferent. He’d given up on Touya, hadn’t he? Already wrote him up as a lost cause. Well not her. She would never give up on him. He would always have her in his corner. He was her boy. “You need to focus on Fuyumi.”
Rei didn’t respond. She was taking care of Fuyumi just fine. Did she fiddle around in the NICU a little more? Maybe, but she couldn’t help herself. Enji wouldn’t understand. He’d not grown these children inside of him. She couldn’t move and had been forced to watch from the table as Touya was rushed out of the room. It hurt more than anything. He’d never get that.
“Touya-”
“Is our son,” Rei cut in. He’d calmed down now that she was touching him. She forced herself to relax and smile at him, even if anger surged through her veins. “Don’t count him out just yet.”
Enji grumbled lowly as he considered their son one last time and said, “We’ll see how he turns out.”
With nothing else to be said, he turned on his heels and stormed out of the room, which cooled considerably once he was gone. Rei’s shoulders dropped, but she ran a fingertip over Touya’s soft belly. He was so warm to the touch, just like Enji. He was also strong too. She didn’t care what Enji thought of him. Their boy was a fighter. He’d prove it to them all.