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Sasaki and Miyano jolted awake at the sound of a child crying.
The taller husband swiftly sat up, ready to protect the child in question, before a hand reached out to grab his arm.
“Shuumei-san… wait.” A sleepy voice spoke out.
Miyano followed his action before being hit with an intense ache in his lower back. A soft groan of pain came out against his will.
Oh right. He was still pregnant. Again. Very pregnant, with his and Sasaki’s second child.
A dizziness spell hit him momentarily from sitting up too quick, and an arm quickly wrapped around his shoulder, rubbing smooth circles.
“Hey, take it easy…” Sasaki whispered, concern in his voice. “I’ll go check on her, okay? You stay here.”
“But…” Miyano whined softly. “You need rest…”
Sasaki gently laid him back down and gave him a soft peck on the forehead. “You’re the one that needs rest right now,” he responded. “I don’t want two of my loved ones to end up in pain.”
Miyano looked up at him with a warm smile, forever enraptured by Sasaki’s never-ending love and care for his family. Though, it didn’t do much to help the fear that rushed through him at what could possibly be wrong with his 4-year-old daughter. And he was still worried about his husband’s wellbeing.
Being pregnant and raising a child at the same time hasn’t exactly proven to be an easy task. Even if said child is well-behaved. Despite this, Miyano has never found himself to be in too much distress, because his husband has always been by his side. Every single step of the way.
For every turmoil that Miyano is forced to face, Sasaki wants to be there, too. He wants to share all of Miyano’s pain. He doesn’t want him to go through anything alone.
Miyano is the one who decided to carry not one, but two children for them, after all. And possibly more to come.
He couldn’t be more grateful for his adorable husband’s unconditional love and dedication. That’s why he wants to spend every waking moment of his life repaying him for it.
And although Miyano is eternally grateful for the things Sasaki does for him, he doesn’t appreciate the toll it’s been taking on him. The visible exhaustion on Sasaki’s sweet face from all the sleepless nights never fails to inflict a pang of sadness in his heart.
He lays there in bed, waiting anxiously as his husband leaves to go check on their daughter.
Sasaki swiftly traverses through their house, getting to her room as quickly as he can. The crying continues to get louder.
He reaches her room and opens the door, immediately running to hug the child crying in the dark.
“It’s okay, Emi,” He whispers softly with a slight tremble in his voice, running his fingers gently through her orange and black locks. “Papa’s right here.”
The girl sniffles, snuggling closer into her father’s embrace. She’s unable to keep herself from sobbing, but has seemed to calm down a bit from her father’s comfort.
“Did you have a bad dream?” He asks, placing tender kisses to her head while he cradles her.
She continues crying for a moment before speaking up. “Y-Yes- hic- …There was a scary creature…” She shut her eyes tight, letting her tears soak Sasaki’s shirt.
“A creature?” He asked.
“It w-was a strange creature with big e-ears and long legs… hic- It kinda looked like a bunny, but it had really scary eyes!”
Sasaki continued soothingly petting her head. “Bunnies are nice animals. I’m sure it didn’t mean any harm.”
“It was chasing me! And it was really fast!” She cried.
“Maybe it wanted to give you a nice big hug…” He responded, squeezing her tighter and rocking her back and forth gently. “Just like this.” Emiko’s breathing seemed to calm down for a moment.
“Or maybe it wanted to give you lots of kisses!” He spoke teasingly, showering her face with lots of pecks all over.
Emiko giggled uncontrollably at her father’s ministrations, the effects of the nightmare beginning to leave already.
“P-Papa— Hahahaha—!! Shtop—!!” She laughed, Sasaki leaving one last kiss under her left eye before reluctantly halting his actions.
He was incredibly relieved to see the change in her mood. A quick one, at that. Sasaki had always been insecure in his love. Being afraid of going too far, or doing something Miyano was uncomfortable with had been his biggest fear ever since they met. Being married for several years, most of those fears and insecurities left a long time ago. But he’d be lying if he were to say that the small moments like this where he’s reminded of his success to truly treasure the people he loved didn’t fill his heart with so much joy.
He wasn’t at all confident in his ability to parent at first, and even half a decade later he still has his worries. But seeing the gentle and warm smile on Emiko’s face (one that really reminded him of his husband’s,) made him feel like everything was going to be okay.
“Do you want to come sleep with your papas?” He asked. He wanted to ensure that she wouldn’t cry anymore. He wanted to make sure Miyano knew she was okay, too.
Miyano had begun to doze off. Maybe Sasaki was right, he really did need the rest after all. Despite this, his fear was keeping him from fully falling asleep. There’s no way he’d be able to rest comfortably knowing there was something troubling his daughter.
He cuddled a body pillow to soothe his nerves as he waited. It was one from middle school that he had kept when him and Sasaki moved in together. A comfort for times in anguish, it was, and it proved to be helpful even a decade later. (Even if he wished it was his husband instead in this moment.)
He then opened his eyes slightly when he heard the turn of a doorknob and a door shutting.
“Emiko…!” He exclaimed, setting the body pillow aside.
Sasaki, carrying their daughter in his arms, made his way over to the bed and plopped Emiko down next to Miyano.
“Papa!” She responded, snuggling in next to the pregnant father as he extended his arms for both his daughter and husband.
“It was a nightmare,” Sasaki whispered to Miyano as he reclaimed his seat back in bed next to the two. Emiko was caged between her two fathers, Sasaki cuddling her from the back and Miyano from the front as he nuzzled her face.
“Thank goodness you’re okay…” Miyano said with relief in his voice as he gave Emiko a peck on the forehead. She giggled at the action, never able to get enough of the constant affection from both of her parents.
“And you too, Shuumei-san.” He brought Sasaki closer to the both of them, snuggling into his chest.
“Eh?” A slight blush appeared on his face.
“Thank you for calming her down. You really are an amazing father…” Miyano looked at him with warm and gentle eyes.
Sasaki’s face became even redder. Those words seem to have really affected him. “…It was really no problem.”
They leaned in for a gentle kiss as Emiko giggled again, getting lightly squished between them.
“Your papas will protect you from anything, Emi.” Miyano said softly while resting his head on top of his daughter’s.
“And so will your little brother,” Sasaki spoke up, caressing Miyano’s stomach.
Emiko’s face lit up even more than it had already. She touched her father’s tummy along with Sasaki as she stared in excitement at the bump. “Me too… I’ll protect him from the scary bunnies!” She exclaimed.
Miyano stared in confusion for a moment as Sasaki laughed. “You’re going to be such a brave big sister.”
The three conversed for a little while longer before eventually succumbing to their fatigue, holding each other close. They really couldn’t wait for the addition to their happy little family. And however many more were to come.