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Tohru had been acting strange the past few days. Not in a bad way, but in a way that she did for his 20th birthday where she wanted to surprise him, but failed to realize that she is
1) a terrible liar
2) an even worse actor
3) incapable of hiding things from him because he knew her better than he knew himself.
This was similar and he wondered when her excitement would boil over and also what exactly she could be surprising him with since his birthday was already past.
"Kyo-kun!"
He saw her bouncing on her heels, practically bursting in excitement. She really is like a puppy sometimes.
“Are you finally gonna tell me what you’ve been hiding?”
She paused, pouting. “Heh? How’d you know?”
“I always know. Well, go on ahead and spit it out. You know you want to."
She giggled in elation. Wow, she must really be excited.
"I'm pregnant," she breathed.
That got his attention.
"Are you serious?"
She nodded, the grin not leaving her face.
"O-oh." He felt his throat choking up. He wasn't gonna cry. He'd already had two. It should've lost his luster. They certainly hadn’t planned for another one.
Tohru took his silence as a point of concern. "Kyo-kun? Are you okay? I know this one was unexpected but you're not upset, are you?"
He grabbed her face, kissed her hard, and then brought her to his chest.
"Of course I'm not upset." He whispered, his breathing staggered. He could feel his eyes getting misty and buried his face in her hair so she wouldn't notice. "I love you."
Her arms tightened in response.
"I'm home!" He heard Hajime call from the door and he reluctantly let go.
He saw Tohru discreetly wipe her eyes before putting on a sunny grin.
"Welcome home, Hajime-kun!"
Hajime looked at both of them, perplexed. "You're not normally both home at this time. What's the occasion?"
Perceptive kid.
"We have something to tell both you and your brother." He cleared his throat. "Oi, Kazuya!"
He heard the pattering of quick, light footsteps as their youngest son ran through the hallway.
Kazuya's eyes widened as his feet caught from under him and he fell down with a grunt.
"Please be careful!" Tohru cried out.
"This is why we don't run in the hallway," he scolded in exasperation. He’s worse than Tohru.
"Sorry, Daddy." Was the muffled response he got as his son was still face planted on the floor, Tohru kneeling in front of him to help him up.
"Man, you're such a klutz," Hajime scoffed.
He raised an eyebrow. "Big words from the one with the broken wrist."
Hajime went red, muttered something under his breath and helped pat his brother down.
"What'd you need to tell us?" Hajime got his bearings enough to ask.
"Well, your mom is-"
"I'm pregnant!" Tohru burst out in excitement, cutting him off.
Hajime blinked. "Oh, that's all? That's cool."
"What does that mean?" Kazuya asked, cocking his head.
"It means they're having a baby," Hajime answered.
Kazuya furrowed his brow. "Baby…?"
"You get to be a big brother, Kazu-kun!" Tohru gushed.
It took a moment for it to sink in before his eyes widened, huge grin overtaking his face. "Wow, that's so cool! I'm so happy!"
"Its overrated, trust me," he heard his oldest mutter and he thunked him on the head.
"Ow." Hajime grimaced, giving him a betrayed look.
"Don't be rude."
"Sorry." And then as a symbolic olive branch, he asked, "is it a boy or a girl?"
"We don't know yet."
"Huh. Okay. Well, I hope it's a girl."
"Why's that?" Tohru asked.
He shrugged. "I already have a brother. Be cool if I had a sister too."
Kyo secretly agreed. He would love them no matter what of course but he already had two who looked like him. A little girl, maybe one that looked like Tohru, that he could dote on, would be a dream.
The last two had been a surprise and he was sure Tohru wanted this one to be too.
"What do you think they'll look like?" She asked, swinging their hands together like they were little kids as they walked through the park, Kazuya in their eyesight on the playground, "I wonder if this one will have your hair too."
"I hope not," he muttered.
"Huh? Why?"
"We already have two that look like me. Do you really want a house full of carrot tops?"
"I think that would be wonderful!"
"Of course you do."
"Hajime-kun and Kazu-kun are both gonna be so handsome and wonderful just like you."
He felt his face heat up. She was so bright. How did she manage to say things like that completely unironically?
"It wouldn't bother you?" He asked.
"Hmm? Would what bother me?"
"Not having any of your kids look like you. I mean, you're doing all the work, so it seems kinda unfair."
She stopped, face becoming serious. He wondered if he hit a nerve.
"I don't think of it like that," she said softly. "Me doing all the work. We're a team. You're their father and you're a wonderful one. Having them all look like you would be a blessing." She started walking again and said in a chipper tone. "There will be no doubt of who their father is when you all match."
There was a hardness behind her eyes and he recalled a conversation he'd had in a graveyard once and another one right after on Shigure's balcony.
He wrapped an arm around her from behind, squeezing her and she looked to him in confusion.
He kissed her temple, let go and then said lightly, "I still think they should look like you."
"Oh you think so?"
"Yep."
He stood in the corner of the kitchen, his pot simmering, and watched as Hajime sat next to Tohru as she went through the motions of knitting, slowly showing him how to do it, but with his wrist only recently back in commission, he was having some trouble with the coordination. Kazuya fell asleep, laying his head on her round stomach. He smiled softly, warmth filling his chest. This was his family. And sometimes he still woke up, terrified that it was all a dream.
He watched Kazuya's eyes flash open, as he sat up in shock.
"Mommy, what was that?"
Tohru stroked his hair gently. "It was the baby. They're kicking."
"Eh? It can do that?!" The little boy rested his head on her again, eyes wide with excitement, and then popped up again after what he assumed was another kick, face lit up. "It did it again!"
He tugged on Hajimes shirt. "Nii-san, it kicked! Feel it!"
"Okay, okay, just stop shouting. You're so noisy."
He huffed in amusement. So young and already wanted to be the "cool", older brother.
He didn't miss the soft smile Hajime had when he set his hands on his mothers belly.
"Does it hurt?" He asked Tohru, eyes curious.
She hummed. "Sometimes. Not now, though."
He heard his timer go off and cleared his throat.
"Oi, you two!" He called out to his sons. "Dinner's almost ready. Go set the table!"
He watched both of them scramble off the couch, heading to the kitchen.
"Not you," he pointed at his wife, who made to get up, "You sit."
She pouted. "I can help."
"You're carrying our child. That's more than enough."
She huffed in defeat and he took the opportunity to smoothly sling an arm over her shoulder, sliding in the spot where Hajime just was. He kissed her cheek. "How are we doing?"
"Feel for yourself." She grabbed his free hand, setting it on her stomach. "She's really excited to meet everyone."
He felt a little kick towards his hand, and raised an eyebrow. "'She'? What makes you think they're a 'she'?"
She held a finger up, eyes sparkling. "Mother's intuition."
"Is that an actual thing or are you just guessing?"
"It's an actual-" she was cut off by a wince.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. That one kinda hurt a little. Little martial artist in there just like Daddy."
He brought his head down to her belly. "Oi, chill out. Your mom’s working really hard, so don’t be impatient."
He got one last kick, seemingly in retaliation, and then it quieted down.
"Wow, Kyo-kun! You're amazing!"
"Can't believe that actually worked," he muttered.
She grabbed his hand, kissing a knuckle. "They already recognize how incredible their daddy is."
His face heated. "Sap."
"I'm yours , though."
He grunted, cupping her chin in a kiss.
A loud throat cleared behind him and he saw Hajime looking unimpressed, covering his brother's eyes.
"We're done setting the table when you're ready."
“Nii-san, why can’t I see?” Kazuya whined.
“Because they’re being gross.”
He rolled his eyes and stood up, offering a hand for his wife.
“C’mon, we should eat so we don’t make Mr. Dramatic over there lose his appetite.”
She went into labor 2 months early. They’d had to kick him out of the room because of complications and for the first time in a while, he felt a visceral fear. Fear that the curse came back somehow, that maybe he'd managed to pass it on, that his child would have to worry about turning into an animal when one of them hugged them. Or even worse, if they turned into... that.
He'd been afraid with both Hajime and Kazuya but that had been quickly dissipated when he saw Tohru holding them, something she wouldn't be able to do if they were cursed.
How would Tohru feel? He knows she'd never say it, that she'd love their child no matter what because she had so much love to give but he also knows she'd be crushed to not be able to hold her baby.
"Sohma-san?" A nurse called and he shook himself out of it. Tohru needed him, she was the one who would suffer and he needed to be there for her.
He hoped to God this child atleast had Tohru's brown hair. Just the sight of that alone would soothe his worries. Atleast a little bit.
He hesitantly walked in the delivery room, and his eyes zeroed in on his wife, who looked utterly exhausted but to him, she was still the most beautiful and precious thing he'd ever seen.
And then his eyes caught the bundle in her arms and widened.
Brown.
"Kyo-kun," Tohru whispered, voice hoarse, "do you wanna hold our daughter?"
Daughter…A girl...
That flash of fear struck through him again. Tohru could hold her just fine but if he tried...what would happen? Would she turn into an animal? Would he? It was stupid and he knew he was being irrational because he just held Tohru this morning, but what if-
"Kyo-kun." A cool hand touched his cheek. Tohru had a soft look of determination. "Will you hold her?"
There's nothing to worry about was the message in her eyes. Please hold her and prove it to yourself.
He reached out shaky arms and watched his wife shift his daughter into his arms.
"She's so light," he mumbled to himself.
She hummed. "A little under 2 kilograms."
So tiny. He dwarfed her. He gently stroked the fine, dark locks and brought her to his chest, waiting for the poof of smoke that never came.
He slumped in relief, like a spring coil that had been stretched too far, as the tiny baby in his arms stayed a baby and he saw Tohru smile tiredly.
His vision was growing foggy and a gentle hand stroked below his eyelash, coming away damp.
"Are you okay?" Her soothing voice asked him.
He gave a stuttered breath and rested his head on her shoulder, hiding his face.
"I'm just really happy," he whispered.
Gentle hands went through his hair, stroking softly.
He wasn’t able to stay long due to visiting hours ending. He almost fought them but he still had two kids at home who needed him. And who he needed to put to bed.
He knocked on the door of his neighbor lightly.
It didn’t take long for the door to open, revealing the face of Hiromi-san.
“Kyo-chan! I must be honest, I was prepared for the little ones to spend the night.”
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “They kinda kicked me out.” And so did Tohru.
The older woman moved aside so he could step in. He bowed politely. “I’m very sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you.”
She waved her hand. “It’s no trouble at all. They’re such lovely, polite boys. Wonderful manners. You’ve done a very good raising them.”
He grimaced, embarrassed. “That was mostly Tohru’s influence, probably.”
She tutted. “Oh, come now, Kyo-chan, modesty doesn’t suit you.” She patted his cheek lightly. “Tohru-chan is always telling me what a big help you are and how much those boys admire you.” Of course she is. “How is she, by the way? And the baby of course.”
“Fine. They had to take the baby to the NICU. Just to monitor things and make sure all the vitals are okay.” Apparently they were underdeveloped...which wasn’t very reassuring.
“Oh, is it another boy?”
He smiled gently. “A girl.”
She put her hand to her chest. “Well, between you and her two brothers, I’m sure she’ll have you all wrapped around her little finger.” She already does.
“Where are the boys?”
“Oh, how rude of me! They’re right in here. Kazu-chan was watching a movie and Haji-chan was studying.”
He walked in her living room and snorted a little when he saw Kazuya asleep on the couch, sprawled out like a starfish, Hajime nodding off over his books.
Hajime immediately perked up, jumping up to greet him. “Dad! How’s Mom? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. Tired.” He rapped his head gently. “You have a new little sister though.”
His eyes went wide and soft and then, seeming to realize he had an image to uphold, cleared his throat. “That’s cool.”
He would normally take this opportunity to tease him, but it was late.
He knelt in front of Kazuya. “Oi,” he stroked his cheek, “Wake up. We gotta go home.”
Kazuya blearily blinked his eyes open. “Daddy?”
“C’mon, buddy,” he grunted, hoisting him up from under his arms. “Let’s get you to bed.” He settled the boy in his arms, then called to his other son softly. “Hajme, you got your stuff for school?”
He got a nod in response. “Good. Say thank you to Hiromi-san before we go.”
Hajime bowed severely and then both boys said at the same time, “Thank you very much, Hiromi-san.”
“Of course, it was no trouble at all!” Hiromi-san smiled.
“Thank you. Again,” he emphasized. “I’ll probably be asking you for help a lot this week. Atleast until they’re released.”
“It really is no trouble, Kyo-chan.” And then her eyes dimmed a bit. “I imagine if my own son was still alive he’d be around your age.” And then she got a playful look and patted his back. “Run along, now. Kazu-chan’s fading again.”
And as he waved goodbye, watching as she closed the door behind her, he couldn’t help wondering if that’s how his own mother would’ve been...or Kyoko.
He was just watching TV, on low volume since the boys were asleep and it was late, when the phone rang.
Who’s calling at this hour?
“Hello?”
“Hello, am I speaking to Kyo Sohma?”
“Yeah. Who is this?”
“Doctor Hoshiro from Tomonegari hospital.” He straightened at that. “Sir, I’m afraid I have some bad news. Your daughter, she...she didn't make it through the night. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
He froze and he only vaguely recalled the phone falling out of his hand and onto the floor as he grabbed his chest, breaths coming in ragged, his vision getting blurry.
“And this is why a monster should never be allowed to roam free,” he heard a cruel voice behind him and swung his head around in shock, the face that haunted his childhood in front of him, eyes cold and dark with hate.
“Kyo?” The scene changed and he was outside, in front of train tracks, a woman standing in front of him, her face blurred.
“Mom?” She smiled and he watched as her face morphed into someone else. Someone much more familiar. Tohru.
“I’m sorry, Kyo-kun,” she said softly, voice empty and eyes dull, “I can’t do this anymore.”
The train tracks started beeping and he watched with horror as she turned around to walk towards them.
“No,” he choked out, “Don’t.”
I can’t stop her. It’s like my body is frozen.
He tried calling out again. “Tohru!”
“Dad?” he heard a voice call, but it was foggy, distant. And Tohru was stepping onto the tracks now and he still couldn’t move.
Not again! I can’t do this again!
Kyoko Honda flashed through his brain. “I’ll never forgive you.”
“Dad!” The same voice from earlier came. It sounded...familiar, somehow. But everyone’s voices were overlapping.
“I’m sorry, Kyo-kun.”
“I won’t forgive you.”
He held his head, squeezing his eyes shut, someone grabbed his shoulder, and then he was shooting up, eyes wide, and he was...in his room. He put a hand to his chest, calming his heartbeat.
“Dad?” He turned slowly and saw Hajime standing next to his bed, looking mildly disturbed.
He took another deep breath and forced a small, tight smile. “Hey, what are you doing in here so late? Something wrong?”
Hajime shook his head. “I was just using the restroom and I heard some noise in here.” He frowned. “Are you...okay? You were shivering a lot. And you kept mumbling Mom’s name.”
He was not about to unload that horrific experience on a 10 year old…
“I’m okay,” he lied. “Just a little anxious about your mom and sister, that’s all.” A lot anxious.
Hajime didn’t respond immediately and he saw his frown deepen. “They’re...gonna be okay, right? Mom and the baby, I mean.”
He stroked the top of his head. “Yeah, of course they are. I’m sorry for scaring you. You can go back to bed, okay? Everything’s fine.” Hajime bit his lip and shifted his feet, like he wanted to say something else… “Hajime? Something else you wanted to say?”
The light was dim, but he could’ve sworn he saw Hajime blush a little bit. “I was just-” he paused, “Can I- ? Can I sleep here tonight?” He raised his eyebrows. He hasn’t slept in their bed since he was 5. After Kazuya was born, he declared he was “too big” for that. Hajime took his silence as a rejection. “I know I’m too old, I’m sorry, but it’s just... weird not having Mom here.”
Ahh, so he’s worried about her.
He smiled gently and ruffled Hajime’s hair, ignoring his squawk of protest. “Of course you can.”
He watched his son go over to the empty side of the bed, where Tohru usually sleeps, and burrow himself under the covers.
“Daddy?”
Kazuya was standing in the doorway, face pinched like he’d been crying.
“What’s wrong?” he asked softly.
“I had a bad dream.”
You and me, both. “Yeah?” And then he scooted over, patting the space next to him. “Come over here and we’ll talk about it.”
Kazuya ran to join them, pressing into his side, and he wrapped an arm around him. “What was your dream about?” he asked. Kazuya’s eyes flitted to the spot behind him where Hajime was.
“Nii-san!” his face scrunched in confusion. “Why are you in Mommy’s spot?”
He saw Hajime twitch in annoyance and before he could retort in defense, Kyo said, “Mommy’s not here so we’re having a Boy’s Night.”
Kazuya blinked owlishly. “Oh. Well, I’m a boy. Can I join?”
He pretended to ponder that. “Hmm, I dunno.” He turned to his oldest. “What do you think, Hajime?”
“Why are you asking me?” he muttered.
He rolled his eyes fondly and then turned back to Kazuya, whose eyes were huge and pleading, and nodded.
The grin he got was blinding, and he settled back down on his back, pulling his son in closer.
“Daddy, will you tell me a story?”
“Hmm? Which one?”
“The one about the rice ball.”
Ahh, that one. Tohru loves that one.
“Sure, okay.” He tucked the blanket around both of them a little tighter. He peeked over at Hajime, who was already out, or atleast appeared to be. “I’m not as good at this as Mommy is, but I’ll try my best.”
It didn’t take long in the midst of the tale for Kazuya to nod off, breathing evened out, and he kissed the top of his head gently. Hajime was out like a light on his other side and between being sandwiched between his family and their synchronized breathing, he was atleast able to relax. He didn’t think he would be able to get back to sleep, but he could atleast watch over them.
“You really didn’t have to take off work to come visit me,” she said, mildly scolding as he sat with her in her hospital bed. “I’m not going anywhere”
“Yeah, right, as if I’d be able to go about my day normally while you’re in here.” He frowned. “I hate this place. Gives me the creeps.”
She gave him a steady look and touched the dark circles under his eye. “You look exhausted. Have you not been sleeping?”
He’d been having nightmares every night since the first night she’d stayed in here. Nightmares that somehow she wouldn’t come back, his daughter wouldn’t come back, neither of them would. But that was stupid because she was right here and he wasn’t gonna dump all that on her while she was recovering. He grabbed her palm, kissing the inside of it. “I’ll sleep when you’re both home and you’re back in our bed where you belong.”
She didn’t respond to that, but after a few moments, he saw her shift to get out of bed. He grabbed her wrist. “Where are you going?”
“To go visit our daughter.”
“Is that okay? Are you even able to leave the room?”
She rolled her eyes fondly. “Kyo-kun, I had a baby, not a lobotomy. I can still walk.”
“Oh,” he said dumbly. “Well, can I come with you?”
She squeezed his hand in response.
After putting on some sterilized scrubs and washing his hands under a nurse’s watchful eye, he stands, arm around Tohru's waist, next to the incubator holding his tiny daughter. So tiny...and precious.
“You’re really amazing, you know that?”
“How so?”
He nodded to their daughter. “You created her.”
“You helped.”
“I did the bare minimum. You did all of the heavy lifting.”
She sighs. “You really don’t give yourself enough credit. I’ve done it all before and while I won’t say it was easier, knowing that I had you there with me through it all made it all worth it.”
God, what did I ever do to deserve her? He brings her into his chest, kissing the top of her head.
"When we were deciding on names, did we ever figure out how we wanted to write it?"
Tohru looked to him curiously. "No, we were gonna wait until after she was born. Why?"
"I think I just figured out the perfect way."
And for lack of anything to write on, he fished a pen out of his jean pocket and wrote it on his arm.
She beamed like sunshine, and wrapped herself around his waist. "It's perfect."
Tohru was supposed to get out of the hospital today. So he could admit he hadn’t gotten anything productive done. Any moment now, the call would come and he could go pick up his wife and daughter. He had turned on the tv as background noise but he ended up tuning it out and well, he was never much for tv anyway.
The boys seemed to be better off than him, atleast. Kazuya was coloring and looking very focused, and Hajime was sitting next to him on the couch, playing some game he only vaguely remembered being a thing when he was a kid.
He heard Hajime tsk in frustration and out of curiosity, he rested his head on his shoulder to peek at the game.
“Are you winning?” he asked.
“Trying to.” He saw the little player character on the screen vibrate and flash, which he assumed was a bad thing when Hajime groaned out, “Ugh, that was so cheap.”
He didn’t know what was going on but the animations looked kinda interesting and he subconsciously leaned further.
“Hey, Dad?” Hajime said without looking away from his game.
He grunted in response and Hajime gave him a flat look. “You’re heavy.”
Sometimes he wondered if a little piece of the cat spirit still lived within him. Because a normal person probably would’ve apologized and gotten off. But he felt a surge of pettiness.
He twisted until he was pushing his back further onto Hajime’s own, causing his son to fall into the cushions. “Sorry, is that better?”
Hajime pushed back against him to no avail. “Wait-” he grunted, “Dad, I’m in the middle of a battle, I can’t-” and then he was pressed into the cushions, his bastard of a father laying on top of him.
“Man, this couch is kinda lumpy,” he joked, shifting.
“You’re. Crushing. Me,” Hajime wheezed out, but Kyo knew he wasn’t actually putting enough weight on him to hurt him. “Kazu!” Hajime reached out to his little brother, who was watching them curiously. “Kazu, help!”
Kazuya got a determined look on his face. “Don’t worry, Nii-san, I’ll save you!” Which according to his logic, meant climbing on top of him to pull on his arm. “Get off, Daddy!” he pleaded gently.
“Kazuya, this isn’t helping!” Hajime gritted, and he laughed.
They all froze when they heard the phone ring.
Kazuya jumped off him, almost face planting in the process. “I’ll get it!”
He tried to stop him. “Wait, Kazuya, it’s probably for-”
“Hello?” the little boy answered cheerfully. A brief pause, with him allowing his oldest to sit upright and ignoring the exasperated glare he got. “Daddy, it’s for you!” Kazuya called, waving the receiver at him.
He rolled his eyes fondly. “Yeah, I know, goof, that’s what I was trying to tell you.” He rapped his knuckles on his head very lightly, grabbed the phone, and watched from the corner of his eye as he went back to the couch.
“Hello?”
“Hello, am I speaking to Kyo Sohma?” They sounded vaguely amused.
“Yeah.” He got straight to the point. “You’re calling about my wife and daughter?”
“Correct. They’re both stable enough healthwise to go home and they’re getting ready to check out now.”
Thank God.. “So I can pick them up then? Thank you.”
“Just a moment, Sohma-san. Before you hang up, there were a couple things I wanted to go over with you about your daughter, some special care that she might need being born 2 months premature. Do you have a pen and paper available?”
He felt his stomach drop a little at that. How special were we talking about here?
He grabbed a notepad from the corner with a pen, and pushed back his anxiety over the whole situation. His daughter was more important than his own fear. “I’m ready.”
He took in everything they were saying meticulously, noting from his peripheral vision how the boys had started wrestling.
“Did you have any questions. Sohma-san? Around what time do you think you’ll arrive to pick them up?”
“Hold on a second.” He covered the receiver with his hand. “Oi!” he called out to the two on the couch, and they both froze, Hajime’s fist mid noogie on Kazuya. “Are you two gonna keep wrestling or do you wanna meet your sister?” he asked dryly.
They both bolted from the couch and started putting on their shoes, and he took his hand off. “We’ll be there in about 10 minutes.”
“Kazuya, your shoes are on backwards,” he heard Hajime say and then he rolled his eyes fondly.
“Or 15.”
They pulled into the hospital pick up section of the parking lot and it was as he put the car in Park that he turned around to face his two sons, both buzzing with excitement.
"Now, listen to me. Both of you." Both sets of eyes are fixed on him. "Your little sister is...really tiny."
"All babies are tiny," Hajime said, confused.
He paused. "Tinier than a regular baby. A lot tinier. So she's really fragile. I need you two to be really, really gentle around her. I know you're excited, but you have to be calm. And you have to be quiet. You understand?" They both nodded. "And this goes for when we get home too. No running, no yelling, and no roughhousing." He sent a knowing look towards Hajime, who looked away. "This is really serious. Nod if you understand."
They both nodded vigorously.
He was a bit doubtful of how much they actually understood but he would have to be satisfied with that. "Alright, let's go."
Right as they got out of the car, he saw them wheeling his wife out, baby in a carseat on her lap.
He heard Kazuya gasp. "Mommy!"
And then he saw him gear up to bolt and grabbed the top of his head. "No. What did I just say?"
His eyes were ginormous. "To be gentle?"
He raised an eyebrow. "And…?"
"No running."
"Good." He patted his head. "Now wait til she gets here and then you can hug her. Gently."
"How come she's in a wheelchair?" Hajime asked in concern.
"That's just what they do for everyone. She was in one for your brother too. Don't you remember?"
Hajime wrinkled his nose. "Not really."
"And here we are, Sohma-san!" A nurse informed, offering a hand for Tohru to step out of the chair. "You and your little one are all ready to go home."
Tohru smiled gratefully. "Thank you so much, Maaya-san!"
The nurse looked away bashfully. "It's no problem. Just doing my job."
It was as the nurse walked back, wheeling the chair with her, he put a gentle arm around her shoulders. “Look at you, charming the nurses while you were here.”
She furrowed her brow. “Heh? What do you mean?”
Of course she doesn’t even notice…
“Nothing.” He pecked her temple, and then nodded towards their two sons who were practically vibrating with anticipation. “You wanna introduce them?”
“Oh, of course!” she shifted so the baby could be seen better. “Hajime-kun, Kazu-kun, this is your little sister, Emika.”
Kazuya gasped lightly, his eyes somehow getting even bigger. “She’s so tiny!”
He chuckled. “I told you.”
Kazuya bowed severely. “Nice to meet you, Emi-chan!”
He already gave her a nickname..
“Why are you bowing?” Hajime asked him.
Kazuya cocked his head. “I didn’t want to be rude.”
“She’s a baby, she’s not gonna understand.”
“Oh.” And he frowned, embarrassed.
“Hajime,” he sighed, “Stop.”
“Stop what?”
“You’re making him feel bad.”
He watched Hajime’s eyes shift to his brother, who was looking down at the ground uncomfortably and the realization hit.
“Oh. I wasn’t trying to.” He put a hand on Kazuya’s shoulder. “Sorry, Kazu.”
Tohru chose that moment to step in. “Babies are a lot more aware of what's going on than we think. Even if she doesn’t fully understand, I’m sure she appreciates it.” She passed the carseat to Kyo so he could put it in the car, and she knelt down to Kazuya’s eye level. “You’re such a wonderful big brother already, I can tell.”
Kazuya looked to him with wide, pleading eyes. “Daddy, can I hug her now?”
He snorted. “Sure, go for it.”
And no sooner than he finished his sentence, Kazuya launched himself at Tohru. “I missed you.”
She kissed his forehead. “I missed you too.” And then she looked to Hajime. “Both of you.” And then she extended an arm so Hajime could meet her in a side hug.
He checked his watch. This area was only meant for pick-ups, they probably shouldn’t loiter.
“Alright, we can continue the love fest at home. But we should probably get out of here before people complain.”
“Ahh, yes,” Tohru agreed. “Emi-chan needs to eat soon.”
It’s already stuck.
His family all piled in the car and out of his rearview mirror he saw Kazuya leaning over Emika’s car seat.
“We’re going home now, Emi-chan. You’ll really like it.”
Hajime nudged him back. “Oi, don’t get too close.”
“Sorry.”
She was in good hands.
He had never felt so exhausted. This had been the longest week of his life, but the boys were in bed, Emika had just finished eating, and Tohru deemed it safe to go to the shower. He felt his eyes getting heavy when he heard whining noises from the crib in the corner. The whining quickly turned to crying, and sometimes he forgot how piercing a newborn’s cries could be.
He slowly slid off the bed reluctantly, and then peered over her crib, her tiny fists clenched in anger.
“Hey, there,” He greeted softly, picking her up very carefully, and pressing her to his bare chest, stroking her tiny cheek with small shushing noises until she quieted down. She was staring at him with huge, dark eyes, with so much trust, and he felt his throat choke up. He brushed his lips across her tiny, smooth forehead.
“Hey, you know what?” he breathed, “You gave us a real scare coming so early. I guess you got my impatience, huh? You’re in a pretty crazy family. But you're really lucky too. Those two strange boys you met earlier are your brothers, and they already love you so much. Sometimes they’re loud, but don’t let that fool you. They would do anything for you- I know Hajime made you a hat for when you’re a little bigger and it starts getting colder. He tries to act cool, but he’s a big softie. And your mom? You couldn’t ask for a better one. She’s the most amazing, incredible person I know, and I’m sure you will be too. So amazing.” She had fallen asleep, and he held her just a little tighter. “I love you.”
“You forgot the part about her father being the most wonderful man she’ll ever meet.” He jolted and saw his wife standing in the doorway, hair damp from the shower, in her night clothes. She shuffled over to her side of the bed, saying more while she did. “And how kind and brave and selfless he is.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his burning cheek. “And how lucky she is to have him.”
He hadn’t meant for her to hear all that. He cleared his throat in embarrassment. “How long were you standing there?”
“Long enough. I’m surprised you didn’t notice me.” He was a bit distracted. “The boys are in bed?”
He nodded.
She rested a chin on his shoulder, both of them staring down at their daughter.
"She's gonna be a daddy's girl, I can feel it."
He chuckled. "What, is that your mothers intuition again?"
"Well, it hasn't failed me yet."
"You sure about that?" He teased lightly, "You thought she would look like me." He checked her hair again. "No orange here."
She frowned. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Well, don't look so disappointed." He stroked little Emika’s cheek again, careful not to wake her. “Atleast one of my kids can have a normal hair color they won’t get bullied for.”
He felt small fingers play with his own hair lightly. “I think your hair’s pretty though.”
He snorted. “Yeah, well most of the kids in grade school didn’t agree. They just thought it was weird.”
She sighed gently, slumping a little and he knew she wouldn’t fight him anymore. “You must be happy. You wanted her to look like me, right?”
“I would’ve been happy either way because she’s our daughter, but yeah. She’ll get to grow up to be as beautiful as her mom.”
He felt Tohru stiffen against him and he looked to her curiously. She was burying her face into his shoulder but he could see that her ears were red.
She’s embarrassed…
“Tohru?” She nuzzled in deeper and he snorted. "Are you seriously getting shy now?" He patted her head. "You're so weird." She mumbled something into his shoulder. "Hmm? What was that?"
She lifted her face, pouting at him. "I said I’m gonna go check on the boys!" She stood up too quickly to be natural and looked away very quickly, but he didn’t miss the red on her cheeks.
He wanted to yank her back down and tease her some more but he was still holding a baby. By the time he stood up to put her back in her crib, his wife was gone.
He felt himself nodding off as he sat in their bed waiting. He really hadn’t slept hardly since she went into labor a week ago and it was finally catching up to him.
He perked up slightly when he heard their door open, very quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping newborn.
He felt the bed shift as she climbed under the covers, and like instinct, he pulled her close, relishing in how warm she felt against him. She was here now, she was safe.
A warm hand stroked his cheek. “You must be tired.”
“Yeah, well, someone’s been in the hospital for a week.”
“You miss me that much?”
“I always miss you.” And then he kisses her, slow and gentle. He breaks away to kiss her cheek, the corner of her lips, any piece of her face he can find.
“Kyo-kun?”
“Hmm?” he grunted as he kissed her forehead.
“Don’t start something you can’t finish. I’m not ready for a 4th one yet.”
He looked at her then, confused, and saw that she was joking.
“I wasn’t trying to…”
“I know. I was talking about me.”
It took him longer than he was comfortable admitting out loud to register what she meant and he rolled his eyes, nudging her nose with his own. “Dummy. You shouldn’t even be thinking about that when you just got out of the hospital.”
“Well, it’s hard not to when I have a wonderful and beautiful husband who's always clinging to me.”
His face heated up and he buried it in her neck. "Cut it out."
He felt a light tug on his finer hairs against his nape. “Are you embarrassed?”
She was doing this on purpose. “Is this revenge for earlier?” he asked, voice muffled.
“Revenge? For what?”
She sounded innocent enough, but when he was brave enough to actually look at her, she looked way too amused for his liking. He narrowed his eyes, huffing. “Whatever. I guess you really are fine if you’re willing to make fun of me.”
She kissed him sweetly as an apology. “I love you.”
He slumped back down, shifting so she was in his arms again. “I love you, too. So much.”
It didn’t take long for her breathing to even out after that, her steady weight against his chest, and he finally let the exhaustion catch up.
She was in his arms, his whole family was here, asleep, safe.
He could rest.