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Misaki squeezed Saruhiko’s hand hard. “I can’t do it!” she yelled. Her hand was sweaty and shaky, clinging desperately to Saruhiko.
“You’re Misaki. Since when have you ever said you can’t do something.”
“I don’t know!” she whined, and leaned against him. “But I’m saying it now. I can’t take another damn step!” She grit her teeth. “It’s going to fall out—right here, right now!”
“Misaki,” Saruhiko clicked his tongue. “The baby isn’t going to fall out of you. That’s impossible.”
“Don’t click your tongue at me, asshole! This is mostly your fault anyway!” she yelled, gripping his hand so hard, Saruhiko thought it was going to snap in two, as though his bones were expendable twigs.
Misaki’s water had broken a little bit ago, and currently Saruhiko was trying to get her downstairs where the cab Kusanagi had called for them was waiting. Walking down the hall had been a chore, and already Saruhiko was dreading trying to get her down the stairs. He also wanted to argue it took both of them to make the demon creature about to force its way out of her, but Saruhiko had learned to pick his battles.
He and Misaki had grown extremely close over the past few months, though Saruhiko supposed having a baby together did that to people. Plus, he’d come to spend most of his free time at Homra with her, whenever he had the chance. He’d gone to doctor’s appointments with her. He’d been there when Misaki cried about her clothes looking stupid. He’d been there when she’d forced him to leave at three in the morning to get her apples, rice, and eggs because she just had to have them—all the strange needs and desires she had, Saruhiko helped. He’d even been there when the baby kicked for the first time, and she’d forced Saruhiko to place his hands on her stomach until the baby kicked again, so he could feel it too. And as foolish as he’d felt, he spoken a few words to her stomach too, after Misaki had begged.
Misaki had even somehow gotten him to think about names with her, and helped her pick out things for the small area they’d set aside in the apartment for now. They planned to give it a few months in Misaki’s place, and then possibly move into a larger apartment once they were used to the third person living with them.
And of course, there had been plenty of arguments too—moments where Saruhiko had almost left, walking away from the thing that kept him awake at night. There were times when Saruhiko hadn’t kept his mouth shut, and Misaki had kicked him out of the apartment until she felt ready to let him back in.
But now, as he scooped Misaki up into his arms to carry her down the stairs, Saruhiko knew there was no turning back. Misaki was having their baby, and he was going to have to accept it.
“Saruhiko!” she gasped, wincing as she buried her face against his shoulder. “I didn’t mean for you to carry me!” she whispered loudly.
“Well you weren’t going to stop complaining,” he groaned, and slowly lowered her back to the ground once they were down the stairs.
“Complaining?! I’m about to push a baby—”
“Congratulations Misaki!” Anna smiled, interrupting Misaki’s yelling to wave to her as they headed for the front door. She was clearly thrilled. “I can’t wait to meet…them,” she said, biting her lip as she cut herself off. Anna had apparently predicted the sex of their baby, though Misaki had been adamant about wanting to be surprised.
“Tatara and I will meet you both there soon, we’ll bring the bag of Misaki’s stuff over as well,” Kusanagi smiled, walking with both of them to the cab.
“T-Thanks Kusanagi-san,” Misaki blushed, taking a seat in the back of the cab.
“Take good care of her, Fushimi-kun,” Kusanagi smirked.
Saruhiko clicked his tongue. “What do you think I’ve been doing this whole time?” he growled, and shut the door behind them. He hated to admit how protective he’d grown of Misaki while she was carrying their child, but he often attempted to help her through everything on his own, not wanting the help of her friends at Homra. However, they usually weaseled their way into helping somehow.
Misaki was quiet for most of the ride to the hospital, minus her heavy breathing when a particularly painful contraction hit. She squeezed Saruhiko’s hand, scrunching up her face as she rode out the pain. “I…I don’t want to do this ever again,” she whispered. Her frame shook, and Saruhiko could tell she was nervous.
“We’ll be more careful,” he said softly, brushing his thumb over her fingers. Quite frankly, he’d be happy if he never thought about children again, but now was definitely not the time to say something like that to Misaki.
He helped her out of the cab and into a wheelchair, wheeling her to check in to a private room for Misaki’s comfort. Originally Misaki had argued they didn’t need to spend the extra money, but Saruhiko had already decided he didn’t want to be near anyone else while dealing with Misaki in labor.
Once they had settled in the room, Saruhiko took a seat next to her. “How are you feeling?”
“Can’t they just knock me out and take it out of me?!” she said, speaking so fast her words slurred together.
Saruhiko raised his eyebrow at her. “I’ve never seen the great Yata Misaki looking so scared!” he teased.
“I’m not scared! I just…know it’s going to hurt! Why don’t you try getting up here and pushing a giant child out of you?!” she snapped, folding her arms indignantly. Saruhiko smirked, happy his plan to distract her had worked.
“No thanks. I think you’ve got it covered,” he chuckled.
“You’d think today you’d at least try and be nice,” she snorted, and grabbed his hand, blushing as she stared in silence at her large stomach. “Okay…maybe I’m a little scared,” she said finally.
“I know. I am too,” he replied.
“I know,” she whispered, squeezing his hand gently.
Saruhiko sighed, standing up to brush Misaki’s bangs aside as he pressed his lips to her forehead. “We got through everything up until now, right? We’ll be…fine…okay?” he grunted, and sat back down.
Misaki’s face was bright red as she stared at Saruhiko. She was about to answer, but the doctor entered. She interrupted them to explained what exactly would be happening for the next few hours.
As expected, Misaki’s labor took up almost all evening. If Saruhiko had thought his hand was going to break before, he was almost tempted to get an x-ray, his bones hurt so terribly from how much she had squeezed his hand this time.
Misaki had yelled at him through most of it, cursing his name for ever doing this to her. The doctor had yelled at him too, telling Saruhiko to support Misaki’s back more with his arm. She also told him to speak louder when cheering her on. It took all of his being not to roll his eyes at the woman, though Misaki did seem more motivated when Saruhiko stood closer to her and talked her through things.
It was painful, even just to watch. Saruhiko felt his heart clench as he watched tears stream down Misaki’s cheeks, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath, sweat drenching her forehead. Through a few strong pushes, she screamed loudly, which Saruhiko had expected. Misaki was always a loud person, and in this case, she had every right to be.
And then, after all the pain and noise, there was the wailing cry of a baby, and Misaki flopped back against the bed, panting hard. “It’s a girl!” The doctor smiled, handing the tiny baby off to the nurse.
For a moment Saruhiko couldn’t hear. Misaki’s heavy breathing disappeared, the hospital equipment’s whir and the doctor’s words flew past his ears. The world was silent for Saruhiko. He watched the nurse clean the small child and swaddle her in a tiny pink blanket. He blinked and stared as her small, red face contorted, her mouth open and large as she cried. This child belonged to him, to them. He swallowed, finally remembering to breathe as the nurse held their small baby—the creature that was to be their new, small world. Though it was terrifying, seeing her be a real, physical being, now a part of this world, was also…incredible.
“…shimi…Fushimi-san?” the doctor called out.
“Hah?” he said, blinking, realizing he could finally hear again.
“Do you want to hold your daughter?” Saruhiko glanced from the baby to a very exhausted Misaki, who nodded.
His daughter. The phrase sounded so strange, and it was difficult to fathom the small baby was actually his. Pursing his lips, he sank down into the chair next to the bed. “O-Okay…” The nurse slowly handed the baby to Saruhiko who cradled her in his arms. He stared down at her tiny, crying face, unable to say anything.
For nine months he’d been terrified of this small human—terrified of how it would change his life, terrified of how he would be around Misaki, and, of course, terrified he would end up like his own terrible father. But seeing her now, he knew he could never treat her poorly. There was no way…he would do everything in his power to make sure this tiny girl stayed as safe as he could keep her.
“Saru?” Misaki whispered, clearly nervous when Saruhiko didn’t say anything. “Is she…?”
“She…has your mouth,” he said finally. “Loud, like you,” he smirked.
“Shut up,” she said weakly, too tired to fight back.
“Here,” he said, almost reluctantly. “You…hold her. You did…most of the work.” He gently passed their child off to Misaki, not taking his eyes off her for a second. Letting her go like that, Saruhiko had a feeling letting go wasn’t ever going to get easier.
He watched as Misaki brushed her finger over the child’s cheek. “She’s cute,” Misaki chuckled, happy when the small girl quieted down in her mother’s arms. Pouting, Saruhiko let out a small huff of air. Raising an eyebrow, Misaki glanced back towards him. “Wait a minute, are you jealous? That I’m holding her now?” she teased.
“You’re her mother, why would I be jealous?” he scoffed, turning his nose away from both of them.
“It’s okay, Saru, you’ll be able to hold her plenty,” Misaki giggled, and stared at the baby again. “She’s our precious gift.”
As he watched both of them, Saruhiko felt he truly agreed. After all the worrying and panicking, seeing the two girls together, his two girls, he really did believe they were going to be okay. They were going to be happy.