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Hiyoko Mitsuya was ashamed to admit that she never pictured herself in this situation in a million years. Considering their life, this felt like a dream-like scene instead of an important life event that she had to attend in real-time. She had pictured herself with her son in various scenarios, but nothing came even close to this.
"You're not judging me, aren't you?"
The words snapped her back to reality. She expected to see a sardonic smile gracing his son's face, but all she could see was mischief.
"No! Dear God, no, Takashi," she quickly responded, afraid that Takashi would get the wrong impression.
Of course, the fear didn't happen because Takashi reached for her hands and squeezed them out. Hiyoko could scent the anxieties off him, but the excitement overpowered it.
The reason she could pick up on the underlayer was because, well, she was Takashi's mother.
And of course, it would make sense if you factor them into their situation right now.
"Mom, stop being so weird. It'll be fine, you know."
She was aware, her relationship with Takashi was the opposite of the normal one. Hiyoko depended on him more than she cared to admit, and Takashi took it upon himself to take over Hiyoko's responsibilities because Hiyoko was one shitty mother.
She knew this.
Their relationship was a fickle to maintain. Takashi didn't deserve everything that she had put him through, but Hiyoko didn't know how to fix that part without making it all about herself.
"If you don't mind, can you tell me, how is it going with Dad?"
Hiyoko froze. This was what scared her the most, Takashi asked for something that she had buried for years. But no matter how much Hiyoko hated to acknowledge it, Takashi was as much his son as hers. Especially in these moments, it would make sense for him to ask about those things.
"Your Dad was scared to death," Hiyoko started, focused on the good aspects of history. She could endure this for his son's sake. "You are much calmer than him, even with him having to do this for the third time. But you both have the same bravery. Even if your Dad couldn't let go of me the whole time, and he wanted me to be by his side until the time came. In the end, everything went well."
Takashi squeezed their joined hands. "Are you scared too, Mom?"
Hiyoko let out a nervous chuckle. "There's no second spent without me going crazy over this. I was really aggressive whenever he showed any sign of discomfort or pain. I think, I had to be contained at some point because I couldn't bear seeing your Dad cry. Happy cries actually, but my instinct told me otherwise."
"That makes me feel better," Takashi laughed. "I thought Ken was being too much."
Hiyoko shook her head and followed suit. "Not at all. If anything he's just being reasonable, even more than me."
Once their laughter receded, Takashi moved to look into Hiyoko's eyes. She could tell, he was about to be more serious.
"Do you think, I can be a good father, Mom?" Takashi started, and Hiyoko noticed that he halted halfway as he didn't want to voice it out loud. She still heard the better than Dad? that went without saying though.
Hiyoko looked at her eldest.
If there was any regret that she would atone herself for the rest of her life, then it would be letting Takashi grow up before his time. Hiyoko regretted all the time she preferred to throw herself into work, instead of fixing her relationship that would eventually affect her children.
She regretted that Takashi had to endure motherless (and by extension, fatherless) childhood so early. There was a time when she thought, she was the reason Takashi presented as Omega because he had to take care of his sisters and acted like their mother.
If life was different, would Takashi be where he was at right now?
"Takashi, you're gonna do amazing," Hiyoko caressed his hands. "And I'm not saying this to merely comfort you. You have done great so far, even better than me and your Dad; in taking care of yourself, and in taking care of your sisters while it's shouldn't be on you at all. I couldn't ask for a better and more wonderful son. And I'm sure your child would be proud to have you and Draken as the parents.
"I have to tell you, Takashi, that I'm incredibly proud you are taking this chance, that you aren't discouraged from keeping your child despite your shitty childhood that I'm definitely responsible for. You have proven yourself to be much better parents than I am, even when your baby wasn't even born yet. There are many uncertainties in life, but one thing is for sure, Takashi, you are a great brother for your sisters, a great son for me, and you're gonna be a great father to your child."
Hiyoko remembered one memory from the past, a terrible memory that she had pretended like it didn't happen at all because it caused her so much pain.
The day her mate left.
She had just got home from work, and she found Takashi rocking her sisters to sleep because 'Daddy told me to take care of Luna and Mana when he's gone.' But the note on Hiyoko's bed told her he was gone for good.
Hiyoko dropped to her knees when she found out. She didn't know whether to feel angry or sad or just numb. She didn't know she was crying until Takashi came to him, hugging her from her side.
"Mommy, Daddy told me to not make you cry," he was so little but the way he carded Hiyoko's hair made him even bigger than he appeared. "Are you crying because of me?"
And she remembered, she hauled Takashi and hugged him so tightly that the next words came out in a muffle. "Don't cry, Mommy."
"Mom, don't cry," Takashi leaned forward to pull her into a hug. The position was a bit awkward, considering he was on the hospital bed and Hiyoko sat next to him. But the comfort that it radiated was just the same as the memory she kept in the corner of her head.
"You know, Takashi," Hiyoko sniffled to his shoulder. "This is the first time you make me cry."
Takashi let out a half-choked laughter at that. "You're a bad liar, Mom. I made you cry countless times."
Hiyoko tightened her hug, hoping that her words would be more believable despite her never uttering them, not even once.
"Never, Takashi. Never. You never make me cry, you always make me proud."
Hiyoko was ashamed to admit that she never pictured herself in this situation in a million years. Considering their life, this felt like a dream-like scene instead of an important life event that she had to attend in real-time. She had pictured herself with her son in various scenarios, but nothing came even close to this.
"Draken, how is it going?"
For someone who always looked so calm and collected, Draken appeared like he hadn't slept for days and his black hair hadn't touched the comb by how disheveled it was.
Draken sprung from his seat, the strong scent of worried Alpha radiated from him that Hiyoko had to physically restrained herself from sneezing.
"Auntie, he hasn't come out yet."
"Mom," Hiyoko corrected him automatically. Draken glanced back at the closed door, like he wished he could x-ray it to see how Takashi was doing.
Hiyoko pulled him to the bench again. Draken followed like a robot. She didn't say anything like how Draken should just calm down, because she knew it would do nothing.
He was an absolute wreck, so she resorted to being reasonable, hoping that Draken could reroute his mind to something more technical.
"What does the doctor say?"
Draken proceeded to explain that it might take a while and he shouldn't be worried because his mate was in the right hand. But he couldn't help but be, when one of the nurses came out and told him, he should be more patient and kept praying for the best.
"I'm so scared for him, Mom," Draken glanced at the door again. No sign of Takashi would come out soon, which only amplified the anxiety that laced his scent. Hiyoko recognized it in an instant. It was identical to Takashi's, his mate.
"Oh, Draken, he's gonna be alright," Hiyoko tried to inject the same confidence into herself. She would lie if she wasn't afraid, she was terrified for Takashi. Even after being in Draken's position three times, it didn't erase the growing concern that something might go wrong.
But she knew, he and Draken had prepared everything, they had been doing their best for this moment, all she could do was be there for them, wishing for everything to go according to the plan. She trusted her son to go through all of this.
"Draken, have I ever told you, that I told Takashi was doing the wrong thing when he said, he wanted to mate with you?"
The question was so unexpected that Draken's face quickly morphed into confusion.
Hiyoko chuckled.
"Don't tell him, I said this, because it will definitely get into his head, but I'm glad I'm proven wrong," she continued. "I was unnecessarily worried at that time, not knowing that you're gonna make him the happiest man on earth. You're everything that I would want for Takashi. I'm so glad, he has you, dear."
Draken blinked.
"I'm sorry that it's long overdue, but please do tell me, if you need anything, Draken. You're as much my son as Takashi," Hiyoko patted his knee, smiling. "I know you're worried about him right now, I am too, but Takashi will definitely kick our asses if we think he can't do this, don't you agree?"
Draken cleared his throat. "Yeah, he definitely will."
Hiyoko tried to ignore the closed door, telling herself the words she had just told Draken.
Takashi will be alright, she cast the mantra.
"It's a shame we never talked much, Draken, do you want me to tell you embarrassing stories about Takashi? I've got plenty," Hiyoko grinned. "We can tease him together once this is all done."
She caught Draken throwing another glance at the door and she patted his knee again.
Draken sighed and decided to play along. Hiyoko hoped she could be the distraction that he needed.
"Does he ever do anything embarrassing, though?"
"Oh, you're in for a ride, Draken."
"Ryuuguuji-san? You can come in, Mitsuya-san is asking for you."
"Mom—"
"Go on, I'll go get Luna and Mana and we'll see you in Takashi's room."
"Thank you for everything—"
"Hey, thank you. And also congratulations."
Luna and Mana couldn't stop asking questions on their way to the hospital. Despite being so late, they were clearly excited enough to talk her ears off about their brother's baby. Even if they couldn't stop rubbing their eyes, trying to get rid of the sleepiness, considering that it was past midnight and they were probably just getting some sleep after waiting for any news on their brother.
"Have you seen the baby, Mom?" Luna fixed the scarf around her neck. It was pretty chilly in the hospital corridor, more so at this ungodly hour.
"No, I haven't, Draken was the one to go inside." Hiyoko stopped in front of room 122. "Are you excited to see your little nephew?"
Mana nodded. "I'll go knock on the door!"
She did exactly that, and there was a synchronized answer behind the door, "Come on in!"
Hiyoko had anticipated this moment, she had prepared everything in relation to her improper reaction that might come out due to her disbelief of the situation.
"Where's the baby?" Mana ran to the side of Takashi's bed, looking around as if she expected his brother to cradle the little one. Maybe it was the mother's instinct, but Hiyoko gasped before his son and his mate confirmed the sight that caught her eyes.
"Babies," Takashi corrected with a smile, tired yet so bright with happiness. Draken was standing next to the baby crib on the side of Takashi's bed. Luna and Mana shrieked when they found out their brother didn't just give birth to one beautiful baby, but two.
A twin.
"Meet Ryuka and Tatsuya," Draken smiled.
While her daughters were excited for the twins, Hiyoko went to Takashi's side, giving him an awkward hug. Takashi clung to her like he was just the baby boy Hiyoko always knew instead of an adult who had just delivered his own babies.
"Takashi, I'm so proud of you," Hiyoko drowned herself in the black-lilac hair, cradling her eldest like the boy had never grown up. Takashi chuckled as he caressed her arms around him.
"It wouldn't happen without you, Mom," he said. "So, thank you."
They spent several minutes hugging while Draken was kind enough to distract the girls by explaining about their newborns. Apparently, this was one of the unique cases of hidden twins that went unnoticed, and both he and Takashi didn't expect it at all.
Unexpected, but not unwelcomed.
Despite almost fainting at the sight of not only one baby but two; both Draken and Takashi were beyond happy for this miracle.
"Oh dear, remember after getting the dragon tattoo, you used to go around and tell me, you and Draken were twin dragons?" Hiyoko combed Takashi's hair, smiling. "Now, you've got the twin of your own."
Draken grinned at that, Hiyoko was sure he was thinking the same.
"I love them," Luna sniffled, peering into the crib. "They're so cute!"
Hiyoko was ashamed to admit that she never pictured herself in this situation in a million years. Considering their life, this felt like a dream-like scene instead of an important life event that she had to attend in real-time. She had pictured herself with her son in various scenarios, but nothing came even close to this.
"Would you like to hold them?" Draken offered.
Takashi looked up at her, with a grin. "Mom?"
Hiyoko nodded, landing a soft kiss on Takashi's forehead before she went to check on her grandchildren.
Grandchildren.
Who would have thought, she could finally arrive at this moment?
"This is Ryuka," Draken carefully lifted the baby. "She's the big sister, like you, Luna."
Luna watched in amazement as Draken cradled the baby girl in his arms.
"Can I?"
Draken nodded and transferred the baby to her. Ryuka moved in her sleep but didn't cause any fuss at all, in Luna's arms.
"And this is her little brother, Tatsuya," Draken lifted the other baby, giving him to Hiyoko that had been waiting with anticipation.
"He's handsome," Mana looked into her mother's arms, waving her hands. "Hello, Tacchi! Welcome to the world!"
Hiyoko, Luna, and Mana exchanged excited whispers, keeping their voices low enough to not disturb the babies. Hiyoko didn't miss the way Draken went back to Takashi's side to watch them together.
Hiyoko was ashamed to admit that she never pictured herself in this situation in a million years. Considering their life, this felt like a dream-like scene instead of an important life event that she had to attend in real-time. She had pictured herself with her son in various scenarios, but nothing came even close to this.
Now, looking at Draken entwined his fingers with Takashi, looking so happy and content with each other, surrounded by Luna and Mana and herself, welcoming the new addition to their family, Hiyoko wouldn't wish for any other way.