Two Sides to Every Coin (OPM Garou x OC)

Chapter 20: The Calm Before the Storm

The calm for a certain time can be a fairly smooth time, yet unbearable. However, everyone knows that the calm can end in the most unexpected way.
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The cold was setting in, people were dressing warmly. Christmas was just around the corner.
With Kaana being dangerously close to her due date, Garou had been given off time from the dojo. With it also being the holidays, it worked in his favor, as most people were going away to see family.
This also meant that Garou was spending his first Christmas with Kaana as a couple. And...he didn't have decorations.
~
Garou managed to get his door open, holding a giant, rectangular box over one shoulder while his other hand held a bunch of bags. Kaana had finally convinced him to go out and buy decorations, or at least, decorations for a tree. Garou wasn't about to go and cut down a tree, not wanting to deal with constantly cleaning up pine needles. So, he got a fake tree, hence the large box he was currently carrying into the living room.
After setting all of the items down, he gazed around, "I'm home!" he finally announced, but was not given any response, "Kaana?"
He looked around, not seeing her anywhere on the first floor. So, he thought she might've been upstairs.
So, he started to make his way up and the first place he went to check, was the nursery. The nursery was right next to their room as it just used to be an empty room Garou never used. So, when it was time to set it up, it was easy. Plus, Saya was nice to enough to give them Kenji's old baby stuff, like his crib, clothes, furniture and toys. This saved them quite a bit of money and it made this process less painful.
When Garou walked towards the nursery, he found the door open. He sighed to himself, knowing full well that Kaana was in there. He pushed the opened door wider and sure enough, there she was. Kaana was sitting in the rocking chair, rocking back and forth gently while gazing out the window in thought.
Garou noticed her spacing out more than usual, now that she was due any day. He was sure it was because she was nervous about the birth.
After much discussion, as well as a few arguments, Garou had convinced Kaana to give birth at the hospital. Under normal circumstances, he would've been all for a home birth, but when he was told of the possible complications that can happen during birth, he quickly changed his mind. He wanted their son to be born safely and to make sure Kaana was taken care of in case anything happened. Kaana argued that he was being paranoid and overprotective and that she was as healthy as an ox. However, that didn't ease his worries, so she only agreed to put his mind at ease. Although, it was under the condition that the baby stayed in the room at all times and only Hitomi was to take him when necessary. No nurses or other staff. Kaana didn't trust hospital staff, and after what happened to her, he couldn't blame her.
Garou watched Kaana from the doorway, taking in her calm, wistful appearance. Finally, he gave a light knock to the doorframe, which pulled Kaana from her thoughts to look at him.
"Hey," Garou greeted. Kaana gave a soft smile as he approached her, "Hi. How long have you been there?"
Garou leaned against the wall next to the rocking chair, "Long enough to practically hear your thoughts. You nervous?"
"Oh, um, yeah, a little," Kaana admitted bashfully. That's when Garou noticed a yellow piece of fabric she was holding to her large belly, "What is that?" he pointed.
"Hm?" Kaana looked and immediately remembered the fabric, herself as she lifted it away to look at it, "Oh. I was just looking at one of the onesies. I was thinking that this can be the first thing Daichi wears when he's born."
"You're almost to term, right?" Garou asked.
"Yeah. Tomorrow, I'll be 38 weeks," Kaana then giggled at him, "How is it you can never remember?"
"It's not my fault I can't keep track," Garou huffed, crossing his arms, "These last few weeks have been dragging on longer than usual."
"Yeah, I know," Kaana looked at her belly, caressing it affectionately, "I can't wait to hold him."
Garou watched the loving display and felt himself becoming excited to meet his son. Still, there was some of the fear factor lingering.
He finally pushed off the wall, "Look, I got the Christmas stuff. We can start decorating now, if you want. That's why I came up here, anyway."
Kaana's eyes lit up at this, "Yeah. Christmas is in three days, so we should get it done, now."
Garou was quick to grasp her hands to help her out of the rocking chair, as she had gotten so big. Kaana groaned softly as she managed to get to her feet, "Thanks."
~
Garou, after moving some of the furniture away, set up the fake tree beside the left side of the fireplace. It was strange, having all of these decorations in his home, as he was never one to celebrate these holidays. It was only this year since being with Kaana that he was now doing so. Plus, with a growing family, he knew that he'll have to grow accustomed to it, eventually.
Garou was currently putting up the lights and other things on the tree. When it finally came down to the ornaments, Garou was the one to place them on the tree while Kaana sat on the couch. Garou insisted on her sitting, as she was due soon and didn't want her hurting herself.
At nearly 38 weeks, her belly sat heavily on her lap as she leaned into the couch cushions. Her once lean physique now appearing smaller thanks to her enlarged, latent baby belly. Kaana, with a box of ornaments beside her, passed one after another to Garou from her seat, watching him put them up.
Now, Kaana was excited to be spending their first Christmas together. Adding a baby to the mix made it just as special, as well. Kaana never imagined life being so good for them. She had Garou, now her boyfriend for nearly a year, and their baby that was due to be born soon.
"You know, I can't believe we're spending our first Christmas together, and having a baby, too," Kaana smiled, her one hand gently caressing her large belly, "Who would've thought, huh?"
Garou stood there, eyeing the tree for a moment, "It's crazy to think about, honestly. I never thought I'd start a family with anyone. With you, I never thought it'd happen so quickly after getting together."
Kaana felt rather flattered that he actually thought about starting a family with her, at all, "Well, I don't think this is moving too quickly. I mean, we've secretly loved each other for about ten years. We know just about everything about each other, at this point."
"We've also slept naked together, during the winters," Garou turned to glance her way, "I'd say we knew more about each other personally than what should've been appropriate."
This comment elicited a giggle from the redhead. Then, suddenly, it looked like her belly moved and Kaana stopped, tensing as she placed her hands on both sides of her belly, "Whoa," she breathed sharply, her expression reading shock and alertness.
Garou's eyes widened a fraction and quickly moved towards her, "You okay?" his voice laced with concern.
He sat next to her as she exhaled, gathering her bearings, "It felt like your son just did a somersault. That didn't feel good, at all."
"Are you hurting?" Garou questioned, "Should we call--"
"No, I just wasn't expecting it. Neither were my organs," Kaana gave a light hearted smirk to try and ease him, "Honestly, he has a lot of fight in him. Just like you."
Garou seemed to relax a bit, seeing that Kaana was just startled by their son's internal shenanigans. Even when she had false contractions, he always found himself on edge but Kaana always seemed to brush it off. Perhaps, he was just overreacting.
"Oh, he's moving again," Kaana glanced down at her belly and his gaze followed. Her blue maternity blouse was loose and flowing, but the movements were so profound that it can be seen very clearly through the fabric. What would normally be small little lumps gliding across her taut skin, was now full on arms and legs stretching out, lightly contorting her belly in various places.
Garou then got off the couch and knelt between her legs, resting his hands on either side of her latent mound. He felt the baby practically turn and throw himself around, like he was fighting against the fleshy confinements of Kaana's womb.
Garou couldn't help but scoff, "It's like he wants to escape."
"Seems funny to you, but it really doesn't feel good," Kaana sighed, feeling Daichi stretching his little body to the fullest extent. Garou noticed her discomfort and moved closer to her. He placed a kiss against her bump and mumbled into her taut skin, "Take it easy in there, brat. You'll be here when you're good and ready, so be patient."
With that, the aggressive movement quickly started to cease. A few kicks were felt here and there before he settled down completely.
"I swear, he shouldn't be this active. Not this late, anyway," Kaana exhaled softly, rubbing some sore spots on her belly, "Do you think that's normal?"
"Maybe he doesn't like the cramped space," Garou chimed in, "Hitomi did say that carrying big babies does run in your family, so that might be why."
"Yeah, Kenji was over eight pounds when he was born," then Kaana decided to make a snide comment, "Either that, or it has to do with the genetics from their fathers. I mean, you and Saitama are practically the strongest men on the planet. Wouldn't be a shocker to produce hardy offspring."
"I think you give me too much credit," Garou stood up in front of her.
Kaana gave him a look and gestured to her belly, "You got me pregnant the first go around while I was still on the pill. That makes me the 1% of women to achieve that. In Saitama's case, he managed to get my sister pregnant when it was supposed to be impossible. You two are not average by a long shot."
Garou gave a smirk as he leaned over the couch, hands bracing on the frame, leaning in close, "Well, I haven't heard any complaints from you, yet. Don't say that you don't like it."
Kaana was caught off guard, but smirked back at his heavily suggestive undertone, playfully teasing, "No, I love that you're above average."
Garou then leaned closer and went to kiss Kaana, which she happily accepted. After a moment, Garou deepened the kiss, which made Kaana moan softly. Hearing her angelic sounds, Garou growled deep in his throat. He pulled away, but not before pecking her lips for good measure, "You really make it hard to hold back," his voice husky, their noses nearly touching.
"Garou," Kaana breathed softly as his lips proceeded to travel to her neck, "You know we can't anymore. Sex at this stage can bring on labor. Hitomi wants me to go into labor naturally, if possible."
Garou grew eerily silent at this, all kissing ceasing. Kaana noticed right away, "Garou, you shouldn't worry. The baby is very healthy, but given his parentage, Hitomi doesn't want to take any chances."
He knew what she meant by parentage. Since his partial transformation, he wasn't classified as all human, anymore. Therefore, they still didn't know what affect it could have on Daichi's development. That's why they were taking cautious steps, because any complication could possibly lead to the worst case scenario.
"I know, but..." Garou hesitated, "I still worry. Life has always dealt me a bad hand. Only recently, things have been good. I don't want that to be the case for our son."
"We'll be okay, Garou," Kaana reassured him, caressing his cheek, "I can feel it."
Just then, the lights flickered and completely went out, "The hell?" Garou stood upright again, gazing a the overhead lights.
"It might be the circuit breaker outside," Kaana suggested.
"Maybe. Stay here, I'll check it out," Garou easily navigated the now dark house. When he opened the front door, he was immediately greeted with strong winds and snow flurries that weren't present before. It didn't faze him, though, as he shut the door and went around the side of the house to check the circuit breaker.
When he got there, he stopped when he saw why the power was no longer working. A giant tree branch was wedged into the breaker, having been ripped off from one of the closer trees by the wind. The metal panel was bent in two, smashing some of the electrical contents inside.
"Shit," he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, "This isn't good."
However, not wanting to leave Kaana alone for too log, he quickly removed the tree branch to prevent any further issues and quickly made his way back inside. Inside, he was greeted with Kaana lighting candles and was currently trying to set up the fireplace.
Kaana noticed him coming in, "Did you find out what was going on?" she went to grab some firewood from their stock pile.
Garou walked up to her, gently taking the wood from her, "Damn tree destroyed the circuit breaker. We'll have to call someone to come over and fix it," he went and started the fire.
"Great," Kaana groaned at this news, "When?"
"I don't know. There's a snowstorm coming in quickly. I don't think any repair company will send someone up a mountain in harsh conditions," Garou stood up as the fire got going.
"What are we going to do? The baby will be here any day and we can't go to the hospital before then. We'll be snowed in by the time I'm in labor," Kaana frowned worriedly.
Garou thought for a moment, knowing that Kaana was right. The hospital will only send them home if she wasn't in labor. He sighed, "Our phones will eventually die without power, so we'll need help. I'll call Hitomi. I want her to, at least, be here if you do go into labor."
"Good idea," Kaana nodded in agreement.
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"It's really starting to stick, Genos," Hitomi looked outside the kitchen window, holding a cup of tea. Genos walked up beside her, "The snowfall is supposed to continue for about two days."
"I see," Hitomi trailed off, her brow furrowed in thought, almost looking troubled. Genos noticed right away, "Is something troubling you?"
Hitomi sighed, "I'm getting that feeling again that, something is going to happen."
Genos didn't say anything to this, as he knew that when she got this feeling, it was usually right. Just then, Hitomi's phone started to buzz on their kitchen table. The couple looked in that direction and Hitomi went to grab her phone.
When she saw the caller ID, she quickly picked up, "Hello?"
Genos watched as Hitomi conversed with the mystery person on the other end, "Alright, then. I'll be there as soon as I can," Hitomi hung up and looked at Genos, "I need to stay with Kaana for a bit. Her and Garou have no power and are getting snowed in."
Genos tensed at this, as he was still wary of the former hero hunter. Needless to say, when Genos found out about Hitomi becoming their family doctor, he was not too happy. He couldn't do anything about it, as this was Hitomi's job and had to remain impartial to an extent.
"I am not very comfortable with you being inside their house by yourself," Genos voiced his worry.
Hitomi just rolled her eyes, "Genos, Garou isn't as bad as you think, I'm not in any danger. If you took a moment to actually get to know him, you'd be pleasantly surprised. Are you going to take me or not?"
Genos paused, but knew that Hitomi was right. So, he relented, "I will take you."
~
During that time, Garou and Kaana had filled most of the house with candles and they both made a few calls. Kaana made a call to Saya, just to let her know of the situation, but not to worry.
Garou went to start dinner. Luckily, the gas and water were still working. Since he didn't want the meat in the freezer to go waste, he cooked most of it to store, and some to eat now.
Meanwhile, Kaana was trying to clean up the living room of the empty decoration boxes, emphasis on trying. Kaana went to try and grab a smaller box from the floor, but was unsuccessful. Her large belly making it impossible for her to crouch down without hurting herself.
As she huffed in defeat, she suddenly stiffened as she felt her belly constrict. She grimaced, a small hiss escaping her as her hand pressed against her belly.
Kaana tried not to look conspicuous, as Garou was in the next room, the kitchen. Kaana slowly took a seat and lied down against the arm of the couch. She exhaled softly, but deeply as the contraction slowly released. When it did, Kaana felt the baby kicking hard.
Kaana sighed, rubbing her belly affectionately, "Looks like you'll be here sooner than we thought, huh?" she spoke softly.
Just then, they heard a frantic knock at the door. Garou was quick to stop what he was doing and raced to the door. When he opened it, he saw Hitomi in a heavy coat, and Genos by her side holding two of her hospital bags. The storm had gotten worse and there was about six inches of snow, now.
Garou ushered Hitomi inside and took the bags from Genos.
"Garou," Garou gave the cyborg a glance, "You better keep Hitomi safe."
"She will be," with that, Garou shut the door in his face.
Hitomi quickly got situated, getting warm and setting some things up. There wasn't much to discuss, so the three just tried to make the most out of this blackout.
Eventually, it was getting dark and they all started to turn in for the night. Hitomi was staying in a guest room on the first floor. The couple was retiring to their bedroom upstairs.
Kaana was already in bed, resting on her side on her body pillow in her black silk nightgown.
Garou was only clad in sweatpants as he was getting ready, himself. After a moment of standing by the bed, he stopped to ogle Kaana. Her back was to him as she lied on her body pillow. He still couldn't believe that she was pregnant and due any day with his child, his son. All this and their romantic relationship was still new. His mind drifted to when they had to tell everyone about the unplanned pregnancy. Of course, there were a wide variety of reactions. Honestly, the one closest to killing him was Saya, but that was to be expected since she's Kaana's older sister. He was just glad they were on good terms. One interaction that stuck with him was when he told Bang.
Going into more detail from that day, the old man argued with him about getting married because of this. Garou refused to give in to this, though. He told him that he didn't want to get married under the assumption it was because of an unplanned child. Such a notion would only put strain on their relationship. He wanted to ask Kaana when the time was right, despite the fact that he already loved her deeply.
After taking a moment more to admire his love, he finally walked over, got under the fur pelts and went to spoon Kaana. He placed a hand over the center of her large belly as he moved in close.
Kaana shifted and groaned as she felt him press up against her, "Garou, it's too hot to cuddle..."
"There's no heat. I'm making sure you and our son stay warm, so deal," Garou affirmed, but it held no snarky tone. Just then, Garou moved in closer and started to kiss Kaana's bare shoulder and neck.
Kaana sighed into it, but had enough sense to put a stop to any further action, "Garou, we can't..."
"Who says I can't even kiss my wife?" Garou said lazily, not even registering his own slip of tongue as he continued to kiss her skin. Kaana, however, caught what he said and she turned her head to look at him, "Garou?"
He stopped when he heard the sudden awareness in her tone. He looked at her, she had this look of perplexion, "You said 'wife'..." she trailed off.
Garou froze, a subtle red coming across his cheeks at the realization and quickly sat up, looking away from her.
Kaana eyed him. She was shocked that he even said that, but was hopeful that this meant he wanted to get married, "You don't have to be embarrassed, Garou."
"I'm not," Garou grumbled, angry with himself for letting something like that slip so carelessly, despite his resolve.
Kaana inquired, "Do you want to get married? It's okay if--"
"That's not the issue," Garou interjected, silencing her, "Everyone has been jumping down my throat about marrying you since I knocked you up, especially Bang in the beginning. Saying that it would be the responsible thing to do. I don't want to us to get married under the pretense that it was only because of the kid. The time needs to be right."
Kaana took this in, knowing what he meant but she couldn't help, but feel hurt by this, "And when will that be, Garou? I mean, we both know how much we love each other, isn't that enough?"
"You're not hearing me," Garou tried to get through to her, now looking back at her, "We should be getting married on our own terms, not on anyone else's because they think we aren't responsible. And I don't feel like we're ready for that step."
Kaana knew that Garou felt a certain way about this subject, but hearing it seemed to just rub her the wrong way. It also had to do with the hormones, as well, "So...you don't want to marry me..." she frowned at this.
Garou saw that she was hurt by this, and when he tried to console her, she just turned away from him, "Kaana, that isn't--"
"Just...leave me alone," he could hear a light shake to her voice. Garou set his jaw, the feeling of turmoil settled in him as he didn't know how to rectify this, now. He knew how hormonal she was at the moment, so he also knew that any attempt at fixing this will only end in disaster. Yes, he loves her, but he didn't want her to believe he was marrying her for the sake of the baby. He wanted to marry her, wanting her to know it was because he wanted to be with her forever and no one else. This little spat only proved his point. They weren't ready.
Without another word between them, Garou just lied back down, turning his own back to Kaana's and falling into a light sleep.
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A couple hours into the night, the storm at not calmed at all. A few hours into the night, Kaana suddenly awoke.
Kaana grimaced at the sudden tightening and cramps taking hold in her belly. She had been stirring in and out of sleep for the last few hours until she started to become too restless to ignore it. With a groan, Kaana slowly moved to sit on the edge of the bed, one hand cradling the underside of her latent bump.
"Please, don't tell me you're coming now..." Kaana heaved a pain laced sigh. She almost considered waking Garou as she didn't know what was happening, right now. She wasn't sure if it was just false contractions since they weren't consistent or if Daichi decided he wanted to make an early appearance. However, she was still a bit upset from their argument and wanted to avoid the headache.
She dismissed the thought, looking at the clock. 2 am.
'Maybe walking around will ease the pain. If it's only false contractions, then they should stop, right?' Kaana figured that was the best course. Taking a deep breath, she hoisted herself out of the bed and waddled out of the room and down the stairs. The stairs took a couple minutes, as Kaana was so big, she had great difficulty walking down without Garou's help. She managed to get down on her own, feeling incredibly winded. Despite this, she made her way into the living room and the fire place was out. She figured, why not just get it going? It'll keep the house warm and she can stay down stairs and catch her breath.
Kaana grabbed some firewood from the stock pile, lit a match and tossed in, the flames slowly expanding.
Suddenly, she felt this sudden urge to sit and stop what she was doing. What immediately followed was one of the strongest contractions she'd ever had.
Kaana stopped, quickly grasping the arm of one of the couches closest to her, on her left. Kaana gasped sharply at the pain, her knees feeling very weak and she gripped the underside of her belly. Fear gripped her and she wanted Garou at that moment. Before she can call for him, the contraction grew stronger and she let out a shout. Just then, Kaana felt a popping sensation and heard an audible gush follow. She felt water coat her inner thighs and splash onto the hardwood floor. With a shaky breath, she looked down. With the flickering of the fire place, she can see the light bounce off of the large puddle that was suddenly right between her feet.
Kaana's eyes widened, panic set in. She managed to move around to the front of the couch, but her knees gave way to the pain and she slumped to the floor. She groaned loudly as another contraction assaulted her and she couldn't get back up, even if she tried. The baby was coming, and she wasn't going anywhere.