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Consider Kirishima and Bakugou with a baby, a sweet bubbly little girl, Aki. Before her 2nd birthday they start noticing that she's constantly thirsty, losing weight drastically, sleeping a lot just not being her normal self. They take her to the doctor and after some time she's dagnosed a type 1 diabetic. Her doctors both Kirishima and Bakugou on how to give her insulin, checking her blood sugars, and happy to tell them that once she's 2 and back to her normal weight she will be able to get Omnipods to make it easier for them to manage her sugars and insulin intake while allowing her to be a normal active toddler.
They are both understandably sad from the news but also grateful to know she'll still be able to live a long and happy life. They as heroes are already trained with basic to moderate first aid, take to everything rather quickly. Kirishima is quick to learn as much as he can and takes a lot of notes in case he or Bakugou forget something. Kiri is the first to ever give their little girl her shot and all goes as Bakugou holds her in his arms, cooing at her as a distraction.
Aki only flinches and looks at her Papa in surprise, but doesn't cry or even tear up. They slap a little bandaid on her and all is well. It becomes routine for them, and soon they are back home and Aki is being herself again with some extra stuff for their routine. And keeping an extra eye on her in case she starts acting off. Bakugou and Kirishima take turns giving her shots and checking her sugars. Both getting the occasional shriek from Aki because needles obviously suck and there is no way they could've gotten away with having the perfect "oh it didn't hurt" moment like the first time. Kirishima handles those little ouchies with flying colors, soothing his baby through it the whole time until he's done. Bakugou starts out the same, but the more he hears his Aki cry while getting her shots it starts to weigh on his heart. He knows he's just helping his little girl, but her cries still make him feel unsure.
He watches Kirishima go through shots with her like they are nothing, and he even asks him if he feels any kind of way when she cries.
Kirishima just shrugs, "No one likes to hear their baby cry Kat, plus you know I hate needles too, I'm just glad these ones are tiny, so it never lasts too long."
He chalks it up to just him being a nervous Dad, Kirishima's right no parent like to hear their little ones cry. Plus Aki doesn't always cry during her injections, he's just overthinking it...
Aki getting her pods was a major help and definitely helped keep Eiji and Kat at ease being able to track her dosages, and little alerts in case she was in need of a quick juice or snack. Bakugou definitely felt better not giving injections by hand anymore. Putting it into a tiny machine was definitely more comforting to him. Though he catches himself flinching, hearing the small spring from the needle click into place on his Aki's arm, leg, or tummy. Kirishima had even gotten Aki included on helping for her pod changes, and getting fun stickers they could decorate her pods with. Bakugou started getting in on it as well.
Aki's speech was getting better as well, and she would start shouting "Pod pod!" When it would start beeping.
Kirishima was in the kitchen prepping dinner when it started going off so Katsuki took Aki for a quick change of her pod.
"Dada Pod!"
Katsuki nods, "That's right we gotta change your pod honey, need a fresh one." He puts her down on his bed getting her new pod. Plus her normal blood testing strips and poker, just in case her last reading was off. "Do you want to pick new stickers too?"
Happy giggles rang behind him calming Katsuki's nerves. He's never been able to shake off his anxiety while changing Aki's pods or sensors. Her little cries replayed in his head making him stress out. He plops down next to Aki with the bag of stickers in hand and gives them to Aki. "Pick your stickers, while I get this pod off ya." He reaches for their uni-solve on their table to help with peeling off her pod. Pouring it over the adhesive and letting it soak in while they fiddled through the stickers.
Aki pulled a cute puppy set for her new pod, waving it happily in Katsuki's face.
"You want the puppies this time Baby, it's very cute."
"Puppy! Put on pod Dada."
"Can you help me put the other stickers away first?" He pulls the set out of her small hand, setting it next to the new pod packaging. He pulls out her original meter and testing strips, while she puts the other stickers away in their bag. "What color needle baby?"
Aki looks over at the colorful needle covers, "Purp-ple." He puts her chubby hand out for Katsuki, she knows the routine.
"What finger do you wanna use Aki?"
She looks at her hand before pointing to her index finger with the other hand, "This one Daddy."
He slips in the needle before passing her an open alcohol wipe, "Ok, clean your finger for me honey."
For as little as Aki is she's learned the routine well, cleaning her finger for her Daddy with the small wipe and holding her chubby hand out for him to prick. She twitches when she hears the little poker go off but doesn't feel any pain. Just a small pressure when Katsuki squeezes her finger to gather the small drop of blood. Then quickly wiping the rest away.
"You're a tad low, Aki."
"Juice?"
Katsuki smiles, opening up her new pod, "Yes, you'll get your juice with dinner." He reaches for her PDM disabling her old pod before taking her arm and peeling it away from her skin.
"Daddy ouchy…" Aki pouts looking at the small imprint on her arm from the old needle in her. There's no real pain, just a small red dot.
"I'm sorry baby, wanna clean it?" Katsuki's head gets light. He always gets anxious when Aki expresses discomfort with her pod changes. He hands her a new small wipe and lets her wipe at the tiny wound, and the leftover adhesive from the pod. He sets up the new needle with insulin. Warming up her new pod with 100 units for the next 3 days. It beeps in Katsuki's hand and he directs Aki to pull off the protective strips after snapping off the needle cover. He feels his hands start to sweat. This new pod is going on her tummy, and he knows how sensitive her belly is. "Lay down Aki, we're almost done, then we can put the puppy stickers on and have Dinner with Papa and you can show him."
Aki starts to kick and frown, now understanding where her new pod is gonna go, "No No dada.." she lays down softly smacking at Katsuki's hand.
"Aki, you're doing so good we're almost done baby I promise." Katsuki's heart rate picks up as Aki complains more. He doesn't force her, letting her smack at his hand a few times. He feels awful.
"Dada Juice! Juice!"
He nods, "You'll get your juice when we finish baby I promise. Pod first okay, we'll go really fast." Not fast enough for Katsuki's heart it seems. Pressing his lips together feeling a familiar lump in his throat, and his nose starts to tingle.
Aki's cries become louder, her face pink with distress. Her hands came up to her teary eyes, “No no noo!!”
With her hands out of his way, he sticks her pod to the soft pudge of her belly, but doesn't activate the needle, setting her pdm aside until she, hopefully, calmed down. Trying his best to soothe her through his own wobbly coos. His eyes become more and more glassy with Aki's cries, flailing hands, and kicking feet. “Aki, honey. I..it's ok..please. We're ok..”
He was definitely not ok, keeping Aki's hands from pushing off her pod. His tears sit heavy on his water line blurring his sight before he could notice his sweet girl swatting her pdm. Activating her pod's count down ticks for the needle, hearing the final loud click. Followed by a sharp shriek from Aki. Releasing the floodgates on Katsuki's tears, flowing fast over his cheeks, stinging his eyes.
“OWW DADA…OWW! *hic* Daddaaa whhyyy…!”
Katsuki tried…he really did rubbing her legs, and arms. Blind behind his wrecked blotchy face. “I..I'm sorry baby…i..didn't…sorry..I'm so sorry..” his face falls into the mattress, crying softly into the sheets. His hands are still squeezing his daughter's limbs in reassurance.
A heavy hand lands on Katsuki's shoulder, guiding him to let Aki go, drawing him back to sit on the floor. Facing away from their sobbing baby. “It's alright Kat…she's ok. You're ok…”
Katsuki curls in on himself his knees up, hiding his face listening to his hubby finish up his fuck up of a pod change. Tears never ending, streaming his face, snot dripping from his nose. No doubt soaking his pants and shirt but what did it matter. He hurt their little girl….why wasn't Kirishima upset with him?
“Oh sweet girl, what's wrong honey?” Kirishima speaks softly to Aki, though not his usual baby voice. As if she wasn't in a fit of tears.
Aki hiccups, “Oww..Papa…stummy…oww.” She points at her pod.
Kirishima hovers over his daughter nodding in acknowledgement, “I'm sorry the needle hurt your tummy sweetheart, you're our big brave girl.”
Katsuki sniffs, listening to Aki's sobs lessen while talking with Eijirou. He hurt his baby. Why isn't Aki blaming him….
Aki hiccups, “Puppies….*hic* stickers…”
Kirishima smiles softly, eyeing her decorative pod stickers. Not at all surprised by her immediate shift in attention. He knew her sobs would pass. But still it didn't change just how hard the cries hit him, and more importantly Katsuki. He glances down at him, his shoulders drooping. “Did you and Daddy pick puppies this time? They look really cool, want me to put them on?” He picks up the stickers, wiping Aki's face with the back of his hand.
Aki swats his hands, “No! Daddy put on. Want Daddy!”
Katsuki lifts his tear stricken face from his knees looking up at Eijirou in disbelief, “B…but I”
Ei kneels down holding Katsuki's cheek in his palm. Wiping his pretty face with his thumb, “She wants YOU Kat. Best not leave her waiting. You're doing great Daddy.” He pulls in his husband for a tight hug. “Even when you feel like you're not…you are doing exactly what our girl needs. No matter the tears she loves you through it all. Because of that we will get to watch her grow up into a beautiful lil spitfire. Just like you…”
Katsuki's chest heaves hard with new flooding tears into Kirishima's shirt. “...I love you…so much…thank you for helping me…through everything.”
Kirishima hums, “Always Kat, I love you too.” He releases Katsuki helping him wipe his face to the best of their ability. Laughing at the mess left behind on his shirt. “You have some stickers to put on Sir.” he helps Katsuki up, handing over Aki's stickers.
“Daddy Stickers please!!! Put on puppies!”
Aki scoots up tugging on her dad's shirt, to grab his attention before tapping her pod, her eyes a light pink from her small fit, nowhere close to the red swollen mess of Katsuki's eyes. Otherwise perfectly fine and happy.
Katsuki smiles softly, hearing his daughter's happy voice, and feeling Eijirou press a kiss to his head. “Sure thing honey, is it ok if Papa watches?”
Aki nods, flopping herself back onto the comforter. “Papa look look!!”
Kirishima laughs flopping to Aki's side watching Katsuki decorate the pods perfectly sealing their baby's pod to her belly, his heart aching inside. He's shed his own tears with Katsuki. Not so much during changes, but on heavy nights after tucking her in when his hands brush against the cursed machines stuck to his daughter's otherwise perfectly ivory skin.
He would give everything so his daughter didn't have to wear them. To let her not be sick. Let her eat all the sweets her heart desired, and then some without fear that they would cause more than a simple cavity. When bumps, bruises and occasional sick days were all he would have to worry about.
Unfortunately illnesses like these didn't care about him, his husband, or their toddler. No one was safe, this was their reality, one somehow more terrifying than him and Katsuki being heros. Constantly facing the possibility of losing their own lives every time they put their suits on.
He and Katsuki fought the possibility of death with their bare hands.
Unfortunately they couldn't fight Aki's illness the same way. It was in her, part of her. And if these little machines were their only means of helping her fight back. They would do it until Aki didn't need them to do it for her anymore.
An emotionally taxing amount of years to go through for sure, but as expected Aki was soon doing it on her own. No more tears or fits. Only comical yelps through the walls of their home. New pod and transmitter spots for her to test as she got more space to work with. Through school, sports, internships, dances, graduation, relationships, and heartbreaks.
Her wedding…Aki didn't need her dads to help her anymore. She didn't have to see her Daddy cry, see the worry lines on her Papa's face. She could do it on her own, not even letting her spouse do it for her. She visited them as much as she could, occasionally finding some of her old stuff in their bathroom drawers. Long expired pods, old PDM silicone covers, pod stickers…
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
Speak of the devil…
“You really know how to pick your days huh…” she whips out her Pdm giving it a once over and sure enough her pod is out. Her last reading wasn't too long ago, her levels surprisingly even for the most part. Still better safe than sorry. She hums, disabling the little machine letting it chime away on her arm. Pulling her bag out and starting her usual process. Letting the adhesive melt around the pod with gentle coaxing from her uni-solve wipe. Wincing uncomfortably tugging the end of the pod from her arm, with needle pulling away from her skin. “Ugh…fucking needles…”
Manually checking her blood sugar with her testing strips. Dabbing off the stray blood from her finger on her tongue watching the numbers on her meter blink before flashing back a slightly lower but still safe number.
“Hmm…” She packs up the small machine, changing it for a new pod package. Taking it with her to the kitchen to get her insulin tucked away in her Parent's fridge. Pausing in the hallway for a moment to scurry back to the bathroom to rummage through their drawer. Tucking what she was missing into the pocket of her hoodie.
Katsuki was busy at the stove getting dinner ready, catching sight of his daughter in the corner of his eye going into the fridge. “Didn't you get a snack earlier hun, you good?”
Aki blinks looking up at her Dad, “I'm fine.” She takes a small vial into her hand. Shutting the door with her elbow, plopping it on the counter with a soft clink against the marble. Her heart picked up speed in her chest. Feeling ridiculous over….nothing?
It was nothing….just….another pod change. Like always…
“Dad….”
Katsuki hums, lowering the heat on his pan. Grabbing the towel nearby to wipe his hands as he turns to acknowledge his daughter, “What is…” he pauses… “oh…”
Aki leans back nervously against the counter, a fresh unopened pod in her left hand, and her right arm tucked protectively around her middle. Her eyes are large and doe-like, like Eijirou, but the red matched his own in deep crimson. Her old blonde hair is now a rich chocolate brown with stray blonde flecks framing her shy expression. She held out the unopened package, her nose and ears turning a light pink. “Can you help me….?”
Katsuki glances at the pod, feeling a long since forgotten ache in the pit of his stomach, still…stepping forward, tossing the towel behind Aki. Taking hold of the pack. “Yeah…I can do that…” trying his fucking hardest to ignore the tunnel in his brain sending him back to all the awful pod changes in the past. While he moves on autopilot. Opening the plastic, taking the pod out and needle to load her insulin into.
His head starts to hurt, taking the small cool vial in hand and shakily drawing out his daughter's medication. Redoing it twice not liking how much air he was taking into it. “Fuck…”
Aki's shrieks, sobs, and begging for anything other than getting a needle forcibly jabbed into her tiny body.
“Dad.” Aki put her hands on Katsuki's, holding his trembling hands still, helping him draw for the third time. Slower, calmer.
“You're ok…” she moves with him, setting the vial down with her hands just lightly following his lead until his hands relax, taking the pod. “You've got it.”
Katsuki mentally shakes himself, his face in a nervous frown. Putting the syringe into the pod while Aki checked her pdm, connecting it to the pod in his hand. Momentarily startled by the beep it let out. Reading in the insulin he fed into it.
“Almost done…” Aki chimed, taking the syringe from him. Replacing the cover leaving it to the side next to her vial.
Katsuki nods, too afraid to trust his own voice. Only to get a nauseous feeling in his stomach, realizing where Aki wanted him to put her pod. His eyes watering as she hiked up her sweater. Tearing open a small alcohol wipe and cleaning the right side of her tummy.
Katsuki sniffs holding the pod tightly in his right hand, holding his mouth shut with his left. Not sure of himself, close to just destroying the pod in his hand. If not with his quirk, with the sheer force from how sick he felt.
Aki hears her dad sniffling looking up to see him watching her clean her skin. Feeling awful for asking him to do this. Remembering how distressed he looked when she was younger. Granted she recalls just how rough it was for her too when she was little but honestly she couldn't decide what stressed her out more back then. The pod changes.
Or seeing how broken her Daddy was when she would cry.
“It's ok…I promise. We're ok. It's almost over.” Aki's voice shakes. “I'm ok.”
Unbeknownst to Katsuki and Aki, Eijirou had made his presence known on his arrival home. With no verbal answer to his call he made his way to the smell of the kitchen stopping in his tracks. Beholding a new, and yet all too familiar sight.
His husband trembling near tears holding a pod on his hand, and Aki holding up her hoodie looking very much like Katsuki both trying their best to stay composed in the face of emotional pod changes. He watches them both silently from the archway pushing his salt and pepper hair out of his eyes. Not wanting to interrupt their moment. Unless absolutely necessary taking in a slow inhale to calm himself.
They would be fine, they always were.
Katsuki's eyes spilled, meeting Aki's dewy eyes. He knew she was ok. Better than ok. But still he hated it…hated the pods, hated that his baby girl was sick. Hated that he couldn't be stronger for her. Be the strong give no fucks hero that the world knew him as.
But he couldn't hold that facade up for Aki. Not even knowing that his hair was bordering platinum, his wrinkles taking place on his face, his daughter was grown. Married. Started her own agency. His family was his kryptonite, if he couldn't keep them safe what was he good for. Even if Aki's diagnosis was out of his hands, why couldn't he just make it easier and just do the fucking changes without feeling like a failure.
He blinked hard, fully breaking the dam on his waterline. Letting heavy tears cascade over his cheeks and chin, breaking off the blue hard plastic seal on the pod, and peeling off the adhesive cover strips. Pressing the pod to his daughter's belly. Flattening the edges down sealing in place, sobbing outwardly. Uneven and pitiful. Not watching Aki activate the pod, hearing the familiar start of the countdown ticks while Aki reassures him through them as he watches the pod.
*tic*
“It's okay.”
*tic*
“I'm okay”
*tic*
“Dad…” Aki's hands took hold of Kat's face wiping his cheeks just as Eijirou had decades ago.
*tic* *tic* *tic*
“Thank you…”
*CLICK*
Katsuki winces at the sound, his mind replaying Aki's terrible shrieks following the sound. But his daughter's face doesn't falter even while feeling how her tummy jumps under his fingertips. She smiles at him, through watering eyes.
“Thank you for everything Daddy.”
Now that breaks Eijirou. Letting out an ugly cough in the archway making both his tearful loves look over at him in surprise. “Shit!...fuck there I go ruining the moment.” He laughs, wiping his own eyes making his way over to Aki and Katsuki. Giving them both well deserved smooches to their heads.
“You didn't ruin anything dumbass…” Katsuki huffs, reeling himself in grinning through his messy face.
Aki releases Katsuki to hug her Papa, “he's right. Besides I still need help,” she pulls her hoodie down some reaching into her pocket, “Would you mind finishing up Papa?” holding it up for him to see
Kirishima leans back some, looking at what Aki had in her hand, grinning, “Puppy stickers were always your favorites, and yes I'd be happy to.” he said taking it from her hand.
Aki hugs them both as best she could after letting Eiji decorate her pod.
“Thank you, for being strong for me when I couldn't. Thank you for making sure I could live my life to the fullest. Thank you for being mine.”