Chapter Text
Christmas Eve is boring and celebrating it sucks ass.
Despite Soichiro's pout upon hearing him say that for the first time some years ago, it's still Gen's honest opinion and he'd allow people to quote him on it. Yup, even his man child of a boyfriend who jumps out of bed to plan putting up a Christmas tree at the first signs of snow while mixing the first batch of cookie dough will not change his mind.
Just looking out of the window from where he's sitting on the couch with his stupid Santa mug in hand makes him feel unreasonably irritated - questionable decorations are blocking your view everywhere whenever you even dare to step outside in the freezing cold that people dare to call winter wonderland… and don't get him started on that stupid fucking snow on top of it. And then, worst of all, they could be celebrating Gen's birthday in advance already instead of… whose birthday was on Christmas again? Yeah, that's exactly how much Gen Narumi cares about Christmas.
Gifts are nice but people should give him gifts all year round so why waste your breath on this one unimportant day?
He feels Soichiro move his head slightly from where he's resting on his lap - the part of his lap he can currently access, that is. The older man mumbles something intelligible in his fitful sleep and Gen instinctively brings his hand down on the older man's hair, allowing his fingers to run through it soothingly. Soichiro either has a really deep sleep or the kicks Gen keeps experiencing are way less intense on the outside compared to what he keeps feeling.
Maybe he's still really out of it, too. Gen should probably check his temperature again when he's awake but for now, he'll let Soichiro get all the sleep he can get. Christmas like this doesn't suck as hard as he thought it would - cuddling on the couch with his sick boyfriend gives him all the excuses he need to spend those days doing nothing but watch movies, play some games that won't wake him up and think about what delivery service will have the pleasure to bring them food later.
Nothing about this scream celebration but Gen does feel content and as long as that's the case he's sure Soichiro will be okay, too.
Thinking back now, Gen can't really remember if he ever celebrated Christmas or any other holiday with his biological family. Probably doesn't matter, Christmas in the orphanage was boring as fuck. An old man in a Santa costume - if he even showed up - is not worth the hype, so it's not like he missed anything there. The imposter never even left any of the gifts Gen wanted so the old geezer can just fuck off for all he cares.
But then, a few years ago, Hasegawa got him a small gift on Christmas and for the first time Gen dared to think that maybe this weird festivity would be worth celebrating after all. He appreciated the gesture more than he let on, really. So yeah, getting gifts and being lazy seems like a reasonable way to spend this overhyped day.
Back then, Gen decided this is what Christmas should be like.
He takes a sip of hot cacao from his Santa mug as his eyes drift over to the neatly decorated tray of cookies on the table.
Gen genuinely didn't know what he got himself into when he started dating the older Hoshina who's currently snuggling his sleepy face into the fabric of Gen's oversized hoodie, or more precisely, the bump underneath it.
He was only 22 when they randomly hooked up after a Defense Force meeting in Tokyo. Seductive glances thrown at each other during a briefing ended in a hot make out session in Gen's room at Ariake, a scolding from Hasegawa for not closing the door properly and a new number added to Gen's contacts. He didn't expect the guy to show up in front of his room again the next day, or the day after, or basically every day after that in his phone's notifications.
A hook-up.
Yep.
That's what it was.
He sighs. Fast forward six years and the hookup is still occupying Gen's life unashamedly. More than that, really. Gen slowly brings his hand up to where he could just feel a tiny kick flutter underneath his hoodie again as-
"Is our tiny bean causing trouble again?" Soichiro's tired and raspy voice cuts through his thoughts as the older man slowly rouses from his sleep.
"Stop calling our demon spawn 'bean', I'm not growing a vegetable in there," he grumbles before his tone softens upon seeing Soichiro's smile. "Just need to put my feet up, I feel like they're swelling up again already." Gen starts shuffling his legs as a sign for Soichiro to lift himself off his lap for a second.
The older man grunts at the slight discomfort and reluctantly lifts his head up from Gen's lap while he's busy setting his mug aside for the time being.
Well, you know, Soichiro probably didn't get sick a week before Christmas on purpose. It was just his luck he came down with a severe case of the man flu - as Gen called it - shortly before the holidays. And it's just Gen's luck that he happened to enter the third trimester of his pregnancy around the same time.
They would probably make for one interesting motive of a Christmas card this year.
"I don't wanna sleep Christmas away like this," Soichiro whines and tries to sit up a little straighter next to his boyfriend on the couch but only succeeds after said boyfriend props him up a little. Soichiro sighs and turns to Gen with a tired, pouty expression. "I'm ruining this, I'm sorry, Gen-chan."
"You're not ruining shit," Gen replies and an irritated yet genuine smile appears on his lips. "You know I'm not a big fan of decorating or making a fancy Christmas dinner either way. Cuddling on the couch all day like this is just fine. I'll order us takeout later or whatever… chicken sounds great."
"But we do this every day," the older man argues, well - not really, he gave up on trying to win any arguments the second the agonizing throbbing in his head manifested again - sleeping some more does sound great. He lets out a yawn and his head rolls back against the back of the couch, eyes already closing again. "I thought we're finally gonna do family Christmas… setting up a tree together, baking cookies, dressing up for photos…"
"We are, idiot."
"But-"
"No buts now. You, me and the baby," he counts. "That makes it family Christmas or whatever you want to call it - doesn't matter what we do. Plus, we already have a horrendous tree in the apartment." He points at the crooked, undecorated and slightly dried up Christmas tree Soichiro brought home shortly before falling ill, which is now residing - or more likely dying - behind the couch.
"We killed the Christmas tree, Gen-chan…"
Soichiro slowly opens his eyes again as Gen maneuvers his feet on the couch with a grunt, discarding the fluffy slippers in the process and trapping Soichiro between the back of the couch and his legs.
"Way better." The younger man lets out a relieved sigh and leans back against one of the many pillows on their couch while his hands come to rest protectively on his baby bump. "Come on, get comfy. I'm not keen on going out like this either way."
"I can massage your feet if-"
"You won't," Gen immediately snaps. "As amazing as this sounds I'd prefer you resting for once."
"I've been napping all afternoon, it's okay, really-"
Gen cuts him off with a scowl and a raised finger. "I don't wanna hear it. You still look like shit."
"Gen-chan, I-"
"See," Gen says as he feels another, slightly stronger kick underneath his palm. "The baby agrees. It's two against one."
Soichiro's expression softens at the display in front of him. After all the time it took the younger man to come to terms with the changes to his life and body it feels heartwarming to see him like this, to see him happy and content and protective of the life they created together. Soichiro stares at him in awe. That's his family, his world right there - he never thought his life could turn out so perfectly. Gen knows because he feels the same.
"Can I?" He eyes Gen's belly curiously. The baby had already started kicking some weeks ago and while Gen was already kinda fed up with the constant disruptions to his sleep and swore by the fact that their baby had four legs or something, Soichiro was quite simply fascinated by feeling the tiny movements every time he managed to catch them.
"Sure, sure," Gen replies before sighing again. You won't take no for an answer either way. "But lay down with me first, I can't really stay on my back like this anymore."
Soichiro gives him a tired nod and tries his best to settle in next to Gen, letting the younger man cuddle into his side as always while serving as his human equivalent of a pregnancy pillow. He's doing better than any of the designated pillows he tried so far, actually.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm not usually taking up that much space, you don't have to say it," Gen grumbles as he gets comfortable with Soichiro's help and admittedly, the help of an unreasonable amount of actual pillows as well. Sleeping in any position feels more uncomfortably as the days and weeks pass but Soichiro did not once complain about Gen's constant whining about his aches and how uncomfortable pregnancy is.
"I'd never, Gen-chan." He immediately cuts him off and smiles as he moves his arm underneath Gen's head so he can pull him closer towards his chest to place a soft kiss on the top of his head. "You're so wonderful for this." The words are barely audible as Soichiro mumbles them against his hair but Gen can hear it - knows he means it. Every single word of praise and admiration leaving the older man's mouth is as real as it can get and that's why they never fail to put a slight blush on his cheeks.
Soichiro reaches for the blanket that covered him earlier and pulls it over the two of them, making sure Gen stays warm and comfortable before he allows himself to relax again, too. They stay like this for a while and he can feel Soichiro's breathing evening out again.
Safe.
That's the first thing that comes to his mind as Soichiro puts a hand on his belly, before mumbling something intelligible about their poor Christmas tree again.
It's probably an unconscious movement at this point. He has always been the protective type but Gen's pregnancy exponentially increased that behavior in recent months. Even a week ago, when Soichiro was delirious and miserable with his fever, he wouldn't miss a single opportunity to make sure Gen was as comfortable as he can be. He'd only sleep with Gen close by and with at least on hand on him and/or the baby bump - as if he was afraid Gen and the baby could disappear if he took his eyes off them even for a second.
It's stupid. Soichiro is stupid. And yet, Gen couldn't wish for a better partner. He's gonna tell him one day for sure - that he's everything he could've ever wished for… but he's not looking forward to this stupid sexy grin that will grow on Soichiro's face upon hearing that.
Gen smiles at the image in his head. He deserves to know.
"You still awake…?" he whispers into the crook of Soichiro's neck. He doesn't react right away so Gen just brings his hand to where Soichiro's is, carefully moving it to a different spot on his belly. "Because the baby is, too."
"Baby is…?" Soichiro's sleepy voice stops abruptly as the tiny kicks under Gen's skin continue. He doesn't need to see Soichiro's face to know that his eyes just grew comically wide while his mouth probably stands agape in awe or shock or both.
"So," Gen starts. "Now that you know we're both okay, you can sleep a little while I watch a movie, yeah?"
He can feel Soichiro's head move slightly and just assumes he's nodding before he hears a tiny sob leave the older man's lips. Gen stills for a second but for once, he decides against teasing him about it and just squeezes Soichiro's hand that's still resting over where their baby kicks energetically - a silent reassurance meant for him and only him.
Other people say a movie gets boring when you watch it too many times - Gen Narumi disagrees.
This one Gundam movie from the late 90's is something he holds close to his heart. He never had his own TV while at the orphanage but that one time, he must've been like six or seven, he sneaked out of his room after everyone else already went to bed.
There was a cinema rather close by and, of course, none of the kids really had any money to go watch movies there. It was located on his way back from school so he passed by there nearly every day. He remembers that the place had a rather big model robot outside for promotion reasons alongside some awesome looking and colorful posters. Gen didn't know anything about the franchise back then but the way his eyes widened when he heard a kid there talk to his dad about "Gundam" and "mecha anime" and "gunpla" shifted something in his young brain and a plan formed.
Gen's life back then consisted mostly of being bored and feeling alone - not that he'd admit that last part out loud. Young Gen had one big advantage, though - he was a small and unassuming kid, which helped with both sneaking out of the orphanage and sneaking inside the movie theater unnoticed.
How he manged to pass by the staff without a ticket is a still a mystery to him nearly twenty years later. Maybe he was on the right track to become a swift criminal or maybe, just maybe, the staff did notice him and just let him in because they pitied him.
Gen hopes it was the first option.
Anyway, that's the story of how the first movie he watched in his young life was Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack.
He did not grasp the story at all back then, maybe because he was in fact, just an elementary student at this point or maybe, as he found out later, it was because it was a sequel movie - the final part of one of the first and most amazing runs of the franchise.
The movie is currently flickering by in the background for what must be the hundredth time - accompanied only by Soichiro's soft snoring and the continuous kicks from their baby. Gen can't see the screen like this, face still tucked away in the crook of Soichiro's neck. It's comfortable, it's okay, he doesn't need to see anything to know exactly what's happening.
And just like that, for the hundredth time, he feels amazed by that vast fictional universe, giant robot war armors and, for the hundredth time, he wonders why Char and Amuro never kissed on screen during even one of those movies.
Gen cuddles closer to Soichiro as the ending song starts playing, closing his eyes for good as well and just enjoying this peaceful moment between the two - the three of them.
"I know that song," Soichiro whispers as he feels Gen move his head around in an attempt to get comfortable.
"Of course you do," Gen remarks and peaks up at Soichiro. "Beyond The Time is a classic, I'd divorce you if you didn't know it." You're the one who got me the damn DVD.
"You'd need to marry me first." Soichiro kisses Gen's hair again and it's embarrassing how much that simple gesture makes him melt.
"Maybe if it's our wedding song."
"I'll make sure we have the most amazing Gundam-themed wedding at some point, Gen-chan."
Gen doesn't know if Soichiro is still slightly delirious or if he's serious. Knowing him, it could easily be both. Gen would be lying if he said the idea isn't amazing, though.
"When you're not sick and I'm not pregnant, maybe," he just says and smiles but his words are met with another round of snoring only. Dork.
Gen decides it's time for a nap as well, so he puts the movie on repeat and closes his eyes, making sure their hands stay intertwined over his belly.