Chapter Text
Eijiro’s life was pretty great right now.
She’d gotten the career she’d wanted almost as long as she could remember, had saved over a hundred people before turning twenty-five, won number seven in the latest hero rankings, immediate family was in good health and doing well at work or in school, had a lot of wonderful friends who felt like second family, and was married to an amazing, gorgeous badass who thought the world of her. What more could she ask for?
(She was still laughing over the article headline “Hypocenter Finally Puts a Ring on it!” )
But a good life wasn’t necessarily an easy one.
Just days after her and Katsuki’s first wedding anniversary, several gangs and villain groups entered some kind of turf war that escalated into bombings, arson, and looting. You know, fun stuff.
So all the agencies in the city had their hands full, not to mention the heroes. To say things were stressful was like saying the Titanic had experienced some water damage. And stress tends to do a number on your overall health. So, no one could be surprised to feel pretty lousy after three weeks of busting, arresting, fighting, meetings, and collapsing into bed each night.
Fatigued? Occasionally fighting minor headaches and slight dizziness? That’s the stress.
Getting the munchies at odd hours and craving junk food? It must be stress.
All your emotions dialed up a few notches? The ol’ stresseroo.
Just overall feeling like you’ve lost your edge? You guessed it. Stress.
Granted, stress doesn’t normally make everything taste and smell differently, or take away the appeal of your favorite foods. But it had to be related somehow.
Don’t ask her how. It just was.
She expected to start feeling normal again once everything calmed down and she got some rest.
But she didn’t, exactly.
Not even after a full week of paid vacation to recuperate.
She had a little more energy, but it wasn’t back up to its previous levels. The headaches and dizziness got better and less frequent, but never really stopped. Her appetite still wasn’t back to normal, and neither were her moods. The smell of a barbecue still made her stomach curdle, rather than wet her appetite like it used to.
Of course Katsuki noticed, but didn’t bring it up until they’d come home from a movie night at the Midoriya’s, where a highly emotional death scene that would’ve usually made Eijiro shed a tear or two had her sobbing almost as hard as Izuku was.
“Are you... y’know… doing okay?”
“Um, why do you ask?”
He pressed his lips together. “I dunno’. Something seems kind of... off about you.”
She grimaced. “Yeah, well, I haven’t really been feeling one hundred percent lately.”
“Is it a holdover from these last few weeks?”
Eijiro shrugged. “Probably. I don’t think it’s anything serious, just kinda’... iffy.”
He sighed. “Maybe you should ask for a little more R and R.”
“I’ll be fine Babe. Just a little rest and then getting back into my old routine, that’s all I need.”
His eyebrows came together. “You’re a lousy patient, ya’ know that?”
“Says the pot to the kettle.”
“Oi! When did this become about me?”
Grinning, she poked him in the ribs, making him jump and curse. “When you started getting bossy.”
He grumbled, half-heartedly swatting her hand away. “Okay, fine. Point taken. But I swear, if you start pushing yourself…”
“I won’t.”
“... I will carry you home over my shoulder and make you stay in bed until the doctor says you’re well. Even if I have to tie you to the bed.”
"Wow. That’s some kinky shit there.”
“Eijiro, please…”
“I won’t push myself.” She promised.
He crossed his arms with a grunt. “Was that so much to ask for?”
_________________________________________________________________
There was something else, though. Something not quite right.
Of course it tended to happen a lot with overwork. She couldn’t even be sure if it wasn’t her imagination. But lately, she started to notice some trouble with her quirk.
Maintaining a fully hardened form seemed to take just a tiny bit more energy than before. And her endurance shortened by a few seconds.
Makes sense, right? Nearly a month of high physical and mental stress, of course her quirk would get exhausted along with every other part of her.
However, like the other things, it didn’t really get better. In fact, it might’ve been getting worse.
It wasn’t too significant, though. Just a little bit of breathlessness and light tremors after sparring and quirk endurance exercises.
But as the needed effort grew, and the seconds cut from her endurance became minutes, she was really starting to wonder when she should sound the alarm.
___________________________________________________________________
A couple days later Eijiro noticed that "The Girls" were feeling a little tender, and it seemed like the mystery was solved.
Of course. After an absence of over two months, her never-been-regular period deigned to make an appearance.
It made perfect sense. It was in these last two weeks that she really started feeling weird. That sounded about right, based from past experience. Maybe her quirk problems were caused in part by an iron deficiency. She just needed to load up on supplements, tampons, and Pamperin and she’d be just fine for work.
For a couple days, that seemed to be the case. Her workload was light, and nothing seemed amiss. Meanwhile she kept her eyes peeled for the red show.
Then the bank robbery happened.
________________________________________________________________
Her patrol started out pretty normal that day. Nothing of note, except helping some kids retrieve a runaway kite from some awning.
Then around three in the afternoon her app for nearby police alerts buzzed.
BANK ROBBERY AT SHIBUYA CHUO. NO HERO CURRENTLY REPORTED.
She followed the app’s GPS to the bank’s location three miles to her northeast, using her quirk sparingly, only to walk up walls or to clamber over some road barriers.
She arrived to what looked like a lighting storm surrounded by police cars. A second look showed six robbers locked in combat against pro heroes Chargebolt and Arachnia while the police held back civilians.
Eijiro circled the area, trying to find the best opening.
Let’s see how they handle three to six.
Everyone was so preoccupied, they didn’t notice her until she rammed herself into a villain with six arms. The man fell with enough impact to knock one pistol from his hand, and Eijiro pinned down the hand that held the other.
“OI! What the…?!” He turned and pulled his face into a snarl. “Damn! It’s you! ”
She gave him a smile. “Yes it is.”
“Hey!” An onlooker shouted. “Red Riot’s here!”
“Yeah! Those villains are toast!”
“Shut up in the peanut gallery!” Six Arms snapped at them as he tried to wiggle himself from Eijiro’s hold. She responded by digging sharp hardened digits into the asphalt underneath them.
When he gave one big heave, she released one side so the momentum could cause his free arms to cross over the ones she still held. She grabbed them again, holding all arms crossed behind his back.
“Damn red bitch…” he groaned.
“And proud of it, pal!”
She hauled him to his feet and marched him to the closest group of officers, using her hardened hands as temporary substitutes for handcuffs. “Could you hold him for me guys? I’m still needed over there.”
“Of course!” Three pairs of cuffs were pulled out and slapped on every wrist. “Knock ‘em dead Riot-san!”
She spun on her heel to run back, only to barrel into a giant hairy chest. Eijiro found herself craning her head up to look at the face of a gorilla quirk villain.
“Donkey Kong! Long time no s...”
She ducked just as a hairy fist whizzed where her head just was.
“Save it with the jokes. I’ve heard ‘em all.”” Gorilla Quirk grunted as he as he swung again, his fist glancing off her hardened forearm. She darted out of his reach as he tried to grab her, then deflected another punch. “Sparky over there just asked me how many bananas I planned to buy with a hundred million yen.”
“Heh! Classic Chargebolt.”
“Yeah. Hilarious.”
He ran to the closest car and picked it up before hurling it at her.
If she ducked it might hit bystanders, so instead she hardened further and caught it, letting her sharp toes drag into the asphalt to slow the momentum.
When she saw him running at her again, Eijiro pushed against the car to launch herself into a tuck and roll.
But when she jumped back to her feet the world kept spinning for a second, making her stagger.
Dammit not now!
Unfortunately it was enough of an opening. Two gigantic hands grasped her around the waist and the ground beneath her feet vanished. Suddenly she was flung through the air like the car, then showered by broken glass as she went through a window.
Thankfully, she was so hardened that hitting the floor didn’t even knock the breath out of her lungs.
She looked up to see herself in an office surrounded by horrified workers.
“Are you okay?” Someone asked.
She was already panting a little as she scrambled to her feet, but gave them a smile and thumbs up. “Never better.”
“Someone just threw you up into the third floor!” Another worker said.
“Really?” She glanced out the erstwhile window. “Well, shit.”
She ran over to look down at the ground. Going down the traditional method would cost valuable time, so instead she waited to make sure no one was directly below then jumped out and crashed to the ground like a cannonball, leaving a dent in the sidewalk.
Her body was already shaking under the strain of keeping her quirk up under all these impacts, sweat rolling into her eyes in spite of the November chill.
And lo and behold, Gorilla Quirk was right there waiting for her.
Before she could run he was raining down blow after blow down on her arms crossed over her head.
Cracks started forming in the hardness.
“Funny," He punctuated each word with another hit. "I... thought... you... had... more... stamina.”
Gritting her teeth, Eijiro kicked his groin, making him howl and hunch over.
Then She grabbed him by his arm and flipped him over her head.
But he held tight onto the arm holding his, and right after hitting the ground he retaliated by mirroring her action.
Her quirk faltered for just a millisecond, and she felt her right arm wrench out of its socket ripping a cry from her throat.
It reactivated the second before she hit the ground.
Trembling, she rolled onto her stomach, limbs feeling like they were immersed in thick mud. When she tried to push herself up, the shaft of pain from her right shoulder made her hiss through clenched teeth. She tried to keep weight off that arm, but her heavy shoulder guard was still pulling on it.
Then she heard Gorilla Quirk stumble to his feet with a pained groan. And that was the moment her quirk gave out again, making her heart leap into her throat.
Oh God No…
She struggled to get back on her feet, limbs shaking, right arm nothing more than dead weight.
Get up! Get Up!
She looked over her shoulder to see him towering over her …
Oh God…
Suddenly a loop silvery rope fell over his head and fell to his middle before immediately tightening. He was then yanked back to the ground with a panicked wheeze.
“Riot!”
Arachnia.
Her whole body sagged in relief. “Thank you!”
The female hero dragged Gorilla Quirk toward herself and started tying him up. “Are you okay there?”
“I think my shoulder's dislocated.”
Nothing else really hurt besides that, and the part of her forearm that Gorilla Quirk had grabbed onto. But the residual adrenaline running through her system was probably dulling any pain she should be feeling.
Two police officers suddenly seemed to materialize by Eijiro’s side.
“Can we help?"
“What are you doing? Get back behind the barrier!”
“The others have everything almost wrapped up.” the second officer jerked her head toward where the action was still happening.
Two other pros had joined the fight, and only two of the original six villains still stood. Barely.
Kaminari kept glancing back worriedly in her direction.
“Oh, thank God.” She groaned before looking back at the officers. “In that case, help would be very welcome.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As soon as the last villain was immobilized Kaminari ran over to where the officers had sat Eijiro up with a makeshift sling (courtesy of Arachnia’s silk). “Holy Shit! Are you gonna’ be okay?”
“I think so” She cracked a smile. “It may be awhile before I can play the violin again.”
He chuckled, losing some tension. “Well I know one hero husband who’s not gonna’ like this one bit.”
Eijiro snorted. “If it’s the same hero husband that almost got his leg sliced off way back when he was still just a hero boyfriend, then he’s one to talk.”
“Man. This just isn’t your day, huh? You must’ve been using your quirk a lot in the last few hours to collapse like this.”
She bit her lip.
“Um, is something wrong…?”
“Nope! I’m fine.” she said automatically.
True, this was the most she’d used her quirk in a couple weeks, but she still should’ve lasted much longer out there.
She didn’t need to worry him with this right now, but she definitely needed to let the ER doctors know.
After the more seriously injured were taken care of, she was loaded into an ambulance where the paramedics removed her mask and shoulder guards and cut her right sleeve open for a preliminary injury check before giving her some water to drink and placing ice packs on her shoulder and arm.
At that point the adrenaline wore off and the exhaustion settled in. She must've fallen asleep, because the next thing Eijiro knew she was being wheeled into Musutafu General's ER and assisted into one of the beds.
"Good afternoon, Red Riot." The nurse greeted with a smile. "Another full day at work, I see."
"I've had better days."
"Haven't we all?"
Because her injury wasn't urgent, paperwork had to be filled out once the nurse finished checking her vitals. Unfortunately, her dominant hand was currently out of commission, so the nurse had to assist in that as well.
“Are you smoking or have you ever smoked?”
“No.”
“Have you had a blood transfusion in the last twelve months?”
“No.”
“Any unusual moles or other skin lesions?”
“Scars still don’t count, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then no, I don’t.”
She was kind enough to warn Eijiro when the questions started going into more personal territory.
“Date your last period began?”
“It’s never been real regular, so I don’t bother keeping track. I think it’s been at least two months, probably longer.”
The older woman nodded as she wrote it down. “Are you currently sexually active?”
Eijiro smiled a little. “Considering the fact I’ve been married just a little over a year now, I definitely hope so.”
That earned a small laugh from the nurse. “Indeed. Are you using any form of birth control? If so, what kind?”
“I use a diaphragm.”
“Have you or your spouse had multiple partners before your relationship?”
“Definitely no.”
“Any vaginal itching or odorous discharge?”
“No. Thank God.”
“Are… well I think the answer to this one’s obvious, but policy says we have to ask anyway. Are you pregnant, or could possibly become pregnant in the near future?”
“No.” She answered without even thinking.
“Alright then, those were the embarrassing ones. Any issues or changes to your quirk lately?”
Eijiro we her lips nervously. “Actually, yeah I have. My quirk seems to be…”
Saying it out loud was a little harder than she expected. It was opening the door to all kinds of possibilities, some very bad.
No. the possibilities had always been there, this was just acknowledging them.
Her throat felt dry all of a sudden. “Lately… for the last month… my quirk’s been getting progressively weaker. Not too dramatically, just…. It’s noticeable.”
“Can you explain?”
Her fingers twisted the fabric of her costume pants. “Well, from October 18th to November 11th, my agency was caught up in breaking up that massive city-wide turf war. You probably remember.”
“I do indeed.” The other woman said grimly. “Too many people needed to come in here.”
“So you can imagine what kind of working conditions we were experiencing then. A lot of leg work. That kind of thing tends to sap out your stamina. So, when I noticed that I was using just a tiny bit more effort in using my quirk at the rate I usually did, I didn’t think much of it.
“I see.”
“But, even after a week off, it hasn’t gotten better. I keep trying to balance the right amount of rest with exercise, but…. It’s not as strong as it was a month ago.”
The nurse hummed under her breath. “We can run a few tests, starting with blood work. This definitely needs to be addressed.”
Eijiro let her head fall back against the pillow. “I probably should’ve said something sooner, but I was starting to think it was my period getting ready to start again. I’ve just been feeling so lousy…”
“How?”
She shrugged with her good shoulder. “Just kind of tired. Crummy. I get some slight headaches once in a while, and I… hell, I even get a little dizzy at times.”
The nurse’s eyebrows bent. “You didn’t mention it earlier.”
“I didn’t really think… it didn’t seem too serious until just now.”
She tried to ignore the thumping in her ribcage and the churning in her stomach, which felt sour and at the same time complained about how long it had been since that protein bar earlier.
“That’s understandable.” The nurse assured her with a soothing grin. “It could just be that your body hasn’t caught up from all the stress you were put under for an extended period of time. Or you could just be fighting a simple virus. We’ll see what the doctor says.”
“Yeah.” Neither her heart or stomach were calming down. “On a completely different note, could I have something to eat?”
“I’m afraid that’ll have to wait until the blood work’s been drawn. Don’t worry, the phlebotomist will be here quickly.”
She glanced at the empty bottle the paramedics had given her “Could I have some more water?”
“Certainly. I’ll go get you some.” She set aside the pen and papers and headed out.
Eijiro caught a faint whiff of vanilla and peaches, making her empty stomach churn.
Part of her felt irrationally grumpy at the woman for wearing a food scent when some of her patients couldn’t eat. That seemed a little insensitive.
Her mood didn’t improve when she returned with just a tiny paper cup of water. “This is all I could find at the moment. “
Eijiro made herself smile back. There was no reason to take out her moodiness on the person helping her. Katsuki already did that more than enough for both of them.
“Thanks.” She downed it in one gulp.
That scent was back. Very faint. It seemed like the kind of smell Tooru would like. Maybe thinking about someone else would distract her from being annoyed.
“Like your perfume, by the way. What kind is it?”
“I’m not wearing any. We can’t wear perfume, cologne, or any scents at work, so we don’t trigger a patient’s asthma or allergies.”
Eijiro felt a little more guilty for her attitude. “But you smell kind of like peaches and cream.”
The woman looked a little surprised. “You can smell that?”
“Sort of, if you’re upwind.”
“That’s the scent of the air freshener in the doctor’s lounge. It seeps into my uniform every time I go there. You’ve got quite a nose. We keep it on a very low setting, and few people without a scent related quirk can smell it on us.”
“My sense of smell’s only been this strong for a couple weeks now.”
The woman froze. Her smile dropped into a look that seemed carefully crafted to appear neutral.
“Your sense of smell has gotten stronger?”
“Yeah, just a little.”
She paused again before asking. “Has taste changed too?”
“Yeah. For a while I was starting to think they’d changed the recipe to my favorite soda, but everyone swears it tastes the same…”
She trailed off when she noticed the nurse was deep in thought.
“Do certain smells make you feel sick that didn’t use to?”
“Usually stuff like cooking meat. I usually love tonkatsu, but lately one whiff of it makes me gag. It’s so weird.”
Now the woman was looking very concerned.
“Why? Is that bad? What does it mean?”
“It could mean a lot of things.” The nurse said carefully.
Eijiro’s mouth went dry again. “Like…?”
“How are you feeling right now?”
“Um… tired?” And like she was starting to freak out.
“Does your stomach hurt?”
“It feels… a little funky.”
“Has it been feeling that way when it’s empty?”
“Yeah. I think it has.”
“Did that use to happen before?”
Eijiro bit her lip. “I don’t know… maybe? I don’t think so. No, it’s just been doing that in…” She tried to think.
“The last couple weeks?” The nurse suggested.
“Basically.”
"Just one more question. Have you been noticing any unusual tenderness or changes in your breasts?"
What on earth did that have to do with anything? "Actually, yes. They've been a little sore."
The woman nodded gravely, as if that was what she was expecting.
Eijiro’s patience wasn’t keeping up. “Could you please just tell me what’s going on?”
She took a deep breath.
"I could be wrong, but I think... well, you probably have to consider the possibility that you could be pregnant."
It was dropped so suddenly, so unexpectedly, it took a second for her tired brain to catch up.
“I… WHAT?”
“Like I said, I could be wrong….”
Eijiro gave a disbelieving laugh.
“No damn way! I mean… no disrespect but...what makes you think…?”
"You're feeling tired and queasy, experiencing changes in taste and smell, and breast tenderness. Those are all classic early symptoms of pregnancy."
"But... but..."
“And don't forget that your quirk's been weakening. That’s usually one of the first signs doctors look for nowadays. It could mean that your body’s gradually rerouting more and more of its resources elsewhere. The headaches and dizziness are also common symptoms."
Eijiro tried to say something, but her mouth just hung open uselessly.
“Also, the diaphragm when used by itself can have a failure rate of 6%-12%. That and the fact you still haven't had your period makes it seem to me like a definite possibility.”
“But…But wouldn’t I behaving more problems with my stomach? I mean, it hasn’t been that bad… I haven’t thrown up or anything ...”
“Not every pregnancy comes with morning sickness. In some cases it can be weaker than others. But you sound like you might be having the beginnings of it. It’s still pretty early yet, it might get worse. ”
This felt so surreal. Part of her wondered if she’d actually fallen asleep and was having a vivid dream that would end as soon as the real nurse woke her up.
“No." She shook her head. "No way.”
The nurse didn’t argue with her. “Even so, I strongly recommend you find out for certain while they’re already doing tests on your blood, especially before you get x-rayed or the doctor prescribes anything. And, in an extremely dangerous line of work like yours, one needs to be 100% sure.”
She was starting to feel queasy. She wasn’t sure if it was nerves or her brain psyching her out, or both. “How long will it take?”
“About two hours. By then the doctor will have taken care of your shoulder and you’ll be able to eat something so you’ll be just a little more comfortable.”
Eijiro nodded. “Okay, I’ll get it done.”
The nurse smiled. “Alright then, in the meanwhile the doctor will see you in just a few minutes.”
_______________________________________________________________________-
Eijiro had been to Musutafu General enough times to recognise some of the names and faces.
Doctor Aoi had probably treated her at least four times now, and was probably considering her a family member right now.
“Ah, Riot-san. Tangled with some early Christmas shoppers?”
“Nope, armed bank robber.”
“Pretty close.’
He removed the ice pack and examined the area thoroughly. “Looks pretty straightforward here. We’ll just put it back where it belongs then take a look at your arm.”
“Okay, cool.”
He moved her into the proper position, then removed the sling and grasped her by the elbow and wrist. “Alright, Here we go.”
Eijiro had just enough time to brace herself before he rotated her arm then pushed it into place.
Lights exploded behind her eyelids, bringing waves of nausea and a rushing sound in her ears.
“Good heavens, are you alright?”
She nodded. Taking deep breaths through her nose, suddenly glad her stomach had barely anything to heave up, because otherwise…
You’re fine. You’re fine. You’re not sick. Your mind’s messing with you. It’s because of what she said.
This was far from being the first dislocated shoulder she’d had, and Eijiro had experienced worse pain than this without puking.
“Are you sure? You look a little pale.”
“M’fine.” She mumbled once she was confident her stomach would cooperate. “I haven’t eaten in a while, my blood sugar must be dropping.”
“Probably.” He offered a comforting pat on her good shoulder. “As soon as your blood gets drawn…”
“Yeah, they told me.”
“Do you need some more water?”
She shook her head. “Thanks, I’m good.”
“Alright then. Now let’s get a look at that arm.”
He carefully rolled up her sleeve, revealing a nasty bruise but no broken skin or odd lumps. He gently but firmly palpated it with his fingers. “Can you make a fist for me?”
She did so, feeling no resistance.
“Now if you could touch your thumb to each finger tip.”
Her hand cooperated again.
“What’s your level of discomfort?”
“Not too bad. It only hurts when you press there, or when the muscles tug at that area.”
He nodded as he released her arm. “There doesn’t seem to be any serious break, but there might be some hairline fractures that’ll only show up on X-ray. We’ll send you to Radiology as soon as we get the results from your tests. In the meantime we’ll maintain the ice packs and ibuprofen. If you feel anything different, such as increase in pain or nausea, tell the nurse immediately.”
“Okay.”
After he’d helped her back into the sling he alerted the nurse from before. The woman entered with a strained smile on her face.
“Great timing. Kirishima-san’s husband just got here.”
Aoi’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh?”
Eijiro sighed, shaking her head with a smile. “Does he seem especially pissed?”
“It's rather hard to tell...”
“Then he's not mad."
"Could you please escort him to the waiting room, Nurse Mukai, and let him know she'll be joining him shortly?"
"Certainly." She headed back into the hall.
Aoi looked back at Eijiro. “Good luck.” He said, probably not referring to Katsuki.
“Thanks.”
____________________________________________________________________
Katsuki was still wearing most of his costume, minus mask and cumbersome pieces. He looked more tired than upset, but the tight set of his face betrayed his worry.
“What happened to you?”
“A King Kong reenactment that went horribly wrong.”
He snorted before sitting in the chair beside hers. “How long have you been here?”
“Only twenty minutes. It may be a while longer. They want to do some blood work and take some x-rays.”
He rested his elbows on his knees. “Pikachu said you dislocated your shoulder, but he didn’t know if there was anything else.”
“My arm’s kind of battered where that bastard grabbed me. Doctor didn’t feel anything, but he wants to make sure there’s no hairline fractures. That’s pretty much all I have in the way of injuries.”
“What’s the blood work for?”
He bit the inside of her lip before taking a breath. “My quirk didn’t hold up like it should’ve.”
He nodded. “Yeah, happens sometimes.”
“But, the thing is… it’s not just a one time thing.”
His eyebrows furrowed “What do you mean?”
She brushed aside some hair that had gotten a little limp and fallen into her face. “At first I thought I was just imagining things, but now I’m definitely sure my quirk’s gotten weaker over the last several days.”
He pursed his lips inward, fingers flexing.
“Think it might have to do with how shitty you’ve been feeling?”
“Probably.”
He nodded, then looked down at the floor with a sigh. “Did they have any theories?”
She swallowed at the anxious knot forming in her throat. Would now be a good time to mention it? The words felt stuck in her mouth.
“They said…” She cleared her throat. “...It could indicate a lot of things.”
And that was the honest-to-God truth.
“Damn.” He sank further in the chair, rubbing a hand over his face. “Well, I’ll tell Deku I’ll be off the rest of the day.”
“You don’t need to stay.”
“Yeah, well I’m doing it anyway.” He pulled out his cellphone.
God, he could be such a sweetheart at times.
And she was a fucking coward.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As promised, another nurse brought her some cheese and orange juice while the phlebotomist did their thing. Eijiro’s stomach finally stopped complaining.
Now the hard part.
Katsuki was quiet, aside from his leg bouncing from nerves, and a complaint at the slowness. He got them both bottles of water after an hour went by, and they both fiddled with their phones.
That left Eijiro plenty of time with her thoughts. No prizes for guessing which one kept returning.
Now that she had time to think about it, the possibility was feeling more likely. She’d been warned by her OB GYN that the diaphragm was less effective than hormones, but the latter had the potential side-effect of causing heart problems, something she couldn’t afford with such a physically taxing career. Often they'd used it along with spermicide foam, but… not every single time.
They’d already been using it for three years now without any problems. Maybe they’d gotten a little sloppy. Did they even need to be sloppy for it to fail?
It was definitely nerves making her stomach churn this time. She was now suddenly very aware of everything that she was feeling, everything that was happening to her body right now. Things going mostly as normal, yet carefully and slowly being guided in a different direction by something that had managed to escape her detection for quite some time.
Worse-case scenario, it was cancer. Probably a brain tumor. Best-case scenario…
Wait. What was the best case scenario?
That there was nothing at all?
She glanced down at her middle, trying to subtly prod the area right below her belly button without Katsuki noticing.
Nothing felt different. She didn’t know what she expected.
A baby wouldn’t be a bad thing. Not by a long shot. It was just that… well…
It was a fucking HUGE deal.
They’d kind of talked about having kids, and decided to wait a couple years before seeing about trying for any.
A couple of years! That meant at least two! Not twelve months exactly! Just their luck Katsuki would have really hearty swimmers! Or she had really persistent eggs! Probably both!
Dear God, I’m not ready!
“Ei…”
“WHAT?!”
It was a rare thing to make Katsuki jump. “Christ! What’s wrong?!”
“Nothing! Sorry! You just startled me!”
He gave her a confused and exhausted look. “What’s eating at you? You look like you’re about to vibrate out of yer’ own skin!”
Eijiro groaned, raking her finders through her messed hair. “I’ve never had to wait this long to find out what’s wrong with me! Every time I’ve been in the hospital they can tell just by looking that I’ve got a broken bone, or a giant gash, or something like that! Now they have no idea!”
His face softened slightly as if a lightbulb went off in his head. “They told you something.”
She bit her lip.
“Ei, what did they say?”
Oh, the hell with it.
“They said that I…. I might…”
Just then Nurse Mukai interrupted. “Kirishima-san, the results are ready.”
Eijiro wasn't sure what to make of the tentative smile she had on.
“Okay…” She got up from her chair, looking back at Katsiki. “You can come with me if you want.”
He got up without any hesitation.
“Actually, it’s a good thing you’re both here.” Mukai said once the door closed behind them and Eijiro was on the examining table. “You’ll both want to hear this.”
“Hear what?” Katsuki demanded, finite patience having long reached its end. “What’s wrong?”
“Well… nothing’s wrong, per say.”
“What the hell does that even mean?”
Eijiro cleared her throat loudly to get their attention. “Uh Kats, not that I don’t appreciate your concern, but could I ask the questions to my own tests?”
He snapped his mouth shut ,shooting her an apologetic glance.
“Oh,” Mukai said, apparently just realizing. “Have you not told him about…?”
“No.” She admitted sheepishly. “No I haven’t.”
For a moment the other woman looked like she wasn’t quite sure how to proceed.
Suddenly the dots started connecting in Eijiro’s mind. “Wait, are you saying…?”
She smiled more easily this time “That test came out positive.”
Eijiro’s brain stopped.
Just completely shut down.
“It.. wha... huh? ”
“You’re pregnant, Kirishima-san.”
Katsuki made a sound like an injured cat.
Eijiro heard her own voice at a great distance saying. “Oh…. really? ”
“Oh yes! The hGC levels in your blood are too high to indicate otherwise.”
“H-G…?”
“hGC, or Human Chorionic Gonadotropine. That’s what home pregnancy tests look for. It’s a hormone produced by the placenta to halt the menstrual cycle and tell the body to retain the embryo.”
“The… the plac…”
Oh dear God.
This was really happening. It was not a drill.
“Well,” Mukai cleared her throat. “You’ll probably want some time to absorb this and plan what to do next. In the meantime, we’ve alerted the Radiologists so they’ll take the proper precautions before checking your arm.”
Eijiro could only manage a faint noise of acknowledgement.
Then the nurse was gone.
Leaving her in overbearing silence that bled into her brain as it struggled to reboot.
It started by replaying everything the nurse had just said, word for word.
“ That test came out positive.”
“You’re pregnant, Kirishima-san.”
“The hGC levels in your blood are too high to indicate otherwise.”
Then one thought materialized.
That really happened.
She actually said that I’m…
That I’m…
There was no emotion. Just shock.
We have a kid.
And it’s inside me right now.
There’s a really tiny person in my freaking uterus.
Something tingled in her middle. Fluttered, starting to make its way out, gaining force as it went before finally erupting out of her mouth.
Happy, disbelieving laughter. Real, clear, loud.
Now suddenly her brain was filled with many things at once.
Holy shit! Holy shit! This is incredible! This is great! Oh God I’m fucking terrified! What’s it gonna’ look like? Thank God my quirk was working enough back there! What am I supposed to do first? Man, I can't wait to tell...!
Wait...
And, with perfect timing, her thoughts were interrupted by the THUD of a grown man collapsing to the floor.
Shit!
"SHIT!"