Chapter Text
As the aura of the happiness and news had started to come down, Guren had finally managed to go to sleep. It had left Shinya up. The Alpha had found himself watching his lover sleep. Shinya could say that he was sure that Guren was genuinely happy at the idea, but he knew Guren. The anxiety would soon come, and then the questions would come, and Shinya would be right by his side to help him through all of it.
Shinya still felt so blown away. This was actually happening. Guren was pregnant. They were expecting a baby now. Everything would all change from here. Their lives would change. Guren would be taken out of the field and active duty during the course of the pregnancy and during recovery time. From there, they would figure out what would happen. That was still so far away. Right now, it was just the pregnancy.
Pregnancy and parenthood could be exciting as much as it was terrifying. It was uncertainty and worries of how they would do it. Shinya didn’t necessarily and personally have good parental figures at all. His birth parents had willingly gave him away for money to the Hiragi family and then Shinya had been groomed for his new life by Tenri Hiragi. Shinya did not have a healthy childhood by any means. Out of the two of them, if anyone had any idea on how a parent should be with a child, it was Guren.
Shinya didn’t want to fuck this up. He had no idea how to be a father, but he refused to be what his birth parents were. He refused to be like Tenri. He would do anything for that. Shinya would fight for his family. Everything was changing now. Guren was everything to him, and Shinya could not go into a future without him. He could not imagine having a child with someone else. Only him. He was certain that Guren had his own reservations, and Shinya might be able to get that answer out of the Omega. They would get through this. They could do this. Shinya was not going to let the Hiragi family take this from him.
He knew that Guren had to be tired. Shinya didn’t know much about pregnancy and all the workings of it, but he was going to learn. It was his job as a father-to-be to be right next to Guren’s side through this all. Shinya was just as much responsible for this as Guren was. Even though Guren was carrying the child, Shinya had to do this part. Guren was not going to go through this alone, and Shinya would never expect him too.
The pregnancy test was sitting on the bedside table. The positive result was still showing. He had seen the look on Guren’s face and while he saw the confliction, he watched Guren’s entire demeanor change. It had been hours since then. They would have to tell people soon enough, and Shinya was going to wait for Guren to be ready for it. From what he knew, the first trimester could be a scary time. The possibility of losing the pregnancy was higher during that time and not a lot of people told others until they got to a certain point.
Shinya had his own fears, but he knew that if he was doing this with Guren, he would do anything. He wanted Guren to stay by his side. He wanted Guren to stay right there with him. Now more than ever. Shinya didn’t think he was going to go to sleep any time soon. There was still so much ahead of them, but they were going to be together through it every single step of the way.
Shinya was going to be by Guren’s side, and he was not going anywhere.
Shinya smiled as he leaned over, pressing a kiss into the crown of Guren’s hair. The Omega was sleeping so peacefully. It did make sense now to Guren’s sudden change. It would all be okay. Shinya would fight everything on the face of this planet to make sure of that. He knew that Guren would do the same. The Alpha reached over, placing his hand onto his lover’s still flat stomach. Soon enough, Guren’s stomach would swell, and it would show the fact that he was growing a life inside of his body.
Shinya was never going to let anything take this away from him.
Not this time.
They were in this… together.
Within that afterglow of excitement, the anxiety was starting to come back. What if Guren fucked up? What if he fucked up his own child? What if the Hiragi family wanted to intervene and keep Guren from carrying this baby to term? Guren hated that he was questioning it again. He was happy. Every time he thought of a baby between the two of them, it brought a smile to his face.
They hadn’t told anyone yet. It was just between the two of them and they went about their day as normal. This was all new to him. How did they even tell people? There were only certain people that Guren wanted to tell, and others he didn’t care if they learned it. Everyone would know eventually. Hiding a pregnancy wouldn’t be easy, and hiding his pregnancy wouldn’t be the smartest idea either. Considering an entire baby would come later.
Now that the excitement was slowly starting to die down, Guren could start thinking about what happened from here on out. They were getting ready for the day, and as he did so, he felt that very – now normal – familiar twist in his gut as he was hit by the wave of nausea. Honestly, Guren should have figured it all out sooner. It was so blatant that he actually felt like an idiot for not even considering the possibility before. It had made the Omega stop what he was doing as he attempted to breathe through it. They were already dressed for the day. Shinya was cooking breakfast for them. He could smell the toast cooking. The aroma of the meat and eggs that were currently being made. And it was not helping the feeling in the slightest.
They had been up for a few hours at this point. Guren, mostly, because he had woken up out of the pure anxiety of the fact that he was indeed pregnant. Though, they would technically need a confirmation at the Medical Bay. There was always the chance of false positives. Guren was pretty sure this wasn’t the case in the slightest. If these damn symptoms had anything to say about it. Though, there was this thing known as phantom pregnancy where someone could experience the symptoms, believe they are pregnant, and not actually be carrying a child at all. Guren doubted that too.
This was real.
And he knew it.
Guren placed down what he had been drinking on as he placed his hands down and closed his eyes. Just breathe and it could possibly go away. It wasn’t the first time he had actually thrown up. It had happened before, but Guren kept writing it off. Apparently, he shouldn’t have done that.
The Omega felt Shinya’s hand land on his back. The Alpha had begun to run soothing circles into the tension of his back as Guren kept breathing. His stomach was doing flips as Guren just hoped that it would calm down. He hadn’t been so lucky with it, but he could have wishful thinking.
“Hey, Guren,” Shinya murmured, “How long have you been hiding the symptoms?”
Guren shrugged slightly. Shinya was already onto him about it. Guren could admit that he had been acting as if he was okay. Technically, he was. It was just a part of what came with pregnancy. He already hated it. Though, not all the symptoms should last. He had heard about cases of it being different, but pregnancy was different for everyone.
Shinya laughed softly, continuing to rub at his back, “You don’t have to hide it now.”
That was also true. To be fair, he had been kind of an idiot whenever it came to the initial symptoms. He was the one that people turned too, and now, he was going to be out of commission for the unforeseeable future. That was not a negotiation. It was something he was going to have to do. Guren could no longer go into the field for the time being and probably wouldn’t see the front lines for a while. Actually, Guren’s entire life was about to change. It wasn’t just about him anymore. It wasn’t going to just be the two of them. Soon enough, there would be another human right in this place with them.
He didn’t know if it was just the general symptom of nausea or if it was nerves, but he lost his stomach right into the sink within seconds. The Omega cringed at the taste in his mouth as he retched into the sink. Shinya continued to murmur soft reassurances and sweet nothings as he kept rubbing at his back. Shinya did start to brush the hair out of Guren’s face in the process, but the act was more soothing than it was generally helping. Though, he could say that it was helpful that Shinya was right there.
It made it feel less… terrifying and anxiety inducing.
It took a moment, but his stomach started to feel like it was finally settling and Guren took a second just to catch his breath. The Omega leaned up, turning on the water to wash out the sink but also used the water to wash out his mouth. As he watched the water run, the thought crossed his mind.
Was he allowed to be happy about this?
After everything that he had done?
“Feeling better?” Shinya questioned as he grabbed for a towel and held it out to him.
Guren did take it to wipe off his mouth and dry his hands before turning off the water. He nodded quickly after. The Omega could admit that he did always feel slightly better afterwards. As strange as that was to say. It would probably happen again. Guren had been noticing that certain smells caused his stomach to suddenly churn, and that nausea would come. They called it morning sickness. Why was it called that whenever it happened at any time of the day? That was one thing that he had noticed. It wasn’t just in the morning. He could use that as an excuse to explain why he didn’t think of the possibility, but they would know he was bluffing.
“I’m fine.” Guren murmured as he looked over to the Alpha. Shinya was giving him a soft and gentle look. The look in Shinya’s eyes had drastically changed ever since they had seen the result. Even if it had only been a night. It was reassuring to say the least.
“Is this why it’s been taking you so long recently to get ready or you wait to leave until after me?” Shinya questioned. Guren just gave a guilty smile. He couldn’t refute that. It was exactly what he had done. He had been hiding it from everyone. Mostly because he didn’t want to be used as a pin cushion by the Scientists that they had. While he didn’t have to say it, Shinya gave him an understanding look as his hand ran over Guren’s back again. “Don’t hide any of it from me. The good, the bad, and the ugly.”
“Alright.” The Omega whispered back. His stomach was finally settling down as he reached over to where they kept some mints and grabbed one. It was something he had noticed helped. Peppermint had a way of calming his stomach. Also, saltine crackers. He popped the mint into his mouth, letting it settle there as the minty flavor took over the more bitter aftertaste.
Shinya dropped his hand, leaning against the other side of the counter, “Think you’ll be able to eat something?”
“Yeah.” Guren said back, “In a bit anyway.” The Omega sighed as he reached into his pocket and grabbed for his pocket watch. “They’ll be wondering where we are if we don’t hurry up.”
Shinya started to laugh, “Since when do you care?” Guren just deadpanned, casting the Alpha a look in the process. The Major General shrugged, grinning again. “Okay, okay, no need for that.” The silence fell over them for the time being as Guren’s mind raced again. He was going to have to tell people. What if he told people and all of this just went to shit? That he lost this too? The thought of it actually started to freak him out. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
Guren looked up, cursing silently to himself that he had let it show on his face. “Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.” Shinya said back as he stepped forward. His concerned gaze moved over Guren’s face as the Omega had that thought hit him again. “Guren, talk to me. What’s wrong?”
Guren sighed, looking down as he leaned back on the counter he had previously been bracing his hand against. “Good things don’t really happen to me.” Guren admitted as he looked back to Shinya. “Everything good in my life has always been taken away.” He meant that in more ways than one. Shinya couldn’t know the full extent, but there was enough that he did know for him to understand it. Then, he felt the emotion starting to hit him. How could he be so conflicted and then suddenly be afraid to lose it? It didn’t feel like it was something that he was allowed to feel. “I don’t want this to be a bad thing… And what if it ends before it even starts—”
“Hey, hey,” Shinya said quickly as he reached out and placed his hands onto Guren’s arms. Not only did it cause Guren to stop speaking, but it had prompted him to look back up. “It’ll be okay. Don’t worry about that, Guren.”
“Of course, I’m going to worry about it.” Guren said with a shake of his head, “It’s not exactly like it’s just simple.”
“It’s not,” Shinya replied, “But we’ll be okay.” The Alpha smiled at him again, and Guren picked up more of his scent as Shinya stepped closer to him. It was always something so tranquil to him. It put him at ease in an instant any time that he took the moment just to take in Shinya’s natural scent. Looking into his eyes always helped too. Right now, it was working to help calm down that sudden fear that hit. “Whenever you are ready, we’ll get you into the Doctors that we got. The Moon Demon Company comes with the best medical care, and you will have the best Doctors on the staff to make sure this goes as smoothly as possible.”
“Pregnancy is unpredictable, Shinya.” Guren whispered, “What if…” He choked, feeling that fear again, “What if I lose the baby?”
“I can’t just say it’s never going to be a possibility,” Shinya said back with a shake of his head, “But we both know it’s a lot better not to think that way.” Shinya smiled a bit brighter, reaching up and cupping Guren’s face into his hands, “Good things. This is a good thing.”
“It’s a good thing.” Guren whispered. It had to be. He couldn’t keep thinking about the other things. This already felt like a rollercoaster, but they would get through it. Hopefully. Guren wanted to be optimistic about this. He just had a lot of other emotions and thoughts that kept attempting to get in the way of it.
“We will do this however you want to do it.” Shinya went on to say. “If you want to wait a bit to tell anyone, we can do that, but it would be best to get you out of the field as soon as possible.” Shinya was right about that. It was something that he was going to have to do. Guren got a lot of his frustrations out while on the battlefield. Even if he told others they needed to have their head in the mission. It was a good outlet. It was also a breather away from the Hiragi family.
It was just standard procedure and protocol that no pregnant soldier was allowed out on the frontlines or to actually leave the walls of their settlement. It was the equivalent of desk duty, and Guren already hated the sound of that. It was just something that they did to help ensure the life of the expectant mother and the baby. An expectant person on the battlefield was a huge liability. Things could go wrong, and a pregnant person should not be on the battlefield. Even he knew that. It didn’t mean he had to like the idea of being stuck at his desk or stuck teaching in a classroom for nine – technically ten – months.
“Yeah,” Guren muttered, “I know.”
He was going to have to tell Kureto specifically. Of course, the only other people he would want to know were his friends. Kureto was someone he didn’t mind actually telling. Guren could say that Kureto was actually a friend. Out of all the Hiragis, he could count on one hand how much of them that he tolerated and could enjoy the presence of. Kureto was one of them. Kureto had done a lot to actually prove to Guren that he was someone that he could trust. Even in the moments where Kureto could be a major pain in the ass.
The Omega bit down on his lip as he thought about it. He supposed he would just let most people find out on their own. Guren didn’t want to go around advertising it. It would become apparent soon enough if the world actually liked him this time around.
It felt wrong to tell Kureto but not tell his other friends. But he didn’t want to tell them and then just jinx this entire thing. He had to do this sooner rather than later. Guren was in an important position in the Japanese Imperial Demon Army and people relied on him to go outside of their settlement to help keep them safe and fight back against the oppression of the vampires against humanity as well as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Guren would also need medical care. He knew it was possible to go through pregnancy, childbirth, and so on without medical intervention. It was just better to utilize healthcare whenever he had access to it. They had an entire special ward specifically meant for Maternity and Labor and Delivery. There were a lot of things that he would need to do, and it was already starting to feel overwhelming.
“Come on,” Shinya murmured, “Let’s get some breakfast into you.”
“You’re not going to let me say no, are you?” Guren questioned as he looked back to the Alpha with a bit of a smile on his face.
The Alpha just shook his head, “No.” Then, he held up a piece of toast in the process. “You’re eating for two now.”
Guren laughed softly, saying, “Maybe more.” He snatched the toast and took a bite of it as Shinya gave him a surprised look.
“Wait,” Shinya said quickly as Guren side stepped him to walk across the room, “Does that mean you’d have more with me?”
“Shut up, Shinya.” Guren shot back as he took another bite. Just from the sound of Shinya’s voice, it made a smile come to Guren’s face.
Maybe he could actually do this.
Guren had sat on the idea for a couple of days. The Omega still wasn’t sure exactly how he was going to tell anyone, but he knew that he wanted it to be his friends first. They were his family. If anyone had the priority of knowing, it would be them. Kureto would argue that, but this was Guren’s pregnancy, and he was going to do it his way. He was still having to come to terms with all of this, but he was going to do it his way in the meantime.
Shinya wasn’t rushing him on it. Rather, he was being supportive about it. Actually, in a way, Shinya was sticking really close to his side. Guren had started to notice the few small things that had changed with Shinya’s behavior. He was constantly now interjecting himself into what Guren was doing if he was lifting something up or he was going to go get something, Shinya would go do it. Guren could say he was flattered – which he was, he wasn’t going to lie about that – but it was also frustrating.
He was pregnant, not broken.
Guren was still very capable of doing things on his own. But he was letting it slide. Shinya was clearly starting to show his excitement, and it was his way of doing it.
They did come to an agreement on it. They would tell their friends and then Guren would tell Kureto. It just felt right. Guren was finding himself becoming more content with the idea of this as the days had started to pass. Of course, those worries were still within the back of his mind, but any time that he remotely had them, somehow, Shinya knew without him saying it.
The way that they decided to do it was just simply having a dinner with their friends. They were always constantly together as it was. It wasn’t out of the normal to go from their friends’ house and back to their own in a night. Their friends – with no surprise to Guren – would let themselves into their home at any given time. Guren wouldn’t expect anything less from Sayuri and Shigure. Mito and Goshi fell in line with that easily and just did it themselves too. Though, it did happen less frequently and never really at night. They did show respect to Guren and Shinya’s relationship to say the least.
Guren was nervous. The Omega wasn’t sure why he was nervous. He knew his friends. They would be happy. He’d be more surprised if they weren’t. They were family. Guren just didn’t know exactly how to tell them. He kept repeating the way they might go about doing it, and Guren couldn’t pick the one that felt right.
Guren had been thinking about it the entire night as they had dinner. Thankfully, Guren’s stomach was agreeing with him, and the smell of the food wasn’t causing his own body to revolt against him. The Omega was watching his friends for the time being. They were laughing and goofing off like normal. Inside the walls of their homes, they could just be them. Play games together, laugh and joke around, and just be human. Guren enjoyed spending time with them. He always had. It just took him a long time to realize that.
The Omega was staying quiet during the meal. Though, he would occasionally speak up. Shinya was joking around with Goshi as normal. Guren didn’t really bother with joining in. There was a lot on his mind and just seeing them smile and laughing was enough for him.
He didn’t want this to be this really big deal. But a baby was a big deal. Guren knew that. Everything was going to change, and his friends would need to know. Not just because they were his family but because they were his Squad. Guren couldn’t expect for his entire Squad to go on hiatus just because he was pregnant. They were the most elite Squad in the entirety of the Moon Demon Company. They were needed out on the battlefield. Though, he knew them too. They would rather go on hiatus than risk losing any of them because they were down one of them. It would just have to be something they would figure out.
Guren looked back to them. It did make him happy. Their family was getting just a bit bigger. This was a good thing. Pregnancy was usually met with celebration. Most families had parties to announce it. Guren didn’t want that. It didn’t need to be a big spectacle. Guren could suppose that he would like something more personal. For just a second, it made him think of his father. What would his father think? What would he say? Right now, Guren had so many questions for him, and he would never be able to ask him. Would his father smile and hug him with a congratulations? Yeah. That’s exactly what his father would do. Guren missed his father every single day, and right now, Guren wished he was here. His father would love this.
“Guren-sama?” Guren looked up as he noticed that all of them were looking at him. All eyes on him as Guren leaned back in his chair and he blinked a few times. He sniffled as he realized that his eyes were full of tears. The Omega reached up, wiping at his eyes as he lowered his head to use his hair to conceal it. It had been Sayuri who had spoken. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Guren stated.
“Are you sure?” Goshi questioned, “I’ve never seen you just… cry like that.”
Guren smiled as he lifted his head and shook his head, “It’s nothing.”
They definitely weren’t buying it. He could tell from the looks on their faces. The Omega sighed as he looked over to Shinya and gave him a look. Shinya smiled at him, nodding a bit as he looked around, “Actually, there is something.”
The others looked at each other in puzzled glances but their attention quickly turned back to the two of them. Shinya had looked back to him and Guren gave a bit of a nervous smile. “I’m pregnant.”
It had gone completely quiet in the room that made Guren’s body go tense until suddenly the excited sounds filled the room. It had taken him back that he couldn’t tell who was saying what and what was being said from the way that they were talking over each other. The Omega stopped as two sets of arms were quickly around him. It was Sayuri and Shigure as the two of them were smiling at him.
“Oh, that’s great news, Guren-sama!” Sayuri exclaimed.
“Can we do anything?” Shigure questioned as she pulled back. As soon as she realized she had shown more emotions that usual, she had put the mask on, but it was pretty clear she wasn’t doing a lot to actually hide it.
“Congratulations, you two.” Goshi stated as he laughed, clapping Shinya on the shoulder.
Guren was still having a slightly hard time picking out what was being said from the fact that they were all now talking over each other, but a smile just slipped onto his face. The Omega found himself relaxing in an instant as he suddenly felt that overwhelming feeling going out the window.
At one point, Guren had found himself out of the chair as each one of his friends took a chance to pull him into an embrace and give him their own form of congratulations. They had done the same with Shinya. Shinya was standing there with a proud smile on his face. It made a lot of the nerves that Guren had building up seep away for now. Honestly, he didn’t expect anything different with them.
Their family was just getting bigger.
And right now, Guren could put the other concerns he had in the back of his mind.
Shinya was letting Guren have the moment. Even though they were also making sure that he was included, Shinya had taken a step back. He was figuring out Guren’s reservations about everything and his fears, and Guren needed a moment to just take a breather. The smile on his face was enough for him. Shinya would join back in, but for a few more minutes, it needed to be just Guren. It seemed to be working well enough to distract Guren from the depths of his mind. He had been concerned whenever he saw the tears in Guren’s eyes and the distant look.
It didn’t take much to figure out what had caused it. Hormonal changes were completely normal, and he had been noticing a change in Guren’s emotions lately. But the same thing happened whenever Guren went into heat too. It just came with the territory. He just had this gut feeling that he knew what Guren was thinking.
This was their family.
That was enough for Shinya to figure it out without Guren saying it. He knew what Guren was thinking about. So, the others were doing their own good jobs in helping calm Guren down in their own way. Guren might wear a mask, but he dropped it a bit more around them. But he also didn’t cry around them. Shinya knew why. Guren refused to cry in front of others and preferred to do so behind closed doors. Shinya understood it.
Guren had practically been swarmed by the girls. Mito, Sayuri, and Shigure were gushing over him and keeping his attention as Shinya stayed lingering back. Shinya had a soft smile on his face the entire time as Goshi walked over to him and leaned against the wall next to him.
“Man, Guren’s pregnant.” Goshi stated. The blonde Alpha had a smile on his face as he shook his head. “Congratulations, Shinya-sama.”
“Thanks.” Shinya said back as he kept his eyes on Guren.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him cry before.” Goshi went on to say, “Freaked me out for a second.”
Shinya’s lips turned into a bit more of a soft smile, “He doesn’t like people seeing it.” Shinya replied, “But we’ll probably see more of it.”
Goshi laughed softly, crossing his arms as he looked back over. “The girls are loving this already.”
“I think this is the happiest I’ve seen Guren since we found out.” Shinya admitted, “At least, the most relaxed.”
Goshi gave him a knowing look as he nodded along, “Yeah, I can see why.”
Shinya was never really one to believe in fate, but there were a lot of things that had happened that truly made him start thinking about it. It didn’t feel like by some coincidence that he found Guren. There was something far more to it. Shinya knew that. Shinya also never thought Mahiru would have been the reason that Shinya actually did find something that truly made him happy. At least, Shinya could say that something good was coming from his life. Something that he actually had a choice in.
“I don’t think I have ever seen you really smile like this, Shinya-sama.” Goshi murmured.
Shinya was pulled out of his thoughts as he looked back to the other. Goshi was giving him a softer smile as Shinya laughed softly and shrugged, “I’m going to be a father.” Shinya stated. He didn’t really have the right words to say, or how to put it into the words that he wanted to put into. Shinya could say with confidence that he wanted this.
He understood Guren’s fears. He knew why he had them, but Shinya was going to be right there to support him through it all. They had turned against the Hiragi family together once. They could do it again. This was worth that. Guren was worth it.
Shinya would rather do that than chance losing Guren.
Shinya could not imagine his life without Guren anymore.
Now, they were having a baby together, and it made him feel great.
“Honestly, whenever it came to the two of you,” Goshi murmured, “I think it was never a matter of if the two of you would get together and possibly have a family… But a when.”
Shinya wanted to be surprised at that. Actually, in a way, he was. It was always a known fact that Shinya had been engaged to Mahiru. The branch families all knew about it. From what he learned, Guren was never told by his father for personal reasons. Guren had looked genuinely surprised whenever Shinya had said it to him back then. To think, if it hadn’t been for Mahiru, Shinya wouldn’t have looked into Guren’s direction. Could he say it was short of a blessing in disguise? It just felt strange now to attribute something good to Mahiru’s name whenever that same name – well, more directly the Hiragi family – held so many bad experiences and memories.
“I guess so.” Shinya murmured as his gaze went back to Guren. Guren was all smiles right now. It felt so good to see. Shinya loved Guren’s smile. Shinya never wanted Guren to lose that smile. Even after all this time, Guren still had his difficulties coming to anyone, but Shinya was the one person who got to see all sides of Guren.
Shinya pushed himself off of the wall as he gave another smile to Goshi. Goshi was someone who Shinya could say was a really good friend. Genuinely, a really good friend. Don’t get him wrong, the girls were also really good friends, but Goshi was his guy friend. The way he conducted himself with Goshi was different than how he conducted himself with Mito, Sayuri, and Shigure. It was just different. Goshi was the person that Shinya could easily hang out with aside from the rest of them and Guren. Guren would always hold the spot of being his closest friend even if they were romantically involved. Guren was his best friend and always would be. But it was nice to have someone like Goshi too.
Shinya walked over to Guren and slipped his arm behind the Omega’s back. Despite being in conversation with the others, Guren leaned right into him. The Alpha leaned over, taking in Guren’s scent. He was starting to pick it up more. The first time he had noticed, he had thought his mind was playing tricks on him, but it was there. The pheromone that was laced in Guren’s scent. It was a sign that was trying to tell people that Guren was currently with child. It was so sweet and alluring. Pulling him even more into the charm that was around Guren at any given time.
Right now, all Shinya could do was smile.
They were going to be parents, and Shinya was going to be everything that his parents were now.
And he would make a vow to that.