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The text that Nobu had received from her sister was incredibly cryptic. It was a set of coordinates to meet her at; where that was exactly Nobu had no idea. But she had to go, she didn't have a choice; her sister needed her and she could actually be there to help for once in her damned life.
She arrived to a small house in a good neighborhood, which would have been a good sign had Nobu or her sister felt any desire to live in a suburb. Not after living with their mother; they'd both agreed that houses just didn't feel safe. Too private, too close to the domesticity that tore them both to shreds. Nobu double checked the coordinated and walked up to the door, unsure of what to expect.
Knocking at the door, Nobu heard a baby start to cry and immediately knew they were at the wrong place, turning quickly on their heel and starting to freshen back through the snow storm to go home. But the door creaked open, the crying deafeningly loud as they heard a familiar tone.
"Nee-chan?"
"Imouto." Nobu swallowed the lump that had been gathering in her throat since she got on the plane to Japan, her heart sinking and rising to her esophagus as she looked over to see her little sister for the first time in years.
Nobu was not one for tears; the Nobusama family as a whole were very good at holding in their emotions and shielding themselves. That didn't mean that a gasping sob didn't escape her throat, or that her sister's bottom lip didn't tremble like a wet leaf as they ran into each other's arms. Wrapping herself around her little sister, Nobu vowed to never let her go again.
"I thought something happened to you." Nobu cursed, digging her nails into her sister's shoulders as of trying to piece herself back together.
"Well, I mean, something did. But it's a good thing, Apricot." Her little sister grinned.
"I can't believe you still call me that." Nobu inhaled sharply and laughed a little bit, relaxing as she smoothed out her sister's shirt.
"Look at you, smiling. Laughing. I love to see it." Her sisters round little face warbled like she might cry, but Nobu knew better.
"It's new to me." Nobu kissed her sister's forehead and realized that they were out in the snow, both too stunned to move out of the cold.
"It suits you."
"Iwa-"
"Please, come in." The smaller version of Nobu insisted, ushering her towards the house. "I have tea and dango. Come."
Nobu followed, keeping her lips together tightly as to not give away how overwhelmed she was by seeing Iwa for the first time in much too long. All the fear she had been harboring about what might have happened to her blood rose in her chest, ears ringing as she slowly made her way into the house. The crying was deafening, an infant wailing somewhere in the mid-sized home. The wood felt warm, the air hot like the stove was running as Nobu made her way into the living room.
There was a bassinet in the center where the infant laid, wriggling and writhing with a red face. Iwa walked up to the baby and picked her up, a maternal instinct that Nobu was unfamiliar seeing in her younger sister. She was confused, watching as she tried to soothe the babe.
"Iwa." Nobu asked, standing in the threshold of the living room, looking into the face of the baby and realizing that they had strikingly similar features to not only her but her sister as well.
"This is Kyua." Iwa introduced the infant to Nobu, bouncing the sweet babe while smoothing over her thick black hair, the babe slowing to a hiccuping cry over wailing.
"Cure?"
"Yes and no." Her sister switched to cradle the little one in her arms, swaddling her in Iowa's forearms. The baby couldn't have been older than a month, still looking incredibly squishy and susceptible. "I do think that she can be the cure to our generational trauma."
"A baby can't fix things." Nobu wrinkled her nose, externally expressing displeasure, though internally something ached inside of her.
"Maybe not." Iwa agreed as the baby resorted to much more quiet sniffles, snuggling into her chest and hiding her little pudgy face. "Her name is also of yours, you know. I used the kanji of your name as the root."
Nobu still had her arms crossed, unable to control the snort that escaped from her breathy attitude, shaking her head. "That's..."
Nobu remembered how sensitive her sister was and how she had been out of reach for what seemed like forever. She couldn't lose her sister again, not when she was losing Yara, not when she could lose Keigo any day now. She had to be better than she was before, and so she took a deep breath.
"That's real cute, Iwa."
~
"Hey dove, what-"
"What?" Nobu looked up innocently, the baby's face turning to try to find her, blinking at the dim lights on the ceiling.
"What's that?" Hawks cleared his throat, taking a few more steps into the apartment, taking off his jacket slowly as he approached the two people on his couch. One of which looked no older than two months old, and the other who looked more than perfectly content lounging on the couch with the small babe in her lap. It made his heart ooze at the thought of maybe, just maybe someday coming home to something like that for real.
"A baby, Taka." She mocked him in a baby tone, rubbing her nose against the baby's, eliciting giggles that made Takami melt and blush.
"W-what are you doing with a baby?" He placed his hands at the corner of the couch, leaning over her shoulder to get a better look at the infant. The baby, dressed in pink, looked strikingly similar to Nobu, but with bright blue baby eyes and hair that was just a little bit darker, almost black, in thick straight rows.
"Stole it." Nobu crooned sweetly.
"You did NOT." Hawks snorted, which made the baby laugh, Nobu following directly after, the three of them in a fit of gently hysterics. The giggling made her long for the family she wished she would have grown up with and wondered if Keigo had a good family, or if he was aching for the same nuclear comfort that washed over them.
"I found my sister today." Nobu said in a soft, quiet tone with a warm smile that Hawks was completely unfamiliar with. "She wanted me to meet my niece."
"What's her name?" Hawks asked, taking a step back to remove all of his gear and kick off his boots, settling in for the night. He was grateful that Nobu called off now, because that meant the two of them could hide in his apartment and enjoy the bliss that was swaddled in her arms.
"Kyua." Nobu swallowed as she tried not to show how touched she was. Even saying it out loud made her want to sob uncontrollably. To think that her sister loved her so, despite their upbringing, Nobu leaving Iwa alone with their mother, not seeing each other for almost five years...against all odds, her sister loved her enough to use her as her daughter's namesake.
"After you." Hawks understood, the corner of his lip rolling into a smile, fighting the urge to let the emotions get to him.
"Yes." Nobu blinked back tears. "Her name means 'cure'. Iwa thinks she's meant to heal our family's trauma."
"That's beautiful." Hawks carefully dropped to his knees to get a better look at Nobu's niece. She was gorgeous, just like Nobusama, and he wondered if her sister was such a close genetic cluster that they would produce look-alike children. Nobu wondered if it were possible for someone so tiny and so new to mean so much to her, or if she was just slowly losing her mind to some newfound baby fever.
"Do you want to hold her, Taka?" Nobu offered, unwilling to stop holding her niece but dying to see her in Keigo's arms.
"Oh, I-I shouldn't do-"
"Please." Nobu lied with a fake pout on her face. "I...look, my arm's asleep, I have to pee, she's going to need a bottle soon..."
"Oh! Sure, yeah." He tried to play it off casually, even though he could already feel the sweat pooling in his palms. "I, um. How do I...?"
"Sit, birdie." She smirked, watching as he plopped down immediately. "No, just kind of get your arms ready to cradle...yeah, like that. And then careful for her head, perfect."
Just like that, Keigo had an infant in his arms, which weren't huge by any means, though he felt like a giant with such a small thing in his grasp. In all honesty she could have fit in one of his arms, but he couldn't be too cautious holding the fragile child. Hawks was completely terrified and Nobu could see it over his pale face, cheeks filled with rose buds as the baby yawned into him. He giggled, pulling the baby a little closer into his chest, leaning back into the couch a bit more to get comfortable.
"What do I do if she cries?" Hawks asked, grinning at the sleepy baby that cooed like a bird.
"Dunno." Nobu gave a shrug and started walking towards the bathroom. "There's a bunch of little toys in a bag we can try, or uh, we can rock her, maybe walk around with her for a bit? I don't know a whole lot about her yet."
Hawks sat with the baby while Nobu exited to the bathroom, equal amounts of panic and comfort throwing him for a loop. He was terrified of doing something wrong, but holding Nobu's niece had a nice sort of feel to it, bringing forth a kind of parental urge Keigo never experienced before. It wasn't his kid, and it wasn't Nobu's either per say, but he would die for this sweet little baby, and that gave him the confidence he needed to keep breathing regularly.
Takami never wanted children before this. He'd promised himself that his bloodline would die with him rather than having to pass down his genetics and trauma. He would rather die than ever treat a child the way he was treated, and wasn't quite sure he had enough of a positive role model to be a good parent. But holding the baby, the firs baby he's ever he'd that wasn't just to pose for a picture, he knew he didn't have it in him to ever subject a kid to the heinous things he grew up with.
"She's cute, isn't she?" Nobu asked, snapping Hawks out of his trance.
"I don't think I've ever held a baby before." He blinked, trying to focus his words, still staring at the tiny, pudgy face that beamed back at him.
"No?" She inquired, ruffling Takami's hair as she smiled down at the both of them. It pulled at her heart to see him so entranced by the infant, thinking about if they ever talked about wanting kids, both being about that age. "Well, you're doing great. She seems happy enough."
"Is she?" Keigo tilted his head at the baby, watching her eyes follow him and eventually smile at how he was smitten by her. He wasn't sure he ever stopped smiling, but now he was certain that his lips were pulled from ear to ear.
"Yeah." Nobu felt her chest swell as she watched the interaction, a little upset that she should probably have to start making the bottle and couldn't just stare at him the whole day.
On cue, little Kyua started to scrunch up her small, wrinkly face, mouth dropping open as the babe took a deep breath in before letting out a tiny, warbling cry that echoed through the large apartment. Takami, not at all prepared, was startled and jumped a little bit, holding the baby tighter in his arms to try to console her.
"Nobu. Noh, Noh she's crying." Takami panicked, his voice raising a few octaves as he called out for his roommate.
"I can hear her, Taka."
"Help me." He whimpered, holding the baby as close to him as possible, frozen in fear of having done something wrong.
"Bring her here bird brain." Nobu exhaled, testing the tap water to make sure it wasn't too hot before mixing the formula into the water. Screwing on the cap, she swirled the bottle carefully while grabbing a dish cloth from the kitchen as a make-shift rag, just in case.
"What if I drop her?" Keigo pouted, trying to adjust the crying, squirming baby to a position where he would be guaranteed not to let her slip out of his grasp.
"You won't drop her."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I'd kill you dead." Nobu grinned, stretching her arms out to receive her niece, scrunching her fingers together in excitement. The handoff was immaculate and the dark haired girl was instantly cradling the baby against her chest, bouncing on the balls of her feet to comfort the baby. The tiny baby hiccupped and slowed her cries, still whimpering into Nobu's arms. "Oh, yep. That's right, little one, we we would have to murder our roommate."
"Do you think she understands what you're saying?" Keigo smiled a little at the corners of his mouth, still nervous.
"Absolutely not." She kissed the top of the baby's head with a little pop, adjusting her niece to her hip as she gestured towards the counter. "Grab the bottle, yeah? Make sure it's not too hot."
"Do I just...?" Takami messed around with the plastic bottle, turning it upside down and shaking it a little until something came out. Curiously, he sniffed the liquid, a weird fermented, powder scent filled his sensitive nose and he backed off immediately.
"Yeah, yeah." She nodded as the baby cried a little louder, bouncing her gently in her arms around the kitchen as she made her way to the living room. "That's good, I'll double check it though."
He gave an affirmative nod back, following her to the living room like a service animal, waiting for something badly to happen as the baby increased in volume. Holding the bottle, Keigo wondered if there was anything that could stop a cry that was so heartbreaking from such a tiny little thing.
"Taka, bottle." Noh demanded as she settle into a corner of the couch, her dominant hand reaching out while she tried to position the squirming infant in her lap.
"Sorry." Keigo apologized quickly as he handed over the formula-filled bottle, watching as Nobu shook some of it out and onto her arm, testing the temperature. Deeming it safe for consumption, she started the hard work of trying to sneak the bottle into the babe's enlarged, screaming mouth.
Eventually the baby took the bottle, Keigo gripping onto the back of the couch as he waited for something else to go wrong. When the baby soothed and tired itself out, hallways through the bottle, he finally let himself exhale.
"Do babies always cry like that?" Takami asked softly, flopping onto the other end of the couch in exhaustion. He wasn't even the one doing anything and he felt like he could take a nap.
"Babies cry, Hawks." Nobu scoffed quietly, adding a little chuckle to diffuse the situation.
"All the time like that?"
"No, just when they need things." She shrugged with her head, not wanting to move her shoulders too much at to disturb the half-asleep infant.
"So all the time."
"Shut up." Nobu scolded with a grin, looking over to the hero and sighing as the baby grew heavy in her arms. "Can you take the bottle, like, super carefully?"
"Yeah, sure." Keigo agreed, scooting closer and slipping a feather or two to grab the bottle and replace the baby's grip, watching as her tiny fists clenched around the red feather. Keigo exhaled a sharp breath, never seeing something so sweet in all his life.
"They sure are cute, though." Nobu gave a yawn and she leaned back into the couch as the baby curled even tighter into Nobu's chest. She closed her eyes in relief and emotional exhaustion, having had one of the longest days of her life.
"You got that little bat." Keigo kicked his feet up and tipped his head towards Nobu, who took a deep breath and shifted to test how asleep the babe was.
When the baby didn't stir, Nobu began the careful dance of transferring the infant into the pack 'n play, much too tired to be trusted with holding her niece as she slept, besides; they could both use a nap. It was long for both of them, slipping back into the couch and sighing as quietly as possible.
Keigo offered his arms out to Nobu, who accepted them with grace as she crawled into his lap; legs wrapping around her body as she leaned back into him like a security blanket of sorts, closing her eyes as she began to daydream of the future and what could have been if she wasn't stuck in her current situation.
Hawks started to snore lightly with his arms and wings engulfing her, cheek pressed against the side of her face and he relaxed into sleep. *Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing after all* Nobu thought to herself, shoulders setting into his chest complacently, eyes closed as she felt herself getting heavier. *Something like this might not be the worst way to go.*
It seemed like as soon as her eyes were closed Nobu's phone vibrated from a call, startling her awake. She was disoriented; it was dark out, the lights in the apartment were off, but there was the outline of a baby carrier and a bottle of the coffee table that clarified her timeline. Nobu exhaled, rubbing her eyes and looking down for her phone, finding it in a deep cushion of the couch just as it stopped ringing. A text brought her to full awareness, seeing that it was her sister demanding her child back.
And that she was at the door.
"Shit."
Nobu rubbed her eyes and got up from the couch, walking over to the door and turning a dimmer switch on to slowly acclimate the apartment to night time ambient lighting. hawks shuffled around in the background, picking up Kyua and cradling her to his chest, laying back down on the couch as the baby continued to sleep. She unlatched the door and looked at her sister and brother-in-law, dressed to the nines from their potential dinner date.
"Sorry we're so late!" Iwa gushed in a quiet tone, looking around to see where the baby was.
"It's fine, she's an angel." Nobu rubbed the back of her head, probably messy from sleeping on the couch with Hawks and tending to the baby. "I'd love to do this again, sometime."
"That's great, Yua, thank you." Her younger sister bowed her head politely, looking around the apartment. "This is your place?"
"It's mine." Hawks called from the couch, unable to move or get up with the sleeping baby on his chest. "Name's Hawks."
"Nee-chan, you didn't tell me you were dating Pro Hero Hawks." The round-faced girl gasped, blinking around.
"Iwa." Nobu hissed, gathering all of the toys and creams to put back in the diaper bag for the new parents.
"Oh, we're not dating yet, baby bird." He flashed a smile as the baby stirred in his arms. Hawks got up finally, slowly bouncing the infant as he walked her back over to her parents. It left like iron at the bottom of his heart as he gave the baby to Iwa. "Just coworkers."
"Coworkers who live together?" The smaller woman blinked, more confused than she was.
"...yeah. Didn't really have a place to go at the time." Yua exhaled, admitting it seemed like a lie at the time. She had other lodging, she was just strongly encouraged to stay with the hero. As a reminder, Nobu would have to thank Aizawa.
"Well, you can live with us, Apricot. Sure would like the help with little Kyua." Iwa smiled brightly at the offer as she fussed over her baby.
"Apricot?" Hawks gave a quiet snort.
"Shut up." Nobu's face turned a peach tone. "I'm...I'm pretty comfortable here, but thank you for offering imouto."
"Seems like you and Hawks get along." Iwa inquired, thinking that she was being quiet, but the lot of them all had superpowered hearing
"She tolerates me." Keigo stuck out his tongue, arms feeling heavy without the baby.
"No more, no less." Noh gave a polite grin, elbowing his side as he put his arm around her shoulders possessively. "Thanks for letting me take her, really. Call me anytime."
"I will!" Iwa tilted her head and giggled. Keigo thought it was so strange that she looked so much like his Noh, even though she acted completely different. He'd never seen Nobu smile in that way; there was always some sort of sarcasm behind her words, an act of snark behind her lips, an angle to be had. "Love you. Thanks, Apricot."
"Love you too, imouto." Nobu bowed her head respectfully. "Travel safe."
The two were left alone again, both with a sort of hole in their chests that wasn't there at the beginning of the day. For Nobu, whether it was the leaving of her niece or having to watch her long-lost sister walk away, she couldn't tell. Keigo knew that it was the promise of a future, of promising a future to someone, and that he didn't quite know how to get from point A to point B in terms of wooing Nobu further.
"Hey, Nobu." Keigo squeezed her shoulder and released her.
"Yeah?" Noh blinked, sleep still plaguing her vision lightly as she tried to relax. The night was young, and she'd taken an early nap, but she was exhausted emotionally from confronting so many skeletons that had fallen out of her closet.
"You did great today."
"Just another day in the office." Nobu scoffed, smile still wide from the unimaginable joy that she'd experienced in the past twenty four hours.
"I'm sure it wasn't easy seeing your sister again..." Hawks stretched, scratching the back of his head as he tried to find the right words to express himself. "You do look really good with a baby, though."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She smirked, taking a moment away from cleaning the counters to pay attention to Hawks for once.
"Means I hope you become a mom someday, little bird." He exhaled slowly, grinning at his roommate who was slowly turning into his friend. "If that's what you want, if that's what your girlfriend wants, it suits you."
"Yara doesn't want kids." Nobu leaned against the counter, her smile breaking down into a look that wasn't quite as happy. She had to admit that it was a little disappointing to know that she wasn't going to have a baby of her own, knowing now how she felt around them. Nobu spent plenty of her childhood caring for Iwa, and their three year age difference, but holding her niece and being in a completely different place in life ignited something strange. Something that she couldn't quite put her finger on.
"Maybe the two of you could talk it over." Hawks shrugged, kicking his feet up on the couch and lounging comfortably. "People change, Dove."
I know, she wanted to say, but she felt her bottom lip quiver at the thought of talking to Yara again. They had such a big fight right before she left, so Nobu tried to keep everything to small talk and positive subjects only. She didn't want to lose her girlfriend...she couldn't keep losing people.
"Hey, c'mere." Hawks clicked his tongue and gestured with his hand. He must have seen the distraught look on her face, and as much as she didn't want to give into her growing tolerance of the winged hero, she could use the reassurance.
He could have been more tactful, but instead opted to offer his hand to her, and as she took it he pulled her into his chest, her back leaning against him as he wrapped his arms around her torso, giving her a light squeeze. The pressure was just enough to make her melt into his embrace, Hawk's warmth calming her nerves almost instantly. Nobu couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so relaxed and at ease.
"Did you have a good day?" He asked softly into her ear, his breath hot against her prickling skin.
"I had the best day." She closed her eyes and smiled, leaning into him and holding his forearm with her hands. "I can't think of a better memory."
"Don't ruin it by thinking too far into the future, then." He suggested, shifting his leg to be a little more comfortable. "Take the win, dove."
"M'kay." Nobu mumbled, soft chocolate eyes closed as she breathed slower and slower, growing heavier in Keigo's arms. His skin was toasty and his feathers were like little cashmere blankets against her exposed skin. There wasn't a better place to be. Nobusama Yua, the aggravating, work driven, practical, logical mess became putty in Takami Keigo's arms as she finally fell asleep.
He felt his heart grow heavy as she shifted slightly, curling deeper into him and leaning her head against his neck, trying to stay calm as he felt her breath on his skin, thankful that he was still wearing a shirt. Any closer and he would have been absolutely done for. Takami sighed as quietly as he could have, gently caressing Nobu's shoulder in repetitive patterns, more to keep himself in check than to comfort her.
Hawks was tired; it was closer to dawn than midnight, so he should be tired, he should already be asleep. But he couldn't imagine waking Nobu or asking her to move, deciding that it would be best to just fall asleep on the couch exactly where he was. There wasn't anywhere else he would rather be, and he couldn't fathom anyone else but Nobusama being the one resting in his arms. Instead of lulling himself to sleep, he kept himself awake thinking about how down and bad he was over Nobu, and how she would never return the affection.
The most sane part of Takami was perfectly alright with being friends; finally friends, after weeks of tension and arguments, they found something that was common ground. It was strange to Keigo that a baby was the thing that solidified their bond, having never wanted to be a parent before, but the idea of -no, he couldn't. He wouldn't let the thought finish in his head. Instead he adjusted it, pretending that the idea of being in Nobu's life and maybe being there for her kid was what he really wanted. It would have to be enough.
Nobu hummed, stretching her legs out and then curling them back towards her chest, smiling as Keigo pulled her up gently by her waist so that he could lay back fully, her arms curling around his torso. He didn't have to worry about his tomato-paste face, what with Nobu fast asleep with her face buried into him. Hawks fought the urge to kiss her soft forehead, opting to play with her hair mindlessly before closing his eyes.
"Love ya, little bat."