A flashback to the very special and chaotic event of Miya's birth.
———It was about 10:15 at night, the kids were asleep, and Kojiro and Karou were in their bedroom getting ready for bed after watching a few episodes of 90-Day Fiancé. Yes, they are ashamed of themselves.
"Are you excited?" Kojiro asked as he got in bed beside Karou, who arched an eyebrow at him, "Hm?"
"The baby's coming any day now," Kojiro pointed out, gesturing to Karou's stomach, "Aren't you excited?"
"Oh," Karou mused, smiling softly as he caressed his belly, "Trust me, I'm very excited."
Kojiro smiled knowingly, Karou hadn't been one to show lots of emotion since his teenage years, his adult personality being a lot calmer and stoic to the point where people think he's completely apathetic.
Even during his pregnancy, you had to look closely, really be keeping an eye out for the rare times when Karou would gaze at his stomach the way he was doing now, or when he would ball his hands into fists and shake them around quickly, in a show of almost childlike excitement.
However, there were other signs of Karou's true feelings, he'd started nesting a few weeks ago, zipping around the house with the strong urge to clean and organize anything and everything he could get his hands on: Their bedroom, Kadence's room, Reki's room, the kitchen, living room, bookshelves and kitchen cabinets- EVERYTHING.
He'd also been hounding on Kojiro to baby proof everything, from corners of the kitchen counters to the couch to the tv-stand, and Kojiro had agreed and made the kids help him, because he wanted the baby to be safe- but also because Karou scared him a bit.
Eventually, Kojiro got him to calm down, assuring and reassuring him that everything would be fine, that they were prepared in every way possible, and now, here they were, only days away from the arrival of their son.
"You're so beautiful, you know that?" Kojiro complimented, and Karou rolled his eyes, "You've told me that practically everyday since I started showing, Kojiro."
"But it's true!"
It was. Of course- Kojiro thought that Karou was absolutely beautiful no matter what he looked like, but during his pregnancy, Karou's skin had gained a smooth, radiant glow that made him look, somehow- more gorgeous than ever.
"Hmm, thank you- can we go to bed now?" Karou murmured, stretching, "I'm tired.."
"Oh, sure," Kojiro said, getting out of bed to turn off the light, before walking back over and settling under the covers beside Karou, throwing an arm over his husband's waist and basically falling asleep the second his head hit the pillow.
Meanwhile, Karou was taking off his glasses, placing them on the nightstand and moving his hair out of his face in the dark, then, he laid down and closed his eyes, content to wait for sleep to arrive.
For about twenty minutes, everything was fine.
Then, he felt it.
It was an odd feeling, at first not really a feeling rather than a sound- a cross between glass cracking and a piece of paper crinkling up, then what seemed to be warm water gushing out of him, like a water balloon had just popped in between his legs.
He instantly knew what it was.
Karou sat up quickly, stick-straight and stiff as he said quietly, "Koji?"
"Hmm.." was the noise his husband made in return, and Karou tried again, this time louder, "Kojiro?"
"Mm- Ru," Kojiro mumbled as he slowly came to, "Why're you still up..you okay?" He asked, propping himself up on his elbow as Karou turned his head to look at him.
"My water just broke."
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A while later, all four of them, Karou, Kadence, Reki, and Kojiro were all in the car, and one out of the four of them were in full-on panic mode.
It had taken a while for Karou's pretty clear sentence to click in Kojiro's brain, but once the gears clunked into place he'd jumped into action, waking up the kids, calling Kahane, Reki and Kadence's babysitter, then calling the doctor- who'd told them to go to the hospital immediately, throwing on a shirt because Karou shouted at him that he couldn't walk around said hospital shirtless, and bridal-carrying Karou to the car.
Now, here they were, Reki and Kadence in the backseat with Karou, trying to keep him calm as Kojiro drove as fast as he could without going over the speed limit, while also trying to avoid speed bumps and keeping a steady pace. His grip on the steering wheel was so tight his knuckles were turning white, and to be honest, if anyone needed to be kept calm, it was Kojiro.
"We're almost there, Papa, just try to relax," Kadence said calmly, holding Karou's hand in hers as they drove, and Karou responded- not so calmly, he was breathing heavily, and every few minutes letting out a loud shout from the pain of a contraction, so yeah- when he responded, he was less than relaxed.
"ARE YOU EVEN DRIVING GORILLA?!" He yelled at Kojiro, and Kojiro knew he shouldn't shout back at him, lest he make Karou mad and make this already daunting situation worse,- so he gritted his teeth and responded, "I promise I'm driving as fast as I can, Karou!"
"DRIVE FASTER!" Karou screamed at him, and Kojiro did just that, practically slamming his foot down on the gas and plowing down the empty streets their way to the hospital, as Karou groaned and grunted in the backseat, at one point letting out a particularly loud shout and a string of cuss words that made Kojiro cringe.
Eventually they reached the hospital, and as soon as Kojiro made sure the kids were out of the car safely, he lifted Karou into his arms again and practically sprinted into the building, yelling out the second he burst through the doors, "MY HUSBAND IS GOING INTO LABOUR."
YOU ARE READING
What a Life This Is - A Collection of Short Stories
FanficWelcome to What a Life! A collection of short stories revolving around the everyday lives of the Sakurayashiki-Nanjos! Kaoru, Kojiro, and their kids Miya, Reki, and Kadence! Enjoy!