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Chapter Text

Soulmate.

One person’s true fated partner in life. Rather it was love, comfort, intimacy, friendship, companionship. There were many words that could be used to describe what it truly was. Guren Ichinose didn’t necessarily believe in the concept of soulmates. They said that a soulmate or a true mate was someone’s whose soul was perfectly entwined with their own. A soul that had a truly unique and deep connection to another person that no one else would be able to explain. A soulmate had also been regarded as an imprint. An inseparable bond between two people that could not be broken.

No one knew the true extent of what a soulmate could do. To have that kind of hold over someone? Guren didn’t mean to make it sound strange or as it was something to be frowned upon. He had also heard that finding someone’s soulmate was rare. That most people could go their entire lifetime and never find that person but would still go on to live happily mated lives with other people.

Guren had stumbled onto it one night while he was studying. It captivated him as he read over the pages. The young Omega had heard people speak about it before. Guren listened to people as they spoke about it before, and it had never pulled him in. He was never truly sold on the idea of it. That there was truly a person out there who was meant to be someone’s perfect half. Still, he found himself looking back to those pages and repeatedly going back to read them again and again. There was something that was just so fascinating about it.

So, one day, as he was with his father, he decided to ask, “Dad, what’s a soulmate?”

It clearly had thrown his father off as Sakae Ichinose turned his gaze down to him and gave him a gentle smile. “You want to know what a soulmate is?”

Guren nodded, “What is it?” If anyone knew what it truly was, it would be his father. His father always seemed to have the right answers. Even if there were times that Guren wasn’t so sure. Either way, he wanted to know.

“Well,” Sakae said as he moved to sit down on the bench that they had been going by. Guren moved to sit down next to him. Once he was sitting down, Sakae went on to say, “A soulmate is like a best friend, but they are more than that.” Guren quickly found himself starting to listen to every single word that his father was saying. Guren watched the look in his father’s eyes. The way he had spoken with so much certainty. Guren would see the way that his father’s eyes twinkled and the smile that would grace his face. “A soulmate is the one person in the entire world who knows you better than anyone else. They are the one person who knows you… Accepts you… They’d believe in you before anyone else did or when no one else would.” Guren inhaled sharply as he saw the smile come to Sakae’s face. Like he was speaking from experience. “They make you a better person.”

“A better person?” Guren murmured.

Sakae smiled a bit brighter and nodded, “Actually, you do that yourself.” He replied as he looked back down to his son. “Because they inspire you. They make you want to be better. They are the driving force behind that decision.” Sakae stopped for a second, smiling a bit more as he gave a soft shake of his head, “You would do anything… Be anything… They become the one person in this world that brings a light in the darkness just because they are there.” Sakae looked down, and Guren had noticed that he was looking at his wedding ring. It caught the Omega boy’s attention as Sakae toyed with it, twirling it slightly on his finger as he continued to speak. “You would be anything for them. A friend… a lover… family… You would be whatever they needed, and they would do the same for you. Whenever you’re around them, it feels like you can take on the world.”

Guren felt even more captivated. Completely enthralled with every single word that his father said. How the light shined in his eyes, and his smile was so genuine. “How do you know?” Guren questioned.

Sakae looked back to him, “What exactly?”

“How do you know if someone is your soulmate?” Guren questioned further. He didn’t know why he cared. Why he was asking about it. But the look on his father’s face made him want to know more.

“The second you look at your soulmate,” Sakae started to explain, “It’s like gravity.”

“Gravity?” Guren murmured.

Sakae hummed and nodded, “That the whole world shifts.” The Alpha Ichinose went on to say, “In that moment, it feels like time just… stops. Nothing else matters but them.” Sakae’s smile only got fonder. “A soulmate is someone’s whose soul is a perfect match to your own. Like an Inyo. Two souls that co-exist together in separate forms. Two souls that can’t exist without the other. Two souls that are perfectly intertwined. It’s like the Earth needing the Sun and the moon to survive. The gravity that keeps you bound to the Earth. With a soulmate, they are that. The moment you look into their eyes, you know.”

“You just know?” The Omega boy questioned.

Sakae nodded, “It takes your breath away.” The Alpha Ichinose explained, “In that moment, your heart starts to beat for them. They say that even your heartbeats match perfectly. Like one complete heart, and without the other, it’s like the whole world is gone. That nothing else matters except for them.” Sakae smiled a bit more, laughing softly, “In that moment, all you see is them. They are the only thing in the world.”

Guren let out a soft breath as he murmured, “Did you ever find your soulmate?”

“I did.” Sakae stated with a proud smile, “Your mother.”

“Your soulmate is Mom?” The Omega boy whispered.

Sakae nodded again, “The second I saw her…” His voice trailed for a second, but his smile only grew. “I knew, I would do anything for her. That I could take on anything in this world.” Sakae looked back to Guren again. “And she did the same for me. She gave me everything.”

“You…” Guren started as he tried to think of the right words. He was so captivated by every single word. It sounded so real, but it also sounded like a fairy tale. Something that only happened in books or in movies. Was it truly possible? Was there really someone out there that Guren truly couldn’t live without? “Even though we are Ichinoses?”

“Even though we are Ichinoses.” Sakae repeated with a smile. “A soulmate is rare. Many people go their entire lives without meeting their soulmate. They go on and get married and live happily mated lives.” Sakae reached over, ruffling Guren’s hair, “So, if you ever meet your soulmate… You hold onto them. Because… A soulmate is someone you will carry with you forever. No matter what happens in this world, you will always love them, and nothing will ever change that.”

As much as it terrified him, he found himself thinking about it.

A soulmate.

Guren wondered if he would ever meet his own. His father seemed to believe it was true, and it made Guren believe it. Was that person a reality? Even for someone like… him. There could be a chance that it never happened. That he would never truly know.

Years later, Guren had gotten his answer.

Whenever Guren was fifteen years old, he had been forced to attend First Shibuya High School. Guren knew how this was going to go. The way that he was going to have to hide. He would have to face nonstop ridicule day in and day out. He could endure it. Guren was patient. It was just three years of this, but he had been doing close to the same thing for even longer.

Guren was the Heir to the Ichinose clan and the Order of the Imperial Moon. The young Omega was the next in line after his father. Once his father passed, Guren would take over. He had been trained and taught for years. One day, they would want him to get married and have a child of his own. Honestly, he didn’t know if he wanted that. Whenever it was brought up, he would simply put a smile on his face and nod. On the bright side, it wasn’t his father who was the one who typically brought it up. It was always people around them. He was still a teenager. He wasn’t thinking about that. But it would have to be something that he thought of in the future. Guren just wasn’t sure if he wanted to bring anyone into this life.

Before he could even think of something like that, Guren had to survive high school. It could either be the most taxing three years of his life or it could surprise him. This was the same place that had broken his father. Every prospective Ichinose leader had gone to school here. It was meant to keep them beaten down. Break them. Guren was not going to let that happen to himself. He was going to keep his head down. Play the overly submissive role and let them just believe he was weak.

He would be attending the school with two of his retainers. Sayuri Hanayori and Shigure Yukimi. Though, they were placed it classes across the school from it. It was a tactic to isolate Guren away from people he knew. Guren would just have to put up with it. There wasn’t a choice in the matter for him.

Guren had spoken to the two Alpha females who were walking behind him. Making sure that they were aware that they needed to stay hidden away. They had agreed with him, and as they walked towards the gates. Guren had seen him.

The Omega had stopped right in his tracks the second his gaze had settled on him. It felt like it had completely taken his breath away the second his gaze hit blue. The hues of blue were so… awestriking. Guren almost felt like he had entirely stopped breathing at all. Guren could feel it. That strange shift that he couldn’t explain. Like the entire world around him had melted away. In that moment, all he could recall were his father’s words.

This couldn’t be happening.

Not here.

The other had just stood there smiling at him, but the look on his face Guren was sure was just like his. Both of them were unable to move as it felt like the rest of the world was gone. That nothing else was there but the two of them. For a split second, Guren could have sworn he had seen a glow to the other’s eyes. As soon as it was there, it was gone again. It took a moment, but Guren was finally able to regain his bearings, and the world felt like it came back into his senses.

Guren had no idea at that moment, he had just laid eyes on the most important person in his life. He didn’t know that his gaze had fallen onto the one person who would change his life for the better. The one person in the entire world whose soul was his perfect half.

Shinya Hiragi.

The second that Shinya Hiragi set his eyes on Guren Ichinose, he really never thought that he would feel so paralyzed. It was something that he had never felt before. Shinya had every intention of just casting a spell in that moment, but the second he locked eyes with the other, everything stopped. The entire world around him had melted away, and Shinya had felt a warmth in his chest unlike any other.

It had completely taken his breath away. Shinya had been waiting for him. For years, all he ever heard were stories about one Guren Ichinose. From everything that happened in that moment, Shinya couldn’t bring himself to do it. It had stunned him enough that he didn’t even pull the intended spell tag out.

Shinya couldn’t tear his gaze away at first. All he could do was stare on as he did everything to regain his bearings. All he could see were striking violet eyes. It made Shinya take a step back and just look over them. Even from this distance, it was as if he was standing right in front of him. They were so breathtaking to him. The hues of purple in his eyes. Shinya almost wanted to see it more up close. Just to see if all the shades he saw now were also still there.

In his shock, Shinya completely disregarded everything that he had planned on doing. All Shinya could do in that moment was turn and walk away. Completely trashing the initial plan that he had. What was that?

In that moment, Shinya couldn’t bring himself to do it, but he wanted to know more.

Guren never thought he would actually come to trust Shinya Hiragi. It surprised even him at that moment. The warmth that came to his chest and the flutter of his stomach the second that he realized that he might actually be able to trust him. Could he say that Shinya was trying hard to prove it? Maybe. Did he have ulterior motives? Also, another maybe. Still, Guren felt like he could actually trust him.

And from that moment on, everything changed.

Guren’s smile no longer felt like he was having to force it. It just came to his face even if he so much as looked in Shinya’s direction. Shinya was oddly enough very funny and smart. He was calculating. Shinya had this cold edge about him. Something that Guren could see from a mile away. At times, it was like Shinya was using his own smile as a guard. A mask over his face. It wasn’t often that he felt like he got to see the true side of Shinya.

For months, they had gotten closer. Well, they all had. Slowly, all of them started to come together and it felt bigger than it was before. Guren was finding himself surrounded by people he never thought that he would be. He knew that Shigure and Sayuri would always be by his side, though it was from a retainer standpoint at first. Then, Goshi and Mito came along. Coming right into the group of them alongside Shinya. Guren actually found himself enjoying his time with them. The more time he spent with them, the more he realized, he didn’t want to lose them.

Even after all this time, one single moment had Guren felt paralyzed.

The second he saw Shinya’s tears.

For the first time, it was like he had seen Shinya completely break down. Showing that other side of him and the vulnerability that Shinya had buried deep inside of himself. Guren couldn’t tear his gaze away. Guren never wanted to see tears in Shinya’s eyes again. Not like that. There was this pull inside of him that he couldn’t explain. One that kept telling him to do whatever he could to get the tears to stop.

Shinya made a lot of good points whenever he spoke, and Guren took in every single word of it.

Even after the tears, and Shinya had composed himself, Shinya held out his hand to him with a smile.

All Guren could do was take it and make a vow with all of them.

If they were going to die tonight, they were going to die together.

Shinya’s chest was blistering in pain. He could taste the metallic flavor of blood in his mouth. Despite the pain, Shinya kept a smile on his face as he kept looking up into those breathtaking purple eyes. Guren was looking down at him and Shinya could see all of the emotion flaring to life in his eyes.

Then he saw them.

Guren’s tears.

Guren was begging him to live. Telling him that this couldn’t happen. Despite all of it, it made a warmth come to Shinya’s chest. This was the most open and vulnerable that he had ever seen Guren. Everything had been on the line tonight, and it would seem that Shinya wasn’t going to make it to see the sun rise. Actually, none of them were. Guren was the only one left completely unharmed. The others were dead. Shinya was toeing the door. But Guren… He was alive. Shinya could be at peace with that.

Whenever they met, he had no idea that Guren would become the most important person in his life. For a while, Shinya was sure that everything that drove him to him was out of envy. He envied Guren for so long. Then, he met him, and he saw exactly why. Only, it had started to change. He stopped looking at Guren as this seemingly competition into an actual friend. Someone that Shinya had grown to cherish. Guren had his charm about him. However, Guren understood him in ways that no one else would. Even though Guren didn’t know the full story, he was still right there next to him.

Shinya kept looking over Guren’s face as he watched the tears spill over. Shinya didn’t want to see Guren cry. Not like that. Tears of… sorrow. Pleading eyes fixed on him.

“No,” Guren pleaded. “Just… Stop it. This—” Guren choked for a second, shaking his head as Shinya’s

Shinya just smiled, reaching up and wiping the tears away from Guren’s eyes. The Omega looked taken back as he lifted up his hand and pressed it against Shinya’s. “Don’t cry, Guren.” Shinya managed to wheeze out. His smile only got bigger on his bloodied lips as he coughed, and more blood came into his throat. As he gazed into Guren’s eyes, he saw that look again. “Meeting you… and everything else… Don’t get angry… Don’t…”

“Shinya!” Guren exclaimed, “No! This… This isn’t happening—”

“The meaning of life,” Shinya continued, smiling a bit more, “It was meeting you.”

Shinya was dying… So, if he needed to say anything.

He had to do it now.

“Shinya,” Guren whispered, shaking his head as Shinya brushed more of the tears out of his eyes. “Please… Stay with me.”

Shinya could feel his strength weakening. It was getting harder to breathe or talk. This was it. “It’s okay, Guren.” Shinya decided to say, “Don’t… lose sight of you…”

Shinya’s eyes began to close as he couldn’t keep them open anymore.

The last thing he saw before his eyes slipped shut were Guren’s eyes and everything went dark.

Guren couldn’t breathe. His chest was tight. Each breath that he attempted to take felt like it was weighing him down more. “Why…” He whispered, looking around at the blood-soaked carnage room. It was absolutely… devastated. “Why am I still alive?”

Guren stared down at his blood soaked hands in horror. This was… Shinya’s blood. Guren clutched at his chest as he tried to just catch his breath. His heart was beating rapidly against his chest. It still felt so hard. It was like his heart had been ripped right out of his chest and crushed.

Shinya’s light was gone. It left Guren in nothing but a pitch black abyss. The Omega turned his gaze, looking back to where his friends’ bodies were. To… Shinya.

He could bring them back.

It would be a great cost, but right now, Guren couldn’t see another way.

They promised each other. They made a promise, and he broke it. If they died, he was supposed to die too. Guren felt like his entire body had gone numb. Like everything in the world had melted away and he couldn’t feel a thing anymore. Slowly, Guren got to his feet. What was he supposed to do?

The right path for tonight was to die and the world would be saved.

No…

He couldn’t do that.

Guren’s gaze fell onto the coffins that were in the room. The Seraph of the End. He could bring them back. Bring them all back. And see their… smiles again. Have Shinya back. Was this selfish? To activate this experiment and bring them back at the cost of the very world. Then, again, his gaze fell onto Shinya, and he knew the answer.

It was… worth it.

If Shinya got to stay with him.

Guren didn’t think that he could go on living in this world without him. It felt like the second that he saw the light leave Shinya’s eyes that Guren had died too. Only, he had been left in this purgatory that he couldn’t get out of.

Guren’s body felt like it had moved entirely on its own as he got to the coffins. Pushing each of them open before turning and going to where his friends’ bodies were currently lying. One by one, he picked up each one of them and placed them into the coffins. Guren did take the second to make sure that they were all together and their hair was neat and out of their faces before moving on. Even in death, he could do that. It was something small, and they would never know, but it felt good to him.

As he got the other four placed inside, his gaze returned back to Shinya. This time, Guren felt a bit of a smile coming to his face as he walked over to where Shinya’s body was. The Omega used his sleeve to wipe the blood away from Shinya’s face.

Once he had done so, he had gathered up Shinya and also moved him into the coffin. The Omega had stood there for a second just staring at him. Shinya looked peaceful despite everything. Guren’s chest tightened again as he turned to go retrieve Noya to finish the job.

There was just one more thing he needed to do.

This would be nothing short of a miracle if this worked. Guren couldn’t think straight at the moment. He wanted Shinya back. He couldn’t live without him. This might just be the cost that he would have to pay to do so. For a second, Guren wondered if Shinya would do the same thing. Probably not. Guren was just a fool. No one in their right mind would actually do this.

This was a big betrayal against the world. And Guren knew he was selfish for doing it. He was about to break the biggest taboo that someone could. From this moment on, Guren would carry the greatest burden of this sin, and no one had to know about it.

Guren couldn’t live without him, and this was the price he had to pay.

Ever since the world ended, Shinya had watched Guren slowly start to retreat back inside of himself. Falling back into his old ways. If the others noticed, they didn’t say anything. But Shinya could see it. There wasn’t a lot that he could remember about that night. Honestly, most of it was a blur. The last thing he remembered was them arriving and then waking up to Guren standing there with this look of relief on his face. Guren had a lot of emotions on his face that night, and Shinya couldn’t pinpoint any of them. Even whenever they asked, he wouldn’t talk about it.

Shinya didn’t want Guren to pull away from them. From him. It had already taken so long to get Guren to even trust in them. Shinya wasn’t about to give up on him now.

For months, he had watched him. It didn’t seem to matter what any of them did. The others were acting normally, but Shinya had gotten really good at spotting a mask. It took one to know one. It brought this tightness to Shinya’s chest. Shinya knew if they didn’t do something, Guren was going to continue just to pull away from them, and he didn’t want that. He couldn’t.

Shinya couldn’t explain it. But it was almost as if he couldn’t live without him. Guren was alive and well, and he was here. But it felt like they were with a ghost. Shinya couldn’t even begin to express into words what it was like. The haunted look in Guren’s eyes. Even if Shinya brought it up, Guren avoided it.

It felt like they were losing him.

Shinya just didn’t know how to explain it.

It’s what brought him here. Guren had been going off by himself a lot after the world ended. While it was typically nothing new, it was still concerning to him. It wasn’t hard to find Guren. Shinya knew pretty much every single place that Guren liked to hide out. Guren could be gone for hours at times. It was all about checking his normal hiding spots.

Guren had noticed him immediately whenever the Alpha started to approach. Shinya stayed quiet at first whenever he got to him. The Omega quickly turned his gaze away as Shinya stared at him for a few minutes in silence. Even now, he could see the traces of that expression in Guren’s eyes. So… haunted. He didn’t have another word on how to explain what he was seeing.

Shinya didn’t know how to say it. Ever since they had met, there had just been this pull inside of him.

“What do you want, Shinya?” Guren murmured as he dropped his gaze and leaned back on the rail he had been previously leaning against.

“A lot of things,” Shinya stated, “But more importantly to know what the Hell has been going on with you lately?”

“Nothing,” The Omega said back with a shake of his head, “What makes you think that?”

“Cut the bullshit, Guren.” The Alpha replied as he leaned against the rail himself, “We both know you’ve been building up these walls around you ever since the world ended.” Guren hummed in response and turned his gaze towards him. Shinya kept looking into those deep hues of purple in his eyes. They were so vibrant and beautiful all at once. A mixture of emotions at any given time. Shinya often found himself getting lost in them. “It’s almost like you died that night.” Guren’s face remained blank. The Omega was actively hiding behind that mask right now. Shinya could tell instantly. “Want to try and bullshit again that nothing is wrong with you?”

“There isn’t.” Guren said back.

Shinya let out a sharp breath as he shook his head, “Damn it, Guren.” The Alpha let out a sharp breath, feeling the frustration hit him. “Is that the lie you’re going to keep going with? That it’s nothing.”

Guren let out a sharp breath as he pushed off of the rail and the Omega went to walk passed him. Shinya turned, grabbing a hold of Guren’s arm and it instantly made the Omega look back to him. Their gazes locked as Shinya felt that pull again. Just for a second, he felt it. He couldn’t explain it, but it felt like nothing but despair.

“Shinya,” Guren murmured as he shook his head, “Don’t.”

“Am I just supposed to stand by and watch you suffer alone?” Shinya snapped and he could see the way that Guren was taken back by his words. “I don’t know what it is, but something happened. You don’t have to carry this alone.” Guren turned his gaze away and Shinya reached out and grabbed at his other arm to try and coax the other to look back at him. “Talk to me, Guren.”

Guren looked back at him, and it was Shinya’s turn to be taken aback by the look that the Omega had in his eyes. Sincerity. Vulnerability. “I can’t, Shinya.” Guren whispered, “You just have to trust me on that.”

“Why?” Shinya questioned, “Why can’t you just talk to me?”

“I can’t!” Guren snapped, raising his voice a bit. There was a plea to his voice. Raw with emotion as the Omega let out another sharp breath and looked away again. Guren was absolutely avoiding whatever it was, but the feeling that Shinya got in him told him not to actually push. Like this sway in gravity that was trying to pivot him somewhere else. “I can’t tell you, okay? Just drop it.” Guren did look back to him. “Just…” Guren looked down and the saddened glance filled Guren’s eyes. “Stay with me.”

Shinya felt like he was ultimately paralyzed. He could barely hear him. It was so soft, but it was raw and genuine. The Alpha felt his chest tighten in another way. There was something familiar about that, but he had never heard Guren say that to him before. “Guren…” Shinya murmured.

Guren lifted up a tear-filled gaze and Shinya felt like he had been punched right in the gut. “Don’t dig into it, please.” Please. When did Guren ever say… please? Shinya kept looking for answers right in Guren’s eyes, but he wasn’t giving it away. The Omega blinked a few times, like he was trying to control the tears. Guren let out a shaky breath as Shinya found himself reaching up to wipe at the tear that had fell out of Guren’s eye. The Omega had stilled, inhaling sharply as he looked directly back to Shinya. “I can’t lose you.”

“Who said that was going to happen?” Shinya questioned. He had no idea what was going on with him. “If I wanted to leave, I would have done it a long time ago.” The expression Guren wore was unreadable. No matter how much that Shinya tried to decipher it. In a way, it looked like Guren was about to break at any given second. “So, why do you keep pushing me away?” Guren choked for a second as his hands landed on Shinya’s wrists and curled around them. The Omega didn’t say anything. He just kept looking at him. Guren was never going to say. It wouldn’t matter what Shinya said. “Do you think that you’re the only one?”

“Shinya…” Guren started.

But Shinya didn’t let him finish. He cut off Guren’s words with a shake of his head, “I can’t lose you. In this fucked up world, all we have is each other.” Shinya growled, “I thought I made that point very clear a long time ago. Even before the world went to Hell.” He definitely had Guren’s attention. The Omega was staring at him with a softer look on his face. Shinya felt like he needed to say something. Anything to prove his point. “I didn’t have a meaning in my life. Then, I met you.”

Guren’s eyes widened as Shinya’s grip tightened. The Omega looked completely stunned, but Shinya caught this glimpse of recognition in his eyes. “Shinya, I—”

“I don’t know how the Hell you managed to pull it off,” Shinya continued, “I can’t live without you. I can’t live seeing you like this either.”

“I’m fine,” Guren whispered, “Really.”

“Are you?” Shinya shot back, “You’ve been pushing all of us away. You built these walls up. It’s like before.”

“I mean it, Shinya.” The Omega murmured, “I’m okay.” Then, it was Shinya’s turn to stop. Guren… smiled. Even though tears were glistening in his eyes, Guren had a smile on his face. One that looked genuinely happy. “I have you.”

Shinya felt like this was the closest that he might actually get to the answer that he wanted. Guren was going to continue to skirt around it, but the way he spoke was in sincerity. He did mean what he was saying.

Shinya let his gaze move over Guren’s face for a second, trying to look for any signs that Guren might be trying to deceive him. Tell him whatever he wanted to hear, but he wasn’t seeing it. Guren kept that softer look on his face. Shinya did believe him. But it also meant that Guren was never going to fully tell him what it was. Shinya might never get that answer. There was so much about that night that he couldn’t remember. It was just a blank. Something happened, and he was certain of that.

But he was never going to get Guren to talk about it.

Shinya let out a soft breath, relenting as he whispered, “Don’t push me away, Guren.” He tightened his fingers for just a second as he felt that pull of gravity again. Even now, Shinya wasn’t sure what it was.

“I’ll be okay,” Guren murmured as his own grip tightened, “As long as if you’re by my side.”

Shinya smiled with a shake of his head, “I would have to die to leave your side.”

Shinya wasn’t sure why he did it, but he found himself leaning in. His lips grazed over Guren’s, and he felt this spark go down his back. He could hear the way that the air caught in Guren’s throat. The Alpha was even sure that he could hear the sound of his heartbeat. Quickening with each second. Shinya could pick up his scent perfectly. Guren’s natural scent had a way of calming him down. It was so intoxicating to the point that sometimes Shinya didn’t think he would be able to think straight.

Ever since the second he had met him, Shinya had felt this gravitational pull in Guren’s direction. The feeling of being unable to live without him. That he wouldn’t be able to live without him. That he needed Guren in his life. Shinya had no way to truly express how he felt.

Guren wasn’t pulling away from him. He could feel the hot breath against his lips with each breath that Guren took. How he could feel Guren relaxing slightly. Even if he could never truly get the answer, Shinya wanted to be right by Guren’s side through all of it. He was never going to leave him. As long as if Guren was alive and next to him, Shinya would be okay.

“Stay with me, Shinya.” Guren whispered. “Don’t leave me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Shinya murmured back.

“We… We can’t go back from this.” Guren’s voice was still so soft. Maybe there was this hint of uncertainty and fear, but he could also hear the longing in his voice.

Shinya just smiled, “I should have done this a long time ago.”

Against his better judgment, Shinya leaned in and connected their lips.

It had taken him a long time to figure out, but Shinya knew the second that he had looked into Guren’s eyes, Guren had become the most important person to him.

And he couldn’t live without him.

Chapter Text

Four Years Later

That had been the true turning point in their relationship. Everything had changed. Their relationship had transformed into something so much more than it had been before. Even as the time passed, Guren couldn’t bring himself to regret it. Actually, it filled him more with this happiness and a sense of security that he had never felt before. That it was just… right.

They had moved in together with just the two of them a few months after what Guren could call their confession. Was it a confession? He had no idea, but that was what he was going with. It felt really good to be able to go to bed and Shinya would be right next to him. There were so many times that Guren would stay up at night and just listen to the sound of Shinya’s heartbeat. That sound alone was the most comforting thing that he could listen to. It was something so small but meant so much to him.

They had perfected their pattern over the passing time. It was the one thing that Guren was able to cling onto. Shinya was there to chase all the demons away. Guren actually felt like he could relax at one point. That everything else in the world would once again slip away whenever he looked into Shinya’s eyes. While there was so much that he couldn’t tell him, this was perfect enough for him. Guren wouldn’t ask for anything else. This was all that he wanted.

Guren had been feeling off for days. The Omega just had this feeling in his gut that there was more going on. The first things that he had started noticing was the way that he was seemingly so tired all the time. Even more than he should actually be. Guren worked hard despite what other people thought. It was a lot of sleepless hours to make sure that everything continued to work efficiently. The next thing he had noticed was the nausea. At first, it was just his stomach simply being upset and it was harder to eat meals because he felt like he would get sick. Guren had also found himself having headaches. It was a low throbbing in his head, but one that shouldn’t be there.

It had his radar going off the charts. These were symptoms that he shouldn’t be having. He shouldn’t get sick. Everything should have already been taken care of. The thoughts kept coming back and Guren was starting to wonder if something was really wrong with him. He didn’t want to take resources away from where they truly needed to go for a witch hunt into possibilities. It could be that he was just overworking himself and it wasn’t actual sickness. It was starting to get concerning to him whenever the nausea had drastically changed and he found that it was hard to keep food down.

Guren was keeping it to himself. Right now, he didn’t want to concern anyone. The Omega really did believe it was probably just stress sickness due to everything that was going on. There was too much for him to be out of commission now.

Currently, Guren was lying in bed. Despite the fact that he was so tired, Guren wasn’t being able to find himself being able to go to sleep. The Omega was staring more blankly at the clock as his stomach had knotted up, and he was growing more and more frustrated with it. He hadn’t even been able to eat his favorite meal because of all of this. Guren had surprised himself whenever he had actually gotten tears in his eyes because of it. He masked it quickly before. That frustrated him even more.

The Omega’s attention only moved from the clock whenever the door opened up and he could see Shinya stepping into the room. Shinya stopped for a second, giving him a soft look as he said, “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

Guren rolled over and faced Shinya as he shook his head. “I can’t sleep.”

The Alpha gave him a softer look as he moved to change his clothing. “Maybe it’s all the naps you take.”

“Maybe.” Guren murmured as he slipped his hands underneath the pillow that he was laying on. The Omega watched Shinya’s back. It always felt better with him around. Shinya didn’t have to say a word. Just his presence alone was enough to sooth Guren.

Shinya got changed quickly, putting his worn uniform into the basket before falling back onto the bed with a sigh. “It feels great to just be in bed.” Shinya stayed on his back as he looked over to Guren and smiled. “Or did you just stay up for me?”

“If that’s what you want to think.” Guren murmured as he moved over as Shinya lifted up the blanket to get underneath it with him. The Alpha moved his arm so he could loop it around Guren’s shoulders as the Omega flushed against Shinya’s side. He supposed that he might have. Guren didn’t really know. It felt so much easier to go to sleep whenever Shinya was next to him. He could take in the Alpha’s scent and that scent alone made everything feel like it was going to be okay.

Shinya laughed softly, reaching up and carding his fingers through Guren’s hair. The Alpha leaned over, pressing a kiss into the crown of Guren’s head. Everything was starting to feel a bit better next to Shinya. It was forcing his body to relax. All the worries of the world felt like they were melting away. The Alpha’s fingers carded through his hair. Twirling the strands before dropping them. It was putting him at ease.

As he laid there, he found that he was attempting to lull to sleep, but at the same time, he felt that surge of insomnia hit. Guren supposed that is what happened whenever someone kept taking naps throughout the day. A sleep schedule gets thrown out the window.

Shinya was humming underneath his breath to a random tune. He remembered it playing on the radio once. A long time ago. Guren wasn’t sure why it was sticking out to him. Either way, it was bringing a slight smile to his face. Shinya did that often. Just out of the blue. Guren didn’t mind.

Shinya stopped the humming and Guren turned his gaze to look up at the Alpha. The Omega paused as he noticed the look that was reflecting in Shinya’s eyes. “What?” Guren questioned.

Shinya hummed again, shaking his head, “You just smell… different.”

“What are you going on about?” Guren mumbled as he shifted a bit so he could get a better look at Shinya.

“I don’t know,” Shinya replied, “Just… different.”

“My scent is different.” Guren repeated as Shinya nodded slightly.

Shinya leaned in a bit, making another noise, “Strange.”

“Stop sniffling me.” Guren shot back quickly as he felt the slightest bit of heat coming to his face.

Shinya grinned, tilting his head against the pillows, “I scent you all the time. What’s the difference?”

“That’s different.” The Omega mumbled as he dropped his head and let it settle back down. “I’m tired.”

“Then go to sleep.” The Alpha simply replied back. Shinya laughed softly after it, adjusting back on the bed himself to get comfortable. Honestly, Guren would already be asleep if he could be. His body was just not cooperating.

But this conversation had his mind racing. Guren wouldn’t be able to really notice if his own scent. Guren was nose blind to it. Now, it was starting to make him think more about everything going on. There had to be more going on to what he was seeing. There just had to be. Guren was starting to believe that even more now.

What was going on with him?

Guren had been thinking about it for days. He hoped that these symptoms would go away, but they just weren’t. The Omega was having to spend more time pretending that everything was okay than actually trying to put two and two together. Guren was trying desperately not to think about it and completely act as if everything was fine. That was all that he could really do at the moment.

The last thing he wanted was to be used as an experiment just because he didn’t feel the greatest. That felt like a stupid reason to subject himself to it. Though, it was concerning. If he just pretended it wasn’t happening, it would disappear. That was wishful thinking.

Guren quietly patrolled around the abandoned store. The others were also inside. They were just on a quick mission. In and out. Guren remained vigilant. The Omega wasn’t getting the sense that there was anything nearby that he needed to worry about, but at the same time, his mind was elsewhere.

As he rounded the aisle, he paused as he noticed what aisle he was in. Most stores were completely barren now. It was hard to find anything in them. Other than items that were just left behind. Most of the places had been cleaned out following the world’s destruction. It was rare to find a store that wasn’t already ransacked.

Guren mindlessly looked over the aisles as he stepped through them. Items were strung everywhere. The place was nothing but the scene out of a horror movie. Hell, they basically lived in one now. It was like a gut punch looking over it. Guren wasn’t sure why it was hitting him this hard again. The guilt that started to come to life in his chest as he looked around at the place. There was no cleanliness. Nothing to indicate someone had been inside recently. Nothing to indicate life.

The Omega stopped as he felt his foot hit something and he looked down. Guren knelt down, grabbing for the item as he saw that it was a book. Guren flipped it over and noticed that it said The Story of You. The book itself was a deep blue like a night sky with little golden stars and a moon on it. Guren hummed in interest as he flipped open the cover. As he flipped it open, he realized what he was looking at.

A… baby book.

One of those that parents would get to track the milestones of their unborn and then newborn child. The pages were completely blank. As he flipped the next page, the top of it read, Before You Arrived…

Guren’s gaze lingered over the page, and he inhaled sharply. The first line on the page read out: The day we found out that we were expecting you…

Guren kept looking over the page as his heart skipped a beat. Guren felt like he had stopped breathing for a moment as his entire body felt like it had paralyzed. The Omega had almost dropped the book as if his hands lit on fire as his eyes widened with each word that he read.

That wasn’t possible… right?

Every single symptom that he was going through started to click into place. The nausea, the headaches, the aches in his body, the excessive need to sleep. The reason that he felt so off.

That couldn’t be.

It just… couldn’t.

But… what if?

Guren tried to pull in a breath as his heart started to pound a bit more against his chest. Why did that thought terrify him but make him… happy at the same time? Then, all he could ask himself was if he could bring a baby into this? But it would be Shinya’s. That thought alone attempted to chase the rest of the thoughts away.

What would Shinya say? Guren used to tell himself that he was never going to have children. That he would never subject his own child to what he had to endure. Would Shinya even be okay with the thought of it? Especially considering the whole ordeal with Mahiru. It made Guren want to throw up right then and there. They had never talked about this possibility. Even whenever their romantic relationship turned sexual. While he could admit that they definitely weren’t being careful, he could say that it felt like a damn miracle it took this long to do so. To even have a scare. Guren had never felt this way before. He never even had the feeling before.

In that moment, Guren had no idea what to do.

It had been late by the time that Shinya had gotten home. There were a lot more late nights as of recently and it was making him get home by the time that Guren would be in bed. Though, it wasn’t uncommon for Guren to do the same thing. It just depended on what was going on that day. Shinya didn’t really get to work alongside the Moon Demon Company much anymore and instead worked more with Kureto and the others. Especially after they discovered that a five-man team was the best route to go with Squads for the Moon Demon Company. Though, he could easily slot himself in perfectly with the others if he needed to do it. To be fair, Shinya could join them at any time if he wanted too. He wasn’t actually assigned to a Unit. He worked wherever he was needed.

Whenever he stepped inside, Shinya had this feeling come to the pit of his stomach. It made him frown slightly as he closed up the door and slipped out of his shoes. He wasn’t quite sure if Guren was home yet, but he knew that Guren and all of their friends had already returned back to Shibuya from their mission. It was a simple one, so it should have been easy for them. That still came with a lot of paperwork and reports following it. Especially in Guren’s position.

He wasn’t sure if he was expecting a quiet and dark home with Guren already in bed or for him not to be home at all. However, Shinya just had this off feeling whenever he had noticed the light was on from upstairs. Most nights, even if Guren wasn’t asleep yet, he would keep the light up. It was rare recently for them to get home before one of them was already lying in bed. He could say that maybe Guren stayed up to read or continue going over reports from home. Shinya dropped his gaze momentarily to see that Guren’s shoes were sitting in their normal spot and there were other signs that Guren was in fact in the home.

With the light on, he had expected Guren to pop out of the room or to be going around the home. It just sparked that bit of concern in him. Shinya didn’t bother checking the surrounding rooms since he couldn’t hear movement at all. So, he went straight upstairs. At first, he wondered if he would hear the shower going but didn’t as he approached.

The Alpha rounded the corner to enter into their bedroom, and he stopped as he saw Guren sitting on the bed. Guren was staring down at a book on the bed, and it would have made Shinya relax upon seeing that nothing was wrong. Well, sort of. Something still felt off. Maybe it was this tension lingering in the air. The Alpha’s gaze scanned over his lover as he stepped into the room. “Guren?” He started as he fully got into the room. “Everything alright?”

Guren didn’t even look up as he whispered, “I think I might be pregnant.”

Shinya was pretty sure he actually heard a record screech in that moment as he looked over to Guren with wide eyes. What did Guren just say? The Omega had finally looked up as Shinya let out a sharp breath, “What?” The Alpha barely heard the sound of his own voice.

The look in Guren’s eyes told him how nervous Guren actually was. The Omega closed up the book and slowly slipped off of the bed. “I think I’m pregnant.” Guren repeated.

Pregnant.

Right.

That’s what Guren said.

Shinya’s gaze dropped down to Guren’s stomach for just a second before he looked back up. Guren said he thought. Not that he was. Still, it made Shinya’s heart skip a beat. Guren could be… pregnant. As in, he could be carrying Shinya’s baby. Shinya let out a soft breath as he stepped forward. The Alpha reached up and placed his hands onto Guren’s waist, thought they settled a bit closer to the Omega’s stomach.

What he had been noticing with Guren made complete sense if that was the case. The room had fallen into silence as Shinya took in the words. “Shinya…” Guren whispered. “Say something.”

For most of his life, Shinya only had one purpose in life until that had been taken away. It was never his choice to make. Shinya’s life had been planned out for him since he was a child. All he was meant to be in this family was a sire. Someone to bring strong children into the Hiragi family blood line. That was it. Shinya wouldn’t have ever had the choice. But Mahiru made her choice, and that left Shinya in a different place.

But it was because of that, it led him to Guren.

Now, that, he didn’t think he would ever change.

In that moment, he did feel the longing. It would be a child between him and Guren. Someone who he absolutely treasured. Shinya lifted his gaze back up, looking into concerned and even scared violet eyes. Guren was worried about what Shinya would say. The Omega was showing that vulnerable side to him. The way that his voice was so quiet, and Shinya could spot the slightest bit of a tremble to his hands.

To be fair, they had never spoken about this. It was just something that never came up. Shinya wasn’t sure if Guren never brought it up because of him or himself. From the look in Guren’s eyes, was the Omega afraid of the idea of forcing this onto Shinya? For Guren to come to him saying he thinks he might be told Shinya enough. Maybe, Guren was afraid of the answer. So, he hadn’t sought out to prove it yet. Or, he was waiting on Shinya for it. It could be anything.

Did Shinya actually want a baby?

The second he looked into Guren’s eyes, that’s all it took for him to get his answer.

He did.

As long as if it was with Guren.

“You haven’t take a test yet?” Shinya decided to question.

Guren shook his head, “No.” The Omega admitted. Guren sighed as he stepped back, looking away as Shinya’s gaze settled down to what Guren had been looking at previously. Guren was shifting on his feet, that aura of nervousness around him as Shinya reached out for the book. The Alpha picked it up and looked at it. It was quite the cute book. Something that Shinya would think that parents would have for their baby. It was exactly that. A baby book. It appeared like Guren had just been looking over the blank pages. He had probably been sitting here completely lost in thought about it. Guren tended to do that. He’d get lost in his head. “I found that today.”

“And you think you’re pregnant because you found a baby book?” The Alpha questioned as he looked over to Guren again.

Guren lifted up his gaze, looking unsure of what to say. “I guess.” Guren’s body language and words weren’t screaming his normal confidence. The Omega looked completely nervous compared to normal. “I just haven’t felt… right recently.”

“Well,” Shinya mused as he placed down the book and smiled, “Let’s go get a test and find out.” The Omega looked at him sort of shocked. Like Shinya had thrown him off. “What?”

“You’re… okay with the idea of this?” Guren questioned.

“Yeah,” Shinya admitted, “What about you?”

It seemed to make Guren relax a bit. The Omega still looked uncertain, but he shrugged. “I guess so.” It didn’t sound convincing. Considering their lives, Shinya understood Guren’s reservations.

Then, Shinya saw that look in Guren’s eyes as the Alpha’s attention entirely went to his lover. He dropped down the book and turned towards Guren as he reached up and coaxed Guren to look back at him. “What is it?”

Guren shook his head, and Shinya was able to see the range of emotions in his eyes. “I can’t lose you.” Guren whispered with another shake of his head. “If I am, what if they do something to you?”

“They won’t.” Shinya murmured, “I’ll be okay.”

He knew exactly what Guren was talking about. The Hiragi family. Shinya might carry the name, but his use to the Hiragi family was over the second Mahiru died. They only kept him around because of his strength. He was still considered loyal to them. Even though he had the name, it didn’t really matter. He wasn’t blood related to them. It wasn’t like main members of the Hiragi family weren’t notorious for having multiple lovers and multiple mothers of their children. Tenri was an example of that. All of his children had different mothers. Even if two were conceived through artificial insemination. Shinya might hold the Hiragi name, but he was never truly viewed as one of them. That would mean his own child wouldn’t either. Not unless it was born to a true blooded Hiragi like Mahiru. Only, that was never going to happen.

Shinya just smiled at the Omega again and shook his head, “Don’t worry about me. I can handle them.” He had been doing it since he was a child. Shinya let out a soft breath, smiling a bit brighter as he shook his head, “We could have a baby.”

Guren looked enthralled at him. His gaze lingering over Shinya’s. Even though the Alpha could still see some uncertainty there, Guren was starting to relax more. Shinya kept smiling. He was sure Guren was thinking of it all. Every possibility. Everything that could happen. Guren was absolutely an optimist, but Shinya knew he had his moments of fear. Guren could show a pessimistic side of him, but that was usually saved for Shinya. Guren was the optimist and Shinya was the pessimist. Right now, Guren didn’t need Shinya to be a pessimist. He needed him to be the optimist.

“We could have a baby.” Guren repeated. Shinya wasn’t sure if he had actually gotten through to him or if the Omega was just saying whatever Shinya wanted to hear. The Omega let out a shaky breath before speaking again, “You want to have a baby?”

Shinya just smiled more, “I couldn’t imagine having a baby with anyone else but you.” In that moment, Shinya did see the look change in Guren’s eyes. The Alpha smiled a bit, sighing, “Why don’t I go grab a test and we find out if you actually are or not?”

If Guren didn’t go grab one himself, there had to be a reason for it. Shinya could at least do this much for him. It did take two to get into this position. Shinya was just as much involved even if it was Guren who was going to be carrying the baby if he was in fact pregnant.

Guren slowly nodded, murmuring, “Okay.”

Shinya smiled again, leaning in and pressing a kiss to Guren’s lips, “I’ll be right back.”

Shinya pulled back from him, pressing a kiss against the Omega’s forehead before he completely stepped away from him. Shinya didn’t know what to expect whenever he came back. It would at most calm the uncertainty, but it would definitely lead to more. It was just something to take one step at a time.

Once they got the answer, they could go from there.

Shinya’s mind was racing the entire walk to the Supply Building where they kept the extra supplies at. It was connected to the Medical Bay so it would have spare medical supplies that were gathered by scouting teams. As he walked, Shinya noticed that he almost had this pep in his step. Even though he could tell that Guren was conflicted about it, Shinya actually felt this excitement hitting him.

What if?

He meant it whenever he told Guren he couldn’t imagine having a child with anyone else. Even Mahiru. Who was the person he was supposed to have children with. Even if that wasn’t his choice. This was his choice. At least, that was the way that Shinya was going to go about it. Guren was the person that Shinya wanted to be with. Shinya couldn’t live without him, and he couldn’t even think about the idea of not having Guren in his life. Guren was his entire world in a way. Even if Byakkomaru liked to say that he was obsessed with him. Was it wrong to be obsessed with his own lover? Boyfriend. Whatever they wanted to call each other. At this point, Guren was his life partner. In his eyes, they were already more than just simple lovers or just serious and exclusive dating.

It was already late, so there shouldn’t be anyone here. Shinya just let himself in by picking the lock and stepping inside. There was no need to go to one of the Medical Staff, tell them what he needed – and risk people talking about it before they were ready to do so, or if there was that chance it could come back negative – whenever he could just do it himself.

Right now, this was private. No one needed to know but them. Rather the result was positive or negative, it was their choice when to tell other people. Though, if it was positive, Guren was going to have to come clean about it sooner rather than later due to the nature of his work. They would have to make arrangements to keep Guren out of the field. That was if Guren was pregnant.

As he slipped inside and closed the door behind him, Shinya peered around. They were around here… somewhere. To be fair, Shinya didn’t actually know where everything was kept. He knew they were all within the same room. Medical supplies tended to be together. Pregnancy tests were no exception. They were encouraged to engage in sexual activities in hopes of procreation. All the nearby stores outside of the walls of Shibuya had been cleaned completely out of them due to that reason. They wanted to keep many on the shelves as much as possible. They also made their own too due to expiration dates. The Hiragi family took all of them – destroying all contraception in the process to keep people from using them – and made it a requirement that anyone who suspected they were pregnant had to come to the Medical Bay and it would be on their chart. Shinya was pretty sure that was probably another reason that Guren didn’t come here. He could sneak in and take one, but if he was right about the time, Guren would have avoided it due to the chance of getting caught and asked about it. Guren was already conflicted enough. He didn’t need that added on top of it. Though, he probably wasn’t even thinking about it if Shinya was being honest with himself.

It took him a few minutes, but Shinya tracked down where the medical supplies were kept. He looked over all the gauze, bandages, medications, and various items on the shelves. There were storage containers for other items. Shinya had pulled a few out and dug through them and didn’t find exactly what he was looking for. To make this easier, he hoped they were still in the boxes.

In a strange way, this felt so domestic. Like an eagerly awaiting father to be running out to get whatever their mate needed. It was something small but so life changing. Everything would be different from here on out if the result came back positive. Shinya meant it thought. He could take care of himself. This was something he was willing to stand his ground for even against the Hiragi family. Guren was worth it. He wasn’t a blood Hiragi. They couldn’t really complain about the fact that Guren would be the mother of his child. Even if mother sounded weird in his mind due to the fact that Guren was still in fact male. Though, it was just a technical term. They could use whatever they wanted for him. Omega father. Mother. It didn’t really matter. If it came down it, it was Guren’s choice on whatever he wanted to be referred to as.

Though, Shinya was pretty certain that the Hiragi family was not going to be pleased at the idea of it. There was still that issue, but Shinya could make a really good argument that none of them could refute. Even though they weren’t blatant about the status of their relationship, it was no secret either, and everyone knew about it. Hell, Shinya was pretty sure that even if they weren’t romantically involved, people would still assume that they were. Shinya even had to admit, he had the times that he amped it up just a bit to keep people from looking in Guren’s direction.

Shinya pulled out another one of the storage containers and grinned as he found what he was looking for. “Bingo.” Shinya murmured as he slipped the container back into place as he grabbed what he needed. He stood back up, using the little bit of light that was shining through the windows to be able to read the expiration date. It was still good. Surprisingly.

The Alpha moved his gaze around once more until he found a small paper bag. Just as he was, he heard a, “What are you doing in here, brother Shinya?”

Shinya turned his head, quickly slipping the test into the bag and turning as he saw that Kureto was standing behind him. “Nothing.” Shinya replied, “Just taking a walk.”

Kureto scoffed in amusement, “Sure.” The Lieutenant General peered around, “In the supply room?”

Shinya just smiled, “Short cut.” Kureto hummed. He definitely didn’t believe him. Shinya kept the bag pressed to the back of his leg as he stood there, “I should get going.”

Kureto hummed in response to him. “I’m guessing that the short cut has nothing to do with what you are hiding behind your leg?” Well, this was kind of blowing the idea of not letting anyone know. Aside from their close friends, Kureto would actually be the first person told. Guren was Kureto’s retainer and reported directly to him. Guren would have to tell him eventually. If the result was positive. Why did Shinya keep acting as if this was already a done deal?

Shinya made a noise, holding up the bag – which thankfully, no one could tell what it was now – and smiled. “Oh, this? Not really.” Oh, why did it have to be Kureto? Shinya kept smiling as he went to walk off, giving Kureto a grin and a wave, “See you later, brother Kureto. I’m just going to head home now.”

Kureto didn’t stop him as he walked by, but as he got to the door. Shinya simply slipped out and let out a sharp breath. Well, that could have gone better, but at least, most of it had been avoided. He had no doubt that Kureto already figured it out, but he could say that Kureto was pretty exceptional at keeping things to himself. He wouldn’t tell anyone. Not even Guren. Kureto could be an ass, but he did have some morals.

Now, it was just time to get home. 

Chapter Text

That initial conversation with Shinya had actually gone better than what Guren had thought. Who was he kidding, really? Guren wasn’t sure why he had been so nervous to even breach the conversation. Well, he did suppose that he had a good reason for it. This could change everything. Currently, it was just the waiting. Shinya had already been gone for a while. No one would really question him strolling in and just taking something. They’d be afraid too because of the name attached to Shinya’s. It had been something on his mind. How would the Hiragi family react to all of this?

It wasn’t necessarily that Shinya and Guren were a secret. They were far from it. Everyone knew they lived together solo. It would be a normal joke among people since it was an Alpha and an Omega living together. Who wouldn’t say something? They just never advertised it or full out said it. It was just that kind of known thing among everyone. He knew that Kureto knew. Guren was pretty sure the rest of the Hiragi family did too. No one talked about it, and they weren’t asked. To be fair, their behavior didn’t really change around other people. The only time there were really public displays of affection were in front of their own friends. Though, that never really stopped Shinya if he really wanted too. Guren didn’t necessarily shove him away, but he would tell him it was unprofessional if they were in a professional setting. It was just an unspoken thing between the two of them.

It had left Guren alone in the home again. He had come straight here after getting back from the mission. Guren wasn’t even sure why he brought the book with him. It did keep it lingering on his mind, and kept making him think about the symptoms he had been experiencing. It was the only thing that made sense to him.

Was he afraid?

Maybe.

Shinya seemed to be speaking genuinely before. It was enough that it calmed him for now. It still left him in this area of uncertainty. The fear of not knowing, and what they were going to do. Did Shinya really want a baby with him? It made his stomach flutter at the thought. A warmth that blossomed through him at the thought of it. Guren let out a soft breath as he stood up and walked over to where the full-length mirror was in the room. His gaze dropped down to his stomach. Guren hummed to himself, reaching up and placing a hand on his stomach. He saw Shinya’s smile. It felt like a real one.

What if he was?

Guren felt a bit of that warmth again. He didn’t hate the thought of it. It didn’t feel necessarily unexpected. Actually, Guren was beating himself up more for not even thinking about the possibility of it considering everything.

The Omega found a slight smile coming to his face as he curled his hand. Good things didn’t really happen to him. Bad things were always happening and it put this subtle fear into the back of his mind. Would the world come and attempt to ruin it if he was happy about it? That feeling from before was back. Even more so now that he had seen a glimpse of Shinya’s reaction. It could have been that Shinya was just trying to be reassuring.

Who was he kidding?

It was Shinya.

Shinya might be unpredictable and a wild card on most days, but they were in this together. Shinya’s voice had been soft. Just like that night. Guren’s life had changed because of him, and there was a good possibility it would happen again.

The Omega let out another sharp breath, dropping his hand as he tried to chase the thoughts away. It would all be okay. No matter what the result was. Guren would need to accept it. Now that he had this small talk with Shinya, it felt this longing even more. Was there a chance that they could do it? Be a… family… together?

Guren might have never really wanted to have children before, but it was as if he had found the right person and suddenly that thought had changed. Still, he didn’t like the idea of his own child having to experience the torment, humiliation, and degradation that he received all the time. Sure, the end of the world did change some things about it, but both him and Shinya were still these second-class citizens compared to the Hiragi family. Though, if he wanted the Ichinose clan to continue, Guren would have to have a child at some point. He used to always ask himself how his father did it. Had a child, watched that child go through the same thing he did, and go on with his life. Guren just wasn’t his father, and he knew that. But he loved his father, and nothing would ever change that. It wasn’t like he was angry or resented his father for the fact he was born. He resented the Hiragi family. It was their fault. They thought they were better than everyone else, and the Ichinose were always the ones who suffered the most for it. Shinya’s life might have been different, but he understood what it was like to be treated like absolute shit by the Hiragi family. Even if he had the name. Shinya wasn’t very open about his own life with the Hiragi family, and Guren never pushed about it. He already understood.

Maybe Guren wasn’t afraid of having a baby. Maybe it was more afraid of what would happen to Shinya. While their relationship was no secret, Shinya still carried the Hiragi name. All it would take is Tenri Hiragi or the Hiragi family disapproving of any of this and deciding to act. Guren couldn’t lose Shinya. The thought of losing him again terrified him beyond everything else. Guren couldn’t live without him. Without him, Guren would die too. There would be no point in living.

Guren hadn’t even realized how much time had passed due to being lost in his own head whenever Shinya came around the corner again. The Omega sucked in a deep breath through his nose as he saw the little bag in Shinya’s hand. The Alpha walked over to him, giving him a soft look as he said, “Here.”

This was the one thing that would tell him if their entire future was about to change or if he was just thinking too much into it.

Guren reached out and took it. He could feel the box inside of it. It did make that spike of anxiety go up. This was it. The Omega looked back to Shinya as the Alpha gave him another smile. “It’ll be fine. If anything, it will help.” The second that Guren looked into Shinya’s eyes, it did feel himself calming down immediately. It felt like his heartbeat started to regulate and it felt easier to breathe. For a second, he saw that glimmer. As if Shinya’s eyes shined a bit brighter as if they were glowing. “Let’s find out if we’re having a baby.”

Guren curled his hand a bit more about the bagged box and nodded in Shinya’s direction. Everything always felt so much calmer around Shinya. Every time he looked into Shinya’s eyes, he always remembered the story that his father told him as a kid. The more it happened, the more Guren was believing that it was in fact true. Maybe Guren was just wanting to believe for a moment that life could in fact be like a fairy tale.

It had made him relax enough that Guren stepped away and headed to their bathroom. The Omega opened up the door, closing it behind him as he took in a deep breath. Shinya didn’t attempt to follow him. Even if it was nothing new to simply walk into the bathroom as the other was inside, they did tend to give the other some privacy. Even if they had seen it all between the two of them.

As he walked inside, he pulled the box out of the bag. Guren stared down at it for a moment as his heart started to race a bit more. Why did he feel almost… excited? Some couples tried to have children because they wanted a child between them. Others, it just sort of happened. Was it wrong to feel excitement? Why was he suddenly feeling this now? It felt like a sense of whiplash. Figuratively speaking.

Guren opened up the box and pulled out the package that was inside. He dropped down the box onto the counter, not even bothering to read it as he opened up the package. Just from a quick look at the box, he knew what kind it was and how the result would appear. This was one of the ones where it would show based off of lines. Some were digital and said the result while some others either had a negative sign or a positive sign. This one was one line meant negative and two meant positive. While he had never taken one, he had seen them multiple times before and knew how to use them.

He pulled the small test out of the package and looked at it for a moment. He pulled the cap off and exhaled sharply. Technically, from what he knew, it was better to take them in the morning whenever you first woke up for a more conclusive result. But he wasn’t waiting until morning. If the result was inconclusive – rather it was from not being able to detect the HCG or lack off in his system or he did the test wrong – he could just take another test later.

Guren simply went about taking the test. He was letting his mind wander as he contemplated it. Everything that he thought he knew was already changing. Even if this was just a scare, that would put this into the back of his mind. It would force them to talk about it. It should have been something that should have been brought up whenever they started being sexually active with each other and they had no way to really stop this type of thing from happening. Contraception just wasn’t a thing anymore unless you knew where to look for it – and you had to go far to remotely hope in finding it and then hope it was still good to use – and the Japanese Imperial Demon Army didn’t offer any other services because they wanted it. It should have been something they spoke about but never did.

Guren capped the test and placed it off to the side as he washed his hands and readjusted the band of the pair of pants that he was wearing. He had changed back into his causal clothing long before Shinya had gotten home. The Omega stopped and looked at himself in the mirror. Everything could change from here on out. His chest was tightening as his abdomen fluttered. The more he thought about it, the less that he was upset at the idea of it. While it scared him, it also made him content.

Shinya was special to him. He made Guren defy every single ideal that he had in life. Changed his perspective on how he saw things. No one had ever been able to truly do that before. Shinya just got to him in a way that no one else had ever been able to do. Guren couldn’t lose him. Whatever happened from here on out, it had to be something good. Guren didn’t know if he could breathe properly otherwise.

The Omega turned, leaning back against the counter as he looked in another deep breath. He needed to calm down. It was making it come heavy to his mind. Would he truly be happy if this came back as positive? Guren reached up, curling his hand into the front of his shirt right over his stomach as the thoughts kept racing. Why was the longing there? Guren felt the slightest bit of guilt for even thinking of changing his mind. Guren didn’t think there was anything wrong with not wanting to have children. He felt the same about those who wanted them. Guren used to be so dead set on what he had wanted in the past, but now, this was causing him to think differently. He wasn’t sure why Shinya was different, but he was. Was it wrong to change this mind? Guren had to believe that there was nothing wrong with that. His father had been able to do it, and his father was someone that Guren loved and highly respected. If he could do it, Guren could too. Right?

Still, that didn’t change Guren’s feelings about wanting to change the status quo. That he didn’t want his own flesh and blood – or anyone underneath him – to have to go through this anymore. That was still going to be something on the back of his mind, and he knew that it would be.

Guren wanted to get mad that he could feel this strange sense of bubbling excitement. Just because it went against everything that he had felt before. Then, he felt guilty at the thought of that alone. That he shouldn’t want to get upset. It felt like a double-edged sword that was plunging into his body on both sides. The Omega had seen the look on Shinya’s face. There was more to what he was feeling than he was saying. He did believe in Shinya. That he might be happy at the thought of this.

Could they do this? Despite all the odds against them? This one result could either make that thought go away, they could laugh it off about having a scare, try and be more careful and move on. Or, they would have to change everything, and there would be a small, defenseless human that would need them. Would they be happy? Excited? Concerned? Fearful? There were already so many mixed emotions hitting him right now.

Was it wrong that he might actually… want this?

Just because it was with Shinya?

Did that make him selfish?

The Omega looked up as he heard a tap on the door. Guren let out a sharp breath as he heard, “Guren?” He could hear the concern in Shinya’s voice. It made Guren scoop up the test into his hand and curl his fingers around it without actually looking at it. The Omega just wasn’t sure if he was ready to look at the test yet. Guren walked over to the door and opened it up to see Shinya’s worried glance fixated on him. Much to Guren’s surprise, Shinya was still dressed in his uniform. It appeared that Shinya was more concerned about him or even anxiously awaiting the answer. “Well?”

“I haven’t looked yet.” Guren admitted.

Shinya gave him an understanding look as he smiled a bit and reached up to run the back of his knuckle over Guren’s cheek. “We’ll be okay. No matter what the result is.” Shinya murmured as his smile got a bit bigger. “You and me.”

Their gazes connected and Guren felt his body relaxing as the thoughts started to get chased away. He felt a bit of that confidence hit again. No matter what happened, they were in this together. Guren could do this. No matter what it was. He had Shinya right next to him.

The Omega let out a sharp breath as he lifted up his hand and stared down at the test. The result was still covered due to his fingers being curled around it. “If this is positive…” Guren started as he looked back Shinya, “What are we going to do?” Guren was an exceptional planner. He had always had a plan that came up with a backup plan, with a backup for that back up plan, and then he could come up with something on the fly if he needed too. Right now, it didn’t feel like he could do that.

“One step at a time.” Shinya replied. “I think the question really is…” The Alpha stopped speaking and reached out to nudge at Guren’s chin to beckon him to look back. “Are you okay with this? Is this something that you would want?”

The Omega’s gaze connected with Shinya’s, and that one question lingered in his mind. Is this truly what he wanted? Even with all the thoughts that he had been having. While Guren couldn’t completely read the look in Shinya’s eyes, it was enough to give him enough reassurance. Guren didn’t know all those years ago that Shinya would be the one person who would change his life for the better. To become someone that Guren couldn’t live without. To be the other half of him. Guren didn’t know it back then, but he was sure about it now. Shinya was his other half. Guren couldn’t imagine his life without him. Guren wanted more with him. Even in this world. Even if it scared him.

Slowly, Guren started to nod, “Yes.” He whispered. Guren actually meant it. It had slipped out with ease. Even with his previous thoughts, he was actually certain of that. Guren’s entire view of the world and what was around him had changed because of Shinya. He wanted to be able to have more with him. Even if it contradicted his previous thoughts. It could even be because he was looking into Shinya’s eyes, and it felt like everything would all be okay.

Shinya smiled at him again and gave him a fonder look. “Okay.” He whispered, “Do you need a minute?”

Guren shook his head, “No.” He did mean that. He could do this now. All the thoughts were chased away from him since Shinya was standing right there with him. It felt better that Shinya was standing there with him rather than him doing it alone.

The Omega took in another deep breath and looked back down to the test in his hand. Guren uncurled his fingers and from the way that he had picked it up, the result window was against his palm. The Omega’s heart was starting to beat harshly against his chest. Guren flipped the test over and the result came into view. The Omega inhaled sharply as everything around him started to melt away.

“Guren?” Shinya murmured.

Guren let out a sharp breath as he shook his head. There was a warmth that came to his chest as he kept staring down at the result. The way he was holding it didn’t give room for Shinya to actually see it. The Omega looked up and Shinya was looking back at him.

Guren kept staring right back at Shinya as he whispered, “I’m pregnant.”

Shinya watched him before down to the test in his hands. Guren had moved it enough to reveal the result window to Shinya. Two lines. Positive. “You’re…” Shinya started as his gaze went back to Guren’s face. “Pregnant.”

“I’m pregnant.” Guren repeated.

The two of them stood there for a second as they just looked at each other. For a moment, the entire world had melted away. The Omega caught the look in Shinya’s eyes. The happiness that was lingering there. It was the same twinkle in his eyes that Guren had come to know whenever Shinya really did genuinely like something or want something. It made Guren’s stomach flutter from seeing that Shinya looked genuinely happy at it. Then, it made him happy. He felt that excitement bubble through him as all the concerns were chased away for the time being.

Shinya let out a soft breath as his smile got a bit bigger. The Alpha reached up and his fingers grazed the back of Guren’s hand and settled there as if he was also holding onto the test as he looked down at it. “We’re having a baby.” Shinya sounded so sincerely… overjoyed. His voice was still soft, but it was tone to it. It made Guren’s chest blossom with more warmth as the Omega felt his own emotions starting to spike.

He was pregnant.

They were having a baby.

The moment was here. Everything was going to change from here on out because of this one result. The proof of it was in his hand. Those two little lines was now altering the course of their future. Nothing was ever going to be the same from here on out. Now, it left the question. Do they worry about what would come of it, or would they be happy with the idea of having a child with each other?

And, even if it was against his better judgement, Guren knew which one he wanted the answer too.

The look on Shinya’s face was enough to reassure him of everything in this world. This moment would not be happening now without Guren’s actions and what he had felt back then. This was actually a… miracle.

Finally, a smile broke out onto Guren’s face as he whispered, “We’re having a baby.” In that moment, Guren could feel that shift. It was the change that he had felt whenever he had first met Shinya. The way that the world had stopped and it felt like nothing else was there.

Suddenly, Shinya let out a delighted sound as his arms wrapped around Guren’s waist and the Omega found himself off of his feet as Shinya spun. Shinya laughed in joy as Guren’s feet hit the ground. The Omega’s heart was pounding. His smile got a bit bigger as he curled his arms over the Alpha’s shoulders and he let out a soft laugh. The happiness was starting to take him over. All the rational fears that he had seeped away as he could only focus on that moment.

This would be a baby between him and Shinya. A life that should have never existed, but it would. Of course, there were always possibilities of something going wrong, but even now, Guren wasn’t thinking about that. Shinya was Guren’s world, and now that world was starting to get a bit bigger in ways that the Omega never thought he would want to experience.

Maybe Shinya was that change. The person who came in and changed his entire perspective on what he wanted, and it had changed it into a different reality for him. Shinya was worth it.

Shinya pulled back from him, still grinning like a mad man as he shook his head, “You’re pregnant.” Shinya had repeated again, “We’re having a baby.”

Still, Guren did not feel that fear right now. That uncertainty or questioning of it this is what he truly wanted or if he was okay with this. Seeing Shinya’s smile and knowing that it was a real one was all that he needed. It was the two of them against the world in a way. Guren didn’t know what was going to happen from here. Right now, this is what mattered.

Guren didn’t know why everything suddenly felt like it had flipped, and he was being filled with this excitement that he couldn’t explain. The only explanation that he had was because it was Shinya’s. That this was something between the two of them. It was scary and exciting all at once.

Shinya laughed softly as he leaned in and pressed a kiss into Guren’s lips. The Omega kissed back as his smile got a bit bigger. The kiss broke as Shinya leaned his forehead against Guren’s as he whispered, “We’ll figure all of this out.”

He hoped so. Guren wanted to keep this feeling. This warmth that went through him with the news of it. It felt like a one-eighty. “Yeah.” Guren agreed.

Right now, he felt like he could do it. He was sure it would all come down and the anxiety would hit later. The smile on Shinya’s face made him feel like everything would truly be okay.

He was pregnant, and they were going to be… parents.

Together.

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.

Chapter Text

Now that he had told his friends, the next step was telling Kureto. This definitely made it feel a bit more real. Guren was going to have to take the necessary steps now. Guren was going to have to take himself off of active duty and he would have to arrange for the medical care that came with prenatal care. There was an extremely long list that was already starting to building up, and Guren was already having the desire to just scream.

Guren wasn’t sure if he was ready for this, but he wasn’t really going to have a choice in the matter. After telling his friends, it did give him some ease about going about this. Guren didn’t bother speaking to anyone else as he started to head towards Kureto’s office. The Omega barely looked around as it was. There was only one thing on his mind, and that was what he was going to do. It was ultimately making it that much more real as he got to the door of Kureto’s office. The Omega pulled in a deep breath as he opened up the door and completely ignored Aoi on his way in. Though, while she moved, she didn’t actually try and stop him.

Guren stepped into the room, and Kureto was sitting at his desk. The Lieutenant General looked up towards himself as the Omega closed the door behind him. Guren crossed the room until he stopped right in front of Kureto’s desk. The Alpha male leaned back in his seat, placing down what he had been reading, “Well, if you’re coming into my office, it has to be something important.”

“I’m pregnant.” Guren simply replied. He inhaled sharply the second he realized how easy he had said it. Though, that was probably the best way to say it. It was exactly the reason that he was here. It was to inform Kureto that he was pregnant. It was going to be changing his life from here on out. It made him hold his breath as he eyed the Lieutenant General.

Kureto just stared at him at first and didn’t say a word. Guren shifted on his feet, straightening his back a bit more as Kureto finally hummed. “Okay.” That felt a bit too simple. Though, it was Kureto. Shouldn’t he be making some sort of joke? Or even ask Guren if he was joking? Kureto looked back to him, saying, “We’ll get it arranged. For now, the Guren Squad will go on hiatus as we work to find either a situatable temporary arrangement or someone to fill in for Squad Leader. As of this moment, you are out of field duty and will lead the Moon Demon Company from Headquarters.” Okay, well this was definitely already going better than expected. “We need to keep you out of the field and out of the way of anything else as soon as possible.”

Yeah, Guren figured as much on that one. Honestly, that was the first thing that he needed to do. Guren just gave a simple nod as a reply to the statement. Kureto stood up, turning and moving to grab a few things as Guren watched him go. This really did feel completely different than what he thought would happen. What was he expecting to happen, honestly?

“You’ll need to report to the Medical Bay for evaluation. The Medical Staff will start you on prenatal care.” Kureto continued as he opened up a filing cabinet and pulled out a file. Guren would presume that it was his own. “We will take the necessary precautions regarding your demon as we go.”

“Okay.” Guren murmured.

Kureto turned back to face him, giving him a slightly calculated but amused look. “What?” Kureto questioned, “Want me to say that it was a dumb decision or question the baby’s father? Even though anyone with eyes knows the answer.”

Guren let out a sharp breath, feeling a bit of a smile come to his face, “No.” Kureto had a tease to his voice. Just general playing around that put the Omega a bit more at ease with the conversation.

The Alpha male hummed in response, “Good.” Kureto then turned completely back towards him and tilted his head, “You know the protocol, Guren. Now, it’s your turn to follow the same safety protocols that were put in place.”

“Yeah, I know.” Guren muttered as he looked away for a moment and sighed, “Kureto, I need you to do something for me.”

Whenever he looked back up, Kureto was back at his desk and placing the file down. “What is it?”

The Omega let out a soft breath as he shook his head, “Don’t let anything happen to Shinya.”

Kureto gave him a look of understanding as he nodded, “Don’t worry about him. I’ve already taken the necessary measures to make sure that never happens.” Kureto had proven to Guren that he could rely on him in different ways. Though, Kureto had tried to be helpful in the past, but it had ended up being overturned by the rest of the Hiragi family. Right now, he just had to do whatever he could to make sure that nothing would happen. The Omega did relax a bit from it. Kureto was a man of his word especially if he had the resources to do so. They would have a lot of compelling arguments, and right now, Guren had to do his best to think of the bright side. Kureto rounded the desk, leaning back against it as he smiled. “You are now creating life. Why don’t you and brother Shinya focus on that. Something good needs to come from this shitty world.”

Guren felt more of a smile come to his face as he completely relaxed and nodded, “Thanks, Kureto.”

“Now, go home.” Kureto replied as he pushed off of his desk and started to move around it. The Lieutenant General took a seat back in his chair and looked back to him. “We will get everything arranged, and you need set up with your first prenatal appointment. Our best will be assigned to you immediately.” Guren nodded, feeling a bit more at ease with all of this as he turned to leave. Just as he got to the door, he heard, “Oh, and Guren?” It prompted Guren to stop walking and turn to face the Lieutenant General. “Congratulations.”

Guren just smiled again, “Thank you.”

With that, he stepped out of the room and more of a smile was on his face.

Maybe, this could be a better than he originally thought.

From what he could tell, everything had been settled down and everything was getting put together. Guren could already hear everyone talking about it. The news of his pregnancy was already starting to get around. He was sure that it was just because of the general notification, and the fact that Guren had set up the first appointment. The Omega was still a little bit nervous, but he was starting to feel less of that now. Shinya was definitely showing his excitement. He wasn’t even doing anything to mask it. The Alpha was wearing a proud, happy grin at pretty much all times. Even though they had just found out, Shinya already started to touch at his stomach at each chance that he got.

Now, they were heading into the Medical Bay for the first appointment. This was just the first of many. Guren didn’t know exactly how many, but it would go from there. The Omega knew he would get more information as they went. They were now at the Maternity Ward within the Prenatal Wing. They had already checked in and Guren was staring down at the paperwork that he had to fill out. Even with the end of the world, this was something that was still important. Guren had already filled out all of his information. It was a general health sheet with medical history and the works. It was just waiting. A lot of it was being done in silence. Shinya was sitting right next to him the entire time. Shinya’s presence was enough to calm him down.

Guren had never had anxiety whenever it came to Doctors before, but this just felt different. The Omega really didn’t know how to explain it. He wasn’t like this aura of nervousness that he was having each time. It just had to do with the life-changing situation, and it was starting to already work to get to him. Just calm down. It was all okay. It still really didn’t make it any less nerve racking.

The Omega’s attention was grabbed as one of the members of the Medical Staff walked over and said, “Follow me, Lieutenant Colonel Ichinose.”

Guren let out a sharp breath as he stood up and Shinya started to follow with him. The Omega’s gaze scanned around the hall as a door opened up and they stepped inside. The Nurse turned to look at him, giving him a smile, “This is your first, right?”

“Yeah.” Guren replied as he eyed the Nurse.

“I’m not sure if you know everything that happens at one of these appointments, so I will walk through it with you.” The Nurse went on to say, “First, we will take a urine sample to test for any possible diseases—”

“I’m a Cursed Gear user.” Guren interjected, “I don’t get sick.”

The Nurse just smiled, shrugging off the way that the Omega had interrupted her. “It’s always just a precaution. You might be a Cursed Gear user, but a baby still goes based off of the mother’s antibodies. A demon doesn’t necessarily mean protection for the unborn fetus. We want to protect the both of you as much as we can.” The Nurse replied, “Then, we will get your current height and weight as well as your blood pressure and vitals.”

Guren hummed as he shifted on his feet. The Nurse remained quiet but with a reassuring smile as they walked through those steps. He had been handed the small cup and told where to go. He had given a quick look to Shinya before heading off to the bathroom. To be fair, he knew the protocol, but he didn’t actually know the innerworkings of the appointments themselves. So, he quietly went with the instruction. Guren had gotten through the first part and stepped out to where the Nurse was waiting for him.

She now had a clipboard in hand as she motioned him over to where to go. His height was measured it was exactly what he knew it would be. Then, his weight was taken. The entire time, the Nurse was writing down everything before he was instructed to sit down as his blood pressure was taken. Just like any other Doctor’s visits that he could remember, he was being asked a series of questions. Even though they were the exact same questions he had already filled out on the form.

Once his vitals were taken, he was then guided to another room. The Nurse stepped in, motioning at the padded table, “Go ahead and take a seat. The Doctor will be in here in a moment.” After that, she stepped out of the room and Guren let out a sharp breath as he looked around.

Shinya stepped forward, murmuring, “Not that bad, right?”

“I guess.” Guren whispered back as he walked over and sat down on the table. The Omega curled his fingers into the padding at the edge of it and took in another deep breath. He was already hating this, and he knew there were more to come. That was one thing that he did know about. The many Doctor’s appointments that came with pregnancy.

Shinya lingered nearby. While he stayed close to him, he wasn’t completely up in Guren’s personal space either. Guren found his gaze wandering around the room. There were a lot of diagrams and posters. All of them were about pregnancy in some way. His gaze fell onto the chart that showed the transition of someone’s stomach during pregnancy. The way that it slowly started to get bigger. Within the images were what the baby would look like at each point. His gaze stayed on it mostly and remained there until the door opened up.

Stepping into the room was who he was guessing was the Doctor. It was a Beta woman who smiled at him. “Hi, Lieutenant Colonel Guren.” She said as she came all the way into the room and closed the door. Then her gaze fell on Shinya, and she gave a slight bow, “Major General Shinya.” As soon as her back was straight, she was headed directly for him as she said, “Alright, we do need to go over a few questions first.”

There it was.

The same old, same old. It happened here too it would seem.

“Okay.” Guren replied.

“When was the date of your last heat?” The Doctor questioned. Guren’s mind went blank. He knew it was something he was supposed to know, but he was very much guilty of not keeping track of them at all. Actually, he was a bit bad about it. Constantly being distracted by his work and not taking the time to keep it marked down. The Doctor laughed softly, “Well, that’s alright. We can still figure out how far along you are.” She placed down the clipboard she had in her hand as she motioned for Guren to lay down. The Omega did just that as she kept speaking, “Pregnancy or the gestation of pregnancy is actually calculated by the first day of your last heat. Which is why I asked you.”

Guren felt the confusion hit as he shared a glance with Shinya before looking back to the Doctor. “I wouldn’t have been pregnant if I was in heat.”

The Doctor just laughed again, “That’s not necessarily true, Lieutenant Colonel. There have been plenty of cases of Omegas still having heats and Beta women having their periods even while pregnant. Though, you are right too. You shouldn’t have heats at all if you’re pregnant. She replied as she turned and started to move around. “It’s hard to pinpoint the exact day of conception, so we use the first day of your last heat to help us calculate a window of conception. With that, we can estimate a due date for the baby. Though, we can use the ultrasound to measure the baby to help figure out how far along you are. It’s not an exact science, but it helps.”

Guren went quiet as he watched the Doctor grab for a machine. She rolled it over towards him before she was moving off to grab a set of gloves and a bottle of gel. He took a look back to the machine and realized it was an ultrasound machine.

“Can you go ahead and lift up your shirt?” The Doctor questioned. Guren was glad that he didn’t wear his uniform and instead decided to wear casual clothing. It made this a lot easier. The Omega did that as Shinya slipped up to his other side. As he was doing so, the Doctor had grabbed what looked like paper. “Mind undoing your button and then I’m just going to tuck this into your waistband to keep the gel from getting on your clothes.”

Guren did do that, getting a bit of the exposed feeling of doing it but tried to simply lay back and relax. The Doctor did exactly as she said she would and started to tuck the paper between his clothing and his skin while pulling it slightly down to reveal more of his lower abdomen and towards his pelvic area.

“Hopefully, baby is big enough that we can see them on a regular ultrasound. If not, I’ll have to do a transvaginal ultrasound.” The Doctor stated as she grabbed for the gel and then looked to him. “I’m sorry, the gel will feel cold. We try and warm it up a bit, but we have to be careful. We don’t want to accidentally burn the skin.”

“It’s fine.” Guren replied.

“Have you ever had an abdominal ultrasound before?” The Doctor went on to question as she popped open the cap and start to put the gel on his skin on the lower part of his stomach around the area she had revealed. It was on the cooler side, but Guren didn’t really care much. It was annoying though. She reached for the wand of the ultrasound machine next and looked back at him.

“Once.” Guren said back, “But it was for something else. I barely remember it.” He had been out of it at the time, but he recalled them having to use it to check his organs before. It had been a long time since then.

“Alright, good.” The Doctor murmured as she slipped the transducer through the gel before placing it against his skin. She had put a bit of pressure to it and Guren’s gaze had dropped to it to watch as it slipped over the surface. At first, she kept moving it around, going up slightly before moving back down a bit lower. “And there we are…” That immediately brought Guren’s attention up as the Doctor moved the screen to show him as Guren saw what looked to be like a black circle-esque shape around an even smaller white… embryo. “That is your baby.”

Guren inhaled sharply as his gaze lingered over it and he found himself whispering, “They’re so small.”

“Judging from the fact I can see the gestational sac, the yolk sac, and the amniotic sac… I would say you are roughly seven to eight weeks along,” The Doctor stated, “And that would mean your baby is currently about the size of a bean.”

Shinya had leaned forward slightly and slipped his hand into Guren’s as he looked completely transfixed onto the screen. “It actually already kind of looks like a baby.”

“Getting there, yeah,” The Doctor replied as she pointed at the screen. She pointed to the biggest part of the white embryo, “That is the head,” Then slipped her finger down, “Baby’s little body…” then she came to a stop at a little white line, “And that would be the umbilical cord.” She hummed for a second, “I’m just going to do a few measures of the crown-rump length just to be certain that I am looking at an eight-week fetus, but since we can already see it on an abdominal ultrasound I have a good feeling that it is.”

His gaze was locked completely onto the screen as he tightened his hand around Shinya’s. Even though it didn’t look like much on the image, Guren couldn’t tear his gaze away.

“That’s our baby, Guren.” Shinya murmured.

“Our baby…” Guren whispered as a slight smile came to his face as he kept looking at the image. He really was pregnant. All the proof he needed was on the screen right there.

That was… their baby.

Shinya still felt like he was in this area of disbelief. Guren was pregnant. It felt like a dream. It was a dream that Shinya never wanted to wake up from. It was something that he never imagined would truly happen like this. Shinya couldn’t tear his gaze away from the sonogram photographs that Guren had been given after that appointment. Shinya had seen the look on Guren’s face. Guren was completely enthralled whenever he looked at the screen with their image of their baby on it. Well, right now, the baby was more of an embryo and much smaller than what a baby was. Still, their baby.

That was their baby in this photo.

Shinya knew that if there was one thing that he was going to do is that he was not leaving Guren’s side for this. Not unless he absolutely had too. There was still so much that they had to figure out, but they would manage it. This was life altering, and it was something that they would be taking one step at a time.

Shinya put down the sonogram photos as Guren came into the room. The Omega had immediately went for the cabinets and opened them up and started to dig through them. Now that they knew what it was, it made a lot of sense in the ways that Guren had changed recently. The Omega’s hormones were all out of whack now.

Shinya kept his eye on Guren as the Omega kept digging through everything. The Alpha’s eyebrow shot up as he noticed the pout that came to Guren’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“I just…” Guren started and then Shinya noticed the way that the Omega’s entire body language changed. “I guess we’re out.”

“Out of what?” Shinya questioned. Guren had stayed quiet at first as Shinya eyed the Omega. He couldn’t see Guren’s face, but he was watching his body language. Everything about Guren was changing in that moment. Then, Shinya heard it. A sniffle. “Guren?” Guren had sniffled again as Shinya stood up and rounded the counter until he was by the Omega’s side. Guren was actively hiding his eyes now. In a way, it was like Guren was holding his breath. “Hey… What’s wrong?”

Guren shook his head, “Nothing.”

Why did Guren sound almost angry?

“Guren—” Shinya started but stopped the second that the Omega looked up and he noticed the tears in Guren’s eyes. “Oh—Shit, you’re—” He choked for a second. “Are you okay?”

“No!” Guren suddenly snapped. Shinya recoiled for a second in his surprise of seeing the sudden change. The Omega let out a sharp breath, looking away, “I didn’t mean that.”

“Well, what’s wrong?” Shinya questioned, “Maybe I can fix it.”

Guren looked back to him, blinking a few times as he sniffled again. “I don’t know what’s wrong.” Guren was lying right through his teeth. Shinya could tell that instantly from the way that Guren looked away whenever he said it. Shinya looked towards the cabinet that Guren had just been in as he opened it. He looked at the spot that Guren had previously been touching at and noticed that the snacks that were usually there were out. “Can’t fix what I don’t know.” Shinya chuckled the second he realized what was going on, “Are you craving something?” Guren gave him a look, and that look had guilty plastered all over Guren’s forehead. “Okay,” Shinya mused, “What do you want?”

Guren let out a sharp breath, shifting on his feet, “Jerky.” Even the tone of his voice had completely changed. More hopeful and even slightly embarrassed. At least, he looked a lot calmer than before and didn’t look like he was about to just break down anymore. Shinya wasn’t expecting something like this so soon, but his guess was that Guren was actively allowing him to see it now instead of walking away or pretending like nothing was wrong. Though, he could guess a change in hormones could make that stop anyway.

“Okay,” Shinya went on to say, “Why don’t you go relax for a bit and I go get it for you?”

“It’s the middle of the night.” Guren said back to him, “It’s—”

“You’re standing in the kitchen on the verge of tears.” The Alpha shot back, “I can run out and go get you jerky.” It didn’t take him long to figure out what this sudden change in Guren’s emotions were. This was all hormones. The tears, to the anger, to the apologetic nature, to bashful. Yeah, that made a lot of sense in his mind. “I’ll be right back.” Shinya leaned forward, connecting their lips briefly. He could feel Guren relaxing. He pulled back with a smile.

Shinya did leave much room for Guren to say anything else as he took a step back and started to head towards the door. Okay, so these were already starting to come full force. The least Shinya could do was run out to get a small snack. He knew specifically what was supposed to be there.

As Shinya walked out the door, all he could really think about is that there was going to be a lot more of this, but honestly, they were in this together. Shinya would go out of his way to find whatever Guren wanted or needed. It didn’t matter the time. Guren was doing the hard part. At least, he could give him the things that he wanted to make it go a bit easier for him.

What could Shinya say?

Guren was giving him something that Shinya never realized that he truly wanted, so he had to show his gratitude for it in his own way.

Guren had hated the way that everything had flipped in the kitchen. Now, he was just sitting on the couch and waiting for Shinya to come home. He couldn’t go to sleep knowing that Shinya had walked out the door in the middle of the night, and another part of himself was so mad that he let himself break down like that. It had all twisted up the second that he realized what he was looking for wasn’t in the cabinets. It felt so embarrassed at the fact that he had actually teared up from it. Then, he got angry and snapped, and then he was fine.

He hated this already.

Guren was finding himself staring at the clock. Watching each second that ticked by as he waited for Shinya to get home. He really didn’t want to say that he was dependent on Shinya to go to sleep, but the Alpha had also specifically gone out because Guren wanted one particular snack. Guren didn’t even have to say what it was. It made him feel bad to know that he had snapped. He hadn’t meant too. His annoyance for a second just kind of snapped.

The door opened up and Guren immediately found himself turning and looking towards the door as Shinya stepped inside. The Alpha kicked out of his shoes and headed in towards him immediately as he held up a bag of jerky. “One package of jerky.” Shinya stated, “Actually, I got three but still.”

Guren smiled as he reached out and grabbed it, “Thank you.” He didn’t know why he really wanted this specific snack other than he suddenly just wanted it with an irrational need to have it. Guren did open it up almost immediately and took one out so he could bite into it. The flavor hit the spot immediately. Guren pulled the package away as he finished the one he had started. As he looked down at it, he smiled a bit as he felt that wave of emotions hit him. Having the actual snack in his hand now suddenly made him really happy.

Suddenly, he felt the tears welling up in his eyes as he sniffled. “Guren?” Shinya questioned as Guren noticed the concern in his voice. “Is it the wrong kind—”

“No,” Guren said back as he shook his head, and he reached up to wipe at his eyes. Yeah, this already was driving him crazy. He had somewhat noticed it before, but now, with Shinya there it felt less likely for him to stop.

“Oh,” Shinya said as a mild bit of panic came to the Alpha’s voice, “You’re crying.” Shinya looked nervous for a second. A smile on his face as if he was trying to figure out what to do, “Why are you crying?”

“I’m just…” Guren started as he smiled and shook his head, “Happy, I guess.”

“Ah,” Shinya mused as he looked like he calmed down and chuckled, “So, you’ll cry whenever you are happy too. Good to know.”

Guren didn’t know if he should be offended by that, but he knew it was showing all over his face as Shinya laughed. “I guess I do.”

“You know, I do think I like that a bit better. At least, you’re smiling while you’re crying.” Shinya just laughed softly again as if he was shrugging it off as he reached for Guren’s other hand to pull him up, “Let’s go lay down at least. Snack in bed.”

Guren didn’t fight against it as he did feel the desire to just go lay in bed. As he started on the next piece of the snack, a smile came to his face as he looked towards Shinya. Shinya’s smile was making him feel better about it. Even though Shinya had made that slight comment, it was definitely more in a reassuring manner.

“I didn’t mean to snap at you,” Guren murmured as they got up to their bedroom. His voice was soft to the point Guren barely heard himself speak. “It just kind of… happened. It’s not your fault.”

“Nonsense.” Shinya stated, “You’re pregnant. I knew it was going to happen eventually. If anyone says anything, they have to deal with me.” The Alpha said as he moved to fall back onto the bed. Guren immediately went to his side of the bed, placing the snack down onto the bedside table as he slipped onto the bed himself. Shinya turned a smile towards him, “Though, you were always pretty quick to snap at someone before if you needed too. I do not pity the idiot who crosses you with your hormones all over the place.”

“Shinya—” Guren started, but Shinya just laughed again.

“Though, we might need to keep you away from sharp objects or anything that can hurt someone.” Shinya joked, “I might have to take cover at that point.”

Guren laughed softly, shaking his head as he said, “Don’t be an idiot.”

“Surprise, surprise, I can be an idiot all the time.” Shinya shot back, “But so are you if you think I’m going to get upset that you snapped because you got upset over a snack.”

“It’s stupid.” Guren replied, “Getting that way for something trivial.”

“Not to you right now.” The Alpha retorted, “We need to keep food in you somehow anyway, and if you’re craving something that means the baby wants it. So, there. It’s not trivial.” Shinya sat up, looking at him with a soft smile, “Don’t think you have to hide any of it. The tears, the anger, all of it.” Guren had to attempt to fight the next wave of emotions that hit him as he moved to grab his newfound snack. Shinya’s gaze was locked to him as he laughed softly. “Baby steps.”

Guren simply sent Shinya a look, but the smile came back to his face. “You’re an idiot.”

“A happy idiot.” Shinya said back as he laid back again with a smile, “Come on, lay down.”

Guren finished off that piece as he moved to lay down next to the Alpha. Shinya’s arm curled around his shoulders as Guren found the worries about everything else melting away. This was going to be just fine. At least, he hoped so anyway.

Shinya was just joking about it, and honestly, Guren didn’t expect anything different.

That was exactly the type of thing that Shinya would do, and even if he didn’t know it, that was all that it took to truly make Guren feel better in that moment. This was already a whirlwind of everything that they were going to be experiencing until the baby arrived. It was fear inducing. Guren felt as if everything around him was changing, and even his entire body was turning against him.

Guren’s gaze moved to what Shinya had in his hands, and he had noticed that it was the sonogram photos from his appointment. The Omega let his gaze linger over it as his gaze fixated onto their baby. Their baby. That was one thing that he had noticed. Shinya couldn’t stop staring at the photos of their baby.

Guren didn’t think that he could do any of this without Shinya truly being by his side. The Alpha was already having to deal with so much of it, and it had barely started. They had just gotten the true confirmation of the pregnancy, and it started to feel as if everything was already starting to slot together into different pieces.

“Shinya?” Guren murmured as he looked at the photo.

“What is it?” Shinya questioned softly as his fingers ended up curling into Guren’s hair.

“Stay with me?” Guren questioned softly as he turned his gaze up towards Shinya. Shinya’s gaze connected with his, and the world started to bleed out of the area around them. Leaving just the two of them laying there as the Omega curled his fingers. He felt so dependent on Shinya. He shouldn’t, right? Guren’s entire world was right here. Even as the world outside fell apart, and they were entering into this new chapter in their lives, he couldn’t do this without Shinya.

Shinya smiled at him, leaning and pressing their lips together into a brief kiss. Guren didn’t know if it was somehow like he needed to hear it, but it felt a lot better any time that he did. The Alpha pulled back as he broke the kiss and murmured, “I’m not going anywhere, Guren.”

Guren needed that to stay true.

Stay with him.

No matter what.

Chapter Text

Guren was already despising every single second of this. The mood swings that he was experiencing. Right now, they didn’t seem to be the worst, but he was definitely noticing them. He was sure that other people were too. Right now, he was managing to keep them within the seclusion of his own home or within his office. There was a soreness that was starting to happen at his chest which had him wanting to wear even baggier clothing just in case. The nausea was still bad. He would continue to stand by the statement that he hated it was called morning sickness whenever it did not matter the time of day. It just happened whenever it felt like. Guren felt like he was throwing up more food than he was actually keeping down. So, he was trying his hardest just to keep his head on straight. He was supposed to go back to the Doctor at twelve weeks. Guren would calculate that he was currently at roughly ten weeks going based off of the estimation from the Doctor.

To Shinya’s credit, he was right there with him the entire time. They weren’t together constantly, but if he needed something, Shinya was right there. It felt like the only thing that was helping him get through this change. Everything about his life felt like it was now spinning out of control. It felt like Guren had absolutely no control over any of this. Everything was changing around him, and it was actually starting to get frustrated.

Guren was wondering if that feeling was in part from the current frustration that he had with his emotions feeling like he was having whiplash constantly. The Omega was experiencing a lot of exhaustion lately, and at one point, he didn’t even want to get out of bed because he felt so tired. The nausea was constant. He couldn’t keep anything down, so that made it feel like he had even less energy. This was supposed to change, right? That he would eventually regain that energy again and the nausea would stop?

On top of all of it, he had heartburn. A burn in his chest and throat that was driving him absolutely insane already. It made the nausea even worse, so he decided to just stay laying down in hopes that it would calm down eventually. Guren was currently lying down as he stared out the window. He was already starting to get really bored with the light duty work. No one was really letting him do much of anything except read reports, sign off of on them, and teach classes. Even his friends were doing it. It was annoying, but he understood it. They were just wanting to keep him away from anything risky.

He had been given Prenatal Vitamins and Folic Acid. The Folic Acid was meant to help with any possible birth defects in utero, and he was supposed to take one each day along with the standard Prenatal vitamins. He had been told they would adjust as they go depending on if anything else came of the pregnancy. Such as gestational diabetes – which he doubted would happen, but it was still something they would watch for – or anemia. It was just a start, and he still had weeks of this.

The Omega’s attention was grabbed whenever the bedroom door opened up and Shinya had stepped into the room. Guren pushed himself up as Shinya smiled at him and shook his head, “Stay laying down.”

Guren let out a sharp breath as he turned over to his other wide so he could face the Alpha. Shinya placed down a bag onto the bed before he was moving on to get changed. It was decently late now, so they were done with their days. The Omega remained quiet as he shifted on the bed and got comfortable again. “Busy day?”

“For the most part.” Shinya replied as he got his clothes changed. As he finished up and slipped into his more casual, comfortable clothing, he kneeled onto the bed and grabbed for the bag. “Got these for you.” He opened up the bag and pulled out a small baggie of snacks. Guren felt a soft smile come to his face as he pushed himself up and leaned back against the pillows. “I’m guessing the morning sickness is still kicking your ass.”

“Whoever decided to call it morning sickness needs a kick to the face.” Guren mumbled as he accepted the snack and opened it up. At least, it smelt somewhat appealing and didn’t make his stomach churn immediately. He took one out, popping it into his mouth and eating it down before looking back to Shinya. “It happens at any time of the day.”

Shinya laughed softly as he sat down and leaned back as he pulled the other items out. Water, Gatorade, and just some other snacks including a small package of saltine crackers. “As long as if we get food into you. That’s what is important.” Shinya stated as he got comfortable next to him. “Have you taken the vitamins today?”

“Yeah.” Guren murmured as he took another bite of the snack. “Though, does it even matter if I’m throwing everything up constantly?”

The Alpha laughed softly again, “You’re taking them. It counts.”

He could argue that, but Guren was too tired for even that. So, he simply leaned back against Shinya and hoped that the snack would suffice enough. Shinya’s scent was already working to sooth him in other ways. He felt more relaxed than before as he felt the Alpha toying with his hair. Everything was going to change from here. They hadn’t really started on anything.

“This will pass soon.” Shinya tried to reassure him as he dropped the strands of hair that were in his fingers before continuing. Guren really hoped so. He was hating so much of this already. If this was supposed to be a beautiful experience, someone had a really annoying sense of humor or straight up sarcasm. Guren just hummed in response as he took another bite. Thankfully, the snack seemed to be agreeing with him. Shinya was being sympathetic. He knew it. “Is the snack going okay?”

“For the most part.” Guren replied between bites. The Omega could admit that he was waiting for the second that his stomach decided to flip, and he would lose what little bit of food that he had on his stomach.

Guren’s gaze dropped down slightly as Shinya’s free hand snaked its way around him and settled onto his stomach. That was a constant now. The Alpha always had his hand on his stomach if he was able to do it. Not that Guren minded. Actually, it would make another smile come to his face as he relaxed. Guren wasn’t showing yet. It would take a while before then. It made him wonder if it was going to be one of those situations where he would just wake up and suddenly, he could see it.

Guren had been doing a lot of reading into pregnancy just to get a better understanding of it for himself. A better understanding of the symptoms and what would happen to his body. His entire body was changing around him. There were only more changes to come. His body was the one thing keeping the baby alive and thriving. It was such a strange thought to think about. His body was the entire reason that a baby could grow. It was still his body, but it was almost like a little safe area for the growing life. That felt like a good thought to think about. At the same time, it was still utterly terrifying. If something happened to him, it could affect the baby. If something happened to the baby, it could cause complications for him.

Pregnancy was actually quite… scary.

Though, for now, with Shinya by his side, it made this a bit less stressful.

A part of this still didn’t feel real. Shinya had seen it for himself, and he was grinning like a mad man. It had already been a few weeks since the initial appointment. Guren would be due to go back in a week. The appointments went from every four weeks until Guren was twenty-eight weeks along, then it would lower down to two until the thirty-sixth week of pregnancy, and then it would be once a week. Though, they were still wanting to keep a bit of a closer eye on Guren due to the fact that he wielded a Black Demon Series demon.

They had been giving sonogram photos from the ultrasound machine and Shinya caught Guren looking at them often. He’d even admit that he was now keeping one of them on himself at all times. Kureto had already put everything into motion and while the Guren Squad had technically been on hiatus, Shinya would temporarily lead the Squad while Guren lead the entire organization from Headquarters.

Tenri was furious whenever he had learned of it. Shinya had been ready. Ready to stand up and argue in the defense of his relationship and the pregnancy. Though, Tenri had settled down after Kureto stepped in. In the end, Shinya’s initial thought on the fact he was not a blood Hiragi actually did work in his favor. Still, it was clear that Tenri was not pleased with him.

Shinya couldn’t give the slightest bit of a care in the world. All he cared about was Guren and their unborn child. He was already throwing himself into learning more about it. He was on this journey with Guren. Guren was the one who was going through all the symptoms and actively growing a life inside of his body, but Shinya had played a role in the formation of that life. It was his responsibility to make sure that Guren had everything he needed. No matter what it was.

One thing that made him happy about the arrangement of working with the Moon Demon Company meant he was near Guren at all times. While they would both be busy with work, it gave him the opportunity to drop in at the drop of a hat and check in on the pregnant Omega. The symptoms were hitting Guren relatively hard now that he was actually showing them. The nausea seemed to hit more whenever Guren was actively around food. The Omega had even stashed a package of crackers and a baggie of mints in his desk, which Shinya made sure was replaced every single night before they went home.

What Shinya was expecting but it had thrown him completely off were the mood swings. He had read that the hormones currently pumping through Guren’s body could cause quite the change, but it was definitely showing. One second, Guren would be completely happy and then his mood would suddenly change. People were already starting to take notice of it. Shinya wouldn’t say that they were walking on eggshells around Guren, but they were definitely showing a bit of a careful side. Guren’s temper had gotten a lot shorter, and the sudden sad look could come across his face in seconds. It was like all of Guren’s moods had heightened. Irritability, sensitivity, anxiety. They all had a spike to them. Shinya was right there by his side and ready to comfort him whenever he needed too. In a way, it was sort of entertaining but that was something he was going to keep to himself. At least, until the second that Guren would suddenly just break down into tears over the smallest thing. Then, Shinya felt bad.

It was definitely already a rollercoaster, but it would all be okay in the end. It was certainly another side of Guren that no one really got to see. The Omega couldn’t really control it. Shinya didn’t necessarily feel bad for the unfortunate soul that might be on the receiving end of Guren’s irritability. He seemed to be aiming more at the people who were deserving of it. Though, it had been shown to their friends and even Shinya. Guren’s fuse was already growing shorter.

Hormones.

Had to love those annoying things.

Shinya had been working on the newest plans with the rest of their friends whenever he had heard them. They were going over reports of their newest Squads as well. Among then was the Narumi Squad. Guren had a personal, special interest in the Squad. Shinya knew why. Two of the members belonged to the Order of the Imperial Moon. Makoto Narumi and Shusaku Iwasaki respectively. Guren had talked about them before, and Shinya had the pleasure of meeting them. They had traveled all the way to Shibuya by themselves as children all the way from Nagoya to find Guren here. Shinya had to admit that it was an admirable feat and the fact that two children pulled it off was astounding. Shinya also understood why Guren wanted them specifically assigned to the Moon Demon Company. They were under his command, and less likely to be in the command of a Hiragi. It had been deliberately done on Guren’s part. They were one of the newest Squads.

So, whenever he heard the irritated yelling outside of the room, Shinya had connected the dots quickly. He took one look at his friends before they were all starting out of the room. The Alpha popped out and he could hear the absolute fury in Guren’s voice before he ever saw him. As he rounded the corner, he stopped as he noticed exactly who Guren was talking to. It was one of their field Sergeants who had been in charge of the two newest Squads today. The Narumi Squad and the Aihara Squad. The fact that Guren was raising his voice was all that he needed to know. Even when scolding, Guren typically kept his voice down. Standing not far from them were the two Squads in question.

Shinya stood there for a moment as he finally caught what Guren was saying, “You don’t get to stand here and make up foolish, empty apologies. Your actions today almost cost the lives of ten of our own. Ten.” Shinya stood there, crossing his arms as he watched on. Guren was furious. In this case, rightfully so. “They are just kids, and your reckless actions could have been the end for them. How stupid could you be?!”

The two Squads were standing there completely frozen and looking at each other in confused, admiring, and concerned looks. Shinya had noticed the waver in Guren’s voice. It was one he had started picking up on. The way that it wavered in emotion, drenching it down in a higher pitch that told the Alpha that this could end in a different way.

Shinya walked over, looking between the two as he noticed the gloss in Guren’s eyes. The Omega was on the verge of tears. Even the Sargeant looked completely taken back. They all looked unsure of what to do despite the very appropriate scolding that was coming today.

“Uh, Lieutenant Colonel Guren, are you… crying?” The Sargeant questioned.

Shinya almost snorted but managed to keep it in as he saw the look that crossed Guren’s face. The sharp glare in his eyes. If looks could kill, the Sargeant would absolutely be a causality. “No!” Guren snapped, “Right now, this is about your actions out in the field. Without Makoto’s fast thinking, all of you could be dead.” Shinya heard the way that Guren choked on the word dead. It had him stopping and listening. Guren’s fuse was definitely a lot shorter right now. Shinya had already seen it a few times. But there was something about the way that he was speaking that really caught his attention.

“Lieutenant Colonel Guren—” The Sargeant started but was immediately cut off by the look that Guren gave him.

“Get out of my sight before I have you court martialed or worse… Kill you myself for endangering the lives of our comrades.” Guren snapped.

The Omega looked so frustrated as he took in a deep breath, looking away as he blinked multiple times before he let out a sharp breath. Shinya sighed, looking over to the Sargeant. “Go.” Shinya said quickly. Which the Sargeant did take as his chance to get away. Shinya looked back to Guren as he noticed that the Omega lowered his head.

“Lieutenant Colonel Guren,” Narumi started, “Can I offer you a tissue?”

Shinya turned a smile to Narumi as he shook his head, “I have this handled, Narumi. Why don’t all of you go on and take the rest of the day?” While they didn’t look so sure, they did slowly start to walk away. Shinya placed his hand onto Guren’s back and murmured, “Come on.” Shinya knew that Guren hated people seeing him like this. Right now, it was out of his control. Raging hormones would do that to someone, and Guren had an extremely good reason for it.

Shinya had quickly ushered Guren right into his own office and gave a reassuring nod back towards their friends that he had this handled. Guren wouldn’t want them to see either. It was just better this way. Even if their friends didn’t think anything differently. It made Guren more comfortable. The Alpha closed the door as Guren moved ahead, letting out a frustrated growl.

“I should kill him.” Guren snapped, “His stupid actions almost got people killed today. My people. The people that I’m supposed too—” Then, suddenly, Guren stopped speaking as Shinya noticed the way that Guren’s shoulders were shaking. Here it was. That inevitable flip of the switch. “How am I just supposed to sit by for months while kids are out there on the frontlines? Those kids are my responsibility—”

“Hey,” Shinya said quickly as he walked over. He blocked Guren’s path and reached out as he tried to coax the Omega to look up. “Guren, it’s not your fault.”

“I should be out there!” Guren snapped as he lifted up his head and Shinya was able to see his tear-filled eyes. “I should be—”

Shinya smiled, shaking his head as he cupped Guren’s face into his hands. “Narumi showed that he is an effective leader today. His quick thinking and training brought all of them home.” The Alpha tried to reassure him. That didn’t seem to do much as Guren sniffled and looked away. “Guren, you spent hours teaching those kids. Narumi looks up to you, and he used what he learned from you out on the battlefield.” That did make Guren look back to him. “The best way to learn is on the battlefield. Someone I really admire, and love told me that.” Guren let out a soft laugh as he looked down briefly. Shinya took the second to wipe the tear that had fallen from Guren’s eye away. “They are the same age we were whenever we started. If anyone would have faith in them, it would be you.”

“I do,” Guren murmured, “Just not in the idiots around them.” Death always hit Guren really hard. Any time that they had causalities, he couldn’t count how many times that Guren locked himself in a room and wouldn’t come out for a while. Guren beat himself up over it, and it would appear that it was even worse now that Guren was temporarily out of the field himself.

“Narumi had the best teacher he could possibly have, and he showed that today.” Shinya continued. Guren’s gaze returned back to him as he sniffled again. “If anything… Be proud of Narumi.”

“I am.” Guren murmured. The Omega let out a sharp breath as he shook his head, “I made an absolute fool out of myself. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s called hormones, Guren.” Shinya stated, “And there is nothing wrong with it.”

“I cry at the stupidest of things,” Guren shot back, “And now I haven’t broken down in front of not one but two of the Squads that are under my command. I hate this.”

Shinya smiled softly, running the back of his finger over Guren’s cheek, “I know.” The Alpha murmured in a soft voice, “But no one blames you, and no one is judging you for it.”

“I’m their commanding officer.” Guren muttered as he took a step back and let out a soft, exacerbated breath. “How am I supposed to lead them if I can’t stop this?”

“Guren, you’re pregnant.” Shinya stated in a reassuring tone. “I can assure you that not one of them are looking at you as if you were anything less. Those kids look up to you. Pregnant and all. Soon enough, this will pass.” The Omega didn’t look sold on those words. Shinya just kept smiling. “They will look up to you even more knowing that not only did you lead the Moon Demon Company, but you did it pregnant and brought a baby into this world. Our baby.” Shinya continued as he gave Guren a fonder look as the Omega kept his gaze on him. He could see the way that Guren’s eyes were softening with each word. “They will see that even in this world, we can have it all. They can look at you and know that their Commander did it all.”

A smile slowly started to come to Guren’s face and Shinya felt his get bigger. Within seconds, Guren’s eyes filled with tears and suddenly the Omega choked out a sob. Shinya just simply pulled Guren to him and muttered soft reassurances under his breath. Guren might not believe the words, but Shinya did mean them. They could have it all. Even in this world. Even underneath the hand of the Hiragi family. These hormones were just a speed bump in the way, and they would get passed it.

Shinya would stand right here with him. Right now, he didn’t know if he had made it better or worse, but for now, he would just hold onto him. Shinya wasn’t going to let Guren take this on alone.

If there was one thing that Guren really hated about pregnancy so far was definitely the hormones. It was like he couldn’t keep a grasp on them even more than what it had been before. Kureto always said that Guren had trouble with his emotions before and now it was even worse. Aside from the flip in his hormones, Guren was noticing the cravings now more than ever. It would be anything from a random snack that he had one time to a pastry. Then, he wouldn’t feel satisfied until he had it. Guren was starting to think pregnancy wasn’t completely the beautiful experience that people made it out to be.

He was already starting to feel tenderness and random aches and pains. Especially in the sides of his stomach around where his uterus would be. From what he had learned, it was completely normal since it was the uterus itself expanding. Still, it was not pleasing. He so much as coughed or sneezed and he felt it. Then, it would happen randomly. Since it was something that was supposed to be normal, Guren wasn’t going to be concerned about it.

He was still having the morning sickness, but it did seem to be happening less. There had been another thing that Guren had noticed. The dizziness. Sometimes, he would stand up and just feel lightheaded. It seemed to be even worse if he didn’t eat. It was really hard to actually want to eat whenever he kept throwing up everything that he did try to eat, and he felt nauseated at the aroma of anything else. Shinya was having to remind him to eat or would sit next to him while he tried to do so. Guren had been trying lighter things. He had started eating things like saltine crackers mostly. It did help get something on his stomach but also calmed it a bit.

His sense of smell was getting stronger. Guren was starting to pick up a lot more scents around him than he had noticed before. It made the nausea worse whenever it came to food because he couldn’t just escape to another part of the room. It was heightened and he was hating it. He missed being able to smell foods that he actually enjoyed without feeling like he needed to rush off to throw up. It was happening even with curry and rice and that one pissed him off. It was his favorite meal, and he couldn’t even tolerate the smell of it right now. Could this pregnancy already be over just so he could enjoy the smell of curry and rice in peace?

With of the change in his sense of smell, it had impacted his appetite even more. His friends and Shinya were constantly having to remind him to eat, or they would have a snack ready. Saltine crackers really seemed to be the only thing that actually worked for him. Though, it wasn’t doing him a lot of good. It was making the dizziness get worse. Guren was noticing the way that his mind would swim for a second and his body would suddenly feel heavy. The Omega was familiar with the feeling, but he would usually just sit down, and he would be okay.

Guren was doing a lot of other things in hopes of just getting his mind off of, well, everything. It felt like it was far more heavy on his mind. It felt like he was jumping between being happy about all of it to be utterly anxious about the future. Though, the second he looked into Shinya’s eyes, he knew that everything would be okay.

Life was still moving forward. If Guren hadn’t made that decision back then, this wouldn’t be happening. Was there a part of him that was being eaten away by the guilt of that choice that it was affecting his views on all of this? Possibly. Only, he couldn’t talk to anyone about that. He just had to keep it to himself. He just wanted to be happy about it. He could, realistically. Sometimes, it did make him want to break down and scream and cry. Then, there were the times he was so grateful that he even got this chance. That he could have a baby with the person he loved. Shinya was his entire world, and now their world was getting a bit bigger.

Every time that he faced a symptom, he was starting to get reminded of it. It felt like an internal struggle that was going to take him a while to get over. Honestly, he was never going to just get over it. It was always going to be there. He had to learn to live with it. Did it give him the right to be happy?

Guren was still trying to keep a close eye on everything at the Moon Demon Company. Even if he couldn’t go out into the field, he was still the leader of the organization and he needed to stay in the loop. He needed to make sure that everything was still running smoothly. Even before the world ended, many expectant parents still worked full time and even during pregnancy.

Guren was looking down at those who were currently training as he stood at the rail. Guren was technically the Homeroom Teacher for those trying to get into the Moon Demon Company. Though, Sayuri handled a lot of it if they weren’t out in the field. It was where Guren was spending most of his time now. There was something that felt really good about seeing how the newest probable additions to the Moon Demon Company were coming along. It could almost make him tear up. And he was absolutely blaming that on hormones. If there was absolutely one thing he could get away with, blame it on the pregnancy and no one could say anything about it.

The Omega looked down at his notes as he started to feel a bit of that heaviness to his body. Sayuri and Shigure were standing with him. Mito and Goshi were currently down with the new trainees. With their temporary hiatus, they were getting sent out less. It kept them all around for the time being, though, there were times they were needed in the field. Which, Guren didn’t mind. He just stayed back in endless anxiety and worry until the second he saw them again. And he hated that more than the rest of it. Guren knew it was better this way. His Squad, his friends, his family were classified as the most elite, and there was a reason for it.

Guren shifted on his feet, blinking a few times as he noticed the change in his vision. It had caught him off guard for a second as he reached up and rubbed at his temple. “Guren-sama? Are you okay?” Sayuri questioned in concern.

Guren nodded, attempting to shrug it off as he dropped his hand and looked back down. Everything felt like it was trying to become distant from him. His vision was blurring slightly, and he had noticed the way that his focus on the scene ahead of him wasn’t there.

“Guren-sama?” This time it was Shigure.

Guren let out a sharp breath as he blinked a few more times in hope of correcting his vision. The Omega was having a lot of difficulty focusing. The more he stood there, the more he was noticing just how much everything was starting to spin. Guren couldn’t even make out the voices around him. The Omega noticed just how heavy his body felt but how light his mind felt.

Suddenly, everything started to turn dark as his eyes slipped shut.

Shinya had made his way into the Moon Demon Company barracks as he had noticed Kureto approaching. The white-haired Alpha turned his head as the Lieutenant General got up to him. “What is it, brother Kureto?”

Kureto held up a file, “Preliminary results from Guren’s blood work taken from his last appointment.” Shinya reached for it and Kureto did hand it to him as Shinya flipped it open to read it. “Our team tested for any signs of a chance, but didn’t find anything. It would appear that Guren and the baby are in good health with no signs of worry about Guren’s demon.”

“That’s good.” Shinya murmured as they walked into the building, and he kept looking over the results. “So, you don’t think the demon will have any effect on the baby?”

“Currently, no.” Kureto stated, “But it’s still early and he’ll have to get blood work done just in general. I still want to keep an eye on it. He’s the first with a demon from the Black Demon Series to get pregnant. We don’t really know how it would effect a fetus.”

Shinya hummed along as he kept looking over it. This should help Guren in a way. Shinya knew that Guren was having a lot of anxiety about the pregnancy that he wasn’t talking about with anyone. It should, at least, sooth some of it. “Is that why you came all the way down here?” Shinya questioned.

“Me and Guren have a few things we need to discuss.” Kureto stated, “I was already in the area.”

“How considerate of you, brother Kureto.” Shinya joked.

“Oh,” Kureto mused, giving him an amused look, “I’m still going to have your head for knocking up my best soldier.”

“Guren would kill you.” Shinya teased back, “And then, we’d just be down two of our best men.”

Kureto chuckled, “He would never land the shot.”

Shinya sighed as he closed up the file. There was one thing on his mind since all of this started. While he’s been alone with Kureto since, the pregnancy wasn’t really talked about. The white-haired Alpha exhaled sharply as he shook his head, “Why are you defending me and Guren so much? It’s unlike you.”

“I know the value in the people around me.” Kureto stated, “Guren is a very valuable asset.”

“It’s more than that.” Shinya replied as he shook his head, “You genuinely care, don’t you? But you don’t want it to affect your image.”

Kureto gave him a sharp, calculated look. “I told Guren a long time ago that I don’t care about names.” Shinya remembered that. It had taken Guren by surprise. Kureto didn’t care that Guren was an Ichinose. He only cared about Guren’s strength and his smarts. How he could use him. “Besides, anyone with eyes knows the two of you are soulmates.”

Shinya had stopped walking as he looked over to Kureto in shock. “What?”

“You can’t be this much of an idiot.” Kureto stated as he turned to look at him. Kureto was looking at Shinya as if he should know the answer. Shinya remained quiet as Kureto scoffed. “The Hiragi aren’t taught about soulmates. Meeting a soulmate is a one in a million chance, and apparently, you are exactly that.”

“You think Guren is my soulmate.” Shinya said back, “Soulmates are just a thing of fairytales.”

Kureto rolled his eyes, “It’s a very real phenomenon that has happened to millions of people. Where do you think the story came from?” The Lieutenant General exhaled sharply as he turned back towards him completely. “From the way that it’s said… The second you look into the eyes of your soulmate; it’s like the world stops.” Shinya inhaled sharply, recalling back to the second that he laid eyes on Guren for the first time. They did make eye contact in that moment, and Shinya remembered that feeling. “That in the moment, you would do anything… Be anything for them.” Kureto stepped towards him, shaking his head, “It’s like gravity itself has shifted around that single person. They have become your entire world, and you don’t know how to live without them.”

“Sounds like a movie.” Shinya replied. He didn’t know if Kureto was just fucking with him or he actually meant it. Sometimes, it was hard to tell with him.

“They use it in movies all the time.” Kureto said back to him. “But the way you know it’s true… Soulmates get a very distinctive look in their eyes. Someone can identify a soulmate by noticing the way that their eyes shine. Anyone on the outside can see it. It only happens for a moment but it’s there and I have seen it with the two of you. The way you look at each other… The way nothing can stop you.” Kureto then smirked at him slightly, “You would destroy this world for him.”

“That sounds like a pretty stupid thing to do,” Shinya replied, “But I would.” Shinya meant that. If it meant that Guren would be right by his side, he would destroy this entire world to make it happen. It felt strange that someone was putting it into words. That soulmates were a real thing. He could recall a story being told. That someone was another person’s perfect half. Two souls that were meant to be. Shinya smiled a bit as he looked back to Kureto. “Nothing would stop me.”

“And that is exactly why I defend the two of you.” Kureto stated, “You both are valuable in your own ways. Anyone would be a fool to think that tearing the two of you apart would do this world any good.”

“I didn’t take you to be the kind of guy to be a hopeless romantic.” Shinya replied. He honestly never thought about it like that. Was Guren really his… soulmate? The stories were true? Kureto seemed to believe so. Considering how outlandish that it sounded, if Kureto actually believed it, there was a good chance it was true. “Maybe you are a better guy than I thought.”

“You’re not truly that bad yourself, brother Shinya.” Kureto stated as he looked back to him, “But you should be one of the first to know that I don’t screw around whenever it comes to my people.”

Shinya laughed a bit. Kureto had proven that before. Time and time again. Shinya was pretty sure it was why Guren actually did respect Kureto as much as he did. Despite the fact that Kureto was a blood Hiragi. Kureto could be an asshole at times, but he was a resourceful asshole who you would rather have on your side than against you. Everyone had their flaws, and that included Kureto.

As they went down the hall, Shinya had this feeling wash over him. The Alpha wasn’t sure what it was. It was just that this twist in his gut came, and he couldn’t get it to go away as he looked around. Something felt wrong. He just wasn’t sure what it was. Then, it just clicked.

Shinya didn’t think twice before he was starting to head down the hall. Guren. He didn’t know exactly how he knew, but it was the first thing that came to mind. It could just be his own instincts kicking in, or it could even be what Kureto said, but it had his body moving before he had a chance to think.

He rounded the corner, looking into the Training Room where the students were. He had noticed no one was training. The Alpha let out a sharp breath as he looked up towards the balcony and his heart practically stopped. “Guren.” He whispered.

He could see his friends up there, and specifically Shigure and Sayuri who were kneeling down. His guess would be that Mito and Goshi had just gotten to them from the way that they were moving. At first, Shinya couldn’t even see the Omega through them, but he had caught a glimpse of his hair. Shinya had skipped steps on his way up. He rounded the corner, dashing down the pathway of the balcony as he said, “What happened?” As he got up to them, he was able to see that Guren was completely out. Eyes closed, lips slightly parted, and blood on his nose.

“He was talking and then suddenly he just fainted.” Sayuri said quickly. The concern and worry was laced in the tone of her voice as Shinya was able to see that her hands were right under Guren’s head. From the way that Sayuri and Shigure were, it looked like they had tried to catch him before he went down.

“Guren-sama hit his face on the rail as he went down.” Shigure murmured. She almost sounded guilty about it. Even the look on her face said the same thing. “We tried to keep him from falling.”

Shinya ran it through his head quickly to think if this was something they should have known about. He recalled everything he read as well as what he was warned about. Dizzy spells, fainting spells, a crash in blood sugar or blood pressure could have caused this. Shinya kneeled down by Guren as he noticed that the Omega’s eyes were starting to crack open. Guren looked dazed for a second. The confusion came to his face.

“Can you get a water or Gatorade and a snack?” Shinya questioned as he looked up towards Sayuri. She nodded quickly, already moving to her feet to head over to the bag. A moment later, she came with those exact items. Shinya looked back to Guren, giving the Omega a soft smile as he saw that Guren’s vision was back in focus. “Hey there.”

“What happened?” Guren murmured as he reached up and rubbed at his eyes. He looked less dazed and confused, but it was still clear that he really didn’t know what actually happened.

“You fainted.” Shinya stated. He reached forward as he watched as Guren had started to push himself up. The Alpha slipped his arm behind his back to give him something to support him on. “What happened just before you passed out?”

Guren let out a sharp breath as Sayuri handed the water to him, and Shinya watched as he took a drink to it. The Omega shrugged, murmuring, “I just got dizzy. I’m fine.”

“You bloodied your nose.” Shinya replied. Guren looked to him for a second, reaching up and touching at his nose. His gaze stayed on his hand as some of the blood smeared onto his fingertips. “When was the last time you ate something?” The look that Guren gave him told him everything. Guren didn’t remember. Sayuri held out the package of crackers she had grabbed and Guren gave her a slight smile as he took them. “Don’t rush it. Just eat on that first. How are you feeling?”

Guren shrugged, “I feel fine now. Just… lightheaded.”

Shinya hummed. This had to be a drop in blood sugar that caused this one. Guren had been having difficulty eating and keeping food down. It would make total sense to why. “Well, just eat on that and sip on the water and then we’ll get you up.”

“Once you do that,” Kureto interjected, “Go home, Guren.”

Guren’s gaze went to Kureto as he shook his head, “Kureto—”

“That’s a direct order.” The Lieutenant General stated, “You will need to report this to your Doctor.”

Guren didn’t look pleased, but he wasn’t arguing about it either. Kureto gave Shinya a knowing glance, and Shinya already knew he was going to mention it. Shinya looked back to Guren and smiled, “He’s right.”

Guren gave him a slight look, but still, he didn’t argue it. He did mumble out, “I’m pregnant not broken.” Shinya sat down, letting Guren use him as something to lean against as he drank on the water and ate the snack. For just a moment, it made him wonder if this had already happened before and Guren just didn’t say. Shinya didn’t want to become overbearing, but it concerned him too. Not just because Guren was pregnant. Guren always had this tendency to put others first or think of himself last. They had caught him doing it time and time again. This time, Shinya might just have to attempt to keep a closer eye on him.

But he knew Guren.

If Guren thought it was harmful to the baby, he would change that behavior.

Shinya had faith in him.

Chapter Text

It was time for what was called a Dating Scan. Guren had been notified of it last time. It was pretty much the same as the confirmation ultrasound. They would be checking the growth of the baby as well as getting more of a confirmation on a probable due date. It felt like the time had not only dragged on but somehow flew by for this appointment. Once again, Shinya was right next to his side. Thankfully, he hadn’t had another fainting spell, but everyone had been on him about attempting to keep food down. The nausea and morning sickness still wasn’t the greatest, but he could seemingly eat a bit more food now.

This had been the same as last time. They had gone through the same pre-checkup steps as before. They had taken his weight again and while he wasn’t surprised at it, he had lost weight. While it felt concerning, he was told it was something that could happen. Otherwise, everything came back to normal and what it should be.

Guren was back in that room again, and Shinya was right next to his side. Just like last time, he had been instructed to lay back and that same type of paper had been tucked into the front of his pants. The gel was still annoyingly on the cold side as the Doctor had the ultrasound machine set up.

The transducer was back on his stomach, and it had Guren staring down at it again. The Doctor’s gaze was stuck to the screen as the transducer was moved around his skin. There was still something that made him nervous about all of this. The way the Doctor was staying quiet was making him even more nervous. Shinya had grabbed his hand the second that Guren had started to fidget, and it had gotten him to calm down slightly.

“Alright,” The Doctor finally said as she turned the screen to face them. Guren’s gaze immediately moved to it, and he inhaled sharply as he saw what would look like an actual baby on the screen. This time, it was a much clearer image. He could see the little head and their little body. There was still that black circle around it, but it helped let him see the image a bit better. “That is your baby’s head… body…” Her finger slipped over the screen and moved down the image, “Your baby’s little legs and feet.” It actually did look like it. Guren felt himself getting so transfixed on it.

“It actually looks like a baby now.” Shinya murmured.

The Doctor laughed softly, “And their little hands…” As she pointed to the little ball shapes that were closer to the head. “This scan definitely always looks more like a baby rather than just a little embryo.”

Guren had sort of stopped listening to them. He couldn’t tear his gaze away as a soft smile came to his face and he could feel his chest getting warmer.

“The baby is measuring to be about what I believed it would. I would say you are roughly between twelve and thirteen weeks. Which gives us a better idea of your due date.” The Doctor stated. “I’m not seeing any abnormalities. Your uterus and ovaries still look good. Everything looks healthy.” That made Guren relax even more than before. “I do want you to try and at least gain twenty-five pounds and keep taking your vitamins and folic acid. It helps promote a healthy pregnancy. I’m not concern about the weight loss. That is actually normal, but you should gain it back over the duration of your pregnancy.”

“Okay.” Guren whispered mindlessly as he kept staring at the screen. It actually looked like a baby now. This time, it just felt a bit different than the first ultrasound.

“Look at our baby, Guren,” Shinya murmured as he leaned down and his fingers started to card through Guren’s hair, “They lay like you do.”

Guren almost laughed at it, but he had stopped it. A bit of an amused smile came to his face as he watched the movement on the screen despite the transducer not moving.

Then, the Doctor clicked a button, and it took Guren’s breath away for a second as he heard the fast thumping like sounds. “And that is your baby’s heartbeat. Healthy at… one hundred and fifty-three beats per minute.”

Guren had found himself completely enthralled by that sound. It was so quick, but he could hear it. The la-dup sounds of a beating heart. The Omega choked for a second as he felt the sting in his eyes as they started to well up with tears. Guren had forced them away, but a bigger smile came to his face.

“That’s our baby’s…” Guren murmured, “Heartbeat.”

“And it’s a nice and strong one.” The Doctor replied as she let it stay there for a moment. After a few minutes, she pulled it away and Guren missed the sound. His stomach was wiped off before she handed over the connected pictures of the sonogram. Guren’s gaze immediately turned to those instead. The button one had an extra detail to them. It showed the heartbeat on it. Which is what Guren had focused on.

The Doctor had come back, holding out a paper, “This is the estimated due date. I wrote a few dates just in case.” She stated, “It’s not an exact science and most don’t have their babies on their due date, but this is the date we will go with.”

The paper had been handed to Shinya as Guren readjusted his clothes before he heard a soft laugh from Shinya, “How funny.”

“What?” Guren questioned as he turned his attention towards Shinya.

Shinya looked to him, holding out the paper so Guren could take a look. His eyes widened slightly as he saw the written due date. While there were three on the paper, only one was circled. For a second, it felt like everything had stopped. 

December 25, 2021

Shinya found it oddly ironic that Guren’s estimated due date was the same day that the world had ended. Even the year was an inverted number of it. At least, the end number was. Shinya had seen the look on Guren’s face. It was making Guren think about the end of the world, which mean Shinya had to get his mind off of it. And he was trying everything imaginable to do so.

As a few weeks passed, he had seen the glow to Guren’s skin. An aura around him that just said he was expecting. Now that it appeared they were getting out of one of the hardest parts, Guren looked rather good. Not that he didn’t all the time, but pregnancy was a good look on him. A twinkle to his eye, a glow to his skin, the way that he held himself. Shinya liked seeing it. Even more knowing that the baby that Guren was carrying was his.

Guren’s cravings were starting to kick in even more now. Now that Guren was slowly starting to be able to keep food down and actually enjoy it, it seemed like it had kicked his cravings right into overdrive and it always seemed to be something that they didn’t have. So, Shinya found himself going out at odd hours or even in the middle of the night to hunt down Guren’s currently craving. Especially after the last time that Guren craved something and realized they didn’t have it. Shinya had seen the way that Guren’s face entirely changed and his eyes welled up with tears. Shinya had been out the door in seconds with promises to retrieve the craving for his pregnant lover.

Which is exactly why he was out in the city in the middle of the night currently. Shinya didn’t mind in the slightest. It was the least that he could do. Guren was doing the hard part. Shinya could at the very least help satisfy the cravings of the baby that he helped create.

Luckily, it had been something easy to find and Shinya was able to get ahold of it. As he was walking through the place to leave, he had stopped as he noticed an Inyo necklace hanging up. A lot of the store had remained untouched for anything that wasn’t a necessity. There were very few food items left behind, but it was a place meant to let their soldiers go in and out of if they needed too. Which was the only reason it had snacks.

His conversation with Kureto had been weighing heavily on his mind. Soulmates. Why did he never think of that possibility? The more he researched and learned into soulmates, the more that it was pretty clear to him that Guren was in fact his soulmate. Shinya supposed that he just never thought about it before. Though, he was never taught it either. It made him wonder if Guren knew.

A slight smile came to his face as he reached out and grabbed the necklace. It was small. Nothing too big, but not too small either. Just a simple pendant of the Inyo symbol that was on a silver chain. The first thing it made him think of was Guren. He ran his finger over it before he quickly pocketed it and took off with the snack in hand.

Guren’s cravings were not going to satisfy themselves.

Shinya had walked quickly but quietly back home. A part of him had the thought that Guren might have fallen asleep before he got back, but the other part knew that was unlikely. Guren always slept better next to him and vice versa. The best sleep that Shinya could get was having Guren right next to his side. Sometimes, it felt like he couldn’t even sleep without the Omega there.

Thankfully, he wasn’t that far away from home as it was and quickly got back to the house. Whenever he got back, sure enough, Guren was awake and sitting in the living room. Well, he was lounging back on the couch, but he was still in there. Shinya closed the door behind him, kicking out of his shoes before saying, “One craving delivery at your service.” The Alpha popped around, holding out the craving towards his lover.

Guren looked up to him, giving him a slight smile, “Thanks, Shinya.”

The Omega did accept the newly acquired treat and almost immediately broke into it. A completely satisfied look came to his face and Shinya felt his own smile get bigger. As Guren ate on his snack, Shinya reached into his pocket and pulled out his new find. “Hey, Guren,” Guren hummed in response but didn’t look up at him. “Close your eyes.”

He saw the momentary confusion flash on Guren’s face, but he did so anyway. Shinya let out a soft breath as he unhooked the clasp and moved around the Omega. “What are you doing?” Guren questioned.

“Just a second.” Shinya replied. He slipped the chain around Guren’s neck before clasping it into place. “You can open your eyes.”

Guren immediately looked down as he reached up to touch at it. The chain was long enough that Guren would be able to see it. “An Inyo?”

“Yeah,” Shinya replied, “I think it’s perfectly fitting to give to the mother of my child,” For a second, Guren gave him a sharp look at mother. While it was the technical term, they both knew that it was partially a joke but also that neither of them would truly refer to Guren unless if he wanted that. “And for my soulmate.” What he didn’t expect was to see the knowing twinkle in Guren’s eyes. The Omega was looking at him with a fondness as he stood up, placing down his newly retrieved snack as he looked back to Shinya. Shinya let out a sharp breath as he shook his head, “You knew?”

“My Dad used to tell me about soulmates when I was a kid.” Guren replied with a slight shrug, but his smile got a bit softer, “I figured it out pretty quickly.”

Shinya let out a soft breath, shaking his head a bit more, “You didn’t tell me.”

“Did I need too?” Guren questioned, “It wouldn’t have mattered.”

“A soulmate is kind of a once in a lifetime thing, right?” Shinya questioned as he looked over Guren’s face. The look never changed. Guren kept looking at him with that gentle fondness. “I never knew. This whole time…”

“Would it have changed anything?” The Omega questioned and Shinya stopped for a second. Guren looked down for a second as he whispered, “Is this supposed to be some revelation that you suddenly realize why you have feelings for me?” Guren lifted his gaze back up and Shinya felt himself soften a bit. “It wouldn’t have changed anything for me. Soulmate or not… You are the person I can’t live without.”

Shinya smiled, shaking his head, “No, it wouldn’t have changed a single thing.” The Alpha stated as his grin got bigger. It did make him realize just how different their upbringings were even if they had so many similarities. Guren had a good relationship with his father. Shinya never truly had that. No one to tell him stories or talk about mystical things like soulmates. It wouldn’t have changed a single thing that he felt about Guren now. Actually, it made him feel even better knowing it. “The second I saw you…” Shinya continued as he stepped forward and reached up to brush some of Guren’s hair out of his face. “I knew. I guess it just took me longer to figure out that this was always meant to happen.”

Shinya couldn’t read the look that flashed into Guren’s eyes, but there was still that very soft smile on his face that was pulling him in. The Alpha took a moment to look for it. Then, it happened. It took staring right into Guren’s eyes to notice it. The slightest bit of a glow to them that made Guren’s eyes radiate even more. Was that why he fixated so much on Guren’s eyes whenever he first laid eyes on him? It was like that connection was forming. How did he never notice before?

Maybe it was because it might never had truly mattered. Guren was the person he wanted to be with. Shinya had found happiness with him. A purpose to live. Did Guren never tell him so there wasn’t this lingering obligation?

The shine was gone, but it was really as if he could feel everything. Like the gravity of the world changed all over again. It all made perfect sense. Shinya just smiled as he whispered, “I love you, Guren.”

“I love you, Shinya.” Guren murmured as he leaned in, and Shinya had closed the distance. Every time he kissed Guren, it always felt like the first time all over again. The longing, the desire, the need to have him with him. There were so many words that he could put to it.

Now, that life was altering, but Shinya didn’t see it changing them.

Guren was still the most important person in his life, and their baby would be too.

And Shinya was not going to let this baby have to live the life that they did.

That was a vow that Shinya would make to the end of time.

Guren had tried not to dwell on the idea of what his possible due date was. It was like a phantom sound in his ears that he could hear that same sound again. A heartbeat. Nice, fast, and steady. Their baby’s heartbeat. It had been a few weeks since then and they had already gotten through another appointment for his sixteen-week checkup. Everything was going normally, but he was still completely blown away by the estimated due date.

In what world was that possible?

Guren had to try and push it out as far as he could go. Shinya was making jokes about it. That they were going to turn a dark day into a lightened day. He supposed that was technically true if he actually gave birth on that day. He doubted he would. As they said, it wasn’t an exact science and not everyone gave birth on their expected due date.

Guren was starting to wonder if the world was just wanting to knock him down a peg from what he had been feeling.

Despite all of that, Guren had started to feel like he had a lot more energy than before. The morning sickness was slowly starting to dwindle, and it was happening far less. He was being able to actually enjoy eating again. Thankfully, this last appointment, he had gained back the weight he had lost but it was only at that. Guren was starting to think he might actually struggle to gain the necessary weight that he needed. No matter what, he was throwing all of that into the back of his mind and just enjoying the moment.

Guren wasn’t sure what the change was, but it was starting to feel more light and airy at times. The mood swings weren’t nearly as bad, but they still showed. He was just glad that he wasn’t about to snap at a drop of a dime or break out crying because his damn hormones were that shot. He was now in the second trimester as of thirteen weeks. A lot of the scary parts would be over. Though, there were still some chances. Guren never counted this world out for being a major asshole to him.

Guren wasn’t sure why he was doing it, but he had started to fill out the baby book that he had found. It felt so stupid to do, but also nice at the same time. It was also where he was keeping the sonograms at. Shinya had also claimed another one to keep on him. It was also giving him something to do. Ever since he had fainted, they had been giving him less and less to do. Though, that might have to do with the second time that he had fainted which had been right in the Doctor’s office, and he had freaked everyone out. To Shinya’s credit, he had caught him before he hit the floor. Now, Guren was never without a snack, but he was starting to be able to actually keep the food down.

There were many things that were frustrating him still, but the less that some of them happened, the more light that he felt. Guren was trying desperately not to think of all the bad things. He had a tendency to do just that, and Shinya was standing by his side through it all.

With the weeks passing, not only was he now getting a spike of energy, he had been noticing other changes about him. One was his sex drive. Guren never really had one before, but now, it was showing. Not that Shinya minded. Guren saw the look on his face whenever it did happen. It probably didn’t help that Shinya was now actively going back on missions and then coming home to Guren. Guren didn’t know why that change was there, but it was.

Shinya was starting to bring things home with him. Anything from articles of clothing to pillows to snacks that Guren liked. The necklace that Shinya gifted him was still around his neck. Shinya finally learned it. To be fair, not everyone believed in the concept of soulmates. So few people truly met their soulmate. There was still an aura of mystery around the complexity of soulmates. To him, it didn’t change how he felt. Sure, it could have kick started it, but Guren had this feeling that soulmate or not, they were always bound to find each other. That Shinya was meant to be the person that Guren needed in his life. Guren couldn’t live without him, and he couldn’t go through this without him. Something did feel really good about Shinya knowing now. They didn’t really talk about it, but there wasn’t a need too.

Ever since that moment, Guren had started to notice a few things. Shinya seemed to know more of what he was thinking without him saying it. Just a quick glance of the eye was enough. Just like before, but it almost seemed to heighten. He didn’t know if that had to do with Shinya knowing and understanding him or if it was just something that came with the fact that they were indeed soulmates. It was like a name tattooed forever on his heart. Like Guren’s heart beat for Shinya. Was this some form of co-dependency? That Guren had latched on so much to Shinya that all of this happened? Maybe. Life just felt better with Shinya around. It wouldn’t matter what this world threw at him, as long as if he had Shinya by his side.

Guren couldn’t spend too much time thinking on it. He might never have that answer. All he had were the stories that his father told him. As he thought about it, he wanted this baby to have that. To be able to hear stories such as soulmates and be completely enthralled by it like he was. Back then, Guren never thought he would ever meet his own soulmate, and he did. But he had lost him too. Then, he got back. That was still something that Shinya could never know. At least, this was something that it didn’t really matter. They both knew it. Soulmates or not, they were both in this together.

Guren closed up the book that he had been writing in and placed it down on his bedside table in favor of going to head to the bathroom. That was still. The higher need to go to the bathroom. That had been happening the entire time. The further along he got, the more it felt like he needed to do so. The Omega walked over to the bathroom, flipping on the light and went about doing his business.

Whenever he was done and went to wash his hands, he stopped as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing baggy clothing now. It was loose and it just felt better. He was already starting to have trouble wearing his normal pants so he either went with bands that were elastic, sweatpants, or just didn’t bother wearing any at all if he was home. His stomach had a firmness to it. Where it felt more solid rather than soft. The Omega stepped back, turning slightly as he lifted up his shirt. He had barely noticed it at first, but it was starting to become more noticeable now.

The little bump.

A slight curve to his stomach to show how much his body was changing. Occasionally, he would feel this little flutter that would happen. It was hard to tell what it was at times, but it kept getting his attention. The Omega ran his fingers over the course of the exposed skin and hummed. It still felt surreal sometimes to look at it. The things that the human body could do.

Guren found himself looking at it before he felt a sudden thump that stopped him. At first, he barely noticed it. It was just enough that it caught his attention. The Omega exhaled sharply as, just for a second, he thought that his mind was playing tricks on him. That was, until he felt it again. Guren placed his hand down and it took his breath away again as he felt it once more. It wasn’t the same as the flutter. It felt like a flutter but more than that.

Hold on…

Was their baby… kicking?

“Shinya!” Guren exclaimed as he stood there. Was this actually what he was feeling right now? It wasn’t much, but he kept feeling it. “Shinya, get up here!”

It didn’t take him long at all to hear the quick footsteps before Shinya quickly rounded the corner with a, “What’s going on?!” The concern was laced in his voice as his eyes landed on Guren. The Alpha’s gaze widened as he said, “Is something wrong with the baby?”

Guren shook his head, “No. Nothing’s wrong.” He whispered, “Come here.”

Shinya gave him a slightly confused look before he crossed the room. Guren reached out and grabbed the Alpha’s hand before placing it down against the surface of his stomach where he had felt it. It felt too perfectly timed that it happened again and he lifted up his gaze to see Shinya’s completely enthralled look. “What is that?” Shinya said softly.

“Our baby is kicking.” Guren murmured. Then, he laughed softly as he kept his hand pressed down against Shinya’s. It happened a bit more as Shinya suddenly let out a soft laugh of his own.

“Wow,” Shinya muttered, “That is one strong kick.” The Alpha’s smile only got bigger, “You scared the Hell out of me yelling like that.”

“Sorry.” Guren said back with a slight shake of his head as he focused back on it too. There was something so much more calming about feeling it. He had noticed that he had this weird type of anxiety where he would panic at the thought that he might have lost the baby because he couldn’t see them, he couldn’t feel them, he couldn’t hear them. This… This felt really good.

Shinya’s hand relaxed against his skin as the Alpha stepped closer. “Doesn’t that feel weird to you?” Shinya questioned, “Having a little baby moving inside of you?”

“A bit.” Guren admitted, “But this is the first time I’ve felt it like that. It’s always just been like… flutters.”

Shinya gave another soft laugh as he ran his hand over the course of Guren’s belly. “That is actually… really cool.” Shinya whispered.

Guren smiled a bit, looking around, “Can we get out of the bathroom?”

It seemed to snap Shinya out of it, and the Alpha took a step back to let Guren start out of the room. Shinya had stayed right there with him. His hand never moved off of Guren’s stomach. The Alpha’s fond gaze had stayed on his stomach. They had ended up back in the bedroom as Shinya suddenly dropped to his knees. It made Guren inhale sharply, and the air caught in his throat as Shinya’s nose nuzzled against his skin.

“Hi there,” Shinya whispered. It only took Guren a second to realize exactly what Shinya was doing. It allowed him to relax as the Omega reached out and placed his hand on top of Shinya’s head. He took a second to brush Shinya’s hair back as the Alpha kept nuzzling against his stomach. “You’re making yourself known now.”

Guren felt a gentler smile come to his face as everything else seemed to fade away once more. The look in Shinya’s eyes had him completely pulled in as everything else melted away. He had noticed the way that the frequency of the little thumps felt. They seemed to pick up more whenever Shinya spoke. He had noticed that with the flutters too. It happened more whenever Shinya was around, but those were hard to feel before. It was possible that he had already felt the kicks before like this and just didn’t notice. At least, not to this extent. Not enough that it had completely captured his attention and he realized what it was.

Shinya’s fingers sprawled over his skin as he smiled a bit and pressed a kiss against his skin before he was standing up and looking Guren straight in the eye. Shinya’s scent reached his senses, and he found himself smiling a bit more. All of his thoughts and concerns were chased away as Shinya smiled at him. Even though they were soulmates, he had a feeling it was just because it was Shinya. Guren would never get enough of the way that Shinya looked at him. How it made time stop and nothing else mattered.

Shinya’s hands were still on his stomach as the Alpha smiled at him, “Thank you.” Shinya whispered. Shinya didn’t have to say why he was saying that. Guren already knew.

All he could do was smile as he leaned in and connected their lips. Even that small action was all that Guren needed. Everything was flooding around him. There was so much going on in his head that Guren was trying to grasp onto. This was still an absolute whirlwind, and Guren couldn’t stop looking at the small pieces that were reminding him of the past.

This was their future.

Their baby was innocent in everything, and Guren was trying desperately to get all of those thoughts out of his mind. As Shinya broke the kiss, Guren could feel those thoughts being chased away. He knew that it would only be temporary. Eventually, all the thoughts would come back, but he knew that Shinya would make them disappear. Even if it was just for a little while.

It was just the two of them. Their universe was starting to get a bit bigger between the two of them. Guren was being reminded of that now. He had to get the idea of that date out of his mind. Shinya would never truly know the significance of it, but he would have his own version of it.

Right now, Shinya looked so happy. The smile that was on his face, and the sparkle that was in his eyes as his hand stayed right on Guren’s stomach where the baby was kicking. Guren could feel the small movements that kept grounding him right back down to reality.

Was it truly okay for him to be happy about this?

Was the world trying to give him a reminder of something?

Yet whenever he looked at Shinya, it was gone. The warmth was back in his life and the light was shining his way, and all Guren wanted to do was continue to grasp onto it.

Shinya looked at him, smiling softly, “Our baby is kicking.”

Guren found a smile coming to his face, “Yeah.” Guren was really glad that this happened while Shinya was here. In that moment, all Guren could do was focus on Shinya’s smile and it reminded him why he did all of this.

There was no regretting that at all.

Any time that the bad thoughts seemed to be there, he felt another kick and it also felt as if it was drowning out every single negative feeling that he had. Right now, he was going to look to the future.

And it was going to be here before he knew it.

Chapter Text

It felt like somehow the time was flying by, but it was also dragging on. It was already time for Guren’s next appointment. This appointment was known as an Anatomy Scan or an Anomaly Scan. The way it was explained to him was that they were going to be checking the baby’s fetal organs, blood parts, and search for any possible congenital defects. So far, there seemed to be nothing to indicate that there were any complications or something was wrong with the baby. It had been explained to him that they would be checking everything regarding the baby but also checking more on him. Once again checking his uterus, ovaries, and cervix and a few more things. All he knew was, it was going to take a while. From what he knew, it was probably the most important ultrasound to get during the entire pregnancy.

Whenever he first arrived, it had worked just the same as the rest of the appointments had. They took his blood pressure, weight, and all the works. Guren had actually gained some weight, though, it seemed that he was still struggling to actually gain it. At least, he was gaining some.

Guren was taken to a different room. It was a room that had multiple monitors on the walls with an examination table. Shinya was with him once again. Having rearranged his entire day to be here with him. This appointment would take longer than the others. It wasn’t simply just checking to make sure everything was okay. This time was going into a lot more detail.

The Doctor had motioned Guren towards the examination table and he slipped onto it and laid back as normal. Mostly, Guren would be spending a lot of time just laying back on the table as the Doctor got all the measurements that she needed and checked over everything. Though, the monitors that were pinned to the wall were something that he could look at. He would be able to see everything that she was doing. He could tell just because the monitors were already set up to show the images of an ultrasound machine like he had seen before. Just bigger.

The Omega laid back as Shinya took a seat next to his side as the paper was slipped into the band of his pants as he lifted up his shirt. Now that he was lying down, he could still see the bump of his stomach. Guren took in a deep breath and slowly released it as the cool ultrasound gel was put onto his skin. The gel was spread around before the transducer was placed against the surface.

It didn’t take long before he saw the image of their unborn baby showing up on the monitors. Guren let his gaze train onto that. Staying locked to it. There were more details that he could see to the baby now. This time, the fetus looked even more like a baby. The body was much bigger than it was before, and had far more of an appearance to what one would think a baby would look like.

The Doctor was staying quiet as Guren could see these small yellow and green lines moving across the screen followed by numbers. The Omega already knew what she was doing. It was measurements. It was going much slower than before. Taking the time to look over each and every single thing. They were also remaining quiet throughout the entire thing. Shinya was holding onto his hand while he also looked at the monitors. Through the corner of his eye, he was able to see that Shinya had that enthralled look on his face.

The ultrasound had started with general measurements that Guren had seen before. Before it was starting to move on to going through each individual thing. They would look at it all. Everything from the measurement of the forming bones to the internal organs. Everything was going to be looked at. Which, Guren had watched every single second of it.

It was interesting to look at everything. The imaging would zoom in and look closely at the face and then at the hands. Guren quickly found himself counting each finger and looking at the hand formation in the image. He curled his fingers tighter around Shinya’s as a softer smile came to his face. It felt so good to look over every little part of their developing baby. That was their baby.

Right now, he was taking the Doctor’s silence as a good thing. She was deep in thought as she worked. Guren’s gaze settled onto the little image of the baby’s heating heart. As she moved across it, she clicked a button and Guren was able to hear the little heartbeat coming through the speakers. That was a sound he was never going to get tired of hearing. It captivated him every single time. The transducer stayed in that spot and Guren was able to see these colors flash on the screen that caught his attention.

They remained in silence as she moved on and Guren quickly started to miss that sound. The Omega knew it was just a part of it, so he quietly mourned the sound of it. He knew there was still so much to get done. So, he remained laying back and just watched the screens. It was a good distraction for the amount of time that was starting to pass. They had been in here for a while already. Shinya had never let go of his hand. He stayed next to him without saying a word. Shinya was also watching the screens the entire time. It would seem that it had completely taken both of them into a hold and wouldn’t let them go. Not that Guren would want anything different.

The rest of the appointment had gone on just as quiet before the Doctor spoke up and said, “Everything is looking healthy and good. Just like we would want to see on a developing baby.” She smiled as she looked over to them again and said, “Would you like to know the gender of your baby?”

“You can see that already?” Shinya questioned.

The Doctor nodded, “Baby is cooperating, and I know what I’m looking for.” She replied.

Shinya’s gaze turned to him as he gave a soft smile and murmured, “Do you want to know, Guren? We can wait if you want?”

Guren looked back towards the screens as his gaze softened on it. So, it was a possibility of being able to check already. Honestly, it didn’t matter to him what they were having. A girl. A boy. The baby was their child. That was all that he cared about. He would suppose that some people liked to keep it a secret. He knew of Gender Reveal Parties where an entrusted friend or family member would be told the sex of the baby while the parents remained oblivious until then. There were also people who didn’t mind waiting until they gave birth to find out what their baby was assigned at birth. As he thought about it, he shook his head. It would be a good idea to be prepared.

“I want to know.” Guren whispered with a nod.

“Okay.” The Doctor murmured. She moved the transducer slightly over his skin as Guren watched the image change on the monitor. Shinya’s hand tightened on his as Guren curled his fingers a bit tighter. It took a second, but she had stopped moving the wand and smiled, “And you are having a… little boy.”

A little boy…

They were having a boy.

Shinya let out a soft breath as he leaned forward, curling his arm over Guren’s shoulder as he muttered, “We’re going to have a son.”

Guren felt that wave of emotions hit him again. He felt the wetness come to his eyes as his smile got a bit bigger. The Omega forced himself to blink a few times before he was reaching up and wiping at his eyes. He shouldn’t be getting this emotional over this. Guren managed to get himself composed quickly thankfully as he looked back to that image.

They were having a son.

Finding out that they were having a boy definitely seemed to place more light on their situation. An aura of happiness that came over their house. Shinya didn’t care what they were having. If they would have a daughter or if they would have a son. That did not matter to him. Just a happy and healthy baby is what mattered to him.

They were given new sonogram photos, and Shinya had claimed his own to add to his collection that he kept on him now. It was his small token of carrying their baby with them at all times. Guren was doing all the hard work, but this was something for him. It could just be a bit of sentimental value to him. It gave him yet another thing to fight for. Another purpose to live. The developing life of their unborn child felt like it had sparked more of those flames.

Shinya felt like he had everything.

A soulmate who was his lover with whom he was expecting a baby with. All those years ago, Shinya had always been expected to live a life like this, but this was entirely different. He was having a baby with someone he truly adored and loved, and this child was created not from necessity but from a different place. They had never spoken about having a child, and it was completely unexpected and unplanned, but not unwanted. Shinya couldn’t even put into words what this meant to him or how it was changing his life. It truly felt like he could take on anything. That he would do anything to make sure nothing happened to this.

At that moment, everything was calm as he rubbed at Guren’s lower back. The Omega was facing a lot of aches in his body now. There was only so much that Shinya could do to help with it, but he was definitely going to try. Guren was leaning back into the touch as Shinya worked to try and help the sore muscles. Pregnancy was definitely getting to Guren, but they were still taking it step by step. There was so much that they still had to do. Guren was still having his cravings which Shinya gladly went to get for him. Sometimes, they went together, but some of that fatigue was back, so Shinya typically went himself. Shinya was going to do everything that he could.

Massages were one thing that Shinya had started to do. If it could help even the slightest bit, then he would sit here and do it. It also meant touch. An intimate touch where he could feel the tension leaving Guren’s body. Touch was not something that Guren typically reacted too or was the one to initiate it. Guren leaning into his touch was enough for him. It was the one time where he could see times that Guren was truly relaxed. That he was falling right into this. Showing a vulnerability that he didn’t show to others. Guren would let people touch him, it was just if he reciprocated it.

Shinya liked the look on Guren’s face whenever he started to completely relax. It was the quiet moments in their home that Shinya found himself really enjoying. He loved the rowdy, game filled times, but these were so much better. Just the two of them. Nothing else in this world mattered whenever it was just the two of them.

While they were seemingly having their struggles, they were taking it head on. Honestly, Guren was taking this with more stride than what he initially thought. The mood swings, the sickness, the cravings. It all came with the territory of what they were going through. What Guren was going through. Shinya didn’t want to downgrade himself and say that he wasn’t in this, but it was technically Guren who was facing it the most. He was there as the moral support and the shoulder to lean on. And he wouldn’t change a thing. He wanted to be that. Someone that Guren could come too.

“Shinya?” Guren murmured and it made Shinya look over to his lover. He leaned over slightly to get a better look at the Omega’s face. Guren was staring off into space at first before he turned his gaze to look at him. “Are you happy that the baby is a boy?”

“Of course, I am.” Shinya stated, “But I would be happy with a daughter.” Shinya rubbed a bit more at Guren’s back as his smile grew a bit bigger, “I’m just happy with having a baby with you.” It made him wonder what was truly on Guren’s mind. Gender never truly mattered in their world. Strength is what mattered. Though, he could admit that a baby boy could be easier for them. Considering that they were both male, they would know more about how to raise a boy over a girl. He did see a soft smile come to Guren’s face at his words. Shinya rubbed another circle in Guren’s back as he went on to say, “Why?”

Guren shook his head, “Just curious.”

“You?” Shinya questioned.

Guren shrugged, “I don’t think it matters honestly.” The Omega stated, “Our baby could be anything, and I would still want them.” Guren leaned back into him and Shinya dropped his hands to let Guren lay back better against him. “It was just a thought.”

“What thought?” Shinya questioned.

Guren hummed, shrugging, “I don’t know really.” The Omega murmured, “I’ve never really took the chance to give a thought to it, and it’s happening so quickly.”

“I think I would like to have at least a boy and a girl.” Shinya went on to say. Guren turned his head a bit to look at him and Shinya smiled slightly. “I think it’d be nice.”

“A boy and a girl, huh.” Guren murmured as he settled back down and looked away. Shinya could see the thought flashing across his face. The contemplation in his eyes. Shinya had been thinking about it a lot ever since he saw that positive pregnancy test. Now that they were doing this, Shinya wouldn’t mind in the slightest. They would just have to see in the future.

“You really never wanted kids?” Shinya questioned.

Guren shook his head, “I didn’t want my child to be treated the same way I was.” The Omega replied in a soft voice, “I wanted… I wanted to make a change before then. Guess that isn’t going to happen.” Guren sighed, turning his gaze and it had landed on the window. “Bringing a child into… this? Is it cruel?”

Shinya sighed softly, shaking his head, “The world may have ended but humanity is still here.” The Alpha replied as he placed his hand down onto Guren’s stomach. He could feel those little thumps. Guren’s hand ended up settling right on top of his. To be fair, that was a reasonable concern that Guren had. They never knew if they would live to see tomorrow, but they were still doing it. They were still here.

And, Shinya was going to do everything in his power to ensure that their baby had a future in this world too.

There was something that felt so good about learning the gender of their baby. Guren was still under the mindset that it never would have mattered. Boy, girl. Alpha, Beta, Omega. It was a turning point for him. He just wanted to have a baby. A baby between him and Shinya. Now that it was really starting to process, he completely understood his father. He understood why his parents would bring him in the world. Maybe it was truly something that was selfish, but he wanted to be selfish now.

It felt like he could take on the world. That his world was getting a bigger. His family was expanding. That anxiety from before was slowly started to change. It was now becoming more of an excitement. Waiting for the day that their baby finally arrived. There was so much that he had to put out of his mind. 

A son.

A little boy.

It had gotten him thinking. Would their son look like Guren, or would he look like Shinya? Maybe he would be a mixture of the two of them. What kind of person would he be? Those seemed like genuine questions that anyone would have. They were small things that Guren was finding himself looking forward too.

His friends had decided they wanted to throw a party for them. Guren wasn’t completely opposed to it, but he also wasn’t sure if he wanted to do it either. They kept telling him that it was part of having a baby. Guren didn’t really argue with them. Right now, he had the energy, he felt pretty good, and it felt like he could do this.

They already knew the gender of the baby, and Guren really didn’t want to do a Gender Reveal Party. What would be the point of that if they already knew? It also felt a bit strange to him, but everyone was different. He supposed it could be a fun, cute little idea. If someone wanted to do one, all the power to them, but Guren really didn’t want too. He didn’t feel the need to do one.

Though, they did seem to make it a theme at this little party. A lot of the things were blue. Specifically, a blueish-gray. He knew what they were doing. While blue was on a theme for a boy, they had done it in a way that leaned more towards Guren. It brought a slight smile to his face. The girls seemed to be really enjoying themselves and having fun with it.

Guren could actually tolerate smelling the food. It looked like they went all out with everything. The food, the snacks, the drinks. Guren was actually enjoying himself. Having a good time with his friends. Just like old times. There were some games that they were playing. Thankfully, they had made it a small affair, so Guren actually got to enjoy it better. Not that he minded other people, his friends were just the people that he was the most comfortable with.

To be fair, he didn’t think they would even need an excuse to do this. He was pretty sure that they just wanted to decorate and make it a special affair. Which he was fine with. He was really glad that they were also showing the same attention to Shinya. Shinya was fully a part of this. Guren wouldn’t even be in this position without him. Shinya was the father of his baby, and Guren wanted to make sure that people didn’t leave him behind. They were in this together, and Guren wanted that to be highlighted. Shinya was going to be an amazing father, and Guren knew it.

For the first time in a while, Guren was becoming rather attached to the idea of all of this. Everything else was being left behind for the time being. He was being able to somewhat focus on the good things that could come from this. He was having a baby with the love of his life, and things felt like they were looking up. He was having far less of those thoughts now. Guren was trying his hardest to focus on the good aspects of everything.

Even though they talked about it as if it was a party, it was more of a glorified dinner, and that was perfect in his book. Everything that they were doing reminded him of before. The times that they would be in his apartment, and they would just play games and have fun. That was exactly what was happening right now, and it was so soothing for him. The entire world had changed, and it was changing even more now that this little bit of remnants of the past were doing a lot to bring him security.

Sayuri had cooked curry and rice, and since Guren could finally eat just about whatever he wanted without the slightest bit of nausea, he had dug in. With how much he ate of it, he almost thought that he would make himself sick from it and it wouldn’t even be the morning sickness. It felt like old times, and it made him feel so good.

If the hormones wanted to kick in and cause him to break down and cry, this would be one of those moments. He loved seeing their smiles. The way that they were joking and playing around. Laughing without a care in the world. These were his friends. This was his family. They were embracing all of this with open arms, and it just made him feel so good inside.

Guren had opted out of the games for the most part. Though, the competitive nature among all of them was starting to show. The Omega hung back in favor of just lounging against Shinya.

After a while, Goshi and Mito suddenly stood up. Goshi had taken the lead as he said, “I know you said you didn’t want anything fancy or one of those traditional parties, but we wanted to do something.”

Guren shared a quick glance with Shinya as he leaned back and said, “Okay?” Mito looked at the others and nodded, and they had started to put down what they had been doing before to head out of the room. Guren shared another look with Shinya as he whispered, “Do you know what is happening?”

Shinya shook his head, “No.”

Mito was the first one to pop back into the room with what looked like a woven basket that as full of items. Guren lifted up his gaze as she smiled and said, “We found so many good things that you could use for the baby. We just had to get them.”

“How much clothes did you get for my baby?” Guren questioned.

Mito’s face heated up for a second before she shrugged it off, “Not the point.”

While it wasn’t elaborated on, the others had come back with their own items in hand. From a quick look, Guren could see it was everything ranging from baby blankets, plushies, clothes, and toys. Guren shuffled forward slightly as he looked over everything. “What is all of this?”

“We know you’re not really big on surprises,” Sayuri went on to say, “And we couldn’t find anything to wrap them with, so we just did this.”

Guren was in awe as he looked over everything. A lot of it looked like it was gender neutral. As if they had been collecting items this entire time. Then, some of them were more boyish or what people would probably get for a baby boy. Guren reached out, grabbing ahold of one of the items and smiled. “Thank you.”

“How long have you guys been doing this?” Shinya questioned as he also reached out and started to look over the items.

“Ever since we found out Guren-sama was pregnant.” Shigure stated in a matter-of-fact tone. “It is our duty to serve to Guren-sama’s needs as well as his unborn child.”

Guren let out a soft sound as his smile got a bit bigger. Honestly, it took care of a lot of the things that they needed to do. Shinya had been collecting things, and so had Guren, but they hadn’t nearly started going in deep with it.

“There is so much baby stuff,” Goshi went on to say, “It’s kind of hard to pick what you would actually need. So, we just got a bit of everything.”

Guren had the emotions that were attempting to overwhelm him again. Guren placed down what he had been holding onto as he leaned back in an attempt to compose himself. After a second, he looked up and smiled, “Thank you.” He had no idea what to say to them. What could he really say? This was exactly the type of thing that his friends would do. Guren was so blessed to have them in his life. He couldn’t imagine his life without any of them.

They were his family.

And they always would be.

Guren was still within his second trimester. As the time continued to pass on, the more that Guren was starting to realize just how much they needed to do. They had already had their twenty-four-week appointment which was just a general check-up like the other ones. Everything was still going smoothly. Aside from the fact, he was still struggling to gain the weight needed.

His friends were being insanely helpful. Sayuri and Shigure were – as always – a constant fixture around him and helping him whenever Shinya wasn’t around. They were still respectful of his time with Shinya and would give them the space whenever needed. Mito and Goshi also came around as always and were also being extremely helpful in their own ways. After the party, they had brought all the items over and Guren had no idea what to do with them. It had made him realize they still had so much work to do. And the first place they needed to start was a room.

They needed a… nursery.

Well, in better terms that Guren preferred, the baby’s room.

Thankfully, they had the space for it in the home that they resided in. They, of course, took up the Master Bedroom and they had additional rooms in the home. They did have a relatively big house for the fact that it was just the two of them. For now, all the items resided in one of the ground floor rooms temporarily as they figured out what to do with them.

It had been something that Guren had been spending his free time doing. Is this something that parents did, right? Found the perfect room and added all the things that they would need for a baby. That this room would eventually turn into a child’s room and so on. Guren was planning it out in his head. He would at least want their baby nearby. There was a part of him that thought it might be a better idea to have the baby right by them in their bedroom until the baby was a bit older. There was nothing wrong with that, right?

There was something strange about the thought of giving birth to a small, defenseless human and then expecting them to sleep away from the same person they had been connected to for months. It might also be easier to do. Guren wasn’t sure yet. He supposed that might be something that they have to figure out as they go.

Guren had been looking among the rooms as he ended up at the one right across the hall from them. It was a decently spacious room. The walls were plain and barren. The room didn’t have anything in it. The room next to theirs was their home office and library. It mostly contained spell craft books and reports. They both tried not to bring work home, but it was always inevitable. So, they would go hide in there. Guren thought maybe that it would be a better room, but he kind of liked the one being across the hall. The Omega didn’t really know how to explain the thought process.

The Omega walked into the room as he looked around it. Currently, it did have a bed in it, but it was meant to be something like a guest bedroom. Whenever the others slept over, they usually stayed in the rooms on the ground floor. They had two rooms down there and Shigure and Sayuri had claimed one while Mito and Goshi had claimed the other. It wasn’t often they stayed over, but they knew they could drop by any night and have a safe place to sleep. In their houses, it was the same thing. They each technically had a room. It was one thing that Guren wanted whenever he moved in with Shinya. He just knew it would happen anyway, so it ended up working out.

Guren turned his gaze to the plain walls. He didn’t like the mute color of the wall. Guren had grown up in a traditional home. It still felt like it had life to it. Something enriched in the history of their country and culture. This home didn’t really have that. Even their Master Bedroom had life to it. Though, this room wasn’t really used, so it didn’t have a personal touch.

As his gaze scanned around the room, he found himself envisioning it. What they would do with the room. Where items would go. The room had its own small closest which would be good for putting items away. Since baby clothes were so small, it would be better to have them in a dresser, but they could hang them up if they needed them too. This was the room. Guren could feel it.

Why was he getting hit by this sudden need to just get it done? Go through everything and put it all together. It was a big thing that they still needed to do. Their baby needed a place to sleep. A little safe place that was their baby’s space. This was that room.

Guren, realistically, knew he shouldn’t move the bed on his own. He was on a weight restriction. Guren wasn’t supposed to move things over a certain weight now. A bed definitely went over that. Plus, Shinya might actually have his head if he tried. The Omega knew that Shinya was doing it. Shinya was trying to do everything that he could. Go through everything and put in all the rest of the hard work.

The Omega let the thought cross his mind. If he said he wanted the room painted, he knew it would get done. Guren could do that himself. His friends kept wanting to help with things, so it gave him the thought of something that they could help with. Right now, the room was a mute beige color. What color would be good? A soft, pastel blue? Since when did Guren think of things like this? It was so trivial. Nothing that he should ever really care about, but it was already at the forefront of his mind. It felt like an out of the ordinary thing. To be honest, he should just let his friends have at it. Do whatever they wanted to the room. Sayuri, Shigure, and Mito already had a lot of fun with the little party that they had. They would love this. Actually, that sounded like a good idea.

As he ventured into the room, he had started to think of the things that they did still need. A crib, a dresser, somewhere to possibly sit with the baby, and whatever else might help them with more ease.

Guren placed his hand onto the swell of his stomach as he tapped his fingers. This would work perfectly. It just needed to get started. He was sure that Shinya would agree with it. The Omega doubted that he would have any complaints about it.

Speaking of Shinya, Guren wasn’t surprised as he heard the footsteps that came into the room and Shinya said, “What are you doing?”

“What do you think about this being the baby’s room?” Guren questioned as he motioned around the room before looking back towards Shinya.

The Alpha hummed as he stepped further into the room and looked around. “I think it’s the best choice.” Shinya stated as he returned his gaze back to Guren and smiled. “I like how close it is to our room. This room is pretty big. It’s perfect.”

“The walls need… something.” Guren said as he motioned at it. “I can’t stand that color. It’s so… boring.”

Shinya laughed softly, shaking his head as he went on to say, “We can paint the walls.” The Alpha got over to him, almost automatically reaching out to rub at Guren’s lower back. The Omega took the second to look around again. “Have a color in mind?”

“Not really.” Guren admitted, “That’s not really my type of thing.” The Omega exhaled sharply as he ran his hand over his stomach, “I just need it done.” 

“I see what’s going on.” Shinya went on to say with a slight laugh, “You’re starting to nest.” Guren turned a glance towards Shinya as the Alpha gave him an innocent look. “You do it whenever you go into heat too. Everything has to be perfect. One might say you have a bit of perfectionism.”

The Omega shrugged as he took another glance, “This bed needs to go.”

“I will make sure it gets done.” Shinya stated. “Probably move it downstairs to one of the spare rooms.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Guren went on to say as he leaned back into Shinya. The Omega got a bit of a smile on his face as he turned his head, and a twinkle came to his eye. “Let’s get started. We’re running out of time, and our baby needs a place to sleep.”

“You are definitely starting to nest.” Shinya said back with a chuckle. The Alpha did step back and started to walk around the room. Guren wanted to help with this part, but he knew that Shinya wouldn’t let him. He was already under strict orders that he wasn’t allowed to pick up heavy objects. He wasn’t supposed to strain his body, and that was the entire point of it. He supposed that was just something that he was going to have to deal with.

He did hate these limitations, and that Shinya was having to do a vast majority of the harder labor. Guren felt so useless in a way. It was something that he was still struggling to come to terms with. He would eventually be able to do it again and move back on to how he used to operate, but it could still be highly annoying. It was driving him absolutely insane. There were still things he could do, so he would focus on those. Right now, they still have a job to do.

And that job?

Create their baby’s nursery.

Chapter Text

Building the nursery was becoming their new biggest project. Shinya had gotten the room cleared out of the furniture that was inside. Goshi had came to help him with it to get the biggest items moved out with ease. It had left the room empty and ready to bring things into the room. They were just needing to go gather up the furniture that they would need for the room. They had already found a few and those were being stored in a different room until they were ready to move them in.

Shinya had been testing the waters to try and find a color that Guren – and himself – would be satisfied with to paint the walls and they had eventually found one. They were going with a darker blue color. A deep, royal blue that reminded Shinya of the darkening night sky.

They had made a day of it and had covered the floor to protect it while they were painting the walls. All their friends had come over to help with it. It had gotten the room done quickly. Though, there might have been one or two instances that paint had ended up on someone else. No that Shinya didn’t purposefully run a paint covered finger over Guren’s cheek at one point and it prompted the Omega to quickly retaliate with swiping the brush that had been in his hand across the side of Shinya’s neck and face. It was incredibly fun. Guren was laughing and enjoying himself. They periodically took breaks – even whenever Guren said they didn’t need too – and just had fun with making the day of getting the walls done. It was slowly starting to come together. They still had a bit of time before the baby got here, so they would be able to get this done in time.

Right now, it was making sure the walls were completely dry before moving things into the room. Shinya would let Guren make the choice on how exactly he wanted to organize the room. That felt like the right thing to do. They were having a good time with just decorating the room, so there wasn’t any complaints that he could or would have.

With the walls painted their new color, he would catch Guren staring at the walls. There was a fond look in his eyes whenever he looked it over. There were some details that Shinya had thought they should add. From the color of the walls, it had given him the temptation to paint little stars on the wall and a little moon on a wall. He thought it would be a nice touch. Though, he definitely wasn’t going to just do it without consulting Guren. This was something that they needed to do together. Besides, what if Guren had a different idea? Though, Shinya was pretty sure that Guren wouldn’t mind. Normally, he didn’t care about these kind of things. He would just joke about it and then move on. The pregnancy definitely seemed to be impacting his thought process. Making him dwell a bit more on facts and closer eyes to the details of what they were doing.

Shinya was seeing all the signs that Guren was absolutely starting to nest. It was a common thing that happened to Omegas and pregnant people, but it was becoming very apparent that it was happening. Honestly, Shinya liked watching it. Guren was always so subtle about it. This time, it was right in his face, and he was able to see all of it. It was so nice to see. It was also helping to get the key details all put together and they were going to be able to get going through the final steps of this.

It had been a few weeks since then, and slowly, they were getting everything the way that they wanted it. As the night was coming to a close, it was clear that the day’s work had exhausted him finally. Normally, this type of thing wouldn’t tire Guren out at all. He had a very good reason to be tired, and Shinya was just watching over him and ready if he needed to move in.

Guren was spending a lot of time in the soon-to-be Nursery. Even as their friends had left after dinner with promises to come back later to help more if they were needed. Shinya knew they would still come by anyway. That was just what they did. Guren was starting to obsess over the small details. Shinya wanted to say that it was most likely something that came with pregnancy. Shinya had a feeling there was more to it, but he was going along with it. It was strangely nice to see the change in Guren’s demeanor. It was a side of him that no one got to see often. In a way, it was telling Shinya that Guren was all in this.

They were back in bed now. Guren’s back was aching him again, so Shinya had started to massage at those areas in hopes of relieving some of it. Guren was quiet. Not really saying much of anything, but he was relaxing again.

“It’s coming together.” Shinya decided to say.

“Yeah.” Guren murmured.

The Alpha hummed, massaging a bit more at Guren’s back. “We will have it done before the baby arrives.” Guren made a noise in response. “What’s on your mind?”

“Names.” Guren replied as he pulled back and turned more to face Shinya. Guren had started wearing baggier clothing, but Shinya was still able to see the curve of his stomach. The swell of a bump that showed Guren was carrying their child. The Omega had placed his hands over it, shrugging slightly, “He needs a name.”

Right.

They hadn’t gotten that far yet.

All of this still had been their own type of whirlwind that it still felt like everything was settling down. The Alpha smiled, reaching out and placing his hand over Guren’s stomach. “Do you have an idea for one?”

“Not a clue.” Guren admitted. “I don’t know…” The Omega continued as he looked away and shook his head, “It’s need to be… perfect.”

“We’ll figure something out.” Shinya stated. He paused, humming and clicked his tongue. He turned, reaching over for a notebook that he had on his bedside table and grabbed for a pen. He twirled the pen in his hand, “What about… Renya?”

Guren made a slight face, “That’s just our names combined.”

“True.” Shinya stated. “It’s not a bad name though!”

“It’s fine, but I don’t know.” Guren looked away before saying, “Kazuki?”

Shinya wrote it down, smiling a bit. “Takahiro?” Shinya added in.

“That’s nice,” Guren said as the contemplation crossed his mind. “Maybe?”

Shinya also wrote that one down as he looked back to Guren. Guren’s name meant crimson lotus. Shinya’s meant deep night like midnight. He clicked his tongue for another second, “Haruka?”

“That isn’t so bad.” The Omega said as he smiled a bit. “Ryosuke?”

“I like it.” Shinya stated as he wrote down those two names. “Yuichi?”

The Omega shook his head, “Tatsuhisa?”

Shinya hummed, “I’m not sure.” He twirled the pen for a second but added those names anyway, “Mitsuhiro.”

Guren got a bit more of a smile to his face, “Kyou?”

“Satoru.” Shinya quickly shot back.

Where they in the process of starting up a competition over names? He saw the sparkle that came to Guren’s eyes before he shot back with, “Yuma.”

“Keigo.” Shinya replied with the same twinkle in his eye.

Guren laughed softly for a second, shaking his head, “Okay, we need to be serious about this.”

“When are we ever serious?” Shinya shot back before he got a sharp glance from Guren. “Okay, battlefield serious.” Guren rolled his eyes at that, but his fond smile returned. He looked down at the paper and hummed for a second. Baby names were actually kind of… hard. They needed to mean something. Shinya lifted up his gaze and looked outside. The moon was illuminating most of the room. The moon meant something to the both of them.

“The moon that you can see from here. Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Like I know.”

Then, he remembered the snow on the ground whenever Guren took his hand. The vow that they made that day. It felt like it was all coming back in a flash. It came back so vividly as a slight smile came to his face, “Everything that happens for us is either in the winter or at night.” 

Shinya looked back to Guren, and he saw the look in Guren’s eyes. “What are you going on about?” Guren questioned.

“Our baby’s name needs to mean something, right?” Shinya questioned as he looked back to Guren. “I think I know the perfect one.”

“Like what?” Guren questioned.

“Touya.” As he looked back towards Guren, he saw the soft look in his eyes. “Our lives changed one winter night, and we wouldn’t be together otherwise. Nighttime was the only time we are us… So… Winter night.”

Then, Guren’s face broke out into a slight smile as he leaned in and his lips ghosted over Shinya’s, “You’re an idiot.”

“A smart one.” Shinya shot back.

“Shut up and kiss me.” Guren murmured.

Shinya did just that. He leaned in and pressed their lips together. Guren had reached up, looping his arms loosely over Shinya’s as Shinya reached out to place his hands on the sides of Guren’s stomach.

Neither of them really had to say a thing, their baby would have the perfect name.

They still had weeks to actually decide, and many more times to have this conversation, but they would figure it out in the end.

After weeks, they had finally completed the Nursery. Guren found himself standing in the room in its completion. All of the furniture were a dark color in mahogany that went perfectly with the dark royal blue of the room. Guren had spent a lot of time getting everything sorted into drawers the way that he wanted it too. Tucking blankets away in the closet until they could be used. Making sure toys were in a chest for later and just simple things.

He had been through the room over and over again just to make sure that it was all put together. Shinya had built the crib while he had ended up organizing other things. They had been laughing and talking baby names again. They couldn’t seem to really pick one.

Oddly enough, just figuring out a name was stressful enough. It was something someone was going to carry with them for the rest of their lives. Well, in most cases. It was a decision that they would need to come too. Their list had gotten longer, then shortened, then lengthened again after Shinya came home with a book of baby names.

Guren was now in his third trimester. The appointments were going to get closer together and it was a lot of preparation. As much as he felt this happiness and excitement, it also brought all the worry and concerns. It was like he was having emotional whiplash of not knowing what to do. There was a part of him that still felt so guilty over his own actions, but it was taking him a while not to place that onto the baby. Their baby was never a part of it. Their child did not make the choice Guren did, so Guren shouldn’t be feeling this way about their existence. His existence. Guren didn’t regret bringing his friends back. He couldn’t imagine his life without them in it. He couldn’t imagine his life without Shinya in it.

Maybe there was a part of him that was truly weak.

But he couldn’t live life without Shinya, so he couldn’t say he would have made a different decision.

It was something that he was going to have to come to terms with, and he was just having difficulty doing so knowing what devastation he caused. And no one knew.

As he was once again reorganizing the clothes, he stopped as he suddenly felt this pain in his stomach. It made him stop completely as he inhaled sharply and placed his hand down onto it. It was like a cramping feeling. It wasn’t necessarily painful, but it was more uncomfortable. Enough that it had caught his attention. It was located more towards the front of his abdomen. The Omega stood there for a moment until it had stopped, and he frowned. What was that? Was something wrong?

As soon as it was done, Guren felt perfectly fine. It was just strange. He had an appointment in a few days, so he could just mention it then. They were bumping him up to every two weeks now that he had entered into the third trimester. It didn’t feel like something he should be concerned about. His body did a lot of things. He had aches in his back that Shinya helped try to relieve. Guren was starting to grow really uncomfortable now. The fatigue was starting to come back, and Guren felt like taking more naps again. Which he typically did. It felt like the pregnancy was now starting to drag along. The mood swings didn’t feel nearly as bad, but they were definitely still there. Guren was just going to be happy whenever he stopped feeling like he was so damn hormonal all the time.

Despite everything, he felt a lot of movement. His baby was sure liking to use his ribs as target practice which caused quite a bit of ache there. There wasn’t anything that he could do to stop it. It just made it uncomfortable for him. But it also meant movement. It was always relaxing and reassuring whenever the baby started to move. It stopped the other thoughts. He might be out of the other parts of pregnancy, but pregnancy was unpredictable. It was a thought that terrified him.

Guren had waited to see if he felt that pain again, but he didn’t, so he had started to carry on. Still trying to mentally wrap his mind around the changes in his body was something that he had to get used too. His body had changed a lot. It was a lot of sickness, aching, and exhaustion. He now understood what it meant now.

As he finished up, he closed up the drawer and started to head out of the room. He jumped slightly the second he saw Shinya suddenly coming down the hall. The Alpha grinned, holding up a bag of snacks that Guren had mentioned that he was craving and Shinya had gone to get them for him. The Alpha smiled at him, leaning in and pressing a quick kiss to his lips as he held up the snacks, “One craving delivery.”

“Are you going to do that every single time?” Guren questioned as he gladly took the snack. It made his stomach rumble in hunger from seeing it. The cravings never stopped. They had just kept going and going.

Shinya shrugged, “Yeah.” Then, the Alpha stopped as he looked him over, “What’s wrong?”

Guren let out a sharp breath, shaking his head, “Nothing.” He murmured, “I just felt this… crampy feeling is all.”

“Crampy feeling?” Shinya repeated. Guren nodded as he opened up the bag and took out the treat to eat one. “Is it in your back? It’s way too early for you to go into labor. I mean, you just started the third trimester, right?”

Guren nodded, “It wasn’t really painful, but I get weird feelings all the time.” It had thrown him off, but there was a part of him that was reassuring him that it was okay. That there was nothing to be worried about. That was one thing Guren had noticed, his instincts were even changing. As if his very instinctual drive was preparing for a baby.

“If you’re sure.” Shinya said, appearing like he wasn’t completely sold on it in his concern. “Do we need to take you to the Doctor?”

Guren shook his head, claiming another one of the snacks in the process. “I don’t think so. I’m going in a few days anyway. I’ll take care of it then.”

Shinya hummed along, “Okay, if you’re sure.”

Guren just smiled at him again, leaning in and pressing another kiss into Shinya’s lips before moving on. Guren just had this feeling that he shouldn’t be concerned about it. Actually, he felt like if he thought positively, it might work for the better for him. If he kept thinking about the bad things, he was just going to stress himself out more. That was the last thing that he needed.

Guren didn’t want to make it feel like he was shutting out Shinya, but he also didn’t want to worry him either.

It would be okay.

Guren was getting used to this.

Shinya had been keeping an even closer eye on Guren ever since he had mentioned the cramping feeling. The Alpha had started to dig into everything that they had previously been reading from in hopes of finding an answer. Guren did already have a lot of aches. Guren was still having his mood swings and his cravings. Which, Shinya kept going out at odd times for. He didn’t think it would ever not be funny to him. Guren would suddenly have a desire for a food, and Shinya did everything to make sure he had it. There was even one instance where he watched Guren break down again because they had ran out of what he wanted. Which promptly led Shinya to go get more to bring the smile back to Guren’s face.

Shinya had been keeping track of all of it. It all seemed to be normal from what he was finding or being told. Even the cramping feeling. Shinya had ended up digging out one of the books to read it over, which there was something known as a False Labor. It seemed to match how Guren described it. Shinya had noticed it more. The way that Guren had suddenly stopped and looked like he was uncomfortable for a minute before it ended.

At Guren’s next appointment, they did bring it up and sure enough, it was what Shinya thought it was. Braxton Hicks was another name for it. It was Guren’s body preparing for labor. Unlike true labor pains, the pain would come and go and would remain infrequent. They also shouldn’t be painful. Just more uncomfortable. It would also be located in the front of the abdomen and stomach rather than in the lower back where a true contraction would be. Which put them both at ease to know for certain that it was just Guren’s body preparing for the harder part.

It was pretty clear that it was starting to get uncomfortable for Guren in the weeks following. He was starting to have more trouble sleeping and finding a good position to sleep in. It didn’t seem to matter how many pillows Shinya found to help it out. Guren still couldn’t get comfortable. It was even starting to show in how the massages didn’t seem to be helping. It would temporarily help ease the pain, but Guren would be back to uncomfortable.

Which was also causing Guren to have quite a sour mood. To be fair, who wouldn’t. Being uncomfortable all the time, tired and fatigued again, and aching, Shinya would probably be in a bad mood too. He could not blame him for that. Shinya was just left to do whatever he could to try and help him through it. On top of it, they were still having a bit of trouble finding out what name they could agree on for their baby. It was just another thing to add onto it. He knew that it was also getting to Guren. Shinya often found Guren looking at that list of names constantly.

It also got him thinking about the baby’s family name. Shinya didn’t even remember his actual birth name. Though, he kept having this feeling. It didn’t feel right to give his baby, his son, that name. His birth name had been completely expunged from all records. Shinya was a Hiragi now, and they also treated him like shit. As if he was some urchin. Shinya had no true attachment to the name aside from hatred. Though, it was still his name because it was the name he had whenever he met Guren. If he had never been adopted into the Hiragi family, he never would have met Guren. It was the only good thing that came out of it for him.

Their baby needed a family name. Something that meant something. So, it got Shinya to really thinking. In a traditional sense, the baby would take the father’s family name. In their culture, technically speaking, since Guren was the baby’s mother, the baby would have carried his name due to the child being born out of wedlock. Shinya and Guren were not married, but they practically were. The baby would take the name of the certain bloodline. Typically, upon marriage, the newlyweds would pick a surname between the two spouses. He had heard of cases of some people combining their names by hyphenating but that was a bit more rare. It was a bit more common among same sex relationships especially those who were Betas. It was more uncommon for an Alpha and Omega couple not to take the other’s name. Though, like in Guren’s case, an Omega used to traditionally take their spouse’s name. More or less, it was expected of them, but it didn’t mean that all Omegas did just that. Realistically, Shinya was among the minority of Alpha men who took someone else’s name. Even if it wasn’t his choice. That had never been his choice in his name.

Shinya felt like this was rather unique to them in this situation. The Hiragi family would never want an Ichinose to hold the Hiragi name. Especially a baby who did not hold any Hiragi blood. The Hiragi was not Shinya’s bloodline, and they never were. He was only originally meant to continue the bloodline and sire superior children. Guren was the sole Heir of the Ichinose clan whenever they met, and as the Omega son, it left the Ichinose in a strange place of what would happen with the name. Shinya knew that Guren was proud of his name. That despite everything the Ichinose had gone through, Guren was proud of his name. Now, Guren was the Head of the Ichinose clan and was the sole person left to carry on the bloodline. That bloodline was continuing through their son.

It even had Shinya thinking of his own name. There was nothing truly traditional about the two of them. They met while Shinya was technically engaged to another person, even if she was deceased now. Shinya was always meant to be something else. It had taken him years to fully realize that Guren was even his soulmate. Shinya never knew the second that he saw Guren that he was meant to be with him. The two of them had started to date – while not exactly putting a title on it – and their entire relationship turned from platonic friends to romantic and sexual. They had moved in together not long after that, and now they were here. Living their lives and suddenly a pregnancy. There was no engagement. There was no marriage. They cohabited together and now it was expanding.

Shinya was never truly a Hiragi, and it had to be the only reason that the Hiragi family put up with him being in a relationship with Guren and even having a child with him. The end of the world made it to where they needed more humans underneath their control to have more influence and power. They knew that Shinya was an asset. It was probably the only thing that had truly saved him.

Even with Mahiru, it kept making Shinya wonder if that had ever truly been the reason that he had been brought into the Hiragi family. He was expected to do one thing, but Shinya kept having this strange thought that the universe had its own way of bringing him right to Guren. If it never happened, would have ever met Guren?

Shinya could not have gone into this destroyed world or this life without Guren in it. In a way, it felt like he was so dependent on Guren’s life to rationalize his own purpose to live. Guren was that purpose for him, and now, their son was going to be too. Guren had a huge impact on his life. Even if Guren didn’t realize just how far that it went.

Guren was Shinya’s family. That would never change. They were family even without the pregnancy, but the second that Guren got pregnant, he was forever tied to him through another being.

They would figure out the perfect name for their son, but it also got him really thinking about what they needed to do with the family name.

And Shinya felt like there was only one choice.

Shinya had gotten through his day. He knew that Guren was still doing all the work that he could with the Moon Demon Company, but he was doing more of it from home and sending it with Sayuri and Shigure. Occasionally, he would drop by still to make sure everything was going smoothly. Not even pregnancy was keeping Guren from practically working full time. Though, Guren was doing a lot more lighter work much to his dismay.

Shinya had come armed with the snack that seemed to be Guren’s biggest craving and another gift in hand as he stepped into the home. Guren should be home. Guren would soon be put on Maternity Leave officially and it would carry through his recovery until he was back to being in condition to actually go back to full, active duty. Kureto was already putting pieces into play to make sure that Guren couldn’t argue against it. Honestly, Shinya didn’t think he would. He might have a demon, and recovery could go a lot faster for him, but Guren would know that it would be much better for him to actually take the time off. End of the world or not.

The Omega was on the couch whenever he walked in. Guren had looked up towards him, and Shinya felt an easiness come over him. There was always something about looking into Guren’s eyes that made him feel so much better without so much as trying. All it took was his gaze and everything felt like it would be okay.

Shinya handed over the treat, gladly ignoring the random snacks that were already on the table in strange mixtures. Guren had quite a few strange combinations that he was enjoying throughout his pregnancy. If it got Guren eating and keeping it down, Shinya had no place to say anything about it. If it’s what he wanted, it’s what he was going to have.

“Something wrong?” Guren questioned as he did accept the snack. Instead of breaking into it immediately, he placed it down as he looked over to Shinya in concern.

“No.” Shinya stated as he slipped down and took a seat next to Guren, “I wanted to talk to you about something though.”

Guren looked like he was slightly on edge, but he didn’t say anything about it. The Omega shifted, leaning back against the pillows that were on the couch. They had ended up adding more at one point to let Guren have a way to sit comfortably. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I’ve been thinking about it, Guren,” Shinya said as he looked down for a second to think of exactly how he would work this. How did he say this without either insulting traditional views and values while also being respectful to them and making his point? There were times he really didn’t like traditionalism. Guren already defied a lot of those views if someone were to really go into it. Hell, over half of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army was already that way.

Despite everything, the Ichinose seemed to be very traditional even down to the way that they dressed. He knew that Guren was proud of his name, but would he want this? Was Guren expected to take a future mate’s name because of that possibility? Guren never spoke about it, so Shinya didn’t actually know. It couldn’t entirely be safe to assume that if in another world and time, if Guren had gotten married and had children, his spouse would end up taking his name because of the Order of the Imperial Moon. Only, Shinya didn’t know.

“Thinking about what?” Guren questioned.

Shinya exhaled sharply, “I know how traditional the Ichinose can be,” Shinya stated, “And I respect that people like doing things a certain way or enriching their lives in culture.”

“I’m already lost.” Guren said as he leaned back and placed his hand over his stomach as he got comfortable. “What does the Ichinose’s traditional lifestyle have to do with anything?”

Shinya let out a sharp breath, “You said you wanted our baby’s name to mean something.” The Alpha looked back over to Guren and shook his head, “It’s not traditional, but I want our son to have your name.”

Guren looked at him in surprise as he leaned forward and whispered, “Shinya, you don’t have to do that.”

“I want too.” Shinya replied, “I don’t remember my birth family, but I don’t like the idea of giving our son the name of the family who sold their son, either.” The Alpha clenched his jaw as he looked down and felt a bit of resentment flowing through him. “And the Hiragi are not my family either. At least, not all of them. There are a few of them I could say that I would consider actual family.” Guren had started to shuffle over, adjusting in the seat before placing his hand on Shinya’s back. The touch felt calming as Shinya let out a sharp breath. “I’m not sure what was expected of you. If you want to do go the traditional route and our son would have my name, but I want the same thing… I want our baby’s name to mean something, and that means his family name too.”

Guren sighed softly, leaning a bit into him as he curled his arms around him, “My father never expected me to give up my name.” Shinya turned his gaze towards Guren. The Omega wasn’t looking at him. His bangs had fallen into his eyes so he couldn’t see anything. “He told me that I wanted to take my future spouse’s name, he would support that decision.” Shinya had the privilege to speak to Sakae Ichinose before his untimely death. He was a man who greatly loved his son and wanted nothing more than his safety. A man who loved his son. That was the kind of father that Shinya wanted to be. Guren had showed his love and respect for his father too. Sakae’s death had hit Guren hard even if he didn’t show it at the time. “I never told him that I wasn’t sure I would ever have kids. I didn’t want my own child to have to be treated the same as me because of my name… But ever since I got pregnant, I understand my parents now. I understand my father.”

“Your father loved you more than anything.” Shinya murmured which caused Guren to tighten his arms. “He asked me to save you back then. I told him I would.”

“There is still so much I wish I could talk to him about.” Guren admitted, “Ichinose does mean something. It means something to me. It’s my father’s name. My name…” Guren lifted up his gaze and Shinya saw the raging emotions in his eyes. The tears glistening in his eyes as Guren reached up to wipe at his eyes. It would seem Guren was still having a hard time truly taking back control of the hormones. “But if it was what you wanted, I would be willing to give that up.” There was a slight waver to Guren’s voice. Guren would really do that for him? Even though Ichinose meant so much to him? Shinya was blown away. There was no way. Guren gave him a softer smile, “I’m proud to be an Ichinose. It’s my name, but this baby is also yours, and you have a right to have them with your name too. This isn’t just about me.” Now, that he understood it. That was a very reasonable mindset to have. It was the same thing that Shinya was thinking about.

“No,” Shinya said as he turned a bit and looked Guren in the eyes. He felt that pull. The shift in the world as everything else started to melt away. “That is one thing I refuse to let you give up. My name… It doesn’t mean anything to me. My birth family doesn’t exist. The Hiragi is not truly my family.” Shinya smiled a bit as he reached up, caressing at Guren’s face, “You and our baby are my family. Our friends are my family.” Shinya smiled a bit brighter, “I can do anything in this world with you next to me, and our son deserves to have a name that truly means something. Ichinose is that.”

“Are you sure?” Guren questioned.

“Absolutely.” Shinya confirmed. “Our baby’s name will mean something, and Ichinose is important to you, and that makes it important to me.”

Guren sniffled as he reached up and placed his hands on either side of Shinya’s face. “Thank you.” Guren leaned in, pressing a quick kiss into his lips before he pulled back and leaned his forehead against Shinya’s.

Shinya meant it. His birth name held resentment. His adopted name held anger and hatred. Shinya wanted to be everything they weren’t. Ichinose did mean something. For Guren, Ichinose meant pride and honor. Shinya couldn’t ask for Guren to give that up for a different name. This baby was half Shinya and half Guren.

Guren wanted their baby’s name to mean something, and this was truly Shinya’s way to show Guren what he meant to him. Their baby wasn’t going to be born out of the choice of someone else, so their baby’s name needed to reflect that.

A name truly meant something… It was Ichinose.

Chapter Text

They were getting closer to the day, and Guren still felt as if the time was dragging on. It had to be the discomfort in his body and all the aches, but he knew it would eventually pass. This would all be worth it. They were right back at the Medical Bay and preparing for the next appointment. From this one on, they would be coming weekly rather than biweekly.

A few changes he had noticed was the way that it felt like he could breathe easier. It was normal for a baby to press into the diaphragm, so it meant that the baby had started to shift, and it had relieved that pressure. But now, he was starting to feel that same pressure in his pelvis. It was causing him to have to go to the bathroom more as well as feeling a bit more pelvic pain. It wasn’t any serious or constant pain. Just small twinges that came and went. Which was something he had gotten quickly used too throughout the course of all of this.

It was another sign that they were getting closer to the day. In a few weeks, their baby will be here. They had prepared everything. The Nursery was now complete, Guren was pretty sure they had everything they needed, and now it was just waiting for the baby to arrive. The Omega had been triple checking everything just trying to make sure that they had everything. Shinya had been put on lighter duty to keep him within Shibuya for the next few weeks just in case. It had been pushed through by Kureto.

The beginning of the appointment went like normal. His blood pressure and weight were taken and thankfully, it appeared like he was managing to get the right weight on, but he hadn’t quite gotten it all. Though, he had a few more weeks, and maybe he would actually hit there. It made him feel bad that he had been struggling with it.

Once they had been through those normal steps, he had been taken to a normal room but this time a hospital gown was on the bed and a large medical paper. The Nurse looked at him, giving him a smile, “Go ahead and go into the changing room right there and get into the gown. Make sure that you are not wearing anything underneath. I’ll let the Doctor know you’re here.”

Guren just nodded as she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. The Omega shared a look with Shinya, and Shinya gave him a sympathetic smile as he grabbed the gown for him and held it up. Guren accepted it, tucking it into his arm as he disappeared into the small changing room. He placed it down as he closed the door. The Omega let out a sharp breath, moving to get out of his clothing. On default, he folded them up and placed them down onto the small bench as he toed out of his shoes. He grabbed for the gown, slipping into it with ease. Once he had it on, he stepped out of the room.

Shinya smiled at him as Guren walked over to the examination table, and the Alpha had reached out to help him get onto the table with more ease. Guren let out a sharp breath as he settled down and placed his hand over his stomach. “You alright?”

“Our son is using my bladder as target practice,” Guren stated. It was one incredibly embarrassing thing for him, and thankfully, no one said anything about him. It felt like any time he so much as coughed or sneezed, he would accidentally pee himself. He was told it was perfectly normal and pretty much every single expectant mother faced it. It still didn’t make him feel any better. Shinya would just laugh it off, trying to get him to feel better by cracking some other joke. While the joke didn’t work, Shinya’s smile and laugh did. “I don’t know if he’s trying to tell me he’s tired of the confirmed space or wants me to shut up.”

Shinya laughed slightly, shaking his head as his hand ran down Guren’s back. “He’s just being a baby.” Well, Guren knew that, but it was his own way of joking about it. “Maybe he’s showing that he likes the sound of your voice.”

Guren felt his smile soften a bit before he let out a soft breath. “Maybe.”

The door opened up and the Doctor slipped inside with a smile, “And how are you today?”

“Fine.” Guren replied.

“Alright, so let’s get this started.” The Doctor went on to say as she walked over and smiled at him again. She pulled out the little tape measure that she had. She had used it before. Measuring from his pubic bone to the top of where his uterus would be. Apparently, it was known as fundal height which helped estimate the size of the baby during the pregnancy and it should line up with how many weeks he was. “So ahead and lay back for me.”

Guren did exactly that and laid back. Shinya had moved slightly to help him adjust and Guren laid back as he pulled at the ends of the gown to make sure it stayed lowered. This was still a feeling that he didn’t like. It made him feel exposed and even vulnerable. It was an intimate part of him, and he didn’t like it, but it was an unfortunate necessity.

The Omega had stayed lying back as the Doctor reached forward and started to measure him. The Doctor remained quiet while she was doing it, but she then smiled at him, “Good. You’re measuring at roughly thirty-six centimeters. That’s good. Exactly where you should be.” Guren had stayed lying back as she placed down the tape and grabbed for the paper. She unfolded it and moved it over his legs. “We’ll check baby’s heartbeat next and then we’ll do the pelvic exam.” Once the paper was there, she had moved to feel around at his stomach as Guren let out a slow breath and tapped his fingers. “Can you tell me a bit about your symptoms? Are you having any more discharge?”

That was something that had been happening. Guren just shrugged, murmuring, “It’s been normal.”

“Okay,” She replied, “Since you’ve getting close to your due date, you most likely will have a bit more of the normal discharge. You should lose your mucus plug soon. Which is what covers the cervix and protects the baby from any bacteria. Don’t be concerned if you see a bit of spotting of blood. The cervix has a lot of blood vessels and sometimes they do bleed as your cervix ripens.”

“Okay.” Guren said back.

“I am going to do a GBS test today.” The Doctor stated, “I’m just going to take two swabs to see if you are positive or negative for Group B Streptococcus. If you test positive, we will give you I.V. fluids during labor since it’s a bacteria that can infect a newborn during childbirth. We can help prevent that.” Guren just nodded along. “I will be checking your cervix today too. But, first, baby’s heartbeat. Mind lifting up the gown? The paper will keep you covered.”

Guren still hated it, but he did sit up slightly, and Shinya helped pull the gown free and kept the paper in place as he settled back down. The fabric was slipped over the bump of his stomach as he laid completely back down. She had walked over to the other side of the room, sanitizing her hands and grabbed for the ultrasound gel. Some of it was applied to his skin as she held the handheld Doppler Fetal Monitor in her hand. She used the small transducer across the gel before placing it against his skin.

“Have you been feeling the normal about of movement?” The Doctor questioned.

“Yeah,” Guren replied, “Maybe more.”

“Good.” The Doctor stated just as the heartbeat came through. A soft smile came to his face as he listened to that beat. She had kept it there for a minute before pulling it back. “Still nice and strong at one hundred and thirty-one beats per minute.” She had grabbed for a small towel and wiped the gel free from his stomach. As much as Guren liked seeing the ultrasound or his baby’s heartbeat, he hated the feeling the gel left behind on his skin. “I’ll go ahead and do the swabs first. We’ll check your cervix and then we’ll be done.”

Guren lowered the gown as he tried to force himself to get comfortable. He hated all of this. This was definitely something he didn’t like about the appointments. “Okay.” He simply said. What was he going to do? Say no? Well, he could, but it was important to the health of their baby.

The Doctor sanitized her hands again before grabbing a pair of gloves and slipped them on. “Go ahead and lift your legs up a bit and spread them apart for me.” The Doctor stated. Then, her gaze settled on him, “I know, it’s awkward and I’m sorry.”

Guren had done just that, moving to settle into place as he fought that awkward feeling as she settled down onto a stool between his legs. Guren choose to look up towards the ceiling. The Omega inhaled sharply, trying to let the breath out as he felt the swab against his skin. He could hear the Doctor murmuring, but he had chosen to ignore her. Thankfully, that part was quick as she moved away slightly.

“And you’re still experiencing Braxton Hicks? Those are much more normal around this time.” The Doctor stated.

Guren nodded, “Yeah.”

“It’s nothing to be concerned about. It started to become more frequent now. Since it’s tightening the uterine muscles. It all helps in the effacing and dilation of your cervix.” The Doctor explained as she moved back. Guren sucked in another breath, tightening his hand around Shinya’s as her fingers slipped inside of his body. He really hated this. He knew it came with the territory of all of this, but it didn’t mean he had to like it. It was just really awkward. She was just doing her job. Then, he felt a bit of pressure and it almost took his breath away for a second from the fact it caught him off guard. “Alright, you are about forty percent effaced already, and one centimeter dilated.”

Her fingers slipped out of him and Guren felt like he could breathe normally again as he by default closed his legs. “Effaced?”

“Your cervix is starting to ripen.” The Doctor went on to explain, “The cervix has to soften and then it thins which is effacement and, of course, dilation which is the cervix starting to open. You need to be at one hundred percent effacement and ten centimeters dilated for delivery.”

“Is it okay?” Guren questioned, “For that to already be happening?”

“It’s perfectly normal.” The Doctor replied with a smile as she slipped off the gloves and started back across the room. “It’s the body preparing for labor. It starts happening long before active labor. You need to be dilated to a six and your contractions would be regular and consistent for you to enter into active labor.”

Guren relaxed a bit and nodded, “Okay.”

“You’ll start to see me once a week until baby comes.” The Doctor stated, “We’ll check your effacement and dilation each time. If you water breaks, absolutely come in immediately.” Guren once again gave another nod as he started to sit up. The Doctor had written a few things down, turning to look at him and smiled, “I’ll see you back next week. Come out whenever you are ready.”

She had quietly left the room, closing the door behind her. Shinya helped Guren sit back up and the Omega slipped off the table to go back into the other room to change back into his own clothing. He had used the paper to finish wiping off all of the gel that had been used between the Doppler and checking his cervix before discarding it into the correct bin. Next to it was a bin for the gown. He pulled it off quickly and threw it inside before slipping back into his clothing.

As he stepped out of the room, Shinya smiled at him, “Almost there.”

“I feel like I’ve been pregnant over a year.” Guren mumbled, “Can this end already?”

“We’re almost there.” Shinya replied, “Just a few more weeks.”

Guren needed these weeks to go by quickly.

He might actually go insane if they drug on.

He just needed this to be over, and their baby in his arms.

The next few weeks had thankfully gone by in a blur. Guren was practically counting the days. That pressure felt like it was becoming more pronounced. He could feel a lot more of those false labor pains, which he was tracking just in case. The effacement had progressed and slowly the dilation was too. That meant he was getting closer to actually going into labor and their baby would be here. He was already seventy percent effaced, and three centimeters dilated. It was just around the corner, and Guren was starting to get a bit of that anxiety back. Guren had even finally hit the twenty-five pounds that the Doctor wanted him to gain, and it felt like it had taken the entire pregnancy to do so.

Guren had been thinking about what Shinya had said to him. He had never thought about it in the way that Shinya had brought it up. It made him feel bad to think that he had possibly hurt Shinya by saying that he was willing to give their baby his name. While he didn’t say it, it was just a thought that was in the back of his mind. It made him so happy to hear that Shinya wanted their baby to have the Ichinose name. It made him feel so good inside, but then, all it made him think about was Shinya’s upbringing. Shinya never got the chance to having a loving and caring father or even a mother like that. Shinya didn’t like to talk about his past. Neither of them pushed it despite it being something that they had bonded over.

It still left the given name of their baby. That needed to mean something too. Guren had been thinking heavily on it. He would stare at that list for a long time just looking over the names. Even though Shinya had written them down, he could pick out every single name that Shinya had said. Guren had marked out all the ones that he had said. It felt like the right thing to do. Actually, he wanted to. Guren felt like they wouldn’t truly know the baby’s name until the second he came into this world.

The more he saw Shinya act throughout the course of this pregnancy, the more he could see Shinya was always meant to be a father. Shinya was already working to be the best father that he could be, and Guren didn’t have a single doubt that he would be. If anyone could do it, it was Shinya. It made him wonder how much of this was stemming from what Shinya knew as a child. The darkness that loomed in the Alpha’s past. If anyone would break the cycle, it would be Shinya.

It was late. Shinya was already asleep. Guren had managed to get a bit of sleep, but the uncomfortableness of his body wasn’t doing much to let him stay asleep. So, he quietly looked over the notebook instead. Guren reached up, toying with the pendant around his neck. Shinya was his soulmate. Their souls were meant to be the perfect balance of each other. Back then, Guren had questioned if he would ever meet his soulmate, but a part of him never thought that he would. Sure, he could have told Shinya, but Guren didn’t like the idea of trying to do something like that onto someone. Guren wanted Shinya to be with him because he was him, not because of some mystical force that pre-determined their lives. He supposed, it worked out for the best. Guren was living the high life.

How did he truly get so lucky in life?

The world had thrown thing after thing at him, and somehow, he was here now.

Guren dropped the necklace as he looked back over to Shinya as a soft smile came to his face. Guren could live this life without Shinya in it. It felt like he couldn’t go on in any way without him. There was a part of him that felt so dependent on having Shinya in his life. Was it that part of them that were soulmates? That his very soul couldn’t live without Shinya in this world now that he had found him? His father had been able to do it, but Guren didn’t think he was that strong.

The Omega looked away, sighing softly as he threw the notebook onto his bedside table before laying back down. Shinya had shifted in his seat slightly as Guren turned over onto his side. Being on his side was a bit more on the comfortable side. Even if it wasn’t for long. Shinya flushed into his back and the Alpha’s hand immediately went to his stomach. Guren felt a smile slip onto his face as he closed his eyes.

They were getting there.

One step at a time.

Soon enough, this bump would be gone, and it would be replaced with a baby in their arms.

The time was almost here.

It was quickly approaching. Guren was entering into the final parts of his pregnancy. Any day, he could go into labor and their baby would be here. Shinya was finding himself eagerly and anxiously awaiting for the day to come. It was almost time. Guren had gone through his final appointment, and he was almost there. The time frame was given any day. Ironically enough, it was right within that estimated due date range. The day was quickly approaching.

Shinya was now officially on light duty. He had made sure that he would have no missions that would take him outside of the walls. Though, Kureto probably would have vetoed that idea anyway. Not that Shinya would argue with it. He still had things to do, and he would still have to go in unlike Guren who would be officially on leave. Guren was not to enter any of their official buildings until his leave was over. Kureto words. Rather it would actually stop Guren or not was to be determined.

Shinya had spoken with Kureto about it, but they had both came to the agreement that Shinya could stay around Guren – basically stay home – until the birth of their son as well as the days following. Kureto was definitely one to fight for his subordinates. Which Guren was one. Shinya was grateful for it. Kureto would pick up his part of the work for that time, and it would give Shinya the chance to be with Guren.

As he was making his way home, he had stumbled across another store that had been locked up. Not that a simple lock would keep Shinya out. The Alpha had gotten inside with ease and looked around at all the things that were inside. It was an old, abandoned store. Shinya moved through the place as his gaze scanned over everything. Shinya moved down one aisle, coming to a stop as he noticed some stuffed toys. His gaze fell onto one specifically. He had first noticed it from the blue eyes of the plushie. He reached out for it, grabbing a hold of it and noticed quickly that it was a white tiger.

A smile came to his face as he chuckled. What were the odds of him stumbling across one of these? Shinya smiled as he stepped back, hooking the plushie under his arm before heading off. The Alpha had taken a few smaller stops to grab a few things for Guren as well as a few of his favorite snacks before heading out. He had double checked to make sure no one had seen what was happening as he closed the place up and took back off. It wasn’t like anyone would tell on him if he did.

Shinya walked silently all the way home. It would be any day now, so he needed to be there with Guren. Shinya readjusted the items in his arms as he got down the street and turned off to go up the walkway to his door. The Alpha walked into the door, using his foot to shut the door before getting out of his shoes. “Guren?” He called out as he turned around the corner.

At first, he didn’t hear anything, but then he heard the shuffling upstairs and the soft jazz music. Guren wasn’t always by himself. Sayuri and Shigure still came around a lot and so did Mito and Goshi, but they also still had their own responsibilities to take care of. He knew that Guren was starting to go a bit stir crazy, but it wasn’t the worst as far as he was aware. Guren only made a few comments every now and then.

Shinya had headed directly upstairs to where he had heard that noise, and sure enough, he had found Guren exactly where he thought he’d be. Once again, Guren was in the Nursery. It was like a constantly repeating loop. Guren was nesting, and he wasn’t being subtle about it like he typically was. Shinya had a soft smile on his face as he leaned against the frame of the door and watched the Omega do his thing. Guren didn’t seem to notice him at first as he got everything put away. They already had everything ready. Guren’s bag. The baby’s bag. It was all prepared and ready to go for the second that Guren went into labor.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” Shinya questioned.

That finally prompted Guren to turn around. The second they made eye contact, that feeling flooded him all over again. That momentary stop in the world. All Shinya could see was Guren. The subtle but warm glow of purple that went away within seconds, but the world remained circling around him. Guren smiled softly but shrugged, “It feels better to move around.”

“The Doctor did say that.” Shinya stated as he stepped into the room and placed down a few of the items. “I got you these.”

“Oh,” Guren mused as Shinya held up the white tiger, “How ironic.” Guren laughed softly for a second, “How Shinya of you.” 

“I found it.” Shinya stated as Guren took ahold of it. “I think the baby would like it.” He watched as Guren crossed the room and added the white tiger into the crib. It was the only plushie that was inside. He didn’t doubt that Guren would pull it out whenever their son was asleep just to make sure it wouldn’t be a suffocation hazard.

Shinya exhaled sharply as he started to look around the room. Ever since they learned they were having a child, those memories were coming back more. Within flashes in his dreams or times that he would just look around. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. Shinya couldn’t imagine ever giving up his own child. He knew people did it all the time before the world ended, and they had their reasons for it. But how could someone raise their child for years and just decide to give them away. For money. Just to give their child away to torment, abuse, and a never-ending cycle of knowing what they were signing up their child to be. Shinya wasn’t sure if he was angry. If he felt resentment. He had no idea what he felt anymore. It had been a lifetime ago. Still, he kept thinking about it, and he refused to be like that to his own child.

Guren laughed softly, giving him a fond look. “Shinya,” The Omega murmured as he walked over to him. Shinya turned his gaze towards his lover as Guren reached up, pulling the rest of the items out of his hands and putting them off to the side. Next, the Omega touched at Shinya’s chin to coax him to look over. “You’re not them.”

That was definitely something that he was still not used too. It made a lot more sense now. Just having that gut feeling and knowing of what his partner was thinking. He supposed it came with the territory whenever someone’s soul was perfectly intertwined with someone else’s.

Looking into Guren’s eyes had chased the thoughts away as he smiled softly, “I will never be.”

“Good,” Guren murmured as he tilted his head and smiled slightly, “Because you won’t ever be.” Shinya smiled slightly as he lifted up his hands and placed them onto Guren’s sides, letting his palms settle against the side of the swell of the Omega’s stomach. “Stay with me.” Guren whispered as he leaned forward, and his lips grazed Shinya’s.

The Alpha’s smile brightened, “Always.”

Guren laughed softly underneath his breath as Shinya connected their lips briefly. Guren was the one to pull back, giving Shinya more of a soft look. “You’re going to be an amazing father.” Guren murmured, “I couldn’t imagine having a baby with anyone else.” Even though Guren’s words were so simple and to the point, it felt like it was chasing away that demon. Just hearing him say it was doing something entirely differently to him. “Everything you’ve done… You’ve already proved it.”

Shinya leaned forward, tapping his forehead against Guren’s. “I won’t let our child suffer the way we did.” Shinya murmured, “I won’t let him be ruined by the Hiragi family.”

“I know,” Guren whispered as he reached up, pushing some of Shinya’s hair out of his face and moving to tuck it behind his ear.

Shinya let out a sharp breath, lifting up his gaze and looking over to the crib, “I can’t stop thinking about it.” The Alpha admitted, “How could they just… do that?”

“I don’t know.” Guren murmured.

Shinya looked over the crib for a second, shaking his head before returning his gaze back to Guren. He shook his head again, feeling a bit of that frustration hitting him. “Ever since we found out you were pregnant… I could never imagine doing that to our child.”

“You wouldn’t.” The Omega muttered as he toyed with some of Shinya’s hair. “The fact you’re even angry about it right now says something.” Shinya pulled in a deep breath and slowly released it. The day was almost here, and now it was bubbling over. “You’re not going to be like them.” Guren stopped speaking as he let out a soft breath and smiled again. “You know what I think?”

“What?” Shinya questioned him as he realized they were swaying a bit. Guren just smiled at him again as Shinya let out a soft breath as a smile started to slip on his face. “What is it?”

“I think you’re going to be the kind of father who is going to tell our son stories,” Guren murmured as his smile got a bit bigger. His voice was so soft and fond as the Omega spoke. Shinya found himself slowly getting deeply enthralled with the way that Guren was speaking. “Even all the embarrassing ones of his parents because now… They are funny memories.” Shinya laughed softly, shaking his head. “Then, you’ll go out and kick a ball in the yard, and that no matter how many times he falls… He will get right back up and be better.” Guren twirled some more of the strands as he smiled. “And you’ll teach him that a smile is the best thing that he can have… Because no matter what this world did… It couldn’t take away his smile.” That made Shinya’s chest warm up. The Alpha’s gaze softened as Guren tilted his head back a bit. “You’ll watch him sleep every night because you can’t imagine letting him go and thinking of all the ways to stop the horrors of this world from getting to him.”

Shinya smiled a bit more, letting out a soft breath as he felt all the worries being chased away. He wondered how long it would take before those thoughts would go away. If they would eventually linger in the back of his mind but never come to the forefront.

The Alpha leaned in, pressing their lips together again.

Even if those memories lingered, he knew that Guren would chase them away with just a smile. That doesn’t matter now. Shinya would never go down that path. He would not be his parents, and he would not let his own son suffer either.

Shinya would go to his grave with that vow.

They were going to break the status quo.

And they were going to do it… Together.

Chapter Text

Guren was growing more anxious the closer that the due date was coming. It was practically right up on them. It was in the late hours of Christmas Eve now. There was a big part of him that wished that their baby would wait to be born until after Christmas. The Omega understood why Shinya kept saying that it could bring a good memory to the day, but he didn’t know. Guren could never tell him. Maybe it was truly something that could change how Guren viewed that day, but it would always be something that haunted his nightmares. A yearly reminder of what Guren had done in a selfish desire to bring back his loved ones. There could be a chance it could change, but Guren still had his reservations about it.

Though, if their son wanted to come into the world on that day, there was nothing that he could do. Guren would have to come to terms with all of it. Guren would just place a smile on his face and act as if nothing had ever happened. For them, it was just the day that the world had come to an end. For many, it was completely meaningless. This was a new beginning. A new genesis for them. It was just hard to think about it. It was the day that the light in Guren’s life had gone out and came back because of his decision. Despite all that guilt eating him away, Guren was trying to think positively. Trying to keep himself from thinking about the moment his life was forever altered.

Now, it was just the anxious waiting for the second that he went into labor. He had been feeling those false labor contractions a lot more in the last few days. Then, Guren had started to notice that they were becoming a little more consistent, but they were timed still a bit aways apart. They were starting to gradually get closer together, but nothing that made Guren feel as if he was actively going into labor. Though, it could just be his own brain being stubborn about the thought of it.

He had been given all the signs that he needed to look for whenever it came to whenever he should go to the Medical Bay. Though, if there was one thing, the contractions weren’t just uncomfortable and in the front of his stomach. They were starting to get more painful and were located in his lower back. Which while he had been waiting for this moment, he was still being stubborn in the thought, it was not what it was.

He had already lost the mucus plug like he was told that it would happen, which was even more of a reminder that the day was coming, and it was here. If their baby could even wait just one more day and hit the third estimated due date, he’d be fine with that. What happened to most expectant parents who didn’t go into labor on their estimated due date?

Well, this world was just out for him in a way.

Or… It was the world’s way of telling him something else and that it was okay to move forward in a weird and twisted way.

Guren had been timing the contractions. They were getting closer together, but his water hadn’t broken, and the pain wasn’t too intense yet. So, he knew that he wasn’t in active labor yet. He could say that he was in the first stage of labor if he was being honest with himself. It was going to be hours of this. So, he spent most of the time pacing. The walking felt nice at least. It helped keep his mind off of it. Early – or latent – labor could last for hours or even days on its own before he went into active labor. It just depended on how dilated he was. It was best to just stay relaxed. There was no need for him to rush off to do anything until he was certain that the baby was actually coming.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Shinya questioned. Guren turned his gaze to him as he ran a hand over his stomach while keeping the other on his back. His back was annoyingly aching at this point. This wasn’t even the hardest part yet. Just annoying. “Instead of burning a hole into the floor?”

“I’m fine,” Guren murmured as he looked away and went back to what he was doing.

“A bath or shower, maybe?” The Alpha continued, “That could help. I could put on some jazz music while you soak in the tub.”

“No,” Guren said back with a wave of his hand, “This is fine.”

Shinya didn’t argue against it, but through the corner of his eye, he was able to see him giving him a fond smile. “What is it?”

“Our son just needs to stay where he is at least for another day.” Guren stated, “That’s it.”

“Guren,” Shinya said softly as he sighed and stood up. The Alpha stopped Guren in his tracks as he gave him a soft smile. Whenever Guren peered into his eyes, Shinya’s eyes had more of that brightness to them. “Good things.” The Alpha let out another small breath as he reached up and ran the back of his finger over Guren’s cheek, “I know you hate Christmas Day… But if the baby wants to come, we can’t stop that.”

“I know.” Guren stated, “I just—” The Omega cut himself off as he shook his head. Shinya could never know. Shinya would never know how much Guren truly hated that day. It wasn’t their baby’s fault it just happened to be the due date. Why couldn’t this be one of those moments when the due date was truly just an estimation? Why did Guren have to be in the small percentage of people that might actually give birth whenever it was estimated?

“Hey,” Shinya whispered as he coaxed Guren to look at him again. “That day doesn’t always need to be something so… dark. There’s room to have a little bit of light in it. I’m sure we all think about that day. Remembering the devastation… But it doesn’t always have to be about catastrophe. Maybe… There is a reason the world decided to do this. For all we know, the baby might not even come for a few days.” Guren softened up a bit. The Omega was certain that thought might never truly go away, but Shinya had a point. “And it’s okay to not like it either. It’s okay to think of that day and know it was the day that the world went to Hell… But it can also be the day that our world turned into something more. That not everything in this world has to have darkness attached to it.”

Guren let out a soft breath as he felt his body relaxing. “Right.” Guren whispered. He needed to calm himself down. Stop thinking about it. Shinya was right here. He was alive and in front of him. Maybe the world was really just trying to tell him something, and he was just missing the signs because he was so used to suffering. Would it be wrong if their baby came on the same day that Guren had technically lost Shinya? This baby wouldn’t even exist if the world hadn’t even that night. It was still a thought that was taking Guren a lot of time to process and even over these last months, Guren couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was just there and lingering in his mind in a way that he couldn’t stop it. Shinya’s words were comforting. While he didn’t know everything, Shinya was right in a way.

Shinya smiled at him, and it felt like the world was melting away. The Alpha was definitely trying his hardest to keep him calm and collected through all of this. Even if there was a lot of difficulty that was coming with it. “Good thoughts.”

“Good thoughts.” Guren repeated.

Shinya leaned in, pressing their lips together. As Guren kissed back, he suddenly froze as he felt this wetness between his legs. It made him pull back as he looked down. It wasn’t much at first until he felt more of a gush and he completely froze. Well, it didn’t take him long to figure out what that was.

“Guren? What’s wrong?” Shinya questioned.

Guren let out a sharp breath as he looked up towards Shinya, “My water just broke.” 

Shinya looked between his face and his stomach before a large, bright smile came to his face, “Come on. Let’s get you to the Medical Bay.”

Guren wasn’t able to give the slightest bit of a compliant as he was quickly ushered away. His water had just broken. Either he was going into active labor right now or he was about to start it. No matter what the answer was to that, it had brought that spark of anxiety into him. Their baby was coming.

This was really happening now.

Getting rushed to the Medical Bay felt like it had become a blur because it felt like as soon as his water had broken, the contractions had significantly spiked in intensity and were definitely closer than they were before. Guren had to keep reminding himself to just breathe properly. All the other thoughts were quickly pushed away with knowing his task at hand. He was entering into active labor now. The only way to be certain of that was depending on his dilation, but he could feel it. It was like he knew in his gut that this was it. This was active labor, and his baby would arrive soon. It could still be hours or by some strange twist of fate, it would come sooner.

As soon as they arrived, Guren had been swiftly taken to the Labor and Delivery Ward. His Doctor was on call for this and had already been paged to come as Guren was being set up in the room. The Omega was immediately handed a gown, and like his previous appointments, he was instructed not to be wearing anything underneath. Which Guren knew that was already going to be what was happening. There was no way he could push a baby out of his body if he was wearing anything on his lower half.

He felt even more exposed and vulnerable than before. Even though he had that feeling in a way before, this was very different. They had been checking his blood pressure, his vital signs, getting him hooked up to machines which included these small sensors on his stomach that would watch the fetal heartrate but also the timing of the contractions. He was also hooked up to monitors to continue to monitor his own vitals.

The room had spell tags all over it. He knew it was just a precaution, but it was definitely hard to ignore them. They were attempting to make him as comfortable as possible. He was not going to truly be comfortable until all of this was over.

“Alright, the Doctor will be here soon, but I do need to check your cervix for dilation, okay?” The Nurse stated as she was already starting to get gloves on. “Have you thought about pain medications or an epidural?”

“I don’t want them.” Guren stated, “Save them for the people who really need them, and don’t have a demon who can help them out.”

The Nurse smiled at him as she walked over, “Alright, you’ll feel a little pressure.” He’s been through this before. It didn’t make him hate it any less. Guren just shifted, making sure he was in a good position for it as he turned his head away. This was still one of the most awkward things that could happen. Shinya had walked over to him with a soft smile and grabbed his hand. That felt like enough to get him to relax just as he felt the fingers slip into his body and then the pressure came. “Okay,” The Nurse said as she retracted her fingers, “You are definitely in active labor. You are six centimeters dilated.”

Four more to go.

It would just depend on how quickly it decided to go. Please just let it go quickly. The Nurse had rattled off a few more things that he didn’t quite catch as he tried to get himself to relax as much as possible. Guren’s gaze turned up towards the clock on the wall. It was after midnight.

It was Christmas Day.

Guren tightened his hold on Shinya’s hand as he turned his gaze up and whispered, “Stay with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Shinya murmured back to him as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to Guren’s lip with a smile.

It was almost time.

Guren was going to have to come to terms with this, no matter how this ended up being.

Shinya had taken Guren straight to the Medical Bay after grabbing the bags that they needed. Shinya was giving no room for any types of arguments on it, but Guren didn’t give any either. Even though Guren was estimated to have a speedier recovery than normal for most expectant mothers, they still wanted to keep him for some observation just to make sure nothing went wrong with his contracted demon. They didn’t believe it would happen, but they still needed to be careful, so Guren was set up in a room just to make sure that it didn’t happen. His body would be at its technical weakest, and he would be his most vulnerable.

Shinya had stayed right by his side, refusing to leave his side in the slightest. They were both seeing this through start to end. Then, the new beginning would come.

Only Authorized Personnel were allowed in the Delivery Room. Guren had made strict instructions on what he had wanted, and they were following it to the letter. Shinya knew their friends were here. They were waiting in the Waiting Room. He was sure if they were able to come into the room, they would be doing everything they could to help Guren in any way that they could. Kureto had also been notified, and he had come down too just in case.

A few hours had passed, while the dilation seemed to be slow. Guren had only gone to a seven within that time. They had been told it wasn’t uncommon. They were told active labor could last anywhere typically from four to eight hours. It was possible to take even longer whenever it came to someone who never had a baby before. Those who have had children before, found that their labors were shorter and the time for the cervix to dilate by a centimeter was approximately an hour.

Shinya had been going to and from the room to get whatever Guren needed. Helping him walk around the room if he wanted to move. Just doing whatever he could to try and be the best moral support that he could be. He could already see how tired Guren was. How much that the contractions were actually getting to him. Even though he didn’t show much of it, he would see the slight grimace that would come to Guren’s face, and the Omega would quickly mask it.

Guren was still denying any and all pain medications. To be fair, from what Shinya learned of an epidural, a large needle was inserted into the spine to insert an epidural catheter into the back. Once the needle was removed, the catheter would remain in the spine. It would cause a numbing sensation of the lower part of the body and would leave it hard to move their legs. That could continue to last even for a few more hours even after the epidural was no longer being administered. It was entirely meant to block pain signals from the lower body and numb the nerves while reducing the sensation of pain. There were also other types of pain medications that Guren could have that he could either manually use or it would be automatically done for him, but he was also refusing those. Which, if that’s what he wanted to do, Shinya would support that. Even though, he hated seeing Guren in any kind of pain.

Shinya was sitting in the chair next to Guren. There was a place where he could sleep if he wanted too, but Shinya wasn’t going to sleep if Guren couldn’t. Guren probably could get some sleep if he took pain medication, but Guren also had a rather high pain tolerance too. Though, he understood why Guren was denying all of them. He wanted to save the medications for the people who needed them more. Guren could use them, but he was also being particularly stubborn than that.

Shinya leaned forward, looking into Guren’s exhausted eyes as he smiled. He brushed Guren’s bangs out of his face as he murmured, “You sure you don’t want even a mild pain relief?”

Guren shook his head, “I’m okay.” The Omega let out a soft breath, adding in, “How much of a mess do I look like?”

Shinya laughed softly, “Don’t think like that,” The Alpha stated with a shake of his head, “You look beautiful.”

The Omega gave him another soft smile as he leaned a bit closer, “Can it just be time yet?”

“Patience, Guren.” Shinya replied, “Aren’t you the one who always preaches patience?”

“I am patient.” Guren shot back, “Just not for this.”

“Thought you wanted the baby to wait for a day?” Shinya teased.

The Omega shot him a quick look, “Shut up.”

Shinya hummed, “Nah, I think I’m good.”

Guren rolled his eyes, sighing a bit as he shifted. On the monitors, he could see the lines that had started to spike, followed by the grimace that came to Guren’s face. “Labor fucking sucks.” Guren mumbled as soon as the pain left his face. “Who decides to get pregnant and actually go through this? And then do it again?”

“People who want kids?” Shinya replied with a shrug, “Because wouldn’t the pain be worth it?”

“Ask me that again whenever I don’t feel like my body is being ripped in two.” Guren shot back.

The Alpha just laughed, “Okay.”

Guren leaned back a bit more against the pillows, and Shinya was able to see the heaviness of his gaze. The Nurse would be back soon to check his dilation again. They would keep doing it every hour until it was time. The Omega looked like he wanted to sleep but just couldn’t. That had been happening a lot recently. Guren just couldn’t get comfortable to sleep.

Right now, all Shinya could do was do everything he could to make sure that Guren had whatever he needed as he went through this.

The clock was ticking, and before they knew it, their son would be here.

It felt like it had been hours. Actually, it had been. Guren kept finding himself staring at the clock and watching the minutes tick by. The Nurse had been back in seven times, and the process was slow. The Omega just wanted to pass out and sleep. Sleeping away the pain and the long hours of labor felt nice, but it was just a dream that was going to be unachievable.

It was already ten o’clock that night. Two more hours and Christmas Day would be over. Maybe he could put up with this for another two hours. No. That needed to leave his mind. Guren did want this to be over with. His body was now in constant, intense pain. Guren had been doing his best not to show it, but as the exhaustion was catching up to him and making that a lot harder.

Guren was feeling a lot of pressure in his lower back and pelvis. That was just adding on to the uncomfortable feeling. Guren was already sick of this, but what could he do? Well, he could do something to help with the pain, but he wasn’t going too. He was fine.

Guren grimaced again as the next contraction hit him. They were insanely close together. The contractions were lasting roughly a minute, but they were also nearly within a minute to each other, so he didn’t have much room to actually breathe.

Shinya was petting at his hair, brushing it out of his face, and keeping a hold of his hand. Shinya had barely left his side unless Guren even so much as mentioned that something sounded nice. Then, he would leave for a few minutes and return with exactly that. Guren’s stomach had been upset pretty much the entire time, so he had basically stuck with water and pieces of ice or ice chips.

The Alpha eyed him, giving him a soft but concerned look as he said, “Are you okay?”

“I’m in labor.” Guren said immediately as the contraction ended. He mentally slapped himself for the snapping tone that he had as he gave a soft look to Shinya.

Shinya just smiled, shaking his head, “Don’t apologize. I think right now, you have a right to be a bit on the moody side.”

Guren rolled his eyes slightly, grimacing again as he felt the pull in his abdomen and the wave of pain that came next. As soon as it ended, Guren let out a shaky breath and shook his head, “I feel like I need to push.” It was just an overwhelming feeling that hit him. Just the intense urge that he needed to push.

“Okay, hold on,” Shinya murmured as he stood up, pressing a kiss to the crown of Guren’s head, “I’ll go get the Doctor.”

Guren didn’t want to let go of his hand, but Shinya had been quick about hurrying out of the room and heading off. The Omega just let out a sharp breath as he leaned back against the pillows and he turned his gaze to the machines. The bottom one was the one that was showing the rate of the contractions and the intensity of them. Next to it was the fetal heartrate. He kept staring at that for a moment, and then he noticed the way the lines changed on the machine and the next wave of pain crashed through his body.

Before the contraction was even over, Shinya was back in the room with the Doctor and Nurse quickly in tow. Shinya returned immediately to his side and grabbed his hand as the Doctor and Nurse shuffled the blankets around. “Okay, I’m just going to check you again, okay, Guren?”

As if that hadn’t already happened no less than twenty-two times since he got here. First whenever he arrived, then following every single hour since just to check how far dilated he was. Wasn’t the point of his water breaking meaning this went faster? Or was that just a myth? Actually, no. Many went almost twenty-four hours before delivery. He remembered reading about it. It didn’t mean it didn’t annoy him any less.

Fingers slipped into his body again whenever the contraction ended. They did not stay there as long as the Doctor said, “I can feel the baby’s head. You’re completely dilated to a ten. It’s time to push.”

Okay, he was actually relieved.

Guren let out a quick breath as he looked over to Shinya. The Alpha grinned at him, murmuring, “Our baby is coming.” Shinya gave another soft smile, leaning in and pressing his forehead to Guren’s. “You got this. Just a little bit longer.”

Guren just nodded, curling his fingers as he closed his eyes. The Doctor and Nurse were quickly moving around and getting everything ready as Guren felt that anxious feeling hit again. It was time. He could do this. They were helping him get situated into place as Guren sat up a bit but stayed leaning back in the most comfortable position that he could be in. Shinya remained holding onto his hand, but also ended up helping the Doctor and Nurse get everything moved around. The blankets were pulled away completely off of him and trays were brought close. It made Guren look over at them for a second.

“Okay, Major General Shinya,” The Doctor instructed, “You’re going to help him hold up his legs.” Shinya nodded, slipping an arm underneath Guren’s leg but keeping a hold of his hand in the other. “The Nurse is going to assist me, monitor the baby, as well as help you, okay, Lieutenant Colonel Guren?”

“Okay.” Guren panted out. Once he was in position, he turned his gaze back to Shinya and nodded. “Here we go.” He whispered.

“Here we go.” Shinya repeated. “You’re almost there.”

“Okay,” The Doctor started, “On the next contraction, you’re going to push for ten counts. Remember to breathe.”

Guren took in a deep breath, moving to put his focus into it. Guren gripped harder onto Shinya’s hand as the contraction hit. He tried to breathe but the second he stared baring down as he heard the Doctor going, “One… Two… Three…” His mind started to drift off and he was holding his breath the entire time that the count was going. The Omega kept going until it hit the ten count and he finally felt like he could breathe for a second.

Guren fell back against the pillows as he turned his gaze, and he found himself watching the monitor. He noticed that the lines were starting to spike and then he felt the pain again. It quickly drove back his attention to the task at hand. Once again, the Doctor was calling out the ten count and he suddenly felt this weird sense of pressure at the base of his entrance. Almost massaging like as the count continued. He didn’t have time to figure out what it was as he pushed downwards for the ten count.

They had gone through it two more times before he heard the Doctor suddenly say, “Guren, I need to give you an episiotomy to keep you from getting a severe perineal tear.” For a second, he felt a prick against the lower part of his skin at his perineum.

“What?” Guren questioned as he turned his gaze to the Doctor in confusion. Before he even had a chance to realize what was going on, the Doctor had already grabbed a pair of scissors that he quickly recognized as Episiotomy Scissors specifically meant for it. It had happened before he had a chance to say anything else and a flaring pain shot in between his thighs, and he screamed out, “What the fuck?!” Through the corner of his eye, he saw Shinya grimace and the look of pure sympathy crossed his face.

“I’m sorry,” The Doctor said as she placed the scissors back down and Guren realized what had just happened. Did she just cut him? “You were about to start severely tearing. This just allowed for a slightly bigger opening to help your baby come out easier.”

He didn’t have much time to think about it as the next contraction hit. Guren barely had the chance to suck in a breath before having to bare down once more. The Doctor was already back to repeating that ten count as Guren thought of one million ways in which he could kick the Doctor in the face. Then, he told himself not to do that because she was the Doctor who actually had seen this and had delivered babies before.

Just… fucking ouch.

Guren got through the next ten count as he fell back against the pillows panting. He could feel a bit of sweat on his forehead that the Nurse was helping to dab away with a small cloth. “You’re doing so good, Guren. Just a few more and baby should be out.” The Doctor stated. Then, she laughed softly, “Oh, look at his head of hair. I’m giving him a little mohawk.”

Guren felt a soft laugh leave him. What was with this Doctor? Was this her way of trying to sooth him after all of that? In a way, it definitely helped get his mind off of it.

“Oh, I want to see—” Shinya started.

But Guren quickly cut him off, “Don’t you dare look down there, Shinya.” Guren hissed out, “You don’t need to be seeing the mess that down there is right now.”

Shinya turned his gaze to him, giving him a soft look, “Well, you are kind of in this position because of me.”

“Both of us, you idiot.” Guren mumbled as he sucked in a breath as the next contraction hit. It took his breath away as he started to push for the ten count. As soon as it was over, he was feeling slightly lightheaded as he attempted to catch his breath. Please, just don’t look. Guren didn’t think he liked the thought of Shinya seeing the mess he knew was down there from the intense pressure he was having and thinking that Shinya might never look at him the same way again. He could feel the way that the baby was stretching his body. How much pressure and pain that there was.

Shinya leaned down, pressing a kiss into his forehead, “Don’t worry. You’re absolutely stunning even like this.”

Guren smiled softly, wishing that this would be over soon. It felt like an eternity of just this. “Okay, Guren, I think one more and the baby will be out. Once the head is out, baby will come out with ease.”

The Omega hoped so. He took in a deep breath and luckily this was the breath he managed to take before he felt that surge of pain. Guren squeezed his eyes shut, curling his hand tighter around Shinya’s as he pushed. “One… two… three,” Guren was starting to feel slightly dizzy as the count continued on, “Four… five… six…” Please, just let this be over. “Seven… eight… nine…” Guren pushed down a bit harder as he heard a soft noise leave him as he gripped hard onto Shinya’s hand. “Ten!”

Guren suddenly sucked in a deep breath as he fell back, and the pain was gone for the most part. Almost instantly relief shot through him as he felt the baby slip out of his body and the loud cry erupted in the room. The loud, piercing wail of a newborn baby screaming out that just so happened to be music to Guren’s ears.

The Omega took a few shaky breaths as he cracked his eyes open and immediately he was being greeted with a baby being put onto his now bare chest as the Nurse pulled away the top of the gown. Guren instantly found himself enthralled and awestruck the second his eyes landed on the form of his newborn son. A smile came to his face as he whispered, “Hi.” He looked over the baby’s face, seeing the whisps of bloodied and fluid covered white hair. White as snow. Just like Shinya’s. He could see the places that the baby’s hair was messed with, showing the evidential signs that the Doctor in fact had been toying with the baby’s hair. Guren’s gaze softened as he felt the pure exhaustion hit him, but pure happiness hit him at the same time. “You’re here…” He murmured as he reached up and ran his fingertips over the baby’s cheek.

Guren reached up, curling his arms around the baby as the umbilical cord was clamped off. “Major General Shinya, would you like to do the honors?”

Guren could see it through the corner of his eyes as Shinya gladly took the Umbilical Cord Scissors into his hand and cut the cord in between the two clamps. As soon as he was done, his attention was immediately on Guren. Shinya was soothing Guren’s hair back as he whispered, “You did amazing, Guren.” Shinya whispered, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Guren murmured as he couldn’t take his eyes off of their newborn son. “I’m just fine.” His body would take care of the rest. He was now in the final stage of labor. Technically, he was supposed to push one more time to deliver the placenta. If that remained in his body, it could cause a very severe infection. He did do so whenever he was prompted too, and he felt the placenta slip out of his body as well and it suddenly felt as if the pain was coming to a stop other than some light crampy feelings. That didn’t matter right now.

His baby is what mattered.

Guren only took enough time to look up from the baby and looked at the clock.

10:45 PM

Guren just smiled softly as he looked back at his baby. He could see the baby already starting to crack his eyes open. He could see a mixture of blue and purple. Like they were blue but whenever the light hit them just right, it was a purple shade. It brought a slight smile to Guren’s face. He wanted him to have Shinya’s eyes. Shinya had beautiful eyes.

All Guren could do was smile as he leaned back into Shinya as the Alpha leaned forward and greeted their son for the first time.

In that moment, Guren knew the baby’s name.

He knew the name that would have the most meaning, and it would mean something.

Chapter Text

Guren had done absolutely beautifully. It was clear that the exhaustion had caught up to him. Guren had been given dissolvable stitches while he was holding the baby. The baby had eventually been taken by the Nurse to be checked on, completely cleaned off and the umbilical cord taken care of to be more towards their son’s belly button. A layer of Erythromycin Eye Ointment had been applied to their son’s eyes to help make sure that he didn’t get eye infections. Their son had also been given a Vitamin K Injection to help with a normal deficiency that all newborns had to help with blood clotting, and it can also help prevent more serious concerns later such as Vitamin K deficiency bleeding that could have long-term effects.

Guren was now finally being able to rest as their son was taken to the Nursery for a few more important things. Guren had been transferred to a special room in the Maternity Ward where he would be allowed visitors but there were still the proper precautions in place for his demon. The Omega had practically passed out from exhaustion the second that he could. Even though he was being offered pain medication for the following pain, he still refused it.

Shinya had taken the moment that Guren had gone to sleep to step out into the Waiting Room. Everyone was waiting there. Even other people from the Moon Demon Company such as Makoto Narumi and Shuusaku Iwasaki were there. The second they saw Shinya, they were all to their feet. Instantly, their friends were right in front of him.

“Guren and the baby are doing just fine.” Shinya stated as he walked over. “One healthy, baby boy.”

He could see the instant relief on their faces before he was being swarmed in congratulations and even more questions. “How’s he doing?” Goshi questioned as he pulled back from the hug that Shinya had been pulled into.

“Guren is being Guren,” Shinya replied, “So, I take that as a good sign.”

“Do you guys need anything?” Sayuri questioned.

“Guren is going to be starving whenever he wakes up.” Shinya went on to say, “I think he would love some curry and rice.”

“Okay.” Sayuri said back with a quick nod.

“How long do you think they will want to keep him?” Shigure questioned.

“They said about two days.” Shinya replied, “Knowing him, he’ll want to leave immediately.”

“When can we see him?” Mito questioned.

“Whenever he wakes up.” The Major General said back. “Right now, he’s exhausted and getting rest.”

“Guren-sama needs his rest.” Shigure added in, “We can wait until then.” Shinya smiled a bit, knowing exactly how Shigure and Sayuri could be. He knew exactly how Guren got them as actual roommates rather than just neighboring apartments. Though, he couldn’t blame them either.

“Why don’t all of you go home for a while?” Shinya questioned as he looked around at them, “Guren’s going to be asleep for a while. He hasn’t slept in nearly forty-eight hours.”

Even though they had given some agreements, he knew they had been here the whole time, and they weren’t going anywhere until the minute that Guren was awake, and they saw him themselves. Shinya gave them another smile before he was excusing himself to head back up to the Maternity Ward. He didn’t want to be away long, just in case if Guren needed something.

They didn’t say anything else to him as he did so. Shinya went straight for the elevator that would take him to the floor that he needed. He hit the button as he got in and waited. The Alpha watched the numbers turn before the elevator dinged and the doors opened up and he stepped out. The Maternity Ward was quiet as he stepped back into it. It was the middle of the night so that didn’t surprise him. Shinya stayed silent as he made his way right back to the room that Guren was in.

Shinya had halted to a stop the second he realized that Guren was awake. Not only awake but walking around with the baby in his arms. “Guren,” Shinya said quickly, “You should be resting.” The Alpha had hurried across the room but stopped the second he saw the fond smile on Guren’s face as he looked down at the newborn. Also, shouldn’t the baby be in the Nursery with the Nurses?

Their son was fast asleep in Guren’s arms as the Omega kept looking down at him. “I couldn’t sleep.” Guren murmured. Guren had been asleep whenever he had walked out. Did he wake up whenever Shinya left? “I got a little bit… I guess I just couldn’t stay asleep. I guess I got used to it.”

Shinya kept looking him over as he felt the need to intervene to try and get Guren back into bed but stopping the second he kept seeing that look on Guren’s face. It was being illuminated by the moonlight coming through the window. It illuminated both him and the baby.

“The moon is beautiful from here, isn’t it?” Guren questioned.

Shinya completely stilled as he heard those words. It took him back to that moment with Guren all those years ago before a soft smile came to his face. He turned his gaze momentarily to look up towards the moon. “Yeah, it is.” Shinya turned his gaze back to Guren as he said, “You should really at least be in bed. You’re still healing.”

“I’m just fine,” Guren whispered, “Walking helps… Even if it hurts.”

Guren was definitely being… Guren.

Shinya found himself just looking at the two of them. They were his family. He really didn’t realize all those years ago that Guren would singlehandedly become the most important person in his life and they would end up having a baby together. Every single moment of this was something that Shinya would treasure. Right down to the soft smile on Guren’s face as the look of admiration crossed the Omega’s face as he looked at their son.

“Touya.” Guren murmured.

Shinya inhaled sharply as Guren looked up. He saw the smile on his face. The twinkle in his eye as everything else melted away. Only this time, their baby stayed in that haze. Shinya’s entire center of gravity was changing around the two of them. Shinya would do anything for them. Be anything that they needed.

A lover…

A protector…

A father…

Anything .

“Touya…” Shinya whispered, “Are you sure?”

Guren looked back down to the baby and nodded, “Yeah.” The Omega murmured, “That was the one thing we couldn’t figure out was his name.” Guren stopped speaking just long enough to move the tip of his finger over the baby’s face. “Then, I saw him, and I knew that was his name. So his name is… Touya.”

Shinya smiled as he stepped forward and curled his arm behind Guren’s back as he leaned in a bit to look at their son, “Touya Ichinose.” Shinya smiled. A name that meant something. “It’s perfect.” Shinya’s gaze moved to their baby. His whisps of snow-white hair. The soft look of his face. Shinya hoped he looked like Guren. Guren was absolutely stunning. There was always that saying that boys looked like their mothers and girls looked like their fathers. Though, it wasn’t always the case. It wouldn’t matter exactly who this baby took after. From what he could tell, their son was a perfect mixture of them.

Their son… Touya.

And he was absolutely perfect.

Guren knew that name was perfect. It felt like he was still coming down from everything as he laid back in the hospital bed. Shinya was holding their son now. The Omega couldn’t stop staring at the smile that Shinya had on his face as he moved around the room. Their lives are completely changing now that their son was here. Guren was finding that he was able to start truly relaxing now as he watched the two of them. Just from the look on Shinya’s face, Guren knew in that moment that all of Shinya’s fears were just that… fears. They were haunting memories that might continue to follow him, but Guren knew that Shinya would never be that.

Shinya looked at their son like he was the entire world, and that look alone spoke a thousand words.

Whenever Guren wasn’t holding their son, Shinya was holding their son. He was pretty sure Touya had barely had the chance to lay in the little hospital bassinet that was provided for him.

“Don’t you want to try and get some sleep?” Shinya questioned, “He’s fine with me.” Guren smiled softly, trying to get comfortable on the bed but it was still hard to do due to the ache in his back, pelvis, and between his legs. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it was. It was just the aftermath. “If you’re worried about him… I’ve got him.”

Guren knew that. He really couldn’t explain it. Now that it was all over – and maybe the twenty minute power nap that he had taken – it felt like he had been suddenly been hit by this awake and awareness. Even if the exhaustion was there, and he could feel the heaviness in his eyes. The Omega knew that he needed to sleep, but he also didn’t want to miss a single thing either.

“I could.” Guren murmured, “But I don’t think I could sleep.”

Shinya gave him a soft with a knowing look as he kept moving around with their baby in his arms. “I get that.” Shinya murmured, “It’s hard to take my eyes off of him.”

The two had fallen into a peaceful silence. Guren did want to go to sleep. He desperately needed it. Rest was needed for healing, but also to have the energy just to be able to go on with the day as it was. For now, he was just comfortable while lying there. Eventually, maybe, he would actually fall asleep. There was part of him that didn’t want to miss anything. He had all the time in the world, but he still couldn’t bring himself to just close his eyes and get some sleep. Honestly, he had no idea what truly was bringing out this bout of insomnia.

They had remained quiet for a while. Which Guren believed was in hopes of Guren actually going to sleep, but it still never came. The Omega wasn’t sure how much time had passed before he heard a tap at the door which caused him to stiffen up on instinct. Shinya had immediately turned to look at the door, and whenever Guren saw him smile, it made him relax because it told him who was there. It was a genuine smile, so that was enough for Guren.

“We brought these for Guren-sama.” It was Sayuri’s voice.

“This should be everything else that you might need.” That one was Shigure.

“Thank you.” Shinya replied.

Guren took that moment to sit up and it must have shocked the others because all four of them were looking over to him with wide eyes. The Omega grimaced slightly from the twinge of pain that erupted in his abdomen. “Please, Guren-sama, stay laying down.” Shigure quickly said as she rushed over to try and coax him back down.

“No,” Guren replied with a slight shake of his head, “I’m fine.” Shigure looked like she wanted to say something else but ended up fluffing up the pillows instead as Guren leaned back. “I can’t sleep anyway.”

“We didn’t know you were still awake.” Goshi stated as he walked over. Goshi gave him a bright grin as he reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, “How do you feel?” The touch was strong, reassuring, and firm. After a moment, Goshi slipped his arm across Guren’s shoulders and pulled him towards him as if he was pulling him into a side hug.

“Fine enough for the fact that I just had a baby and my body felt like it had gotten ripped apart,” Then, Guren’s gaze moved over all of them as he frowned slightly. “How is it that I just went through hours of labor and then childbirth, and all of you look worse than I do?” They all looked exhausted and even tousled. Guren knew that he looked like a mess, but somehow, all four of them looked even more disheveled than he did.

All four of them exchanged glances before looking back to him. Mito stepped forward, quickly shaking her head, “Don’t be silly, Guren.” Mito replied, “You look amazing.”

“You’re avoiding what I said.” The Omega shot back. Guren eyed them all again before it clicked. “Did any of you get any sleep at all?” Just from the looks they gave between each other and him, he knew he was right. Guren sighed softly, shaking his head, “Did you even leave to go home?”

“It’s our duty to be here if we are needed, Guren-sama.” Shigure decided to say.

That was definitely a Shigure thing to say whenever it came to him. Guren sighed again as he looked between them, “All of you are absolutely impossible. I was in labor for over a day.”

“And Shinya-sama needed to stay by your side,” Mito went on to say, “We were able to do everything else.”

“I brought this for you.” Sayuri suddenly interjected as she reached into one of the bags and pulled out what appeared to be a bento box. She walked over, holding it out to him as Guren stared down at it in surprise before looking to Sayuri. “I’m sure you’d love this more than the hospital food.”

Guren did accept the bento box as he felt the warmth of it, and he opened it up to reveal curry and rice. The Omega sucked in a sharp breath, fighting the wave of emotion that suddenly hit him. His hormones were still completely out of whack which was something that was supposed to level out soon enough. Guren blinked a few times, looking back to Sayuri, “Thank you.”

This told him that they did at least go home for a while or there might have been a chance that they just went to the kitchen connected to the Medical Bay and cooked this there. The bento box, however, was one of Sayuri’s.

Sayuri had slipped in to give him a quick hug as Shigure did the same thing, “If you need anything, Guren-sama, just let us know.” Shigure said as she pulled back.

“Okay.” Guren replied.

Mito had finally stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. “Is there anything that we can do for you?”

Whenever she pulled back, Guren just shook his head, “No, I’m fine.”

“Please, eat, Guren-sama.” Sayuri stated, “I’m sure you’re hungry.”

The smell of the food alone made his stomach growl and show him just how hungry that he actually as. He had only snacked slightly because of how upset his stomach had been since. Even now, he still had a bit of it, but it wasn’t anywhere that it had been before. Guren was hungry.

The Omega did decide to start taking a few bites. It satisfied him in a much different way as his friends spoke with him for a few more minutes before quietly excusing themselves to go meet the baby. Guren quietly ate on his meal as he watched them. They looked so happy looking down at the baby in Shinya’s arms. Shinya had kept ahold of their son at first as the others spoke to him and admired the newborn.

Eventually, Shinya did hand Touya over. Handing him off to Shigure first. Guren continued his meal in silence and just continued what he was doing. Eventually, he had ate it down and placed the bento box down. The Omega settled down, feeling another soft smile come to his face as he watched his friends—no, his family interact with his son. They were all smiles and laughs. He couldn’t quite make out what they were saying through his exhaustion.

All he could focus on were how they all looked so… happy.

Even though they didn’t know it, they would never know how much that made him feel great.

Each one of their friends had gotten a chance to hold the baby. They were all making different comments regarding the baby’s hair and eyes. The eyes seemed to be the biggest highlight. Touya had woken up at one point to reveal his mixture of purple and blue hues that seemed to change depending on the lighting. It would take at least six months before they knew what the baby’s eye color would end up actually being. There was a chance that even his hair could darken in the future. Shinya had heard of that happening.

Eventually, Touya had ended up back in Shinya’s arms. They were all laughing and joking around but staying a bit more quiet about it as not to disturb the baby. It hadn’t actually been that long since they got here. Guren was eating his food, so they were socializing in the meantime as they greeted their newest addition.

“To think, Guren did all that work just for the baby to come out looking like Shinya-sama.” Goshi teased as he lightly tapped his elbow into Shinya’s arm.

Shinya laughed softly, shaking his head, “No way.”

“No, I think Touya-sama looks like Guren-sama.” Sayuri stated as she leaned in and smiled, “I’ve seen baby pictures.”

“He does.” Shigure confirmed.

“I don’t know, he does look a lot like Shinya-sama.” Mito mused as she kept looking down at the baby.

“It’s just the hair.” Shinya said with a shake of his head. The Alpha looked back down at his son, and that fond smile once again returned. “I see Guren in him.”

“He just so cute.” Sayuri said in glee.

“Any child from Guren-sama would be.” Shigure interjected.

“Oh,” Sayuri exclaimed, “You’re right!”

“Shinya-sama is good looking too.” Mito stated, “Any child between them would be.”

“I agree.” Goshi added in.

“Honestly, I don’t think it really matters who he looks like,” Shinya went on to say as he looked back up and smiled, “We won’t know that for a while, but he’s perfect no matter who he looks like.” The Alpha then hummed, smiling, “Though, I am biased to him looking like Guren.”

“Nah,” Goshi stated, “I think he’s going to be your splitting image. Both of you keep defying everything as it is. Might as well defy an old wives’ tale.”

Shinya rolled his eyes, but the amused smile came to his face, “What do you think, Guren—” Shinya started as he turned but stopped the second his gaze landed on Guren. The shock hit him for a second to realize that Guren was fast asleep. His face looked completely peaceful, and his shoulders were rising and falling in even breaths. Shinya’s posture softened as he murmured, “Finally.”

Shinya turned away from his friends, walking over to his lover as he reached for the blanket that was at his waist. The Alpha pulled it up to Guren’s chin before leaning down and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. He pulled back, seeing that Guren didn’t so much as move in his sleep which showed just how deep into sleep he had gotten.

Finally, Guren was… resting.

Guren had been forced to stay the two nights in the Medical Bay, which was something that he didn’t want to do but had no choice in the matter. All thanks to Kureto’s orders. Guren could only begrudgingly listen to it but ended up staying for the two days. The Nurses had did a lot of pushing at his abdomen. Which hurt like a bitch, but it was meant to check to make sure that his uterus was starting to shrink. He was also warned of blood clots that he would notice and the bleeding he would continue to experience for a bit after birth. They were telling him that he was already showing signs of the expedited healing, but he was still feeling it. His abdomen was so sore. Because it was confirmed he was healing a lot faster, he had still denied the pain medication. He would just put up with it. It was fine. The hardest part was over, and now, their son was here.

And they were finally being able to go home.

Guren was going to be glad just to go home. He had been waiting the entire time too. Guren just wanted to sleep in his own bed and deal with the rest of the recovery process in the security of his own home.

Shinya had gotten the car and the car seat that they had gotten – just in the cases of if they needed to use a vehicle despite the closeness of many of the buildings to their home – they had gotten Touya ready and put into the car so they could go home. The Medical Staff had tried to give Guren pain medication to take home, but if he really needed something, they had a few things at home. He didn’t need the stronger stuff. That was better suited for others. He would be just fine. Even two days post-partum, he was still feeling a lot better than what he would guess that others would feel. Even if his entire body ached still and was incredibly sore. Though, the staff did not let him leave with a few items to help him care for the aftermath of childbirth.

The drive home was in relative silence. Guren had watched the scenery as they were heading back. Shinya had kept one hand clasped around Guren’s as he used his other hand to drive. It didn’t take them long to get back home. It felt really good to see the home come into his vision as Shinya pulled in. As soon as the car was in park, Shinya had turned it off and hopped out before Guren even had the chance to unbuckle himself. By the time he did, Shinya was already at his door and opening it with a grin, “And we are home.”

Guren smiled a bit, slipping out as he placed a hand against his aching abdomen. Shinya closed the door behind him and the second that Guren went to help to get anything out of the car, he was immediately ushered away. “Shinya, I can help carry things in.”

“You just had a baby.” Shinya replied with a smile as he not only grabbed all the bags but got the car seat out of the car too.

“Yeah, I had a baby,” Guren shot back, “But it’s not like I can’t carry anything.”

“You did the hard part.” Shinya went on to say as he kicked the door closed with his foot without so much as jostling the car seat with their sleeping newborn or even the bags moving on his shoulder. “I can still do the heavy lifting. You are supposed to be resting and healing. Working is not resting and healing.” Guren shot him a look, but he knew there would be no room to argue with someone as stubborn as Shinya. Though, he could say it felt nice in a way. Shinya smiled at him as he readjusted the bag on his shoulder and hooked the car seat as he said, “After you.”

The Omega sighed, turning and starting off towards the door. He did grab the keys to at least unlock the door. Shinya’s hands were full and Guren was not going to let Shinya do everything. He gave birth to a baby. That was it. Well, the delivery did suck but it didn’t mean he was down for the count. Guren got the door unlocked and the two of them slipped inside. The Omega sighed as he placed the keys down, and Shinya had placed down the car seat on a safe area. Guren didn’t even hesitate to start to pull Touya out of the car seat.

Touya barely stirred, making a nose of discontent at first before he quieted down the instant that Guren had him tucked safely in his arms. Guren turned to Shinya with a bit of a smile as he said, “Going to say I can’t do this?”

Shinya hummed, shaking his head, “Actually, I was going to say that you look absolutely breathtaking with a baby in your arms,” The Alpha smirked as he stepped forward, planting his hand on the wall by Guren’s head as the Omega turned a bit more towards his lover. Their gazes connected and everything melted away as Shinya drawled out, “And even better knowing that it’s my baby in your arms.”

The Omega’s smile grew as he let out a soft noise, “Oh, you think so?”

“I know so.” Shinya murmured as he leaned in and connected their lips. Guren smiled as he felt that spark go down his back. His lips were left tingling as the Alpha pulled back from him. “Come on. Let’s go relax.”

Shinya stepped back from him, letting Guren push off of the wall before they were heading more into their home. Shinya had dropped down the bags as they entered into the family room. Guren took the second to sooth Touya whenever it started to stir him.

Guren looked around their home and just let the feeling consume him for a moment. This actually felt… really good. As much as Guren thought that he might feel more remorseful or guilty, that feeling wasn’t there right now. The Omega didn’t want to think about that. This was the moment that was meant to be a good one. Their baby was here, and he was home. That’s what should matter to him.

“Well,” Shinya murmured as he came up behind Guren and leaned a bit against his back as he reached forward and ran his fingertip over their son’s cheek. “Welcome home, Touya.”

They were… home.

Just the three of them.

His little family.

Chapter Text

They might already be turning out to be those parents that couldn’t seem to put their child down ever since they had gotten home. Their son fit in with ease, and Shinya had been watching the way that Guren was acting. Their son hardly left Guren’s arms unless he was in Shinya’s. Touya had probably been in the bassinet or playpen for maybe an hour all together at most.

They didn’t have to worry about making dinner because whenever Shinya had went into the kitchen, he had found food left for them to be warmed up. So, Shinya had warmed it up. A note had been left behind by Sayuri and it was clear that the home had been cleaned too. There were no signs of any dust or anything that might have collected at all in the past few days. All the laundry was done. Everything that had been left undone by them was now complete.

As Shinya was cleaning up from their dinner just to make sure it was done, Guren was tending to Touya. It didn’t take him long to get it all cleaned up and put away before he was heading up the stairs to go in the direction of the Nursery where he knew that Guren would be.

Whenever he had got to the Nursery, he came around the corner and stopped to lean against the door frame as he watched Guren moving around the Nursery while tapping at the baby’s back. Shinya smiled as he kept looking at them. Guren seemed like he was almost a natural at this. The Alpha remained quiet as he listened to Guren’s soft humming and the little taps to Touya’s back. Touya looked like he was now fast asleep from the way that Guren had the baby’s head carefully placed against his shoulder.

“You’re a natural at this.” Shinya stated.

Guren shook his head, “No, it’s just… I read books about childcare.”

“Don’t sell yourself too short.” The Alpha replied. Guren went quiet as he turned and slowly put Touya into the crib. That prompted Shinya to start across the room and towards the crib. The Alpha stepped up to the side of his lover as he could see the wave of emotion cross Guren’s face. “Guren? What’s wrong?”

The Omega’s gaze was locked to Touya’s face. There was this sad and distant look in Guren’s eyes at first as he reached out and ran the back of his finger over Touya’s cheek. “It didn’t really hit me until a bit ago,” Guren murmured, “But… not wanting children before he existed… Did that mean I didn’t want him?”

Shinya’s eyes widened slightly as he shook his head, “Of course not.” Guren’s gaze moved to him as the Alpha tried to keep the best smile on his face. “Guren, people change their minds all the time. People who never wanted kids who decided that they do want children, and people who did want them and later decided they didn’t. There is nothing wrong with getting pregnant and wanting him even if you originally didn’t want children.”

Guren dropped his gaze, looking back towards their baby. “I’m happy.” Guren whispered, sniffling a bit. “I look at him and it makes me happy… But I feel so wrong too.”

“Wrong?” Shinya questioned as he reached out and placed his hand on Guren’s back. “Because you originally didn’t want kids?”

“I don’t know.” Guren murmured. Something felt off about this. Shinya just wasn’t sure about what it was. It felt like there was more to it. Shinya didn’t have the time to question it as Guren put a smile on his face and looked to Shinya. All the thoughts were quickly melted away. Shinya had completely fixated on Guren’s eyes as he saw a fondness there. “I mean it though… I’m happy.”

Shinya smiled a bit, moving his arm up and curling his arm around Guren’s back as he whispered, “It’s okay to feel something about it.” The Alpha rubbed at Guren’s back as he could feel the Omega starting to relax. Sure, it had been on Shinya’s mind before. Touya was here now. He knew that it was just leftover feelings, and it was starting to bubble over, but he knew how much Guren loved their son already. That was not just written off, and they both knew it. There was nothing wrong with that feeling. Shinya felt like there was more to it, but he needed to be supportive. Guren still had a lot of hormones going through him, and he didn’t need anyone condemning what thoughts he might have. As long as if they weren’t harmful. Which, as far as Shinya was aware, they weren’t. “Are you ashamed of our baby, Guren?”

“Of course not.” Guren immediately said back as he pulled back. Just the quickness of his reply and the no hesitation brought a smile to his face. “Why would you ask me that?”

“You answered your own question, Guren.” Shinya stated. He saw the confusion flash on Guren’s face before the understanding came. Shinya smiled a bit more. “It’s okay to feel guilty at the thought that you once didn’t want children… But he’s here now, and I saw the way you looked at him whenever he was born… Even throughout the pregnancy, Guren. You wanted our son.”

Guren relaxed a bit more, reaching up and placing his hand against Shinya’s face. Guren didn’t have to say it. He knew exactly what the Omega was thinking. Guren pressed a soft kiss into his lips next as Shinya smiled into it. They both knew the answer to that. Guren was never ashamed of their baby or the pregnancy. He might have been ashamed of his own thoughts, but eventually, that would fade away.

Guren could have all the dark thoughts that he needed too, Shinya would be here to chase them away.

Guren had trouble actually going to sleep that night. Though, their son was not letting them get much sleep. Every few hours, he would wake up wanting to be fed and tended too. They had both been getting up. Shinya had kept trying to get him to stay in bed, but Touya was still just as much of Guren’s responsibility. Just because he was the one who gave birth didn’t mean he couldn’t or shouldn’t get up to take care of his own son.

Guren wasn’t sure what had sparked the thought. It had just came after they had come home. He kept thinking about the catastrophe and the night the world ended. He remembered telling himself how he would never have children because of the Hiragi family. And now, here he was. Everything was being shoved right off of the cliff and morphing things in way that Guren had never imagined.

Guren had spent a lot of the night between watching Shinya and Touya. Shinya was his lover. His soulmate. The love of his life. His perfect half. Shinya was his entire world. Touya was everything. Their son was perfect. He had shifted Guren’s center of gravity again. They were now his entire world. All that mattered truly to him was them. Sure, his friends – his family were also included in that. But he had this codependency of Shinya in his life that he couldn’t explain. Soulmates or not. Shinya was his clarity. The person who made Guren be able to see the world in a much different light.

He had been thinking a lot about what Shinya had said. What was he even thinking about at this point? As Guren stood in the doorway of the Nursery and watched their son sleep, he kept thinking about it. Even as his body ached in the aftermath of childbirth and he could still recall all the pain, it was worth it. Then, it made him think about the absolute heartbreak he went through December 25, 2012. All the pain… All the sorrow… even with that pain, they were here. He was here. Now, Touya was here too.

The pain was worth it.

All of it.

Guren didn’t know if those thoughts would ever go away. They might never. Guren had to live with it. This was his life now. His entire life had changed the second that test came back positive. Actually, his entire life changed the second Shinya Hiragi came into his life.

And Guren wouldn’t change a single second of it.

Maybe there was one that he wished he could, but that was something left for the future. Right now, this is what he had to think about. Guren wondered what his younger self would think. The same little boy who would ask his father what a soulmate was. Having that strange longing for wanting to know if he had one, but deciding it was best that he didn’t, only to find that he did. It made him miss his father. His old life was gone. This was their life now, and they had to make the best of it.

Guren walked further into the room, stopping at the crib and leaning down as he looked at his slumbering son. Touya was so small. A part of him felt like it was in disbelief that this small human came out of his body. Had been growing inside of him for all those months. Now, he was here. Guren smiled softly as he reached down and toyed with some of the whisps of snow-white hair.

In that moment, he made a vow to himself, he would never let his son suffer in the way that he had.

“Guren?” The Omega lifted his gaze, noticing Shinya at the door. He could hear the sleepiness in his voice. “What are you doing? You need your sleep.”

“I couldn’t sleep.” Guren whispered as he looked back to Touya and smiled a bit more.

Shinya had walked back into the room. The Alpha reached up, placing his hands onto Guren’s arms as he murmured, “Come on… Back to bed, Mama.”

“Call me Mama again, and your ass is on the couch.” Guren mumbled without any true venom in his voice. He might technically be Touya’s mother, but as an Omega male, it was still completely normal to go by a father title just like Alpha females took a mother title. Though, it could vary from person to person. It just depended. Everyone was different. Guren didn’t care much about titles or what he was called. He could have a preference. Which Shinya knew, but it had slipped off of his tongue so easily that he could hear the soft laugh from Shinya.

“Oh please,” Shinya said with a soft laugh, “You’d end up there with me, and we both know it.”

Shinya had him there, but Guren wasn’t going to admit that.

Shinya just guided him back to their bedroom, and the Omega dropped onto the bed and hit the pillows. It made the slight twinge of pain go through, but thankfully, it went away quickly. Shinya had reclaimed his spot, rolling over onto his side and his hand landed onto Guren’s sore back.

The Omega found himself relaxing instantly as the Alpha’s scent was quickly working to help lull him into sleep. Guren’s mind had started to go completely blank as he felt the wave of ease go over him. He cracked his eyes open, seeing that Shinya was staring at him. Even in the darkness, he could see that slightest of a glow come to Shinya’s eyes before it disappeared. The rest of the world began to fade away as Guren reached up and slipped his fingers over Shinya’s cheek. For a split second, all he could see was Shinya wiping away his tears that night, but it was chased away as Shinya maintained eye contact with him and then kissed the inner part of his wrist.

“I love you, Shinya.” Guren whispered.

“I love you, Guren.” Shinya murmured back as he leaned over, connecting their lips just briefly. It didn’t seem to matter how many times Shinya kissed him, he always felt that spark. As Shinya pulled away, Shinya grabbed Guren’s hand and lowered it down to his chest. The Alpha moved Guren’s hand to make sure that his palm laid flat against his chest. He could feel Shinya’s beating heart underneath it as the warmth filled Guren’s own chest.

“Stay with me, Shinya.” Guren murmured.

“Always.”

He couldn’t really say that they were falling in with ease. It was already becoming a learning curve. Guren felt like he was constantly getting up and down. It was like he would close his eyes, and he would suddenly hear the loud piercing cry of the baby. It was already becoming exhausting. Guren could barely keep his eyes open at night now. Shinya was trying to help but there were just sometimes that he couldn’t due to circumstances.

Guren did find it easier to have a bassinet in their bedroom. The Omega was becoming increasingly more exhausted. There was still an ache in his body. That hadn’t gone away yet. He would have another post-natal appointment once he hit the six-week mark just to make sure that his body had healed the way it should have. Shinya was trying his hardest to try and get Guren to take it easy, but just because he had a baby didn’t mean that life came to a halt.

Guren was up again for the third time that night as the exhaustion was coursing through his body. It was so hard to keep his eyes open. The Omega was in the rocking chair in the Nursery as he tapped at Touya’s back. Guren was fighting the urge to go to sleep on the spot. Touya seemed to barely sleep for two hours before he was stirring awake and crying. Sometimes, it felt like they could calm him down with ease.

Guren wouldn’t say the last few days have necessarily been hard. They have just been really exhausting. The infant was not wanting to calm down now. Guren had went through every box on the list to see if it could be that, but Touya kept crying. The Omega was trying not to get frustrated. Guren actually felt horrible to even think that he might be remotely feeling this way.

The Omega took a moment to stare down at his son. Continuing to tap lightly at his back and rocked a bit more. It had only been a few days and despite how exhausted that he was, it felt like it was completely worth it. Guren’s stomach was still ached. In the way that he was sitting, it felt less so. Even the bit of weight of his son in his arms felt as if it was helping that ache.

It felt surreal in a way. Pregnancy and childbirth were very real things, and Guren kept trying to put these small pieces together. He would find himself asking how this little human being had grown inside of his body and now he was right in his arms. For weeks, he carried this little infant and felt those movements every single day once he was able too, and now he was here. It was still so hard to believe.

Now, it was just trying to get Touya to actually go to sleep so he could go back to bed and hope to catch up on the lost sleep. Only, Touya didn’t seem to want to do that. Guren was still having to fight the droop of his eyelids, and the rocking back and forth was not helping himself. The Omega was more afraid of accidentally falling asleep and dropping his son, but the ache in his stomach and between his legs was not making it easy to be walking around. Even with his expedited healing, he could still feel it.

Guren looked up as he heard approaching footsteps and Shinya came around the corner. The Alpha looked like he had just woken as he walked over, “How long have you been up with him?”

Guren shook his head, “I don’t know.” Guren murmured, “He doesn’t want to go back to sleep.”

Shinya hummed as he took in the information, “Why don’t you hand him to me and go lay back down to get some sleep?”

“It’s—” Guren started but Shinya moved to kneel in front of him.

The Alpha gave him a gentle smile as he shook his head. “You need your rest too.” Shinya replied, “Go lay down.” The Alpha looked him over as Guren kept watching him for a second as he stopped the rocking and it only seemed to irritate the baby a bit more. “We both know that you will end up right back in here in a few hours anyway. I’ve had more sleep than you. You can’t really take care of him if you are dead on your feet.”

Guren sighed as he turned his gaze back down to his baby. “Okay.” The Omega carefully moved the baby away from his chest as Shinya reached forward and made the transition smoother. Shinya secured Touya into his arms as he pulled the baby to him and stood back up to let Guren get up. The Omega grimaced slightly from feeling that twinge return to his body. The exhaustion was already causing him to get a headache, but it was just something that he was really going to have to get used too. “You didn’t have to get up.”

“No, I did.” Shinya replied as he started bouncing on his feet slightly and moving around the room. Touya was still crying, but it wasn’t that annoyed cry from Guren not rocking anymore. “I think, he just needs to cry it out.”

“Shouldn’t there be a reason?” Guren murmured as he rubbed at his eyes. He didn’t think he would be able to fall asleep knowing that their baby was still awake and clearly upset.

“I don’t think so.” Shinya said back to him as he kept going, “To be fair, he was just evicted from the place that was warm and security for him. Now, he’s in the big scary world. I would be upset too.”

Guren wasn’t completely sold on it, but it sounded reasonable. At the same time, it made him keep wondering if something more was going on. Their son was going to be going to the Doctor himself soon enough in just a few days to make sure that everything was going well before having to go back at a month old.

“You don’t think anything might be wrong?” Gurne questioned as he leaned slightly against the wall. His gaze moved down to Touya as he felt the nervousness hit him for just a second. Did babies really just cry without having a reason for it? Wasn’t there a name for that? It felt like everything he had studied into or learned had went right out the window.

“Nah,” Shinya said with a shake of his head. While Touya was crying, they were a lot softer. “I’ll get him to sleep.” The Alpha walked over to him, giving him a tired smile. “You can’t heal if you don’t get sleep.”

“I can heal while taking care of our baby.” Guren shot back. The Omega sighed as he realized how snappy it sounded. Guren rubbed at his eyes and then his temple as he looked back to Shinya. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“You’re tired.” Shinya replied as he walked closer to him, “And there is nothing wrong with needing a bit of sleep.” The Alpha kept Touya held to him as he used his other hand to reach out and touch at Guren’s face. “I’m not going to just stand by and let you do this alone. It took both of us to create him. You need your sleep just as much. Just because you carried him and gave birth to him doesn’t mean I can’t get my ass up in the middle of the night to tend to my son too.” In the way that Shinya was speaking wasn’t meant to be scolding or accusing. Guren knew that tone. He was trying to reassure him. Shinya gave him a bit of a fonder look, “And there is nothing wrong with our son. Go ahead and lay down.”

Guren knew that there was no going to be any arguing with Shinya here, so he gave a tired, relenting smile as he nodded. “Okay.” The Omega leaned forward, pressing a kiss into Shinya’s lips. Guren pulled back, taking a quick second to place a gentle kiss against Touya’s forehead before stepping back to leave the room.

Shinya had started continuing what he was doing as he bounced on his feet and continued around the room. Guren paused as the door as he turned to look at the both of them. Shinya had a bright smile on his face, talking softly down to their son despite Touya’s cries. Even though Shinya looked so tired himself, he didn’t even hesitate to get out of bed.

There was a warmth that came to his chest as he watched the two of them. Guren was so tired, but now, there was a part of him that was completely wide awake as he stood there.

These two were his entire world.

He never would have imagined that his world would get bigger like this, but that smile on Shinya’s face and the soft cries of their infant son started to wash everything else away.

Guren couldn’t regret anything.

Guren smiled softly as he turned to walk out of the room and went back towards the bed. With the list checked off, and Shinya’s reassurances, he could at least lay back down. Shinya was right. He was Touya’s father, so Guren needed to remind himself there was nothing wrong with leaving the two of them be. Shinya had already done it before within the time since they brought Touya home.

There were going to be many more restless, long nights, but he actually found himself looking forward to them.

Chapter Text

Three Years Later

It was hard to believe that it had already been three years since their son was born. There had been a lot of ups and downs. So many sleepless nights and lost hours but Guren wouldn’t change it for the world. At some point, the other memories had started to fade, and he could feel the pain less. It was still there, and sometimes, he still woke up in the middle of the night just to make sure that Shinya was in fact still lying in bed next to him. Guren had gotten used to sleeping his with his ear pressed against Shinya’s chest just to listen to his heartbeat. It was the quickest way to calm himself down or even put himself to sleep. Shinya’s heartbeat was so steady… strong.

It had taken the whole first year, but eventually, Guren stopped thinking of December 25^th as the day that his world had ended – and the entire world – and singlehandedly the most traumatic day of his life into something… good. Whenever he thought of that day, the first thought that came to his mind now was his son. Touya was three now. It was like he had blinked and suddenly his baby was getting bigger.

They had worked it out. Guren had gone back to working full time with the Moon Demon Company six weeks after Touya was born. Just like they had thought, Guren had healed exceptionally more quickly than someone without a demon contract would. It was hard at first. Guren hated being away from his son. However, it had been a bit easier whenever he was a baby because Guren could just take Touya with him as long as if he didn’t have to go on a mission. Whenever he did, Shinya was usually the one with him but if Shinya had to also be out in the field, their son was with people they could trust. He supposed it helped that everyone was terrified of Kureto aside from a few people that they wouldn’t even dare to mess with the child of one of Kureto’s retainers or the son of an adopted Hiragi.

Guren purposely went out of his way to shield Touya from the harsh realities of the feud between the Hiragi and the Ichinose. The Omega had also made damn sure that Touya never went near anyone with the last name Hiragi – mainly Tenri and Seishirou – aside from Kureto and Shinoa. Even though, realistically, Touya would be an adopted member of the Hiragi family. Still, Guren didn’t take any chances. Shinya didn’t either. It was just a silent agreement among them.

Shinya loved taking Touya with him into the office. Shinya showed off their son with pride. The smile that would grace his face as he held his head up high and didn’t give a care in the world. Guren had to admit that it was a really good sight to see. Shinya was exactly the type of father that Guren knew he could be. Shinya was constantly doting over their son. Spending most of their spare time with him. Guren did too. It was just the change in their lives. Still, Guren wouldn’t change it.

Every memory was starting to imprint into his mind. The first time Touya rolled over onto his back or stomach. His first word. The first time he crawled. The first time he walked. Guren didn’t know why he had done it, but he had actually been filling out that book. In a way, it felt so stupid but so nice at the same time. All the sonogram photos that Shinya had were still with him but had been replaced by pictures of their son. One whenever he was a baby and one for each year on his birthday. Shinya carried them everywhere. Guren had quickly found himself doing the same thing. He had a photo of Touya, but he also had one of Shinya. He also had one of all of them.

Touya had perfectly slotted into their lives. He was like the sunshine in their lives. Bringing the warmth right along with him despite the meaning of his name. Still, his name was perfect for him. Touya Ichinose. A name that meant something… And Touya meant everything to him. Guren couldn’t imagine his life without him now. He saw so much of Shinya in their son. Touya had retained the pure white hair like Shinya. His eyes, however, were almost like a hazel between blue and purple. Appearing blue from far away but the closer someone got, the more violet that they looked or even just depending on the lighting. Guren didn’t even know how to explain that, but he wouldn’t change it.

Touya preferred the cold like him. He didn’t like hot days. He also carried around the white tiger plushie everywhere with him. Which, Touya named Byakko. Guren may have been behind that one just to see the smile that came to Shinya’s face whenever he first heard Touya say that, and it just stuck. If Shinya knew, he didn’t say.

The more that he watched his son, the more he did see and feel exactly why his parents became parents. Even with the history of their clan and knowing what their baby would be brought into. He saw it every single day whenever Touya would smile at him and his eyes would sparkle. Or he would call out to him and hold his arms up because he wanted to be picked up. Or whenever he raced down the sidewalk screaming out for Shinya in pure happiness. It started to make him feel better about his thoughts. That he was both validated in what he felt before but also vindicated to the change.

Touya was everything to them.

A lot had changed in the last three years. It was a lot of learning. No one just knew how to be parents. They were learning just as much as Touya was learning with them. They learned something new every single day. He didn’t know what felt better. Watching his son grow to be a good human being every single day or knowing that they somehow managed to get through all of the hardships together and still felt… happy.

Whenever Touya had started to learn to speak, at first, he called Guren Mama. To be fair, to Touya, Guren was his mother. It had been a learning point where they were able to teach Touya the difference between an Omega male and women. Touya took it in stride. Not even questioning it and as he got older, Mama changed to Daddy. Sometimes, it still slipped out, but Guren couldn’t get upset over it. It was as simple as telling Touya that Guren was a boy like he was, and Touya went along with it. Though, Guren had a feeling that two people known as Shinya and Goshi most definitely had something to do with that. He knew they wouldn’t have done it if Guren wasn’t actually okay with it. It was hard to refute an actual fact. Though, Shinya got his credit back whenever he started to help instruct Touya with the change. Still, Guren saw that glint in Shinya’s eyes.

Even though Guren was now called Daddy by his son, Shinya had originally been called Dada. Touya was so small at the time. He didn’t know the difference between it. He just knew which one of them was the one who gave birth to him, and which one was the one who sired him. Guren had been told it was an instinctual thing with babies but easy to change if that was what they decided. Because they had taught Touya to refer to Guren in a different way, they had done the same with Shinya. And, eventually, Shinya became Papa. Just like him, there were a few slip ups every now and then, but considering Touya was still a toddler turning into a small child, no one could say a thing. Touya would correct himself after the fact once he realized and then laugh it off and joke. That was definitely something he got from Shinya.

Despite Touya’s snow-white hair and the blue and purple hues of his eyes, Touya was Guren’s perfect image. He looked just like Guren did. The only difference was his hair style. It felt more into his face compared to the middle part that Guren had. The Omega still liked to say that Touya still looked just like Shinya, but it was clear that he was almost a perfect mixture of the two.

Touya reminded Guren of him. While it was clear that Touya took a lot after Shinya, there were those moments that Guren saw himself in his son. In the way that he held himself or he spoke. Within his smile. Though, that same smile, all he saw was Shinya. It made this pride go through Guren. A happiness that felt like it could never be taken away. It had taken a while to truly get there. The Doctor had told Guren a lot of what he felt back then was Post-Partum Depression, and it was very common among new mothers. Honestly, considering his history, he wasn’t surprised either. It did help him understand.

While a lot had happened and there had been those highs and lows of becoming a parent and raising a baby, Guren wouldn’t change it. He wouldn’t change a single thing.

Guren was getting their son ready for bed. They had already gotten his teeth brushed and he was dressed in his pajamas to go to sleep. Touya typically went to bed very easily thankfully. They had some nights where it was more difficult or Touya would want to come crawl in bed with them. They did it with no complaints. Touya typically started out in his own bed before he would eventually end up in their bed.

The Omega pulled back the blanket as Touya came back into the room. The young boy grabbed for his tiger plushie and slipped up into the bed. Guren smiled a bit as he moved the blanket over Touya as his son laid back. The Omega got him tucked into bed as he heard Touya murmur, “Daddy, what’s a soulmate?”

Guren paused as he looked down at Touya. “Where did you hear that?”

“Papa.” Touya replied. The Omega laughed softly as he said down on the edge of the bed. Without thinking much of it, he reached up and touched at the pendant around his neck. He hadn’t taken it off since Shinya put it there. “So, what is it?”

Guren dropped his hand, placing it down and leaning against it. The Omega reached up, brushing some of Touya’s white hair out of his face. For a moment, all he could hear was his father’s voice in his ears. “Well,” Guren started as he thought the best way to formulate the words. “A soulmate is…” A softer smile came to his face. “A soulmate is someone who is your best friend. A best friend but more. A soulmate… is someone who is believed to be your perfect half. Another person in this world whose soul perfectly intertwines with your own.” Touya was looking at him so enthralled. Being captivated by each and every single word. “A soulmate is someone who you would be anything or anyone for. Like… whenever the moment you see them, you just know. They believe in you… accept you… Inspire you… And they will do it even if you don’t believe in yourself. They make you want to be better.”

“Really?” Touya questioned.

Guren smiled fondly and nodded, “Yeah.”

“Is Papa your soulmate?” His son asked him.

The Omega’s smile only grew bigger. “Yes, he is.”

“How did you know?” Touya questioned.

“The second I saw him,” Guren murmured as he went back to toying with Touya’s hair. “It was like… gravity. Whenever you see your soulmate, it’s like gravity itself has shifted and they become the reason that you’re here. They become a person that you can’t live without… Because no matter what happens… You will always love them, and nothing in this world can ever change that.”

Touya’s eyes were glittering as he looked up at him. “And that’s you and Papa?”

“That’s right.” Guren replied. “Your Papa is my soulmate.” The Omega dropped his other hand, smiling a bit more as he added in, “And now we have you.”

Touya smiled again as held on tighter to his plushie. “It’s real? Soulmates?”

Guren smiled and nodded, “Yeah, soulmates are real.” The Omega readjusted Touya’s blanket. “It sounds like a fairy tale… Because it is… And it’s a very real one.” A long time ago, he might never have said that having a soulmate was a fairy tale, but it was in a way. Especially whenever it worked out.

Guren felt like he was living a fairy tale now.

As wrong as that may be or within this destroyed world – and his own actions – Guren could say that to his son with ease. It didn’t feel like it was a lie in any way. He truly felt happy. The Omega reached up, touching at the pendant around his neck before he was reaching behind him and undoing the clasp.

“Your Papa gave this to me before you were born,” Guren went on to say, “This represents the universe…” Guren held it up, showing the pendant to Touya. “Two that co-exist… Together yet separate. Just like what a soulmate is.”

Touya watched everything he did as Guren pulled off the Inyo necklace before moving to slip it around his son’s neck and clasped it into place. “Daddy… You always wear this.”

“I know,” Guren murmured as he smiled and leaned forward and pressed a kiss into the crown of his son’s head. The Omega pulled back, soothing his son’s hair and continued to smile. “You made our universe bigger, and whenever we are away from you… Just remember, we are always with you.”

Touya reached up with his free hand and started to toy with it. A bright smile came to the boy’s face as he whispered, “I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too, Touya.” Guren said back with a smile, “Now… Get some sleep, and whenever you open your eyes, morning will be here, and a new day will come.” He knew that sounded strangely poetic and he probably sounded really dumb saying it, but it always made Touya smile. Anything that put a smile on his son’s face was perfectly fine by him, and he would say them again and again.

Guren stood up, walking over to the lamp that was on Touya’s nightstand and turned it off. He had a small night light that kept the room decently illuminated that it wasn’t pitch dark, and the windows also let in moonlight, so it would make it easier for him to navigate his room and come to them if he needed them. The Omega went to the door, stopping for a second to look back at his son as Touya rolled over to his side and settled into bed. Guren smiled again before he was turning and heading across the hall to go to the Master Bedroom.

Shinya was in their private bathroom also getting ready for the night. It would be a while before they actually went to bed, but it was just easier to get ready around the same time. “Is he laying down?” Shinya questioned as he finished brushing his teeth and put his toothbrush down. Guren’s night clothes were sitting on the counter.

The Omega grabbed them and started to change into them as he said, “Yeah, he is.” It didn’t take long for him to get dressed and discard his old clothes into the basket. He grabbed for his toothbrush and got it ready as he said, “When did you talk to Touya about soulmates?” As soon as the question left his mouth, he started to brush his teeth as he watched the Alpha.

Shinya turned his gaze towards him, “He overheard me and brother Kureto talking about it. I told him it would be better to ask you about it.” Shinya went back to what he was doing, shrugging slightly, “I figured it would be better that way.” Guren hummed as he finished up and put his toothbrush down and washed out his mouth. The Omega straightened his back, smiling softly as Shinya turned to face him. “There are just some things you’re better at than me. That’s one of them.”

“You’re just fine.” Guren replied. “But…” The Omega looked away as the memories came back to mind. “Thank you.” He looked back to Shinya with a smile. “It’s not about being better, is it?” Just from the look on Shinya’s face, he was able to see the smile on Shinya’s face that told him that Shinya had purposely set it up.

“To be fair, you know more about soulmates than I do.” Shinya stated, “It took me a long time to realize you were mine.”

“You didn’t know they existed.” Guren said back. “Which… It is like an old fairy tale. So, who actually thinks it’s real until it happens to them.”

Shinya laughed softly as the two of them moved to leave the bathroom. Guren immediately went over to his side of the bed and settled down. The Alpha had walked over to the door and shut it. The Omega looked over to Shinya as the Alpha moved over towards him. Shinya slipped onto the bed, moving to lean over the top of him. Shinya’s hands planted down on either side of him.

“Like a fairy tale, huh?” Shinya mused as he leaned in and brushed his lips against Guren’s. The Omega felt the spark go down his spine as a smile slipped onto his face. “So, did you find your Prince?”

Guren laughed softly, “You could say that.”

The Alpha’s gaze connected with his, and the world around Guren started to bleed away. Even without Shinya saying it, it was like he could hear the words reflecting in his mind. I love you. Guren reached up, curling his arms over Shinya’s shoulders as their lips connected.

Even with all of those other feelings and thoughts that he had, they were coming less frequently. It was like Shinya knew exactly what to say to him. All the Alpha had to do was look at him. Guren’s entire world was right here with him. Right underneath this roof of the life that they built together.

Guren could say with confidence now, that he could never change a thing.

It was still so hard to believe that so much time had passed. It was like Shinya blinked and their entire lives had changed. Touya had gotten so big. Shinya kept looking down at their growing son and still expecting to see that small infant who would sleep so soundly in his crib or held firmly within Guren’s arms. Why couldn’t the time just stop for a minute?

Guren was inside the house currently since they had a reprieve day while Shinya was outside with Touya. The two of them were kicking a ball around. Touya’s happy laughter filled the air, and it kept bringing a grin right to Shinya’s face. Touya’s laugh was so infectious. It was like their sun just radiated light. Shinya kicked the ball as Touya chased after it. Shinya was grinning like a mad man as Touya kicked it and the ball launched straight for his head. Shinya had to catch it with his hands to keep it from hitting him but immediately dropped the ball down to kick it.

“Woo,” Shinya exclaimed, “You’ve got a strong kick there. You’re going to give Daddy a run for his money.” Touya giggled a bit as Shinya noticed a look that came to his face. Touya had started to softly kick the ball instead of the hard kicks he had been giving previously. That definitely caught his attention. His sparkling eyes dropped, and Shinya hummed. “What’s wrong?”

“Papa…” Touya said as he lightly kicked the ball, “Why don’t I have your name?”

The ball had ended up by Shinya’s feet as the Alpha stopped what he was doing. “My name?” Touya nodded, “Like my last name?”

“Yeah.” Touya replied as Shinya kicked the ball back to him.

“Well, it’s a bit complicated,” Shinya stated as Touya went for the ball and came back with it. “You see… I’m not blood related to those who have the same family name as me.”

“You’re not?” Touya questioned.

Shinya shook his head, “No.” He walked over, kneeling down in front of his son as he smiled. He stopped for a second as he noticed the pendant leaning against his son’s chest. It made Shinya reach out and touch at it as he recalled the moment he gave it to Guren. “Me and your Daddy wanted your name to mean something. Daddy is really proud of his name.”

“Ichinose,” Touya replied.

Shinya nodded, “Yeah.” The Alpha smiled as he dropped the pendant. “Ichinose… Your Daddy is a blood Ichinose. Actually, he’s the Head of the clan. You are the Heir to the Ichinose clan. It’s only fitting that you have the name.” Shinya looked back up into his son’s eyes and kept smiling, “One day, maybe I’ll tell you more about the Hiragi family, but it’s really complicated. You were always meant to be an Ichinose. When I think of an Ichinose, I think of… strong… kind… compassionate. It’s a name you should be proud of.”

“What about you?” Touya questioned.

“What do you mean?” Shinya said back instead of answering.

“Can’t you be an Ichinose too?” His son replied, looking even more interested than before, “Like me and Daddy.”

Just as Touya was speaking, Shinya had noticed Guren. He hadn’t realized he was there until he noticed the movement through the corner of his eye, and he saw that Guren was leaning against the pillar on the porch and looking down at them. Silently listening to every single word.

Shinya hummed, trying to formulate the right thing to say, “It’s a bit more complicated than that.”

Guren stepped forward, coming down the steps as he walked over to them, “Papa already is an Ichinose.”

“He is?” Touya questioned, looking to Guren in surprise. “But his name is Hiragi.”

“Your Papa is your Papa,” Guren stated, “And he’s my soulmate. So… That means he’s family.” The Omega also kneeled down, smiling a bit, “You know how Sayuri, Shigure, Mito, and Norito all have different family names, but they are family?”

“Yeah,” Touya murmured.

“We don’t have to have the same name to be family.” Guren went on to say, “There’s a lot more to it than you know right now. One day, we can explain it to you. Right now, this is just fine.”

“What made you ask about this?” Shinya questioned. “There is nothing wrong with any of it. You’re still my son no matter what names we have.”

Touya sighed, kicking the ball away from them, “I don’t know.” Guren and Shinya shared a look before looking back to Touya.

“Touya,” Guren said quickly, “Do you know how you got your name?”

Touya shook his head, “How?”

“Papa named you.” The Omega replied as he briefly looked to Shinya before looking back to Touya. “Your first name came from Papa, and your family name came from me.”

Then it clicked in Shinya’s mind as he put his attention back on Touya, “You’ve been learning to write your name, right?” Which Touya nodded, “And you’ve seen me write my name?” Which prompted Touya to nod again, “The last kanji in both of our names are the same. Both of our names mean night. Tou-ya and Shin-ya. You might not have the same family name as me, but your given name came from me.”

Touya looked between the two as it looked like he had started to relax, and Shinya let out a soft breath as it felt like everything started to pass. He didn’t look as upset as before. Then, almost immediately, it was like the switch had flipped and Touya was reaching out for Shinya’s hand, “Papa, let’s go play!” Well, that hadn’t been what he was expecting, but he went along with it anyway.

Shinya just looked back to Guren as he was immediately back to his feet. This was one thing they had noticed about their son. The way that he could be distracted so easily. It was definitely tiring to chase him around all the time. Whoever said the newborn stage was the hardest lied through their teeth. Once a child learned to walk, it was game over.

Guren stood back up himself as Shinya had started after Touya. Touya had immediately went for the ball, kicking it harder this time and it went whizzing by Shinya’s head. The Alpha just immediately put his game face back on and went back to kicking the ball towards his son.

Shinya just sighed softly as he went back into it. He supposed he didn’t think about this back then. Touya was so young. He wasn’t going to understand everything. This was definitely something that he wouldn’t for a while. Shinya wanted to see Touya keep that innocence a bit longer before he learned the truth behind their own dark pasts.

This was his family.

One day, he could tell Touya about why he did not give him the name that he held. Rather if it was truly an option or not, he was glad that they had decided to give Touya the Ichinose surname. Touya was now the Heir to the Ichinose clan as Guren’s son. He was directly blood related to the clan. It made perfect sense for him to have that name. It was the only way that he could use it in a way that wouldn’t be upsetting. Shinya knew plenty of people who took another family name rather it was adoption or not, and that was their name, and they would gladly pass it on. At least, that would be in a world where the adoptive family was actually loving and caring. That was perfectly fine in his mind. That was the family that stepped up, and their name had every right to pass on. That was not what happened with Shinya. Ichinose meant something to them, and with all circumstances considered – including Guren’s feelings towards his name – Shinya would never change his mind on Touya’s surname.

He supposed that he should have seen the day that would come that Touya would wonder why they didn’t have the same family name. It didn’t make him any less his son, and he would never want him to feel upset over having a different last name. To be fair, their given names were very similar to each other. While they held different meanings, part of the meaning of their names were identical. Did Guren somehow plan that in a way?

Shinya just smiled as he kicked the ball back towards Touya as he turned his head to look at Guren. Guren had gone back to where he was before. It was surprising him that Guren wasn’t making his way over to join them. Usually they did. They were always doing something together if they could. Guren had a soft smile to his face and a glow to his skin as he kept watching them.

There was something about this conversation that was really made him think about it. Honestly, the name he had now made it come to mind. It was something that would probably never be allowed. At least, not yet. He hummed to him, murmuring, “I’m going to marry him one day.”

Just as he said it, the ball whacked him in the side of his head which immediately caused Guren to laugh softly and hide the small behind his hand. “Oops!” Touya exclaimed, “Sorry, Papa!”

Shinya rubbed at his head, “Yeah, definitely have your mother’s kick.” He mumbled to himself as he looked back towards his son. Then, he sharpened his gaze, “You did that on purpose.”

“Did not!” Touya exclaimed.

Shinya just grinned as he broke out into a sprint and started after the boy. Touya let out a happy laugh as he turned and started to run. It didn’t take him long to get up to Touya, which he kept slowing down on purpose as not to actually catch him. It was making Touya laugh even harder. The bright smile that was on his face as he did so and the glint in his eyes.

After a while, Shinya did finally decide to actually snatch the boy up as he exclaimed, “Got you!”

It just made the boy shriek in laughter. It made Shinya laugh along with him as he spun around just to get another laugh out of the boy. How did the time pass so quickly? “Papa, put me down!”

Shinya exhaled sharply as he fell back into the grass and both of them landed on the ground, but Shinya was careful to make sure Touya didn’t actually get hurt. It left Touya laughing still as the Alpha sighed softly. Shinya’s gaze moved back towards Guren. Guren smiled at him before turning to disappear back inside as Shinya watched him go. He turned his gaze up towards the darkening sky as he said, “I’m going to marry your Daddy one day.”

“Why not now?” Touya questioned as he rolled over onto his stomach and popped his head up.

“That’s a long story for another day.” Shinya stated, “But you and your Daddy are the two people in this world that I can’t live without.”

“Daddy says that too.” Touya stated as he leaned back up.

Shinya sighed as he sat up, “It’s time to go get ready for bed, Touya.”

“Why?” Touya whined out but listened anyway as Shinya stood up and Touya went to follow him.

“Because we all need sleep..” Shinya stated as he reached down and snatched the boy off of the ground, “And, you sir, still need a bath before bed.”

As Shinya was heading back towards the door, he heard a soft, “I love you, Papa.” Come from Touya.

Shinya looked over to him, smiling as he said back, “I love you too, Touya.” The Alpha leaned in, pressing a kiss to the top of his son’s head before letting the boy back down onto his feet so they could head in.

He meant it.

They were his entire world, and he couldn’t imagine his life without them.

Chapter Text

Guren had been feeling a little bit strange for a few weeks now. It was nothing really out of the ordinary other than this feeling that he had. The Omega just shrugged it off as he went about his days. Touya was flourishing. Guren would watch him. Think about all the times he wondered who his unborn child would turn out to be, and come to find out, he was one of the biggest lights of his life.

Guren couldn’t imagine his life without him now. Every single moment back then had been worth it. All the pain. The long, restless nights. All of it. He would do it all over again.

Currently, he was at lunch with the rest of his friends. Guren had curry and rice in front of him, but he had been picking at it for the most part after eating a small portion of it. His friends were talking to each other, but he had mostly been toning them out as he stared at his food.

Touya wasn’t that far from him. He was playing around with some of the soldiers from the Moon Demon Company. Specifically, the Narumi Squad. Touya had taken a huge liking to coming to the Moon Demon Company with him. Guren only did it on days that he knew nothing would really be going on. Otherwise, Touya was at the daycare. Shinya did the same thing with him, so Guren didn’t even bat an eye to the thought of doing it. Touya was much like him whenever it came to impromptu naps. Touya would just nap away whenever he got bored enough and would fall asleep anywhere and everywhere. It definitely came in handy at times.

The more he looked at his son, the more he couldn’t stop thinking about just how lucky he had gotten in life now. A soulmate, a child born from that bond, and an actual happy life. What else could he ask for?

“Guren-sama, are you okay?” Guren was ripped right out of his thoughts as he looked back over to his friends to see them staring at him. It had been Sayuri who had spoken up. Though, all of them had their attention on him.

“What?” Guren questioned.

“You’ve barely touched your food.” Sayuri replied.

Guren just smiled, shaking his head, “Had a big breakfast is all.” He said back, but it made him stop as he looked back to Touya. It rose a suspicion in the back of his mind. Guren immediately went to push that thought away as he laughed softly. No way.

“Sure,” Goshi mused, “If you say so.”

Whenever he looked back to them, all he caught were suspicious glances. Mito leaned forward, humming, “It’s curry and rice. You always eat all of it. Even if you,” She then moved her hands to make air quotes, “Had a big breakfast.”

“I’m just watching my son, thank you very much.” Guren shot back.

“Guren-sama,” Shigure started, “You seem more distracted than usual.”

“It’s nothing.” The Omega went on to say, “Just enjoying life.” Which wasn’t a lie. “Live every day as if we could die tomorrow.”

“Uh huh,” Goshi said as he leaned forward, “Are you sure there isn’t something you aren’t telling us?”

“Like what exactly?” Guren questioned as he did take a bite of his food and almost regretted it instantly but didn’t let it show on his face. “It’s not like I’m—” He stopped speaking as he placed down what was in his hand and looked back to Touya. “I have to go. Take care of the rest of the day for me.” Guren stood up, not wanting for them to answer back to him as he walked over to where Touya was. Guren gave a smile to the members of the Narumi Squad before looking down to Touya, “Come on, Touya.”

Touya looked at him confused as Guren swept his son up and started to walk away, “Daddy?”

“We just need to go do something really quick.” Guren stated.

He just needed to be sure.

Shinya had headed home decently late that night. Since he knew that Touya didn’t go to the daycare, he knew that Guren was already going to be home by now. If not, they would be in Guren’s office. That wasn’t an uncommon occurrence among them anymore. Though, whenever he got home, he was able to see the lights on from the family room before he even got in the door.

Shinya stepped inside, opening up the door and closing it behind him as he called out, “Guren? Touya?” It didn’t surprise him that he didn’t hear Touya, but he was surprised not to hear Guren since the lights were on. The Alpha hummed, stepping out of his shoes before starting into the house. Shinya walked into the family room, stopping as he noticed Touya’s stuffed tiger on the table.

He hummed to himself and walked over to pick it up only for a slip of paper to fall from the paw. Shinya hooked the toy underneath his arm as he bent down and grabbed the paper. The Alpha unfolded it and read what was on it. It was written in Touya’s messy handwriting. 

Find me.

Shinya smiled, laughing softly as he shook his head in slight confusion. That was very unlike Touya. In the context of this being left with the stuffed toy, which could mean a lot of things, but it was a game that they had played before. It did have Shinya pocketing the note and starting up the stairs. He had started to hear movement at that point and small giggles that belonged to Touya. Considering the time, Touya should be asleep by now. Even though Shinya always tried to make sure that he was there before Touya went to sleep. It didn’t always work out that way.

Shinya got to the upstairs hall, and he could hear a bit more of those giggles. The Alpha headed down the hall and looked between Touya’s room, which was completely dark and the Master Bedroom, which was also the exact same. He waited for a second until he heard the giggles again and it was coming from the room he shared with Guren.

Shinya walked into his room, keeping his footsteps quiet. The further he got into the room, the more he could hear the giggling. There was just a bit of moonlight coming through the blinds that he could see just bits of the room since the blinds were actually almost closed to keep more of it from coming in. It didn’t take him long to see the small form hiding underneath the covers on the bed. Shinya laughed softly as he reached out and pulled them off to reveal Touya underneath.

“Found you.” Shinya stated.

Touya was grinning, giving a bright, toothy smile as he exclaimed, “Papa!”

“What are you doing?” Shinya questioned, “Where is your Daddy at?”

“In there.” Touya said back as he smiled again and stayed where he was cross legged. Shinya did hand over the plushie back to his son which Touya gladly accepted. Touya did point over to the bathroom door.

“Oh, alright.” Shinya replied as he looked around. His gaze stopped on the closed bathroom door, but he could see the slightest bit of light coming from underneath it. For now, he turned his attention back to his son. “So, hide and seek?”

Touya nodded, “You found me!”

“I did.” Shinya stated. He knew that Touya was much better at playing that game than just simply hiding in their bed. Let alone giggling throughout the entire thing. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“I can’t.” The boy replied as he looked over towards the bathroom.

Shinya was thrown off. Touya was in a good mood and didn’t seem to be upset about anything. Actually, he seemed excited. Though, Shinya wasn’t going to say anything about it. He didn’t mind at all. He couldn’t see much in the room, but he wasn’t going to question it. The Alpha had moved off to start changing his clothes as he could hear shuffling in the bathroom. He had thought about going in but due to the fact that the door was shut, he had decided not to enter. It was easy enough just to change in the room, and he could finish up after Guren came out.

They might be lovers and have seen everything among each other; they both still gave time for them to have for themselves. Shinya quietly changed his clothes and put away the ones he had previously been wearing into the basket that they kept for their laundry.

Soon enough, the door had opened up and Guren came out of the bathroom. The Omega stopped as he noticed him and he said, “You’re home already.”

Shinya smiled, leaning over and pressing a kiss on Guren’s lips. “It’s the normal time,” He replied as the kiss ended, “Getting distracted there, Space Cadet?”

The Omega laughed softly, shaking his head, “Just lost track of time.” Guren moved passed him, with a soft smile playing on his face. Shinya had noticed that there was almost this pep to Guren’s step as he moved around Shinya. The Omega pressed another kiss onto Shinya’s cheek before he headed off in the direction of the bed. Shinya felt the amusement hit for a second. The Omega turned, sitting down in his spot as he reached out and Touya leaned against him. “Touya is sleeping with us tonight. Figured it would be a good night.”

“Okay.” Shinya said as he looked them over. There was something in the back of his mind, but for now, he had shrugged it off in favor of going into the bathroom to finish getting ready for the night. That wasn’t unusual. Though, he couldn’t stop that thought in the back of his mind. So, Shinya just went about getting ready for bed. Touya would be asleep long before them, but these were definitely not moments that he ever wanted to miss.

Shinya made sure to get finished up quickly before he walked back into the bedroom. By the time that he got back in there, he could see that Touya and Guren were already laying down. It was pretty clear that both of them were still awake. Shinya walked over to his spot and slipped into the bed as he laid back.

The Alpha had decided to lay there in silence for a while. There was just enough light coming through the blinds that he could see just a bit of their faces. Guren was still awake, but Touya had fallen asleep pretty quickly. It was as if his head hit the pillow and sleep had overcame him quickly.

Guren was toying with Touya’s hair. Twirling white strands in his fingers before letting it fall and repeating the action. There was this soft look in Guren’s eyes that caught Shinya’s attention. He knew that look. It was the same look that Guren gave Touya the first time he saw him.

“Something going on, Guren?” Shinya decided to ask a question.

Guren looked up to him and smiled, “Just thinking.”

“About what?” Shinya questioned as he rolled over onto his side and propped his head up. “You seem to be in quite the good mood right now.”

“I’m just happy is all.” The Omega murmured as he laid completely down and gave a smile towards Shinya.

It felt like there was a bit more to it, but Shinya had decided not to question it for the time being. Instead, he just dropped his hand and settled back down. Shinya just hummed and completely settled down to go to sleep. He supposed he didn’t need an answer. If Guren was happy, that’s all that he cared about, and he didn’t mind coming back to see both of them smiling in the way that they were.

So, all he could really do was go to sleep with the two people who meant the most to him laying right next to him.

Besides, that meant he could dream of their smiles rather than anything else.

Guren didn’t really know why he was nervous at the moment. After a bit of careful planning, he had put the pieces together of exactly what he wanted to do. It felt so surreal again. Now, he was just waiting for Shinya to get home again. Touya was excited. The Omega was watching his son practically bounce around in joy. Touya was waiting for Shinya to come home too.

The Omega had spent the entire day thinking about it. Could Guren even classify his life was something that he was lucky to have? There was still so much about his life that were in shambles, the bad things he had done, and the ways that he had suffered. Yet, here he was, happy. He had a beautiful son with his very handsome lover who just happened to be his soulmate. While in the ways that he had suffered, Guren had also gained so much. So many different things that he didn’t know if he would ever have.

Guren was watching his son run through the yard in his joy. His eyes sparkling whenever they hit the light. It made him feel really good as he was watching his son. It still felt like yesterday whenever he so much as even had the thought that he might be pregnant. While he had his ups and downs, he wouldn’t change a thing. His son was a light in his life. To think that the little baby he carried in his body was turning into such a young, happy child.

The Omega kept thinking about things that Shinya had said to him back then. How everything had changed after he learned he was pregnant with Touya. The changes that happened in his body, and then the inevitable moment that came and their child was here. Good things didn’t typically happen to Guren. He always expected it to be a fluke, or bad things would come around the corner. Guren had always felt like an optimist in a way. Always trying to dream even if there was realism mixed in. Guren wouldn’t change a thing. The pain had been worth it. Shinya had never asked him that question again, but Guren had his answer the second he laid eyes on his son. Their life really was starting to feel like the work of a fairy tale ending.

After he met Shinya, it really felt like he was now living a fairy tale. How did life really work out so good for him in the end? It felt like nothing was ever going to take him down from this mood at all. The more that he looked at his son, the more he kept believing that he was truly living in a one.

Guren might be feeling that nervousness, but there was this happiness of excitement hitting him at the same time. The Omega had already worked out the day, so he didn’t need to go in. No one questioned him. Guren felt good right now just watching his son. In this world, he understood the people who were utterly terrified of having a child. The world was gone. Monsters roamed the streets and attacked humans the second they got close enough. Vampires took humans hostage to use of human livestock for their blood or killed them. There were safe settlements while Headquarters remained at Shibuya. Guren was one of those parents who found himself constantly thinking about the darkness of the world. Guren knew better than anyone what this world was truly capable of. It made him terrified of the future, but Guren also knew how resilient humans were. They were still fighting to this day. They were getting stronger. It made him less afraid.

But it made Guren wish that Touya could have seen the world for what it was before. All the life in the streets. The many stores that would be open. Restaurants to go sit down in and eat a meal. Being able to walk the street without fear of some monster coming to kill them – well, sort of – and going on with everyday life like school. It wasn’t the same anymore. Every single day was about survival. They might be encouraged to have children, but it was all for the means of repopulation. It was more of a necessity than a desire.

Touya was different.

He was never this necessity. Something that they had no choice in doing. Guren couldn’t say that it had been a desire either. He didn’t want to say that he was unwanted, or he was an accident. It was definitely complicated. He kept thinking about every single ache and pain. Every single symptom that he had. Everything that lead to their child being here.

Never in a million years did Guren ever believe that he would find himself in this position. Having a life like this. A lover and a child. A life where he felt like he could smile without having to force it or hide behind a mask.

He truly felt… happy.

“Hey,” Shinya’s voice came into his ears as Guren looked over his shoulder to see Shinya approaching him. The Alpha came up next to him and took a spot right by him. “I heard you didn’t go in today.”

“They can handle everything without me.” Guren stated as he looked back into the yard towards their son. Touya hadn’t noticed Shinya’s arrival yet. He was too busy being off in his own little world. His smile was bright. His laughter filled the air.

Guren watched him. The innocence that came off of him. The child that he got to be. Guren remembered a time like that. It was a lifetime ago, but there was a time whenever he believed he could do anything or be anything. Dreaming of every single possibility that this world might have. Then, it was taken from him. Only, it took Guren a long time to realize, he gained it back.

He wasn’t expecting Shinya back so soon. Though, considering that Shinya already heard that Guren didn’t go into the office, he wasn’t surprised that he came looking for him. “Is there a reason?”

“Not necessarily.” Guren stated, “I just wanted to be home.”

No, there was definitely more to it.

Guren just need a moment to be able to think.

“As if I buy that.” Shinya shot back. The Alpha looked out to the field himself, smiling a bit, “Though, I get it. Sometimes, you just need to take a day.”

“Perks to being the Hero of the Army.” Guren murmured, “And the right hand of the Lieutenant General.”

“You get to take any day off that you want.” Shinya said with a chuckle.

“I guess I can.” Guren whispered, “And I’m going to be taking a lot more.” Guren knew Shinya had heard him. Even though he had said it so quietly that he had barely heard himself. The Omega had to fight the smile that was coming to his face as his heart started pounding in his chest. He had no idea how to come out and just say it.

So, maybe he wouldn’t.

The Omega felt Shinya’s gaze turn to him as Guren felt a smile pull onto his face. The Omega turned his head and caught Shinya’s eyes. For a second, the rest of the world had started to melt away. All Guren could see was Shinya standing there. Over time, everything felt like it had started to become different. The bond between them. It felt… stronger. Shinya didn’t have to ask the question. Guren already knew what he was thinking.

The Omega let out a sharp breath, reaching into his pocket and grabbing for what he had concealed there. He placed it down onto the railing and Shinya’s gaze immediately moved to it. “You’re serious?” Shinya questioned. The Alpha’s voice was so soft. Guren barely heard him, but it was still clear as day.

“Yeah.” Guren murmured.

“You’re not kidding.” Shinya said quickly as he looked back up to Guren. “This is real.”

Guren smiled and shook his head, “No, I’m not kidding. Yes, it’s real.” Then, his smile started to get bigger, “Shinya, I’m pregnant.”

Shinya’s gaze had changed. At first, Guren couldn’t read the look in his eyes as the Alpha’s gaze dropped down to Guren’s stomach before coming back to his face. “You’re pregnant?” Shinya sounded like he was in a mixture of shock and disbelief. 

Guren nodded, “Yeah.” The pounding of his heart was slowly starting to come down as more of a smile came to his face. “I’m pregnant.” This felt so different than almost four years ago. Whenever he had been scared and confused and unsure of what to do. Now, he felt like he could do this. He could do this. They had already done it once. They could do it again.

Together.

Shinya had let out a noise of pure happiness as a bright smile came to his face. The Omega let out a shocked sound as he felt arms around him and he was pulled right off of his feet. Guren relaxed, laughing softly and smiling as he curled his arms over Shinya’s shoulders. After a second, Guren found his feet back on the ground as Shinya pulled back and pressed his lips into his.

The kiss was brief as Shinya pulled back, laughing as his hands settled down onto the sides of Guren’s flat stomach. “We’re having another baby.”

Guren nodded, “We’re having another baby.” The Omega repeated. This time it felt so different. There wasn’t that uncertainty or that fear. It was actual happiness. Guren was starting to think that maybe he needed to feel that the first time to show himself that it was okay. That it was okay to be happy. That it was okay that he wanted this life with them.

“Papa! Daddy!” Touya exclaimed as he started to rush over. Guren had pulled back just enough as Touya slammed right into them. “Papa knows now?”

Shinya looked to Guren with a shocked look as Guren smiled. The Omega could practically see the dots connecting in Shinya’s mind in that moment. “He already knew?”

“He’s been waiting for you to realize what his shirt says.” Guren stated.

He noticed Shinya’s gaze dropped down to what Touya was wearing as the boy took a step back, pulling at the ends of his shirt to spread out the fabric to give a better look. “Nii-san.” Shinya murmured. The Alpha kneeled down, scooping up Touya into one arm as his smile got a bit brighter as he turned his gaze towards his son. “So, that’s why you were so excited last night and left Byakko for me.”

Shinya’s other arm had wrapped around Guren, pulling the Omega to him as Guren felt a softer smile coming to his face. His gaze had also fallen onto Touya as his smile got a bit brighter. “Good, right, Papa?” Touya questioned.

“Yeah,” Shinya murmured with a nod of his head, “This is a good thing.” Shinya just laughed a bit, grinning like a mad man, “You’re going to be a big brother.”

Shinya’s gaze returned back to him as he smiled a bit more. Guren’s gaze connected with Shinya’s as the world continued to disappear from around him and all that was left was the three of them. Soon enough, it would be four of them. It would appear that their world was going to continue to get a bit bigger.

“I’m going to marry you one day.” Shinya whispered.

“Don’t be an idiot.” Guren muttered back, “We both know that’s not possible.”

“We didn’t think this was possible.” The Alpha replied, “And look at us now.” Shinya’s grip on him tightened. “There is nothing in this world that I wouldn’t do. So, watch me.”

Guren smiled a bit. Shinya really did have a point. Maybe, that was a possibility. Marriage wasn’t necessarily something they talked about either. Bonding wasn’t. It always seemed that everything that happened to them just fell into their laps. Like a story that was currently being written, and they were far from the end of their story.

Guren closed his eyes as he let his thoughts just roam for a second. After everything that they had been through, Guren was finding himself falling more and more into that happiness. Like the light at the end of the tunnel was getting brighter and brighter, and he was stepping out into the warmth of the sun. Guren had no idea how to truly explain this feeling that he had.

Who would have really thought that a story that he didn’t even believe at first whenever he was a child would actually come true. The moment that he looked into someone’s eyes, and it felt like his entire center of gravity had changed, and his entire world had changed. It truly had changed for the better. It felt that dream he had as a kid was coming back, just not in the way that he had ever truly expected.

Guren opened his eyes and smiled a bit more as he saw Shinya’s smile and the sparkle of his eyes. Then, he saw his son’s smile and how bright that he seemed to shine. Shinya’s arm was tight around him. He couldn’t live without him. He couldn’t live without either of them anymore. It really did feel in a way that Guren couldn’t go on in this world without Shinya by his side, and their world was about to get a little bit bigger. There was always room for one more.

What did someone do whenever the chapter ends?

Close the book and never read it again?

No.

Their story was far from over.

Their next chapter was starting now. Every single part of their lives had been like a chapter in their story. Like their own fairy tale that was coming to life. Maybe, this really was that dreamland that Guren never wanted to wake up from. Everything that he ever wanted in life was coming true. With Shinya by his side, it felt like he could take on this entire world, and nothing else would matter at all.

Guren turned his gaze, smiling softly as Shinya looked back to him, and Guren murmured, “Stay with me?”

“Always.”