O!Kiri is stuck in an abusive marriage to Hisashi Takamoto, an alpha who forcefully claimed him after A!Baku left him pregnant and alone for a life in America. Baku comes back years later full of regret, and vows to save him.

(Parts 1-18 in pinned & on Ao3)

~Part 19~

“Alright, I know this part might be a little uncomfortable, but just try to relax.” Ichika tells him as she positions the little ultrasound wand between his legs.

Eijirou braces himself, trying to take a few deep breaths to get himself relaxed like Ichika wants him to, but it’s difficult. Difficult when he knows what’s coming next and how much he doesn’t like it.

They still have to do it. He knows they do. This early in the pregnancy this is still the most accurate way to see the babies, and the fact that it’s someone he knows and trusts doing it helps a little, but he’s still scared.

“Do you think maybe we could bring Bakugou back in?” he asks.

Originally, she asked him to wait out in the living room so she could talk to Eijirou alone just to be sure he felt comfortable answering her questions, and during the initial part of her exam.

It’s always something he’s been grateful for any other time he’s sought her help in the pas; the fact that she respects his privacy and autonomy as a person instead of treating him like an alpha’s possession like so many other doctors do.

But then again, that’s why she left her old job at the hospital to do what she does now to begin with. Run a private – underground and one hundred percent illegal – practice out of her basement.

No alphas know about it -besides Bakugou now, obviously – it’s a safe place for omegas only.

A place they’re in charge of their own reproductive health and choices. If they need birth control, she can get it.

An after heat pill? She can get that too. She can even help get rid of an unwanted or unexpected pregnancy if the after heat pills won’t do.

She’s the one who helped him through all of his miscarriages and made sure his body expelled all the tissue so he wouldn’t get sick.

She’s stitched him up on the occasion that Hisashi got too rough and caused a bad tear. And she’s been just as instrumental in trying to convince him to leave him as Ego has.

So, he’s not sure why he’s suddenly so worried she’ll say no when he asks if she can bring Bakugou in. Maybe it’s just conditioning. Years and years of never being allowed to have an alpha present at his exams. Not even with his regular doctor.

But of course, his fears are completely unnecessary.

“If that’ll make you more comfortable, of course we can bring him in.” she tells him with a smile. She’s got a smile like his mom. Bright. Genuine. Warm. The kind of smile that instantly puts him a little more at ease.

Or maybe that’s just because she’s moved the wand away from him, and readjusted the blanket over his legs so he’s covered again.

“I think Kiko might have been waking up when I got here though, so she might be out there as well. Will she be okay waiting on her own, or do you want her to come in too?”

Eijirou pauses a moment. “That’d be okay? Her being in here?” he asks uncertainly.

“As long as you’re comfortable with it, sure. You’ll be covered, so she won’t see anything besides what’s on the monitor.”

She doesn’t know about her new siblings yet, but this could be a really fun and easy way to tell her. And it could also be a really wonderful memory for all of them to share getting to see the pups together.

One he doubts they’ll get a chance to make again if he doesn’t take the chance now.

And having her here will almost certainly keep him calmer than he would be even with Bakugou, because he’ll have to be.

Because otherwise she’ll think he’s being hurt, and she’ll get scared and he doesn’t want that. The only thing he wants for her is excitement and joy, so he’ll be forced to be stronger to keep it that way.

“Okay.” He agrees. “You can ask them both to come in. Can you make sure there’s no blood on me first though? I don’t want Kiko to see any of that.”

“Of course. I think we already got it all though.” She tells him as she does a quick check of his hands and face for any bits of blood she missed.

Thankfully, the cut he got from the glass isn’t anything she’s worried about. It wasn’t deep enough to need stitches – she did put some butterfly strips over it to hold the edges together, but that was just so it would heal better – and she doesn’t think he has a concussion.

She says it sounds more like his memory issues are fear based – especially since he seems fine now – or possibly even caused by a mild feral episode brought on by his panic over hurting the babies.

She did give him a list of symptoms to watch out for though, just in case a concussion was the culprit, and told him he needs to take it easy for the next few days.

Lots of rest, lots of water, and lots of sleep. That’s what she says he needs. Not just for what happened tonight, but for the pregnancy in general. It’s hard on a body to grow babies. Even one meant for it.

And his isn’t just growing one, it’s trying to grow three, so he needs to be extra kind to it.

“Alright, I think you’re all set now.” Ichika says after she’s helped him pull his hair into a ponytail and cleaned up a few bits of blood along his hairline she missed earlier to make him more presentable.

“Thank you.” He tells her, feeling a little better now. And maybe a bit anxious as well. This is the first time he’ll be seeing his daughter face to face in nearly two months. What if she’s mad at him? What if she doesn’t need him anymore?

“You’re sure you want me to bring them in?”

He pauses briefly. No, he’s definitely not sure. In fact, he’s never been more conflicted about whether or not to see Kiko in his life. But he nods anyway. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

While he waits, he does his best to keep calm and try not to worry too much over Kiko’s reaction. No matter how hard he tries though, it’s still terrifying. Terrifying to think of his first baby hating him.

And despite his attempts not to, it’s the only thing he can think about right now.

He always knew it was a possibility. Her hating him. But it was one he largely tried to ignore. Because none of this – leaving, and having to stay away, and not being able to even talk to her – is something he can explain to a six-year-old.

He knew that when he made the choice in the first place, he just…really hoped she’d be happy enough to see him when they reunited that she wouldn’t care how long he’d been gone. And she still might, honestly, he doesn’t know.

But the nagging fear that things won’t turn out as happily and he’d like them to is overshadowing any small bit of hope he has right now.

Especially since he’s coming back pregnant…

Maybe this was a bad idea too. Announcing it to her this way. Maybe he should be doing it without an audience and without just shoving it in her face like this. What if she thinks he’s replacing her?!

Before he has any more time to dwell on it though, the bedroom door bursts open and a little streak of blonde comes racing in to greet. “Daddy!” she shouts excitedly as she clamors up onto the bed.

“Careful, Kiko. Remember what we talked about?” Bakugou warns as he comes in behind her – alone – and shuts the door.

Kiko nods, slowing down a bit as she crawls up the bed to wrap him in the tightest hug her little arms can manage.

The sense of relief he gets from that alone has tears springing to his eyes before he can even get his arms around her in return. “Hey sweet girl.” He says, combing his fingers through her hair as he takes in as much of her scent as he can get.

She’s little so her scent definitely isn’t strong yet – honestly no one else would even be able to smell her at this point – but he can. And Bakugou probably can too because she’s theirs. Their baby. Their first born. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I missed you too. Don’t ever go away again, okay?”

“I won’t.” He tells her, and this time he means it. He’s not going away. Not like that. Never again.

After a few minutes of cuddling, Kiko finally releases him enough to notice the odd looking machine on the nightstand by the bed. “What’s that?” she asks, sitting up between he and Bakugou to stare curiously at it.

“That’s an ultrasound machine.” He explains, glancing uncertainly at Bakugou.

With both of them here, he was finally starting to feel better. Like things were finally right in his world again. Like he was finally able to breathe. But Kiko’s question brings a little of his earlier anxiety back.

Anxiety over finally having to tell her about the babies, and possibly give her yet another chance to be mad at him if she thinks she’s been replaced.

“Ul-tra-sound.” She repeats slowly, sounding the word out as if it’ll help her understand it better. “What does it do?”

“It’s gonna show us a picture of the inside of daddy’s tummy.” Bakugou says, making her squeal when he tickles her stomach.

Eijirou can’t help the little smile that tugs at his lips despite his anxieties as he watches them, glad to see how much easier things seem to have gotten, and how quickly Bakugou’s settled into parenting without having him to fall back on.

Which is good. It’s exactly what he’d hoped for, but if someone had told him a year ago that he’d be here now listening to Bakugou Katsuki say the word 'tummy' while tickling their daughter, he never would’ve believed them.

He’s glad things are the way they are now though. Between the three of them at least. Even though they’re not the most traditional looking, they’re a family. A family like they always should’ve been. A family that’s about to grow by three…

When Kiko finally finishes her giggle fit, she turns her focus back to Eijirou, and his stomach, not as easily distracted as she might have been a few years ago when she was younger and her interrogation skills weren’t so developed.

“Why does it have to show us inside your tummy? Are you sick?”

“No, honey, I’m not sick. I’m…” he pauses a moment, trying to rein in his nerves, and very thankful for the existence of scent patches. “I’m gonna have a baby. Three babies, actually. And that machine is how we see them.”

“In your tummy?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh…” Kiko says, frowning slightly as her little brows knit in confusion. Or maybe it’s concern…

He looks to Bakugou again, his heart is racing a mile a minute as they both seem to hold their breath waiting for more of a response than she’s just given. Anything more than just /‘oh'/.

It’s not too shocking, obviously, because that’s how she reacted to the news of Bakugou being her dad too, but still. He just…he really needed a little more than that to put his mind at ease.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” Eijirou asks after a minute of her just intensely staring at his stomach without moving or saying a word.

She shakes her head, finally looking up at him with…shit, she does not look happy. He braces himself, sure she’s about to throw a fit, or tell him she hates him, or never want to speak to him again because she feels like she’s been replaced.

But her response – though definitely upset – isn’t at all what he was expecting. It’s actually...kinda funny.

“Why’d you eat them?” she asks, her little arms crossed across her chest and her lower lip jutting out in the most adorable pouty frown he’s ever seen.

“Why did I…” It takes a moment for his brain to try to process exactly what he’s just heard, and then it takes everything in him not to laugh.

“Honey, I didn’t eat them.” He tells her, trying to keep a straight face. Is this really what she’s most concerned about? Not the whole three babies thing, or the new siblings in general, but the fact that they’re inside of him?

Beside her, Bakugou’s struggling just as hard to keep his own laughter at bay; holding his hand firmly over his mouth as his face starts to turn as red as the hair on top of Eijirou’s head.

“Then how’d they get in your tummy?” Kiko asks, a little less angry, but still very confused and very serious.

In her defense though, she’s six. She doesn’t understand heats, or second genders, or how babies come into existence yet.

To her, babies just appear like magic, or are brought to their parents by storks. So, this whole thought that the only way her siblings could be inside of him is because he ate them probably seems perfectly logical in her world.

That’s definitely gonna have to change now though, because he certainly can’t have her running around telling everyone she meets – least of all her classmates - that he ingested his young.

He can imagine the angry calls from the school and other parents about their kids being traumatized by Kiko’s imagination wouldn’t be handled well by Bakugou.

“That’s where they’re supposed to be.” He explains. “They’re in a special pocket in my tummy where they can grow big and strong so that they’re safe until it’s time to come out. That’s where you came from too.”

Kiko stares at him shocked, and possibly a little mortified. “I was in your tummy?”

Eijirou nods. “It was a long time ago, but you were.”

“Why don’t I remember?” she asks like she’s trying to figure out whether he’s lying to her or not because there’s no way she could have come from inside him.

“No babies remember.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s just the way it is.”

She frowns again, her brows pulling together even tighter now. “Then how’d I get out?”

This was probably one of the few questions he was actually expecting, though it’s definitely not one she’s quite old enough to learn the truth of just yet.

“It’s magic.” He tells her, looping his arm around her shoulders to pull her back into his side where he can plant a light hiss on top of her head. “A very very special magic trick that you’ll learn when you’re older.”

“Why can’t I learn now?”

“Because it’s a secret for mommies and daddies only.”

“Will you tell me someday when I’m a mommy?”

“Yeah, sweetie, someday when you’re a mommy I’ll tell you.” He promises.

“You swear?”

“I swear.”

***

After that, Kiko’s questions thankfully start to taper off. She has a few more – she’s always been a very curious child - but none of them are nearly as hard to answer as how the babies got inside of him, so he’s able to get through them rather quickly.

“Can you go get Ichika?” He asks Bakugou.

He’s grateful she gave them the extra time alone to explain things to Kiko a little on their own before doing the ultrasound, but it’s still really early in the morning and she’s gotta be ready to get back home.

Not to mention the fact that Eijirou himself is exhausted, and very ready to finally get some sleep.

Bakugou nods, getting up to go get her and leaving he and Kiko on their own for a minute.

It feels so good to hold her again. Like a missing piece of him has finally been returned to its rightful place. Like he can finally breathe. Seeing her and Bakugou together though, he knows what he did was the right choice.

Even though it was harder on him, their time without him allowed a bond to grow that he doubts would’ve had the chance if he’d been here the whole time.

Kiko is comfortable with him now. Even from the little he’s seen so far, he can tell. And Bakugou, he’s only been parenting her on his own for such a short time, but he’s already so good at it. Just like Eijirou knew he would be.

Because he’s Bakugou, and even when he’s scared, there’s not a challenge Bakugou Katsuki can’t rise to meet. Even when that challenge is a six year old he didn’t know existed until a few months ago.

“Alright, are we all set to see now?” Ichika asks as she comes back into the room.

Eijirou nods, watching as she takes her seat once again at the foot of the bed and starts getting everything all readjusted so she can continue the last part of his exam.

“Are you gonna show us inside Daddy’s tummy now?” Kiko ask.

“I am.”

Kiko sits up a bit more, clearly interested in what Ichika's doing, which is adorable, but all Eijirou can focus on right now is the fact that she’s reaching for the wand again, and squirting extra lubricant on it before she puts it inside him.

(cw; past trauma/rape mention, PTSD)

Physically, it’s not gonna hurt. He knows it won’t. But that doesn’t make the process any less uncomfortable for him.

And he knows he can’t tense up. He knows he can’t or Kiko’s gonna feel it with the way she’s still so tightly tucked against him, and she’ll know something’s wrong, and he doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want her to be scared.

“Deep breaths, okay? Just look at the screen.” Ichika tells him, pushing the blanket up just enough to see what she’s doing.

He nods, trying to do as she says when he feels Bakugou’s hand squeeze around his. His silent way of saying I’m here, and I know you’re scared, but I’ve got you. I’ve got you and I won’t let anything bad happen.

And even though he’s maybe not as close right now as Eijirou would like him to be, with Kiko between them he’s as close as he can get, and the fact that he’s holding his hand helps ease his tension a little when he feels the wand being pushed inside.

“What is she doing?” Kiko asks curiously. Whether that’s because she can tell he’s uncomfortable with it or just because it looks funny, he’s not sure, but thankfully Bakugou chimes in to answer her so he doesn’t have to.

“Just watch the screen.” He says as he rubs his thumb over the back of Eijirou’s hand, trying to soothe him as his grip tightens and his chest starts to feel a little more tight.

//Calm. I have to stay calm.// Eijirou tells himself as he closes his eyes, trying to just focus on his own breathing and the pressure of Bakugou’s grip instead of the movement inside of him.

This shouldn’t be uncomfortable; he reminds himself again. It shouldn’t hurt. But any time anything is inside him all he can feel now is Hisashi. In him. On him. Everywhere.

Being here in Bakugou’s room where he’s surrounded by his scent instead of Hisashi’s helps at least enough to keep him somewhat grounded, but not as much as if Bakugou could actually pump fresh calming scent into the air around them now.

Something – anything – to just fog his mind up enough to pull him into fake sense of ease until this is over. He can’t though. Eijirou knows that. He’s back at work, so he’s back on his blockers.

Meaning the scent of him on the bed alone, and the touch of his hand will just have to be enough.

“Alright, just one second, and –“ Ichika pauses a moment, readjusting the wand a bit more before the room suddenly fills with the sound of thumping little baby hearts. “There we go.”

Eijirou can’t see his face, but he can feel it the moment Bakugou gets his first glimpse of the image displayed on the monitor when his thumb suddenly stops rubbing.

There’s nothing like that first time feeling. He remembers it well from the first time he saw Kiko. That overwhelming sense of joy and terror the moment it all became real. The moment it all really sank in that he was pregnant, and he was really about to become a parent.

And yes, technically they’re both already parents because of Kiko, but for Bakugou this is still all new. Still a first. Still that scary, joyful moment of realization, and Eijirou is beyond happy that he’s the one Bakugou’s getting to experience them with.

He’s here now. He’s here and will be for all the big milestones he missed. Finding out the genders, and decorating the nursery, and telling their friends and families.

He’ll be there when they’re born, and he’ll hear their first little cries, and he’ll hold them for the first time when they’re so little and slippery he’ll be sure he’s gonna drop them.

He’s gonna be there the day they first try real food, and the first time they crawl, and walk, and get a haircut, and lose a tooth. He’ll see their first Christmas, and their first birthdays, and he’ll hear their very first words.

It’s gonna be beautiful, and they’re gonna be a family, and nothing is ever gonna tear them apart again.